Happy Birthday Ashleigh Shea

I know, another month has come and gone. But today is a special day. My Baby Girl turned 6! It's hard to believe that my first born is already 6 years old! Things are changing so fast with our little family. I'm excited to put all of my energy to these 2 little girls that have blessed our lives! 1st grade is starting soon for Ashleigh so that will bring more changes. UGH, time needs to slow down, I can't keep up! Anyway, at 1:58 p.m. today my girl turned 6. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday, though, it was such a whirlwind. Long, hard labor and an unexpected c-section. It was such an emotional day that ended so peacefully. It was the start of Brian and I's little family. Such a special day! I love you Ashleigh Shea, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Geesh, if I'm not going to update the blog for a month, I need to take notes to refer to. I know it's been super busy but can't seem to remember the precious details to fill you in with. I'll start with the pictures, maybe that will jolt my memory.

Addyson had her 18-month check-up in July. She hadn't gained an ounce since her 15-month check-up. Apparently this isn't uncommon since they become super-active during that time frame. She continues to be long and lean. I can't remember exactly, but I think she was 85th % for weight and 90th % for height. She is so smart at the doctor's office...she totally knows what's about to happen when she touches the paper on the exam table. She doesn't even tolerate getting weighed. Poor girl. This is Ashleigh when we got home from the doctor. She is very sympathetic to her sister when she goes with us:



Addy's little band-aids after her shots:



hehehe, I remember why I took these pictures. Jessica (my friend) had bought Addy this hooded top for her birthday that she thought was a dress. She figured out that Addy hadn't worn it yet when she was over one day doing a hand-me-down swap. During this swap, I found a skirt that didn't have a coordinating top that would be perfect for the hooded top, but Jessica kept saying she was going to buy something to go with the top. I told her that was silly. Anyway, I took these to prove to her that yes, this denim skirt looks really cute with the really cute hooded top she bought! Don't you agree?!?!?! 3 pictures to prove it! :)

RC's birthday was on July 13th. I decided to make her a birthday cake because I wanted to try out a recipe I found online. It was called "Better-Than-Almost-Anything Cake". It was pretty darned good, consisting primarily of German Chocolate Cake, Caramel, Heath Bars, and Cool Whip.

RC blowing out her candles with the kids wanting to help desperately:

A close-up of the cake. It wasn't all that pretty, but in this case, taste mattered more!:

Deena (my friend) let us borrow her little jumping horse thingie for Addy to use. She Loves it! Speaking of Deena, she gave birth to a beautiful Baby Girl last Friday. Her name is Erin Elizabeth. Deena does so good with labor and delivery! A few hours of labor, 4 pushes, and boom....baby! Congratulations to the Henry Family! She was 7 lbs oz....light weight! LOL!

Ashleigh had swimming lessons the last part of July. This was so concerning to me with her fear of her ears getting wet. I was horrified when the VERY 1st thing they did on the 1st day was dive for rings. I knew she wouldn't do it, she doesn't even willingly go under water! But all along we told her that if she at least tried her best, we would be happy. And for the most part, she tried everything. In the end, they recommended she repeat this level, but I believe she gained some confidence in the water. We are trying hard to not let her use floaties anymore, as the swim instructors don't believe in them. They contribute to children not having to learn to swim. Which I totally agree with, but at the same time, they are needed at times. Ash is old enough now I believe they hold her back, so we will try going without them for now on. So far so good!

Ash trying hard! She went under water!

Floating:

Her class. There were 9 kids and 2 instructors:

My pretty girl:

The faces were hilarious! With ALL the kids:

Another funny face:

I'm so proud of that girl:

Her 2 instructors working with her:

Ashleigh's birthday party was this past Saturday. We really tried to have a decent party for her without spending a lot of money. So we set up the big blow up water slide that us 3 sisters share, bought some pizza, and called it a party! It was a good time and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I definitely could have spent less, but once I get into the midst of buying, I don't think about cost much. But in the end, I did stay within the budget I had planned.

Auntie Rae bought her this wedding tiara/vail. Aunt Ally had come up with this idea with Peyton, and the kids loved it!

The kids going down the water slide. This is Sydney. Unfortunately, I didn't any pictures when my friend's kids were sliding:

Peyton:

Ashleigh:

Aunt Jessie going down after the party, it was too funny!:

Aunt Jessie again:

Ashleigh blowing out her candles:

The birthday cake her Mommy made for her. She requested a chocolate cake with orange icing and that's what she got! I also made strawberry cupcakes with green icing and sprinkles.

We went to Burger's Lake (Fort Worth) on Sunday. We had a good time. It's a nice relaxing little lake with lots of shade. I didn't tale many pictures because I didn't want to get sand in the camera. But here's Ash:.

Addy with Auntie Rae. Addy DID NOT like the sand. It was like a dog with socks on. Too funny, but it was her first experience. She was fine after a while.

Addy's hair is absolutely crazy at this stage. It looks like an afro...no kidding. It has to be in a pony tail on top of her head or it looks insane. She won't leave clips in long enough to mess with it, but it's cute when she does. Anyway, this was today after she pulled her pony tail out. The picture doesn't even do it justice, I mean it is CRAZY WILD HAIR:

And this is the nice, tame hair I enjoy for 3 minutes after her bath before it starts poofing again!

WARNING: Naked Baby shots! If you get offended looking at naked babies, then look away!

This is my precious Baby Girl in the bath tub tonight. Addy LOVES filling that cup with water and dumping it out over and over and over and over and over, well, you get the picture:

She's so cute! Ash is in there too, but I didn't think I should share her pictures since she is older:

After her bath:



Ashleigh showing her Cinderella piggy bank today:

I want to thank all of our family and friends who took the time out of your busy lives to help Ashleigh celebrate her 6th birthday! I know life is hectic and crazy but to those of you who came, thank you so much, it meant a lot to Ashleigh AND her Mommy and Daddy.

Jessica (Brian's sister) was in town for like 17 days. She stayed with us and we enjoyed her visit VERY much! Thank you to the Harris' for letting her use your pool whenever she wanted. Man, to be a college student again...she slept until at least noon everyday, stayed up super late, and just did whatever she wanted. She had all the freedom she could have needed at our house. Her and Ashleigh slept together and Ashleigh LOVED it! She has a queen sized bed, but there were a few instances where one of them would hog the bed. But it was funny. We learned that Ash grinds her teeth really badly when she sleeps. She goes to the Dentist tomorrow, so I will ask them about it. I feel a night guard is in her future! Anyway, we miss Jessie but look forward to her coming back for winter break.

Ashleigh said something funny today: Ash: Why is Robert (the lawn guy) across the street before finishing our yard?

Me: Because he mows all of them 1st then he'll come back.

Ash: Is he going to use the blower to blow all the grass?

Me: Yes.

Ash: That sucks!

LOL, I think she is 6 going on 18!!!

Anyway, I'm sure there is more, but it's 11:00 and my newly replaced mattress is calling my name. Nighty Night!

Where Did June Go?

Ummm, yea, June went rather quickly. The whole month went by without a single blog from me. I must say, I believe it was a much needed break...not that it takes a lot of energy to blog, but constantly trying to find time to do it wears on me. So I just let it go without worrying about it much. With the exception of my 3 fans asking "WTF?" LOL! Anyway, I apologize for not informing you of the hiatus, but it was unplanned. I'm sure so much has happened that I will not remember to tell you, but it has been a good month.

June started with the end of Kindergarten for Ashleigh. Yes, that's right, my baby girl is officially a 1st grader! I can't even believe it! This past school year went unbelievably fast! She has learned so much and we are so excited to see what the coming year will bring. I'm not requesting any particular teacher and am putting it in God's hands. I trust she will end up with the right teacher for her! **fingers crossed** The last day of school was very emotional but they had a Kindergarten Completion Ceremony with a cute as heck program. Ashleigh was 1 of only 2 in her class that had Perfect Attendance for the school year. Probably only 1 of about 8 out of all 6 Kindergarten classes. I'm so happy and feel blessed that she stayed healthy all year long! Anyway, we will miss Mrs. Roberts and Ash desperately wants her to be her 1st grade teacher too, but we explained to her how this whole thing works and hopefully she will be accepting of her new teacher when she gets a chance to meet her. Mrs. Roberts sent home lots of summer learning worksheets, reading material, and leftover school supplies, so we are trying to have Ashleigh to some of it to help keep her brain fresh and not forget too much before the start of 1st grade.

I have a gross story for you. This morning, Ashleigh put on every bracelet she could find and really looked quite cute with all of them on. Next thing I know she comes out of the bathroom crying uncontrollably...the only words I could make out were "bracelet, bad poo-poo, accident, potty". Wellll, I pretty much figured it out. Yes, you guessed it, she had diarrhea and accidentally dropped one of her bracelets in the potty. I looked in (hesitantly) and all I saw was, well, bad poo-poo. What color was the bracelet she dropped? Yes, brown. Due to all of the, ummm, cloudy water, I could not see the bracelet. What to do, what to do? I know, call Brian!! I'm sure this phone call made his day! Me: Honey, Ash accidentally dropped her bracelet in the potty. Brian: well, get it out. Me: Honey, she had diarrhea and it's in the potty with it, what do we do? (obviously I'm scared to flush for fear of flooding the bathroom with "bad poo-poo" but on the other hand, I am NOT fishing for bracelets!" Brian: is it a solid bracelet? Me: A solid bracelet? WTF is that? Brian: you know is it solid or is it loose? Me: Are you talking about the poo-poo or the bracelet? Brian (getting aggravated): no, the bracelet, is it solid or does it stretch out? Me: Ashleigh, does that bracelet stretch out? Ashleigh: yes, a little bit (still crying). Me (to Brian): yes, it stretches a little. Brian: flush it! Me: Hallelujah! Ashleigh (a minute later when she sees all is okay with the exception of losing her bracelet to the porcelain Gods): that's okay, I'll get more bracelet's for Christmas and you can have some too so you can give them to all the people of the World who don't have bracelets. Me: Oh, okay, we'll see. So that was quite an eventful situation! Hopefully there won't be repercussions for flushing that bracelet, like plumbing problems.

Here's a picture of Addyson. She'll be 18 months on Friday the 10th. Unbelievable!

She can make a chair out of anything! Literally anything! If she can get on it, she will sit on it. Or in it in this case. This is her little toy tub in my office. She didn't even bother emptying it first, just sat right on top of all the bumpy and pokey toys. She has since started to empty it first. It's too cute. She also loves to sit on the little shelves that are under my desk. I always know when she's there because I have to hold on to my mouse and keyboard fo dear life as she yanks on the wires! UGH! But she is such a happy child. She is climbing on the couch, rocking chair, fireplace, coffee table...she is quite the climber! And just has a huge smile on her face while she is doing it. She may be our "spirited" child, but she is bringing such joy to our lives. This is such a fun age. She is developing very well, though, we still have a concern over her speech development. She didn't qualify for one of the local programs because she was only 3 months behind, and you have to be 6 months behind. I called them back today for another evaluation because they said to when she's 18 months if we see no improvement. And even if we do see improvement, they will not know that, I will make sure she qualifies this time. Keep you posted on that, I had to leave a message and hope they call me back soon!

Here are the pictures of Ash's last day of school. There are a ton more, but I had so many to upload, I thought I'd spare you :)

Auntie Rae congratulating Ashleigh:

Mrs. Roberts presenting Ashleigh with her Perfect Attendance medal:

Ash with her Kindergarten completion Certificate:

Ashleigh walking out of the school for the last time as a Kindergartner with her cousin, Peyton:

Then we had Brittany's graduation from high school. Oh man, I was so worried about losing it, but I held it together quite well. I just can't even put it into words how so proud we all are of that girl!

Britti accepting her diploma:

We went to Bob's Chop House after the ceremony to have a drink. Me and Brian:

The York Family (I thought this picture was just adorable!):

The Harris Family with the Graduate (another precious family photo!):

Again, there are TONS more, but seriously, I would be uploading until midnight tomorrow!

Another big event that happened around here, was that Ashleigh lost her 1st 2 teeth. Bottom middle. They were loose for what seemed like forever and she would not let anyone pull them, even when they were hanging on by a hair. She was soooo excited when the 1st one fell out and when she told me, I got all excited for her, and then she started crying. I was like OMG, what is wrong? But I realized quickly, she was just so overwhelmed with emotion, it was the only reaction she had. It was all good and she feels like such a big girl with her permanent teeth. They started growing in before the baby ones even fell out, which freaked me out a little, but I guess that's normal.

The big girl with the 1st tooth missing:



Holding up her tooth in a baggie:

The tooth getting ready to go under the pillow:

Sweet dreams waiting for the Tooth Fairy:



She was so funny with the Tooth Fairy questions. Wondering if she will see her, if she will fly, if she will wake her up, if she comes through the chimney like Santa, if she only comes while sleeping, and it goes on and on. So, since we knew she would be waiting up for the Tooth Fairy, we decided to set our alarm clock for midnight knowing she would fall asleep by then. So I make Brian do the Tooth Fairy duty since he was a Marine and all thinking he could be in and out without a peep. Well, that would have been true if her door didn't squeak every centimeter it is opened. You don't realize it until it is midnight and not a sound around. So he crawls in there and the second he puts his hand under her pillow she rolls over and looks right at him. I;m in the bed hearing a conversation going on and I'm thinking "great, she's not going to believe in the Tooth Fairy anymore and we weren't even successful one time!!" I couldn't make out the conversation, but apparently Brian played it off that she looked hot and he wanted to turn her ceiling fan up and maybe she should go potty while she is awake. Well, she totally fell for it and while she was going potty, he made the exchange. Luckily, she didn't check under her pillow until the next morning. The Tooth Fairy brought her $10 for her 1st tooth (I know, we got like 25 cents, right?) and $5 for her 2nd tooth. We explained the 1st tooth always gets the most so she wouldn't have expectations for the rest of them. Let me just tell you how sweet my child is. She tried on a number of occasions to give me her money so that "you will have more money in your wallet, Mommy". Oh, so sweet! It must have been burning a hole in her pocket, because she was dying to give Brittany a dollar for her graduation, and she did. Brittany hesitantly took it, but Ash's feelings were getting hurt that nobody would take her money, so I told Britti to take it. It was very sweet!

Oh, here's another picture of Addy making a chair out of her toy tub in my office, this time she did empty it first:

Addy loves hanging out in the basket under the stroller. But of course, it's a chair! The only problem is that she can get in, but can't get out:

That is one of Ashleigh's head bands around her neck, but she is so proud of herself for climbing into the rocking chair in her room:

That's a big rocking chair for such a little girl....isn't she so pretty?!?!?!:

So we spent yet another July 4th at Dad's house. We went swimming as usual and went to Bedford's fireworks. It was a nice time and I was quite pruny from the many hours in the pool, as was both Girls and Brian too.

Brian and the Girls:

My mischievous Father, he had a hose in his hand spraying the pool goers:

Precious PeyPey, the mermaid:

Addy floating along with Auntie Rae wearing Ashleigh's old July 4th bikini:

Seriously, is that not the cutest, prettiest, most precious, adorable face you have EVER seen?:

Addy enjoying MY chocolate push-up...I only got 1 bite, as I sure didn't want it after she slimed it up! My Dad gets these from the Schwann man, amongst other things, like sugar free fudge pops, I believe:

Having a good time before we leave for the fireworks:

LOL, the Harris' got the girls these adorable hula outfits from Hawaii! They got Addy one too, so I'll have to take a picture of them when I put hers on! Too cute!

Soooo tired! Patiently waiting for the fireworks to start in our usual position at Bedford Heights Elementary:

Sisterly love...Addy wasn't asleep, the flash kept making her close her eyes:

The Yorks:



Watermelon fun:

Peyton enjoying:



Dang Steve, he got his mouth over the whole thing:

Sydney and Ash:

The Linder clan (you may have to click to enlarge to see it better):

Yup, the fireworks started. She didn't cry, but she was burying her head into her arm/stroller:

Oma (Brian's Mom) and Ashleigh:

I LOVE this picture! Daddy + Addy = True Love

Ahhh, sweet Daddy love:

Pey and Ash:

This was a couple of days ago. I thought Addy looked so cute in Sissy's old hat, but I couldn't get a decent picture. What you can't see is Addy pushing the kitchen trash can all over the house. She likes to re-arrange!

What a ham!:

My lovely Baby girls:



Well, it's 10:30 and still have some laundry to finish up, so I better wrap this up. I'm sorry again for the long time between posts. But at least I know I'm not the only one,the rest of you bloggers out there are slacking too! Oh, so what do you all think about the death of Michael Jackson? I was pretty shocked! Despite what you may think about him, you can't deny how great of an entertainer he was. I grew up listening to him and he had such an impact on so many performers. I know for a fact there is a video somewhere of me, Ally, and our firends dancing to "Thriller". I should find that and post in on here. I'll ask Dad and Mom, one of them are bound to have it. that will give you quite the entertainment! LOL!

RC's birthday is on the 13th...she is getting so old! LOL, just kidding. But she does have 2 prospects for PE positions in our district and had already interviewed for one of them. Please keep your fingers crossed for her!

Oh, and you'll be glad to know we are still going strong on our Dave Ramsey plan! It hasn't been easy, but we're doing it and we REALLY hope to be out of Step 2 by the end of the year! We'll see what happens!

Okay, I'm really going now...have a GREAT rest of the week! Sleep Tight!