The Boys: Everything You've Wanted to Know

These little boys make life so full. I keep saying to Andrew - "Are we not SO lucky?!" We get less sleep, have more messes to clean up, more laundry to do, more noise to quiet, and I have food and human tears in my hair right now, but we are totally living the dream. Seriously grateful for this family of ours.

 

And since these little men are are always changing so quickly, I thought I'd record what they are like at this moment in time.

 Can't believe how big Asher looks here

Asher...

- Is three and a half, but really seems four.

- Enjoys school, can write his name, and LOVES sounding out words.

- Has daily fights with a kid named Jacourion (sp?) over sitting on the "A". Reminds us that "Jacourion is NOT my best friend."

- Continues to have a wild imagination.

- Has started saying "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir" after just one family home evening lesson on speaking kindly   a few weeks ago. We'll take it.

- Loves playing Angry Birds

- Sings the pop songs "Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees, and "Gone, Gone Gone," by Phil Philips. The latter he divides into alternating parts and tells me which he'll sing and which I'll sing.

Belting it out

- Has a ridiculous memory.
- Loves bath time with Preston, but freaks out if P migrates to "his spot" next to the faucet. He insists little brother occupies the "caboose." When I take Preston out of the tub, always shouts, "Don't take Preston! He's my best friend!"
- Still takes an afternoon nap
- Loves the show Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (kind of an updated tribute to Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood - we love it)
- Continues to love his snowman blanket from great grandma Yvonne
- Is obsessed with Subway, of all places. We never go there, but he notices every time we pass one. "MOM! A SUBWAY!!! Can we go to that place sometimes?" Andrew and I ate Subway 5 times a week in college, so *dry heave*...maybe.
- Has a preoccupation with things on the right. Example: I hand him half a sandwich, and he looks at it uncertainly and asks, "Is that the one on the right, or left?" If I answer left, he shakes his head, waves his arm and says, "No thank you, I just want the one on the right."
- Despises being called "bud." Prefers to we call him "sport".



Preston...
- Is 14 months old....but really seems 9 months. In fifth grade, I distinctly remember my friend saying about a boy in our class, "He can talk the talk, but he can't walk the walk." She was wearing a Taz sweatshirt, but I believed her anyway. Preston also talks the talk...among other things, he says "hi", "ball", "eyes", "more", "that", "car", and "gentle." But he still doesn't walk the walk. He crawls, climbs and has begun standing, but seems to be in little danger of walking soon. We have decided to post pone a full blown freak out until he's18 months (although I realized Andrew and I were talking about it too much when on our walk yesterday, Asher asked, "What's 'gross motor'?"), and are enjoying not being in the bumps and bruises stage.
- Is a fantastic eater. Current favorites are carrots, cheerios, blueberries and broccoli.
- Has the sweetest way of always laying his head down on you.
- Thinks everything is funny - especially Asher.
- Says, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" when something novel presents itself.
- Loves to color and usually even holds a crayon the right way.

 

- Steals my phone and face times people who I know to varying degrees. We were in a study group together 6 years ago? Thought you might like to see me with no make up and meet my family.
- Is very interested in tools and how things work.
- Likes to re-do what he undoes and put things away (plugging things back in, putting blocks back in their bucket, etc.). Somewhere there's a baby girl who's going to be very happy someday. 
- Is super cuddly
- Loves "driving" toy cars around, throwing balls, flipping switches, and pushing buttons
- Always wants to go outside.
- Could play with an open dishwasher for hours.
- Is very into feeding you, and is not fooled by fake bites. He will not relent until he sees you are actually chewing that mucus covered banana.
- Still thinks mommy hung the moon.
- Loves giving open mouthed kisses, preferably on the lips
- Doesn't know his own strength. It's tricky, because one second you're enjoying a tender moment with your baby, and the next he's head butted you so hard you can't remember your zip code and need cosmetic dentistry.
- Will let you wipe his nose and even tries to blow.
- Has a talent for accessorizing - actually likes to wear hats, sunglasses, etc. The other day I heard giggling coming from my room and found he had gotten into my jewelry, made a headdress out of a necklace, then began laughing wildly at his new reflection.

- Loves playing with mommy's make up. Gets visibly upset when it's taken away.

 

  Sweetest brothers sharing a chocolate shake

This is what our happiness looks like. They make every day so much brighter.