Go Wildcats and other things!

The other day Ashley was playing by herself - which she has finally started to do...and I heard her talking to her baby - She loaded up the baby in her stroller and proceeded to bend down to it's level and say in a sweet little two year old voice, "Baby want to go to zoo?, OK" got back up took the stroller by the handles and wheeled the baby across the room to her little table...I watched her for a little while, curious as to what she was up to, as she was busy going back and forth across the room - finding animals and placing them at the zoo {under the chairs of the table}.

It was just so cute to see her use her imagination in this way - we'd never done this before - she thought it up all on her own. I snapped this pic in the early stages of the zoo creation and then went back to cleaning up the kitchen...
This is the final result of her zoo - she even fed all the animals...what a superb little zoo keeper she is ;) She is so sweet and makes me smile each and every day!
Ashley has been asking for a big girl bed for a few months now...but mommy has been scared...this girl is one WILD sleeper, thumping around doing flips all night long...so I've been hesitant...well, she is persistant and finally won out the other night....so we put her mattress on the floor to test it out...see what it'd be like with no boundaries to keep this wild thang in bed....I heard a thud...went upstairs and found her like this....went back downstairs for the camera - I know...a normal pre-blogging days mom probably would have immediately scooped up their fallen child...but nope, not me....I thought BLOG WORTHY? YES! I did put her back on the mattress after the picture though :) where apparently she stayed the rest of the night {shocker} - the next night she stayed at Nana and Pops house and then the following night she requested to sleep in her crib again...so who knows - we'll just stay in the crib till she asks for a big girl bed again...

So this weekend marked Eric & I's high school reunion {yes, we went to the same high school --- along with 1480 other people who also graduated with us --- and no, we did not know each other --- we met after we graduated}

Here is a pic of Ash at the reunion picnic we went to earlier in the day - where Ash got to meet the Plano Wildcat - she wasn't too sure about him...we assume that is because even at this young age she already knows to despise the Wildcat - as you see she will go to the Wildcat's rival high school and be a Wolf when she gets older...

So the reunion itself....It was fun - I knew no one - Eric knew everyone - seriously I thought I had friends in high school...where did they all go? Not quite sure...but they were definitely MIA at this shindig...I still had fun though :) Even though I had to tell about 200 people that yes, I did actually exist back then and I was sorry that I did not know them.

Here's a quick shot of E & I about to head out the door to go to the big event...

It's been awhile...

since my last post....so get ready for a really long one with lots of pictures! Time seems to escape me these days :) So here is a recap of what little miss Ash has been up to recently.

LITTLE CHEFS

Ashley & Aidan have been busy making pizzas and hanging out at each other's houses.

CIRCUS TIME
We went to the Circus this past weekend with Gigi, Granken, Michael, Rachel, Mommy, Daddy, Ashley, Nana, Pops, Tiffani, Larry, Alex, & Sam. Ashley seemed to really enjoy it - I think her favorite part was seeing the horses, miniature ponies, and trick dogs :) This girl LOVES animals!!

This was adorable - so I know you most definitely SHOULD NOT take pictures during the National Anthem - but I looked over and she had her little hand over her heart....so I did it - I took a picture...SORRY! Couldn't resist!
Gotta love that $11 cotton candy - I guess it's worth $11 because it comes in a floppy hat?? HA!

And I think she may have learned a trick or two herself - see pictures below of the stuffed elephant that she got at the circus!!! Pretty silly! She does this AT LEAST 10 TIMES A DAY - it is hilarious - she goes around the whole house!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!
Eric celebrated his birthday on August 4th - Ashley and I had fun baking a cake and decorating it for him!
Daddy got a Wii for his bday and Ashley LOVES to 'play game' as she calls it. She's actually really good at Wii golf and boxing! Pretty funny to watch her - she gets really into it!


HOUSTON ROAD TRIP
Ashley and I went to visit Ashley & Halle in Houston - we all had a great time! The girls are so cute together and are still asking about each other 3 weeks later! The girls dressed up like princesses one day and had their toes painted --- they thought they were hot stuff! We also went to a fun little water park one day to cool off in this heat!

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