As the world turns......

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???


We LOVE the balloons!

Anywho, that is what is going on at our house, I seriously hope you are having as much fun at yours!!!! ;P

Our Sweet girl is ONE!

Howdy to all!!!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week, and enjoying everything life has to offer!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting about baby girls birthday, but I am pretty sure I sucked in some nasty germs somewhere that turned into the flu- I say "pretty sure" because the flu they tested me for was type A and B- they only ones they CAN treat, and lucky me.. I didn't have either of those.. so I just suffered (not so silently, just ask my husband) in bed for about a week, and I am FINALLY feeling much better- and I don't sound like a toad... all I can say is a sounded a lot better than I actually looked (again.. just ask my husband- bless his heart.)

OK.. enough with the sickies.

Ashlyns party was just too, too fun. I love this baby girl, and I absolutely cannot believe she is ONE.. ALREADY. We had her one year well baby visit with her pediatrician, she is 30 1/2 inches in length (90% for height!!) and just a tad shy of 19 lbs (10-25% for weight).. so she is a waify supermodel. How THAT happened, dunno. Doc advised us on making big girl transitions, like giving up the bottle.. which shouldn't be too hard- as it is, she only gets two bottles a day, and quite frankly, she's not all that interested in them.. so I don't think that will be a difficult transition.. we will also move her over to whole milk.. but of course we have a gallon sized tin to get rid of first, so I figure another month of formula isn't going to kill her.

Big girl!!!!

She is cutting teeth right now (all four of her top teeth), two have popped through, so we have been a little cranky, but not too bad. We are always on schedule, and she is still sleeping through the night, despite the whole teething bit. We really are blessed that we have such a wonderful baby... funny considering I knew NOTHING about babies when she was born, and I thought she was super "needy".. looking back.... funny, funny, funny. She's an independent little girl, but for the most part, she is super adaptable, and all too lovable. I can't imagine not being able to hold and cuddle with her.. I can't imagine her getting older, dating, driving... going away to college.. sigh... ignore the hormonal preggo...

Back to my BABY....

The actual birthday party "DAY" went off without a hitch- Couldn't have gone better. My dear husband, his mother (NANA A!) and my mother (NANA C!!) were super helpful in the preparations, helping prepare food and hanging decorations- everyone arrived just in time to see the birthday girl show off her brand new tutu.. and can I just say.. precious. LOVE IT!!! In typical girl fashion, she was a little unsure of herself when she first got the tutu on.. but after a few minutes of us oooh-ing and ahhhh-ing over how cute she was, she definitely got with the program, and man can that girl POSE!!! She definitely knows when the camera is around!!! Hummm... wonder where she got that.....

Birthday party decor!!!

The cake.... (a BIG thank-you to Nesli for the cake recommendation!!!)

Baby girls very own smash cake...

Birthday party hat and bib...

Love that Tutu!!!

Birthday BLOOMERS!!!

Our little family

... and some of our very favorite people!!!

Nana C

Nana A
Uncle Brian

Auntie Heidi
Papa Jim and Liz

Auntie Heidi and Cousin Ella Jane

Cousin Grady

After some lunch and spreading the joy and love around the bit, it was time for CAKE!!! Ah, yes.. we LOVE cake here around the Smedstad house.. Chris loves the icing, and I love anything with sugar.. so everyone was happy.. including baby girl. At first she wasn't so sure what to do with this big white mountain in front of her.. but once she tasted the sugar.. it was MANIA... ha!!! She giggled and laughed, and waved at EVERYONE.. it was sooooo cute.. seriously one of the cutest moments by far in her life (and there are MANY).....

Happy Birthday, baby!!!!!

But... what IS it???

Hummm.. how does it taste???

"I LIKE it!!!!".. and the waving begins...

The TWO Nana's!!!!

More waving....

See what I mean???

...aaaannnddd........ the sugar rush.....

Ok.. so it's not cake.. but tasty none-the-less...

Oh!! and don't forget all of the goodies!!! Baby girl had a blast opening all of her gifts....

With a little help from Daddy...

And a few friends....

The animal crackers were a big hit!!!

It was super hard to choose just a few pics from the event.. but I hope I did the party justice.. ENJOY!!!!

Hugs and Kisses!!!

Babies, SNL and One Naked Cowboy...

Gosh! It's been a while since we have posted.. but I wanted to include pics of all the good stuff we have had going on!!!

First of all, baby-in-utero is growing!!! All I can say is WOW!- Cantaloupe this week- impressive!

We had the "BIG" ultrasound last week.. baby looks good and healthy and is measuring ahead of his/her due date. As most of you know.. my dear husband thinks we should wait until the baby is born to find out if it's a boy or girl- those of you who know me well, know that I am super impatient.. so this is KILLING me....Chris says "there are only so few surprises left in life".. barf. But I guess I will let him have his way. According to the Chinese predictor calender, we will have a girl.. according to the Russian cab driver we had in NYC, also- girl.. So we will see.

Here are a few pics from the ultrasound.. $100 goes to the first one who can tell me if it's a boy or a girl!!!

Ashlyn is doing so well- and pretty darn cute, wouldn't you say??

and.. no..nothing matches and she is wearing a headband.. I figured I would show this at her wedding...

We are about to come up on the BIG FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!! I absolutely cannot wait!!! It's not anything big, just family, but I cannot believe my sweet baby girl is going to be ONE!!! Time flies by so fast, **sigh**...

This is her first birthday tutu.. pretty sure it doesn't go there.. buuut.. I could be wrong...

Ok.. so over the weekend, Chris and I had our big "babymoon" trip to NYC!!! All I can say is WOW!! We had fun and got to do LOTS of fun and interesting things. We started on Friday night by checking out the musical 'Chicago'- it was a pretty good show and well worth the money!!! I love Broadway!! I think I might have liked to be an actor on Broadway- if only my voice didn't make people run so very fast in the opposite direction....oh well.

We did the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Saturday after noon- which was really pretty interesting.. we had skipped it all last time we were in NYC due to the incredibly CRAZY long lines and tourists.. but this time of year, it was perfect.

On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty...very.. very Windy.

There she is folks...

Ellis Island (well, not the ISLAND.. but in the building ON the island..)

Saturday evening was.... AWESOME!!!!!!! So one of my number one things to do in life (sad, I know!!!) was to get to see Saturday Night LIVE, well, LIVE!!! Not ONLY did we get to see SNL.. but we got to sit on the FLOOR of the studio (well, not THE floor, but the MAIN floor) . This is where all the magic happens.. all of the actors were racing by us, the cameras were overhead, all of the sets moving everywhere.. it was a TRIP!!! There are only 38 seats TOTAL on the studio floor, the rest of the audience sits up above the stage, looking down on the production. The guest host was Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock") and the musical guest was Ray LaMontagne (who was AWESOME by the way).. not only THAT, but Justin Timberlake AND Jessica Biel BOTH made surprise cameos. Every actor was close enough to touch (don't worry.. I am not that kind of stalker.. but it was so surreal!)- all of the skits were pretty much RIGHT in front of us!!!

I have NO idea how we got so lucky.. When they were checking us in, they told us to go into one of two lines.. our line was the shortest (obviously), and we were the third couple in line- all I can think of is that they thought we weren't too ugly- I dunno, maybe they wanted a good sampling of the American population, and they thought a preggo and her hot husband couldn't hurt?? All I know is I didn't see any fatties or dudes in cut off tees. (ha!)

Unfortunately, they did not allow any photography in the studio.. and we were afraid we were going to be sent back with the masses, so we didn't even try it. But it was such a NEAT experience!!!! Thank you LORD!

After thinking that NOTHING could top Saturday night....

That's right folks, it's the NAKED COWBOY...right there in Time Square.. in all of his glory (ah-hem- undies). Now this is no way TOPS SNL, but it's definitely the cherry on top.. Never in a MILLION years did I EVER even THINK I would run into the Naked Cowboy, much less jump in and take a picture with him.. I am sure he loved it... because everyone loves a preggo hugging a guy in his tighty-whities. Needless to say, my lovely husband was NOT amused.

And by the WAY- I did NOT put my hand there- HE did...(seriously).

After our awesome weekend.. it was time to go home, but not before a visit to Radio City Music Hall and a quick pic with a Rockett.. it was a neat tour, but unfortunately, they put the kabosh on me EVER becoming a Rockett (I'm sure it's just the height.. could also be the bump.. I will never know.. **le sigh**)- but Chris seemed to fit right in!!

Chris's audition

So we flew home Monday night, tired and worn out from an awesome weekend. The flight was delayed a bit, so I grabbed a book, 'Twilight' to read, and read it cover to cover- it was GOOD!!! I love reading and haven't gotten much of a chance since baby girl was born, so it was nice to be immersed in a novel again.. it was so good, I ordered the other three books in the series, and hope to make it a little something special I do from time to time!

I was so happy to see baby girl when Chris brought her home from Brian and Heidi's- I just almost BURST! I have never been away from Ashlyn for more than about 24 hours- so this was a toughy!! But I know she was in good hands, and had lots and lots of fun with Nana first and then with Brian, Heidi and cousins Grady and Ella!! I couldn't ask for anything more! Thanks so much to all of you!!!! We love you ALL!!

Kisses from us both!!!

We hope everyone has a FANTASTIC week!!!!