I forgot to share pics from the wedding! Here goes....

The view was awesome! Wedding was at the Stratosphere on the North end of the stip so you could see everything. We were on the 104th floor too.

My gluten free cake! Yummy! Noey and her sister are celiac's too, so we all gf chocolate cake at the reception.

Jered, Noelle, Me and Mark

Mark and Livi's father/daughter dance. After this all the kids went back to the room with the nannies and the parents got to party!!!

Jered and Ashlyn with her hand in her mouth.

Mark and Noelle Kohles

Our little family

Mark and Noelle

Been a while.....

I know its been a while since I've written or posted any new pics. We have been so busy! We went to Vegas Memorial weekend for our friend Noelle's wedding. It was awesome! We all had a great time. Ashlyn did great on the airplane, thank goodness. Both Jered and I were worried, you never want to be there parents with the screaming baby on the plane. She slept all the way to Vegas and most of the way home on the return flight. She started to get all congested on Monday before we left to come home so she was a little cranky on the plane home but not bad. Poor thing is still all stuffy. Ashlyn got in the pool in her little floaty and I think she liked it ok. The second day the water was a little colder and she wasn't too excited by that but she still managed. It was so hot! It was 102 degrees on Sunday and we spent all day at the pool. Noelle and Mark had rented a cabana otherwise we wouldn't have been able to stand it for more than a few minutes. Ashlyn slept in her stoller in the cabana and played in the pool most of the day.

I've been working on my day off the last couple of weeks so that I could take off to go to Vegas. I don't have any PTO (vacation days) left after my maternity leave. So I'm in stockpile mode again, trying not to use any hours unless I totally have to. I've got to have enough for our trip to Grand Canyon and New Mexico in Aug.

Ashlyn had another doctor appointment this week. She weighs 14 lbs 9 oz so she's almost doubled her birth weight. She was 25 inches long, growing 5-1/4 inches since she was born. She's in the 75% for weight and 60% for height. All very normal and the pediatrician is very happy with her. She's been "talking" to us more, really kicking her legs and trying to roll over. She spends lots of time on her belly too, strengthing her tummy and neck muscles. She's slobbering constantly, we think she might be popping a tooth soon. Nothing yet, just a lot of drool. She likes to sit up with help but falls over eventually. She's grabbing at everything, likes to help hold the bottle and put everything in her mouth, including her thumb/fist. She's learning and growing so fast. Where did our fragile little baby go we brought home just yesterday??

This week we had dinner at Glady and Floyd's in Woodburn. Ashlyn got to see her both her grandparents and her great-grandparents. She had a bath in a big plastic tub and she loved it!She was spashing and kicking and having so much fun, Grandma let us take it home. We've been using a sling that goes in the sink but this big tub is so much more fun for her. Plus we probably use less water this way. With the sling we were constantly running the water over her and with the tub we just fill it about half way and set her in there.

Grammy spent the night on Friday and spent lots of time with her on Saturday morning while Jered and I were getting ready for the potluck. She loves to be held and she got tons of that between having Grammy here and dinner in Woodburn on Thursday with her other grandparents. Grammy got a new puppy while she was here too. Her name is Daisy and she's really cute. Another black lab! We're a family that loves labs! The people that were selling this puppy had a new baby and it was just too much for them. She's 6 months old and already used to being around kids which is great.

Yesterday was a potluck for our student at work. She's graduating in a couple of weeks. After that we went to Edgefield to meet up with a few people and have a few beers. Jered got to golf which made him happy. He hasn't gotten to golf much this spring, we're just so much busier now with Ashlyn. I've been trying to clean the house today in between her feedings, naps, and just wanting our attention. It'll all get done someday! Even if we have a messy house, at least we have a happy baby!!

Enjoy the pics.......



With Uncle Eli at Edgefield yesterday afternoon. He thinks I'm getting big already!

With Kendra, a co-workers daughter. She carried me around all day yeterday! I love it, I love to be held.

With my new friend Anehla. She's only three weeks younger than me.

Photo-shoot before we left the house. Grammy bought me this outfit for Easter, it fits much better now.

With Great-grandma Glady at their house for dinner this week.

With Grandma

With my Grandpa

With my new friends from the wedding in Vegas. Devlinn (3 months), Olivia (10 months), and me (4 months).

Photo-shoot before the wedding. This is my wedding dress, isn't it pretty? I didn't really feel like sitting up, but mama kept making me.

Playing in Livi's activity chair in Vegas.

In my floaty that Devlinn's mom bought me. I didn't like the pool as much this day, it was too cold. But mama kept slathering me with sunscreen and taking me in anyway.

Here I am napping in the cabana. My grammy bought me this swimsuit and it fit great except the straps are too long. Hopefully my daddy will fix them for me.

At the airport. I did great on the airplane. I slept the whole way to Vegas, so I was real happy when we finally got there. Mama and daddy were real happy that I didn't scream on the airplane too.

Here I am hanging out with mama and her co-workers on lunch break. Mama isn't too excited that I like to suck my thumb, but I keep doing it anyway!

Awesome Weekend....

What a great weekend!!! The weather was awesome. It was 90 degrees today at our house. Having to put up with the long Oregon winter makes me appreciate the great summers we get here. Ashlyn does not enjoy the heat. She gets a little crabby when she gets overheated and she has no problems letting us all know she's unhappy!

This was our first free weekend in a while. We've been super busy lately and it seems like our weekends fill up fast. We had a great sushi lunch downtown on Sat. We sat outside and Ashlyn enjoyed the people watching as much as her parents did. There are definently some interesting characters in Portland!

We were heading to Target after stopping off for some of the BEST gluten free cupcakes ever and Jered's cousin Cole texted asking if we were coming to the BBQ. We were like "what BBQ?" Turns it out it was his Uncles yearly bday bbq down in Silverton. So we changed plans and after getting more stuff for Ashlyn drove to Silverton. One little tiny person requires a ton of stuff. The most ridiculous part is that most of the time we don't even use any of the stuff, we bring it just in case we might need it. :)

We're taking our first family trip this Friday. Which is also Ashlyn's 4 month birthday. I can't believe she's already 4 months old. Time really does fly. We leave for Vegas on Friday for my friend's wedding. We are SOOOOO excited! My friend is bringing her two nannies with her to babysit so we can get out and have some adult time. Plus Noelle's mom and grandma will be there too. I can't wait to get Ashlyn in the pool. She loves her baths and I'm really hoping she'll like the pool too. We have spf 70 sunscreen for her white Irish skin and Noelle's sister is bringing one of those floaties with the umbrella.

We're crossing our fingers she does ok on the plane. Thankfully its a pretty short flight, only a couple of hours. We'll be flying again in Aug to see family in New Mexico and in Sept for another friends wedding in LA. We also have a few camping trips planned in June and July. If Ashlyn doesn't like traveling and being busy, she sure will by the end of the summer!

Sitting with Aunt Jodi

With cousin Cole

Mother's Day

My first mother's day was busy (of course)! Jered brought me home and bougianvillea plant on Friday. I loved all the bougianvillea that was everywhere in California. Hopefully we don't kill this one. I've heard it can be tough to grow one here in Oregon. We'll probably have to take it down to the Grandparents green house so Grandpa can keep it alive for us in the winter.

Saturday we drove down to Monroe making a stop in Woodburn to see G-ma & G-pa. They left for an Alaskan cruise on Sunday so we wanted to stop by and see them quick before they left. Ashlyn is so lucky to have so many grandparents! My mom and I went to a Mother's Day Tea Saturday afternoon and it was a lot of fun. They modeled wedding dresses starting with a dress from the 1940's. Some of the ones from the 70's and 80's were something else! We stopped by my cousin Kourtney's softball game later that day and it reminded me of when I played, except her team is way better than mine ever was. My mom made Mel hold an umbrella over Ashlyn so she wouldn't get sunburned. She's crazy sometimes! It was really nice and she didn't get a sunburn so Thanks Mom!!

Sunday we had breakfast and mimosas with Mom and Eddie before heading home. Monday it was back to work! We've already made it Tuesday and tomorrow is my day off. Yay!!!

I called the doctor again today. Ashlyn has had a really bad cold for about 3 weeks now. I took her to the doctor Friday afternoon to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. Thank goodness she doesn't. She's just really really congested. We've been torturing her with saline drops in the nose and running a humidifier in our room and none of it seemed to be helping. The doctor assures me that it really is helping. So on Friday I run over to Wee Care to get her for her appt and she's just woken up. I grab a bottle to take with me and feed her while we're sitting in the waiting room. The nurse takes us back to an exam room and while we're talking she PUKES all over me! I'm soaked from chest to knees, it was a good 4 or 5 ounces that came back up. UGH!! Her doctor thinks its just the drainage from her nasal congestion irritating her stomach. Well I had to run her back to Wee Care and get back to my dept to do one more patient before I could go home. I was a wet stinky mess and I didn't have time to change my scrubs. But it was an OB patient and I figured they should know what they're getting themselves into. She continued to puke 2-3 times each day since Friday. Last night she unloaded all over my pillow when Jered was swaddling her. My favorite pillow that I take everywhere with me! So I called the MD again today and they assured me its probably just stomach irritation since she hasn't had a fever and she's happy as a clam except for the actual puking. I'm supposed to call back in a couple of days if she hasn't improved. Today: no puking!

Having a bath at Grammy's house in the kitchen sink. She looks SO thrilled to be having another picture taken!

Ashlyn with her two cousin's: Bailey and Macy

Ashlyn with her Great-Grandma.

Guilt.....

Hi Mama!!!

Staring contest....not sure who won! :-)

We were talking at work today about breastfeeding. One of the ladies I work with only works about once a week and I hadn't seen her since I've been back. She was asking about Ashlyn and breastfeeding and sleeping. All those newborn questions. We got to talking about how much pressure there is to breastfeed. There is SO much pressure, from everyone from your doctor to your best friend to your neighbor down the street it seems. Every medical professional I came in contact with during my pregnancy asked me if I was planning to breastfeed. Strangers in the grocery store felt like it was ok to ask. Friends, co-workers, family, everyone wants to know if you're planning to breastfeed. Every magazine, book and website. Anyway my point is that I think all this contributes to the insane amount of guilt I feel (and other mom's that have problems breastfeeding) about not being able to breastfeed for as long as I wanted to. My plan was to breastfeed for at least 6 months, we made it almost 3 months. In my head I know that this is great, but that doesn't stop me from wondering and second guessing the steps I could've/should've taken so that I might've made it to that 6 month goal. Ridiculous, I know. My friend at work made me feel better. She reminded me of the roadblocks we faced. My milk didn't come in right away because of the c-section; Ashlyn had a tongue-tie that was corrected at two weeks; and she made the decision for me by quitting the breast at 9 weeks. I tried to "make" her, but she won. I'm hoping next time will be easier because the biggest bummer about all of this is that I feel like I didn't truly get to enjoy breastfeeding. I missed out on the enjoyment of it all. To me it felt like work. By the time I fed her, then gave her some formula and pumped it had been an hour and a half and it was almost time to do it again. Ugh!!

So I know I've already done this post, but this is like my online journal. I think its going to be fun to look back in a few years and read my posts and show Ashlyn her pictures. I wish I would've started earlier (mom guilt again) but the first few weeks are just a blur!

Absolutely worth every minute!!! of the mom-guilt, second-guessing and shoulda, woulda, coulda's!

Busy weekend....

Jered had a great time at Eli's bachelor party. They rented a house and stayed over in Lincoln City. They gambled, golfed and probably had a few beers too. He's tired, lost his voice and has a bruised eye from wrestling. But he's in one piece and didn't call me for bail so I'm giving them a gold star. :)

Ashlyn and I drove down to Monroe Sat morning for a baby shower. It was fun to see my cousins and my aunts. We sat around talking, sharing stories Sat. afternoon about babies, pregnancy and life before it all. I laughed so much my belly hurt! I spent a few hours at my dad's house too and he got his Ashlyn fix. She didn't really nap much on Sat, just on the drive down so she fell asleep in Grandpa's arms and I didn't have my camera with me. I was so bummed!

My mom and Eddie kept Ashlyn Sat night and I got to have a girls night with my cousin Traci and a couple of friends, Lorin and Rachel. It was great to have a glass of wine and talk like we used to. Rach drove out and we had Mexican food and margaritas and more girl talk. When I got back to Mom's she already had Ashlyn in bed and she slept till 5am. I gave her a bottle and we went back to sleep till 9am. BLISS!!!

This morning with my cousin Kourtney.

This morning with Grammy

This afternoon....they're both passed out, so tired from their busy weekend.