Grandparent's Day!

Yesterday was Grandparent's Day! We decided to celebrate with all of Ashlynn's grandparents!

We met up with them at one of our favorite restaurants.

Ashlynn loved being passed around the table in between naps getting attention from so many grandparents!

 She even "made" them a little gift!

Mark and I are so blessed to have parents who desire to be such an active part of Ashlynn's life, and who love her so much! We are also blessed with grandparents of our own, and are so thankful for them in our lives and in Ashlynn's!s

Happy 8 Months!

Sweet Ashlynn,

You are 8 months old! That is 2/3 of a year! You continue to radiate joy, and we cannot wait to see what the Lord does with your sweet spirit.  You are such a funny kid. You will even laugh at yourself often times.  

We went to the doctor about a week and a half ago, and you weighed 20 lb. 13 oz (94%).  You are wearing some 9 month, but mostly 12 month clothes and size 3 shoes.  You also wear size 3 disposable diapers.  

You are such a good eater, and you love every food we have given you (Just not some of mom's weird food combinations!) Blueberries are now one of your favorites. You eat some finger food, such as cheese, steamed carrots and peas, pasta and ground meat. You take 6-7 oz bottles around every 3 hours, and eat a meal 3 times a day.

You sleep well most nights. (11 hours straight) Every once in a while teething will cause you some sleep problems.  You still take 2 1/2 naps each day. We have tried switching you to a new paci, but you still love your pink horse.

You sit up great on your own.  You can roll both directions, but honestly have no desire to be laying down in order to roll.  You can scoot backwards when laying on your tummy. If you want something that is out of reach, you scoot on your bottom and then dive for it! You can get in the crawling position, but do not know what to do from there.  You are also working on pulling up on things besides our hands.  You can stand and play on a toy for a while.

You haven't "talked" yet, but I have a feeling you are getting closer. In the past few days, your language has started to change, and become more frequent in use.  You also do this funny "scream/grunt" for no reason other than that you like to :)

You LOVE the outside! You also think Zeus is the funniest thing ever. He will walk by and you just laugh at him! When you eat, you think it is funny to spit your food everywhere.  Your daddy and I have to work really hard not to laugh at you!

Another favorite is bath time! We had to get a bath mat for the tub so that you don't slip around. You will sit and splash for as long as we will let you! You also still love the swimming pool.

You are an affectionate baby.  You will give kisses to mommy and daddy, and will even give the phone a kiss during Face-Time.  You also hug and kiss our legs if you are sitting on the floor.  Sometimes you will just bury your head in our shoulder as if to give us a hug!

You are our girly girl! You love necklaces and accessories! If someone is wearing a necklace, you are drawn straight to it! You also think it is such fun to look at yourself in the mirror or watch a video of yourself .

We are so grateful for you sweet girl!  Your spunk and personality are such a light to our lives! We pray for you always, and love you SO much!

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy

Sweet Moments

Baby A has been so sweet lately! Her tender hearted side is so precious in those moments when it peeks through her giggly, feisty personality!

She has been giving my leg kisses each day when I am doing my hair/makeup

Cuddling with Uncle Shane at dinner

She LOVES her puppy dog! She will lay on him, pet him and he even lets her pull his tail and ears :)

Naptime with Daddy! He is one of her favorite people, and she loves to cuddle with him!

Wedding Weekend

This past weekend, we had the chance to head up to the great state of Oklahoma to join in celebrating the marriage of a great friend.

I was a little nervous at the thought of taking our unpredictable 7 month old into a wedding. Thankfully, she did fantastic! Minus a squeal during the processional, and a little hunger induced fussiness, that is!

Sleeping on Daddy's shoulder during the ceremony.

I have to say...the ceremony was one that honored and glorified the Lord in every way! It was such a sweet and personal wedding.

We got to spend a great deal of time with Mark's family while we were there. Baby A loved all of the cuddling and attention!

Uncle Paul and Uncle Mike

A blurry picture of Mark and I!

On Saturday, we had the chance to go out to lunch with everyone who was in town! It was 64 degrees and rainy, what a switch from 100 degree days.

I was also worried about 3 hours in the car with Ashlynn...Thankfully she did wonderful.  She spent time playing and sleeping.

Happy 7 Months!

Sweet girl,

You are 7 months old!! The past month has flown by.  It seems like each day you are surprising us with some new personality trait or "trick" that you have learned.  

You don't go back to the doctor for 2 more months.  I am guessing that you weight between 18 1/2-19 pounds.  You have definitely grown in length as well (Some of your clothes don't snap any more because you are too long!)

You are currently wearing 9-12 month clothes!  You are wearing size 3 shoes, and size 3 diapers when you wear disposable.  

Right after you turned 6 months, you started rolling over! You only roll from front to back (you seem to have no desire to be on your stomach :)) You will scootch sitting up, and then throw yourself at whatever it is that you want.  You can move yourself around this way. You have also tried to "army crawl".

Your little personality has exploded this month.  You make so many of your daddy's facial expressions and you crack yourself up.  Your babbling has drastically increased this month.  You mimic sounds that we make (The way I say "hiiiiiii!" or the "muuuah" sound your daddy makes when giving you a kiss).  

Your teeth have been killing you this month. You will stick anything and everything in your mouth to chew on it.  You finally got your first tooth yesterday (August 6)! 

You are still on a pretty decent schedule.  You sleep 8-10 hours at night, waking up once to eat.  You take a 6-7 ounce bottle every 3 hours. You eat fruit (1-2 oz) and a grain for breakfast, a veggie (1-2 oz) and a grain for lunch and a fruit and a veggie (4 oz total) for dinner. The only food that you don't do well with is green beans. They make your stomach pretty upset.  Otherwise, you love all of the foods and food combinations that we have given you. 

Eating pancakes (in formula and applesauce!) for the first time)

You are our little "Daredevil".  You seem to have no fear of new people, or of doing things.  You already have a scrape on your head and a little bump on your head from throwing yourself into things.  You also love to jump and swim! 

You have started to recognize people outside of your daddy and I. You get excited to see any of your grandparents and uncles.  You also love watching and trying to "play" with you friend Kelynn each day. Your daddy is one of your favorite people. You light up each day when he comes home. It pretty much melts my heart (and his too...)

You still love: your paci at night or to chew on, warm bottles, cuddling, baseball, Zeus and watching yourself in the mirror or on the camera.  You will squeal and talk to yourself in the car, which is hilarious.  You no longer fit in the bumbo. When you "lounge" or eat, you put your left foot up in your hand.

You have started to try to pull yourself up to standing, and can stay standing if we prop you up on the ottoman.  You love sitting up and playing with toys and reading books (YES!)

Happy 7 months Ashlynn.  Your sweet spirit and joyful personality light up our lives! We continue to pray that the Lord will take that spunk and zest for life that you are already showing and use it to glorify His name! We love watching you become more independent as you grow each month.  It is truly an adventure and a blessing to be parents!

We love you Baby A!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy