Photo Shoot

I'm putting these pics on the blog since my parents just flew out to SLC yesterday for 3 weeks and I know my mom would be itching to see these photos before then.

Mom-tell Aunt Weta, Aunt, Hilda, Aunt Norma Jean, Uncle Larry, and Aunt Ginger hello. (yes, all of my dad's family now lives in Utah- Brigham City and Logan to be more precise).

We took Ashlyn for her 6 month pics today to Picture People. They did a really good job. My pretty little model.

6 Month Checkup

Ashlyn had her six month checkup yesterday. Everything went well. She is still a healthy and happy baby.

Stats:

Height 27 inches (90%)
Weight 18lbs 3oz (90%)

Danny came with me this time to get initiated into the shots routine so that if I can't take her one time, he will know what to expect. I held her while they did it, then he got to scoop her up to get her calmed down. (Daddy saves the day!) She was a trooper. She forgot about it 10 seconds after it happened.

We are definitely blessed with such a good baby.

Tampa

This past weekend Danny, myself, and Ashlyn headed to Port Richey (just north of Tampa) to visit his grandma and other family. We had a really good time visiting with family that we hadn't seen in a while. The trip down and back went really well. Ashlyn hardly slept on the way down but I was able to keep her entertained and happy. We drove down on Friday afternoon after I had my massage (a present from danny for my last birthday, which is in June. So, that tells you how long it took me to get it. That experience is a whole other story :) ). Once we got there we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and headed to his grandmas to say hi. We visited a little then went to eat with some of the family. Danny's parents and two of his brothers also went down. So, lots of family there. Danny's grandma, Aunt Nina, Uncle Serge, Cousins- Michelle, Julie, and Stephen (Nina's kids) all live in the area. Also got to see his second cousins- Jacob-12, Azaela-4, and Alexis-18 mths. All so cute. Unfortunately we missed seeing his cousin Stephen and his family, but was able to see everyone else.

Saturday was more visiting. Danny wanted to take Ashlyn to the Tampa Aquarium to see the penguins. But, when we finally got down there, it was only open for another hour. So, we decided not to go since it was around $20 per person and wasn't worth it for an hour. We would have made it sooner, but our little cat nap baby decided to take TWO- 2-hour naps (and those were only that long cause we had to wake her up both times to go somewhere). I guess the trip the day before wore her out. After we ate in Tampa in area called Channelside (Stumps restaurant), we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a dip in the pool. The water was the perfect temp. It was great.

Sunday we headed to the zoo (see post below) then headed to Danny's grandmas for some more family time and a nice dinner. Thanks Grandma Olga for the dinner. It was delicious.

Monday, one last chance for a visit and then we stopped at Serge's demonstration in Largo. He is affiliated with a group that was protesting the war. It wasn't a protest with picket signs, etc. It was more suttle. They setup a spot in a park where they laid out a set of boots for each FL soldier killed in Iraq. They then laid various "civilian" shoes in the middle to represent the Iraqi civilians killed. Very thought provoking scene. I thought it was a well done way of protesting the war while also commemorating those who had died and those who were still fighting without being negative toward the soldiers.

After that, we headed home. Though we really enjoyed the weekend, we also are happy to be home. Hopefully we can do better at visiting his and mine family more often. Most of our immediate family is here in Jax, but the cousins, aunts, and uncles are all over. So, we will do our best.

Here are some pics of the family.

The Zoo

While we were in Tampa, we went to the Tampa Zoo with some of Danny's family. We had a lot of fun. It was Ashlyn's first time to the zoo. We were a little worried since Ashlyn was scared of Danny's gradma's dob-snowball. But, she seemed to really like the zoo. ( i think she is happy as long as she is out and moving). We saw chimps, gorillas, zebras, elephants, penguins, bears, O my!! Azaela and Alexis even got to feed a camel and pet some goats. Another highlight was Ashlyn getting to ride the carousel. Below are some pics of our fun day.


Ashlyn ready for the big day out at a zoo!!!

Alexis and Azaela posing for the camera (what cuties!)

Ashlyn and I on the carousel.

Alexis and the goat.

Azaela excited to brush the goat.

Cool Baby

Here is Ashlyn in her new shades. Also, our first pics of her sitting by herself at the old age of 6 months old.

Hair Pics

Before (my nice hippie look) :0)

Here we go!!!:


After:

MY HAIR!!!

I finally did it. I chopped my hair off. It is still to my shoulders but I cut 16 in. off yesterday. I'm donating it to Locks of Love. My aunt used to be a hair stylist (now she is a probate judge) and was in town and offerred to cut it for me. So, I took her up on th offer since it was for free!!! Thanks Aunt Jeffrey.

It is amazing. It took me all of 5 secs. to brush my hair this morning. Before, it would take almost 5 minutes to brush it and get all the tangles out since it was so darn long. Pictures are coming soon. I took before and after pics.

Mother's Day

Even though Danny and I spent the morning at Solantic for our sickly selves, I still had a good mother's day. Danny took care of Ashlyn most the afternoon while I laid on the couch trying to feel better from a sinus and ear infection. Danny himself has a throat thing and gunky eyes.

I got a cute card and a very nice watch. Here they are below. I was very surprised. I wish had could have enjoyed it more. But, I look forward to wearing it. I haven't had a watch in years, so I definitely need one.

I couldn't get the watch pic to be clear. My photo skills need some work. It is really pretty with a mother of pearl face and diamond trim.

The Pool

We have a community pool in our neighborhood and took Ashlyn out on Saturday for her first pool trip. She seemed to really enjoy the water. Here's some pics. Just ingore my whiteness. I need a tan bad.

Pretty Princess

Ashlyn attended her first pretty princess party. She got to wear a cute tootoo, earings, wand, and necklace. Thanks Kristin, Rob, and Capri (the b day girl)


This is Ivy, Jillian, and Ashlyn.

Sick Again

Haven't updated in a while since our household has the sick bug again. Ashlyn got sick early last week- bronchilitis. Then, I caught it on Friday. Ashlyn then got an ear infection from the other sickness. And now, Danny has it too. So, I've mustered enough energy to take care of Ashlyn and that has been about it.

We got our IRS payment on Friday-$1,500 big ones. We were allready planning to start going through our wants list and buying/doing a few things for the house. So, I'll keep you updated. Our wants range from various new furniture, hardwood floors, fence, etc. Who knows. Everytime I go to make the list, I think of something else.

One more thing: Here is a funny pic of Ashlyn. I'll post more this weekend.