**Dance Party**

Well, my little girls are some dancin' fools!! It has basically become a nightly ritual that we have a dance party before bedtime. It is sooo cute, how Avery has to have the perfect song and she has to have everyone one of us in the room to dance. I love how she will grab my hand or her daddy's hand and we just dance and laugh as if there is not a care in world (which when it is dance party time...there really isn't bc it is just us and it is so much fun)!! Haidyn is getting to where she really gets into the dancing too. She tries dancing standing up, but usually ends up on the floor jamming out. She watches her sister and tries to copy the moves she is doing. They are so amazing together!

I love our sweet little family moments and I think I am just so blessed to be able to share them with you!

Awesome Suprise!!!!!

Last week, I got an email from Tiffany and she said, that she wanted to thank me for everything that I have done for her Zach and for always being there for her. I really don't need anything to know how thankful she is, but she has teamed up with Julie of Sweet T Designs and Julie is redoing my blog!!!! I was in total shock and I can't tell you how exicited I am. Julie did Tiffany's blog and her blog designs are amazing! I cannot wait to see the end product. Julie is going to be busy this week and will most likely start on it next week. I will be sure to announce when it is all done, so you can head over and take a look.

Here is the email that I got from Tiffany..

Ashley-

You have been there for me throughout so much the past few months, and esp. within the last couple weeks-as well as yesterday and today!! Your friendship and your support means more than you will ever know. I wanted to do something to give back to you and let you know just how much you mean to me-just how much Zach and I appreciate you helping and totally taking over this fundraiser. Although even this can’t repay you for everything you have done, I hope it helps you realize how much you mean to us.

I recently got with Julie at Sweet T Designs and she will be making you a 3coulmn Standard Blog Design (SURPRISE!!!!); this even comes with a signature and a post divider. Julie will be getting with you so you can pick out your own template and all the details you want. All you have to do is give her the information you want on there---everything else has been taking care of :)

Thank you Ashley, thank you for helping me throughout this. I love you girl!!!

(Julie-thank you as well; you helping me do something for my friend means the world to me…I am extremely blessed to know such amazing people!!! Love you!)


Thank you ladies for this!! You 2 are amazing and you really didn't have to do this. Tiff- you know I am always here for you girl and I love being able to help you and Zach out. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

My Baby is a WALKER!!!

Last Thursday, out sweet little girl took her first big girl steps all by herself!! I have been trying ever since to get it on video and I finally did today! She is just so cute doing her wobbly walk! I just love it!!


This morning after she woke up...



Tonight, while playing in Avery's room....

Father's Day Weekend

We had such a relaxing and fun family weekend. It seems like the past couple of weekends have just been so hectic and lots of stuff going on, it was nice for it to be just us!!

Friday night- After a hot day at bootcamp and James having a hard and hot day at work, we just sat at home and relaxed. The girls were in bed pretty early, so James and I just hung out and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Every friday night we watch a show called Whale Wars on the Animal Planet. We just love it!! It is soo great to watch these ppl. risk their lives to stop the Japenese from whaling!! Too GOOD!

Saturday- I worked til about 2:00 and James got off pretty early too. We hung out at the house until it cooled off alittle bit and then took the girls over to the water park off of Chapel Rd. They had a blast! Avery was alittle aprehensive about the water at first and that is not like her at all. Tator's was all about it and just going thru the water spouts and was totally fearless. She is walking a little bit, but not enough to walk thru the water by herself. I had to help her walk around, but then she got tired of me holding onto her and she wanted to go on her own. I know I have my hands full with this girl. Avery was all about the water after a few minutes. There were alot of little ones running around everywhere and I am glad the girls had a good time. After, the water park we went and got a few groceries at HEB and came home, cooked dinner and just had another relaxing night.

Sunday- Father's Day....I woke up with the girls and we let James sleep in. I made some yummy breakfast for all of us and Avery went into our bedroom and gave James is breakfast. James ate and back to bed he went. With it getting so hot out, his job takes alot out of him and Sunday's he usually likes to just rest and be lazy. I figured since it was Father's Day and he hasn't been able to rest the past couple Sunday's, he could sleep all day if he wanted and that is what he did. Me and the girls played outside in the pool and they layed down for a nap and I got to layout some more. After the pool we went and saw my dad for a little bit and came home got James and headed to my mom's for a cookout. It was delicious and we all just sat around and talked, ate and laughed. It was a great day and I know James was sooo glad to catch up on the rest. We love you honey and you are the BEST DADDY IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND THE BEST MAN THAT I COULD EVER ASK FOR!!!!!!!!!!


She loved it!


She loved it too!


Tator's made a friend


Me and my girls


Playing in the water




Me and Tator's


Daddy and his girls


They are my world


He is so good with them


haha...posing for the camera!!

Only 2 more days-GIVEAWAY

I just wanted everyone to know about the great givaway, that you only have 2 more days to get entered into. I have been helping to raise the Pifer's some extra $$ for their fertility clinic appointment in July. We are doing some great giveaways and this weeks is AWESOME! Head over to the the Pifer Bean blog and see how to get entered www.piferbeanfund.blogspot.com!!

Thank you,
Ash

What Will The Big Announcement Be??

I wonder what the "BIG" anncouncement will be on Jon and Kate Plus 8?!? I hope that it is-they are stopping the show after this season, to work on their marriage!! I think it would be devestating for the kids if they divorce. I have a feeling that they are splitting!! It just seems lately, that they are both leading different lives and they never seem to be together. I personally think, that Jon has already checked out. It is just so sad.

Guess, we will have to tune in tonight and see. I have bootcamp tonight and we have to go help my grandma afterwards, but I already have it set to record on the DVR.

Bootcamp!!!

So...Monday, started our 5 week fitness bootcamp. I am doing it with 2 of my sweetest and greatest friends Tiffany and Kristina. I was unable to attend on Monday bc I had a horrible sunburn and also, could not get out of work on time. I went yesterday and HOLY CRAP it is soooooo hard!! It is probably on the most challenging things that I have every had to do. It probably wouldn't be so bad if we weren't doing it during the hottest part of the day! It is outdoors at Woodway park and I guess with it being so hot out, we will just sweat more and drop more lbs.. I don't necessarily want to lose anymore weight, I just really want to tone up. I am so unbelievably sore today and it is so hard to walk and pick the girls up! I love that I am doing it with these 2 ladies bc we are each others support system and it is a great experience. Tiffany is going to be coming over to my house every monday, wednesday and friday after she gets off of work to hangout till the camp starts. I took a before pic in a swim suit and I am going to take the after pic, when camp is done. We are already talking about just continuing to go thru the next camp, that will start after ours is finished! I can't wait to see the end results.


Before camp


Me and Tiff before leaving the house...



Us right after the camp was over. Our shirts are soaked bc of the ice rags that we kept putting on our necks!! We were sooooooooo hot and looking all sorts of crazy!! I love you Tiff...messy hair and all!!:)


After camp

Weekend with old friends

This past weekend was so great and relaxing. We hung with some of our old high school friends and it was a blast. I love getting together with them and reliving the old days. There are some pretty funny and crazy things we use to do!!

Saturday- I took the girls to get their pics made..as you know. Afterwards, our friend Selena was intown with her little girl and we decided we wanted to cookout and sit out back around the pool. It was James, me, Avery, Haidyn, Selena, Ryann (her baby), Ashley, Gracie (her baby), Jessica (Selena's cousing from S.C.), James and Mason. We cooked chicken, steak, hotdogs, potatoe salad, some kinda macaroni salad, corn on the cob and it was all soo good. We just had a few beers and relaxed. Ashley had just gotten back from her trip to Mexico and OMG..she was so dark! Selena and James swam with the girls bc I don't yet feel comfortable in a swim suit and they loved it. We all then went inside and everyone played with my little girls. They loved them and could not get over how big they are getting and how funny they are. Ryann fell asleep about the time we got there, so she missed out on the fun :( The girls watched the Lion King (I LOVE that movie) and Selena built them a really nice pallet on the floor. We just had so much fun over there and I can't wait for Sel's to come back, so we can do it again.

Sunday- I woke up pretty early with the girls and we just played. We took them over to my mom's about 1 bc we had to meet Ash at Ridgewood about 1:30, to go out on the boat. It was me, James, Ash, Matt and Cameron. We got on the boat and drove out to the middle and just parked it, listened to music and Ash and I layed out on the front of the boat and chit-chatted for about an hour. The guys then decided they want to ski alittle bit. It was really choppy out there, but they all did pretty good. After, they were done, we all just jumped in the water and floated on life jackets and cooled off for a while. Me and Ash got out there and skiied and skiing is the biggest whole body workout ever!! It is killer! We then went to the Speegleville Marina and got something to eat at the Slippery Minnow (it was yummy) and then went home. We finally, got off the lake about 7:30 and we were burnt to a crisp! James was using sunblock the whole time, but he burned worse than I did. We had so much fun and can't wait to have many more fun times on the boat.

Here are some pics of our weekend....

Our Sweet Girls

Part of my grandma's gift to Haidyn, was for her to pay to get Haidyn's 1 yr. pics made. We went over to Sear's on Saturday night and I think they turned out pretty cute. I wanted to go ahead and get a new family pic of us made, but James didn't get off of work in time, so we will be doing that in the next couple of weeks. While we were there, I went ahead and got a 2 yr. pic of Avery made. They did really well and it is such a workout to get them to both look at the same time and to stay in their spot. Here are a few of the pics...

Haidyn's 1 yr. check-up.....

Today, we had Haidyn's 1 yr. check-up and everything went really good!

The dr. said, that she is a very smart little girl and she is advanced for her age. He said, that she is doing alot of stuff that 15 month old babies do. Haidyn weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 19.5 in. long the day she was born. Her weight today at her checkup was 20 lbs. 3 oz., she was 2ft. 4 in. and her head circumference was 44.2 cm.. She was in the 45th percentile for height and weight. She had to get 5 shots and her finger pricked for a blood count test. She cried so hard and it was so hard to see her go thru the pain. I was sick at my stomach all morning knowing we had to get shots. I took Avery with me and it was her 1st time to go with me, when Haidyn had to get shots. Avery DID NOT like it when they were making her sister cry!! Avery would cry and yell at the nurse, "NO, NO, STOP HURTING SISTER"!!!! It was sweet and Avery LOVES her little sister.

I asked the dr. about her carseat needing to face the back, and he told me that they are recommending that they face the back until the age of 2, but it is not law yet. So, I am guessing she will be flipped around. Thank you Courtney for informing me of that!!

Haidyn did really well all day and didn't act like her legs were bothering her to much. This evening she got a little cranky bc I think they were alittle sore, so I gave her some baby motrin, a nice warm bath and she is now sound asleep. I pray that they don't bother her tomorrow.


Playing in her room after her checkup


Not even acting like her boo-boo's bother her.


These are just 3 of 5 bandaids she had on her legs

Sabrina Update

I have talked to Sabrina the past couple of days and I have been trying to talk her into starting a blog, so we can keep up with Michael and his progress. She created a blog thru caring bridge and I thought that I would share the link with everyone. You have to create an account to view it, but it takes a second to do it. Go and check it out and sign their guestbook. I know it would really make her day to know that sooo many ppl. care and are praying for them.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelcastillo

Thank you,
Ash

Slippin' and Slidin'

At Haidyn's party, a couple of family members thought that Avery needed gifts too, so she didn't feel left out. The girl is SPOILED!!! One of the gifts she got was a Dora Slip-n-Slide.

Avery would live outside in the water if I would let her...seriously! She wakes up saying swimmin' pool or she would take 10 baths a day bc it meant being in the water, I have to sneak and take a shower bc she thinks she needs to get in there too. You should see the way her little eyes light up when I ask her if she wants to go swimming. It is so adorable. So, to have Dora (her favorite cartoon ever) and a water contraption in 1, is like the best thing to ever happen to her!!! hahaha...we put it out in the front for them on Sunday and they had so much fun. Haidyn, would just sit there at first, but then started crawling up and down it and slippin' around. Avery learned towards the end how to run and slide. Avery would run and slide towards Haidyn and they would both just crack up. It was alot of fun to watch them and I have to say, Thank you to James's sister for the wonderful gift.




This face makes me laugh!


Our sweet girls


OMG....she loves it!


Caught her sliding in action


They are just so sweet


Haidyn wearing her new swimsuit


:)


Haidyn sliding


Avery sliding

Big Girl Carseat

Haidyn got her big girl carseat for her birthday, from her Lala. Avery's is pink and brown and I wanted for Haidyn's to be the same colors. It is really cute and Haidyn absolutely loves it! I still feel like she is just too little be facing forwards and to be sitting upright, but it is time. She likes being able to see everything in front of her and Avery likes for her to be facing forward too. They both are able to interact with each other more.

Tator's eyes in some of the pics are swollen looking and today she is running a low grade fever, has a runny nose and is hoarse. I guess maybe her allergies are bothering her :( I am going to continue to monitor her fever and other symptoms and will take her to the dr. if they get any worse. If not, then I will just ask the dr. to check her on Friday at her checkup.


Last time in her baby carseat


1st time in her Big Girl carseat and she was asleep for it!


1st ride awake and she loved it!


Looking at Daddy


We were at our destination and Avery was passed out and Haidyn was as happy as could be.

Our Baby Girl is Finally 1!!

Saturday, June 6th 2009, our sweet girl finally turned the BIG 1!! She had a fantastic birthday! She started it by sleeping till 10:15 in the morning..hahaha sleepy head. I fed her a yummy breakfast and then we had to go out and run some last minute errands. We went and picked up Tiff and headed out to do some decorating. Her party was really fun and turned out really cute. This little girl got sooooo many cute clothes and I don't know if she will be able to wear them all before summer is over! haha....I was really interested in wether or not she would really dig into and play with her cake, or just kinda look at it. Well, Haidyn went to town on it and I am so happy. We got some really good pics of her getting all messy. We had family and friends over, cooked some hotdogs and just hungout. It was a great time and I am so glad that everyone was able to celebrate this HUGE milestone in Haidyn's life. I can't believe that she is one and before I know it she will be starting kindergarten!

Here are a few things that she is doing:
-Says mama, dada, Hi, sassius (suppose to be cassius-our boxer), no no, papa, nana
-can stand on her own, but when she realizes what she is doing, she quickly sits down
-she walks around, but with much needed help
-sleeps thru the night
-sucks out of straws
-NO MORE BOTTLES!!! At 1, I take the bottles away
-She doesn't use a pacifier. She used it for about the 1st 5 months of her life and then just stopped one day.
-eats anything you put in front of her!!!

She has her 1 yr. check-up on Friday and I am totally dreading it bc of the stupid shots!! I will give an update on her weight and everything.

Here are some pics.....


She loved digging into her cake!!


Our sweet family before the party starts


Her banner


Her cake and cupcakes


One of my centerpieces I made


One of the smaller centerpieces


The back patio


Opening up gifts


In the bouncy house. I love these baby blues!!


Our sweet Avery playing in the misty thing


Giving daddy some sweet messy sugars


Birthday Girl


I am smitten over her!


Tiff and I


Avery and Daddy after tasting Haidyn's cake


Talking to my sweet girl


About to go wash off


Jay and Zach


I love this pic