Asher joins Club Tube

This week, Asher - in a quest to do everything just like his big brother - got his own set of ear tubes.  We had considered them for a while as he was getting multiple ear infections and then we thought we were in the clear.  He went a while without getting one and we had our fingers crossed.  Then, he got three in a row and the ENT had no doubt that tubes were the way to go.

Asher didn't really know what was going on, just that he got to spend the day playing in a new outfit.  Riley's procedures were in the morning so the fact that he couldn't eat was not a big deal.  Asher's procedure was in the afternoon and I thought it was going to be a big deal but he didn't even seem to miss breakfast or lunch.  He was a champ through the whole process and the only time he cried was literally the 10 seconds between when I put him down on the table and he fell asleep for surgery.

The procedure itself only took about 15 minutes and as soon as he was waking up, we were able to go back and be with him.  He was being a grouch - as expected with anesthesia - but as soon as he had us and animal crackers, he calmed down and got to go home.  The rest of the day was spent with snuggles, naps, tv and snacks so Asher was pretty happy.  And he was able to go back to school the next day - everything was back to normal!  Riley said that Asher should get blue ear tubes just like he had, so now they have blue buddy tubes and Asher is even more like Riley!

Let's lace up!

This weekend, we went to an ice skating birthday party and had the chance to take both boys out on the ice!  Riley has been skating a few times - with Stacey and Brad, and most recently with Chris, but Asher has never laced up.  Riley is getting pretty confident and I am so proud of him for getting out on the ice and not being scared.  He doesn't have great technique yet but he get excited about going to skate and is happy that we will be signing him up for lessons in March.

Asher wasn't quite sure about the ice at first, but whatever Riley does, Asher follows, so out he went without much hesitation.  There was a lot of wobbly steps and hand holding on the way to the ice but as soon as we put him on the rink, he put his trust in us and really impressed me with his go-with-the-flow attitude.  Chris and I took turns going around the rink with him cause there was a lot of bending and holding on our part (and aching backs today) but even though his feet were sliding this way and that and his coat kept riding up to show his tummy to all, Asher had a great time and kept asking to go around again and again.

I think this is a fun activity that we can definitely continue as a family and I look forward to the days that we can go around the rink without having to drag the boys along - maybe they can do the dragging in the future!

Hola Mexico

For Christmas and New Year's the boys were invited to keep me company in Mexico while I worked an AJ group and the countdown had begun months ago.  Riley kept asking when we were going on the cruise, if he could speak Spanish and if he would be able to eat as much guacamole as he wanted.  The time had finally arrived and we headed out west for our two week adventure.

It was not going to be a vacation for either of us as I had the group to take care of and Chris had the boys to control - I know that Chris had the more challenging and stressful week.  With three stops in Mexico and three days at sea, there was a lot of things to do but a lot of time to fill.

The boys liked the idea of the cruise and took to the ship like fish to water.  The pool and the hot tub was the all-time favorite activity and I knew that if I was looking to them, start in the water.  Either that or in the Piazza where the live music was playing.  Asher particularly liked the mariachi band and they would look for him at each performance.

We had beautiful weather and I was able to find a happy compromise between group time and family time.  The boys were a handful but for the most part, happy just to be in the sand and the warm sunshine.  Riley also liked going to the kids program for a few hours each day and with a huge screen out by the pool, all three boys liked the movies that were shown each day.

And of course, we got to celebrate Asher's 2nd birthday on board!  We had a family party complete with cake and a present from Bibi and Zee. Our little New Year's baby loved when all of the attention was on him and will now expect to go on a cruise to celebrate each coming year - which I could be on board with!

Let's celebrate Hanukkah

For the past 8 days, we have been celebrating Hanukkah to the max!  The JCC had an event where the kids did activities with the parents, performed their songs and shared snacks.  We lit candles at home and Riley proved that he can do it on his own (while Asher kept trying to blow them out), Chris and I went to a Vodka Latke party and we have had enough latkes to last us for the whole year. 

We have had gifts for the boys each night and there have been some top winners!  Riley got a loop-de-loop race track, Legos and lightsabers.  Asher got a train set, books and toys.  Tonight we went to the JCC for an 8th night celebration and tomorrow night we will be celebrating with the family for a bonus night of Hanukkah.

Asher now officially knows the word 'present' and knows to ask for them after we light the candles.  I think it will be a tough habit to break and he will probably expect a gift every night after dinner. Riley also thinks that the gifts will continue on Christmas, so that will be something to look forward to.

Turkey Day

This year, we were lucky to have the family come to us for Thanksgiving!  We were on our own turf, on our own schedule and we got to see everyone in one place.  It was a lot of prep and a lot of planning but the Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, everyone had fun spending time together and it was nice for the boys to have the chance to spend time with the Herman side of the family.

Besides Thanksgiving dinner, we had very few plans, so it was nice just to hang out, be low key and allow everyone to do what it is that they wanted to do.  On Saturday, everyone came to our house for pretty much the whole day to watch football (Ohio State and Alabama) and eat loads of food.  The boys had a great time playing together and we really made great use of the space in the house with two TV's going and play stations upstairs and downstairs. 

It's nice that we had this time to spend together and the boys are really cute together.  Although Leo isn't pictured, he was here too and it was fun to have both of my nephews in my house at the same time.  Now that everyone is back home and settled into their own schedules, I am sure it will be nice to get back to normal life after a very busy, but family filled, weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Star Wars gang!  This year, since everyone was in town and old enough to go trick-or-treating, we decided to make the holiday a family affair.  We asked Riley what he wanted to dress up as and with his decision of Storm Trooper, we built from there and decided to make the battle of parents vs. kids a show of good vs. evil.

Although it was a chilly night, we really lucked out with the weather as it has been raining almost every other day.  We put on a few layers under our costumes, put a bucket of candy on our porch and headed over to Bibi and Zee's neighborhood.  There were hundreds of kids and we were told how much people liked our outfits the whole way around the block.  It took a full hour to make our way around, and I ended up carrying Darth Vader for most of the event, but it was a good experience.  The hardest part was trying to explain to Asher the concept of trick-or-treating.  At first, he didn't understand that you put candy in your bag for later - he thought you were allowed to eat it as you go.  Once we stuck a lollypop in his mouth, that took care of him for the next dozen or so houses.  We also went to a few houses that had dogs at the door so he thought that part of going door-to-door was also looking for dogs.  Riley asked for candy at each stop and Asher looked for dogs - it was a good combination.

At the end of the night, the boys helped Bibi hand out candy.  This was also a little bit of a challenge for Asher.  At one point, he started taking candy out of other people's bags.  Good thing he looked so freaking cute that he was able to get away with it with the middle school girls.  

Chris and I decided that we would have been able to hit up a lot more houses had it not been for the kids, but they completed the crew so it was nice to have them with us.  Now we get to start thinking about what costumes we can wear together next year!

Riley is 5!

Well, it may be a little late, but things have been very busy here - especially in celebration mode!  I can't believe that I am saying this already but we celebrated Riley's 5th birthday!  I can honestly remember so vividly the day that he was born and it is crazy to think that it has already been five whole years!

In the past, we have had family birthday parties but this year we decided to let Riley have his first 'big' birthday party.  We let him invite friends from both last year's class at school as well as this year and at the end of the day, we had about 20 kids at the JCC for Riley's sports party.  I had fun being creative with the details of the sports party and enjoyed putting together the concession stand.  I don't think the kids got the idea but I thought it was cute and made for some good pictures!

The kids had a great time playing on the playground, taking part in the group activities and of course, eating cake!  We lucked out and the weather was absolutely perfect so we were able to spend the whole time outside.  It was exactly what Riley wanted with his friends and everyone had fun.

In lieu of birthday gifts, we requested that the kids bring in sports equipment that could be donated.  The families were all so generous and we had bags and bags of things to share.  We brought them to Jewish Family & Children's Services and they accepted them for the Refugee Services department and said they would have great use for them.  We were so proud of Riley for sharing his gifts and I think the idea of donation and giving to those who have less is really starting to sink in.

Believe it or not, Riley is already starting to plan his 6th birthday, but we are just enjoying every day of him being 5!