Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter! We had a fun celebration. The day before we went to an Easter Egg hunt with our friends the Wagner's and the Heatley's. Ashley got to pet real rabbits and see the Easter Bunny. Later that day Grandma flew into town to visit and to celebrate with us. Poor Ashley ended up coming down with a fever of 103 (the doctors suspect it's a result of getting her shots on Wednesday). As a result of Ashley being sick, our holiday was readjusted a little. Daddy stayed home with her while grandma and I went to church. We didn't get to dye easter eggs they day before, so our egg hunt was a lot of fun. We had one plastic egg from the day before, and then we used some of the plastic food items that Ashley had gotten for her kitchen set in her Easter basket to "search for eggs". We were all cracking up over our make shift attempt. It was quite funny, but you had to be there I guess. Then we ended up dying eggs after dinner and before bath time since Ashley was seeming better as the day progressed. Ashley had fun plunking the eggs into the mugs. Also, our traditional Easter dinner was done outside on the deck since it was so gorgeous out. Here are a few pics.

Also, to add to Ashley's vocabulary, she has started saying "thank you"--it is sooo adorable. She also says please, and she attempts to say yogurt.

As far as baby Shohen, I continue to feel so sick and tired a lot. This kid owes me!!! Just kidding ;) It is rough though. Just very different than my pregnancy with Ashley. I also go from feeling pukey to starving in about 5 seconds. I also seem to crave more meaty or fried things, which I never did with Ashley. Makes me wonder if I'm having a boy this time around since it's so different, although a few people have said that the second time around the symptoms are a little more intense and worse. So who knows.

The News Is Out.....

Well, the news is officially out....Ashley is going to be a big sister. We are expecting another baby!!! Yay!!!

We found out on Sunday, March 18th. Matt and I both suspected that I was pregnant. I was feeling symptoms pretty early this time. I was very tired and took a couple of naps during the day which I haven't done since Ashley was a newborn, my smells were heightened, and I was cranky/irritable which I usually never am. Although I could play devil's advocate--our mattress is going, and both Matt and I hadn't been sleeping well and were waking up with back pain, which could be the reason I was tired. And with the heightened smells, I first noticed when I went to the gym with my friend Christi, and well, I was at the gym....And the crankiness comes from lack of sleep...so I wasn't completely sure.

I took an early pregnancy test on March 12th, which was my grandmother's birthday. I thought that would be a nice day to find out good news. However, it was a little too early and the test came back negative. I was a little surprised and a little disappointed, but I didn't rule it out since it was still early.

Then we went on the trip for Nicole's wedding. On the ride back I said something to Matt, and he joked and said "you better take a pregnancy test, you are bossy". Lol. So shortly after getting in that night I took one and it came back positive. I showed it to him and said, "this explains it!" Lol.

Matt and I are both very happy and excited. I am a little nervous having kids so close together...I originally wanted to spread them apart a little more like my sisters and I are, and Matt wanted them real close like he and his brother are, so it's a good compromise. With my past issues and endometreosis, we didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to have another baby. So we will be very happy to welcome baby Shohen into the family sometime around November 24, 2012.

This time around, pregnancy has been a little rougher. With Ashley, I remember occasionally being tired, and getting nauseous whenever I'd brush my teeth, but this time around it's 24/7 for both. It's challenging feeling so crummy and chasing after an active toddler, but I'm managing. Naps are a must!

We went today for our first ultrasound at 6 weeks, 3 days and everything looked great with the baby. We even got to see his or her heart beating. So cool! We figured since everything looked ok, we would let people know since some people knew we were trying and were asking questions :)

Will keep you posted along the journey....

Ashley's vocabulary

Tomorrow Ashley turns 15 months old! Someone suggested I keep a list of the words/vocab that Ashley has at this age so here it is....

Momma

Dadda

Daddy

yes

uh oh

all done

baby

ball

has a word for Maddie

can copy the names of some animals like duck

Matt says he's heard her say "yes daddy", and "there it is" when pointing to the moon

I feel like there's more but I can't think off the top of my head. I will add to the list if I think of any more.

Post wedding update

We have had a busy week. Last Wednesday we drove up to Pennsylvania. My cousin Nicole was getting married on St. Patrick's day, and I was her Matron of Honor. Ashley did a great job on the car ride. While we up there, Ashley got to visit with her grandpa, grandmom and grandpop, and Aunt Lauren and Uncle Andrew. She also got to see my aunts and uncles, and meet a couple family members that she hadn't met yet.

I had a fun time with Nicole. She had everything organized ahead of time, so we were able to relax and have fun with the other bridal party. We had our hair and makeup done, so it was a fun day of pampering.

I was happy to see my aunts and uncles, and to catch up a little.

We also got to catch up with our old neighbor and friend, Amanda Panick.

Also, I guess Ashley officially "walked". Last week (3/15), Ashley took 5-6 steps. When I told a few people they said that constitutes as walking.

Good Quotes

I have found this site called Pinterest that has all sorts of cool things on it. I have been collecting some good quotes for Ashley, so thought I might as well post some of them for her to read someday....

"I love you to the moon and back..."

"Before you were conceived, I wanted you. Before you were born, I loved you. Before you were here for an hour, I would die for you. This is the miracle of love."

"Always remember you are braver than you believe, smarter than you think, and twice as beautiful (inside and out) as you'd ever imagined".

"No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside".

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be".

"She knew that she was formed by God's hands, dreamed up in His heart, and placed in this world for a purpose".

"Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you treasured them".

"If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart".

"If you don't believe in miracles, perhaps you've forgotten you are one".

"I love you in the morning and in the afternoon. I love you in the evening, and underneath the moon".

"My daughter--

I wish you the strength to face challenges with confidence....

along with the wisdom to choose your battles carefully....

I wish you adventure on your journey and may you always stop to help someone along your way....

Listen to your heart and take risks carefully....

Remember how much you are loved.....

I am so proud of you!!"

"We need to teach our daughters the difference

between a man who flatters her and a man who compliments her.

A man who spends money on her,

and a man who invests in her.

A man who views her as property,

and a man who views her properly.

A man who lusts after her,

and a man who loves her.

A man who believes he is God's gift to women,

and a man who remembers

a woman is Gods gift to man.

And then teach our sons

to be that kind of man."

"I hope my children look back on today,

and see a mother who had time to play.

There will be years for cleaning and cooking.

For children grow up when we're not looking."

The latest

Just a couple things to report. I think Ashley is (really) getting close to walking now. The past few days she has taken a few steps. She will walk toward me, and sometimes she will walk from me to something. Yay!

She is also talking up a storm. She says a bunch of words, couple two-word sentences, and babbles a whole lot. She is going to have a lot to say when she's older. Haha. She also understands a lot of what we say. The funny part is that now she is also picking up on our responses. When she hears Matt and I laughing about something, she laughs too. It's cute.

We have also officially transitioned down to one nap now. For the past week, Ashley has stayed up longer before her morning nap--she used to wake up around 8 and go down at about 11:15 ish. Now she has been waking up earlier (closer to 7--boo), and has been staying up until almost noon. So by the time she wakes up, she's not tired for the afternoon nap. I don't mind doing one nap a day, I just wish she wasn't waking up earlier all of a sudden. But I can't complain, I am very lucky compared to other babies/toddlers I know. And luckily tonight we move our clocks ahead an hour, so when she wakes up at 7, it will now be 8 again :)

Ashley has been intrigued with body parts. She loves to point to our nose, ears, her belly button, etc.

After shoving a huge banana in her mouth, I decided to try other foods whole (as long as they're not too big) and she has done great.

I am happy to report that for the most part, she seems to be past the screaming temper tantrum thing that she picked up (thankfully). It's funny how she picks things up. Last Sunday she was in the church nursery, and after being home for no more than 5-10 minutes she starts sucking her thumb. Ashley has never been a thumb sucker, and wasn't even a huge fan of a pacifier. She must have observed another baby doing it there. Luckily that one was short lived too, although I have seen her do it once or twice since.

Typically when she wants to self sooth, she puts her arm up to her lips and does this sucking motion on her arm. It's cute and funny all at once. She had a different babysitter come watch her last week while Matt had work at Hockey game, and I had a random work dinner to attend, and the sitter was like "I think her lips were hurting her or something, she kept covering them". Haha. Another reason I stay home with her, no one knows you like your momma :)

She has also been making this HUGE cheesy grin lately. It is adorable! She loves to wave hi to lots of people and animals, and when people say hi back or give her extra attention, she eats it up and gives them this huge smile. So cute!!

Well that's all I can think of for now. Here are are couple pics from this last week.

1 Day shy of 14 months...

Well, tomorrow Ashley turns 14 months old. Crazy! Figured I'd give a quick update.

Hmm...what to start with???

Well, get the not so good part out of the way first. So Ashley saw this baby have a meltdown/temper tantrum the other day. She didn't seem too affected by it at the time, but she has decided to pick up the behavior. The past few days when she is upset about something--i.e. she doesn't want to lay still for a diaper change, or doesn't want to go to bed, she screams bloody murder. Not cool. Tonight I put her to bed without our usual bedtime and prayers because she was having a fit. Hope this phase doesn't last long.

On a good note, Ashley has been doing some real cute things. Last time I blogged, I forgot to update about Ashley's adorable "oooohhhs and ahhhs" she's been doing. She sucks in her breath and says oooohhh when she points to things that she likes, or if she does something she is proud of. It cracks me up.

Another cute thing, she has started to cross her legs (when she does choose to lay nicely) for a diaper change). It's so funny. I took a pic of it finally.

Ashley has also been enjoying her bananas. She has always loved them. In the past I would cut it up for her, but I decided to let her try a whole one. She shoved the whole thing in her mouth. Lol.

I also started something with Ashley today. I give her tons of love and positive affirmations all the time, but I was watching the movie The Help last night, and the nanny would tell the little girl each morning, "you are kind, you are smart, and you are important". I was touched by that, and I think every person needs to hear it, so I have decided to start that daily routine with Ashley when she first wakes up.

I always feel like there's more, but then I can never think of them when I'm posting on here. Will update more another day.