mum's the word

This is a shout out to all the "Mums" (Surrogate Mums and Godmums, too) in our lives! Happy Mum's Day! We love you all. You are all so special in your own unique way. We're two months early you say? Not in the UK. Their "Mothering Day" or "Mum's Day" is in March. I felt very special on Sunday at church. All the Mums there got a bouquet of daffodils. It's nice to be able to have two Mother's Days in one year.

One of the many, many joys of being a Mum is getting to watch our sweet son discover the world. Today I was holding him in the kitchen and the washer was going (when is it not?!) and he noticed it for the first time. He totally locked onto it and his eyes got really big and he reached out towards it. It was very funny, so I walked over to it and set him in front of it. He sat and watched it and "talked" to it for a good 10-12 minutes. Who needs TV when we can watch washing machines? If only our lives were that simple. Now for doing the laundry in addition to watching it...I guess I shouldn't hold my breath for that one, it might be awhile. Simple pleasures!

punting

Last week we were fortunate to have some wonderful, gracious guests! Geremy, his mom, Pam and his sister, Kristy came to visit from Tennessee. Geremy and Ryan have been best friends since 6th Grade. Geremy has been to visit us once before, but it was Pam and Kristy's first visit. They were a joy to have here! We did lots of fun things with them--here are some pictures from our day out in Cambridge. We went punting on the River Cam. We could not have asked for a more perfect day! The sun was shining brightly and it was probably in the low 60s. They were quite the troopers--this was the day they arrived and they stayed awake and were very adventurous!

Geremy, Kristy & Pam enjoying punting

Asher, Geremy & Ryan waiting to go punting

Pam & Asher

Pam, Kristy, Geremy & Ryan exploring Cambridge

Geremy outside of St. Catharine's College

Asher & Ryan--looking at something...interesting...

Asher and his typical "Happy Face"

Emily, Ryan & Asher enjoying the sun and punting

Pam, Geremy, Ryan, Asher & Emily

new discoveries

It seems that recently Asher learns something new almost everyday. Here are a few of his latest discoveries or "tricks" as we like to call them (kind of makes him sound like a dog...poor kid)...

Playing with Jordan--Asher has really started noticing Jordan and Maverick and gets very excited to see them and especially excited to pet them. It's very cute.


If we say, "Where's Asher?" He puts his arm up over his eyes like this, then drops them down and laughs as we say "There he is." or "Peek-A-Boo."

He knows how to "Clap, Clap." his hands now.



So this isn't new, but I couldn't resist...
Who's going potty? This Guy! (I realize when he's 16 he'll hate me for this, but I'm okay with that)

happy morning

This morning was perfect! I woke up to this....

The SUN!! It was shining through the window so bright and beautiful...I know this may not seem like such a big deal, but those of you on this grey island with us can relate.

....had a delicious cup of coffee. It wasn't really Starbucks coffee, it was some yummy Maple Pecan flavored coffee that Krissy sent from a little coffee shop in Augusta (Thanks, Krissy!)...

...and, of course, this ALWAYS makes my morning...

We're always greeted with this amazing smile when we go to get Asher up--either first thing in the morning or from naps! What a Blessing he truly is!

buddies

I stole this picture from Janell (Thanks for being a better documenting Mama than me, Janell and always having your camera available!). This is Asher's buddy, Chase. Last week, he got to have several Play Dates with Chase. Asher is 2 months older than Chase (almost to the day) and it is so fun to see them interact. They like to copy what the other one does. Janell and I also noticed that just because they are merely (almost) 8 and 10 months old, they already are showing signs of selfishness--Thank you, sin nature! If Chase has a toy and Asher has a toy, Asher will put down his toy and try to "grab" (more like smack with an open hand) Chase's toy, and vice versa! Their mannerisms are so so similar and they are so fun to watch together. They are good at keeping each other entertained, too, so Janell and I are very grateful to be able to do our own thing while they play together! Chase left today for a few weeks and Asher is going to miss him terribly. Have a great time meeting all your extended family, Chase!

more abq fun

We had such a fabulous trip to Albuquerque a few weeks ago. (I'm just slow to sit down and write about it). I'll just let the pictures tell the stories...

Asher had his own seat on the plane flying to Abq. He sure thought he was a BIG Deal (and, if we're honest, we thought so, too)! He was friends with ALL the flight attendants. He even went off and played with them by himself. His favorite was a really nice Texas lady named Sarah!

Playing with John. He had several Play Dates with John while we were there. Great Buds!

Rocking on John's snail

Asher had to sleep in a closet b/c he wasn't technically allowed in the room (shhhh...don't tell!) Kate got him a pack-n-play eventually. (Thanks, Kate!)

Meeting Anna for the first time; VERY exciting!

Kate took us to a yummy New Mexican lunch

Asher & Sara (wonderful college friend)

Asher with Sara & Larry (great UT friends--soooo good to see them again!!)

Good Friends, Good Times at Mac Grill! Abi, Ryan, Emily, Sara & Larry (We miss you, Uncle Matt. Not the same without you)

Asher with Aunt Abi, Kate and John

Asher, Emily, Kate & John

High Fives (or Fist Pumps, or whatever...) with Asher and John

Asher, Emily, Kate, John & Abi. Good Times!

Asher and Auntie A (wishing you were there, too, Uncle Matt)

The first night we were there, our good friends, Ryan & Ashley stopped by to say Hello, too. They were not going to be in Abq the entire time we were there, so we really appreciated them taking the time to pop in and see us--Sorry, Guys, if we didn't make much sense--it was 3AM our time when you were there! We were also able to see Ryan's Pastor from his Del Rio church, Ben and his wife, Ginny! We shared a delicious meal with them at Gardunos one night! Thanks for the great fellowship, Cravers! So, apparently, Abq IS the place to be. We had so much fun getting to see so many old friends. It's so wonderful to reunite with people throughout the years. So when are you all coming to visit us??!!