If you were worried about us...

We survived the winter storm. Last Friday, we had freezing rain. This brought about tons of school delays and closures in the Houston area, which surprised me. Being the Wisconsinite that I am, I went grocery shopping in flip flops. 32 degrees is plenty warm! Ashton was upset that she couldn't go outside for a long walk but she got over it. We don't have a heavy winter blanket/coat for her so she doesn't go out much when it's cold. This is proof that it got pretty cold here.

Frost/ice on our roof

Icicles on our garbage can.

Moving

For those who are unaware, we moved last month. We've been in our new house for just over a month and we love it! Now, our first mortgage payment isn't due for another week so it's an even better deal right now. Here are some pictures I took the other day of our house. Excuse the messes.

Ashton's room obviously

Spare bedroom. The vacuum cleaner resides there.

Craft/computer/book room

Living room (view from our front door)

Dining area with our new table!

Kitchen  It's normally a lot cleaner than this picture.

Also, on the topic of moving, Ashton learned to move this week. For the past few weeks, she's been rolling to a side but couldn't figure out what to do after that. She finally figured it out! Monday, Ashton rolled over from her back to tummy. The doctor said that once she did it, it would take another few weeks for her to do it again. WRONG! She does it multiple times a day. She's getting faster and faster at it each time. She still hates being on her tummy so once she rolls over, she gets upset.

In motion

Another action shot

4 Months Old

Weight: 15 lbs. 10 oz. approximately

Height: 25.5 inches

Clothing Size: Mostly 3-6 month clothing. Some 0-3 month clothes fit me still so that's nice. And still in size 1 diapers. Good thing because my parents bought a ton!

Daily Schedule: I have a more predictable schedule now. I wake up around 7am in time to eat breakfast with Daddy. I take 3-4 naps a day and each nap lasts about an hour. Sometimes, I give Mom a break by sleeping for two hours. In between sleeping, I love to play with toys and sit and stand. My parents try to make me to do tummy time but it's not as much fun anymore. I have a bath and a lotion massage around 7 to get ready for bed.

Sleep Status: I go to bed between 7 and 8pm. I wake up after about 7-8 hours of sleeping to eat and I go right back to sleep. Then I sleep for another 2-4 hours.

Special Outings: Nothing special enough to note.

Firsts: First Christmas, discovery of my tongue, and first night with a babysitter while Mom and Dad went out on a date. I slept the whole time. Also, I had my first cockroach in my room. Mom freaked out and grabbed me out of my crib very quickly. Then she yelled for Dad who killed it promptly.

Any big changes: I continue to love to stand and sit up. Also, my tongue is a wonderful thing. I love grabbing Mommy's fingers and "chewing" on them. The doctor says I am probably teething. I just like to chew and lick. In case you're wondering, I still hate the car seat. My parents did drive back from Austin at night, which helped and they bought a big convertible car seat. I seem to like that car seat a lot better but it's still too early to tell if I'm just tricking them. Anything that requires buckling me in is terrible. I despise the car seat, stroller, baby carriers, etc. I love my bouncer but only if you don't buckle me in. Also, I have learned to yell. No longer do I simply cry like a newborn. I'm an infant now and I can yell! Additionally, I have selective memory. I can definitely remember how to position my head so I can lap up water in the bathtub but I fail to remember that shoving my fingers in my mouth makes me gag and throw up. Remembering things is hard work. I continue to battle with spit up and drool so I wear bibs a lot now.

Thoughts from the parents: Three months was a magical transition. She went from tolerating a lot of things to now loving them such as bath time and her bouncer. Ashton's personality comes out more and more. No longer is she just staring around. She loves to interact, which is a wonderful thing! We learn so much about her each day.

Biggest Lessons Learned: The saying, "This too shall pass" is very true. Now we understand why everyone kept telling us that at the beginning. We miss Ashton as a newborn but we also love how she's growing and changing. And yes, the multiple nighttime feedings have passed for now. I'm sure they'll be back soon though as four month shots are coming.

Monthly Pictures:

Common face while in the car seat. The convertible car seat seems to be much better so far.

I had to buy that onesie when I saw it!

This is her bald spot/mullet.

Happy as can be.

We were practicing standing for water-skiing season.

Trying to lick up the water

Bibs have become a necessary component of her wardrobe. She drools too much and gets her clothes soaked.

Chilling out in her high chair that she got for Christmas. She's ready to go but it will still be a few more months before she eats in it.

 Monthly Video:

What the next month should bring: Nothing too exciting unfortunately.

Last Christmas Break

Even though I've transitioned into parenthood where school vacations and days off no longer exist for me, I am still enjoying my last Christmas break as a graduate student. This semester was the hardest yet mainly because Ashton came earlier than we anticipated. I also had to conduct a full-blown research study with IRB approval, which consumed much of my time. I tried to get ahead in my coursework but Ashton didn't think that was a good idea. She wanted my attention instead and when it comes to a cute little baby or graduate school, the baby always wins. I passed both classes with A's so I still have my 4.0 but GPA doesn't really matter in grad school. At least I don't think it does. I have two more semesters and then Joseph is planning to start his master's degree.

So for my final Christmas Break, I enjoyed doing some of this:

Sleeping in with Ashton for the first week or so. Then she started going to bed around 7:30, which causes her to wake up around 6:30am. But I find myself getting much more done when I wake up early.

Reading fun books like Cook's Illustrated cookbooks and Large Family Logistics (Our family is very large...)

Baking for our ward social, Joe's Christmas work parties, and yummy dinners. I made whole wheat rolls for the first time as well as making my Great-Grandma Banning's rolls. Also, I tried some new recipes for cookies and treats.

Great-Grandma Banning rolls. They turned out pretty good. We had them when the missionaries came over for dinner and they gobbled them up. Then again, what 19/20 year old young man wouldn't eat a free meal.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes. They were a little denser than I wanted but still tasty.

Mint chocolate chunk cookies. These are my new favorite dessert! I've made them three times since discovering the recipe.

Packing, moving, and unpacking in our new home. We LOVE our new home. The best part: we don't have a landlord anymore telling us what we can and cannot do!!!

Spending time with family in Austin for Christmas

Hanging out Christmas morning.

Magnifying my calling. The week Ashton was born, I was called to be the primary chorister. I love it but it's challenging. I spent some time being creative and setting up plans for this year. I'm excited for the year ahead of us.

Loving my baby girl. Let's be honest, this is the highlight of my life!

Reading to Ashton. She is most attentive in the bathtub.

This is the face she gives when you make a cool sound.