Summer Fun

This summer is moving by really quickly, but I'm doing my best to not complain about that one. It's too darn hot to enjoy. I think James is even more aware of the Houston heat this summer, because I haven't stopped complaining since April. Someday we WILL move back to Austin. Until then, I will do my best to make the best of our current situation.

Most weekends, I am the early riser with Cullen. After breakfast, Cullen and I play games, practice new skills, or I supervise while he plays with his toys. Over the last couple of months, Cullen has started sitting up independently, and now we are working on pulling up and standing independently. He's getting so fast, and it is just awesome! He will be walking before we know it!

Here is Cullen pushing Scout away to show off his wonderful sitting up skills. I'm sure Scout just wanted a little bit of the breakfast Cullen left in his hand.

And then we see Scout's amazing patience with Cullen. When he falls down, she usually catches him. Sometimes it even seems to be on purpose.

One of our fun things I wrote about before was our fun trip to the zoo. We got to see the dinosaur exhibit that is only on display for the summer. We went to see if after it had been available for a month, so we were all a little surprised at how not enthused we were. I would have expected some bad press or something. I guess now we know to stick with the museum for dinosaurs. At least we got a good picture!

Last weekend we went swimming at a friend's house where Cullen got to enjoy the company of another baby his age. Hadley is just a couple of weeks older and absolutely beautiful. Cullen loved playing with someone with the same skill set, and he really seems to enjoy the water. I'll have to post pictures of that expedition when we have time to pull them off the camera!

xoxo Ashley

All Well Again

We are all healthy and well again! Just as Cullen was making his full recovery from virus number 2, I seemed to catch it. Of course, we didn't make our trip to Austin, and James spent the weekend feeling like a single parent while I tried to recover. I just hope that means we're all covered for illness for a while.

Last night, I went out for our monthly girls night with some awesome friends. We are always a little too loud, but we laugh so much, and it is a wonderful escape. Since my birthday is this weekend, the girls put together a little surprise party complete with cake and presents. So fun!

We are struggling to survive the Houston summer heat once more. I think I elected to forget just how bad these summers get, but Mother Nature took great care to remind me. Thankfully, we have some great friends with an awesome pool. This weekend, we will be lounging poolside and letting the babies get in some water play. Maybe I'll even sneak in a mani pedi.

I'm also going to spend some time with a good friend of mine who is expecting her little boy to arrive any day now. I'm going to take inventory in her nursery and make sure she is all set for Ayden's arrival. I personally feel like it's easier to enjoy your little one when there aren't other things to worry about. I am seriously looking forward to installing the car seat. So fun!

xoxo Ashley

Sick Baby

In a two week span, Cullen has now managed to get sick twice. He spent all of last week home with a virus, and now he's working on this week. Watching a baby feel sick is miserable. All you can do is hug on him and hope for the best. Lucky for our little family, we have an amazing friend that is providing Cullen lots of snuggles today.

So that James and I could both get some work done, Cullen's "Aunt" Katie is at the house taking care of him. How lucky are we? Not only is she taking awesome care of our precious little boy, she is doing it while he is sick. Boy do we owe her!

I sure do hope the illness and crummy weather pass before the weekend. If not, our Austin trip might get postponed again. Nothing to do but pray!

xoxo Ashley

Long Weekends Are Wonderful

A four day weekend is such an amazing blessing. After spending a week caring for a sick kiddo and busting my behind at work to renew my July 1st accounts, I was so ready to spend the weekend vegetating. We definitely stayed busy with lots of activities, but we also spent a lot of time just hanging out. Such a simple thing to take for granted!

As of today, little Cullen is eight months old. He is getting so much more lively and active every single day. He is crawling and pulling up now. He has been trying really hard to pull himself up for about a week, and he is doing a great job with a little help. Yesterday morning he decided to pull himself up on the side of the bathtub. While I was rinsing his hair. I almost threw up my Cheerios. He did it all on his own, but it was a prime example of fear and pride. I love my little guy.

This weekend, we're headed to San Marcos to watch a friend race in the Texas Water Safari. After the race, we're going to Austin for an early dinner and then heading back home. No rest for the weary! I can't wait for Cullen to meet some of our Austin friends!

xoxo Ashley

Welcome To Summer

It is July 1st, and it is definitely summer time in Houston. Wow. Just a couple of days ago, I was sweating to death; today, I'm trying to stay dry. Have I mentioned lately that I did not miss Houston weather while I was away? I hate actually having to pay attention to the hurricane forecast. Boo.

This week, we have been dealing with Cullen's first serious illness. My little guy has a summer virus, and it sure is miserable around our house. I can't help but feel crummy with him moping around. The only way I know he's feeling better today is his super-active chase of Scout's rawhide. I'm beginning to think I should let him have a clean one for a few minutes to know he isn't missing out, but part of me knows that he might like it for teething. Ew.

Over the last month, Cullen has gone from semi-mobile to scary. I feel very strongly that there is a link between pride and fear that can only be found in parenting. I know I've mixed the two before, but it is such a pronounced experience with Cullen. I love that he's crawling, but now I feel like I can't leave him alone at all. Gone are the days of his naps on the living room floor.

I'm really thrilled to have a four-day weekend coming up. For some unknown reason, my company decided to give us Friday AND Monday off for July 4th. I have a ton of things to take care of tomorrow, but that means I have three days of enjoying my family. How lucky am I?

I'm going to take this weekend (as I should every single day) to love on my family, spend time with friends, and count my blessings.

xoxo ashley

Trying to Improve

I can hardly believe it has been a month since I last updated. My goal is to post once or twice a week. I guess there's a little room for improvement here.

Per the usual, we have been going non-stop. We had Cullen's first haircut, his baptism, his first flight and trip out of state, and his first Garner trip. Whew. Needless to say, we will be taking a break from travelling and overwhelming activities for a couple of weeks.

Cullen was such a great sport about his haircut. He sat on my lap, stayed relatively calm, and strolled out of Visible Changes with the cutest mohawk I have EVER seen. Since we didn't get a very good shot of the mohawk on camera, I'm considering recreating it for his zoo trip this weekend.

The day after the fabulous haircut was Cullen's baptism. We had such an awesome time with friends and family. We had a great crowd at the church and 30 people over for lunch afterwards! It was so fun to catch up with friends and so fabulous to see Cullen's happy expressions at church. I just pray every night that James and I can be role models for Cullen's faith as he grows!

My favorite picture from that entire day is from the end of the day. Cullen and Scout were both so wiped out from the day's excitement, and they took a nap in the middle of the floor together. Too precious for words!

After a very brief recovery from the hoopla of that weekend, we started packing for our trip to California. Cullen finally got to meet his great grandparents on the Shuler side of the family. It was a high-stress trip, but we are so glad we got to make it. I don't think either of us wants to fly with an infant in the foreseeable future, and I don't think I would recommend it to others. As it turns out, there are an awful lot of people in the world who hate children. On the positive side, Cullen really enjoyed the fresh air in Morro Bay!

Of course, the most entertaining thing for Cullen was that his inflatable duck bathtub kept showing up in every new place we went. That thing is beyond entertaining for him, and it really creates some entertainment for us, too. His favorite bath activity is to flip over on his belly and wiggle while you wash his hair.

Of course, there is no rest for the weary, so we headed straight to Concan as soon as we got back from California. Cullen spent more time than I ever thought possible in the pool and river. I'm amazed by the fact that I have a water baby! Now I just need to make sure he never knows about my fear of water. I love how much he enjoyed the pool, and I was seriously proud! Cullen is even sporting a little tan. Considering the fact that he wore SPF 70, I'm a little shocked. At least he didn't get burned!

Every day is so fun with Cullen right now. He has started some really primitive crawling/dragging, and he's even getting more vocal. Last night, he woke up at 2 and stayed awake for 45 minutes saying ba ba ba. So amazing! He'll be talking before we know it!

This weekend we'll be celebrating James' first father's day. In all honesty, I feel more excited about it than he seems to show. On Saturday, Cullen is making a fun trip to the zoo to check out the monkeys and the dinosaur exhibit. I know I can't wait!

xoxo ashley

Half A Year

Six months isn't a long time period, but it can take forever to run it's course. When I look back over the last six months, I am absolutely in shock. My little boy is six months old today. Wow.

Over the last six months, I have grown as a person. Maybe I physically lost 40 pounds, but I also gained so much wisdom and love that I never anticipated. Being a mom is such an amazing experience. I've heard people say that you can never be completely prepared to be a parent. It is SO true, but I felt sure that I had waited long enough to be almost prepared. I don't feel like I'm behind at all, but I learn new things everyday. Yesterday, I learned that my son likes to flail like a fish in his little duck bathtub and laugh. The day before that, I learned that sweet potatoes are harder to scrape off a highchair than oatmeal is. Every single day is something new. I can't wait to learn today's lesson.

There are moments when I wish for peace that will never come, but I will never wish that I didn't have my son. He is a blessing and my everything. God has truly blessed my last six months. The best part is that I have a whole lifetime of blessings to come. I am one lucky girl.