Another Summer in Hotlanta!

We are entering into the 2 1/2 year phase of life now -- can't believe it, of course. :) Here's what we've been up to over the summer here in Hotlanta!

We went to a Swamp Jamboree at the library & the kids made these cute headbands -- what a miracle that Ashley kept it on her head!

One of Ashley's favorite past-times is toting around her babies & Elmo. Hopefully, this is a sign of how much of a big helper she will be when the Little One arrives in October.
Ashley's flexibility continues to increase & her strength, too. She doesn't have much fear when it comes to swinging on things or climbing. I know that she got this from her mother.

We went to 2 June weddings (Cousins Merideth & Dan and friends Lori & James). Auntie Amy was the Mom-in-training in our travels up to South Bend for one wedding, often providing a great shoulder for naps. :)

We also traveled to Cape May, NJ for our beach vacation -- it was a great time with some of our family! On the long trip north, we came upon the following state park. Real funny, huh?

Ashley loved the beach, the lighthouse, and playing with all of her big cousins. We went to an open-air living museum (1860's America) and she even fed the sheep!


On the last day, we tried to get a picture of Cousin Molly & Ashley in their matching Cape May shirts, which as you can see, didn't work out too well. (Thanks, Auntie Ann!)

And, please note, that when the above sad face & motion to be picked up is not heeded, the following WILL ensue:

(Molly just wishes Ashley would stop crying.)

We also got to spend some quality time with our friends over the summer. Here Ashley is with some of her homees:

Ashley, Noah & Jacob at the pool one day (Do they look like trouble, or what? :) ) Ashley teaching Jacob some of her daredevil moves . . . .

We also went to the pool often this summer. The floaties were quite buoyant & Ashley doesn't weigh much, so they actually held her up. Not that she wanted to be floating freely!

Just as a comparison, here is Ashley last summer (around 16 months) . . . .And the summer before that (around 4 months). It really is amazing how fast babies & children grow!!!!Over Labor Day, we took a family trip to Kennesaw Mountain. Ashley loved riding the school bus to the top. :) Then we walked around the top for a while -- I guess she thought that Daddy needed some help getting to the very top.

There were also lots of rocks to climb on. Woo-hoo!!!

In other updates, we just moved Ashley to a "big bed" this week and she also started preschool (2 mornings a week). So far so good on both fronts. :) We also have her enrolled in speech therapy for a speech delay. She has been great at communicating through signs, gestures, and some vocalizations, but hasn't had too many words yet. However, the crazy thing is that this past week, she was adding 1-2 words per day -- words like purple and backpack. We were really surprised and delighted. :)

That's about it in Ashley's World right now. We probably won't update again until the new baby comes in October, when "Ashley's World" will forever change -- and ours, too! If you have any ideas for a new name for this website, e-mail us. JoyOfAshley won't work for too much longer. :)