Motorcycles and Apple Orchards

Every time we are driving on the road Ainsley will pipe up from the back and say, "Mom, motorcycles are dangerous. They put you in the hospital." Knowing that, try to explain why one of your very good friends arrives on a Harley.

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It took a bit of coaching and reassurance that this motorcycle would not be moving prior to getting this picture. She also considered wearing her bicycle helmet. She's very safety conscience. Mrs. Helman is a friend from church and her husband is in med school on rotations. Because he's frequently gone, we love to invite her to come and hang with us. We love Mrs. Helman and are thankful that she can share in the fun things we do with the kids.

As you may have guessed, today we are going to the apple orchard with our dear friend. She rode with us in the car. (Making Ainsley very happy.) We went up to St. Joseph and to an apple orchard with a lot of variety. Still we have yet to find cider and donuts that compare to what there is in Michigan, but it's still fun.

Pickers, ladders, who needs them. Thank goodness my mom is tall!

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Andrew loved being outside and seeing all the apples. He also loves eating the homemade applesauce. Chunky please. (We are going to try spiced on him next.)

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Tasting the tree before picking. Each tree produces a different flavor of apple. It was funny to see Ainsley say yes or no to the tree she was about to pick from.

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Learning to twist, not pull!

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Andrew is wondering, "Where is mine?"

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It was a beautiful day. Just warm enough to give us all rosy cheeks, but not hot enough to break a sweat.

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They had a great play area for when we were finished. Andrew loved the bumblebee swing!

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Ainsley loved the straw maze! It was great that she could play and get lost while we could still see her.

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A Climber!

Yes, I've got a climber. I think he's going to keep me busy.

Watch me mom!

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Almost up.

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Soccer

I am going to be attending a soccer clinic at church with some of my friends. Coach Chico says I'll have moves by the time the clinic is over. In preparation; mom, dad, Andrew, and I went out to the park to practice in my new soccer shoes and kick my new soccer ball. Mom got some great shots of dad and me. (Dad's the soccer player, not mom.) You would have never guessed it was my first time out.

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Running and kicking. I was showing more coordination than mom had expected. Of course, we won't post the pictures were the ball got in my way!

Is this called dribbling?

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Andrew enjoying the surroundings. A flag football practice and watching soccer. As well as a casual spoonful of food. It doesn't get much better than this!

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Will it be a goal?

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They aren't sporty, but they are mom's favorites. It was a wonderful day for me to watch Ainsley and dad just playing together. I hope they can continue to find things to do that they both enjoy!

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Puffs. What, I use my hands?

Andrew has been introduced to Puffs. A magical food by Gerber that most babies like. Andrew has been particularly antsy when it comes to getting into the high chair. It seemed as if food wasn't immediately in his mouth, we were sure to know about it. So, the introduction of Puffs came. A bit too early we discovered since he couldn't quite get them to his mouth, but they were entertaining all the same.

You can see from this first picture that he is very unsure of this new food group on his tray.

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Ahhh, these fingers have a bigger purpose than to just chew on. Check it out, they hold onto these things. But, now what do I do with them?

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We cheated, Ainsley had an assist to her credit and now Andrew also know what they taste like. He seems to be pleasantly pleased..

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October 12th update: Well, as I'm sure you have guessed, he's a champ at eating finger foods by now. Gerber has these new things ( well, new since Ainsley was at this stage), freeze dried yogurt morsels. Andrew loves them, to the point he now turns his nose up at Puffs frequently. Especially if he can see the bag in sight. I am sure this is a ploy by Gerber because they are more expensive per ounce than Puffs.

Coloring and Drawing

Ainsley has had an increased desire for coloring and drawing as of late. We have been drawing the majority of our bible lessons out in the morning and she has been imitating some of the things she sees me draw. She also has been using some of the Kumon learning books and we have seen a huge improvement in line drawings, coloring in the lines, and completing mazes. Watching her creativity blossom has been a huge joy for me since art is a passion for me and something I enjoy. I hope we can continue to foster creativity in Ainsley and that she will enjoy her masterpieces later as much as she does now.

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Some explanation may be required for this self-portrait. This is Ainsley with blond hair. Eyes, nose, mouth, arms, and legs are all intelligible. The red circle is her heart. (We focus a lot on being self aware about the state of our hearts. Are they black or red, loving or sinful?) The blue part according to Ainsley is her body. She's been praying for a big family and is very focused on when she will get married and have children of her own. Perhaps she's drawing a future Ainsley with a pregnant belly or she truly just doesn't get the concept of the stick figure. I'm guessing it's the latter.

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October 12th update: Stick figures now include ears, pig tails, shirts, and foreheads (these are indicated by a covering of blond bangs). Some pictures show our house too.

Playing at the Park

The humidity has broken and we went immediately to fall type weather. We've tried to stay outdoors and enjoy the fresh air because we know winter will be here before we know it. These pictures were taken at a park that we visit with our church friends. It's a castle theme park which Ainsley loves. It also has a rubber walking surface. That means no mud and less bruises when the inevitable falls occur.

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Always ready for a photo.

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Sliding and making echoes on/in the tunnel slide was plenty of fun to everyone.

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Hanging all be herself on the slider. I can't count how many times I pushed her back and forth. There was never a complaint about sore arm muscles either!

I'm Standing!

Watch out world, I'm standing. Actually, it's more like watch out Ainsley here I come to see your toys! I'm not sure how this happened so fast. It seems like we went from crawling to standing within weeks of each other. (Well, that actually was the approximate timing.) Thankfully Andrew has been quite content to just stand and look at things. Here are some shots of him standing up like a big boy.

Who me? Yes, I'm standing and crawling up the stairs. (8/29/09)

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Please come get me, I have no where to go! (9/01/09)

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I'm so grown up. Grown up clothes, grown up pose. (9/03/09)

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Barely hanging on. We are definitely one-handing most everything now. Stand and reach is his motto. (10/1/09)

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Since I'm writing this in October now, I can tell you that his confidence has increased with this skill dramatically. Over the past two weeks we have successfully noticed some walking around tables and a desire to stand without assistance. I'm guessing we will have some videos of him walking before we reach the end of the year.

oh, and notice the lack of footwear. This is becoming a problem. Socks are a definite dislike in Andrew's book. To keep them on we have to put shoes on as well. You should see the grin he gets though when he's allowed to yank them off and wiggle his toes. I'm thinking we will suffer from cold feet all winter. He's just like his sister :)

Pony Tail

Ainsley's hair is getting longer and longer. It seems to have really hit a growth spurt as of late. Here she is sporting her first pony tail ever.

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We also have been working on perfecting braiding. I've gotten decent at braiding the pig tails. Nana managed to french braid Ainsley's hair last time she was here. We'll try to get pictures of that sometime soon.

Reading!

Ainsley has really gotten busy into reading here lately.

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I'm not sure how this happened, but we have started reading big books. Not big word or big picture books, long books. Mom's books from her childhood are still in pretty good shape and we've been reading at least two chapters a day. We successfully read through The Ordinary Princess and we only have one chapter left in Charlotte's Web. So far, Ainsley prefers The Ordinary Princess and has asked to read it again. Personally, my vote is for Stuart Little or The Trumpet of the Swan next. Don't get me wrong, we still read Curious George, Skippy Jon Jones, and other picture books but the imagination has been going crazy as we have read books with less pictures.

We also have been working diligently on writing her name, spelling words, and the sounds each letter makes in the alphabet. Some of our fun activities include finding all the letters in her name on signs while we are in the car, spelling every word we say (mom's getting better at making the sounds of the letters), and singing all the things we do.

Teaching Ainsley how to read is on our list of school items for the year. She is ready. So now, we just need to find some easy readers that she hasn't already memorized. Go Dog Go, A Fish Out of Water, Put Me in the Zoo, Hop On Pop, and other short Dr. Suess books have already been comittted to memory. I'll take suggestions if you have any.

Strike a Pose (with some Balance)

I am so into dress up now a days. I wear a dress (regular clothes or dress up) every day now. It's hard when we go to the park sometimes and I have to put on shorts, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. I am really more into "tapping shoes" and ballet slippers. I really like jewelry too! Check out all of my necklaces and my outfit.

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From The Rankin Family

Though I am great at all of this girl stuff, it's important to have some balance. So, here I am in my garden. It's a good outdoor thing, complete with bugs and dirt.

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Our produce has been growing great. Here is a picture of our first harvest.

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The beans are the best. I may have pulled my carrots a bit too soon, they were a little bitter and not sweet. Or perhaps, that's the way home grown carrots taste. I am very excited to try our peppers. The pepper plants are almost weighed down with all of the little peppers we have growing. They are by far the most bountiful. We've got tomatoes too. Truth be told they aren't my favorites. But mom and I made some salsa with them and that was pretty good.

My First Swing

Wow, the time has flown and I am growing up so quickly. June brought the feat of sitting up by myself and with that I get to do a whole bunch of new things. I'm in the high chair which you have all seen. But check this out, now I am in a swing.

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I love swinging in our backyard with my sister right next to me. It's fun to watch her.

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I get to go higher than she does because she is just learning how to swing herself. Mom gives me smiles while she pushes me. Then she says "out" and "in" to Ainsley while she's teaching her the finer points of pumping her legs. (I think mom's doing this so she doesn't have to push two of us.)

Our sweet boy!

Yes, he's still sweet and beginning to develop a bit of a personality. I would verge on calling it demanding now. I use to pass it off as frustration on his part but now, he's demanding. His great way to communicate "more food, please!" is with a few hand smacks on the high chair tray. But he keeps the smiles coming and I look forward to seeing how his personality and Ainsley's mesh together as he begins to do more than babble and goes after things he would like to explore.

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From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

6.5 Months

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I am 6 1/2 months old! We went to the Dr. today and got my stats. Surprise, surprise...I am a lean, mean, growing machine! I weighed in at a whopping 15 lbs. 4 oz. Over a pound heavier than Ainsley at this age. However, compared to the rest of the boy babies in this country I fall in the 7.5 percentile. Mom and the Dr. just laughed. I am 25.75 inches tall as well. Overall, a very proportioned little boy.

I am doing lots of things and verging on serious mobility. I can sit myself up now and am working hard on the crawling. I am eating really well and especially love fruits and orange vegetables. I am not really into the green vegetables, despite mom's persistence.

August is sure to bring changes and challenges for our family as I learn to crawl. Stay tuned to see what types of things I get into and what my various achievements are in the coming month.

Getting Ready!

I am getting closer and closer to crawling! Mom got a few snap shots up of me as I got up on all fours, started rocking, and getting ready. I have really been working on my upper body strength and can't wait to be able to move around myself.

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From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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Ainsley keeps demonstrating to me how I should crawl. I get a lesson at least once a day. I don't think she realizes how her life will change once I get on the move. Watch out toys, here I come! Perhaps, though it will be good for both of us. We enjoy each other so much!

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The Cabin and a Birthday

Wouldn't you know we don't have any picture's, but we went to our friend's cabin for a few days down at the lake. It was an amazing time of fellowship and firsts for all of us as a family. Our friends have the proof (pictures) but mom got in the river. Can you believe it!

I loved the river, I went in with a life jacket and loved floating and spinning. The best though, was when dad took me on the jet ski, I kept telling him to go faster. I also went tubing with my friends Ethan and Luke. Ethan held on to me tight to keep me in the tube and dad drove fast. Andrew loved hanging out in the pack n' play outside and playing with his toys. Andrew was a great baby to vacation with.

We had campfires every night. I loved the roasted marshmallows. My friend Julia and I had a slumber party up in the loft and we read stories together at bed time every night. Then, mom, dad, Andrew, and I all slept together in the same room a few nights.

While we were at the Lake, we went to Ha Ha Tonka, a state park. We saw castle ruins and my favorite the entrance to a cave. They had a gate up so we couldn't go in but there was an exit hatch for all of the bats that live in it.

It was a great time to bond as a family and we thank our friends for offering to spend this time with us and share their cabin with us. We came home on mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, mom! Having cake was a great way to end our vacation.

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