We had such a great Christmas! Ashton was at the perfect age. She had no expectations of gifts, santa, etc. She just enjoyed the ride and was full of excitement and wonder as each present and Christmas tradition came along.

You'll see pics from our time at home in Atlanta - Ashton and I made cookies, and we hung an advent calendar so she could count down the days until Christmas. Each pocket in the calendar contained a note, toy, or treat each day that she LOVED opening.

Then we flew to Ohio for Christmas. Ashton really loves to fly and got very excited about going on an airplane again. She got to see her Nana, Papa Frank, Danpa, Unlce Jake and Auntie Amber, Great grandma and grandpa Hackett, Great grandma and grandpa Chimento, plus all of Brendan's aunts, uncles, and cousins!

We all had a blast, and are now trying to recover!

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Today, Adeline Clare Fease was born to our dear friends Jen and Dan (next door neighbors). She was 9lbs 7 oz and 21.5 inches long! They are calling her Ada, and Ashton has already deemed her "precious".

We were very thankful to be with family and friends this Thanksgiving. Danpa came down from DC, a tradition. He took Brendan and Ashton to pick out our Christmas tree, another tradition. And we spent our 7th Thanksgiving dinner in a row at Lovey's house. Ashton loved the mashed potatoes, noodles, and especially the chocolate cookies auntie Cairo brought for dessert!

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Ashton's teachers had been preparing the kids for a month. They made turkey hats and practiced one song over and over and over again- "The wheels on the bus go round and round... all Thanksgiving day...".

For weeks, Ashton had been belting out this song at home, in the car, and in the bathtub.

Finally, all of us parents gathered to watch the Thanksgiving play with palpable excitement!

It took about 10 whole minutes to get the kids on the stage and facing the right way and lined up. Then they started the song.

Ashton's turkey hat kept sliding down her face. She refused to sing along with her class. Instead, she busied herself with keeping that hat pushed up on her little forehead.

Then it was over! And everybody had a lollipop.

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It was Ashton's first real Halloween where she could actively participate and experience how fun it is to trick-or-treat!

Although her grandma's provided the cutest darn costumes you could ask for (a blue M&M, a cow, AND a lady bug), Ashton insisted on wearing her weekend uniform of her favorite ballet "outfit". Hopefully we can get her in those other cute costumes soon and we'll post the pics for you to see!

She quickly got the hang of knocking on doors, yelling "trick-or-treat!", grabbing the loot, and yelling "thank you!"... then off to the next house!

When I asked her what her favorite part of Halloween was, she said "Lollipops!"

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Our neighbors Dan and Jen's baby is due on Dec 6th, so we couldn't wait to shower them with presents to prepare for the arrival! The Swan Coach House is an Atlanta institution, and it's a special place to me - I had my bridesmaid's luncheon, Ashton's baby shower, and my mom and I celebrate Ashton's birthday there each year.  It's a girly place to celebrate the arrival of a sweet baby girl!

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2 weekends before Halloween, we were lucky enough to be able to attend a special behind-the-scenes tour at the zoo! The morning started with breakfast (Ashton couldn't believe it - breakfast at the ZOO!), then we watched the gorillas being fed. Then we got to go into the elephant exhibit and see where the zookeepers hang out. The zoo was also celebrating Halloween, so all the kids wore their costumes and the zoo staff handed out candy. Ashton had a blast (as she does most of the time - she is excited about pretty much everything! It's so fun).

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I just realized that September came and went and no hackettville updates or pictures! I have a few random shots that show what life is like with the amazing Ashton Kate Hackett. Enjoy.

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NEW INFO! Here are the REAL pictures. They are stunning! http://www.amandajulcablog.com/

We just spent this past weekened in Columbus, OH with our amazing family- all in town to celebrate Ian and Janessa. It was just beautiful - see for yourself!

Ashton had no idea she could have so much fun. Or that grandmas could dress up as her favorite character from Yo Gabba Gabba. Or that her sweet friend would come from a different state just to see her (thank you auntie Cairo!). Or that she'd actually get PRESENTS on her birthday!

She had the time of her life on Saturday. We were so thankful our family and friends came to celebrate with us - Lovey, auntie Christina, cousins Jackie & Jon, The Moyer's, The Sandstrom's, the Fease's, the Phoenix's, the Hollander's, and the Vance's!

It was HOT and buggy, but we made the best of it by having a water slide, baby pools, water balloons, and lots of bug spray!