Almost walking

A crawls and climbs and can really get around. But, no interest in walking yet. If we try to practice with him, he just collapses his legs, so it's pointless... Ha!

He walks along all the furniture, so we know there's nothing wrong... Just taking his time. :)

But this afternoon, he was really enjoying walking around outside with this little walker. We cheered and cheered for him! Which of course meant that SG wanted a turn so that we would cheer for her too. (She cracks me up!)

We just love A and his sweet good-natured personality and his easy laid back demeanor. He's always smiling and is hardly phased by obstacles. He works so hard to keep up with his sister!

He is always popping up somewhere and happily exclaiming, "Hi!" It's seriously so adorable!! Today he was trying to copy me by saying, "thank you." It kept coming out more like, "Ang Ooooooo" but sososo cute. I live that ZZ is with me during the day to laugh at those moments.

Love my littlest guy. <3

Sharing

A and SG are so close in age (17 mo), that we are starting to have sharing issues.

We didn't have that issue with z for several reasons. He was an only child for 5 years of course! In the daycare, there were mostly girls his age, and they played with very separate things. Even during the years when I babysat a little girl (who happened to be 17mo apart in age from Z), they never had sharing issues. Also, ZZ has a very giving personality. He's the kid giving away his toys at a playdate...haha.

SG and A are more competitive, they like the same things, SG is kinda bossy and reactive, and A is very calm but determined. Perfect storm!

The sharing argument is usually SG flipping out trying to get away from A and screaming, "Asher's gonna get it!!! Asher's gonna get it!!!" And while A is quiet, he is fast and a good climber and very grabby and pretty relentless if he wants something.

It's actually really really funny to watch.

I rely a lot on SG's desire to be nurturing. If she is my "helper" or pretending to be A's "teacher" then I can usually diffuse the arguing. If I give A a turn with the coveted toy, she spends the time offering him other toys and making them sound more fun.

"Asher! A ball! So fun! Asher! Want to hold the barbies? Asher! Look! Do you want this airplane?!"

They are starting to play together more, which I am SO excited about. I love to see their relationship grow and develop, even if it involves a little drama sometimes.

In this pic, Asher finally got to play with the xylophone - a very rare treat for him because SG is constantly giving us concerts with it. He actually played it pretty well! :)

Play-doh!

I finally got around to getting out the playdoh for SG. She loved it!

And ZZ had a blast going through all his old playdoh toys and tools. He made me "pancakes" and lots of playdoh money. SG just brought me blobs and would happily exclaim, "Look what I made!!"

Oh, the hours we used spend with playdoh - and I see it again in my future.

SG had a minor breakdown when it was time for dinner. We are working in transitions. ;)

Little Man mostly crawled around and ate bubbles, chalk, and grass. Yum. :)

Apple store fun

After A's one year dr appt (21 lbs, 25% weight, 50% height, healthy boy!!), I took the kids to the Apple store because my phone is acting up.

Z and SG were the only kids in the store, so they got the computers all to themselves. SG kept thinking the computer was a touch-screen. It was pretty cute.

What wasn't as cute was the hysteria that ensued when it was time to leave. We had already stayed past naptime and leaving the Dora computer broke her heart. She cried all the way to the car. :(

Because we love our kids

We surprised them with a fun little wall.

Fruition

I wish I had the "before" picture on my phone, but let's just say this is a huge improvement. It's not done yet, but we are so excited about the grassy area!

The L-shaped area by the red chairs used to be a brick wall and out-of-control bushes. The grassy area used to be a massive old rotting deck. Under the arbor were more crazy bushes and vines that had grown taller than the arbor, and all over it, and all over the fence. Beyond that, in the area that will soon hold a playground, it was fenced off and full of trash, about a hundred clay pots, bricks, and rocks.

It's been QUITE a project so far!!

Much more to do, but at least the slate is clean. :)

Happy Birthday!!!

Sweet little man had his first birthday!

Some facts about A:

He smiles and laughs all.the.time.

He smiles even when you lay him in bed!

He plays on his own and keeps himself busy

He loves a bottle of cold milk

He is loud when he's tired. Very loud. Not crying, just loud.

He crawls very fast and cruises along furniture.

When we try to get him to stand, he collapses his legs. Not ready/wanting to walk.

He has five teeth.

He loves balls.

He says Mama, Dada, Bubba, Nana (banana), Hi, and waves hello and goodbye. He claps and dances on command. And he smiles a lot!

He eats everything he sees, including gravel, acorns, dirt, and legos.

If he sees a way into a bathroom, you will find him splashing in the toilet.

He loves the slide and swinging.

Nicknames: Asher-Dasher, Ash, Buddy, Monkey, Little Man

I could write about him all day. From day one, he's been the sweetest happiest little guy. So smiley and easy. He loves his brother and sister and they love him. He is the perfect addition to our family. God sure blessed us with this beautiful little surprise. We love you Asher!!