School Birthday Celebration

mommy and daddy decided to surprise asher at school for shabbat on his birthday. not only did the call him up during shabbat and he got to say the blessing over the challah but we also sang happy birthday in his classroom and and enjoy blueberry muffins together.

after snack daddy read green eggs and ham to the class and the kids laughed uncontrollably at all of his awesome story telling voices.

such a special treat for all of us to enjoy.

Home Depot #2

it was finally that time again. time to make a trip with daddy to home depot for kids create while mommy went to costco with softa to get all the birthday party food.

they made a storage box this time. he wasnt that into it, but the photo is priceless.

here's to hoping next months project is a little more fun for him!

Baby Brother Doll

nana searched high and low for the perfect baby brother doll for asher. she was so excited to give it to him. she wrapped up and made a big deal out of it.

for some reason he was not that impressed.

he did display wonderful baby holding skills but was ready for his next present within minutes (granted this gift came the week before his big third birthday)

a few funny things occurred as a result of this gift.

1. she gave it to him in the middle of walmart. i met them there one day after work to get him from them. random i know. he was sitting in their shopping cart

2. he really wanted nothing to do with it

3. that night i put it in his bed with him and he freaked out on me about it. he told me to "wrap it back up" 

4. nothing can ever be called baby if it isnt his "dear baby lovey"

i seriously could not get over the wrap it up comment. i pray he doesnt tell me to put his baby brother back in my belly. wish me luck! for the record i loved the doll. my dad was not a fan and philip has resisted up until this point to get him a doll. i guess the men won out on this one.

Lawn Blower

asher is really into mowing the lawn just like daddy. except he does it with his lawn blower. and believe it or not the thing still blow bubbles. he will follow daddy around the entire yard 1.3 of an acre and mow the lawn with him. im glad he is learning early!

on this given weekend the lawn mowing already took place, but it was time to cool off after all that hard work. the excitement that comes out of his mouth in the form of squeals could make anyone's day.

i especially love a shirtless wet boy!

Feverish

now that asher is fully potty trained he wakes up on occasion in the middle of the night to go potty. this can be a blessing in disguise....or at least we think so.

this particular night he woke up and as i was helping him out of bed (he calls for us to come help him over the monitor) i realized he felt really warm. suspcious after using the potty i took his temp. right at a 103. i gave him some tylenol and sent him back to sleep a little worried. when we had to wake him that morning at 7:30 i was even more suspicious. unfortunately he was on fire, glazed over eyes, shaky hands and lethargic. his fever clocked in at 104.3. we stripped him down and put him in the tub and gave him ibprofen immediately. about 5 minutes into the bath this video was captured.....

seriously. i cant get over how much energy he had with such a high fever.

long story but first we thought he had strep, then hand foot mouth, then chicken pox. thankfully it was just a nasty new strain of hand foot mouth that made his entire body from his ear lobes to his tushy to his legs speckled. a week later and he was speckle free!

Warrior Dash

despite daddy recently breaking his ankle playing basketball at the jcc...he still participated in the Warrior Dash 6 weeks later!

we are not sure how he did it, but he did. best news is that his ankle held up!

he had the time of his life and hopes to do it again. for those who are curious its a 5k with obstacles and its more about mental toughness than being in shape. and of course getting dirty and socializing.

its quite a party as much as it is a race.

most finishers are covered in mud, as was philip form head to toe....

im thrilled he got to participate this year even though we all were a tad bit worries his ankle wouldnt hold up on all kinds of different surfaces.

congrats honey on your new warrior status!

catching up...ashers date night

i have such a back log... so here goes...

ridiculous amounts of asher cuteness over the past month...

first up was his dinner date with ella

they enjoyed great wall of china chinese, shared some egg drop soup and then walked hand and hand to ice cream...in which asher had one bite (because he still doesnt like much of anything cold) weirdo!

87 years young

my great uncle jerry turned 87 this week. life is grand when you are 87...every day is a blessing.

we all went out to tai pei east for a chinese dinner to celebrate with him

uncle jerry and aunt estelle... cutest lil 80 year old couple!

uncle jerry and his presents.. he got a book of jokes, a book about sports, new slippers and a gift card to go shopping....

all the ladies brought out his delicious cheesecake for dinner (my mom brought it)

he enjoyed all of the singing and all the candles.

it was a lovely celebration and a great excuse for us all to get together.. 

here's to another year of health and happiness!

33 weeks

up at total of 16 lbs at 33 weeks....

behind a significant amount at this stage in pregnanancy compared to last but that is fine with me im sure ill make it up in the coming weeks because my sweet tooth is out of control right now.

baby is running out of room so the kicks are less sharp and more like rolling sensations

my entire stomach moves regularly and can be quite entertaining to those that are around me

Asher - 2009

after a really long day of work...

HOLY MOLY I am carrying HIGH!!!!

Baby Unknown - 2012

and I look scary tired...but that comes with the territory of being a busy working mom!

no name. no name no name.. ugh.

Hospital Sibling Tour

When I found out the hospital offered a sibling tour for free i quickly signed us up! we wanted asher to get acquanited with the idea of the hospital and laern a little bit about where his mommy and daddy would be when his baby brother arrived. he has been to the hospital before (unfortunately) but we were unsure how much he remembered. the day for our tour arrived and we brought along his doctor build a bear. this is the build a bear that has adorned his cranial band for the past 2 1/2 years. 

upon arrival both asher and the bear were given caps to cover their hair/heads.

i think they stayed on for about 5 seconds. ha.

daddy and asher sat and listened to the instructions given by the nurse. they did family introductions. the kids got to share about their new sibling and she talked to them about where we were going. it was adorable and the kids paid attention fairly well. asher was a chatter bug and wanted to be friends with everyone upon arrival.

i had requested prior to the tour that they stop by the new natural delivery rooms at the hospital and thankfully the room we had our "diaper lesson" in was the natural delivery room. it is much more spacious than the normal rooms, has a queen size platform bed in it, sit in whirpool chair tub, birthing ball etc. i was not only happy that we got to see it but was even more pleased to see how much nicer than are than a standard room. can not wait!

the teacher was assisting asher with diapering his bear. his bear had an oversized booty so the diaper was quite snug.....but he definitely helped and got the hang of what to do! i think he was curious as to why he was diapering his bear after he just got rid of full time diapers at home and has a huge grudge against them (getting him to wear a pull up at nap or overnight for bed is like pulling teeth). he even wakes us up at 2 am to go potty and again at 6:30 am these days to prove he doesnt need them...eventuallly.....

carefully assisting...

so proud his bear is diapered!

next they taught them how to hold the baby. of course asher was ready with his arms out in the proper holding position before any of the kids. he was quite the talkative eager beaver... (ekkk.. just like his mommy). seeing him hold the baby was adorable. CAN NOT WAIT!!!

after the lesson they got to go see the babies in the nursery and the babies gave them all a present (coloring book and crayons) for when they come to visit their parents in the hospital. i feel like asher is more prepared for the hospital experience and we also have a better idea of what to expect upon our arrival. i will be delivering at a new hospital this time and things are very different compared to the other place.

two days prior to our tour, philip and i took an infant and child cpr refresher course through the hospital. i am so glad that we did this as things have changed over the past 3 years. i feel much more prepared for an emergency in the event we had to deal with one. since philip is a carolinas healthcare system employee we got all of the classes for free. added bonus!

only 7 more weeks..... wow.... time flies....