That sippy cup is probably her favorite thing in the world (Aside from Mom and Dad, of course)
She loved rolling the ball under the couch and then trying to get it.
We spent Ashton's birthday weekend in Austin with family. I enjoy living close enough to see Joseph's family several times a year. Seeing Ashton with her cousins reminds me of my childhood and growing up in the same town as my cousins. Every time we get together, I can see friendships growing between all the cousins.
We arrived late Thursday night and then hiked up a mountain (according to Texas definition) on Friday. It was a short hike. After that, we surprised our nephew, Caleb, by coming to his school to have lunch with him. We tried to go swimming Friday evening but evidently Texans define "storming" as sprinkling so no swimming. It rained almost the whole weekend. It seems to be raining most times we go to Austin, which is weird because the city has been in a drought for several years. Saturday, we went to a mall that had a carousel and train to ride. Ashton loved the carousel but not the train so much. It was a fun way to celebrate her special day. That evening, we opened gifts and ate cake. Ashton didn't seem too impressed by opening presents but she loved the cake.
Overall, I feel it was a good first birthday for her. Hard to believe she's one already. We survived!
At my doctors appointment this morning, the doctor said I am in the top five percent for height and leveling out in weight still. Compared to Mom when she was one, I am an inch taller and two less pounds. Mom is hoping I continue to be taller than her.
Special Outings: BYU games and Austin for my birthday
Firsts: High fives and McDonald's chicken nuggets
Likes: Climbing stairs, running water in my bath, being held by Mommy all the time, helping Mom with chores like laundry and sweeping, walking around with no diaper or clothes on, water bottles, apple juice, berries, pulling things out of drawers and cabinets, climbing on the oven drawer, and pulling stuff out of the dishwasher
Dislikes: Vegetables, washing my hair, water in my eyes, lying still during diaper changes, milk of any kind (coconut, whole, chocolate), and eating in my high chair
Any big changes: Officially weaned. Mom got sick of it and said we'd done it long enough. I walk a lot now too.
Biggest Lessons Learned: We are on the go. Having a mobile child is fun and all. But it does present new challenges. We're learning how to work with a persistent, mobile, and happy little girl.
Monthly Pictures:
Reaching under her bed is a new game for her.
Spaghetti night
She loves this toy. We had to put it away though because she would scream when we turned it off at night.
Eating a french fry
Climbing in tunnels at the mall play area
Monthly Video: The video I want is on Joseph's phone. He's at work. So stay tuned for some videos later as well as Ashton's birthday weekend celebrations.
What the next six months should bring: At least one trip to Wisconsin, lots of holidays, family vacation to Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and family coming to visit for Thanksgiving
Firsts: First time standing for more than a split second, first step (not walking yet), clapping, and blowing kisses
Likes: Pulling Mom's hair, pulling Mom's clothes, screaming in Mom's ears, being held by Mom, being carried by Mom, climbing on Mom, anything that has to do with being in close proximity to my Mom, blueberries, graham crackers, apples, crawling around naked, playing outside, storytime at the library, my Hey Diddle Diddle book, turning pages in books, and eating with a fork and spoon
Dislikes: Getting my top teeth, daycare, the sound of the drill and circular saw, little kids scaring me, naptimes, bedtime, and any time that doesn't involve being with my Mom
Any big changes: SEPARATION ANXIETY to the max! I hate being away from my mom! My parents keep telling me to get over it but I tell them that I love my mom too much to "get over it." Mom threatens that she is going to go crazy because of me. I think she already is crazy.
Biggest Lessons Learned: Earlier this month, I attended a baptism for an eight-year-old in our primary. I love going to baptisms and her's was no different. As I watched her be baptized, I thought about Ashton and how I hope she makes the same decision when she is eight. In "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," it states that parents "will be held accountable before God" for the responsibility of raising a child with love and righteousness. We need to teach them to love, serve, keep the commandments, and obey the laws. Ashton is already almost one, which means we have seven more years to prepare her for the decision to be baptized. While once eight years seemed like too long, I am realizing that time is speeding by. There is no better time than the present to help prepare my daughter to follow God's plan for her. We've started praying with her at night as well as reading scriptures when she's awake. I love seeing her grow quiet when we do those things. It's like she already knows the purpose behind praying and reading.
Monthly Pictures:
Playing with the abacus we found at a toy store in Houston.
She LOVES her touch and feel book.
Wearing a friend's hat when he was over for a play date.
Monthly Video:
What the next month should bring: A visit to the children's museum, Daddy's friend visiting, and more fun days with Mommy
If you would have asked me if I would ever use cloth diapers, I would have said NEVER!
And then I had to buy swim diapers.
Since we swim a lot around here, I bought some and was so sad at the price. Eleven bucks for 20 diapers! That's ridiculous! Thankfully, Target put washable swim diapers right next to the disposables. I thought, "That wouldn't be too bad. Ashton never even goes to the bathroom in the stupid swim diapers." So for ten dollars, I left with a washable swim diaper. We used it a couple of times and I didn't mind washing it. I felt a lot better because I wasn't throwing away a diaper that wasn't peed in.
Then, Ashton started getting a persistent diaper rash. No matter how often I changed her and how much diaper rash cream I put on her, it never completely went away. So I did some digging and started using coconut oil, which helped immensely. After three weeks, we finally figured out it was a yeast infection from taking antibiotics for her strep throat. But I just couldn't help but think that the paper-y diaper rubbing against her as she crawls and walks around must not be comfortable. She kept getting red marks on her inner thighs too. So I thought about cloth diapers. Then I remembered a family in town who uses them. I went over to see their collection and was amazed at what cloth diapers look like nowadays. They're much different then I thought.
So I found some new/slightly used ones on eBay to keep costs even lower and I won some auctions. We bought Gro-Via hybrid diapers and we are now the proud parents of a cloth diapered baby. I made a wet bag to use since I couldn't bring myself to spend 30 dollars for one from Amazon. Total, it cost about 10 dollars to make and a trip to Hobby Lobby. Looking back, I'm not sure it was worth the savings because the waterproof material is tricky to sew with. It only took an hour, which isn't much. Thank goodness I'm not a perfectionist. Also, the type of diapers we got sell a flushable liner that costs about two cents each. This allows us to literally flush away messes. No scraping or spraying poop off!
So far, the only two things I don't like about cloth diapering are laundry and trying to change the cloth diaper on an active baby. Changing Ashton with disposables was already a challenge and then you add in the extra steps/time with cloth. But, I guess it teaches both of us patience, which we could use a lot more of. Laundry gets old but then again, I was doing laundry once or twice a week anyways. I like the fact that our garbage output as a family has decreased since we're not filling it up with diapers. That makes me happy. I also like not feeling guilty when I change her often because I am not throwing away money in diapers. Overall, we're pretty happy. Here are some pictures of Ashton showing off her diapers.
She loves that rocking chair.
A little close to the TV. I'm sure she'll be blind in a few years.
And an added bonus of her sleeping in her stroller. A rarity around here!
Height: 30 inches
At my nine month appointment, I continue to be very tall and am finally averaging out in weight.
Clothing Size: Mix of 12-18 month stuff. Still have the issue of pants being too long and onesies being too short.
Special Outings: The beach and swimming a lot
Firsts: First word, "MaMa," and first time being babysat while awake! I did great!
Likes: Swimming, walks with my cheerios, unstacking blocks and towers, taking EVERYTHING off surfaces around the house, playing with Mom's hair, playing "shot put" with my parents (Dad pretends I'm a shot put ball and launches me to Mom), playing on my mattress, playing with the Wii remote, and rolling the ball to Mom
Dislikes: Mom walking away from me, water in my eyes, rashes, mosquitoes, solids most of the time (still not hooked on eating solids), taking naps, sleeping through the night, and being sick
Any big changes: Nope, I'm a happy little girl who loves Mommy and Daddy
Biggest Lessons Learned: I can honestly say that I love this stage that Ashton is at. I didn't think I would with her mobility increasing every day. Once again, Ashton surprises me. She loves exploring and learning. Sometimes, she'll just being sitting still on the floor opening and closing her hands. She'll be looking at that so intently and I love imagining what she's thinking. She learns more things each day and I love being able to witness that first hand.
Monthly Pictures:
Pulling books off. We recently moved these bookcases to our spare bedroom for this reason.
Laying in bed one morning.
I love this trick of Ashton's but Joseph is not a huge fan. She has started pulling out silverware to help us.
Monthly Video: Sorry it's long. Just watch the first minute or so.
What the next month should bring: Switching to cloth diapering
No fireworks for us this year. I could see the tops of some from our window but that's all. Ashton's bedtime is 8:00pm, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So we'll have to wait for a few more years before we celebrate this holiday with fireworks. However, we did have some fun. We mowed the lawn, went on a walk, and met up with some friends for dinner and swimming. I realized after the fact that I didn't buy Ashton her first 4th of July outfit. Luckily, a friend gave us a bunch of clothes and that included a festive skirt. Then Ashton wore her BYU shirt that sort of fits her. I'm not the best at buying Ashton festive, holiday outfits. Here are a few pictures of us celebrating the weekend.
