February Fun

Before March slips away from me, here's a quick re-cap of some of our activities from February.

 Keenan and Keira attended their first Daddy-Daughter dance at a local rec center.  We soon learned these are very popular around here (I don't recall seeing ads in our previous city.  Maybe I just wasn't looking).  Just about every nearby church and rec center had a dance in the month of February.  Anyway,  we picked this one because some friends had gone in the past and were going again.  They all carpooled and had a wonderful time.  The theme was Candyland which included candy, a chocolate fountain, games and a ride in a pink limo.  Keira still talks about it to this day!

Keenan's parents came for a visit mid-month.  Sadly this is the only blurry picture I took.  Sheesh.  Asher was opening an early birthday gift from them.  One reason for their visit was to attend our church's child dedication where we participated with Asher.  We celebrated with some yummy fajitas at our favorite local Tex-Mex restaurant.

I was able to help out with the Valentine's Day party at Ari's school.  The kindergartners kicked off the morning with a dance in the cafeteria then it was back to their classrooms for a tea party complete with plenty of sweets.

By the end of the month it was time to start practicing for t-ball!  Ari is on a team with a few friends from school and Keira is with a friend we've known for a long time.  Ari has practice once a week and Keira's team opted for no practices.  Probably a wise move for 3 and 4 year olds!  Keira enjoys coming to Ari's practices as she gets to hang out with some of the other siblings her age.  She's become quite fond of one little girl who will eventually be a classmate when kindergarten rolls around for them.

Thanks to spring break and a rain-out day, the kids have only had one or two official games so far.  The schedule goes well into May so we're sure to get our baseball fill this spring.  More on that to come!

It Be Fun!

Just as we did for his actual birthday, we talked a lot with Asher about his party.  Saturday morning he came into my bathroom while I was getting ready and said, "My airplane birthday!"  I replied, "Are you ready for your party?"  He said, "Uh huh!  It be fun!"

We had a few of our close family friends over for crafts, lunch and cake.  Each of them have a kid around Asher's age and siblings Keira and/or Ari's ages.  Everyone had a great time making paper airplanes and just hanging out together.  Asher was a little overwhelmed at first when everyone showed up, but he warmed up quickly.  He was really in the birthday groove and had the biggest smile on his face while everyone was singing to him.  Pictures are hard to come by with 8 active kiddos and playing hostess, but here are a couple of the birthday boy with Daddy and Mommy.

For those of you who like them, here are Asher's 2 year old stats from Friday:  Height 31.88 in. - 5th percentile.  Weight 21lb 2oz - not on the chart.  Good news - he's steadily growing and gaining weight so no worries.  Just our little man :)

I Be Two!

Today our sweet baby boy turned two!  For the past couple of weeks we've been coaching him, talking about his birthday.  When we would ask him how old he was going to be he'd excitedly answer, "I be two!"  I guess we'll have to keep up with the coaching now that he actually is two!

Asher has grown and changed so much in the last few months.  His walking has improved so much since getting a late start at almost 19 months.  He can almost run and is working really hard on jumping.  Asher continues to be above average with his talking using very full sentences most of the time.  He's switched from  calling his brother and sister "Bubba" and "Sissy" to "Awi" and "Keewa" all on his own.  He likes to keep track of each person's location.  When getting him out of the car the other day after being in the nursery for Bible study he said, "Keewa in lion class.  Assa in kangawoo class.  Awi at tool.  Daddy at work."  My favorite word he says right now is "guaca-mole-ole."  I can tell more challenging times are ahead as he's already started to push his limits and tasted time-out a few times.

What hasn't changed is how snugly, sweet and lovable he is!  Lately he'll just walk over to one of us and give us the biggest hug.  Asher loves to snuggle and cuddle when he's sleepy or sad and he practically melts right into you.  Even on my busiest days, it's hard to resist!

Here are a couple of pictures from this evening.  We had cake after dinner and opened a couple of gifts from my parents, sister and us.  Saturday will be our celebration with friends.  I think he's in the birthday groove.  He started squealing with delight at the second present!  Before bed I asked him if he had a good birthday and he replied, "I blow 'em out!"

And here's what happens when you try to take a picture of three kiddos anxiously awaiting cake and having allergy eye issues.  Oh well.

Happy birthday, Asher!  We couldn't imagine our family without you!

Side note:  I just noticed I didn't do a single post in February!  Ack!  Guess my next post will be a catch-up - hopefully before April!