SNOW!!

Snow - Since moving back to Indiana we've had to SUPER cold and snowy winters. Asher and Peyton don't seem to mind to much though and Heath did use it as a good excuse to buy a fancy snow blower! I just love having a garage.

President's Day Weekend

It's been a little while since we've been on a vacation so we decided to take advantage of a 3-day weekend and take a trip to PerfectNorth and Newport, KY. It wasn't a big trip but we had a lot of fun going tubing and to the aquarium. We learned a valuable lesson with Asher though, it's probably not a good idea to tell him what's coming next or that's all you'll hear about! When we were tubing all he could think about was getting to the hotel to go swimming and when we were at the aquarium all he wanted to do was get in the car to head home so he could watch his movie!

A few updates

I'm still having a hard time keeping up on my blog. There have been so many times I've thought to myself "that was so cute" I have to write that down so I'll remember it later and then it never happens! I can't believe Asher is getting super close to four years old. The time rally has flown by! Some of my recent favorites:

We were hoping with Asher's new room he'd be a little more excited about sleeping in his own bed. Some nights are more of a struggle than others to get him to sleep but he's usually not too bad. However, lately he's been wanting to take at least one two with him. Two nights ago he took two little trains. We could hear him upstairs playing with them then we suddenly heard crying. Apparently he'd been having a little too much fun with this twos he ran Frostini right in to his forehead and scratched his head and gave himself a big goose egg.

While Asher usually falls asleep in his bed more often than not he ends up in our bed in the morning. He likes to "spook" in to our room in the middle of the night. But he doesn't just like to get in our bed usually he likes to lay directly on top of one of us.

Asher has got some favorite sayings too, "patteren", "sure thing," "I'll try my best,"

Asher had his first experience with the circus last weekend and his favorite part was the elephant's pooping. Of course he was too afraid to actually ride on one of the elephants or little ponies.

Asher's favorite color has always been yellow as he's gotten a little older he's added green to the mix but still always goes for the yellow-colored item. Apparently that applies to food as well as he has discovered honey mustard sauce and Chick-fil-a sauce. He likes it so much he often saves it for the end so he can lick it out of the container.

Asher has his first trip to the dentist this March. At 3 1/2 he may have been a little behind schedule but our pediatrician in VA wasn't too worried about it and seems we lost about a year of time between VA and IN!! He had a GREAT first visit - we were a little worried since Asher is a little apprehensive about new things. But I think there was so much to look at he was excited. The dentist warned him about sugar bugs and ever since he's been anti-fruit snacks.

Halloween

Cleary, I've once again gotten way behind on my blogging. We've had a lot of fun this fall. Asher initially thought he wanted to be a minion for Halloween (once we figured out exactly what he was talking about. He first called minions "onions." Then it was Batman. Then it was a Batman minion - not quite sure how you do that. And before Halloween actually arrived I think he also wanted to be a firefighter - but by that point the Batman costume had already been purchased. Overall, I think Asher was pretty happy with it. Unfortunately, a torrential downpour caused trick-or-treating to be delayed by a night and Heath ended up having to work but NeeNee and Papaw were stand-ins. Asher really got the hang off carrying his little bucket around saying "trick-or-treat." Of course after 7 or 8 houses he was ready to back inside where it was warm!

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was our first opportunity to host a big, family gathering at our house. We hosted 17 of Heath's family and friends for a beautiful feast. It was great to be able to share our home with everyone. Asher even helped make some turkey crafts with Nana before the party.

Christmas Festivities

This has been such a fun year to celebrate Christmas with Asher. He really has enjoyed all the festivities that go along with the season. We were able to share one of our favorite holiday traditions, baking sugar cookies, with our good friends Jill and Adelyn. While also creating new traditions like attending the Zionsville Breakfast with Santa. Asher also enjoyed visiting the Eiteljorg to see the trains and helping NeeNee and Papaw pick out a Christmas tree (even if they couldn't find one).

Food, Family, Fun

It was really fun to enjoy Christmas without feeling so rushed to get everything in. Without having the 10 hours drive from VA to take up part of our vacation we could spend more time with family. Christmas Eve at the Ewings, Christmas Day at our house and the 26th at the Danes.

All Asher wanted for Christmas was a racetrack with 23 cars - and of course Santa delivered. Although I think Heath had as much fun as Asher playing with the track.

My favorite was being able to enjoy an entire day in our pajamas with no where we had to me. Asher had so much fun he didn't ask to watch a cartoon the entire day (which is a record!)

Happy Birthday Aaron

I remember always hating having a birthday in late March because it usually meant my friends were away on Spring Break and we couldn't have a party. Time will tell what Aaron thinks about having his birthday so close to Christmas but for his Aunt it's awesome since it means we get to celebrate together.  We got to enjoy lots of bouncing, ice cream and party hats!

Burping Oatmeal

Unfortunately, with spending so much time in close quarters with family there always is a very real opportunity to pass around all kinds of crazy germs. Asher seemed to be the most affected this year. At 3 a.m. he came crying in to our room complaining his throat hurt and he needed a band-aid. Of course, as soon as I went to attend to him we discover he really needed a bucket instead of a band-aid. The poor guy really didn't know what was happening to him and it was a rough morning. Later, as we was trying to figure it all out, he decided he had burped up his oatmeal and was so proud of himself in the afternoon when oatmeal no longer came up when he burped.

President's Day

Every day Asher keeps me laughing with all the funny, insightful things he says. I always think in my head at the time I need to write them all down so I don't forget but then I get busy with the day-to-day routine of a working full-time and being a full-time mom and it rarely happens!

Yesterday we got to enjoy an awesome day hanging out together because of President's Day. Asher first got up in to bed and asked the important question of whether or not he would be going to school (He knew something was different since I was still at home and usually don't get to see him in the mornings). I said "no" because it was a President's Day. He then asked if Santa would be coming. When I said "no" he wanted to know if there would be presents - makes sense, right? Presents for President's Day. Unfortunately, no buddy, but lots of one-on-one time with Mommy would have to do. 

We enjoyed a low-key morning watching cartoons and hanging out in our jammies until Asher decided it was time to paint. He loves his easel from Christmas and even wanted to make sure he had his "snot" on to make sure he didn't get paint on his outfit. After painting we made it to Chuck E. Cheese - Asher made sure to point out it's Chuck E. Cheese's - good point buddy there is an "s" there on the end. He LOVED all the race car games. The only drawback was having to use the potty which he made sure to tell me, "Mommy, this is not what I wanted to do today!" No, kiddo, not my favorite thing. 

While some days Asher's willfulness can be a bit of challenge I wouldn't change it for anything. I love how he is constantly asking questions and piecing things together in his little head to make it all make sense.

Crafty Asher

Not sure when I went from having a toddler to a little kid but I think we're getting there. I remember thinking if I would ever be able to just sit down with Asher and play/paint/craft for more than 60 seconds. Last night we worked on a pumpkin project and I bet he sat there for half an hour. He loved looking at all the shapes and figuring out where he wanted to put them. Of course his punkin HAD to have 3 stems. He was SO proud of himself and what he accomplished (and I was too!). It's funny how an orange paper plate and some construction paper can be such a big deal.

Big Boy Underwear

We're not there yet but we've made HUGE strides in potty training over the last week. Asher is very proud of himself when he uses the big boy potty and is really starting to enjoy wearing his new underwear!

This Is How I Roll

Asher has never enjoyed going shopping. As soon as he gets in the store he is ready to get out. So when I took the Monday after we moved off to go shopping for some things for the house I thought there would be no way Asher would want to go with me. Turns out I was wrong. While he still doesn't love shopping, he has gotten a little better at it. Turns out he can make anything, even rug shopping. 

Pork Festival

It's been a long time since we've been to the Pork Festival. While it looks a little different than I remember it, we had a great time. Growing up the thought of missing the Pork Festival was unheard of. So happy to be able to share this experience with Asher. He enjoyed getting to ride on a pony, eat a corn dog and his favorite was definitely the train ride (he did NOT like the dragon roller coaster!)

Fall Festivities

I love fall and all the awesome outdoor activities. Asher enjoyed visiting Stuckeys and picking apples with NeeNee. He helped pick an entire bag of apples and would've picked more if we let him. He even enjoyed an entire apple (seeds and all until he spit them out) while in the orchard.