Playing With Cousin Eddy

Here are some pictures of Ashley playing with cousin Eddy the day after the Nichol wedding or http://picasaweb.google.com/rstrauss/20071027StLouisWithEddy.

Pumpkin Patch

Kelly's vision of a chilly fall day at the pumpkin patch partially came true. It was 80 degrees outside, the pumpkin patch was more of an amusement park w/ 800+ people, there were no trees in sight and security guards were dispatched to control the crowds and cars. Oh living in a big city...

Here are some pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch yesterday with Uncle Tom, aka the man about to be married in 5 days.

(http://picasaweb.google.com/rstrauss/20071021PumpkinPatch)

Ashley Swimming

Ashley went swimming for the first time last weekend. Here are some pictures (http://picasaweb.google.com/rstrauss/20071016AshleySwimming):

Grandparent Visit

TheStrausses.com headed to Cleveland this past weekend to hang out with my parents and brothers. I'm trying out a new slideshow functionality of Picasa. If this doesn't work, you can go directly to the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/rstrauss/20071013CuyahogaFalls.

It's Getting Cold

I'm not really sure if the below look is a "i look so cute, don't i" or a "get this off of me". We like to think it's option #1.

Ashley Photoshoot

Kelly grabbed the camera today after Ashley's nap and took some pictures. Here is a direct link to the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/rstrauss/20071008AshleyOnChairAndInCrib.

Grandma/Grandpa Strauss in Town

My mom and dad came into town this past weekend. We had a really fun yet limited time together. They arrived on Saturday morning and left on Sunday early afternoon. We watched the Cubs lose on Saturday (and boy was it crazy in Wrigleyville) and then my dad and I watched the Steelers beat up on the Seahawks on Sunday.

Thanks for everything mom and dad!

Our Little Sweet Potato

Miss Ashley Jane is starting to make the switch from boring old breast milk/formula to some solid fruits and vegetables with actual taste and she is loving it!

Here is her current list of favorite foods:

1. sweet potatoes
2. bananas
   
3. pears
4. apples
5. green beans
6. peas

Here is a picture of her digging into some sweet potatoes.

Thursday Mom's Group

Ashley gets to hang out with her friends every Thursday while Kelly attends a mom's group. Here are some pictures from 9/27/2007.

10 Ways You Will Change When You Become a Parent

I found a great list today about the 10 ways you will change when you become a parent. You can find the full list here.

My favorite:

Sensitivity to Noise - When you’re spending a good deal of time trying to get a baby to go to sleep, you’re going to make damn sure that you do everything in your power to not wake that kid up. That could mean anything from avoiding certain rooms or even parts of the house to using a totally inconvenient door just because it’s quieter than the closest one.