Birthday Photos

One of the nice things about the girls having May birthdays is we can now go once a year and get an updated family photo and updated photos of them together and individually. I'm OK with spending a little more money now, since we only go once a year. Notice I said "I'm" not "we", you all know why that is. HEHE!

We typically go to Portrait Innovations. I have always had good experience with them and like that I can get my photos that day. I had looked at possibly going to a photographer this year, but quite honestly they are REALLY expensive. As I said I'm OK with spending a little more money, but not wedding photographer prices. Most have a session fee and then the package prices on top of that. Through Portrait I can get photos for us and for grandparents, etc.

So we went on Ainsley's birthday. This wasn't my most favorite Portrait experience, but we still got good photos and I upgraded from the 6 pose to the 8 pose, plus I always do the $9.99 of the family, because really how many poses of the family do you need.

Brad felt I was a little mean to the girl that helped us. I don't think I was mean, I think I just was honest in the photos I liked and didn't. I wasn't very excited about any of our family pictures, at one point I thought I was going to cry. We had done the photos and then Brad had to come to work for an unexpected conference call and the girls were ready to be done, so I feared we wouldn't get a family photo. I think that Portrait has had a lot of the people that had been there from their opening leave, so I'm sure many of the people are just learning the ropes to the photography. I felt like the person taking photos would wait for everything to be perfect rather than just snapping away, and the other person would just focus on Ainsley so then Kaylee would be not looking. This was mostly in regards to the family portrait. However I had no problem filling all my poses so it turned out just fine.

Here are some of my favorites:

They had us do one of just Brad and I together. It's not something I had intended but we did end up getting one and our parents seem to like them. We actually got one on a white background, but it doesn't show as well on the CD.

The Busing Family 2009

My May Babies!
Kaylee McKenna 4 years old

Those eyes get me every time!

A little sweet mixed with sassy!

Ainsley Isabella 2 years old!

I didn't get one of these, but I thought her expression was so funny! Sort of a cross between "Cheese" and "I'll get you, Grrrrrr!"

Baby to Big Girl...

We ordered Ainsley's "big girl" bed a few weeks ago. I was doing O.K. with it. Mostly because it wasn't here yet. Then the day came when it actually arrived. Again, doing O.K., it had come in but we still had to pick it up, find time to put it up, etc. Those things take time...right? Well Brad went and picked it up on a Monday night. The next day, Tuesday, we had taken the day off for the girls doctors appointments, which were at 8:30, and before we left to go Brad had the crib down and bed frame up. I was upstairs and he came up to start dismantling the crib. I just sort of looked at him in shock. He noticed my "surprised" expression and asked "Is this not O.K.?" I said "It's fine, probably better this way...just go ahead and do it." Me, and my teary eyes, left the room and went about what I was doing.

Had I known the exact time this would have taken place I probably would have come up with reasons why we should wait, or dwelled on it and gotten sad. Who knows. It's silly because I think it needed to be done. She was starting to lay side ways and her legs would get stuck, so I know she was starting to out grow it. There wasn't a reason not to that didn't involve sentiment. So Brad was probably very smart in just going in and taking it down, like the ripping off of a band-aid.

When we changed Kaylee's room we did it while she was at my mom's and then did a big surprise reveal for her. This time both girls were home and SO much help. Actually they made it fun, Ainsley's excitement really helped my bittersweet feelings. Kaylee was equally as excited as she now feels that they can have "sleepovers" in each others rooms. Fortunately I have gotten Kaylee to hold off on that so that Ainsley has time to get adjusted to her new room. When we got home from their appointments we finished A's room and then took the "headboard" from the crib to put on Kaylee's. We had a convertible crib, but only used it for a crib. You can use it as a day bed, or a toddler bed, but I remember when Kaylee was little we took the rail off and it looked SO small to me, like she would just roll right out. So we went straight from crib to full size bed for both.

The other thing I remember doing differently with Kaylee is taking her bed and putting it side ways against the wall, and using a side attachment for the other side, then we eventually moved it the way it was suppose to go and left the side attachment on, and at the end of last year finally took the side part off. For Ainsley I decided we would just put the bed up as it would normally go, with no side options. She's done very well. It goes to show that many of, not all, but many of those "safety" features are more for parents to spend their money on, not a need. That's o.k. though because some times we need that peace of mind. Peace of mind is worth its weight in gold!

The first big "sleep" in the big bed was for nap. I put Ainsley in her bed, read a story, and left her room. After a bit I heard some knocks on her door and her trying to open the door. She's not quite tall enough at this point to be able to turn the handle. I opened the door and put her back in her bed. I think she was just annoyed with taking a nap. She was quiet after that and fell asleep. When she woke up I went in to get her and she was so excited. We were walking downstairs and she said "I sleep in my big bed" and I said "Yes, you did, you are such a big girl" and she says "Give me a five". That was cute.

Here's the "new room":

There wasn't any major changes outside of the bed. We also put different curtains up and I moved her dresser to a different wall and her rocking horse. I still have a flower light, from IKEA, that I need to have Brad put up, but I might wait a bit, since it's more of a reading light for by her bed and I don't think she really needs that right now.

Here's the big girl on her big bed. She looks so little on there. It's pretty cute. The first night she slept in the bed she had PJ's on that looked similar to her pillow, Brad took a photo of her and it was like a "Where's Waldo" photo.

Here's Kaylee's bed with the head board on it from the crib. She also seems to like it and feels like it makes her bed even more of a "princess" bed. I'm not sure how, but if she's good with it...we're good with it.That night, and since, she has been sleeping in her bed like a champ! She's so excited and proud of it, that for the first few days every time Brad, or I, walked in her room she would say "Look at my big bed." She has fallen out twice, once while sleeping, once while trying to quickly get down. Ainsley is Ainsley though and she bounces back quickly. Things don't seem to phase her.

We put the glider in our room. When I moved it from Kaylee's room I knew I would use it again in Ainsley's. So it's bittersweet to not have a glider in any of my "babies" rooms. However it's also nice to lay in bed and snuggle while reading stories. It's also a lot easier to fall asleep. I've done that on a few occasions and Brad has come and woke me up on his way to bed.

Overall the transition for everyone has gone very well. No matter what those girls will always be my babies. I can't imagine Ainsley still in her crib. She seems so happy in her bed; plus she's a climber and I'm really surprised she had never tried to climb out of her crib.

Kaylee was a little more hesitant to get out of her bed for awhile when we transitioned her. It could have been because she was 21 mos vs. 24 mos and/or because she's more timid about things at first. Ainsley has no problem moving about her room before she goes to sleep. We've opened the door many times just to check on her, shortly after saying good night and she is in her rocking chair looking at books, going through her dresser to find socks, rocking on her rocking horse, or just sitting and looking at books.

It's some what surreal to go into both of their "big girl" rooms now with beds and "big girl" bedding, etc. They are loving it and have more fun every day. As I said before if they are good with it so are we!

Welcome Baby Edwards!

Just a quick post to welcome Bryson John Edwards! He was born to proud parents Melissa and Steve on Monday, May 25th. He entered the world weighing 7 lbs 7 oz and was 19.25 inches long. Big sisters Kaitlyn and Hannah are so excited. Melissa has a feeling that little Bryson will have 3 mommies.

I went yesterday to see him. He is such a doll, you forget how little these babies are. It was so nice to hold a new baby again, and so nice to leave him with his mommy. We are so thrilled for the Edwards Family and look forward to getting to know Bryson and watching him grow-up.

Congrats Edwards Family!

Doctor Visits

This past week we took Kaylee and Ainsley to the doctor for their annual appointments. I know I've said this before but I LOVE our pediatrician. She is so good with the girls, especially Kaylee who can be a little on edge at the doctors. They both did great.


Kaylee got 3 shots. I was surprised because I didn't think she would get any until next year. However, the doctor said we could do 1, 2, or 3 this time. The 3 she needed could be done anywhere between 4 and 5, and if we did 3 this time she wouldn't need any next year. We opted to get them all over with now. Kaylee is an intense person and I knew no matter how many we got it wouldn't be fun, Brad held her and we were quickly done. I know now for Kindergarten you have to have all their shots by the first day of school, so this way we are updated on shots even for registration next spring. Kaylee's appointment was much more in depth as well. They did blood pressure, figure her BMI, did a vision test, identified shapes, had her draw a person and try to write her name. All were fine, her vision was a little off, however they said their test isn't that accurate; they basically have her say letters they point to while seeing them with both eyes, and then again with covering each eye. The doctor just recommended we take her to an actual optometrist within the next year, which we will as she will have to for kindergarten. She also gave us a referral to a dermatologist for a mole Kaylee has on her stomach. She's always had it, and the doctor wasn't concerned, but thought it be best just to get it checked since Kaylee has such fair skin anyway. Although Kaylee's stomach is never in the sun, but we will be doing that soon. She also gave us a referral for an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, mostly because of my concerns. Kaylee has a large tonsil. She also snores. The doctor doesn't think they'll do anything because she hasn't had infections, etc. So eventually we will probably do that too for my own peace of mind.


Ainsley's appointment was pretty standard. She did great too. She didn't even cry for her shot. The doctor was happy with her progress, enjoyed the songs that Ainsley sang for her; Baa Baa Black Sheep and The ABC's, and her counting.

Everyone is healthy and we couldn't be happier!

Here are the stats:

Kaylee: Height 42 inches (90th %) and Weight 38 lbs and 5 oz.(75th %)

Ainsley: Height 34 inches (65th %) and Weight 24 lbs 2 oz (20th %), so we did gain some in the weight area and were able to double our percentage from last time. She's still on the smaller side but consistently grows so we'll go with it!

It's Party Time!

This year we had many birthday celebrations! On Friday, May 1 was Ainsley's birthday. Brad and I took the day off and we went to get updated photos (post to come soon) and spent the day hanging out with the girls. We gave Ainsley her presents from us and I made her an Elmo cake, as she loves him so!

Here is Ainsley looking at her Elmo cake.

Here's the happy birthday girl; she's holding her My Little Pony doll she got.

Here's Ainsley enjoying her cake....well mostly the icing!

She likes to share her food....here she was offering me a bite. Yum, Yum!

On Saturday we had a joint family party for the girls. This was the first year I did this and will probably continue to do so. I had planned to do it the weekend in between their birthdays but Brad had an outing to attend for a friend who is getting married so we bumped it up a week early which turned out nice. It was a princess theme party, chosen by Kaylee. Kaylee decided she wanted to be Sleeping Beauty for the party and I got a fairy outfit for Ainsley. Ainsley wasn't in to wearing hers so Kaylee was the only "dressed" princess.

Here is Sleeping Beauty waiting for the party to start! She was VERY excited!

Here was the cake I made for their party. I had contemplated using fondant, but opted for regular icing. I didn't have a lot of time to experiment with the fondant, and didn't want to spend the money buying a lot. So maybe next year, but for this year it all turned out just fine. The girls were impressed and since it was for them that's all that mattered!

I also opted to do some punch this year, instead of juice boxes. I used the heart and flower ice cube trays I got at IKEA, and also did a Cinderella mold for the ice in the punch.

Here were the princesses royal seats for them to open all of their gifts. I also had their photo collages above the fireplace.

Of course none of our parties would be complete without a pinata.

We also went outside to find some more gifts. They each got one of these Big Wheels from Grandpa and Grandma Busing (notice in this photo Kaylee has changed from her Sleeping Beauty dress to her Ariel wedding dress, and in the pinata photo above she had her regular clothes on; it wouldn't be a party without wardrobe changes).

Grandpa and Grandma Duffy got them this Barbie Jeep. It even has a radio that scans real stations. Now they can cruise in style by bike or car.

The next day Daddy spent a lot of time running after Kaylee while she learned to drive. She has gotten much better; I can't imagine what it's going to be like when it's time to drive a real car.

Fast forward 2 weeks...on the Friday before Kaylee's birthday she took treats to school and had the birthday story read to her. For those unfamiliar with this the parents write a list of various accomplishments, or milestones, the child has reached from 0-12, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, and then 4-5. When the child celebrates their birthday at school they place a sun in the middle of the circle and the child holds the Earth. The teacher reads the child's birth date and stats when they were born and begins to read the 0-12 mos notes, as the child walks around the sun and when the make it all the way around it represents a year, and so it continues. They then sing and the child gets to blow out a candle. I asked Kaylee what she wished for and she said "I wished I could stay friends with everyone except for (insert name) in room one" (there's a girl in Classroom 1 that Kaylee says is mean to her, I take this with a grain of salt because knowing this age, and having first hand experience, it could have easily been a one time occurrence that has left a lasting impression, but regardless I thought it was funny)

Then on that Saturday, the day before the "big day", Kaylee had her first all friend birthday party. We held it at her self-proclaimed "favorite park", Walt Bittner Park. She was so excited, and opted to wear her Sleeping Beauty dress again. She had told me earlier in the week that some of her friends were coming as various princesses, I just said "O.K.". Then I got a message from a parent RSVP'ing and asked if her daughter was suppose to wear a princess dress, as her daughter was apparently adamant she was. I called and left her a message back saying she was more than welcome to wear one, but that it wasn't a necessity and that there would be boys at the party and I was pretty sure they wouldn't be wearing dresses. It made me laugh as I thought of the playground conversations that must have taken place, and the at-home conversations that must have followed.

I figured that Kaylee would want to change at some point, especially since it was windy and somewhat cold so I brought clothes to change. It was really windy, but not raining. The majority of the week it was calling for rain, so I was gladly willing to accept the wind. I had toyed with the idea of going to some place for it, but a lot of places are somewhat expensive. With her birthday being in May, when it is generally nice, and we should be able to take advantage of the nice weather, those places seem even more expensive. So I took a chance on the park and thankfully it worked out. It was so fun to see Kaylee with her friends. She hugged them all when they got there and thanked them all for coming when they left.

Finally it was Sunday, Kaylee's birthday. We had so many birthday celebrations that Kaylee kept asking when "When will I be 4" or "Am I 4 yet?" So she woke up on Sunday she was so excited she was finally 4! She came downstairs and opened her gifts. Ainsley tried to assist but was good about watching.

I've got a lot of work to do...

I have a lot of posting updates to do! That is a goal of mine for this upcoming long weeked. So please stay tuned...

Here's what will hopfully be posted soon:

• Birthday posts for both girls
• Parties
• Doctor appointments
• Bye-Bye Baby

Wish me luck!