9 months!!

On November 25, 2010, Thanksgiving Day our sweet John Ashton turned 9 months!! Wow, time is really flying by. I am a little sad that it is all going by so fast but we are loving it!!! Everyday holds something new and everyday we are blessed by the precious gift God has given us.

9 MONTH STATS:

LENGTH
29 inches 80th percentile
WEIGHT
18lbs. 10oz. 25th percentile
HEAD
18 inches 6oth percentile

John Ashton has really changed but his schedule is basically the same. He still takes 2 naps a day and is still taking 4 bottles a day. He is eating more and more solids and loves anything he can pick up and eat by himself. Still having no teeth I am really having to get creative with the finger foods, but He does a great job gumming everything we give him. I would have to say that he would love to be on a Cheerios diet but we are trying to give him lots of variety. His favorites right now are turkey, chicken, diced apples, carrots, puffs, avocado, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal!!

He is pulling up on everything, and loves to explore the house. He is active, active, ACTIVE and into everything!!!! He is really keeping us busy and on our toes! There is lots of interest in things like electrical cords, remote controls, the fireplace rocks, and anything else that is not a toy!!! but...
Developmentally he is doing great... He is waving, clapping, and beginning to really babble. His first word was Momma, but I cannot get him to say it anymore. Now it is DaDa, DaDa, DaDa. One day John and I swear he said, "HI Dada!" plain as day! He also says something very close to" Yay" as he claps his hands, and he even squeals at times! In the morning when he wakes up we hear him talking/babbling and when we go in to get him he is usually standing up with a huge smile on his face. We pick him up and he gives us a hug! This is something new and it is the sweetest thing ever!! He is also starting to show interest in his toys and will play in his room by himself for a SHORT period of time. John Ashton is still such a happy little baby, but may be beginning to show signs of a slight temper but we will see how that goes...I wonder where he gets that?? ;)

All that to say we are having so much fun and are loving all the new stages. They can be trying at times but we would not trade any of it! That smile still melts our hearts and we are so thankful for our sweet, precious baby boy!








We love you John Ashton!!!

What's Cooler Than Being Cool?...ICE COLD!! (Trip to Chicago & 1st Thanksgiving)

Back in July while we were visiting my parents, they said "What do you guys think about having our family Thanksgiving in Chicago?" It took Reagan and I less than a second to jump on that opportunity. It had been almost 18months since we had been back...way too long!!

We stayed with our friends the Mikitka's while we were in the city. I lived with them for about a month before we got married so it felt just like the old days...only now Reagan and I have an amazing son and Jeff & Katie have 2 adorable twin girls (Ainsley & Amelia). We all had an absolute blast!! The kids were worn out every night from playing all day long and the "adults" had a great time catching up. Reagan really enjoyed spending the days with Katie going to a Bible Study, playing at the park, and getting their nails done!! Jeff and I wanted to make sure the girls had plenty of time to talk each night so we got in a few dozen games on PlayStation.

Amelia & Ashton

Ashton, Ainsley & Amelia

One night while in town we were able to catch up with the Thomas' for dinner. JT and I had been roommates during the year leading up to his wedding and we've stayed good friends ever since. They have 2 cute little girls too. Marcella is going on 3 this spring and Liliana is a couple of months younger than Ashton. Needless to say, Ashton got to play with a bunch of beautiful ladies while he was in town!!

Marcella, Ashton, & Liliana

One random thought...On our way to JT & Renee's, Ashton got to take his first cab ride (see picture below). It's funny, I lived in Chicago for over 6 years and never once did I give a thought to how you take a baby in a cab. I guess my life & perspective has changed (in a good way) since then!!

Ashton's 1st Cab Ride

On Wednesday morning my parents fought the traffic into the city and picked us all up to drive down to my sister Lisa's to spend the holiday with her family in Bloomington. You can imagine the traffic after they picked us up wasn't much better heading out of the city either! I didn't mind the drive because it had been a while since we had all seen my parents. Ashton was quite taken with them!! We finally made our way down to Bloomington and had a great couple of days with Lisa, David & Lauryn. The food was amazing and the nap afterward was pretty darn good too! It was really nice to just hang out with my parents and sister's family to relax and catch up.

Aunt Lisa Giving Ashton Some Love!!

Enjoying his 1st Thanksgiving Dinner...Cheerios & Squash

Cousin Lauryn helped with Bath Time after Thanksgiving Dinner

After a great Thanksgiving, our entire family made our way back to the city to spend Friday and Saturday enjoying the Christmas Season in Chicago. There really isn't anything like walking down Michigan Ave. with all of the Christmas lights and checking out all of the shops. After a long day of walking around shopping (fortunately not buying!), we all went out and had one of the best steak dinners I've had in quite a while.

While we were shopping I realized again how quickly living in the south had turned my blood thin. The 30degree weather was one thing, but the wind whipping off that lake sure made me wonder how I ever made it though a winter up there!! I thought back to the night before we left when I said to Reagan, "just take your fleece, you'll be fine!" Fortunately my sister was nice enough to loan her a ski jacket, hat and gloves or I would have been in a bit of trouble!!

All Bundled Up for the COLD Windy City!!

Heading back to the Hotel after a Long Day

Grandmommy & Ashton...Quality Time

Saturday was a quick breakfast, a few minutes of the Michigan State vs. Penn State game (BIG 10 CHAMPS!!), and off to the airport. As we were sitting in the airport, Reagan and I both commented on how truly blessed we are to have such great friends and family. We will remember Ashton's 1st Thanksgiving and our trip to Chicago for a very long time.

Wiped Out!!!

Trip to Ohio!

So in November the Turner family travels continued! We headed to Ohio to see my sister, Leslie and her family and we had a blast!! John Ashton was once again a great little traveler. John drove with us on the way up, stayed thru the weekend and then flew to South Carolina for work, so John Ashton and I had to drive home by ourselves later that week. He did great on the 8 1/2 hour drive home and we only had to stop once!! (Wow, I know!!) That being said I guess we will have to do it again sometime this spring...

We had a great visit and even got some Christmas shopping done. (Not much with 4 kids but hey we started:0). Campbell and John Ashton were so cute! It was funny to watch them interact with each other. Campbell would crawl away and then turn around to see if John Ashton was following him, which he wasn't because he was so enthralled with all their toys. I did however discover that we need to work on sharing...anytime someone touched a toy or had a toy that JA wanted he would cry, so Christmas with everyone should be interesting! Campbell taught John Ashton how to crawl on his hands and knees, to hold his bottle on his own, and that Cheerios are a GREAT snack! We had a great time playing with Houston and Avery Caroline too...It was great weather (most of the time) and we got to play outside some. It was a great week, and we can't wait to plan the next trip!

And now for the pictures that tell the rest of the story...

Houston riding his bike around the circle. Such a speed-racer!

Avery Caroline taking time out from running around the circle to pose for a picture.

Avery Caroline, me (better known as Aunt Ray Ray), and JA
She is such a pretty little girl who is growing up way to fast for me.

Campbell and JA in their matching pj's. So cute!!

Houston and JA in their matching outfits! He saw that John Ashton had the same outfit and wanted JA to dress like him too. Houston kept saying "Campbell, Ashton matches me today." Houston is such a sweetheart!

JA and Campbell playing...

and then taking a snack break!

Yes that is Leslie in the background with the remote to the remote controlled car that was scaring the babies!

I am not sure why they are upset in this picture...

But here I come to the rescue!

Crawling to find the other kids... at that point crawling on his hands and knees was new! Way to go John Ashton!

Sharing a jump rope...

crawling together...

and bath time together!
These two are going to be quite the pair.

Thanks Aunt Leslie, Uncle Jon, Avery Caroline, Houston, and Campbell for everything! We can't wait to see yall again at Christmas! We love yall!!!

1st Halloween

John Ashton was a "fierce" little lion for Halloween. We had a fun weekend hanging out with our neighbors Nick and Jamie. We went to a Halloween Party at their house on Saturday and John came up with the (inappropriate) idea of going as Tiger Woods and his wife. It was an easy costume for me but John looked pretty funny. We had a Great time and John Ashton was the cutest little lion. On Sunday night Nick and Jamie came over and we set up a table outside to hand out candy. We had lots of trick a treaters and lots of fun hanging out. JA was a trooper but was done with his lion costume by the end of the weekend.

BOO!

Hope yall had a Happy Halloween!

October 25, 2010 - 8 months!

Wow we have an 8 month old!! It is so hard to believe that John Ashton is 8 months old. He is such a good baby and we have been having a blast. He is definitely a mover these days and is keeping us on the go, but we are loving it!! He sleeps 11-12 hours at night, takes an hour morning nap, and a 2 1/2 - 3 hour afternoon nap. Still likes eating his solids and has started eating puffs which he LOVES! No teeth yet but he is chewing on everything and has begun to pop his gums...ouch. He is still crawling with his belly on the ground but is trying, or thinking about trying to crawl on his knees. We will see if he ever does. He is getting around so fast and is really starting to venture out and explore the house... never sitting in one spot for long. Chasing his ball around the house, he often gets distracted by electrical cords, blinds, and anything else that is a big NO NO. He thinks it is funny when we redirect him! HaHa, probably won't be funny for much longer?! He has started to pull up to his knees, and tries to pull up on everything! He has also started pushing his high chair around the house and has shown an interest in the casters on the high chair. Already a Caster Man... making his daddy proud, testing out those casters. He lights up when John or I come into a room and it really makes us feel special. He smiles and laughs a lot and we LOVE it. Squealing, blowing raspberries, and kicking his legs like he is running a marathon are some of the ways he shows his excitement. He loves to grab our faces and give big slobbery kisses, but we love it. He loves for us to sing songs, read books, and to play on the floor. His favorite songs are Ten little Indians, and the Hallelujah song. His favorite book is his new Truck book that Aunt Leslie sent. He loves to look at all the trucks. His favorite toys are the stackable rings, his ball, the stuffed whale that he loves to wrestle, and the magnetic barnyard that he was scared of. He also loves to play with the remote control (he is all boy for sure!) Still loves his bath and would like to stay in the bath and play with his bath toys for hours if we would let him. The only time he gets fussy is when he is hungry, sleepy, or alone in the room! We are having so much fun with John Ashton and we love to love on him! We are going to have one spoiled little boy but there is no doubt he is loved!!

And now for the good part...pictures!! It has gotten harder to take his picture because he will not sit still but here they are anyway. Enjoy!

I am outta here!

Hope you all have a great day!

October Travels: Part II

MiMi and John Ashton were troopers on the trip to Arkansas. I am so glad that we got to go and visit, but that was not the end of our trip. We got to meet up with Daddy, stay at MiMi and PawPaw's for the weekend, and go to Brooke's Birthday party at the Jump Zone. Brooke had an early birthday party with her little friend Thomas. It was a tailgate theme and all the kids wore their favorite team attire. It was such a cute little party, and I am so glad that we got to go. John Ashton slept thru the first half of the party, not sure how, but he had fun watching all the kids jump around when he woke up. It was lots of fun! That weekend Aunt Nat decided JA was too quiet so she tried to teach him to squeal. Well she succeeded we now have a squealer! Thanks Aunt Nat:)! We had a great weekend and enjoyed our time with MiMi, PawPaw, Aunt Nat, Uncle John, Brooke, and Tatum! We were sad to leave but excited to get home and sleep in our own beds!

Brooke's Birthday Party. They had two birthday cakes. Brooke's was an Ole Miss cheerleader uniform and Thomas' was a Mississippi State football jersey. It was so cute!

The Birthday Girl! Such a cutie!

The Birthday Girl again!

JA sacked out!

JA "What's wrong TayTay, they are just trying to take our picture!!"

Brooke loving on John Ashton

Tatum, Brooke, and JA!

We had a great time! Thanks MiMi and PawPaw for everything, and thank you to Brooke for the party invite! We miss you all and love you lots!