Two Wheels

We have had beautiful weather so far this January and today it was a high of 55! This is the third day in a row the boys have been able to get outside and enjoy having sidewalks to ride their bikes on. Asher loves his balance bike and is really getting the hang of the balancing part but I reminded Jaxson that this summer his small bike with training wheels is going to be for Asher and that if he wanted to have a bike to ride he needed to learn two wheels. So today we practiced. And then five minutes later he was riding around the whole neighborhood like he has been doing it for years!

My Boys

My boys! I made them take a few photos I needed for a project and since they were willing I asked them to stand together for a quick snap. I love them so...

Filling the Walls

 I am admittedly the worst at printing and displaying photos I take. I encourage clients to do it but if you were to walk into my house you would have NO IDEA I even own a camera, let alone an expensive one. But with the new house comes new habits. I bought several frames from goodwill and got some white chalk paint and went to work. Once I realized these frames were very odd sizes I realized I needed some mats. I had one priced and it was about 8 times more than the frame.

In comes Hopper who mentioned awhile back he bought a mat cutter for some projects he was working on. He so nicely let me borrow it and gave me a tutorial on how to use it! After only surprisingly one glaring mistake, I got the hang of it and had a few mats cut. I threw some photos in them to see how it looked and I have to admit that it is nice to see some of my photos in a frame. Channing is helping me make a black and white gallery wall full of some of my favorite photos. I can't wait to see it all finished!

Big Boy Asher!

Anytime we go anywhere during the day Asher usually sits in Jaxson's booster seat. He fits well in it and it makes getting in and out of the car twice as fast. His carseat is a struggle to buckle with his big puffy winter coat. Once the new little one arrives both of the boys will have to sit together in the third row and it will be easier that Asher can buckle and unbuckle himself in. Independence is going to be important with my hands full with a newborn.

I got the seats over a week ago and they have been int he back of my car just waiting. Everyday Dave would tell him he would put them in and then we would get busy and forget. Yesterday Asher ended in tears saying he just wanted his new big boy carseat so while he was in school today Dave installed the booster and when I picked him up he was so excited. He was smiling ear to ear all the way home, opening and closing his new cup holder.

This is also night one of no more pullups at night. We waited a bit longer for Asher than we did for Jax and hopefully we waited long enough. He is such a deep sleeper he usually doesn't wake to use the bathroom or will wake but not make it quite to the potty and then be so upset that he wet his pull-up. We get him up from bed at 11pm when we go to bed to have him potty so he won't wake up at night and he doesn't even open his little eyes there or back to bed. It is actually pretty impressive. We have been doing this for a long time now and he has been dry for months. Tonight he asked to wear his "wake-up underwear" to bed. As we were watching a show I heard two little feet stomp across his wood floor room to the potty. I hurried (which isn't very fast) upstairs and he was alert and going to the bathroom! I told him I was proud of him and he said that he had wake up underwear so he needed to get up. Maybe the pullups were holding him back this whole time. But changing wet sheets at 3am is not my idea of fun so I really hope he is ready.

29 Weeks

I am now arriving at week 29 for our third little one. It has been a bit different in many ways this time around. I felt much worse in the beginning but also had some bad luck with sinus infections and some other ailments as well. It also took some time to feel this little one moving as much as I remember with the boys but now some serious somersaults are happening regularly. And my belly didn't pop out as quick as I expected or remember it doing with Asher. I am just in the last couple of weeks looking more pregnant and outgrowing some of my sweaters.

The boys are getting more excited now that they see my belly growing. Now that I told them babies can hear them Jaxson likes to read stories to her and Asher likes to tell her about his favorite things... mainly talks about monster trucks. They are going to be such great big brothers and I don't want to wish time away but I can't wait for them to meet their littlest sibling.

I haven't had any photos of my growing belly yet. One of my favorite photographers documented her pregnancy with her camera, tripod, and a remote. I read how she did it and thought to give it a try. I think it was more awkward feeling taking photos of myself than having someone take photos of me honestly. And after a lot of photos taken I ended with a few I was happy with. 

Box Night

 Jaxson's school hosted such a great event tonight. Over the holiday break they asked everyone to keep extra boxes or other packing supplies and donate them on the first week back. Once box night came the gym was FILLED to the brink with boxes and tape and empty rolls of wrapping paper.  There was tons of stuff! The boys decided on a pirate ship (thanks to Jake and the Neverland Pirates) and off to work we went. The boys focused on the sign, steering wheel, and decorations while Dave handled the box cutters. The finished product was worth the work as they walked around together showing off their creation. Some of the box buildings everyone was making were amazing it made our little pirate ship look amateur. The one thing that did happen is our boys will not be looking a box the same again.  Jaxson is extra proud they chose their pirate ship to be displayed with other creations in the library!

It was hot in the gym and we were all working hard. The boys went out to get a drink several times and I didn't think much of it. I went with them once and found that Asher was just too short to get a drink. I asked how they went about getting him a drink and they showed me their technique. Big brothers sure do come in handy sometimes.

Monster Jam

Monster Jam has become a staple Christmas present for the boys. They probably don't realize it yet but next year might catch on. They come to Des Moines the first week of the new year every year and with  Asher's love for Monster Trucks is a must go for us right at least. Someday we want to take them to the finals that happen in Las Vegas. They happen in mid march so obviously this year is definitely out!

"Hey boys, smile for the camera!" ..... or not...

They are so serious while watching the trucks. They just take it all in. 

But this little guy lit up like this everytime they did a big jump. It was pretty darn cute! 

Before the show we went to get dinner and Jaxson loves cheeseburgers. They are probably his favorite food and we no longer order from the kids menu when it comes to burgers. The waiter thought we were a little crazy when he sat down the giant cheeseburger in front of kid. But we knew that he would be surprised when picking the nearly empty plate back up in just a short while. We were right. When he came back around to clear plates he found Jaxson's burger almost completely gone and he appeared to be passed out on the seat. He was definitely impressed.