August---bits and pieces

 Man oh man....August was super busy, sleep was super rare and the ol' blog was once again neglected! I have so many posts/stories/pictures I want to share to capture all these moments and memories, I just hope that during these rare uninterrupted moments I have to type that I can remember them all ;-)

First, I need to explain the 1st picture. Aubrey is holding up an "old school" spell checker. She found it in the Scrabble box and wanted to play with it. The batteries are dead so we couldn't see the reason she was so interested in it....until we turned around to see this. "Look, I'm using my 'eye-pad'!" Oh my poor children!! Their parents are so behind the times that to them a dead-spell checker is the closest thing they get to an iPad =) The funniest part is that she holds it up over her eye when she uses it!

 Creative. That feels like too basic of a word to describe Ella these days. With her fervent reading and constant observation of the world around her, I never know what to find her doing. One morning her and Aubrey decided to go mountain climbing. No detail was overlooked, right down to the safety harnesses which also double as jump ropes ;-)

 Ainsley. She has had quite the month of tummy troubles (more on that in her 4 month post). But fortunately, she still managed to fill the moments between crying in pain with these heart-melting smiles.

 Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby??!

 Mommy and Ainsley. This picture doesn't do justice to the tired/redness that filled her eyes so many days this month.

Neal's company had a family fun night down at Bullwinkles Family Fun center this month. Unfortunately for the girls, most of the attractions weren't age appropriate for them. But the most important part was that they has fun doing the few things they could ;-)

 Ella conquered her fears and did the high ropes course all by herself!! She was confident doing the rope ladder on the first leg, but once it got to the tight rope section she took a little reassurance. In the end she finished strong and never even slipped off =)

 The fun center was PACKED with people! Neal and Aubrey went to go ride the bumper boats and the line was so long that Ella was able to join up with them after her ropes course. The girls had lots of fun, Daddy got super wet and Ainsley hung out with me while we watched the fun.

 The frog hopper was a definite hit with the girls =)

 As part of the summer reading program, the girls got a discounted ride bracelet for Oaks Park. Allie and I decided to take all the kids for a fun end-of-summer day....unfortunately for us, we headed out on the last 2 for 1 Tuesday and ever other person in Portland had the same idea as us! So these 4 excited faces had to wait until Thursday to actually get to ride the rides. Then I forgot the camera on the day we went back.... its always something ;-)

 Aubrey is Miss Personality these days! We never know what we are going hear come out of her mouth. She loves her role as big sister. One day I had forgotten to buckle Ainsley into her bouncy chair and Aubrey wanted to help out, but Ainsley didn't get the memo. I hear Aubrey telling Ainsley, "Ainsley, hold still. I'm trying to be the best big sister I can be!"

Our sweet sweet beautiful girls! Its so hard to believe that on Friday Ella heads off for her 1st day of Kindergarten.

I still have camping, a trip to Riddle and our visit with Uncle Jason and Auntie Sarah to catch up on......stay tuned!!

7 years

August 6, 2005 we were here...

Fast forward 7 years, we are here...

Ainsley enjoyed a little nap on the beach.

Cold water doesn't detour these girls from playing in the surf, even for just a little bit. And Daddy is such a good sport !

2 pretty girls enjoying the sun (a rarity in Oregon) on the beach

Every trip to the beach has to include a little kite flying!

We had so much fun exploring the low tide! There were TONS of sea anenomes , starfish and barnacles.

In my grand plan for the day, I had hoped to get a picture of our entire family on the beach. But given the wind, a new baby, 2 girls who wanted to both go different directions and the fact mom forgot the tripod, that photo will have to wait until the next trip ;-)

Its amazing to look back and see how our life has changed these past 7 years! We now have 3 little girls who fill our hearts with more love that we could have thought possible 7 years ago.
Here's to a lifetime more...

Kerner family photos

For Jeanie's 60th birthday, and since Jason, Sarah, Jude and Jenna were home, we gathered everyone together for some family pictures. Let's just say Chris of Christopher Roe photography has the patience of a saint! He spent 2 hours taking pictures of our 8 adults, 7 kids aged 11 weeks-7 years and was able to capture the true personalities of us all =)

3 months!!

Miss Ainsley- you definitely are good at keeping your momma on her toes! Just when you started sleeping nice stretches at night and napping in your crib, you threw me for a loop. Now you are up 2-4 times a night most nights and we are lucky to get a 40 minute nap. I feel so bad for you sometimes, because you go for this smiley, happy baby to screaming and inconsolable. This started at the beginning of the month and yesterday I finally took you to see the doc. He thought you might be having some acid reflux and prescribed some Prilosec. We sure hope that this helps because you need your beauty sleep and momma needs sleep for her sanity!!
Quick facts:
- weight 13lbs 5oz as of 8/13
-nursing every 2-4 hours round the clock still (making it very hard for mommy to build up a freezer supply for when I go back to work!)
-still haven't slept through the night
-takes the longest naps when you fall asleep then I put you in your carseat, longest nap 3 hours!
-finally will tolerate tummy time for more than 5 minutes
-has SUPER strong legs and when mad, you better make sure you have a good hold of her or she will push herself right off your lap!
----->>getting cuter and cuter every day and we love you SO SO MUCH!!!

A little of this and some of that

These days, I feel like its a HUGE accomplishment to remember to take pictures of all the happenings in our lives. We are definitely having lots of fun! Between fun, an infant who is still learning the finer skills of napping for longer than 20 minutes, and mommy resting from all the fun, the ol' blog seems to be a bit neglected ;-) Thankfully the pictures fill in the blanks where lack of sleep can't remember!

***Disclaimer in my defense- This blog has been almost 2 weeks in the making. I really am trying to keep up ;-)***

A little of this and some of that perfectly sums up this post. Its the random pictures and happenings that don't fit into a bigger category!

Ella's creative bed

Ainsley's baby dedication at church

Ainsley was unfazed by the excitement of her county fair!

Ella and Aubrey enjoyed playing in a police car and hula hooping at the fair.

And what is a trip to the fair without a giant balloon?!

The girls had so much fun riding the rides, with one exception- the scrambler! Aubrey was all smiles....Ella was terrified! "Are you sure this thing isn't going to break?" She kept asking that over and over, and of course that ride had to last like 3+ minutes!

Ainsley is so full of personality these days. She has lots to say and just smiles and smiles as soon as she sees her big sisters.

Kolby and Ainsley- so cute holding hands!
They are 6 weeks apart so it will be so fun to see them grow up together.

Cousins

Here's hoping that I can add more anecdotal stories to the next few blogs... but if nothing else, we will at least have pictures! 

::--Bring on the sunshine and fun--::

Busy is an understatement of our last few weeks. We've had lots of long, full days filled with lots of family and fun. Uncle Jason and Auntie Sarah are visiting this month from Lebanon, so in addition to spending time with them, we've also had lots of grandparents in to visit.

Grandma and Grandpa Kerner came to visit from for a few days. Of course, trying to get a picture of 3 kids and 2 grandparents all looking at the camera can be a challenge---the best picture of course included Ainsley screaming ;-)

Ainsley has been full of smiles and talking these days. Of course, as soon as I pull out the camera she stops!  Here is one of my best attempts at catching a smile =)

Ainsley- 2 months old
Man, time is flying by!!!

Quick stats:
11 lbs 15.5 oz (She is my petite one! Ella and Aubrey were already 12 1/2lbs by this point)
Sleeping between 4-7 hour stretches at night (YAY!!)
Still wearing size 3 months clothes
Finally lets Daddy hold her for more than 5 minutes without screaming ;-)
Loved bunches and bunches!!

Aubrey's favorite phrase,
"I love my baby sister so so so so so so so much!!"

Twin babies ?!?
I can't believe how much Ainsley looks like Aubrey these days!
Top picture is Aubrey at about 7 weeks, bottom picture is Ainsley at 8 1/2 weeks

4th of July parade in Hillsboro

Aubrey enjoying 4th of July fireworks.
She was not fond of any that made noise so she would cover her ears just in case mommy accidentally bought one that crackled or shrieked. Pop-its are always a hit, and since Aubrey couldn't throw them hard enough to pop...she did the next best thing, stomp them! Then there were lots of smiles with the sparklers =)

Ella was ready for the excitement of the fireworks!
Last year we missed fireworks due to church camp, and Ella was eager to make up for lost time ;-)
She was quite the dancer with her sparklers!! This year she was strong enough to throw the pop-its to make them pop, but still enjoyed stomping on them. (Unfortunately I didn't get very good pictures of that between her quickness and the setting sun.)

Its these expressions of pure excitement that keep parents lighting money (aka fireworks) on fire year after year =)

Ainsley was a great sport during all the fireworks. And since we wanted her away from the smoke,  she provided Aubrey with a great place to stand when the fireworks got a little scary.

On the 5th, we took off for our 1st camping trip of the season. 

Ainsley did amazingly well for her 1st trip!

Ella had her 1st kneeboarding experience and loved it! Uncle Ryan made it a little easier by starting her out up on the water on shore ;-)

The weather was beautiful the entire weekend we were at the lake. But the downside to the nice sunny weather is having to stay in the shade with a newborn. Ainsley and I hung out at camp most of the time and Neal was busy with Ella and Aubrey...with both parents hands full, we didn't end up with many pictures ;(

Ainsley- 10 weeks old
Today during tummy time, she got SO MAD that she rolled from her tummy to her back! She definitely has some strong legs and strong opinions....wonder where she gets that from?!

Just too cute for words!!