Pumpkins, Cookies and Halloween

Halloween is in full force around here. A few weeks ago, I got Braden's old pumpkin costume out (that he wore when he was 3 months old) to see if it would fit Asher...and Braden decided it would be fun to try it on. We laughed and laughed as he literally ran laps around the house in a costume that was a wee bit small on him. Here is Braden in his pumpkin costume at 3 months old -

And here he is in the same costume at 3 yrs old. How does time pass so quickly and how do our little babies grow up so quickly -
We went to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago with our dear friends the McFarlands and the Geshke's. Both families have boys that are close to Braden's age and we all have baby boys that were born 3 weeks from each other. It is truly a blessing to do life with these sweet friends and all of our wild and crazy boys. I must say that I always look forward to the pumpkin patch. As a child, I spent every fall at an apple orchard in Pennsylvania where we picked pumpkins, ran through corn mazes, ate candy apples and played for hours on end. Those are such fond memories for me and I hope to continue that tradition in my own family. Gentry's Farm is great and we always have such a fun time. This was Asher's first year to go, as last year he was just a few weeks old and my mom had offered to keep him for me since it was SO cold. We had very warm weather this year and although Braden said he was scared of the pumpkins and Asher cried when I put him near one, all in all it was a great day!

Asher, not too sure about the hay -
Braden and Daddy on the hay ride...Braden was beyond excited that a big tractor was pulling us. Asher was with me and he loved it too, sitting so still while we were on the hay ride -


Asher and his buddies -
All seven of our boys. A small herd if you ask me. Always fun and always chaotic -
A family shot -
Asher scooping (and eating) some corn -
You can't go to the pumpkin patch w/o having some popcorn...pretty sure Austin and I didn't get to taste any -
A few weeks ago, I decided to not nap Braden on the days he is in mother's day out. He still naps the other days for 1.5-2 hours, but he is also perfectly fine to skip a nap here and there and I really wanted to have some one on one time with him since I get that with Asher while Braden is at school. I have to say, I really enjoy our time together on those days. Asher is usually asleep for his afternoon nap and Braden and I play or do some kind of art project or okay, occasionally watch a movie. The other day we decided to make pumpkin cookies in preparation for Halloween and it was so much fun.

The stirring begins -
And then of course we need to put some flour on the dough...let's just say these cookies had a LOT of flour on them -
And when you get bored, use the cookie dough bowl for a hat -
On Saturday, we headed to this little pumpkin patch down the street so we could get some pumpkins. Here is little Asher enjoying the little pumpkins -
Picking out just the right pumpkin...Braden wanted to get one for Tyson too. I'm sure all the neighbors are wondering why we have five pumpkins...I promise we don't have any exciting news to tell!!
Sweet brothers -
Braden explaining to Asher why eating leaves really isn't a good idea -
Poor Asher has had an ear infection for two weeks and is on his second round of antibiotics, but is constantly tugging on his ears...never-the-less a cute picture -
One of my favorite things about Asher right now is that he is always holding one of our fingers while he walks -
I love this picture of all of my boys -
And finally a family photo -
Looking forward to pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating this weekend. Not looking forward to the time change! Happy Halloween!

Asher's Birthday

Asher turned one a few weeks ago and I can hardly believe how quickly his first year of life flew by. We celebrated by having some friends over to play in the back yard and eat cupcakes. It was a beautiful day and I'm so thankful we were able to celebrate his sweet life with those we love.
Here are some pictures of his big day -

The cake table -
The smash cake was adorable and the cupcakes were ridiculously delicious -

Asher in the bouncy house -
Braden in the bouncy house...I swear this boy could drink milk all day and in place of every meal and be totally happy -
We had fajitas and quesadillas (my boys favorite) -
Lots of our dear friends were out of town, but we still had a great time despite the smaller crowd. Enjoying dinner outside in such beautiful weather -
Aww...this picture captured such a sweet moment for me. We were singing "Happy Birthday" to Asher and he got this huge smile on his face and kept looking at everyone who was singing and then back at me and Austin. His smile in this moment is one I will never forget. The other thing I love about this moment is that I looked over at one point and saw Braden. He had a huge smile on his face and was singing as loud as he could...so happy for his brother. This as we all know is a bit hard for a 3 yr old when it's someone else's birthday, but in that moment, Braden was nothing but happy. I will always remember those few moments thanks to this picture -
Touching the cake, but not so sure -
Austin gave him a little taste to see what he thinks -
Definitely a fan, he couldn't get it in fast enough -
Braden had to help Asher do a little smashing and/or tasting -
Love this little boy so much -

So I got a little too close and Asher had to share...he is such a kind little boy :) -
Family photo -
Present time -
Asher trying on his new vest...thanks Aunt Shannon and Uncle Daniel -

Asher you are so dear to me sweet baby. It seems like just yesterday that we saw you for the first time, held you close, kissed your tiny head, listened to your small breath, placed your hand in ours and cried for you as we realized that God gave you to us for a short time to love and protect. Over this past year, I have watched you grow as you've learned your world. I've watched you laugh and smile. I've watched you overcome with joy as you crawled for the first time or took your first step, I've held you when you were sad. I've rocked you when you were sick. I've let you fall asleep on me every morning before your nap because I couldn't seem to put you down as I wanted you so close and knew this time is fleeting. I've cried for you. You're Daddy and I have snuck into your room every night after you were asleep, laid our hands over you and have prayed for you. I've dreamed for you, longed for you, hoped for you and loved you. I love your smile. I love that you have laughed out loud at your brother since you were old enough to laugh. He still lights up your day. I love that you dance every time you hear the Veggie Tales music. I love that you are so task oriented and are always working on "projects" as your Dad and I always say. I love that you are determined and fearless. I love that you are so ticklish and love to wrestle. You throw yourself on us when we are on the floor and try so hard to get us to wrestle you. You love to snuggle with Tyson and I often find you laying on him or open mouth kissing him. I love to hear you say "momma" even though I know your daddy would love to hear you say "dadda." I love that you want me and need me, although it might be nice if you didn't cry when a new face looked at you :) I love that you are independent and yet still cuddle on my shoulder every night as I sing to you "Jesus Loves You" and "How Deep the Father's Love for You" in your ear. I have been singing that to you every day before bed since you were born because I long for you to know the truth of those words. I long for you to know how much Jesus loves you! You lay so still and I know you are listening. Those words and that song calms you when you are scared or sad or angry. I love you Asher and I'm so thankful that you are in mine. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Playing Catch Up...

This post is long overdue, but here are some pictures from the rest of our summer...

Braden had his birthday party with his friends at Bounce U (his request). Here are the boys trying so hard to sit still for a safety video on safe bouncing...who are they kidding...like any 3 yr old practices good safety!
Pausing for a picture with Mommy -
Blowing out candles on the cake (this was before Braden burst into tears as we were all singing Happy Birthday). It was actually really funny, but i think he got a little overwhelmed by all the attention -
The cake...Costco did the baking, I did the decorating -

Opening presents with all of his friends -
An attempt at a family photo -
The party favors -
All in all a great day to celebrate my sweet little boy. We followed his Bounce U party with a family party the following day.

Here are the boys attempting to sit quietly while I get a picture. I had to do a little bribing, but what mother doesn't -
We took several trips to the zoo this summer...some with friends, some just the boys and me. It was hot, hot, hot but well worth the time away from the house. Here is sweet Asher enjoying the toddler bounce area -
Braden and his buddies, hot and sweaty -
Enjoying a little lunch...this was taken on one of my solo trips to the zoo...let's just say I managed to spill two large cups of grapes, Braden's milk and a bowl of strawberries all within a matter of minutes. Some lady even came over and said "Honey are you doing this all by yourself?" Apparently things looked a little chaotic as I was trying to get everyone situated to eat. After both boys started eating, it was a very pleasant lunch. Nothing like discussing monkeys and elephants with a 3 yr old over a grilled cheese!
Ready for naps...that is one of the great things about the zoo!

What else? The boys spent a lot of time this summer climbing on Tyson...this was before we had to amputate his leg (more on that later) -
Braden's little imagination took off this summer. It was so fun to watch and be apart of his imagination. It's things like that that I find so delightful in a 3 yr old. Here is Braden pretending to be a fireman -
And while Braden did that, Asher did a lot of this -
Oh yes, and then there was the fair...the lovely Williamson County Fair. It was actually a great place for kids and created some good people watching for the adults.

Here is Braden brushing the creepy, fake sheep -

Asher and Daddy checking out the petting zoo area -
Braden spent most of his time at the fair, staring at this...I mean who wouldn't stare?! He kept asking me "Momma, why those pigs cryin'?" And all I could think was "I mean I would be crying too!" That poor momma!


Braden did love riding some of the rides -
And while he was riding, Asher was chilled out with his sippy cup in the stroller. The sippy cup transition was a big one for Asher this summer. He flat out refused a sippy cup until he was 11 months old...quite different from his brother who took one easily at 6 months old. Oh well, each one is different as I am very quickly learning!
This is how we spent every afternoon this summer...all of us (well Austin was usually at work so this picture must have been taken on a Saturday) piled up on the couch watching some afternoon cartoons. I wake both boys every afternoon from their nap and Braden still wakes in a very grumpy mood...thank goodness for cartoons and goldfish to help remedy grumpiness.
Austin had to be in Chattanooga on business for two days so me and the boys decided to tag along for a quick overnight trip. Chattanooga by the way is a great place for kids...between the aquarium, the children's museum and the outdoor fountains there was plenty to do. Here is Braden digging for dinosaur bones in the excavating exhibit -
Asher and Daddy -
Braden got very brave at the aquarium and touched a snake -
This picture brings back good memories for me b/c a little over a year ago, Austin and I took Braden to Chattanooga for a quick special trip before Asher was born. Here we are a little over a year ago, just a few weeks before Asher was born -
and here we are in the exact same spot a little over a year later -
In August, we packed up and took a week long trip to Austin's parents house. Braden got tired of waiting during the packing chaos that he made himself a little bed right in the front door...notice he does have his backpack ready to load in the car...just hope he packed some underwear in that backpack!
Asher, suggested I pack this -
Every morning while Asher napped, Braden and Nana and Coach spent their mornings on the paddle boat -

Braden got to fish for the first time. Here he is trying out his Lightning McQueen fishing rod -
Here we are taking Braden fishing for the first time. This was actually really neat for Austin and I because we spent so many lazy summer days in high school out on his parents pond fishing and dreaming about what our future held. Fourteen years later, it was really neat to be there together with our son carrying on that tradition -
While in Lexington, Austin and I got away a few different times. We toured the Woodford Reserve Distillery one day as displayed by Austin -
And we even met some old friends in Louisville for a quick overnight trip that included a great Rascal Flatts concert.

The highlight of Braden's week was when we took him to ride an old school train. As you can see, it was pure joy -
Ash, Nana and I enjoying the ride...the whole train ride was 45 minutes and it was about 150 degrees in the non-air conditioned train...surprisingly Asher did really well considering he couldn't get down to crawl around -
On a sad note, we found out this summer that Tyson has a very aggressive form of bone cancer. Within 5 days of his diagnosis, we made the difficult decision to amputate his leg in hopes to keep the cancer from spreading. It was a very sad few days for us as Tyson is like our child...he's been with us since we were first married and he's been a friend to our boys since they first came home from the hospital. Here is is, right after surgery - All in all, Tyson has recovered very well...he still runs in the back yard with Braden, greets Braden in his room every day after nap, climbing up in bed with him -

And as you can see, the boys are back to climbing all over him -
And yes, we spent all summer in the thick of kitchen renovations...started the first weekend in May and ended last week!!!! Hallelujah for a brand new, fully functioning kitchen! In case you forgot, we went from this -

To this -
Well, that's about it for the summer...now onto school, Asher's first birthday, pumpkins, football and cooler temperatures.