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!"