16 Months: Vous êtes tellement amusant!

Asher,

You are so much fun! We love this age. It's full of laughs and new discoveries about you, your likes, dislikes, and personality. Your Daddy and I find ourselves cracking up at things you do, say, and the many funny faces you make on a daily basis. You are turning into quite the social guy and you especially love "big" kids around ages 5 to 11. Your cousins are quite a hit as is Nicholas, the five year old big brother at your baby-sitter Miss Caroline's house.

You've been going to see Miss Caroline for about two months now and you really have grown to love it. The first few weeks were pretty tough as you weren't quite thrilled to be dropped off to play there. You'd always have fun eventually, but the first few minutes were a bit of a challenge for you. Miss Caroline is so much fun and speaks French to you the entire time you are there. You are able to point out your nose, mouth, and ears when she asks you where they are in French. You also say "oui" sometimes when you are there and you especially love French music. What we find most funny is the way you answer a pretend phone. You've definitely picked up a French way of answering. You say a very "ahloo" sounding hello. The pretend phone is probably one of your favorite activities. You walk around the house with shoes, trains, remote controls, and play phones held up to your ear. You've even held play dough and a food pouch up to your ear while eating. There are no limits to your imagination.

Another favorite activity is pretending to cook. You have a little set of pots and pans and you love to stir them and then pretend to feed us as well as the puppies. Bella and Lucy aren't thrilled by it, they usually let you feed them for a moment and then get tired of the spoon in their faces and run away.

You still love to swim and we take you at least once a week. Lately you've been trying to push out of your Daddy's arms in the pool, but you aren't quite sure what to do next so we hold on tight and try to distract you from your desire for independence. You also love to sit on the side of the pool and have us help you "jump" in.

Other favorites still include reading and music. You still love nearly every Sandra Boynton book ever made. Funnily you seem to love music from the 1970s, which cracks us up. Chicago's "Saturday in the Park" is one your favorite songs to dance to. And of course your grandma is your favorite friend to have visit and to visit. When she leaves after a visit you look out the window and wave to her over and over until her car pulls away.

We are so grateful for everyday with you, Asher. You are such a joy to us!

You and Coralie dancing at Miss Caroline's House

Putting a "hat" on a baby doll

Asher reading to Daddy

Mommy, don't interrupt me while I'm on the phone

King of the Jungle

Talking on the "phone"

Looking up to the big kids

Reading with bear

One Year: Happy Birthday, Asher!

Dear sweet Asher,

You turned one year old on March 6th! What a special day that is to us. It was a wonderful day to remember how you came into our life a year ago and to look back on how incredible the last year has been with you in our lives. You are such a joy to your family. This has been the best year of our lives. You have brought so much excitement and fun into our daily routine, Asher. We are so grateful to have the privilege of being your parents.

We love seeing your personality develop as the months pass. One of the things we love so much about you is the way you love to read. You enjoy reading so much it's unbelievable. You bring us books to read to you over and over again. You also love to read by yourself. Your favorite books right now are anything by Sandra Boynton- especially "But Not The Hippopotamus," "The Going To Bed Book," and "Blue Hat, Green Hat." You also love "Rock-a-Bye Farm" by Diane Johnston-Hamm, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Eric Carle, and most of all "Oscar's Grouchy Sounds" by Constance Allen. Every morning after you are done drinking your milk you get down from the chair with mommy and walk over to your big stuffed bear and sit with him and look at your books. It's one of my favorite things to watch.

You also love your grandparents so much and get so excited to see them. Sometimes you even cry if they don't pick you first thing when they walk into the house.

You enjoy going to the one year old room at the Pro Club and you love your teacher, Miss Linda. She loves to hold you when you first get there, before you are ready to explore the room with the other kids. When I come to pick you up from class it's so fun to see you playing with the toy kitchen with the other kids.

You are very persistent, which is a wonderful (although patience trying quality!). When you are determined to figure something out, you want to do it again and again and don't like it when we try to stop you. :)

You enjoy meal times and do a great job being patient and quiet when we go to restaurants for meals. Your favorite food by a long stretch is goat milk yogurt. You could eat it all day if we let you. You are also so good at drinking lots of water and ask for it frequently.

You are so good at signing a few words that you use frequently. Although we do crack up when you are bored and in your high chair and you just start signing every word you know over and over.

Another favorite activity is dancing! You are a great dancer and love to make us laugh with your invented moves. Our favorite is what we have dubbed "the worm." You basically do the worm dance sitting up with a serious look on your face. It's brilliant!

For your first birthday we had a small gathering with the grandparents. We went to dinner at the clubhouse and then came back for cupcakes. It was your first time trying a sweet like a cupcake and you didn't enjoy it too much although you did like mushing it with your hands. You LOVED having us sing happy birthday to you and we've been doing it all month since you love it so much.

Thank you for being our firstborn son and the joy of our lives! We love you so much sweet Ashbee!

Happy on your first birthday!

 Banner I made for you

More Birthday Decor

Birthday Hat

Birthday Decor

Asher's Cupcakes

Excited to Sing Happy Birthday

Making a Mess!

So excited to open a gift from Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Jane

46 Weeks: Utah Trip

Dear Sweet Ashbee,

We went to visit our great friends The Lossers and The Downings in Utah this past weekend. It was a short but sweet trip! It was so good to see old friends and introduce them to you as well as meet The Lossers' newest addition, Baby Preston. Baby Preston is so incredibly adorable-what a happy baby! He is the only baby I have ever met that talks as much as you do! At dinner the first night you met two met you guys had quite a little chat- it was adorable! The Lossers' 3.5 year old daughter, Berkley is such a sweetheart! She can be shy in front of people she doesn't know well, so we worried we would go the whole weekend without hearing her talk, but thankfully we heard a few words the last evening there! She was such a sweet girl to Asher when he was crying. She kept bringing him toy after toy to try and cheer him up!

We really loved seeing Utah friends and the gorgeous scenery there. Your daddy and I drove you to see Park City and showed you where lived when we were first married. The air was cool, but the sun was bright in the cloudless blue sky, just like when we lived there.

You were quite a trooper on this trip considering that you missed quite a few naps and went to bed extra late each night. The plane ride was definitely more challenging than the other flights we've taken with you. You wanted to be on the ground crawling around, which of course we couldn't let you do. Entertaining you was kind of exhausting! :) We were happy to land in SLC and happy to land in SEA when we got home!

A highlight of the trip was that the rental car cars eat only allowed for forward facing for your weight. We guiltily allowed you to forward face and definitely enjoyed seeing your sweet face when we turned around to look at you. You mostly took your socks off and amused us by eating your toes! We thought you'd never want to rear face when you got home, but interestingly I think you prefer it or are at least used to it. You were much quieter once you got back home to your own car seat! :)

One of our favorite memories from the trip was when we took you swimming at the hotel pool. There was a birthday party for group of twelve year old girls in the pool and when they saw you they went wild! They all gathered around you squealing and you didn't let them down with your flirting! You were all smiles and shy glances and laughs. It was hilarious and definitely something we'll never forget! Even the birthday girl's mom had her video camera out to capture the moment.

Berkley, Mommy, Asher, Ashley, & Preston

The Mommies with their little guys

Asher looking out at SLC from the hotel room

Asher loving the water

Asher enjoys a chat with the birthday girls

So excited to get in the water!

Cracking us up in the car

45 Weeks: Let It Snow!

Dear Asher,

Last week was what many Seattle area people dubbed Snowmaggedon in advance of what we all assumed would be a light Seattle type dusting of snow. We were all proven wrong when we received eight inches of snow over a 36 hour period of time. Your first real snow adventure! It was so much fun to experience the snow with you (or at least it was at first until we were all freezing!). We had the best time sledding on the golf course with Aunt Chris, Delaney, Kyle, and Daddy.

Looking like some sort of sea creature in your snow suit!

My cute and cuddly snow baby!

Sledding with Daddy (Grandma was concerned you didn't have a helmet on!)

Playing the drums with Daddy at Grandma and Grandpa's house
(If you end up going to WWU and joining a drum circle- I blame your Daddy)

Sucking on your toe...sigh

44 Weeks: More Pictures & Video

Mommy looking scary doing one of her projects!

Making Mommy laugh with funny faces!

 Chillin' in the Target shopping cart.

Looking out the window at the woodpeckers.

On a walk with Baby Santiago

Baby Santiago and his beautiful little mouth

43 Weeks: Pictures & Video!

Dear Asher,

Mommy is behind on posting so I'll just be uploading pictures and video for the next few weeks in order to best get caught up. This week you went to music class for the first time and loved it. It was so much fun to chase you around as you chased the bigger kids around. You were the youngest kid there by about six months and the only non-walker, but that didn't stop you from keeping up with them! It was especially funny when a bigger kid tried to steal a ball you were holding onto. You wouldn't let go and held on so tight. We don't have to worry about you being bullied! :)

First time trying yogurt with Daddy

So happy to be standing and "walking" around

Going down the "slide" at music class

Crawling through the tunnel at music class

Mommy's birthday dinner

42 Weeks: Standing on your own!

Dear Asher,

You are officially able to stand on your own. Today was the first time you did it outside of the bathtub and you quickly did it three times in a row. We are so proud of you, but of course Mommy started crying when she saw you do it. I can't believe how quickly you are growing up, it makes me so sad and happy at the same time to see you growing and learning so fast. I'm only sad, because every day with you is truly a gift and it's hard to think that one day you won't be a little baby anymore.

The other exciting news is that you started saying Mama and holding your arms out to me when you say it. You have said Mama for quite awhile now, but I've never known if you mean me when you say it until the past week now. Any time you are hurt or sad or want my attention you say "Mama!" with your little arms out and it just grabs my heart. I tell you "you can have whatever you want when you say that." I know this is something I'm going to have to change, but for now how could I not pick you up and cuddle you every time you say that? :)

Last night was your first New Year's Eve. You have had a cold all weekend so we had to stay in and have a quiet night, but it was perfect regardless! We had Grandma Jane and Grandpa Jerry over for dinner and then after you went to bed we all missed you and decided to play Yahtzee and pinochle out of boredom. ;) Your grandparents went home right before midnight and so your daddy and I did a countdown with Bella and Lucy and then at midnight we celebrated 2012 and thanked God for an incredible 2011 and asked for His blessings in 2012. Today on New Year's Day, your daddy and I jumped in Lake Sammamish with a ton of our family for the annual Polar Bear Plunge. You stayed home with Grandma Mary while we did it and then we had Grandma Mary and Grandpa Don over for a New Year's Day dinner. We can't wait to enjoy 2012 with you, Asher and we look forward to many exciting new adventures with you. We love you so much- you have made 2011 our best year yet!

Standing with Daddy- you let go of the magazine basket just after I took the picture

Mommy and Daddy get ready to jump in the lake

41 Weeks: Christmas Time is Here

Dear Asher,

Your first Christmas has come and gone! It felt like a dream, it came and went so quickly! We loved every minute of it. You seemed to love every minute of it as well. We had Christmas Eve at our house and had nearly 40 family and friends over. You stayed up until 8:30pm and then went to bed and managed to sleep through all of the noise. We were very impressed. Santa even came to visit- you weren't interested in sitting on his lap by yourself. I can't blame you, he was wearing strange glasses and looked suspiciously like your uncle Brad. On Christmas Day we went to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Don's for brunch and then to Grandma Jane and Grandpa Jerry's for dinner. It was a wonderful Christmas and we will never forget the joy of having you as our best Christmas gift this year!

The other exciting event that happened just before Christmas was the birth of your Godparents Peter and Maria's baby. Santiago was born on December 18th. He is much awaited and prayed for. We are so excited he is here and I know you will be a big friend to him, Asher!

Grandma Ralphie (your GG) with her grandchildren and great grandchild

GG and Grandma Mary

Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Jane, Mommy, and Daddy

Santa and Baby Asher

Get me off of this "Santa!"

Baby Asher in a Nordstrom Bag 

Asher and Lucy in a box

Look Grandpa, No Hands!

Helping Uncle Patrick Open a Present

Christmas Day Family Photo

Peter and Baby Santiago

Mommy and Baby Santiago

40 Weeks: Try and Catch Me!

Dear Asher,

You have quickly mastered crawling! It seems like it happened overnight! I used to be able to set you down on the rug with some toys and you could barely crawl so I could still go into the kitchen and get stuff done while watching you play. Now if I turn my back on you for a second you are into the dog food, or crawling into the bathroom, or trying to get into the fireplace! Everything has become a potential baby danger and it seriously happened overnight! You are especially adept at crawling on the hardwood floors which amazes me. That is actually where you really mastered crawling surprisingly.

We have been enjoying the Christmas season so much this year as we get to see it through your eyes. Mommy and Daddy celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary this weekend. Daddy surprised Mommy with a wonderful night away while Grandma Mary baby-sat you. First Daddy took me out to lunch and then with a gorgeous sunny Seattle day as the backdrop he took me to the church where we were married. It was wonderful to be back there together. We then went to stay at the hotel where we had our wedding night. Once we got to the room I happened to notice something crawling on the pillow and screamed- it was a bed bug! Oh no! The hotel (which is a very nice place by the way!) didn't have any listings on the bed bug registry so maybe they are just getting an infestation? Who knows? We didn't want to stick around to find out so we quickly checked out and were blessed to get another hotel room at the Salish Lodge. We had never stayed there before and it was amazing. We sure missed you while we were gone, but you had a blast with your grandma and it was definitely nice to celebrate our anniversary in such a special way!

Grandma lets you practice feeding yourself = messy meal times!

Trying on Grandpa's ski hat

39 Weeks: Deck the Halls!

Dear Asher,

You are really starting to cruise now! You love to be on the ground crawling and it is getting tougher and tougher to keep up with you! You definitely blaze your own path in the family room, making everything in your way a potential toy or teething item. Your latest fascination is the dog food dishes. We are trying to find a new place for those things quickly! You'll crawl over to them and I'll pick you up and move you to the other side of the room and you'll quickly crawl back over to the dishes- it's pretty cute.

This week your daddy took Friday off from work and we had a special Christmas weekend! First thing on Friday morning we got up and took you to University Village to see Santa Claus. It was a very cold morning, but thankfully we were first in line and didn't have to wait long to meet him. You weren't too thrilled with having to sit in his lap, but considering you had never seen him before you didn't get too upset. There were a few tears, but they were quickly gone once we picked you up from his lap. Then we came home, you had a nap and after you woke up we took you to the pool for some swimming. You love the water and can't get enough of it! On Saturday Daddy put up the Christmas lights on the house and then we went to Garden D'Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. That was so much fun. We took Grandpa Don and Grandma Mary. You loved looking at the lights. It was a great way to get in the holiday spirit! Christmas is even more fun when we see it through your eyes!

Garden D'Lights

Garden D'Lights

Shocked Santa and Upset Baby

Who is this big bearded fellow?

Get me off of this guy!

Crawling for the dog food