Big Sister

Ashlynn adjusted to Braydon better than I could have hoped for. Every morning when she wakes up and after nap she asks "ah baby" (ah=where). It's so sweet. She loves to look at him, give him kisses, and cover him with blankets. As intrigued as she is by him she is not very interested in holding him which is great for me, I don't worry about her trying to pick him up when I'm not looking. She hasn't shown any jealousy towards me or john when we hold the baby but gets really upset at Grandma. She has tried to "share" her toys with him and knocked him in the head once or twice but that's been about it.

It's amazing she actually smiled for the camera

Being a goofy girl

Braydon is so laid back and relaxed that he hardly cries and if he does Ashlynn is quick to yell "baby cry" and run over to him and try to shove his pacifier in his mouth. It's wonderful having Braydon in our lives, he is such a blessing, (especially because he lets me get plenty of sleep) he is a great baby and Ashlynn is a good big sister.

Tis the Seaon

The year John and I got married we had an amazing Christmas. Since then we haven't really done much to celebrate the holiday, but now that Ashlynn's old enough to get excited, we decided to go all out. We got our Christmas tree a few days after Thanksgiving at the local Pinery and let Ashlynn help choose it. We didn't get home until about 7pm but John really wanted to put it up that night, as well as decorate it and the inside of the house. It surprised me at how long it takes to hang lights, ornaments and to wrap garland around the staircase but our efforts are enjoyed now daily. We even put a running train under the tree. Ashlynn calls it a choo choo and she and the cat just sit and watch it go round and round.

Two days later we hit the outside decorations, and again it is shocking how long it takes to hang lights. I think we spent a good three hours decorating outside. Our labors are rewarded and Ashlynn really seems to like it, and to pull ornaments off the tree. Next year John says he's going to the next level (the second story;D)

All we need now is some presents under the tree.

Braydon Michael Horger

Braydon Michael Horger

November 8, 2009
8 lbs. 1 ounce
21 1/2 inches

Quick Trip

John and I are excited about having a baby soon but we also wanted to get out of town and do something with Ashlynn before his arrival. This led to two of our weekends in September to turn into mini vacations. We first visited Yosemite National Park. I had never been there and it was beautiful. Ashlynn is big on the outdoors so she loved it too and didn't hesitate to run into the FREEZING cold river water. I think that was her favorite part and she had fun collecting rocks and throwing them in the water. Our other weekend was spent in Sedona, Arizona. We drove along the scenic highway and pulled over at a few different spots, again letting Ashlynn play in the FREEZING cold river water. Colder than Yosemite. She loved it though, again throwing rocks and collecting sticks and just enjoying the outdoors. Best of all was that she was an Angel for most of the long hours spent in the car and slept well away from home. Of course we took a thousand photos so here are some of my favorites:

Yosemite

Her shorts drying after sitting in the water

Sedona

Pretending to play the flute

She gave the little girl a hug and a kiss

Playing with dada's hat

Watermelon

Thought I would upload a few pics of Ashlynn and our neighbor Joshua eating watermelon. They are just too cute not to share.

Juice everywhere. Yummy!

Sea Life Aquarium

An employee of John's was kind enough to give him two free tickets to the Sea Life Aquarium at Lego land. We were able to go on Monday and spend some time there. It was great. Ashlynn loved it and it's totally themed around kids.

The first room we went to had a bridge over a giant aquarium and a slide coming out of a tree. Ashlynn must have gone down it ten times or so. It was probably her favorite room.


Getting ready for the slide.

There were a lot of other fun things like Lego's to play with, tide pools, and glass bubbles to climb in to see the fish better. (Ashlynn wouldn't do that part)


It's a great family place and the adults can enjoy it too. I do have to say, on the down side, that I don't think I would pay full price and parking to go see it, it's not worth that much in my opinion. I have two coupons that say $5 admission for up to two people. Perfect for a family of four if any ones interested. That being said, we all had a great time and got to have fun at one of the many attractions San Diego has to offer. Maybe next year we'll try Lego land :D

It's about time

I know I haven't reported on anything for some time now. I blame this on our computer. It SUCKS! Good news- my mom gave us her old laptop which is working beautifully and now I'm left with no excuses to keep you all updated. The latest going ons in our life:

Ashlynn fell out of her little chair and hit her forehead on the metal framing of the sliding door. Poor girl was bleeding a lot and we had to take her to the hospital. Luckily it was such a nice straight gash they were able to glue the skin together. Seriously, like super glue. It's been 11 days now and the glue fell off leaving a purple scar about an inch long. I think she's battling it out with my friend shillawna's daughter for most doctor visits in two years. I think they still have us beat.

Ashlynn discovered her shadow the other evening and watched me do silly things with our shadows for 10 minutes before I got bored and now she likes to point at her shadow whenever she notices it. It's cute.

It's really incredible how quickly toddlers pick up vocabulary. She surprises me with a new word everyday. Other than that our lives have been fairly routine. I'll do better to keep updated.

A word from ashlynn:
ghggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghddgkkhssddgghhggdsdgghhbbh

The sun, the pool, and the BBQ

We have really tried to embrace summer this year by going to the beach and sitting around outside by the BBQ. For the Fourth of July we had some friends over to eat and play with Ashlynn in her kiddie pool. We also bought the ultimate beach ball sprinkler which was a hit. We decided not to participate in fireworks this year but we had just as much fun hanging out at home. Ashlynn LOVES to play with the neighbor's boy Joshua. I got a cute video of them in the pool still in their clothes.

They didn't want to wait for their swim suits.

John, Ashlynn, and I all like meat so the BBQ is great for us. Ashlynn even shared some of her food with daddy (Shocking because she's a food hoard)

When it got really hot Ashlynn and Joshua ate Otter Pops. It was his first time and any pieces he dropped Ashlynn took and ate.

They're so cute

John invited a friend from work and her two daughters whom Ashlynn had a lot of fun with.

Everybody ate a lot. Ashlynn's favorite was the chips and the blueberries (which come out the same color they go in). John and his friends had fun playing with the Frisbee and tossing a ball around and it turned out to be a really nice day.

On a happy note

It was my Birthday on the tenth of this month so I decided to use some of my Birthday money to go to the fair with my family. I love the fair and we've been lucky to be able to go the last three years. It's also a good excuse to pig out. This all happened before the hospital stay. First we went to the stalls where they hold a lot of the farm animals. Ashlynn loved the cows and she got to pet them. She really enjoyed seeing all of the animals.

Next we went over to the kiddie area and Ashlynn didn't reach many of the height requirements but there were a handful of rides she could do. We went on Winkie the Whale and one that looked like hot air balloons, but Ashlynn's by far most favorite ride was the Carousal. We went on it three times, and one of the three times was on the huge one in the big kid area. She loved it and shook her head no when it was time to get off. (She's been doing that a lot lately :) )

We took a look at most of the vendors, didn't buy anything, and we of course ate a ton of food. Cotton candy, shaved ice, funnel cake, those Australian potato things, and Ashlynn's favorite, a GIANT hot dog.

Irony

Ashlynn's friend Anslie was recently hospitalized at Rady Children's Hospital and Ashlynn and I were able to visit her while she was there. What is so ironic about this is that only a few weeks later Ashlynn was admitted to the same hospital.

I first noticed what looked like a quarter sized red, raised, firm bump on Ashlynn's butt on a Tuesday and took her to the pediatricians office where we were prescribed antibiotics. Two days later Ashlynn would rather crawl than walk because it was too painful. I took her back in on Thursday and it had grown from a quarter to flattened tennis ball size.

We were admitted latter that day to Children's Hospital because they believed that since it continued to get worse with the antibiotics Ashlynn must have MRSA (a resistant strain or Staph) They put her on stronger IV antibiotics to "ripen" the sore to make it softer so they could drain it.
They had to put a booty on it because she kept chewing on the tubing


It took until Saturday for the sore to "ripen" and they took her to the operating room. They had to give her general anesthesia which knocked her out in seconds. It was sad to watch. We couldn't be there for the procedure but it only took 35 minutes till we could see her. This was the worse part of the entire stay because when she woke up she went crazy. Nothing I've ever seen. Crying, screaming, flailing her arms and legs, wanting to be held but wiggling to get down at the same time. It was horrifying and went on for an hour. She finally passed out and woke a few hours later totally fine.

While we were at the hospital Ashlynn was put on isolation, she was not permitted to leave the room and anyone who came in put on gloves and a gown, this was to prevent it from spreading to other patients. It was hard to keep her entertained in the little room and she often watched people go by out the window of her door.

Ashlynn is home now and feeling much better. We still have to care for her sore and keep her on antibiotics so it doesn't reestablish. Because Ashlynn has eczema and can easily get breaks in her skin she is more prone to getting infections like these and others more often.