Trip to the Zoo.

Aunt Karen, Grandma Kennedy, Shirley, Amy and Ryker, Diane, Ashlyn, Carter and I all went to the zoo today. Carter's 1st trip to the zoo and he slept through most of it. Ashlyn wanted to go see the bears. Aunt Karen was on vacation a week ago and went to Yellowstone park. She sent a postcard to Ashlyn with bears on the front and Ashlyn said she wanted to go see bears. We went to the dolphin show and to an elephant show. I really enjoyed the elephant show. We were all ready to go by about 2 pm. Ashlyn was asleep before we even made it out to the interstate.

Ryker's 1st Birthday and Jeff and Sara's Pre-4th of July BBQ

Today was a very busy day. Mike was on call yesterday so he came home and slept in the morning. Ashlyn, Carter and I went to Ryker's 1st birthday party. Ashlyn loves playing with Ryker. She decided he needed help opening gifts. Ryker did a great job with his cake as you can see. Happy 1st Birthday Ryker!!





We had to leave the birthday party to go to Jeff and Sara's house for a pre-4th of July cookout. They always have a cookout on July 4th but this year they were heading to see her sister in South Carolina. We had a great time! We got to meet the new addition to the Johnson family..Delia. She was born a couple of weeks before Carter. Sara had lots of fun things planned for the kids. They played in the sprinkler, used window markers to draw on the door, and had water balloons to play with. Good food, Good friends...what more could you ask for.

Carter hanging out with the boys.

Alexis


Lincoln,Caleigh, and Ashlyn playing with the window markers.

Our house is for sale!

So much has happend in this past week. We found out that the house we have been keeping an eye on is going to go on the market in the next 2 weeks. It is a foreclosure that is in Mike's parent's neighborhood. Mike talked with the realtor and he is interested in letting us make a move on it before they put it on the market. We had a lot to do. We put our house up for sale, packed items and got it ready to show, and worked on getting financing for the new house. My head has been spinning all week! I'll keep you all posted on what happens.

Carter is 1 month old!

Where has this month gone? My baby boy is already a month old! Carter had his 1month old check up with Dr Stein and I had my postpartum check up with my new Doctor, Dr. Hilligar. Carter is 9 lbs! We couldn't believe it! He went from 7 lbs to 9 lbs in just 15 days. After being worried about him for 3 weeks to get up to birth weight, he sure took off. He is such a good baby. He didn't make a peep for 3weeks and then he started grunting. He spits up a lot so we have to keep him elevated for a long time after he eats. This is new for me because Ashlyn never spit up. Carter isn't sleeping in his bed yet because of this situation. He cries when he is hungry or tired and he has been eating every 2 hours.

Our 5 year anniversary and Father's day!

Friday, June 19th was our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe it has been 5 years already. Time really does go faster the older you get. Mike had the day off because he was on call yesterday. We did our usual routine, dinner at the Melting Pot. We go there once a year on our anniversary and love it! Spending time with Mike is priceless. I enjoy every minute we have together and I am extremely blessed to have such a wonderful, thoughtful husband who loves to spend time with me.


Saturday, June 20th was a fun day! We got Ashlyn's big ball sprinkler out and she played in it until Mike decided to wash my Piolet. Ashlyn thought that she needed to wash her car along with daddy. She had colored all over her car with sidewalk chalk earlier in the week and it really needed washed off. Once the car's were clean, we had to try out a kite. We had a small amount of wind but not enough to really fly the kite. We tried and succeeded a few times but they were very short lived. This evening we went to Indiana Downs with Brian, Kim, Lincoln and Eva. The boys bet on the horses and the kids played on the playgound. They even had these giant rocking horses that the kids were able to ride. If you ask Ashlyn who her boyfriend is she always says "Lincoln". We ended the day with ice cream from Ritter's.



Sunday, June 21st, Father's Day! Mike was on call at the hospital today,so I took the kids downtown to see him. It was a short visit but we were able to eat lunch with him. Ashlyn kept saying, "Happy Mother's Day" instead of Father's Day for some reason. It got to be quite funny after awhile.

Big Girl at Night.

Mike was off today so we decided to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese. Carter's 1st trip to Chuck E Cheese and Ashlyn told him all about it before we left. Usually, if we tell her to talk to Carter she tells him the story about the trash man taking her ba ba's! HA HA. I don't know why she always tells him that story but she does. It is so funny! Now the big news of the day. I finally decided to have Ashlyn sleep in her underwear and guess what??? No accident! I'm so excited! My little girl is growing up so fast!

Ashlyn and Daddy going through the tunnels for the first time.

Carter is so excited about his first trip to Chuck E Cheese.

Wedding, Yard Sale and Visit.

On Friday, June 12th, Ashlyn left with Mamaw and Papaw Sanford for a weekend trip to Angola Indiana. Mike's cousin Zach got married to Courtney at a State Park on Saturday. We weren't going because Carter is so little but they wanted to take Ashlyn so we could have a weekend with just the baby and so she could have some fun at the Park. Lisa, a friend from MOPS brought us dinner this evening. Mike came home from work but was on call at Hancock Hospital for the evening. Brian and Diane came to pick up Ashlyn and at the same time Mike was leaving so in a mad rush to go to the hospital. In a blink everyone was gone. It was just Carter and I at home and boy was it easy.

Saturday, June 13th. I decided to do the community yard sale since Mike and I didn't go to the wedding. I was up early getting things ready and we didn't end up having much traffic down our way. We closed up shop at 1pm and I decided to do a little shopping myself. Later that evening, Ashley, Kaylei, Alex and Laura came by to visit. Mike and I ordered pizza for dinner and was able to watch a movie in peace. It was a quiet evening.


Sunday, June 14th. Mike was on call so he was gone all day. Ashlyn came back in the afternoon and told me all about her weekend. She was so excited to tell me about swimming, dancing and even riding a horse! Yes, she actually rode a horse all by herself. She wouldn't even get 10 feet from it the day before and then she rode it the next day. What a big girl! When she gets her mind set on something she does it.

Dinner with Friends.

Chris, Val and the boys were here for the week, so they planned a dinner so we could all meet. Brian and Kim hosted the dinner at their house and the other guests were Jeff and Sara. It was great to be with everyone and to see the kids play together. We are now up to 7 kids total. We didn't stay too long because Mike is on call tomorrow but we had a wonderful time and it was great to see how much Josiah and Titus have changed. Kids grow up so quickly, especially when you don't get to see them very often. We look forward to our next visit with them.

3rd visit to the doctor.

My mom went back home yesterday :(, so today is my first day to have both of my kids without help. I also made it a little crazy because I had to take Carter back to the doctor for his weight check. Yea!! He is finally above his birth weight. He weighed 7 lbs even. I think we were all excited about this. Amanda my group leader from MOPS brought us food for dinner and we greatly appreciated that. Things went pretty good today. Ashlyn had a few meltdowns but all in all it was a good day. I just have to figure out how to balance everything and get a schedule.

2nd visit to the doctor.

This week my mom has come to help me. Mike had to start a new rotation that is a really bad one. He won't be home much so my mom has come to help me. I took Carter back to the doctor to check his weight. He still isn't back to his birth weight but he has gained some. He is now at 6.6 lbs. We will be back to check his weight again next week to see if he is up to birth weight.

Mamaw Carter and the grandkids.

Carter's first bath at home!

We had visitors all day today. This morning, Beau, Jill and Blaine all came up to see Carter. The kids got to play together and we ordered pizza from Ordinary's for lunch. After they left, we gave Carter his first bath at home. He enjoyed it. The initial shock was bad but after that he loved it! We had Brian, Kim, Lincoln and Eva to come visit this evening. They brought us dinner, Brian's BBQ pork and it was fantastic. They just had a little girl a month ago. It was so crazy to see how much bigger she was compared to Carter. What a difference one month makes.

Our first day out!

Today was our first day out of the house. Mike, Ashlyn, Carter and I had to go back to the hospital for Carter's newborn screening test and we had to get his umbilical cord clamp cut off. They had forgot to do it before we left so we had to go back and do it. After we did that, we went and had Carter's newborn screen test done. We had to come back and do it because we left the hospital early on Sunday. Once we finished the test, we went upstairs to see Dr. White, Diane, and all the other people at my OB office. This was our final goodbye to Dr. White. We will miss her greatly and appreciate everything she has done for us. After a quick visit, we had to make our way to Dr. Stein's office for Carter's 1st visit. His weight had dropped even more from when we came home from the hospital. He is now at 6.4 lbs and 19 inches in height. Ashlyn was very interested in what Dr. Stein was doing to her baby brother. She was watching very closely. We have to come back next week to see how his weight is. Everything else looks great!

Home from the hospital.

Mike and I decided this morning that we would go ahead and head home. Mike wanted to grill out and listen to the Indy 500 race and I wanted to spend time with my parents. It was great to come home and Ashlyn was really glad to see us. We just listened to the race, ate lunch and then had family visitors that evening.

Ashlyn's welcome home kiss.


Stokley's welcome home kiss.


Carter's first nap at home.


The new Sanford family

We have a new baby boy!

Today was my delivery day! Diane came to pick me up today because Mike was on call last night. He doesn't get off work until 7am and that is when I have to be at the hospital. We took Ashlyn to Amy and Robert's house, and off to the hospital we went. I was registered by 7:30am and had my IV in by 7:40am. Dr. White checked me at 7:47am, and I was the same measurements that I was on Monday (2-3 cm, 80% effaced, and 0 station). She broke my water at 7:55am,and by 8am, they had started me on Ptocin. The nurse came back in at 8:15am, raised the ptocin amount, and checked my blood pressure. At 11am the nurse checked me, but I had not changed much. I thinned out more but not much progress. My parents drove up to Indy this morning and were at the hospital by 12pm. My contractions were becoming much stronger by 12:30pm, and Dr. White said I was still smiling, so she raised the ptocin more frequently. At 2pm, they did another check on me. I was 4-5cm, same effacement, and I had dropped a bit more. The nurse told me I could have a liquid menu to choose something to eat, and I couldn't believe it. This hospital was so much different than the last one. I couldn't have anything but ice chips last time, and this time I can have water and now a liquid menu. Needless to say, I was extremely excited about that! At 2:30pm I had 2 bowls of cherry jello, and it was fantastic! By now my contractions were much harder, but I was still able to breathe through them. My nurse came back in to raise my ptocin, and I had just had 3 contractions right in a row that were extremely bad. I decided to get an epidural. At 3pm the anesthesiologist came in to give me my epidural. He was really nice and explained everything he was doing. Then at 3:15pm the nurse checked me and I was 6-7cm, 90% effaced, and 0. Dr. White came in at 4:25pm to check me and by then I was 8cm, complete and +1. I had to have the anesthesiologist come in and turn down the epidural because I felt short of breath. Once he turned it down, I was great. At 5pm they checked me again, and I was 8-9cm. Finally, at 5:35pm I tried pushing and after a few pushes the nurse decided that I was able to go ahead and start pushing for real. After Dr. White came in and everything was ready to go, I pushed for 9 minutes (5:40-5:49) and it was all over. Carter was born at 5:49pm, 6 lbs 14 oz, 20 3/4 inches long. His head circumference was 32 and Apgars 8,9. Mike's reaction when he came out was, "Another Ashlyn". Carter really looked like Ashlyn did when she was born only he is much smaller. We were blessed with a healthy baby boy and we are all doing very well. Thanks for all your prayers during this time.

38 week OB appointment!

Today was my 38 week OB appointment! Mike was on call last night and was able to come with me today. Carter's heartrate was 140 and when Dr. White measured me she said that I had dropped since last week. When she checked me I was 2-3 cm dilated, 80% effaced and +1. She also went ahead and stripped my membrane. We are less than a week away and getting very excited to see our little boy. Please keep us in your prayers all week.

37 week OB appointment!

Today was my 37 week OB appointment! Carter's heartrate was really low, 125. Leslie said, "I think he is snoozing." :) Dr. White came in and checked me. I am 2cm dilated! We are just in a waiting game now.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! These were the words I got to hear out of Ashlyn's mouth, plain as day. It made me grin from ear to ear. :) We went to church and then off to Mike's Aunt Shirley's house for lunch. Since I was a mother and I was the pregnant one there, they made me go first. I didn't argue about that! It was a great day! The boys played cornhole and Ashlyn played with Riker. We left Shirley's house and stopped by to see Grandma and Grandpa Sanford. Kaylyn has some baby chicks and Ashlyn was wanting to see them along with the sheep. I feel very blessed as a mother and I am looking forward to having a baby boy in the mix real soon.

Mark and Lori's graduation

A big day in the Sanford family! We met for breakfast to celebrate Mark and Lori's graduation at La Peeps. Both of their graduations were at 10 am and lasted for 2 hours. We went to see Mark graduate from the dental school and tried to make it up to see Lori graduate from medical school but by the time we got up there it was over. Congrats Mark and Lori, we love you!


Brian, Diane, Lori, Grandma and Grandpa Sanford

36 OB appointment!

Today was my 36 week OB appointment! Dr. White will be checking me from here on out to see how I am progressing. Today I am 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. Dr. White sent me over to have an ultrasound done so we could see how big Carter is. His heartrate was 137 and according to the measurements, he is already 6 lbs. 12 oz! Dr. White doesn't really want him to be any bigger than Ashlyn was, but right now he is measuring much bigger. I am praying that he isn't a big baby.

Visits to Chuck E Cheese, Zoo and The Children's Museum

April 27, 2009-We are going to try to do some fun activities this week since Mike is on vacation. He has a lot of other things he needs to get done as well, but we want to make it fun. This morning we decided to go run some errands in Greenwood and then go to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. I am trying to find a double stroller that will be compatible with my Chicco Key fit infant seat, but I'm not having much luck. I wish Chicco would hurry up and make a double stroller to fit their infant seat. I heard it would be out in 2010 but I need one now. We spent some of the morning looking at different strollers and picking up some items for the baby. Ashlyn was very excited to go to lunch. All she wanted to do was play. We finally convinced her to come and eat and then we were back at it again. All she really likes doing is putting in the coins. She loves the riding toys but she would be happy just going around putting in coins. She did find a new favorite game this time. There was a telephone game where she can use a real phone and dial on the screen and talk to Chucky. She did this 5 times and finally I told her we needed to play another game. By the time we left, it was way past her nap time. She fell sound asleep on the ride home. She is still asking for her baba, but we just keep telling her the trash man came and took it. She didn't take a really long nap today and I'm sure it's because of the pacifier. We will have to see as the week progresses how things go.

April 29, 2009-Today we decided to take a trip to the zoo. We haven't taken Ashlyn since last year so it will be all new to her. We started with the water animals and ended at the playground. I think her favorite part was the playground, go figure. We did get to see the dolphin show this time and it was neat. Ashlyn loved hearing the dolphins talk and kept making the same noises at the show.

April 30, 2009-We went to the children's museum today. Ashlyn kept saying she wanted to go see the dinosaurs. She liked the ones outside the museum but didn't care for the ones inside that were only bones. :) We ended our day with a carousel ride.

Indiana Downs

We had an early start this morning. Mike, Ashlyn and I went with Brian and Diane to walk in the 5K Courage and Valor race for the fire department. We had a beautiful morning to do this. The afternoon was pretty quiet and then we decided to have a fun trip to the race track (Indiana Downs). This is the first weekend for live racing. Tim, Amy, her sister, Myles, John, Erika and the kids all met us there. We had a fun time. Kaden and Ashlyn loved seeing the horses and playing on the playground. The boys ended up losing every race they bet on but we all had a wonderful time together.

No more pacifier.

Today is the day I have been dreading for about 2 years. We decided that we would take Ashlyn's pacifier away. She only uses it for her naptime and bedtime, but it is a comfort for her. We said a while back that when Mike was on vacation in April we would do this, and today is the first day of his vacation. Here is what we did. Ashlyn loves to watch for the trash man and every Wednesday she hears him coming and watches for him out her window. When he moves down the street, she asks to see him again and again. So, I decided to tell her that the trash man was going to come and take all of her baba's (pacifiers). I have been telling her for a long time that he would be coming soon. We let her have it for her nap today but we told her that this would be the last time to have it. We told her the trash man was going to come and get them tonight and she wouldn't have them anymore. After her nap, we went downtown for the FDIC pumper pull contest and dinner. We were also able to go for another swim in the pool. When we got back in the room, we put her p.j's on and Mike went to get the car. He told her in the car that the trash man came while we were gone and took all her baba's. When I got in the car, she asked me for her baba and I told her the same thing. She never asked for it on the way home. When we arrived home, we did her bedtime routine and put her in bed. She asked me again, "Where baba at?" I told her again that the trash man came and took them all. She just said, "Okay" and layed down to sleep. Mike and I stayed up for a while just in case. She never came out and she slept through the night! The only thing was that she got up really early the next morning because she didn't have it to sooth her back to sleep. WOW!!! Who would have thought it would have gone this well. Mike couldn't believe it either. I told him, I had been praying for this and I know God was comforting her. It couldn't have gone this well without his hand in it.

Visiting the FDIC conference

Mike was on call today, so Ashlyn and I met Diane and Brian after her nap to go to the FDIC conference. Ashlyn got a new firefighter helmet, badge sticker, flashlight and loved seeing all the firetrucks and ambulances. After we left the conference, we met Mark and Lori to eat dinner at a neat place called Creation's Cafe. They had the best gelato (ice cream) ever! I would go back just to get the gelato anytime.

Swimming at the Westin downtown.

FDIC is this week. Brian and Diane are staying in a hotel across from the conference. Mike, Ashlyn and I went and met them downtown to eat and swim. Ashlyn had a ball! She was such a dare devil compared to last year. She wanted to be thrown in and she even treaded water with her floats on while Mike was close by.

My 34 week OB appointment!

Today was my 34 week OB appointment! Carter's heartrate was 142 and I am still on track with my measurements. One more month and we will have a new baby boy!

A new addition to the Deprez family!

Kim and Brian had a little girl, Eva Grace on April 15, 2009. We took dinner to them today and Ashlyn got to play with Lincoln. Ashlyn wanted Lincoln to wrestle with her and they were so funny to watch. Ashlyn will have another little girl to play with here in the future, Yea!

Eva Grace

Ashlyn and Lincoln

Wrestling

Easter.

This morning Ashlyn got up and wanted to see the Easter bunny. I told her we were going out to see if he brought her an Easter basket. She was excited to see a big basket full of goodies. After we opened our baskets we had breakfast and got ready for church. After church, we had another Easter egg hunt at my parents house. By this time, Ashlyn is really getting into the egg hunts. Once we finished the egg hunt, I loaded the car and we headed down to Gram's for lunch. It was a wonderful meal and we got to see a lot of my family. Now we're off to Indy. We left later than I had expeced so we didn't get back to Indy to see all the Kennedy family but we did get to see some of them. Brian and Diane had Easter at their house this year. Ashlyn got to open her Easter basket and one for Carter from Brian and Diane. We ate dinner and then ended up coming home. I was actually contracting a lot today. I think it was just because of all the traveling but just to make sure we went home and I rested. When we got home, I had to get out the Easter baskets for Mike, Ashlyn and Stokley. I think Ashlyn is covered in the candy department until next year. We ended our busy day by doing the last resurrection egg. Ashlyn didn't understand why the last egg was empty. I explained it but she decided she was more interested in her basket of goodies from the Easter bunny instead.

Saturday before Easter.

Today was a busy day full of Easter egg hunts. We woke up early and got ready to go see Beau, Jill and Blaine. Then, we were off to the Winslow Easter egg hunt. It was a bit muddy to say the least but we still went. They had a tone of eggs and lots of prizes. Blaine and Ashlyn both won a prize from the fire department. Durning the hunt Ashlyn fell backwards on her bottom and was wet and muddy. Before we got back into the car, I had to strip her down to her underwear and put her in the carseat. When we got back to Jill's house, she ran a load of laundry to get everything cleaned. We had two kids running around playing in shirts and underwear. It was so cute! :) We stayed and played until around 12 and then we went back to my parents for lunch. Ashlyn fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep until about 1:30 and I had to get her up for another Easter egg hunt. This time my mom and I took Ashlyn to the Moose Lodge Easter egg hunt with my cousin Kayla's kids. They had an enormous amount of eggs and not very many kids to pick them up. Ashlyn ended up with close to 30 eggs! By now, she is a pro at finding easter eggs. We came back home and Ashlyn had to show Papaw all her candy. She was very excited and full of sugar today. By night time, you could tell that she was wired because I never let her have candy. Since Easter is tomorrow, we decorated the eggs I brought with us. I bought Ashlyn an Elmo decorating kit. She didn't really get into it like I thought she would. Maybe next year. We did get some decorated and they looked really cute.

Good Friday.

For Easter this year, I bought Ashlyn the Resurrection Eggs so I could tell her the story of why we celebrate Easter. She loved this activity and I think she learned from it. Yesterday, Mike was off from work so we decided to dye Easter eggs with Ashlyn. She wasn't very patient while we waited for the eggs to darken, so we decided to take a bath to pass some time. When we came back to take them out she was excited to put more back in. We will decorate them at my parents this weekend.

Ashlyn and I left for Petersburg this morning at 6:30 am. I thought she would sleep on the way down but as soon as I woke her up she was excited to leave and didn't sleep. It was actually a nice ride down. Ashlyn did great and we didn't have any traffic. We arrived in Petersburg long enough to say "Hi" and unload the car, then we were off to Illinois. We stopped in Vincennes for a few things and grabbed lunch to take with us. When we arrived at my Grandma's house we went inside and Aunt Cindy and Uncle Terry came over to eat lunch with us. Brandt (my cousin) came to visit and then later my other cousin Brian and his family came to visit also. Everyone was off work for good Friday. It was a rainy day outside but we had a wonderful visit inside. We left for Petersburg and Ashlyn was worn out. She only had a 30 min. nap the entire day but was in great spirits.

Playdate!

Today we had a playdate with some of my friends at our house. Skii and Ivan; Lindsay and Simon; Erika,Kaden and Luke; Amy and Myles. We had a great time just letting the kids play and visiting as moms. Ashlyn was the only girl as usual, but she is use to playing with boys by now.

My 32 week OB appointment!

Today was my 32 week OB appointment! This morning, Ashlyn was laying next to me on the couch and got to feel baby Carter move. She was a bit confused but just smiled and laughed. Carter's heartrate was 140 and I am still on track with my measurements. This past weekend I had really sharp pains on the left side of my back. Mike said it was my sciatica nerve and I should ask Dr. White about stretches to do. She gave me a booklet of stretches to try. We also officially booked my induction for 7 am on Friday, May 22.

Big Surprise!

This morning I took Ashlyn to see the Easter Bunny at the Library. She wasn't a big fan but we were able to get a picture with all three of us. She talks a big game and says she wants to see things but when it comes to doing it, she chickens out and doesn't want any part of it. We checked out some books while we were there and played in the play area before coming home. When we got home, Mike was home and we had a BIG pile of mulch waiting for us to spread. We ate lunch, Ashlyn went down for a nap, and then Mike and I went out to work in the yard. We wanted to get all the mulch into the beds before we had to leave for Ashlyn's surprise. We cut it close, but we got it done. Now off to the surprise. We took Ashlyn to see Sesame Street Live at the Murat downtown. She was so excited and really enjoyed the show. We took her to the Circus a while ago and she loved this so much more.

Mops Easter Egg Hunt

We didn't have an official MOPS meeting today but instead we had an Easter egg hunt. I came early to help Shelly set up the gym. We had close to 400 eggs set out and they were all gone in just minutes. Ashlyn was a bit slow picking up the eggs, not really knowing what to do. She had a great time though.

Ashlyn at 2.

I wanted to remember things that Ashlyn was doing by 2 years old. Enjoy!!


1. Ashlyn's new thing is she likes to pick toe fuzz while sitting on the potty. :)
2. Loves to wrestle with anyone willing. (she says it in a deep drawn out voice)
3. Favorite things to watch are Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (AKA Hot Dog)
4. Loves to wear her kitty cat slippers.
5. Fully potty trained at 23 months during the day.
6. Sleeps in a twin bed.
7. Loves to tell stories and does so very well.
8. Speaks extremely well and talks a ton. (Just like her mommy)
9. Favorite things to do: Reading books, painting and coloring, playing with her baby doll, singing and dancing.
10. Friends: Kaden and Luke Meunier (BF), Blaine, Lincoln, Alexis
11. Favorite song is E.I.E.I.O
12. Always seems to boss everyone around. She likes things a certain way.
13. Favorite Food: icy ceam (AKA Ice Cream)
14. Favorite thing to do: Put items in something and hall them around.
15. This is my favorite, she always says, "diarrhea" when she poops a lot. :)
16. Loves to see fountains.
17. Had all of her teeth before age 2. (She had no teeth at age 1!)
18. Says prayer before/during eating, "Thank you food, Amen"

New Car!

I am so excited to tell everyone that I have a new vehicle. We have been working on a deal for about a week and finally it all paid off. I am leasing a 2009 silver Honda Pilot. We went in this morning to fill out all the paperwork and pick up the SUV. I love it! My car lease was going to be up soon and when I took my car in to get fixed from the accident we started talking with the dealership about trading in early. We decided with the new baby coming we would need to get a bigger vehicle. It will take me a while to get use to driving something big, but I'm excited!

My 30 week OB appointment.

Today was my 30 week OB appointment! Ashlyn wanted to see Diane (Mamaw) right away, so we went to her desk. When she wasn't there, she asked, "Where Mamaw at?" She had her hands out, palms up when she asked. It was so cute! Diane was in a meeting, but Ashlyn asked everyone she came in contact with because she wanted to see Mamaw. Finally, when Dr. White came in to see me, Mamaw came and got Ashlyn. Carter's heart rate was 148 and I am right on track with my measurements. Carter has been really moving around lately especially in the evening. I will be going to see Dr. White every other week from now until after my 36 week appointment.

Tots open gym in Greenwood.

We started our day off with cycling at the gym. Yesterday was my first time back to the gym since the car accident. After cycling, we met Erika and the kids at the Greenwood Community Center for their tots open gym. Erika had been here before and said it would be a good thing to do once the baby is born. Ashlyn really liked it and I will definitely try it again. We are always looking for fun things to do that are different.

Trip to see Abby and Maddie

Erika, the kids and I went to see Abby and Maddie in West Harrison. Abby was on spring break so we decided to have a playdate. Abby and Scott moved to a new house this year so we were excited to see it. Kaden and Ashlyn had a great time playing with Maddie's new toys. Maddie just turned 1 this month. I think the big kids scared Maddie just a bit. I don't blame her, I mean they are very busy and she isn't walking yet. They all loved playing on the short staircase and snack time. After a tour of the house and lots of playtime, we decided it was time for lunch. We went to Batesville and ate at a pizza place before making our way home. It was a quiet trip home as you can see. I had to take this picture of them almost holding hands. It was so cute!
Ashlyn and Kaden were looking at books on the way.

Having a snack.

Our quiet trip home.

Ashlyn's 2 year old pictures.

What a day!!! Someone came and took my sweet little girl and replaced her with a terrible 2 year old. :) From the time she woke up, I knew we were in trouble. Thank heavens Mike was on call yesterday so he was home today. He was able to get some sleep, so he just caffeinated and didn't take a nap. He couldn't even believe how bad she was acting. We decided to get out of the house and go to Lowe's to get shelving for Carter's closet. We needed a lot more shelving because the closet is not that big to begin with. It's a good thing it's not a girl's closet or we would be in trouble with space. When we finished the closet we had lunch and Ashlyn went down for her nap. I asked her to please wake up on the opposite side of the bed this time. I went to the grocery store and by the time I got back it was time to go to JCPenny's for Ashlyn's 2 year pictures. Mike called on my way home and said that Ashlyn not only woke up on the wrong side of the bed but is even worse than she was earlier today. I thought to myself, "Oh great! Pictures are going to be a disaster." Mike had a dinner meeting so Diane went with me to do pictures. We had a girl named Serena and she was awesome! The pictures turned out great!! I had so many to choose from and I will now be asking for her when I make an appointment. After picking out pictures and eating dinner we made it home in time for bedtime. With the day we had, I'm very glad how it ended.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What a beautiful day! The temperature was 75 today so I tried to do things outside so we could enjoy the weather. I found out this morning that there was a St. Patrick's Day parade downtown today at 11:30. I had a meeting with a lady from progressive at 10 am here at the house but it didn't last that long, so I decided to take Ashlyn down to the parade. This will be her first parade. Brian was going to be in the parade so I called him before going downtown to get directions. Ashlyn was able to see Papaw before the parade started. Warren had their old antique fire engine in the parade and some of the guys asked if we wanted to ride in the parade. I wasn't sure how Ashlyn would do so I told them maybe next time. They gave her a green necklace to put on and she loved that! I took her up and we got a spot to stand by some of the firefighters on duty. I think she had a great time. Papaw was riding in the bucket of the firetruck with the police chief. Ashlyn kept asking for papaw and finally she saw him. She was so excited and waved when he came by in the firetruck. After the parade, we went to lunch with Papaw at a BBQ restaurant. By the end of lunch it was 1:30 pm and she was ready for her nap. She fell asleep on the way home and when she got up Mike was home. She told him all about what she saw at the parade and showed him her green necklace. I need to take advantage of fun things like this because these are free and they make memories.
Papaw Sanford on the fire truck.

We found a leprechaun!

Ashlyn, Brian and I.

Ashlyn's 2 year check up

This morning we went to see Dr. Stein for Ashlyn's 2 year check up. Where has time gone??? She did awesome at her check up. I guess playing doctor at home made her more relaxed with what he was doing. Dr. Stein was very impressed at how well she behaved, how well she was talking and that she was potty trained and in a big girl bed. I told him that we wanted to accomplish these before the new baby came. Ashlyn's height was 34 1/2 in. and her weight was 25 lbs, she is in the 75% for height and 25% for weight. She kept saying his name during the visit and when he was getting ready to leave she said,"Bye Dr. Stein."

Garyn and Gianna's birthday party

We are all trying to recoperate from our big day yesterday but we still had a busy day today. We went to the late service at church so we could sleep in but with Ashlyn we don't really get to sleep in. She woke up at 2 am last night, not sure why but I put her back in bed and she went right to sleep. She came into our bedroom again this morning at 7 am and we all slept till almost 8 am in our bed. Off to church at 11 and then we went out to eat at El Rodeo. We had a few hours for her to take a nap before we left again. Today, we celebrated Garyn and Gianna's birthday's together. Garyn turned 3 on Feb. 23rd and Gianna will turn 1 on March 17th. The kids had a wonderful time playing with all the new toys and it was such a beautiful day that they were able to go outside and play on the swingset. We are officially done with the birthday parties for this year all in one weekend. Our next party will be when Carter's born and that isn't very far off.

Ashlyn's 2nd birthday party!

Today we celebrated Ashlyn's 2nd birthday party with the family. The day started off with me trying to get the cake made. I decided that I wanted to make Ashlyn's cake this year and well, I should have made it the day before. It took all morning to get it done and I still had other things to do. Mike was running around for me picking up things and my parents showed up just in time to help me decorate. Ashlyn wanted to watch me decorate her Elmo cake but also wanted to just get her fingers in the icing so I had to keep my eyes on her. I really enjoyed making the cake and the only problem I had was with the eyes because the icing didn't want to stick to the cake. I finally finished the cake, got Ashlyn a bath, lunch and to bed for her nap. Mike came home during her bath and his dad came by to see what he could do to help me. We all had lunch and I sent them to go get the balloons and just before they left my parents showed up. My mom and I got everything decorated and then mom started cleaning up my BIG mess in the kitchen while I got out of my p.j's and got ready for the party. Ashlyn was up from her nap when I got out of the shower so Mike got her dressed and took her in to see the decorations and balloons. She was really excited! By 3:30 we were ready to Party! Our guests included Great Papaw and Mamaw Sanford; Great Papaw Kennedy; my parents; Mike's parents; Ryan, Natalie, Garyn and Gianna; Mark and Lori. We started off opening gifts. Ashlyn remembered who brought in what gift and started to hand out the gifts back to the people who brought them. It was so funny! After telling her to just open the gifts, she finally did. After the gifts we sang Happy Birthday and cut the cake. I had a short game for Ashlyn and Garyn to play, Pin the nose on Elmo. I blind folded them for one round and then let them do it without the blind fold for another. Other than that we just hung out talking and playing.

Ashlyn turns 2!!

I can't believe my little girl is 2 years old today! The past 2 years have just flown by and I am so glad I have been able to spend every moment with her. I wanted to make today special for her and I asked her yesterday evening what she wanted to do for her birthday? She said, "Kaden,Luke." So, I called Erika to see what their plans were for today.
We started the morning off with breakfast at Chick-fil-a with Erika, Kaden and Luke and then we went downtown to the Children's Museum. We brought lunch and Erika brought mini cupcakes for the kids to eat. Ashlyn also got to open gifts from them as well. We all left after lunch and she fell asleep on the way home. I planned dinner and invited Mike's parents over to help us celebrate. I bought Ashlyn a giant Elmo at the baby sale last weekend to give her for her birthday. I knew she would love it and her face was priceless when she saw it. It is actually the same size as she is now. We had a wonderful day and I can't wait for her party on Saturday.

My 28 week OB appointment!

Today was my 28 week OB appointment. I started my visit off with having to drink the orange stuff for my gluecose test. Then off to see Dr. White for the 2nd time this week. Carter's heartrate was 146 and she said that everything looks good. I just have to hang in for about 10 more weeks. With Mike's schedule and Dr. White moving, I am going to be induced on May 22, 2009 if I haven't gone before then. I would love to go on my own but we will just have to see how things go. Please keep me in your prayers that things will happen as they should.
I have been on the phone with progressive again today. We are finally making some progress. I was able to take my car into the Honda shop this evening and get my rental. Since Mike was with us, we decided to talk to Honda about our lease ending in July and maybe moving into a Pilot. The new Pilots are awesome!! After we left the car dealership we went to get dinner and I had to run into Toys R Us and get some birthday gifts for Ashlyn and my neice. It was a very busy day but a very productive day as well.

Car Accident

Today was a bit crazy for us. I started the day with a phone call at 7:40 from the delivery guy that he would be at my Inlaws in 10-15 minutes to drop off a playhouse. He was suppose to come between 9-2 and give me 30 minutes notice but that wasn't what happened. I threw on some clothes, stuck Ashlyn in the car and went over to their house. Since he came so early I was able to go to the gym for cycle class. We came home, changed clothes, and I called Erika to tell her we were coming. I was stopped to turn into the gym and I was rearended by a big pickup truck. This was my first accident ever and I had no clue what to do. Thank goodness two cops were there in minutes. Ashlyn was upset and I was fine at first and then I got upset thinking about the baby and just being overwelmed. When we finished the paperwork I went into the gym to talk with Erika and called Diane to see if I should come to see Dr. White. Erika ended up taking me to the hospital to make sure everything was okay with the baby. They did an ultrasound, blood work and kept me on a monitor for 2 hours to make sure I wasn't contracting. Ashlyn went home with Erika and Mike left work and came to the hospital. Everything checked out okay so we went home. Mike and Brian went to get my car and pick up Ashlyn around 3:30. I was on the couch the rest of the evening. My neck and back are really soar and it hurts if I pick up Ashlyn. Everyone keeps telling me tomorrow will probably be even worse.
I had a lot of weird things happen today that I just want to remember.
Mike left me a note that said, "Be careful going to the store today and that he loved me." When I got up and read the note I was like WHAT and had to reread the note. I was planning on being extra careful at the grocery after that note but we didn't make it to the store. I wasn't going to go to the gym because I was going to wait on the delivery guy but he came early so I decided to go. I didn't call the cops to come to the crash but they were there within minutes to help me through all this. When I got home from the hospital I had a message on my machine from Marte McCloud my prayer partner saying she was thinking and praying for me today. My bible study would call a lot of these things God Winks! I know God was watching over us today.

Shrine Circus comes to Indy

We took Ashlyn to the Circus at the Indiana State Fair Grounds. This is her first circus experience and I haven't been in ages. I wasn't sure how she would do but I thought it would be fun to try. When we first arrived we went down on the floor where all the action was. Our seats were opposit where we came in so we were also heading to our seats. We stopped to watch the elephants, which were giving rides and they asked us to please be seated so the show could begin. On our way out of the main floor we were almost run over by 2 giagantic elephants. (I'm not joking) We were trying to get out of the way but those elephants move very quickly because of their size. I have never been that close to one and for Ashlyn it was too close for comfort. She was tramatized! She was crying and wanted to go home. I thought, "Oh great!" So we decided to take her to get some popcorn and just stay back so she could calm down before going back out to see the show. She finally took to the popcorn and was good to go. She really liked it all but when it was intermission and the elephants came back out to give rides she got scared again but calmed down quicker. By the end of the show, she was ready to go. When we got back in the car I asked her what her favorite part was and she said, "Elephants!!!" I couldn't believe that. I think it was because she was terrified by them so it made a lasting impression. Oh well, I'm just glad she stayed and ended up liking it.

Trip to Petersburg

Friday, Feb. 27- Erika watched Stokley for today because Mike is on call 24 hours. I had to drop him off at her house before bible study and then we all went to bible study. After bible study we went back to Erika's to eat lunch before taking off on our trip. We left about 12:30 from Indy and went to meet my mom in Vincenness before we went to Illinois to visit my Grandma and some other family members. We got to spend time with my Grandma and Aunt Cindy the most. We also went to see Charity, Parker and Presley for a short visit. Everyone was getting ready to go to the boys basketball game. My cousin Brian is the coach for Red Hill and they were in their 2nd game of the Regionals. It was a short visit but it was getting late and we were getting hungry. Mom ordered pizza on our way home so we could eat as soon as we got there. My mom almost hit a deer on the way home from Vincennes and I told Ashlyn she would have to tell Papaw about it when we got home and she did. She said, "Mamaw hit(she slapped her face)deer(pointed to her ear)!! It was so cute! Since Ashlyn is in a big girl bed I had to come up with something for her to sleep on at my parents. I found a princess sleeping bag/blow up bed at Meijer and thought we would try it. I wasn't sure how she would do with it. I found out at 2am that she was out of the bed and stuck under the end of the futon where I was sleeping. I pulled her out and put her back in the sleeping bag but she still didn't sleep good.


Saturday, Feb. 28- We got up and ready to go see Jill and Blaine for a play date. We didn't leave there until close to 12:30. The kids didn't seem to play very well this time. They usually have a great time together but it was a bit more challenging this time. After the visit we came home, ate lunch, Ashlyn played with Papaw for awhile before going down for her nap. I was really tired today from such a busy day yesterday. Gram came up to visit and we just relaxed at home for the evening.


Sunday, March 1- We started with church in the morning at my mom's church. Ashlyn kept everyone entertained behind us. She did make it through without leaving the service but it was pretty comical. Here are a few things she did. She clapped and said yea after we finished singing a song, she made faces at the people behind us, she said "amen" after a prayer, our preacher was doing a message before communion and he put out his arms like Jesus on the cross and Ashlyn was standing up holding on to me and she did the exact same thing he did with her arms, when our preacher coughed a couple of times Ashlyn acted like she was coughing and to top it all off, the message was almost over and she told me that she had to go pee pee! Let me remind you that none of this was done quietly. :) We came home and got lunch ready. Gram came up and had lunch with us and brought me dad and I 2 buttermilk pies. I was very excited. After Ashlyn's nap we went to visit my brother and then we made a stop at CVS before heading home. We spent the evening at home and got things ready to go back to Indy. Ashlyn had a really bad night in her sleeping bag bed. When I went to bed she was mostly on the floor with her legs in the bed so I moved her back into the bed. I ended up moving her 3 times during the night because she wasn't in her bed. I'm glad I got a bed rail for her bed at home because it makes me think she must be all over her own bed during the night.

Monday, March 2- Ashlyn woke up at 6 am this morning! The good news to this is that we got to visit with my parents before they went to work. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and it was a very entertaining weekend.

Valentine's Day 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!! I wanted to make today extra special for us because it is a day to show love. Ashlyn and I both got to see Mike before he had to leave for work. I decorated Mike's mirror so he would see it in the morning and show him how much I loved him. I made Ashlyn and I heart pancakes for breakfast and then we got ready to deliver valentine's. We started at Brian and Diane's house, then went to Riker's, then to Mark and Lori's and our last stop of the morning was to go to the hospital to see Mike. We took him lunch from Taco Bell. So romantic! Ha! After we were done visiting it was time for a nap. I even layed down on the couch to rest. I better enjoy it because it is going to end in June. This evening I watched Kaden and Luke so John and Erika could have dinner by themselves. I ordered pizza for the kids and I to eat and cut out the pizza into a heart shape. They both thought it was neat! The rest of the time we played until it was time to go. It was a great Valentine's Day even though my true love wasn't at home.

Valentine's Day for us.

Today was the first day for our new bible study (Power of a Praying Parent). I can't wait to see what God has in store for this new study. This is also the day that Mike and I celebrated Valentine's day. He is on call tomorrow so today is our special day. He came home with red and coral roses (so thoughtful), and we went to dinner downtown at a restaurant called RAMS. We had an appetizer, dinner and dessert. We were very full to say the least! It was a great place to go and we didn't even have to wait. After dinner, we went back to his parents house to get Ashlyn and watch a movie called Fireproof. This was an awesome movie and great for Valentine's day! Everyone needs to see this, it will change your outlook on your marriage and may even change you. Brian and Diane gave us our Valentine's gift as a family which was an ice cream cake from DQ. Ashlyn was in heaven and ready to dig in. Just sitting to get a picture she had to stick her finger in the red icing for a quick taste before bed.

Kaden's 2nd Birthday.

Today we celebrated Kaden's 2nd birthday. We started the day off with "free" breakfast at Chick-fil-a along with lots of other MOPS friends. We left there and went downtown to the Children's Museum with Erika, Kaden and Luke. Our first stop was at the new part of the museum, the Lego Land Castle area and it was awesome! We will be returning there real soon. Ashlyn is in rare form today so she isn't going to last long. We ate lunch around 12:30 and I brought cookies for the kids to eat for Kaden's birthday. After lunch we decided to go home. Ashlyn was beyond nap time and fell asleep on the way home. Mike was on call today so we spent the evening at home resting. Ashlyn wanted to take a bath so I got everything ready. While we were playing in the bathtub she decided she needed to go to the potty and told me. I took her out of the bathtub and put her on the potty and she peed!!! I was so excited and happy for her. She is turning into such a big girl!