Just a Reminder!

We've moved to http://spontaneousday.blogspot.com

Moving On

Hi Everybody. This is just to let you know that I've created a new blog for us at: http://spontaneousday.blogspot.com. So, if you want the random updates on our life, that's where you're going to find them. So, if you do, please follow me! I may or may not be keeping this blog up. Haven't decided yet. : ) Bye!

Blessed.

Brittan & Grandma Brownell

Don't you just love how I'm looking in one direction, Anthony's looking the other, and our babies are gazing right at the camera? Haha! I've decided it's hard to get a good picture when more than one camera is pointed at you.

Blessed Baby

Cooking Adventures Part 2

I was making pizza last week. I almost always make my own and was trying a recipe that didn't have to rise.

Dubious?

Yes.

It was a total flop. I'll be going be going back to my tried-and-true, thank you.

Well, I figured that since Ashlynn is always under foot when I'm cooking, I might as well put her on the step stool to watch. And she did. And she enjoyed it. We made pizza pockets this week and she helped put the cheese in. But, I'm getting off on a tangent. Where was I?

Oh yes, she watched me make the stupid yeast-less pizza dough and roll it out on the pizza stone. Then I went to the pantry to get some tomato sauce for pizza sauce and I came back just in time to see my observer stuff a bunch of dough into her mouth. Hahaha! Yuck. Well, she seemed to like it, but she looked soooo guilty when I caught her.



Busted! Heehee. Like how my kitchen counter is the size of a postage stamp? Me too.

Yum yum! Yeah? See that trash can? That's where that pizza dough went. All the toppings? They got put into sandwiches. Waste not, want not!

Cooking Adventures Part 1

I made a discovery today.

All those apple recipes that tell you to peel and cut the apples? I strongly DISLIKE them. I really, really, really, really, really hate peeling apples. And every apple recipe I've tried involves several pounds of apples. I've never repeated any apple recipe I've tested because I hate peeling those stinkin' apples!!

Well, I've been meaning, for weeks now, to have a go at a really yummy-looking mini apple pie recipe and I realized that since it was healthy-ish (whole wheat, real butter, low sugar, plain yogurt, etc), I really should leave the peels on. My train of thought was that if I make mashed potatoes with the skins on (I hate peeling potatoes too) because they are good for you, then I should leave the apples peels on for the same reason. I was a little apprehensive. Who wants to waste 3 lbs of perfectly good apples? But, I was more than willing to see what would happen.

Guess what?

Decades of women have been peeling apples for NO REASON!!!

Mini apple pies are delicious AND the skins are gooooooooooooooooooooood! :) Can't even tell they're there.

I'm NEVER peeling another apple again.

The Story of the Stokke Sleepi Crib

"There's one place," a young couple once said,
"Good enough for our new baby's head:
The best crib in the land,
Only cost us twelve grand."
It stands empty--he sleeps in their bed.
-- Josh Lerman

This was us, back when we had Ashlynn. The crib is the Stokke Sleepi. It cost us a thousand bucks. Was it worth it? I'm going to say yes. It's probably the worlds most tiny, compact crib and when we were living in a small bedroom in my parent's garage last summer, it was a life saver. But, she didn't really start sleeping in it until much later. Both my babies have insisted from day one that only my bed will do. Ashlynn lost any say in that matter when she got mobile. But the crib.... I still love it because it doesn't take up much space and it is cute. No, I didn't buy the $100+ sheet sets for it. A regular crib sheet works fine because the mattress is so snug. I have yet to fix the bumper that is slightly too long and overlaps. Will we buy another one for Brittan? No. I think we'll get a regular cheap-o one, thank you very much. :) Do I recommend this crib? 100% yes, if you can stomach dishing out that kind of cash for a piece of baby furniture. Or if you have an awesome mom who will pay for half of it. ;)

Beautiful Baby Brittan

Our newest baby girl. In love. Of course. :)


Just out and really blue. They told me that is normal.

Tired but happy.

Just an ounce bigger than her big sister was at birth, but several inches shorter!!

Ashlynn and Brittan meeting for the first time. Pretty fun! Grandpa and Nana Casperson brought Ashlynn over to the hospital for a visit.

I just love this picture of Ashlynn (now 16 months old). Surrounded by the people she loves most in this world (except for Mommy & Daddy of course!): her Nana and Aunt Rachel. We're assuming that Brittan will be a fast favorite too. :)

Passed out drunk. Haha! She falls asleep eating every time.

Cute, chubby cheeks. Just a doll. Dontcha think?

Where's the food?"

Ashlynn, "helpfully" unpacking the hospital bag. :)

Can't sleep.... Guess I'll blog!

Just a couple of pictures taken in February.

This is me at the FUN baby shower Pam & Jenny threw for me. Patty did such an AWESOME job on the cake (as you can see)! Please excuse the lack of space here between this caption and the next picture. It's making me so mad, but I can't get it to stay seperated for anything! GRRRRRRRR!

Ashlynn got this little castle tent for Christmas. Her favorite furry blanket and a basket full of books make it one of her favorite places to be. I hope she has a life-long love of reading like her momma!

This is a great example of what happens whenever I give Ash something to eat that she's just not that into. Little crumbs and pieces EVERYWHERE. You'd think that someone so afraid of the vacuum would be a little more tidy......

Ashlynn loves bathtime and she loves her hooded towel (Thanks again Emily!). And I love cute, little, clean babies!

Christmas in Downtown Seattle

These are just a couple pictures from our outing in Downtown Seattle, right after Thanksgiving. We went to the Seattle Center where we saw dancers from other countries and Ashlynn chased seagulls in the park. We rode the Monorail to Westlake Center and there we got to ride on the Christmas Carousel. Then we went to the Sheraton Hotel where they were displaying amazing gingerbread house creations. Lastly, we went down to the waterfront (walked through a lit up Pike Place Market) and saw the Toy Land of Lights on one of the docks. A very fun family day. We need to do things like this more often!
Ashlynn with Daddy, waiting for the Monorail.

Mommy & Ash with our tickets for the Christmas Carousel. So excited!

She was thrilled when I set her up on that horse!

Not so thrilled when it started moving. She was so brave and didn't cry or scream even though it obviously freaked her out! *laugh*

In line at the Sheraton to see the Gingerbread houses. They were all from Christmas movies.

Can you tell that she was being a little trouble maker during the wait?

So Big!

This was taken yesterday. Ashlynn is learning how to feed herself. She's very excited about it. Can you believe that she's already 14 months old!!! When did this happen?
Excuse the boxes in the background. We're still unpacking. I'll try to get the Christmas pics up before this month is over. :) No promises though. :P

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.