Ashlie 6 month appointment

Wow, Ashlie is 6 months old. Actually 6 1/2, but we had her 6 month checkup this week. She is healthy and happy. Weight in now 16lb 3oz (47%) and height is 25.25in. So she isn't as chunky as we thought. She is starting to roll more, she has figured out that she can get to things that way. Hopefully no crawling before Christmas though.

Halloween Night & Moving

Halloween is Wade's dad's birthday. We decided to head down to their house for trick or treating. Their ward had a big neighborhood party. Dinner of chili and sloppy joes, games for the kiddos and then trunk or treating. It was a lot of fun for the kids.

Lindsay was a bunny with no ears. She refused to wear the ears because she said they were ichy.
Kaylee was a little snow princess. She loved the outfit. We found the dress at a dollar store and I made the crown and wand. I was actually glad they had christmas decorations out early this year. The snowflake on top of the wand is an ornament.
Ashlie was a little skeleton. We were given some hand me downs (love them). In them was a black sleeper. I cut some felt bones out and sewned them on. I thought she was pretty cute.

The next morning we helped Wade's parents move. Lindsay was struggling with her asthma a little bit, so she helped by watching Ashlie. She played with her and entertained her, she even helped with Kaylee when we asked. Kaylee was a little go getter. She carried stuff out all day. When we were trying to help set up the new house, she continued to amaze us. She noticed that we were putting the dressers in the right spots. Next thing we know she has pulled one of the full drawers from the other side of the living room into the bedroom. I went to help her and she insisted that she could do it. She did great.

Halloween Part 2

Every year we head to the pumpkin walk. It is always fun to see what displays people come up with. There were some really cute ones, but here is a couple that we thought were just too funny.

This year Kaylee had a little dance recital. She was going to be a snow princess for Halloween, but it wasn't going to work for dance. You wouldn't be able to see her dance. So she decided to be a little black kitty for dance. Easy, easy outfit. I made some ears for her out of felt, and stitched them onto a piece of black boa. We just bobby pinned them into her hair. Then I safety pinned another piece of black boa to her bottom as a tail. Took less than 5 minutes to create. But doesn't she make a cute kitty. We still didn't get to see her dance, she decided she was too tired to dance. Next time I guess she will have to take a nap so she isn't too tired. Her teacher was surprised that she was the one that wouldn't dance. I was shocked. I never dreamed that she would refuse. Oh well, she LOVES to go to dance.

Halloween Part 1

Halloween is Wade's least favorite holiday of them all. We would skip it, if he had the choice. But we have kids, so no skipping it.

Every year we carve pumpkins, like almost every other family out there. We love to get patterns off the internet and carve different ones every year. This year Kaylee chose The Count from Sesame Street. Lindsay chose Blue from Blues Clues. And Wade and I did some other fun seasonal ones. We didn't get any pictures of the finished product. I'm not sure why, we always do.




















Last year we started a new tradition. We went to the corn maze. Last year was my first time ever going to one. Last year we went during the day, this year we tried right at dark. First we let the girls play on the huge tower out of hay bales, then we went on the spooky tractor ride (actually pretty tame), and then we headed into the small corn maze. Somehow, we got in the large corn maze and got lost. BTW, it is definately harder in the dark. We know we were in the large one because it went clear over to the edge of the highway. Good thing I brought along some snack food, we munched on licorice while we were lost. Wade finally had to cut through the stalks of corn to find out how to get out. He did find a way out and we only had to cut through about 20ft of corn. Thankfully I could push the stroller inbetween the stalks. While we were lost, Lindsay had a great idea to figure out where we were. She wanted to climb up and look over the corn. She tried, but she was just a little too heavy for the corn stalk to hold her up.


The girls were real troopers, they were worried that they would close on us, and out flashlights were running extremely low. Ashlie slept through the entire adventure. I was surprised that she was able too sleep because of the bumpy ride she went on.

Update #3 – October

The month of October has been a busy month for us. We spent the first weekend watching conference. The girls got antsy during the Sunday morning session. I didn't have much patience, I had broken out in hives Saturday and was pretty miserable. We all needed a break so we decided to take a drive to see the fall leaves. We ended up going up High Creek Canyon and had a picnic lunch. We found some pretty leaves, and the girls collected some leaves and snake grass. Kaylee even collected some moss that was growing on the rocks. It was a nice relaxing afternoon, just what we all needed at the time.

My Grandma Winston turned 90 years old on October 13^th. There was a open house and family birthday party for her over UEA weekend, so we headed over to Nampa for a few days. It was fun to visit with her and other family members. Both my grandmas live in Nampa so we were also able to see my Grandma Thurgood. We stayed at my cousins house, she has a little girl Lindsay's age. They had a lot of fun playing together. Kaylee wanted to know if Grandma Winston Great was 90 then she is probably going to die soon. It is surprising to me that she understood that it probably wouldn't be much longer, pretty good for a girl who has no concept of time.

We always seem to go to Chuck E Cheeses when we are there. The kids had a lot of fun, and I even played a game or two (or more). I got a picture of Kaylee with Mr. Chuck E Cheese, but Lindsay wouldn't let me get a picture of her. Kaylee is really a sweet little girl (even though she locks doors and encourages friends to disobey their moms). She wanted to ride this big car, and there was room for more than one person. So she waited until Lindsay and Kaitlyn were done playing a different game, and invited them to ride with her. She really is a crazy driver though, and I'm glad we still have a few years before she drives a real car. We also made a trip to the Krispy Kreme donut place. The kids got to see donuts made from start to finish. Since we were with Grandpa Thurgood (my dad) of course we all had to go eat at Burger King for $2.00

I have to explain my little reference to locking doors and disobeying moms. We just started a play group and it was at our house this week. Jarin and Kaylee were playing and they didn't want to stop playing. My little daughter locked the playroom door with them inside and moms outside. I tried to get them to unlock it, but Kaylee would not. She knew that as soon as it was open Jarin had to go home. Nicky tried to get Jarin to unlock it, and we could hear Kaylee on the other side of the door. Telling him, not to unlock it, so he didn't. Neither one of them would unlock that door. We ended up taking the doorknob off the door to get it open. The look on their faces when we opened that door, I wish we had a picture of that one. Kaylee couldn't believe that we got it open. Needless to say, both Jarin and Kaylee were in trouble. Kaylee ended up grounded from friends. As soon as I said that she started sobbing. Lindsay was home from school early so there was more time to play with friends, and she had to stay inside with mommy. She knows why, she even mentioned it this morning. Now we can hope she remembers the lesson for next time. Later during the day, I was giving her a hug. I asked her how I was so lucky to get a little girl like her. She replied in her "Duh Mom" voice, "Because Heavenly Father made me this way". That kid definitely has some spunk in her, but she wouldn't be my Kaylee if she didn't have it.

Update #2 – Ashlie is growing

Ashlie has started eating solid food (Sept 21^st). She loves food. No one can say we starve her, she is all rolls. Cute little rolls. We have only given her rice cereal so far, but that will change soon. Kaylee on the other hand has given her tastes of other foods. I think her favorite was the Cherry Jolly Rancher stick that she grabbed out of Kaylee's hand. Yes, she got a taste, but I quickly got it from her. I think it kind of surprised Kaylee that Ashlie took it. As much as she likes food, I don't think she knew what to do with two spoons coming at her.

She is also getting a strong belly from constantly doing tummy crunches. Put her in the car seat and she tries to sit up. Put her in the swing and she leans forward to eat the horn on the steering wheel. She rolls over from her tummy to her back and also from her back to her tummy, occasionally. She is usually content to hang out on her tummy or her back for awhile. Once she figures out that she can roll to get things I have a feeling she will be rolling non-stop.

Kaylee is usually really good and dressing herself, except she keeps getting her panties on backwards. The other day she came out of her bedroom crying. She couldn't get her zippy jammies zipped up. Hmmm…. I wonder why? Check out the neckband on the right side.

Update #1 – She is EIGHT!!!

Wow, were did the last six weeks go. Nicky told me that I needed to update my blog. I was in the process twice, but my wonderful, sweet, darling child would come and restart my computer. So needless to say, it all went bye-bye, TWICE! So I am splitting the update into several posts, so hopefully I don't lose it again. Anyway…

Lindsay turned 8 on September 27^th. The week before her birthday, she had a combined birthday party with her friend Emilie. To say the least it was nuts, crazy, and exhausting for the parents; and an absolute blast for the girls. Lindsay thought it was so much fun, she wants to have it combined every time. Now the next time she has a friend party will be when she is turning 12, so we shall see. If you want to read more about it check out Nicky's Blog. (Crawford Happenings) One of the games that we played was eating a donut off the string. Kaylee picked a donut that was just barely too tall. That kid could lick it, but couldn't bite it.

I did learn something about my daughter. I knew she liked Hannah Montana, but I didn't realize how MUCH she liked Hannah Montana. She freaked out when she got a stationary set with Hannah Montana on it. Anything Hannah Montana she squealed about.

Nicky and I took the girls to Mack Park to get pictures taken, and once again it was nuts, crazy, and exhausting. (Do you see a pattern?) But it was also extra special to watch our girls. After taking a bunch of pictures we started talking about how pretty they would look with flowers. And if you want to take pictures with gorgeous flowers where do you head…to the temple. So that's where we went. There was a couple that had just gotten married, and was there taking pictures. It was so funny to watch Linds & Emi, watch them. It seems like it was just yesterday that we got that long awaited phone call. I will never forget what they said. "We have a young lady here, who would love to place her little girl with you." Nineteen days later, Cindy (Lindsay's birthmom) was placing her in my arms. Lindsay was only about 3 minutes old, and Cindy said "Here Lindsay, Here's your mama." We were allowed to stay in the hospital that night with Lindsay. When she was 7 months old, we took her to the temple to be sealed; and then again when she was five we went back to the temple to have Kaylee sealed to us. Now that she is eight I was back at the temple for another special occasion. Granted this time we didn't go inside, but it was still a special time. She is definitely a special spirit. I love listening to her prayers every night. It is so amazing some of the things that she says, and I know she believes in her Heavenly Father by how she communicates with Him. Lindsay got baptized on her birthday, so it was extra, extra special. Many family members, friends, and teachers were there for her.

While we were taking pictures Lindsay and Emi ran up ahead of us. I came around to the back of the temple and found Lindsay standing in the doorway, I just had to take a picture. She is waiting for the day that she can enter the temple once again. I thought it was so cute that Lindsay and Emi were copying the same pose they had seen the newlywed couple do in the front of the temple.

Don't you think they are a couple of cute little girls?

After the baptism we headed once again to Mack Park to have a luncheon and family birthday party. As I mentioned before she loves Hannah Montana, so I made her a Hannah Montana guitar cake out of cupcakes. She loved it.

I think Kaylee loved the frosting, I found her covered in it the next day.

Ashlie 4month doctor appt

Ashlie is now 4 months 12 days old. She weights 13lbs 15oz and is 24" long. Healthy as can be, and growing great.

Two wheelin’ and Four wheelin’

Today Lindsay rode her bike for the first time without training wheels. It only took her a couple of trys. She is pretty wobbly, but she did it. All the way down the sidewalk. Now we just need to keep her practicing, so she will be able to just hop back on next spring.

We also pulled Lindsay's old bike out of the shed for Kaylee today. Kaylee was excited that she is riding a BIG bike. She is a little short, but she can pedal pretty good. I think she will be unstoppable in a week. She has moved from 3 wheels to 4. (training wheels)

Of course Ashlie is still 4 wheelin' it, in a stroller. She is happy about that.

This, that and the other

I chopped my hair. Okay, I paid to have someone chop it. It is now about 6-7" shorter. I really do like it. It doesn't get caught every time I move and Ashlie can't grab it. It is a lot curlier also.

Ashlie rolled over for the first time on Sunday, August 31^st. She rolled from her tummy to her back. Lindsay and Kaylee were so funny; they started cheering and said we needed to make a cake to celebrate. We didn't have eggs. The next day Lindsay decided that they cake still needed to be made, so she took the mix, oil, eggs, and water and mixed it up outside in the driveway. When I asked her why she took it all outside to mix up, she said that everyone (all the neighbor kids) wanted to help make the cake. I would have let them all in my kitchen to help, but Lindsay took it to them instead.

Lindsay's birthday is coming up. Wow, I can't believe that she is almost 8yrs old. We are planning a combined b-day party with Emilie. She is so excited. We took her and Emilie shopping for invitations, favors and such. They were so funny. They walked right in the store; each grabbed a cart, and started shopping. They knew they needed to pick out a piñata, so they were walking around the store pointing out this one and that one. They found one that they both like, a great big flip flop. The girls have discovered that it takes a lot of work to plan a party. They are the ones that filled out the invites, and delivered them. They also stuffed the goody bags. This next week we are working on the final details for games and such. It should be a lot of fun. Kaylee is already getting ideas for her party in February.

She is getting baptized on her birthday, so it is going to be extra special. She came up to me the other day and said "Mom, I don't know if I should be baptized." I'm wondering why? She goes on to say "I don't think I can make the right choice all the time." We had a nice talk about repentance. She is excited to get baptized now. Today at Stake Conference she pointed out the changing room and door to the font to Kaylee.

We recently pulled out the exersaucer and Johnny jumper for Ashlie. Kaylee climbed in the jumper and started jumping around the room. She said she was testing it for Ashlie, obviously she didn't realize it hung in the doorway, but then she also said it could be used for swimming. Then she climbed in the exersaucer, with the jumping thing still on, and got stuck. I'm glad she was looking out for her sis.

Sleeping

Since last Sunday was not a school night because of Labor Day, Lindsay and Kaylee decided that they wanted to have a sleepover on the pullout bed. They did really awesome. We told them that if they didn’t go to sleep quickly, they couldn’t have a sleepover for a long time. They invited Ashlie to join them while they watched a movie. Lindsay loves to take pictures, not that she is suppose to, but she loves to take them. She did ask if she could take some pictures of Ashlie at the sleepover. She took a lot of videos of her, and a few pictures. Ashlie doesn't seem too excited about the sleepover. I'm sure that will change as she gets older.





She even took one of Kaylee. Kaylee is excited for the sleepover.
















The next morning. Boy, don’t they look peaceful.

I found this picture on my camera. It made me laugh. Obviously Lindsay took a picture of herself.














Speaking of sleeping, which is what I should be doing right now. I walked into the bedroom on Friday (Wade was off), and came across daddy and Ashlie napping. It was so cute to see their hands. Ashlie definitely has daddy wrapped around her finger. But again so do Lindsay and Kaylee.

Family Reunion

We had a fun family reunion this past weekend. We went to the Heber Valley Girls Camp. There were three cabins with 16 bunks in each one. The first night after all the adults picked their beds & cabins, the little girls all decided to stay in Grandma and Grandpa's cabin (cabin A). Our cabin was the game cabin (cabin C), since Ashlie and Kaylee were the only kids in it. They slept through everything. The next morning we took a hike to the Heber Valley overlook. It took us about an hour and a half to get up to the overlook, and only a half hour to get back to camp. It was gorgeous up there.

Later that afternoon the kids had the opportunity to do a service project. They helped haul wood for our campsite, to be used next year. It was amazing to see a bunch of kids working, having fun, and doing so without having to get anything from it. I wish I could figure out how to get them to have that kind of attitude at home when asked to do chores. They worked hard and still wanted to do more when the job was done. I think the best thing was seeing my two girls work together, with Lindsay helping Kaylee.

We then had some fun relays. The kids had fun, and convinced the adults to do the relay also. We decided to race the men against the women. The men won, but they cheated. BIGTIME!! Friday night Wade and I did a dutch oven dinner. We had BBQ chicken, dutch oven potatoes, and for dessert, peach cobbler. Dinner turned out great, everyone was giving Wade compliments. We were just relieved that it all turned out and that there was enough food. It isn't like we dutch oven that often. That night we had a big campfire and the official family meeting. All the little girls ended up in a different cabin (cabin B); I think grandma and grandpa slept better that night. Our cabin was still the game cabin. I learned how to play Hand and Foot again. I've played it before, but it has been so long I had forgot. The next morning was cleanup. After cleaning up we played Hand and Foot some more, volleyball and just hanging out.

That afternoon we all got to go to the challenge course. It had a zip line, as well as a bunch of low challenges. One of the low challenges was to have two groups, one at each end of the log. The goal to switch ends without getting off the log. It took a lot of cooperation between people to get to the opposite end of the log.

To get to the zip line you had to climb a log about 25' up and then walk across a log to the other end. The zip line was attached to the end of the log. Lindsay did the zip line. I was actually amazed that she did it. I knew that she would try, she loves to climb rock walls and such. But I figured that she would get to the top and call it quits before she walked across the log to the zip line. At the top she struggled to let go of the first log and walk across the top. It took her about 5 min to start walking, but she did it. I was so proud of her, I knew she was scared to death, but she trusted us,those around her and herself, and she did it. Both her daddy and I had tears in our eyes.

Kaylee even tried the zip line. She climbed up the log, at the top the hand and foot holds were too far apart for her, so they just hoisted her up. Because they hoisted her up she wasn't facing the right way to walk across the log. They just pulled her to the other end, and she flew down the zip line. I wasn't surprised that she did it, she is our little dare devil.

After the challenge course we headed home. We stopped by Dairy Keen for dinner. The girls thought the trains were so cool, they had to get their picture on the big one outside. It was a great reunion and every family had someone there. It has been years since that has occured.