10 Months!

 It's official....you have now been on the outside longer than I carried you on the inside! You can't seriously be in the double digits now?? Slow down little lady, I'm not so sure I like this whole "growing up right before my eyes" thing you've got going on. And just when I think you can't get anymore fun, here you go proving me wrong . I feel so blessed that I get to spend all day with you; watching you learn, discover, and grow. Here is a little of what you've been up to:

Taking  multiple steps in a row

Climbing on everything

Hates having her clothes or diaper changed because this requires her to be still.

When we talk on the phone, she puts her hand up to her ear and says "hello".

Enjoys blowing out candles....we've been practicing for the big day

Pretty much eats whatever we are eating. In fact, she will literally beg at out feet until we share our food.

Still clapping and high fiving

Starting to sign "more". She has done it for Brandon, Grammie, and I, but not sure if she knows what she is doing??.

Snorts like a piggy

Has really started to take an interest in books. Her face lights up every time we read one.

Likes to walk holding just one of our hands. I think it makes her feel like a big girl.

Never stops talking, motorboating, and squealing. She even cries and talks at the same time.

Is a master at peek-a-boo.( She will pull clothes, blankets, towels, etc. over her head and then yank them off and stare at us until we say peek-a-boo).

Another monthly post has come and gone. Before I know it, my baby will be 1!

We love you so much, sweet girl, and can't wait to see what you surprise us with next month!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday: Check out these Pumpkins (before and after edition)

Before:

After:

After I wrote this post, I submitted some of the pictures to our local NBC news. To my surprise Presley and I were featured! You can go here to see it.

Birthday ....Better Late than Never.

In an effort to catch back up on my blogging, here is my birthday post in as few words as possible:)

On the morning of my 29th birthday, I woke up to this.

And this

and this ( special day birthday  coffee)

I was surprised twice by the delivery of these.

Got lots of birthday kisses from my two favorites.

 

And I ended my night by blowing out these.

Happy Birthday to me!

Whip 'Em Out!

I seriously love this video and thought all my breastfeeding Mama's would appreciate it.

Enjoy!

FoR the LOve of a MarGariTa...

Since I was extremely Preggo on my birthday last year, I promised myself I would have a margarita or 2 on my  29th birthday. This, my sweet friends, was not in the cards apparently.

My best friend (love you, Michelle) and her hubby came all the way to the big D to help me celebrate. They arrived super late on Friday night, so we made plans for a margarita birthday celebration on Saturday. I woke up with Presley bright and early, already having visions of a salt rimmed glass. Once everyone else was up and ready, we headed out to the State Fair of Texas. It was super crowded, but we got to Take Presley to see one of the best petting zoo's I have ever been too. I'm talkin' zebra's, a camel, a giraffe etc. Then, as we were heading out, I was stopped in my tracks. Did I really just see a sign for a Fried Maragarita?? OH.YES. I .DID. Now, I will tell you, I really had no idea what a fried margarita consisted of, but I was gettin' one!

There she is, in all her glory!!!

Let me tell you, peeps. This was the WORST thing I have ever eaten.

I wasn't the only one who thought so. Check out Casey's face in this fried margarita tasting play by play.

Tasting

Pondering

Pretty sure he isn't liking it

Trying really hard to keep it down

Yeah, it was that bad.

We decided it would probably be a good time to head home and get ready to go to Gloria's so we could have a real margarita. I picked Presley up, and noticed she felt warm. Brandon convinced me she was just hot from being outside, but I took one look at her face and knew my sweet little girl was not feeling well. I mean, just look at this pitiful baby.

So home we went, and home we stayed. Presley was sound asleep before 7. I guess my glorious Gloria's margarita wasn't in the cards for this year either.

What a Pig!

Presley's newest talent is snorting like a pig. If she tries hard enough, she can actually make herself snort. Mostly, she just blows air out of her nose though.

This new ummm...talent all started when I read the story, Moo, Baa, La La La by: Sandra Boyton, and snorted when we got to the page about the pig. I love Sandra Boyton books for little babes, by the way. Anywhoo, Now Miss Priss enjoys snorting very much and will do it on command.

Without further a due, here is P's attempt at snorting (she doesn't actually make a real "snort"noise in the video).

Rough Road Ahead

Well, If you remember my last post about Brandon and his diagnosis of Bells Palsy, I was pretty relieved. I am still very thankful for sure, but I wasn't even thinking about how it would affect Brandon. It's rough. He is essentially learning how to go about everyday life with a disability. So far, he is having to learn how to eat, drink, and say certain things with the left side of his face paralyzed. It's a been a little heartbreaking watching him struggle. There were a few times where I wasn't able to understand what he was trying to tell me. The "F" sound is very hard for him to say, but considering the way his Texas teams are playing, that isn't necessarily a bad thing (with the exception of the Rangers!).

His eye won't close all the way when he blinks, so it isn't getting enough moisture. Therefore his eye is constantly watering to protect his cornea. The human body is a great thing! Except the watering eye, makes his nose run all day. He has an eye patch that he wears some of the time, but either way, it's uncomfortable for him. Brandon also continues to have horrible headaches. We aren't sure yet what the cause is (high blood pressure or the nerve behind his ear), but they are making him physically sick. It's so hard to see him this way.

 The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

----Martin Luther King, Jr. Strength to love, 1963

Brandon has managed to keep his sense of humor in all of this. He's even trying to figure out how he can  work his new look into a Halloween costume.I'm just so impressed with his patience and courage in dealing with all of this. I pray that he heals soon. Some Bells Palsy patients never completely recover (20-40%) and it may take 3+ months to go away, so we are just trying to think positive and take it day by day.

Thank you so much to everyone who left sweet comments and for all the texts and phone calls/ messages from family and friends. All have been passed along to Brandon. He appreciates it so much! We will make sure to keep everyone updated.

Wordless Wednesday: The Gentle Zoo

Arboretum Pumpkin Pictures

As promised, here are some pictures from our trip on Sunday. If you live in the area, you must go, especially during pumpkin season! For pumpkin freaks like me, this place is heaven...

Sorry, I know that was a ton of pictures, but I did pretty good narrowing it down. I probably took a million pictures that day. Good grief, I need help...

From the Arboretum to the E.R.

For starters, I would like to point out that I feel so behind on blogging and reading blogs. I fully intend to catch back up, but things keep happening. Things like this, for example...

Brandon and I had planned out a super busy weekend, but Sunday was going to be a relaxing day for us. We had planned on going to the arboretum in Dallas to see the pumpkin village, and then spending the rest of our Sunday at home. I'm sure you have already figured out that is not what transpired.

Sunday morning, Brandon let me sleep in while he got up with the baby.  I rolled out of bed at 10:00am feeling super rested. Then strolled into our kitchen on the hunt for a cup of coffee. I kissed and cuddled Presley and  looked up at Brandon expecting a kiss and instead he said, "the left side of my face isn't working". Attempting not to scream, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR FACE ISN'T WORKING", I calmly asked him to show me what he meant. Then I screamed, "OH MY GOSH, THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR FACE ISN'T WORKING"!!!!!! Once we had both calmed down, he explained that when he went to pick up breakfast he tried to take a sip of his drink (through a straw), and couldn't do it. He drove home and looked in the mirror and knew something was very wrong.

His face was essentially paralyzed on the left side. He looked just like he had had a stroke. His eye wouldn't close all the way, his left cheek was drooping, as was the side of his mouth. I knew we needed to go to Urgent Care, but he managed to talk me out of it. He suggested going to the arboretum and then we would discuss what to do after that. I obliged for two reasons. One, I was terrified at what news we might be getting (brain tumor kept popping up while googling his symptoms). Two, we were meeting his Mom and I knew without a doubt she was not going to let Brandon get away with not being seen.

So, we made it to the Arboretum and got to see the incredible pumpkin village. All the while, I was feeling incredibly sick to my stomach. And just like I had figured, My mother in law told Brandon he was going to the doctor as soon as we got home. She watched Presley while we went to the Urgent care around the corner. Basically, because Brandon also had sky high blood pressure on top of the paralysis, the doctor told us it was either a stroke (very unlikely because of his age), a brain aneurysm, or Bells Palsy. Then he said we needed to head straight to the E.R. for a cat scan. I couldn't wrap my head around that this was actually happening, but I knew I needed to stay strong for Brandon.

1 EKG, 1 cat scan, and 3 hours later, we were sent home with a diagnosis of Bells Palsy. Thank you, God!!! If you don't know, it is temporary paralysis of one side of the face caused by an inflamed nerve behind the ear.  Anyone can get it, but it's pretty rare. This was great news for us. It'll take 2-3 weeks before the paralysis goes away, but that's small potatoes compared to what it could have been. So that was my weekend folks! How was everyone elses?
(I will post pictures from the arboretum in another blog post, unless something else crazy happens)

TX/OU 2010

If you follow Texas football, you know this season hasn't been the best for the horns. I was feeling a little less then optimistic as I got ready for the game. However, we made it to the State Fair by 10:30 and didn't get into any traffic (this is a miracle people), and we were able to grab McDonald's breakfast before entering the fairgrounds. Ha! Maybe things were starting to look up. Then the sign of all signs that we would win this game.

Behold:

A butterfly.

A teeny tiny butterfly landed right on the word "Texas" just as we were making our way through the main gates. We would win this game!!!! This was our sign.

Fast forward several hours.

We lost, and after many beers, Brandon says to me, " Ashlie, that butterfly didn't do sh*t for us".

Well put husband.

Looking on the bright side, the weekend was a blast. We stayed at the Hilton Anatole for 2 nights and were treated to a steak dinner at Al Biernat's, all compliments of my Dad. Actually, all our meals and drinks were  compliments of my parents the entire weekend. Y'all are the BEST!!!!

We had so much fun, in fact, that somehow we ended up in Collinsville highschool football gear at the end of the night.

This is my father. How can you not love this man?

Here he is again with different Collinsville gear on, mind you.

We weren't going to let that loss hold us down.



Now for some more civilized pictures from the weekend:

With our friends Sam and Suzanne

Mom and I

Showing off our "Texas" shoes

My cousins and Dad

Brandon and I

Oh, and OU still sucks!