The Shiner - 21 Months (20 Nov 2008)

The Flight of Time - Various (22 Feb 2007, 2008, 2009)

A Child's Laughter

One of a kind this cheerful sound
A child's laughter wherever it's found
From the giggling of a baby in a playpen
To the laughter of a toddler again and again

A child's laughter can bring a smile
To one who hasn't done so in such a long while
I know because that one was me
Until my daughter's laugh set mine free

A child's laughter so gleeful and pure
An innocence adults miss for sure
Laughter that can bring back the past
And memories of a youth that flew by so fast

A child's laughter can bring out the best
Of most any man when he's depressed
Cause his spirit that's fall to soar
Until at last he laughs once more

Harry J. Couchon Jr

Ainsleigh celebrated her second birthday (officially) today. It's kind of a bittersweet moment for a mother. It's so much fun to watch her grow and learn new things, but so sad when I look at her and see she's really not a baby anymore. She had a very full weekend with a party and then a special lunch at Macaroni Grill today where they sang "Happy Birthday" to her in Italian, complete with candles on the ice cream. I think the sugar high might possibly last for at least a week.

Her outfits the past two years have been done by Cammie of My Little Fairytales. Her work is amazing and her outfits are always so unique and colorful. Always fit for a Princess, even though the Princess usually has her crown off five minutes after the first kid arrives.

Watching My Funny Valentine Grow (11 M, 23 M) - Feb. 2008/2009

Baby Breakfast - 23 Months (12 Feb 2009)

A picture of Ainsleigh's favorite breakfast, doesn't it look pretty yummy?

Speaking of pretty, she wasn't too happy about posing for pictures today, but I took them anyway. Paired up Portabello Pixie with Matilda Jane and Loves Me Not for a pre-VDay lunch with her grammy.

It's All About the MOO... - 23 Months (9 February 2009)

N!

I see the moon
and the moon sees me
The moon sees the somebody I'd like to see.
God bless the moon
and God bless me
God bless the somebody I'd like to see!

Ainsleigh has fallen in love with Mr. Moon. She found him one night peaking through the skylight in our room and ever since has been fascinated. Red looks up for him every chance she gets and when she finds him, she waves hello. My story to her was about the man in the moon and how he watches over her while sleeps--she is still trying to understand that he is rarely a daytime visitor. What's the moon have to do with the picture? Nothing except for I caught her sleeping with her hat pulled over her eyes, I can only guess she was tired from all the moon watching. When I went to snap the picture what should appear...well you see it above. And it's been awhile since we have seen Red's other favorite Moo--the simply wonderful cow hat.

Wee Pears - 23 Months (27 January 2009)

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Ainsleigh loves bananas. She obviously gets the love from her father because I don't like anything about them. I'm kind of the same way about pears, however, I like the smell of pear and don't really mind the taste, I just don't care for the texture of the fruit itself. When we go to the grocery store, Red always says, 'nanna' cause she wants to cruise the fruit--it's all 'nannas' or 'apples' in her world at the moment. Recently, we found these adorable little Red Anjou Pears. I say adorable, cause for one I'm a certified packaging junkie (if it's shiny I will buy it type of thing) and hands down this has to be the cutest piece of fruit I've ever seen. I picked some up and the next day gave one to Red as an afternoon snack. She took a bite and said "yummmmmm". It's the perfect thing for a toddler cause it's just the right size to hold in their hands and pears are soft enough that they can actually get through the skin pretty easily. So here are some pics of Ainsleigh in her Lime Green Velmas from Matilda Jane which matched the green of the fruit almost perfectly watching TV and enjoying her wee fruit.

Jeepers Creepers - 6 Months (10 Sept 2007)

Well, I hope it's understandable why it was hard to pick just one of these photos for posting. Every time I come across these photos in iPhoto, I literally laugh out loud. If you are wondering about the outfit, it was a summer favorite, Gymboree top that had a hat to match and Ralph Lauren skooter. For cloth diaper lovers, those are Mutts.

Missing the Quiet Moments - 7 Months (2 Aug 2007)

Little Babushka - 22 Months (16 Jan 2009)

We have really only had one day with snow so far this winter that was what I would call "playable" meaning temperatures and all other weather conditions didn't leave you frozen as a Popcsicle. This hat is from The Gap and it says size 2-3 years. Um, well, it fits on my head. Anyway, Little Red wore this one day when we took her Grammy to a doctor's appointment and Grammy fell in love with the hat and said we MUST have a picture of her in this hat--voila'. With the way this hat is sized, I'm guessing we might be able to get a picture of her in it on a snow day when she's 40 as well! If you are one of my Facebook friends, you have seen more pics from this day, but it's late and I just wanted to get back into posting cause it's been awhile. Maybe if everyone is lucky, you will get to see more "snow" at a later date.

Holiday Hands - 20 Months (20 Nov 2008)

Tagged, We Were It - 17 Months (31 Jul 2008)

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle..Eat Grocery Sacks!, originally uploaded by WickedOne.

We were tagged by my friend, Dani, to do a Flickr Meme on page 6 of my Flickr account. Of course since all the pictures taken these days are of Little Red, guess what was on page six?

One day after doing the one kind of shopping that I actually hate, A decided to have some fun. When you are a child, there is nothing better to play with than empty boxes, crinkly snack bags, empty beer bottles (just kidding we use those as snazzy candle holders for holiday centerpieces--dontcha wanna come to my house for turkey?), and grocery sacks. Silly me, I wasted time actually buying food when all I had to do was grab some bags and serve em up!!

I know I said no politics on the baby's photoblog, but if you haven't already, grab yourself some reusable bags. I've gotten tons of them for free and just picked up some more freebies last week. Now if I can just remember to put them back in the car, we will be all set to save the planet.

Last order of business before I head to bed, tagging. I hereby tag Kristine, Brent, Sonya, Jane, and another Christine (payback for feeding the fabric addiction--hehe). Oh, if you don't have a page six in Flickr, any favorite photo will do.

Dirty Basement Door - 18 Months (23 Aug 2008)

Fingerprints
~Author Unknown~

Sometimes you get discouraged because I am so small
And leave my little fingerprints on furniture and walls.

But everyday I'm growing and soon will be so tall
That all these little fingerprints will be difficult to recall.

So here's a little handprint that you can put away
So you will know how my fingers looked on this special day.

I actually just came across this handprint recently when I was putting something away in the basement. It was from a day that Ainsleigh made her first attempt at fingerpainting. It's just one of those things you have to capture on film before it's erased by time and a paint job.

Tying One On at the Art Fair - 18 Months (21 Sept 2008)

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A yearly rite of passage here in Kansas City is the Plaza Art Fair. For all the things about Misery that I dislike, the Plaza is one thing that I love. It's a beautiful outdoor space that not only offers great shopping, but beautiful architecture, fountains, good food, and fantastic people and canine watching. The star of the art fair this year, besides Ainsleigh Jayne, of course, was this fabulous dress by Bethany Peterson. What lady wouldn't love to twirl in something so lovingly made, soulful, unique, and just downright pretty. For little A the day was made complete with her very first balloon animal bracelet, a purple elephant.

Hands at Rest - 2 Months (21 Apr 2007)

What a Difference a Year Makes - 8 Months (11 Nov 2007)

Making Dirt Look Good - 15 Months (3 June 2008)

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It was summer, it was hot and I'm not sure my child has been this dirty and sweaty since. She loves helping Grandma in the garden.

Rolling w/ a Holstein - 20 Months (3 Nov 2008)

The cow hat by Matilda Jane has quickly become a favorite. Surprisingly, it goes with lots of things which is good because it's almost become a toss up between it and the wacky hat (see Oct 27th Post). The peasant in these pictures are from A's first birthday outfit that was a stunning little number done by the very talented, Cammie at My Little Fairy Tales. The pictures can't show the little details in this top that make it so awesome.

They Call it Puppy Love - 10 Months (30 Dec 2007)

Baby Got Back - Various Ages

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I think the pictures speak for themselves. The little boy in the first thumb is A's 3 year-old cousin, Hoyt, who is currently in treatment for leukemia.

Little Pumpkin - 20 Months (30 October 2008)

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I know, the pumpkin patch pics should have come BEFORE the Halloween and voting pics, but there were so many. We took Grammy to the patch with us and it was a perfect Fall day. Little A really enjoyed the hayride complete with some really wacky music. She also really enjoyed riding the peddle carts with her daddy.