Atlanta, Rangers, and Father’s Day 2011

So, many years ago (1985, I think), Matt and his dad attended a Texas Rangers baseball game on Fathers Day.

And in 2011, Matt was able to attend a Texas Rangers game with his dad and his daughter. What a fun way to celebrate his first Father’s Day!

Thanks to Matt’s dad, we spent the weekend in Atlanta and were able to see two Rangers vs. Braves games.

We arrived in Atlanta around lunchtime on Saturday and decided to eat at The Varsity. It was fun!

Then we parked and walked around downtown Atlanta for a bit before heading to our hotel to check in and get ready for the baseball game!

In the 5th inning, a huge thunderstorm swept through the area. It caused a 2 1/2 hour rain delay, but it also cooled down the temperature outside, so it was nice to just sit and relax. Ashleigh REALLY relaxed…

The Rangers ended up winning, and we left the ballpark at 10pm… after spending 6 hours there! We were so proud of how Ashleigh made it all the way through the game!

On Sunday, as soon as Matt woke up, Ashleigh and I gave him his Father’s Day presents. We gave him a blue Texas Rangers shirt (for him) and a pink Rangers onesie for Ashleigh to wear. (Matt has wanted to get a Rangers outfit for Ashleigh ever since we found out we were having a girl!) I think he liked his presents!

Then we headed to our second Rangers vs. Braves game. Ashleigh got to ride on the MARTA.

It was so HOT at the game. Fortunately, we were seated under the upper deck, so we were in the shade the whole time.

Jason and Tatiana

A Dad and his boys

Even though the Braves won the Sunday game, it was a great weekend!

9 months old

I caught myself the other day… a woman was asking me how old Ashleigh was, and I almost said 6 months old… it’s just so hard to believe that she is already 9 months old and growing bigger every day!

Here is our 9 month picture!

These monthly photos are getting so much more challenging… here’s proof!

At 9 months, Ashleigh…

-is a champion scooter. She scoots all over our house on her belly, using her arms and legs to push her.

-is getting up on her hands and knees and staying like that for several seconds. She’ll be crawling soon!

-is a teeny little thing!  She was 25 3/4 inches tall and 14 lbs 14 oz at her 9 month check up. She is in the 5th percentile for weight, but doctor said she was growing at her own pace and was very healthy.

-is still wearing 6 month clothing. We haven’t even tried pulling out her 9 month stuff because some of her 6 month outfits are still too big.

- is wearing size 2 diapers.

- loves to stand up (with help, of course).

- is eating solid foods 3 times a day and breastfeeding 4 times a day.

- typically sleeps through the night (8pm-7am), but we have had a hard time keeping her on her schedule because we’ve been so busy! So lately she has been waking up during the night.

- loves our cat and dog. She likes their tails the best.  And when I mean she likes their tails, I mean she likes to PULL their tails! And she also likes to chase them around the house!

- likes playing with Hobbes’ toys! (Fortunately, Hobbes doesn’t mind sharing- sometimes they play with the same toy at the same time!)

- is saying mamama and dadadada (and actually looks at one us when she does it!) and bababa and waves bye (sometimes).

- is starting to experiment with her lips and the sounds she can make, especially making raspberries.

- cries when we take her away from something she is enjoying (here come the temper tantrums!)

- loves the Gerber Graduates puffs.

-sleeps on her belly with her bottom pushed up in the air.

- still loves to go on walks (even in this blazing SC heat).

- still loves to read books, especially the ones she can feel different textures.

- can give high fives.

-has about 5 different types of fake laughs that she uses throughout the day.

-is giving sweet kisses.

We love this girl!

Beach videos

Although the last post provided lots of beach pictures, you can’t quite capture how much fun Ashleigh had without seeing these two videos…. enjoy!

 

Feet in the sand, wind blowing through my hair…

…but fortunately we did not spot an alligator cruising around in the surf while we were at the Isle of Palms last week.

(Did you see this story on the news? Crazy alligator!)

Go here to see the pictures of the alligator.

Anyway, Matt, Ashleigh, and I just spent a wonderful week down at Isle of Palms, along with our good friends from seminary, Nathaniel and Carolyn, and Ginger and Kris. Ginger’s parents so kindly allowed us to stay at their beach house, which was only a block and a half from the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. The weather was GORGEOUS the whole time we were there, so we were able to spend a lot of time at the beach.

(Someone’s ready for the beach!)

We arrived around dinner time on Monday, got unpacked, and ate a delicious dinner of fish tacos prepared by the L-K’s.  We took a short walk on the beach and then crashed in the living room to watch The Other Guys (Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg).

We spent most of the next day on the beach. We borrowed my parents’ canopy and set that up on the beach. It provided a wonderful amount of shade from the blazing sun. Ashleigh was a bit fussy because she missed her morning nap, so we made her a nice, soft pallet on the sand so she could lay down and try to sleep. As she tried to cry herself to sleep, we got  a few “looks” from passerbyers who thought we were torturing our dear child (P.S. This is the first time that I’ve gotten annoyed at people glaring at a crying baby. One lady who was riding her bike on the beach actually stopped and stared at us until I picked up Ashleigh. Ugh)

Anyway, she finally fell asleep and woke up nice and refreshed about 45 minutes later. Since the tide was coming in, we took her to the edge of the waves and plopped her feet in the water. She was a bit hesitant at first, but then once she figured out that the water wasn’t going to hurt her, she LOVED it! She was talking and giggling and just have a grand time in the water.

That afternoon, Ashleigh and I took a wonderful nap to rest up from our day on the beach.

That evening, Matt and I cooked shrimp and grits for everyone, and then we took a long walk around the main street in Isle of Palms and ate some yummy Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Then we watched The Fighter (another Mark Wahlberg movie).

On Wednesday, the men went to play disc golf, and Carolyn and Ginger went to get a massage. I opted out on getting a massage because I had gotten sunburned on my back, and it was a bit sore. So Ashleigh and I went shopping instead! That afternoon/evening, we relaxed around the house, Ashleigh napped, and then we walked to the Windjammer for a drink before dinner. Then, the Anderstarz made black bean burgers. Yum! We had game night and played many games of Bananagrams.

On Thursday, we went to the beach in the morning and then headed to downtown Charleston. We had a great time walking around and exploring. We ate some yummy gelato for a snack, and ate dinner at Fleet Landing. So good! (Nathaniel brought his camera, so hopefully I can get some pictures from his at some point… hint hint!)

On Friday, we cleaned up the beach house and then said goodbye to Carolyn and Nathaniel. Nathaniel was just called to be a pastor in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. We will miss our crazy upstairs neighbors tremendously! After our goodbyes, we went down to the beach to try to get some cute beach photos of Ashleigh.

(Ashleigh “helping” us pack)

Thank you, Ginger and Kris, for inviting us to spend a week with you! It was fabulous!