Our littlest isn't so little anymore...{AK 25 & 26months}

Hey little lovebug,

Could you please stop growing sweet pea?! Pretty please….the days are flying by way too fast and it’s evident with each passing day that you are moving past the baby stage and straight into toddlerhood. It’s quite evident in your extremely mature verbal skills, but if it’s possible, even more so in the way you carry yourself and act in situations. You really don’t seem aware that you aren’t 4 years old like your sisters. =) You hang with them and other older kids quite well. The only thing that reminds us and others regularly that you are indeed TWO is your temper tantrums and inability to have self-control or any control for that matter over your emotions. =) Maybe it’s because we have been here before, but it’s so easy to overlook the harder moments with you and savor the unbelievably hilarious and cute moments that two year olds bring to the table. I mean for real, if you could be potty trained and take away the little tempers, we’d bottle this age and stage up forever. The things you say, the things you do, really it is all just so endearing and we find ourselves watching your every move and wanting others to enjoy you too! You really are SO MUCH FUN to be around! We know your big sisters were also loads of fun at this age too, but you my dear-there’s just one of you, so that means we can soak it up and dote on you all day long! You are a complete joy to us and we love being your parents! SO thankful for your spunky, lively, live in the moment personality! We are praying desperately that your precious heart will be softened early to see your need for Jesus. We already know how much WE need him and now we long for the day when you too will see it! It is our prayer sweet one that you as you spend your days with us as a family that you ultimately see Christ-through all our days that He is talked about, lifted up, worshiped, and thanked. Day in and day out. That you wouldn’t know a day without Him. We love you sweet pea!

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Milestones and Memories from 24-26mo:

-You are still a crazy, wonderful sleeper! And both of us could not be more thankful…I mean seriously you put your big sister Makenzie to shame in the sleeping department. You are as easy as they come still when it comes to sleep! Besides an occasional nightmare or sickness that might wake you up at night, you ALWAYS sleep through the night and sleep about 11-12 hours at least! Still a long napper too (2-3hrs every afternoon with the exception of a handful of times where you have protested, but not the norm!) Thank you sweet child for giving us rest. =) *One funny thing is you like to put pj’s on to nap in every day and well it’s not a battle worth fighting so pj’s it is…but even funnier is that you NEVER let us know you are awake in the morning or after your nap…if it weren’t for our video monitor who knows how long you’d stay in there. You don’t make a peep!

-Sweet girl, you still seem to amaze us, even though we see it everyday with your language skills! You are a talker and people continue to say, “she sure does know how to communicate well…” Why yes she does, she sure does! It really does make it easy in some ways because rarely do we not know what you are talking about/referring to. Not so great when you emphatically make your desires known. But again, bottle up this stage, especially in terms of talking! We LOVE all the cute and funny things you say! Wish we had written them down because they sure are comical! However, here are a few things we hear most days lately: “I pick, I pick,” “I’m telling you something mama,” “Wock me mama, wock me” (Rock me) & “ready to eat lunch (every day as soon as I pick you up from your crib in the morning), “hot chocolate” is anything that is chocolate =)

-Currently, you LOVE to…read books! You used to not sit still long to read through books but now you really settle in with a stack and love to be read to! (makes your mama’s teacher heart happy!) You really enjoy coloring with markers, crayons, or colored pencils. If mama is cooking, you want to be smack dab in the middle of it helping! You want your fair share and you want to help dump, stir, mix-you want to do it all! Still love to be snuggled and rocked before nap and bed and most days your wish is granted. The days are fleeting so rocking is a must with you cutie pie! You love bath time and you love even more to get in the shower with mommy. You love to play in the corner and are just as happy as can be being near your mama. All until water gets in your eyes and then you frantically yell “eyes, eyes” until you are given a towel to wipe them with. =) And when given half a chance, you love to be outside. Doesn’t matter what you are doing, you love it so much!

-Things we want to remember you doing from this stage: you are THE MOST empathetic little girl! You cannot stand to see someone sad or crying or upset. You will immediately go over to them, especially your sisters, and comfort them with your arm around them, a hug, or a kiss. Pretty sweet to see you show such mercy towards them! You are incredibly independent, or at least you think you have the right to be. =) From dressing yourself, picking out clothes, brushing your hair or teeth, putting on your shoes, getting into your car seat, buckling yourself in-you want to “do it myself!” And generally speaking you are decently good at it! You have grown up so much these two months and can easily dress/undress yourself, ride your tricycle well, open/close doors & lock/unlock them too. Your recent new thing is you seem to enjoy undressing at nap time or bedtime which we’re not big fans of. Hoping this passes quickly! You love to eat just the tops off cinnamon rolls and donuts which is quite cute and you have a growing list of things that frighten you: thunder, people in costumes, dogs unless from a distance, etc, and it literally makes you tremble and grip us rather tightly in fear! You are still quite the little handful at times, but boy do you make us laugh!! And lastly, babies are still your thing! You are the cutest little mama ever swaying side to side with a baby on your hip! And you and your sisters play “house” so well together! I am pretty sure you would be lost without them! And we would be lost without you-we are so smitten!

And just some Mommy/Ashton Kate time each Monday while the girls are at ballet, we head to do a small grocery run...and she makes me laugh every.single.trip!

Seeing Santa...{Dec. 2015}

Well she said she was excited to see Santa...turns out the littlest feels quite differently than five minutes prior in the car...=) =) Bless her sweet little heart!

So in light of the current trembling that was taking place, we opted for a twins only photo with Santa to get things moving along and it seems they are no longer fearful of the big bearded man in red!

They hopped right up, started chatting away with all their hopes and dreams for Christmas morning, and then quickly two smiles were in place...thank you twins for making the photographers job easy!

BUT...just to document each year...we had to. We're sorry Ashton Kate. We really are, but it was too good not to snap a quick one!

Wasn't sure who to feel worse for...Santa or our sweet daughter!? =)

For the sake of Santa not dropping the hysterical little girl, mommy quickly scooped her up and snuggled her close, taking full advantage of the moment. =) She calmed down and resumed her excitement for Santa...but just at a distance please...

Sweet Christmas memories in the making folks, that's all! And then she gave a loud "BYE SANTA!" from her car seat as we left the mall! Cute thing!

Celebrating our newest two year old {AK's 2nd Bday}

Good Morning Miss TWO Year Old!!

(insert tears that you have grown so quickly!!)

Happiest of Birthdays dear one! You are unconditionally and infinitely loved by us and we want you to know what a joyous day it is to celebrate YOU and your precious life!

What better way to celebrate than with #2 pancakes, some whipped cream, and of course sprinkles!

You were a tad hesitant at the funny white stuff that got on your hands, but it didn't take long for you to realize there was nothing to fear.

You are TWO sweet Ashton Kate. And really you've been acting like you're 2 for quite some time, so at least now you can live up to your age well. =)

Your sisters sure do adore you and love every ounce of time they get with you! They don't mind your

"two-ness" and let you rule the roost in this house.

It didn't take you much time to warm up to the idea of presents...and you enjoyed ripping the paper off and also being silly with your birthday cards!

Finding the perfect lunch spot for you was easy peasy...your favorite place of course is Chick-Fil-A so off we went! You love and eat the food well, it's kid friendly, they have free ice cream, and you get to play....a big win all the way around! You looked so big sitting in a booth over there with your big sisters!

it's your birthday so you get the whole thing and you get the privilege of deciding the best method to eating it...you switched it up between biting the cone and licking the top. =)

And since daddy was at work while this celebrating was going on...a few days later we celebrated you again and went to dinner with Nana & G-Dad at Jim N Nick's! You were a mighty big handful, but again-it's your day chickadee...it's your night to shine! =) They even brought you out a piece of chocolate pie which you didn't turn down!

Your sisters were eager to "help" you open a few more presents from grandparents...

You showed them you could handle it fine on your own...=)

We loved every bit of celebrating your life darling! You are such a gift...and we cherish your smiles, giggles, laughter, and even every moment in between.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ashton Kate Currie!!!

AND we have a TWOnager....=)

TWO YEAR OLD STATS:

Weight:

Height:

Clothes: mostly 24mo, but some 18mo in pants/dresses

Diapers: size 4

Shoes: size 4/5

Teeth: 15 with 1 cuspid on the way

Happy Birthday Frantic Kate!!

It seems like just yesterday we were snuggling your sweet as sugar self in our arms in the hospital and now here you are spunky as ever, talking in full sentences and making yourself known wherever you are! You are so incredibly precious to us and while our house sure would be quieter without you, we sure can’t imagine our lives without you that’s for sure! You bring so much laughter into this home-you are so stinkin’ cute and truly you keep all four of us in stitches from your adorable ways! And good thing we find you so cute because you are also the biggest handful we have ever had the privilege of parenting so far! =) You are determined, persistent, strong-willed, and stubborn. BUT…you are also cuddly, adorable, precious, and perfect to us as well! We are thankful for God’s grace as we struggle to find what works in parenting your little heart. You are quick to sin but quick to ask for forgiveness and boy do we pray that this repentant heart you possess stays with you for your whole life because after all, that is truly what it means to walk with Christ….the daily act of repenting, again and again and again.  We thank the Lord for the gift you are to our family and for all the ways we know He will use YOU to sanctify us. We’re smitten over you, handful or not! =)  Happiest of birthdays sweet girl! We love celebrating your life!

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Milestones and Memories from 23-24mo:

-You’re still a picky, crazy little eater. One day you love hamburgers, the next you won’t touch it. One day this will end so it doesn’t stress us out like it did with the twins the first time around. But really the funnies thing is that you will climb up into your high chair on your own and say “hungy, hungy”….ok we’ll take the hint! =) Still eat zero veggies unless it’s a squeeze pack and then you will suck it down in about 5 seconds flat. Makes no sense but we’ll roll with it! Other solid favorites: CEREAL, YoBaby yogurt, applesauce, cheese sticks, hot dogs/corn dogs (you love ketchup), chicken nuggets, sometimes PBJ, mandarin oranges, raspberries, blueberries, banana with peanut butter, eggs, oatmeal, muffins, hummus/bread…those are pretty much our staples. And you walk around the house all day saying “snack, snack” as if you haven’t’ eaten in days…=) AND…your know how to open the pantry, grab a bowl or cup and help yourself which is

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

-You are still a little chatterbox and everywhere we go people comment on how much you talk…yep we’re aware. You go non-stop from sun up to sun down and sometimes it’s adorable and sometimes it’s incredibly difficult to be patient with your many, many requests =) But so wonderful to see your vocabulary continue to flourish and see you put new words, phrases and concepts into your everyday speech. We’re super thankful to understand 99.9% of what you say! And if we’re not sure, chances are your sisters can figure it out! Things you have said many, many times around our house this past month: “what’s this, what’s that,” I help, I help,” “mine, my pumpkin, my book, my baby, my mama” (fill in with whatever object or thing you are thinking is yours), “I had it first,” “I come with you,” and “tell you something.” There is really nothing that we can say that gets by you…if you even hear the mention of mommy leaving you fall apart and sob hysterically! You still say many words by adding a “y” to the end of them and it’s so super cute! (milky, booky). And hands down the funniest thing you said this month was, “ladies, ladies, excuse me excuse me!” when pushing through to get the laundry room door…we all died laughing!

-Things you enjoy playing with right now: baby dolls with your sisters and while you have been pretending with them for a while, now they have you calling them “mommy” or calling you other names and you understand that it’s just playing pretend. So, so cute! You play the role of little sis well and despite your possessive ways, they are so patient with you and include you in everything! SO thankful for sweet big sisters for you! You love to read books and usually make it through half before you jump up to pick another one. Stamina isn’t quite your thing yet. =) Your favorite book is the clothesline book and you pick it every.single.time you are given the chance to pick a book! You enjoy working puzzles and you love anything involving art-coloring, painting, stickers, glitter…you love craft time including glue sticks and scissors! You also still LOVE to be outside-that hasn’t changed and sometimes I think you would live outside if meals could be served out there. You love riding bikes, taking walks, playing at the park, playing in the sandbox, jumping in the bouncy house, doing sidewalk chalk-anything to be outside!

-Things we want to remember you doing from this stage: You love to pick out beanie babies or a baby doll to sleep with you and like them to be covered up just like you! You love to play hide and seek and quite good at being quiet in your spot! You get so scared though when you are being chased and will put both hands out in the “stop!” position and just start shaking. You are still petrified of people dressed up in costumes (Aubie, Santa, CFA cow) and will start trembling when they come near you. Like utterly scared to death! You are extremely territorial when other little ones are at our house and play with “your” toys-you squeal and attempt to take it from them =( but then other times, you share super well! Guess it goes with the stage and age. You can sort colors correctly, have begun trying to count,  & can sing nursery rhymes and other songs. You still love to be rocked and will be as precious as you ever are right before we put you to bed….you know how to work the system I’m afraid =) You still have an obsession with dogs, as long as they stay at a safe distance from you-otherwise you get super scared and want to be held! Still love to be mommy’s helper in the kitchen and help bake, stir, add in ingredients-you definitely don’t want to be left out ever! You are probably ready to be potty trained as you ask to go potty (#2) all the time and are very successful…we’re just not quite ready for that! You have yet to pee pee in the potty but can do the other on a fairly regular basis and you can’t stand to have a dirty diaper. Lastly, you have been given the nickname “Frantic Kate” as of lately because everything you do is so frantic! Whether it’s excitement or anger, you are incredibly frantic and you get louder and louder until you are acknowledged. It fits you perfectly sweet thing! =) Last fun fact: you are deathly afraid of daddy blowing bubbles with his gum. It’s hilarious and sad all at the same time, but we just can’t help but keep doing it because the reaction is truly priceless.

-Important dates this month: 10/3-you went to your first Auburn football game (vs. San Jose State) and made it through halftime before daddy took you home; 10/9-10/10-you slept in the bed with mommy for the first time at Uncle Nathan and Aunt Kim’s (later we realized it was because you weren’t feeling good at all!) but you had a tough tough time there! 10/12-You were diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth which explains your weekend behavior and it made you perfectly miserable for over a week! =( 10/25-you had your first s’more by the campfire at First Pres pumpkin social and loved every last bite of it!

The 3 Little Pigs...{Halloween 2015}

So of course I know they are OUR children....but seriously have you ever seen something CUTER?! =)

We introduce to you the Three Little Pigs!

We I figured they are only little once and they are only willing to let me dress them in matching Halloween costumes for so long, right? Figured these were a must have for the season and they were quite the hit as we made our way around town for each and every free public event, ha! =) Daddy was a little hesitant to start with but once he saw them decked out, he agreed they were mighty adorable!

First stop on our Halloween week of fun: Cornerstone's Trunk or Treat =) Thanks for the fun neighboring church!

We had some hesitation to start with from the little piggies, but they managed ok with a little prodding from mama...if only we could have had daddy dress up like the big bad wolf, we would have been complete!

Once they realized candy was involved in the deal, that helped their assertiveness a smidge...=)

and...about the time they really got the hang of this whole go from car to car and play games thing down pat, they were closing down shop...but have no fear girls there's more coming!

Night #2 was fun at the library! Cupcakes, games, and stories!

And if letting the littlest hold her piece of candy to have her look in the right direction then fine by mommy!

Night #3 led us to Parkway Baptist where they always have a super enjoyable fall festival, complete with bouncy houses, obstacle courses, games, candy, hot dog dinner, costume contest...and low and behold these rascals won the contest and won themselves a gift card to go to the movies! They couldn't wait to get home to tell daddy all about it! (a late night at work)

Cutest little tractor ride race!

And we'll leave it up to you to guess which twin piggy was a tad faster than the other?! Love their little personalities!

Time for dinner! Could eat this little piggy up in a heartbeat! =) Yum yum!

A fun, fun night we had indeed!

And lastly night #4 is in the books: Lakeview's Fall Festival! 

They have tons and tons of carnival games, a petting zoo, train rides, cotton candy, and candy galore! By the last night all three were ready to go and willingly and quickly got decked out in their costumes! They kept dragging us to the next booth so they could fill up their buckets with candy! =) Even the sweet youngest had no hesitation by now and did just fine!

This fall festival happened to fall on the night that Auburn declared '"trick or treating" night, too! Because of high school football games, the city celebrates on whatever night works best for the police force...so we capped off the night with just a few houses with their lights still on...I mean even after four nights of seeing them dressed up, the cuteness still overwhelms me =)

And it wouldn't be Halloween if you didn't dump out your loot and check it all out! Looks like they were pretty pleased. =) Oh the joys of childhood!