asher's birthday

like i said i don't have a camera right now... i lost the battery charger and so was not able to chronicle asher's third birthday like i would have liked too... instead i will post some pictures of asher throughout his three years and talk about how wonderful and amazing he is :)

he was a very good baby... and slept most of the time in my arms or joshua's arms... we had a hard time putting him down... he didn't cry too too much (he did cry i do remember waking up WAY to early wondering how to get him back to sleep... we soon learned the art of burping a baby)

when he wouldn't take naps i would take him on a walk in the stroller... and sometimes he would fall asleep there... he still loves going on a walk in our stroller

he was and is a very adorable baby/boy

on really bad hair days i would wear this hat too!... which should have been an automatic qualification onto what not to wear!

once again proof that babies are beautiful and adorable no matter how funny their hair looks... how many rolls they have... seriously... nothing makes a baby uncute :)

                                               learning how to make a smooth move

                                             hmmm... yummy shirt

                                              

                                                   this tie is better though... have a taste

                                               strings! wow! wish i had discovered them sooner!

                                           it is true, i am adorable... completely cute!

i remember this night still, he would NOT go to sleep... he just sat there laughing and squealing and rocking back and forth... at first i was frustrated when i tried to get him to sleep... but then when i left him alone he was just too cute... so i went and got the camera... i should have had the video recorder... it was a silly sweet moment

                                             yes... he is still mischievous and likes to tease!

learning how to share... this was the first time he met his cousin sari... i think they are only a few months apart

dirt is still a favorite... the other day we were going to the park and he said, "is there dirt at the park mom?"... he wanted to make sure he was going somewhere with dirt... he must have gotten it from me... i loved playing in the dirt and the mud when i was little... my mom would dress me for church and tell me (and my brother, david) to sit still while she got ready... before she knew it we were outside getting muddy and dirty...(my dad had to leave earlier to help with church stuff ) i may not have understood then what my mother was going through... but i DO now! :)

he also loved flags... but had a hard time saying the word right... and would end up swearing a really, really, really naughty word! it was too too funny... once he said it in the Deseret Book Store (a Mormon/LDS store) repeatedly... we left quickly while stifling our laughter

                                                      he also, loved/s flowers and...

balls... he used to be able to dunk and swish on his toy hoop... but he has lost interest recently i am not sure why... we were pretty sure he would be the next... jordan, lebron, williams, etc etc but if he doesn't love it we aren't going to push the issue :)

he also loved/s daydreaming and...

escaping

running to escape

and finding the best way away and out

                                                               sure, give the innocent look :)

                                            just remember not to text/talk and drive! :)

                                             mom... put the camera down... he still doesn't like the camera

                                                                 look look a plane!...

                                          

                                                        i believe he is pointing to a ball... it was one of his first words... along with mom, dad, bob (i am not sure who bob was ), other first words were touchdown! money! booozer!(whe he was about a year or so old)...etc etc... from these words you can tell that his father and uncle love basketball and football!

                                this is the first time he met his second cousin talmadge...
                                                     i believe they got along really well

picking berries... non edible

he loved helping me with whatever i was doing...raking, vacuuming, sweeping dishes... not so much anymore

escaping again

stop taking pictures!

                                          fun in the snow

well... mostly fun... we kept loosing the gloves and using socks 

he was actually having fun this day... we went outside almost every day for the first year and half of his life... and then... i got morning sickness with my pregnancy... we also didn't watch ANY tv (asher didn't) until i get pregnant again... and now we are addicted... sad,sad, sad

this was right before or right after isaac was born... i guess i didn't take a lot of pictures during my pregnancy... i know they should be somewhere put i am not sure where...

just cute

and now he LOVES cars and fixing things, not balls so much

but he still loves dirt

when we go to the park he likes to make little clouds of dust fly... not so fun for those sharing the park with him... i haven't decided what the best policy should be... dust or no dust... only so many battles a mother can choose to fight in one day

besides getting older himself, i do believe the birth of his brother to be one of the most momentous occasions of his little life so far... he did remarkably well... he did hide under his crib a few times because he said he felt better under there... it almost broke my heart to know how sad he was feeling... but they love each other and do a good job of playing together... nothing serious... just normal stuff... like having a hard time sharing... and isaac cries sometimes when asher gives him hugs and kisses (another hard one... what do we do to repair that???)

sari and asher sharing with their grandpa (papa, my dad)

                                         and now he is all grown up! ... our little cowboy

                                              i don't know when it was that he went from this to 

to this

to this free moving, unstoppable boy

beautiful ladies with beautiful mothers

i took these pictures when i went to oregon for my sister's graduation... the curly haired girl is my sister... all the other young girls are my sister's daughters... i am the only one in my family (that has had children so far) not to be blessed with a girl yet... maybe later :)... my sisters have been a source of inspiration for me... each of them have plowed through their trials and sorrows and as a result have grown beautiful hearts and beautiful children 

what i love best about my sisters is their thirst for beauty, knowledge, progress and creation...

they inspire me to do and be more... all of us have a hunger to change...we all feel how vital it is to look inward and see what is good and see what is unhealthy... and change it... fix it... not weeping for the burden of guilt, not bullying or beating ourselves up... but looking honestly... searching for why we do what we do and changing where changes need to be made...it is hard to look and see what is admirable and pat ourselves on our back.  maybe even equally hard is to see what needs to be changed... so much easier to ignore and justify our actions... but i believe it is so vital to be candid with ourselves and searching always for..." good better best... never rest till good be better and better best" (thank you mother goose)

my sisters have been brave and strong... all of them stepping out of their comfort zone and not only creating lovely families but creating beauty, intelligence and strength also... amongst my sisters accomplishments are: four houses designed and built with their husbands.  literally, they mixed the cement and built the walls... etc etc..  two of my sisters built two houses each.  one has two published books ("Falling for Rapunzel" and "Waking Beauty"...) ...  another sister and her husband are producing artistic gymnastic performances for little children (they feel the competition is unhealthy and the rules stifling to true artistic merit) so they changed from competition to performance... i haven't seen them yet... but i have heard about what they are doing... my sister made one skit about pregnant women doing gymnastics (the girls just used pillows).... they are all good cooks and love to experiment... maybe not all the experiments come out well... but it takes a certain courage and fortitude to tackle the unknown when you are cooking, this, not star trek, is the last frontier.  proof being that captain kirk will frequent our kitchens in between his alien adventures... for something more culinary...

another sister is a cake decorator who is coming into her own (watch out cake boss... soon you will have a 4'11 artistic fireball to contend with)... there is a marathon runner (the plan is to run a marathon together one day as a family)... and  a painter whose art i would love to have on all of my walls (in fact, i have one on my wall right now... i love it because it makes me feel so peaceful)... all of them writers (one day we may be as famous as the Bronte sisters :)...all of them physically active... gardeners (I personally LOVE gardening and think there it is a place of expression, learning, growth and achievement and bonding with nature)and hard workers ...  piano, singing, and acting... sowing their own wardrobes and prom dresses for sisters and daughters and friends... and all of them have that soft and gentle exterior and heart (don't be fooled they are as strong as anybody or anything)

for me, they change the name of a stay at home mom... a stay at home mom is not merely a person who stays at home and slowly goes crazy trying to keep the hard pace of cleaning and teaching and loving their children... but they are creators... they are leaders... we show our children (the future) who they are and what they are capable of  being by expanding our own talents, by everything we do and create... whether it is art you hang on your wall, or the studying and progressing you make, or the service or smile you give to another...  being a stay at home mother isn't limited to insanity :)... but expands to infinite possibilities(not only the ideas that I mentioned) while you teach your children to love themselves, to love others, and to love God.