Mission accomplished.

Last Saturday I ran in the Komen Wichita Race for the Cure. I had two goals for myself: Run the entire 5K and run it in less than 30 minutes. I am proud to say that I achieved both goals! I'm pretty sure that I could have run it a little faster, but the crowds were massive and it took several minutes to get past all the walkers before I could actually find a pace. I felt this amazing sense of accomplishment all weekend...for completing the race of course, but also for taking part in such an awesome fundraiser! I heard this morning that over 7500 people participated in the race and $400,000 was raised to support breast cancer awareness. It truly was an amazing sight!

Green beans. Take one.

Below is a photo journal from Asher's first experience with baby food. The entree of choice: green beans. Disclaimer: Chris was not home to witness all of this fun, so I had quite the time trying to balance the camera with my right hand and hold the spoon full of green beans with my non-dominant left hand. Slightly blurry pictures are the result, but hey--the moment was documented.

Our dining experience didn't start out so peaceful. Mr. CrabbyPants didn't want to sit still in the bumbo seat, and he didn't like the bib I put on him. Life just stinks being a baby.
"Get me outta here!"The first bite. "Hmmm...what's this new taste?"
"Not so bad...got anymore?""I like this so much, I think I'll lick it off my fingers!""Oooo, mom dripped some on my bib...maybe I can lick that up, too?""Oh yeah, back to this BIB issue. It's really starting to bug me. Take it off, please!"
"Alright, I've had it! I'm done...now get me out of here, or I'll flip myself out of this seat."
And so we were done. Little man impressed me, for this being his first time with baby food. He snarfed at least half of the little jar of green beans before the hissyfit ensued. Good job buddy, looks like you'll be a good eater like your brother. We wouldn't want you to lose that girlish figure :).

Identity Crisis...no more.

For nearly three years now, this is what has hung on the wall of our nursery.
While Asher was going through his fussy spells these last few months, we often joked that he was upset and having a bit of an identity crisis because somebody else's name was on the wall, not to mention all the pictures we still have of Carter hanging in that room.

Yeah, we bought these letters before Asher was even born, they've been painted for at least a month, and I finally got them hung up last night. I expect him to sleep all night long now that the correct name is adorning his walls. Yeah, right...wishful thinking.
Notice how my creativity has waned with the second child?? If we ever have a third, he'll probably just get white initials :).

Next project--replacing pictures on the wall. Heaven knows we've taken enough...

Ten on Tuesday

1. Bullpup football is in full swing and we're off to a great start with a 2-0 record! Carter and Asher have attended both games and were troopers for the most part. Our first home game was this past Friday and we took a few quick pics before the game in our red/white gear. Even little Ash has a bullpup shirt!

2. With all of this mild weather, we've been enjoying a lot of outside time. After our run Sunday night, Carter wanted to play with bubbles, so that's what we did. He never can get a good stream of bubbles blown, but he sure has fun trying...look at those puffy cheeks!

Caught one!3. I'm running a 5K a week from Saturday--the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Wichita. I'm pretty sure I'm crazy, but I figured it would be good motivation to get running again. After pushing 55 lbs. of little boy in a double stroller, running by myself should be a breeze! I hate asking for donations, so this is my passive way of doing so. If you're so inclined to support breast cancer awareness, feel free to donate here:

http://race.komenmidks.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1030&px=1142901

4. This little guy's eyes just fascinate me. Chris, Carter and I all have hazelish/grey eyes, but Asher's are a deep, piercing blue. The majority of his wardrobe is blue, which brings out his eyes even more. I sure hope they stay this color!

And one more, just because he's a cute little booger.

5. The year of 30th birthdays is upon us. Chris reached the milestone this past June and many of our friends have just recently had their big birthdays in the last few months. We wish a very happy 30th to Tiffany E., Beth, Sarah, Tiffany G., Abby and Beth. I hope it wasn't too tragic...I'll be joining the club in April and am experiencing a little anxiety over it already :).

6. Have I mentioned that Carter never shuts up? The boy can talk about anything to anyone non-stop...he's also soaking in a lot of what he sees on tv. His newest little quirk is quoting commercials. His favorite? "Save money. Live better. WALMART." He thinks he's soo cute, and I have to admit, we laugh every time he says it. He also loves the carfax commercials--"NOT SMART."

7. Another thing Carter is really intrigued by lately is asking where things come from. Just last night I heard "Momma, where does milk come from?" "Where does water come from?" "Where do birds come from? I LIKE chickens!" "Where do snacks come from?" (In case you were wondering about that last one, my answer was "the store.") Let's hope these questions continue to remain innocent, otherwise I'll be referring them to daddy :).

8. Congrats to our friends the Harlins on the birth of their new baby boy, Colt Thomas. He was born Aug. 28 and we're thrilled to have another baby bullpup around!

9. Last weekend Carter was playing at Grammy & Grandpa's, so I set up my white backdrop to attempt to get some pictures of Asher. He wasn't loving the idea, but I did get a couple of decent ones. And then he got mad...

10. I don't think I've shared this photo on the blog yet. These kiddos LOVE to accessorize. Watch out world...

Foxfire block party!

Another great thing I love about our neighborhood--the block parties! Every year since we've moved in, we've had an all-neighborhood block party at the end of the summer. The first year there were only about six families involved, because the development had just begun. This year, I'll bet we had close to 15 families show up...so much fun!! The kids had a blast, the parents enjoyed meeting new neighbors and chatting with old friends and of course we had lots of yummy food!

Carter & Reese getting ready for some supper!The kids had their own little table.Such a gentleman...feeding Reese some hotdog!Dessert time...of course Carter wouldn't choose the rice krispie treat--he had to go for the RED cupcake! YUMMY!!Asher enjoying his fingers......and chilling with his blue-eyed buddy, Cru. They are gonna be some handsome little boys :)Boys of the 'hood--I think this will be an ornery bunch in a couple years: Hunter, Cole, Asher and Cru.Chris rockin' it out--Barbie guitar style!

The hit of the night were some old school skateboards. Carter thought these were the coolest things! The kids spent about an hour rolling up and down the driveway. CRASH!!

Mal and Reese taking a break. Thanks Brian and Lacey for hosting all of us! We can't wait for the next party!

5 months!

All About Asher:

Weight: 16 lbs., 14 oz.

Food: Mostly breastmilk, we've been supplementing a little with formula over the last week. He's also eating cereal 1-2 times a day.

Misc. update: This past month has been pretty rough. Asher had been very fussy every day at Irene's and refused to take a bottle from her (which made him even more fussy). It got to the point where he was only eating 2-3 oz. all day long. We tried several different bottles, nipples, feeding positions, milk temperatures--nothing made a difference. I finally took him back to the pediatrician in Salina and they ordered an upper GI scan to make sure there were no problems internally. Everything looked great, we even found out that he has very little reflux, which was surprising. So, over Labor Day weekend we had Bottle Boot Camp and bottles were the only thing we offered to Asher. He fussed on Saturday, but ate like a champ after that! The real test came when he went back to Irene's last week--he was like a totally different baby! He acted like the bottle was never an issue! She reports that he's been happy and content, even eating more than his regular feedings! A HUGE thank you to everyone for your support and prayers...somebody was listening!!

Asher is a bubble-blowin' fool these days...he sounds like a motor boat and his face is often covered in frothy spit. He's much more content to be laying on the ground or sitting in his exersaucer and jumparoo now. He's working really hard on teething and is constantly chewing on fingers...either his own, or anybody's that he can reach--he's really got some strong jaws! He's still waking up at least once per night to eat--not too bad. He's also starting to sit up on his own. He leans way forward using his big belly as support, but he can sit for several seconds before toppling over. Last but not least, his eyes have finally cleared up!! No more blocked tear ducts--YAY!!! This seemed to happen almost overnight, and we are so thankful. We were told that it could last up to a year, so we feel very blessed that we're done wiping eye boogers after only five months.

A dream come true for Carter.

So Aunt Lou and Unc got Carter this Barnyard Bowling set for Christmas last year. Fun little game, but none of us knew how OBSESSED Carter would become with it. We're talking 4-5 times daily, has it's own little basket in our living room, perfect thing to threaten to take away for punishment...OBSESSED. He loves bowling. If we are flipping through the channels and we happen to pass bowling on tv, he throws a minor hissyfit--"GO BACK! I wanna watch bowling." And if you've ever bored enough to actually watch bowling on tv, you know why we avoid this at all costs.

Anyways, our family went to the italian restaurant for dinner last weekend, which just happens to be attached to the local bowling alley. We decided to make our guy the happiest little boy in town for a few hours and took him "real bowling." The kid was in awe...seriously loved every minute of it and pretty much thought every turn was his turn. We all obliged and let him roll a few balls for each of us. The scores weren't pretty, but the smiles on his face were priceless.

Sporting the fancy footwear...no shoes little enough for Carter, so he got to go barefoot. He was a little miffed though...he wanted fancy shoes like us!He's got his ball, and he's ready to roll!"Come on mom, I really don't have time for this..."Here we go!! On average, his ball usually took about 2 1/2 minutes to roll all the way down to the pins. "Slow rollers" to say the least...Waiting for his ball to come back with daddy.
High five! Carter was pumped that he knocked down a few pins, daddy was pumped that the ball finally made it to the pins!Mommy's turn to help out...we tried to roll it a little faster this time.Aunt Lou teaching some technique...Can you tell he's having fun??

Grammy and Carter had time for a conversation while waiting for the ball to roll down the lane.
Asher was there for the fun as well and he was fascinated by all the new lights and sounds.

We all had a great time...thanks Grammy, Crappaw & Aunt Lou for a fun evening!

"A really BIG park!"

While driving to swimming lessons in July, we spotted a neat looking park on Main Street in Lindsborg. I kept telling myself that we'd have to stop there sometime, but never had time. So a few weeks ago, I loaded up the boys on a Saturday morning and we headed north to check it out. Carter had sooo much fun and it's a nice shaded area for mommies and babies to sit and watch the older kids. Carter calls it the "really BIG park." We enjoyed ourselves so much, that we made another trek to Lindsborg with Mallorie and family one evening the following week.

Carter checking out the chimes...any excuse to make some noise!Carter, Cole and Mal peeking over the Tot Land playground.Working on their tight rope skills...
A little wobbly on the balance beam...WHOA!They couldn't quite figure out the tire swing, but had fun trying!Peek-a-boo! They may fight like brothers and sisters, but they really are great friends!