Passports and Paradise Island

Ok...so, Brandon and I decided to go on vacation with my sister and her family the first week in March. We are taking the girls and ALL their gear...I can't believe that we really signed on for this! Ainsley will have her own seat in the airplane and we (I) get to hold Amelia the whole flight! Amelia's new trick is to whine at the top of her lungs until she gets what she wants. It works, but is extremely annoying. I hope that for the sake of the other passengers we're at the very front or back of the plane. She has a temper that rivals no other! So, March 1st we will head off to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas and pray that we make it in one piece! Since we're going to the Bahamas, we had to get the girls a passport. It was an interesting experience taking the pictures...Ainsley's "photo session" lasted about 10 minutes. She acted shy and wouldn't look at the camera. After much pleading from me, I finally bribed her with candy. She took a picture that looks like she's an inmate at Lew Sterrett downtown! Amelia looks cute...but at her age she's easier to manipulate! So off we'll go on our first "official" family vacation--an experience that I'm sure will be very similar to the Griswald's trek to Wallyworld!

Bugs & 1st Birthdays

Happy Birthday Baby Amelia!!!!!! Last year, 1 minute after 2:00pm, you blessed the world with your beautiful presence! What total bliss you have brought to our family! You are so totally different that our Ainsley and yet you complement each other perfectly. I often wonder, based on your personality, if you weren't meant to be a first child! We have all reveled in watching you grow from a tiny baby to the "chunk-a-monk" that you are today! Your chunky cheeks make everyone want to bite you and so many people stop me to comment on your beauty! We are just madly in love with you ;-) And, most recently, your "zombie" walk makes us laugh hysterically! We'll never forget the 1st birthday party that almost was...but cancelled due to your first bout with a stomach bug! Not only did you get sick, your parents, sister, grandparents, great-grandmother, aunt and uncle and cousins did as well! A little party favor that they will not soon forget! So on this cold and icy day, we'll stay in and snuggle with you and your "bugs" and thank God that He chose us to love and nurture you, all the while bringing us the most wonderful gift of all--you!

GNO and 610

Tonight we had a GNO--yea!!! We had so much fun! I think the highlight of my night was our visit to Loft 610--I guess you had to be there ;-) Priceless--all I can say is that I'm glad that I'm married. The singles scene is scary at our age! Oh yea, and remind me when I'm 50+ not to wear workout gear to a bar while sloshing around a glass of cheap chardonnay! How desperate!

OBAMA Who???

OK...so I'm a little late in posting this because there has been so much happen since 1/20/09 but I just have to say that I am so sick of hearing about our new president Obama. (I'm not even sure how to spell his first name which is surprising because you can't turn on the TV without hearing his "clonies", the media, praise his every breath). Is this the second coming of Christ??? What an arrogant, self-righteous loser! He should have taken those hundreds of millions of dollars that his groupies spent on his inaguration and given it to the people who got him elected...those "poor, jobless folk" who he is planning on "spreading the wealth" with!

...And The Crowd Goes Wild!!!!!

Tonight Amelia, with dogged determination, mastered walking (for all intents and purposes). She's able to get up off the floor and walk about 20-25 steps before she sits down. Amy and I watched her first learn to stand up, which she practiced for almost an hour, and then get more and more comfortable on her feet. She rocks my world!!! She loves to be cheered on as she walks by and then wants hugs when she falls on her bottom. Watching her triggered such a "Mommie moment" within me...what an exciting feeling to watch your children take their first steps! It's such a monumental milestone...the beginning of true freedom and independence and the leaving-behind of "babyhood". I'm so proud of her...and she's extremely proud of herself! As we near her first birthday, I'm selfishly trying to hold onto everything "baby" about Amelia-- but she is such a quick learner and is so interested in everything Ainsley does that not a day goes by that she doesn't learn something new and "big-girlish". So as I pack up yet another bag of baby clothes, I remind myself that in some capacity, she will always need me to pick her up when she falls and that she'll always be my baby ;-)

Cowboys and Four Letter Words

"Me a cowboy...yippee kai-yai-a..." Ainsley's new gig is being a cowboy. She loves the backyardigans and there is an episode where one of the characters pretends to be a cowboy, complete with a rope that he uses to do tricks. He also sings a song that she's adopted as her anthem ("I'm a cowboy" but in her little world she sings "Me a cowboy" ;-). She informed Brandon and I that she needs a rope and a hat in order to be a true cowboy. Then she told me that she would like rope "lessons" so that she can learn to lasso (sp???). Too cute!!! Amelia loves the backyardigans as well and can hum the opening song while swaying to the music...she is going to be our performer! She got her first black eye this week...the dreaded baby's head meets coffee table thud--a mom's worst nightmare! She recovered and now walks around saying "ouch". It is cute at home but when we're out and about and she screams "ouch" it makes people stop and stare! She has added a few new words to her vocab: "Nona & Pops", "Ba-Ba" (bottle), "dog", "no-no", "my turn", and "down". Brandon and I get such a kick out of watching these two...there is never a dull moment!

You Can Count on Abacus

To celebrate Brandon's birthday, Brandon (my brother-in-law) and Amy met us at Abacus. This was the first time for all of us to eat at Abacus--let me just tell those of you who haven't eaten there that I would place it in the top 3 best restaurants that I've ever dined. The food is excellent and the service top-notch. We had a great time...it was so nice to be out as "adults" and enjoy a meal. After dinner, we went to a neighborhood bar. Our intention was to stay downtown and go to a club but after dinner we quickly changed our minds...been there, done that. What a great way to top off a very happy birthday!

Birthday Wishes and Goodnight Kisses

Happy Birthday Brandon! Today he is 34 years young. It's hard to believe that together, for better or worse, we've celebrated his birthday 14 times. Wow... now that really puts things into perspective. We've been through college, graduations, wars, weddings, new homes, babies (and more babies), economic downturns and much more in our time together--and somehow I still feel like we're in college! Life is funny like that...chaos holds no prejudice and never grows old. We've moved from stressing about final exams, hangovers (yes, we had fun in college :-), and what to wear to George's bar to diapers, morgages and worrying about where to send the girls to school next year. I guess chaos just hangs around like a stray cat that won't go away! Anyway, here's to Brandon--happy birthday! I love you Dudie!!! May we celebrate many more happy days...and maybe, just maybe, when we're old and gray, we'll be sitting by the pool somewhere tropical, and we'll realize that the chaos has subsided, and truly miss it!

First Steps and Flashcards

In keeping with my New Year's Resolutions, today Ainsley and I have been working on flashcards. I am so proud of her...she recognized all of her numbers and letters! She can also spell her name and is reading very basic sentences. Ok...I'm a proud Mom...and I owe a lot of credit to her teachers at "Deep and Wide" ;-) Brandon has also so kindly reminded me that in my previous posts, I forgot to mention that Amelia took her first steps on January 4th!!!!!!!!!!! I watched with mixed emotion...clapping and tears. I can't believe that my baby is almost 1...what a fast and furious year 2008 was. I'm also coping with the fact that I have to pull everything off my tables and cabinets so that my chunky monkey doesn't completely destroy our house! I wonder how Ainsley is going to deal with her new 2ft shadow???

Deep and Wide

Today was a monumental realization in the Kershaw household that the holiday season has truly passed. Ainsley's beloved "Deep and Wide", a moniker carefully chosen by her to identify her school, started again after a long, 2 week break. Ainsley was very excited this morning about getting to go to Deep and Wide and requested that we sing all the songs she's learned in school on the car ride over. The only problem is that her favorite songs are Christmas songs so I could be in for "Away in the Manger" and "We wish you a Merry Christmas" for a long while...ugghhhh!!! When we pulled into the parking lot, she immediately saw that a crew was taking down the huge Christmas tree (literally the tallest Christmas tree I've ever seen). Instantaneously, I thought OMG......how am I going to avoid a massive, hysterical breakdown??? Luckily, I was able to divert her attention by talking about how the Easter bunny was coming soon and that he would bring her candy. This was not before she scolded the men who were taking apart the tree. I can only hope that the Christmas tree is taken down, boxed, and in the truck when I pick her up from school. I'm skeptical as to whether the Easter bunny story will suffice on the walk back to the car...after all, in her mind, Christmas trumps Easter any day of the week!

Blog Virgin

Well, what can I say...Since I don't scrapbook, keep baby books, or have picture albums (of our daughters or our wedding...which is a different story entirely), I thought that I'd take a stab at blogging. I have to admit, I'm scared...intimidated mostly. So I'll just start by saying that our sweet family includes myself, my husband Brandon, and our two beautiful daughters Ainsley & Amelia. We do have a "satellite" dog named Gracie who now is lucky enough to live at Nona & Pops' house, which is somewhat like a doggie hotel. For those who are wondering, I arrived at the name "Sunshine Girls" because everynight during bath time, I sing the song "you are my sunshine" to Ainsley & Amelia. I love that song...it embodies the love, light, warmth and utter delight that they bring to me. It was not until recently that I learned that the song is really very sad but I'll pretend that the only verse is the one that we all know :-) Our life in Frisco, TX is filled with adventure and there is never a dull moment. And with all this being said, I'll leave the rest to what is intended to be a peek into the life of the Kershaw family--unedited, and laced with the utter chaos that comes with a 3 year old, a 1 year old, and tw0 college sweethearts who are crazy in love (emphasis on the word crazy) and on this journey together, forever.
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn't thank my friends, actually my best friends, in the Wacky Wednesday playgroup. You all truly inspire me. Thank you for showing me that the best way to get from point A to point B is not always a straight line and for daily reminding me what true friendship really is. I love each and every one of you!!!