Capturing life's little moments of joy

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Christmas Catch Up

Christmas 2011
We celebrated by
singing Christmas carols with a light saber conductor
drinking Chris' Austria-inspired mulled wine
tripling the size of our toy truck collection
watching Asher eat cupcakes with a spoon, clapping for himself after every bite
and spending lots of fun time with our favorite people!

















Sunday, December 18, 2011

We're back

Just taking a moment to report that we have survived the stomach bug that has plagued our home this weekend.  I think the little guy is looking a little more mellow than usual in these pictures.  He really has been acting pretty lively though.  





Not much news to report this weekend as the boys have just been trying to get healthy, and I've just been trying to stay healthy.   

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A Boy, Some Bears, and a Wolf

Asher has a new favorite book -
The Berenstein Bears' Christmas Tree


It's his dad's favorite too! 
A definite must-read before bedtime every night now. 


He's showing off his favorite page here. 
The page with the fierce looking wolf! 
We turn to this page repeatedly during the story.  I do mean over and over! 
At this very moment Chris is taping that page for the second night in a row due to excessive page turning. 
I mean some nights this is the only page of the book you get to read. 
Asher always gets so excited to scary wolf and points right to the mouth & sharp teeth.
He's working on perfecting his wolf howl too.


I guess that's what having a boy is all about! 
Love it! 


Sunday, December 11, 2011

Santa Baby

This morning we went off to the mall for Asher to meet Santa!  After reading lots of books about Santa and making a big fuss over all the santa decorations around the house, we decided he was finally ready.  I did have to hide the dancing Santa in the closet the other day though because Asher was terrified to even be in the same room as it, even if it wasn't turned on...

Here's how it all went down at the mall.

We arrived about five minutes before Santa's arrival and were behind about eight families in line.  Asher was very content waiting in line and enjoyed pointing out all the Christmas trees on display.  Two of his friends from daycare were also in line, so he was happy and surprised to see them there.  When Santa walked up, Asher gave him a big smile and waved to him!  

He was looking a little wary by the time we reached the front of the line. 

I think we were all a little surprised when Asher waves at Santa and even gives him a smile when they meet.
Maybe he was just glad that Santa didn't call him a girl, like he did last year! 

The mood quickly changes though. 
He is surprised and not at all pleased that I set him down in Santa's lap!

Uh oh!  Full on meltdown occurs!
The elf lady is busily waving a teddy bear at him as if that is going to make him smile.
I almost recommended to her that she buy an Elmo or a truck to make her job a little easier, but we didn't have much time to chit chat. 
By the way, this is what our photo from the mall looks like. 
Great for posterity!    

Everything immediately gets better when I come over to join them.
I didn't mean to sit down for a photo, but the elf lady told me to.
Probably all the other parents in line thought I was crazy.  

We even get a smile for the camera!  It took mere seconds to go from the meltdown to the smile. 
I think he really did like Santa!
Maybe I can photoshop my self out of the picture!
Or photoshop Chris into the picture, so we have the whole family! 

Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Elusive Christmas Card Worthy Photo

I've been busy trying to create a Christmas card as cute as last year's card. 


It's a little more challenging this year considering
  • Asher's failure to appreciate a good elf hat
  • no Santa suit scored at the consignment sale this year
  • toddler's ability to run away from the photographer
So here are a few more blooper shots from the last few days. 

Light in his mouth, probably not the safest thing!

About to sneeze?

Refusing to smile.

Handstand attempt? 

Fleeing the scene.

Meltdown rapidly approaching.

Electronics are much more interesting than posing for pictures. 

Gave up on Asher for awhile and got a few self portraits instead.

At last, we put away the camera, and Asher had a chance to focus on what he really wanted to do all along.
Sesame Street Christmas book!


 
Here's the picture we may use.  I just wish he was flashing his baby blues at the camera, but I don't think either one of us wants to try for a better shot! 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

You better not pout...

I don't think Asher particularly enjoyed my attempts to get a cute picture for a Christmas card. 
This is one sad looking little elf. 


Sunday, December 4, 2011

18 Month Update

Here's Rambler. 
He wanted his picture to be first today. 
He likes squeaky toys, sunbathing, and chasing squirrels.
He does not like the mail man or stairs. 

Asher is 18 months old. 
I have known him for 550 days as of today.


He is a sweetie, who is talking more every day. 
Recently he's learned some new words:  beep beep, nose, Lyla (his friend).
He has also added neigh (said while shaking his head) to his animal sound repertoire.
He likes to say Ho, Ho, Ho when he sees Santa. 
We're hoping that will ease his fear when we plop him on Santa's lap soon!

And he has learned to say NO.
        Uh oh!
        Luckily he says uh-huh too for yes.

He likes to flop down on pillows, ring the doorbell, see school buses, climb stairs, chase cats, kiss Rambler, eat eggs, build with Lego's, look for airplanes, bark at dogs, help clean up, and cuddle when he first wakes up.

He does not like to eat grapefruit, share pillows, or eat a meal without having a cup of milk to drink too.
That's all I can think of!
He is a very agreeable guy!


He goes to bed every night at 7:00.
At bedtime he likes to read as many books as he can get away with! 
I've tried to limit it to four books recently.
But he's always happy to get in his crib and go to sleep when we finish reading.
When he wakes up in the morning, he often sings a few songs to himself before we go get him up.
Occasionally when we come in, he looks at us with surprise and as if we've interrupted his singing. 


Thursday, December 1, 2011

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The Before (only about 1/10 of our ornaments pictured here)


 And the After...
At least the top half of our tree is rocking
The bottom half looks a little bare though.
Also there's a big bin of breakable ornaments seeking a new place to be displayed.


 This little elf is wondering why there are so many toys hanging on the tree. 


 They're just teasing him up there. 


 Just this once (so far) he got ahold of one of those little toys.


Luckily, most of the time he'd rather spend quality time with his trucks than explore the Christmas tree.