Thursday, October 21, 2010

Waiting for Baby


Yes, we are waiting for the arrival of our second baby girl! The due date is November 1 so if you calculate that we have about 1 1/2 weeks! Wow where did the time go? Riley came 6 days over her due date so we are thinking that this precious girl might do the same. No, we do not know her name. Bruce and I seem to like the method of naming our baby girls just after they are born =) Our girls will be 14 months apart which is so exciting (and sometimes overwhelming) to us. We already pray that our girls will have a special friendship and love for one another. I am sure there will be many challenges along the way but Bruce and I are both confident in the Lord's grace and His timing. Both girls are answers to many prayers and we could not be happier to be "da da" and "ma ma" (although Riley excitedly says "da da" and every now-and-then decides to throw in a "ma ma" I am not jealous =)

As we are awaiting the arrival of our second baby girl there have been a lot of things going on around the Ashford household (some may call this nesting =). Here is some evidence of "baby arrival anticipation"

We started with an open entry office that Bruce used when he worked from home. Well...he has had to make some sacrifices and his office was the first thing to go. He graciously moved books into the hallway and living room and his desk into our bedroom. The next step was to put doors on the entry of the room. Here they are. Ignore the mess in the room!
My dad (Lauren) was a huge help in this! Thank you daddy!
We bought some unfinished shelves and painted them. Bruce patiently hung them. Trust me you think they would make the shelves exactly the same so that your measuring and hanging would be easy but oh no...

The rug that I found on clearance at Target might be one my favorite things!
There is just so much cuteness that I had to stick this in. Riley is very confident to walk behind this but take it away as she is back on her knees! Thank you BiBi for a great gift!
Riley looking at "da da's" empty checkbook after all of "ma ma's" projects. =) Seriously she found an old wallet of mine and played with it for an hour!
Love those eyes!


I thought that 5 weeks before the baby was due I should learn to sew. Seems like a perfectly great idea right? =) I think this is when nesting hit full swing! Bruce's mom gave me a lesson on the basics several months ago but I didnt have a chance to get back to the machine. Thank you Bibi! Also, thank you to my sweet friend Chesed who came over to help out with my nesting, teach me a few more sewing tricks, and leave her machine with me for a few days. She is brave! I have to be very serious when I sew =) You have to admit that face is intimidating =)
During all of these projects Bruce and Riley went on several dates. Most of them included a stop at Starbucks. A trip to Starbucks is never complete for Bruce unless it includes an iced lemon pound cake. Riley was happy about this development =) On their way out...

Riley also ate quite a few goldfish one day while mom was hard at work. It is hard to see but Riley had cheese all over her face including in her eyebrows. She is a sneaky one!
Nap time is VERY important!
The sewing projects produced several things including a blanket and a crib skirt (you cant see it in this picture). If you know what you are doing with a sewing machine do not look closely!
2 pillows, a taggie blanket, and too many burp clothes!
And what girls room is complete without a place for her hair bows???

A fun board for pictures and cards.
That is it! I will bore you no more =) I will try to take and post a picture of the completed room as soon as we get the curtains up! 1 1/2 weeks and counting...

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

It Has Been a While...


Well, there is no excuse for my posting to be silent from February to October! Where did the time go? Riley is now 13 months! (I have been trying for several days to upload her birthday pictures but I keep getting an error message??? Hopefully they are "to come" She has been changing so much in the last month. She is now a Daddy's girl, has 4 teeth (so cute), eats a ton of solid foods (especially loves applesauce, cheerios, bread and graham crackers), knows what it means to brush her hair and brush her teeth, is a copy cat, has weened herself from the paci during the day, loves books and baby-dolls, gives lots of good kisses, tries to talk like mom and dad, and understands "NO" even though she often tries to hide the fact. Did I mention that she loves her "Da Da??? =)

We have done a lot over the last 7 months and here are a few pictures to recap...

We took our first family vacation in Virginia Beach. Riley loved the
water and wasnt sure what to do with the sand.


Snack time on the beach.

Beach Babe!

We spent a week with Bruce's parents at Ocean Isle Beach.
It was great to have the family all together! Riley had a blast!
Riley enjoyed playing with her cousin Jacob!
Jacob and Elijah were both great to take care of Riley!
We celebrated Joy's (Bruce's sister) birthday while at the beach. What better way to celebrate than with family and blueberry pound cake??? Here is a great family picture!
Riley enjoys "reading" to Papa
On a recent visit to Franklin Riley spent a day working with her Grandaddy and
Uncle Pres on the crane. She was a big helper =)

Um...did I mention that Riley likes ice cream?

After the SBC in Orlando we were able to spend a couple of days with
Lauren's parent's in Disney World.
Riley loves the cell phone.
Riley picked squash from her Grandaddy's garden. She also enjoyed eating it!