Let Him Eat CAKE!!

Asher had two cakes for his birthday. One on his actual day of birth, with white icing, and another on the party day with blue and purple icing. Don't ask me what possess people to buy this type of colored frosting. It's pretty much guaranteed that your child will end up looking like an LSD trip by the end of the party. Yet, that's what I bought. I let him smash cake, took lots of pictures, and then promptly stripped him down in the highchair before I stuck him in the tub. There was cake everywhere, including down his diaper. So I took that off too before I carried him (at a very far arm's length away) upstairs. Let me veer off a little from this story........

Several months ago, Asher "found" his penis.....and by that I mean, every time he's naked, he grabs on to it for dear life and giggles. As a mom, and a woman, I SO do not understand this. When he first did it, I said, "Oh Asher, don't do that. You'll hurt yourself". Well, Blake almost immediately informed me how wrong I was. Honestly, how they walk around with those things is just beyond me. It's like learning a new language - Penis culture 101.

ok - back to the story..... So, I was carrying him upstairs, and he's hanging on to his most valuable possession for dear life, and I'm just trying not to get peed on. I plop him in the tub, and start hosing him down before the frosting has a chance to dry. It was then that Asher noticed the purple icing on his penis, and cake smashed all around his legs. Yup, you guessed it....he immediately bent over and started licking EVERYTHING that he could possible reach - if all men could do this, then they wouldn't leave the house. Ok, so I'm thinking that this really is not ok. Wash faster. Quick. Someone is coming up the stairs. Good God woman! What kind of mother are you????

Anyway. He's one. He loves his penis. Welcome to the tribe of man.

Asher is ONE!!

Well, today is the day. My baby is one. The year has flown by. Today is a little bittersweet because the "baby" is now going away and very quickly becoming a toddler.

When Nina was born, we were so excited to share her with the world. "Come see the baby"....and they all came. We let the grandparents babysit her, friends hold her - sharing her all along the way. That's what you do with the firstborn. Look at her! We made her!!

Asher has been different. I've held him a little closer, a little longer, a little tighter. He's been mine. I haven't wanted to nor felt the need to share him with anyone. He's my last baby and it makes me sad that he's getting so big. Bound to happen, I know, but still sad. I didn't invite anyone over to see him, barely let anyone hold him, and have certainly never left him for any length of time. He's mine. I'll share him with Blake, but I think he understands my obsessiveness and just lets me be.

So, today we celebrate the big day with song, cake, presents, and yes, quite a few tears.

The "perfect" picture

6:15 pm

tired baby

silly sister

oblivious Daddy.

Happy Valentine's Day, Axel Rose

Nina has this really pretty headband that she insists on wearing like Axel Rose, no matter now many times I fix it. She has her own idea about how it should look. Needless to say, I won't let her leave the house with it on. She's showing off her stash of Valentine Day cards.

Messing with Asher at Dinner

I've been working with Asher to do this for about a month, and he finally got it! Of course, he's filthy from dinner, but it only adds to the charm. He was ready to get down from the highchair, so he's a little ticked. It's hard to believe that our little man will be a year old in a few days. This past year sure went quick.

Under the kitty bridge

Oh, the Places we can go!

Nina's stuff is no longer safe. Asher takes everything. And if he can't take what he wants, he grabs, pulls hair, pinches, and otherwise ticks his sister off.....and then there will be crying from someone. In order to occupy Asher a tiny bit, Nina takes him for rides or attempts to play with him. Of course, the attention span of both a 5 year old and an 11 month old combined is about 25 seconds, but poor Nina is trying. The other day, she wanted to eat lunch in front of the TV, but that's impossible with the little terror around. So, she got stuck in the highchair, and I'm sure that she wasn't pleased, but it was the only alternative.

Things that make you go Eewwww...

Hi Ya Baby!

Asher has started to pretend that he's talking on the phone, but he usually doesn't play with his little telephone. Instead, he uses a measuring cup or puts his hand over his ear and "talks". It started out with just "hi ya" over and over again, but now it's progressed to "Hi Dada", "Hi Mama", and the most popular, "Hi NannNa(Nina)". He's also saying "ByeBye". I guess that means I'm on the phone too much!