It's SHANNY again!!

So, it's been a LONG time since I posted anything on our blog (this is Shannon). I think the last time I did was the first post of our new blog. Now that I have a computer at home and don't have to take Sean's laptop away from him, I can finally update our blog a little more. Although, I think Sean is a lot funnier than I am so you probably won't be laughing as much. ;) I am so excited to finally have a computer and feel connected to the world again. It's sad that I feel so lost without technology isn't it?!?

Anyway, I found some pics that we've had for a while and haven't posted yet. Hope you enjoy. Love and miss everyone!

Here are a few more pics from camping.



I love Ashlynn's little cheesy grin!





I got a sack o potatoes!



Ashlynn LOVES to empty bags, so we finally just put her in and let her go at it! :)


YAY for chocolate frosting. Like daddy like daughter! (although she wears it much better than Sean. His picture isn't blog worthy lol)



Fun in the sun with Bashlynn (baby Ashlynn) and Bannie (baby Annie). They are just the best of friends. :)





My hungry, hungry hippo!





Our little boxer straight out of the ring...HAHAHAHAHAHA this kid cracks me up!

Beach Days

Yes, she's only 9 months old but our little girl is already getting friendly w/ the other boys that she meets on the beach. Shannon & Ashlynn have been to the beach a few times lately w/ the other moms and young kids. Here's what they found Ashlynn doing:

Inviting boys to come hang back at her crib:



Going for a sit down on the beach (neither is into walking yet):





Back rubs:



Flirting:




And, can you believe it, even showing off some diaper:



So after I caught wind of this display there have been no more mommy daughter trips to the beach. I think Ashlynn will need some time away from the beach and the boys. That is, at least until daddy can finally go too & control this madness... like maybe next weekend! Can't wait!

(Oh. Here are some more age-appropriate pics. Between sit-downs and flirt sessions she participated in normal 9 month old behaviors, too, like chewing on teethers, throwing sand, and learning to walk):

Ashlynn Meets Camping

The past month has been PACKED w/ significant events and great pics to post. And now that I've finished my SECOND year of dental school... wait, let me stop right there for a moment. I've got to relish in the thought of it!... Hold it... Ok. I was saying: Now that I've finished my second year of dental school I've got a bit, no, a lot more time to be with Shannon & Ashlynn and, yes, even submit a new post on our blog. As all the students and doctors that I've talked to agree that the hardest part of dental school is now behind me the relief I feel sometimes makes me forget that I've still got 2 more years. But the next 2 years are going to be so exciting. As of last week I began treating patients!!! Scary, yes, but so fun!

So the first thing we did w/ the first don't-have-to-study-weekend in a long time was head out of the city. This past weekend we took Ashlynn camping for her first time! Other than a brief unfortunate encounter with dirt (There is a picture of this to follow) she did awesome! We drove up to Lake Placid, NY (site of 1932 AND 1980 olympics) after my clinic session on Friday where we intended to camp 2 nights and stay somewhere else for 2 nights. But after 2 days we loved where we were so much that we opted to stay there all 4 nights instead. This was at Shannon's request by the way. Yes, I am a lucky man. The town and the surrounding area were so much fun. And the area was beautiful. It was GREAT to be in mountains again.

I'm out of time for now, but since Ashlynn has now been to the beach for the first time, too, I'll be posting those pics in the next few days. Stay tuned.

Fathers!!!

Here I give you proof that father's are more critical to the well-being of their children than they are given credit for. While I've still been hitting the books here in NYC my wife and daughter have been in Utah. And after a week of not seeing them this is all I get; accompanied by the message "What you don't know won't hurt you". I tell you, it's not me that I'm concerned about, PAM!!!...

Spring Break in Arizona!!!

Just wanted to make a quick post, mostly of some recent pictures. All 3 of us got to go to Phoenix for a week over spring break. We've heavily considered moving there after dental school but have both spent little time down there. Considering that and other circumstances we thought it wise to visit.

We LOVED the week we spent in Phoenix!!! A few of the dentistry-related plans that we had fell through, but the trip was still worthwhile. It was great to get a feel for the area, see family, and definitely have some fun, too. Here are some highlights of the fun things we got to do:

Saw a preseason Cubs game:




Did anything we could to be out in the sun:






Shannon & I hiked Camelback Mountain:




Ashlynn & Daddy went on her first hike (sort of)!:


(By the way, kudo's to whoever invented cargo pants. I've never had so many things stuffed into those pockets. Nor have I ever had such a need for pockets. Diapers, bottles, a camera, a banana, sunscreen... It's amazing how much those things can hold!)

(One more thing. By the time we got back to the car she was already well into her morning nap. This I discovered through the comments of others passing by and by her head drifting lower & lower in the baby carrier.)

Played w/ family:



And played LOTS of tennis, a little golf, and swimming:
(Ashlynn LOVED the swimming)

Happy New Year! :)

Uh, yeah... How about that Christmas post. Didn't run that one into the ground did we? And Colorado... we haven't been there for months. I guess it's time to move on from Christmas... HAPPY NEW YEAR! Just kidding.

Meanwhile we've been back in NYC. Since beginning dental school we've been hearing that now - January to August of the 2nd/3rd year - is the hardest and busiest of the 4 years of dental school. I'm beginning to understand why. Shannon's been expecting to be a pseudo-single mother in the coming months. While I have no intention to regress to a state of bachelorism it is nevertheless true that school may be seeing more of me than my girls at times. Thank goodness for Sundays.
So here's a quick update of the past couple of months. Lately it has seemed like every couple of days Ashlynn has changed. Since our families saw her over Christmas she must have changed so much by now. Before going to bed recently on a Sunday night Shannon & I started watching a recent home video of her. But we of course couldn't stop after just one. I don't think we stopped until we had seen all of her videos to date. We couldn't believe how much she has grown and developed without us realizing it!
Since Christmas she's finally started rolling over, turned 5mo old, turned 6mo old, cut 2 teeth, begun laughing all of the time, started eating semi-solid foods, and found endless humor in her new-found ability to spit. I personally don't think it's so funny sometimes; like when food is supposed to be going in, not coming out. And I say STARTED rolling over because she's still catching on. It's quite a unidirectional talent right now. She can roll only from back to front and only over the left shoulder. That's it. I think Shannon and I spent the whole month of February rolling her back onto her back. She hates being on her stomach but instinctively rolls onto it when we put her down. It's great fun! Seriously!
Oh yeah, and about those 2 teeth. Mind you I'm en route to becoming a dentist so I think this is funny. So over Christmas we were watching her lower front teeth closely anticipating their eruption. In January Shannon was rubbing her gums one day when she found a bump on Ashlynn's left side of her mouth and much farther back than those front teeth. At closer look we discovered that it was a MOLAR!!! Ashlynn's first tooth was a molar! Weirdo! Just kidding. I love her, of course, but who skips the incisors and goes straight to the molars? She just had her first FRONT and normal tooth come through about 2 weeks ago.
So, she's 6 months as of yesterday! It's such a fun stage w/ her now. She's gotten very interactive and seems very happy. We can't get enough of her. I'm at school now as I am writing this but I talked to Shannon just a bit ago as she was getting squash and peas "humorously" spat at her. At least Ashlynn thinks it's funny. Today she picked up her bottle, held it, and fed herself for the first time and started getting her first haircut! She could have used a haircut months ago, but we were so excited that she had hair in the first place that we haven't wanted to cut it. But it's getting a little out of control now.
Alright. Here are some recent pics and videos. Wow, I just realized how much I wrote. Perfect, that ought to do for another few months, right?!