The Olympic Spirit!

I know, I know, we usually don't let Ascher watch TV....but we made an exception for the Olympics! The Opening Ceremonies were AMAZING! Then we got hooked on the swimming, gymnastics, volleyball and anything else that NBC would have deemed "Olympic Worthy"!

Immer and I were addicted to everything Olympics, and started to feel guilty for not watching them in '00 and '04. But now we have committed to them and are gonna stick to it! Especially if they are here in 8 years! We've already made plans to which events we will see, what Ascher will be participating in, and also what our neighbors will be participating in. So far, we have planned on bringing home at least 4 medals between the two families. Ascher is going to be feautred in BOTH swimming and gymnastics (per him, not by force of his mother and father!), while our neighbor wants to be in softball (it will come back.....hopefully...I haven't had to heart to tell her it's been dropped.) and our other neighbor is undecided, but he will still medal.

We watched every glorious moment of Michael Phelps swims, with the best being the 4x100 Freestyle when we beat the French! Immer and I were screaming and cheering in our loudest quiet voice (Ascher was sleeping). That was by far our favorite Olympic moment! Ascher liked to watch gymnastics and the volleyball. At any moment, we could turn the Olympics on and he could tell you what they were doing. Either he's a sports addict or a tv addict. I honestly don't know which is worse! But hopefully what he took away from this experince was sportmanship, and pride for the USA! (I know, I know, he's only two...but HE'S the one who tells people he's thres).

So there it is, our past two weeks in a nutshell. As soon at the clock hit 7 PM, the Olympics were on. And they stayed on until Bob Costas said good-night at 11PM. Now that they are over, Immer and I don't know what to do with our time. We really don't have a "replacement plan" in place for the Olympics, and are now trying to fill our time wisely. Hopefully something will come up soon!

Another Trip to the Zoo!

Last week we took another trip to the Zoo!! We had a really great time, even though it did rain a little! But the rain was nice, it scared everyone away. Ascher really enjoyed his time, and loved making all the noises the animals make!

A new toy

We went to Toys R Us yesterday to look around....and Ascher found a new toy. He walked around the whole store with the bookbag, until we tried to leave. Unfortunately, taking it away was not an option. So I had to buy it. It's really nice, and I think (hope) it comes in Handy when (if) we travel!

Summer Fun

Ascher's had a great summer so far. He loves to play outside, and is even learning to drive. He loves to attempt to drive our neighbors jeep, but hasn't had much luck. He either pushes the pedal and holds the dashboard, or turns the wheel and sits still. And when you try to take him out of the "beach", he throws a fit.

We also got a new bedset the other day, and Ascher has been loving the box. He likes to close the flaps and sit in the dark. When I tried to take it away, he threw a fit! He's been getting more opinionated lately, and more fussy. Hopefully when he gets back on a normal sleep pattern, things will straighten up.

Ascher has also gotten quite a liking to yogurt. He asks for it all the time, and really likes fresh fruit in there. Which is fine, if he actually used his spoon! Instead, he uses his fingers, or actually licks the bowl. Which means he only gets yougurt when he's supposed to get a bath!

Not all Fun and Games

While in town, Dad and Immer decided to finish the shelves in the garage. They were just going to start the project, but ended up building the last to shelves and installing them. They look really nice, but Immer thinks he needs one more.

We also had the job of selling my car. We have been trying for some time to sell it, but haven't had any real offers. Finally, we got an offer, and Immer took it. So the Honda is gone...hopefully to a good home where it will be really happy. We have since repalced it with a (gulp) van. We bought my parents van from them, and so far we are really happy. It's much bigger for Ascher to fit in, and makes life much easier when going out and about.

Going Downtown

After the party....we took a trip to the City. Ascher of course had a blast on the train. He could ride those things all day long. The weather was kinda gloomy, but luckily didn't rain. Ascher really enjoyed the Bean. He thought it was a giant jelly bean and tried to eat it. We then headed North to Navy Pier. By that time, Ascher had started to melt down (no real nap for about 4 days) and was whinning and not really himself. But he was a trooper! He made it to Water Tower before passing out in Papa's arms. He slept for about an hour, waking up just in time to return home!

Once back in Tinley, we headed to Aurelio's Pizza for some great food! It was good, but not what it used to be. On the way back, we got caught in that horrible storm! It was so bad and heavy that we had to pull over and wait for things to calm down. Luckily, we made it home safely!

G-Gma's 75th Birthday!

G-Gma celebrated her 75th Birthday on Sunday. We usually have an August birthday party, to celebrate all the birthdays in the family at once. But since it was a huge milestone this year, we threw it just for her. It was really great, my parents drove in, my Aunt and Uncle, G-Gma's sister and brother-in-law, and other family members showed up for the celebration. It was really fun! We even had a little action at the party!
The boys decided to throw all the Aunts into the pool! They took them one by one, dropping them into the water! Then of course, they came after me. That was not very fun.....but at least the water was really warm! Then we dropped Ascher in and he swam around for a while.

The other action was Tammy had her baby!! Their family showed up...then left shortly after the food arrived because she wasn't feeling well. A few hours later, we got a call that the baby was here! And it's a BOY!! Finally, after two girls, they have a beautiful boy (saw the photos posted, way to go guys!)!

Da Bears!!

My parents came into town for a party...and as a surprise, I got tickets to Family Night at Soldier Field. We took the train down, met Immer for dinner, then headed to the Field. It was really exciting to see the field so close! We had second row seats in the endzone! It wasn't a game, just watching them practice and play around; but hey, it's still the Bears and Soldier Field!

The Painted Penquin

Our neighbors wanted to do something fun, so we went to the Painted Penquin! Ascher picked out cool truck to paint....and then we picked out colors. He painted that thing soooo thick....it took several hours for it to dry, and dripped down the sides. But I think he had fun, and ruined a shirt in the making. Now the truck sits in his room, and he wants to play with it all the time.