Birthday Fun at 19 Months

I apologize for my lack of posts. I was planning on updating on Monday, and then our Internet went out. We just got the problem fixed today. We are leaving to go see Adam and Jane in Texas tomorrow. It has been very hectic getting ready for the trip. I wanted to make sure that I blogged before we left, so I wouldn't have tons to update when we get back. We are driving out there. It is approximately 15 hours each way. Please pray for our safety and for Ashlyn to do well. I am hoping she actually sleeps a little this time!!!

Ashlyn went to her 2nd birthday party on Saturday. It was for her friend Hayden who was turning 3. Joey went to school with Hayden's parents, so he has known them for a long time. Even though Hayden is 1 1/2 older, Ashlyn just adores her. Ashlyn has know her since birth and it has been fun to see them grow. Hayden had a princess party. The most exciting part was she had a bounce house at her party. Ashlyn LOVED it!!! She couldn't get enough of it. She kept wanting to go back in it. She took some water and food breaks, but besides that she wanted to keep jumping.

Ashlyn also turned 19 months the day of the party. How come each month just flies by so quickly? She truly is a little girl now. She is very smart and amazes us each day with her intelligence. She will be 2 before we know it!

Here are lots of pictures from the party. I hope that they did an okay job of capturing the joy and fun she got from the bounce house.

P.S.- I have gone on 3 job interviews so far. I am still waiting to hear back from one. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers while I continue to find a job for next year!

So much fun!

Hayden and Ashlyn having a great time!

It wore her out!

They had so much fun!

I love her face in this one!

Taking a water break with Dad.

Smiling for the camera.

Oops! A wedding picture snuck in here. I still can't for the life of me figure out how to delete them!

Yummy! Eating birthday cake.

The cake was so good!

The birthday girl hitting the pinata.

Ashlyn taking a turn with help from Mom.

Picking out candy

Holding a bracelet from her treat bag.

Daddy and his princess.

Park Fun

The weather was finally nice enough last week to get outside. Ashlyn just loves playing outside. The weather here has just been horrible this summer. Almost every day has been rainy, gloomy, and cloudy. I am glad we got a few days of nice weather. Can't wait for more! The first pictures are Ashlyn playing in our backyard. Ashlyn's grandparents bought her a play set. It came in 1,000,000 pieces. Joey assembled it all by himself! Ashlyn is proud of her Dad's hard work and loves it!


Her play set has a little clubhouse.

Going down her very own slide.

Going up her very own slide. She looks like such a big girl in this picture!

Ashlyn in front of her playhouse. This was my playhouse when I was younger. My sister and I just loved playing in it. My parents saved it all these years and brought it over. Ashlyn just loves it! She loves the little door and the shutters on the windows.

Her very own house.

She just loves slides!

So much to do at the park.

ALWAYS on the run!!!!

My flower beds have been doing great this year. I think this is due to Joey's very green thumb. I thought I would post a picture of my columbines. Aren't they pretty?

Flower Girl Fun

This past weekend was the big wedding. We spent all weekend up in Denver and had a wonderful time! Ashlyn did a great job as flower girl. We started the weekend on Friday night at the rehearsal. The wedding was at a beautiful garden in Denver. It was the PERFECT spot for a wedding. Ashlyn practiced walking down the aisle and did pretty good. Joey was standing at the end, so she just literally ran down the aisle to him. It was pretty funny! After the rehearsal, we headed to an Italian restaurant for dinner. The food was wonderful! Ashlyn got pretty antsy during dinner.

The next morning, we woke up and did some swimming in the hotel pool. We went out to lunch and just spent the day hanging around the hotel. We headed to the wedding around 4:00. Joey was the officiant for the couple. He was a bit nervous for the ceremony. The guests were arriving and we stood around and waited for Ashlyn's turn to go. Since it was outdoors, we had to stand right behind all the guests. It was pretty challenging to get Ashlyn to stand quietly while we waited for the ceremony to start. When it was time for Ashlyn to go, she was very excited to get down because I had been holding her for a while. She started walking down the aisle. I thought she was going to walk the whole way. She kind of looked up and saw everyone staring at her, and did a big U turn. It was pretty funny and cute. I grabbed her hand and walked her the rest of the way. Everyone was commenting on how cute she was as we walked down the aisle. We sat in the back during the ceremony. I came prepared with some fruit snacks that kept Ashlyn very busy. She actually set quietly during the ceremony. All and all she did a great job for her age. Joey did a great job officiating the ceremony. I don't think anyone would have guessed it was his first time. We were very proud of him! After the ceremony, my parents met us at the garden and picked Ashlyn up for the night. We headed to the reception and had a great night!

This has been my first week of summer break. Ashlyn and I are having a wonderful time spending all day together. The weather has been just horrible. It has been cold and raining for the last two days. Ashlyn is dying to get outside and play with her new swing set and sandbox. Hopefully one of these days this week! We went to Ashlyn's gym class today. Today, she was showing me how well she has mastered the the word "no". Everything she was saying was "no". I have been dreading this day for a VERY long time! It should be fun to see how and when she continues to use the word "no".

Ashlyn is going to her 2nd birthday party Saturday. It is for a friend that is turning 3. She is having a princess bounce house party. I am thinking that Ashlyn will have a blast! Besides that, we do not have any plans.

I have a big job interview on Thursday. It is a 4th grade position at a school right down the street from my old school. It would be great because I would already be very familiar with the curriculum. I would LOVE to be offered a position sooner rather than later so I can enjoy my vacation without worrying about a job! I really, really want this job! Please pray that my interview goes well!



With Daddy at the rehearsal dinner.

Trying a lime. Her reaction was really cute!

Nice, big smile for the camera

Holding her very favorite Ariel doll

At lunch before the wedding. I bought her this shirt a long time ago. I just randomly packed it for her to wear. When I put it on that morning, I realized it said "I am a flower girl". It was really funny!

Ashlyn with her Aunt Jane

Checking out her flower petals

Picture with Uncle Adam and Aunt Jane

Holding Auntie's hand. Isn't she the cutest?

Quick family pic

Another family pic

Starting to walk down the aisle on her own

I really thought she could do it!

On second thought, she needed Mom after all!

She seemed to enjoy all of the attention

Joey performing the ceremony

Words, Words, and More Words

Well, the doctor was right. Ashlyn is entering a language EXPLOSION! She is talking like crazy! Everyday she says at least a dozen new words. She is such a smart girl. Her favorite thing to say is "that hot". All food is hot to her. She points to all food and says "that hot". It is pretty cute.

She also said "Uncle" for the first time this week. Both of her Uncle Steven and Bryan were happy to hear that. We are hoping she says it for her Uncle Adam when he is in town this week. Ashlyn also knows all of her body parts. She can point to everything from her knee to her chin. She can also say most of them. We are working on colors. She knows yellow really well. She was just sitting next to me and out of nowhere pointed to her yellow pajama pants and said "yellow". She then pointed to Joey's yellow shirt and said "yellow". I only have 2 days of school left. I am so excited to get to spend all day everyday with Ashlyn. We are really going to work on colors, counting, etc.

Ashlyn is also really good at saying "please" and "thank you". Anytime you give her something she says "thank you". She understands everything you tell her. I am still getting used to the notion that she can comprehend what I am saying to her. For so long she never was able to respond and now she does. She follows directions really well when she wants to.

We are truly having an amazing time watching Ashlyn learn new things each and everyday. We feel so lucky and blessed to have such an amazing little girl.

This weekend we are heading up to Denver for a wedding. Ashlyn is going to be the flower girl. I am hoping that she can make it through most of the rehearsal and dinner on Friday night. Saturday is the big wedding. I hope she does okay. I am not worried about how she will do walking down the aisle, I am worried that she won't sit quietly during the ceremony. We will see. I will take lots of pictures. I have been really bad about it. We just seem to forget to take out the camera. Here are a few I took this week.

18 Month Checkup

Ashlyn had her 18 month checkup on Friday. It went very well. She now weighs 21.3 pounds and is in the 10% for her weight. I did not catch her exact height, but she is now in the 60% for her height. So, she remains very skinny and is now getting a little taller for her age. He said she looks like a 2 year old despite how skinny she is. He said she is definitely precocious as a 2 year old.

The doctor said she looked great. He said her teeth looked great and that she was getting more molars. I asked him about how she never sits still. He said that is perfectly normal. He said if she was doing this in 1st grade, it would be a problem. He said that in his experience, the kids that never sit still are the smartest since they just want to explore and learn. I don't know if there is any truth to that or not:) If there is, Ashlyn will be a genius since she NEVER sits still!!!

He was pretty impressed with the fact that she crawled out of her crib and over the baby gate. He said he could tell there was never a dull moment with her. He said her intelligence is going to continue to keep us on our toes! I think it will too! He also said to expect a huge language explosion in the next month or two. I am excited for more words!

She did have to get one shot. They gave her a little dog and that distracted her. When they did the shot, she cried for 2 seconds and was fine. She is my brave girl! She was happy as a clam with her dog and she also got a sticker!

It was a great visit as usual. We won't be going back for 6 months. I hope our girl continues to grow happy and healthy!!!!

MS Walk and Mother's Day

On Saturday, we did the walk for MS. All week the weather report was not favorable for Saturday. They were predicting drizzle and cold. I was concerned about taking Ashlyn. Last year, we left her at home because the weather was supposed to be bad. Once we got there, the weather was nice. We decided to brave it this year with Ashlyn. We woke up on Saturday, and it was sunny and there was no rain! The weather could have been warmer, but it turned out to be a decent day. We had a great time! We walked and enjoyed each other's company. Ashlyn had a great time on what will be the first of many, many MS walks that she will be part of. We had about 10 people walking with us. We raised over $1500!!! Thank you again for all of you that donated and walked for such a great cause. As everyone knows, this is a cause that is very near and dear to our family. Words cannot express our gratitude to those that contributed to our walk! Thank you!!!!!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I couldn't have asked for a better day. We started the day by going to breakfast with my mom and grandma. After breakfast, I spent the rest of the day doing whatever I felt like. It was great! Joey and Ashlyn got me exactly what I wanted for Mother's Day. I just feel so blessed to be a mother of such a beautiful and amazing little girl. The day always makes me feel so blessed and lucky. I hope all the mothers had a wonderful day as well!

To update on the crib issue, Ashlyn is doing wonderful in her bed. There were a couple of rough nights at first, but she is doing great. We put a gate up in front of her door so we could see her without having to open her door and risk waking her. Well, last night she climbed over the gate! That girl is seriously a daredevil monkey!!!! She wants to climb everything. We have resorted to just shutting her door. We usually hear her playing up there for a few minutes, but when she is tired she puts herself in bed and goes to sleep. So, this far it has not been as bad as we first thought. We are going to Texas in June to see Adam and Jane. When we are there, we are stopping by at IKEA to get Ashlyn a real big girl bed. I can't wait!

I only have 11 more days of school left! I am hoping they go by quickly and smoothly. While it will be bittersweet, I am just grateful to have made it through this year and this teaching experience. I am more than ready to move on to a class that is less challenging! I can honestly say that I am now ready for anything!!!!! The other big event this month is a wedding the last weekend of May. A friend of Joey's is getting married. Joey is actually marrying the couple and Ashlyn is a flower girl. Should be an interesting day!


I had to post pictures of our tulip garden. Joey's Mom's favorite flower was the tulip. When we bought this house, he planted a tulip garden in her memory. This is the first year we have gotten to see them. They have just been beautiful! We have truly enjoyed looking at them each day. I will be sad when they are gone!

Aren't they just gorgeous? I will try to get some better pictures tomorrow.

A group picture before the MS walk started.

Ashlyn sitting in front of Grandma's garden.

Ashlyn pretending a toy was a phone. She is obsessed with phones!!!

She was having a great time!

Riding on her "ATV".

Doing a "trick". This girl is SUCH a daredevil. She has NO fear!

Ashlyn and Mommy on Mother's Day.

I am truly the luckiest mom in the whole world!!!!

18 Months and on the move!!!

I will add some pictures in the next day or two. Joey and I have been kind of lazy about taking pictures this week. We have not done much exciting to take pictures of!

Ashlyn turned 18 months old yesterday. As I say every time, I can't believe she is 18 months old! She is halfway to 2! She has been acting more like she is two lately. Like she has since birth, Ashlyn knows exactly what she wants. If she does not get that, we are starting to see some tantrums. We are working on some ways to handle this. It's hard being a first time mom and not knowing what works. I guess we will learn just like any other first time parents: through trial and error!

The big news for Ashlyn this week at 18 months is that she finally learned how to crawl out of her crib! Joey and I were waiting for this day, and were really hoping it would come later than now. She first did this weekend when we were over at my parents. We put her upstairs in her crib over there to take a nap. We were downstairs, and before we knew it we saw Ashlyn walking around upstairs. We thought it was a fluke since the crib at my parents is older and isn't as low as hers. Well, two days later, Joey had the day off. He put her down for a nap and heard some noise upstairs. He went up there and she was standing in her room. She did it again that night. We looked on the internet and found this contraption http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6372421

We were both a little unsure if A) it would work and B) if it was even safe. $70.00 is a lot to spend on something that we won't be using for too long. If she had done this at 9 months old, I would have bought it in a heartbeat. We ultimately decided on turning her crib into a bed. We bought a little side rail to go on so she can't roll out. She wasn't very happy to have to sleep in it. I am a fan of Super Nanny, and decided to try her trick. We put her to bed and told her she needed to go to sleep. Every time she got up, we placed her back in bed. It lasted about an hour, but she finally fell asleep in her bed. We are going to do this every night until she goes right to sleep. I know that it will work. She did the same thing when we first moved her into her crib. It just takes some adjusting!

At 18 months Ashlyn is a wild and crazy toddler! She loves to dance and is constantly on the move. She just loves exploring and moving! She continues to use new words everyday. She also continues to put words together.

I thought I would list some of her favorites:

Food- This is a hard one. One day she will eat something, and totally love it. The next day, she will eat it and hate it! She loves yogurt and is a big cheese fan like her Mom!
Book- She loves any book, but really likes "Cat" that Auntie got her.
Show- Ashlyn has very little interest in t.v. She would rather dance to music. She watches less than an hour of t.v. a week. She does watch Elmo every morning when she is eating breakfast.
Toy- She loves her play kitchen. She also likes her lego/block/little people set. She also likes the ATV her uncle got her.
Thing to Do: anything with Mom and Dad and DANCE!!!!
Favorite Pet: her Alli!