Summer

Kids- we've been having a blast this summer! It's hard to believe that it can get more fun than this, but I know our fun times together will just keep getting better and better. Here are some pics of what we've been up to this summer of 2012.

Lots of bike rides. Especially to the farmer's market.

 

Real men eat carrots.

Papa/Asher date at the zoo.

Mama/Millie date at Panera after biking around town.

 Lots of hand-holding...

 And lunches outside.

 Millie even gave her excited face for this one!

We've had some fun times indoors too.

Such as hopping on pop!

And just hanging out...

Oh, don't forget playing "silly hats"!

(That's what you told me you were playing anyway :)

And more fun times at the zoo.

 This time Ramadha joined us!

Hot day, Cold smoothie

You sure love your smoothies, Millie! And you don't mind a bit that they can be messy. Who needs a straw or a spoon anyway?

Love those smilin' eyes...

~Mama

From Toddler to Little Boy

Hello Asher my son,

It's been a while since I've posted on this particular blog. I think, in part, it's because I didn't want to face the fact that you are growing up and that's been on my mind. Not that it's a bad thing in the least; it's just as you grow we lose a precious little being. I am excited to see what you will become each and every day. Tonight I mourn for what you will never be again.

What got me thinking was your ever expanding and ever more articulate vocabulary. It's rather impressive to see you pick up new words, use them correctly, and make sentences. Your sweet little sayings are being replaced by real complex sentences. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite Asherisms:

• Holg it (when you ask to hold something)
• Hold you (when you ask to be held; funny when in reference to yourself you pronounce hold perfectly!)
• Amimal (animal)
• Imag-a station (in reference to the Imagination Station)
• Pee-seas (ask me sometime)

And today you were just full of tender love. At lunch you looked at mama and said, "you're a great friend" and then pulled her close for a hug. It melted her heart and before she could say anything you sealed the deal by planting a sweet kiss on her lips. Way to speak mama's love language little man! It continued when I got home from work. We were sitting on the couch playing around when you stopped and said to me, "I love you so much". You are so tender and sweet; may God always preserve that in you.

And then tonight at bedtime we made the plunge. Probably the biggest step to signify your transition from toddlerhood to little boydom. We took away the pacifier. That's right, no more "paci". You were upset, angry, heartbroken, full of tears. But you didn't cry long. And still watching those tears stream down your cheeks as you choked out the words, "where my paci go?" broke my heart. I guess just knowing that little guy with the paci will cease to exist save in memories that come and go to quickly. You made it through story time beautifully, let Papa pray as we usually do, sang a rousing rendition of "Take me out to the ballgame" and as I was ready to lay you down, you looked off to the side and said (to yourself not me): "I'm a big boy. I don't want my paci" with the slightest little whimper at the end. I'm glad it was dark because it was Papa's turn for tears. 

I love you so much.

Capturing Quotes

Hey guys. Mama here. I've been writing down the sweet, random things you've been saying lately. Millie, you are really starting to use more words! Here are some of your most frequented sayings. I will write them phonetically, so we can remember exactly how you said them.

Hoed you! (What you mean is "hold me", but we get it. You say this pretty much constantly, snuggle bug of mine)
Yeah
Asha (for Asher)
Peeeeeez! (Please)
Tank u (thank you)
Bumba bee (bumble bee)
Butter (Buster)
Elk! (milk)
Elk! (look)
Elk! (rock- when you want me to rock you in the chair. It's all about context with these "elks")
Upa (when you want me to sing Twinkle Twinkle. You like the "Up above the world so high" part that it's now the title of the song)
Baa (the little stuffed sheep that is on the shelf in your room)

There are lots more little things that you are saying, but those are just a few of my favs :)

Asher, here's a bit of what you've been talking about:

"Mama look. I made a fruit strip pineapple." (said while coloring with markers)
"I don't wanna say hi to da bugs. I wanna be shy to da bugs. We say no to bugs."
(Wait- you don't like bugs?)
"Pretty dress Mama. Mama and sissy are beautiful." (you said this to us as we were getting ready to leave for church on Mother's Day. I think you might have had a little prompting from Papa on this one, but you're a charmer nonetheless!)
"Look! She have a nipple on her foot." (said this about a bug-bite on Sissy's foot-. Crack-up.)
One day as I was getting you out of the car to go inside the house and I said, "Maybe Robby can come over after naps and play at the water table with us." You said,
"Yes. We can ask Robby. He can say yes. Great idea!" 
And the inflection on your voice as you said this was hilarious. Very matter-of fact with a little bit of pre-school teacher enthusiasm at the end.

Keep 'em comin kiddos! Love you.

Mills and Me

Asher went down for his nap early today, so you and I had some fun with PhotoBooth, huh girl?

Surprise face!

Excited

Silly

Love.

The Luge- Head first

We (Asher, Millie and I) were V-chatting with Nana this morning when Asher decided he wanted to go play with his train upstairs. Sissy tried to follow, but I pulled her back down the steps and she and I continued to chat with Nana as I listened to the faint sounds from the battery operated train upstairs. A few minutes passed and then I heard the bump-bump-thump-bump and a loud moan. I ran to the foyer knowing that my little man had just tumbled down the stairs, but instead of a cracked open bloody head I could only see feet sticking out of the hamper. What in the world? I stuck my head in to see a frightened Asher who needed to be comforted. But no blood curdling screaming. Just weakness in my own two knees.

I'm not really sure what happened. Your clothes were emptied out of your hamper because I had just done the laundry so maybe the empty bin looked appealing? You told Papa all about it when he came home, almost tried to reenact it even. "Asher fall down the steps. I show you. Asher slide in the hamper..."

At first I thought you might have put the hamper over your head and walked around (like you tend to do sometimes) and accidently tumbled down the steps, but your Papa and I aren't totally unconvinced that your "luge" may have been intentional. Nevertheless, it seemed to work out for you, and I'm thankful for the hamper that spared your precious head!

Boys...

Cuties

Hey guys. It's your slacker Mama here. I've been having a hard time keeping up with this blog lately. You guys sure know how to keep a woman busy! Busy in a good way though. My hands are full of good things :)

Asher, you've been talking for a quite a while now, but your words, phrases and personality are just plain cracking us up lately! Just a few weeks ago you were in the bathroom downstairs going "potty" (you really don't ever go, but sometimes you'll sit on the potty just for kicks). I was out in the living room changing Sissy's diaper and trying to keep you wrapped up in our conversation in hopes that would help you stay seated until I could get in there to help you. I was asking you all about the tinkle you were making.

"You making lots of tinkle in there buddy?!"

"Yes, I am!!!"

"Okay, well I can't wait to see it. Keep trying to make more. I'll be there in just a minute."

When I walk into the bathroom and ask you to show me your tinkle, we both stare down into the empty bowl.

"Asher, where's all the tinkle???"

You matter-of-factly reply,

"In my penis."

Yep. In your penis it stays. That's for sure!

It's also been cool to see you learn about Jesus. We've got this great little book that I found at Grounds for Thought called "The Best Thing about Easter". You love us to read it to you over and over. And when we talk about Easter, it's so sweet to hear you tell us "He did not stay dead." Or, "The tomb was empty." I know you probably don't understand what dead even is, but we have been impressed by your recall and your love of the Bible, not to mention your heartfelt(and sometimes very random) prayers.

Sweet Millie, you are a precious little thing. Tiny but feisty. You know what you want and aren't afraid to ask for, or demand it! You don't let your big brother get away with taking things from you or playing out-of-turn. And despite your small size, you eat like a beast! This is a good thing because you're not very picky, and I appreciate that more than you know. You're also cuddly and affectionate. You still love to be held. I just love to watch you walk and "run" around the house. Such a sweet little strut. You also love shoes these days. You'll bring them to me throughout the day and want me to put them on you. Even over your pajamas. Then Asher wants to wear shoes with his pajamas too. See the picture for proof. What a trend-setter you are ;) And you're talking more and more. Some frequent words/phrases you're using are:

thank you, up, please, ball, go, no, mine, mil-wie (your name), hi, bye, mama, papa, nana, mimi. You're a fun loving girl with 3 toothed smile that makes the gloomiest day bright.

Alright you two, here are some pictures of everyday moments that I've tried to catch. Sometime I wish I could just bottle you up and freeze you in time! But oh how I do enjoy watching you grow...

Millie's trend-setting shoes-over-PJ's look

Snack time!

Millie enjoying some books.

Asher loves to stack his nesting blocks.

A "Ball on the wall" track that Mama made from

paper towel rolls. It was all fun and games until Millie

kept ripping it down...

I walked into the living room to find you two cuties sitting

on separate ottomans looking a books.

Mama/Asher Date

Since Papa had the day off for MLK Day, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to take my little buddy out for some Mama/Asher time. A date. While I was getting dressed, Papa told you that I was going to take you on a date. And he must have also slipped a twenty in your pocket because when I came downstairs, you walked up to me, pulled the twenty out and said, "My tweet?". You sure do know how to melt a girl's heart... So off we went to Grounds for Thought. You chose a blueberry bagel and I got a lemon poppyseed muffin w/my coffee. It was a pretty quiet morning at Grounds and we found a table all to ourselves right the children's books and play things. We nibbled and chatted. Stole a kiss here and there. You give them up so freely, I have to take advantage! Plus, those round rosy cheeks and plump lips practically call out for constant smoothes :) Then I picked out some books and read them to you as you munched on your bagel. Gradually, you made your way over to the toys. You probably spent 20 or 30 minutes playing "house" with the doll house and little people. I browsed the used books and used our store credit to purchase some to take home with us.

Before we headed home we stopped at Ben Franklin to play with Thomas and the other trains for a bit. As we left, we got two balloons. One for you and one for Sissy. You picked a purple one with green string for yourself, and a neon pink one with white string for Sis. Your purple balloon popped almost immediately after we got home. Must have been something on the kitchen ceiling because it broke on contact. To our surprise, you did not cry. Just looked at it and said, "Purple broke". You were happy enough to play with the pink balloon and wanted to wake your sleeping sister just to give it to her.

It was a really sweet time together, my Asher boy. You're so fun and such a good sport. I'm so blessed to be your Mama and to be able to share this life with you.

Year in Review

Dear, sweet kiddos. 2011 was our first full year of being a family of four. So many milestones. So many memories. So much fun. Let's try to do a bit of reviewing:

January 2011

Millie turned 2 months old. Mama went back to work and Asher began spending one morning a week at Miss Christy's. Asher, you loved spending time at Miss Christy's (and still do), especially with your special friend Penelope being there. You created your very first drawing one morning while there. It melted our hearts.

February

February was filled with lots of indoor activites, such as cuddling, snuggling, and cuddling some more...

March

March tends to be the month when we start to get a hope of spring, but end up with rain and snow. And some more snow. In light of that, we scored a family pass to Imagination Station though Groupon. The pictures speak for themselves.

April

We put our house up on the market. For the third time. As happy as we were to welcome you into our home Sissy, things were getting a little cramped, especially in the bedroom that housed 3 of the 4 of us. April was also the month that the two of you debuted your own line of greeting cards...

May

"Watch Papa ball". That was your quote of the summer once Papa began his softball league, Asher. What a loyal little fan you were, buddy. And Sissy, you turned 6 months in May. We introduced you to oatmeal and you appeared to like it quite well.

June

June was a big month for us kiddos. The same day as Aunt Lucy's shower, I got a call that we were going to receive an offer on our house. Praise God! This is what we had been waiting for! Sure enough, a few days later we got the offer, accepted it, and the house hunting began. A week after that, we made an offer on what is now our new house and the rest is history. We had 1 month to pack. Not to mention all the other red tape and craziness that comes with buying, selling and moving! Nevertheless, we managed to squeeze in plenty of time outside. Especially in the pool!

July

Hot. Humid. Hot and humid. We had family portraits taken on July 3rd in the thick July heat. And then we moved on another thick, sultry day at the end of the month. Thanks to a group of 20-some amazing friends, we got the job done in record time. Asher, you were a great sport spending a lot of time at friends' houses while Mama packed during Sissy's nap times. You even spent your first weekend away from us at Nana's. Of course you loved it! Never looked back. Although all you wanted to eat was cereal and milk when you came back. Ahhh... the un-doing of grandma's house...

August

Unpacking and playing around at the new house, camping and a 2nd birthday day for Mister Asher. That about sums up August.

September

Uncle Joe and Aunt Lucy got married on Labor Day weekend. It was truly a family affair as each one of us was in the wedding! Then, on Labor Day, we attended a block party in the new neighborhood. At the end of the month, Papa turned 34.

October

The newly weds (Uncle Joe and Aunt Lucy) came to visit us for some fall fun. At the end of the month Asher strutted a hand-me-down tiger costume and Millie looked precious in a baby giraffe costume while we handed out pretzels and candy to Trick-or-Treaters. Asher, you even got in on the fun yourself imploring one neighbor, after giving you one handful of goodies, to give you the other handful. "Other one" with a resolute stare sent their porch howling with laughter. However, you couldn't have cared less about actually eating the candy, which made Mama and Papa happy. We just handed most of it back out anyway :)

November

November was full of milestones. Millie turned 1, Mama turned 30, and Asher got his first haircut. Another big event was BG's holiday parade. Ever since we went to BGSU's Homecoming parade, you have talked and asked about parades quite often, quite randomly, our dear Asher. For the holiday parade, Asher rode on Papa's back while Millie snuggled in Mama's jacket. Asher, you are enamored with marching bands, so you throughly enjoyed the parade, to say the least.

December

We had a great time opening up our home for some larger gatherings this month. We started off with an International Potluck and just before Christmas about 70 friends, neighbors and co-workers came through for our Winter Solstice party. What fun and all the glory to God who has provided us with this wonderful home and the means to open its doors to others. We also did a lot of talking about Baby Jesus. With all the excitement about Christmas coming from all directions, we want you guys, Asher and Amelia, to rejoice and celebrate in Emmanuel. God with us. Our celebrations began with a trip to Cleveland for an early Christmas with Nana, Bill, Joe, Lucy, Kristen and Brian. On Christmas Eve we went to Brookside's gathering in Prout Chapel and then drove around and looked at Christmas lights. It was past your bedtimes, and I don't think you could see out the window Millie, but you both hung in there. Toward the end of our drive Asher babbled something like, "Mmmm Hmm Mmmm Nimmm Critmas lights Mmmm Hmmmm Nimm Hmmm lights...". A dual combination of excitement and exhaustion. For Christmas dinner we went to Great Grandma and Grandpa Dailey's in Van Wert, then continued south to Grandpa Tom and Grandma Debbie's in Columbus later that night. We spent a few days in Coloumbus, ending our time at COSI. And we have one more Christmas to celebrate when Grandpa Dietz and Grandma Judy come here! :)

Swords in your stockings outside your bedroom

doors on Christmas morning

Fun for everyone at COSI!

With so much water fun around, sometimes

its just best to go shirtless.

Hey, if I were a 2 year-old boy, I'd do it.

Asher and Ameila-

We look forward to each new day we get to spend with you. It is the most amazing thing to watch you transform before our eyes and we thank the Lord that He has placed each of you in our care. May you grow to know him and understand his great love for you, and love others the way he has shown us. God has crafted a beautiful plan for your lives, and we are immeasurably blessed to watch and help guide those plans with each passing year. Here's to two thousand and twelve. We love you more than you can know.

-Mama and Papa