Random Pictures

I had been doing so well at taking a daily picture until I went and jinxed myself by blogging about it. Figures. Oh well...here are some recent shots for those of you that like a blog full of photos like I do.

 This was one week ago Sunday - perfect weather, windows open, Asher in a shortall and playing with his choo choo in the window sill. One week later it was freezing and they were calling for snow and sleet.

 

 My son, the truck driver, with his mullet of curls hanging out the back of his cap.

 Playing in his pink fort.

 Misty's umbrella is always a hit with the office kiddos.

 Came home sick from school with a fever - turned out it was just FOUR teeth. Poor wittle guy.

 We have a book that has Oma & Poppa's picture in it. He points to them and says Oma and Poppa all the time. The other day he pointed to them and signed "please". Of course I sent a video to my parents. Major guilt trip! They are coming next week - HA!

 I bought this chair for $3 at our church yard sale. It needed a screw tightened and a little wood glue. Benny (our building manager) fixed it right up and it is good as new! Now I just need to decide if I want to restain it or paint it.

 Eating his first popsicle. I bet this felt good on his sore gums.

 He has turned his closet into a miniature play room. He loves hanging out in there.

 

  Trying Davenport's pizza for the first time. This picture might insinuate he liked it, but he did not.

 Coloring with his best friend, Madi.

Enjoying a midmorning snack of pickles with Momma. Pregnancy cliches run deep.

Trying guacamole for the first time. This one was a hit!

 Loving that crazy bed head.

 He fell asleep getting his diaper changed during church. Wish he would go down that easily for me!

 This is his Mickey blanket that he LOVES! He's always burying his face in it and squealing. Thanks, Oma!

 Trying to put his pj's on and he kept evading me. I asked him if he wanted to be naked and he signed "please". I'm a sucker for that sign.

 This kid LOVES to wear a hat! He always asks to look in the mirror after we put it on him and then smiles really big at his reflection. Our little entertainer.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

-1 John 3:16

Taking a picture of my littlest Valentine is hard to do these days. He's not much for sitting still. I'll try again this afternoon but for now, here are some photos of the sweets he took to school to share with his sweet friends and teachers!

Goody bags for his classmates.

They included fruit snacks, bubbles and stickers. Stickers are like gold to kids - at least my kid anyway!

Cookies for his teachers, whom we LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I got the recipe for these cookies on Pinterest. They are cake mix cookies. I used funfetti mix (my fave) and they are really good! And couldn't be easier. I HATE baking and this was a piece of cake (cheesy pun intended)!

And of course a plate of cookies for us to eat tonight after our dinner!

Sugar & Spice or Puppy Dog Tails?

Two weeks from tomorrow we will be in ultrasound finding out if we need to start shopping for this little bundle of joy or if we are going to be able to use the TONS of baby stuff we already have from Asher. Sure would be nice to just get all the totes down from the attic and start sorting it all out for "The Sequel" and save some major moolah by doing so. But a chance to buy some frilly little stuff would be fun too! This is a perfect example of a Win-Win situation. Either way, we are super excited!

I have to admit, I get a little defensive when people outside of our family say something like, "Hopefully this time it will be a girl!" I know they just mean that one of each would be fun. And it sure would be. Or they just assume that because I am a girl (and a girly girl at that), that naturally that is what I would like to have.  But as a momma of a boy I happen to LOVE having a son. I would not choose anything else for my first born. I know if I had a girl, I would LOVE having a daughter as well. But the "hopefully" has a certain "Boys aren't good enough" feel to it. When I hear that word and I am standing there with my adorable baby boy on my hip I want to point at him and say, "Why? Who wouldn't want another one of these?". I should probably chalk this up to pregnancy hormones and get over it. And honestly, I'm not upset at anyone that has ever said it. I understand. I know that there is nothing but pure excitement about the upcoming arrival of Baby #2 behind the sentiment. And even I myself, have days where I 100% want it to be a girl and then the next day I will change my mind and hope against hope that it's a boy. I just have to watch myself from defending the joys of having a son at every turn.

Well that was a lot of unnecessary venting. So let's get onto the point of this rant.

Most of the time people don't word it like that. They just make their humble prediction. And that is exactly what I am asking you to do. Make your selection on the survey on the right of this blog. The winner gets...bragging rights! 

I have had some signs that seem to point a certain direction in the gender department. But I won't give them away yet as not to taint the guessing game. Plus I don't want to be wrong and not blogging my own prediction allows me to save face!

15 days and counting...

My Son - the Fashionista

Project 365. I've actually been trying to do it. Take a photo of Asher every day this year. And starting sometime in July of his baby brother or sister as well. I haven't posted the photos anywhere. They are just on my iPhone. Maybe I will catch up and back date them by week. We'll see. I don't wanna get too far ahead of myself. But I had to share today's photo.

My son wearing two different shoes.

Yep, that's MY son wearing two different shoes to school today. And it was even somewhat on purpose. For some unexplained reason he begged by signing "please" and pointing to the shoe and then to his left foot for me to put his sneaker on. When I asked him if he REALLY wanted me to put his shoe on he nodded emphatically and patted his chest (please in ASL). That sign gets me every time. I must be growing as a momma to let him get away with this fashion faux pas.

He was pretty proud of himself walking in like this this morning. Even though he was a little off kilter since one shoe is flat and the other has a pretty thick sole. Also, that sneaker is too small. The pains we go through for fashion! 

The story goes - Ben picked out his clothes this morning. I vetoed the outfit. Part of the outfit was the pair of sneakers. Obviously, Ben is loving that Asher begged to wear the shoes that he picked out and is probably a little perturbed that I found it acceptable to wear mismatched footwear to school today but not the outfit that he had picked out for him. Oops!

Pregnancy Can Kill a Blog

So, I am pregnant! 18 weeks at this point. And the last time I blogged was 3 days before we found out. This pregnancy has been great as far as not being sick. In fact, I can't seem to stop eating. Especially Taco Casa. And because of that I am NOT complaining. Just letting you know that while I have not suffered from being so sick I am dehydrated and losing weight like I am on The Biggest Loser (like I did the first time around) but that I have been VERY tired. I am sure it has a little something to do with the fact that this time I am not only growing a human in my uterus but also chasing after a one year old.

Anyhow, my Mom Guilt is in full effect. I haven't blogged about finding out we are expecting - SURPRISE! I haven't blogged about Asher's first "real" Christmas. (Last year he was only 2 months old and had no idea what was going on.) I also haven't blogged about telling our parents about Baby Grizz the Sequel. Which, to my surprise, was just as fun as telling them the first time around. 

I haven't blogged a thing about this pregnancy and the uniqueness of it. Or all the amazing little things that happen during this special time that I had forgotten about since Asher was born. I am so excited about this precious little person growing in me. And I feel like I have done an AWFUL job of documenting that.

So - I am now well into my second trimester and I think I am finally turning a corner. Last night I took a walk around the neighborhood, cooked dinner AND cleaned up afterwards, did a load of laundry, finished the Mocking Jay and hung out with my hubby until 11:15! I'm usually zonked out by 8:30 at the latest. I'm hoping this means my second trimester burst of energy has finally arrived. I'm ready to clean, nest and finally catch up on this blog.

If you are reading this - thanks for not forgetting about us!

Christmas List 2011

Here is my official Christmas List this year.

I would like a little more time.

Time with these two handsome boys.

And our wonderful families.

Time focused on and appreciating the Birth of Our Savior.

Time to eat some yummy Christmas Food.

And some extra time for sleep.

Asher at ONE

Weighs 22 lbs (50th percentile)
26 inches long (95th percentile)
Dr. Petelos said he is just adorable and extremely good natured.

Wears 12-18  month clothes and size 3 diapers.

• Is puling up on everything.
• Trying to walk and is cruising all over the place.
• Points.
• Books are his most favorite toy.
• Loves taking things out of something and putting them back in aka making a mess.
• Shakes his head and nods it indiscriminately.
• Loves to hand you things and then say Thank You (Tay Too) when you take it. 
• Also says, Kitty Cat (kika), Mama, Dadda and More (mohmoh). Has also said, "Here you go." and "Right there". But only once, so I wouldn't put it into his regular repertoire just yet.
• Sings and dances along to music.
• Points to my mom's dog and says "Woof! "
• Knows how to throw a fit.
• Gets upset when he can't get puzzle pieces to go in the right way.
• Tests me. On everything. For example, he knows he is not allowed to play with the outlets. Even though we have covers on them. He will crawl over to one, look at me and smile, and slowly reach toward it to see what I will do. He usually stops himself. He just wants my reaction. But when he gets in trouble he just laughs. If I smack his hand, he laughs and claps like I was giving him a high five or trying to play patty cake. The word "NO!" is the funniest word he has ever heard. He is definitely going to be my strong willed child. So far, time out is the best thing for him.
• Bites. He only bites me. I think it is an affection thing. He gets really excited, hugs me, buries his face into me and bites my shoulder. I know he isn't trying to hurt me but he needs to learn that is unacceptable.

He is still our little entertainer. He loves attention from anyone that will give it to him. The other day we were visiting a church in Tuscaloosa for Orphan Sunday and he reached for complete strangers. Not so sure how I feel about that just yet. But I do love watching him flirt with everyone around him. We make friends every where we go because people are just drawn to our little man (or girl as they usually say).

He eats like crazy. This kid has a stomach that is a bottomless pit. He eats pretty much anything and everything now a days. Especially things he can feed himself. He gets impatient when we are feeding him. He used to cry for yogurt but recently wants nothing to do it. He wants finger foods that he can pick up. That's fine with me. It's easier to let him handle that task on his own. Some of his favorite foods are cheese, animal crackers, mandarin oranges (I'm pretty sure he just swallows them whole), ravioli and beans. He made the switch from formula to milk with out issue and has dropped the bottle with out any struggle as well.

Schedule:
Wakes up at 6:30 like clock work and eats breakfast. (usually a waffle and some fruit and milk)
Snack at 10:00 (O's, animal crackers or something along those lines)
12:30 - Lunch (ham, cheese, cut up fruit or veggies and crackers)
Nap from 1:00-2:00
3:00 - another snack
5:00 - Dinner (If we are having something kid friendly, he will eat that. If not, pasta, veggies, applesauce, edamame, etc.)
6:30-Bath
7:00 - Bedtime story and milk
7:30-8:00 - Bed time.