WHAT BOYS DO BEST

It's a little harder to find the time to pick the camera up these days, but when I saw Asher literally showering himself in dirt I made the time! Haha, oh boys.

Lucky for me, Silas decided to abstain from getting absolutely filthy, making clean up time afterward just a tad bit easier. I still can't get over what an absolute blessing it is to be able to go outside in shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops and to feel the warmth of sunshine on our skin- praise God! I'm sure I sound like a broken record because I mention it in just about every post, but get used to it, haha. I think I'll be talking about how much we love the warm weather until winter comes again! It's amazing how much you learn to appreciate the simple blessings when you go without them for a while.

I hope you guys are loving the spring every bit as much as we are!

ASHER'S ANTICS | NAMING THE NEW BABY + OTHER SILLYNESS

It's been a while since I've taken to time to jot down some of the hilarious things that come out of Asher's mouth. We think we've decided on a name for the baby {!} but Asher has a few ideas of his own, like "Allagrit Poopy", "Koookie", and "Fuddy Buddy", hahaha. We're not planning on making any formal announcements on the name yet, just in case we change our mind, but here's a hint...

And here are some more funny Asher-isms to remember;

-Like I mentioned here, on Christmas morning Asher saw the gifts under the tree and said "did God bring these or did Santa bring them?!"

-After falling into a massive pile of snow outside {and nearly disappearing}, he designated it a "trouble corner."

-About Willow; "Where's my little gahl?" 

-And more phrases with the word "ghal", like telling me that Strawberry Shortcake is for "gahls"/"big gahls like mommy". 
 

-After reminding him to use his manners and say "please", he said he was going to wait until he was an adult to start doing that.

-He said he wanted to be an adult like daddy so that he can use knives, go to work, and give spankings.

-Any time he's excited for an event, or to get older and be able to play more sports or do more things, he starts by asking if it's time yet. When we tell him no, he waits one second, and then asks if now it's time yet. Hahaha.

-I won't go into too many details, but poo and pee jokes abound.

-Lately he asked me if we could play football, and if it was going to be rough. When I said "probably not too rough", he said "but football is a rough sport!" Thane's teaching him early.

-An old conversation;
Asher: Jesus has the sheep.
Me: Did you learn that in church?
Asher: No I learned that in our little house. Sheep live in a barn. They have to stay in the fence. We carry them out. I carry the sheep and you carry the cow and the wolf.

He's almost four and he's growing into quite an independent little guy, and- other than the occasional tantrum- he's all smiles! He's joyous, energetic, and loves to socialize. Assuming we don't decide to homeschool, I think he's going to love being in a classroom when the time comes. Which is really hard to imagine, actually...I'm so used to having him home! 

As far as fun and activities, he loves working on tracing ABCs, helping me cook, playing with marbles and marble works, bouncy balls, matching cards, puzzles, paints, and pretty much anything crafty. And he makes a gun out of everything. I'm not even sure where he first started hearing about guns, but all it took was once. One time he held up a half eaten L-shaped piece of toast and declared it a gun. He loves wrestling with daddy {called "wrestle and get away} and whispering secrets into his ear, plus hide-and-seek where he tells us where to hide while he counts, ha! He's an absolute joy. I'm grateful to God for blessing us with such a vivacious first born son!

ASHER'S ANTICS | OUR BEST CONVERSATION YET

Asher: "There's a big poo-poo coming."
Mom: "You'd better go sit on the potty then."
Asher: "I have to do my laundry first."

ASHER'S ANTICS | BOY STUFF

This is for you, Thane: documented proof that your boys aren't spending these nine months getting pedicures or playing with dolls. There's nothing but helicopters, dirt, monster trucks, bugs, and more dirt going on around here. Not to mention the unphotographed activities like tractor driving, drum playing, rock throwing, car washing, pool {as in billiards}, and even a little wild bear spotting. So rest assured, when July comes there's going to be more than enough testosterone to be had at the Keller house.

ASHER'S ANTICS | EASTER EGG DIEING

Asher and I tried our hand at dying Easter eggs for the first time! Another great perk of him getting a little older. After seeing some beautiful techniques on Pinterest, I have to admit that ours are simple. Super simple. The plan was to add little eye-balls and other fun creature features once the eggs dried, but a combination of Asher cracking and attempting to remove the egg shells, throwing the eggs into the bowls of dye so hard that liquid kept spewing everywhere, and Silas screaming on the floor the entire time led to a quick wrap-up of this activity. But, despite the chaos, I'm so glad we did it! As far as those fancy techniques, maybe next year...

Happy Easter egg dying!

ASHER'S ANTICS | 3 YEARS

It's been an interesting couple of months in the Keller household. Asher recently turned three and Silas hit the nine month mark. These both happened within a few weeks of each other and both ages have brought some exciting things with them. So, before I put it off any longer and risk forgetting the fun little details of this stage with two rowdy little boys, here's what they're doing!

First, Asher. Three! Three years old...wow. The progression from one year to two years had it's highlights, but two to three has really been momentous. He's officially gone from a "nursery toddler" to a Children's Church kid. I think that was the first big thing I noticed. One, because it meant a new class, and two, because when there was no Children's Church scheduled for his first official day, he- and Silas {long story}- sat in the sanctuary with me. Totally unplanned, but sweet. They did so good, and- earmuffs, Thane- I'll admit that something about hearing a great sermon in the company of my two sweet, well behaved boys had me dreaming of another baby.

Anyway, this big step up in church for Asher really got me thinking about the other activities now available to him. Like soccer lessons! When Thane encouraged me to start getting Asher into sports, I said anything but soccer. I really don't have anything against soccer. It's the idea of getting near the "soccer-mom" realm that sends me into identity-crisis mode. I may have to compensate with a tattoo and/or purple hair dye. {Just kidding. But maybe.}

And then there's the rest of what Asher's up too... He's pretty much potty trained when he wants to be {which means almost 100% minus the occasional he-was-too-lazy-to-go-to-the-potty accident}. He also naps without a pull-up on now and does pretty good most days! Night time is a different story, but I guess it'll be a while before that changes. He also decided that he was done with the froggy potty and only uses the adult potties now {one less thing for me to clean, hallelujah!}.

He talks my ear off. His favorite phrase is "mommy! mommy! mommy!" When Thane gets home I'm hoping it'll be "daddy! daddy! daddy!" for a change. He likes to use the excuse that he's "full" for anything and everything he doesn't want to do. Even when he's hungry and has to wait a little while to eat, his excuse for needing to eat now is that he's full. Sometimes I try to explain his faulty logic but I think we have a while before he'll admit to it.

He's still into trains, cars, monster trucks, tractors, and anything mobile. His favorite books are Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Hop on Pop, David and Goliath, and anything that has to do with counting. We spend play time building train tracks, setting up/knocking down block towers, coloring {with crayons and markers now!}, finger painting, cutting and gluing, experimenting with play-doh, and drawing shapes and letters on the chalkboard table {before he threw every single piece of chalk down into the vent that's under the table, at least}. We read the bible together and recite memory verses. Asher loves numbers, so he gets a kick out of saying the chapter and verse references more so than the verse itself. He loves to see the letter "A" and point out that "there's A for Asher!" He can peel his own oranges and hard boiled eggs, and likes to do a whole slew of things independently. Occasionally we work on new things like learning how to use a measuring tape to measure and making chain-patterns out of colored paperclips.

He's in the process of giving up his afternoon naps, which means more hectic days but more relaxing evenings. Now that both boys are in bed by 8-8:30pm {instead of Asher wanting to be up until 10pm}, I can actually put my feet up and unwind.

And maybe the biggest milestone of all; the paci is gone! Praise God that one's behind us! More on that later...

An update on Silas is next!

ASHER'S ANTICS | #1, #2, & A COLD CUP OF COFFEE

So, I'm really not interested in recording every poop and pee story that happens in our house. There's always 'another one where that came from', and there's really only so much I care to talk about the typical diapering and potty horrors.

BUT- similar to the Frost Cafe incident- this one must be recorded.

So...I wake up to find Asher running into my bedroom and throwing his very soaked night-time pull-up right at my face. I scream "NOT ON THE BED!!!" and deflect it with my hand before it hits my face. It lands on the bed. But at least it wasn't my face.

We go downstairs to get breakfast and I make a cup of coffee. As I'm starting my first sip, Asher has a bout of diarrhea {after drinking a lot of juice at the fellowship dinner from the previous night}. He makes it upstairs in time, or so I think. He comes back down with his backside totally covered. I clean him up and go upstairs to assess the damage. 

Poop everywhere. On the floor, in his underwear and pants that he'd been wearing, on the backside of his little training potty, and all over the regular toilet where he tried to flush some of it himself. I clean this up.

I get back downstairs, attempt another sip of {now lukewarm} coffee, and put Asher in the bath. While sitting there and beginning to relax with Silas on my lap, I realize that Silas has also had a bout of diarrhea and it's coming out of his diaper and is all over his clothes. I get Asher out of the bath a few minutes later and up the stairs we go to clean Silas up. 

The diaper comes off Silas and gets thrown into the bathroom sink for lack of better place to put it in my haste to quickly get the situation under control. Both boys and I go into my bedroom to get them clean clothes. Asher then points out that he has poop all over the bottom of his foot. Apparently from the drippings that fell onto the dining room floor downstairs directly after his performance of the Texas Diarrhea Massacre in the bathroom earlier. So, back to the bathroom it was, to clean his foot, and then downstairs to clean the mess off of the dining room floor.

Once the dining room floor is wiped up, I re-heat my coffee and we go back upstairs where Silas is still laying on the bed waiting to be dressed. Asher jumps up onto the bed too, and we video-chat with Thane for a few minutes. I recount all of this to him- just in case he needs a little reminder of what he doesn't need to feel bad about missing- assuming the saga was over. 

Wrong.

I notice Asher's hand smells like poop. Sigh. I tell him to go into the bathroom and wash his hands. Before I can get in there to make sure he does it well, he comes running back into my room with a hand totally covered in poop.

What?!

I go back into the bathroom to find Silas' dirty diaper on the floor. Oh yeah, I left that in the sink earlier...and now it's all over the floor. Double sigh.

I clean this up, get both boys totally dressed, and take them and the dirty diaper downstairs. By this time it's almost noon. The coffee gets left upstairs.

I spend the next little while scrubbing Silas' dirty diaper out in the mudroom sink.

It's almost noon. The coffee mug is still full and cold all over again. Forget it, I don't even want it anymore.

And with that, allow me to raise my {most likely cold} mug to each of you dear friends also enjoying this stage of parenting. Let us thank our own dear parents for enduring this same stage for our sakes, and think on the fact that despite countless moments of chaos, we know without a doubt that children are indeed a blessing; a "glorious inconvenience" {Pastor M. Driscoll}; and "a heritage from the Lord" {Psalm 127:3a}. Praise God for them!

ASHER'S ART | OIL PASTELS

I got a pack of oil pastels as a birthday gift from my Grandaddy, and Asher and I have been dabbling with them for the past few days. Let me just say that these pastels blow the socks off of crayons and colored pencils and even finger paint. They're so vibrant and creamy and easy to work with. I want to frame every single drawing Asher has done! They require a little more supervision {plus a bath afterwards} but they're well worth it. I enjoy using them just as much as him, and so it's a really nice little morning activity to do together while I sip on my coffee. I may not have the time for oil painting right now, but this is a pretty nice alternative...

What simple activities are you guys doing with your kids these days? 

P.S. Can't help but think back to our ABC Cutouts with Asher's fingerpaint art...still need to frame those, too!

ASHER'S ANTICS | TWO YEARS & NINE MONTHS

Asher is two years and nine months and we've officially entered the "MOOOOMMY!!!!, watch me __________, I want __________, I'm HUNGRY" (x1000 per day) phase.

He is a wonderful big brother to Silas. He likes to kiss him and talk to him. And Silas loves to watch Asher...sometimes he'll even break out in laughter at him.

He asked to wipe his own bottom for the first time recently, saying "I wanna wipe myself....there's poo-poo in there." I know, groundbreaking. {He actually did a decent job, too.} Which reminds me, he's also taking the liberty of going #2 and not telling me nor wiping himself, followed by things like re-enacting Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed on my bed and without his underwear on.

His first memory verse is John 10:11; "I am the good shephard. The good shephard gives His life for the sheep." He can just about recite the whole thing, and he loves citing the "John 10:11" part.

Lastly, some recent phrases:

-"I am THE BAT MAN" he said to Silas while wearing his hooded/cape-like monkey towel.

-"It's too hard reach, that high moon" {while holding him up and telling him to grab the moon}.

-"No singing!" {When I try to sing along with the radio...or when his stuffed Wookie makes noise.} 

 

Asher's First Backpack

Asher got his first backpack, and let me just say that seeing him wear it makes me melt! 

He's obviously not going to school anytime soon, but he needed something to pack his snacks, pull-ups, and extra change of clothes for the church nursery. For months I'd been using whatever plastic bag or reusable grocery bag I could throw together at the last minute. Finally, enough was enough and I came across this striped backpack at Target. He gets such a kick out of it! The sweetest thing about it is he totes around his voice-recorded audio book that Thane made for him right before he deployed. I love that he carries a little piece of Daddy with him everywhere he goes.

Now we just need one for Silas!

P.S. Asher's back pack is on clearance at Target right now...