Visiting the Brownells

As part of our little family vacation we made a stop in Dakota Dunes, SD to visit our good friends and former neighbors Travis and Nicole, their daughters Olivia (Ainsley's age) and Anna (just 6 weeks old) and of course their dog Daisy (Dizzle) too. We had a great time catching up with them, admiring their beautiful new home and new daughter and watching our girls play. We all decided that newborns are actually less exhausting than toddlers! We grilled out and even had a fireworks show in the back yard over looking the pond. Good work boys! Ainsley and Olivia stayed up until about 10 that night and were tuckered out afterwards! Another triumph for Ainsley....she overcame her fear of puppies. She has always loved to see pictures or point out a puppy from afar but usually when she gets up close she clings on and whooses out. After about 5 minutes of adjustment with Daisy, Ainsley was all about the puppy and spend a lot of time making sure she knew just where Daisy was! Daisy, of course, is not nearly as interested in the toddlers as they are in her!

A very peaceful Anna Claire. She was such a good baby and I forgot how much newborns sleep!

Travis modeling his new Snuggie---the joke part of the housewarming gift :) We think he looks more like a monk than anything else! Perhaps a career change if the medicine thing doesn't work out?

Notice how nicely Olivia sits and poses for the picture.....oh well.

Awwww. Caught this one just at the right time! They had a great time playing together.

Ainsley taking Olivia on her "loop" through the kitchen and around the hall. She loved having a new place to explore!

Fireworks off the back porch.

The kiddy version of the fireworks before the boys busted out the good stuff! I think Ainsley and Olivia would have been happy with just the confetti and silly string but they liked the others too.

Cashed out in the car before we even got out of the Dunes!!!

Summer Fun is Just Starting!

Here are some more recent pictures of Ainsley. It was finally nice enough out this past weekend to put her in her swim suit and get the little pool out! For some strange reason it took quite a while for her to work up the courage to stand in the pool and about equally as long to sit in it, but after a while she decided it was alright. We are trying to get her prepared for her parent-tot swim class coming up in July!
Ainsley is changing every day. Lately she has been starting to say more and more words. Of course "Mimi" (Mickey), and puppy are still favorites, but now she has added snacks, outside (we hear this a lot!), spoon, Mimi show (when she wants to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), bubbles, please, pretzel, Boppa (grandpa), bean, beads (necklace), apple (she thinks every fruit is apple still), icey (ice cream), cat, Ella, Staci (from day care) and probably a few others that I just can't think of right now. She loves to give kisses and she cracks herself up trying to blow raspberries on our stomach.
We are planning a little trip to the Omaha zoo in a couple of weeks and can't wait to see her reaction. She loves animals and knows many animal sounds so it should be fun.

Daddy's shoes are just a little big, but she had fun wearing them!

We got this accent chair for our living room and it didn't have legs on it yet when we unpacked it. Ainsley thought it was just for her since it was just her height.

Ainsley was "helping" us get some things out of the basement for the church garage sale and she decided to lounge in her Boppy chair. Hard to believe that she used to sleep in that as a newborn!

Finally coaxed in to the pool!

Cheese!

Hi Mom.

Finally sitting in the pool. After that she pretty much realized what we were telling her---like the bath tub only in the grass!!!

An all time favorite---bubbles!!

Trip to Amana Colonies

The three of us decided to take a little trip to the Amana Colonies the first weekend in May for their May Fest. We had a great time. There was a parade (think Dutch Days only German instead) and Ainsley loved the horses, the marching bands and of course the candy that got thrown. We enjoyed some shopping there and Ainsley got to pet some baby chicks and bunnies. The weather was perfect and we couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable Saturday.

Ainsley was quite amused by the baby chicks.

What are you doing Dad?

Chillin' on the park bench.

Strolling with Daddy.

We grabbed a quick lunch---of course you have to have a brat when you are in Amana.

Mmmmmm.....sucker.

Parade watching with Daddy and Mommy.

Nick got me some flowers for Mother's Day and Ainsley had fun playing with one of the daisies.

Say Cheese!