11 Months!

I barely have a baby anymore, and it is so strange!  Asher is pretty much a full blown toddler.  He is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING!  Over the past few weeks he has transitioned from wobbly baby to confident toddler.  At 11 months:

1.  He loves coloring with chalk.  He leaves little scratch marks all over the sidewalk.

2.  Asher is walking as well as a two year old.  People comment wherever we go that he looks way to small to be walking and they get the biggest kick out of him.  His short little legs are a hoot, especially when he runs.

3.  He likes to show you things and will point and say, "SEE!"  or "This!"  He also recently started saying, "Bum" much to Grandpa's joy!

4.  He makes a certain frustrated noise when he falls or if Eli or Cora bother him.  It cracks me up.

5.  He only wants table food.  He will have nothing to do with baby food anymore and has very messily started using a spoon.  

6.  Asher LOVES to be outdoors and cries if we have to come in.  He loves going for walks, climbing the slide in the backyard, playing in the sandbox or water table, and petting the rabbit.

7. He loves going down the slide at the playground.

8. We can now all go for family bike rides with Asher in the trailer and he likes it.

9.  He climbs stairs and we are teaching him how to back down instead of just diving off.

10.  He has stopped putting things in his mouth outside, which has made my life a lot easier!

11.  He loves playing ball and can kick it like Eli does in soccer.

12.  Asher is finally making the transition to being a "daddy's boy" and loves to go on outings with Brandon and cries when he leaves.  He also is head over heels in love with his Nana.

13. Waves hi or bye

14.  He loves singing, dancing, drums, and guitar and still lifts his hands to "Praise Jesus" at church or when we are playing music.

15.  He likes Elmo.

16.  He is wearing 12 month clothes.

17.  He is VERY active (reminds me of how Eli was as a baby but isn't moody like Eli was).

18.  Asher loves to wrestle with Dad and the other kids.

19.  Asher pats your back when he hugs or snuggles you.

20.  Loves grapes and grilled chicken and has started eating the tubes of fruit.

21.  He absolutely loves reading books and will bring me one saying, "This!"  

22.  He also loves hide and seek or playing tag.

10 Months Old

Asher is approaching the age of one all too quickly!  It is so bittersweet.  Pretty soon I will no longer have a baby...forever.  I will just enjoy my three kids without having to deal with pregnancy, birth, recovery, etc.  It is a new season of life for me!  He is toddling around and if it wasn't for his short legs he would probably pass for a toddler :-).  At 10 months Asher is:
1.  Standing up completely on his own without pulling up and walking completely like a toddler.  My life is so much easier now that he doesn't need to be "spotted" anymore.  He follows the big kids around, gets into things, and likes to make mad giggling dashes to our bathroom to try to play with the toilet (which is safely shut with a lock ha ha).
2.  Loving the outdoors and gets really excited for our walks and likes taking "nature walks" with Brandon looking at birds, airplanes, barking at dogs, etc.  We have been teaching him to throw things instead of putting dirt, rocks, and things in his mouth and it seems to be working.
3.  Taking baths with the big kids in our giant tub now.
4.  Loving to swim!  We took the kids swimming this week and I absolutely couldn't keep him out of the water, so in he went.  He had a blast!
5.  Loving his Nana more than anyone else.  He just has such a connection with her (even more than the other kids) to the point that if she is around he will NOT come to even me!  He absolutely BAWLS if she leaves and yells, "NANA!"  Of course my mom loves it until her arms are exhausted from holding him.
6.  Saying:  Nana, Asher, Mama, Dada, Yes, YAY, Bye bye
7.  Loving animals!  He lives to see the dog at Heartspring and actually pets it really gentle.  He can hear a dog from a mile away and will start barking and get really excited.
8.  Saying, "Mmmm" when he is eating and sometimes after he nurses ha ha.
9.  Eating all finger foods and actually refusing baby food for the most part.  He wants to feed himself and that is THAT!  In some ways, it makes it very easy on me.  I have been cooking, chopping, and freezing the right size veggies and fruits in the baby food trays to make it even easier to get him the healthy food he should eat on top of him eating what we are eating. The other day while my back was turned Eli asked if he could give him a piece of corn and a bean.  I told him yes.  I turn around and realized he had given him the entire bowl (which was instantly spilled) of corn and beans and Asher thought he was in heaven!  He had a blast!