Long Live the Queen!

A lot of things have been going on with The Queen these days. Dad and I noticed a white paper with a drawing of a "NO BIRDS ALLOWED" sign propped up on a tiny stand on Bennett's dresser. The sign was in the company of some tiny wooden nutcrackers. Well, guess what? Apparently The Queen has some enemies to the North...the Nutcrackers of what Bennett refers to as Chestnut Mountain. We are trying to talk her into imagining these men as friendly allies rather than foes, but the "NO BIRDS" sign remains in place. Things could get interesting...The one out in front with only one leg looks quite hostile.
On a lighter note, the queen has made a purchase, hired additional personnel, and welcomed a beloved visitor. She recently obtained a bathtub...I don't know how she's lived without one all these years! Next, she brought a cook (the yellow crocheted chicken) and a housekeeper (the orange resin hen) on board. They are very hard workers, and The Queen seems thrilled with their service. Finally, The Queen's sister (The bird in the basket) has come for an extended stay. She's about to hatch her little brood, and we all know that any more traveling is just out of the question for her until the babes arrive. I'm sure once The Queen sees their darling faces and the degree of work they require of her sister, she'll insist that they all remain in the kingdom with her permanently. You know what that means...The Queen will soon be on the lookout for a nanny!

Wonderful Weekend

Bennett and Ainsley had an action packed, marvelous weekend. While many fun events took place, here are a few highlights. Bennett was thrilled to attend the Saturday matinee of Kung Fu Panda. It was here first experience at our local theater, so of course, it called for the Kid's Pack of popcorn and soda. I think she was the only little girl at this movie, as Kung Fu is more interesting to males. She didn't mind...she was fascinated by this film.
We were happy to celebrate a darling little cousin's birthday with her! It was a strawberry party, and The Girls had a great time. This photo is a bit blurry, but you can see Bennett and The Birthday Girl in their strawberry sunglasses. No real UV protection, but very fashionable!
We all enjoyed hanging out with a fun, visiting uncle. Ainsley enjoyed a few moments with him after church on Sunday. That was followed by some shopping with him at Target. Target and a fun uncle...a great combination!

The Girls enjoy a little shaving cream every now and then in the tub. Usually that smear it on the tub walls and draw in it. Today Bennett decided to smear Ainsley with it and Ainsley loved the idea. Bennett told me she wanted Ainsley to have a shaving cream hair helmet. I enjoyed her use of "hair helmet." Although Ainsley looks pretty serious in the photo, it was actually an enjoyable experience for her. And, she smelled kind of like a man all day. That was weird.

Let the Reading Begin!!!

We have long been discussing letters, sounds and words with Bennett, but I think we've had a breakthrough moment. Yesterday at the post office, I noticed her attempting to read a word by herself...no prompting from Mom. She sounded out and read the word "FRAGILE" on the side of the package we were shipping. Awesome! I am more pumped than she is as this point. I put the letter magnets back on fridge display and made two words, as seen above. She read them both! Again, awesome!!! Unfortunately, her response to my praises was, "No more words, Mom. And no numbers, either!" Okay, I got the point, but still it was very exciting for me. I told her I would only put two new words up per day...one in the a.m. and one in the p.m. She agreed to that. We'll see. I might try to sneak an extra in every now and then.

Monday Happenings

Here are some of the events that took place today, an ordinary Monday. Ainsley's shoe of choice for the day was a pair of lovely, Native American moccasins. Nothing screams "Welcome Summer" like a nice, hot, sweaty pair of leather moccasins.
Bennett decided to take on some addition. She did some dot counting to calculate sums, followed by counting on with a number line to arrive at her totals. A fine mathematician she is!
Bennett turned Ainsley into a patient for her hospital today, complete with a hospital gown and a complete work-up with the lab. I asked Bennett what Ainsley's ailment was, expecting her to say flu, tonsillectomy, broken bone...rather I was told she has skin cancer. Yikes. I thought that was a pretty serious condition to stick her sister with...quite concerning. I imagine with the talk lately about the necessity of sunscreen and protective clothing this season, it was probably the illness that was most fresh in her mind.

First Catch!

We had our first fishing adventure of the season out on the pontoon with Grandpa and Grandma on Sunday evening. Here is a picture of our first and last catch, Mr. Bass. He was about 18 inches long so we were pleased with him. Ainsley looks like she wasn't that pleased with his smell though. Actually, she later puked all over her shirt from a gross pond related smell. She's pretty sensitive to foul odors.

On Saturday, Bennett rode with Dad to get rid of some yard waste and such. She was pretty pumped because she got to ride in the front seat with the sunroof open. She also got to help him unload branches which earned her some Apple Dippers at McDonald's.

We've been hitting the trail lately and we can really see growth in Bennett's bicycling capabilities this season. She is able to ride faster, longer and she really likes to try inclines on her own without help from one of her dad's great inventions, the pushing post. Here she is battling a gradual incline and she was pedaling hard. As she worked her way up she said, "This feels just like if I was stirring a really thick bowl of cookie dough!" Good analogy!

Ainsley is doing a fantastic job of taking herself to the restroom. She just uses "Stool Steps" to climb right up on the full size toilet, she goes, she wipes, she flushes, and she even sometimes washes her hands without prompting. One thing we need to work on, though, is getting her pants on in the right direction. Without fail, she ALWAYS puts her pants back on backward. Usually I notice this immediately and we turn them around, but today I didn't notice until we'd been out running errands and playing for a while. When I offered to help her turn them around, she said, "No, no...I'm fine, I'm fine." Bennett also told me that taking one's pants off in the driveway to turn them around is inappropriate. So, even now, hours later, Ainsley still has her pants on backward.

Today was one of Ainsley's greatest days. As some of you know, she has long been fascinated by construction equipment. She was thrilled with the opportunity to ride a front loader with Grandpa and Bennett, as Grandpa dumped some debris into the big orange dumptruck in his driveway. The Girls only got to move a couple of feet forward and backward, but neither seemed to mind. They were most intrigued by the raising and dumping action. This adventure made me nervous, as they are tiny kids and it was a big machine, but Grandpa held them tightly and it was a fun experience for them.