Madelyn Marie Groneman

I never made an official announcement that I'm pregnant online and now it's too late.  So, instead I'm officially welcoming our newest addition, Madelyn Marie Groneman to our family! Madelyn blessed our lives on Thursday, April 5, 2012. She was 7 lbs 10 oz, 19 3/4 inches, and perfect! 

Madelyn's birth was a scheduled C-Section and it went real smooth. The recovery is lot better this time around which I'm really grateful for.  A lot of that has to do with my mom.  I was lucky enough to get her down here for 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks I didn't have to lift a finger and Ashlyn had a new best friend.  We're really sad she's gone but we're so so grateful she was here for so long! She was a life saver!!I hope I can someday become like my mom - selfless, giving, and an incredible woman.  Thanks for everything mom! 

Bret deserves some credit as well. He took a week off and was by my side at home and at the hospital.  I'm lucky to have him too. He's a GREAT dad and husband!

Ashlyn loves her  "Bees" (baby sissy). She worries when Bees cries and occasionally she'll randomly come give Bees a hug and kiss. Luckily I don't think Ashlyn views Bees as threatening yet. I hope it stays that way!

We came home from the hospital on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, which is when I also came home with Ashlyn We are good at having these Easter babies. :)  Anyways, after we came home Ashlyn started getting sick. I've never seen her so down and tired. Usually she handles pain and her sicknesses well, but not this one.  She had a fever of 104 and threw up. Yeah, it's exactly what you want around the house with a new born, right? Yeah, no way.  So, we had to keep Ashlyn away from the baby for a few days. It broke my heart because Ashlyn kept wanting to touch Madelyn but couldn't. I t paid off though because Madelyn is still healthy. I hope it stays that way.  

We'll see how it goes with having 2 kids. So far I love it and wouldn't change a thing, but then again it's been just over 2 weeks and my mom just left so we'll see what happens. :)  These past 2 weeks have been amazing with little Madelyn in our lives! I can't believe how little she is and how her grabbing my finger or snuggling with me can mean so much. She overall has been a great baby and we're so blessed to have her in our lives! Welcome Madelyn!!

The following pictures  were taken by our great friend Heather Pehrson.  She came to the hospital and took some new born photos of Madelyn.  She did a fantastic job!! I'm so grateful she was able to take time out of her schedule to do this!

 

 

HALLOWEEN

It's a little late to be blogging about Halloween, but I'm behind on blogging anyway so why not keep a tradition going? :)

This year we had a great Halloween! We started off the Halloween season visiting the pumpkin patch. Ashlyn loved seeing all the pumpkins and Bret loved showing her around. A couple weeks later Bret, Ashlyn, and I carved pumpkins, went trunk-or-treating at our ward party, trick-or-treating at Midwestern, and then trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.
Ashlyn made quite a steal with all the candy she got! I should probably mention she shares it quite well too. At first she couldn't figure out why the candy was going into her bucket instead of her hands, but she quickly learned she'd get a lot more if she kept it in the bucket.

Our Cute Little Lady Bug

TRICK-or-TREAT

She's so excited Can't you tell?!

TRUNK-or-TREAT

This is Ashlyn's classic face when taking pictures. She hates pictures!

When we do get an "on purpose" smile it usually looks like this.

Fun Night of Carving Pumpkins

Really, do I have to wear these Mom?

The Pumpkin Patch

They Grow Too Fast!

It's January 29th, which means in a few more days Ashlyn will be 10 months old. I can't believe it.



Babies are so smart and are so interested in learning new things. I knew babies developed quickly, but now that I have my own child it's amazing to see how much they really do learn in such a short amount of time.

In the past 10 months Ashlyn has gone from doing nothing, to scooting with their head, to crawling, to walking (see video below). She's finally talking a little bit saying "buh bye" and "hi." She'll say "ba" for her bottle sometimes. We're still working on her saying mama and dada in the right context. But it's amazing to me what these little babies can learn to do in such a short amount of time. She loves figuring things out. She gives nice slobbery kisses and loves soft things. If she finds somethings soft, she cuddles and smothers it to death. Right now she's not much into reading. We try to read to her and she throws the book on the floor. It's kind of funny. Maybe we should read to her more so she gets used to it. Isn't it amazing that they already know what they want and don't want this young?

Ashlyn is also in a copying phase now days. She likes to copy the actions and sounds we make. She's also learning that for every action there is a reaction. Let's just say she enjoys her toys that turn on and off a lot more now than she used to.

As far as her personality she's so sweet but so opinionated. She also loves to be around people and isn't afraid of strangers. She cares less if Bret and I are around. She's just fine playing and being on her own. She is so independent and determined. If she has her sight set on something you better believe she's going to figure out how to get it. I hope we can steer her determination in a positive way.



Ashlyn Walking

It's Just Ashlyn

Ashlyn is 7 months now and is growing up so fast! She is developing quite the personality, and I can't describe it other than "It's Just Ashlyn."

She's learned how to crawl and is now all over the place. But it's not with her hands and feet. It's with her head and feet. We call it her "carpet burn crawl." For some reason she's decided she can get around faster doing it that way. The amazing thing is she knows exactly how far she needs to go before running into the item she's after (like the computer in the first video). She does know how to crawl normally, which is in the second video, but her crawling specialty is with her head and feet.

Carpet Burn:


Crawiling

4 Months

Here are some pictures of Ashlyn at 4 months.

3 1/2 MONTHS

(I wrote this last month and just never posted it, so it's a little late but I'm posting it now.)

Ashlyn is 3 1/2 months old and has grown up so much! She's a lot more interactive. I'm loving it!

She's alert, smiles, rolls over, grabs things, sleeps through the night, and she's growing out of all her clothes. She’s mesmerized by lights, especially the computer and television. We make sure to mix in a few books here and there so she doesn’t get too addicted to the TV. It's bittersweet that she's growing up.

Overall she's a great baby and extremely easy to please when she is upset. Bret and I are really lucky!!

Over the span of Ashlyn's 3 months alive we've been to Utah twice. She's been on an airplane more than I had by age 22. Lucky her!! She's been sick twice as well, once with the flu that lasted only a day and now she has a cold. She's been a good sport through it all, but apparently I need to a better job of keeping the germs away.

Ashlyn loves her bath. She will spend as long as she can splashing in the water. She looks like a jelly fish as she splashes around and her long hair wades back and forth in the waterJ She also enjoys swimming. We haven't been much, but when we do go it calms her right down and she likes being in the water.

Overall she's a great baby and extremely easy to please when she is upset. Bret and I are really lucky!!

These pictures are from the last 3 1/2 months. It amazes me how much she's changed.Overall she's a great baby and extremely easy to please when she is upset. Bret and I are really lucky!!

Welcome Home Ashlyn

It's been over a month since Ashlyn was born, and it's finally time to update the blog before too much more time goes by. These pictures are of Ashlyn coming home. She arrived home Sunday, April 4, 2010.

One of Ashlyn's final days in the hospital

Her first car seat experience

The final steps to Ashlyn's arrival

Ashlyn's first surprise (a welcome home poster) from a cute neighbor boy. Ashyn and Zane sitting in a tree..(:

Since Ashlyn was our Easter gift we couldn't help but put her into our Easter Basket

We're so blessed to have her in our life!