Firsts!

First Pigtails. Ashley's always had great hair and now it is long enough for pig tails, which are just way too cute and make her look so grown up!

Ashley shows her 'grumpy face' or 'duck face' on command

First big boy underpants! Andrew has tons of awesome big boy underpants but, guess who likes to wear them?! Miss Ashley always makes us put them on her if she finds them. Andrew on the other hand is not so impressed. One night I put them on her then put her to bed still in them. Before I went to bed I went in her room to adjust her blankets and had completely forgotten about her accessory. I busted up laughing seeing her cute little Buzz Lightyear bum.

First time in my 30's! Yep, I'm the big 3-0!!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Dave and his mom made me this darling Elephant cake for my Birthday, mainly because the kids would love it. Don't mind it's short stubby legs; they grew shorter and shorter through the day while Dave was at work and left me alone with cake!

Rather than do a whole post about being 30 I'll just say that my birthday was great, great, great. Dave went all out decorating the house, spoiling me with presents and making sure I knew I was the luckiest girl (I guess lady/woman/middle-aged person) in the world. I love him and my children endlessly. One of my best friends told me that I live a charmed life, and she's right, I really do. The highlights of my BDay were (in no order at all)...waking up to happy kids in great moods, a fun dinner out with my own little family, going skiing and to dinner with just Dave and I the next day-so so so fun to be alone together and skiing, seeing my wonderful friend Andrea and her family all in town for her little bro's wedding, getting great presents, sweet, sweet Andrew who loved telling me happy birthday and kept me feeling lucky all day, eating cake with family, seeing and hearing from so many friends and family, and being happy knowing that my family means everything to me.

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Andrew's birthday card to me read (as transcribed by Dave): "I love you so much. Happy Birthday to you. Let's put makeup on Mama. I will build a bunny for you. I love you. You are good at making me happy."  (Good call on the makeup, he sees me without it most, and hey, I'm 30 now, so I need it.)

First time bowling. We've been bowling with Andrew but, not since he's been big enough to really play much. Andrew is always happy and excited to try new things. He loved bowling; look at his excited face! We had a great time.

 

Ashley loved it too. She used the big ramp and once we showed her how she was a pro.

First trip to Kangaroo Zoo. We went with friends and it was super fun. My kids just went from one thing to the next and burned through lots of energy. Big thanks to our planner Hillary for great naps that day.

Ashley had her 18 month checkup (about a month late) and has another first: She finally weighs 20 lbs! So it's her first time out of the teens - hooray! That puts her in the 3rd% for weight and 30th% for height. She is healthy and well, just small, even though she is a great eater. I should do an entire post about Ashley, she is sweet and sassy, cuddly and independent all at once, and an absolute hoot. Her favorite things are animals, books, dancing and copying Andrew. She doesn't like to have a messy diaper, and always finds me, pats her bum, nods yes to be changed and barrel rolls to the floor (a huge change from Andrew). I can't think of anything else she doesn't like. She can tell you the sounds that several animals make: horse, cow, pig, duck, cat, dog, lion, bear, dino, rooster, monkey, snake, fish and Santa too. She is starting to use more and more words and loves to point out and say balloon, ball, baby, banana, bubbles, choo-choo, animal names, and uh-oh. She almost always says a loud HI when entering a room and a nice loud buh-bye when leaving. She blows kisses too. She knows most body parts and can say eyes and ears, and can point to just about any object you ask on a page of a book, even though she can't say the words. She is also starting to say Thank you and Love you. She loves to say Mama each morning in her crib, screams Dada when she hears the garage door, and loves to point out Nana and Papa too, who she loves and runs to. We laugh that she lacks volume control, her only level is loud. Aahh, have I mentioned that I love my baby girl? She is heaven!

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Andrew also had a checkup and a first. He has always been thin and about average height but, thanks to his crazy appetite lately he just shot up in height and for the first time is considered tall, coming in at the 83rd% for height. I was excited to hear it because I've been complaining that our new washer was shrinking Andrew's pants! He is still thin, 21st% but, like our pediatrician always says; that's the body I ordered, tall and thin and eating all you want. He is sweet, funny, smart, goofy, kind, brave, wild, fast, silly, happy, sometimes unpredictable, cuddly, confident though sometimes shy, a good friend, a polite charmer, a negotiator, and so fun to be with each day. He has an incredible memory, loves art and projects, loves sports, loves potty talk, and is so witty I feel like I should follow him around with a tape recorder. I love my little Andrew man more than he'll ever know.