Neato-Ba-Sneato But Boring = Our Life

So I thought that I would give an update on what’s been going on in our lives – besides vacation – but then when I started writing it all down I discovered that we are kind of boring. Still, the blog must go on!

After much fasting and lots of prayers Luke got into graduate school! (Which is a good thing because Luke was going stir-crazy with nothing to keep him occupied other than dealing with the apartment complex.)

He will be earning his MBA in Healthcare Administration. He is pretty excited about the whole thing. This is a great way for him to move towards his ultimate job as a VP of Facilities and Construction at a hospital.

The program is brand-new and is made up of a cohort of 30 students and is only offered once a year. Portland State University and Oregon Health Science University have teamed up together to team-teach (someone in healthcare and someone in business) almost every class.

At the end of September we went to the zoo (yes, again) when my brother Alex and his friends came up for a Portland adventure. We had lots of fun! A new exhibit called Predators of the Serengeti had just opened ten days before, and it was really cool to see the new animals in their brand-new exhibits.

*Luke fed the lorikeets*

*Aslynn rode a hippo*

*And a camel*

In more boring news: I cut my hair. I had pretty much the same hairstyle since my sophomore year of high school – it was time for something different.

*Sad, depressing BEFORE picture (you know, like the ones in the magazines?)*

The stylist put my hair in two ponytails (I’ve got thick hair) and chopped them off; they were both long enough to donate to Locks of Love, so I did just that.

*Happier AFTER picture*

My hair is short enough and light enough now that I can curl it and the curls won’t go completely flat until the next day. I can die happy.

Aslynn is growing like a weed.

*Playing with Grandma. Notice the bear crawl - it is the only way she crawls now.*

*I had to get a picture of her awesome bed-head.*

Today she is exactly nine months old.

*This purple dress used to be mine!*

She can stand up by herself now without holding onto anything. We’re working on walking – the record now stands at three consecutive steps without holding on to mom or dad’s hand. I am hoping that she will be walking by Halloween but we'll see how that goes. She's much too independent to walk when we want her to - she'll do it when it is most beneficial to her wants and needs.

*Standing by herself and reaching for the camera. That's baby talent!*

She eats anything and everything (except garden vegetable baby food - she hates that kind). She expects everyone to share what they are eating with her. She knows that when you share, you take turns. The big person gets a taste then Aslynn gets a taste; if the big person takes two tastes in a row, Z screams bloody murder and hits the big person on the leg to get their attention and remind them to take turns the right way.

*Her first time eating a popsicle and experiencing the coldness. She makes the best faces!*

She LOVES her books! She knows exactly where they are on the shelf and she pulls all of them out and reads them by herself, outloud in her best baby voice complete with gasps and squeals of delight at each turn of the page. Her favorites are her Gossie and Gertie books, Jamberry, Olivia and Mr. Brown Can Moo. Her favorite bedtime story that we try to read every night is Animal Kisses.

A week before we left on the cruise Luke and I were at our wits end; Aslynn had been waking up as many as six times a night! We decided that we were going to be mean and put her on a sleep schedule (because we had just been letting her go to bed whenever she got cranky enough to be put to sleep, which was around 10:30 or 11 p.m.) Her new bedtime would be 9:30 p.m.

*"Haha! You can't kiss me mom!"*

We planned to put her in her bed and let her cry herself to sleep. The first night we tried it, do you know what that little turd did? She went straight to sleep without crying. So much for our mean parent’s reputation!

The schedule’s been going pretty well. She takes her naps at the same times each day and goes to bed on time. She only wakes up once a night (knock on wood) to eat for a whole five minutes and then goes back to sleep. She wakes up in the morning around 7:30 or 8. Life is good and we’re all getting much needed rest.

*Doesn't that look comfortable? NOT!*