A Weekend of Firsts

At the end of June, Jeff, Ashton and I took a long weekend trip down to Naples, Florida to visit Popster (my dad), Gigi and Aunt Casey.  We had a great time and Ashton had a power packed weekend full of exciting new activities.  It was his first plane ride, his first time meeting his grandparents and Aunt Casey, his first dip in the Gulf and his first fishing trip.  Of course he loved spending time with Popster, Gigi and Aunt Casey and they just ate him up!  Shortly after we returned home, my dad called to say they were suffering from ‘AW’, Ashton withdrawal.   

 

Fortunately for his beach-loving parents, Ashton enjoyed our time at the beach.  He did well in the water, although he didn’t like having his wet swimsuit on afterwards.  He took his first swim in the Gulf and kicked those little legs like he was born to swim (check out the video!).  He's such a little water bug! We had lots of fun playing with him and seeing his reactions as he observed his new surroundings.  All of the new activities tuckered him out and he took a sweet nap on the beach. 

Ashton did very well on the plane ride down to Florida, even managing to take a little snooze.  On the way back, he also slept for a good portion of the trip until…he had a major blow out.  The diaper change in and of itself on a plane is not ideal, esp since we hit turbulence while we were in the bathroom.  Jeff and I made a rookie mistake however by forgetting to recheck his diaper bag essentials before we got on the plane.  We didn’t have any clean clothes to change him into…oops!  So he was naked boy for a while, until Jeff realized he packed an extra tshirt in his carry-on.  We, along with our fellow passengers, got quite a chuckle out of his new outfit but suffice it to say, lesson learned…

 We had a great time and miss you Popster, Gigi and Aunt Casey!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Love,
K & J

Ashton Hearts Mickey

My mom LOVES Disney.  LOVES. LOVES. LOVES.  I, on the other hand, am not a huge fan of Disney (I know, bah humbug).  I'm not a hater by any means but suffice it to say that I haven't been dreaming of the day when we take Ashton to Disney, bumping stroller to stroller with every other Disney nut in anticipation of our next ride or catching a glimpse of the infamous mouse. 

Grammy, however, believes in the 'start 'em young' approach and bought Ashton a mini Mickey doll shortly after he was born. So, wouldn't you know it then that Mickey is Ashton's absolute favorite stuffed animal.  Go figure, right?  Needless to say, Grammy finds the whole situation highly amusing and is already planning our first trip. 

Here are a few pics of Ashton and his BFF Mickey...btw, Walt Disney was clearly genius designing a character in primary colors that little ones can see best.

Note: many of these photos are older but his love affair with Mickey continues to the present day. :)

We don't leave home without him!

Love,

K & J

Six Month Pics

You may remember that we had newborn pics taken of Ashton by the very talented Rachel Cohara.  We loved those photos so much that we decided to sign up for a series of photo sessions with her to capture our little man’s growth.  As part of that package, we had 6 month photos taken at a park on Lake Erie several weeks ago.  It’s a beautiful setting and one that we walk to often, so it felt extra special being there.

As luck would have it, Ashton, who is normally a very smiley baby, wasn’t feeling super smiley that night.  Granted, it was sunset, which was probably getting a tad on the late side for him AND since it was such a beautiful night, lots of people were out and about, and Mr. Curious couldn’t help but be distracted.

Despite the lack of gummy smiles, we love all of the pics and the expressions that so capture Ashton’s little personality. 

Thank you again, Rachel, for helping us capture these moments!  

Love,

K & J