Top Ten Highlights

Here are the top ten highlights from the past week or so.
1. We went to Houston last weekend. We haven't been there for a few months so it was nice to go again. We went to the temple and then went to a flea market. We set high expectations for the flea market and were disappointed. Also, we were weirded out by the homeless man who asked for money in exchange for "watching our car." Needless to say, I don't think we'll go back there. Then, we went shopping at Sam's Club. We also had lunch at Whataburger since we had a free sandwich coupon from the Easter Egg Hunt. Ashton did great the whole day!
2. Our garden is growing! A few years ago, we had a garden in Utah but sadly most of it died. Not this one! Our beets were pretty small so we only had enough for one meal. However, we have TONS of squash! We planted five squash plants assuming one or two would survive. Well, all five survived and are producing large summer squash. Our broccoli and cantaloupe are growing well. I'm excited to eat them.
3. We entered the real world and finally got smartphones. Except, I am pretty sure any kid in the primary could work it better than I can. Joseph has adapted well to it. Me, on the other hand, I am struggling. Once, I was trying to call my voicemail and somehow called my mom. I still don't know how to get to my voicemail. And I haven't even added my own message on it so if you call, sorry. It takes me a long time to figure out how do a simple task. Trying to keep up with the times though.
4. We got landscaping rocks around our fruit trees. We put this off for a while and finally bit the bullet and bought them. 72 dollars later, our trees/yard look much nicer. However, we weren't sure if our car could make the trip from Home Depot to our house with 36 bricks that weigh 22 poundseach . It did.
5. Ashton learned to feed herself puffs. She is so proud of her little self.
6. We had the missionaries over a few times this month, which gave me a reason to cook and bake a lot. I made homemade apple pie for the first time and it turned out great! I also made some cool cupcakes with fondant that I made. They turned out pretty cool.

7. Joseph didn't blow up the plant last week. That is always a highlight in my world.
8.Finally, Ashton has realized it's okay to nap in our arms. This is her after going on a walk with dad. May I also add that Joseph dressed her in all pink that day.

 

9. I have had no graduate school these past few weeks, which has been a great break! My internship is starting up soon so that will take up my summer.
10. No mosquitoes yet! When we moved here a year ago, I recall there being mosquitoes so we're happy!

As you can tell, our life is pretty uneventful.

8 Months Old

Wearing her first pair of skinny jeans/jeggings. Not sure how I feel about those yet...

Weight: 20 pounds

Height: 28.5 inches

Clothing Size: A collection of 6-9 and 9-12 month

Special Outings: Trip to Austin, went out for an Easter egg hunt, and a baby shower for one of Mommy's friends

Firsts: Teeth (well at least the start of two), successful crawling, and pulling up on things

Likes: Eating lots of yummy food including beets, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, and bread, playing with flour, squealing in Mommy's ear, playing with Mommy's hair, being tickled, getting into everything Mom and Dad tell me not to, singing in the bathtub, falling asleep in Mommy's arms, plastic bags, shopping with Mom, riding on Dad's shoulders, and chewing on the toothpaste bottle

Dislikes: The sun in my eyes during walks, hot weather, being left alone, getting two teeth at once, falling on my face, having toys (i.e tv remote, phone) taken away from me, and people talking about my chubby thighs

Any big changes: I am into EVERYTHING! I always want to be holding something, whether it be a toy, the phone, computer, etc. Recently, I discovered that I can crawl to boxes/containers/buckets and reach in to see what's in them. Mom really likes that new trick of mine... I am a very active little baby, even in my sleep. Feeding me has become quite the production as I am easily distracted. There's always something to look at and try to touch.

Biggest Lessons Learned: This month, it has finally dawned on me that I have the potential to really mess Ashton up. I have no clue how my parenting will affect her until it's too late. I hope she turns into a smart, lovely young lady who people want to be around. I can try my best to raise her to know right from wrong and how to be kind. But parenting seems to be the ultimate form of delayed gratification. I won't know how anything turns out for several years from now! Oh and I've perfected the art of changing a diaper of a crawling, nonstop baby.

Monthly Pictures:

Beets for dinner

Daddy time

 

Playing in a box

Helping Mom with laundry

Swinging at the park

Sticking her face in flour on her highchair

What she looks like after sticking her face in flour

Monthly Video:

What the next month should bring: Father's Day celebrations, day at the beach, and lots of time with Mom and Dad

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. It started Thursday evening with a visit to the Lake Jackson Easter Egg Hunt. I was a little nervous as I drove in with the massive amount of cars and people. Thankfully, they had different areas for each age range. There was an area for non-walkers so Ashton fit right in. She enjoyed people watching as she sat on the grass with her bunny ears on. Her picture even ended up in the newspaper the next day.

People watching like normal.

The "Easter Bunny" was just the Chick-Fil-A cow dressed up. I was disappointed.

They got our town wrong but I was still so excited to have her picture in the newspaper! We went to the gas station and bought one as soon as we found out.

This is Ashton's Easter dress from Grandma Wilcox. Ashton loved trying to eat the flowers on it.

 Friday morning, we left for Austin to visit family. We had a wonderful weekend there, full of good food and lots of smiles and laughter. Ashton enjoyed seeing her cousins again. I see a great friendship forming between Ashton and her cousin, Ollie who is 9 months older. It's fun to see Ashton with other babies. In our ward, she is the only baby right now. At the ward we visited, there are tons of babies so it was neat to see Ashton interact with them and try to be possessive about her toys.

Easter egg cake

 The way back from Austin was long. Traffic was bad so the four hour drive became a five hour drive. Ashton did pretty well, which surprised me. All in all, I would say Ashton's first Easter was quite a success.

Proud Moment

I love when something turns out better than you thought it would. Here's my moment this week when that happened.

Since we bought our house, I've wanted to make some wreaths for our front door. Our Christmas wreath currently is a pathetic green wreath with nothing on it. It's been that way for a few years. This year, I am getting wreaths done. It's my goal.

So I made a spring wreath. I found the idea on Pinterest.

Finished product

Made by hot glueing gumballs to a styrofoam wreath

Lots of gumballs and lots of hot glue. Then I spray painted it and added the finishing touches

 

I probably wouldn't recommend this wreath to others. While I like how it looks, it is pretty heavy. Also, in case you're wondering, gumballs are pricier than I wanted. And I bought some, thinking that would be enough. But it wasn't. So I had to buy more, which made me upset about it. But once I started, I had to finish. Spray painting it was trickier because of all the surfaces and crevices to get. However, I think it looks pretty and makes me think of spring even though the weather is not very spring-y right now.

7 Months Old

Weight: About 19 pounds

Height: About 28.5 inches

Clothing Size: 6-9 months for shirts/onesies and still 3-6 month for pants. I have short legs and a long torso.

Special Outings: I had lots of special outings this past month! We went to Wisconsin and had lots of excursions there. It was a blast! Mom, Dad, and I also went on a picnic at a park near our house.

Firsts: First time eating solids. This went over pretty well except I don't like carrots. I love applesauce, sweet potatoes, and squash. Rice cereal is okay. Also, I really like feeding myself. I help Mom hold the spoon and then squish the food into my mouth. My first injury has occurred. Somehow, I scratched my ear and it started bleeding. I'm strong and survived the experience. Also, I can get up on all fours now but then don't know what to do.

Likes: Eating paper to the point that I bite off a corner and almost choke on it in the middle of Wal-mart (I sure scared Mom and the nice Wal-mart lady who saw Mom doing the blind sweep several times), eating yummy foods, rolling around on the floor, trying to crawl, looking at mirrors, sucking on my water bottle, being tickled and laughing, Daddy coming home, my nightly baths, walks around the neighborhood, eating grass, playing with Mom's hair

Dislikes: Parents trying to take matters in their own hands and rush me into doing something a certain way, sitting on my own, no swaddle, rolling onto my tummy, weed whackers and lawn mowers

Any big changes: NO SWADDLE! Finally, we sleep without being wrapped up. I managed to roll over while completely wrapped up so we went cold turkey. I wake up twice a night now instead of once a night and naps involve more tears than normal. Other than that, I'm doing okay. Mom, on the other hand, is pretty tired.

Biggest Lessons Learned: Children are a blessing from God. I knew this before but this past month has been so joyful in our home. Ashton is very happy as long as she's fed and she sleeps enough. Her smiles make us smile and laugh so much. We're grateful for the blessing God has given our family.

Monthly Pictures:

Common expression after I try to feed her.

Hanging with Dad

I found this thing on sale at a consignment store so finally got her one. It took her a while to warm up to it but now she loves it. And I love that I can switch loads of laundry or put dishes away.

Self-portrait attempt

Scratch on her ear

Loves her water bottle

Playing outside one evening

Trying to eat grass

She'll bring her knees up but then drop her head so crawling is tricky. She scoots around for now.

Having a blast at our picnic

Monthly Video: This is normally what meals look like. She's always apprehensive about taking solids. Once you get her going, then she'll enjoy it.

What the next month should bring: Celebrating Easter, meeting the Easter bunny, and visiting family in Austin again

Becoming a cheesehead

As many of you know, we took a trip to Wisconsin last week. Joseph was able to take lots of time off to come with us, which was even better! Ashton met lots of family, flew on several planes, and adjusted well to all the changes. It was a wonderful trip filled with lots of hugs and kisses.

The way there went pretty well. The first flight out of Houston was a little troubling since they boarded us and then made us wait for 30 minutes with no air conditioning. Ashton got fussy but a nice lady sitting in front of us held her and that fixed it. After that, she did pretty well with the flying. We landed and Grandpa and Grandma were waiting anxiously for us. We went to their house and had dinner. Ashton met her great aunt Lynn and great uncle Bill. Later Trescha and Charlie came to meet her.

Entertainment in the airport

Sunday, we drove over to Door County to celebrate my brother's wedding. We hung out at the resort and went swimming that night. Ashton did pretty good in the pool except it was a little cold. She met more family too.

Loved playing with Aunt Trescha

Grandma and Ashton

Monday was the wedding and Ashton became fussy during it so she didn't see much of it. But we celebrated later. We even had my sister stay with Ashton while she slept in the hotel room so Joseph and I could dance together!

We matched. I made a matching skirt for the wedding. Ashton wasn

't too impressed with matching.

Partying away at the reception

Tuesday, we left and stopped in Green Bay to see Lambeau Field. We went on a tour and went to lunch at Curly's Pub. It was a lot of fun and Ashton surprised me by falling asleep in her stroller during lunch.

Aunt Suki and Uncle Brandon

True Cheeseheads

The rest of the week was filled with meeting Great-Grandma Ashton and relaxing in Wausau. She played with Molly, my parent's dog and enjoyed that. We also gave her a tasting of applesauce. Ashton liked it. But she didn't sleep any better. During the whole trip, Ashton woke up at least twice a night, sometimes three or four times. We got home yesterday and she only woke up once a night, thank goodness! Overall, Ashton adjusted well to sleeping in different places and being held by lots of new people. It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back.

6 Months Old

Weight: About 18 pounds

Height: About 28 inches

Clothing Size: 6-9 month

Special Outings: Nothing special happened this last month

Firsts: First time rolling tummy to back. Dad got to see me do this first. First taste of solids. Mom offered me a carrot stick to suck on and I didn't like that. But then she offered me an apple slice and I licked it for a long time. I hope applesauce is the first food she offers me next month.

Likes:Eating paper, waking up to Daddy, riding on Daddy's shoulders, the fact that it's lighter longer at night so we can take long walks, trying to eat my toys, drinking out of my sippy cup and Mom's water bottles, and playing with dogs.

Dislikes: Rolling over onto my tummy, Mom trying to wean the swaddle, the entire teething process, and getting my arm stuck in my crib rails.

Any big changes: I finally decided that it's okay to smile at strangers. Now I am a little social bumblebee. I give big smiles to anyone who talks to me. I also like being tickled and am working on my belly laugh.

Biggest Lessons Learned: No two days are ever alike. There's always something that catches me by surprise.

Monthly Pictures:

Enjoying her sippy cup. I think she really just likes the spout to suck on.

I was adventurous one day and decided to do a craft. Ashton didn't understand how to make a handprint. Practice makes perfect!

Doing pushups

Loves to stand. We wonder if she'll skip crawling and instead walk as she hates her tummy time.

Eating a match holder that I found at a garage sale.

One of her new favorite things to do with Daddy.

Monthly Video:You'll have to turn your head as I don't know how to turn videos.

What the next month should bring: Going to Wisconsin in two days, swimming for the first time, meeting LOTS of family, going to my first wedding, and FINALLY starting solids!