Happy Halloween!

Asher was a cowboy, Andrew, Preston and I were babies.

Special thanks to Preston for taking the pictures. 

Happy Halloween!

Our Boys at Bedtime

Here's a little video we took of the boys a couple weeks ago before bedtime. Nothing too special happens...Asher wallows around on our bed and says his favorite word a few times, Preston just looks cute. At almost 8 minutes, it's a little long for regular people to watch... grandparent length, really, but I know someday it will be so fun for us to revisit these sweet few moments in time when our boys were still small.

Party's Over

My sister Christina flew home last week, marking the very end of our family visitors. A little offended everyone chose to return home to their own lives instead of moving in with us like I begged. They'll regret it...once you've known the luxury of our basement air mattress, you're spoiled for life.

Thanks to Preston, we were able to see nearly every member of our immediate families over the last two months. What a blessing! My appreciation for family has intensified now that we're far away. I live for the times we're all together...almost willing to have another baby if it means getting everyone back up here. Almost.

Anyway, here is a random assortment of bad photos from the visits that occurred post-Labor day. First my mom came, followed by my sister Liz and nephew Wesley, then my sisters Christina, Hannah and Amy.

While my mom was here, we took a little picnic to the temple grounds and enjoyed the beautiful day. Really missing her and the mid-September weather!

Asher and Grandma Suzie

 

And then our "oops, time to go to the airport, and we forgot to take pictures" pictures.

 

When Liz and Wes visited, we put all the fun outing pictures on her camera, so all I have are the aforementioned pre-airport sort. Can I just tell you - I love this girl. We totally get each other, and she is my favorite person to talk to. Plus, we operate under some sort of enchantment which makes us both believe the other is incredibly hilarious. So when we're together, we are completely dumb and laugh nonstop like the silly little girls we used to be.

 

Anyway, we got ONE good picture, and 30 bad ones...but they kind of capture our relationship.

 

 

Love her. Then Christina came to call! She took a week off from her newlywed life in Texas to spend a with us, helping and hanging out. Then Hannah and Amy drove up from Kentucky for a long weekend to make it a party. Four of us together? Dream come true.

Zoo with Aunt Christina (not pictured...oops)

Hannah


Amy

So I would tell you about all the amazing things we did and saw around the city, but I can't, because we basically stayed home in scrubby clothes, knit and watched Downton Abbey. Zero regrets.

Anyway, everyone's gone for now. No more sad drives home from the airport, blubbering all the way. The party was fun while it lasted!

 

Sure do love my sisters :)

 

 

 

So deeply thankful for people in my life worth missing this badly! How did we get so blessed?

These Boys

Preston is 6 weeks old today! Thought it was high time for an update on both our little boys. They are still getting along famously. And by "getting along," I mean Asher still loves his brother, and Preston is tolerant of Asher's messy, wild ways. We are really getting the hang of two, and I'm almost enjoying the challenge of getting out with them together...although nothing beats getting out alone!

Preston looks a lot like Asher did as a baby...It's hard to prove with our pictures, but here are a couple shots of them both around this age:

A lot of the resemblance is in the little faces they make. Here's Asher's "small mouth" face...we haven't quite captured Preston's yet, but you can tell they're brothers for sure.

 

Preston is getting big too fast. At his 1 month check-up he was already 10 pounds...it's amazing to think he's gained half his birth weight in just 4 weeks. I am (*sob*) putting away all his newborn and 0-3 outfits. He's giving us 6-7 hour stretches of sleep at night, so we can't complain! Real smiles (in lieu of the "You-probably-just-have-gas-but-this-sure-is-cute" smiles) began this past week, and he rolled from belly to back today!

Preston loves the sound of running water, nursing, being held with his head thrown back, using his grasping reflex on mommy's hair, and emptying his bladder the moment his diaper is removed. He is so full of sweetness and we are all just in love with him.

Asher boy has become a total clown. He loves to make us laugh and is always doing and saying silly things to get our attention (OR diffuse our anger when he's done something naughty; i.e. throwing little toys in the diaper champ we then have to rifle through damp filth to find, then asking, "Does Jesus give people spankings?"). I'd say his speech has become more sophisticated, but that would be misleading, as lately his favorite word is "poopy". He tries to work it into every conversation, every book reading, even prayers, and continues to be under the false impression it is humorous.

Here's a sweet action shot of Asher and Daddy playing a couple weeks ago.

 

This child loves his father. Sunday night he awoke in a panic, and for the first time ever, articulated a dream to us. "My daddy not fall down the stairs! Daddy don't fall down the basement stairs! 'Member my daddy slipped down the stairs? That was not a good choice, daddy...". Poor little guy! So I guess it was a nightmare, but it was sweet to see how concerned he was about Andrew.

Asher loves to sing (favorites include "This Old Man" and "Popcorn Popping"), go for outings, quote movies (He'll say things like, "'You tore down a building?!?' That's from the Incredibles!"), jump off of things, read books (current favorites: "Love You Forever", "The Giving Tree," and "Where the Wild Things Are") eat, and entertain. He is such a talkative, energetic, silly little boy.

 

Love these boys and our family of four!

Still the One [Hundred]

Welcome to our one hundredth post! See the confetti falling?! What a milestone...those of you who knew us a few years ago during our "annual update" phase know how unlikely it seemed for this day to ever come. Well,  

Looks like we made it. 

Look how far we've come, my baaybaaay

We mighta took the long way,

We knew we'd get there someday...

Just a little something I wrote. And if that don't impress you much, then think about this: Our monthly post average is now 4.2 - that's 50 times more than what we were doing 3 years ago. That's called improvement, my friends. Improvement. And there's still plenty of room for more.

Someday we hope to print this blog out as a record of our family. We hope - okay, who am I kidding - I hope to be more diligent about recording our everyday thoughts and happenings, our struggles, growth and progression. And while this little blog isn't much at all, what it endeavors to document is our whole world.

So. Here's to progress and the next hundred posts!

Preston's Newborns

So over Labor Day weekend, Aunt Ali took some newborn photos of Preston. They turned out so, SO cute! Here are some of our favorites.

And here are a few birth announcement options...what's your favorite?

 

 

What do you think? So blessed to have this sweet boy AND an amazing photographer in our family! Thanks, Ali!