wisconsin

packers cheerleader.

yay for the rose bowl (shore)...with granny and grandpa
here are some pictures of keya cheering for wisconsin teams. go pack go? (im not gonna lie, i was annoyed that the packers won bc now i have another weekend of football on - its been constant since august fjdksf;jksf;a). luckily the packers cheerleading outfit sorta fits because i just realized i cant do math and figured out that a 6 month packers outfit wouldnt make sense because it would be...april. o.

brauhaus

perma smile plastered on my face. taking a tourist picture in the back of the cab. the cabbie actually hated my guts. i dont know why.

hildie and i at dinner

mustache revival

gabs and brad with the weird blow up rat.

schnitzel! (nasty)

with A MOVIE STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

after robbie told me i couldnt twirl him because of his recent hip replacements. he was the bomb.

the greek god

shots with the girls

happy birthday brad!

the usual "ge" picture with my favs


jake is in nyc for the week leaving me alone in a snowglobe with a miniature person to discuss life issues with. so, he was kind enough to offer to stay with said mini person while i paint the city of chicago red with my friends in honor of bradley rumans 30th birthday. since i have been in very few situations where i have to be "social" over the last 6 months (waddling around 9 months pregnant with an enlarged nose at marshall's is not considered being social), i was super thrilled and had a permo smile stretched across my face. it was not normal and somewhat disgusting. as i drove into the city, i started doing the nisha butt dance to flo rida, and my road rage immediately returned. i loved it. we went to the brauhaus in lincoln square for lets just call it dinner for now. i surprised brad with a 6-pk of spotted cow (which i ended up drinking most of in the back of a cab on the way to casey morans- happy birthday brad!), a gross stretchy rat, a best friends forever bracelet, and some hand sanitizer. i had such a good time (although i spent 65% of the time looking at pictures of keya and 25% of the time talking about her - im sure everyone was intrigued). ive realized that i indeed am a sexy attractive mother when i got hit on by so many men. the first suitor was a greek god. and by greek god, i mean he was approx 97 years old and im pretty sure he did not have teeth. he told me that i reminded him of his girlfriend from 1915 (which, ironically, is the last time he showered i think). then i got hit on by a movie star. he listed all the movies he had been in (uncle buck, ferris buellers day off, home alone 1 AND 2 - yes please!!!) and when i asked him if i could lead our dance, he said no because he had just gotten two hip replacements recently. then he showed me a picture of his wife and told me she was the first professional model in chicago. so clearly, he was about 105 years old. awe robbie. im pretty sure these men were on a "gentlemens intermission" as tina fey calls it, and were having the time of their lives dancing with us young lassies and even pulled out their cute little disposable cameras to take pictures with us. after being swept off my feet by these gorgeous dashing men, i had the opportunity to start a conga line to the polka version of YMCA(im pretty sure one of the men tried to trip me with his walker) - i am infatuated with conga lines, im so intrigued by them and think its amazing how a conga line can unify different types of people. we then dined on lots of schnitzel (which means "bland" or "without seasoning" in german) and made up for our hunger by dining on a lot of beer. delish! the rest of the night was a blur...bethany, brad, and i drank on the corner of the street near some bums which is always fun and at one point we were doing double dutch at the bar but we didnt have any jump ropes. (neha, if you are reading this, sorry for possibly calling you "immature" and "judging you" for jumping rope at a bar in atlanta, i was just jealous, o). i ended this fantastic night with a slice of pizza from chicago's, grease running down my chin, mumbling to andy and marcia about who knows what and passing out in their comfy bed with blisters on my feet. i woke up at 545am because i missed jake and keya, and drove home while it was still kind of dark out. fun/hungover times.

hiiiiii

here is a video from this week...we didnt do much this week besides watch breaking bad and catch up on some sleep. i got my giant caterpiller sexy unibrow done today. i guess thats an accomplishment. we went to ghetto mayfair so i could get that did, tried to avoid getting shot by some teenage thugs, no big deal. the lady threaded my eyebrows SO slowly, it was so annoying and painful. no tip lady, no tip. in keya news, she rolled over (once) on new years day and started really laughing for the first time. its so freakin cute, i cant believe shes almost 3 months old already. be on the lookout for The Bear....ooooooooooh. o.

happy new year!!!!!

-ummmmmmmm what the????

-HOW LONG HAS THIS RELATIONSHIP BEEN GOING ON??????

-black sparkly party dress, shiny black shoes, new grey sparkly undies, and hair did - just another new years eve in the ashley household

-getting ready for her first date with adam

-introducing one another, binkys in tow

-adam: oh hey there baby...wanna get outta here and go somewhere quiet?
-kball: teehee, ok sure. i think theres an empty pack and play over there, we can grab some milk and have a drink in there...

-keya: HOW DARE YOU TELL ME MY CHEEKS ARE FAT? JERK!

-keya: ok ok, i guess i forgive you. tell me my head smells good and ill get over it.
-adam: jeez...fine, i like your headband. ok lets go somewhere else...

-at a comedy club

-THIS IS NOT FIRST DATE APPROPRIATE. HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER BUSTER.

we spent the day at jon and marys house celebrating the new year early with lots of appetizers and champagne and wine. i ate ridiculous amounts of food, so we ended up not having dinner. we met jon and mary at our preparing for labor class (which, incidentally, we both ended up with breech babies and therefore never went into labor, but i digress) and adam was born one day before keya at the same hospital. we were the only people in the labor and delivery ward for almost the entire duration of our stay. mary and i have become good friends over the past couple months because we have so much in common, beyond just having babies exactly the same age. it was fun! jake and i rang in the new year in a real crazy fashion by wearing our pajamas and having a bottle of wine. i got drunk off the two glasses and decided to force jake to watch the nisha butt dance for 20 minutes. im pretty sure it was amazing. i also got emotional watching dick clark attempting to do the countdown and was dismayed at how crass mtv has gotten. i know thats such a mom thing to say, but seriously, it was so vulgar, o. i didnt mind watching snookie in the ball drop tho, that was pretty sweet.

so anyway, keya went on her first date yesterday on new years eve. baby adam and keya had a fine evening of dining on milk, trying not to head butt eachother, and keya managed to steal all of the poor guys bouncers and at one point, she wasnt wearing a skirt. sigh. i have a lot to teach her about being a lady over the next 30 years (which is when her next date will be).

i found keya this morning in a compromising position. she had her black party dress on, shiny shoes, and...she was with The Bear. they looked pretty cozy. interesting...

now we have our badger binky, hat (YES A HAT, ITS A NEW YEARS MIRACLE), and bib on ready to watch the rose bowl. go badgers?? (boo)((stupid buckeyes))

toodles 2010

this decade started off with a bang with every type of "life" event possible. it has been a blessed year and one that i have learned a lot from. we started out the year in lake geneva wearing pajamas and drinking at mars with the ippolites and brad&gabby. little did i know that exactly one year later i would be drinking at my house in wisconsin, wearing pajamas again :)

jake and i went on a fantastic trip in january to india, the maldives, and dubai. there were so many unforgettable moments from that trip...being guided through the tiny winding streets of chandni chawk by a cripple that spoke perfect english, waking up to the sun rising over the taj mahal at one of the most beautiful hotels i will ever stay at in my life, making a wish to one day having a healthy baby at fatehpur sikri, and seeing the ancient magnificence of amir fort in jaipur. the maldives were beyond my wildest dreams - so beautiful, remote, and pure - basking in the sun and knowing we were on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean was incredible. and dubai...looking at the awesome new construction, having many pimms #1 and ginger ales while "shiek watching", and eating a fabulous bbq under the stars in the desert...it was amazing.

upon returning from our trip, i found out our wishes came true and i was pregnant (didnt know the wish would work that fast, o). like kendra said (yes kendra, one of the girls next door O), life doesnt change when you have a baby, it changes when you see that positive sign on the pregnancy test. almost immediately, the nausea set in and i was sick almost every day of my pregnancy and i had the most ridiculous back pain - but the end result was worth it - my healthy baby doll. we realized very quickly that our days in chicago were numbered, with jakes travelling getting more frequent, living in the city was just not gonna work, and we made our first "family" decision to move to wisconsin. within days, our condo sold and we found our perfect house in hartland - buying and selling a house in this market was stressful but we were super lucky. we celebrated our first anniversary/babymoon in the cayman islands at the hotel that we got married in and enjoyed laying in the sun, exploring the island, and eating - a lot.

in july, i quit a job i really liked and we moved to a place where our family could grow. we spent the next 3 months buying furniture, decorating our house, and taking advantage of our free time sans baby and of course, in october, keya arrived and changed our world forever. there are no real words to describe the love i have for my baby. it brings tears to my eyes when i think about how much i love her. i want her to have everything and anything and most of all, i want her to be a healthy, happy, confident, and proud person. october 12, 2010 is the most important day of my life.

like i said, this year was a year of a lot of "life events" and a couple of my friends have gone through some harder times that have completely humbled me and made me more appreciative of my family and my friends than i already was. i wish them and all my friends and family a happy, healthy, and blessed 2011.

so in review, ive had an amazing year. i have amazing parents and inlaws, an awesome sister, a hot and loving husband, friends that i am so thankful for, and most of all, a happy, chubby, gurgling, giggly, healthy baby girl.

happy new year, bring it on 2011...

the holidays!

-merry christmas! our tree in wisconsin...

-keya with uncle ryan and uncle joe visiting from cali!

-travelling comfortably at a young age

-happy birthday dad! and yes...that is home alone 2 lost in new york playing on the tv.

-keya with her new pink leopard print parson's chair. she looks SO thrilled to be sitting in it.

-me and my kword, pink winter boots, check!

-kball in outfit number 3, a comfy christmas onesie

-kbear in outfit number 2, rocker santa outfit, not appropriate when shes 16. thanks neha maushi!

-santa with all her presents....

-wheres santa?

-mommys little dear.

-SO BORED.

-fat ryan reynolds face/baby jake ashley

-man, this la z boy is real comfy.

-love my little dolly

-this is how i kept discovering her when she would wake up in the middle of the night. moving all around the crib somehow even though shes completely swaddled and smiling like she was proud of herself.

-with aaji who spoiled the crap out of her

-with auntie sarah...ive been friends with her since 8th grade!

-with hector auntie. she taught us all about being animal friendly.

-happy birthday old soul! with our cousins celebrating my sisters birthday...

-keya loves rupa maushi!

-the girls sent me an awesome cookie tin to my house since i missed the cookie party. they were soo yummy! i loved it.

-neha maushi, youz funny.

we just got back from a nice long visit to dublin, visiting my family. it was so nice to relax, do nothing, and chill with my parents and sister. its been years since i spent more than just a couple days at home since i never had very many vacation days. i was gone for over two weeks and jake was there for just under a week. i got to go shopping, get a MUCH NEEDED pedicure (the last time i got one was before keya was born, gross), visit with some friends, and watch dexter season 5! we also ate some good food (my fav chinese, DONATOS, etc), talked a lot, and played with the baby. im sure it was fun for my parents to have my sister and i at the house for such a long time with our little new addition to the familia.

we also celebrated my sister's 23rd birthday while we were there and my cousins amit and rupa came over and we got to hang out like old times. it was so fun - we went to the mall, attempted to play rock band, played with the baby, and went to a nice dinner and ice cream. we didnt watch a scary movie like usual but other than that it was like the good old days.

we cut a cake for my dad's belated 60th birthday when jake got to my house and had some champagne (which noone really drank bc everyone got a headache after 1 sip, awesome...) and then we celebrated christmas! there were so many great gifts under the tree and keya had 3 outfit changes obviously...my dad made a yummy breakfast and my mom made a yummy dinner - great times! i love the holidays!!!!!!!

2 months old!

-"hello? hello?? yes, hi. i would like to report a stalker. uhh, no, hes about 2 feet tall, really hairy, weird creepy smile, followed me from wisconsin to ohio. yes, his name is The Bear...what? how should i know how to spell that, im a baby, idiot"

"what? what did you say, Bear? read the sign? what sign? ugh i hate you so much"

-"i am... what? how am i supposed to know what that says"

"you know what. im out of here."

my sweet little baby infant mini human is 2 months old today. she is just the sweetest cutest little thing ever. i love her so much. she has so much personality and is so squirmy and always wants to be part of the gossip. i am kind of depressed that shes getting so old, i dont know what to do. maybe have another one? BWHAHA jkjkjkjk uterus, im just. joking. calm down. anywho, happy birthday to our dearest keya baby.