Ashley's Trip to the Aquarium

We were so excited to see Ashley after missing her during our time away, we wanted to spend a special day with her. After we returned from Mexico, we had to pick Ashley up in Dallas, so we stayed an extra night and visited the Dallas World Aquarium the next day. We saw lots of neat multi-colored fish swimming through coral reefs (left), a manatee, sea turtles (middle), rays, beautiful birds, a few penguins, otters (right) and even a Jaguar.

Where will Ashley go next?

Ahh! Vacation, at last!

Travis and I decided it was high time for a vacation, so we left Ashley in Dallas with her grandparents the (3 days with Gem & Granddad Jack and 3 days with Nana & Papa) the last week of September. The result was six glorious, relaxing days in Akumal, Mexico, about 2 hours south of Cancun, just north of the Tulum ruins.

We had a fantastic time! Our biggest decision each day was either to spend the afternoon at the beach with warm, clear blue water or at the pool with the swim up bar. The resort was all-inclusive so meals, drinks and most entertainment were all included. We were even able to "rent" bicycles and tour the grounds one morning after breakfast. This turned out to be a hot way to spend the morning, but it was well worth the effort. While we missed Ashley terribly, we had a wonderful time on our vacation, and she enjoyed visiting with her grandparents.

The view from our breakfast and lunch table. The water seen behind the foliage is the crystal blue ocean.






On the morning of our bicycle ride (note the red cheeks), we stopped at one of the look-out towers in the resort.






My Birthday Dinner. Each guest at the resort gets to make reservations at one of the restaurants on the property. Otherwise, it's a cafeteria style eating plan. We chose to make reservations the night of my birthday so we could enjoy a nicer, quieter meal.

We made friends with one of the resident iguanas on the property. We named him, "Julio." Another guest gave me the bright idea to feed iguanas bananas from the breakfast bar. Fun!

Ashley's First Hair Cut

At nearly 14 months old, we decided it was finally time for Ashley's first hair cut. We were getting to the point that we couldn't see her beautiful blue eyes that resembles her daddy's and grandfather Reagan's. I was so hoping her hair would curl a bit on the ends, but since it didn't seem to be doing this, it was just time.

We took her to a kid's hair cutter shop that was inside ToysRUs here in Austin-a kid's dream, right? When we got there, we learned this was at least one kid's worst nightmare! Poor little guy-boy. did he look sharp after he was done though. Ashley was a champ! She got to sit in the fire engine seat, turned the steering wheel and watched an Elmo video on her own private TV during the hair cut. She smiled and even giggled through out the whole 10 minute process. They sent home a special certificate and a lock of hair.

Ashley's First Day of School

On Sept 3, Ashley spent her last day in the Caterpillar/Infant room at school. She graduated with several of her other classmates to the Little Duck room for 12-20 month olds. We were thrilled that some of her teachers graduated with her to the new room-at least for a little while. So far, she's loving her new room. It's about 3x larger with big kid toys, tables and chairs which are used at meal/snack time and art time, instuments, a reading corner and fun bulletin boards that track each child's words they've delveloped, their likes and dislikes and weekly artwork.

Ashley with some of her classmates from the Caterpillar room and a view from her crib.

Ashley in her big girl spot in the Little Duck room.