This Mom's evening...

These girls crack me up...

While feeding Teagan before our dinner tonight the 2 big girls were playing school. Emersyn was the teacher, exept that everything the "teacher" did or said was dictated to her by Ashtyn. "Hold the book like this" "When you are done with the book say this" "No, After you read the book!" "read!" "Now say this" It was so funny and Emersyn did just what Ashtyn told her the teacher should do.

Then a quick diaper change before dinner, egg noddles are almost done. Wait, why is every item of clothing soaked? OF COURSE the diaper would leak through up to her arms right as dinner is ready! Well, quick bath is in order, one less to bathe tomorrow, only slightly over cooked noddles.

Dinner: 2 completely separate and simultaneous conversations with Ash and Em...while holding Teagan... while eating. Everyone loves stronough, seconds for all... and oh, yes, this is why I NEVER broil... things BURN... half the garlic bread saved at the last second. Great conversation though, Ashtyn pointing out that her legs are longer than Emersyn's which is why she has faster super speed, to which Emersyn's answer is "Ashtyn, you're a gooey geiser."

Any finally, after only a small amount of poop in the panties while playing downstairs, it is time for jammies, teeth, books and bed. Dr. Seuss sure writes some toung twisting and long stories.

Now, should anyone wonder why the laundry is not folded please refer to above and note, this is only from 5:30 PM on... we've been up since 7:30 AM!

Smiles and good night.

Little Princesses

Scroll Down, more new pictures and post below!

A day in the park...

We were at a great local park, with two other moms friends of mine and their kids. There were also 2 other moms and their kids there. (one of the last hot days of fall) Moms were mingling and when we looked up, not just a few of the kids but all of them had organized a game of ring around the rosy and then duck duck goose. There were leaders, of course, and older kids helping the little ones, and some little ones making up there own rules to the game, but still-- it was 10 kids, several who didn't know each other until that day, having fun, and although they wouldn't know it, enjoying a sense of community. What better a reason to go to the park?

Sing Baby Sing

Hello Candy Face! Little Princess loves her candy.

At a Biggby today, Emersyn was very loudly singing, "Baby Girl, What's your name?" (not the best song choice to teach your kids by the way-- however she does know many others, that just happens to be a favorite!) I said, There are people here working, you have to be quite. To which she said, But I Need To sing!

Teagan at a Halloween camp a few weeks ago. She camped like a pro, three weekends in a row.

The two big sisters at the Toledo Zoo while camping in Petersburg, MI. Also professional campers by this age.

Teagan's Quote for the Day

"Keep your friends close, and your milk supply even closer!"

- Teagan Gabrielle Ansel (1 month old)

Backyard Camping

I woke up WAY too early today. And for once it was not because someone was bouncing her "special bunny" on my head.

I'm taking the girls backyard camping this evening. Ashtyn has made a list of everything that we are going to need to bring outside with up to make our adventure a success. Emersyn is mostly concerned with what snacks we will need. All three of us are excited though and we are expecting a lot of fun. I'll recap all the excitement tomorrow!

Cell Phone Camera

Now that I have figured out how to use my cell phone camera, almost every moment that I'm with these girls seems like a photo opportunity. I can't stop snapping cute shots of my little sweet peas. Thank goodness for this venue to easily share my joy with family and friends.

It seems that lately we've posted more pictures than entries. Pictures seem to capture the heart of things better though, if you ask me!

Baby in Church

I'm sitting in Church today and on the big screen where they put up the words to the music, I see the number 1610 flashing over and over again. Sarah then jabs me in the side and gives me this look that I know means..."That is Emersyn's number, and she must be crying in her class, any it is your turn to go get her." (All that in one look)

I went and got Mer, and she quickly let me know that we forget her special bunny in the car. Well, by all means, we need to go get it then, don't we?

Yah! Emer said.

So we got bunny and went into "Big Church" to catch the rest of the service. Emersyn sat on our laps (Sarah, Dad, and I) and just soaked in the fact that she had scammed her way out of her class. It was the cutest thing to be able to read her looks and know that she felt like she had pulled a fast one on us.

Dress Up Fun

There is a new Sheriff or two in town. Law breakers beware.

Swim Class Success!

As promised, here is one of the pictures from Ashtyn's first swim class session! It was a two week class, Monday-Thursday. It started at 11 am, so that gave us just enough time in the mornings to still relax, eat breakfast, get dressed and ready and go. (we don't do early mornings here.) She loved it, did wonderful from day one and today received her progress report moving her onto the next level-- Level 2-A. We aren't going to sign up for the next 2 weeks but will definitely try and sign her up for at least one more session this summer.

Matching Outfits

They were so absolutely beautiful on Saturday in their matching little outfits.

There probably wasn't a person at either graduation party who didn't comment on their cuteness!

?????

I thought the girls went to bed tonight like angels....well I guess in their own way they did, because I never heard a peep out of them from the time I left their room at 7:45 pm. (yes, that is early, yes the sun is still shinning, I don't care: Emersyn was up wanting to "watcha movie" at 5:30 am! And they don't complain.) So I check on them before turning in myself and not only does Emersyn have the one book she went to bed with but now she has two more!

They both know if they get out of bed and are silly and wild, there will be trouble. But someone must have gotten out of bed to get 2 more books and someone else must have decided it is better not to tell mom that her sister is out of her bed! Which is which, I can only speculate and weigh whether it is worth it to ask Ashtyn in the morning, How did Emersyn get these 2 extra books in her bed? As much as I am curious and really just think its funny and would love to know, this is little secret I will let the sisters have between themselves.

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day!! These girls love their Daddy, and so does their mom!!

Today's Kid Quote

Ashtyn was balancing on a pair of my taller sandels. When she was done, she turned to me and said, "Isn't it great how God made our bodies to move?"

Yes, I said, really great.

Pictures of swim class coming soon...

Sleepy Girl

They call her sleepy Mer sometimes too!

Feed Me, Feed Me!

Brock Ansel's advice on how to teach your niece about Capitalism:

Get her a piggy bank that loudly says, "Feed Me, Feed Me!" in a high pitched tone every time you touch it's tail UNTIL you put money into it's coin slot.

Beautiful, unless you live in the same house with this future little CEO.

Imagine getting chased around the house by this little cutie. You will quickly go broke. I actually had to take my change collection to the bank yesterday so that she and her little friend don't gobble it all up!

True story.

How did she know??

Brandon was getting ready to head out of town for a few days. Before leaving, he asked me, is there anything else he can do for me before he leaves. No, not really I say. Ashtyn says, "You could help her clean up the kitchen!" Which by the way, was a huge dirty mess. Of course, Brandon took my wonderful 4 year olds suggestion and washed a big load of dishes by hand. She is a bit introspective, wouldn't you say? Another example, from the same day...

She tells Daddy, "Mommy is better at sleeping than you." So true. And I am going to take it as a complement.

Where's Mommy Going?

Sarah left for out of town around 11:00 AM yesterday. Ashtyn and I waved to mommy from the front porch. Emersyn though was very upset about this new turn of events. She is quite used to waving goodbye to daddy for a couple of days, but mommy has never left in this way before. She cried big wet tears. I just snuggled her.

About 2 hours later we were playing around upstairs when Emersyn runs out of Sarah's scrapbooking room with a picture yelling, "Mommy, Mommy Picture." She had found an older picture of Sarah from when she was director of a child care center. It was one of those school pictures that they take of the teacher too. Emersyn was so excited. That picture went everywhere with her yesterday. When she went to bed last night the picture was carefully placed by Emersyn on her pillow right next to her head. It was about the sweetest thing I had ever seen.

She hasn't asked about the pic today. When I got her out of bed it was no longer on her pillow. For my own purposes I looked under the crib for it, but was unsuccessful. I'm sure if she remembers it later though, we will be turning over their room to find it.

They call her Super Mer!

Favorite Quotes from my two year old:

"I'm not a little Bug-A-Boo."

Ask Emersyn: Emer, What do they call you?
She responds: "Super Mer"

"Dada, I went poo poo in the potty."

"I want some pizza too." With a pout on her face as she realizes that I snicked a piece in the car and she has to wait until we get home.

"I love you too, dada"

Favorite moment of the week so far

#1 Emersyn woke up at 6:30 am Tuesday- too early, I heard her in there yelling "Special Bunny!" She couldn't find it in her bed. I went in and handed her Special Bunny, "Hi Mommy!" she says. Afraid she wouldn't go back to sleep and wake up Ashtyn, I brought her in bed with me, where she promptly fell right asleep. Fast forward 45 minutes. Ashtyn comes in. Too early for me. She climbs in we all rest/sleep/doze until 8. It was sweet, having Emersyn snuggling up on one side of me and Ashtyn on the other. Just trying to soak up those moments.

#2 On my final night check, I come in and find Ashtyn sleeping with The Cat in the Hat open across her chest. She had napped yesterday and couldn't fall asleep so I gave her 4 books to look at until she was sleepy. She made it through 2. Tried to get a picture of her sleeping like that, but couldn't get it very well with the low light. Will have to just be one of those pictures in my head.

Birthday Cheer

My baby turned 2 today. Everyone says this, BUT IT IS SO TRUE...Life goes by fast, months are like days sometimes. The only thing I can do to try to slow it down is to try really hard to me in the moment. At Emersyn's birthday party yesterday I tried hard to soak up the details and really enjoy the little things. These are things that struck me:

• Four generations in a room
• Emersyn subconsciously "guarding" her unopened presents
• Ashtyn telling me that "Some very special people are here."
• Colby's wet nose on the screen door
• "Where Emer's Money Go?"
• Grandma B's smile
• Emersyn's birthday dress
• Emer's cheek dimple...it is truly one of my favorite things in the world to look at!
• Oma's infectious energy
• Sarah's peaceful confidence (and growing belly)
• The joy brought by a "best big sister present"
• Ground venison that everyone thinks is beef
• The way GrandMary interacts with the girls
• The way Ashtyn looks at my Dad
• "Where's Gammy?"
• "Feed da fish!"
• Ashy climbing on Great Grandpa's lap
• Ashy video taping her sister
• Two sisters on Aunt Julie's lap

I could go on forever. It was so nice. Finally after 29 years I am learning the power of a moment.

Driving Skills

Ashtyn has finally learned how to steer her Dora Jeep power wheel. It is so cool to watch her cruise around our driveway skillfully. As early as last month all she could do was drive in a circle or get stuck in the grass.

She realizes something has changed. She knows that she has developed a new skill. When she jerks the wheel and the Jeep goes in the direction she was hoping, her face registers a look somewhere between shock and pride.

Giant Beach Ball Suit?

Emersyn is climbing up the slide in our backyard as of today. This is really cool, but very scary too. This is an old school slide with wood steps that can easily be fallen through. There's no problem when I'm close and can catch her, but I freaked when I was 50 yards away and noticed she was four rungs up the ladder. Me sprinting towards her and yelling is probably what made her lose her balance. (Hindsight is always 20/20). But I got there in time to stop a complete fall. "Emer...no climbing when Daddy isn't around!" I can tell by the twinkle in her eyes that she comprehends what I'm saying, yet has no intention of listening. Any chance she gets from now on, probably for the next 5 years, weather or not anyone is around, she is going to be climbing up this slide.

As parents you really do want to protect them from any type of pain or scary stuff. But we can't put them in a giant beach ball suit now can we? I'll just keep praying; I guess.

Underground Play Palace

We FINALLY got the carpet laid in our basement while I was out of town this week. After 8 months of working on that project it is so good to be playing with the girls down there. We basically have 1500 sq. feet of soft carpet to run around on. They have dubbed it their own castle...complete with Dora inflatable fortress. It is a blast, but the girls are running me ragged down there. We had the girls best little friends over today. They ran, laughed, and played until their daddies were basically in a coma. By 7:00 PM I was laying on the ground reading TIME magazine while Emersyn and the rest of the girls looked at books. I looked at each little face, and their all read tired. My girls and their friends will never lack for physical activity (and all the benefits it brings) as long as we don't furnish our new basement.

Beware of Stairs

Little Emersyn fell half way down our stairs yesterday. She is perfectly fine, but it scared the crap out of me. My wife was calm and took control of the situation from what I hear. Had I been around I would have freaked. It is stomach turning to think of one of my girls getting hurt, but I guess it's just a part of growing up. I guess my job is just to protect them as best I can and choose to not live in worry and fear about things that are just going to happen. That being said I'm headed to Target today to investigate baby gates!

Grandparents Rule

Grandparents have got to be one of God's truly greatest ideas in the mind of little girls. After being gone for 3 days, I get home to a bombardment of stories about all the awesome stuff the girls did with Grammy, PaPa, Grandma, and Pops. Not to mention Great Grandpa, GG, Great Grandma, and GrandMary. I'm surprised I can ever get these girls to leave Monroe to head to our home.

Super Powers

Ashtyn is almost 4 now and is very in touch with her intuition and her spirit. An example of this is that she is often reading peoples faces and commenting on how they must be feeling inside...happy, sad, angry, worried, playful, etc. She does this a lot with her family, but also at the mall with perfect strangers. It can almost be embarrassing if she comments too loud.

That being said I've been trying to channel that energy into helping her control her emotions in a positive way. I'm sure it's common for 4 year old kids to throw fits over little things. Whats probably uncommon is parents talking their kids through their emotions and the kid "getting it".

Last week when she threw a fit over not wanting to go to bed, I calmed her enough to ask, "What does it feel like inside your heart when you get mad and cry like this?" With a bit more prompting she said, "Bad inside". I then let her know that no one in the world can make her happy of sad, that God gave her alone that control. "What that means Ashtyn, is that right now, you can choose to be happy." She then said, "I can't do that, it's too hard"! I knew she was getting it...amazing!

Anyways, over the next five minutes I watched her "choose" to be happy with her circumstances...having to listen to mommy and daddy...and go to bed. When I left her room, she had the most peaceful smile on her face. It was a new look that I had not noticed before. It was the look of a little girl who just realized she had an important super power that she could now use for her benefit. (OK, I'm probably reading into it a bit).

The wonder of it all

Easter has got to be one of the most wonderful times of the year. Especially when you have little daughters.

My oldest is starting to understand the significance of the holiday aside from candy and bunnies...both of which she is still very excited over.

The little one is at that age where she is completely filled with wonder with every new experience that comes her way. The look in her eyes when you set a beautiful basket in front of her that is filled with candy and toys...pure joy!

The Old Tree

My daughters are in love with this imaginary character that I've created named The Old Tree.
I don't remember when, where, or how I started telling them these stories in a funny old voice as the old tree. The fact is that now they pretty much prefer spending time with him more than they do with me. It is the funniest thing. They will ask me questions, and if I don't use the right voice, they are all over it. "I was talking to the old tree, daddy". I hear that often.

My wife was out last night and when she got home she asked, "Did you play with the girls...or did the old tree?" I laughed because she was right, daddy was only in the mix about 50% of the time.

To make things even more fun, I have about 10 other "characters" that I do, and they all have different voices. It is hard to keep up, but the girls absolutely love it.

Pow Pow Power Wheels

It's cool to get to live through your kids, right? When Ashtyn was just over 24 months I decided she needed the Power Wheels that I never had. It was one of the best days ever. You should have seen the smile on MY face. My little girl was just not as excited though. I basically had to convince her at Toys R Us that she NEEDED wheels. She did like to sit in her new toy, but the driving part she was just not ready for. I was disappointed all summer because all she could do was go in a circle.

My investment finally paid off this weekend. Nice weather and she was cruising the avenue with her little sis. She can actually navigate rights and lefts. I am so proud.

Dodgeball

My youngest just threw a ball at me and hit me in the head...and I couldn't be happier!

Me and the girls got up early today. We had limited time before church. Our mission started at Walmart. We bought every plush softball size ball that we could find in the toy section. As we looked around I explained to the girls the finer points of dodgeball.

Ashtyn was skeptical at first..."This isn't a game." Skepticism was quickly replaced with squeals of joy as her, mom, Emersyn, and me ran around the house lobing potshots at each other. Good times. We need more ammo though. Emersyn's B-day is soon. May I suggest Nerf products!

Baby Names...

Check out the poll and cast your vote! Not that it will matter in the end, but it will still be fun! Also, leave a comment here for your suggestions for Middle Names!!! Ashtyn GREER and Emersyn MARIE, and since we are only two parents, we are out of our own middle names to use! :)

Type A Personality

My kids can stress me out. Shocking, you know? Playing with them is awesome, but they just want it to go on forever. And my kids don't just want to plan Lego's, they have me putting on full scale theatrical productions. Exhausting!

I caught a break today though. I found out that my oldest daughter loves a new game called, "Help Daddy Clean The Garage." We had fun, and got alot done. It's obvious we both have Type A personalities. We were having some of our greatest fun ever...being productive. It was a beautiful thing.

Race Car Drivers

I tip my hat to the person who invented the grocery store carts that look like kids race cars. What an awesome idea!

I took my girls to the local grocery yesterday to get some things for my wife. I was excited to spend this time with them because I had just got home after 3 days out of town.

This little errand got unexpectedly better when the girls noticed a green "race car" cart. They literally flipped out in their excitement to "drive". It has like heaven on earth to see their glow and hear their giggles. I purposely got lost in the store a couple of times just to savor the moment with them a bit longer.

This is exactly why I avoid bringing the girls gifts when I am away. This run to the store proves that the best gift I could have given them was taking them to the store with me instead of simply picking some things up on my way home. In the long run these girls will hopefully value the time and experiences over the ninja turtles.

Little Kisses

It's getting really hard to talk my almost 2 year old into giving me a kiss.

First reaction is usually a straight-up "NO"

If I'm lucky and she's feeling like a love bug, she will ever so slightly offer me her cheek and allow me to kiss her.

The big score is becoming rare, and I can only get a real kiss with cute little lips by following this plan: If and when she offers the cheek, I tickle her belly and say, "No, with lips...with lips" and sometimes the tickling makes her let put her guard down just long enough that she forgets her defenses and kisses her daddy.

It is always worth the dance!

Story Time

My daughters are in love with stories. Are all kids like that?

I can sit them in a rocking chair and make up exciting adventures about bears, trees, and bumble bees and engage them almost indefinitely. They never tire of the stories, I get tired of making them up, and that is how they always end. I'm thinking about doing a marathon and just tell a story for as long as they will listen. I bet they will go for well over an hour. Maybe more. I will let you know.

Silly Parents

I've recently fallen in love with Blogging. No one cares except the people that love me, but that is OK! I've been writing about personal stuff and business stuff up to now.

This Saturday I was playing with my girls while my wife was at a retreat. My 22 month old got very excited and fell head first from a over sized chair in our living room. There was a horrible thud and I was frozen in panic. This was the first time I can remember the feeling of air being sucked out of my lungs. I freaked out and held her tight and called my wife to let her know I was taking her to the ER.

Then a funny thing awoke me from my stupor. The little one laughed. My wife was still on the phone and heard it, I think. I looked down and my 3 1/2 year old is holding Emer's little foot. It must have tickled her quite a bit. She immediately stopped her sobbing. My over attention and panic was probably augmenting her tears.

Anyways, I hung up with my wife after assuring all was well now. My oldest daughter looked up at me and said, "Silly Daddy, Emer is OK, she just fell on her head." We prayed and thanked God for safety, fun, family, and love. And now I get to have fun reflecting on all the silly and crazy stuff about being a parent.