Goin' Huntin'.

Egg huntin', that is. We had a little Easter Egg hunt for the kids of our neighborhood yesterday. Lots of little ones showed up and we all enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine.Carter didn't need any instructions...he was ready to run!

He looked high and low and was so proud to fill his basket.Mal found lots of eggs too! Carter and Mal checking out their stash.All of the kids after the hunt.Reese enjoying the swings.Asher trying to dig into Carter's treasure...big brother was not happy about that.Asher swiped one egg and worked on trying to get the candy out.Cru sharing a cookie with Asher...the beginning of a GREAT friendship :).Look what I found!!

Walkin' and Rollin'.

Last week, Asher found some courage and just took off walking around the house. He's no longer a "wall walker," he toddles up and down the hallways, in and out of bedrooms and even in the yard! This milestone came fast...he just decided one night that he was ready and took off. He still needs a fixed object to pull up on, but once he's up, he's movin'! He loves his new found freedom and flashes us this big, cheesy grin as if he's SO proud of himself. Of course, he gets lots of cheers and hugs from all of us. This week he's even started carrying things around while he walks...sometimes even trying to drink his bottle or sippy cup. He'll occasionally try to "run" to keep up with Carter, but then falls on his face. We're gearing up for the new look of spring/toddlerhood: bruises, cuts, scrapes, etc. Carter began walking at pretty much this exact same age. One thing's for sure: nothing is safe anymore...Asher's in to everything!

Spring Fever.

As soon as we hit the driveway last night, Carter was literally squealing to get out and ride his scooter. Not 30 seconds later, Miss Mal was scooting down the sidewalk and they were off into their own oblivion. We had a gorgeous evening last night...nice enough to pull out the diva sunglasses (borrowed from Mal)... And have a little impromptu picnic with Goldfish crackers. Before supper, of course.

And nice enough to break out the sidewalk chalk... Asher thinks BLUE chalk tastes the best.

Dear Spring and Sunshine,
We've been really patient. We've endured at least four solid months of cold, snow, wind, sleet, and generally unpleasant weather. Yesterday was nice...really nice, but please quit teasing us! Today we're back to dreary weather! We have two little boys that are dying to get outside and play!!
That's all,
The Mommy

Gearing up for soccer

The YMCA offers a soccer academy for 3-5 year olds in the spring. We asked Carter if he wanted to play and he hasn't stopped talking about it since. Carter's cousin, Brauer loaned us some shin guards and I found him some soccer cleats. When I brought the cleats home, he was SO excited to try them on...and here he is in all his glory.

Five on Friday.

1. I think our baby can wink now...yet another characteristic of his orneriness.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
2. Last Saturday while Asher was napping, Carter and I had a silly string fight in the back yard. Carter had a hard time pushing the trigger down enough to make it spray, but would NOT let me help.So, mommy had to attack while she had the chance :).He finally resorted to throwing the silly string at me instead of shooting it.Good times for just $1 per can.

3. When daddy got home, they made a Carter sandwich...Carter loved it, Asher was a little confused.
4. Our niece's 4th birthday party was also last weekend. Asher learned all about party horns with Aunt Tam...his just wouldn't work for some reason??Carter had fun playing in the sand box in the backyard (even though Uncle Ryan made some obscene sand sculptures and blamed it on Carter).Super Asher!!5. Two little monkeys jumpin' on the bed...

11 months!

All About Asher:

Weight: 21 lbs., 6 oz.

Length: unknown

Food: Some new favorites from this month include grilled cheese, lasagna, and shredded cheese. We're still fighting some "food ejection" as he spits his bites back out at us often. It's hard not to laugh (he thinks he's soooo funny), but it's makes for quite the mess.

Misc. update: Asher's taken 10-12 steps at a time now! He's still a little tentative to start walking, but if we stand him up between us in the living room, he'll walk between us quite well. He's got this cute little Frankenstein walk that melts my heart.

We're pretty sure that Asher is going to be even more ornery than his brother. He gone from being such a sweet, smiley, charming little guy to now flashing us this devilish grin. He definitely understands the word "NO" and if he hears this word, he pauses, looks back at us, breaks into this huge ornery smile and continues what he's doing. Sometimes he even giggles while he does it.

That being said, he does like to cuddle. When I first get him up in the mornings, or when I pick him up from daycare, he crawls up to me as fast as he can and when I scoop him up he just buries his face in my shoulder...that is such a great feeling for a mommy.

He's getting a little more agressive about "sharing" Carter's toys. Carter has been pretty patient, but I can see that his patience is wearing thin and I'm sure we'll witness some feuding in the near future. Looking forward to it!

Where a kid can be a kid.

Last Saturday was a busy one for our family. First, we helped celebrate our buddy Cru's 1st birthday. Carter and Asher had a great time with all the balls, kids and yummy food! There was another little boy named Carter at the party and our Carter thought that was the coolest.thing.ever.

Next, mommy and daddy headed to Wichita to watch the state wrestling finals at the brand new Intrust Bank Arena. We were awed by the venue and glad to see one Bullpup take first place.

Later that evening, the rest of my family brought the boys down to Wichita and we met them at Chuck E. Cheese. What an experience...that place was hoppin'. We spent about 2 1/2 hours eating pizza and playing arcade games, and we were all pooped by the end of the night. The sights, sounds (and smells) were all a bit over-stimulating for us all.
Carter, Unc and daddy started off with some skee ball. That was the most popular game of the night...the adults had quite the competition going on.Lindsay and I comparing our ticket strips. Shootin' some hoops.

Asher was a little under the weather, so we spent some cuddle time.Knocking out the ducks.

Whack-a-mole!

Unc says "stick 'em up!"

Carter got 1st place in all the games, of course.

Taking a spin with Chuck E. Cheese. Ash perked up when he got to drive all by himself!Crappaw going face to face with the gorilla.

800+ tickets later...we were ready to cash them in. The grand prize?? A gumball machine...Carter was SO excited.