Asher is Four

Asher,

You're four?  How is it possible that you're that big already?  Am I really old enough to have a four year old?!?!  You are one of the funniest little people I know.  You crack me up everyday and you can go from the sweetest thing to my last nerve very quickly.  Luckily you know how to get back in my good graces in no time :)  Like yesterday.  I was stressing out because we have your party today and I was trying to clean and work on some photos and your brother was fussy and I was trying not to have a meltdown.  I just plopped down on the steps and you came right up to me and gave me the biggest hug.  I just about cried.  I love you Chester. 

Right now you are really into dirt bikes, 4 wheelers and monster trucks.  You don't eat enough to keep a bird alive but drink GALLONS of milk.  I think you loved school and learned so much this past year.  You've done a great job playing with your brother lately - even sharing once in a while :) 

You are one smart little boy and don't miss a thing.  I can't wait to see what you grow up to be. 

 

Love You Forever,

Mommy

Asher's 1st Year of School

We are officially on Summer Break!  Asher did AWESOME in his first year of Pre-K - especially considering he was the youngest in his class by quite a bit!  We are very excited that he'll have the same teacher next year :)  Here his before and after pictures from his first and last day of school!  I can't believe how much of a baby he was!

He did NOT want to have his picture taken.  He said the other kids would see him and make fun of him.  He is SOOOO super sensitive. 

 He pouted.

 And I kind of felt sorry for him.  He is just so stinkin cute.

 So I decided to bribe him to smile instead.

 But he still threw a fit.  The more I laughed the more he screamed.  Bet the neighbors were getting a kick out of us.

 Once the bus rolled up his driver told him lots of Mama's had taken pictures that morning.

So then he was all smiles showing me how he buckled his car seat first.

 

I'm so proud of how much he has learned his year!  I went back through his progress reports from the beginning of the year that he brought home and it showed how high he could count, how many letters/numbers he recognized and I just can't believe how far he has come for how little he is!  I'm SO glad I decided to send him to school :)

Asher's 1st Ride

Last weekend Asher went for his first ride at the VVORV or "Ridin' Club" as he calls it.  It was freezing but it was good practice to go out there when there was no one there.  He has never really rode anywhere but the open field at the end of our street so I was a little nervous about him trying to maneuver the "track."

 My Goodness - how did we get here?

 He was SO excited but tried to act cool about it

 Too bad he had his coat on because he was decked out head to toe.  And everything matches Daddy's!

 Just look at that tiny little butt on that big 4 wheeler!  I was so nervous.

 

 BUT - he did AWESOME!  I can't believe how well he did for his first time.  He was very proud of himself and how muddy he got :)

I think Dustin and Asher will be spending lots of time out there this summer.  I can only handle so much - that's my tiny baby out there - so we'll see how much I'll be out there.  My Brother said I'll be a "MotoMom" whatever that is before I know it.....

Asher's First Day

 

 Asher's teacher Miss Vercler texted me this picture yesterday morning and it said 

"I'm coming back!"

This made Mama feel SO much better!  How awesome of his teacher to do that, she knew I was having a hard time with him going to school.  Then his sitter texted me and said that he got off the bus fine and said that he had fun.  I called him at lunch and he said he had fun and liked his teacher.  I'm so glad that he seems to like school already!

But when it came time for him to get on the bus this morning there was some major kicking, screaming and tears.  I felt like such a bad Mommy for just stepping down and leaving him on the bus like that.  It was awful.  So I've got my fingers crossed that once he calmed down this morning everything was good again.

I Love College

Today is Asher's first day of Pre-K!  But please don't call it Pre-K or even school.  According to Asher he is going to College... just like Uncle RJ.  He told The Sister he was gonna drink milk and sweet tea there :)

This morning didn't go great - but it didn't go as bad as I thought it would.  I ended up staying with him for about 45 minutes before I left without him noticing.  I just hope he didn't majorly freak out when he realized I was gone.  I still can't believe that I have a child going to school.

When I got pregnant with Asher it was all "oohhhh I'm having a baby!" and that's all I thought about.  This time when I was considering getting pregnant again I didn't just think about having a "baby".  I realized that that baby would someday turn into a toddler so I thought a lot more about if I was ready.  Everybody loves a baby but it takes a lot of patience to have a toddler.  Kind of like how everyone wants a puppy but those puppies turn into dogs... make sense?  And no, I'm not really comparing my kids to dogs.

Well I might have had the foresight to realize that baby #2 wouldn't be a baby forever but never had I thought about the fact that I would have to someday send one of my children out into the cruel, cruel world and into school.  OHMIGOD.  Buses?  Bookbags?  Seriously?  He's just a baby!

One of the things I love about living in the house that I grew up in are things like this.  I was able to take Asher's first day of school picture in the exact same spot as mine..... with the exact same car! 

Papa brought the '55 Buick down so Asher could have his picture taken just like Mommy

And yes, I sent him to school on the first day in his Popejoy shirt with his name on it.  I did this because I know he would be too shy to tell them his name!

 So cool!

 I hope he has a great first day!  His teacher promised to email me to let me know how it went.

Its funny that Asher calls school College because when I was pregnant with Asher the Asher Roth song "I Love College" came out.... although I think this is a little more along the lines of what Uncle RJ is doing at school :)

Asher's Got a New Ride

Shortly before Asher's Birthday Dustin bought an old 4 wheeler that supposedly needed only one part... we replaced that and between Dustin and our Dad's they still weren't able to fix it.  Which was OK with me because the thing was ancient and didn't seem too safe.  So we just kind of gave up on it.  But of course Asher was disappointed that it never ran.  Dustin and I had told Asher we would get him something else next year.  End of discussion.

A few weeks ago we were hanging out at Mom and Dad's on a Saturday.  Dad got a phone call and jumped in his truck and left without telling anyone where he was going.  I just figured he got a call for a tow.  When he got back he had this in the back of his truck...

We were all suprised - especially Meme who didn't know Papa was buying his lil guy a new 4 wheeler :)

 Asher was soooo "cited!"

 Dad had me in mind when he got one with a button I can push to shut it down... don't want him going too fast.

 On the other hand - maybe he wasn't thinking of me...

 What a cheesy smile :)



Catching Up

Thanks to my Brother I finally have Internet back!  And although I've hardly taken any pictures I was a little embarrassed when I realized I hadn't really taken any pictures off of my camera.  So here is a hodge podge of what we've been up to the last few weeks.

We sent out Asher's Birthday Thank You's.

Doesn't he look thrilled.

I took Asher's picture for Dustin's Dad for Father's Day in his new Popejoy shirt.

 I tried to get one of both boys...

But it just didn't work. 

We went to Dustin's Dad and Sue's one Sunday to celebrate the June Birthdays. 

 

The Boys Stats

Asher and Adler both had appointments with Dr Austman today.  Asher for his 3 year well child and Adler for his 1 month well baby.  Things did NOT go well.  Asher was freaking out from the time he woke up this morning about going to the Dr.  I'll spare you all the details but just know that I needed a stiff drink by the time we were done...

Asher @ 3 years:
Weight: 34 lbs
Height: 40 inches

Adler @ 2 Weeks
9 lbs 8 oz

Adler @ 4 Weeks
10 lbs 4 oz

Dr A also heard a murmur while checking Adler's heart.  We have an appointment in Peoria on Friday to have an echo done to check everything out.  At this point I'm not too concerned.  I think most murmurs found at this age go away on their own.  My murmur was found at 2 years and although I've always had to follow-up with my cardiologist it hasn't affected my life at all.  I'm just hoping this is nothing at this point.

Kate also took my tape off of my scar since I was too chicken to pull them off.  She told me it looks awesome - I haven't gotten up the courage to look at it yet.  I also had a follow up with her because last week I had mastitis.  It was AWFUL.  I'm feeling much better this week but I'm still having a little trouble nursing on that side.  If we can make it through this we can make it through anything while breastfeeding!

Asher's 3rd Birthday

Asher's Birthday Party was on his actual birthday!  Saturday, June 2nd.  Mom and Dad had the party at their house since I still wasn't feeling up to doing much.  He had a Toy Story themed party and got lots of great gifts!