Lollipop, Lollipop!!

Yep its that time again!! Softball season is upon us so we headed out to watch Daddy play. The boys first game was at eight and even though Ansley is almost four months old I still forget how long it takes to get us all ready and out the door. So...we made it to the one at ten.

This was Ansley's first game so it was even more exciting than usual and a moment that had to be recorded. Yes, she slept through the entire thing so it wasn't quite what I had envisioned. Mayce and I managed to enjoy ourselves though as we cheered Buck on.

Sophie came with us and although before we left the stipulation was made that if she went Mayce had to hold her, as you can guess Sophie ended up in my lap more often than not. Still a lot of fun was had (at least by us the boys were less than thrilled with the results) and a lot of snacks was shared.

Seeing as softball played a huge role in my childhood it is awesome to share the experience with our girls. The scary thing is that before too long its going to be them on the fields not us!

I always wondered about the lore of the fields though and I think that I have finally put my finger on it. Some of the most important things in life are there...bats, balls, dirt (and LOTS of it), friends, family, and candy! Especially when that candy happens to be a lollipop that turn your tongue blue! Tell me, what more could a kid ask for?

And Sophie is her name-O!!

On Monday we had to take Apples and PopPop down to the airport so they could head back to Georgia. Mayce was, shall we say, less than thrilled at this idea and even though we explained to her that we would be seeing them again in just a couple of months she still had a rough time. In all fairness 2 months is a long time to a grown up much less a three year old!

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I had been wanting to take her to Build-a-Bear for quite some time but something always came up that kept the event from taking place. Hoping it would take her mind off Apples and PopPop leaving we decided that the timing was right so we headed down and let the fun begin. I should have known that she would pick something pink but I have to admit that I tried my hardest to steer her towards an animal that was a bit less colorful. However, after she picked up a COMPLETELY obnoxious hot pink bear the light pink monkey didn't seem quite so bad.

She was so excited to stuff her and then give her a bath! She even got to pick out an outfit for her monkey which led to some discussions about the fact that we can't go out in public in just our swimsuit. Finally, she settled on some blinged out jeans and, who would have guessed it, a PINK flowery top. Then we sat down to fill out her Birth Certificate and I asked Mayce what her monkey's name was. Without a moments hesitation she responded "Sophie!!" I asked again just to make sure but apparently this monkey was just meant to be Sophie.

Since then Sophie has been to school, to grandma's house, to the playpark, to church, and of course to bed every night.

The funniest part is when Mayce has Sophie with her and we run into people we know. She will walk up to them and say "This is Sophie, she is my brest friend."

A Hunting We Will Go!

When we returned home from Easter services we found that the Easter Bunny had made his appearance. Ansley was less than impressed with her links, pacis, headbands, and paci keepers. (I think she was on to my game and knew that I had just bought her things that she already needed and stuck them in a basket!) Mayce however, was way excited as you can imagine and pulled the crown and sceptre at first sight.

.With her adornments firmly in place she began to peruse the remainder of her basket and was thrilled to find a ring pop, chalk, marshmallow bunnies, a magnetic dress up doll (whose name is now Liza) and more.

After a quick change we all headed to Grandma's house for lunch and a hunt. We all had a blast especially Mayce who had two more baskets waiting for her. (Thank you everyone!!)

While Mayce screamed Ansley dreamed but I have a feeling come next year she will be right in the big middle of things!!

It was a great day, full of family, food, and fun but as always we made sure that Mayce knew what the real reason for Easter was. Thankfully due to the many nights spent at play practice we didn't have to say much, she had it down. When asked she would tell you that "They put a crown of thorns on Jesus's head and then He died on the cross for us. But He came back and now He is ALIVE!!!" I couldn't have said it better myself...

...With Blue Satin Sashes.

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays, not because of the chocolate or the Easter Bunny (who, if you don't know his origin you might want to look it up), but because it serves as a poignant reminder of all that God gave for us to be freed from our sin nature and be given a new beginning. So for these and numerous other reasons we decided to dedicate Mayce on Easter Sunday 2006. It was beautiful and adds even more meaning to the day so when we were discussing Ansley's dedication it only seemed fitting for hers to take place on Resurrection Sunday as well.

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Ryan blessed us once again by performing Ansley's dedication and it was such a powerful moment as our families stood beside us and our church family rose to pledge their help as we bring Ansley up in a way that would be pleasing to God. What an awesome feeling to be so surrounded by love!

Mayce was a bit confused though when we told her that we were dedicating Ansley. She asked me why we were going to dedicate her to the Lord so I tried to explain that Jesus had given Ansley to us and by dedicating her we were publicly stating that we were giving her back to Him. Mayce thought about it for a moment and this was her reply "But Mommy I want to keep her!"

An Egg-cellent Idea

While Apples and PopPop were here we thought that it would be fun to have an egg dyeing party. So we ordered some pizza, boiled some eggs, and called Grandma and Grandpa to join in the fun.

Mayce thought that dyeing eggs was just about the coolest thing since sliced bread and couldn't believe it when we told her that she could actually color on the eggs themselves. It was too funny to watch her face the first time she put one of the ones that she colored into the dye! Quite the mess was made but then again when you think about it most fun things come with a mess to clean up.

One of the most surprising things to all of the grown ups was the fact that instead of being dipped into Mayce's favorite color, pink, most of the eggs went into the blue. Although after I introduced her to the concept of creating different colors by double dipping it was all over and as you can imagine we had a couple of less than appealing color combinations.

We all had a great time and besides turning a couple of fingers green came out unscathed. It was fun to be able to do one of the things that I loved as a child with my own. I do however have a feeling I am going to have to apply my mom's rule for egg dyeing in the future. When it became apparent that I wanted to dye eggs by the dozen (like 3 or 4) my mom informed me that whatever I dyed I had to eat. I stopped dyeing after that. The good thing is that Mayce actually likes hard boiled eggs so perhaps the rule will just keep it to a dozen or two.

Places to Go and People to Meet

Apples and PopPop (Buck's parents) were able to fly out to celebrate Ansley's dedication and Easter Sunday with us so on Friday we packed up the girls and headed to El Paso to pick them up. Not before we made a trip to Dr. Paul's office though because Mayce had come down with a really bad cough. Thankfully, we were able to get some meds and some antibiotics which made our weekend much more enjoyable for all.

Obviously, since they had not seen Mayce since Thanksgiving and they had never met Ansley the girls had to look WAY cute. I got them all dressed up and then realized that I had not taken Ansley's three month picture with Pups. So we grabbed the camera and got to it. She looks so big!!! Part of it is the jeans (sorry Ms. Janet) and the headband, but man, Pups used to be her size!

After our impromptu photo op we hit the road. Buck and I were able to enjoy a lovely afternoon drive (as lovely as a drive to El Paso can be) seeing as both girls traveled without a peep. Ansley was out from the get and Mayce fell asleep watching the "Aristancats."

After a quick stop at the outlet mall we arrived at the airport just in time. They didn't see us when they first got off the escalator so Mayce started yelling "Apples!! PopPop!! Over here!" They could hardly overlook that and the introductions that followed were a great success.

Mayce was thrilled to see them again and after only a moment of hesitation started talking and didn't stop...all weekend long!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Time Too Many???

This year for Bethel's Easter pageant they did a reenactment of the last supper depicting the thoughts that each of the disciples might have had upon Jesus's announcement that one of His chosen would betray Him. Buck was cast as John the Beloved and he did a great job, nailing his lines during both performances. As for myself, I was asked to sing "I Call Him Love" and poor Mayce had to endure the endless practice sessions in the truck on our way to school.

It was cute though because eventually she started asking if could listen to "The Mercy Song" and by the time the actual event took place she knew the song as well as I did.

As the old saying goes the proof is in the pudding...or I guess in this case the video!

The Spice of Life

So last night we were at church practicing for the Easter production. Mayce, Auntie KT, Ms. Terry, and I were just sitting around discussing dinosaurs and how they had learned about a new dinosaur yesterday that looked a lot like an alligator. . .

Mayce: Alligators bite!!
Me: That's right alligators do bite.
Mayce: And then they go to the ocean.
Me: Well alligators don't live in the ocean.
Mayce: Then where do they live?
Me: They live in rivers and lakes. See alligators live in freshwater but crocodiles live in saltwater.
Mayce looks at me like I am crazy...so I try a different approach.
Me: The thing is alligators don't like salt so they can't live in the ocean but crocodiles do because they like salt.
Mayce appears to be contemplating this and understanding what I am trying to say so I begin to experience a feeling of success.
Mayce: Hmmm, well do alligators like pepper?