Uncle Vern visits

Vern was in town for a vacation with his family!  Mommy had a fun night out with him and some friends and then he came to visit and bring Ashley a birthday present the next day!

Ashley loves her "Dew" and laughs sooo hard when he's around! :)  We love catching up with friends and Ashley loved her presents from Uncle Vern and Laurie! :)

Vern, Mama Dew, April and Me

Me and April

Her new "Pet Vet" and Tinker Bell movie

Oh' silly "Dew" hahaha

Messin' as usual

Ashley's 2nd Birthday

I'm really, really behind on her blog, so finally here are some pictures from her 2nd birthday! :)


We had a low key 2nd birthday for Ash this year!  We had a big blowout for her 1st birthday, but we got to celebrate her 2nd birthday with a variety of birthday parties with friends and family over a few weeks time, so it was a small laid back day and perfect for Ashley! :)   

She is in love with "Sid the Science Kid" and we loved all the birthday supplies for this theme.  I decided to have some fun and made a magnifying glass for her birthday cake.  It was pretty good for me, hahaha, (but most people thought it was a tennis racquet!)  Good cake and got plenty of laughs out of it, so that was fun! :)

She had a blast this year opening gifts and it took us a few hours to open everything because she wanted to play with each item as we opened it!  (We are setting aside plenty of time for Christmas! hahaha) 

She got some great gifts for her 2nd birthday. . .she got a "Tag Jr." which reads stories/books aloud to her as she touches the "Tag" to the pages.  As she gets older they have other "Tag" products and books which will guide her through the reading process.  We got her a few books to start out with and she absolutely loves it! :)  She loves the little bag it goes in too, because she is a little OCD as far as putting everything back in its place before moving on to something else! 

She also got plenty of regular books, paints, colors/markers/coloring books.  A few outfits, coats, shoes.  Some of the other big items were her dolly Stella and a baby bed.  An easel which she loves, building blocks and puzzles galore!  She is in love with her new Trike and is working hard at learning to pedal on her own! :) 

It was a great time and we can't believe it's already been another year!  She seems so old and is growing and learning new things everyday! 

We had her 2 yr appointment at the doctor's and she is on the petite side!  She is 33.5in tall and only weights 22lbs!  We call her our little midget because she's soooo tiny still, but we love that because we can still hold/carry her and snuggle her at age 2! :)  She is eating like a champ and runs and plays like crazy all the time!  She is learning more and more words everyday and is still a chatter box!  We love every minute with her and can't wait to look back and see all the growth in this upcoming year! :) 

Enjoy some pictures from her 2nd birthday! :)
**Click the green play button - if it doesn't start automatically, then click the play button on the bottom middle of the picture frame to view slideshow version. Or click the right/left arrows to view each picture at your own pace!

Family beach photo shoot

We have been wanting to get some professional family beach pictures and we knew Ashley was at a fun age this trip and we wanted to capture that! I had an amazing friend that I knew from church back in High School who now lives in California and is a FABULOUS photographer. So she met us at La Jolla Coves and we got these beautiful pictures!


Thanks Val for your gorgeous work! :)


ENJOY! ! !

La Jolla Vacation Day 3 & 4

Day 3 (Beach fun)

We had a cloudy, cooler day today!  Still made the most of the beach experience and made it to Grandpa's for another night of dinner and fun! :)

Day 4 (Last Day)

We decided to go back to the beach one last time because it was GORGEOUS weather and the sun was SHINING!  We wanted to go get sandy/dirty and be able to get cleaned up at the hotel before checking out to drive home!  We had an absolute blast and had this little cove all to ourselves for the few hours we were there! :) 

La Jolla Vacation Day 2

Day 2 (Sea World and Ashley's Surprise 2nd Birthday party)

We ate breakfast at the hotel. . .which is amazing!  Waffles, cereal, eggs, yogurt, everything our little family loves! :)

We then got ready to go to Sea World and couldn't wait for the park to open! We were so anxious to see how Ashley would react and what she would enjoy the most! :)  She was very hesitant at first and held on to us for the first part, then she loosened up in her own time and didn't want to leave!  She watches everything so intently but then shows you and tells you everything that just happened as we leave each show!  It was so exciting to see her fall in love with the dolphins and penguin exhibit!  The new Sesame Street show was adorable and she loved the "live" characters singing and dancing!  

Ashley wanted to ride this flying Elmo ride. . .I thought she'd change her mind as we waited in line, but she didn't until I seat belted her in. . .then it was too late!  As we started to go she held on for dear life, then started to really enjoy it!  YEA our first kiddo ride together! :)    

We headed back to the hotel and all took a little nap from "park exhaustion"!  Headed back to Grandpa's house for dinner and they had a "Surprise" 2nd birthday party for Ashley! :)  She loved all the princess decorations and she loved blowing out the candle on her cupcake!

**Click the green play button - if it doesn't start automatically, then click the play button on the bottom middle of the picture frame to view slideshow version. Or click the right/left arrows to view each picture at your own pace!





Video of all kinds of fun from our day!  (This is a longer one!)

La Jolla Vacation Day 1

We were so excited to get back to La Jolla, CA for another family beach vacation! Ashley was beyond excited to get to the beach and we were so anxious to take her to Sea World for the first time! We stayed in our awesome hotel with the separate bedroom and full kitchen like we had last time, and we swear Ashley remembered staying there from last vacation! She was a lot more help this time too, carrying some bags and walking down the hallways with us! :)

Day 1 (9-10-10)

We got to CA early enough to check in and hit the beach before the marine layer came in with the cooler temperature! We played for an hour or so, then headed to the hotel to get cleaned up and head to Grandpa’s house for dinner! :)

**Click the green play button - if it doesn't start automatically, then click the play button on the bottom middle of the picture frame to view slideshow version. Or click the right/left arrows to view each picture at your own pace!




Here is a video of a variety of things from our first day!

Gorgeous breezy night

We had a few nights of gorgeous weather, so we took advantage of them and played like crazy out back! :) Ashley loves to play in her clubhouse/grill area and has started taking orders through her window! It's hilarious though because you can order what you want, but you always receive PIZZA from the cook! :)

Taking our order

Hummm. . . I don't think I have that! :)

Cute video of her enjoying the breeze and being silly!