So it's been a while and a lot has happened in the last few months. I knew I would never be this diligent in keeping up with a blog so I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed. :) Ashley has started sitting up on her own, eating everything in sight, clicking her tongue, and standing at the coffee table without any help. She can't pull herself up, we have to put her there, but she'll stand there unsupported. She hasn't made any effort to crawl so we're thinking she may be one of those kids who walks before they crawl?

We never posted any pictures from Halloween so we'll stick one on here but Spencer and I went as characters from Monsters Vs. Aliens (Spencer was Bob and I was Ginormica minus the white hair since I couldn't find a white wig under $20... so sad) and then little Ashley was the cutest lobster I've ever seen!



We had a great time going around grandma and grandpa Sorensen's neighborhood with some cousins trick-or-treating. Spencer and I decided not to collect candy for her this year since she doesn't care and Spencer and I don't need the calories... :)

We missed getting pictures during Thanksgiving but it was a wonderful day to spend with the family. We had a lot of fun and stuffed ourselves silly. We even had Ashley at the table with us eating a jar of sweet potatoes so she could feel like she was feasting on Thanksgiving dinner too. :)

Not too long after Thanksgiving we took Ashley to buy her first Christmas tree. It was so fun!



Feeling the tree and all its pokyness... :)


My brother got married Dec. 12th down in the Las Vegas Temple so we did the six hour road trip down for the occasion. Ashley was such a good baby and I'm not sure I'll ever get this lucky again with a baby! We had a great time with some family we rarely see and got some great pictures out of it too. :)



While on this trip Grandpa Grimm gave Ashley her first taste of Diet Coke. As you can see her mouth is wide open and ready for it! Shortly after this pictures she stuck her tongue farther into the cup haha.
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Here's the whole dang family (except David who's on a mission)! It was a fun day and we were all so excited for Alan and Alexis!

Dangerous Date!

Spencer and I were finally able to go on a date for the first time since our anniversary in August. Marjean came down and watched Ashley for us on Monday night while we went out to dinner and to the corn maze. It was a lot of fun. Thanksgiving Point had a lot more than just the corn maze there and so Spencer and I were running around like little kids looking at all the fun stuff that was there before we got lost in the maze. We found some tether-ball poles and decided to play a few rounds. Big mistake! :) Once we were finished playing I decided to get the ball unstuck from the metal hook at the top. I jumped up to hit the ball down and instead I clocked poor Spencer right in the face! We're pretty sure he may have been knocked out for half a second haha. I was worried that I might have cut him open with my nails but there was no blood and now three days later still no bruise. About an inch lower and I would have taken out his eye! It was crazy. His face is okay but I am sad to report that I have either seriously sprained or broken my middle finger. That's what I get for punching out my husband. :) We will be much more careful on our next date. ;)

On a happier note, we had Ashley's first baby pictures taken in September and I decided to post a few on here for everyone's enjoyment. She's a cutie!




There's a ton more but I didn't want to post them all otherwise it would take forever!

So I realized that I haven't updated in about three weeks but in my defense it's been a loaded three weeks! Spencer and I are always flying by the seat of our pants which sounds kind of exciting but really, it's stressful. :) I'm always off at school, or teaching, or coaching, or going to swim meets and Spencer is really busy working, going to school, and applying for PT school. Some of those applications are pretty nasty. I do not envy him.

So, onto the Ashley update. She's as cute as ever and has been rolling over for about three weeks now. The only problem is she can only roll from her back to her stomach and not from her stomach to her back. This is a constant issue since she doesn't like spending too much time on her stomach and then cries and cries until we flip her back over. We try to help her do it herself but she's so distraught that things haven't sunk in yet. On a lighter note, she's started eating cereal a couple of times a day after her bottle and she thinks it's great fun. I open my mouth real big and make chewing noises and she thinks it's hilarious and will mimic me when I stick the spoon in her mouth. I'm so happy she loves to eat like a big girl and it's not a fight... yet. ;)

We've also had some crazy stomach bug flying around our house that Ashley and I have been passing back and forth. It has NOT been fun. I've always hated barf and was worried how I would take care of sick kids and let me tell you, I hate it! It's so gross and I almost always feel sick too. I guess that's something I'll just have to get used to. After I was infected, then Ashley, then me again, then Ashley again, I think we're finally in the clear! Spencer lucked out on this round. :)

We're all excited because Crowsh is finally getting married tomorrow and we're exited for her and for spending time with all the family that's coming into town. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures of the little monster while there so everyone can see her cute side. ;)

Normally I have a class on Tuesdays and Thursdays that I can't have Ashley in and so she goes to Laura's house for the morning while Spencer and I were in class. Last Thursday, however, I did not have my cycling class and so I decided to not take her to Laura's house and just bring her to class with me instead. I am so glad I did!

I have this old professor that is a great teacher and just loves his students. I had him for a weight training techniques class last semester while I was pregnant with Ashley and he was very impressed that I was still lifting weights and doing power cleans at almost 8 months pregnant. :) Anyways, in the middle of class he starts asking me about Ashley. He asked if I wanted her to go to college and I said yes. He then walks to the back of the class where I'm standing with Ashley, pulls out a $100 bill and says "Put that in her college fund and when she's older tell her it's from me." I couldn't believe it! It was amazing! Turns out he's a multimillionaire and can afford to do stuff like that haha.

This last weekend we also went up to Park City. I had to go on a trip with the high school swim team where I'm the assistant coach. I'm so proud of myself for driving through the canyon by myself! The canyon is beautiful right now and I'm hoping to go through it again before the weather gets bad and take some pictures. Spencer came up Friday night to stay with Ashley and I because as of yet we have never spent a night apart from each other. I was happy he decided to come up even though he had to leave early the next morning to be to work Saturday morning.

Life is crazy but somehow we're surviving and even though some days I'm so busy I can't even make it to the shower, it's mostly good stuff so I shouldn't complain too much right? :)

So I decided that we are ridiculously bad at updating our blog and since I found out that TJ and Tara actually look at our blog I felt that I had some sort of responsibility to actually update. :) I talked to Spencer and I figured that we should try and update once a week or so, so that we have a sort of family journal to look back on and so that we don't bore the people who actually look to see what's new. So, here it goes!

Since our last post Spencer and I were blessed to bring a baby girl into the world on May 11 at 2:48pm. She weighed in at 7lbs. 4oz. and was the most beautiful thing we'd ever seen. The due date was May 17th and I was praying my heart out that I would make it to the end because my mom wasn't going to be able to be here for the birth if she came too much earlier than that. The baby's prayers were much more effective than mine and so she came the day after Mother's Day instead. Even though I was not able to have my own mom there, my wonderful mother-in-law was there helping and she was a life-saver! We named the baby Ashley Beth Sorensen (Beth is my middle name and my mom's as well). I'll spare the grosser details but I'll note that I felt like a super hero because I was able to do a natural birth like I wanted and Spencer was a great companion during labor and good comic relief during the delivery.
We've been getting used to having a baby around and it is so much fun! She is four months old now and weighs 15lbs. Ashley is a great baby, she started sleeping through the night at two months old, and hardly ever cries aside from letting us know when she's hungry, sleepy, or needs a new diaper. She's recently started laughing and she loves it when Spencer plays with her. She laughs more at him than she does at me. :)
Spencer and I went back to school on August 31st and we tried taking Ashley to class but it just wasn't working out. I was okay taking her to my classes because I'm in a cohort where I've known my classmates and professors for a year and we're all together again this year but Spencer felt bad taking Ashley to class where he didn't know anyone. We got babysitters for the few hours in the morning while we're at school and she does just fine. I, on the other hand, am not just fine about it. I miss my baby! :) I had to drive out to my sister-in-law's house to drop her off last Tuesday and I cried. It was just so sad! Ashley had fallen asleep in her car seat on the way and had no idea I was leaving her. I'm so thankful that we have family watching her and that it's only until December!

So it's obviously been a while since either Spencer or myself have been on here but hey, we warned people that we weren't good at this sort of thing! :) Since finding out that we're having a baby we've gone in for another ultrasound and discovered that we're having a baby girl! We have to go back in for another ultrasound soon because she wouldn't get her hands out of her face and they needed to check for any deformities and what not so Spencer is going to ask to make sure it's really a girl. ;) She's due May 17th and with half of my family having birthdays in May and some May birthdays in Spencer's family, she's got a good shot of hitting one of them! We're very excited and truly blessed to be having a child at this time and we're interested to see how our baby girl does going to and from school with us for a few months! :)