Asher

I thought we would do a big post about Asher before he has competition:)

There is so much to tell about Asher.  He is a happy, active boy.  He loves, loves, LOVES being outside.  He does't really talk yet, but makes a few noises that are similar to words (like 'hi' 'bye' 'see ya' 'thank you' and 'uh oh').  He does know how to get what he wants.  He will come and get us by the hand and lead us to where he wants us, many times this is downstairs.  He knows that's where our shoes are and also the door.  Once we get downstairs he will bring us our shoes- he's really good at bringing my shoes to me and Ryan's shoes to him and picking matching pairs too.  Then he brings his shoes and sits down so we can put them on him.  After that, the only choice is going outside!  He can open our front door as the handle just pulls down so we have to keep it dead-bolted.

Asher's favorite places to go are: the park, the swimming pool, the play area in the mall (since it's too hot to stay outside), just on walks, and to the tennis court.  We got the key to the tennis courts a couple months ago and decided to try it out and it's the perfect place for Asher to run around.  He collects the tennis balls and chases them around while Ryan and I play tennis (or rather work on Ryan's accuracy because I didn't move).  After a while, Asher always decides he wants my racket and once he has it he doesn't give it up. 

He's gonna be such a little athlete!

Asher now has 7 teeth.  4 on top and 3 on the bottom and a few more on the way.  He eats on his own now.  He insists on having his own fork and he does really well getting food with it and eating.  Though he still has to resort to eating with his hands a lot.  He likes everything we have given him so far, though sometimes he decides he's just not going to eat so he spits it out.  It can be frustrating.  He also loves popsicles and otter-pops.  He knows they are in the freezer and he sits in front of the refrigerator and points and cries until we get one out for him.  Then he takes it over to the drawer where the scissors are so we can open it for him.  Then he runs in the family room and climbs up in the chair ready to eat his treat:) He seems to get more and more demanding the older he gets. I guess it comes with him knowing what he wants now.  Too bad he can't really talk yet.  He does hold our hands more to lead us to what he wants.  He also holds our hands a lot longer, but I think it's because he has realized he can lead us where he wants us instead of the other way around.  He's really funny though, when he gets one of us to go with him, he has to get the other one too.  He has to make sure we are both coming or we can't continue.

Asher's favorite things to play with are rocks and twigs.  Since he loves to be outside it works really well.  He can be content with a pile of rocks for quite a while.  He loves to throw them out of the pile, then put them back.  Over and over again.  Inside, he is getting more and more coordinated with his toys.  He loves the big Lego building blocks.  He will sit for minutes (a long time in little boy world) and put them together, pull them apart, and put them together again.  He is getting really good playing with all his toys and knowing how to turn them on and off and playing with them the way they are supposed to work. He has also gotten much braver.  He goes off on his own all the time.  He isn't scared of dogs anymore and will actually pet them on his own.  

He's a great sleeper still.  He sleeps through the night and takes one 2-3 hour nap a day.

One of our favorite activities we've been doing over the summer is going to the swimming pool.  Asher loves to play in the water.  He gets in and out and plays with his toys while splashing around.  He also likes to go to the big pool with us.  At first he was nervous and had to hold on to us tight, but like I said, he is getting braver.  He now splashes around and loves to jump into us.  He makes me nervous now because he is so fearless.  It's a great summer time activity that has kept us all cool and entertained.  He still plays on his own, but he is starting to participate with other kids.  He still does a lot of observing.

Lately, one of my favorite things that he does is he claps for himself when he does something good.  He will play patty-cake with me too.  He is still my tough little boy and laughs at most things that other kids cry about.  He loves to get bonked on the head and thinks it's funny, which is good because he hits his head a lot (I think it's a boy thing).