Swimming

We went swimming 4 times this week! We have been busy. We have had the extra time because I have been off work for the last 2 weeks since our office has been closed. I have loved every minute of my time with Ashley. She is changing every day! Our swim time has been fun. She really seems to enjoy it. She splashes with her arms and kicks her feet a lot. She is full of smiles when she gets to play in the water. One interesting thing we did while swimming at Mike and Ariya's is borrow their inflatable ring. I don't where they found this thing, but it looks barbaric as Mike put it.

She floated around in it for a few minutes and didn't seem to mind, but eventually got tired of it.

Werhan Photography

Ashley had more pictures taken with Linda. We have been waiting until she mastered the art of sitting. So, this week we went and put on lots of cute frilly skirts and fun headbands with flowers and feathers, cute bead necklaces and played with bubbles! It was fun! It was prob. pretty comical watching Linda and I doing everything we could think of to get Ashley to smile. She was ready for a nap shortly after we started, so she took a little power nap and then tried again. Our second round went much better, but she would only smile in between our outfit changes when she was sitting in my lap! She got some really great shots, Ashley is one beautiful little girl!

Check out the pictures at
www.werhanphotography.com
Click on Clients
The Password is "mathews"

Let me know what you think!

Powwow

Last weekend we went to the American Indian Festival and Powwow at Century 2. This was not our first visit to a powwow, we have actually attended quite a few. However this was Ashley's first. She loved the drums, she sat and listened for quite awhile. She also loved all of the people watching, as do I. Some interesting folks come to these events.

Hawking Club Picnic

A couple of weeks ago we went to the annual Kansas Hawking Club picnic.Let me just say It.was.hot.
We had fun, and thankfully it was at someone's house so we were able to go in and take some cool air breaks.

Our friend Keziyah was there to play with us

Ashley's favorite part about the picnic was the dog. She loved this one, smiled and laughed every time it came around

Nate got to pick up his goshawk that he left with a friend while he went to Wyoming

Mom and Dad have matching shirts!  :)

Happy 4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July at Uncle Chase and Aunt Annie's house. We had a fun time. It was so hot, and so we missed the goat milking demonstration because we stayed in the house, but next time we are out we will be sure to check out all the animals.

We had some fun with the whak-a-mole sprinklers and some cool fireworks. Chase and Annie live in Butler County so there were some pretty great shows going on around us. Along with our show of course. The highlight was the parachuter fireworks and the "swipers" which is what Garret called sparklers.  Ashley had fun, she was scared of a few of the really loud fireworks, but overall she enjoyed looking at the lights, then she got really tired and decided it was not fun anymore by the end.

Ashley and Aunt Traci getting in on the sprinkler fun!

7 months old

You are growing fast! Every day you are changing. Just within the last 2 weeks you have figured out how to do so many new things. You are great at sitting, you still follow over some, but for the most part you have it figured out and keep your balance well. You have also figured out how to roll over. You do great going from your back to your tummy. Sometimes you get stuck when going from tummy to back because your arm always gets in the way. Your hair is getting longer and thicker, that's what so many people comment on when they see you. Yesterday I thought it looked different just in the time that I dropped you off at Gigi's house and picked you up in the afternoon! You love to smile at anyone around. Your whole face lights up when you smile, and it is so contagious! The other day at Wal-Mart, I was carrying you and you were just smiling and coo-ing at the couple behind us. Then we ran into them again later in the store and they stopped to tell me what a beautiful little girl you are. I agreed!  :)
You have a pretty good schedule down, it's not exactly the same every day, but it's a routine anyway. We get up in the morning between 7 and 8 and get ready. Then we go to the sitter (whoever it may be depending on the day). You usually take 45 min to an hour nap sometime around 10. Then you wake up and play for about 2 hours. Then you have rice cereal for lunch! After lunch you are ready for another nap and sleep anywhere from one to 2 hours, then after you wake up, mommy is there to pick you up! We go home and play for while and then you take another 45 min to an hour nap in the evening. We have dinner and play with daddy, then bedtime around 8. You are still not sleeping through the night. You wake up about every 4 hours. There have been 3 nights recently when you have slept longer than 4 hours, we'll see if that is starting a new routine!
You are becoming a momma's girl (and I LOVE it)! You love to be in my arms and are starting to reach out for me when I come in the room. When it's time to get out of your car seat you always kick your feet and then put your arms out. You love toys that make crinkly noises! They are your favorite by far...in fact it doesn't even have to be a toy. You love potato chip bags, diaper wipe bags, Wal-Mart sacks. Anything that is noisy! You are a good baby, you go to sleep easily on your own, and even in the middle of the night, you always eat and go right back to sleep. You are also content to play in your crib for a little while after you wake up from naps.
You are in 6-9 month clothes and still in size 3 diapers. You have your 2 bottom teeth, and I can tell the top left tooth is getting close, it's swollen and the last few days you have really been chewing on things and had a fever and runny nose. It shouldn't be too much longer!
There are so many things I want to make sure I remember about you at this stage, you are a blessing and a joy to watch grow each day!

I have been printing out a number and then cutting it out and taping it to Ashley's shirt for her monthly pics

I think the days of taping the number to her shirt are over...

she had to check it out and see what it was all about

Look at this big girl sitting up all by herself!!!

First Picnic

We had a picnic at Gigi's school with Gigi, CJ, Cassie, Hudson, and Tate, Ashley enjoyed her first picnic, especially the bag of potato chips! We made a really big mess because there were still chips in the bag when we started playing with it. When we were done playing, they were all over the blanket and us. The girl LOVES anything that makes a crinkle noise!
After our picnic, we went to Gigi's classroom and painted, Ashley got to foot and finger paint for her daddy's father's day card and Hudson got to paint in the dark!

First Swim

Ashley and I went swimming at Hudson's pool on Father's Day. She thought it was pretty fun. She wasn't really so sure at first. But, she was full of smiles by the end. She didn't kick and play in the water very much, but after a few more times I think she will have it figured out. When she takes a bath, we are still using the infant tub, and she loves to kick in that, so she'll figure out how to kick in the pool soon. We just need to do more swim time!

Tate's first day to swim!

Hudson and Aunt CJ

Hudson and Jamie enjoying a Father's Day Swim