Sunday, October 23, 2011

13 months old

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So, no more monthly pictures with her children’s book, but we’ll still try to document what our little lady is doing each month!

Ashleigh turned thirteen months old on October 18. She also took her first steps just a few days before she turned 13 months old. She surprised Matthew and I by taking FOUR steps in a row (these were her first steps!) from one couch to the other couch. Fortunately, we were both watching and just looked at each other in amazement. It’s so hard to believe how quickly she is learning new skills. Sometimes, like with walking, there’s no practice time. She does it once, and then she doesn’t stop! Two days after taking her first steps, we finally caught it on video, and she hasn’t stopped walking since then. She is still unbalanced and falls quite a bit, but oh how cute it is to watch our sweet girl toddle around the room. Arden and Hobbes are in a bit of trouble… she can get to them a lot quicker now! Ashleigh loves walking and tries to do it all the time. She has unfortunately had her fair share of bumps and bruises now that she wants to walk everywhere. She just doesn’t quite know how to stop and ends up just falling into whatever is closest to her.

At 13 months, Ashleigh…

- has taken her first steps.

-is saying mama and dada more often.

-still loves to point at things.

-shakes her head no.

-is very vocal with her made up language

-makes some great facial expressions

-is working on cutting her top two teeth (finally!)

-is sleeping a bit better. We had to re-do our sleep training after moving to Michigan because she wanted to get up every couple of hours and nurse. Well, that made for one tired mommy! We are re-teaching her how to fall asleep on her own. She is still waking up about once a night, but we just go in her room and lay her back down and rub her back, and usually she’s back asleep in 1o or so minutes. (P.S. Teething has NOT helped this process!!)

-is wearing size 3 diapers.

-is wearing 9 month and some 12 month clothing

-is eating so much food (baby food and table food). She wants to eat whatever we are eating.

-drinks about 2 cups of whole milk each day and loves it.

-loves to “collect” objects in her hands (rocks, sticks, cheerios, etc!)

-loves to play outside, and fortunately, the weather has been fairly nice recently, so we’ve been outside quite a bit. She prefers to crawl on the pavement rather than the grass. Odd?

-loves, loves, loves to read her books.

-enjoys climbing up and down the stairs (over and over and over again). It’s good exercise for momma and daddy, too!

- has figured out how to get off of OUR bed by herself… she puts both feet over the edge, leans back, and just slides down. Good gracious.

- has started copying our sounds.  So cute!

-likes being chased around the house. She knows what “I’m going to get you” means!

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On a side note, Ashleigh’s new friend Jonah was born on October 16 to proud parents Jason and Dana Lee. We can’t wait to meet the cutie pie! Smile

Friday, October 21, 2011

Fenner Apple Butter Festival

So, last weekend Erin, Ashleigh and I went to Fenner Nature Center in Lansing (about 10 minutes from Mason) and attended their Apple Butter festival. 

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Ashleigh was, a little ‘tired’ at first. 

So, while she slept, Erin and I saw apple butter being made

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We purchased said apple butter, and it is delicious. 

We bought some caramel popcorn.  I’ve already finished mine off.

Then Ashleigh finally woke up!  And we had a blast around the pumpkins!

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Fun times!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

A toddler, for real now!

Ashleigh walks!

Last Sunday (8 Oct), our little girl took her first steps… yes, plural! She didn’t take just one step. She took 4 steps in a row! Matt and I just stared at each other in disbelief! All week we tried to capture her steps on video, but to no avail. She just didn’t want to walk. Well, watch out world…. now there’s no stopping her! And, we even managed to get it on video!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

12 months old

Happy 1st birthday to the sweetest, kindest, and coolest one year old that we know!

Ashleigh, this past year has flown by so quickly, but I wouldn’t change a single minute. You have stolen our hearts and the love we feel for you is so incredibly strong. We have watched you grow from a tiny 6 pound newborn to a (still tiny) 15 pound toddler. You amaze us each and every day with your new skills.

“While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.”
~Angela Schwindt

You have taught us how to be selfless, kind-hearted, patient, and strong (and how to live on a limited amount of sleep!) Your smile melts our hearts each and every day. And the way you scrunch up your nose… there are no words to describe how we feel when we see you do that. You are our pride and joy, and we love you to the moon and back, sweet girl.

Ashleigh is one year old!

Here are her 12 month pictures…

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At 12 months, Ashleigh…

-weighs 15 lbs, 7 oz (yeah, she’s a tiny squirt!)

-is finally growing taller (27 1/4 inches)

-wears size 3 diapers

-wears size 9-12 month clothing

-is crawling all over the place

-is walking with the help of a walker (or with our help)

-loves to climb the stairs and go back down the stairs

-enjoys trying to chase Hobbes the cat around the living room

-loves crawling around outside in our huge yard (we’ll enjoy doing that as much as possible until the snow hits!)

-loves looking out the windows at our new house (the frames are low enough so she can see outside)

-is now drinking whole milk instead of water in her sippy cup

-is starting to turn up her nose at baby food- she wants what momma and daddy are eating!

-has started eating lots of Cheerios, whole wheat toast, slices of cheese, small pieces of fruit and veggies (Arden LOVES the mess that Ashleigh makes at meal times!)

-has started to stand up by herself for a few seconds at a time!

-is mostly good-natured and happy during the day

-is having some trouble sleeping at night (much to the chagrin of momma and daddy). We’re thinking it’s a combination of teething, separation anxiety, and moving!

-loves to play with the dog’s food and water bowls

-LOVES to read her books.

-points her little finger at everything and say “dah!”

-shakes her head yes and no

Here are some pictures from her actual birthday on Sept 18. Our church surprised us and had a cake for Ashleigh after the service and gave her a beautiful quilt that the quilting group made. So sweet!

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Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! Smile

Mr. and Mrs. Reverend

Well, it’s official. Matt is a called and ordained minister of God. His ordination service was held on Friday, August 26 at his home church, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Coincidentally, this is the same church where we were married. The service was beautiful and very moving.

(Thank you to Jenn Kearney for being our last-minute photographer!)

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