A glance back, a look ahead...

I want to apologize in advance on this post.. something has been bugging me, and I was debating whether or not to write about it. In the end I decided that I'd post about it, at the encouragement of a few good friends of the family.

Sleeping through the night is a big milestone for babies, but an even bigger milestone for the parents since it finally allows them to shake that bleary eyed look that veteran parents get so much amusement out of.

For the past month, we worked on getting Ashlyn to sleep through the night by cutting back the amount of feedings, the amount of milk at each feeding, and finally by cutting out the last bottle all together. She fussed for a bit that last night when we didn't get up to feed her, but since then has been sleeping through the night with little or no fuss. And I have mixed feelings about this. Since I'm a light sleeper, and since Heather was giving so much to Ashlyn already, I took care of the night feedings. I'd get out of bed, warm up a bottle, feed her, and then put her on my shoulder where she instantly fell asleep while I patted her back.

Those moments, those few minutes where she slept on my shulder at three in the morning, were pretty special to me.  Rarely would Ashlyn sleep on anyone but Heather during the day, Mom must have the magic touch. And this is the rub, the thing that bugs me every time I think about it. I never knew when the last 3am feeding would be. Had I known, I probably would have stayed awake with her for awhile. And yes, I realize there will be many more last times: the last coo, the last time to watch her laugh when Heather hops up the stairs, the last time she'll let us pick her up, and so many more. I just wish I could know when the last time would be, so I could stay with it a bit longer. Oh well, I suppose I need to look forward to the firsts instead: the first step, the first word, the first day at school, the first date...

Okay, so I don't need to look forward to ALL the firsts.

To lighten the mood a bit, here's a few videos of recent developments.  One is Ashlyn laughing as hard as we've ever seen her laugh, the other is the first time we've been able to catch her babbles on camera.  I apologize for the background noise, the dryer was on but it's hard to capture her on camera because she stops babbling the second she sees someone.

Ashlyn's Big Laugh - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zKigrFM-l0
Ashlyn Babbles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryRbpQ2l5U0

A quick update and birthday wish...

Ashlyn’s 6 month doctor visit was on last Friday, and we’re happy to report that Ashlyn is doing great. She’s now 26.5 inches wide, and almost 16 pounds. So she’s now the weight of a large bowling ball, just not quite so round. We also filled out a development chart, with questions like “Can she roll over from front to back or back to front?” to see how she’s doing. We filled out the front, and then filled out the back. The only thing she couldn’t do on the chart was push herself all the way up on her hands while turned on her stomach (like a push up). Her Doctor came in, looked at the front of the chart, and said “good”. The she glanced at the back and said “Oh, you filled out the nine month chart too.” Good job kiddo.

And on another note, today is Aunt Lisa’s birthday. Happy birthday Aunt Lisa!  Here’s a picture of Ashlyn from last night, where she was wishing Lisa a happy birthday while learning to use a sippy cup.

Bunnies like carrots..

Yes, bunnies like carrots, as the traditional images of Peter Rabbit and Bugs Bunny portray.  Today, I'm pleased to report that Ashlyn if following in their footsteps and has found a love for carrots.  After happily munching down on pears and bananas, her interest in avocados faded off and we weren't sure how she would take to vegetables.



As you can see, I think she's ok with them.  Next up is squash, or more likely sweet potatoes as I wouldn't wish squash on anyone, especially my own daughter.

Happy Birthday Ashlyn!

Today Ashlyn turned .5, and it’s been an interesting ride over the past six months. In that short amount of time, we’ve seen Ashlyn do a lot of things. We’ve seen her smile, laugh, coo, sit, eat, spit up, roll over, fill countless diapers, stand, and begin babbling. We’ve seen her play, cry, sleep, hold things, and stare in wonder at the world around her. She’s deprived us of sleep, filled us with joy, and changed our lives. In short, we wouldn’t change a thing. Happy 6 months Ashlyn, mommy and daddy love you.

Here's a couple of her more recent achievements, stay tuned for more as we work towards her "real" birthday in October.

Happy Easter!

Today is Easter, a day filled with hunts for eggs filled with chocolate, jelly beans, and the occasional Starbucks gift card.  Since Ashlyn is only 6 months, well one day short of six months anyway, candy will not be part of our holiday this year.  However, embarrassing pictures are definitely in:

Infants don't pose for pictures well though, so you have to be prepared for a few "oops" moments.  I don't think the poor bunny knew what he was signing up for.

Yep, the bunny is airborne.  That small incident aside (the bunny suffered no lasting injuries), we got some great pictures of her.  Have a Happy Easter everyone.