Toy Room

Sometimes I think the number of toys we have in the basement is absurd.  Then there are days like today when Benton entertains himself for hours alone, and I remember how awesome it is to have a nice big play area for them and plenty of cars, trains, and superheroes, etc. to fill it with.

Little Caterpillar

Maybe it is the bumble bee stripes that make me think of a bug, but he looks like a little caterpillar laying there in his big bed.

Asher's Blessing

Last weekend we were in St. George for Mike's brother Paul's wedding.  There will probably be a separate post about that later, and maybe more blessing pictures (there were a lot of cameras there).  Since we were going to be with family, Bishop gave us permission to bless Asher before everyone took off the morning after the wedding.  It was great to have so much family there!

In the circle we had Tim (bro-in-law), Wes (nephew-in-law), Mike, and Rick (bro-in-law).

 Notice Asher smiling at Mike!

 He just kept staring at Mike.

 The crowd.  4 of Mike's sisters were there and his mom.  Miriam's family had to leave right after the wedding.

 Attempts at a family picture.

 I had to unwrap him and get pictures of the cute outfit Jil got him.  He was looking at everyone, appearing very pleased to have so many people taking pictures of him (usually he is NOT happy when unwrapped).

 Thanks Rick for taking the picture of everyone!  My nephews are getting so tall!  Only the little blondie in back is standing on something.

Adam's Visit, etc.

Mike's childhood best friend, Adam, came to visit us at the beginning of June.  He was a good sport dealing with our little kid schedule.  We swam, went to Oregano's and Tempe Marketplace, played with the boys...

Here are some shots Ethan got in the pool.

 A few other random shots Ethan got.

 Asher's first bath.

Take Your Child to Work Day

Today was take your child to work day at Mike's office.  He got permission to bring Ethan even though he is younger than the recommended age of 8.  Mike takes a Rapid route bus, so that made the commute exciting.  Ethan got a lot of attention and sugar from Mike's coworkers, so he had a great time.  I came up with the other boys at 10:30 and we all said hi to everyone, got ice cream in the cafeteria, well, a cookie for Benton who won't eat ice cream because "it hurts" (brain freeze), and then I took all the kids home.  I think it will be a memorable day for Ethan.

This Morning

Here are a few pictures from our morning.  Ethan held Asher for a long time before we went grocery shopping and after grocery shopping the older two played at a friend's house (bubbles and water on the trampoline=heaven) while Asher and I worked on laundry.  Our ceiling fan kept him entertained for quite awhile (as shown).

Also, a little shopping anecdote: I ordered two prints from Walmart on Monday with the intention of picking them up this morning, which I actually remembered to do!  But, the employee couldn't find them.  He spent 5-10 minutes looking and then suggested I come back when a regular photo employee was there.  Easier said than done!  It made me think, did you not notice the infant tied to my chest and the 2 and 5 year olds who were entertaining themselves the whole time by putting cupcake liners on their heads and saying, "cha-cha-cha", then letting the liners fall on the ground while they burst out laughing, over and over again?  Coming to pick up photos (or getting out of the house at all) is not a simple task these days!  If I forget something, it waits until the next Wednesday, unless I think it is worth having Mike get home late, and then he will stop and get it for me.

1 Month

As very few people even read this blog anymore, I'm going to not even feel bad about the number of pictures in this post.  These blog posts eventually get turned into a book, so I like including a lot for us to look back on.  Ethan has liked getting out the blog book from when he was born and showing people how he looked just like Asher.  I don't think any of our boys have looked a whole lot alike, but it is cute that he thinks so.

Pictures yesterday on Asher's actual one month birthday went like this:

 So we tried again this morning with better results.  Isn't this blanket pretty?  Our young friend Rachel made it for Asher!  So sweet!

 From birth, the first time I held him, Asher is always sticking out his tongue.

 I was trying to remember how to change focus points, but definitely need a reminder (Lisa).

 A rare smile!

 Ethan wanted a picture with Asher of course.

 A poor attempt at getting all three together.

 His eyes look dark blue most of the time.  You can also see here that he is in the acne stage.

Asher is still sleeping well.  He usually sleeps at least 4 hours to start the night, then does a shorter chunk after that.  I only wake up with him once at night.

At his 2 week appointment, Asher hadn't been gaining enough weight.  Then next week I watched it and he gained great.  This last week he was back to not gaining enough, so that is something we are working on.  He is about 8lbs 5oz.

Ethan and Benton love to watch him repeatedly spit out his pacifer or hiccup.  They stand next to him and giggle and giggle.