A Busy Week

Ashlyn had another busy week. On Monday, we went to Baby Time at the library. This is where she gets to socialize with other babies. We sing songs, read books, and play with toys. Ashlyn just has such a great time. She loves looking at the other babies.

On Thursday, we went to the park for a picnic. After we ate, Ashlyn got to ride on the swings for the first time. She just loved it! She had a smile on her face the whole time. It was getting kind of windy, so we had to cut her first time a little short. Once it warms up I am sure we will be spending lots of time on the swings.

On Saturday, we had planned on going on hike and a picnic. The weather was so cold we had to postpone it. We ended up going over to Jessi's house for lunch. Josey was there with her son, Garrett. He is about six weeks younger. They had a good time together. Ashlyn really enjoyed looking at him. She even playfully hit him. It was pretty cute! She really enjoyed herself. She went home and took a 2 hour nap.

Today, Ashlyn got her first vegetable. We started with carrots. It was a very messy process. She seemed a little apprehensive about them, but I think she liked them for the most part. She will eat carrots for two more days and then we will move on to another orange vegetable. She will still eat cereal in the morning. Real vegetables are a lot more messy than cereal as you can tell by the pictures!

We have started to notice this week that Ashlyn knows her name well. If you say her name she turns to look at you. She is also rolling around like crazy. If we put her on the floor she will literally roll across the entire floor in a matter of minutes!

We will be leaving on Wednesday to go to Phoenix. We are flying this time. We are going with my parents and sister. Joey has to stay home and work :( Everyone please pray for our safety and that Ashlyn has a good flight! Ashlyn will get to see her Great Grandma again who has not seen her since she was 8 weeks old. My how she has changed! We will be there for a week so there will be no post next week. I will take lots and lots of pictures to post. Next month, we head to New York. Joey gets to go this time. We are going so Ashlyn can meet Joey's family. We are really excited for her to meet her Great Grandmas, Great Aunts, cousins, it should be a wonderful trip!


She was very clean when we started.

Trying to feed herself like usual.

Her mouth is so messy!

Getting messier

Hanging out in her swing

Sitting in a highchair when we went out to lunch

When Ashlyn was at her Gram and Papa's she went outside and had a great time playing in the dirt.

Her first swing ride

Having the time of her life!

A Great Week

Ashlyn has had a very good week! She is sitting up like a pro now. She can do it for at least five minutes. She is still eating cereal. She still loves it and now gets to eat it two times a day! We are still working on her taking a bottle. She is a very strong-willed little girl. She knows what shes wants that's for sure.

Ashlyn had a busy weekend. On Friday night, she got to go to her Uncle Bryan's birthday dinner. On Saturday, she got to go to her first bridal shower which she really enjoyed. Today, we went downtown and she enjoyed the beautiful weather. She also got to play outside and watch Daddy do some yard work. Tonight was Joey's softball game. He hit a home run just for her! She was sure a tired girl tonight after all the excitement!!!



She now loves the camera. Here she is grabbing for it.

This is her Red Sox shirt. Joey bought her this shirt before Ashlyn was born. He picked it out all by himself and it now fits her.

Ashlyn and her favorite softball player

Enjoying some more of that yummy cereal

Holding her bottle like a big girl. (Do not let this picture fool you because she does not actually drink much at all from it :)

All dressed up ready to go to Jessi's bridal shower

Playing outside. She was having a great time!

Boo

This is who she reminds me of from Mosnters Inc. The post below would not let me add this picture and I don't know why. I just had to post it so people know who I am talking about.

Pigtails and Pretty Poses

Today I put Ashlyn in pigtails for the first time. It turned out pretty cute. She looks so much more grown-up to me when she has her hair like that. She reminds me of the little girl Boo from Monsters Inc. She has also really been liking the camera this last week. So, I was able to get some cute shots of her. She went to Denver with her Dad yesterday and she got to wear a pretty dress. I posted a picture of that too but I can't figure out how to turn the pictures the right way. Sorry!

Getting ready to go to bed

How cute is her hair?

Her new favorite pose

She still loves eating that hand

Dressed up and looking so pretty!

Chow Time

Today Ashlyn got to try cereal for the first time. She LOVED it! It went far better than we expected. She ate every spoonful and had a smile on her face the whole time. She even tried grabbing the spoon to feed herself. I think she is going to be my independent child. She is always trying to do everything herself. Anyways, it was a great expereience and we took lots of pictures and videotaped the whole thing. We are going to continue cereal everyday for the next two weeks. I can't wait to post some cute messy pictures from when she gets to try the orange stuff!



The before shot, all nice and clean

First bite

She thinks she likes it!

Her hand is still pretty tasty

Holding the spoon like a big girl

All done! What a messy face!

Sitting Up

Ashlyn is really sitting up well. We have been practicing all week. She does it longer and longer each day. Today I got some good pictures of it. I am so proud of my girl! We are now facing a new battle. I made sure to start Ashlyn on a bottle at a young age so she would take one. Well, I think I did not give her a bottle consistently enough. She is now refusing a bottle all together! This is not good at all. Today, I had my Mom try again to give her a bottle. She refused to drink any. She does want to be a big girl and hold it. I got desperate and got a spoon and tried to give her some that way. Obviously it is not a solution at all, but she loved it! I have definitely decided that she is ready for solids. My doctor said wait 6months or when she is showing she is ready and interest. She is constantly grabbing for food and loved the spoon today. I think I will start cereal on Sunday and do that until she is six months. At that time I will start vegetables, etc. I am going to keep trying with the bottle. I really hope I am successful because I would really like to be able to leave Ashlyn for more than 4 hours at a time!


She has such big eyes!

My happy, happy girl

Sitting up!

She does it so well!

5 Months Old

Today Ashlyn is 5 months old! As usual I can not believe how fast they grow! She has really changed this month. My Mom has always said that this is her favorite age for babies. Now I know why. She is just so much fun! She is a really, really happy baby. She is always smiling at everyone. It is also really easy to get her laugh. She can be crying and all we have to do is make a funny face and she will stop and smile.

Ashlyn is doing really well developmentally. She continues to stand so well on her legs. I swear she will be walking at a fairly young age. She is also sitting up well. Today she was sitting up unsupported for about 15-20 seconds. I think she will be doing it really well in a couple of weeks. She "talks" and coos constantly. She is my little talker and she loves it when I talk back to her. She has become such an explorer. She has to touch and grab EVERYTHING! It is a little challenging at times because we have to be careful nothing dangerous is anywhere near her. She loves to pet animals. Anytime the dog or cat gets near her she reaches her hand out and pets them. It's really cute! She is also really good at taking her pacifier out and putting it back in. She is on the go and does not just want to be held and cuddled anymore. She still fights tummy time, but I am working on making her do it more and more. The problem is that she can now roll over from her stomach to her back. So, if I put her on her stomach and she does not like, she just rolls over. We will keep at it and hopefully she will be crawling in the near future.

We have gotten into a pretty good routine. Especially at bedtime. Some nights we do a bath before bed. Ashlyn continues to love baths. She now plays with toys in the bath. She has a great time! We always read a book before bed. She loves to look at the pictures. She always listens so intently. I think it is because I have been reading to her since the day she came home. We put her to bed between 7:30 and 8:00. She always cries a little before she falls asleep. Some nights are better than others. She does sleep in her crib in her own room. She usually wakes up between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. I feed her and she sleeps with us until 7:30 or 8:00. We are all finally getting some good sleep! During the day we play and play. She takes a few short naps during the day.

We are going to start feeding Ashlyn cereal in two weeks. We are very excited to see how she likes it. We will do cereal for two weeks before we start vegetables. I will post pictures for everyone to see.

Everything else is really good here. It is still freezing here but we are hoping for some warm weather soon! We have lots of fun outdoor places we want to take Ashlyn. Joey loves his new job at T Rowe Price. I think its a great fit for him. His shift is from 12:00 p.m. -9:00 p.m. Ashlyn is asleep when he gets home, but he gets plenty of time with her before work. I am working on job applications and looking for teaching jobs next year.

Life is really good for us. We truly feel blessed by everything God has given us. We are loving every second with Ashlyn and everything she has in store for us!


The dreaded tummy time!

Showing how well she can stand.

Ashlyn and Mommy. Crazy hair as usual!

She loves playing in her excersaucer.

Ashlyn and her Daddy

Practicing sitting up

Still practicing

Her crazy bed head! Her hair still has a mind of it's own! I try everything and it never wants to lay flat!!!

Playing some more