happy thanksgiving!!!

happy thanksgiving from this little turkey (and the rest of his turkey family!)..... we hope you have a wonderful day with your family and friends- and know that we are so blessed and so very thankful to have you all in our lives!

many faces of noah

you are a little man of many faces- and they are all full of personality. these days i often wonder how many more trains one could fit into two little hands? you are so much fun to watch and we learn a lot from you every day. you have changed and grown so fast! we love you so much little buddy- or little puppy as daddy calls you. (don't ask me why he calls you that cause i have NO idea!)

cousin lovin (relatively speaking)

out of 7 shots this is the best one i came up with- i need to learn how to use my photoshop and then i could have just selected the best of each one of you! that will happen someday with all the spare time i have for sure.....

you got lots and lots of snuggles from isabell. she's gonna teach you the ropes- that's for sure. you should know we call her the sass-a-frass..... except daddy- he calls her "scazantabell" just to make her mad. that's what daddy does- he antagonizes her. she's wising up though- not too long before isabell comes up with a good one for daddy!

this is how noah and eli spent the weekend- or needed to spend the weekend. they are close enough in age to enjoy the same toys- which translates to fighting all the time..... someday you 2 will be inseperable- and getting into all sorts of trouble. until then- thank god for the inventor of baby gates.

i mostly just love elijah's face in this one..... very eli!

thanks for coming down mascarenas family- it was great getting the kids together and we are thankful that you were a part of ainsley's big day.

random photos and such....

so there is no rhyme or reason to these pics- just some times i want to make sure to remember from the last few weeks.

hanging with uncle jeff

your sweet little face- and the pink lovey that your big brother claims to be his...

"patiently" waiting for papa to open up your birthday gift- we have decided in the future to avoid major meltdowns that packages will be opened and put together before wrapping. this should save some of our sanity. also worth mentioning- why are these things always screwed into the plastic wrappings- i mean seriously- the people who invented that must not have children!

let me help you papa......

revisiting my days as a baby- before that little pink bundle steals this from me too...... his legs were bent at the knees so he could fit. i can't believe he is so big already!

learning to love the bottle that you get when i go to work... it has taken you some time to get used to it. however, now you seem to be holding it with quite a grip.... your splotchy face would be the results of your bath- you have even more sensitive skin than your brother.

ainsley's baptism

last weekend we had ainsley baptized. and let's just say aaron was much happier with her in the gown than he was with noah in the gown. needless to say- her big day went well and aside from running out of chili afterwards i think it was a success (sorry boys...). noah cooperated up front (with trains in hand of course) and she smiled and was awake for the whole time. it was great to have our entire family here to love on the kiddos. it's taken a few days for them to remember what it's like to be here with just me- but we're getting there! anyway- thanks to everyone who came down and to those who helped me get all things together!

a tubby lovin little girl

there's no doubt- she loves her tubby time- and better yet she loves the after part of being all wrapped up in a warm towel and smothered in that delicious baby lotion. who doesn't love that smell?? so we're back- and here's hoping you're ready for a lot of pics and blabbing by yours truly.....

side note: apparently i love these pics because i see now that i have already posted them.....

a (much needed) girls night out

not that we needed a reason to get together and head out on the town- but we had 3- 3 birthdays to celebrate. and celebrate we did. had a blast with these gals at the melting pot followed by some dueling pianos at howl at the moon- such a fun place to go. and when it's your birthday they treat you extra nice and 'let' (read 'make' here) you sit on the piano in front of everyone while they serenade you with first an incredibly inappropriate but funny song followed by the classic happy birthday. thanks girls for celebrating with me- i had such a great time! can't wait until the next round of birthdays- or whatever other reasons we can come up with to head out!

birthday thanks

thanks everyone for the wishes, e-mails, calls, songs and fun stuff for my birthday! it was great- and 28's not too bad so far! this card was a sweet surprise when i opened it. lexi- (and i know she'll see this- she stalks my blog :) this card rocks- and made me laugh a million times over! score one more for the mini.... and while i wouldn't quite call myself goddess material- i'm lucky if i get to shower and get dressed- it was fun to think so for a day. thanks for thinking of me. we love you!

trick or treat- we're just a little late with this one!

trying it on for size- thanks ian for letting us borrow it!

halloween party at school- that is the "i have something on my mind that is sure to get me into trouble" face
in the parade at auntie lisa's school- she was the prettiest tin man ever. where is my costume you ask? i tripped on it and wouldn't wear it the rest of the afternoon. so here i am dressed as a bread baker (p.s. tell my mom to brave the storm again and take me to get my hair cut)where ains spent halloween. she loves it in here. (tried to edit myself out of this one but i couldn't get it to size right.... sorry!)
at nana and papa's getting ready to visit the neighbors

grandma and grandpa came to spend the weekend with us and got to trick-or-treat around our neighborhood with us. grandpa and daddy took turns pulling me around in the wagon. all i had to do was run to the doors, smile, look cute and they gave me lots of candy!

the attempt at a family pic.....

you mean i have to choose just one?

what happened after noah went to bed......

i'm in love....

.... with this little girl. ainsley you get sweeter every day and we are so excited to see you change. you even make your big brother laugh. i caught you two "talking" the other day and it may have been the sweetest sound ever. we love you so much baby girl!

we did it.... did you?

get out there!!

big smiles from a little girl

in the past it has taken a lot to get this little cutie to smile for the camera. of course i am fairly behind on my posting and so this has since changed... now she loves to smile. here are your first few real smiles miss ains, and we just can't get enough of them. (and for those who talk to me often- yes- she can see and i am over my obsession that she may be blind :) as someone said to me just today- "you are so like a first time mom! thanks krysta for bringing me back to reality and seeing all the perfection that is in this little girl.

smiling can really tire a girl out....

and we're serious again