Just for Danny

Ok Danny, I know my last update was the 29th but I've been kind of busy ok!!!!! Sheeesh! Anyway, more to come, I just have to sift through pics!

Cheers!
Ash

Yikes

So... yeah... I'm well aware of the amount of slacking that I have done... but I will try to make up for it by writing as much as I can!

First and foremost... the dog. So we adopted Cornelius from the SPCA and they have these little fact sheets about dogs and they made Cornelius out to be the perfect dog... and in many ways he was. He was very loving and wanted attention... but... he also had many problems (I won't say the SPCA lied... but... well... they lied). This dog was NOT potty or poopy trained and in a new house, with a baby, this is a problem. It became such a problem that, after about a week, we decided that he just wasn't a good fit for our family and we regrettably returned him to the SPCA. We wish him the best and hope he finds a forever home.


Ok, now with that sad news out of the way, lets get on to some more stuff. So my job thing hasn't worked itself out yet... but hopefully I should know by the end of this week or early next week as to whether or not the prospects are looking up! So, I'll keep you posted.

Ms. Maddie has progressed like you wouldn't believe. She has made a few tentative "steps" and can stand up by herself for ten seconds at a time now. She should be walking within the next few weeks or so. She is also learning words and ideas more and more. She can identify dogs, cats, and ducks by their names and can then mimic their sounds. It is VERY cute. She can also point to her head and teeth when asked, "Where is your head/teeth?" Also, extremely cute. She can also say "tree", "Momma", "Daddy" and a very primitive "thank you". She leans in for kisses when you say "I love you" and loves to eat! She eats everything and anything and has fun doing it!

Some other things... we have been taking her to swim classes so that she can get used to the water, I wouldn't say that it is successful quite yet but it is a work in progress. Also, my mom came to our house last week and Maddie LOVED it. She put on a show for my mom and my mom helped to teach her many of the things listed above. This weekend we are going down to the OC and will be going to the OC fair! It should be a blast. Enjoy the pics and the videos!

Similarities

Am I the only one that sees a similarity here? 

(Credit should go to my wife for pointing this out)

Video Blog

Hey All, I know the video wasn't working earlier so I changed format. There are still some bugs to work out and I'm not entirely sure why this isn't working properly but that first video is my video blog... in leu of writing. You can hear my voice fine but there is some problem with lag in the video... so I'll leave it like this for now but hopefully will be able to fix the problem later.

Cheers!

Blog Update

Hey All, I am trying to load a couple of videos that contain more info but until I can get it to work, feast your eyes on some new pics! Tschuss!

Yo Yo!

Hey All,

Well, as you all know I have been stuck in Wyoming for the better part of a month now while my ladies get things together in California. So, to be honest, I don't really have much of an update on how things are going with the little one. Courtney is trying to update pics when she can on our photobucket site (look at the link in the post below to get there)... there are some really cute ones of Maddie eating spaghetti. 

Other than that... I am just trying to make it through this week as I am leaving for good on Saturday morning (at 4am again). So, this is my last week living in Wyoming.

On the home front, we are still looking for a dining table, bar stools, and a coffee table in order to complete the furniture that we need (plus a futon). For the time being we also need to put up blinds in the bedrooms so as to keep the sunlight out and for privacy reasons. Other than that... I think we are pretty set. We have a fridge, washer and dryer, couches, a big screen TV, a five piece bedroom set, Maddie's crib, and yeah we seem to be getting there. We still need to get our TV installed (which should happen this week, it is going to be hung over our fireplace). Last week the water and electricity was turned over to us and Monday the gas will be turned on. So at that point the house is officially livable. On Monday the 16th our TV and internet service will be hooked up so at that point we are going to be officially up and running.

Other than that just wish me good luck on the drive down and finalizing this job thing. Hope all is well for all of you!

My Brown Eyed Girl!

Hey All,

First, the cutest picture ever!

And now, on to the update. On Friday, May 23rd our escrow closed and so we are now the proud owners of 1944 Stagecoach Place, Tulare, CA 93274. Larry, Courtney's dad, works at an appliance place and his work graciously donated our fridge and Courtney's parents bought us a washer and dryer. Courtney utilized the Memorial Day sales and purchased couches for our home and is going to check out a couple of really good deals on other furniture on Monday. Also, we have officially lost one member of our family... and added two more.

Courtney's new car is a 2005 Mazda3 Hatchback and it is very nice. My new car is a 2003 Toyota Rav4 and I love it. Both get amazing gas mileage and both have (or had) under 34,000 miles. They are great vehicles (Consumer reports Best Buys) and get great gas mileage. So we are pretty stoked.

Other than that, I am back in Wyoming to finish my contract and Courtney is in Tulare getting everything ready for us. She starts work on June 2nd and I will be moving back down on June 14th.

Oh, and Courtney has the camera so the blog might be a bit short on pics for awhile!

But here are some more pics!