Christmas!

We had a great but busy Christmas. We spent Christmas in Woodburn. Ashlyn stayed awake pretty much the whole time. She finally fell asleep in church around 11pm. We had a great dinner, opened some presents and then church. By the time we got home, we wer tired! I don't usually stay up that late.

Friday morning Ashlyn opened the present we got for her. She wasn't too into the paper like I thought she would be. She tore a small piece off and wanted to eat it. She wasn't interested in tearing it all off like we'd hoped. Next year! Then we drove down to my Aunt Jean's house for dinner and the kids got to open one present. My brother was able to have the girls for a few hours on Christmas and it was great to see them both.

Mom and I went shopping the day after Christmas and it wasn't as busy as I thought it would be. We went to the Hallmark store and then to Target. Target was pretty busy and by the time I was able to get Mom out of there, I was more than ready to leave!

Both Friday and Saturday nights we spent at my cousin Melody's house. We drank a few too many beers both nights but had a lot of fun playing games and being together. My cousin Cindy was here from Wisconsin and it was just like old times when they all lived in Seattle and would come down to my mom's house for the weekends.

We hit the road after breakfast on Sunday since I had to work the evening shift. It was so busy, ugh!! I'm not going to go into politics, but seriously 90% of the patient we see through the ER are uninsured. They come through the ER for things they should be seeing their doctor for but they don't have a doctor because they're uninsured. Which is why my co-pay for an ER visit is $150. Believe me, I'd have to be on death's door before I went to the ER and paid $150 co-pay. Only one of the 12 patients I scanned last night through the ER should've been in the ER. Oh well, I guess it is what I get paid for. That just meant the two movies I brought with me stayed in my purse all night long ;o)

I'll have pictures and maybe even some video for ya later in the week. Happy New Year!!

Christmas is almost here....

I can not believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow!! We are not quite ready yet. Just a few small gifts left to buy. We're both off tomorrow and looking forward to sleeping in and then will head down to Woodburn for the festivities at Grandma and Grandpa Lenhardt's. I can't wait to see Ashlyn open gifts, she is going to have so much fun tearing paper! We're spending Christmas Day with my family at my Aunt Jean's. For me, it's not Christmas unless I'm at Aunt Jean's for dinner and the gift exchange. Ashlyn participated in the kids gift exchange so she'll have one gift there as well. We won't be opening gifts with my two nieces until New Year's weekend at our house. My brother only gets the girls for a few hours on Christmas Day and we just won't have time.

We went to a Christmas party last Sat at our friend's Gary and Dawn house. We had a lot of fun, I drank one glass too many of red wine because I was feeling a little hung over Sun morning. Ashlyn was a little party animal and wouldn't go to sleep. She was up till after 11pm. Gary and Dawn' daughter Cammy finally got her to go down. She was wore out from playing. She was definently a hit, everyone thought she was pretty cute.

I did a little shopping Sat and Sun morning. I braved Costco, Winco, Target and the Mall. Ugh, I hate the mall! I went to two stores, I got in and I got out as quick as I could :) We got Ashlyn something really cool for her present. Lots of bells and whistles as Jered says. She's going to have a blast with all her Christmas gifts I'm sure. Playing in the paper will probably be the most fun!

WeeCare helped Ashlyn make Jered and I a gift. Its a wreath with her picture in the middle and it is so darn cute! They used a white paper plate, then did her hand print in green construction paper all around the plate with a red bow at the top. Then a picture of her in a Santa hat in the middle. So cute! I'll try to take a picture of it and post it soon.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope I get to see most of you!

Here's a few pics from the party that Gary took:

Cameron had the magic touch and was finally able to get Ashlyn to go to sleep at 11pm!! I don't think she's ever been up that late, since she started sleeping through the night.

Ashlyn loved pushing the ottoman around

Fun fun fun all night long!

Playing with Cammy's bear

With Daddy, he let her have his cell phone and she felt pretty cool!

Pictures!!!

We got our tree on Thursday night. Jered cut it down for us and Ashlyn had fun walking through all the trees but boy was it cold! Her little cheeks were so pink. We had her all bundled up in her snow suit Uncle Justin & Aunt Steph got for her. We decorated the tree yesterday morning and it looks awesome! We put up all of our ornaments that we've collected through the years. Jered's Grandma has given him an ornament every year since he was born and we have a lot of those too. Grandma & Grandpa McGrath gave Ashlyn her first ornament and we put that up this morning too.

Jered and I were able to go out for a date on Friday night. We had so much fun! Our friends babysat Ashlyn so that we could go out with my cousins. We saw Bob Saget and he was so funny! After the show we stopped off at the Yamhill Pub, total dive bar, but cheap drinks! We were home by midnight, thats a pretty late night for us these days. Ashlyn slept in till almost 930am! Of course we were up by 8am. Sleeping those couple extra hours was so refreshing. I feel so rested this weekend.

Last night we went down to Grandma & Grandpa Lenhardts. Jered's sis was here with her new husband. We hadn't seen them since the wedding. Ashlyn was a little crabbier than normal, she's teething again. Ugh, teething! She loved the dinner Grandma made: roast beef, green beans and mashed potatoes and gravy. She got peaches for dessert. She ate almost everything.

We're almost ready for Christmas, good thing too since its right around the corner. We only a few more gifts to buy. I'm looking forward to being off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It so nice this year being on Friday. We'll get a really long weekend. Not sure about our plans for New Years yet. Both Jered and I are only working half days. Two long weekends in a row!

Ashlyn's first birthday is approaching fast! We're still talking and debating exactly what we're going to do for a party. I've applied for a volunteer position on the Citizens Review Board of Washington County. Its a review board thats reviews foster care cases and gives recommendations as to what the next steps should be for the kids and/or the parents and/or guardians/foster parents/adoptive parents. My cousin Angela recommended me and I hope it all works out. It would only be one day a month but its going to take some finagaling with my schedule. Work schedule, babysitting options, etc. I had an interview last Thursday with the man that does the hiring. I have to go through a two day training class and he thinks it may be Jan 21 and 22. Ashlyn's bday weekend. He's not sure yet so I'm waiting to hear back from him before I schedule her party. Its an interesting oppurtunity for me. I have huge reservations about whether or not I'll be able to handle. Ang told me its heartbreaking and rewarding all at the same time. I'm excited though too so I hope it all works out.

These are from Thanksgiving and after:

Pretty sure all the parenting books could use this picture of how NOT to let your baby sleep! She loves that pink bear blankie. Its silkie on one side and she likes to rub it on her face to go to sleep. And she mostly sleeps on her side or belly these days.
Playing with my toys at Grandma Glaydy's on Thanksgiving.

Mmmmm, pumpkin pie with whip cream, Yummy!

Talking with Grandma

Giving Grammy hugs!

Supporting the winning team :)

Picking out our tree

Our finished tree. Mama put these collars on the dogs. They have bells on them, the dogs hated them but I thought they were pretty cool!

Brrr its cold outside.....

Its so cold!!! 18 degrees this morning is just a little too chilly for me. I wish it were snowing, at least then it'd be warmer. Ashlyn and I have been getting all bundled up to go to work everyday. We got her a pretty cute stocking hat. Had to buy toddler size cause the baby sizes were too small for her big 90th percentile head.

I know its been a while since I've posted and I know people want to see pictures too. Well first I had been working so much there for a while that on my day off all I did was clean house, laundry and errands since I wasn't getting any of that good stuff during the week. Last Tues was my last OT shift for a while. I am working on the 27th and half day on the 31st but I'm off the 1st so those barely count. Then a couple of weeks ago I picked up a virus on our computer that has Jered's IT dept at work totally stumped. ALL of Ashlyn's pictures since she was born are on that computer. Jered is doing his best to save at least the pictures. The ones of Ashlyn are the only ones I really care about. And no we didn't have them back up onto anything. Stupid, I know!

We had a really great Thanksgiving. I worked a 12 hour shift, got off at 11am, came home to shower and we left for Glady & Floyd's. It was a nice relaxing day. Ashlyn loved all the food. She ate everything on the table except the stuffing but Grandma had made us gluten free bread so we didn't feel left out. Everything was delicious!

My dad came up to visit us on that Sat and stayed for a while. It was good to see him and my stepmom. Dad is out of town a lot for his job so we miss him sometimes when we go down. Ashlyn was crankier than usual and it took her a little while to warm up. but they got to see her show off a little. Sunday Jered put up all of the outside Christmas lights while Ashlyn and I decorated the inside. We're planning to get our tree Thurs afternoon. So far she's doing pretty good with the decorations. She recognizes the tone of voice and the word NO. I'm sure she'll hear it a lot more too :)

Last weekend we went down to Monroe again. My niece Bailey was 10 years old on Dec 1st. so my brother had a birthday party for her on Sat afternoon. They do a lot of parties at Papa's pizza in Corvallis and lucky for me and Ashlyn they now have gluten free pizza. It was Ashlyn's first time having pizza and she loved it!

Ashlyn is loving any and all food! As long as its real food. She's bored with the jarred stuff and we try not give it to her anymore. She's ate up pretty much all we had left anyway. She especially likes to feed herself. I make gluten free pancakes to take to Wee Care with her and she eats anything on the menu as long as its not gluten. She loves it all. If we put it on her tray and leave it there long enough she'll eventually try it. Last night she had some pork ribs we did in the crockpot, mashed potatoes and green beans. If you're eating in front of her she expects you to share. She still joins me and my co-workers for lunch and she stares at them when they're eating hoping they'll share. Unfortunately they're rarely able to share. Belinda did share her spaghetti squash the other day and she loved it. Hopefully she'll love sushi just as much as Mama and Daddy!

Ashlyn is becoming more independent every day. She is pulling herself to stand any chance she gets. She opens all drawers, doors, cabinets that she can find. She pulls things out of places you were sure she wouldn't be able to get into. Tonight while I was cleaning the kitchen she had a blast pulling all of the jars and containers out of the refill box (goodies we get from Grandma Glady that need refills). She's been mastering the stairs at Wee Care for the last week or so. She's been able to crawl up them and stop at the top but then she couldn't figure out how to get to down. Today she finally figured out how to crawl down! Our little munchkin is growing up. I'm afraid she'll be walking soon, before her parents are ready for sure.

We're getting ready for Christmas. Both Jered and I are off Christmas Eve and Christmas day. We'll be spending Christmas Eve at Glady and Floyd's and Christmas day at Aunt Jean's in Monroe. Hopefully we'll get to see my two nieces at some point too. I think it's their Mom's weekend. They love their little cousin but its hard for them to understand she doesn't want to be held all the time anymore.

I'll post new pictures as soon as Jered figures out the virus.