"Momma, pay wi' me?"

The other night, Matt took Hannah 'to town' to rent Fantasia - that's a post all by itself. Ains wanted to go, but wanted even more to play with her ponies. And Gray wasn't going anywhere I wasn't going. So Hannah got some much-needed daddy time and I got some much-needed-though-I-didn't-know-it Ainsley time. With Grayson smiling beside us.

These are Ainsley's ponies. Hannah's are mixed in there too, but we weren't worried about that. Ralphie's also there, in the back. That palomino horse has been the source of many tears in our house. It is technically Hannah's, but she's not so interested in it until she sees her sister playing with it. It is not technically Ainsley's, but she has adopted it, named it Ralphie, and cares for it lovingly until her sister gets in a snit about it. It's a sad situation for all involved - including poor Ralphie.



When Ains had momma all alone, the playing began. The girls got these ponies in an advent calendar. They came with many tiny shoes, treats, and some clothes. Amazingly, all shoes are still accounted for.



I love this - somehow it snapped right when the shoe flipped off the pony's foot.

If you look at the first picture, you'll see that Ains is having a chicken talk to her ponies. That chicken spent a lot of time with a pony's shoe on its head.

We spent an hour and a half - it's a long way to town and back - playing with the ponies.



Ains was blissfully happy.



We even set up a pony choral group. Apparently the only song they knew was "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", but I'm not judging.



Heaven help any pony that fell from the edge of the table. They didn't stand a chance.



Luckily, Ains thought that that was hilarious and even, in a bad pony momma moment, tried to feed a few more to him.

Look at this. How can you resist that?

Remember a year ago when every third post included pictures of Hannah making waffles? We're in the same loop now, but this time it's pictures of Grayson smiling up from holding onto my legs.

Snapshot Sunday

Coming in just under the wire today...

Star-gazing.

I asked my dad for his opinion on getting a telescope for a constellation-crazy four-year old for Christmas. His advice was to skip the telescope, which, along with being ridiculously pricey, would likely be too abstract for her right now, and go with binoculars which could get her up closer than you'd expect and be useful for many other explorations. Her attached-to-her-hand magnifying glass amuses him no end.

We decided he was right, but that the binoculars could wait for a bit. They didn't have to. He sent her a small pair and a large pair for Christmas. She bounced around the house telling every constellation story she knew until it was dark enough to go outside and look at the stars.

Once it was dark enough, coats and hats and boots were thrown on. Gloves were disdainfully tossed aside because "Then I couldn't hold the binoculars, could I, Mother?" (This was a rhetorical question.) and "No knock, Momma! So no gove! Noooo!" So I threw their gloves in my pocket (along with a warmer hat for the redhead for whom color is more important than warmth right now) and out we went.


They had to discuss which way would lead to the best star-gazing. Ains kept pushing for the direction that had playing kittens.


And off they went. On a mission.


Trying to get out past our yard light takes a few minutes.


And then we were there! They looked, and what did they see?


Cloud cover.


*sigh* How did I miss that? "Well, girls, lets go look at the chickens."


Ains wasn't thrilled with that idea. I don't blame her. It's hard to look at chickens with binoculars when you're three feet tall, they're a foot tall, and they're a foot away.


So we came in and Ainsley studied the freezer. After thirty intense seconds - a long time in a two year old's world - she looked up and announced 'no mone bac'n'. She was right. There is a dearth of bacon in our house at the moment. The bacon always goes the fastest when we get the pig. Then she disappeared into her sister's room...


where I found them studying glow-in-the-dark constellations (Andromeda, Cygnus, and Orion reside on her ceiling)...


and spying on kittens playing outside the window.


Great Christmas present. I can see much Discovering in the months ahead.

Today we...

made the most of our Daddy time.


We get so little of it these days, that much hilarity is squeezed into a few hours at a time.


Much hilarity and much love.

Scenes of the Season

Balancing.


Playing with a Solstice present.




Making popcorn and cranberry chains.










Or just cranberry chains.


Being inspired to create her own paper dolls.


Playing with Magical Creatures.


The Chess Pose.


The Naked(ish) Chef.

Playing with letters.


A unicorn and a rubber ducky having a conversation.


Heading outside to chore with Daddy.


Making gingerbread people and reindeer cookies.












Santa visiting our house.


Grayson spying on presents under the tree.