And he's off to the races....

On Thanksgiving day AJ took is first consecutive steps and since then he hasn't stopped. He has it all figured out now and is cruising all over. How does it all go so fast?

1st visit to the dentist for Ashley

Today, Ashley had her first visit to the dentist. She did so well, we are very proud of her! She sat there so nicely and let them clean her teeth. At the very end of the visit the dentist was poking around and she was getting tired of keeping her mouth open so, she started wiggling and he poked her on accident. She began to cry but it didn't last long once she was reminded that it was time to go pick out her treasure from the treasure chest and pick out her new electric toothbrush!

Good Genes

I just want to eat him up!

Misunderstood

We have clearly misunderstood Ashley's hair. Her hair has always had some curl in it but, when she got a hair cut it became very curly and so cute! It is also much easier to manage when it is curly.

Was Halloween really a month ago?

It is hard to believe that Halloween was already a month ago and that Christmas is less than a month away.... This year, Ashley was really looking forward to carving her pumpkin. So, when it came time to carve it she informed us that she would like to carve a cat on it...WHAT?!?! A cat??? I quickly find out that when she was helping her neighbor-friends carve their pumpkin they carved a bat and a spider on their two pumpkins. So, needless to say there was not going to be a traditional Jack-0-lantern on our front porch this year.

We had the 3rd annual Chili Cook-Off in our cul-de-sac with our neighbors on Halloween night. This year we had more than 10 entries in the cook-off. They were all excellent and it was a close call to determine the winner!


We trick-or-treated with Ashley, as Tinkerbell. Aiden was a giraffe for Halloween. (Just don't tell him that he didn't wear a costume on Halloween) I knew he wouldn't be comfortable and his happiness is directly related to my happiness so, I took pictures of him in it a couple days before Halloween for the baby book!






Aiden & my dad.

Time for Tea

Ma Cheryl Stopped by just in time for a tea party with Ashley.

Pa David played with Aiden while the ladies enjoyed their tea.

Playing at the Park

Today it is 90 degrees, but the other day we were able to enjoy some cooler, fall weather while playing at the park with our friends.

Camping

Our First Camping Trip

Last weekend, we loaded up the truck, and I mean "we really loaded it" (Allen wasn't sure if I was packing for a weekend or a week) and headed up north to Sedona. The weather was beautiful! It was a little chilly at night but we all stayed bundled up. It was so nice to get away. We went with my sister, my brother and his wife and our friend, Mike. We roasted marshmallows, made dinners over the campfire, played at the creek, found bugs, watched ants gather their food, and most of all we just enjoyed the fresh air and good company! The boys found lots of firewood to keep us warm and tended the fire, or "bonfire" at times, very well!

We borrowed my parents old tent, which was the tent I camped in as a child. It was fun to see Ashley and Aiden playing in it. I remember how big the tent felt to me when I was a kid and watching Ashley, I knew she felt the same way. Thanks mom and dad for all the fun camping trips we went on as kids, I am starting to understand all of the work that was put into those great memories!

Ashley's favorite part was "marshing marshmallows at our camp out".

We are looking forward to many more camping trips!

A Perfectly Stocked Refrigerator

Lately, it seems as though whenever one of Ashley's grandparents comes over they bring something for her to eat so, she has been stocking her refrigerator with all sorts of goodies, including:

1. gumballs

2. mini-marshmallows

3. an assortment of chocolate candy

3. Easy-Mac

4. Yummy, vanilla cookies

It is good to know that if we should ever forget to feed her she will be able to survive just fine for quite some time!

What happend to my first sleepover?!?!

Ashley had her two friends spend the night two weeks ago. Terinna and Ryen spent the evening with us while their parents went out for the evening. This was Ashley's first time having friends sleepover. They had fun playing outside, eating dinner, taking a bath and then we all laid on the floor in the living room and watched Ratatouille. At about 9 p.m. they decided it was time for bed. To my surprise, everyone was so relaxed, like it was no big deal. We set up a bed on the floor in Ashley's room but that didn't last long, then we pulled out her trundle bed. Terinna ended up falling asleep on the trundle bed and Ryen and Ashley were laying on her bed. I went into check on them and they were giggling. I asked what they were laughing at and they said they were talking about their dreams. Ashley was the last to fall asleep. I wish I had taken a picture of them all sleeping, they looked so sweet.

When their parents got home we decided to have them take home. Actually, this was the plan from the beginning we just failed to tell Ashley. So, at about 5a.m. Ashley wakes up and starts crying and yelling " Terinna and Ryen are gone!!!" I tried to explain that their mommy and daddy came and got them but she was not very happy about that!

LOVE

Ashley: " I love you AJ......."
"Mommy, I think I love him more than you..."

Ashley: "Aiden is my best baby."

Race for the Cure

We participated in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday. We were there with my Great Aunt Rosie, a breast cancer survivor, my Great Uncle Gil, my grandma, my aunt and my cousins, Mandy and Jenna were all there walking too. The weather was perfect! The walk began at 7:30 a.m. and so, I was supposed to leave my house at 6:15 a.m. Well, when I went in Ashley's room to wake her up, she asked if she could sleep a little bit longer because she was still tired. I felt bad getting her up but then when I told her we were going to the race she smiled and sat up in bed. You can imagine she was picturing an actual race in her head but none the less she got out of bed. Then when I began brushing her hair, I said " wow, there aren't any rats (knots) in your hair today" and she said " that's because I didn't sleep berrrry long". Needless to say we got there a little late.

After the race we went to lunch at Duck & Decanter, a great deli. Then when we came home and I was able to coordinate Ashley and Aiden's nap so, we could all take a nap together...Ahhhhh, I love when that works out!

Did I check my mailbox today?

Ashley received this mailbox for her birthday (thank you, Raney!!) and she loves to make mail and "invitations". Invitations, usually consist of her cutting up a piece of construction paper into as many little pieces as she can, then making sure they all end up on the floor.

But, the fun part is that she started delivering mail to her neighbor friends and now she gets surprised when she checks her mail box and finds mail. One night she even received some candy! It has been fun and gives her a purpose for all the coloring, painting, gluing, cutting and writing that she loves to do everyday!

This makes me laugh....

This was from Ashley's hip hop dance class.

So simple....yet, so entertaining

We love building with wooden blocks. Ashley loves to build castles and now Aiden is right behind her knocking them over. It is frustrating to her but we build towers for him so that he can just knock them down.

New Neighbors!

My brother and his wife, Amber moved into a beautiful new home about 1/2 a mile from us. We are so excited to have them so close to us. They have been working so hard to get everything done. They painted the inside of the house, with the help of family and friends and are now getting things hung up on the walls and it looks so beautiful! Amber has done such an amazing job inside while Shane had his work cut out for him in the yard. I am so proud of them and so excited for them as they are beginning their new life together in their new home!

Almost 7 months...

Aiden has grown and changed so much in the last two months. He went from sitting up to scooting and now he is crawling and CLIMBING everywhere. He likes to pull himself up on everything. We are just glad that he learned how to catch himself when he falls from standing up. Instead of falling straight back and hitting his head he will sit down from standing up. He loves to watch Ashley and to play with Callie. You can always find a bruise on his head somewhere because he manages to fall on the tile all the time. We are LOVING this stage!

All twisted!

For comfort, Ashley likes to play with her hair especially, when she gets tired. A couple months ago, Ashley had been in bed for about 20 minutes when she started crying. I went into her room to hear her say, "my fingers are stuck". I turn on her light and see that she has twisted her index fingers so tightly in her hair that she can't get them out. Of course, before I attempt to help her undo the mess, I run and get my camera. Once I was able to get to her fingers, the tips of them were purple! We talked about how that really wasn't a good idea.

I love pictures!

My sweet friend, Danielle came over and took some pictures of Ashley and AJ the other day. I thought I'd share a couple of them!

Date night

Allen and I got to go on a "real" date last week and Ashley wanted to come with us so, instead we scheduled her next date night with daddy. Ashley and her Daddy went to see the movie, Wall-E. This was her first time seeing a movie in the theater. They got popcorn, candy and a soda! She was so excited about her date. They even got to go to Home Depot after the movie! Later that evening, Allen fell asleep on the couch and Ashley told me that he must be tired from their date.