An Ashley Family Kind of Day

Ty was on call the night before, so he was able to come home early on Friday.  Call nights are no fun, but post call is always a special treat (considering Ty was able to get some sleep at the hospital.)  It was a bit chilly outside, so we didn't want to spend too much time in the cold.  Good news: there is always something to do in Huntsville.  So, just how does the Ashley family spend a Friday afternoon?  Well, we went to Tractor Supply to see the baby chicks.  Sam loved them.  Of course, the poor little babies stared at Sam like he was Godzilla.  I found myself wondering if the "you break it, you buy it" policy would apply if Sam happened to squeeze one of the chicks the way he likes to squeeze his butter beans.  Thankfully, no creatures were harmed during this family outing.

After we left there, we went to buy food for Hungry Herman, the food pantry at our church.  Then, to my surprise, Ty asked if I wanted to go to Krispy Kreme!  For the record, my answer to that question will always be yes!  And that instance was no exception.  Feel free to applaud me for only buying one doughnut for myself.  I did learn something interesting while waiting in line.  Kids can get a free doughnut for each "A" they receive on their report card.  Finally an appropriate incentive for the chubby smart kids!

We are thankful that Ty's hard work is rewarded with time off to spend with us!

A Sunny Day

(Note: This post is 2 weeks past due!)

Since Sam and I found it extremely difficult to stay inside when the sunshine was calling our names, we hit Big Spring Park once again.  This time we had Elizabeth and Owen with us.  While we waited on our friends, Sam and I sat right by the water and started inviting our duck and fish friends over for a snack.  We quickly learned that fish are huge fans of stale tortilla chips.  We were constantly splashed with water from the huge fish fighting for their share of the treats.  Sam was pretty amazed to see such creatures!

Sam and Owen were so sweet scooting around in the grass, throwing food to the fish, and talking to one another.  What a special way to enjoy a beautiful day!

Best Buddies 

The fish may have liked the stale tortilla chips, but these boys LOVED the stale baguettes!  Sam even found it necessary to give them a round of applause! 

What a giddy smile! 

That was one fascinating park bench! 

They look like a couple of old men...so precious!

40 Here We Come

Sam has concluded his 30 week birthdays!  It's so hard to believe that he is so close to celebrating the big one year!  

Poncho, Mrs. Angie, the cat who is scared of Sam, and Mrs. Amy (Sam's favorite Bible school teacher) after Small Group. 

Mr. Justin (Mrs. Angie's husband) after Small Group.  I know Sam's face doesn't really capture it, but he actually does like Mr. Justin! 

With med school friends during the Super Bowl. 

Sierra, our sweet neighbor. 

***Note: 35 week picture on Pammy's camera...will add once I get it!***

Mr. Jeremy, med school friend. 

Pammy 

Sam with his new Greyhound friends after Small Group. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, my husband has red hair, so we decided that that was enough to classify us as Irish.  In order to celebrate our newly thought of heritage Sam and I started the day in downtown Huntsville at the St. Patrick's Day parade.  To my surprise there were quite a few people there.  When we first got there the fire trucks were blaring their sirens and the Shriners were tooting the insanely loud horns on their tiny little cars.  Let's just say that Sam was not a fan of these sounds and his face immediately balled up into a little red ball, the mouth flew open, and out spilled the sounds of horror.  My poor baby was terrified.  He has never clung on to me like he did during that parade.  As time passed he became more relaxed and even enjoyed parts of it.  It was an interesting parade to say the least.  The only parades I remember going to were in St. Louis, so they were a tad bigger.  I must say, however, that I appreciated the smaller town charm of this parade.  Let's just say that there was quite an eclectic mix of floats and parade participants!  For instance...

Irish dancers

The mascot for Huntsville's hockey team..."Chaos" maybe?

The Mayor

The St. Patrick's Day Parade Queen!

Irish punk bagpipe rock band.  Like I said, eclectic, but you haven't seen anything yet...

The recycle robot...a favorite of all the kids

John Deere tractors and street sweepers.

Well, of course there were pirates...what St. Patrick's Day parade would be complete without pirates?

And my personal favorite...the St. Patrick's Day Ghost Busters.  

I am pretty sure that this dog is the size of our cottage.  He was huge!  I don't think Sam understood that he was a dog!

When we got home from the parade we were very excited to see that Ty was home for the day.  We had such a special afternoon enjoying time together as a family!  We had a nice lunch together then headed to Big Spring Park which is just a few blocks from our house.  It is a wonderful place full of fish, ducks, trees, a pond, fountains, and many other fun things.  (It is also where Ty proposed.  Who knew that we would one day lie right down the street from that special spot!)  We went on that day in particular because the big fountain was died green for St. Patty's Day.  I would not say it was the most spectacular thing I had ever seen, but it was fun to look at the green fish!  While we were there we ran into our friend Chase who is a news anchor here in Huntsville...we even got on the news!  It was wonderful as always to see him and catch up on his exciting life!  

What, you can't tell that it's green?  Good thing it only cost $2,000! 

Sam and Chase 

I think he was telling us that he was feeling a bit exposed! 

That is one cute baby!

Outside is still his favorite place to be! 

Outside is even better when shared with Daddy! 

So incredibly thankful for the blessing of these two! 

After we were done at the park it was time to eat dinner...spaghetti for the first time! 

It wasn't quite dark yet when we were finished with dinner, so Sam and Ty walked over to the high school to watch a soccer match.  Sam clapped and cheered for the Huntsville boys! 

At the end of a long, fun day.  What precious times to cuddle with my sweet boy.

What do you do when...

What do you do when you finish your lunch?

You eat all the food that fell into your bib.

And then you take a nap.

Mom, I love your turkey

As we have already discussed, Sam is no stranger to the dinner table.  The little guy became an even bigger fan of mealtimes once we introduced him to the world of turkey.

Let me start by saying that I made dinner...it was not exactly one that I would enter into a Paula Deen Cookoff, but it was edible and it provided sustenance.  I cooked a turkey breast, turnip fries, and butter beans.  The turkey was about as dry as a two by four in the middle of a desert and the turnip fries were saltier than a sweaty six hundred pound man running full speed on a treadmill in a desert.  Needless to say my dinner that night consisted entirely of butter beans.  Ty was wonderful and ate everything, with a smirk on his face, but ate it no less.

And Sam you ask?  Well, this was his favorite dinner of all time!  He gobbled up the turnip fries.  Once I realized how bad they were I moved them to a pile across the table to which he quickly expressed his disapproval.  (I did cut him off after a few for fear that he had exceeded his sodium intake for the year.)  He learned that night just how much he loves butter beans.  I made a ton and I think he ate 3/4 of the pot over the next few days.  But Sam's favorite part of the whole meal was the turkey.  He was acting picky that night and decided that he wanted to sit in Ty's lap for dinner, so Ty let him.  As soon as that sad chunk of turkey caught his eye it was all over.  He grabbed it up and put the whole chunk in his mouth before we even knew what happened.  HE LOVED IT!  The boy ate, and ate, and ate that night.  Sam loves his Mama's turkey!

He also learned that night that George likes to eat people food too.  Once Sam had finished engorging himself he picked up a piece of food, leaned over, and dropped it on the floor right in front of George.  He thought it was hilarious and just laughed and laughed.  Of course, we could not help but laugh at Sam.  He has since made a habit out of feeding George a few bites after, and only after, he is done eating.  He thinks it is so funny he even starts laughing before he drops the first bite!

I think we know what Sam's favorite holiday will be...Thanksgiving!!  Just wait until he is big enough to hold a whole turkey leg!

Yay for turkey!!!

Sharing with George.

Best buddies!