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!

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Tomorrow my sweet Ainsley will be turning 2, and in 2 weeks my other angel will be turning 4! I know, I can't believe it but it's true! I remember this time, 2 years ago, when Ainsley was soon to arrive and thinking of what it would be like when Ainsley would be the age Kaylee was at that time, which was almost 2. Kaylee and Ainsley as a 4 and 2 year old seemed so far away, yet it came SO fast! At the time I thought of all the fun things we would be doing. We definitely do many fun things, and as they both get older it gets more exciting. As with most good things in life it's a little bittersweet. As one phase ends it's exciting to enter the next, but I'm always a little sad of what we are leaving behind. How is it possible that I can't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday but I vividly remember the day each of my precious girls were born, and it seems like just yesterday they were. In such short time I came to never remember what my life was like without them. They have brought more happiness to us then ever thought possible and each day I enjoy them even more, even on the trying days. I know time will only continue to fly by and seem to move faster and faster. Even so I treasure today, reminisce of yesterday and look forward to tomorrow. More posts to come as their individual birthdays arrive, but for now enjoy these photos of a yesterday gone by.

Kaylee McKenna Busing
5/17/05

Ainsley Isabella Busing

5/1/07

My Tiny Dancer

Kaylee has always enjoyed dancing. One of the activities she has expressed interest in is ballet. She currently does tumbling and we are looking at some places for dance for the fall. She has decided when she grows-up she will become a Princess Ballerina, so we can look at it as early job training. She loves doing twirls and dressing-up to do so. While I think she may need a more active dance class than Beginner Ballet, I have found a couple I think she might enjoy. We will visit that closer to fall, but for now here are some photos of Kaylee in her ballerina best!

(Please note these photos are all original Kaylee poses...)

Happy Belated Easter!

We hope everyone had a great Easter. Ours was busy but certainly filled with fun! Friday the girls and I colored eggs. I let Kaylee pick out the kit she wanted to use, of course she picked glitter. Most of you know I am not a huge glitter fan, unless it's already in glue, because it NEVER goes away. Since I had given her freedom to choose I let her have the glitter. The eggs turned out nice, but we will never use glitter again :)

Saturday morning we went up to my Dad and Sallie's and did breakfast. We then went up to the Library Park for an egg hunt that was sponsored by one of the churches in town. Before the egg hunt started the Minister told a story that recapped the events leading up to the resurrection. At one point Kaylee looked at me with a panic look on her face and said "Mom, Jesus died!" I said just keep listening it will get better. It was kind of funny. We talk about God and Jesus, but at her age I'm sure a lot of it is somewhat hard to conceptualize. After the hunt we went back to the house and did another egg hunt and some gifts.

Here is Kaylee with her bunny she got.

The girls: Ainsley, Kaylee and Skyeler with their baskets after the hunt.

Saturday night we set out the baskets for the bunny. Ever since Kaylee caught on to the whole Santa thing we have also had to set a snack out for the bunny. Below are the carrots Kaylee put out, along with her bunny she got earlier that day; she felt the Easter bunny would think it was cute.

This is what the girls woke-up to find from the Easter Bunny. The presents in their chairs were from Mommy and Daddy.

The girls rummaging through their baskets.
After destroying the baskets we went hunting for eggs.
We loved getting to be outside and enjoy the nice weather! We played out a lot while awaiting for the rest of the extended family to come over for dinner, and of course more baskets. Here Ainsley is showing off her new skill, that Daddy helped her perfect, of climbing up all by herself and then sliding down, as show in the next photo.

We have flowers that grow in the back of the yard, by the timber, and the girls love to pick them. I took this of Ainsley and loved it so of course I had to post it!

I contemplated posting ALL of the photos I took just to get this one, but it would have been a really long post just on that. Thank goodness for digital!