Do You Want "Dip-Dip" With That?

I'm not sure exactly when this started, but at some point, Ashlyn decided that all food is better with "Dip-Dip" or "Dippy". I think it started with introducing her to ketchup for her french fries, and it has just moved on from there. She asks for some form of dip at most meals (sometimes she forgets at breakfast if she's having cereal, but all other meals, she typically asks), and she doesn't seem to care what kind of "Dippy" she gets -- she'll take anything from ketchup to syrup. She also doesn't care what food she dips into what kind of dip. In the picture, she's dipping her brownie into some cheese sauce. Some of her other wonderful combinations include dipping cantalope in tomato sauce, and green beans in carmel. Yum, yum.

Pat-downs and Pocket Checks

Ever since Ashlyn discovered that pockets are really useful things, Corey and I try to remember to give her random pat-downs and pocket checks to make sure that she's not bringing random stuff with her to bed, or out of the house if we're going anywhere. Unfortunately, sometimes things get missed. On Sunday morning, we had to go to the 8:00am church service because Corey had to work earlier than usual. This meant that there was a hectic rush to get out of the house. Since Ashlyn was wearing a dress, the usual pocket checks didn't apply because she had no pockets. Well, we were sitting in church, and Ashlyn was getting pretty wiggly about half-way through, so Corey took her from me because she was getting hard to hold onto. During the offering, Corey leans over to me and whispers, "Honey, what does she have down her shirt?" I gave him a funny look and said "What are you talking about?" Corey reached down the back of Ashlyn's shirt and pulled out a comb. We both tried really hard not to laugh, but couldn't help it. Corey then whispered, "Hey, I guess you looked away for 5 seconds while you were combing her hair this morning, didn't you?" I was completely dumbfounded at how she had managed to slip the comb down her shirt, and how we had managed to leave the house without noticing this. I guess we'll be more diligent with our pat-downs from now on.

Just the Three of Us

I had planned on starting a family blog sometime after our second child graces us with her (or his, we're not completely sure) presence (the due date is Nov. 12), but I decided to start now instead. Lately I've been having a difficult time imagining what life will be like with Ashlyn and another baby around, so rather than try to imagine what the future holds, I figured it might be a good idea just to enjoy the little threesome that we are right now. (Which means giving Ashlyn all of the attention that an only child deserves, for as long as she gets to hold that position in life.)

Since March 28, 2007, Ashlyn Grace has been the center of our lives. She has grown and changed so much during that time that it is hard to imagine that the little girl that runs around my house now is the same child that I brought home from the hospital a year and a half ago. Now she chatters all the time (I've lost track of how many words she knows -- she gains several everyday), she plays elaborate pretend games, and loves telling us "No" whenever we ask her to do things she doesn't want to do.






Ashlyn - 4 days old







Ashlyn - 4 months old






Ashlyn - 9 months old






Ashlyn - 18 months old