Driveway Creation

We have been doing lots of work lately in the neighborhood to bring things up to date. One of them is to replace drive-ways that have been damaged or incorrectly laid. Well, that means big machines, lots of noise, and boys that cannot contain themselves with excitement. Ascher wanted to watch all day, but it was too hot. So he set up table up by the window and watched. So he could recreate the scenes, I gave him breadcrumbs and a cookie tray to play. He had lots of fun with this! He was dumping and moving the crumbs all over the place! Including the furniture and carpet in the living room. Oh well. A small price to pay for keeping him busy and excited all day!

The neighborhood boys trying to get as close as they can without getting into trouble!

The Adventure

Here's the tornado! You could control it's speed, direction and size. It was really fun. But Ascher was not enjoying himself at all. So we had to quickly run through and just kinda play with what we could.

Mr. Not Having Any Fun. He was like this through the entire Weather exhibit.

Playing with air. You could move the air to keep the balls high or low. And we figured out that if you move it really fast, you can juggle with them, or shoot them off and hit someone!

Another exhibit that was really cool was the Navy exhibit. We actually found the real machine that Immer used in the Navy!

A New Camera....and New Adventure!

My poor Kodak has been on it's way out the door for a while. I had been shopping around for a while, but nothing caught my eye. Too big, too cheesy, too complicated. Then I found the Panasonic Lumix. LOVE IT! It's got the speed and power of a big camera, but is small and cute enough to carry everywhere! Just in time for Disney too! So we decided to test it's strength with a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. Immer and I were really excited to see the weather exhibit. They had a tornado there!

August Birthdays

As soon as we returned home, it was time for the August Birthdays! As you can see....the babies were not very excited about taking this picture. They were told cake and ice cream. Ascher just looks very unhappy right there! It's always fun to see everyone together. Ascher did get in the pool with Immer, which is a surprise! He had on his life vest and sat in a safety tube the entire time. But hey, he was in the water!

Return Trip

As he gets older, it gets easier and easier to travel with him. Less toys to entertain with, no stroller, and no diapers! Lucky for Immer, since he will be travelling by air with Ascher for the first time ever in September to Disney (Ascher still doesn't believe Immer is coming-Daddy doesn't fly with us)! So the entire flight he watched his movie and drew pictures. This is a picture of Grema. Can you see the resemblance?

Another Responsibility

Ascher learned to get Oreo's love with food. He would drop it, she would grab it. So he also was responsible for her lunch and dinner. He liked having a job! She learned to listen to him, and waited patiently for his OK to eat. Sometimes he would forget to give her the OK, and she would sit starring and whining and drooling until he remembered.

While the Cat's asleep....

It goes without saying that Ascher loves his Uncle David. He always asks about him, wants to play with him, goes in his room....etc. Well, Uncle David works pretty hard, and likes to come home and relax. Not with Ascher there! Ascher would just walk into his room and start playing. Whether David knew or not! It made it exciting this time too.....Oreo liked to bark and scare both of them!

The Keyboard

I'm sure everyone had one growing up. The keyboard that you could play ALL kinds of sound effects, noises and music on (yes, like Ross had on Friends!). Well, Ascher found the one we had growing up and loved playing it. The only rule was, he had to play with the door closed! Smart move on us! I'm really glad that he enjoys music, and playing and replicating sounds he hears, but man, sometimes hearing the same button over and over gets on the nerves!

Boat Trip

The highlight for every trip is an adventure on the boat. Ascher loves playing in the sand. Which is good....but also bad. That's all he wanted to do. Not play in the water, jump on the boat, ride the floats. Just play in the sand. He is content just sitting there watching everyone else do the fun stuff!

So of course, that's what he did! Once we were done at the Island, we jumped on the boat and headed for adventure. David, Mike and Steven were pretty determined to get on their new wakeboard. Yeah. Didn't happen. So they tried the kneeboard. A little better. Then the giant float. Success! They couldn't fall off as easily with this one, unless they let go. And that happened a few times too! I did take photos, but you really can't tell what's happening in them. It's pretty much just water and feet. Or floating heads!

Priorities

We decided to play a few friendly games of Wii. Ascher insisted on playing, and eating a cookie, and teasing Oreo all at the same time. At one point, he was driving with one hand, and eating with the other!

Getting the Swing of Things

This time, he was ready. Ascher went bowling with Papa! At first, he didn't want to. After a few tries, he really got the hang of things! He was throwing the ball pretty good down the lane! He even came pretty close to a strike! Of course, he had bumpers, but who doesn't these days. And of course, once we left, Ascher wanted to go back and bowl some more. Next time, we will bring Daddy with.

Double Trouble

Another trip to visit Grema and Papa! And this time, Ascher had a partner in crime! Ascher and Oreo started out a little rough....but in the end, they bonded over destroying toys that were not theirs!

Making Lunch

He dresses himself. He makes his bed. Now he makes his own lunch! I love it! He doesn't do it all the time, but when he does, he does it rather well! He still has problems with spreading the mayo. But practice makes perfect!

4th of July After Party

This year, as in the past, we payed a visit to Steve and Tiff's for the 4th. We had fun, with the addition of extra children and friends. Ascher is getting more involved with the festivities, and is starting to enjoy the fireworks. While sitting and watching the fireworks, people were handing out glow sticks. Thanks! Well, they were handing out hundreds of them. All of the children had handfuls of them, walking down the street whipping them at people and plants. Ascher loved them, and insisted on wearing them. Even after the glow was gone. The funny part was, when he wore them as bracelets, he walked around with his arm held in that position. He wanted to make sure he didn't loose any bracelets. He ate lunch like this, played with toys, and went to the store too. Needless to say......these things started to slowly disappear from the house!

Creative Outlet

I love bread. I finally got the courage up to make my own. Yum! Whole wheat honey bread. So good. So good in fact, that my husband actually EATS it! While I was making bread, Ascher wanted to help. So instead of getting him all covered in flour, and running the risk of ruining my bread (gasp!), I gave him a little to play with. And above is what he made. Mushrooms! They were so cute! Yes, I baked them too! Turned out nice and hard for Daddy to see when he got home.

Take-Over by Train

It goes without saying that Ascher loves moving vehicles. He loves playing with trains, trucks, cars and whatever else has wheels. So naturally, he has a large collection of such things. Fine. But now, it's getting a little crazy. His train collection has taken over the entire loft! He stands in the window and plays chase with his cars. Or uses his construction vehicles (forklift) to move construction stuff out of the way ( drywall from around the window).

The Big Boy Bedroom

We got it! We ordered Ascher's bed, and it finally arrived! I was concerned because some of the pieces were on backorder. Luckily for me, I work in Order Status now and can check these things out before the order is placed! I really LOVE his new set. It's from Stanley furniture. Really strong, beautiful wood! It was a little bigger than expected though. At the last minute, we decided to go with the larger Chest rather than a regular dresser. Luckily, it fits. Ascher now has all of his clothing nicely put away. He can reach all drawers, and is now responsible for putting his laundry away, and dressing himself. He's also responsible for making his bed every morning! Boy, the responsibilities are piling up on him!