What a big girl!!

KB starts kindergarten on Monday!!! I can't believe she is now entering this phase of her life. Where have the years gone? I don't know how I will react on Monday as we walk her into her classroom and I drive off to work. Right now, I find myself crying - not because I am sad but because I can't believe she will be five in less than two weeks. It feels like she was just born yesterday. I still remember holding her in my arms the very first time and thinking, "Thank you God for this beautiful creature!" Seeing her grow from a baby into a little girl brings with it so many emotions - happiness, sadness, anxiety, pride, joy, fear, too many to list. I pray that she will learn many new things, make new friends, make good decisions, behave herself, and be the best she can be. Good luck my little Sweetheart - Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we can't wait to hear all about your first day at Kindergarten. You are so special and we are so proud to be your parents!

So sweet...

I absolutely love it -

Holding Baby Ash and rocking her to sleep is beautiful. Having her little head rest on my shoulder and feeling her every breath against my body brings a feeling I can't even describe - a heavenly one. She is so sweet. I can't believe she is nearly 6 months old! I love watching her every move...grabbing her feet and trying to eat them, grabbing for everything (my hair especially), rolling over, playing with her toys, resting her feet on our dogs, kicking her feet with excitement, bathing her, her facial expressions as she makes raspberry noises, eating rice cereal, and so many more. Her cute little facial expressions are worth a thousand words - words she can't say, yet. What is she thinking when she looks in the mirror and squeals with excitement and kicks her legs? When she sees Mommy or Daddy and lights up or when she laughs at her Big Sister - what is she thinking? All I know is that I love being a Mommy and I thank God every day for my beautiful daughters. Life is so much better because of them. Hubby and I are so blessed!!!!!!!!

She likes it! She likes it!

Well…she did it and she likes it! Baby Ash tried rice cereal last night and proved to be quite the eater. We had so much fun with her last night. We took lots of pictures and even recorded the event. It was so cute! She had cereal all over her face, hands, and tray. I had to hold her hands because she kept trying to grab the spoon. I could not get it into her mouth fast enough. She really likes this thing we adults call "eating." She must get that from Mommy...eating is my favorite activity!! While she ate, she kept making all sorts of noises which made it a very messy dining experience. It was hilarious to watch.

We will stick to cereal for about another month or two. Since she is not hurting in the weight category, we are in no hurry to start other solids. She is a chunky monkey!

We love having a baby in our house -- never a dull moment!

Tummy Time

So...Baby Ash has been sleeping in her crib without her swaddle blanket for about 3 days now. She is still sleeping peacefully through the night - 9 or 10 hours. However, she insists on sleeping on her tummy and it really makes me so nervous - to the point that I am losing sleep!! I wake up every two hours just to check on her and I even "roll" her over. I really shouldn't worry because she has great head control, but I still get scared. Last night, I woke up and turned her over about 6 times. I managed to wake her one of those 6 times and I had to rock her back to sleep (about 3 a.m. this morning). Goodness, what am I going to do with that little girl? I don't want to use a sleep positioner because I don't want to have anything in her crib. What should I do?

Hubby is still trying to recover from his surgery. He does not feel so good. He describes it as having the "worst sinus infection ever." Also, KB has a low-grade temperature, is sniffling and complains of a sore throat. I think I may have given her my sinus infection. Yes, on top of everything else, I have been sick with a sinus infection for about a week. However, I went to the Dr. on Thursday, got some antibiotics, and am starting to feel better. KB will be going to the Dr. tomorrow morning. Today, she is hanging out with her Daddy at home. Two patients under the same roof and no nurse (Mommy) to take care of them. : (

Happy 11th Anniversary

Today is our 11th Wedding Anniversary! Gosh, time sure does fly by fast. We celebrated on Wednesday night by going out to eat a nice restaurant because we knew that we would not be celebrating tonight. Hubby had nasal surgery yesterday and will be out of sorts for about a week. This is what he had done: 1) removal of a polyp, 2) re-align septum, and 3) scraping of sinus cavity. Sounds painful, huh? He looks pitiful with gauze sticking out of his nose and ice packs all over his face. Even though he looks and feels bad, he still managed to text message me (from bed) and wish me a Happy Anniversary while I was downstairs trying to take care of our girls. How sweet! Anyway, Happy Anniversary to us!!!!!!!

Bye, Bye Summer!

Wow...this summer has flown by. I love summer but it always comes to an end and I must return to work. Yucky poo!!!! Along with being a Wife and Mommy, I am now a high school Assistant Principal, too. Yes, I am SUPERWOMAN!!! I started back to work last week. My high school is huge - 2800 students. Although the teachers don't arrive until the 18th and the students don't arrive until the 25th, I have actually been a little busy preparing. Getting ready for the teachers and students is time consuming and bears much responsibility. I was offered this assistant principal job in June and I accepted even though I really wanted a middle school position. Unfortunately, there were no more middle school positions available and I pretty much had to take what was given to me. However, after being at the school and working with my new team, I am very excited about where God has placed me. I strongly believe that I am there for a reason and I hope to make a positive impact on the students and teachers. The good thing is: If things don't work out, I can always return to the classroom and teach again. In my teaching field, I will never have a problem finding a job!! However, I am having a problem fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Although I am now back to my pre-pregnancy weight, my body has shifted and my clothes are a little tight. So, I need to lose about 3 more pounds or spend lots of money buying new clothes. I guess I need to lose the 3 pounds!! Great...that ought to be fun.

5 months old

Baby Ash is 5 months old today! She is growing so much and is so precious I can hardly stand it!! She has been sleeping in her crib for several weeks now and is doing great. She goes to bed at 10 and is up at 8. She takes a long nap before lunch (2 hours) and another small one in the afternoon (1 hour). My goal in the next two weeks is to get her to bed at 9 and up at 7. We wrap her in her swaddle blanket every night but that will probably end tonight. She manages to work her arms out of her blanket and she ends up in all sorts of disarray. One morning, we found the blanket at waist level. She looked so funny! When we went to get her out of bed that morning, the look on her face was priceless. When I first saw her I said, "Oh my goodness, what have you done to your blanket?" And this is what the look on her face said, "Mommy, this is how all of the cool kids are wearing it!" She was so proud of her accomplishment and I will never forget the cute look on her face. Speaking of accomplishments, she rolls all over the place. We have nicknamed her "Roly Poly." She also holds her head up very well and she sits in her high chair without a problem. She loves to hang out in her high chair and play with her toys whenever we eat as a family. She loves sitting next to her big sister because "Big Sis" is so funny and she makes her laugh. Baby Ash is very vocal. She says "Mama" but is still too young to know its significance. She loves to make raspberry noises and is very good at grunting. She loves to look at herself in the mirror. When she is in front of the mirror, she smiles, laughs and squeals. She must like what she sees, but who wouldn't? Grabbing my hair (or Big Sister's) is one of her favorite things to do. And, she does not let go. We have to physically take her hand and remove the hair ourselves. I better watch out for my earrings! She also loves to stick out her tongue - Daddy is great at getting her to do this. I have not started her on rice cereal yet -- will probably start in about two weeks. Since she does not go to see the Dr. this month, I don't know how much she weighs, but I am going to assume about 15-16 pounds (since she weighed 14 lbs. at 4 months). I love her chunky thighs (she must get them from Mommy) and her feet are targets for Mommy's kisses. I can kiss her all day long. She still has a small amount of hair and it looks like it is getting lighter. She has a bald spot in the back of her head but I am sure it will grow hair with time.

As for KB, she is doing great. She is so beautiful and smart. She is sometimes "too smart" for her own good. Unfortunately, she has spent plenty of time in "time-out" the last couple of months as she has tried very hard to push every button and get on every last nerve. She has developed quite the little attitude. However, we are working with her and hopefully our punishments are making a lasting impression. I can't believe that she will be 5-years old in less than a month. She will be starting private school kindergarten in two weeks and she is so excited. We have had a blast shopping for school clothes. We even bought her a backpack to keep all of her school papers organized. I will definitely cry as I leave her classroom that first day. We plan to take pictures and record the exciting moment. KB and I went to the circus last week. It was really cool and she enjoyed seeing the elephants, tigers, dog, horses, and clowns. Because the tickets were $50 a person, parking $10, and cotton candy $12, Daddy decided to stay home with Baby Ash. I can't believe that circus tickets are so expensive. The most expensive tickets were $120/person. Gosh, that is outrageous. Needless to say, spending quality time with KB was worth every penny.