Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!  The countdown is over, the costumes are on, the candy is collected and I am exhausted!  Riley has been asking for weeks when he could wear his Iron Man costume and the time has finally come.  He got to wear it twice, actually, as we had a practice run this weekend for the Halloween parade and a birthday party, but tonight he got to wear it for the real deal of trick or treating.

We went to Bibi and Zee's house for dinner.  After the meatballs were devoured, we suited up and headed out.  Zee and I took Riley around their neighborhood and let me tell you - they must bus kids in cause there were hundreds and hundreds hitting the blocks around them.  Riley started out strong but half way around the block gave up and insisted that Iron Man needed to fly, so Zee carried him.  Even just going half way around the block, though, he still made a pretty good haul (and I got a few snacks too)!

Meanwhile, Asher stayed with Bibi to hand out candy and seemed to do pretty well.  He liked seeing the kids and most of the costumes, until one scared him and he was done.  It was also past his bedtime too, so I can't blame him for being upset and ready to leave.

I left a big bowl of candy at my house and was half expecting it to be empty when we came home cause a teenager got a hold of it, but we get so few kids in my neighborhood that more than half the bowl was left when I came back.  Oh well, more for me!

We missed having Chris here but knowing that he won't be going to this same conference next year makes me happy - now I have a whole year to come up with outfits for us where all four of us can dress up together!  The suggestion box is officially open!

Getting ready for Halloween

It seems as though Riley has inherited Safta's affinity for Halloween and has been asking for  weeks to decorate the house in anticipation of the upcoming holiday.  Who am I to deny him this pleasure so last week I took him to the Dollar Store and let him go nuts in the Halloween aisle.  He clearly had a vision cause he knew exactly what he was looking for and knew what to avoid.  The only thing I had to veto was a motion activated wiggling rat - I just couldn't be on board with that one.

Chris and the boys decorated the front yard last week and I think it looks great.  Be sure to look at all the places they decorated - even the guest skeletons saying hi from the front window.  We will be going to the Halloween parade tomorrow morning and then to a Halloween birthday party so we will be getting a lot of mileage out of our costumes this year - stay tuned for pictures!

So our house may not be the most decorated house in the neighborhood, but I am totally ok with that.  We all know that Zadie and Safta's house will be the house in our family that knows how to dress the part and Riley is hoping the the witch who tells stories will still be out when we go to visit Visalia in November.  

Tiny tooth time

It's hard to get a picture to prove it - especially when toys are being swung at my face - but Asher has 2 tiny teeth coming on the bottom!  Chris felt one at the end of last week and we have been keeping an eye on it, and today I saw the second one breaking through. 

He has been waking up a few times at night, usually just wanting his paci, so we are hoping to get back to his full night sleeps soon - but also, I just know that he is going to look so freaking adorable with little teeth in place, so I also want them to come in already.

Asher is doing a great job eating and has learned to mash up all kinds of food without teeth. He loves avocados and bananas, chicken and pancakes, eggs and cantaloupe.  To be honest, I don't think we have come across a food yet that he doesn't like.  And all 23 pounds of him can prove that he is a great eater!

Update: I got a picture where you can see his tiny teeth!

Asher is 9 months old

We just got back from the beach - which will get its own blog post - but I just wanted to take a minute to recognize the fact that Asher turned 9 months old while we were out of town.  

He is a very happy guy and everyone who meets him says two things.  1. That he is very happy and smiley and 2. That he is a big baby.  I can attest to both of those!  He is almost always in a good mood and makes friends easily.  And he weighs over 22 pounds which is getting more and more difficult to tote around.

We are taking him in for his 9 month check-up next week so we will see where he stacks up, but I know this linebacker, bruiser of a baby is going to be tipping the top ends of the chart.  But at the end of the day, he is so happy and healthy and cute, and those are the most important things to be checking in on!

Happy 4th Birthday Riley

On Friday, we were able to celebrate Riley's 4th birthday with a family Spider Man party!  He has been looking forward to it for weeks and as soon as it turned September, he asked every day if it was time yet for his party.  

I was in charge of the planning, the food and the cake and Chris was in charge of the decorations.  At his request, our menu was chicken nuggets, french fries, fruit, vegetables and cake and we decorated with Spider Man balloons, masks, plates, napkins, candles, signs and party blowers (I think Chris bought everything Spider Man in the store)!

With mojitos in hand, we were ready to party!  It was the perfect night for a party and even Asher was in a great mood and ready to stay up late to party.  We were missing some family members but partied with everyone present.  And when it comes to presents, Riley made quite the haul!

I think it was just the party that Riley was looking forward to and he will get to celebrate with his friends at school on Monday with cookies and Spider Man goodie bags.  Thanks to everyone for helping us celebrate!

And by the way, I had a great birthday too!

Hey batter batter!

This weekend, we celebrated Labor Day with the age old tradition of heading out to the ball park - and this visit was especially significant as it was Asher's first visit to a baseball game!

It was the perfect day to go to a baseball game with blue skies and the sun shining.  Chris picked the perfect seats that gave us a great view of the field while sitting comfortably in the shade.  Riley was pretty into the game at first, but once he saw someone eating chicken tenders, his sights shifted and that was all he was interested in.  So we indulged and he enjoyed his meal - until he saw the cotton candy man.  Then, all he ever wanted in life was cotton candy.  We said no about 12 million times and kept our cool while telling him no over and over again.  Riley did not keep his cool and almost made us leave right then.  

To distract ourselves from the near meltdown, Asher and I busied ourselves with a photo shoot.  He really enjoyed being at the game and overtime the music came on and people started clapping, he would look around and get excited.  His favorite part of the whole game was clapping!  

We lasted about 2 hours and ended up leaving around 6 to get home in time for bedtime and bath time for Asher.  Overall, I would say that it went pretty well - but we will also probably be waiting a few years before we try to go again!

8 Months!

As of yesterday, Asher is 8 months old, and as of today he is 35 weeks old.  No, I am not usually still counting how old he is in weeks - it just means that he has officially been growing on the outside as long as he was cooking on the inside!  And grow he has!

Our little chunker is as perfect and healthy as can be.  He has a very pleasant disposition and has quite the personality.  He isn't afraid to 'tell' you what he thinks and is a very happy baby.  He is eating so many different fruits and vegetables and he hasn't made a face at one of them yet.  He loves bath time and the music, will lunge to grab Addison's fur and thinks Riley is just the best person in the world.  If I have to go upstairs to grab something and Asher starts crying, I just ask Riley to sing to him or make funny noises and immediately Asher starts laughing and is happy again.

Asher is making great progress with his helmet - we are seeing changes to his head shape and it does not hold him back from anything.  He is rolling all over the place, sitting on his own for minutes at a time, lifting up his head and shoulders and is starting to think about scooting.  He is still having physical therapy but now every other week.  The physical therapist is very happy with his progress and our next goals are crawling and standing.  I guess it's time to baby-proof again!

And with his helmet, Asher is making friends wherever he goes.  So many people stop to tell us that they love his helmet and we've had dozens of "Go Buckeyes"!  And with the start of college football season, I'm sure he will keep turning heads wherever he goes.