36 weeks.

Here we are at 36 weeks. Doing well but moving a little slower these days. Keeping busy with all our holiday fun and of course, weekly visits to my doctor. Phil and I recently took a tour of the hospital where I will deliver. Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando. Since I had never had a reason to go there before, we thought it might be a good idea to at least know where to park the car!

Four generations.

Christmas Eve & Morning.

We had a good Christmas and we celebrated Christmas Eve with Papaw, Mimi and GGmom. Emma and GGmom tackled some serious sticker time.

Christmas morning. Emma was happy to find a Tinkerbell outfit from Santa.
Emma groovin' in her DePaul cap that was in her Stocking. How did Santa know??

Yes, then the Tinkerbell outfit stayed on as we made our way across town to Papaw and Mimi's resort. Thanks to Aunt Wendy for the cute pink Santa hat.

Christmas in Florida.

Although Christmas day in Orlando was very overcast and rainy at times, the temperature was moderate. Therefore, Emma was able to enjoy the pool area for just a little bit at a resort that Papaw and Mimi were staying at. (the water was heated) After hanging out there for a while we spent Chirstmas afternoon at the Kutch's with Paul, Dolores, Ian, Uncle Carl, Papaw, Mimi and GGmom. (Later Paulie got off work) Unfortunately I did not take any pics while we were there....oops. (but we had a great time)

Emma practicing her Hungry, Hungry Hippo skills so she can take down Phil the next time they play. ( I never knew how loud this game was, oh boy.)

Doesn't everyone practice in their Tinkerbell outfit? By the way, this photo was taken the day AFTER christmas. I think the Tinkerbell outfit may be seen on a daily basis for awhile.

Turkey Day.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our house with Harrison, aka Poppa. This was Phil and I's first solo hosting of the big meal. Luckily only 3 adults to serve.

Chef Phil handled the turkey and I took care of all the sides. I think we did ok.
Season changing. A few days after Thanksgiving, our Christmas cactus started to get some blooms. This is my FAV plant...I hardly ever mess with it and every year we get some cute pink blooms.

Happy Halloween.

We hope everyone had a great Halloween!! Emma was a kitty this year. She definitely enjoyed trick or treating more this year. We went early in the evening and then headed home to pass out candy. Emma loved answering the door and seeing all the other costumes too.

28 weeks.

So I have had a few requests to post a "belly pic." Here we are just before trick or treating. I am 28 weeks and feeling pretty well. Tired at times and moving a little slower these days. Baby Ashler loves to move around, day or night. (Especially after a few halloween treats.)

Slam Dunk.

We have had this basketball goal since 2008. When Harrison bought it for us we used to have to hold Emma up to the basket for her to make it in or she would have to stand on a chair. As you can see...things have changed. We watched her shoot the other night without any assistance. Whoa. Yes, that is a Little Mermaid kitchen next to the basketball goal. Doesn't everyone have a Little Mermaid kitchen next to their basketball goal?

Pumpkin Carving.

Phil and Emma took on the pumpkin carving for Halloween this year. Phil really wanted Emma to stick her hand inside in the pumpkin. With much coaxing, she finally did it. And, only did it once. She then declared that Daddy was suppose to do that job. Later, she named the pumpkin Bryce...we have NO IDEA where that name came from.

The Craul Sisters!

We had a fun day with Aunt Linda and Aunt Wendy a few weekends ago. They were staying in Orlando for the weekend and we met them at Disney Marketplace for lunch and laughs.

Lunch was at a restaurant named T-Rex. Emma was learning how to wear a stylish scarf from Aunt Wendy.

Emma loved all the figurines that were her size. As many of you know she gets a little freaked out by the live characters that walk around. These figurines were a little more her pace.

We walked around the Disney village after lunch. Wendy took Emma on the train ride. She LOVED it!! (unfortunately the best pic had Wendy with her eyes closed...ooops.)

T-Rex

I had to add a few pics from this restaurant. In usual Disney fashion it was a little over the top. The dinosaurs would move and make noise. The Octopus bar was pretty cool, it also had a large aquarium. Surprisely, Emma was not freaked out once Phil explained that they were not real but she still refused to have her picture taken with any of them.

Spooktacular with Shamu.

Emma and I ventured to Sea World Saturday morning while Phil had to work the UCF/Miami game. We only spent a few hours there. The park was decorated for the month long Spooktacular events. We didn't stick around for much of that, we were ready for a nap after a few shows. I am excited to point out that Emma is wearing PANTS!! It was in the 60-70's that morning.

Sunny Day...

Sunday afternoon we ventured to Elmo LIVE at the UCF arena. We invited Reagan (her mom Kristen) and Carter (his mom Jenny). Emma definitely was the eldest of the three and enjoyed helping them with popcorn and drinks. While I did get picture of her sitting, she enjoyed dancing and clapping the majority of the time.

Safety First.

At the Elmo show, Emma scored a new bike helmet. (She was big enough to be fitted for one.) She wanted to try it out on the way home.





Then we finally tried it out with the Princess Tricycle.

Ashler cousins.

While Phil was getting ready for a game against Buffalo, Emma and I went to Sea World Saturday morning to see some of our Ashler family. Heidi, Scott and Riley Jane all came to Orlando for Riley Jane's 5th Birthday. We also were able to visit with Andy, Uncle Philip and Aunt Betty. It took Emma a little bit to warm up to everyone initially but she soon was excited to have a playmate to watch all the shows with.

Emma and Riley Jane watching the Shamu show.

Game Time.

Football season began with a home opener against Samford. (a win.) Here is Emma with her new UCF shirt and her black skirt. She wanted her hair pulled up "like the cheerleaders."

Dinner! (Pregame while waiting for kickoff)

Pregame warm up. (Yes, the stadium did fill up by kickoff)

I CAN DO IT!

Emma has been helping me sometimes with laundry and she decided on this particualr day that she would get ALL the clothes from the washer. It took her a while but she did accomplish it.

Pool Safety (at its best).

So Emma accomplished the ultimate in pool safety. She is using her "floaty" in the kiddie pool. On the warmer days we bust out the little pool and most of our time is spent filling up the pool, then finding all possible toys to throw in there. She will jump in and out, water the trees with buckets of water from the pool and other exciting activities that randomly come to her. (Luckily, I am able to sit in the shade on our porch.)

The GG's.

Another great adventure we had while Mimi was here to visit...we went to see GGDad and GGmom!! We hung out at their house, ate Subway and watched it rain. Emma disovered GGDad's table of treats and she walked away with some great new stickers from GGMom.

August

It has been a while since we have posted anything, sorry about that. The month of August has been busy with usual everday life excitement. As most of you know, we are expecting Ashler #2. yipee! Here are a few photos of Emma at some random moments. One day we escaped the heat with a trip to Monkey Joe's. Emma received her first pair of swimming goggles. She was pretty excited. Since Phil has beeen busy getting ready for football season Emma and I decided to decorate cookies for him. (Since decorating was the real fun, we skipped over the hard part and just used slice-n-bake.) Emma's other big excitement...Mimi came for a visit!! While she was here we went 'big girl bed' shopping. Here is a pic of Emma trying our her new bed and hew new butterfly sheet/comforter. She seems to love it. I will try to update the site a little more often. :)