Strawberry Fields and the 4th of July

We went to a local farm on Friday morning and picked some strawberries. It was muddy, but that just made it more fun. Plus, if we waited until it wasn't muddy I don't think the berries would be there anymore.

Of course we have to get a picture with the tractor.

Sheldon showing Asher how to pick the strawberries.

Asher LOVED picking and eating the berries.

Muddy bum. Asher actually took a few steps at the strawberry farm (cuz he still hasn't walked since he got his cast off last week). I guess food is a good motivator for him.

We were the only ones there so we had the whole HUGE field to ourselves, well plus the farmers.

We spent the 4th of July with a mission buddy of Sheldon's and several other families.

All together the group had bought about $400 worth of fireworks. So, there were a lot. Some of them were pretty loud so here we are protecting the hearing of our child.

He LOVED the sparklers. We had to hold his arm still otherwise he would swing them all around and ash would fly everywhere. Mainly just in my hair. It burned my scalp and I lost some hair, but all in all it was a good time.

Pure joy. We had a great weekend and it has been especially fun because Sheldon got Friday and Monday off work as well!!! Happy 4th!!!

Goodbye to cast, hello to maceration....

If you don't know what maceration is you probably don't want to Google it because it's disgusting.

We are incredibly blessed and happy however, that Asher was able to have his cast sawed off yesterday. Yes, they used a little saw (I don't know how else they would do it, but still it was a bit frightening). Asher had to wear these mini headphone things to help block out the noise. He wasn't really a fan of the sawing, but he survived. I never thought I would be so happy to see a leg in all my life. Sheldon and I kept touching his leg last night because we missed it so much. That may sound weird, but it was just very comforting to see Asher in his full-form again.

He has a skin maceration on his heel. When they took the cast off it smelled SOOOOO bad, mainly because his skin had been starting to rot in there. Yeah, disgusting. I felt so bad for him. He has really sweaty feet so I think that may be why it happened, but really there is no way of knowing. Anyway I was kinda freaking out about it but after we washed and exfoliated his leg and foot the skin looked MUCH better. And today I can already see a noticeable difference in his heel. Thank goodness. The doctor still wants him to come back in two weeks so he can check on it, but I feel confident that it will be fine.

He still hasn't walked yet. They warned me he would probably take a couple days to start walking again and in my naivety I dismissed the warning. "They don't know my boy" I thought, 'He'll be running around as soon as he gets the chance." Nope. He is definitely guarding his leg and puts very little, if any weight on it. He mostly crawls around. It's amazing how instinctive our bodies are. It's a beautiful thing to think about how he has gone from a broken leg to a healed leg in a matter of weeks. And his skin maceration has made enormous strides toward recovery in just 24 hours. I don't think we'll be visiting the park any time soon (since that's where he got hurt) but I'm sure he'll be running around getting into all kinds of stuff before we know it.

Brake a Leg

There are several reason why I haven't blogged in a while, but this is probably the main one. For those of you who haven't heard Asher broke his leg (his tibia to be exact). He was going down a curvy slide at the park (during one of the only nice days we've had in 2010 by the way) and his foot got caught behind him and his body kept going forward. SNAP. I heard the bone brake and let me tell you I wish I could forget that sound. It was a nightmare!!! So we have been keeping things mellow at home while his leg heals in his GINORMOUS and very heavy cast. I carry this kid everywhere now, which I was not used to since he basically got too heavy for me when he was like 12 months old. Now it's pretty much like having a 30 lb baby who can talk but can't walk. I have to say we are incredibly fortunate that the bone was not displaced and should heal in a matter of weeks and no surgery was required. He didn't really sleep for the first few nights but it's now been two weeks and I think he's gotten pretty used to his limitations (although I'm sure he's very uncomfortable).

The cast goes right up to his diaper. We've had to get creative when dressing him.

And of course he's still the same Asher so I am very busy trying to keep him from braking his other leg.

We have aquired about 9/10 of these toys since he broke his leg (gotta love garage sales) and my living room looks like I run a day care. Oh well. Once his cast is off the toys will go back in his room.

Since he is pretty much imobile, and it has rained almost every day since he got his cast on, he has become quite the Thomas the Tank Engine fan. He begs to watch "Dah-mas" every morning. And how do you like my artistry on his cast?

We're just trying to keep him occupied and happy. My house is a mess and I rarely shower anymore (TMI, sorry) but really I am impressed with how well Asher has adjusted. He is still our happy boy!

People are always very nice when we go to the store, etc. They always talk to him and ask about his leg. I have had like 10 moms of boys tell me "Oh yeah. This is the first of many ER visits you will probably have." You may think that this would make me nervous, but in a selfish way it actually comforts me that it wasn't completely my fault. I feel like there has to be something I should have done to avoid it, but I know I have to stop rehashing the day. I think the hardest part, so far, of being a mom is trying to find the balance between protecting your child and overprotecting your child.

It's All about the Benjamins

Today Asher saw a picture of a $100 bill and pointed at Ben Franklin and said "Daddy." I'm STILL laughing.

Boys Weekend!

Michelle the darling that she is headed to Utah to pick up my car that has been sitting in my Grandma's drive way for the past 7 1/2 months, Thanks Grandma. Therefore, it's just me and the BOY!!!! Today, after dropping off Michelle at the airport we decided to hit up McDonalds; Asher loved the food, he ate majority of his nuggets and fries with a little of my help. He loved playing on the playground with all the other kiddos. While Asher was playing I looked around the packed room and noticed one other man in that part of McDonalds and he was 84, I see what you mother's do during your afternoons. It was raining pretty bad after his nap so we just hung out inside. Tomorrow we going to the gym to play with some friends from work. Here are a few pictures of our day.

Easter Egg Hunting

Last Saturday the Army base had an easter egg "hunt" for the kids. There were like ten thousand kids there I swear. They had to do three heats with just the 0-3 year olds. It was fun and Asher got the hang of it real quick. I think the drilling and obstacle courses we made Asher do in the weeks leading up the this really paid off. We have another egg hunt this next Saturday and we are PUMPED. :) (No, we really didn't do drills... but we thought about it.)

Getting ready to make a run for it.

Daddy showing him the eggs. (As if he needed to, there were a million of them and the whole time we were waiting Asher kept saying "Ball! Ball!")

After he had collected the eggs he proceeded to dump them all out. It was hilarious and you can tell by Sheldon's face he was thinking "No Asher. This is NOT the proper way to finish an easter egg hunt!"

The Easter Bunny was there too. And I think Asher is beginning to come to terms with the fact he will spend every holiday of his youth taking a picture with an oversized character of some sort. AKA there were no tears.

Yes, I shaved his head. For those of you who think I am awful for doing this you must not have a boy. And if you do, I bet his hair doesn't grow like a guinea pig. (he has so many cowlicks it's out of control.) I was getting tired of cutting this guinea pig's hair every three to four weeks.

Happy Spring!!

A little journaling

Well, we've been in Washington for almost three weeks and still don't have our belongings. BUT the word on the street is that the moving company will be loading up our stuff in Utah tomorrow. This (hopefully) means we will have bed/crib/pots/pans/TV/something to sit on sometime next week. One can only pray.

Asher has refused to sleep in the pack and play since we've been here and has recently developed the skill of climbing out (but not with out first rescuing his stuffed monkey and favorite blankie). Witness exhibit A below:

Exhibit A

I am going a little CUCKOO since not only am I bored out of my gourd stuck in the house all day with no furniture and nothing to do (we only have one car here and Sheldon takes it to work). NOW I have the pleasure of chaperoning Asher during his afternoon nap. We've discovered that if Sheldon puts him to bed at night he'll stay in his crib (for several hours at least) so I can have some time with out my little shadow. Don't get me wrong, of course I adore my little boy, but the constant 24/7 companionship starts to get old after a couple weeks.

On the bright side... we got our internet set up! Now I can blog and facebook and catch up on all my missed TV shows. Oh and check my email and pay bills and stuff; I guess that's important too.

Also I have two announcements: 1. Today is our four year anniversary! and 2. I turn 30 next week. Yikes.

LOL if you thought I was going to say I'm prego. Totally not nor am I wanting to be... right now anyway.

New Video

This was taken tonight. Our favorite 'Asherism' is that he promptly folds his arms anytime he hears the word 'prayer'. He does it at the end of the video. If it looks like we're in a hotel it's because we are staying in temporary housing on base. But, we signed a lease today for a house and we are pretty excited to have a home address again. So far we are loving Washington!

Last Weekend in CA!!

We are going to Washington in about a week! (I can't believe I'm really moving to Washington!) We took the opportunity this weekend to visit some great places in the Bay Area. Starting with the Children's Discovery Museum. Asher had so much fun playing around at this museum.

GIANT Tractor tire

Playing with mirrors

He LOVED the water area. (No surprise!) He was drenched when we finished-- good thing we brought a change of clothes!

See the excitement?!

Then we went to San Francisco. First we rode on the cable cars. Asher looks grumpy but he loved it.

Eating a delicious banana split at Ghiradelli Square. The three of us downed it in like five minutes. Look at the expression of awe on his face.

Can't wait to eat the split! Tongue at the ready!

Looking at the Sea Lions at Fisherman's Wharf.

Honestly I'm really sad to leave California. :( But, I am looking forward to getting settled into our new place in Washington. We have been in limbo and living with other people for long enough and we're ready to begin our next chapter!

Some pictures

Christmas break Sheldon came home for a visit. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures:

We went to the park and Asher loves slides. Here he is with some cousins sliding down the slide...

He tries to walk on the slide. It never works out for him. Here he is attempting to walk, but falling down the slide.

Happy to be playing with his cousins.

Chillin

Loving Baby Einstein

Jelly Belly Factory

What?? Did you want us to smile or something?

He LOVES to snort when you say "What does a pig say?" Here he is mid-snort with my sister. I'm pretty sure she'll love me for posting this picture.

Rudolph visited the neighbor kids on Christmas Eve.

Asher loved Rudolph almost as much as Santa.

We made a gingerbread house.

New Year's Eve. It was a really fun night. My family always has a party on New Year's and it did not dissapoint!