Spring Break

Tiff and the kids are off this week for Spring Break. So when in Rome; I took off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week as well. We didn't have big plans for anything, just spending time together and doing a few things around the house.


On Monday Tiff took the kids to Jungle Java, an indoor playscape where we are going to have Aidan's birthday. It's a little hard with Asher because she wants to go everywhere brother goes but she could really fall in some places. So Tiff got a good workout being her shadow.

On Tuesday Tiff and the kids played while I was working. She dressed our little leprechauns in green in honor of St. Patrick's Day (after Tiff remembered, so that is why there are 2 different outfits on the kids.) Note that Asher is wearing the same dress as last year, size 6 months, but this time it is a shirt. Asher worked on a little fishing (see the video below), Tiff had her triathlon class that evening so I had the kids running wild (see the second video below), and the kids continued to run wild after she got home (see the third video).

Wednesday was a big day. The kids had their first dentist appointment. Aidan was actually excited about it. We had been talking it up to him for about a month and it paid off. He was a little nervous but in the end did great. The dentist had the kids sit on Tiff's lap and then lean back with their heads in her (the dentist's) lap. She said they both looked good but that we needed to start flossing.

Aidan and Asher after the dentist holding their new toothbrushes.

After the dentist office, Tiff had to take Asher to the doctor to get a shot left over from her well check last week. I took Aidan to the movies to see Bolt, but we didn't stay for the whole thing. He did sit in my lap for most of the movie. While we were at the movies Tiff and Asher went to the store and picked up some flowers to put in the flower beds. When I got home with Aidan, Tiff viciously put me to work digging up grass for two pumpkin plants.

Little Miss Sunshine holding some sunshine.

Asher exercising her green thumb.

Thursday Tiff got up with Asher and they worked on blueberry muffins. She had made "dirt" with Aidan the day before, so it was Asher's turn to cook. The difference between the two when it comes to cooking is that Aidan likes to help for short amounts of time, but then he usually skates out early and does not like to get his hands dirty. Miss Asher wants to do everything, even crack the messy eggs! She helps until the very end too which Tiff said was really cute. When Aidan and I got up we all went outside and watered the new flowers that Tiff planted the day before. For the rest of the day we all hung out together playing and having fun.

More fishing.

So here it is Thursday night and the countdown to Monday begins. I think baking cookies are the big plans for tomorrow. I'm sure there will be a few more pictures to share when all is said and done. Enjoy what's left of Spring Break.

Saturday Morning Playtime

Asher looking fierce while demonstrating her patent headlock technique on two of her favorite things, her lamb and new doggy that Grampy picked out for her.

I sent Tiff off on a lavish (not really) shopping spree, which left me to tend to the curmudgeons on my own. So far the kids have been good. They have been playing with their toys instead of getting into things they shouldn't be getting into.

Here are a couple of videos of their playtime.

Mr. Chatterbox

Happy 30th Birthday Matt!!!!!! You look better than every and I love you so so much!!

Also, happy birthday Grampy! I still think it is neat that Tom and Matt share a birthday...

We celebrated this weekend with a stay at a bed in breakfast in Austin, The Mansion on Judges Hill which was wonderful. Then we had cake and ice cream this evening. It was a fun weekend. When we picked the kids up from Grandma's house, Aidan literally talked the entire way home, which is at least 25 minutes. He comes across shy at school sometimes, but man does he have you all fooled!!

It is so entertaining to just listen to what he has to say. It cracks us up!

Here are some cute things Aidan has said lately:

"I love carrots. I chow on those carrots!"

"Can I have a drink of water please? I have a thirsty infection." (This came shortly after we were talking about Asher having an eye infection.)

Aidan -"Grandma did your dog die?"
Grandma Buss - "Yes Aidan, she did."
Aidan - "Did she go to heaven?
Grandma - "Yes, all dogs go to heaven."
Aidan - "I don't have that movie..."

Asher can now say: agua, cracker, and get down (to Fonzie when he is begging). At home she is pretty chatty, maybe not as much as Aidan was, but she is making noises and saying her words all the time. Miss Claudia asked us if she is talking at home. I of course told her yes. I guess at daycare she just takes it all in. She can understand all of the commands in Spanish and follows directions really well, but isn't talking there. It's neat to see how she is learning Spanish like Aidan did and says agua but hasn't yet said water.

Another thing we learned this weekend is that Asher is just like Aidan in that she doesn't like attention on her. She was saying or doing something, I can't remember which, and I clapped and looked at her. She threw down her little lamb and gave me a face that said, don't look at me mom! That is so Aidan....

I love you both and love to watch you unfold! You bring Daddy and I so much joy!!

Adventures in Fatherhood

So yesterday I had President's Day off and had the kids with me all day. This can still be a little unnerving to me since I'm not too used to it, but we usually have fun. Our plans were pretty limited. We were going to visit Great-grandma while she played the piano at the Georgetown Hospital, and then we had to stop by Academy to exchange some things for Tiff. And do this by lunch to meet Tiff at home.

Asher woke up around 7:15 just after Tiff left and Aidan slept in until 8:30 which is great for him. They were both in good spirits and ate their breakfasts well. If anything breakfast has always been the one meal that they will eat.

We got to the hospital a little later than I wanted to and Aidan was playing shy. Aidan and I sat in a chair with Asher in the stroller near the piano. Great-grandma was happy to see them and played Aidan's favorite "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" when we got there. It took him a little while but he finally moved over to the piano and would hit a key here and there while Great-grandma was playing. Asher snacked on some raisins that I brought. She was more interested in the food then the music. We were there for about 45 minutes until the natives started getting restless.

We got through Academy fine and got Tiff her swimsuit and goggles for the triathlon that she is doing in June. She will be sooooo excited that I brought this up. We got home before Tiff, and I started to get lunch ready while the kids played. We all ate together and then Tiff had to go back to work. I laid Asher down for her nap, she has not been going to sleep well for the last 2 weeks. Aidan and I read a book and then started to dose on our bed. He eventually gave me that 'I want to go get into my bed' look. So we got up and tried to sneak into his room with Asher sleeping. She was asleep but as I tucked him in she woke up and was ready to go. There was no convincing her it was nap time. I laid her down and left the room. Well she proceeded to talk and play and jump around in her crib. And when she got tired of that she decided to hit the walls. So she would bang! bang! on one wall then bang! bang! on her crib and then bang! bang! on the other wall. It was so hard that I thought some pictures in the hall might fall off the wall. So I went in there to talk to her, and poor Aidan was laying there with a 'I'm tired and I can't get to sleep because my sister is going bonkers' look. I again laid Asher down and left the room.

Since I couldn't do anything else I decided to move along with my plans for the day. I wanted to get some fertilizer down and check the lawn sprinklers while the kids were 'napping.' I got all that done and was finishing up in the backyard when I heard Aidan screaming through the window in his room. I rushed inside, ran up the stairs, and into his room to find Aidan screaming (and I mean screaming) "MY BLANKETS BROKEN!!!!" He was sitting there with his comforter blanket in his hands that had come un-tucked from the end of the bed. For whatever reason he thought that it was broken. And with all the screaming I look over at Asher and she is fast asleep. Not even stirring while her brother screams at the top of his lungs. Remember I could hear Aidan from the backyard!

Well needless to say Aidan was done with his nap so he came down stairs with me and got to watch a little TV before Tiff got home. I had to wake Asher up so she didn't sleep too late. Maybe if she had gone to sleep when she was supposed to it wouldn't have been an issue. The rest of the evening was pretty normal; dinner, bath, bedtime.

Today was funny though. Tiff had left for her first triathlon class, again did I mention she is doing a triathlon in June, and I was with the kids until Grandma got there then I would leave to go to small group. I was talking to Aidan reminding him that tomorrow was Tiff's birthday. His response was "And I don't have to go to school." I explained to him that Tiff and I had to go to work and he and Asher had to go the school. Fast forward to when I get home that night and go up and say good night to him, and he asks me "but if we got to school how can we have mommy's birthday?" So I gave him the schedule; when we wake up we tell her 'Happy Birthday,' and we sing to her. "And give her spankings!" adds Aidan. The smile was a little too big when he said that. Then we had to go to school where I would pick him up to go to the store so he could pick out her birthday gift (yes on her birthday - sue me). Finally we would have Mommy's birthday. With a smile and satisfaction in the plan he settled down for bed.

Spending these times with the kids are moments that I cherish since I know a day will come (just like me to my parents - teenagers oih!) when they don't want anything to do with me. Until then I will be fixing broken blankets and holding mommy while Aidan gives her her birthday spankings.

Heart Day the Buss Way

Asher with her card from Great-Grandma Gus that looks a little too much like her.

Matt and I had a great Valentine's Day. It's fun to think about how our Valentine's celebrations have changed over the 10 years we have been together. In the beginning, we were both working every Valentine's Day waiting tables and wishing we could celebrate. When we got real jobs, there were a couple of years when we actually went out, once to Hudson's on the Bend, and spent money we didn't have, but pretended we did. It was fun to go out to a fancy dinner, buy each other gifts, and even flowers. Once kids came along, we stopped going out to dinner and instead Matt made me dinner each year. He has made steak, shrimp, fondue, stuffed tomatoes, wonderful salads, and bought vanilla ice cream with chocolate hearts to name a few. He has even created menus of what that nights meal will include. It has always been very special. This year we are still trying to get out of debt, so we decided not to do actual presents. We did cards, as we always do, and then decided to make 5 coupons for each other. Matt was so creative and even drew a cute picture on each one using Aidan's markers, and then made an actual perforated "coupon" that detached from the sheet using an exacto knife. To others that may seem silly, but to me that just reminds me of how thoughtful and wonderful my husband is and how he is very creative. So, back to this Valentine's Day...

Since this was the first year that Aidan actually is getting the holiday stuff, we celebrated with the kids by having a bag with some goodies for each and a huge singing card. After breakfast we got ready and decorated some gingerbread cookies with frosting and red and pink sprinkles (Aidan picked gingerbread due to learning about the gingerbread man at school) and delivered them to Great Grandma Buss and Grandma and Grandpa Buss in Georgetown. Aidan loves "playing" the piano at Great Grandma's house. After naps and dinner for the kids, as well as a trip to the store for Matt, we put the kids to bed around 8. Then we finally started our Valentine's Day...

Aidan and Asher at Great Grandma's

Earlier, Matt had cooked some crab cakes and served them with a homemade cocktail sauce while I was feeding the kids so I wouldn't be starving. First we exchanged our cards and coupons. This will now be a Buss family Valentine's Day tradition. It is what it is all about! We made the coupons for things we knew the other would really appreciate. One of mine was to clean out both cars for Matt, and one of his was to bring me lunch up at school. They were thoughtful and really fun and best of all FREE! I loved it! Then together we prepared this awesome chicken Parmesan with fresh mozzarella cheese and kalamata olives. It was wonderful! We ate our yummy dinner in the living room and watched Definitely Maybe, a really great movie loaned to us by my brother Jake, the movie guru. I actually stayed awake for the WHOLE movie, which is actually a miracle. It was a really great night, and the kids actually went to bed pretty well and stayed asleep once we laid them down which was huge! We discovered today that Asher is cutting all 4 of her canine teeth, which explains the past week and a half of very fussy baby and bedtime struggles.

In closing, I love my husband. I love not having to do some fancy schmancy Valentine's Day thing. To us it is special being low key, yet very thoughtful, and having a fun night together. Hope you all had a great heart day too...

XOXOX

A Funny Little Prayer

Aidan has been saying he is scared to go to sleep sometimes. I really think it is more of I don't want to go to sleep, and this is me trying to buy more time, but who knows. I tell him Jesus is always with him, and he doesn't need to be scared. So this is how our little prayer went the other night:

Mom: "Jesus, please help Aidan go to sleep and help him have sweet dreams about chocolate and Momma (he always says he is going to dream about momma, and he gets a huge smile on his face when I mention the chocolate).

Aidan: "And pray for Jesus to make a light."

I love how kids are just to the point. Love you Aidan, and yes, he has a nightlight! :)

We're Expecting!!!

We are expecting a new addition to our family pretty soon. We are not sure if it is going to be a boy or girl, and we don't know what the name will be yet. Aidan and Asher are very excited.

That's right, we are going through the process to adopt a golden retriever from Gold Ribbon Rescue here in Austin. So pretty soon we will have the new addition of a golden retriever to add to our family. We sent in our application about a month ago, had the phone interview, and had the home visit last Saturday. Asher will be so happy when she gets a big dog to play with. The lady that did the home visit brought a 4 year old male of hers named Jake. Betty tried to play but wasn't sure how, Fonzie did what he does and ignored everyone, Aidan was excited but spent more time playing by himself, and Asher was excited too but reluctant to pet the dog.

We are looking for a 2 to 4 (maybe 6) year old dog. There is no preference to male or female. The dog has to be great with little kids and other dogs. I am really hoping that the dog will really connect with Asher and that they have a great bond.

Now we are just waiting to here from the matchmakers to talk about the exact kind of golden that we are looking for. Then when we think we have one all of us, including the dogs, go and visit the foster home to see the dog. If we want to adopt the dog and it is in Austin then we have to wait until the next day. If the dog is in San Antonio then we have to leave the foster house for a little while before we can take the dog home. They do this so you don't get all wrapped up in the emotion and the big brown doggy eyes staring at you. In the end the foster parents make the decision. We will keep you guys updated at we continue with this process.

By the way, the picture above is Tiffany pregnant with our first, Aidan. It seems like it was a lifetime ago.

Separated at Birth?

Check out these two pictures. Aidan has way too much hair on his head, and it reminded me of Eric from 'That 70's Show.' The picture of Aidan probably doesn't do it justice. He is getting a haircut this afternoon.

Funny Phrases of the Day

Well, my kids have made me laugh and smile many many times today. Here are a few highlights:

"Mommy, would you like it if I hugged you twenty-one hundred times? (Are you learning that in school??)

While reading his school books - "This is a period. It means it's all done!"

Then when he went to bed, Aidan said he need to show me something. Bedtime has been a little hard lately, with lots of drinks and whining from both kids, but not tonight. He pulled the corners of his mouth and made a huge funny face! Then he wanted to show Daddy. I'll take funny faces any night. What a great way to end the day!

Aidan, you are such a cutie patootie! xoxox

Ashie is now saying duckie and doggie pretty well. She was cracking up tonight "walking" the dog which really meant her holding the leash and me holding it a little higher up. She thought she was tough stuff! Aidan walked and ran Betty like a pro!

Daddy is the Best!

As I posted earlier, Daddy is at a men's retreat. While he is away, I have to take this time to brag on what a wonderful husband and father he is.

When I came home, ALL of the laundry was done, and not just done but put away as well. We had ALOT of laundry and were a little behind in doing it.

He had washed all of our sheets and remade the beds.

He knew Aidan would be sleeping in our bed, so he put Aidan's pillow there, along with his binky bear, tubby bear, and little bunny. He didn't just toss them on the bead either - he laid binky on the pillow and the others right next to it.

He folded Asher's blanket into a triangle (I think he was showing off with this :) and laid her pink binky bear on her little pillow.

The dishes were all washed, the kitchen cleaned, and the counters wiped off.

He had also gone to the store a couple of days ago and bought groceries for us and was even excited about these cute new little tator tots for the kids.

I am so so blessed to have the best husband in the world who is the best father in the world to Aidan and Asher.

I love you honey...

Hannah Montana

Last night Daddy went on a men's retreat with church. The kids and doggies were both very well behaved. Aidan and I slept in Mommy and Daddy's bed and we watched cartoons together until about 9:00 when Mommy was falling asleep. We even ate cereal in bed as a snack. It was fun! Betty slept with us too and only hopped down once at about 7:00 to go outside. Asher got up at 8:30 this morning and helped me make blueberry muffins for breakfast. Aidan slept until 9:30! That may be a new record for him. When he woke up we ate breakfast and then watched cartoons. Here is where Hannah Montana comes in...

A show came on that showed Hannah Montana on stage singing a song. Aidan then said, "Hannah Montana looks like Meme!" Was it the long blond hair, the tie die outfit, the energy?

I hope and pray that when I am a grandma, my grandchild will think I look like Hannah Montana!! You Go Mom!!

Aidan and Asher with Hannah Montana, also know as Meme...

Later in the day I decided to take the kids to Jungle Java, a new play place for kids. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera. Darn it! The kids had a blast climbing around and playing on the slides. Aidan's favorite was the huge treehouse and Asher's favorite was going down the big slides with brother. They were super cute together! We will have to go again with Daddy and let him climb all over and play while I take pictures.

Aidan gets some homework...

That's right our 3 year old had homework tonight. He had to practice reading some books that he made at school. We sat down on the couch tonight before bed time and he read through both of them twice. Here are the two books.

I do have to say we have been very blessed to have people that take such good care of Aidan. First Miss Claudia did an exceptional job from when he was a baby to 3 years old, and he learned so much when he was at her daycare. Now he has 3 amazing teacher's Miss A, Miss Coker, and Miss Mackie (in alphabetical order as to show no bias) that do such a great job with him and his quarks. I dropped him off this morning at school and he was throwing a fit. I had to go so I set him down and he flopped on the floor. Miss Coker looked down at him and said, "we'll ease into it," meaning they were going to give him some time to get into a mood to participate in class with the other kids. I laughed to myself and thought 'perfect.' I know how difficult he can be sometimes and they are very patient and understanding with him. For that matter the entire class that they teach of teacher's kids and kids with special needs. I know that I couldn't do it so kudos to them (and to all teachers, especially my wife, for that matter).

Aidan's snow day in Texas

Last week Aidan's class had a field trip to an ice rink in Austin. 'Ice Skating' you say? No. The field trip was for the kids to play in the snow. They basically shaved the ice with the zamboni and dumped it out into a snow pile. They made two piles at one end of the rink where one of the hockey goals would be. Then the kids could jump in and play. I had the privilege to meet Aidan's class there and play in the snow with him. He was equipped with his snow pants, snow boots, heavy jacket, and mittens. The only time he complained about being cold was when he got some snow (ice) in his mittens and sleeves. He fell down several times but never cried. There was an incident when he was in the middle of the snow pile and I was video taping him. I had stopped taping and looked at him and his face was beet red. This was the only time that I almost slipped as I scrambled to get to him worried that he had fallen and hurt himself. When I got to him he was crying too hard to explain what had happened. It didn't take long to figure out what had happened. He had some snow on his face, neck, and collar. Either he fell in the snow and face planted or some deviant little child got him with a snow ball. The latter wouldn't surprise me since that was the main thing that every kid was doing, pelting snow balls. I brushed him off and he went about his business.

Here are some pictures and videos from the event.

"Is it snow time?"

Aidan with Maddie, his field trip buddy. I was very surprised that he let her come up and hug him.

"Now what do I do?"

Aidan having fun. That is Miss Mackie in the red jacket, one of Aidan's teachers.

Aidan walking through the snow.

I like this video because he picks up a snow ball, looks for a target, and then takes off.

So after he played in the snow some I thought he might like to go and walk around on the ice. We went walking and it was very hard for him to walk without slipping and falling. This is where the fact that I am still 80% kid comes into play. I came up with a great idea. I said to Aidan, "Aidan lay on your back and I'll slide you on the ice." He laid down and didn't like it so I told him to lay on his tummy. This is where it gets good. With one hand grabbing his jacket between his shoulders and the other the fanny of his snow pants I slid him across the ice. This is the number 1 reason why Daddy rules and Mommy drools. He went sliding about 12 feet on the ice and came to a stop. He popped up and said, "Again! Again!" By this time several of his classmates had seen the 'slide heard around the world,' and came running screaming, "I want to do that." At first they all crammed together and it was hard to slide them, but then I noticed a big blue line on the ice (not quite center ice, sorry I don't know the hockey terms). I told the kids to line up on the big blue line. So then I had 7 or so kids lined up on the ice as I moved down the line chucking kids across the ice. It was funny when they would come to a stop they would immediately get up, turn around, and start walking back to where they started. The problem was that then they had another kid sliding towards them. So to avoid the 'bowling ball meets bowling pin' effect I had to aim one to the left then one to the right and so on. I was doing that for about 20 minutes or so until the kids, yes the kids, got bored with it. Of course Aidan never got tired of it, but eventually it was time to go. I had to get a video of it and everyone I knew was heading out of the rink. So I set the camera on the ice and hit record. Here is what I could get.

A Look at Aidan...

Our son Aidan is growing up so fast! He is 3 and will turn 4 in April. He is a wonderful big brother to his little sister. One thing that melts my heart lately is that he likes to hold her hand when we are driving home from school. They will be sitting in their car seats and he will grab her hand and hold it until we get home. She is very content holding brother's hand all the way home. Aidan is a very smart and thoughtful little boy. Today on the way home from Walmart he was telling me again about how he wanted to be a dog catcher when he grows up (see previous blog about this topic...) and was very concerned and asked "What if I can't find the doggies mommy? How will I find the mommy?"
Aidan reading a book to Ashy.

He is a lover of books and reading. He still begs for more books and is sad every time we have to stop reading to go to bed. His favorites right now are Bernstein Bear books, any and every one of them. It is really sweet to watch him "read" to his little sister, although her attention span isn't really long enough to listen to a whole story yet. He loved learning his letters and sounds at school and is very proud they finished learning them all. He is learning his sight words now and can read some predictable books such as: I like the cat, I like the car, etc. He learns so much at school!

Aidan working very hard on a project at school. Notice his cool shirt from Meme that says, "If you think I'm cool, you should see my Dad."

He also learns other important things in school. We were at HEB and he was sitting in the front of the cart with Asher. She was leaning on him and he said, "Mommy, Asher is in my personal space bubble. I learned about that in school." After a moment of smiling and processing what my THREE year old said, I informed him that when it comes to sister's, you don't get to have a personal space bubble and she will probably always be in it.

He is also stubborn (where did he get that from???) and is often the child in pictures who is NOT doing what the others are doing. For example: The others are going from classroom to classroom singing Christmas carols and ringing bells. Aidan is standing there, politely standing there, but no singing and no ringing. Example number 2: The others all have their faces painted. Aidan did not want to have his face painted. (and so on and so on). He knows what he wants to do and if he doesn't want to, there is no convincing him otherwise...

This is Aidan and his class carroling in my class. Notice EVERYONE else wearing their cute Christmas aprons and hats, singing, and ringing their bells. Notice my adorable son, standing there quietly, not doing any of those things...

Aidan also is the opposite of Matt and myself in that he DOESN'T like to eat. His number one mealtime phrase is, "What do I have to eat to get down?" He does love to snack, but meals, even his favorites, are usually a struggle. Even mac and cheese is not a winner with Aidan. He prefers to eat salad...

He does, however love to eat breakfast most of the time. Here he is with a few of his favorite things: His sister, cereal, and his binky bear (on the table).

Aidan is also so lovable. He says I love you Mommy many many times each day. He does our special sign to say I love you every night at bedtime and when I see him at school. He also loves to give me little things. Every a dried brown leaf is like a special treasure to him and he picks them up and gives it to me as if it were a beautiful flower. I now have Aidan leaves all over the inside of the van from the treasures he gives to me as we walk to the van after school. I love them! He also picks tiny flowers (weeds) to give to me.

Aidan loves to climb on and wrestle with Daddy. Although he is not a huge rough houser and never has been, he has always loved to have that special boy time with daddy wrestling around. Tickling is usually involved too. He loves playing outside on the playscape Daddy and Grandpa built, and also has recently enjoyed playing soccer outside. He kicks the ball into the fence or the goal and says, "Score!" Maybe soon we will be brave enough to sign him up for soccer.

Right now his favorite colors are, "silver and golden," which is a big change from Meme's favorites (and in turn Aidan's favorites) of purple and pink. Daddy is happy about this change.

Aidan loves Dora, Nemo, Diego, Backyardigans, and most of all Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He still has his fascination with little things and can often be found with a marble, pebble, or small treasure of some kind in his hand or pocket.

Aidan is a gift from God, in many ways the opposite of his sister, a feisty red head, a loving son, and a huge blessing to his Daddy and me.

Fun with Windows Movie Maker

So this is something that I have been wanting to do for some time now. We had all these video clips of the kids dancing in the living room and I wanted to put them together for a dancing montage. Now to put this in perspective I had to find a video file converter and a audio file converter to make my Quicktime videos and iTunes music compatible with Windows Movie Maker. My hard work has paid off.

So turn up the speakers and enjoy!

A look at Asher...

Anyone who is a parent can relate. Each child is different. It is amazing how different Aidan and Asher are. She is going to give us a run for our money. Either I have a bad memory or Asher is doing things before her brother did. She walked before he did (partly because she wanted to chase Aidan), it seemed like she was smiling before he did (just gas?), and she climbed things before he did. Well the last may not be true. She is very much a climber. Aidan may have been able to climb things when he was her age but if he could he didn't do it. When Aidan was little you could set him down somewhere and he wouldn't go too far. When you set Asher down the second you blink she is gone, and it never fails that where she has gone to either involves a dog or climbing something. My heart has skipped more beats these last 5 months then my entire life. We have a small table and chairs for the kids; she loves to climb the chairs. We have a step stool for the kids to get to the kitchen sink to wash their hands; she loves to climb that. And now she has learned that she has the ability to climb the playscape in our backyard (see the video below).

Not only is she a climber, but she is a princess (as she should be). She knows that she is the baby and likes to command attention; well at least likes to be held when she wants to be held. She is a sweet girl and will give kisses on command. Before bed we usually ask her to go and give bru-ba a kiss, and she will toddle over and give him a kiss. She'll kiss the dogs, stuffed animals; just not us. Well maybe just not me, Tiff will get some smackers from her sometimes.

Recently we took away her pacifier. She is still getting used to not having it at home. The hardest part has been trying to get her to go down for an afternoon nap without the pacifier. At night though the loss of the paci has lent itself to sweet moments holding her. Sometimes at night she needs a little calming down before going to bed. So we hold her and pat her back and then it happens; she will lay her head down on our shoulders. I can't talk for Tiff, but as a father this just melts my heart. Neither one of our kids are cuddlers, they have their moments, but for the most part they just aren't. So to have these evenings when she is tired and she lays her head on my shoulder and gives a little sigh; those are the times when I feel like I'm doing something right.

She absolutely loves the dogs and really enjoys big dogs. She spends a lot of her time chasing the two chihuahuas around the house, but Betty is usually the only one that will let her love on her. We are looking into adopting a golden retriever that will love her as much as she loves dogs. Until then she will have to be satisfied with her time with Zeus, Zena, and Champ.

Here are some recent videos and pictures of our 2nd child.

One of the last nights with the paci.

Asher's cheesy grin on the pooh train from Uncle Zach (still a favorite).

Asher's hip hair today. Tiff loves being able to do her hair.

Asher having fun with Champ.

Asher climbing up the 'rock' wall on the playscape and going down the slide. Our little daredevil is growing up so fast. Please excuse her outfit, it was a 'quick let's go outside and play' and we couldn't find any of her girly jacket or hat.

A White Christmas - Sort of!

Well - we weren't there on Christmas Day, but we did arrive the day after. We surprised everyone by pulling up to Mom's house exactly 22 hours after we left and one day earlier than expected. We told them we were going to have to stay the night (and made them think we were in Oklahoma City,) but then honked and asked them to come help us bring the kids in! It was awesome! That night we were able to play in the snow as the temperatures were literally going up and the snow was starting to melt. We made our first snowlady when it was totally dark, but still had a blast. The next day we were out again, during the RAIN, playing in the snow, building another snowman, jumping on the snow covered trampoline, and having a snowball fight using perfect snowballs made with a red plastic snowball maker from Jake. After the rain continued we were soaking wet but had had a really great time. Some snow stuck around for the whole trip, and it even snowed a little later on, but not enough to snowmobile. Maybe next year!

22 hours there, 20.5 hours on the way back with a 1 year old and a 3 year old. We watched lots of movies, ate lots of snacks, stopped at McDonalds and played, played with toys including Mommy's phone, took a couple of naps, and slept pretty well at night. The hard part was getting comfortable in the carseats. They really did awesome!!!!!!

We went outside and played in the snow as soon as we could get bundled up!

Uncle Zach, Aidan, and Uncle Kaleb were all building a snowwoman.

You can actually see my son's perfect aim in hitting Meme with a big snowball.

Warming up with Meme and Uncle Kaleb after playing outside.

We woke up the next morning and had Christmas number 3 for the kids. The kids were really good after not much sleep and a long car ride. They were happy to see 3 of their 4 Uncles: Uncle Jake (arrived on New Years Day), Uncle Kaleb, and Uncle Zach, Meme, Grampy, and lots of pets: Zeus and Zena (the Golden Retrievers), Juno (the Westie puppy), and Daphne (the kitty). Asher loved that!
Note: If you are wondering about the pink bra on the tree, you will have to check out my mom's blog to find out the reason! http://zanygus.blogspot.com/




We were also able to see my mom's side of the family including Uncle Gordon and Aunt Mary, Logan, Tyler, Aunt Brenda, Kaitlin, Joey, Great Grandma Gus, and Uncle Timmy.



Great Grandma Gus babysat the munchkins when we all went bowling.

This trip was truly one filled with play! We played:

Bowling

Wii

Musical Chairs

We also played: Blink, Poker, Texas Rummy, Buggy Bingo, BINGO, and the crane game.

Some of my other best moments of the trip were watching Asher climb on and love the big dogs (She really needs a big doggy at home!), listening to Mom and Tom get the kids up and feed them breakfast every morning so Matt and I could sleep in (Kaleb also helped in carrying them out of his room to Meme and Grampy), going to Crazy Penguin with Kaleb and playing Rock Band, going bowling with the whole family, having the best pizza in the world Sam's pizza, and eating cheese curds at Culvers. There were many fun times.

Asher with Zeus

New Year's Eve was great! We allowed Aidan to stay up until midnight and the little guy actually made it until 12:26 to be exact. He was in a great mood almost the whole night, and play right along with us until the ball dropped. I knew he was getting his second wind when he was literally running from one end of the house to the other with his footy pj's on, his glowstick "belt", and a little smile on his face. He had a ball.

It was so great seeing everyone and our best trip ever to moms!

They Say It All!

Each stage that our kids enter brings along with it lots of new phrases and words that crack us up and make us smile every day! Here's what the kids are saying these days:

Aidan
"Ayudame!" (Help Me! in Spanish)

Aidan will ask for help with something, we'll help him, and then he'll say, "Thanks, nice to meet ya!"

"I love you the whole world Mama!" or "I love you my sweet little Mama" (He is so so loving sometimes and gets on a roll where he will tell me he loves me and hugs me over and over again while he is playing.)

I will ask him how school was today and he will say, "Fabulous!" (This phrase was coined by Meme!)

When we were driving back past the St. Louis arch he said, "Is that where Jesus lives?"

He has also nicknamed his sister Cherry, and I can't remember exactly why...

Asher
"Bruba" (Whenever she sees her brother - he makes her smile every day! She actually wakes up in the morning saying this and reaching for his bed.)

"Gog-gee" (Doggy - She is fascinated by any and all dogs and loves to pet and play with them if they will let her)

"Mama and Dadda" (of course!)