Pumpkins and Family

Today we went and picked out Aspen's first pumpkin for Halloween. I love getting pumpkins every year. The past two years Jason and I have carved our pumpkins. Hopefully we get around to doing it this year, but if not, at least we went and picked out three for our front porch. I also was determined to get some pictures of Aspen with pumpkins in her pumpkin onesie that her Nanny and Papa got her. She woke up from her nap right before we went, so she was still a little sleepy in some of the pictures.



While we were taking the picture above and trying to get Aspen to "smile for the camera" a little boy (about 3 yrs. old) walked by and said "I don't think she is very happy". It was pretty hilarious and spot on.

I love the next two photos we got we Aspen-- the bright orange pumpkins in the background that match her cute shirt. It was a beautiful day to be picking out pumpkins.





Later in the afternoon Jason's mom flew into town and we picked her up from the airport. She is going to be staying with Jason's sister Jennifer and helping out while they are adjusting to having a newborn. Of course we had to do a little photo session with the two cousins.




We also went and visited Jennifer, James and Jessica on Thursday of last week and brought them dinner. We got to take a photo of us with our baby niece....very sweet!



I think Bella was happy to find out that we weren't going to be adding another baby to the family and this one of was just a friend :)

Going to the Doctor's Office

Today Aspen had a doctor's appointment. She hasn't been to the doctor since she was two weeks old. It was exciting to see how much she has grown in the past two months. Wednesday was Aspen's 11 week birthday and it would appear that she is a healthy, growing baby.



Her weight was 12lbs. (80%ile); her height is 23 1/2 in. (90%ile); her head circumference is 39.4cm (60%ile). I'm not surprised that she is so long because lately all of her pants look more like capri pants. Both Jason and I have tall genes in our families and I think Aspen is definitely going to fall into that category.



Today we also had our first round of shots (although they did give her a shot at the hospital, they took her to the nursery to do it). All in all she did pretty well with the experience. When they actually gave her the shot she just closed her eyes and opened her mouth really wide, but no cries came out (it was kind of hilarious to watch). Then as soon as it was over the tears flowed for a couple of minutes, but she fell right to sleep as soon as we got in the car.

It's great to see our little girl growing and developing into a beautiful healthy baby. Check out the video of her waiting to get her shots.

Busy Weekend

This weekend we had lots of exciting events going on and of course Aspen went through the weekend looking adorable as usual.



My sister-in-law Jennifer and her husband James had their first baby, Jessica Ann, on Friday afternoon. Jessica was 7lbs. 2oz. and 20 in. long. We are so happy that Mom and baby are doing great. Jason's other sister Sarah is due with her second child in November. I think it's great the three cousins will have playmates whenever the Dzubinski side gets together.

Even though Aspen is only 10 1/2 weeks old, it's amazing how small my niece Jessica felt to hold.



Saturday morning we watched the OU vs. Texas game with Aspen's Papa and Nanny (Jason's parents). We were very happy to see Texas pull through with a win. Of course Aspen had her GDU (game day uniform) on from our good friends Anuj and Pam.



Saturday afternoon Jason and I had a wedding to go to, so Poppy (my dad) came over and babysat for a couple of hours. The wedding was one of my friends from high school, Carrie and her husband Nate. It was such a wonderful ceremony and a great party (especially the food---which usually wedding food is not memorable, but this was great!).

Before the wedding we had Poppy take a family picture.



I was able to sneak a picture with the bride after the ceremony.



Sunday the three of us had a nice relaxing day together. Aspen was in a great mood the whole day. The weather in Austin is so beautiful and perfect right now...it reminds me why I love living here.

Hanging out with Dad



Aspen has been figuring out the "finger" sucking now for a while. Until today she always was trying to stick her whole hand in her mouth or would just lick her fingers and get slobber all over her face. Today she finally got two fingers in and for those of you that knew me as a child, this was exactly how I use to comfort myself. Like mother, like daughter. **Also, for those Texas fans...Hook 'em!



Looking curious...

Change Your Mind?

Jason's sister sent us this photo of Jason as a younger baby. I think he definitely wins the look alike contest with this pic.



Check out that expression...

Working Hard

Just a couple of pictures and a video to show you how close Aspen is to rolling over from her belly to her back. You can tell in the video she is a very determined little girl and gets quite frustrated with herself when things don't work out. It will be interesting to see if she keeps growing into that type of personality :)

A Night Out with the Family and Friends

Last night we went to the opening of Mandola's in Bee Cave. As many of you probably know, we go to Mandola's at the Triangle in Austin all the time. We love their pizza and various pasta dishes. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it! I love it so much, the first night I was in the hospital after Aspen was born I had Jason go and pick up some minestrone soup and pizza for me. It hit the spot!



We carpooled out to the new restaurant with our friends Joe and Sarah. When we got there we meet up with our other friends Phil and Kaiba. The restaurant was packed, but it was really nice because the employees were walking around with tons of samples of food and wine. It gave us a chance to catch up with everyone.



Of course Aspen slept the whole ride to the restaurant; she was a awake but completely quiet and content while we waited around in line for about an hour; as soon as we get our food....a complete baby meltdown (that's what I like to call it). I felt so bad for her. The restaurant was super loud and I think she was over tired and over stimulated. We ended up leaving a little earlier than planned, but as soon as we got in the car she feel asleep for the whole ride home. We got home, fed her and she slept for 7 hours again (and even went back to sleep after that for another 3!).

We had a great time out as a family and it's nice as Aspen gets older feeling more confident with our outings (even if she does get fussy). She's so cute and we love her so much, even if she does have a couple of fussy moments, we don't mind.

On Friday a cold front came through Austin and I got to pull out some adorable fall clothes for Aspen to wear. Don't you just love the hat??









The next two photos are Aspen working out on her belly. I just think she looks so cute on her tummy working those neck muscles.

Who Does Aspen Look Like?

Lots of people have been telling us that Aspen looks either like Jason or myself. I thought I would post baby pictures of Jason and I and you can all take a guess as to who you think she looks like. I personally think she is a beautiful combination of us both!

**Keep in mind both baby photos of Jason and I we are older than Aspen, so she could also grow into looking more like one of us.


Jason



Aspen



Julia

Could She Really Be 2 Months Old Already??

Today marks Aspen's 2 month old birthday. There has been some huge changes in the past month, many having to do with her personality and her day to day activities. Every day seems to get a little easier for both of us, but of course we still get caught off guard by the surprises a newborn supplies. For example: This past Saturday we met Jason's sisters for lunch and while Aspen was sitting in her car seat she decided to use the bathroom. The surprise--it went out her diaper and up her back. Jason got her all clean and changed and then we headed off to the supermarket. Could you believe it that we get to the supermarket and she started crying, so we check the diaper and it happened again!! I couldn't help but start cracking up. Keep in mind both times this happened we changed her in our car while it was pouring outside (just another element to deal with).

Although some of the surprises tend to be a little messy, we both take them as they come with a good sense of humor and smile on our face. Here are a few things that Aspen has been up to the past month:

She loves playing on her play mat with the rattles above her head. She just recently has been able to look at the rattle and then reach and grab onto it.



This past week she has slept through the night three times (7 to 71/2 hours is considered in my book sleeping through the night). I know that she wont do this always overnight, but it's definitely a nice step into a good direction.

Her neck control has continued to get strong. She has started to figure out that her arms can help her out when trying to lift her head.



She has naturally fallen into a better schedule. She has been able to go longer during the day for feedings and she seems to enjoy the night time routine we started last week. The routine includes a bath (not every night), getting into her pj's, read her a story, turn the lights out and have one last feeding for the night. She does really well going into her crib after eating even if she isn't fully asleep. We turn on her CD and it seems to help her put herself to sleep.



She fits into the baby carrier much easier lately. We spent some time outside while Jason planted some things in our yard.



She also has been enjoying flying around the house with Mommy and Daddy--of course always being careful.



Her personality is definitely coming out more. I just love looking at her and wondering what's going on in that beautiful mind of hers.



We are so glad to have the blog to share with everyone all of Aspen's activities. It's great to think when Aspen is older we can go back and look at old posts of her when she was just a newborn. It's our virtual scrapbook that we get to share with all of you!

Check out the difference from her 1 month birthday (on the left) and today!



**I spent Sunday afternoon playing around with photo editing while Aspen was napping. Below are a couple of photos I played around with---maybe it's the lack of sleep, but I just thought these were hilarious!