Sand, Sporks, and Smiles

Well, it's June and I'm just now updating April....where has the time gone. A good friend of mine mentioned that I was good at marathon blog posting, I'm hoping to not disappoint.

Spring flew by, but not without it's fair share of new activities, accomplishments, and plenty of fun. Andrew discovered the small sandbox we have on our back patio. It's his favorite outdoor activity by far. He loves just playing and picking out the tiny stones. He's also become quite accomplished at filling in holes in our yard with sand.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Ainsley has continued a tremendous love for nature. We now have a "critter shack" which houses caterpillars, ladybugs, and other interesting finds. We need to become better at nurturing our bugs, we haven't had any long term tenants. She has also enjoyed the dandelions we have had in our lawn. Mom and dad pull them and she blows them. It's been a vicious cycle as we see new ones sprout up daily.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Andrew started using silverware on his own this month. This has been particularly challenging for me. The mess is everywhere! He is becoming more efficient with the utensils. His independent streak shows more and more each day with eating. It has been interesting to see him decline any help from mom, when Ainsley is still so willing to accept help in this area.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

We are so blessed to see both Ainsley and Andrew beginning to really enjoy each other. The smiles are always on when the two of them are together. It seems as though they just love to get each other to laugh and make silly faces.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

March Madness

March Madness, Rankin Style!


I never thought I would witness shooting hoops inside! But alas, with the boys there seems to be no avoiding it. Andrew loves dunking it. He is by far the most improved player since receiving the net for his birthday.

Is it Spring?

Today marked the first day of spring and we awoke to about 6 inches of snow! Somehow it just doesn't seem right. Yesterday it was in the 60's and we were walking the neighborhood.

The birds were wondering if they migrated a little too soon. Ainsley and Andrew love watching the birds at the feeder and today there was no shortage of feathered friends.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

We filled the feeder twice and we had the whole flock out our window. Andrew loved banging the window and scattering them. It was a fun game for him to watch them fly away and then come back. Ainsley loved pointing out the cardinals. We had 3 females and 2 males. I can see a bird unit for school in our future.

New do!

Today, Ainsley got a new do. We went to a friend of mine for a hair cut and Ainsley decided she wanted short hair. Though I am sad that the pig tails are gone for the most part, I'm enjoying the wash, dry, and ready to go style. Bed head is even a good look. I was concerned that the curl in her hair would be cut off, but it looks like the natural wave has remained. Not onle does her hair look really healthy, she looks like she has a ton more hair!

From The Rankin Family

From The Rankin Family

First Soccer Practice!

We are trying out our first organized sport, soccer! We registered in a league that a lot of our play group friends are in and we will be playing until May. Ainsley has been practicing fundamentals at our church soccer camp, but now she is excited to play in a real soccer game! She looks so cute out there with her little shin guards and soccer cleats.

Making new friends. How old are you?

From The Rankin Family

Practicing throwing in. She did a great job despite the cold temps and the gloves!

From The Rankin Family

From The Rankin Family

Dribbling thru the cones.

From The Rankin Family

From The Rankin Family

Her first game will be in a few weeks. I am sure she will have her own cheering section.

Big Man

Today was the first ride in the big boy car seat.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Being upright, looking out the window, trying for the door lock, he seemed to be a happy boy. However, when the car got rolling, he wasn't sure what to think. Surprisingly, the first ride wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. Having Ainsley there eased the transition. They held hands until he fell asleep.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

We are used to it now, and I'm looking forward to pointing out all the fun things we drive by just like I did with Ainsley. Ainsley is enjoying being mom's big helper as she shares snacks with Andrew and hands him toys. This is just one more sign that time keeps going and they grow up so fast. I almost shed a tear as the infant car seat got stored away.

Faux Hawk

It's not often that I style Andrew's hair. But we had a little bit of fun this morning with the product.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

It's long on the top and on the bottom. If you look hard enough you'll see the hawk but you'll also see the mullet. A hair cut is scheduled, again. This will make it number 3 in the first year of life or so.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Cuddle Bugs

Doesn't this just warm your heart? Andrew is getting more and more involved with Ainsley every day. He enjoys doing everything that she is doing and she's been a good sport about it.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

We are a two manny, lamb blanket family. Matthew and I just smile as we watch them with their luvies. Believe it or not, despite not knowing his colors, Andrew knows which one is his. Ainsley will try to play switch-a-roo every once in awhile and he always gets it right.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

It's not often there is downtime when they are both awake. Andrew is starting to like watching PBS with Ainsley for the rare treat. There favorite is Word World. They both exhibit a love for animals that is amazing.

Roller Skating

January is a month full of birthdays for Ainsley and her friends. Ainsley was invited to a roller skating party this week for two of the kids in playgroup. Here we are at the skate rink with beginner roller skates.

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We quickly graduated to the faster roller skates that were very heavy!

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Andrew stayed home with Aunt Trish for this party. Why, because mom knew she would be getting on skates as well. Here we are together taking a roll around the rink.

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Thanks to one of the big brother's there for holding Ainsley's hand. We had a blast and she's been talking about going back! It was a workout for me like I hadn't had in awhile. My back and abs definitely felt the job of keeping Ainsley standing. But, Ainsley could skate by the time we left and she had a lot of fun!

Let's Have a Tea Party

Ainsley asked if she could have a birthday party with her friends this year as well. So, we invited a few friends to a tea party, a princess tea party and had some fun. It was really cute to see Ainsley play hostess and celebrate with a few of her friends. I am always amazed at how little she is yet how grown-up she is all at the same time.

We had the party at Gigi's house since the friends we invited all lived down in that area. It was really nice of Gigi to let us use her house and we were grateful that she could came home from work for some of the party. Here are some pre-party pictures:

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

We were definitely celebrating in the pink! We had strawberry cupcakes with pink flowers. We had raspberry lemonade and strawberries. We also had strawberry jelly heart sandwiches. Ainsley picked out the ice cream, was it strawberry? No, it was chocolate :) I tried to get her to go neapolitan to keep up the theme, but the birthday girl really likes her chocolate and so did her friends!

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Ainsley and her friends.

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Four for tea and watching for their princes to come.

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Craft time was make your own tiara's.

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Happy Birthday, Ainsley!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Yearly Stats

We had our well-checks today to see how the kids are growing. We have healthy kids, praise God for that! Here's where they are right now:

Ainsley:
Weight: 30lbs. 6oz. she finally hit 13% on the weight chart.
Height: 39 and 3/4 inches that puts her in the 51% area.

Andrew:
(Taking after his sister on the growth curves!)
Weight: 18lbs. 2 oz This puts him in the 2% range compared to other boys.
Height: 28 and 1/4 inches He's at 7.5%. Though I'm sure he will hit a growth spurt soon.
Head: 18" in the 29% range.

He doesn't look tiny because he's pretty proportionate. Ainsley was just like this until recently when she started growing like a weed! I think they follow each other closely. Andrew got his first tooth on the same exact day she did.

I'm Four Years Old!

Mom - "Happy Birthday, Ainsley!"
Ainsley - "Mom, am I already 4 yearls old?"
Mom - "Yes, sweetheart, your 4 years old."
Ainsley - "Isn't that so exciting!"

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Ainsley opened presents the morning of her birthday. She really loves being mommy's little helper. So, she got an ironing board for her birthday. We ironed almost every piece of clothing in her closet that day! Here she is trying it out on her new magnet doll outfits.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Andrew didn't need much to have fun on Ainsley's birthday. He loved the balloons from the weekend and enjoyed crawling all over with them. Thankfully, none of them popped and he is still getting much joy out of the simple things.

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Double Birthday Party

"Mom, I would like to have a Bolt birthday party this year. Andrew let me know that he would like that too." -Ainsley

So, this year it was Bolt. The whole year has been about Bolt the super dog. We have pretend Bolt, stuffed animal brown Bolt, baby Bolt, and we play Bolt. You name it, if it's Bolt, we've probably done it. Bolt goes everywhere with us. So it was fitting that we would have a Bolt birthday party to celebrate the fact that we are moving from three to four.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

The Bolt birthday cake and the birthday girl. (It took multiple stores to find someone who had a Bolt cake kit left. Thank you Target for keeping outdated toys! Making a Bolt birthday cake myself would have been a bit too much for me.)

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Did Andrew get into his cake. That's the most asked question after a baby turns one isn't it? I won't leave you in suspense and you can decide for yourself...did he like it?

I gave him a small taste and he went with it with both hands. However; nothing was going into his mouth. The table sure did get it's fair share of the cake!

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Oh but wait, the cake is yummy!

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I love it mom! Sorry it's everywhere!

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After letting Papa know for months, she would really like the movie Bolt. Her birthday was complete.

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I'm One

Today I turned one year old! It's hard to believe that this much time has already gone by. I've changed so much since I came into this world. I now have three teeth and another one on the way. I am crawling and working on walking. I eat so many big people foods and I drink milk, real milk! I can talk and say "mama" and "dada" and it sounds like more words will be on their way soon. I have an independent, sweet, sensitive spirit and always have a smile to offer anyone who glances my way. Overall, the first year of life was great and I can't wait to see what changes I have in year two! Mom and dad aren't rushing me but I'm excited to walk, talk, and catch up with my sister.

Here I am, on top of my present! Mom dressed me up today like a big boy! Button down shirt and all.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Getting into my birthday present. I wonder what it could be?

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MMMM, basketball! I love it and so does dad :)! Mom never could have imagined a game of hoops in the house but that day is here. Well, almost I have to figure out how to throw the ball and not eat it.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Bumper Bowling

The weather is cold and our play groups have been meeting inside. Today, we went bumper bowling! It was a riot to watch the kids bowl and be so excited when they got just even a few pins down. It took about 2 hours but we finally made it to the 8th frame (we didn't get to finish out the last two frames, we ran out of time!) and Ainsley rolled an 82. Not bad for 8 frames and a roll speed of almost nothing.

Here she is with her 5 pound ball!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

She has some great bowling gene's in her. Mom, Papa, Great Grandma Annie, and Great Aunt Barb are or were all good bowlers.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Andrew wasn't quite sure what to make of the morning. There was a senior league their while we were and the kids all got an overdose of attention. It was hard, but I managed to keep him from chasing the ball down the oiled lanes.