Summer is here!

Summer has officially arrived and boy have we been busy!

We've been playing in the pool in our yellow polka dot one piece! Ha! 

Daddy won't let us do a yellow polka dot bikini!

Spending lots of time at Tar-jay...mommy's favorite place!

Looking fancy before church...

Completely exhausted after church.

Eating lots of peas and carrots.

Helping daddy with homework

Admiring my daddy.

 Helping mom with laundry!

 Having a blast swinging.

And even got my ears pierced! 

(Christian thinks she looks traumatized in this picture, but I promise she was okay)

Not to mention tons of swimming at Nana and Papa's pool.

Hope your summer is off to a great start!!  

7 months old

Aubrey Lane you are now seven months old.  This past month you have amazed me with your new developments and growth.  You can now reach for anything you desire and you have a very strong grip.  Girlfriend…when you want something, you go after it. You aren’t quite crawling; you just do a backwards scoot…which makes you very mad.  You are sitting up very well and are toppling over less and less. 

You can get from one end of the room to the other just by rolling over.  You are hilarious because you just roll your way through the house!

You are fast becoming an excellent eater.  You are still nursing 5 times a day and are still eating one meal of solids a day.  I tried introducing breakfast to you, but you wanted nothing to do with it.  Perhaps in a few weeks we will try again.  You love dinner time; however, you get extremely agitated during meal prep time….I can’t get it to you fast enough. If I happen to take too long in between bites, you grunt at me. Ha!  You will eat anything, but you especially love rice cereal with fruit and bananas.  I also started giving you a sippy cup this month and you do very well.  You’re not really interested in the contents but enjoy throwing it on the ground!

We haven’t been to the doctor so I’m not sure on your exact measurements.  You still wear 3-6 month clothing as well as a few 6-9 month items as well.  You are still in a size 2 diaper. 

You are still taking 2 naps a day.  One from 10:30-12:30 and one from 2:30-4:00. We put you down for the night around 8:15.   You have been waking up once at various times in the night for about a month now.  I usually just put the noonie back in your mouth and you go right back to sleep.  You are up at 5:30 for your first feeding, but then go back to sleep for about 2-2.5 hours.

You are smiling and laughing like crazy.  You are such a happy baby.  Nothing really upsets you other than when you are hungry and food isn’t getting to you quick enough…like mother like daughter. 

We simply adore you Bre, you are our sunshine sent from above!  We love you to pieces!

Mother's Day 2012

I am one blessed chick.  Mother's Day is one day in particular where that fact really stands out to me.  I have been blessed with the most amazing, Godly, giving, caring, loving mother any girl could ever ask for.  My mother has stood by my side from day one and her support has never wavered.  She is my biggest fan and my most loyal friend.  I always say I hope Aubrey and I have half as good of a relationship that my mother and I have.  Thanks mom...for being the best.

I am so thankful to have you walk through this journey of life with me!  

Becoming a mother has only made me appreciate my mom that much more. 

Not only am I super blessed with my precious mom, but I have an amazing MIL.  She loves me as her own and has poured out her love and support on me from day one.  She is the greatest MIL ever!  She has raised three Godly children and I am so blessed to get to be a part of her legacy! 

And of course, I have to give a shout out to this cute pie who has made my dreams of being a mommy come true.  I can't wait for the day when this precious baby utters those priceless words...mommy.  I can't tell you how much joy and satisfaction I have found in becoming a mom.  Aubrey makes me a better person and is constantly teaching me new things. I hope and pray I can be the Godly example just like my mom has been for me.

Happy Mother's Day everyone! 

Story of my life

My sweet little family has been enjoying some much needed family time lately.  We've made an extra effort to simply spend some quality time together.  No tv, no phones, no computers...just the three of us doing simple things together-going to get a snowball, going to the bookstore, eating dinner on the patio together and taking long walks in the neighborhood.  I've found that life gets so extremely busy and the first ones to suffer are usually the ones who mean the most.

The Lord is teaching so many things lately. I feel like He has been using the last few weeks to constantly get in my face and say, "ASHLEE...I need you to get this".  I'm not always paying attention or willing to take things in, but lately I feel like I'm soaking up His lessons.  

I've been thinking of how my life is a story.  It's a book I'm writing through my actions and words on a daily basis.  Each moment, each decision, each word I say is another page in my book.  I can't go back and erase or delete my pages once they have been written, but I can decide what will fill my pages in the future.  I can choose to fill my book with wonderful memories, kind words and generous actions.  I can choose to make my story be one of love, peace and joy.  It's my story to write.  It's up to me to make it a story worth reading. 

When I pass on to my forever home, I want to leave behind a story filled with pages full of family memories,  long conversations with friends, special times of ministering to others, and most of all...the special everyday moments like bath time with my baby girl, story time before bed, sweet kisses from my hubby and even snuggles with the puppy. 

Each day is a new beginning in my story of life and each new morning is an opportunity to make my story count.  No matter how much I mess up the day before, I can learn from those torn and dirty pages...I can still take those less desirable days and learn from those mistakes.  

How cool is it that we can author our own stories.  I can only count on myself to finish my book.  It's up to me to make it one that others will read and know my heart was found solely in my faith and my family.