One Month Onesie Pic

 Ashley wasn't so sure what to think for her one month photos.  She's probably thinking 'crazy Mommy has that big black contraption out again!'

She thought it was a little better laying in her crib.  She has a bit of the '4 week uglies' as Sara's Aunt Double affectionately called it with Trevor although we think Ashley got it worse.  Maybe it means she won't have much of it in her teenage years :)

It certainly doesn't bother her (or us).  She's as peaceful as can be! 

First Bottle

The day had finally arrived for Daddy to give Miss Ashley a bottle.  Since she was gaining weight and doing well with nursing now was the time!  Although Dada said he didn't feel like he was missing out by not partaking in her feeding but we're sure it still was fun to do!  We thought Trevor would be super excited to share in the special time too given his excitement in getting a bottle out and saying he was ready to help feed her the night we got home from the hospital, but no.....he said 'you just do it Daddy' and went back to playing :)

Teaching by modeling

As parents we are told to teach our children but more importantly to model the behavior that we want our children to exhibit.  With that in mind we signed up for a Love and Logic class that happens Tuesday nights at Trevor's school.  We are looking forward to the knowledge that this class will teach us but more importantly the fact that, as parents, we will have a unified front.  Parenting is not easy and it is good to capture some insights and behaviors that others have found to work in helping to raise kids who will ultimately make good choices, understand consequences, and will learn from affordable mistake that they make early on in life. 

Speaking of modeling good behavior, I (Brian) was saddened by a recent comment made by an anonymous source on the last blog posting.  The comment "wow you need a lot of help for two kids" is a perfect example of what I hope my kids will not learn.  My wife is a selfless person who devotes herself to our family.  Apparently whoever made this comment has never had a recent c-section, been nursing a newborn and had a contagious and nauseous 3 year old that they are trying to manage on their own.  And even if anyone has been in her shoes and known that experience, who cares how you may handle it vs how we did.

Sara puts a lot of effort into this blog and it is more or less a family diary.  We love to look back on it within our immediate family, we love that it helps us share what is going on with our extended family, and it also lets friends from near and far share in our life experiences.  We thought visitors to our blog would love these very same things and would not utilize the tool to make snarky comments/judgements on what we do. 

I am trying to tell myself that the comment was made by a random person who happened to have stumbled by an unsearchable blog and does not know us.  We hope that similar events do not force us down the path of making everyone sign in each time, take away commenting, or turn this into a unshared diary as we feel this would make it more difficult for our loved ones to be part of our lives. 

I am sorry that this feels somewhat like a rant but when I came home to my wife crushed by someone else's judgement, I felt I had to say something on her behalf.  Trevor, Ashley and I are fortunate to have such a loving mom, wife and CEO for our family.  We love you babe! 

Ashley 1 Month Appt

Ashley had her one month well visit and we have some good news!  Our little chunk is up to 9lbs 4.5oz!!!  Now she's gaining well over an ounce a day!  We are so glad that it all came together!  We even got the okay to start a bottle and nuk!  YAY!!!

The bad news?  Ashley needed a vaccine!  Mommy was not ready for that at all.  She thought her next round of shots would be at 2 months.  Nope - she needed one today.  Ashley took it like a champ though.  Her face turned bright red and she cried for a few seconds and that was that.  Mommy was quick to feed her afterward though to help comfort.  With Trevor we used to bring a bottle with so next time we'll have to do that :)

B Traveling & T Sick :(

Not sure if we have mentioned but Brian has been traveling quite a bit since Ashley was born.  Sara 'okayed' it since her parents were here to keep her company and help.  Let's see... he had trips her third and fourth weeks of life and has another one next week.  All was fine though until Sara's parents left and Brian had a three day trip!  Actually all was really fine even with it being Sara's first week on her own - she got Trevor to preschool on Tuesday, had a fun night the three of us that afternoon and evening, got Trevor to daycare on Wednesday, picked him up and the three of us went out for dinner (!), got Trevor to preschool Thursday and had a fun afternoon together up until Trevor said after nap that he didn't feel well and proceeded to throw up everywhere.  Poor guy :(

Mommy called Grandma and Papa Hillins to see if they could come over to help because Ashley was going through a growth spurt and feeding a lot and she didn't want Trevor and Ashley too close to one another.  They were super fabulous and came over until Brian got back from his work trip around 9pm.  Grandma Pauline did a good job keeping Ashley away from the war zone and Papa did a great job shopping for food and trying to get Trevor to eat some saltine crackers and Pedialyte.  

Didn't even phase Ashley - she just looked at the Christmas tree lights the whole time!

Trevor had a hard time keeping anything down and at one point didn't want to throw up so he was trying to hold it in.  We had to tell him he was supposed to throw up - it was his body trying to get rid of the yuck yucks.  He had a fever of 102.6.  We gave him a little water and juice at a time until finally things started staying down and he could have more juice at a time (poor kid was so thirsty that he'd guzzle down a bunch only for it to come back up).  Brian stayed in his room that night to be nearby our little sickie.  

He stopped throwing up around 3am but still wasn't himself the next day.  One minute he's watching TV, the next he's laying on Randle.  

 Randle wasn't sure what to do but he knew better than to move.  Can you tell by his look in this picture?  They stayed this way for a few hours.  Precious!! 

About 24 hours after it started our little guy was back to his normal self - thank goodness.  Mommy and Daddy do not like seeing their baby sick.  And Ashley never got this crud.  Double thank goodness!

Although Brian did...probably didn't help that he was traveling so much and was run down.  We had a very low key weekend....even having to miss two holiday parties.  Oh well, there will be next year! 

Reading Time!

 Trevor is enjoying getting out his old books and reading them to his sister.  Mommy usually starts out the sentences and Trevor finishes them (all by memory!!)

He also enjoys sticking his tongue out at her because he knows that she has learned to stick hers out right back!

 We think baby Ashley likes this special time with her big brother too :)

Bath time!

 There is one thing that's for sure and that is Ashley loves bath time. Seems like she smiles when we start setting up!  She likes the bath water on the warmer side and she really likes it when you have a space heater nearby to keep her toasty warm.  Diva in the making....

She even has the look down!  Ah, the life!

 Just chillin in my tub!

 All cozy in my pink personalized towel from Brian's team. 

The Many Faces of Miss Ashley

Hello pretty girl!  You can tell by her cheeks that she has this nursing thing down!

 Our three week old smiles on command these days! 

 Sleeping beauty all swaddled!

 Fashionista!  Thanks to Auntie Dawn for the adorable outfit!

 Um not sure if I want to wake up.  I'm so comfy on Mommy!

 So serious when I'm sleeping

Snow!

 At Desert Ridge Marketplace near our house it 'snows' on the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. So we bundled up the kids to go out to eat and check it out!

Trevor got a real kick out of the fact that it was snowing amongst the palm trees.  How does it do that?

 Such fun!  It's almost like MN...ha....except T is in shorts and flip flops for this 'snow'!

Woo hoo! Ashley is growing (finally!)

Ashley weighed in at 8lbs 9.5oz at her weight check today.  About an ounce a day since her last appointment so we couldn't be happier that everything is coming together!  Trevor had less than 9 oz of formula in his life and it looks like Ashley will have only had a few drops of formula in hers!  Nothing wrong with formula at all, it's simply amazing what the human body can do....we are lucky.