Phoenix

We headed to Phoenix again on December 31st. This was Ashlyn's third time going to Phoenix!!! Since it is late, I am not going to go into great detail about our trip.

We had a wonderful time. It is always so nice to go down there because we get to see people we don't often get to see. We got to spend lots of time with my Grandma which is always so nice. We also saw Jacob and Maya when we were down there. I got to meet Nadia for the first time. She is 3 months old now and just adorable. She is such a sweet girl. I was excited to see how Ashlyn reacted to a baby. She really did not seem too interested in her. She did love to watch as Nadia was getting changed. She also was not phased at all when I held Nadia. Maybe she will be a great big sister one day? My friend Jen came over one day to visit. She brought her son, Kosten. The last time Ashlyn saw Kosten, she was 6 months old and he was a little under 5 months I think. They have both changed a lot in the last few months. She enjoyed playing with him. Especially because he is a BOY! Joey really enjoyed Phoenix and plans to join us on future trips. It was so nice to get away for a few days. I just wish the weather would have been a bit warmer!


Waiting to go to the airport.

Playing at her favorite kitchen.

Checking out Nadia.

She was not too sure what to think.

Getting a better view

She had to touch her to see what she felt like.

An adorable picture of little Nadia.

I think she is making the funniest face in this picture!

Outside exploring

Playing

With Daddy at a restaurant

I love her face in this one

Playing with the kitchen Ashlyn's Great Grandma bought her for Christmas. What a perfect gift!

Playing with Kosten. This is the first time Ashlyn has really gotten to play with a child her age.

They shared really well.

How cute!

We tried our best to get a picture of the two of them. It was next to impossible!

They are too cute!

On the plane on the way home.

Christmas '08

I am finally getting around to posting about Christmas. I wish I had done it sooner when it was still fresh in my mind, but I will try my best:) Christmas Eve dinner was really nice. As I had mentioned, we went to a German restaurant. Ashlyn ate lots of spatzle. Ashlyn also got to see my cousin Luke. He was sitting down the table where she could not see him. After we ate, he came and sat by my Uncle. Ashlyn just sat there and stared at him. It was the funniest thing. I think Luke was a little weirded out by her staring. We enjoyed seeing family that we do not see nearly enough. After dinner, we headed to my parents house. I got Ashlyn dressed in her new Christmas pj's. I read her "The Night Before Christmas" and she was off to bed.

We woke up bright and early the next morning. Ashlyn had a great time opening her stocking. She really did open all of her gifts. It was really cute. After we opened our stockings, we had breakfast. Shortly after breakfast, Ashlyn started to get tired and a bit grumpy. I think opening all of those stocking stuffers really wore her out! Ashlyn took a nap while we opened our presents. When she woke up later, she got to open all of her gifts. She got sooooo many gifts. As I am sure you are all surprised, she is a bit spoiled:) Santa brought Ashlyn a kitchen. It was her favorite gift. She just loves playing with that thing. My Grandma made her lots of play food. She also got some dishes. She just loves to "cook". I think it has to be the DeLorme in her!

We spent the rest of the day playing with her new gifts. We also ate a wonderful Christmas dinner. It was a great Christmas. We got everything we wanted and more. It was a relaxing day spent with family. Here are a bunch of pictures from the day.

P.S.- When I scrolled down to add captions to the pictures, I was reminded of the Santa incident. My Mom bought a Santa suit last year at Target on clearance. We thought it might be fun to have around. Well, since her first Santa picture went so horribly, I asked my Dad if he would put the suit on since Joey was at work. My Dad, being a great Papa, happily obliged. As soon as he put that hat and beard on she FREAKED out! She started crying and would not get anywhere near him. So, my Dad took of the suit. She was fine after that. Well, when we got home from dinner on Christmas Eve, Joey decided he wanted to see what she would do if he wore the suit. Again, once the beard and hat went on, she was not happy. She did a tiny bit better with Joey, but still freaked out and would not let me get a picture. So, we have concluded that Santa is a VERY scary man to poor Ashlyn. I am hoping her fear diminishes by next year!



Ashlyn's Christmas shirt. It says "Grandma and Santa have my list covered".

She loves laying on this ottoman and being pushed around.

What happened when Papa turned into that scary man in the red suit.

Ashlyn and Mommy.

I love my little girl so much!

I took a picture of Ashlyn in this chair last year. My Mom and I thought it would be a cute tradition to take a picture of her in this chair every Christmas.

At dinner, mesmerized by my Luke.

Sitting on Daddy's lap at dinner.

I tried to take a picture of her Christmas pj's. They say "I'm Santa's Best Gift".

Running around before bed.

Trying to escape from evil Santa.

The look on her face in this picture is priceless!

Opening her first stocking stuffer.

More fun gifts

Her Uncle bought Ashlyn her very own cell phone!

Checking out her new loot.

How we knew that it was time for a nap!

Enjoying her yummy Christmas breakfast.

Unwrapping her new toys.

She looks too cute in this one!

Checking out what Santa brought.

Playing with her new kitchen.

Coming Soon!

Christmas pics are coming soon. Things have been beyond hectic here. Leaving for Phoenix the day after Christmas and coming back on Wednesday has left me very little time. Joey's brother and his girlfriend were in town so we have been keeping busy with them. I have not even put any of our Christmas loot away! This is my last weekend before I go back to work. I promise to put up some pictures. We got TONS of new ones of Ashlyn. I will have new ones up by the end of this weekend!

Camera and Christmas Eve

Right after I blogged the other day about waiting for my camera, it arrived the very next day! I was very happy. They fixed it free of charge too since it was still under warranty. I was very impressed by Sony's customer service. I went out and bought a new memory card today that holds 1200 pictures. I am ready to start snapping away and make up for lost time. (It's been 3 months since I have had a camera!)

Ashlyn continues to say a new word about each day. Yesterday, she said "Alli' for the first time. It is the cutest thing because she really says it. my sister is hoping Auntie is next.

Our Christmas Eve has been going very well. Joey has to work today and left bright and early this morning. Ashlyn and I did a little last minute shopping with my Mom this morning. After we went shopping, we headed up to my parents house. We have been here all day baking and cooking. I made homemade cinnamon rolls. They look really good so far. We shall see tomorrow morning how they taste. Ashlyn did very good this morning not messing with the presents. She barely even looked twice at them. This afternoon, she lost it! She kept sneaking over to gifts and ripping at the paper. It has been rather difficult to keep her away. Luckily, the ones she keeps opening are hers. She should have a lot of fun tomorrow! Ashlyn is napping right now.

We were going to go to church this evening. It is very important to me that we go to church on Christmas Eve. The problem is that we don't regularly attend a church. We were going to go to the candlelight service at a church downtown. I just don't think that Ashlyn is at a very good age for Christmas Eve service. I don't know how she would do if we left her in the nursery since she has never been there before. I don't dare attempt to take her with me to the service because I know that she would not sit that long. I figure next year, I can bring paper and a pen or some little toy to entertain her. So, to make a long story short, we won't be going to church this year.

We are going to a German restaurant for dinner. This restaurant is very special to me. We went there every year on Christmas Eve when I was growing up. (Unless we were in Wyoming.) We would always go with my Grandparents and my Dad's side of the family. This year my parents, Grandma, brother, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins are going. I am looking forward to seeing family I don't often see. Although my Grandparents who started the tradition won't be there, I know that they will be in our thoughts. I am excited for Ashlyn to try their food. We make spaetzel(sp?) at home from time to time. She LOVES it!

I will update some time this week. I plan on taking lots of pictures tonight and tomorrow. We leave for Phoenix on Friday, so I hope to at least update a little before then.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!!!! Below are a few pictures I took the last few days.

Running around the house like usual.

Helping Mommy fold laundry.

In the bath. Can you see her teeth? She has 81/2. She is getting her 18 month molars already.

Ashlyn decided last night that she didn't much feel like sleeping in her bed. We let her sleep with us. She crawled right over to her Daddy and cuddle up with him.

The new vest that my Mom bought her. She looks like a stuffed animal!

Sorry, it's on here twice!

It's Been A While

I have not been in the mood to blog much since we still have no camera. I feel horrible because I have taken pictures of Ashlyn almost daily since she has been born. I have not taken a single picture in two weeks. I finally sent in our camera. I hope that it does not take too long to get fixed. The holidays always delay things.

Ashlyn continues to do great. She is as sweet and cute as ever. I am on holiday break for the next two weeks and I am really looking forward to getting to spend a lot of time with her. I am also signing her up for swimming lessons for the month of January. We will go to the classes on Wednesday nights. I am also excited to do something together each week. She is constantly saying "Daddy" all the time. It is the cutest thing. She is such a Daddy's girl.

We are finishing up all of our preparations for Christmas. I keep saying that I am not going to buy Ashlyn another present, and then I see something she just has to have. She is so different then she was last Christmas. She really enjoys toys now and I am excited to see her play with some of the things we got her. The day after Christmas, Joey, Ashlyn, my brother, parents, and me are heading to Phoenix. I am excited to show Joey Phoenix since he has never been. I am also excited to see family and friends out there.

I will be taking pictures on Christmas with my Mom's camera. I will post those as soon as I get a chance. Happy holidays to everyone!!!

Scary Santa

We had a very eventful weekend this week. On Saturday, we headed to the mall bright and early to get Ashlyn's picture taken with Santa. Of course there was a long line. We waited in line for 45 minutes. I was pretty weary of how Ashlyn would react to Santa. I know she is at the age were kids are very afraid of him. We finally got to the front of the line. The woman working there said it would be best to hand her to Santa with her back to him. I handed her over and she did not even notice. She did not smile, but they were able to take two quick pictures. I went over to view the pictures, and the photographer informed me that he ran out of film. The pictures did not take. He had to change the camera or something. Well, while we were waiting, Ashlyn had time to get a good look at Santa. She was not impressed or amused. She started crying. When it was time to take the picture, I tried handing her over and she was screaming and hanging on to me for dear life. They suggested that I get in the picture with her. I was so annoyed with the photographer, that I just agreed. Well, the pictures turned out horrible. We had waited in line so long that I just bought them. I paid $22 for a picture that I do not want anyone to see. It is coincidentally the worse picture of me that I have ever seen. I will tuck it into her baby book and not look at it again. I am so upset that I spent $22 a an hour of my time to get a picture like that. We bought a Santa suit on clearance last year. I am going to talk my brother or Dad into dressing up like Santa. I am going to see if I can get a better picture of Ashlyn with Santa. It could not be any worse than the one we got!

Later that day, we went out to dinner with my family. Today was my Mom's birthday, and we decided to go out Saturday night for dinner. I wanted to go to the Parade of Lights downtown. Well, dinner took longer than expected. By the time we got done and headed downtown, there was thousands of people. We could not find a parking space, there were cars everywhere, and it was just total chaos. We decided to forgo the parade and head to the zoo. The zoo was pretty with all the lights. We rode the new ski lift to the top. The city lights were beautiful! We get in free because I have a membership. So, we did not stay long and decided we would come back again another night. What a day!

Ashlyn is talking like crazy! We still can't understand a majority of what she says, but she is talking constantly. She is now saying "nice", "dog", "banana", "kitty" and a bunch of other jibberish. It is pretty cute!

We spend today over at my brother's house watching football and celebrating my Mom's birthday. It was a great day spent with family. As usual, Ashlyn entertained us all. Ashlyn wanted me to say "Happy Birthday Gram" on her blog!


In front of some of the lights at the zoo.

You can't see the view very well, but it is incredible!

Playing at the park behind her Uncle's house.

Smiling for the camera.

It started to get cold.

She likes to be a big girl and sit in big girl chairs. She REALLY needs another haircut. I am thinking sometime this week.

Ashlyn cuddling with her Uncle. She is very odd and sucks on her arm when she is tired. She was tired in this picture, so that is why she has her arm in her mouth.

Thanksgiving Pics

Here are the Thanksgiving pictures finally. Sorry about the quality. I am making it a big priority this week to send our camera in so we can finally take lots of pictures again!

Ashlyn's first Thanksgiving meal.

Yummy food!

Showing off her pretty dress.

Riding Butterscotch at her Grandparents.

Looking for some toys.

Enjoying football!