Trent and Rachelle's Cabin

We had an awesome time at Trent and Rachelle's cabin last weekend. We took an 8:30pm ferry on Friday after work and came back late Sunday night. Saturday the boys got up early when the tide was out and went skim boarding. Ashley and I slept until 10am! I wasn't feeling well and Ashley went to bed late, but I never thought she would sleep in that late. I'm not complaining though, I caught up on some much needed sleep. We played the rest of the afternoon going to the pool, playing tennis and then coming back to have a BBQ for dinner. That night we had a fire on the beach and Trent serenaded us with his guitar. Ashley was mesmerized listening and Trent commented on how she was his biggest fan. Sunday we drove to the Dungeness Spit in Sequim about an hour from their cabin. The dogs weren't able to go because it's a bird sanctuary, so we took turns going down to the beach. By the time we got home, cleaned the cabin and made the ferry we were home around 10pm. We were exhausted the next day, but it was worth it!
This is most of the group, Ashley's sleeping. From left to right our neighbor's Josh and Michelle, Brian and I, Steve and Tricia, Matt and Nara and baby Tyler (friend's of Trent's that we met last year), Trent and Rachelle and Kylee.
Brian and Ashley on the hike to the Dungeness Spit. She's all hunched over sleeping is why you can't see her face. It was a bumpy ride, I couldn't believe she fell asleep.
The gang at sunset
Who me?
Kylee let Ashley use her floatie and she loved it, she was cruisin' around the kiddie pool
The Dungeness Spit in Sequim
Family Photo
Josh, Michelle, Brian, me and Rachelle down at the Dungeness Spit
Brian and Ashley on the beach at sunset
Kylee giving Ashley hugs and kisses. She loves her neighbor!

Daycare

Ashley went to the Northwest Hospital Daycare last Friday for the first time. I picked up an extra shift and since our nanny wasn't available that day I called the daycare on campus and they had a spot open. It's nice they offer drop in rates because a lot of their employees are reserve. I dropped her off at 8:30 and put her down for a nap. Apparently she slept for an hour and was on her regular schedule pretty much all day sleeping about 3 hours while she was there. Not bad! It's so close to the ultrasound department so I was able to stop in on my breaks to feed her and take her outside on my lunch break. The teachers said she did really well for her first day. The only thing they mentioned is that she cried when other babies cried. She was worried about them! I'm sure if she was there more than one day she would get used to it and it wouldn't be a problem. Plus they were able to just distract her with a toy or pick her up and she was fine. It was a good trial run because I'm hoping to apply there in the fall full time and have her in their daycare.

8 Months!

Ashley's really been a lot of fun lately, giggling and smiling all the time. She's gotten over the separation anxiety she was experiencing a few months ago. She'll smile at strangers when they talk to her and go to just about anyone. When she's tired or hungry she'll still fuss for mom, but that's about it. We just lowered her crib tonight because she's been rolling onto her tummy and almost pulling herself up. We didn't want to wait until she figured out how to stand and end up over the railing onto the floor. We also toured the Northwest Hospital daycare today because she's going to try it out on Friday. They have a drop in rate for those on reserve shifts. I just had to call and make sure they had a spot open the day I'm working. It' a great daycare center and right on campus, so I can see her on my lunch break and stop in other times when it's slow. We've been experimenting with a few more foods these days and just got a food processor with plans to make some of our own baby food. She's been eating cottage cheese, pears, raspberries, white grape juice (so no stains as she's figuring out that darn sippy cup, it's taking a while) Rice Crispy's, peas, brown rice, and asparagus, to name a few! Ashley's also been doing this really cute thing where she flicks her wrist back a forth. She'll get a toy or her binky in her hand and flick her wrist like she's throwing a Frisbee, but she'll do it 10 or 15 times. It's fun to see her figuring out how she has control over things she does. She also likes giving herself kisses in the mirror. She's standing well and pulling herself up from sitting, but no effort to move those feet yet. I think it's coming soon, though. Oh and no teeth, I think that's going to be while. She is still a drooler and therefore a bib is still a most needed accessory. I'm wondering what it's going to be like when those teeth do actually come in. She's going to be soaked!


I took this picture today at PEPS. It's amazing to see the change in them from week to week. About half of the kids are crawling and it's becoming more about them getting together to chat than the moms!

Mike and Amanda's Wedding

The happy couple


Mike and Amanda got married June 28th. It was a gorgeous day, a little hot in the afternoon but the evening was perfect. Luckily the church and the reception hall were both air conditioned. They got married at St John's in West Seattle and had the reception at the Tukwilla Community Center. Brian was a groomsman and we both did a reading together during the ceremony. It was such a fun wedding. The best part was Grandma and Aunt Becki wanted to spend so much time with Ashley, so Brian and I got to dance the night away. We hadn't been out on the dance floor in a long time. We had a blast pulling out all our old dance moves including swing dancing which got us laughing at ourselves pretty hard


Brian and his cousin Mike. We lived with Mike for about 4 months when I worked down in Auburn. He bought the house and we moved in the same day he did. It was great though because I got to know Mike really well and him and Brian have always been really close.
Two happy couples and a baby
This is the wedding party. They had a lot of candid shots, which I'm sure are going to turn out great.
No body's having fun here... just kidding!
I love this picture. We get so many smiles like this now. She is such a happy baby
Ashley got used to the grass pretty fast. This is the second time she's been in it and the first time she was not happy.
Ashley got lots of time with Aunt Becki this weekend. Do you think Aunt Becki enjoyed it? Umm... I think so!

Play date!

Ashley's friend Jordan came over for a play date the other day while Lisa, her mom, went for a run around Greenlake. They're friend's from our PEPS group. Jordan and Ashley had a great time playing together. At first they were more interested in each other and then their attention went towards the toys. As you can see from the picture they both liked the bunny that has all sorts of fun things attached and it was funny to see how they handled playing with it at the same time. After the bunny we moved to the jumper we have in the doorway. I put Ashley in first not knowing how Jordan would like it and she started laughing when Ashley would jump, it was so cute. While we were having fun, Lisa was enjoying some much needed time to herself and I am happy to do it anytime.

First Ferry Ride

Ashley took her first ferry ride this weekend. She's on her way to traveling on every mode of transportation before her first birthday. So far she's been on a ferry, plane, train, car,and of course a stroller. She's not going on Grandpa's motorcycle or in Papa's corvette, so I think that just leaves a hot air balloon which probably won't happen before she turns one and a bike which may happen this summer. So, her first ferry ride was from Edmonds to Kingston, about 1/2 hour ride. We were supposed to go camping with some friends, but that got canceled because the campground flooded from all the snow melting. So, we decided to take up our neighbor's offer to go to their cabin on Hood Canal. Luckily we had warm weather on Saturday and we were able to take Ashley to the beach and later to the swimming pool. Brian learned how to skim board on Saturday and Ashley learned what sand was. She didn't cry or eat the sand when we sat her down in it, but she was very unsure of the situation. She did great, but when she grabbed for the sand she would pull back and hesitate. After about 10 minutes she dove right in, but she had to make sure it was all good before she did. It was very relaxing at the cabin, but as soon as we got home it got crazy. We rushed to unpack the car, shower and make it over to our friends for a BBQ at 2pm. Then later that night Brian's mom came over to stay the night and have dinner with us. She is town for Brian's cousin's wedding next weekend. Yesterday she went to PEPS with us and the rest of the day we went shopping and just hung out. Ashley had a great time with Grandma Timm and loved sitting in her new shopping cart cover that Grandma made for her.
Ashley drove us onto the ferry and parked the car perfectly, well not really but she did have fun pretending.

We had a beautiful sunset Saturday night.

Ashley's first time in the sand

First Year Done!

Brian took his last final today. YEAH!!!! I'm so proud of him for getting through this year and doing so well. It was a tough year balancing class, homework, studying, family, friends, work, volunteering, and working in a little bit of sleep... he hardly had any time to himself and he never complained and never stressed out. He always checked in to make sure I was doing ok, and made sure he had his time with Ashley. I couldn't have asked for anything more. We're going to go out to celebrate tomorrow night with dinner and a movie or drinks after. Danielle (Ashley's Godmother) is going to watch her while we have our date night. I can't wait, I haven't seen my husband in two weeks with all the studying he's been doing.
I had to add this picture I took the night he was done with finals. He crashed! Poor guy didn't get any sleep for two weeks and couldn't even make it past 7pm.

First Train Ride

They gave me an extra seat on the train and it was so nice for her to sleep and play in. I even changed her in the seat because the bathroom was so gross.
Ashley got tired of her toys on the 3 1/2 hour train ride, so I was pulling everything out of my bag for her to play with. I had gotten some water in these plastic cups and she thought they were the neatest thing she'd every seen. She kept herself busy for about 1/2 hour banging them together and making noise.

With Brian's permission (I felt terrible, it was his first Father's Day) Ashley and I headed down to Portland on the train for the weekend. Brian was going to be studying all weekend, so it gave him uninterrupted time for that plus we were do for Grandma and Grandpa's monthly visit with Ashley. We left Seattle on Saturday morning at 7:30am and came back Monday at 4pm. The ride there was great. They gave me two seats so I could put her car seat next to me and she slept for the first hour. The rest of the time she was content playing in her seat with all her toys or standing in my lap. The dining car was great too because she could stand in the booth and talk to everyone walking by. She was a kick! The way back was a little more challenging because she didn't sleep and never got her afternoon nap. She was a little fussy, but it could have been a lot worse. She was still entertained by her toys, she would just get tired of them a lot faster. She crashed as we were coming into Seattle only to get woken up by all the commotion when we arrived. She went to bed about 5:30pm to make up for it. She was a tired girl! While we were in Portland we saw my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Al, had dinner with Dan, went for a long walk at a wildlife refuge near Sherwood, played on the swings, BBQ'd, got up early for the balloon festival and just hung out. It was a great trip as always and we miss them already.
This is the tent Grammy got for Ashley. We'll use it on the beach when we go camping next month.

Here we are at the Tigard Ballon Festival at 6am. We just rolled out of bed, threw our clothes, put on a hat and headed out the door. My Dad and I had done this a few years ago, but my mom had never been. It's really cool to see these huge balloons get blown up and take off. It was worth getting up that early.
They have a race in the balloons where each one has to hit targets and the first one done wins. I've always thought it would be a great gift idea to take someone on a balloon ride.
Ashley loved the swings. She hangs there kicking her arms and legs while she's swinging. You can tell she wants to tell us how much fun she's having, but she can't gather her excitement to say anything.
Grandpa loved playing with Ashley this weekend, they spent a lot of time together and it melted my heart to see it. I love to witness how happy she makes her Grammy and Grandpa.

Father's Day!

Brian was studying for his last finals this weekend, so we celebrated Father's Day a little early on the Wednesday before by taking him out to dinner at Rosita's Mexican Restaurant on Greenlake. It was the first time we had put Ashley in a high-chair (don't ask me why we didn't do it sooner because she sits up so well), but she loved it and we were actually able to eat! Imagine that! Ashley and I also made Brian a plate with her hand print in the middle with I love you around it. I put her name and age around the edge along with memories that they've had together. One of the most precious things Brian does with Ashley is check on her before he goes to bed, it doesn't matter what time, and gives her three kisses one on her forehead, one on her cheek and one on her chest. I never knew he did this until a few weeks ago when I went to bed before him and later heard noise on the monitor. I clicked on the video part and saw him. I got tears in my eyes seeing how much he loves his daughter.

This is the plate we made for Papa, it turned out great. I hid it under my dresser and called him Sunday morning to wish him a Happy Father's Day and had him go find it. I wanted to do something special since we weren't there to celebrate on actual day.
These are our friends from PEPS Amy and her daughter Sophia and Shannon and her daughter Elizabeth. Sophia on the left has the same birthday as Ashley and Amy has the same birthday as me. Crazy huh?

7 Months

Ashley turned 7 months on the 5th. Yes, I'm a little late but life has been busy. Ashley has been busy too. She's started to babble DaDaYaYaBa and all sorts of variations to communicate what she's thinking. This is one loud child, I wish you all could hear her. Our nanny started last week while I returned to work three days a week, so she's been getting to know her. Tiona (our nanny) is wonderful and Ashley has warmed up to her quickly. When I come home and hold her she smiles at Tiona and tries to find her when she's not in her sight. She has no tears in the morning, there were just a few from me on my first day. I was choked up and holding back tears the whole bus ride in. It's so hard to leave her, but it's also good to be back to work. It was like I had never left. They still had my name tag and passwords and scanning came back quickly, which was a huge relief. I love talking to patients about Ashley and comparing stories with the OB patients I see. My entire locker is filled with pictures of her.