8 Months With Baylee!

Sunday, March 15, 2015

My crazy little girl is 8 months old now, and boy has this month been all about making leaps and bounds with her development! She's bee-lining toward becoming a toddler and I'm so not ready for it. I find myself saying all the time "Where did my baby go?!" Truthfully, I loooove the age she is right now, though! She's becoming so independent and self aware and it's been the neatest thing to watch.


This wild one does not stay still for anything! This was the best picture I could get this month because we are officially crawling all over the place at the speed of lightning! It happened so fast...one day she was crying on her tummy because she couldn't go anywhere, a few days later she was scooting, and a few days after that she was full-on crawling like a little champ. The baby gates were promptly ordered at that point! She's the cutest little crawler and such a happy baby now that she can get around. I love watching her explore around the family room; it's like she's seeing her world from a whole new point of view. :) 


As soon as she became mobile she also decided to conquer another milestone and is now pulling herself up on everything she possibly can. We had to adjust her crib mattress all the way to the bottom
 because I was afraid she would topple out! We got her one of those "walker" toys to help her learn to take steps, and she has also been cruising along the couch. I wouldn't be surprised if this little lady is walking by May or June. She doesn't hold back, that's for sure!








In other "big stuff" news, Baylee has also decided that she's too old for Mama to feed her and is now refusing to eat pureed food. She loves to feed herself little bite sized pieces of whatever I give her. My kid is a total foodie! Right now her favorite things are toast, sweet potatoes, Cheerios, green beans, cheese, egg yolks, and Gerber Puffs. We haven't experimented with a lot of fruit yet, because it's so slippery, but now that her grip is getting better I will start adding some in soon. I have to admit I kind of love that she loves to feed herself. We eat dinner all together at the table and it's so nice. 




We went on a couple of adventures this month too! The first was Baylee's first snow day in Mt Baldy. Luckily, it wasn't too cold, so she really enjoyed it. She seemed very confused at first and tried to touch the snow, but her big puffy suit didn't give her much room for movement and she timbered right over....face first in the snow! She was a trooper, though, and no tears were shed! Phew! Then Daddy stuck some clean snow in her mouth and she went crazy for it. All smiles the whole time...it was a perfect day! So glad we made it, because with the 90 degree days we've been having, it looks like Winter is officially over in So. Cal!






Our next adventure was Baylee's first time at the park. We went with her Mimi (my sister...her Godmother) and she got to swing and slide for the first time. It was precious to see her get happy and excited on the swing. I see many, many more park days in the near future now that the weather is warming up. :)




My sweet girl is also getting very lovey and cuddly and I am soaking in every second of it! Sometimes she crawls over and just lays her head on my lap and my heart just explodes! We have also become quite the Daddy's girl too. He works full time and goes to school full time, so when he's around it's all Daddy all the time! Is she a spittin' image of him or what?!





So many other things happened this month...I'm afraid this blog post could go on forever! I say this all the time, but I just can't believe how much I love this little girl and her squinty, scrunchy smile! She is my sunshine everyday, and I love how bonded we are.



Is that the cutest face you've ever seen?! 

Until next time! XoXoXo

The Big 2-9 Is Here!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

 Well, it's here...my last year in my twenties! I really find it hard to believe that I am turning 29 tomorrow. I feel like I just celebrated my 21st birthday and now 30 is just around the corner. In all reality though, I am excited and ready for this time in my life. I was just telling my sister-in-law, Jenny that I feel ready to leave my immature twenties behind. I feel like your thirties are for fearlessly enjoying  life, and that is just what I plan on doing. :) 

So, since this blog is usually about Miss Baylee, in honor of my birthday, here are 29 random facts about little ol' me! Oh, and since Baylee turns 1 this year, here's a picture of my from my 1st birthday!



1. I love to cook and bake. I am always looking for new recipes to try on Pinterest. I'm thinking about posting some of them on future blog posts!
2. I am living my dream of being a stay-at-home Mommy. I know it's not for everyone, but I'm old fashioned like that, and love every minute of being with my girl!
3. Since my pregnancy, I hate bacon and any other foods that are super salty. It's so weird how pregnancy can change your taste for foods!
4. I have an irrational fear of bikes. I've only ridden one once in my life and fell. I was 5.
5. My guilty pleasures are bubble baths, ice cream/fro yo, and 19 Kids and Counting. (I know, I know...but it's like TV crack.)
6. We go to Disneyland as a family at least once a month and it never gets old. I don't understand people who don't like Disney...we just don't think on the same wavelength. ;)
7. I love planning parties and other events. Brian once commented that he thinks that I "like the stress and pressure of deadlines" and I just looked at him sheepishly, because it's true. Fill up my planner with lists and deadlines pleeeeeease!
8. Even though Baylee has been so much work, I still want 4 kids! Yes, I'm absolutely crazy!
9. I love going out to meals at restaurants especially Sunday breakfast. Mimosas and waffles please!
10. My name is spelled Ashlee because my Papa (grandpa on my Mom's side) is named Lee. I continued the tradition with Baylee, and I'm so glad that I did! 
11. I lived in Hawaii for 4 months when Brian was in the Marine Corps, and I miss it everyday. I have a love/hate relationship with living in California.
12. I love to overly celebrate all holidays. My house has been decorated for St. Patrick's Day since February 28th and will be decorated for Easter on March 18th! I can't wait to teach Baylee all of our holiday traditions!
13. My biggest pet peeves are people who tailgate me while driving and being put on hold for a long time during a phone call. 
14. I worked at Build-A-Bear for 7 years and it was the best job I've ever had. I met my best friend there and we had fun every day!
15. I love history and visiting historical places. I get stupidly excited about things like when I was standing in the spot where the Boston Massacre happened...you would have thought I just met a celebrity!
16. I am married to my best friend's husband's brother...and now we are sisters!
17. I am ridiculously afraid of heights, especially bridges.
18. My two favorite months are October and March.
19. I love the idea of decorating my house, but never get around to it...maybe one day.
20. I was never much of a germaphobe until I had a baby. Now I'm all about everything being clean and sanitized, but I'm working on being more relaxed about it.
21. I love all kinds of music, but my absolute favorite is country. My husband and I really enjoy going to country concerts together as our "date nights". I have a bucket list of all the artists I want to see live, namely Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw!
22. I'm very proud to be able to say that I am still friends with my best friend from preschool. We have been friends for 27 years and nothing has changed. :)
23. Growing up, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist so that I could train whales and dolphins at Sea World.
24. I have two sisters that are 9 and 12 years younger than me. Despite the age gap, we are super close...they're my besties!
25. I have a 6 year old Cocker Spaniel who thinks she's a human, and she's pretty much my favorite thing ever!
26. I went to private school from kindergarten until I graduated high school. College was a little bit of a culture shock for me. 
27. My favorite color is pink in all shades, especially fuchsia.
28. I love, love, love having a daughter! Since the day I found out Baylee was a girl I have been stoked thinking about all the girlie things we will get to do together throughout her life. I definitely want a boy one day, but there's no doubt I was meant to be a girl mom! :)
29. My family is everything to me! I am so blessed to have a wonderful, handsome husband and a beautiful, healthy daughter. I can't see what God has in store for us!

Well thats all for now, but I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me! :) I'll be back in just 10 days with Baylee's 8 month update! XoXoXo