Going on the Potty Train

A few days after I got back from Idaho I decided it was time to potty train my little firecracker. Ashton was almost 8 weeks old and still napping very frequently through out the day which would allow me to give Tay the positive attention she needed for the work at hand. She did a great job and we had a lot of fun together! We are so proud of our big girl!

*Before Carter was potty trained, he over heard Drew and I talking about potty TRAINing and decided that it must be a real train! The perfect incentive for him to go potty in the toilet was to take a ride on a kids train in Richmond. Needless to say, he loved going on the potty train after he was potty trained! Anyway, Tay also looked forward to taking her ride on the potty train!

Carter was very patient those first couple of days, especially considering it was his spring break from preschool. Luckily we found a few inside activities for him to enjoy.

Cherry Blossom in D.C.

In April we spent a few hours walking around our nation's capital for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The trees were beautiful! I hope we can go again next year.

Baby Ashton

Ashton's hair is awesome isn't it! It totally fits his personality. Ashton is such a sweet baby. He is VERY smiley. He loves to be held and sung to. And Ashton completely lights up when he has your attention. He especially loves his big brother Carter. In fact, Carter was the first person to get Ashton to laugh. Here is Ashton at 7 weeks old...

Just like Carter, Ashton smiled his first true baby smile the day after he turned 4 weeks old. It melted my heart. I wasn't able to capture it with the camera though until the beginning of April!

Baby Blessing

On March 17th, Ashton Mckay Hilton received his baby blessing. We were happy to have family and our wonderful Bishop in our home for the special occasion. The experience in our home was tender and sweet. Luckily all of the kiddos cooperated during the prayer.

Here is Grandpa Steve holding Ashton.

Farewell Grandpa Holloway

My dear Grandpa Holloway passed away in March. We will miss him! But in the mean time, we can celebrate his great sense of humor (and hilarious stories), his faith in God, dedication to family, and the love he had for his sweet wife Nola. I was so happy that I was able to be home for his funeral. It was wonderful to see long lost cousins and visit with aunts and uncles. The speakers and music at the service were wonderful. Overall it was a wonderful celebration of Roland Holloway.

My Grandpa was a master at tooling leather. Some of his best work was displayed at the funeral. When Grandpa was a young man and in the TB hospital, he sold his leather work to help provide for his parents and younger siblings. This Indian Chief is the cover of a photo album he made for his young bride.

Grandma Rhonda, Great Grandma Holloway, and six week oldAshton Mckay- at Grandpa's viewing.

Visit from Grandma Rhonda

We are so grateful for all of the help we received when Ashton was born- friends, neighbors, my mother in law Heidi, and my mom also known around here as Grandma Rhonda. My mom came when Ashton was a month old so she was able to see first smiles and hear his first sweet coos. We are so grateful for all of the meals, playtime, laundry, house cleaning, visiting, shopping, snuggle time, and support that she gave all of us.

Thank you Grandma Rhonda!

Adjusting to Baby "Brudder"

Many of you know I was a little (ok, A LOT) worried about how Tay would do after Ashton was born. Well, these pictures are a great illustration of how Tay handled the first few months after Ashton's arrival...
On this particular day, Tay and Ashton and I had just come home from dropping Carter off at preschool. Tay was mad (like screaming mad) that I wouldn't carry her up the stairs. So while she was screaming bloody murder down stairs, I carried Ashton to the third floor, nursed him, changed him, and put him to bed. When I finally came down to make Tay a snack and giver her some snuggle time, I found her sleeping on the kitchen floor. She had managed to kick her shoes off but was still wearing her coat and was clutching her baby doll. My poor little Tay had cried herself to sleep. It is hard not being the baby any more.

Sleepy Ashton

Little newborns are just so sweet. They sleep and sleep and just want their mama to snuggle them. Of all of our "sleepy" pictures, this is my favorite of Ashton's first weeks.