Happy Birthday Papa Evy!

For the past few months. we have had the pleasure of spending time with Mark's grandpa.  He has traditionally been called "Grandpa", but Ashlynn has taken to calling him "Papa Evy".

Last night we had a little early birthday celebration, because Papa Evy turns 92 this week! He will be headed back to Ohio soon, and we will miss having him around.

The girls had fun playing with Grandpa, swimming and eating the usual "birthday party" fun food!

The guys watched tv and cooked for us.

We had a delicious dinner, followed by Papa Evy's favorite: Pineapple Upside Down Cake!

Ashlynn was SUPER excited about singing Happy Birthday!

Bailey just wanted more redi whip!

Happy Birthday Papa Evy! We love you!

Pig Tails!

A few weeks ago, Miss B got her first "pigtails". Her hair is a funny creature..it is really short on top, and curly/frizzy/long on the sides.  I often refer to it as her clown hair. (Best mom ever).  I decided to try side pigtails, and they actually worked! She loved this little photo shoot with daddy!

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Baby A is 2.5!

Baby A,

You are not so much a baby anymore. You are 2.5 years old! You are our sweet, sassy, and oh so spunky girl.

You currently weigh about 31 lbs.  You wear size 2t/3t clothes, and size 8 shoes. You are in size 5 diapers, but are getting close to moving to size 6.  You have all but 1 or 2 of your teeth (waiting on a few molars!).                                                

You are a talker. Sentences, knock knock jokes, and even counting to 15! You also know all of your colors, and a few letters. Last week, you used pretzels to make the letters A, B, C and O all on your own.

You are starting to use correct words in sentences, and switching to "proper" words. For example:

"Love me!" has changed to "I love you"

"Gulk" has changed to "milk"

It is so neat to have real conversations with you, ranging on a variety of topics!

A few of your favorites:

Color- Pink

Number- 8

Shows- Paw Patrol, Dora, Bubble Guppies, and Mickey Mouse

Songs- "We are all sinners", "Happy" and "Shoo fly"

Activities- Swimming, helping cook, and spending time with those you love

Food- "Doodles" (noodles), PBJ sandwiches (you ask me to "roll them up!), fruit, and "banilla ice team tones"

Drink- "Gaga's juice" (Crystal light), Milk, and Coffee

There are so many things that I could type out that I want to bottle up about you at this age! You are so full of zest and life, and we absolutely love watching and interacting with you! Here are {more than a} few things to remember:

*You are stubborn!

*You are now paci free, and sleep through the night (8-6/7)

*You take 1 nap a day, but aren't always thrilled about it

*You are the sweetest sister ever, although you get "tickle" and "tackle" confused!

*You are super independent. You love to turn lights on, open doors, and buckle your carseat

*Your biggest fear is of fire ants

*You love to pray. Every night you say that you want to pray "God is good"

*You are very empathic. If someone is crying or hurt, you immediately reach out/love on them

*Your love languages are physical touch and quality time. You always want to be holding hands, or touching our faces.  You also can't sleep well unless you have had some quality time with everyone that day.

*You think Dora bandaids and mom's kisses heal all wounds

*You love animals. Dogs, cats, birds and farm animals, specifically

*Your nicknames: AshBash, Baby A, Ash-a-doodle, Little Bit

*You think everything costs $2, and always insist on "paying"

*When we ask you a question, you truly ponder it (and tap your little finger on your chin!) and then respond.

*You are GREAT with using manners 

*You love flashlights, drums and sunglasses

Sweet girl, I could write forever.  You are such a joy, and we love you more than you will ever know. We pray that your independence, steadfastness and bubbling spirit will be used to bring glory to God, and that He will save you young.

We love you Baby A,

Mommy and Daddy

Gog

RIP "Gog"

January 07,2012- June 26, 2014

You were loved well, and brought many days of comfort and nights of sleep.

Ashlynn was a paci baby from the beginning. She started out with the "soothie" in the hospital. I swore then that she would only have a paci until she was 6 months old, and that I would never buy an overpriced paci for her. Famous last words!

Fairly quickly, we transitioned to a very overpriced paci with a pink horse on the end.  It seemed to help her keep the paci in, and we all liked the sleep that change brought.

The pink horse got lost in a store one day, and we very quickly headed to the store to grab a new one. This time, Ashlynn picked a ducky. That little ducky got us through quiet a few winter illnesses.

The duck detached from the paci, and met an early demise. Then, then came the frog.  Let's note that Ashlynn is MUCH older than 6 months in this picture ;) 

This little guy arrived right as Ashlynn started talking, therefore he (and all pacis from then forward) became known as "gog". If you know Ashlynn well, you know about her "gog".

The dentist informed us that the soothie was destroying Ashlynn's teeth, so it was switch to a MaM, or say adios to the paci.  With a newborn in the house, we gladly welcomed the Mam.

That thing suffered nail polish decorations, teething, and being clipped to every.thing.we.wore.

Around the age of 2, we transitioned the "gog" to sleep only. It was a tough transition for about 30 seconds. Really, it only lasted a day or so and was completely bearable. Thank you Lord!

I snapped this picture before a trip to the dentist 2 weeks ago, thinking that they may say it was time for the "gog" to go.  They ended up saying that it was up to us, but not past 3 for sure. Mark and I resolved to reassess after she hit 2.5.

Well...you know what happens when we make our own plans....

After a fun swim in the pool, Ashlynn was playing with blocks. She tripped over a rug, and fell face first onto a triangle block, and then onto the tile floor.

Her poor teeth were hit pretty hard. While I went into "mom freak out mode", Mark's dad corralled Bailey, and his brother tended to the mass amounts of blood in A's mouth.  Her front 2 teeth on the bottom were loose, and the top 2 were crooked.  A call to the dentist left us with things to look out for, and an appointment a week and a half later.

So, with loose teeth, and a very puffy mouth, we were to go without the "gog".  We prepared ourselves for the worst, and once again, our girl surprised us! Night 1 she was so tired that she fell asleep in 2 seconds without it.  The next night was a little rougher.  I told her that we were sending our "gog" to MJ, her newest baby friend.  She seemed on board with that, and told them bye bye.  Daddy brought her home a new toy to thank her for being a sweet friend and big girl.

I am glad to say that we are now 9 days post "gog" removal, and are doing GREAT! She has only asked for it 1 or 2 times, and has been fine once I remind her that we shared them with a friend.  Her little teeth are not loose any more, and we will get them checked out more this week.

As silly as it is, I am a little sad to see the "gog" go too....it has been a part of our everyday for almost 2.5 years!

June 2014

Y'all...how are we already to the end of June? July 4 is next week, and summer is going faster than ever!

Here are a few many pictures of the past few weeks:

Sweetest of friends

One of our swim days at Grandma and Grandpas...love the time with them, and that they share their fun pool! 

Ashlynn would NOT swim during swim lessons, but took off like a fish from day 1 in the pool!

Ashlynn has become a big fan of playing "doctor" lately.  A necklace as a stethoscope, and sale/pepper shakers for medicine.

We have also loved trips to the park with friends!

We had an unexpected date night last Friday! 

Ashlynn turned into a little escape artist after church on Sunday...in the rain!

Monday was our cuddle day around here!

This is Ashlynn's new thing. She loves to put stickers on her face. Silly girl!

Today we had a playdate with new friends, and a trip to McDonald's with my mom.  

Have I mentioned just how much I LOVE summer!?