Big Sister

So, Washington Regional has this silly policy that no one under the age of 12 can visit new babies unless they are a sibling. Sydney has been DYING for baby Caleb to get here, so we had to figure out a way to let her see him. Two days later just wouldn't work with her. So, Ben decided that just because Caleb was Chay's first baby, didn't mean that it had to be his first. Here is big sister Sydney with her half-sibling for the day, Caleb. Isn't he cute! She was so excited and she even got a button that says I'm a Big Sis. She even played along with Ben being her "pretend dad" for the day.



Elle is growing up so fast. She is closer to seven months than six, which absolutely breaks my heart. She is sitting up independently, which makes it much easier to move her from room to room with me during the day. This kid does NOT like to be by herself. She is perfectly content sitting and playing as long as someone else is in the room with her. The second she realizes she is alone she SCREAMS. So, she gets toted everywhere (which I totally realize is only encouraging this behavior, but what can I do?) Along with the joy of sitting up goes getting to ride in the grocery cart vs. her car seat. Can I just say that I am PUMPED about that?? I love not toting that heavy car seat. Most of the time Elle has been in the Moby wrap at the store and everywhere else we went. It makes life so much easier, especially when chasing Sydney. But, the one drawback is that I haven't built my arms up to carrying the car seat like I did with Sydney. I'm seriously such a wimp when it comes to carrying it, not to mention that Elle is almost the size at 6.5 months that Sydney was a 1 year. But, darn she is cute!

Finally, I got her bath shot. I have a cute picture of Sydney as a baby when bathing with bubbles all over and it sits in my kitchen. I told David that if you looked at the pictures around our house you'd never know that Elle is a part of the family. Finally, I printed this picture and it is on the kitchen counter next to Sydney. So, after 6.5 month, welcome to the family, Elle.

And here is one of my favorite pictures - Elle and Sydney curled up napping together. They really are best buddies and I dread the day they learn to team up against me, because I'm in for it.

Where did September go?

Yikes! Time flies and lately life has been CRAZY! Over the last month I have lost/quit my job, started Sydney in preschool, ran (ok, ran and walked) a 5K, oh and had the official Ear Infection Extravaganza of 2008.




So, a bunch of us ladies at church ran/walked a 5K for the NWA Children's Shelter on Labor Day. It was a lot of fun and I accomplished my goal - I didn't finish last. It took me 45 minutes and some seconds, so since I'm such an over-achiever, I'll make my goal for next year to finish in under 45.

We also went to Bella Vista and went hiking one day, which is the waterfall picture.



Next, Elle started solid foods. My plan was to wait until 6 months, mostly because I'm lazy and HATE the time it takes to feed a baby. Well, Elle had other ideas, was reaching for our food, so alas, she is getting solids. Here are a few pictures from her first food - Malt-o-Meal. She LOVED it. I however, have found that it is very messy, but I can't bring myself to feed her that nasty, nasty baby cereal. She has since moved on to yummier options like applesauce and avocados. I also can't bring myself to feed her regular baby food, so we are making it for her instead.



Sydney started preschool at the Christian Soildiers Preschool and loves it. She is in Mrs. Char's class. When I ask her what she learned she usually replies, "nothing." I'm glad to know my money is going to a place where she learns nothing. (Shh...don't tell her, but I've heard her singing her days of the week and months of the year along with a myriad of other things she didn't know a month ago.) But, seeing how she is learning nothing, I at least hope she is having a good time.





We also found a pick-your-own raspberry farm, and I had no idea how yummy fresh raspberries taste! These are a special crop that are grown as a fall crop. We picked 12 pints with help from grandma (who came up to help me because I was sick.) Elle yelled (she was in a front carrier) when she realized we were eating the raspberries and she wasn't. She loved them, and we gave her lots of taste tests. If we ever went too long and forgot, she let us know. We now have a ton of raspberry jam (which has more sugar than raspberries) and some frozen raspberries. We will be going with some of David's co-workers to the same farm to a pick-your-own pumpkin patch this Friday.

Elle had the mother of all ear infections all month long, but I think we're finally over it. In the process of being up at night with her, I got sick.

Me+ no sleep = sick

Elle and I spent a good amount of time sleeping in the chair night and day. Thanks, Mom for coming up and helping out the last couple of weeks.

The Napping Bird

A couple of weeks ago my parents brought up a twin size bed for Sydney, who was still sleeping with Mom or Dad. (Bad, I know, I know - I'm just a spineless jellyfish)

So, thanks to an idea from another mom at a playdate at the park, the Napping Bird has been visiting our house. The Napping Bird only comes when you are napping, and if you wake up and get out of bed, he goes away. The reason you want the napping bird to come is that he leaves you treats.

On the first night, the Napping Bird left a yummy chocolate that happens to be "her" favorite treat on Sydney's pillow. I woke up to "Mommy, Mommy, look what the napping bird brought me!" So, she ate her chocolate. A few minutes later she said she needed to write the Napping Bird a thank you note. I'm thinking, what a polite little girl - I've done such a great job. I get her a card, she "writes" in it and then I asked her what it said. She read, "Dear Napping Bird, Thanks for the chocolate but I really like suckers." So, that afternoon this Napping Bird went promptly to Wal-Mart and retrieved a bag of suckers.

Scaring it dead

On a walk several weeks ago Sydney was playing with a Praying Mantis. Daddy was playing with her and growling. She promptly said, "Daddy, quit. You are going to scare him dead!"

This made me laugh

If nursing in public bothers you, feel free to cover your head with a blanket and finish your meal in the bathroom.

Missing Bear

Well, this week Sydney is doing the central Arkansas tour and visiting grandparents. I thought this would be a great time to get lots of house projects done since I would be down to just one kid to take care of. Here it is Friday morning, and I'm still not dressed or showered, although I have managed to eat a bowl of Rasin Bran. Sydney's room is in worse shapte than it was when she left, my closet is still not cleaned out, and oh, the house is a wreck. Yep, that whole easier to take care of one kid is a fluke. It turns out, Sydney is a much bigger helper than I ever realized. She stinkin' entertains Elle all day and keeps her happy. With Sydney gone, Elle isn't as content to sit alone. All of the times that I've told Sydney to get out of Elle's face - yeah, I think I was wrong. Elle actually LIKES it. She is definitely missing her big sister and I am, too. I've definitely enjoyed some alone time with Elle and think it has been good for her, but the house is so QUIET! Right now Elle is watching "Baby Eimpstein" as Sydney calls it, be she definitely likes watching it with Big Sister much better. We miss you Little Bear! You're such a great big sister.

Elle's Blessing

Well, now that Elle is three months old, we decided we'd better get her blessed or she'd be too big to hold. We had a ton of family and friends that came and were excited to have every one be a part of the special day. David said Elle just smiled up at him the entire time he was blessing her. She's such a happy kid, and I'm sure that this will follow her throughout her life and she will be loved by many because of it. We feel so blessed to have her be a part of our family. We love you Elle!

Branson Trip

The last week of July me and the girls spent a couple of days in Branson with my grandma, Nanny, and my sister, Stacey. Nanny usually takes me every year for my birthday, but I wasn't quite up for the trip in June, so we took it now. On the way up we stopped for a potty break in Eurkea Springs where Sydney got to look through the telescope which she thought was pretty cool. She also got a kazoo. Note to self: no more kazoos (especially the metal ones) on road trips. We also came home with an amazingly annoying rainbow colored pig named Piggy Bank. He snort and walks. Now, this is usually the type of toy I avoid, but Sydney was so excited about it that I really couldn't resist. She talked about it the whole time we were eating dinner, so I slipped back over to the shop and bought it for her. She was a very happy little girl, walking on all fours through the middle of the mall with Piggy bank. Another really cool thing we did was visit the Butterfly Palace. When we walked in and Sydney saw all of the butterflies flying around she was so excited that she was literally squealing with delight. There were hundreds, and even as an adult I thought it was really neat. Elle of course, slept through it.


We also went to the Noah show, which Sydney loved. The theatre was really pretty and it was cool to see all of the animals. Thankfully they had a cry room, where Elle and I spent the last half of the show because I couldn't find her pacifier in the dark. Another vote for mother of the year. Sydney left with a souvineer of an umbrella - the kid is obsessed with rain.


It was a really fun trip and I really enjoyed spending time with my family.

I'm back....

Well, needless to say, July was a busy month for us. We spent the 4th down in Morrilton where I got some fun pictures of the girls. It doesn't get any more American that Watermelon on the 4th of July. Also, there is the picture we like to refer to as "Elle for President" (I'm sure she'd do as good as either of the Bozos we have to pick from.) We were supposed to get to watch "Papa's Rock Band" as Sydney refers to it, known to the rest of us as Relic, but the weather had other ideas in mind. So, instead we went down to green thumb and shot fireworks. David and Ben decided it would be a good idea to put a sparkler bomb inside of a tube. The result - a really loud ear ringing bang. We were about a mile away in the car (I decided that wasn't good for little ears) and it shook the windows of our car.

Elle also got to meet her Great-Great-Grandmother for the first time that weekend. Not many kids get to do that!

Then, there was the introduction of Elle to her Bumbo seat (If you don't have one GO GET ONE! They really do rock.) Sydney prefers to pretend that it is a beauty salon, hence the blanket draped over Elle and the brush. And yes, we had a LONG talk about how it was only pretend and that no scissors should enter the "pretend beauty shop."

So, there is a quick rundown of the first part of the month. If you haven't noticed, my etsy shop is up and running which is why I have been so behind on blogging. But, it is a nice hobby and I'll ride it while it lasts. I have set up a separate blog for my etsy shop - bugabeardesigns.blogspot.com

Things I've made

Fabric Choices

My etsy store is up and running...yea! I just need a place to post my fabric choices, so I guess this will be it.

Our Fun Day

Since this week is the Fourth of July, I decided that I should pretend like it is my vacation and take the girls to do lots of fun things. Today we went to story time at the Springdale Library, then to the Jones Center for a picnic and swimming. After that we came home for a little while and got a few things done in the house (not vacation!) We then went to tour the fire station with a bunch of kids from our ward. We had 30 kids there, not counting the babies. It was a little crazy since most of the kids were younger. But, Sydney had fun and we got some cute pictures. She had planned on asking a lot of questions, but got shy once she got there.


Thanks, Jen for organizing this and to Firemen Mick and Kyle for putting up with our brood.

Fireworks and Family Home Evening

David decided it would be fun to get a couple of families together and do FHE. So, everyone came to our house and we did a lesson and then LOTS of fireworks. There were 192 sparklers, 9 kids,3 babies, one burnt foot and not nearly enough adults.

Sydney of course, was queen bossy. For some reason, whenever I teach a group of kids she thinks that automatically entitles her to be the teacher, too. (This is the main reason she CANNOT be in my class at school - it just doesn't work.) All during the lesson I keep hearing, "Boys, look at me. See how I'm folding my arms. Shhh. Sit like me." So, yeah - I never expect to go to a parent teacher conference and here that she is getting in trouble following others. I'm sure however, that I will be told that she is a little (ok, a lot) bossy with the other kids.

But, back to the fireworks. I'm pretty sure the dads had twice as much fun as the kids - and I think the kids had a pretty good time! It was a fun night and a great way to kick off the 4th of July week. My favorite thing was watching how differently little boys and little girls act with sparklers.

Little Girls: "Look I'm a fairy/ princess/ ballerina."

Little Boys: "Hmm, I wonder if this piece of paper will burn."

Lessons I've learned this week:

We've had a pretty busy but fun week. Below is a slide show, but I'll share a few interesting things about the pictures.

One day I was getting some things done (although my husband swears I have a phobia of cleaning. Um, no, it is called at three-year-old and a two-month-old) and I hear, "Ok, Elle, blue. See you have a blue right there." I then stepped out of the kitchen and found Sydney teaching Elle how to play a few games such as Colors Bingo and Scrabble (because they are both such great spellers).

Lesson learned: put games with lots of pieces higher than where you think your three-year-old can reach.

Friday Sydney, Elle and I spent the day making strawberry jam. I remember making jam at Nanny's house when I was a little girl and the smell still brings back a lot of summer memories. So, I decided that Sydney needs those same memories as part of her summer. She used her plastic knife to cut a few strawberries, but her favorite part was squishing the strawberries. Some people have a potato masher, but according to Sydney we have a squisher.

Lesson learned: Make jam and then mop the floors, not the other way around.

We went to a birthday party for a little girl in our ward on Friday night. I've really lost count of how many babies we've had born/adopted in our ward since the fall, but it is a ton. So, at the party someone decided it would be a great idea to line up all of the little ones and take some pictures. (I didn't have my camera, so thanks Rachel for the pics!) The five babies in the picture are really just a handful of the new additions. Elle LOVES sucking her hands (which her Daddy hates) and since she apparently couldn't get to hers, took the liberty of sucking on Addison's.

Lesson learned: If you can't get to your hands, borrow a friend's.

Saturday night we ate at Mad Pizza (I love all of their different kinds of pizza) and then bought some fireworks on the way home. We had to get the traditional rooster, tank, and sparklers. David couldn't leave without a few M-80's - he says there isn't a more fitting holiday for the U.S. than a holiday where you celebrate your independence by blowing things up. We shot off a parachute and it landed a block over. We went to retrieve it and some other kids had already found it, but we ran into our neighbors whose back yard faces our house. They ended up coming over and watching us shoot our remaining fireworks off and we shared some of our strawberry jam with them. Sydney also discovered fireflies, so we had to put a few of those in a jar.

Lesson learned (by Dad): Protect your goods while doing sparklers with a three-year-old who thought throwing a sparkler in Daddy's lap would be a great idea.

It's all about the monkeys

On Memorial Day weekend David made me the happiest girl on earth - he took me to see Wicked! So, we packed up and left our 3 week old baby with Grandma and Papa and headed to Kansas City. The show was AMAZING! I've been dying to see it for about three years now and this was the closest it was coming this year. I was infatuated with the monkeys, so our friend Mike chased one down for me after the performance. This boy was built, but after seeing how they climb around on the set I know why. Go to You Tube and look for Chistery and you'll see some videos of how these crazy guys can move. They have these HUGE wings and I really wanted to see how they were made. Mike asked the monkey boy if he could put his wings out for the picture, but he said, "I can't, they're clipped." I think I laughed at that for days...it isn't quite as funny now, but that day it was hilarious.

Secret Shames

Ok, so eight weeks ago Chay tagged me and I'm just getting to it. Here it goes:


My 3 Secret Shames

1. Hi. My name is Ashley and I am a Fabric-a-holic. Yes, there is no other way to describe my fascination with fabric other than an addiction. I love walking through the fabric at Hobby Lobby. I try to avoid Hancocks because I really think I could easily spend hours in there - rows and rows and rows of beautiful prints, all waiting for ME!! The worst part is that when I do buy fabric, I tend to stuff it in my designated fabric dresser. Yes, I have an entire dresser stuffed full of fabric that I'm afraid to use because it is too beautiful to mess up. I'm really working on that... I have projects in mind for pretty much each and every piece of fabric. Here is my current stash for which I have projects planned. (This is only a small fraction of my collection...yes, that is what I'll call it. Some people collect knick-knacks, I collect fabric.) I do actually have my sewing machine out and have earnest intentions to use it every day, it just seems the little tykes always have other plans. I'm sure my husband would love to see my sewing machine and all fabric magically disappear. Someday very soon I hope to start a store on etsy - which brings me to my next addiction.








2. I could sit and surf etsy all day. If you haven't heard of it, etsy is an on-line site where people can sell handmade goods. There is seriously ANYTHING you want on there. Anytime I find something I want I go and check etsy, and yep, it's there. Then, I look at the price and think, "Hmm...I could make that myself for a lot less." So, then I go and add to my fabric stash, um I mean "collection." But, I have managed to make a nursing cover, moby wrap and my very first self-made cloth diaper. So, go me, I did manage to use some of the fabric for it's intended purpose and saved us a little money along the way.









Yes, that ts Elle's bum, outfitted in the monkey diaper I made for her.





3. I LOVE Sonic, even with their styrofoam cups. I feel pretty hypocritical buying drinks from there with everything else we're doing trying to be eco-friendly. We cloth diaper, use cloth napkins, try to watch our energy usage and recycle like a mad man, but I can't kick my Sonic addiction. I won't buy styrofoam plates or cups, but put a Sonic drink in it, and you've got me. Sydney and I go there usually once a week for Happy Hour - you can't beat half-price drinks.




So, now I tag Jessica M., Kelly, and Crystal.

Knockers no more

Every time it rains I hear from the backseat, "Mom, turn on the knockers." The first time she said that I have to admit, I was really curious where she had heard that. Now, it took me a while to figure it out, but what Sydney really means if for me to turn on the windshield wipers. I get a laugh out of it every time. Sadly, when it was raining on the way to drop her off at school yesterday she asked me to turn on the windshield wipers.

Expanding her vocabulary...

Today we got up a few minutes later than I meant to, so we were rushing to get Sydney to school. When Sydney and I got out of the shower Elle was crying, so I gave Sydney her clothes and told her to put them on (which she is perfectly capable of doing) while I went and settled Elle down.

M: Get your clothes on.

S: But I can't.

M: Yes, you can. Hurry.

S: I'm freaking out here.

M: Just get yourself dressed.

S: But, MOM. I'm FREAKING out here.

Elle is smiling!

She has been doing this for a couple of weeks, but we finally caught it on camera. It is so heart warming to finally see those precious smiles! Of course the first ones were for her Daddy, then for Sydney. Once again, I've been demoted to food source.

To the Father's in my life...

When I sat down to write this last night it was storming and the power went out. Just before that David, Sydney, Elle and I had been outside watching the storm in the distance. I love the smell of a summer rain and was glad I had a few moments to stand in awe of the creations of my Heavenly Father whom I love dearly. Each day I'm grateful for the people he has put in my life.

First, I must say thanks to the father of my children. We're so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy babies here on earth and another that although we did not have a chance to meet in this life, I know we will get to hold some day. David is a wonderful father and is definitely the "fun parent." Any given evening after work he can be caught playing the role of Prince or Hercules or dinosaur or lion while dancing or roaring with his little princess/ Megara/ dinosaur/ lion. (I usually gets stuck being the bad guy, if I'm allowed to play at all.) He has also been submitted to countless hours of coloring, blocking building and tea partying and I'm sure many more to come in this house of girls.

Thanks for always doing what you think is right (even when you're wrong - you're slowly learning that I'm always right!) I'm glad you are the one I get to attempt to figure this crazy parenting thing out with - I can't imagine this journey with anyone else. Thanks for doing everything you can to make me happy. Whether it is buying me a dog (even though the official aparment policy was no pets), eating shells and cheese with green grapes or the 10th hamburger that week (you did a great job making a pregnant woman happy), or dancing just to make me laugh when it is the last thing I feel like doing - you always have what is best for me in mind. Thanks for all you do to make sure us girls have everything we need (and then coming home to help me clean the house afterwards!) I love you.

And because I'm already bragging about him, I'll let you all know that David was named Faculty of the Year at the University of Phoenix . I'm so proud of him!

Second, I have to say thanks to my dad, better known as "Doddy" in these parts. I'm not really sure where that came about, but it has definitely stuck. I'll always remember the monster mask you kept in the hall closet to scare us, even though we knew it was you. Then there was the "big talk" at Pizza Hut when I was in the second grade when you told me the truth (because I asked) about the guy with the white beard, big black boots, and eight tiny reindeer. One of my favorite memories is the many years sitting on the bank of the Arkansas River guessing what time it was and how long until the Riverfest fireworks began. I'm pretty sure that mixed in there with the "what time is it" game I learned most of the random things I know. I'll also never forget the time you took us to see The Little Mermaid and while waiting for the movie to start, taught us how much fun it is to tear us Starburst wrappers into tiny squares, put them in your hands and cough.

Mostly, thanks for always listening and giving advice, but not making my decisions for me. Instead you taught me how to make my own decisions which has helped me grow into the person I am today. Now that I'm a parent, I'm beginning to understand how difficult it is to sit back and let your child learn not only from their good decisions, but also the bad ones. I hope that when my babies are grown I will be able to sit back and feel confident they will make the right decisions because they were taught how from the beginning. Thanks for always letting me be who I am and not forcing me to be someone that I'm not.

Oh, and thanks for teaching Sydney to fish, since she apparently thinks Dad and Mom are no good. For those who haven't heard the story, Papa took Sydney fishing one Saturday and they caught 11 fish in two hours. The next Friday David and I took her back to the same spot and caught a grand total of zero. In the car on the way home Sydney says, "I think my Papa needs to take me fishing...Mommy and Daddy don't know how." The picture above is of Papa and Sydney right after she hugged him and said, "We're best friends."