Baby Ashley

Oh look how adorable these pictures of Ashley turned out!  Thank you to the talented Kelly Applegate who captured her little smile, chubby cheeks and big round eyes.

So cute, right?  Well, we can't get enough of our little Dolly.  We've switched her reflux medicine and she is one happy baby!  She is always smiling and does these big belly laughs.  We all spend a lot of time playing peek-a-boo and tickling her to make her giggle.  Ashley is almost 4 months old (so hard to believe!).  She has very strong head control and looks like she's ready to roll over any day now.  She loves to watch the mobile in her crib and play on her activity mat.  Of course being entertained by Carter is still her favorite activity by far!

As for the other kiddos, they're wonderful!  This picture of them cracks me up.  I have no idea what they're looking at, but both are very amused by whatever it is!

I can't even believe Carter is turning F-O-U-R in a couple of days.  We had parent/teacher conferences for his preschool and the teachers went on and on about how Carter is a people pleaser and how he is so caring and sensitive.  It's so true too!  He is always offering to share his last bite of chocolate with us.  He pushes Ryan up all the climbing toys at playground and places like Chickfila and Snapperz instead of leaving her behind so he can play.  The other day Ashley was crying in the car and he said her crying made him so sad that he wanted to cry too! As his Grandma Vickie would say, he is as good as gold!

Love

I love that Ashley has two looks:

Ashley with straight hair

Ashley (post bath) with curly hair

These photos also show the wide-awake and the about-to-fall-asleep looks too.

One other thing I love:
The way Ryan sings Crinkle, Crinkle Little Star.  I hope she never learns that it's supposed to be Twinkle instead of Crinkle.  Let's not tell her, ok?

What we've been doing

We've been trying to perfect our group shot.

 Ashley has been wearing hair clips.

 The kids have been playing in the snow with our neighbor, Jack.

 The girls have been playing on the activity mat.

Such a big girl

Look who turned TWO!

Ryan is officially 2 years old and such a big girl (even if she's only in the 30th percentile in weight). Ryan is a skinny-mini and a picky eater and would prefer to drink her calories away in milk.  She is now on a strict 2-3 glass a day maximum. Other then her bad eating habits the doc says she is great!  Developmentally wonderful. 

Here's a pic of Ryan trying on some of her birthday presents...her new crown and "twinkle shoes".  For her birthday Ryan also got a fish tank to put in her room.  She picked out a blue Betta fish and let her big brother pick out a orange fish for the tank too.  They feed their fish every morning and say goodnight to them before bed.  Side note to anyone buying a fish tank -- beware of accidentally dropping tank rocks in the garbage disposal when you're rinsing them.  It is a costly mistake.  Garbage disposals are NOT cheap!

Lately Ryan has become a big fan of  "Dora the Explorer".  It was only fitting she have a Dora cake to celebrate.  We had a couple of friends over to play and eat cake. Most of the party she wanted to be carried by Daddy, but got past her shyness to enjoy everyone singing happy birthday and blowing out her candles.  

Little Ryan is full of personality.  Sometimes it's hard to remember she's only two!  She loves to sing, jump and dance.  She can count to 10 (and thanks to Dora she can say it in Spanish too). She tries hard to sing her ABC's but prefers to sing the ending "Now I know my ABC's. Next time wont you sing with me" over and over again. We love the way she calls Carter by his full name, Carter Meek.  And the way she say "O-tay" is just adorable too!  She has so much fun playing pretend and dress up, but is always willing to play with light sabers in the backyard with the older boys.  Her teachers at school say she is the most improved student.  She was a nightmare at the beginning of the year and now Ryan walks in with a big smile on her face and is happy the entire day.  She enjoys every moment and is a delight to have around.  We think she is a delight too!

Happy Birthday, Ryan Michele!  We love you very much and always will!!

Super Bowl XLVI

Indianapolis is hosting it's first Super Bowl and the city is going all out to celebrate.  Last week we took the kids to the NFL Experience.

 There was a whole section for kids to practice kicking, punting and passing.  They had face painting and bounce houses too!  Ryan and Carter were great sports about waiting in line and they loved trying every activity they had to offer.

 Carter had so much fun he even tried some of the adult attractions too.  He even got a little help from the Colts mascot, Blue.

We also saw the Lombardi Trophy, a display of Super Bowl rings and jerseys from some of the most popular NFL players (i.e. Tim Tebow).

All in all it was a "Super" experience.



10 weeks x 3

I'm reposting pictures of Carter and Ryan when they were around 10 weeks old.  Here is Ashley's (almost) 10 week picture too. Enjoy!

P.S. Ashley had her 2 month doctor visit yesterday and despite getting 3 shots, she did quite well.  Her ear infections have cleared up and the dr. upped her dose of reflux medicine which has already helped with her fussiness.  She is a happy baby now!  So happy in fact, that she slept from 10pm-8am (straight!) last night.  It's a great feeling to know we're at the end of middle of the night feedings! Oh yea, if you're wondering about her stats:
Weight: 12 lbs. 4oz. (79%)
Height: 23 1/4 in. (76%)

What's she thinking?

Ashley makes lots of faces.  Makes you wonder what she's thinking.

Is she thinking, "My goodness, who knew my feet looked so big!"

 Is she thinking, "Yikes! I hope Mom doesn't notice that I need a diaper change!"

 Is she thinking, "Sitting up is tough.  Better concentrate!"

I'm not sure what she's thinking, but it's always fun to guess!