Toddler Tales Week 51: Summer Celebrations

This week was the start of our summer celebrations.  For our family, summer is a busy time.  I guess it sort of starts with Mother's Day in May, but then really kicks into gear with Father's Day in June.  That is where this weekend began...Father's Day 2014.

We didn't have any great ideas for Eric for Father's Day, but did have a couple of small presents (an Amazon card to order a case for his new iPhone and a 2014 book of Asher & Daddy, which is volume 2 of the series I started for them last year) that Asher was happy to give him (& then wanted to "help" open).  

Unfortunately Asher was kind of a grump this morning, but we were able to get one cute picture of him and Daddy together before nap time.

When nap-time was over, Asher woke up crying and was completely inconsolable.  For 30-45 minutes he cried and nothing we did helped.  His fever (that he had had at the end of the previous week) had been gone since Friday, but obviously something was still bothering him.  Eventually Eric was able to distract him with another Daddy-Son snacktime consisting of frozen blueberries, and that seemed to distract him enough to make him a bit happier.

Once we got to the point that he was no longer a complete crying grump, we continued on with our original plan of action for the afternoon: Culvers.  Eric and I had a BYGO coupon for a 2-scoop sundae in addition to the free 1-scoop sundae that Culvers was offering to all dads.  Thus, we decided to go out for a family treat, meaning 3 sundaes for the price of one...which also meant that Asher got his own sundae!!  I meant to tell the girl that Asher's sundae could be made smaller than usual, as he did not need to eat an entire full-size sundae, but I forgot.  What he got (a vanilla custard sundae with strawberries and bananas) was HUGE!  He thought it was pretty great and was quite excited by it, but Mommy had to find a way to make sure he didn't get to eat it all without him knowing (to avoid the tantrum that would surely follow).  Thankfully, it was quite busy there that day and Asher was distracted by everything going on.  Every time he would take a bite, he'd enjoy the flavor while looking around to see what was going on.  When he did, I would take spoonfuls of the sundae out of the cup and put them in another cup without him noticing.  One time though I did get a giant (quick) spoonful and when he looked back Eric and I both noticed the confusion on his face as he realized that his sundae had somehow gotten much smaller.  :)

After Culvers, we headed over to visit Britni, Fabien, Theo and the new little lady, Lilou.  We had a nice time catching up with them and Asher and Theo had fun playing together.  I felt terrible the next day though, after Asher's couple feverish days and a weekend of grumpiness (where we thought it was likely teething or similar), when he woke up looking like this:

Eric's Father's Day gift from Asher (From Daycare)

We had noticed a little bit of a rash around his ears the night before, but this morning he had a rash all over his face, neck and chest.  It didn't seem to be bothering him too much, but he wasn't himself mood-wise or appetite-wise.  After a bit of research I was pretty sure it was Roseola, which is a viral rash. Thus, taking him to the doctor wouldn't help him and since the rash was already out he likely was no longer contagious, so he was able to go to daycare.

The next day (Tuesday) the celebrations continued with Eric's 34th Birthday.  Asher still wasn't quite himself, but his rash was getting better and his appetite seemed to be coming back as he was a very hungry little guy at dinner.  We had gone to Red Robin and he insisted on drinking all of his milk and eating his veggie pouch and cheese stick before we even got to our table.  Then, he ate a ton of French fries while we waited for our dinner to come.

When Asher realized that Daddy had gotten M&Ms for his birthday (because his real gift was the iPhone), Asher took them and didn't want to give them up!

When we left Red Robin, Asher got a balloon and then the grumpiness continued as he was frustrated it wasn't doing what he wanted and then when we got home he let go of it and it floated away.  He and Eric sat in the driveway as Asher cried watching the balloon go up and up until they could no longer see it.  Asher was so bummed about his loss that the only way I could convince him to go into the house was cake.

Asher is in awe of the candles.

(2) Videos: Birthday Cake Help (Candle Blowing Practice for Asher)

Asher enjoyed his piece of cake (we waited until after he was in bed for ours) and then went up to his room for much-needed rest.  As I was getting him ready for bed, I said something to him that sounded like or rhymed with balloon and he immediately looked at me, whined out "boon" and then began to cry all over again for his loss. Poor guy.  :(

When Tuesday (& Eric's Birthday) was over, it was time to put all of my focus on our next Summer celebration: Asher's up-coming birthday.  Thus, on Wednesday we were able to enjoy a great (rainy) day home together.  We had a good time and I was surprisingly productive...it helps that Asher likes to clean.

Asher watching "Mic Mouse" on the potty

Lining up all his toys on the edge of the tub.

As I said, we had a really great day together. We didn't do anything real exciting, but it was nice to have some time home with him as usual.  While I took a break on the hallway floor, we enjoyed some fun with "Ring Around the Rosie".  I had recently introduced the game to him and he loved it.  He refused to hold my hands to turn in circles but rather insisted that we both spin around on our own until it was time to "fall down" (which is his favorite part).  This time, I was able to just sing the song for him while he played the game, which is good because I got pretty dizzy and nauseous the last time we played!

Video: Ring Around the Rosie

That evening, the productivity continued in the morning as Asher helped Daddy take out the trash.  Since Eric still wasn't supposed to lift more than 10 pounds, he used the dolly to bring some of the larger trash to the curb.  Asher was in awe and insisted on pushing it as well, or riding on it which also brought BIG smiles!

On Friday, we closed out our busy work-week with a tasty dinner of grilled burgers and corn-on-the-cob.  Asher ate an entire burger by himself!  For the corn, I had cut some off the cob for him to eat, thinking that would be best.  After watching Daddy eat one though, he was quite interested and I decided to let him give it a go.  He did AMAZINGLY well!  He held it perfectly and ate every last kernal.  Actually, he ate it a little too well, as he chomped so much of the cob that he go down to the poker of the corn holders!  Opps..

Video: Asher's 1st Corn-on-the-Cob

Asher & I eating our corn.

Emma enjoying a nap on some random cushion foam as i attempted to clean up the basement.

That night, after Asher had gone to bed we were visited by my parents who came down for the weekend to see Asher and help us out since they would not be able to attend Asher's birthday party the following weekend.  Asher was quite happy to find Grandma and Papa when he woke up the next morning, and enjoyed showing them his Buttons and going for a walk to the bakery to get donuts.

Papa showed him how to put buttons between his toes.  He thought it was pretty cool!

After taking it easy for a bit in the morning, it was time to work.  Mom and I spent the day cleaning the house, while Eric and my dad spent the day building a sandbox for Asher.  It was an exhausting day, but we got SO MUCH accomplished.  I am pretty sure that my house hasn't been so clean in quite some time, and the sandbox turned out awesome!  It was a great way to end the week and start the next one: feeling much more prepared for our upcoming Maine Event.  A Big Thanks to Mom and Dad for all of your help!  <3

Asher inspecting Papa's work