Soccer and Miss Princess

Stretching before the game

    Ashlyn had her last swimming lesson last week.  She really has come a long way with her swimming.  I am actually getting ready to sign her up for another 4 months of lessons.  I am hoping she will be a little fish by the time her lessons are over.
    Soccer is winding down.  This week will be her last game.  Ashlyn has enjoyed soccer.  However, Joey and I aren't thinking it's the sport for her.  She likes playing with the kids, and running around, yet it just doesn't hold her attention long enough.  We may revisit it in the spring if she wants to play again.  I am thinking of trying gymnastics.  She loves the gymnastics gym we sometimes go to, and they offer lessons.  Our plan is to have her try several different things and see which activities she wants to pursue more.  I am also thinking we may do an art class since she loves to draw so much.  I still think she can excel at running too.  Only time will tell.
     I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but Ashlyn has always been girly, but lately she has taken it to a whole new level.  She now only wants to wear dresses.  Getting her to wear shorts is often difficult.  She is always asking me to do her hair, paint her nails, etc.  She has a jewelry box that my grandparents gave me as a child. She loves organizing her jewelry, trying on necklaces, putting her lip gloss in it, etc.  When she was around two years old she really liked the Little Mermaid.  Well, this week she has decided that she once again loves all things Ariel.  She really likes the fact that she is a princess just like her.
     Ashlyn's other newest hobby is making cards.  I have a huge set of drawers full of scrapbooking stuff from when I used to have time to do things like scrapbook.  I contemplated getting rid of it since I no longer scrapbook, but I thought I should save it for Ashlyn.  Well, the other day I showed her this set of drawers and she could not believe it.  She now spends a good part of her day just crafting.  Her favorite is making cards for everyone in her family.  She loves making them for her Gram, auntie, uncle, etc.  She continues to impress me with her ability to write words.  She is stellar at sounding them out and writing them all on her own.  Yesterday, I notice she had put some signs she made outside her door.  On one I noticed the word, "boy" written.  I asked what the sign said.  She told me it said "No boys allowed".  I asked Joey if he spelled "boy" for her, and he didn't.  That little girl is something else I tell you.  She is always making me smile and laugh!

Kicking the ball

water break

An action shot of Ashlyn. 

Yesterday, we told Ashlyn we were going shopping.  She immediately went upstairs to get ready.  She had to put a barrette in her hair and put on her favorite ring. 

Beautiful!!!

Silly girl.  In her favorite Ariel pajamas as usual

18 Months Old

        Dawson turned 18 months old yesterday!!! He is now halfway to two! I can't believe how fast our little man is growing.  He is still my baby, yet I am seeing more independence in him everyday.  He is still the world's biggest mama's boy.  He loves to be held and kissed.  When you ask for a kiss, he comes over and gives you the sweetest little kiss.  I am starting to notice that he seems to enjoy more play independent play time.  This is good for me because I can now get things done, but it makes me sad because it's another reminder how big he is getting!

       Dawson has become a really good sleeper.  He goes to bed every night around 7:00 and generally will sleep until 6:30-7:00 the next morning.  He still takes a good nap from about 1:00-3:30 every afternoon.  I have him on a pretty set schedule which he seems to do really well with.  The boy is just like me and LOVES his sleep.  

      Dawson's favorite foods still are fruits.  I buy a ton of fresh fruit and he literally inhales it.  Blueberries are his absolute favorite.  I keep telling Ashlyn that he is going to turn into a blueberry like the girl in Willy Wonka.  She thinks that is pretty funny.  Everything else he is hit or miss with.  Some days he will like a certain food, and the next time not so much.  It's fun to watch him decide what he likes and doesn't like.  He is still a pretty good eater and will eat most of what he is offered.  

       Trucks are Dawson's favorite toy.  He has a huge basket full of trucks that he plays with all day.  He loves pushing them around the floor.  If he doesn't have a truck handy, he will even take a shoe and push it around the floor pretending its a truck.  His favorite truck is one that plays music.  He is quite attached to it and the other day insisted that it sit on his highchair tray while he ate.  He is pretty good at sharing.  When he is around Ella, he will go over and hand her toys to play with.  He isn't as good as sharing with Ashlyn, but I suspect that's because she often takes toys from him.

        Dawson is still working on talking.  He is using more words consistently now.  His new favorite word is now, "Mine!".  He usually uses it when he wants something like my Ipad.  He is really good at saying Ella's name too.  A lot of what he says we still don't quite understand, but I know it will happen very, very soon. 

      Every night before bed, I read several books to Dawson.  His favorite book is a book about trucks and a barnyard book.  The barnyard book has all sorts of different animals and the sounds they make.  He always gets a kick out of his mom making funny animal sounds!

      We couldn't not have asked for a better son.  He is such a sweet, caring, and amazing little boy.  He is so funny and has a great sense of humor.  His sister can always make him laugh.  Or I can by "eating" his feet.  He absolutely loves to smile and laugh.  I am so unbelievably lucky to be his mom. 

     I always take pictures of Dawson every month on when he turns a new "age".  Joey went crazy taking pictures yesterday and he got some great ones.  Here are some of my favorite shots.

Mommy and Dawson

I always call him my little model baby.  He is just so handsome!

Mr. Cool

Love that face

Ashlyn can usually be seen leading her little brother around.  She is a great big sister.

Dawson really looks like my brother to me.  He really looks like my brother did as a baby in this picture. 

He loves to run

He still loves going down the slide

But, he likes climbing up the ladder to the slide even better

I absolutely love this one!!! This expression reminds me so much of Joey.

Loves his car

Just relaxing

He loves playing with his sister.  Ashlyn has recently decided that this is her favorite nightgown.  She informed me today that she is planning on wearing it to bed every night until Christmas. 

Haircuts and Sleepovers

    On  Saturday night, Ashlyn finally got to do something she has been wanting to do forever.  She had a friend spend the night!!!  Nadia was Ashlyn's first guest of honor.  The girls had a great time playing together.  We even went and got frozen yogurt which Ashlyn loved doing with a friend.  I think Ashlyn's favorite part was having Nadia there in the morning to play with first thing.  We can't wait to have Nadia spend the night again.  What fun was had!

This is the only picture I got.  The girls were making cards.

   Dawson's hair has gotten way too long.  It has been bothering me for some time, but we have just been too busy.  I know nothing about boy's hair and wanted Joey to take him since he knows more about boy hair.  Finally, on Sunday I insisted that Joey take him for a haircut.  Dawson came back looking absolutely adorable!  I love it when his hair is shorter and not looking long and like a 1970s child.  I need to remind myself to not let it get that long again!!!

Here is a before shot.  Dawson was pretending to be Daddy at work.

Such a busy boy

Here is the after shot.  So stinking cute!!! He looks so much older!

Here is the back

Cabin Week

Dawson checking out a chipmunk

       I was not able to blog last week, because we spent an entire week at the cabin.  Joey first suggested a few months ago that we spend a week up there this summer.  My first thought was, "No way! What would we do for a week?" I started thinking about it more and more and decided that it might be a really good idea after all.  So, we planned to go for a week in July.  Ashlyn was so excited to spend an entire week up there.  We had a absolutely amazing time.  I can't tell you how great it felt to get away from everything for a week.  No phones, internet, etc.  We spent the week exploring nature, going on adventures, and enjoying one another's company.  I couldn't have asked for a better week.  I don't think we could have had more fun anywhere else.  Joey and I decided that we will be definitely making this a yearly vacation.  It's so simple, easy, and inexpensive, yet we made some wonderful memories to last a lifetime! We did a lot and took a lot of pictures.  Here are some of my favorites from the week.

Every morning, the kids would go down and feed the chipmunks.

They are so cute and love crawling all over you.

They loved feeding them.

   On Monday, we decided to go down to the hot springs to check out their water slide.  We have been to the hot springs several times, we have just never gone to the water slide part.  We are so glad we did! It was so neat up there.  The water slide was a lot of fun.  They had a bunch of different pools to play in.  Ashlyn had a great time showing her dad all the swimming skills she has been learning.  We didn't want to leave and can't wait to go back!

Ashlyn and me on the water slide

Dawson's pouty face because he was too little to ride.  Maybe next year buddy.

Joey and Ashlyn

Here is a picture of some of the pools.  The backdrop could not be any prettier.

     When we first picked the week to go, I didn't realize I would have a big 10k race that following weekend.  I ran a lot of miles before we went up, however I still had to get some runs in while we were up there.  It is a challenge for sure to run at 10,000 feet plus.  I figure it's great training.  The biggest challenge was the fact that a lot of bears have been spotted in that area and I was way too afraid to run alone.  Joey figured out way to ride on the ATV with both kids and follow me while I ran.  I know we were a sight to be seen.  You really don't see anyone running up there.  I loved all of my runs and I don't think I can say I have ever ran in a more beautiful spot before.  Breathtaking!

This is what I got to look at

Such amazing scenery

The kids ready to go on a ride

   On Tuesday, we took a day trip to Salida.  We have been there a few times, but have never really explored the town too much.  We started the day by having lunch at Amicas. I had heard from many people that it was a can't miss when in Salida.  We were all definitely impressed.  Joey and I split a salad and a pizza and it was wonderful.  I can't wait to go back there again!

Dawson eating pizza

They brew their own root beer, and Ashlyn and Joey loved it.

   After lunch, we decided to walk around the downtown area a bit.  They have some neat shops and it reminded me of Old Colorado City.  We found a toy store and the kids had fun looking around.  Dawson fell in love with this train table.  I think I have an idea for what to get him for Christmas.  Ashlyn ended up picking out some marbles and Dawson got a little truck that he hasn't stopped playing with since.

Train fun

I saw this neat wall in an alley and had to take a picture. 

 

 

 

 

 

   Next, we headed to the river walk area.  They have really added to the park and made it very neat.  They even added a climbing wall.  They have areas where you can wade in the river away from the current. Of course, Ashlyn insisted on getting in.  She somehow lost her balance and got very wet.  Luckily, we had some extra clothes in the car.  We had such a great time in Salida and I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area. 

Joey and Ashlyn by the river

Ashlyn climbing up the wall

Playing in the river

Right after she fell in the water.  She wasn't too happy. 

     After the river, we decided to head back towards Buena Vista.  We decided to stop by this really neat park they have there.  It has a huge playground and it's beautiful with lots of big trees.  The kids had a great time running around.

Dawson loved this tunnel to climb through

Going down the pole all by herself

    After the park, we headed to Joey's dad's house for dinner.  He makes amazing spaghetti and meatballs, and he cooked them for us that night.  They were wonderful!  We definitely left there very full!  While we were there, of course the kids got to go hang out with the horses.  They always have a great time.  After dinner, we headed back up to the cabin. 

Checking out the horses

Little cowboy

Pointing at something

Helping Papa feed the horses bread

What a little stud!  Riding the horse bareback.

Riding together

I love this picture

Too cute

Ashlyn helping her brother ride the tricyle

Beautiful girl

     The rest of the week was spent up at the cabin.  We did a lot of relaxing, riding, exploring, and feeding chipmunks.  We had so much fun!

Dawson really enjoyed the chipmunks.

Ashlyn feeding

They are pretty cute

One morning we took a long ride.  Since the cabin is by an old mining town, there is still a lot of evidence of what used to be there.  I'm not sure what this building once was.

One morning, as I headed out on my run, Ashlyn asked me if she could run with me.  I told her of course she could.  I didn't think she would make it too far with the high altitude.  I was amazed when she ran an entire mile with me! Go Ashlyn!!!

Daddy and Dawson

  One day, Joey and Ashlyn went down to a nearby fishing lake.  Ashlyn really wanted to go fishing again.  They had a great time, but they weren't able to catch anything. 

Look at her go!

Waiting around

She already looks like a pro!