asher: 10 months ephram: 30 months

 

 

It's hard to believe that I have a 10 month old AND a 2 1/2 year old on my hands now!  Your daddy & I were just talking about how this may have been the fastest year of our lives.  The time has just flown by!

 

 

Some highlights from Asher's 10th month:

 You are so mobile & determined these days.  You are slowly taking first little steps here & there but not walking yet. However, you don't let that stop you from getting where you want to go!  With that, chair pictures have become much more challenging, hence the carrot bribery :)

You've started clapping and dancing to music & are learning to communicate with us more and more.

You've mastered your first signs, "more" and "all done" and are quite pleased with yourself when you use them.

You love being around your big brother and want to play with him most all of the time! Your favorite things to do are to pull his hair playfully & steal his paci.  You already love getting a rise out of your older brother.

You are also entering a very curious & mischevious stage. Opening kitchen cabinets and drawers and pulling out all the Tupperware is one of your new found hobbies, along with climbing stairs (oh boy!)

 You are such a BOY! Making grunting noises, little war cries and tackling mommy, daddy & big brother to roughhouse.

 Speaking of big brother...Ephram is 2 1/2 and growing like a weed!

You've gone through a major growth spurt and are wearing 3T clothing now.  You love jumping on furniture, catapulting yourself from one couch or chair to another.

You love eating (still).  Food is definitely a love language for you.

You are speaking SO well and connect quite a few words together these days to make complete little sentences.  You love to call pineapple "pinecones" and horsies are "forsies", escalators are "alligators"...just to name a few of the cute little words you've come up with...

When you aren't feeling inclined to do something that we ask you to do, you say "I can't want to." 

You soak up everything around you like a sponge.  You are an encourager and sweet spirited boy at heart.

I think you are turning into quite the big brother.  You love Asher, but also are adjusting to him being all in your chili.  However, when we give you the option to play by yourself or with him nearby, you always choose him, even though he frustrates you at times.  Brother love, I suppose.

You love cars, tractors, trains, building with blocks, reading and coloring. 

You definitely love to be around other people. Be it friends or family, you love being close to & playing near or with other people. 

This year has been such a full one...but so blessed, largely in part to you two boys! Love you to the moon!



The Carters in the Capitol

 

 

 

Visiting D.C. was a huge thrill for me. I'm not much into politics, but there is something so overwhelming and wonderful about being in a city so saturated in history. I loved every minute of our whirlwind trip.  We only had a few days of sightseeing, but even with two little ones managed to see quite a bit of the city and it's accolades.

 

 

We spent our first day in Arlington National Cemetery. It was such a sobering and beautiful reminder of the cost of freedom.

 

 

We devoted our last morning to touring as much of the mall as possible.  The previous two days we were able to see a couple of the museums and the National Zoo. 

The White House, Lincoln Memorial, and  World War II Memorial were just a few of the sights we were able to see! I think this was my favorite morning!

 

Picnicking at the World War II memorial 

 

 

These boys were champs. We had a few meltdowns toward the end of our stay, and lots of catching up on rest to do when we got home, but they kept up with their very eager and perhaps overly ambitious parents so, so well!

asher: 9 months

 

Mama is playing a little catch up with these monthly photos! 

Month 9 came and went just as quickly as the changing leaves of fall.



This month you had a couple of exciting firsts...

You took your first trip to Washington, D.C. and handled all of the sightseeing like a champ!

You also started waving...it may have started as an attempt to clap, but you were only managing one hand at a time.  It looked like a wave, so your daddy & I went with it &have been working on your greeting skills this month:) You have always been a friendly little fellow. Mama & daddy can't get enough & I think you're pretty pleased with yourself too.

You love to blow raspberries, have tickle sessions with mama & practice all your "ba's" "ma's" "da's", etc..

You are also enjoying banging objects on other objects or banging your hands on the high chair to tell mama that you want MORE!

You are not too keen on diaper changes or being forced to stop moving for any reason.  That really grinds your grits. You've got places to be.  Things to bang on.

 

asher: 8 months

3 weeks ago my happy little man turned 8 months old and my have things changed!

 

You have been cruising around like crazy this month, pulling up on anything (or anyone, for that matter) you can find. 

You are no longer just army crawling, but traditionally crawling as well.  Although, when you really want to move you still hunker down and slide along on your belly.  I love that little crawl!

You can let out quite the scream when you want to...I think it's usually an attention grabber as you are trying to communicate more and more with us.

You have added "dada" to your vocabulary and sometimes look at Bob or a ball and say "ba".

You love mama, but no one can light up your face with that sweet dimply smile quite like your daddy.  You are over the moon for him. 

You seem to be taking after your brother in your love for food.  Bananas are your absolute favorite, but you have also ventured into Chinese, curries, and so much more. I don't think you've tasted a food you haven't liked yet!

 We are loving watching your personality blossom & your ability to maneuver grow.
I am going to miss these baby days, but am excited to see you grow and change!



asher: 7 months

3 weeks ago this sweet man turned 7 months old!

 

He's growing so quickly & I feel like this month I have had to let go of the snuggly infant phase for real. I mean, it's probably been at least two months of me denying it, but it's getting harder & harder to overlook how quickly he is growing.

Some notable things from this past month:

You are FINALLY (sometimes) sleeping through the night. Hallelujah, praise Jesus, Amen.
It's been life changing & much appreciated.
You are also in massive teething mode, working on your top two front teeth now, so of course that occasionally throws a wrench in your sleep.
Just today, you sat yourself up on your own for the first time.  I went to get you out of your crib, and there you were, sitting up so pretty & proud of your sweet self.
You also had another huge milestone today & pulled up on the coffee table. You can go ahead and stop all this growing up now.  I think you've accomplished enough today to last you at least a few months ;)
You've stopped showing your lungs off as much, which mama appreciates and stick to the quieter "babas" & "mama's and "aghoos"


Love you so much sweet mister!

this post...

 

 

is pretty much just a handful (ok, a really big handful) of my favorite photos from our impromptu photo session yesterday.  We took advantage of the long weekend to get outside and snap a few photos of the kids. They are growing too fast (7 and 27 months!) and I have been neglecting my camera for far too long. It's only taken me 6 months since our move to dust off the camera and take a few good pictures of my kiddos. Late afternoon mood swings were kicking in and naptime was beckoning for the littler one so I was actually surprised to find a few good photos on my card (you know, I only took 100)!

 

Here are my favorites...mostly for the grandparents & my own enjoyment, but feel free to browse!

 

 

 

 

I love these two.

asher :: 6 months

This little sweetie turned six months old 3.5 weeks ago! Yes, that means I am almost a month behind on my monthly posting! But this picture was taken close to his 6 month birthday.

 

Asher turned six months old while we were in Texas visiting family.

 

He tried his first foods (avocado, banana, sweet potato, oatmeal & apple) and hasn't yet taken to any.  You much prefer mama's milk so we are going pretty slow with foods for the time being, which is fine with me! You're still gaining plenty of weight.  You weigh well over 16 lbs and have the cutest little leg rolls ever!

 

You are a determined little guy, who loves to roll & sit & you've even started to army crawl, or at least it's your own flavor of the army crawl!  Mama has to keep an especially close eye on you now!

 

You say "ma-ma" and "ba-ba" now and are incredibly cute and excitable by any interaction with people .

 

You still aren't quite sleeping through the night...ever so often you will give mama a good pump fake & make me think you're making progress toward sleeping through the night, but we can't seem to make it stick!

Your first two teeth came through this past month & you handled it like a drooly champ!

 

Love you little mister!!

asher: 5 months old

Little Mark Asher turned 5 months old just over a week ago.  Earlier this week I was finally able to snap some photos of him in the chair and big brother of course, had to join in.  I don't think you minded, though.

This past month you have been all about your feet.

As soon as mama or daddy lays you on your back, your little toes make their way to your sweet little mouth.  Even when sitting in my lap, you try to bend down and chomp down on your little piggies. It's too cute.

You've been rolling for the past two months and are a roly-poly man.  It's not uncommon for me to find you yards from where I layed you down only seconds before.

You have the cutest little voice and baby expressions.  We all love it when you talk to us.  

You also enjoy sticking your tongue out at us on occasion.

You are a pretty easy going guy. Mama can take you in and out of your routine and you seem to adapt well and go with the flow, which is so helpful!

You still aren't quite sleeping through the night...I don't know if it's hunger or just wanting mama snuggles.  But either way, I'm willing to oblige.  I love my Asher snuggles. 

You are SO close to sitting up.  I can get you to balance yourself for a few seconds at a time, but you always get overly excited and try to throw yourself forward towards a toy or something and end up on your face.  I have a feeling once you do get to really moving, you're going to be all over the place!

If you haven't already gathered, you are a well loved little man.  One of your biggest fans is your big brother! And if these pictures are proof of anything, I think it's that you two are already on your way to becoming best buds.  

asher: 4 months

 

 

As always, this post is a little late. But as I was thumbing through Ephram's monthly chair pictures, I giggled as I saw his four month old picture.  So similar, yet so different.  Both with their hands in their mouth :)

 

 

Asher had his 4 month check up a couple of weeks ago & was well over 14 lbs, in the 50th percentile & in the 75th percentile for length. 

 

Some notable things from the last month & a half:

 

You are rolling over BOTH ways.  You are my little roly-poly man.  As soon as I set you on the floor you immediately start rolling, first onto your tummy & then from tummy to back.  I think you are quite pleased with yourself.  You seem to have amazing strength & determination to get where you want to go!

 

You are one drooly man.  I can't launder burpie bibs quickly enough for all your drool!

 

You (still) have the sweetest little smile. You love to be held sitting up so you can see what's going on around you and your favorite mode of transportation is mommy's hip, again, so you can see everything as you pass by!

 

Your favorite toys are your Manhattan toy, Squoosh & Sophie the Giraffe.  You are able to reach out for & hold onto toys & grab them really well now.  I've even caught you grabbing your paci out of your mouth & putting it back in again.

 

You are still sleeping about 8-9 hours through the night, which mama appreciates, although your wake-up time (4am) is a wee bit early for me.

 

Your biggest fan is easily your big brother and you handle his overly affectionate ways well.  I often find him trying to "hug" you, which basically involves laying himself out on top of you.  We are working on being more gentle, but even though he gets in your face a lot, you seem to always enjoy having him nearby. 

 

And though you are definitely a mama's boy right now, it's daddy who can get the most smiles and giggles out of you :)

 

We love you little man and it is truly a blessing to call you our son.





Ephram's 2nd Birthday

 

Hard to believe this kid turned two yesterday.  Even harder to comprehend that he was a little babe in my arms like Asher less than two years ago.  It's bittersweet to watch this little man grow so quickly, but we are so so thankful for each day we get to spend with him & I can't think of any way I'd rather spend a long holiday weekend than celebrating his life.

 

Some presents and a quilt handmade by momma this kiddo's big boy bed, which we are hoping to transition to soon!

 

 

When we asked Ephram what he got for his birthday, after opening all his presents & cards, his reply was, "cupcake!" This kid loves his food.

 

Although we are in a new town, separated from friends & family, we did have the pleasure of having Uncle Austin here for the weekend to celebrate with us.  We also happen to live in a beautiful area of the country, where picnicking on the beach seemed just the thing to do to for a small family celebration.

 

 

Little brother Asher turned 4 months today & experienced his first trip to the beach yesterday :)

 

 

Based on this picture (Ephram was also asleep & the time these were taken, I just wasn't willing to risk waking him to get his picture!) I'd say the day spend celebrating our favorite two year old's birthday was quite a success. 

 

asher: 3 months old

Hey there sweet thang! On March 25th you turned 3 months old. Forgive Mommy for being a bit behind in posting!

#secondchildproblems

Here's what you've been up to lately...

You've officially discovered your hands and in many of your waking hours can be found stuffing your fist as far into your mouth as possible. With this new discovery has come lots of drool! I think we need to put a permanent bib on you:)

Mommy has continued to enjoy good rest at night and you are too, sleeping about 10 hours straight! Nothing says "I love you" quite like that!

You're still cooing and smiling so big and sweet. You don't have a whole lot to say but when you do talk or grin, you light up the room! 

You have become really aware of Bob lately and enjoy looking at him when you are on the floor playing. He is a baby lover and keeps a close eye on you when you're playing. Ephram also likes to join you on the floor so it's really just one big Asher fan club when you're awake! 

You aren't much of a fan of tummy time. That's really the only time you've gotten upset lately...we're slowly working you up to tolerating it. Big brother likes to show you how it's done and cheer you on. 

Your favorite place to be is snuggling up in momma's arms. You are my little cuddle bug for sure! And I don't mind;) I know how quickly this baby stage goes by and I will take all the cuddles I can get! 

You've started to bat at & grasp for objects & momma is trying to work the giggles out of ya. I got a teeny one yesterday when playing with your feet but I can't wait to hear more to go with that precious smile of yours!

Love you to the moon!