Everyday Happenings

Colin is just about 11 months and Whitney just about 3 years and 9 months.  They both have been growing so much lately I thought I should write about it.

As I watch Whitney walking around talking, singing and playing make believe, I can't believe my first baby is so old!  She continues to make us laugh everyday with her silly ways.  Ever since she was a baby she has loved to put things on her head.  Buckets, boxes, napkins, blankets.  And to this day she loves to put random objects on her head and thinks it is the funniest thing ever.  Lately, she has been singing a ton and we have gotten some really good recordings of it. Anything from Call Me Maybe, to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Doe A Deer.  It is so fun to watch her grow and see how her mind works. We love seeing that she is such a blend of the two of us.  She can be quiet at times like her Mama, but loves to be a jokester like her Papa.  She loves to sing and dance like  you know who!  She loves maps, and lists and puzzles and just loves to figure out how things work.  Definitely a Papa trait.  Whitney has always been such a loving little girl but lately it has matured in a way.  Really asking me how I am feeling about something or asking me how my day went.  The other day she asked after a baby shower, "How was the baby party, Mama"?  I am so proud to see the loving and considerate little girl we are so blessed to call ours.


Now Colin is my snuggle bug.  This boy just continues to melt my heart with his snuggles and kisses.  However, he gets very excited and those kisses sometimes turn into bites.  Bites that really hurt!  So, we are working on that!  He has been cruising the furniture for quite awhile and is getting much better with his walker.  He has even had brief moments of standing with no hands.  My prediction is he is walking by 13 months.  He seems to be about a month ahead of Whitney with that stuff.  He is an eating machine.  He loves just about everything we put on his plate.  Some recent additions to his menu are tilapia, soy beans and he LOVES pears.  His favorite thing to do is to play with Whitney's kitchen.  Yes, Whitney's big play kitchen she got for Christmas gets more play time from this guy.  We have blocked off our unfurnished living room so he can't escape and put the kitchen in there.  He will spend hours in here.  He likes it because he can look in and see me cooking dinner but is happy in there playing by himself.  He has also started dancing.  If music comes on he stops what he is doing and does a very subtle nodding of his head.  Very cute!

Whitney is so good with her little brother.  If he is crying, she says, "It's ok Colin, I am right here".  And of course he wants to do whatever she is doing.  Which of course has caused for some difficulties with grabbing toys and such but that just comes with the territory of having siblings.  I love to watch their bond grow every day and I feel so lucky I am home to witness it all.

Here are some fun photos over that last month.

I mean, who doesn't watch TV with a hat over their face.

Shopping cart a Wegmans

Morning talks

Helping out while we had a weekend away.

Library time

Under a tent, a favorite activity around here.

So big!

 After nap snuggles

Kitchen time!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was really fun this year.  Whitney was especially into it since they were talking about it so much at school and doing many projects.  We did a few project here at home too, thanks to Grandma for sending some fun supplies!

My favorite thing about this Valentine's Day was our Love Jar.  I took an idea from a blog I follow and came up with a plan of my own.  I really hope to make this a yearly tradition.  Whitney helped me decorate the Love Jar.  For the two weeks leading up to Valentine's day we all wrote reasons why we love each person on a piece of paper and put it in our jar. Obviously, we had fun writing them for Colin but it was really fun seeing what Whitney wanted to say about everyone!  Then at our Valentine's Day dinner we read them to each other.  It was so much fun!

Loved his card but had to quickly take it since he started eating it.  

Loved her Jake and The Neverland card from Papa.  Had fun putting the coins in the treasure chest!

Colin's Baptism

This past weekend was Colin's baptism.  It was an amazing weekend spent with family.  He was baptized at Leesburg Presbyterian Church where I grew up going.  Whitney was also baptized here.  He did an amazing job the entire service.  He loved watching the choir and dancing along with their singing.  He got passed down the pew sitting with different people.  And most importantly he did not cry when the minister took him and put the water on his head!  We then hosted 35 people at our house for lunch and had a blast visiting with everyone!

What was extra special about the weekend was the visit from Brady, Niki, Cole and Haley.  They live in Charlotte and we only get to see them about 2-3 times a year.  We were thrilled to have them come and stay at our new home and create many fun memories together.  Cole and Haley kept Whitney and Colin busy with hide 'n' seek, Ipad games and crafts.  And the best part was Brady and Niki became Colin's god parents!  Thank you guys for making the trip up!

I definitely did not get enough pictures from the weekend but here are a few highlights.

Sneak Peak

I plan on doing one mega blog about our house renovation.  However, that could take me weeks...ok if not months!  Mainly because we have pictures all over the place.  Old phones, old computers and collecting them all is going to be a task.  But I wanted to give everyone a sneak peak at a little bit of the transformation that happened.  All the details will come later.  But here are few pictures.

A look at the old exterior and how we built over the garage for the master bedroom.

Shutters and old porch came down.  See new master over the garage.

We added a three story addition to the back.

Our finished exterior

Check back in for the details, inside pictures and all the hard work that went into our new home. 

Not So Ordinary Day

Imagine the Sara Bareilles song,  "Just a day, just an ordinary day, just trying to get by."

Today was an ordinary day. The joys of being a stay at home mom and getting to love on my two babies.  The trials of dealing with a nuisance of a cold and having to tend to poor Colin as he battles a 102 fever.  Lucky, that Tim got to stay home today and help out. That we just ordered pizza in and my house is a mess!  Today was an ordinary day.

Two years ago today was not so ordinary. Two years ago tonight we were holding our baby girl, Christine, and wishing things were different.  Wishing that this devastating day wasn't happening to us.  Wishing that something could be done to save our little girl.  But that wasn't our story.  It is a sad one and all of you know it.  So, today I want to talk of the good that came out of it.

I think the first and most obvious one is that we have been blessed with a healthy baby boy.  I feel so lucky that having Colin was part of our healing process. I squeeze him extra tight everyday and think of Christine and how losing her was part of the journey in him joining our family.

 Second, is that we have had Whitney right here beside us reminding us of how fortunate we were to have her as we went through that heartbreak.  She was our light and the reason I got out of bed and how I found strength to look forward.

And third, is my relationship with Tim.  I have always been proud of our marriage but never more so than when we lost Christine.  Tim was my rock, even though he was hurting too, and I am forever grateful for that.  I like to think of that pain we shared as an extra layer that makes us even stronger.

So, I will take these ordinary days.  I will never wish one moment away.  I will cherish the hugs and the I love you's I get from Whitney, and I will enjoy the extra snuggles with a feverish little boy.  I am lucky to be married to my best friend who I know is always right by my side.

We love you Christine and even though you are not here with us, you will always have a place in our family.

9 Months

I will continue to say this every milestone post, but I can't believe Colin is 9 months!

Our little guy continues to steal our hearts.  He is such a happy guy and everyone who meets him says so!  He loves to laugh, especially with his big sis.    His babbling has started to take some shape and some mamama's, papapapa's, dadadada's and babababa's are coming out.  I keep drilling him on the first one.

He is all over the place.  He is very content doing the army crawl and is one speedy guy.  Though he doesn't knee crawl yet he somehow climbs over and into everything.  He also loves to pull himself up to standing.  He has loads of energy and is very loud but he continues to be a very calm baby.  Very content to play by himself for long periods of time and enjoys stroller time or shopping.   And he LOVES to sleep.  He snuggles for a few seconds but is literally diving out of my arms to snuggle up in his bed.  Making for a very well rested Mama!

This guy loves to eat!  His favorite foods seem to be avocado and cheese.  He is one big guy and soon will be ready for 18month clothing but to my surprise he isn't very high on the percentile chart.  22 lbs (75th),   28 1/2 inches (50th) and 18 1/2 (90th)--Ashbaugh head :)

Lots of fun pictures from this past month!

Christmas

We have one whirlwind of a month.  We moved into our new house November 30th (blog on that to come) and it feels like we have not sat down since!

We will start with Whitney at school.  It was exciting that she was finally able to attend all three days a week at school this month especially in preparation for Christmas.  Their class time was filled with Christmas crafts, songs and stories.  She would come home talking about Santa and baby Jesus's birthday.  Her Christmas class had a show and they sang around 12 songs. My mom, Ann, Colin and I attended and enjoyed a small reception afterwards.  It was nice to visit with some of the other parents.  Then the final day of class before Christmas break they had a party and I got to attend.  It was fun to watch what went on in the class and how well Whitney follows directions.  They got to eat cookies, cupcakes and hot chocolate and received many gifts like candy canes, books, pencils and more.  Here are a few pictures.

Always loving on her brother

Mrs. Claus came to visit her classroom.

I have not kept count but for maybe 5 years, we have had an annual Christmas get together with the Bowlins, Gallos, and Swearingens.  In years past we have met at a restaurant in Fredericksburg, but as we continued to add more kids we decided that was not doable.  This year we were so excited to host at our new house!  We put the kids to bed and enjoyed a nice peaceful dinner!  The next morning Tim showed off his skills on our new flat top that makes amazing eggs and bacon!

Best group shot

 Sort of smiles from the big kids

Every year we have a tree Trimming get together at my parents.  My mom made a delicious dinner and we all enjoyed decorating the tree together.  Whitney was especially excited and very helpful this year.  Here are so cute pictures.  Ann was there too!

 Marguerite and I usually take turns each year putting on the angel, but we passed the torch this year.

 It was a little tricky, so Papa finished the job.

Santa was in full force this year.  Whitney was so excited for him to come and asked many question.  We were thrilled when the first week we moved here there was a Christmas parade. Tim took Whitney that morning and they had fun waving to Santa and collecting candy canes.  Then that night Santa came to our neighborhood.  Tim had just tucked Whitney into bed but rushed down to see him! A true highlight of the season!

Cookies!  Usually I am a cookie making machine but for obvious reasons that did not happen this season.  We did get some cookie making in though but not enough pictures!  My 8th annual cookie day with Ann and Gigi.  We were limited on time this year so I had made the dough the night before and Ann and I rolled and cut them. Gigi and the twins, now 7, joined us for cookie decorating and dinner.  It was loads of fun and Whitney loved keeping up with the big kids.  Just didn't get enough pictures!

As I posted on Facebook...To Eat or To Ice...

Lots of eating happened but she did ice for hours!

Colin's participation!

Marguerite and I also headed over to my Mom's to make Nanny's sugar cookies.  Unfortunately, we have no pictures to document that day but it was lots of fun!

Tim and I got invited to two Christmas parties on the same night so we decided to make it to both!  Grandma and Grandpa babysat and we had fun dressing up for the night.  First we headed to Kate and Bill Heyer's then to Kerry and David Guaglianone.  We had fun catching up with old and new friends!

We also had an Ashbaugh get together.  We were so excited to fit 12 adults at our new dining room table.  Tim worked hard making a delicious dinner.  We had so much fun visiting with everyone but hardly got any pictures!  Katie did bring some delicious desserts!!

Snow! We had a White Christmas which made everything extra special.  Whitney spent hours outside for about three days straight. She happily played out there by herself while we all stayed warm inside!

Watching the snow fall together.  So sweet!

Many snow angels

Actually, Uncle Casey did go out with her and taught her to throw snowballs at the window!

                                               

And built her a snowman!

 I have tons and TONS of pictures from the few days surrounding Christmas.  Where do I even begin!

Grandma and Grandpa arrived and we got busy getting ready for Christmas!

Yep, I posted it...sorry guys, but can't not document Santa's reindeer!

Our tree made it up on the 22nd.  It made everything feel so homey.  Plus, gotta remember all the packing boxes and paper piled in the corner!

Christmas Eve was spent with the O'Neill's.  We had a blast and even got to Skype with Brady and Niki.  We also got to enjoy hearing the Night Before Christmas book that the O'Neill family members recorded in one of those recording books.  Whitney loved hearing everyone's voices.

Uncle Casey got Whitney a basketball hoop.  It has gotten a lot of action the last week.  Definitely one of the favorite gifts!

There are so many pictures from Christmas, I am just going to list them below and narrate a bit.

Cookies, chocolate milk and carrots

 Saying goodbye to Candy Cane our Elf

 Looking for Santa

 Santa found our new house!

Colin spent most of Christmas climbing on top of boxes.

 Whitney got three of her major wants off her list...Cinderella Lego castle

 Kitchen

 Dreamlite

She just keeps asking about the washing machine she asked for...this girl loves to clean!

 Delicious breakfast.  Eggs, bacon and French toast.  

Yes, she is too old for a bib but not when syrup is involved!

 Whitney discovered The Sound of Music.  What a magical way to spend Christmas morning.  We have been singing the songs nonstop!

 Everyone was a bit cranky by the end of the day but we did manage a shot without crying!

 Tim and I got to cook and entertain so much over the holiday.  It was so much fun and we can't wait for many more memories like these in our new home!!