6 months

at 04/19/10 6:58PM
Already?! 6 months?! I can't believe that Katie is already 6 months old. I wish all of you could see her. She is rolling all over, sitting up, babbling up a storm, squealing with delight, laughing hysterically, grabs anything in arms reach, blows raspberries, and has the most beautiful contagious smile. She is the light of our lives and I feel blessed to be her mother. Hope all of you are just as blessed.

Love, Ashley
  • jollyhollyday
    Yay! So sweet.
    by jollyhollyday at 04/21/10 7:00AM
  • floorcoaster
    She sounds awesome!! Madeleine is 3 months behind Katie (4 months old now). I can't believe how much she will change before she's 6 months old! Babies are awesome, and we are definitely blessed. :)
    by floorcoaster at 05/13/10 4:20PM
  • nillabarr
    *sigh* Peyton is 7 months old now and still not sitting up. The girl is HUGE and so top heavy. She is scooting all over the place though. :) Katie is sooo pretty! So happy for y'all!
    by nillabarr at 06/16/10 9:25AM

Katherine Elizabeth (aka Katie) Metcalf is here!

at 10/24/09 4:25PM
We are home from the hospital. Katie was born on Monday October 19th, at 1:25 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 11 oz and is 21 1/2 in long. She is perfect. I went 10 days over my due date so they ended up inducing me. Josh is the most amazing husband. He was able to take this week off from work and has been amazing with Katie and with me. My mom has also been great. It is so nice when you have someone to look after you and take care of cooking and cleaning for you. We are completely exhausted. Hopefully she will figure out soon that she needs to sleep at night. I will try to figure out how to put pictures up soon. Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes.

Love, Ashley
  • wifelet
    Congrats!! :) I can't wait to meet her either, although it'll likely be a while ... :)
    by wifelet at 10/24/09 4:57PM
  • loislane
    So happy for you all! What a blessing! I can't wait to see you all in the hopefully near future! Love you!
    by loislane at 10/24/09 7:01PM
  • nillabarr
    We are just SOOOO excited for you guys! Can't wait to see more pics! (The sleeping thing gets better - hang in there!) Have a great week!
    by nillabarr at 10/25/09 8:32PM
  • larie
    Congratulations!! Her pics on facebook were so cute!
    by larie at 10/26/09 1:56PM
  • amyjo8888
    Congratulations!!! I am so happy for you guys!
    by amyjo8888 at 10/27/09 8:47PM
  • jenjam
    Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I promise, babies do eventually sleep...so hang in there!
    by jenjam at 11/01/09 11:50PM
  • jollyhollyday
    So happy for you. New babies are the sweetest thing ever. And seeing your husband snuggle with your little girl is about the second sweetest thing ever.
    by jollyhollyday at 11/12/09 8:29AM
  • potatoprincess
    How are you my friend? How is sweet Katie? I see she is a month and almost two weeks old already!!! Hope you are all doing good!!
    by potatoprincess at 12/01/09 9:42PM

The Countdown

at 09/23/09 2:44PM
Only 16 days until my due date. I can't believe it. So many emotions are coming over me. The moment I have been looking forward to for such a long time is almost here. It is both exciting and scary. My life will forever change. I feel so frustrated and overwhelmed at the moment. My mind is racing over all the things I feel that I should be doing, but my body physically won't allow me. I guess that I should just try to take the hint and rest. Probably the next time I post, I will be telling you about my beautiful little girl. Please pray that all goes well.

Love, Ashley
  • larie
    Yes enjoy the rest! And enjoy this exciting time in your life!
    by larie at 09/23/09 4:18PM
  • ally
    so excited for you! can't wait to see her!
    by ally at 09/23/09 4:48PM
  • isabeau_danjou
    I love you! You'll do great!
    by isabeau_danjou at 09/23/09 9:08PM
  • the_earlys
    so exciting!
    by the_earlys at 09/25/09 3:14PM
  • amy_szabo
    Thanks! I miss you too! So much!
    by amy_szabo at 09/28/09 7:57PM
  • potatoprincess
    Praying praying praying for you my friend! So excited for you!!!
    by potatoprincess at 09/28/09 9:40PM
  • mellymc
    It will be awesome...good luck!
    by mellymc at 10/06/09 11:13AM
  • leyvaleyva
    Ive been thinking about you
    by leyvaleyva at 10/13/09 12:01AM

Lunch ideas

at 08/04/09 8:52PM
I need some ideas of healthy lunches I can eat at home. Lately I have been tempted to run out and buy my lunch. I need to be eating at home to save money, but I get bored of the same old thing.

What do ya'll like to eat for lunch when you are at home?
  • karate7
    Yesterday I had a BLT salad. I use spinach, cheddar cheese cubes, bacon in tiny pieces, and tomato, with ranch dressing. Today we had quesadillas with pre cooked and cut chicken, cheese and picante sauce. Mostly just salads and sandwiches though. I just always try and have it with milk and at least one fruit or veggie. Sometimes I also just fry an egg and put it on wheat toast with cheese. I eat a lot of cheese (from WI), and I go for easy, and quick.
    by karate7 at 08/04/09 9:09PM
  • anniemay
    i like to makeover my leftovers. does that sound cheesy? lol. if i had chicken breasts for dinner the night before, then i turn a leftover chicken breast into a chicken blt sandwich! or turn it into "alice springs chicken" by putting some bacon & cheese on top... bacon makes anything better, dontcha think? or you can shred the chicken & put it in a casserole or make a quesadilla... i'm into quick/easy meals...whether it's lunch or dinner...
    by anniemay at 08/04/09 9:19PM
  • amyjo8888
    I make over leftovers too. If I have leftover white rice, I make it into fried rice. Grilled chicken into salads or tacos. etc. I make roll-ups with meat and cheese and eat them with crackers. Lots of salads, but vary the ingredients. It can get boring....I like the suggestions you already got!
    by amyjo8888 at 08/04/09 9:25PM
  • loislane
    Just eat. You are pregnant. :) Love & miss you!
    by loislane at 08/05/09 8:05AM
  • isabeau_danjou
    My favorite 2 lunches (but this only works if you like this stuff) are:

    1 avocado, halved, and filled with either tuna or chicken salad (my tuna salad is tuna, sour cream, lemon, and capers).

    "Picnic" lunch, where I just eat really good cheese (usually pepper jack), multi-grain crackers, fresh fruit (raspberries or strawberries), dried fruit (dates), and then something sweet to drink (juice or an iced coffee is the best). If I am feeling a little less healthy, I'll get a loaf of french bread and flavored cream cheese to eat with my fruit and coffee. :)
    by isabeau_danjou at 08/05/09 4:03PM
  • chica
    My favorite is ham & cheese or turkey sandwhiches, but I know you can't have those right now. I also like to open a can of chili and make frito pie, canned soups like chunky potato or tomato. I love to make bacon, cheese sandwhiches. Since Abby has been around, we make mac-n-cheese and cut up hot-dogs in it, spaghettios, lots of peanut-butter and jelly. Frozen pizzas occasionally. Lots of left-overs.
    by chica at 08/08/09 6:17PM
  • wifelet
    We do lots of sandwiches. For a while, we were doing refried bean entrees - I made some homemade refried beans, and we'd have bean burritos or bean & cheese tostadas for lunch. That was an interesting break!
    by wifelet at 08/11/09 7:10AM
  • rachierach
    We mostly do sandwiches for lunch. I get chicken salad a lot. We do a lot of grilled cheese and tomato soup, too. I usually eat grapes or an apple with my sandwich. I know.... profound ideas, huh??
    by rachierach at 08/11/09 8:04PM

Getaway

at 07/19/09 8:23PM
For weeks now I have been wanting to get away, relax and forget about the responsibilities of life for just a moment. Josh and I have decided to go to Austin, TX next weekend. It is far enough away for a getaway but close enough that we don't have to fly or drive all day to get there. This may be the last trip we get to make for a long while. Have any of you been to Austin? If so, what did you love to do there. Any ideas?

Baby Katie is healthy and well. All tests have come back great. We are less than 3 months away from the due date. It is crazy to think of how much our lives are about to change. I am also so happy that my sister Courtney also found out that she is having a girl. How fun that our girls will be 2 months apart. Hopefully they will be good buddies. Hope everyone is well.

Love, Ashley
  • ally
    we live near austin and like to go there alot. what kind of stuff do y'all enjoy doing? i might be able to help some.
    by ally at 07/19/09 9:17PM
  • chica
    have fun on your last kid-free vacation!
    by chica at 07/20/09 8:06PM
  • larie
    Have fun! It will be so fun to have cousins so close!
    by larie at 07/21/09 12:03PM
  • ally
    i don't know too much about the music scene..bryan said there's a lot of places to hear live music..he's just not sure where...zilker park and barton springs has some scenic beauty and the congress bridge bats are pretty cool to see during the summer. and of course they have pretty much any restaurant you could want. it's a neat city.
    by ally at 07/31/09 10:02PM