The Smedstad Family: May 2009

So...we are super behind in blogging-land!!! Totally my bad.. I just find that nowadays, napping when baby girl is napping is all too hard to avoid. Besides the fact that sleep and I have a long standing love affair, uninterrupted sleep at night is hard to come by, what with the multiple pee breaks and the three-part-turning-over process (good fun there).. but my dear husband reminds me ever-so lovingly that I still have a few months to go, so I'd better suck it up.. (sad, and oh so true).

So, what is in that big belly of mine???

A SQUASH!!! No WONDER!!!

Since our last post, we have had lots of goings on at the Smedstad house (would you expect anything else???) After baby girls big first birthday party, we still enjoyed balloons two weeks later- I think I got my moneys worth in that department.. I am thinking I should just forgo gifts next year, and just fill the house with balloons.. they seem to provide some decent entertainment.

Helium-filled fun!

Easter came and went- although I am pretty sure the adults in this house enjoyed it more than baby girl did... what with all of the candy Ashlyn got from the Easter Bunny- couldn't let that go to waste!

She enjoyed her first Easter Egg hunt at my Sister-in-Law's grandparents retirement living center (did ya follow that??). I would have LOVED to have watched this event, however, I was stuck on the side of the road sans gas... that's right.. I RAN OUT OF GAS!!!! My poor brother rescued me while the rest of the family was on the egg hunt... (Seriously- pregnancy brain has set in- in the WORST way...)

Great pic... sure wish I was THERE! geah!!!

Anywho, Ashlyn and Daddy also got an opportunity to dye some Easter Eggs, and Papa (my Dad) brought Ashlyn an Easter basket he and Liz had put together.

Daddy and baby girl dying the Easter Eggs!!

Easter Basket= Good Times

You can always tell Ashlyn belongs to us because she pretty much gnawed through the plastic to get to the candy...

Seriously, someone could lose a finger here...

Miss Ashlyn has been discovering LOTS of new things to terrorize... the Tupperware drawer (I've got lids and bowls of all sizes out the yin-yang), the coozie drawer (lots of good times.. take a coozie out, put a coozie in.. out, in.. out... in.. out.. amazing..) She loves to get in (and out of) baskets and drawers.. She has also discovered that if she takes over Lucy's blanket, Lucy will drag her all over the house- which is serious fun in a one year old's mind...
Out..In.. Out..In...

Ashlyn: "WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"

Lucy: "Seriously??"

I took baby girl to the mall playground for the first time- she ran in circles.. over and over again (anyone see and OCD pattern developing here??), she really enjoyed it-squealing in delight and stopping to pet all of the big turtles and butterflies.

OCD Anyone???

She also LOVES to play outside, on the RARE occasion that we dry out during the day, we always sit (ok, I sit) on the patio while Ashlyn and Lucy chase each other.

Ashlyn is learning to climb up hills- no problems there, she heads to the top and plays in the dirt.. only problem is, she hasn't 'quite' figured out how to get down..... She has also discovered the pansies still hanging on from the winter.

"Daaaaaa"= "See the pretty flowers, momma??"

Ashlyn: "DAT??" (pointing to flowers)
Me: "Those are pretty flowers, this is a yellow one, a purple one and a red one."
Ashlyn: "Duuuuuuu" (petting the flowers)
Me: "yes, pretty flowers"
Ashlyn : "DAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"- as she pulls every last petal from the stem......

Destructo, the Pansy Destroyer- see the petal trail she leaves in her wake...

We like to visit any kind of Arts festival that is going on around here, baby girl likes to people watch and we like to see the neat stuff that is always displayed.. Here is Miss Ashlyn talking up a storm to some random strangers (seriously, this part is allllll Chris- they could both talk to stop signs). Who knows what the heck she is saying, but it makes total sense to her.

Where is the stranger danger, here???