Ansley's Dalmation Birthday

Only my lovely wife Molly can blend her love of coloring with planning a 2-year-old birthday party (and yes, she really likes to color... I'm little jealous of her coloring skills). Yes, Ansley loves dalmations; in fact, this theme edged out "Dinosaurs" by a very thin margin... both of these themes are a little different from Kennedy's "pink" themed 2-year-old party.

Our little "Ans" is getting bigger and with age it's really fun to watch her and Kennedy develop a close friendship... and rivalry. Ansley is the jokester of our family and is also known for her sweetness and dragging her massive blanket around. She's also well known for saying "I can do it" (of course, what 2-year-old doesn't say this?).

Happy birthday Ans! Start thinking about your theme for next year. I'm sure that Kennedy has her birthday theme planned for the next few years... maybe she can help you brainstorm.

Afternoon Photo Shoot

What do you get when you cross two "cutie pies", a rare moment when the sun is shining in February, and time on your hands? An afternoon photo shoot put on by one Molly Applegate. In my humble opinion, these are GREAT pics... I have to give her tons of credit for taking great pictures; I love sunlit photos with lots of contrast... I can't wait for the sunshine to return on a more permanent basis. Yay Spring.

Happy Birthday Ansley!

Happy birthday Ansley Joanne Applegate. You are two years old today and it just seems like yesterday that you were a little skinny newborn. We love you for so many things... that huge smile, your love for dinosaurs, trucks, dalmations and animals (especially puppies), that "mischieviousness" that reminds me a little of a certain uncle you have named Kyle (or Joe), and all of the other fun and wonderful things you add to our family.

We love you, Mom, Dad, and Kennedy.

The Secret Hideout

That space under the stairs is finally cleared out and my dream of a secret hideout / play area for the girls is a reality (yes, it's awesome). Of course Kennedy has taken the privilege of hanging up several pictures in her new room and adding lots of clutter, so now it's officially a new play area.

Princess Party

Yes, it has been too long since our last blog post. Again, sorry... I'm a major slacker. I'll pick up the pace in February. I thought you all might enjoy these pictures of Molly, Kennedy, and Ansley who were preparing for a "princess" birthday party in our neighborhood. Don't they all look very "princessy"?

Christmas in Sanibel

I know, it's been about a month since our last blog, so my apologies for taking a long blogging vacation. However, we're back! We have some big news that we'll be posting soon. Any guesses? :)

Pig Tails

What do you get when you cross pigtails, a blankie, a quasi-professional mommy photographer, and lots of sillyness? Lots of Ansley. Check out the crazy "flash" photo... sometimes too much flash can be a bad thing... it's still an interesting pic.

Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving, what a wonderful day... family, food, football (albeit poor football), and naps. Actually, our Thanksgiving happened in the order described above. It's safe to say that 75% of the people in our house were napping at some point during the afternoon yesterday. Also, an interesting factoid I learned from my aunt Beth: the average American eats at least 5000+ calories per Thanksgiving meal. How many Big Macs is that? Happy Thanksgiving to you all... get some rest this weekend.

















The girls enjoy some warm cider and cool whip before lunch.
























Yum





















A rare family photo op. Four smiles... very rare.

















Cute. Enough said.


















What you don't see in this picture is that fact that I just sliced two turkeys. Somehow I inherited the job of slicing turkeys a few years back and now I do it!

















Cassie, Kennedy, Anna, and Aunt Beth

















My dad, Aunt Beth, and Gi Gi


















The feast. Notice my plate to the right/bottom of the picture? Double yum.

















Aunt Cassie and Kennedy display their gingerbread house. If there are a few missing pieces, I guess this happens when Kennedy makes a house with candy.

Picking Pumpkins

In lieu of uploading any recent pictures and blogging on a regular basis, please enjoy these pictures taken during our visit to the pumpkin patch in October! :) The girls are getting way too big....

More Halloween Pics

On further request from Aunt Katie, please see Kennedy and Ansley's costumes below. If you cannot figure out what they are dressed up like for Halloween, the best possible description is a princess/tinkerbell/fairy dancer... dressed up for a a cold night.

Again, this was a really fun night... we're still working through their bags of Kennedy (tonight, Ansley had a mischevious smile after sneaking a piece of Kennedy's chocolate) and we should be through it my May.

Also, sorry that these pics are in reverse order... very strange.

Post trick-or-treating. Suckers are yum.

Almost home...

A little action shot. You can almost make out Kennedy's Tinkerbell outfit under sweatshirt.

I LOVE this picture. She just happend to walk through a 4-foot swath of light when I took this picture.

Just getting started...

Loot

Guess who made out fairly well on Halloween?