Atlanta...Girls' Weekend!!!

Girls on a mission...to get the perfect American Girl doll!

Ashlyn had been wanting her own AG doll for awhile. Her cousins, Cara & Brooke, have several of the dolls and let Ash play with them. She has the Bitty baby from her first Christmas & we went to the store when we were out in Dallas, but she does not remember. So, when I was telling my friend, Julie, that I was thinking of going to Atlanta, she quickly joined me on my mission! We were so excited to plan a girls' trip!

Ash & Avery...so excited to finally be in Atlanta...ready to find a doll! We made it...come on already!!!
The girls decided to get dolls that look like them! There were two cases of dolls on display. We looked & looked until we found the perfect ones!

Ashlyn with her new doll! She could hardly wait to take her out of that box!

After picking our dolls out, we went to the Bistro and had dinner and tea.

The food was yummy & very cute!

Ashlyn loved serving the fruity tea and lemonade.

Ashlyn hanging out with the newest member of our family, "Ashlyn Girl!"

Avery & Ashlyn saying the blessing.

Ashlyn decided to take her doll to the boutique and have her ears pierced.

Ashlyn, Ashlyn Girl, Avery, and Avery Girl

After all the shopping, we decided to take a break at the store library & read to the dolls!

We headed back to the hotel pretty early, as the girls were exhausted. Then, they was the second wind...yep, they played with the dolls for hours!

Starting to get tired...watching TV with the dolls!

I think Ashlyn fell asleep in the middle of saying prayers!

Silly girls!

The dolls went with us to breakfast, of course!

We headed back on Saturday.

The girls had a blast & Ashlyn is already asking if we can go there again!

Disney 2011

Our first family vacation as a family of 4!!!

With Anna being born in June, we were not able to go on vacation during the summer. Ashlyn was quite the trooper and enjoyed her time around Mt. Pleasant. After we got on a regular schedule with school, etc., we decided to hit Disney for a few days. We were not sure how it would be with a three month old in tow, but we decided to give it a go. Our motto...divide and conquer when necessary, or in Ashlyn's favorite words, "Mommy has a girl, so Daddy needs a girl!"

Anna's first character encounter...MICKEY!!!

Ummm...yep, she fell asleep during our photo shoot!

The first day we were in Florida, we went to Hollywood Studios. It was Ashlyn's first time to visit that park. We had a pretty good time. There were a few afternoon showers that we had to hide from, but Ashlyn was so excited to see Disney Junior Live, that the rain was just a small detail of her day! She loved seeing Jake and the Neverland Pirates. This sparked the idea for her to be Izzy for Halloween & Anna would be her parrot, Skully!
On our second day in Florida, we decided to go back to Sea World. Ashlyn had not been there since her second birthday & could not remember the dolphins. She really enjoyed watching all of the shows with her Daddy!

Ash giving Anna a kiss! Anna & I could not go into the show, so we watched from the balcony.

That evening, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Our family favorite...Trick or Treating with Mickey!!! Ashlyn dressed in her Rapunzel dress.

We enjoyed watching the "Boo to You" Halloween parade. Ash had the best view!

Getting tired....

Well, not if there is still candy to collect!

We closed the park down!!!Day 3, we went to the Magic Kingdom.

We had lunch at the Crystal Palace with Pooh & his friends. We decided to try to see different characters on this visit. We took Ash to see ALL of the princesses on our last visit.

Ash wanted to take a few pictures...Rick & I with Tigger!

Piglet...Anna never cried!

She loved looking at all of the characters...I think she liked the bright colors!

My favorite! Eore!

The Chadwick girls with Tigger!

Next we hit Neverland...Ashlyn loved the outfits that all of the fairies were wearing. Their wings were beautiful! Here she is with Rosetta!

Ash & Tink! Ok, so if you know Ashlyn, then you know we could NOT leave without seeing Ariel & giving Prince Eric another kiss!!! We waited in line for an hour for this special moment!

I just had to share this...our little sweetheart...totally pouting because, well, I can't even remember now. Rick and I could not stop giggling to really figure out what upset her. She stormed up the steps and sat with her back to us for a few minutes. I like to think that she was reflecting back over the 3 days of family fun that she just experienced!

No attitude there...

She got over it pretty quickly & was ready to take some pictures!

Rcik and I at the hotel!

Rick & Ash being silly in front of the waterfall.

What a great weekend...I look forward to our return next Fall!

Ashlyn's 1st day of school...I cannot believe that she is 3!

So, after much anticipation, the day finally arrived! I think I was more upset than Ash...OK, I was totally the ONLY one upset! After having Ashlyn in my class for two years, she would be leaving me this year to go to the 3's class. She is now a member of Ms. Cara & Ms. Kim's Fish Pond!!!

On the first day, all of the parents met with the teachers & then went to orientation. I had to be with my new class, so Rick and Anna went with Ashlyn. I was able to pop in for a couple of seconds near the end. I was so afraid that Ashlyn was going to cry, but she never did!

She loves her new class! The first day of class. Ashlyn was so excited to be going to the "big kid" class. She thinks that it is hysterical that I have to stay with the"babies"!

Random Summer of 2011.....

The summer was definitely action packed & loads of fun. I am just figuring out that I know what we did, however, I don't know when we did it all. Ha Ha...I'll blame it on baby brain and sleep deprivation! I know we saw lots of family and friends & went on as many outings as I could handle. Ashlyn was able to catch the fireworks on the 4th. Sissy & Curt came to visit & we had a cook out. Ashlyn went to Bible School & really enjoyed it. She also took a class at The Little Gym, which was really fun because she got to wear her new tap shoes! We went to story time at the library, the aquarium, made play dates at the park & pool, and I managed to fit a few naps in the mix.

Anna's first visit to Great-grandma Hazel Collette's! Daddy was trying to keep up with everything & work....

Ash & Rick at the neighborhood pool.

Sleeping while everyone else enjoys the pool...two weeks old!

Aunt Glenda with Anna

Brooke, Cara, Ashlyn, and Anna hanging out. Aunt Glenda kept Ash some after Anna was born & her girls came to stay with us some, too. It was a great break for me. Brooke plays well with Ash & Cara does a great job holding Anna!

Cara, Ashlyn, and Brooke at the water park. We went with Nana & Papa to a Fire Department party. It was fun to watch Ash on the bigger slides this year!

Grayson and Lauren came to visit for the summer. We were able to spend a few days together & it worked out that we were able to take the boat out for an afternoon. It was totally fun & I realized how much I miss these guys!

The family...minus Tess and Greg. We always get together the day in between mine & Dad's birthdays.

Lauren & Anna

Ashlyn & Grayson

Grayson & Ash with one of the two huge stuffed animals that he won for her at Blackbeard's Cove.

Rick and Ash hanging out on the boat. They were talking about Ash trying the tube by herself.

Ashlyn riding behind the boat all by herself! She was awesome & kept wanting to go faster!

Rick took Ashlyn to get her first bike. She did very well & they went on neighborhood rides everyday when he came home from work.

Ashlyn and her friend, Brynlee, at the neighborhood water park.

Ashlyn, Rick, and I at a Riverdogs game. It was Military Appreciation Night. Fun times with some of Rick's coworkers & the only game we were able to see this year.

Mommy & Me

A local art studio, Bottles N Brushes, offered a "Mommy & Me" class that I thought would be fun. With Anna being a few weeks old, I figured that Ash and I could use a little break & spend some time together. It turned out to be a really fun experience. Ash did great!

Ash & I before class... Ashlyn working on her master piece!
The pictures turned out totally cute. We each painted two clown fish swimming in the ocean. The seaweed on my painting connects to the seaweed on Ashlyn's painting...hanging them side by side will give us a school of adorable little "Nemos"!

Fun Saturday in the Lowcountry!

What a great day! We met Avery, Macy, Julie & her firend at the aquarium. The girls played for several hours & were very happy to find that Dora was visiting for the day!

Ashlyn with Dora & Boots Ashlyn and her best bud, Avery, checking out the new play area at the aquarium!
We finished our visit with a stop by the IMAX theater. They had a special showing of Dora in 4D. It was awesome & the girls really enjoyed it! Our last stop before heading home was at Fleet's Landing for a bite to eat. Ashlyn was super excited to have "shrimp with paper to peel off" for lunch. She ate an entire order!