It's my birthday!

Not Gwen's, but Mommy Ashley's!  Today I am 26 years young and having a great day!  Although the weather isn't great--icy rain may be causing some problems tonight, but my students were all excited to be practicing their Christmas program for me today (they practiced and had no speech, but I came to watch the rehearsal).  Gwen smothered me with hugs this morning and I hope will do so tonight!  I have no problem turning one year older because I have so much to look forward to this coming year, and 26 is not bad!  Happy Birthday to me and to Auntie Erin!  

Since this blog is really for Miss Gwen, here are some fun shots from her Christmas shoot that didn't make the card...        





         

Happy 9 month Birthday!

"I'm 9 months old...that is so cool!"

"I want to stand for this pic- I'm sooo big!"

When people would tell us "Don't blink, she will be a year before you know it!" or "Time flies, so enjoys every minute!",  they weren't kidding!  Today is Gwen's 9 month birthday... amazing!  I have tried to capture every minute I can on camera to lock it away in the computer's memory (since my memory seems to be going down hill already), but I still can't believe that it has been 9 months already.  I still feel like I just brought her home last week!  She certainly is not the same baby that she was then...She is babbling, walking, eating anything you put in front of her, laughing at the sight of the dog... Gwen does keep me very busy, but like I have mentioned before, I wouldn't change a thing or want to go back to the way things used to be.

At her 9 month check up yesterday-Gwen surprised the doctor with her motor skills, speech skills, and her personality!  Dr. Kreilein actually told Gwen " you're amazing!"  She is healthy as can be and her stats are:  27 1/4 inches tall (31st percentile), 19.15 lbs. (50th percentile), and 18 inches for head circumference (88th percentile).  So basically, Gwen is a petite, average girl with a big head.  But we love her that way!

Since it is her day, and a Saturday, the agenda will be: cuddle when she wakes up, play on the floor, follow her when she leaves the living room for an adventure, eat breakfast, embark on another adventure, eat lunch, rest for a bit, dance around the house, find something new to play with, get into Christmas decorations, Gwen-rest/Mommy-upload photos to Snapfish and make Christmas cards, Daddy comes home and we all play on the floor and have another adventure, eat dinner, play, bath, and bed! 

"Pooka you are just so funny! Let me take your picture."

"Bed head?  What is that?"

"Do it again!"

Gwen now is showing her sense of humor.  The other night I dropped an empty coke bottle (the new round ones--which, by the way, make great noise makers when filled with rice, beans, etc.) into the sink.  It bounced and made some noise and Gwen cracked up.  So we did it again.  And again.  She is now starting to drop things on purpose just to hear me say "uh oh!" or "whoopsie!"

Look at Gwen go!

Life at our house has been a bit on the hectic side lately. Gwen is continuously in motion, which keeps me on my toes, and Thanksgiving was this week! We have so much to be thankful for it was hard to narrow it down to a few to mention, but we are most thankful for Gwen and our families whom we could not imagine life without!
We all had a great time at Brad's aunt and uncles, tons of great food and people to visit with! Gwen actually was a little shy, however she warmed up after she was there a while. She is nearing 9 months, she will actually turn 9 months next Saturday, and she has her next check up on Friday. We will keep you posted on how she does--I am sure she will be just fine! I just wanted to say "hello out there" and share some fun that we have been having. We are heading out to do some Christmas shopping, so I better run. Happy decorating to all of you!

Gwen really likes eating food when it is off of my plate--today it was BBQ chicken wings for lunch! Guess who wanted to lick the sauce off the bones? You guessed it! Sorry Kelley--I think she likes meat.
Such a big girl, she can't even play with one toy at a time!
Happy Thanksgiving! "I am thankful for everyone and everything!"
Auntie A came home and brought a friend, Karishma (sorry if I can't spell). Gwen loved distracting both of them from their work!

We caught a little of this walking on camera for all to see! I can't believe she is walking already, but that's just Gwen! We said she would be walking by Christmas, and I guess she took us seriously! :-)

Gwen can walk!!!!!

She did it!  She took 2 steps towards Mommy today!  I thought it might have been a one time deal, but she did it later for Daddy!  How cool!

Baby it's cold outside!

Hello all!  It know it has been awhile since I was on, but I just have been so busy trying to walk.  I almost have it!  Here are some new pictures of me to enjoy!

Putting on my new coat and hat--I look like a puffy marshmallow!

More teeth?  I am chewing everything so they are coming!

I know I am almost 9 months old, but here is my 8 month picture

Wow! Look at me now!

Gwen is really moving now! She also just started standing on her own Monday night, and waving on purpose as of today! And tomorrow she will be 8 months old!

Happy Halloween!!!!!! Again!

Daddy and I getting ready to Trick-or-Treat!

Then Gammie and Gampie came to visit me!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!  These are just a preview of the excitement to come tomorrow!  I have been getting ready all week and I can't wait for Halloween to actually be here!  Come back to see me in costume!  Hope everyone has a great time!

Rub dub dub there's a baby in the tub! 

(Random but fun--if you click to make it bigger you can see my beard!)

"I Love My Mummy!" (that's what my outfit says)

Mommy won't notice if I take a little bite...

Where is Gwen?  Oh, there she is!

Why do you keep saying "Boo!"?

A quick visit and more

Gwen is a very busy girl!  She has learned how to pull up on everything and now has 4 teeth!  Last week I was on fall break, so the two of us went on a road trip to Chicago for a couple days to visit with my family.  It was a short trip, but so nice!  Now work is back in full swing and Gwen is too.  She is getting ready for Halloween next week and practicing all her new moves.  She is always on the move now!

Hey!  I'm up from my nap!  It was great!

Helping out in the kitchen!

Mommy and I went over the meet Kathryn and see her mom Ruth (Mommy's friend from high school!)  We had a great time playing with each other!

All hail Princess Gwen!

Hello Autumn!

Look Mommy! I can do it all by myself!
This pumpkin is so funny!

Happy 7 month B-day to me!

You heard right!  I am 7 months old!  I am full of surprises now too!  I am crawling, pulling up, smiling for the camera, eating off Mommy's plate--after she mashes it up, of course...  You name it, I am trying it!
I am sooooooo funny!
Look out Auntie Kelley--I am a professional already!  Check out this look!

Where did Gwen go?

I left Gwen in the middle of the living room floor this afternoon to go grab myself a quick snack in the kitchen...when I returned she was gone!  I looked around and couldn't see her, and then I heard her...

Patoka fun!

Although our mini trip to Patoka was way back in September, I just uploaded the pictures onto my computer.  Brad's mom's side of the family has their Payne Annual Camp Out at Patoka Lake about an hour from our home.  We stay in cabins (I don't know if I am ready for tents yet), visit a lot, eat a lot, and have tons of fun.  It is always nice to get to see everyone and to catch up on what they have been up to since we saw each other last.

Gwen was one of the three newest members of our family born since last year's trip.  Here the munchkins are all playing in Gwen's play pen in the middle of everything. (from left: Sophia, Gwen, and Lydia)

Gwen hanging out in the cabin, if you look off to the side you can see who else came along...Pooka!

Not at Patoka, but still super cute!  Gracie (born in June) came over for a play date while the dads played xbox and the moms played with the girls.  It won't be too long before they are running around the house chasing each other! 

Gwen's first cold

Well, it had to happen at some point... Miss Gwen caught her first cold this weekend. She was up every hour Friday night, and then Saturday woke with a runny nose (but no fever). I thought maybe it was just her newest symptoms of teething, however with another sleepless night Saturday and a fever of 101.7 degrees, I decided it was more. Thank goodness she is a bit older now because the pediatrician did suggest some cold medicine which has helped. At least we got some sleep last night! She is a trooper though; still playing and smiling away! As well as, leaking from her nose and mouth like a faucet! I too have been battling the cold and fever since Sunday, but unlike Gwen, I don't get to stay home and nap (I wish I could though).

Food for thought

I hope all of you enjoyed Gwen's video...I can't help but laugh when she does!

I heard some interesting things these last couple of days and I thought I would share them with all of you.
First idea: I was talking to someone about Gwen, surprise surprise, and they were asking about how Gwen compares to the norms (for developmental milestones and for height/weight). This then branched into a discussion about what if our doctors, meaning the doctors of us moms or dads, gave us percentiles for our height and weight at every visit just like they do for the babies. Could you imagine? "Well, Ashley, you fall into the 5th percentile for height and about the 75th percentile for weight..." Oh my gosh, I would hate it! So, to all the doctors our there...thank you for stopping that information at pediatrics!

Second idea (again not related to Gwen--sorry): So driving to work this morning, the radio guy was talking about an idea he had to solve the economic crisis, what the president's address last night talked about...etc. I LOVE his idea! I don't understand how he came up with the numbers, and now a few hours later I can't remember the exact numbers he said, but this was the proposal: The government is discussing bailing out AIG and other companies that are going under. AIG's bail out alone is about $83 billion-which the government is going to give them to keep them afloat. Well this guy's idea is that instead of giving the money to AIG, the government should give it to the American public (already liking the idea?) Basically, with $83 billion, the government could give every American citizen 18 and up $400,000! (again I don't know how he came up with this number, but honestly I don't care). Of course the government would put tax on that, so it would come out to only $295,000 per person (about $590,000 per family without including the older kids)--not too bad. This money would solve a lot of the problems. Think about it. With that "free money" we could pay off mortgages, school loans, cars (helping the banks too), the government would make money from taxes, people would spend money (helping the economy grow), with people spending they might buy cars which would increase demand and therefore create jobs....it would be positive ripple effect! And, to top it all off, I am sure people would invest some of that money- which, you guessed it, would help Wall Street! Obviously this guy has some great ideas! If only it could really happen.

GIGGLES!!!!!!!!

Crazy Winds

So many of you had some crazy weather this past weekend.  I just heard about the flooding up north--I hope all of you and your houses are okay.  Down here we have not had rain since maybe a week and a half ago, however we had category 1 hurricane winds Sunday morning.  Not one drop of rain, or lightning, but an insane wind storm.  The news has said that winds reached around 60 mph here and up to 80 mph just south of here in Kentucky!  Fortunately for us, all the trees/limbs/branches that came down were in the yard and hit nothing.  Our neighbors had a tree limb (about half of the tree really) fall on their door step!  Another neighbor had a tree fall on top of their barn!  We were very lucky to say the least!

Our neighbors most recent visitor was so close, it could have knocked on the door (no pun intended!)

Our shed still stands, but is surrounded by fallen limbs from the trees in the backyard

When you need a laugh

Today I sat down at the computer and thought that some of you may need a laugh, so...

Here I am getting attacked by the Tickle Monster!

Me just being goofy! I think it is so funny to stick my tongue out at people and blow raspberries! It really gets them laughing!

One more...my mission to get the cat...

6 month check up

I completely forgot to mention how Gwen's check up went the other day.  For those of you who care...Gwen weighed in at 17 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. (73rd percentile), is 26 1/4 inches long (58th percentile), and her head circumference is 43 1/2 cm (97th percentile).  Basically...she is still perfect :-)  Gwen's next round of vaccinations is Thursday and hopefully that will go well too.

Gwen is 6 months old!

That's right, Gwen is half way to a year old! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was sharing the news about being pregnant, but it was a year ago already! I also can't believe that in just 6 months she could learn so much, grow so much, and change our lives so much. I wouldn't have it any other way! To celebrate we put Gwen in a pretty dress (one that I am sad to say will not fit by the time we have another party to go to) and took her monthly picture.  She is beautiful! We had a busy day yesterday too because the Dale Fall Fest was going on.  There was a parade that went right by our house, we walked over to the park and visited with family and friends, and we even ate pork chops, elephant ears, and lemon shake ups (even Gwen enjoyed them!).  I hate to cut this short, but Gwen is about the delete the whole thing, so I have to publish it fast!

"You heard right!  I am 6 months old!"

"I like to eat, eat, eat green beans for dinner..."

"My first parade!  The Dale Fall Fest is AWESOME!"

Happy Labor Day!

I know it is a few days late, but Happy Labor Day!  Gammy and Gampy came to visit us on Sunday after a trip to Miami and it was wonderful to have them even if it was for less than 24 hours.  Gwen crawled, played, laughed, and smiled up a storm!  She loved showing off what she can do for them!
Gwen also went swimming again this week.  Not in a big pool, but we did blow up the baby pool again.  She loved splashing around and chasing her ducks.  It's a good thing they are rubber ducks and can handle being chewed on.  I guess that is Gwen's version of kidding now.  This just gives you a taste of what Gwen is like in the tub!

Look for another post tomorrow--Gwen turned 6 months old today!

Little Swimmer

Gwen went swimming for the first time last Sunday at Steve Payne's Birthday Party!  She was so interested in the water and her floaty that it was hard to have her even look at the camera.  She figured out how to kick her feet, splash, and take a drink when needed!  I hope we can go swimming again soon!

Gram and Gwen hanging out by the pool!  Gwenie was having a blast!

Daddy and Gwen love to play on the floor together!  She is still working on the crawling thing; this week she is more like an inchworm--toosh up in the air with her legs straight and then she moves forward about an inch.  Tons of fun to watch!  We are really working hard on getting that trick because Gammy and Gampy are coming to visit us this Sunday and we want to show off for them!  Not that they won't love just looking at Gwen, she is eye catching, but it is so cool to see her doing things now!  Oh, and I almost forgot...she had baby food peaches last night!  The verdict is still out as to whether she liked them or not, but she tried them.  Every bite and she would grimace, stick her fingers in her mouth, and then look at you as if saying "What was that!"  And then we would do it all again with the next bite.  We'll see how tonight goes.  Happy Labor Day to all and enjoy the day off!  I know we will!!!!!