Asher's 1st Birthday Party

This kid. What a delight.  Asher's birthday really snuck up on me this year. Maybe it was the holidays, or maybe I was just in denial.  I don't know...but I did know that as best we could, I wanted to celebrate his sweet little soul & the gift that he is to us.

We used this image, taken by a talented, dear friend of mine for Asher's birthday invite because it so fittingly captures his personality. 

This is mostly being posted for family's sake, who are far away & couldn't be with us to celebrate, but for those interested, below are a few pictures of the birthday brunch!

I wanted to keep the decor and theme pretty simple.  Hence, the lack of true theme, other than "brunch". I went with primarily black and white decor with punches of color smattered throughout. And as for food, you can't really go wrong with brunch themed foods.  We had pancakes, cinnamon rolls, a couple of egg dishes, fresh fruit and whipped cream...oh and muffins with a dab of cream cheese frosting on top for our "cake". Yum.  

Milk, OJ, & coffee also made the beverage lineup. 

Ephram helped me with these cute little sprinkle dipped glasses for the kids---they had a blast drinking their OJ & milk from them.

Chalkboard tribute to the birthday boy

A sampling of some of the brunchiness

Not sure what to do with his cupcake....and wondering why all these people are staring at him.

Happy birthday to you, sweet boy!

asher: 11 months

Clearly, I have been in denial about you turning a year...it was just a few days before your 1st birthday when I took this picture!   And my how you have grown!

Just a few days before you turned 11 months you started WALKING.  It was a subtle few steps at a time for a few weeks and then one day you were off!  I don't think you've crawled hardly at all since.  You love your newly mastered skill & I think are quite keen with the idea of being on (almost) the same level as your big brother.

You also love to wave & say "bye bye"...even when you mean "Hi".  You love to clap & dance to music. You play cars & ball like it's your job.  You even manage to gurgle out a little "vrrrmmm" when you are playing with your cars.

You love to "catch" and throw the ball with anyone who is willing!

Your all time favorite song is a classical rendition of "humpty-dumpty".  When you decide you are fed up with being in the car, or are just sad, all mommy & daddy have to do is turn on that song and you quiet down immediately:)

You weigh (according to my postage scale) 24 lbs and are about 29" long. 

You have 7 teeth and more on the way.

Words can't even begin to describe how much we love you, little Mark Asher!

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!