Free Night at Fair

We've manged to make it to the county fair the past three years. There is a free night each year and since it normally costs $15 per person, we take advantage of this. We've discovered that the fair is getting more expensive each year we've gone. Our first year, we spent a few bucks to buy the food to feed the animals. Last year, Ashton got a 5 dollar pony ride. This year, she instantly saw the fair rides and wanted to ride a few. Since we really don't do many activities that cost money, we caved in and let her ride some. She had a blast and can't wait to go back next year. Joseph has lots of great memories from his hometown fair so I am sure we will create some memories in the upcoming years.

Before heading out, Tanner showed off his popular pose. He wasn't too sure about these shoes. First time wearing anything on his feet.

After my dad's and brother-in-law's motorcycle accidents, I doubt Ashton will ever ride a real motorcycle. But she sure enjoyed pretending!

He loves pulling hair so riding on shoulders is one of his favorites.

This girl! I love her!

Hugging all the animals

She figured out she had to carry the food above her head to avoid the animals from helping themselves.

9 Months Old!

Not such a little guy.

Weight: 24ish pounds

Height: 30 inches

Clothing Size: 18 month shirts/onesies and 12 month pants. He has short legs.
 
Daily Schedule: He continues to be fairly predictable in his schedule. Wake up between 7:30 and 8; it mostly depends on what we have going on that day and when I need to wake him up. Morning nap happens about two hours after wake up. Takes 1.5-2 hours long naps in morning and afternoon. I realize what a blessing this is since Ashton never did that. Typically goes to bed around 8pm. Still up twice a night to eat... You don't become 24 lbs by not eating at night.

Personality: Nothing really bothers Tanner. The only times he gets upset is if someone goes outside without him, someone is eating and you're not offering him food, or if Ashton doesn't play chase with him the right way. He loves water and will crawl into the ocean with no fear. If you want Tanner to like you even more, just offer him food. He smiles at everyone and seems to have no stranger danger yet. He plays at the rec center just fine, as long as they feed him goldfish periodically. He eats just about anything offered to him unless it is really cold. He seems to spit out most cold foods. Although, he does love ice cream! That's my kid!

Firsts: First tooth finally! He gets a little fussy off and on but I don't notice too much of a difference in him with the tooth coming in. I hope it stays that way. First time standing by himself. Walking is right around the corner for him. I look forward to it so he can keep up with Ashton even more.

Sibling love: It continues to be a love/hate relationship. Tanner adores Ashton and wants to be doing whatever she is doing. Ashton is slowly learning that she can't push Tanner over when they're playing. I think she thinks Tanner is more stable than he is.

He's figured out how to climb this and reach the countertops.

Got a mosquito bite on his eyelid and it swelled up pretty bad.

Climbs onto Ashton's big girl bed.

Love this kid!

Coldstone ice cream stop in Houston. Chocolate was his preference.

Fall is here!

Well, fall is officially here. The high temperature is finally under 90 degrees. The park feels nice to visit now. I have begun dressing the kiddos in long-sleeve shirts. I'm sure I'll pull out the parkas and wool sweaters next week if we hit high-70's.

We've had a lot of fun lately. As opposed to all the times we don't have fun...

General Conference weekend was enjoyable. The kids cooperated by napping during both of the afternoon sessions. We had a family over Sunday morning with the sister missionaries. I was really nervous about Ashton's reverence during this but she did great. The sisters came over early to make breakfast for the family. I think crepes are our new tradition for conference weekend. They were delicious! And anytime Ashton can spend time with Sister Lenhart is a great day in her life.

My birthday came and went. Once again, my dream of sleeping in and taking a nap did not happen. Maybe next year... We went out to eat for dinner and the kids didn't scream at the restaurant so that's a blessing.

National Night Out was this past week. Ashton and Tanner had a blast playing around the park.

He really loved General Conference.

Making crepes with the sisters.

Loves the splash pad

Riding the fire truck

I love her face! Such a happy girl!

Putting a bajillion candles in my cake.

My 3 Year Old Girl!

Ashton is three! There is no possible way I can describe Ashton in a blog post. You just have to meet her and be around her. Ashton is a joy and privilege to raise! After three years of being with this girl, I can honestly say she is my best friend. I love having her around and being with her.

I love that she always knows when someone needs a hug or a smile. Randomly, she will come up to me and say, "I love you" or "Smile Mommy!" She's beginning to say sorry after consequences are given, which I appreciate. Deep down, Ashton is considerate of others. She recognizes when other kids are sad and tries to help them. Often, she picks up on when I'm feeling frustrated and will ask why I'm mad. Every time, this humbles me and helps me realize that my emotions impact her.

Her drive and ambition are strong. She is persistent and motivated to do well. If you need to get somewhere quickly, you simply have to "race" her and she will run full speed. Ashton desires to work hard and always wants to participate and help. I cannot bake or cook anything without her next to me, helping.

It's fun to see her vocabulary continue to expand. It seems like each day brings a new word or two (or ten). Her storytelling abilities are great and I love listening to her rendition of events. I am surprised at what she remembers. Lately, Ashton talks about events happening "months" or "years" ago or in the future. Such as, "I get to see Nana and Papa in three months." Thankfully, she has inherited the talent from her dad of making up songs as she goes. Joseph has always done this and Ashton follows in his footsteps. I always laugh at these because most of the time, she's able to rhyme with her made-up songs and they have a good tune. Ashton loves to sing songs from church or ones around the house. And the piano is a wonderful thing to her too.

Unfortunately, Ashton has begun the behavior of asking "why" to EVERYTHING! "Ashton, we need to get in the car to go to preschool." Ashton's response, "Why?" And it just keeps going and going! I did this as a kid too so I feel it's justice that Ashton does it as well. All the time!!! Why? Why? Why? I never realized why my mom said, "Because I said so" as often as she did. Now I do! Naturally, she is a curious girl so wants to know how everything works.

Socially, Ashton is an extremely social girl. She loves to be with her friends and talk to people. Anytime she sees a dog, she demands to pet it. Ashton will walk up to the owner and ask to pet it, no hesitations. At times, I worry about stranger danger but we'll get there. Very rarely is she shy. Maybe if she's embarrassed but that's about it.

Typical Day:
Wake up between 7 and 8am
Morning activities (either preschool, playgroup, grocery shopping, etc.)
Lunch around noon and show time
Nap from 1:30-4ish. Preschool wears her out so she takes extra long naps on those days.
Visit the park almost every day after nap.
Bedtime around 8:30 and falls asleep around 9 most nights. She could probably drop her nap most days and push the bedtime earlier but I prefer naptime since it overlaps Tanner's naptime.

Her first picture home.

1 year old Ashton

2 year old Ashton

So proud to be 3

Rise and Shout! The Cougars Are Out!

Football season is underway and we are excited to cheer them on. Pink Cougar shirt and all. Now if we could just win a game or two...

I like how they're looking at each other.

Finally finished the BYU fabric wreath. I wish I had painted all the letters in white. Otherwise, I love it.

8 Months Old

Weight: 23ish pounds

Height: 29ish inches

Clothing Size: Mostly 12 month clothing now. Some jammies are 18 month but that's because I hate the skin-tight pajamas that stores sell.


Daily Schedule: We've started waking Tanner up around 7:30 so we can fit his morning nap before morning errands or during preschool hours. Two naps a day around 9:30 and 2:30. Naps are finally getting better and longer, which is great! Bedtime around 7:30 or 8 as well. Pretty predictable schedule most days. He's still up once or twice a night but he's at least spacing it out so he might wake up at midnight and then sleep until 6am to eat quickly again.

Personality: I love Tanner's personality! He is a very chill, happy baby. The only time of day he is grumpy is during meals. He would prefer to eat very quickly and hates being spoon fed. It is too slow for him. We just can't shovel the food in fast enough for him. Otherwise, he is content and smiley. So far, he doesn't seem too picky about things. He crawls on grass, sand, concrete, etc. He loves the splashpad and swimming. He eats everything we've given him so far. He doesn't mind sitting in the stroller for walks or riding in the car. Very different than Ashton, who was (and still is) very opinionated as a baby. Tanner continues to sleep on the go, which is nice too. His favorite activity is almost always whatever Ashton is doing. He must check everything out that she touches or plays with. This annoys Ashton a lot but it's comical to us.


Firsts: Continues to cruise along furniture, climb onto shelves, first time sleeping through the night (which then caused me to get mastitis so I am content with him waking up at night instead of getting that again)

Sibling love: Ashton is slowly learning how to play with Tanner. She's starting to encourage him to do things and cheer him on. She loves to race around the house with him and crawl away from him. Tanner finds this hilarious and will laugh every time.

He now pushes Ashton around in this. He loves it.

So pleased with his dirt beard

Whining that Ashton is outside and he is inside.

His little bowtie!

How Ashton likes to wake him up from naps.

Ashton's Birthday and Party

I love planning parties and activities. So planning a birthday party is fun for me! Ashton is at the age where I figured she would get excited about a party. She's such a social person that I knew she would want to invite people and could take a very involved part in planning her party. She did! Ashton helped put invitations together, made the pinata, helped set up, make cupcakes, etc. I was impressed by her willingness to help with many aspects of the party.

We did a Splish Splash theme. Beach balls was a main component of decorations and planning.

Pull string beach ball pinata that my nephews and Ashton helped make.

The main decorations in the garage. The party was in the front yard and food in the garage. This meant I didn't need to clean the house for the party too.

Beach ball fruit tray

Mouthful of cupcake

For her birthday, she went to preschool in the morning. At night, we had her favorite dinner; pancakes at IHop. Then I had a few cupcakes leftover from the party. She blew out her candles. Until this point, we didn't tell Ashton there would be gifts for her birthday. We opted out of gifts for her party, which I'm grateful we did. She had no clue you receive gifts for your birthday. It was nice to not have her asking all day to open presents. We opened them after dinner and she loved the things she got from family. All day, she kept asking when her exact birthday was. She thought there was a precise moment to have her birthday. It was a fun day.

Showing off her dance moves with her new "Cinderella shoes"

Wearing one of her new dress-up hats

The cool science experiment set she received. Future engineer in our family!