Luke and Katie say: "I do!"

This past weekend the long awaited day came for my brother to marry the love of his life. With two little words, "I do," a whole new adventure began for the two of them and I am so excited for what God has in store for their life together as Husband and Wife. 

Luke and Katie, we love you more than you know. Katie, you were absolutely stunning and Luke I could not have been more proud to see you standing at the alter waiting for your beautiful bride. Your wedding weekend was full of so much love and we could feel the presence of God surrounding us as two families became one. 

Here are a few shots from the rehearsal dinner and wedding day! :)

Love,

Ash

7 Months Old

Can you believe that we are already mid-way through July? It is insane how fast this year is flying and I find myself more and more having to stop everything that I am doing to just pause and take in the moment. Just yesterday I was snuggling with my Nugget, she was sleeping and I was surfing the TV, and I told myself to turn it off and just stare at her. I said to myself kiss her head, tell her how much you love her and enjoy this moment, because they aren't going to last forever. If she could only understand how much we love her and how much we don't want to take a single moment with her for granite. She, more than anything, has taught Shawn and I about how precious life is. How much God loves us and wants to bless us despite our pasts and imperfections. He helps us feel joy through the avenue of our daughter and for that I am beyond thankful. Okay, enough with the mushy Mommy emotions...I keep thinking this will dissipate, but it turns out I was an emotional person before I was a Mommy and I am an emotional person now...who knew?!? ;)

This month Em is surprising us every day. She is rolling around like crazy, scooting to get to her toys that are out of reach, sitting up with out assistance (although she has been known to take a tumble) and pulling herself up onto her hand and knees and rocking. I think before we know it she is going to be on the move, so I am trying to enjoy each day that I am able to sit her down and walk away without worry of her getting her hands into unsafe territory. My days are limited that's for sure.

In terms of her "stats" Em is weighing roughly 17.5 lbs and I'm guessing around 28 inches long? I won't really know for sure until her next appointment in September, so I'm going to be throwing out shots in the dark until then. She is wearing size 3 diapers and her clothing size varies based on brand, but I'd say she fits best in 6-9 month clothing. She is sleeping 11 hours at night, 7 pm - 6 am and takes two 1-2 hour naps with a catnap before dinner. When it comes to food, she is still nursing 5 times a day and having 1 solid meal at dinner time. We plan on starting her with meal 2 tomorrow. So far she has eaten, and mostly enjoyed, sweet potato, avocado, squash, banana, green beans, green peas, carrots and peaches. The only food that she hasn't had pureed is banana and she loved biting little pieces off, under close supervision of course. She is starting to wave and recently began giving High-5's! And last, but not least, we can feel a TOOTH and can finally justify our guesses to her sometimes fussy demeanor as teething.  

Here are some pictures of our sweet SEVEN month old!

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Love,

Ash

Cousin Ethan's 1st Birthday

Yesterday was our nephew's first birthday and it's hard to believe that a year ago Ethan entered the world. Although he did not make his debut into the world as a Lange is would be just a few short weeks later that he would become a part of our family. He is the perfect ending to Kim and Markus' journey into parenthood and the most beautiful picture of God's faithfulness and love. His laugh is contagious and you just can't help but smile when you look at him. At the end of June we were able to go home to Fredericksburg for Ethan's first birthday party. Kim (and Markus) put so much hard work into making the day perfect and all the attention to detail was just on outward sign of their love and devotion to their son. We loved every minute of being with family and enjoying this little man. Our lives are so much fuller because of him and we are so blessed to have him in our family. Happy Birthday Big Guy! Uncle Shawn, Aunt Ashley and Em love you very much!

Here are some pictures from Ethan's big day!

Our Little Foodie

As I stood in the kitchen last week making our Nugget her first batch of baby food I couldn't help but cry. Have we really reached the age of food making already? With that being said, it has been so much fun introducing Em to food. So far we have done Sweet Potatoes, Avocado and Squash and she seems to love them all. Since sweet potatoes were the first thing we tried she seemed to have a bit more trouble with the texture. We did thin the puree with breast milk and gradually over 4 days gave her a thicker version. By the time we moved to avocado and squash she was downing it. With the avocado we were able to give it to her a bit chunky and since squash is so watery anyway, all it required after cooking was a quick run in the Baby Bullet. She more or less licks the food off the spoon and it is so funny to watch her reactions. 

Here she is having her first few bites of Sweet Potato!

Daddy's Girl

I'm thankful that I have a more than amazing Dad. A Dad who loved and supported me, my brother and sister through all of life's ups and downs and still does. He taught me about life and was an example of the family man that I knew I wanted to lead my family one day. When I married Shawn I knew that he would not only make the perfect husband for me, but I knew that one day he would be the Dad that I always hoped and prayed my future children would have. A Dad, who was like mine, sensitive and loving, but strong and tough when he needed to be.

At this point, I couldn't be more proud to say that my Nugget is a Daddy's girl. From day one she has loved to be close to her Daddy and who can blame her, he is an AMAZING Dad! Sure he had his moments, like when he would tell everyone that she was sleeping great during those first few weeks, but it was really that HE was sleeping great! However, he has more than made up for his habit of heavy sleeping with the heavy amount of love he drowns our daughter in. The way she looks at him is priceless, but the way he looks at her melts my heart and I'm thankful that she will know what is like to be cherished and loved long before she's ever interested in the dreaded...boy! I fear the day she tries to tell Shawn that she has a crush. 

Shawn took on the role of being a dad with such ease and I swear he could change a diaper, make a bottle and get our girl laughing faster than I can. He loves her, sings to her and plays with her better than I ever thought possible. She has him wrapped around her little finger and the funny thing is, I don't think he would have it any other way. 

To all the Daddy's out there...Happy Father's Day! 

Our 4th Anniversary

This year, more than ever I am thankful for the man God made for me. It's hard to believe that another year has gone by, but I am blessed to be able to say that it has been a year filled with so much love and joy. Shawn and I have had to learn to juggle being married and being parents and keeping things in the right order has been what has made this year so much fun. As much as we love our daughter, and will love whatever number of children that Lord blesses us with, we have to love each other first, because when it's all said and done we don't want to loose us while raising them. I'm a daughter of the King first, a wife second and mother third and I'm thankful that my Husband lives life with the same priorities. We don't always get it right, but we strive to keep things in that order and I'm so blessed to be on this journey with my Best Friend. 

To the one that knows my stories, warms my feet, takes my side, ignores my quirks, finishes my sentences, soothes my worries. To the one that makes all my days better and makes me a better me! Happy Anniversary! I love you babe, the best is yet to come!

First Picture Together - August 2006

Engaged - 2009 

Married - 2010

Just the 2 of us - 2011

Expecting - 2013

Family of Three - 2014

Happy Half Birthday Nugget

I can not believe we already celebrating Miss Em's half birthday. Time is literally flying! One of my co-workers made the comment to me, "the days go slow (or nights), but the years fly!" This statement is proving to be very true already. 

Our sweet girl is just that, so sweet. She is coming out of her shell more and more everyday and I love when she gives me glimpses of her personality. She loves to snuggle and be close, but is Miss Independent and can lay and play alone, keeping herself entertained. She is rolling all over the place, front to back, back to front and is even starting to scoot around. We lay her down one way and she has tossed and turned a thousand different ways before finding the perfect position, which is usually on her belly. She puts herself to sleep, which is awesome, and we love listening to her talk herself into her dreams. She does "push-ups" and has pushed herself up on her knees a handful of times. It's so exciting watching her grow and I have a feeling she is going to take off before we know it! She has almost mastered sitting up and can sit unassisted for a couple minutes. She loves to laugh, give kisses, go to swim class and run/go for walks with Mommy and Daddy. 

 

We had her 6 month doctor's appointment today, so here are the stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 5 ounces

Height: 27 5/8 inches

Diapers: 3's

Clothes: 3-6 (some), 6 months, 6-9 months and 9 months

Tonight is the night that we try big girl food! We have been just having Mommy's Milk up until now and I am so excited that we have made it 6 months EBF! (Exclusively Breast Fed) Nursing has been such a special time for me and the Nugget and I hope that things continue to go smoothly in that department! I'll post an update on the food situation next week!

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL Wednesday!