And here it is - Ashley's House Debut

Granken put the last finishing touches on Ashley's house this weekend and here it is :)

Ashley absolutely loves playing in it and watering her flowers --- and ringing her doorbell (yes, my dad put a doorbell on the house for little miss Ash).

Dear Granken,

Thank you for the countless hours in the hot sun building Ashley this amazing playhouse that she will treasure always and that I know she will make many great memories in throughout the years! We all love it - you did such a wonderful job - you're the best!

The Pool, The Aquarium & Playgroup

Last Sunday we headed over to Gigi & Granken's to have some ribs and swim. We had fun just relaxing and hanging out with Matt & Kris too. Kris ----- check out Ash's coverup --- CUTE! Thank you!
And chasing my parents poor 15 year old dog around the kitchen....We love you LADY!

Daddy had a vacation day on Monday - so we loaded up the car and headed downtown to the Aquarium. Ashley had a great time and loved seeing the penguins and all the birds and the big turtles. But her absolute favorite was seeing "ratatouille" ---- so there was this one see through cage with two big birds in it - and Ashley found a tiny mouse - perhaps a rat - we're not quite sure --- but started jumping up and down and saying "touille, touille, found it touille" --- Eric said a quiet prayer that "touille" would not be eaten at that moment by the birds :)

We also hosted playgroup at our house on Wednesday - it was fun...HOT - but fun. The kids had a blast playing in the pool and with Ashley's new house in the backyard.

Happy Birthday Miss Ashley

Ashley turned 2 years old this past Saturday, June 28th. We started the morning off with a yummy birthday breakfast at Le Peep {our favorite sunrise eatery}. We are so grateful to have this little bundle of energy in our lives.

• She is the most loving child - always giving hugs and kisses when saying goodbye.
• She is so thoughtful - always watching out for babies and making sure they are ok and have their bottles and toys.
• She is really smart and has mastered so much in such a short period of time.
• She is silly and always making us laugh - she is our little family clown.
• She is tough - hardly ever letting a boo-boo get her down.
• She is a giggle-box and once she starts it's hard for her to stop.
• She is beautiful and always comes with a smile.
• She is so special - our precious little toot. She was so excited for her birthday and for her party.

We had a family party at Chuck E. Cheese and Ashley had a blast! She enjoyed every minute of it and loved all the attention from her family. She looked adorable in her little birthday dress and matching headband and shoes that she picked out {note - her sense of fashion is improving, guess that comes with age --- scroll down a few posts to see what I'm talking about}. Also note the bracelet - she thought she was hot stuff with that on --- it was sooo adorable - she kept showing everyone her bracelet :) I think we have a girly girl on our hands ;) She did great with her cake and opened all her presents.

And she absolutely LOVED playing all the games!

Uncle Michael's girlfriend Rachel gave Ashley 400 tokens - she has some Chuckee Connections :) so needless to say Ashley, Alex & Sam had tons and tons of fun playing all the games and riding the rides over and over again! Thanks Rachel!

Ashley loves playing Air Hockey! and she's actually pretty good at it...Mommy was impressed ;)

It is hard to believe that I have a two year old daughter - these past two years have gone by much too quickly. I love each and every moment that I spend with her - she is my joy and I am so proud of the perfect little toddler that she has become.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASH!

I LOVE YOU! ~ Mommy

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of JULY!

We had a fun and busy 4th weekend! We saw fireworks on the 3rd in Addison - Ash loved eating a picnic dinner and then staying up late for the fireworks show. She also thoroughly enjoyed some chocolate dippin dots and then some of Aunt Kristen's raspberry Gelato :)

Then on the 4th we decorated her little ride-on bus and headed over to her first parade debut in Alex & Sam's annual neighborhood Independence Day Parade. The kids had a blast walking in the parade.

Here is Ashley on her bus that she helped decorate.

And here are the kids enjoying their CANDY from the parade. Gotta love suckers and snow cones!

Mommy & Daddy went to a rough riders game and watched fireworks again. It was a good weekend! and the best part is that it's not over yet!

Splash Pads are WONDERFUL!

We love going to splash pads :) Ashley met her cousins Alex & Sam at the splash pad last week and the kids had a blast playing in the water and keeping cool.