Battling the Flu

It has been quite a week for the Ash family. Recovering from Avery's party on Saturday, we had been relaxing and trying to lay low. On Tuesday, we found out that Brian's grandmother, Nenaw had passed away. She had just recently moved to an assisted-living facility and had a very bad fall. She was 88 years old and lived a very full and wonderful life. We know that she will always be watching over us all.


Here is a pic of both my Meme and Nenaw on Mother's Day last year.

Avery woke us up on thursday, the day of Nenaw's funeral, throwing up. It was so sad, because I don't think she had really thrown up before. I think it kind of scared her. She really only got sick twice, but that was enough. Brian was calling her his little slimmer.....he always has his own nickname for her. The rest of the day, she did pretty well, she stayed with Mandy while Brian and I went to Nenaw's funeral. She even threw a little fit when I went to pick her up, because she was playing with Ryan outside. She loves her Bubba. The rest of the evening she just seemed herself...but with a little more attitude.

On Friday, she woke up with a horrible fever and was very needy all day. I feel so helpless, she just wants to lay on us, which isn't really like her. I have just been treating the symptoms so far with Motrin and Tylenol. She hasn't had a cough or runny nose yet, so maybe this will just be a watered down version of the flu, since she did get a flu shot. She now has some pretty nasty diarrhea, so hopefully that will be over soon. Both Ryan and Reagan have had it within the last couple of weeks, so I am assuming this is where is came from, but you never know, it seems like everyone we know has had it lately.

She is not very happy in this pic....

I told her to smile here...

A little happier here...she is watching Baby Einstein.

Friday night I was scheduled to work at St. Joseph, and was so nervous about leaving my sick baby at home, but I was so proud of Brian. I had kept my phone on me all night, but I never got one call! Brian said she went to bed like normal, and slept all night. Such a great dad. All that worrying for nothing...I am so glad. We were supposed to go to Avery's friend, Hank's first BDay party, but she definitley wasn't up to it. I was a little disappointed, I was looking forward to it. I sure hope this will be over soon!

Giddy-up Birthday Girl!

On Saturday we celebrated Avery's 1st birthday with a cowgirl themed party. It was so much fun! I would have never thought that it would have been so much work, but I think it was worth it. By Saturday night, the entire family was exhausted. To complete the theme, we had pony rides in the front yard. I think the majority of the kiddos really enjoyed them. The Birthday girl loved them! She rode quite a few times. She kept trying to pet them, and clapped her hands when she got really excited. I was a little worried that she might be scared, but she rode like a champ.

I have been looking for the last couple of weeks for a really cute western outfit for her Bday, but had a really hard time finding something. I finally found this denim dress and Macy's, which I blinged out with rhinestones. I am pretty proud at myself, it turned out pretty nice. Now I know why anything with rhinestones is so darn expensive, it is sooo time consuming. I had to work on it for two nights last week after work. I think it payed of though.

I was really nervous about the weather on Saturday. I prayed and prayed for nice weather. Brian and I almost had a nervous breakdown when we saw a huge thunderstorm in the distance. Thankfully, it moved through pretty quickly, and only got some of the decor wet. I was sooo thankful it turned out so nice. My prayers were answered! We really had a great turnout, so many of our friends and family were able to make it. It was so great getting to visit with everyone and watching all of the kiddos playing together.

I think her cakes really turned out great. I used a lady that Kristal always uses and she made some beautiful cakes! They were pretty yummy too! Avery really wasn't into the whole smashing cake all over her face thing. She was a little unsure of what to do with it. When we finally put her hands in it, she just tried to shake them off, Oh well. She just kept beating the cake. It was really cute though.

Avery got soooo many cute, new things. I am loving all of her cute spring/summer clothes! It is so much fun having a little girl! We have been slowly opening up her new toys, but there are so many. Our little girl is so blessed.

Brian and I got her a pink 4-wheeler for her birthday. We saw the green one at Noah's house and thought Avery might really like it. We were so excited when we put her on it, and she started laughing and clapping her hands. She can't really hold on and push the button at the same time, but she is beginning to get the hang of it. She will be going off-roading around Westwood in no time.


I took this pic the sunday morning after, she is going through all of her new clothes and toys...such a little girl!

Thank you to everyone who could make it, and helped to make our baby's first birthday so special!

Avery's First Year

I can't believe our baby girl is one year old today! It is amazing how much she has grown in the past year! She is so much fun now, and is so full of personality. The other day when I got home from work, Brian and I played with her on the floor for forever. She is in the best mood after she has eaten her dinner and has had her bath. She was cracking us both up as she tried to brush Reba's hair with her brush. It was too funny!

She still hasn't mastered the art of walking yet, but I think it should be any day. She will take about 4-5 steps before she takes a nose dive. But, she insists on you holding one of hands and walking with her all around the house. If she would only just let go! She can now blow you kisses, wave bye-bye and hello, and brush her hair. She tries to use a spoon to eat, but just gets mad at it, when she can't get any food into her mouth. She says Momma, Daddy, Bubba (what she calls Ryan), Nite-Nite, hi, and No.

Here are some pics from her first year, oh how big she has gotten!

Her Birthday! February 20, 2008

A couple of days old

2 Months old....I think she looks alot like her daddy here.


4 months old at cousin Shelbey's bday party

5 months old...posing...such a little model

6 months....aren't I the cutest?

6.5 months

Our little lion at 8 months

9 months, Thanksgiving

10 months, Avery's 1st christmas

We are now busy getting ready for her Birthday party, so check back again for new pics!

Bit by the Blogging Bug

Ok, so I finally decided to start a blog. I have been really thinking about it lately, I really enjoy checking on all of my friends and seeing all of the pictures. Everyone's lives are busy, this way everyone can still be apart of each other's lives. And I really wanted to start a new website for Avery, one that is a little more user friendly than our former one. I am really going to try to keep it updated. It will probably be center on Avery of course, but I am sure Brian and I will be mentioned from time to time. Well here goes nothing...

On Saturday, we took Avery to Portrait Innovations to have her pictures taken for the 1st birthday. Wow, I cannot believe an entire year has gone by! It seems crazy. She has grown into such a beautiful and funny little girl. I was so nervous about the pics, because, so far she doesn't have a very good record with these people. Well, we had three workers dancing, singing, and making funny faces, trying to get her to crack a smile. She was so serious! In the end, we got a few great shots. Here are a few:

She is really smiling!


Avery with Daddy

Here are a few classic Avery faces...

I think she looks rather annoyed at us in this one...

We also took in a big cupcake and some balloons for her to go to town with. Of course, she wouldn't smile, but she was very happy to be eating all the icing.

For the rest of Valentine's Day, my mom offered to keep Avery for the rest of the day, and let her spend the night. Of course, we said yes, thanks mom! We had a great day together. After picking up the pics, we went and ate at Pappasitos and then headed home. That evening, we went to the VFW...yes, I said VFW to hang out with a great group of friends, drink some beer, and do a little dancing. It was a great night despite all of the mud that ended up on my car due to all of the rain. Here are some of the girls...