Troop Tofslie

Lacy's 3rd Birthday

2009-11-08T22:08:00.000-08:00

MY SWEET GIRL IS THREE YEARS OLD!

August 23rd

This birthday was a fun one for me as a mom, as Lacy really knew what it meant when she was told her birthday was coming. I stole my friend Joelena's line "You must almost be (insert age)" whenever Lacy did something I wanted her to feel proud or should receive praise over. She LOVED the phrase and soon she even started beating me to the punch when she saw my happy reaction and would shout "I must almost be THREE Mommy!" Seriously...just so precious and so adorable. Thanks for that one Joelena!

Obviously with a newborn in the mix, it was more challenging to prepare for Lacy's birthday. I had been going back and forth to Portland, having visitors, celebrating my dad's birthday and then POOF, Lacy's big day was fast approaching. Thankfully, when in Portland for my dad's birthday I did all the party decoration shopping then. This year, because Lacy knew what a party was and because I had so little time to prepare for her birthday, I came up with the best solution possible. Eliminating the extra work of getting our house cleaned up, I opted to have the party at Pietro Pizza downtown. We could have decorations, food/drinks, AND they have an arcade that Lacy enjoys. DONE. I also took Lacy to the party store and let her choose whatever theme she would like. No surprise....CINDERELLA! Now, usually I would want everything to coordinate, but because I could not really make anything myself, what the heck...I let Lacy choose whatever cake design she wanted...even, gasp...if it clashed! :) And this is what happened.

We were at the store and there were SO many choices. Of course WAY too many for an almost 3 year old to sort through. I helped flag down her interests to speed up the process, because at every page I heard "I want that one please!". If you don't know, this child LOVES cake, so every one about made her mouth drool. Finally, we were down to two cakes. I assumed Lacy was going to choose the OBNOXIOUSLY bright Dora cake over the ballerina cake. But, she goes with the ballerina cake that had 2 porcelain figurines included . SO, I call over one of the bakers and go through the entire form. I turn to Lacy and all excited tell her "Ok, your ballerina cake is all ready?!" And Lacy bursts into tears, looks up at me and says "But, I wanted the Dora cake." WHAT?! And keep in mind, this was not 'tantrum' type tears, but 'heartbroken' type tears. I was ready to redo the WHOLE thing, but just talked the ballerina one up, especially how she would get to keep the ballerina figures, and phew! We were able to keep that one.

The next choice was her outfit. I let her rummage through her closet and pick whatever she wanted to wear. I can't say just how much I love that, not only did she pick what she thought was the prettiest dress, but that she MATCHED her sandals!

The only downside was that, being in my secluded newborn world, I lost track of days and did not get invites out soon enough. And on top of that, our neighbors, who pretty much were a shoe in for going, were almost all out of town! I was SO happy that our good friends the Rogers and Lacy's birthday buddy Garrett and his mom Michelle joined our family for her party. I also was scrambling getting Lacy's presents. I was able to order a few on amazon and thank goodness my mom and brother picked up a few for us in Portland. Although I felt it was a bit of a scramble, we pulled off a party atmosphere!

The reason I know we pulled it off, was watching Lacy walk around the corner and gasp, smile and say "It's my birthday party!" That look I don't think I will forget. Thanks to all that made this day special for my little Lacy.

Side note: it's SO dark in Pietro's that the photos aren't the best quality, but at least memories documented!

Darn auto focus! How cute was her pose? Looking good uncle Cory:)

Lacy and her loot.

Little spectator

Happy Birthday Song!

LOOK AT THAT SMILE!!! I think this is my favorite from her birthday.

She dug right in and took out the candles and the ballerinas.

Such a good uncle:)

I should mention that while Mammie is reading "Too much Junk Food" Lacy is listening and stuffing her face with candy:)

Papa turns 60!!!

2009-11-04T22:18:00.000-08:00

ALRIGHT! Back in action! After getting a little behind due to newborn land, then running into some computer problems, I THINK I will be able to catch up on my dear blog:) Ahh, I've missed it!

Back on August 12th, my dad was turning, gulp...60! With my brother back in Oregon, we got together for a surprise family dinner.This was my first attempt to organize and take care of a few things since Ashley was born. It was a scramble, but with everyone's team work, my mom, and brother, we pulled it off. Eddy had to work and was unable to make it, since it was during the week:( My dad had no clue we were coming and my mom got off work early and we ran the doorbell, my brother fibbed and said he needed to sign for a package and "SURPRISE!". We also surprised him with his favorite cake from Rose's Cafe. Lacy treated us all with decorating the cake with sprinkles. I will say that the rest of us DID eat the cake. You look at the photos below and decide if you would have, haha.

Being that Lacy's birthday was just around the corner, we stayed so I could do some scrambling for Lacy's presents and "party".

My not-so-proud mommy moment. Ashley was awake and I FORGOT to include her as I was setting the camera timer and running to my seat. Someone else COULD have held her! Whoops.

This looks innocent and sweet enough right?.....

THIS is what happened in between handfuls. YUMMY.

Leaving the Lacy mark...she just could not resist! Ever since her second bday, she has had a VERY hard time resisting scooping off a finger of frosting:)

Papa's own slice!

Uncle Cory gave her some flowers, this is how she flaunted it.

At least I remembered to take her photo! (9wks)

It was good!

Poor Uncle Cory was booted out to an air mattress in the kitchen while we visited! Now, he is able to stay in the trailer with his own bed, own space, and with peace and quiet, haha.

Lacy LOVES Mammie and Papa's backyard. Here she was playing with all the fallen leaves..for a LONG time.

A missed blogged moment during Ashley's 2 week of life, Lacy was stung by a bee for the first time. She responded much better than I imagined it would go, even pulling out the stinger by herself. SO, even after that, she still has no fear of bees. She told me she wanted to watch the bees. She was practically sitting IN this plant. She calm, cool, and collected. Her momma was clenching her teeth, trying not to pass on her own fears!

Sweet spectator.

The best potato scrubber:)

This ONLY happens at mammie and papa's house. She always has SO much fun:)

This child has a passion for flowers. REALLY.

Enjoying the fresh berries she picked out of Mammie and Papa's garden.

Her beautiful bouquet:)

The owl says "whooooo"

2009-11-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

Catching up! I just thought that first photo was pretty funny since she was wearing an owl shirt. The other, well, just cute. Today Ashley is 21 weeks, but in these photo she was only 9 weeks!

FOUR Months!

2009-10-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

That's right! Our baby girl turned four months on October 8th...wow! And...by the way...she is sitting up in her boppy pillow for this photo! My big girl.

All about Ashley:
*The girls has got some pipes! She LOVES to squeal and is constantly babbling and shrieking. Especially when she gets tired. And, I mean ear-piercing shrieks! Her big sister also would do the same thing, but Ashley does this ALL the time. Even when getting burped at 5:30am:) Although, Lacy can still make the exact same sounds, we know this because she has decided to join in for a duet most times Ashley gets going.

*If she is not squealing, she is cooing in the most hilarious way. She sounds as if she has completely lost her voice, making VERY hoarse cooing sounds. Just so funny.

*90% of the time she wakes up happy and either cooing, but usually...squealing! Even first thing in the morning, through the monitor I am JOLTED awake from a squealing happy baby.

*She started social smiling at 4 weeks and by one month was smiling all the time.

*She was completely an explosive pooper, and even for her experienced diaper changing mommy-she stumped her and even relied on Lacy's help for a couple changes!(many times Eddy had to help) Happy to say, I think we are past the worst. Lacy is 3 years old and never pooped in the bath tub, Ashley had done it twice before 3 months:)

*At 8 weeks she started purposely reaching for toys and she has great control of her hands. She loves her little gym on the floor and grabs and shakes and sucks on all the toys.

*She smiles a LOT for her family, but is beginning to have stranger anxiety, something Lacy never had.

*She was NOT a good car traveler as a newborn, and I was so happy to have a DVD player in our van for Lacy, as I had to make an hour stop in the middle of our HOUR drive home to feed Ashley!(Since would take me a while to load up, traffic, and then poof two hours were up!)Now, she's a champ!

*She is so patient and only if SUPER hungry will she fall apart.

*She LOVES her big sister.

*She laughed for the first time September 6th at 12wks before bath time when her grandparents were visiting from Montana. But, I have only gotten the beginning of giggles since.

*By 12 weeks she was definitely holding her head up and by 13 weeks we had her forward facing in the Bjorn.

*She's rolling side-to-side, but has not officially rolled over yet.

*She loves her bath and as SOON as the water begins, she smiles and wiggles all over. She also loves the song 'Tub Town' that Lacy and I sing to her every night in the bath. And she gets so excited she fails about, which in turn, makes for lots of splashes. She gets so excited on nights where her big sis joins her in the tub!

*I love when I read her books and she is sitting on my lap, she puts each of her little hands on top of mine and holds tightly while I read her the little board books. Every time.

*Daily routine as of this day. Bath at 4:30pm. Nurse from 5-6pm(my favorite time of the day-I nurse her in our bedroom and quietly watch tv). Sleeps from 6pm-5 or 6am. If 5am, eats and then usually sleeps until 8 or a little later. First nap a little under 2 hours after waking that is normally around 2 and 1/2 hours. The afternoon nap has not quite developed. SO, sometimes she takes 2, half-hour naps. A couple times she has slept for an hour or more that brought her close enough to wait to sleep until bed time routine. She is eating 4 or 5 times in a 24 hour period.

*Going to sleep. She has been such a wonderful sleeper from the start. I will never forget bringing her home from the hospital, nursing her, swaddling her, laying her down awake and she drifted off to sleep..and STAYED asleep for so long. SO different from the first time around! As the weeks went on, we only had to tweak her sleeping slightly. If her pacifier fell out while she was going to sleep, she would fuss and I would pop it in one more time and out she went. Also, at 1/2hr mark at naps, she often would wake. So, we did some extinction sleep training, which has been quite easy overall and smooth. Her sleep is progressing quite like text book I suppose. Now I am able to put her down awake and that's that. Except the afternoon nap, she does put herself to sleep, but mostly not for very long. So, not quite there, but I am sure very soon it will be!

*Just last night for the first time, I put Ashley down unswaddled. Cold turkey. Up until now, each time I put her to sleep I would swaddle her and put her down awake and she would just coo and happily squeal herself to sleep. I read a lot about parents easing their babies out of a swaddle slowly(like an arm at a time) and even get special blankets to transition. But, I thought since she has mastered soothing herself to sleep, she might be fine and it was worth trying cold turkey and saving us a lot of 'hoop jumping'. I wanted to let her try...and NO problem! Except for the afternoon, where she did wake at the 1/2 hr mark and was done. But...overall I take it as a success.

*So obviously, while she was swaddled her arms were down and at her side. Every time I've checked on her since she's been 'free', her arms are up and above her head....TOUCH DOWN! :)

That's all this mommy can think of as of now. And as every mom says, but I truly mean it from the bottom of my heart...as tired and as hard as it is to keep up with all I have to do with my two girls, I just wish I could slow down time and relish in this beautiful stage a while longer. I do appreciate my two tiny blessings and love them deeper than I could have ever imagined. And trust me, I imagined since I was three years old. It's a deep, deep love. I am one blessed momma.

Bundled Sister Comparison

2009-10-07T23:58:00.001-07:00

For some reason, I love comparing Lacy and Ashley baby photos. I think it's so fun to see their similarities and differences. When I bundled up Lacy for the first time and put her in the bjorn, I just thought she was the cutest little bundle! I was home alone so I attempted taking a photo into a mirror, which with a flash is quite tricky! What cracked me up was Lacy's reaction to seeing the hat on her head. The look on her face is hilarious! Well, today we were headed out for some quick outside play before dinner and I attempted to take the same photo with Ashley. Lacy was dying to get outside, so I didn't even check the photos and the flash definitely caused some problems, but I still think it's fun to see the two together! Ashley top photo, Lacy bottom.

What do you think?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-10-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMMIE!!! WE LOVE YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!

We had a little video for you, but of course had computer problems! I wanted to post(BRAG!!) your age because I still can't get over your chronological age, it sure does not match how you live. So young and full of life:) Looking forward to Saturday and hoped you enjoyed your special day! LOVE YOU!

I am a proud band nerd!

2009-10-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that from 5th grade through my junior year at college, I played the trumpet. In college I was part of the University of Idaho Marching Band. I had a great group of guys that I marched with and somehow we sweet talked Torrey into allowing us to stay a squad every year! Usually, once you get experience you become a squad leader of three other marchers and make sure your squad perfects the routine. Well, I don't know how we persuaded Torrey, but we got to stay together all three years and had the BEST time over the years. Thanks Torrey for unforgettable memories. Obviously, we were experienced marchers, so we had a lot of fun as well. One of my friends from college, who was in this band with me and also Campus Crusade for Christ posted their latest performance video. Some of you may have seen her photography work, Emily Weaver Brown. I think you will see why I enjoyed it so much, despite many thinking it "uncool". I always was impressed that I was able to memorize all that music AND that entire routine and do them both at the same time.

By the way, the Vandals won this game:)

YOU MUST WATCH TO AT LEAST TO MINUTE 5:42! Enjoy.

A Special Visit

2009-10-02T20:12:00.001-07:00

All the way back on August 8, when Ashley just turned exactly 2 months, my aunt and uncle came to meet Ashley. My uncle Johnny and auntie Luci are SO special to me and have always been so involved in my life, it was a very special day for me. The three of us were planning something around the end of May. My due date was the 28th and my aunt and uncle were retiring! But, silly them, they are more busy now then they were while part of the work force! Just enjoying the freedom after many years of devoted service to our country and their jobs. We love you and thank you for the special day! (way back in August:)

This photo just makes me melt. Lacy sang for all of us and then she had us join in too. My aunt and uncle are very musical as well and I fought back tears as another generation was able to acquire a love for music AND that we all got to share it together!

Lacy is dancing and holding her dress JUST like Cinderella. And, by the way, that is NOT how I dressed her for the day. She just HAD to put on a pretty dress and dance for Uncle Johnny and Auntie Luci, and of course wore it the rest of the day. (Grammy-that is one of her FAVORITE dresses, can't believe 2 years later it still fits!)

Right before they shoved off, we took them up to the 'must-see' of the Hood River Valley-Panorama Point. Although, not the prettiest day with the best view, still fun to see. We realized we have not taken them to the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum I guess that means they will have to come back:)

Tiny Pink Shoes

2009-09-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

How fun are tiny baby shoes? Lacy was born with such large feet, unfortunately, just like her momma, she was unable to wear most of the adorable baby shoes the first few months. However, Miss Ashley has the TINIEST feet! So, this time around all those cute tiny shoes are getting a lot of use. These photos were taken back on August 21st when Ashley was 10 weeks. She will be 16 weeks on Monday and can still easily wear these shoes, along with so many more. SO FUN! I wanted some photos of them and of course big sis wanted to join her sissy:)

PRIMA BALLERINA!!

2009-09-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Prima Ballerina from tofslie on Vimeo.

On September 15, 2009, just 3 years old, Lacy began her first ballet class! This little one has been doing her ballet moves for over 1/2 a year now. She, all on her own, gravitated to ballet and that still astonishes me. What massive anticipation and excitement led up to her first day. On the first day the parents were allowed to stay for 2 very quick songs and I will never forget those quick 5 minutes. Her teacher just seems wonderful! Lacy did great and was fine with mommy leaving(we talked about it prior) and it was definitely a big milestone moment, I am sure we BOTH will remember. So, being a big moment, this video is a little on the longer side. Now to wait for her big performances! Yes, I will bring my kleenex for sure.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

2009-09-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Let's Go Fly A Kite from tofslie on Vimeo.

At our Lincoln City beach trip with Grandma and Grandpa, Lacy got to fly a kite they bought for her. And actually they bought it last year, but we barely used it once and Lacy was so exhausted she didn't really get to enjoy it. You will see this year was a wee bit better. Thanks Grammy and Grandpa:) September 2009-Lacy 3 just years.

Little Bundle

2009-09-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

How cute are little babies all bundled up? I snapped this photo while Ashley was all bundled up in the bjorn on our 'ben-ture'(aka adventure) with grammy and grandpa, flying grandpa's gliders over the Hood River valley last week. I kept looking down and gushing over Ashley, so I attempted to capture it. Pretty funny though, I had to hold the camera up on my shoulder:) Yes, I do love babies all bundled, especially when they are mine!

Growing and Changing

2009-09-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe these photos were almost 3 weeks ago now(at 11 wks) and I just feel like there are so many changes everyday in my sweet little girl. I think the biggest development is this girl has found her pipes! She loves to shriek and squeal...she will be heard:) It's quite adorable if you ask me!

It amazes me and warms my heart to see, even at this early stage, the love these sisters have for each other. Ashley just lights up when her big sister comes around and Lacy always wants to squeeze in a kiss whenever she can and join Ashley in whatever she is doing. That relationship will be one that I pray for diligently.

NO SNORTING ALLOWED!!!

2009-09-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

When the girls and I stay at my parents, our new arrangement is Ashley sleeps with me and Lacy sleeps with my parents. That way, neither little one will wake the other at a 'not-so-fun' time:) However, the only problem...SNORTING! The rest of us know it as snoring. Lacy is NOT a fan of snoring and both my parents are known to 'snort' on occasion, NOT to Lacy's liking. Well, one morning Lacy was really sleeping in and I figured I better check on her. I was concerned that she might just be patiently waiting on her bed. I open the door and I see her and because of how she is laying, I felt terrible, thinking she was awake. I walk around and about fell over, seeing she was ASLEEP! I ran back to get my camera....

The poor child fell asleep trying to drown out the dreaded snorting! At least she found a way to cope, I guess. And...it definitely made my morning:)

Buh-Nana came to visit!!

2009-09-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled that Lacy and Ashley's great-grandma was able to come for a visit the beginning of August(She came all the way from Montana!). She came with her sister-in-law, Marteena, and we enjoyed a nice day and Lacy was thrilled the all the great presents they brought with them! (so was mommy as Buh-Nana found some matching dresses:) Thanks so much for the great visit ladies.

Sissy, let me read to you

2009-09-05T22:12:00.001-07:00

Back on August 17th, when Ashley was 10 weeks exactly, we were loading up from my parents house to head back to Hood River and I noticed Lacy joined in Ashley's tummy time. She wanted to "read" a book to her sissy. I hope you can see just how delighted Ashley gets when her big sister comes to entertain....just precious. I hope Eddy and I can continue and encourage their relationship so it will grow and flourish as they get older.

Really, I just don't know what to say....

2009-08-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

but, this sure made us laugh. Enjoy our silly girl:)

(this was during our beach weekend getaway with the Andersons over the weekend)

Not looking so much like a newborn anymore...

2009-08-27T14:05:00.001-07:00

Well, there she is. My little baby who is approaching the 3 month mark. Closer to the 12 wk mark, but it all flies by so fast anyway! She just does not look like a newborn anymore, does she?

We have been having lots of fun(birthdays, visitors) and the fun keeps coming. We are getting ready to head to the beach with our friends the Andersons this weekend, then soon there after Eddy's parents arrive for a visit. That means grandpa will meet Ashley for the first time and we will also do another beach trip!

Three years ago today....

2009-08-23T00:05:00.000-07:00

our little girl made her grand entrance into this world. What a blessing and dream come true she has been to us. I am still in a little shock she is three years old. It really is so true that "it goes so fast". We love you Lacy and can't wait to share and enjoy another year.

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY LACY!!

Fun in the HOT, HOT, HOT Sun and DISNEYLAND!

2009-08-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

So the last week in July, I took the girls to my parents and for Oregon, we hit the ALL TIME high record temperature! We actually got hotter than my photo..all they way to 107! (Maybe another station said we broke it at 108..not sure, but it was WAY hot) We did so many fun things in the HOT sun, I will just try explain with the photos. If you didn't see the prior post...I think that explains all the fun:)

evening in Mammie and Papa's backyard

story time before bed

it was so hot...this did not last that long!

Instead we were invited to join the family my mom is a nanny for and play in their pool. I remembered to pack Lacy's suit but completely forgot about me! But, then I just had a baby and did not have a suit that fit! Well, Suzanne(the kids' mom) dashed away and returned with a suit for me! So sweet! Now, I was seriously NOT wanting to get into a swim suit considering that I just delivered a baby weeks ago, but Lacy needed her mommy to help, so in I went! We had a great time!

Even Ashley came out to play:)

Ashley smiling for Mammie

Considering how scorching hot it was, we opted for some indoor play at a coffee shop that is set up with a play area for the kids! The funny part is the place is called I think 'Munchkin Land' but Lacy got it in her head it was...

DISNEYLAND!

Lacy is doing her cherished ballet position 'arabesque'

Lacy can't get enough of Mammie and Papas' big backyard with ALL those flowers:) And they definitely needed water in that heat!

She may not be old enough to water the flowers, but she still was having a good time!

BRACE Yourself.....

2009-08-20T22:25:00.000-07:00

For the first time EVER in her almost 3 year life, Lacy........

Fell asleep playing!! Even as a baby, still under 1 year of age, this little munchkin would stay awake TWELVE hours during a big shopping day, pretty much unable to crash. You can imagine my complete shock when I walked around the corner at my parents house and saw this! Maybe it was the all-time record heat that hit Oregon(my parents have A.C.), but none-the-less, I was(and still am) shocked she fell asleep while reading her beloved books!

Too many photos...

2009-08-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

I am completely behind in posting, but for now I think this photo just had to be posted out of order. I took this photo the end of last week, Ashley was still 9 weeks. She is so easy to smile and I just love that! She has been doing so well that I forgot to make her well-baby appointment and we went when Ashley was 9 weeks instead of 8:) Here are the stats that I remember.

Weight: 11lbs exactly
Lenth: 23 inches

Lots and lots and lots of photos and posts coming soon. Next up....Lacy's 3rd birthday this Sunday on August 23rd!!! Yes, that's right, I said THREE. sigh. (which means I better get caught up on this blog...FAST!)

Mommy Group Babies Turn THREE!!!

2009-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

This summer is the 3rd anniversary of when our great group met at our childbirth classes. Yes, our babies are turning THREE! Linden, the mom of Will and Charis invited to come celebrate their birthday at a fun park last week. All the kids had so much fun, especially eating cup cakes bright and early in the morning! :) Ashley just went from mommy to mommy and had a record for a daytime nap, sleeping from 10:30-1:15! If only we could repeat that:) I feel bad as once home, I realized I do not have one of Garrett! Some how I missed him. Here are some photos from all the fun.

(I can't wait to go back and use the field the park has at the proper time of day for photos. Without good light or adjusting well, I just snapped a few of Lacy before the group arrived. CHECK OUT HER POSES. Man, the girl just cracks me up. We are a good pair! I love to take photos of her and she loves to have her picture taken:)

More Play, More Smiles

2009-08-10T21:47:00.001-07:00

The girls still love being together on the gym and this day Ashley was just smiling away at her big sister's antics and I love how I was able to capture one of those beautiful smiles Ashley flashes our way. I was hoping to get them both smiling, but one out of two isn't so bad:) I also love in the first photo they both are checking out the same thing. Good times.

Can't get enough!

2009-08-09T15:56:00.001-07:00

Match! Match!

These pretty dresses are from the family my mom works for. They looked SO cute in them! We have had a full two weeks and I hope to post all the photos from our adventures in the next day or two. Until then, here are my two girls in their matching dresses. I even think they are looking quite alike as well.