Ashlynn's 1st

From this...



to this...


On Saturday my babe hit her first major milestone! I love the one year mark. Walking, done with nursing, cow's milk, first words...the amount of change and growth in this first year is amazing and it makes me reflect back to the tiny thing she was not too long ago. But I have to admit...

When I was growing up, I used to think it was so funny how sentimental my mom would get on each of our birthdays. She would reminisce about being in labor, the delivery, etc. As a kid you just don't understand what a huge deal it is to a mom to celebrate the birth and life she gave and all the experiences and emotions it brings.

I will never forget the details of what happened a year ago. The anxiety I faced about trying for a VBAC. Labor pains starting at 4am. Then, at the hospital, trying to cope with labor pains on half of my body because the epidural got dislodged. The burning pain across my previous incision. Then how Ashlynn got stuck, then into the OR again and how we waited and waited to hear her breathe and cry. So scary. And I am so grateful that Ashlynn made it here safely. That night I lay in my hospital bed with my little boo, feeling immense peace and relief and just enjoying being taken care of by the docs and nurses.

Ashlynn is my little dream child (which is what her name means) and Kraig, Mikayla and I have had a great time enjoying her developing and growing into a cherubic little toddler. She has been so healthy and HAPPY and silly. She has been walking across the room with increasing confidence and steadiness during the last 2 weeks, and grinning the whole time.

She has a huge appetite and she especially goes crazy for BaNaNaS. This is what happens when I give her banana slices:

1. She flaps her arms and makes monkey noises.
2. She shoves them in her mouth as fast as possible.
3. She smears some in her hair for good measure.
4. She looks to me for more, and sometimes signs the 'more' sign. But usually more monkey noises suffice.

('More, mama!')

So for her 1st, I threw her a banana party. I made banana cake with cream cheese frosting. And you can't have bananas without monkeys, right?

And we opened presents from the cousins. She got a cool puzzle, rubber duckies, a pop-up toy, and a retro-style rotary dial toy telephone.



And, I know it's silly, but we had a 'best-dressed banana' competition. Here are the entries:

It was nice having family here to celebrate. We missed the Cramer side of course (wish we lived closer) and the rest of the Williamsons who live outside of Utah. Glad we could skype/facebook with some of you to share the craziness! We had quite the loud, laughing, busy, screaming, running, big-family party!

Ashlynn's first Words

Here's my little cherubic girl showing off her new favorite word. This was a few weeks ago and she says it all the time now, especially when she wants to get our attention. She's already taken her first steps, too! She'll be 11 months in about a week. Life has sure been busier with our Ashlynn joining our family, and added lots more giggling and silliness (if that was possible). We sure love this little gal!

Answers

Everyone has on-going unanswered questions or concerns about stuff, right?

I've had a little list piling up in my brain for several months. Sometimes, when my brain is on overdrive and I can't shut it off to go to sleep at night (for no apparent reason...other than that bowl of ice cream that I ate that could be giving me a sugar high) I think about STUFF. Like:

How am I going to get Mikayla to try new foods and learn how to EAT and get out of the 1st %tile for her weight?

Will I EVER find a reputable, fair-priced, licenced, polite, quality contractor to finish our basement that has now been in the works for a year and a half? ( I must've gone through 7 contractors now, researching them, getting quotes, negotiating, etc.)

Who should teach ______ primary class? How long till _______ is going to be called as a teacher? etc. etc. (I am in charge of the teachers for Primary and lately it has been very high-maintenance)

What should I do with this mop on my head known as hair?

How in the world am I going to stay on top of all the housework? (I swear, it gets messier faster when your living space is only 1000 square feet) And HOW did all those crumbs appear on the floor? Didn't I just sweep?
Note: My kitchen floor is much messier now that my 8 month old will enthusiastically try to stuff any table food in her mouth - a sharp contrast from her older sis, who as a baby refused anything that wasn't smooth - so I usually happily sweep up the mess. Usually.

I admit, these concerns are pretty lightweight compared to lots of peoples' lives. It just wears on me when I don't find solutions, month after month. And after lots of prayers and brainstorming.

Well, recently I've been excited and relieved because I am finally getting some ANSWERS! I am learning I just gotta be patient. Have faith. Keep working at it. And s-l-o-w-l-y, ever so slowly, solutions are coming.

And I have to keep a good perspective. I've accepted the reality that the house probably won't be as neat or as clean as I like it as long as I have kids in the house. I know that my job with finding primary subs is going to be continuous (until they release me or I move out of the ward).
And, maybe I'll just be the lady who wears a ponytail all the time because she can't style her hair worth beans. Maybe I'll be 75 with a ponytail. (Hmmm....actually don't ladies that age go to the hair salon once a week and get it 'done' and then just wear a shower cap and never have to do it? That sounds good to me....)

On a more serious note, I know that Heavenly Father is listening to me. I should probably pray more than I do. But when I do have a heartfelt talk with him, He listens. And I think sometimes He must chuckle at my concerns, but I know that He cares, because it matters to ME.

We went to California a few weeks ago. We go every year for the Cramer family beach party. And whadayaknow, the day before we were supposed to leave, Mikayla starts acting grumpy and whines about how she's gonna throw up. I knew by the way she was acting that she had come down with something, but she is rather dramatic when it comes to illness so I thought it might just be a quick little bug that's been going around our neighborhood.

So we decided to go anyway. I was kind of anxious about it (I could just picture us driving along in the barf-covered car with two screaming kids). WEll, the drive there went okay, other than the fact that Mikayla refused to eat anything and only accepted drinks. But on Friday night, the night before beach day, she had - we ALL had - an awful night. She was thrashing about in her sleep, waking up, crawling along the floor crying, refusing to be put back in her little bed or our bed, etc. Note:Somewhere in there I figured out that what she meant by 'I need to throw up' was 'I have a sore throat' - she just didn't know the right phrase.

Anyway, Kraig and I spent a lot of time awake that night. And, we later admitted to each other, a lot of time praying. We just wanted to have a nice time at the beach with all the family. We'd come far for just a short trip. We don't see the Cramer side much, and they're so welcoming and fun. We wanted Mikayla to feel better and have a good time with her cousins.

In the morning we let her sleep in. She slept till about 10:30. I was still expecting her to be a grouch since she didn't even get her full amount of sleep and then not feeling well to boot. But, miraculously, she woke up, happy, pleasant, bright. She ate food! She started running around the house with her cousins! And we ended up having a fabulous time at the beach. Mikayla was completely content the entire day, even late into the night. In our mind, that was a miracle and an answer to our prayers. And the stormy weather cleared up and the sun came out. That was a pleasant surprise too.

I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes answers to our prayers come the next day. And sometimes they come after months, or even YEARS.
But they come. :)

Lightning Party

I almost didn't do a friend party for Mikayla because she's been timid in big groups lately, but I'm so glad we did! We had a great time, and Mikayla was in heaven! She finally got her Lightning McQueen Party.
We started off by riding on the 'racetrack' we made. We live at the end of our street and we just okayed it with our neighbors accross the way and blocked off the road. They loved it!

All the racers

Playing 'Pass the Parcel'. You pass the present and when the music stops, you can unwrap one layer to get a prize (a classic British party game).

Mikayla showing me her bracelet she won in the 'Pass the Parcel' game

All the kids showing off their bracelets

Playing 'Don't let Frank catch you' tag game that Kraig came up with

Lined up just before they take off racing to the other side of the yard

I was so pleased that the cake turned out seeing as I'm not a great baker, but I do enjoy getting creative with kids' cakes. The fence is made out of cinnamon sticks and pretzels tied together with string. The grass is coconut died green. And I searched all over to find just the right kind of tractors. For 3 months, Mikayla has requested a 'Lightning McQueen Cake' so I wanted to make sure she loved it. When I showed it to her, the reaction was "OH MY GOODNESS!" which made it so worth the effort.

Present time! Mikayla loved all of the gifts, but after opening them she just wanted to keep playing with all her friends. They went and rode bikes again while they waited for their parents to come. I think that's what made the party so happy for her - to have her favorite little people over to celebrate.

We waited till all of the kids had gone home to give her our present, a long awaited for kitchen! We knew that once we showed her this she wouldn't be interested in much else.

I think her new obsession is going to be princess stuff. She only recenlty saw Cinderella and has been asking for a ball gown ever since. Well, we just gave her her Halloween costume a few months early. Though thankfully she doesn't HAVE to wear it every day, she has asked to wear it to bed and to church.

Sisters

I have been unable to blog for months due to computer issues on our desktop and I finally found an app I like to blog with on my iPad. Yay!

I just wanted to post this video of my two little gals and their blossoming friendship. One which, I hope will last a lifetime! I hope they can be the sisters to each other that I never had. We are thoroughly enjoying Ashlynn and her happy, curious, and bright nature. The girls have already started wrestling and Ashlynn gets tossed around quite a bit but she just grabs onto Kayla's hair and doesn't let go. Needless to say they are good for each other!

Kayla Quotes

Every day is entertaining and pretty much delightful when you have a little person around who's learning the intricacies of language. Below are some statements made by my blossoming little girl during the past week or so.

"You're my little sweetheart" (talking to her dad)

"Thanks. You saved my life." (to kraig, after he helped her)

Me: 'Ashlynn has a dirty diaper.'
Mikayla: 'Yeah, babies do that.'

Every time we're about to step out the door: 'LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!'

"My question is...where's my quesadilla?"

Me to Kraig: 'She has such a cute personality.'
Mikayla: 'I not a personality - I a GIRL!'

Competition

Is life a competition? Most people would say no to that question, but many people act like it's necessary to compare children, spouses, looks, homes, parenting styles, salaries, etc. It's natural to compare ourselves with others that seem to be in the same boat. But if we get in the habit of continually comparing and competing, it seems like usually one of two things will happen: We'll become prideful or become envious.

Neither one are too pleasant.

And it's a waste of time. Because every family, every individual, and every situation is unique. You can't compare apples to oranges.

I just had to get that off my chest.