Ashley loves her baby brothers

SO much. Like obsessed. Here's a shot of Ashley holding Ryan when he was about 5 months old:

And here is Brady:

I hope she always loves her brothers as much as she does now.

A Boy Who Loves Dora

Well... he actually has a thing about Swiper. Just like his Daddy, Ryan has a strong sense of right and wrong. And Swiper is just... WRONG! He loves to yell at the TV whenever Swiper shows up.. "No, Swiper, NO!!"

Tonight, he just HAD to wear Ashley's Dora nightgown. I thought it was too cute (and not a little bit funny) but Chris wasn't as thrilled. To his credit, Ryan kept the nightie on, and Daddy didn't say a word. As I told Chris, soon he'll be old enough to really care, and be too embarassed to wear something just because he LOVES it!

C'mon... how happy are those kids!

Two Peas In A Pod

Here are some shots of Ashley and Katelyn dressed up for Green Day at school recently:

Awwww.... Aren't they just the cutest! BFF!

Trying to keep track...

Ryan, January 2006



Ryan February 2006
Ashley and Ryan, February, 2006
Ryan, March 2006 Ashley and Ryan, March 2006
Ryan, April, 2006
Ashley and Ryan, April, 2006Ryan, May, 2006
Ashley and Ryan, May, 2006

Ryan July, 2006
Ashley and Ryan, July 2006

Not that I have a lot of free time to do as much writing here as I'd like, but I've realized that this is a great place to keep track of the cute things that Ashley and Ryan do all the time. I can't possibly remember them if I don't write them down! This is going to be a practice scrapbook, so that I can actually create some pages someday, like I'm always wanting to do...

See how big Ryan has gotten?? He is such a good looking kid, I just can't stand it! And a happier, sweeter baby, I've never known. Ashley... well, she's a little ball of intensity, as usual. I love her more than I can say, but wow, she's somethin' else, sometimes.

It's late... more to come, later.

Ryan and his Grandparents

I can't tell who looks happier!

He is so lucky to have such loving grandparents! They usually squabble over who gets to hold him next. I am so glad that they are close by and so eager to help out and watch my kids grow up!

Easter, a week late

Ashley and I were both sick Easter weekend, so since the Easter Bunny herself (Marsha) was working, and it was a rainyday anyhow, we decided to wait for the following weekend to have our Easter celebration. The Easter Bunny came over early in the morning and left two beautiful baskets on our doorstep:

Ashley wasn't quite sure what to make of this unexpected bounty on our front porch! Once she found out that there were "treats" inside, though, she was loving the Easter Bunny!

Ashley in her Easter "Cinderella" dress

Trying to get the girls together for a picture:

Emma looking cute:

I'll be darned if I can squat down to get a shot without having them squat down too! Such copycats!

Once they got the idea of looking for eggs and putting them in their baskets, they were total pros:

After all that hard work... the rewards!

Sunny Day


Hooray! The sun was out today! It was the first really nice day in weeks and we enjoyed a morning at the park. Ashley was fearless on the slides, even with all the traffic (there was a good dozen kids there). She is such a tag-a-long... she copies everything the big kids do, including running away across the field!

She isn't the least bit shy around the other Mommies at the park. If there happens to be a Mommy standing near her as she goes for the stairs on the jungle gym, she'll just grab her hand and drag her over, as if she needs help. And if any kid is running/playing towards another Mommy, Ashley will join in, even climbing up into a lap, or hugging around the leg! All the ladies think it's cute, so far... I just hope they don't think she doesn'y get enough attention from her REAL Mommy!

How cute are we??

Ashley just loves her little brother so much, as you can see. She is so proud to be the big kid and to help Ryan when he is "sad". This means that every time he makes a peep, she tries to feed him or change his diaper, cover him up or give him a toy.

Oh yeah... and she thinks that I make "Cockock" milk from my breasts. Every time I nurse him, she points and says, "Mama's milk. Cockock!" Because she prefers chocolate milk, why shouldn't Ryan?