Now How Do I Get Out?

The New Hang Out...

Asher's new favorite place to 'hang out'... who needs toys when you have mommy's pots & pans?

Curious? Naw...

I've decided that the only difference between Asher crawling and walking is the level that his little arms can now reach. It's not all the lower shelf items anymore - we've moved on to bigger, better and more ishy items! :)

Taylor & Gage...

Some random conversations from the over-night with these two kiddos at our house...

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Damon: "Gage, do you wanna go logging with me today?"

Gage: "I don't even know how to do laundry."

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Asher: (standing at the top of the stairs yelling) "Dadadadadadaaaa"

Gage: "I'm pretty sure that Asher is yelling at you (to Damon) - yep, I think he's saying 'Dada' and that's you."

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Gage: "I think that my bed time is 29 o'clock."

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Taylor: (after sitting on the floor playing with her Barbies for a while) "My gluteus maximus is really starting to hurt."

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We're downstairs getting ready to watch a movie prior to bed time and the baby monitor is on. Asher was being kinda crabby and the monitor was screaming.

Gage: (as he picks up the monitor) "Is this thing on? - Can he hear me?"

Me: "Nope, that's not how it works"

Gage: (holding the monitor to his mouth) "Asher, it's Gage, could you please be quiet for a few minutes we're trying to watch a movie."

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We're on the sledding hill when Gage starts 'crying'...

Me: "Gage, what's the matter."

Gage: No response - just continuing 'crying'...

Me: "Okay, well when you're done fake crying - Taylor and I will be at the top of the hill waiting for you."
Gage: "I'm not fake crying."

Me: "Okay, than whats wrong/hurt/broken/making you upset?"

Gage: "I'm hurt, it's my heart."

Me: "Your heart?"

Gage: "Yes, Taylor broke it when she took away my sled."
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My Sweet Baby Boy...

This week you turned one. One full year that daddy and I have had the previleage of being your parents. There is not a day that goes by that you have not filled us with joy! This year has been a year of so many new things for all of us. You have gone from being just a baby unable to do anything for yourself to a big boy who gets into everything!

Your favorite things to play with are socks, your blankie, anything that is Ned's and Kit Kat. Ned has not taken a liking to you yet but that cat is in love with your company. You'll go into your room, shut your door and wait for the kitty paw to come after you through the crack between the floor and the door. You love this game - it makes you giggle. You also like to bull-doze the kitty when she isn't looking - she's declawed so mommy and daddy are not overly worried about her attacking you but you certainly get a lot of 'batting' at.

Some would say that you are a serious little boy but you have them fooled. You and daddy give the same looks but under that stare is such a goofy layer! You two are two peas in a pod - you love your daddy so much!

You've taught daddy and I so many lessons this year: sleep is not necessary, getting teeth is horrible, watching you get shots is more difficult than getting them ourselves, we need to be quicker at changing diapers and getting pooped on and thrown up on is only part of the package deal that we, oddly enough, are not grossed out by anymore. It makes me laugh to think about one of the first times daddy changed your diaper and you peed all over him. You've opened our eyes to a whole new world and we thank God for you and this amazing learning curve every day!

So here's to you our quirky, 6 toothed, blankie draggin', milk drinkin',

head brusin', pointin' & laughin' little boy...

Happy 1 Year New Asher John!

We love you so much and look forward to watching you grow
this next year and all the lessons you will teach us along the way!

Much Love, Daddy & Mommy

One Year New...

Today we celebrated Asher's 1st Birthday! I can hardly believe that our baby will be turning 1 on Tuesday - a full year of being blessed with the adventure of being parents.
Here are some highlights from his party.

The decorations...

The Cake... The Birthday boy... The presents... The Cake - again... The bath after the cake (with our new toy)... Trying on our new shoes from Grandma Kathy... And most importantly - all the friends & family that love Asher and took
time out of their day to celebrate him...

The Perfect Christmas Tree

We found the perfect Christmas Tree this year... in the attic.
No shedding of needles and it looks perfect every time. Love it.

Tuttle Transporters

You've got something to move - I've gotta truck.

Last night I made arrangements with my brother (not sure why it was with Erik rather than my parents?) to go and pick up my parents new freezer.

I'm not exactly sure what to expect for size... I wondering if I should be bringing the enclosed trailer with me on this transport. As it turns out, I back up and one guy pops it into the back of my truck. As I'm standing there looking at this cute little freezer I ask, "Do you suppose it will ride like that the whole way?"... the skinny salesman says, "Well how far do you got to go?" I tell him my destination and he says, "Ya, it's pretty light - probably not."

Great.

I drive home, find some straps and do the best I know how with what I have. I wedge the freezer up against the tailgate and strap it in. I've watched this done 100 times - you'd think I'd be a pro... I'm not.

So, off I go. Not 100% certain that I've correctly stabilized the freezer but content that I've done what I could to prevent it from falling out the back of the truck.

As my eyes are glued to my rear view mirror I can't help but think, "Does a freezer give you warning when it is going to fall out the back of the truck?"... I'm talking to Meg on the phone and we've decided that it probably won't scream on the way out and I'll just have to keep an eye on it.

My phone beeps - it's my hubbie, I take the call. I ask him, "Will I know if the freezer is going to fall out of the back of the truck?"... he asks me a few questions and says, "Ya, you'll know." ... Really? "Ok, what will happen?" he replies, "You'll hear the tailgate fall off .. anytime you wedge something up against our tailgate and apply pressure - it has a tendency to pop open."

Dang. I didn't think of that. Fortunately I did not lose the freezer and all is grand with the goods that needed to be frozen at the Johnson household tonight. Because given how warm it has been around here (0 degrees) we wouldn't want anything to thaw out due to lack of it being in a freezer!

So, the moral of my story is this... if you have something that needs to be moved, I'm more than willing - I just can't guarantee that I won't be paranoid of losing it between point A and B AND this transporter doesn't move very fast with her eyes focused on her rear-view mirror. :)

To Church We Go

Lil' man and I went to our first church service today. I'll have to admit I was a little nervous but it went really well. It was nice to be back in church and even more special to be bringing my little boy to God's house. I know that we haven't been to church in a long time but I also know that church is where I want Asher to be familiar and comfortable.

We only had one 'talking' moment and that happened during prayer. Getting up and walking around a little - helped. Than we came back, sat down and I brought out the cow ... "Mooo".... "Mooo"... Note to self: Bring an animal that he isn't familiar with!

One more 'Asher' story... once I brought the cow out of the bag he starts saying "Moo, moo, mooooooo" then... he turns the cow upside down and starts playing with its tits! Instantly I'm thinking, "Why in the world does this cow have tit"? I turn the cow over - he flips it back and starts milking it. I'm so glad God has a sense of humor. :)

We look forward to going back to church and starting this new chapter with our babe!