First week and more...

Ashley has had quite the busy life so far! At her first doctors appointment, we found out that she had lost quite a bit of weight and had developed a severe case of jaundice. Better now, we are all loving life and can't believe how much she has changed since her arrival!

First car ride!

First doctors visit!

Nap with Daddy

Sleeping the jaundice away (on the billy blanket)

After her first bath

Ashley has also had her first photo shoot!! To check out a few of those pictures, go to
http://jackielindforsphoto.com/slideshows/ashley/

or visit her blog

http://jcphoto3.blogspot.com/

SURPRISE SURPRISE!!!

Well...our bundle of joy decided to join us a month early!! That's right, first thing Saturday morning (midnight to be exact) I woke up with my water broke. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING we were ever told from our doctors and the childbirth classes went out the window! So I had to pack a bag and head to the hospital. Well, one heavenly epidural and twelve hours later,
Ashley Ryan Gast was born!

34 Week Picture

Okay, so technically I am no longer 34 weeks, closer to 36, but I am finally getting around to posting my belly picture! I look a bit bigger than the last one, huh?! I keep getting comments about how I am not really showing for as far along as I am, but then I had a lady tell me today, "Girls like you always end up popping out the big ones!". THANKS!! As much as I have prepared myself for a big baby, well you know! Sorry about the lack of make up and pretty attire...

it was cleaning day!

Now, on to the nursery!! We have everything now, with the exception of a few wall hangings. I've ordered letters for her name, to hang above the crib...but won't be able to hang those until after her birthday!! :-) I will also be hanging pictures of her on the wall above the glider...again, she will have to make her arrival before I have those!! And Oh My Goodness...look at all of her clothes!! Every one at the baby shower went over the top and this girl now has more clothes than I do!! Thank you again to every one that was there...it was a day I won't forget!

Post to Post

WOW...how have I let my blog go for so long without posting! We have had a pretty eventful past few weeks, but I've been the worst with keeping up with pictures, so that's my excuse! I wanted to let everyone know that I am still here in 'blogville' and have good intentions on catching up these next few days. However, right now I should probably thank my husband for the past five years! October 25th was our five year anniversary, and I could not have asked for a more loving and charasmatic husband to have celebrated with! We have filled these short years with amazing adventures and created lifetime memories, I can only imagine what the future has in store for us...and to be celebrating this anniversary while awaiting the arrival of our first child is a true gift! He will be an amazing father and I can not wait to start this next chapter of our lives!

I won!!!

Okay, so my wonderful ballet teacher from years ago (won't say how many) and friend, Mrs. Annette has passed this award on to me! I am supposed to answer these questions with 1 word. Here it goes...
Where is your cell phone? Purse
Where is your significant other? Work
Your hair color? Brown
Your mother? Pennsylvania
Your father? Pennsylvania
Your favorite thing? Sleeping
Your dream/goal? To raise my children to know and love the Lord

(Had to break the one word rule on that one!)
The room you are in? Family room
Your hobby? Ha...again, sleeping! Gotta do it while I can!!
Your fear? The unknown
Where do you want to be in 6 years? Right here, one more child
Where were you last night? Best Buy of all places, buying a video camera
What you're not? Fake
One of your wish items? a second puppy
The last thing you did? Fed the dog
What are you wearing? a tent! It's the only thing that fits!
Your TV? Which one...we have 5 (I don't know how that happened)
Your pet? Rainey...spoiled rotten!
Your computer? what I'm working on now...Dell laptop
Your mood? These days, unpredictable!
Missing someone? More than one
Your car? Acura MDX
Something you are not wearing, but love to wear? scarf
Favorite store? Target ~ they have everything, really
Your summer? H-O-T
Love someone? YES
Your favorite colour? why is this such a hard question...I'll go with navy blue...but that changes frequently
When was the last time you laughed? this morning, Brian had to have his blood taken, if you know Brian, you know why that's funny!
When was the last time you cried? few weeks ago, probably for no good reason!
I pass this on to:

Jenna and Deleena!

Nice break...

We just got back from Idaho yesterday and had such a great time visiting with family! Brian's cousin, Laura, got married this past Saturday and it was a blast! The weather was beautiful, I actually had sweaters and closed toe shoes on...to say the least, it was a nice break from the heat!! Thank you to Laura and Dan for including us in your special day, and many wishes for a bright and happy future together! This must be the time to get married because we will be attending another wedding this weekend, and our anniversary is at the end of the month!! Another reason why I love the fall!

My favorite time of year

FALL!!! LOVE IT!!! Okay, so maybe everyone else is experiencing more of the fall weather than we are currently, but Brian and I get so excited when this time of year rolls around. Not only does it get cooler (supposed to anyway) it is also the beginning of fun seasonal decorating (pumpkins and great smelling candles, yummm) and of course the new season of all the fall tv shows! Although I don't watch any of them "live" anymore, thanks to our handy dandy DVR, I am so excited to have my shows back! There's just not enough drama in my life, I have to watch some on tv!! :-) And with the weather cooling down (not much, but a little), it gives our little family a chance to go for a nice walk, come back and watch our favorites together. The only thing that gets in the way every now and then is the fact that it is also football season...seems like the longest "season" of them all! Anyways, back to the fun stuff. Season 7 of Dancing With the Stars started this week...here are my two favorites:

Brooke Burke and Warren Sapp

Gotta give it to Brooke, she's got the genes!!! You're probably surprised by my second choice, Mr. Sapp, but his personality is contagious, and he is so much fun to watch!! We'll see how far they make it!

Now this one has to go! Kim Kardashian.

Okay, so I'm not totally oblivious, I know why she's on the show...but give me a break...she's terrible!! We're only finished with the first week, so it should be an interesting season. They definitely picked some characters this time around!

Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, Extreme Home Makeover...ohhh I'm so excited. The Grey's Anatomy premiere is tonight! I still have 3 shows from last season to watch. I better do that in between my loads of laundry today so I'm all caught up!

Surprise!

Wow...I don't know how this happened, but for some reason our furniture came in about 4 weeks early!!

It looks really great in person, and now I can't wait for all the bedding to arrive, along with our valance for the window and of course...the super comfy glider and ottoman!! We still have letters to put on the wall for BabyG's name...but I think we'll wait and keep it a secret :-)

I would also like to thank everyone who have emailed, called and sent cards for Brian and I. You really have no idea how excited we are, and to realize the friends and family who are thinking of us only makes this time that more meaningful! You all have a special place in our hearts.

I have to apologize to my mom...there will be no 26 week photo of me. I just wasn't being a sport last week, no reason in particular other than being stubborn. I will work on convincing myself how great it will be to look back on the photos, and hopefully have one for week 28!!

One last thing...that baby counter on the side here...is really (REALLY) starting to concern me. Is that all that's left??? Don't be surprised if one day it disappears :-)

Getting Ready...

We have been busy and making progress the past few weeks! The nursery is painted! I had a very talented lady come and replicate the flowers in the bedding fabric and paint on the walls! It is quite different then any other room of the house, but I think it turned out well and will be perfect for our little girl!

Rainey just LOVES to be in pictures!

Another big deal for us...I officially have a "Mommy-mobile"! We weren't planning on purchasing something right now, but you know how those car salesmen can be! We've been looking for awhile and I couldn't be happier! It is the size that I wanted and still looks sporty! Hey...at least it's not a van (no offense to anyone out there with vans...they're great!)

FYI - That's not me in the drivers seat, it's a stock picture :-)

One last little note, many wishes and prayers go out to my friends in Texas dealing with Ike. Hopefully no one has been poorly effected and is making it through as dry as possible!

22 weeks and making progress...

Here we are, 22 weeks! I can't believe I'm already half way through my pregnancy! The "cantalope" inside is bulging out a bit, just enough to make me uncomfortable at times, but I am not complaining, it is quite the miracle!

Surprise...I got the fabric samples, so these are the colors and patterns that will be in the nursery! From the very beginning I was saying I didn't want pink...well what do you know?! There will be quite a bit of light pink, bright pink and deep pinks along with oranges...but I LOVE it and just know it'll turn out fabulous! Sure hope the doctor was right, otherwise our bouncing baby boy will be pretty in pink!!

Well, I've been marked to share six random things about myself by my good friend Steph. That doesn't sound like a hard thing to do, but I really don't know if I can think of anything interesting. I will do my best, here it goes:

1. I am not a big fan of chocolate. I honestly could live without it, which a lot of people find hard to believe, but it is true. French fries on the other hand...a major weakness of mine!

2. I have curly hair! Very few have seen my naturally curly hair, because, well...it's not a pretty sight! I blow dry it straight every morning.

3. I never had my ears pierced until I was in college! For those of you that know me well, yes I did get light headed and needed a cold beverage before I could leave the jewelry store!

4. Before this past December, I was considered legally blind! Thanks to crazy technology, I can now see better than 20/20!! It's amazing!

Wow...this is pretty hard!

5. I've always wanted to sky dive. It is still something that I would love to do, but I don't think any liable company would allow a prego to jump out of their plane...so we will have to wait a bit!

6. I never thought that I would be living and establishing my family in Arizona. I thought I'd come to the desert for college, graduate, and move again. Funny how things work out. I can confidently say that it won't happen any time soon, but I would love to be where there are four seasons. Maybe one day.

Hope that wasn't too boring!

So here are the rules: 1. Post the rules on your blog. 2. Write six random things about yourself. 3. Tag six people at the end of your post. 4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass it along.

I can't say that I know six people that have their own blog, so I will tag my friend Deleena and any phantom visitors I have!

Out with the old...

First I would like to start by apologizing for not blogging the last couple of weeks. Honestly...there just hasn't been anything that exciting to share! There still isn't, but I'll try. As I am sure we are not alone, Brian and I have been watching the Olympics nightly. The opening ceremony was AMAZING and I believe that is when we were hooked. I don't remember watching past Olympics as much, but how can you not tune in to see the fab abs of Michael Phelps and his quest for eight golds! Gymnastics is always entertaining to me, and I have learned that my husband secretly wishes he could jump, flip and spin around like any of the Olympic team members, gotta love him! It is quite entertaining when he tells me "that's easy, I can do that" and follows with a demonstration in our family room! HA!!

On to more exciting news...we went baby furniture shopping! We have been working diligently to clean out the room that will now be known as the nursery! I think we've done a great job, and Brian did not complain when he had to find a new home for all NINE basketball jerseys that were previously covering the nursery walls. To replace the sports memorabilia, we have ordered a crib and dresser with hutch. I knew it was "the one" when I saw it and being the loving husband he is, Brian agreed! Now all we have to do is wait about eight weeks for it to come in! I found some pictures on the company website for your viewing pleasure :-)

Crib (obviously)

and dresser
I couldn't find a picture of the hutch, but I will make sure to post pics when it arrives!

The Windy City!

We took our first trip to Chicago, and it was fabulous! They were having unusually nice weather and we could not have had a better time. Brian and I met up with family and had a blast! There is so much to do, I would definitely recommend going if you have the opportunity. The architecture there was unbelievable and ofcourse we had to attend a Cubs game! We indulged in their famous pizza, among other great tasting treats, and even with all of the walking we did, I have successfully gained my weight back...ha!!

Brian and I with cousins Kasey, Kelsey, Kristy and Aunt Karen at Navy Pier

Public Transportation

Brick reads "The BIG 3-0 Happy B-day Brian"

(I tried to convince him that was an early birthday present from his loving wife...

he didn't buy it!)

Uncle Keith, Kasey, Brian and Kelsey, Aunt Karen, Kristy

Go Cubs!!

Think Pink...

Yesterday Brian and I found out that our bundle of joy is a girl! The ultrasound was absolutely amazing to watch, she actually looks like a baby now! She was even sucking her cute little thumb. Most importantly, everything checked out healthy and she is growing right on track. She is a miracle, already a sparkle in her daddy's eye and we are more than blessed! Now all we have to do is think of a name!!

Boy or Girl??

Brian and I are hoping to find out what the sex of the baby is at my next doctors appointment. I am scheduled for a "growth" ultrasound on the 30th and if the baby cooperates, we will have our answer! It is fun to see how many people are convinced they know what it is, so that gave me the idea of taking a poll! I have a feeling it may be a pretty in pink girl, however not enough to put money on it. Cast your vote, and in a couple of weeks we will have an answer!! Keep your fingers crossed though, I have a lot of shopping to do!!