Blessed Beyond Measure: The A Team Week 9: Foggy

Life has really been speeding along lately, as being the mother of two is a very demanding task and I realize that at this point in time (Week 9: November 17-23) I only have a few weeks until I will be back at work and have even less time to accomplish things at home. Thus, I've gotten a bit behind in my blogging and my postpartum brain can't recall most of what happened this week. If it wasn't for the pictures and videos that we take, I fear our kids' childhoods would be mostly a dense fog. Thankfully, we do have an abundance of captured moments and I am able to recall bits and pieces as I look through them. So this week I'll have to skip most of my story telling and just go right to the photos. A part of me (probably a very naive part) is hoping that things will slow down at some point so that I can catch up again, but with Christmas just around the corner, it may take a while...like 18 years.

To start off, I few pictures from week 8 that I missed...

Taking after his daddy?!

Our Steve Urkel look-alike. This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. His head looks proportionally HUGE!

My sleepy little man.

So, as I mentioned we have been very busy simply trying to keep up with the kids, the cleaning (minimally), work for Eric, etc. Nonetheless, life is great and I wouldn't change it for anything.

These days, Avery is getting much more interactive; smiling all the time and observing the world around him. He loves watching our home's ceiling fans, the birdies above his swing and the owl mobile that I made for above his (and Asher's) crib.

The face only a mother could love.

A sleepy little smile

Emma, has been enjoying the fact that I am home all the time and thus the heat is on for most of the day. She has also discovered that Asher's room is one of the warmest places in the house and can frequently be found there, making herself way more comfortable than we approve of. Actually, on Monday of the following week (Week 10) I heard Asher's space heater beep twice (the black box to the lower right of Emma). When I went in the room to investigate, I found Emma laying in front of it looking at it. Knowing that Westies are an extremely intelligent breed (& she has proved that to us several times in the past), I'm pretty sure she was trying to turn it on!

Emma curling up for a nap on Asher's pillow (next to his heat vent)...not exactly where we would like her to be.

Being a Mom of two is tough and I have truly realized that during my Tuesdays and Thursdays home with both of them. I have NO IDEA how single parents do it. I am crazy in love with these boys, but those days can either be awesome or painful depending on how everyone slept the night before and the moods they are in that day. Although Asher truly is a great big brother, it is obvious that he still struggles a bit with not being able to have our attentions whenever he wants them like before. Thus, on these days I am thankful for the naps that Avery takes, allowing me a few moments to focus just on our eldest son.

Asher trying to stick a breadstick into his banana, after pretending to chop the banana like a piece of corn-on-the-cob..."chomp, chomp, chomp...ding!"

Rolling out some Play Doh

Asher playing with the end result of our colored & hardened cotton balls (a Pinterest Idea). They didn't smash as well as I'd hoped, but still held Asher's attention for quite a while as he exploded them all of the playroom floor.

Video: Cotton Ball Smashing

Asher not taking a nap like he should. Instead, he discovered the zipper on the cover to his bed rail and decided to deconstruct.

Making No-Bakes with my little man while Avery sleeps.

Side Note: I asked Asher one day this week what he was doing when he was being silly in the basement. His response, "just doofin' (aka goofing) around." :)

Video: Baby Robby.

Since Eric's brother Rob is the baby of the family (and "gets everything"), we all call him Uncle Baby Robby to tease him. Apparently the name is catching on. This video was taken after Asher was sitting in the playroom saying "Baby Robby" over and over again, completely unprompted.

Video: Diaper Broken

On this morning, Asher came out of the room walking funny and saying, "my diaper broken". We were not sure what he meant, but made him walk back to Eric from across the room just so we could get a video of it...hilarious! ...turns out the velcro on the diaper had broken and he was walking that way to try and keep it up.

Another reason that my days with both boys are exhausting is the shear effort to keep Avery alive and unhurt. It's not like his brother has it in for him or anything (definitely not a retelling of The Good Son...a movie I wish I'd never seen). In fact, Asher is crazy about his little brother and loves to hug him, kiss him and try to pick him up...unfortunately these very things often end up with little brother crying. Despite this though, Avery LOVES his big brother and follows him wherever he goes.

Avery cranking his neck as I rock him in the basement chair and he tries to keep watching Asher play behind us.

Avery smiling at his big brother's antics as the boys take their first bath together.

Asher helping me wash Avery's feet

Avery about to get poked in the eye I think.

The boys dressed in clothes from friends...I was trying to find coordinating outfits for family photos.

So, as I said Tuesdays and Thursdays can be trying but are also completely rewarding. I do love the time that I get to spend with both boys and especially look forward to a couple of years from now when I can watch them play together. However, I also am very thankful for the days that I am able to share with just Avery. With him being the youngest, I would never have time with just him if it were not for these days and since he will no longer be a baby in just the blink of an eye, I am thankful for any chance that I have to snuggle and bond with him alone.

Asher heading to daycare with Daddy...he looks so cute (like a mini-me) in his red jacket (which although hand-me-down looks VERY similar to my jacket) and my winter hat (which he wears because he has an abnormally large head!)

My days home with Avery also allow me a little bit of time to myself. On this particular day, the little dude was quite sleepy allowing me time to get some things done that I have been meaning to do for a LOOOOONG time...like figuring out how to use my Silhouette Cameo cutting machine that I got for Christmas last year!

I also had some time for some fun photos with this adorable little man.

I always think of him as my little male Snow White...Dark hair, pale skin & dark eyes (although his eyes are dark blue rather than dark brown)

In honor of hunting season (An important holiday where I come from): My little 6-pointer.

Video: Happy From the Get Go

Unlike Asher (who tends to be grumpy when he wakes up), our littlest man is a smiley guy straight from the get go.

Video: Talking with Daddy

Sometimes, we are too busy to even come up with a healthy home-cooked meal. This night we had a Taco Bell picnic in the basement. I know there are moms that will likely read this and chastise me in their heads for it, but honestly I don't care...you do what you need to do to keep everyone fed and not loose your sanity, right?

On Friday night the weekend began and it was time for some family time. After a long and exhausting week, Eric and I were not motivated to do much, so we attempted a family movie night with left-over chili in front of the TV (watching Planes). Since Asher has very little patience for TV, we made it about a half hour into the movie and then played in the basement instead. Once Asher was in bed, Eric and I finally got to see the rest of the movie after three attempts over the past two months to watch it with Asher.

So happy it is the weekend!

Eric introduced Asher to clips from Jurassic Park (parent-approved clips). He loved watching the dinosaurs!

On Sunday, after almost three months of Asher staying in his big boy bed and never getting out without our approval, he finally realized that there isn't actually anything keeping him in there and thus we moved into a new phase of toddlerhood. When I heard a commotion on the monitor during nap time, I turned it on to find this...Asher going back and forth between his bed and bookshelf stocking up his bed-time reading supply.

Video: Book Collecting

This is what the bed looked like when I went and got him after nap time.

After nap time, Asher and I enjoyed a popcorn snack while we watched more dinosaurs. I gave Asher his own bowl of popcorn, and I had mine. He figured out that if he ate all of his, he likely wasn't getting more, so instead he kept "sneaking" handfuls of mine. As I was sitting on the couch and Asher was hiding off to the side, I kept seeing a little hand sneaking over and pulling popcorn out of my bowl!

Asher watching the dinosaurs

Later that evening, we finished off the weekend with a family trip to Menards...that's where everyone goes for family fun, right? We went to kill some time before bed and to take the boys to the Winter Wonderland area to see the Christmas lights. Eric was proud to take Avery on his first (of MANY) trip to Menards and also to have both of his boys in Menards with him.