Thanksgiving in Franklin

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Franklin this year. The highlight of our stay was the time Riley spent with Mimi, her great grandmother (Lauren's grandmother) who is now 88! Riley had a lot to say to Mimi and Mimi was happy to listen. Another big event was the turning on of the cross. Every year my family (Lauren) turns on a cross at thanksgiving through Christmas. The cross is about __ft tall and stands at the top of my grandfather's hill. Joe (Lauren's dad) built this as a reminder of Jesus our Savior, the baby born in the manger on that Christmas day, who gave His life in order that we might have life. Riley was the special guest at this years lighting and she "helped" her grandaddy turn on the lights for this holiday season.

Our Little Pumpkin

Talking with Mimi

The Family

Spending time with Grandaddy

Riley with her Grandaddy, Gram and Uncle Jim lighting the cross. She was bundled up in her bear outfit and couldn't move =)

Catching Up!

I have taken a long break from blogging! Riley has changed so much over the last 2 months! Over the next few days I plan to post some of our "adventures" from these months. Here are a couple of pictures to start.

Riley on Halloween dressed as Casper the friendly ghost!

3 month photo in the glider

Riley being the sweet and excitable girl that she is

Some of Daddy's Favorites!

Photo Shoot

Several weeks ago Riley had her first REAL photo shoot. A friend of ours, Rob Dent, offered to take the pictures for us. Here are a few of our favorites.

Our Sweet Girl

Riley is going to be 7 weeks old on Friday and is now very alert and active. She has won both Bruce and me over with her beautiful smile!

Here are some pictures from weeks 4-6.

This is Riley's 1 month photo in the glider. She looks much more confident in this picture than she did her first day at home =)

Fish face...

Riley loves bath time! This was her first bath in the kitchen sink.

Nap time with daddy!

A happy girl

Home Sweet Home

Little Riley is now 3 weeks old! She is settled in at home and loves all of her pretty new outfits and soft blankets. Riley says "Thank you" to all of her friends and family for their gracious gifts! We have taken many pictures of our precious little girl and the ones posted below are some of our favorites!

At her last check-up Riley weighed in at 7lbs 7oz. Sleeping and eating are her favorite activities!

Riley loves her time with daddy and she thinks his jokes are hilarious!

We hope Riley loves kisses as much as we love giving them =)

Riley is a little lady. She has already learned to cross her legs!

Riley Noelle Poses for the Camera!

Little Riley has been a content, happy, and alert little baby so far. We've even had fun with a mini-photo-shoot...

The top picture is daddy holding her just before leaving the holding her just before leaving the hospital.

The second picture is Riley taking a little rest on the queen sized bed.
The third picture is Riley perched in her mother's glider.

Introducing Riley Noelle Ashford!

Riley Noelle Ashford made her grand entrance on August 28, 2009 at 5:25 a.m. She was 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and is 20 inches long. She has blue eyes and a full head of dark, wavy hair.

Lauren and I have had a wonderful three days with this precious little girl. She manages to stay alert during the day for a couple of hours at a time. When I hold her in front of me, she looks at me and even manages to follow any movement that is within a foot or two of her face. Riley enjoys nursing so much that she has to be persuaded to take a break.

We are so thankful to the Lord for his gracious gift to us. We pray for his grace in her life as she grows, and for his grace in our lives as we learn to love her and care for her.

We love you all and thank you for your love and the many messages we've gotten from you. We hope to post some more pictures of Riley soon.

Waiting for Baby...

Hey everybody! We are at home tonight (Saturday night), hanging pictures in the baby room and writing thank you notes for the very generous gifts that you have given us for our baby showers!

We hope you enjoy our little family blog. It will certainly be more interesting once Baby Girl arrives! She is due on August 22 and we have no doubt that everything around here will be a little bit more exciting once she makes her grand appearance in this world.

And, before you ask, the answer is "no." We have not yet decided on a name, but have all confidence that we will be ready with a name by August 22. :-)

We would appreciate your prayers for our baby girl, for the delivery, and for us.