And. It's......

A GIRL!!!!!

Everything looked good at my mid-term ultrasound and Ashlynn's going to have a little sister. :)

Repentance. A looooooooooooooong repentance. :)

Hi. This is my attempt at catching up. I've been quite remiss in my journaling (aka blogging). You've already read the updates on Anthony and me. Not a lot has changed there. Tony's only got 2.5 more weeks of this quarter left. I've been using up my dental insurance for the year. Not fun. And we've decided to run down to Utah & Rexburg for a quick visit right before Christmas. And now for the interesting stuff. Ashlynn. >:)

She's actually got hair now. She can wear clips, bows and bands. Yeah! My sister, Rachel, did this hair-do. Now if only I could get Ash to leave it all in....

I've never met a child who adores fur and fuzziness more than my baby. Those textures have a very calming effect on her. Comes in handy at the grocery store, among other places.

We took Ashlynn to the local pumpkin patch the weekend before Halloween and she had a blast patting all the pumpkins and playing with the farmer's puppies.

This is the face of frustration. We get to see it quite a bit actually. The story behind this particular photo is brief. I had filled a tall container full of carefully folded baby clothes. Ashlynn emptied it out. Almost. She got very upset about not being able to reach the very bottom pieces. Hahahaha!

Little flower fairy. It was so hard to get a halfway decent picture. She wouldn't hold still.

Going through her bag after trick-or-treating. "Yeah!!! Candy!!!"

Birthday Party #1. With Anthony's side of the family. Day before Ashlynn's actual birthday. This is Daddy helping her blow out her candle. Ashlynn refused to eat her cupcake. Probably should have just put a candle on top of a banana or a pile of broccoli. Or better yet, her bottle.

Opening presents. With a little help.

Tony cutting the pizza for Birthday Party #2. With my family. On the 15th. Happy 1st Birthday Ashlynn!!

Party Girl.

Everyone decorating their own cupcakes. Ashlynn actually ate the candy off the top of her cupcake this time around. :)

Whew!

Jamie

Okay, okay. So, the picture is mostly of Ashlynn. But, it's a good smile from me. I know I shouldn't laugh when my baby falls on her face, but I do. Only when she doesn't cry though. :)

So, what's new with me? I'm busy with the before mention child, who is into EVERYTHING! And when she isn't all over the house searching and destroying, she wants me to hold her. So, I spend a lot of my time cuddling. Not complaining though. Just enjoying it while it lasts. I'll get my chores done some other day.

I've been crafting more. Can't say what I'm making right now because it's all for Christmas and some of the recipients may read this blog.

I'm also pregnant and just about half way through. I'm excited for the 9th of next month because I get to (hopefully) find out the baby's gender. Tony wants a boy. I can't imagine having anything else but girls. We'll see. I find myself forgetting that I'm pregnant some days, which is nice. I'm having a hard time remembering to drink enough water.

Can't think of anything else really exciting to tell you.

Oh! We're moving into an apartment in downtown Vashon between the 17th of November and the 1st of December (depends on when they finish spiffing it up). I think that's pretty exciting. :)

Guess my next post will be Halloween. Hope everyone has a good one!

Tony

Tony commented on how there is nothing about us on here. So I figure we'll update you on his life this post and my life on the next post. :)

So, Anthony is still working for his family's business as their graphic designer. He really likes it and from what I've seen of his work, he's really talented!

He's taking a couple of classes at Tacoma Community College this quarter and is s-l-o-w-l-y knocking out all the required classes to get his Associates in Business. He's taking math and english right now and says that his teachers are cool so far.

Anthony is REALLY enjoying Ashlynn and all her new phases. She's getting to be more playful and they have lots of fun wrestling, tickling and playing peek-a-boo together. He's a really good daddy. :)

Milestones in a Minute

Sorry that it's taken me so long to do this. I've been busy.




This first video was filmed at least a month ago. I finally decided to quickly document Ashlynn's bizzare crawl before she started walking. Glad I did.

This second video was filmed about two weeks ago on the day that Ashlynn decided to give up crawling. She has been walking (and improving) ever since.

Our Little Alarm Clock

Wouldn't you love to wake up to this happy face every morning? Alright, to be honest, half the time it's a mad, loud face. Ashlynn always wakes up before I do. She tells me to get up nicely at first, but if I don't move on the first request, I get an earful! *groan*

Cotton Swabs & Teeth

So, it's kind of a weird picture of her, but here is Ashlynn showing off her first two teeth. She really enjoys using them. >:)

Ashlynn loves getting into stuff. Here she found the basket where I keep her baby care items. Loving her some cotton swabs! Yum!

Contemplations

I just set up a new blog. It IS religious, but if you're so inclined, go check it out and please add it to the list of blogs you follow. I would LOVE to have your input! Thanks! http://mydailycontemplations.blogspot.com/

Baby Mine

8 months old now.

Mobile Monster

And she's off!!! Dang it. Now I gotta keep the floor clean. Ashlynn is scooting around. She can crawl, but (currently) prefers to get around on her hands, one foot, and the outside of one thigh. Huh???

And she's pulling herself up on things (like her crib, me, laundry baskets, other babies, furniture, anything that will hold still for two seconds).....and letting go! She tried to balance on her feet today. Of course that stunt quickly landed her on her rear. I told her that if she walks before she even really perfects crawling she is gonna be in BIG trouble.

And yes. She's drooling. Profusely. I'm assuming that if a child drenches 6 bibs in one day, a tooth isn't far very away. That sentence rhymes!

Oh yeah. And my perfect baby that sleeps, pretty much through every night? She's gone.

Someone replaced her with a hyper, squirmy-as-a-worm-on-hot-pavement kid. One that won't stay on her back when put in her crib to sleep. One that stands up in her bed (see pictures) and yells at me from across the room. Several. Times. Every. Night. One that won't sweetly nurse and fall back to sleep in bed with me. No! This one crawls all over the place, pulling my hair, smacking my face, poking her daddy's eyes, and then falls off the bed (which makes us all sad). *sigh*

I love this new kid though. She crawls over to get hugs, kisses, and cuddles when we're playing on the floor together. The old Ashlynn didn't do that. So, I guess it's all give and take, right? :)

Pool Party Princess

We went to Chance and Brice Pecheos’ birthday party yesterday and Ashlynn had a blast in the pool. It was her first time “swimming” and she was very angry when we made her get out. Sorry about so many pics. I just love them all and the video is poor because it was taken on the camera AND sideways, which I don’t know how to fix….

Naptime?

So, Ashlynn had a nice, long nap today. I was in the room for half of it. As I was leaving, I realized that she had her arm thrown over her face. That's just how her daddy sleeps!

I was gonna take a picture, but then realized I'd left the camera in the car. So, I did a bunch of stuff and finally went out to get the camera about 45 minutes after I'd originally wanted to use it.

When I got back into our room, she had turned herself around with her head on the other side of the crib and was on her stomach instead of her back!

Sunbathing

We've just been soaking up the sun lately. Enjoying it while it's here. Tony's already brown. I'm as white as ever. Ashlynn's still as cute as a bare naked button. :)

Mohawk

Oh yeah, she owns it. Hehehe.

Beginning of the Bumps

So.... nothing could really prepare me for how sad and guilty I feel about my baby getting hurt, for the first time, due to my negligence. I like to sit her on my bed to practice sitting up because when she falls over, it's a soft landing. Well, today I placed her too close to the solid wood bed frame at the foot of my bed. I looked away for two seconds and heard the sickening thud of her poor little face hitting that wood. She, of course, started screaming. I rushed her downstairs to grab some baby tylenol and a frozen go-gurt. She stopped crying to watch my face, which was very sad and crying too. I'm embarrassed to admit, but I sobbed longer than she did. Sooooo sorry Baby!!! She enjoyed her cherry flavored medicine and sucking on the cover of the frozen go-gurt (glad I bought those). She's acting totally normal now. I just hope she doesn't get too big of a fat lip since we were planning on taking some family photos tomorrow. Ack. I still feel so terrible. :(

This picture was taken 25 minutes after her first bump. Guess babies are pretty resilient, huh?

World AIDS Orphans Day

After reading this woman's blog posting today, I just have to share.

Please take time to click the link and read. :) She's got some great points.

http://fullhousehandshearts.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/05/there-areover-15million-children-orphaned-by-aids-around-the-world-equivalent-to-the-number-of-people-living-in-new-york.html

Calling ALL Mothers! Advice, PLEASE!!!!!

Well, I've heard that putting your child's carseat in the middle (away from the doors) is the safest. But, the middle seatbelt in our car doesn't hold the carseat base still very well. Should I just put Ashlynn near one of the doors, where the seatbelt holds her still? Or should I keep her in the middle and let her tip sideways?


"Mom? What's going on?"


"Did you take that turn too fast again??"

Top 7 Things NOT to Feel Guilty About...

(Hope I'm not infringing on copyright laws by putting this on here) I got this from my Feb. Parenting Magazine. It made me laugh, so I'm sharing. It used to be the top 10, but there were a few that I thought were dumb. Don't feel guilty about:

1. Having the impulse, after discovering your kid has used your $20 lipstick to draw a giant plum-colored pig on your dining room wall, to call up Brad and Angelina and ask them if they'd like to take in one more. (Nevermind that I'd never spend that much on a stupid lipstick and would definitely take a picture of the pig!)

2. Returning the fancy but useless baby gift to the department store and spending the credt on shoes for yourself. (Maybe I haven't been a mom long enough, but I think it's waaaaaaay more fun to shop for Ashlynn)

3. Introducing your sister's kid -- little miss organic-only -- to her very first Twinkie. (Hahaha! I would soooooo do that!)

4. Setting up playdates just with kids whose mothers you like. (Seems like a no-brainer to me!)

5. Calling your jiggly belly your "mummy tummy" ten years after childbirth. (Well, that is what it is. Right?)

6. Insisting on grown-up music in the car (I'm already doing this with Tony, who seems to like loud teenage-boy music...heehee)

7. Knowing, really knowing, with every fiber of your being, that your kid is the cutest on in her class picture. (Or in any other picture, for that matter!)

Sunny Day

Ashlynn enjoyed her five minutes out in the sun today. *laugh* Gotta take what you can get in the beautiful (but cloudy) Pacific Northwest! My baby's getting good at balancing, isn't she?

Grass Is Bad

Or at least Ashlynn thinks so. And I'm not a mean mom. I swear. I just think she's so cute when she cries. Well, I guess that's not saying much since I think she's cute when she smiles, sleeps, eats, poops, laughs, yells, and farts too. :)

Food Is Good!

Ashlynn really loves eating. She doesn't care for the mush bottles. She likes eating off of a spoon. She watches both her Mommy and Daddy very carefully when they eat and loves when they share! Heehee.

Ashlynn vs. Kissa

Ashlynn loves anything soft and furry. But, I think it's safer to play with Daddy's hair, than it is to play with the cat....

Heads up

I have posted a TON of stuff today. If you want see it all you'll have click the "older posts" link at the bottom of the page. :)

Carrots

Ashlynn has tried rice (not a fave), oatmeal (loves it!), and carrots. She sampled carrots for the first time last night. As you can see by the evidence on her bib, it wasn't a big hit. But she sure loves her daddy! :)

How the....????

Know how some people keep a pen or pencil behind their ear for when they need it later? Ok, I don't know how she did it, but Ashlynn tucked her paci behind her ear for safe keeping...in the middle of the night. *laugh*

Swinging Monkey

Ashlynn won't sit back in her swing anymore. The girl is developing some strong little abs!