Swimming and Valentine's Day

This week and weekend was another busy one! On Friday night, Ashlyn went to another Parent's Night Out. This time we decided to only have her stay for two hours. While Ashlyn was having a great time, Joey and I were able to go out to dinner just the two of us. When we picked Ashlyn up, she was eating pizza and having a great time with the other kids. It was really cute. We all had a great night.

On Saturday, we started our Valentine's day bright and early. We went out to breakfast. After breakfast, we headed to swimming lessons. This was Ashlyn's second swimming lesson. I am not sure how I feel about them. She has a different instructor than they one last time. This woman is very serious about swimming. We don't really play games, we focus on learning how to swim. I think learning how to swim is a very important skill. I just signed up for the lessons as something fun for us to do. She just seems to young to really start doing some of the skills. We will finish her last two lessons, but I don't think we will take them again until this summer. The YMCA we go to is extremely busy on Saturday mornings. It is so busy that it is almost too hectic and crowded. In the summer, we can go during the week and it is not so bad. This week Ashlyn did start jumping of the side of the pool to me. It is the cutest thing. She really does love being in the water. Joey and I want to take an overnight trip to Denver some weekend soon, and swim in the pool. I also want to take her to the aquarium or the children's museum.

Ashlyn had her gymnastics class shortly after swimming. It is a really long morning for her. She really does not get a nap in between the two and is very tired. She is not enjoying her gymnastics classes as well, because she is so tired. I am going to try and call this week and see if we can take her last swimming lessons on Wednesday nights.

Ashlyn did get to open her Valentine's day gifts when we got home. She was wearing an adorable outfit with a shirt that said "I Love Mommy". I wanted to take pictures of her opening her gifts and of her outfit. Of course, my camera died the second I started taking pictures. Ashlyn got an Ariel doll and an Elmo dvd. She was very happy with her gifts!

Below are the pictures from this week. I apologize that they are a little out of order.

Sitting on the side of the pool.

Ashlyn is just like her mom was when she was girl. She loves dolls! We bought her a toy baby bottle to feed her dolls with. We didn't even have to show her what to do, she just knew. Here she is feeding her kitty.

More feeding pictures

Opening her gifts. She loves opening gifts.

She was so excited!

15 Months and New Pics

Friday was Ashlyn's 15 month birthday. I took the day off so we could go to the doctor. Ashlyn only weighed 18 lbs 60z (I think that is what it was), anyways she has only gained 3 ounces in 3 months!!! I, of course freaked out. The doctor assured me that she is fine. He did remind me that she has been sick and probably lost a few ounces from it. He also pointed out that Ashyln is very petite. She has been since she was a month old or so. He said that she has such tiny wrists and ankles. He said that we need to get in her in dance classes or gymnastics. She is 30 1/2 inches tall. She is now in the 5% for weight and the 50% for height. The doctor says she looks great. He said she is right on track for everything. She did have to get two shots, but she barely cried at all. I also talked to him about her cold. He checked her ears, nose, throat, and lungs and said she looked fine. I am glad that we had an appointment scheduled because her cold was a bad one and she still is fighting it! I think that Joey, my Mom, and I are all getting it. It is a nasty one!

After the doctor, I learned a very important lesson- don't take a sick baby who has not had a morning nap, to get pictures! It definitely was not my best decision ever. The doctor and the portrait place are close to one another, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone. We decided to try a new portrait place. I have not been happy with the pictures we have been getting at the previous place. The previous place was always a zoo and they literally would only take 6 shots for you to pick from. This new place was not busy at all (we did go at a good time). The photographers were wonderful. They never seemed to get annoyed with Ashlyn being cranky. She is very mobile now. They would put her in one pose, and she would immediately get up. It was very challenging getting her to stay still long enough to get some pictures. She also was tired and kept crying. Somehow, these very talented photographers managed to get 60 shots. They got some really good ones. I intended to only get a very small package. I was going to do her "big" pictures at 18 months. Well- I walked out of there with 27 portrait sheets! (They are very reasonably priced!)

I thought I would share some of the pictures. We usually get pictures cd's, but I never get around to posting the pictures.


This is a picture of Ashlyn being not very cooperative

She just hugged the teddy bear. It was cute!

This one is one of my favorites

She looks so cute in this little chair

Sick

Poor Ashlyn has been sick the last few days. She is getting better, but it has been a slow road to recovery. She has a croupy sounding cough. She has been congested and it is now all draining. We have been giving her lots of extra hugs and cuddling. We were supposed to start swimming lessons tonight, but she is just not well enough. We ended up switching her classes to Saturday mornings. Her first lesson will be this Saturday. Saturday's are going to be a little crazy with swim lessons and gym classes, but we will make do.

We did have a great weekend. The weather was just beautiful here. We decided to venture out to the zoo on Saturday. Ashlyn and I went with my sister and a friend. I think lots of other people wanted to take advantage of the warm weather, as the zoo was very busy. We did manage to see some animals. We attempted to feed the giraffes, but Ashlyn was very scared. (Add giraffes to the list with Santa, of VERY scary things!) She did really enjoy the monkeys and gorillas. The zoo has a really neat area for viewing them and she was just mesmerized by them. I can't wait to go the zoo more as the weather continues to warm up in the next couple of months!

Ashlyn turns 15 months old on Friday. Wasn't she just turning one? I realize more and more everyday that she really is a toddler now and not a baby :( It makes me sad, but we are truly enjoying this stage. She is saying "Mommy" this week. Mommy is even cuter than Mama. I think she picked it up because I am always referring to myself as Mommy. I took the day off on Friday. We are starting the day with a doctor's appointment. I hope that she is well enough to get her shots, as it is very difficult to get an appointment with her doctor! After the doctor's, we are heading to a new picture place to get her pictures done. Since they are only her 15 month pictures, I am going to try not to go overboard. (I always say that.) I don't think I will be too successful because when I booked the appointment they said they take 50-80 shots. The place we usually go to only take 6. I hope we get some good ones. I have not been too pleased with the pictures we have been getting from the old place.

Below are some random pictures we have taken the last few weeks. I am trying to get better about updating, but it is just so hard to fit everything in these days!



Laying down in her toy basket.

She was having fun!

Her new outfit. The shirt says "Wild about Daddy"

Doesn't she look so grown up?

Playing with her best friend, Alli.

She is trying to get Alli to chase after her.

Trying to ride Alli like a horse.

Best buds!

Gym Fun

I just had to update about Ashlyn's big night out last Friday. When I dropped Ashlyn off, she was very excited. She just took right off for the play area and never looked back. I knew right away that she was going to have a great time! I was also pleased with the amount of adults supervising the kids. One of the employees immediately went over to Ashlyn and started playing with her and helping her. I really did feel good about leaving her.

Joey and I enjoyed our dinner. The food was wonderful, and it was quite a treat to get to eat dinner for several hours. My sister went to pick up Ashlyn since dinner went past the pick up time. Katy said that she watched from the car for a few minutes to see how it was going. She said that she saw Ashlyn having a blast. She was playing with other kids. Katy said that the same employee was still playing with her and following her around. Katy went in and as soon as Ashlyn saw her, her face lite up and she ran right to her Auntie. Katy said it was the cutest thing she had ever seen!

The next morning, we headed back to the gym for class. Everyone there said she did just wonderful. They said they were impressed with how well she did. She did not cry once. I am very happy with how the experience went. They do the parents night out once a month or so. I think Joey and I are going to sign her up again soon. I just think it is great social interaction for her. I don't want her to become really clingy and not let Joey and I leave her anywhere. Below are some pictures of class on Saturday. As you can see, it is a great place and Ashlyn always gets to try new adventures!

Climbing out of the ball pit.

On the trampoline. She was jumping, just not in the picture.

Going down the slide, her favorite part.

Trying out the ball. (This is the employee she was playing with the night before. Ashlyn just absolutely loves her. She is so good with kids.)

Rolling with the ball.

Balancing on the ball

Swinging from the bar. She literally smiles like that the ENTIRE time.

Riding in a swing

Singing a song with Mom.