Family Day....

This is one of my favorite pictures of Rick & Ash. Ash & Rick on one of the fishing docks....we plan on going back when it warms up

(and the tide is high),

as we are going to catch a BIG one out there! Checking out the fiddler crabs. There were tons! Ash, Bono & I on the way down to the dock. Since Rick is on a 7 and 7 schedule now, we try to plan a family day before he leaves each week for work. This past week, we decided to go to the park at Alhambra, however, when we arrived with Bono, we could not stay. I completely forgot they do not allow dogs. After driving around for a bit, I remembered a park that one of my residents once took me to. It was dedicated to her and her husband for their services to the Mt. Pleasant community years and years ago. (My residents always explained things that way..."years and years ago") Apparently they were the first doctor and nurse in the area & they made house calls....she would stay with the really sick folks for days. Anyway, we found the park and we found the historical marker telling all about them, as well as one telling about the bridge, etc. This will probably be one of our new favorite spots....there are so many here!

Just having FUN!!!

It seems like it all started in Dec. with Gavin's birthday....everyone is turning 1! There has been lots of cake and goodies, which reminds me of Ashlyn's other new habit (is that the right word?) She will ONLY eat what we are having! Move over Gerber, hello food grinder!

This is getting interesting!

The Birthday Girl.........Addison turned the BIG 1 on the fourth, but we celebrated this afternoon. Addison enjoyed having her own cupcake. Ash and Rick hanging out at Addison's party. The neighborhood play group celebrated Alex's 1st Birthday! Music Masters....Ash and Lincoln take turns playing DJ at the music table. Ok, not really, they were just playing everything at the same time. Hey, whatever makes them happy, right? With the new adventure of crawling comes the new adventure of having to watch Ash every second, so I find things like boxes to keep her in one spot while I try to get things done around the house. You would be SURPRISED how entertaining these cardboard cages, I mean boxes, can be!

Hanging out with Popa on ONE of the cold days that have actually had this year..... Even waking up early in the morning & having to wait on someone to come rescue her can be FUN! She loves "HELPING OUT" in the kitchen! This was the start of a very busy couple of weeks for us.....Ashlyn is now crawling, standing, Dadadada-ing, Mamamama-ing, and popping up little teeth like crazy!

Catch up......

The "award ceremony" for completing the Little Bugs class. Playing with Nana on the mats. It was the last day of class, so it was open for visitors. Ashlyn put on quite the show for everyone. We love upside down!!! Walking on the balance beam...can she walk? Interesting....

Julie and Ash playing on the uneven bars. We discovered that swinging is fun, however chewing is even BETTER!!!

Ash & Gavin at the Little Gym.New Year's Day...Geoff and Ashlyn hanging out & waiting on the football festivities to begin. I think she was explaining that Georgia was the team to go for. (We won't tell you how that turned out!) Geoff, Rick's buddy from the USAFA, was in town for the weekend. We had a great day...leftovers to snack on and Kellie made the most wonderful shrimp and grits for dinner! Rick, Jordan & Matthew on New Year's Eve. We had a neighborhood get-together, complete with a bonfire, oysters, Frogmore stew, chili, and more. Ashlyn had a blast watching the fire, but only made it until about 8:30. I guess she'll have to wait to see the fireworks another year! Ashlyn and Rick at the party! Ashlyn's buddy, Gavin, turned the big "1" on the 28th, and we celebrated with Curious George and cake.

OK, so I have been a slacker with the blog this month..here's a quick update!

Christmas Week

7 pm Ash and Daddy are DONE!!! with that said, we headed home. Friday was a family pajama day at our house, as we all needed to recover from our busy week. Rick was home, Ash's 1st Christmas....it was a PERFECT start for our little family!

Opening a present from Nana and Poppa.

We had a wonderful Christmas day. Rick ended up not having to fly, which was perfect. We hung out at the house all day, had lunch together, and then went down to the Chadwick's in the evening for dinner.

Opening stockings....we had to take a food break and a 3 hour nap in between opening presents and stockings! Ash was so cute. It was fun to watch her with the paper and bows.

Ash got her first baby doll.

Christmas morning on her car from Santa!

I have been REALLY GOOD, I PROMISE!!!

Ash, Aidan, Santa & many cousins (Uncle Matt in the back)

Emily & Ash...our cousins from Collegeville, PA, made it down for the Holidays.

We kept going, with our travels ending at Aunt Sissy's in Sylvania, GA. It is a tradition for everyone to go there on Christmas Eve. It is a really nice time. If you leave hungry, it is definitely your own fault. There is always SO MUCH good food.

Our celebrating continued, as we headed south on Christmas Eve. The first stop, Grammy and Pop Collette's.

Opening a present with Mimi

Ash didn't know what to think of the Elmo that Mimi and Poppa gave her. It took some time, but she did warm up to him & his dancing became funny! Mama and Ash

Tuesday, Rick, Ash & I headed to Edisto to see my parents. We had dinner and got to spend some time with Great grandma Fontaine.

Ash, Cara & Brooke

Opening a present from Aunt Gee Gee

Monday night, Glenda, Michael, Cara & Brooke came to our house for dinner. We then went to James Island County Park to see their light show, a tradition we started many years ago. For those that have never been, they really have a neat set up for the kids. The drive through is about 30 minutes, with a stop in Santa's Village for a train ride, hot chocolate & s'mores, and even a bit of shopping.

Aunt Kassie and Ash playing after bedtime! So, we may have had the longest Christmas ever, but I have to say, Ashlyn loved every minute of it. It all started with a trip down to Macon, GA, to see Kassie. She was in town visiting her parents (she lives in Texas now), so we made a special trip & stayed a night there.

Tis the Season....

Ashlyn waiting on the Mount Pleasant parade to start. We went with Rick's parents and our neighbors, Sue and Alli. It was pretty neat. Pretty packed, I should say. I went out there around 2:00 to set out our chairs. Then we all headed back around 4:30. At dark, they had fireworks, and then the parade. It lasted about two hours. It was great. Ashlyn loved all of the lights and noise!!

Santa's little helper!

Yeahhhh....Rick is here this year to handle the wonderful task of hanging the outside lights! After we found the right one, we decided to also get a little one for Ashlyn's room! We just could not resist!

It all started with the search for the perfect tree!Ashlyn's first holiday season has arrived! Things have been pretty busy, but no complaints, as we are having a blast this year.

Thanksgiving Weekend!

The perfect ending to a wonderful weekend!!! On Sunday, Ashlyn was Baptised at Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church. The same place I was Baptised, as well as the same place that Rick and I were married. Michael, Glenda, Cara, Brooke, Mom, Dad, Terri, Bob, Aunt Sissy, and Uncle Curt were all in town to help us celebrate the special day. Ashlyn was all smiles and did really well through the church service. When the pastor took her, she just looked up at him as if she really was listening. They walked up and down the isle and she never lost her focus. It was beautiful. After the service, we all went to Breach Inlet to eat at a family favorite-

The Boathouse!

Opening a Baptism gift.

At least there is ONE morning person in this family! I wonder where she gets this from?

Carving up the bird!

Aunt Sissy & Ashlyn

Turkey Day!

The six & a half pounder!!!

Ashlyn and Uncle Matt!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a fun time with Ashlyn. The three of us joined Rick's parents + 8 at a lake house up near Columbia. We were there Wednesday through Saturday....I think all we did was EAT!!! Thanksgiving Day was perfect. Good food and good friends. Friday the girls hit the mall and, of course, TJ Maxx. We got back in time to do some fishing. Uncle Curt and Rick caught two huge catfish, which were just enough for the catfish stew we had that night. We also had oysters, clam chowder, and a brisket that Papa smoked. Saturday, we all watched football. The Dawgs did not pull through for us......not much to say on the subject....thankfully, Clemson had a good day. Everyone was excited to see USC go down, even the GA fans! All in all, I think it was perfect for Ashlyn's first Thanksgiving!!!