Christmas in España

This Christmas we were lucky enough to have my parents here to visit. We flew to Madrid and met them there so that we could see one of Ryan's games and spend Christmas day in Madrid!  It was absolute perfection.  We stayed at the Plaza, ate amazing food with lots of chocolate and churros involved, visited every Plaza you can think of, Ryan's team got a victory and Christmas night we were able to visit the Madrid temple with President and Sister Jackson.  I kept on feeling like I was on Home Alone while we were staying at the Plaza.  I think I said that to Ryan 600 times in three days.

Asher was thrilled to open his Christmas jammies from mimi and papa mike!

My mom came loaded with treats from home. They all HIT THE SPOT!

Ryan surprised me with diamond earrings! I have not removed them even one time since I put them on. (I know I look awesome in this picture.)

For Christmas we got my parents gifts that are special to the Canary Islands.  We got my mom a spice blender and wooden spoons hand carved out of wood straight from the banana plantations.  They are beautiful.  We bought my dad a canarian knife which is a very special item to the men on the islands. They are passed from generation to generation and hold a lot of family history.  

Asher absolutely loved having his gammie and bumpa at our house.  He did not stop yelling for bumpa the whole time he was here and even for days after they left.  He calls gammie "ma!" and is obsessed with playing hide and go seek but telling her where she has to hide.  

Are they not just the cutest?

We took them to all of our favorite restaurants and Ryan's team got another win while they were here! Talk about bringing the luck!  We played 99 and five crowns 100 times and brought in the new year with a bang!  We went to Palmitos Park to watch the exotic birds and  birds of prey shows, walked to the park, went to the market and visited the beaches down south.  We were so lucky to have these two party animals visit us! 

Vengan otra ves madre y padre!

Up until Christmas

 Mimi and Papa Mike sent over the awesome Fisher Price nativity for Asher.  The minute we opened it all up Asher grabbed the "baby" and gave it kisses over and over again. For the entire month of December he loved putting the angel on top and hearing the music play.

 One of his favorites is helping mommy clean

 The amazing friends I have made here made my 25th Birthday an amazing event!! It was probably the best Birthday I have had in a loooonnng time.  Julie started off by babysitting the night before my Birthday so that we could go out to dinner and dancing with other team mates.  I felt like I was 18 again and we had a blast.  Then I came home to my apartment completely decked out in Birthday decor with balloons spread EVERYWHERE throughout the house.  The next day on my actual Birthday Chandra threw her son and me an amazing party.  Bryce's birthday is the 3rd and this kid is the coolest.  All of the team came, we ate tons of food, danced and had a great time.  Another BIG thank you to Chandra and Julie.

 Asher turned 19 months old in December! New words are star, balloon, "caca" meaning helicopter, "boom boom" for drum, snack, santa, "anandy" for candy, bumpa, bite, phone, yellow, blue, wow and "yide" for outside!

 He has a very serious sweet tooth. He would bring me all three advent calendars multiple times a day to get more chocolate.

 His Hugh Hefner Chrismas jammies with robe and all.

 We had a gingerbread house party! It was an absolute blast!  We had yummy italian food, hot chocolate and lots of desserts while decorating our houses.  Such a fun night.

 We had a small kids Christmas party where we all wore our jammies and had breakfast for dinner!  Asher ate a million waffles with buttermilk syrup. 

Down on the boardwalk there was an amazing setup of sand sculptures. Nativities, villages, camels etc. It was fabulous.  Then the best part of December...my parents came!! That's for the next post.

Catch up so we can get on track...

I've been feeling so sad about not being consistent with my blogging. I need to capture these adventures bet even more so I want to document more about Asher!  We are having such a fabulous year and it makes me worried that we won't capture everything to look back on.  Because of the new year I have decided I will do a quick recap of the last few months in an attempt to start being consistent from here on out.  

 Asher is in mommy and me swim lessons. We love them! He hasn't learned all of the strokes yet but just butterfly and breaststroke. What a slow learner. Only joking. We do the basics. Holding onto the side, pulling himself up and out of the water and learning to float on his back.  Great bonding time!

 Lots of playing at the park with friends and a lot of games!

 WE HAD VISITORS!! And the best kind of visitors. My best friend Stef and her husband Allen came to visit us here on the island. It was pure bliss. We went to the beach, out to eat, lounged, made music videos and just had a great time.  COME BACK!!

 Asher is absolutely obsessed with his "BU" jammies.  He brings them to me to put them on him and then immediately points to his chest and screeches "BU!!!!" as in Buzz.

 Ryan was Michael Phelps for Halloween

 I love how decked out his teammates were for Halloween!

 I was a robber and Asher was my euros and gold!

 The mistake I made was not thinking about the chocolate coins melting.  I had no clue what was getting all over Asher until I realized he was not only trying to rip them off to eat but also they were melting all over him.

 Late pictures of Asher at 18 months. This boy keeps us on our toys. Busy, busy, busy.  He is talking all of the time and is still obsessed with anything sports.  He loves balls and he loves to shoot hoops.

 Ryan went to a boys private academy to hang out and answer questions.  

 First time finger painting.  He does not like things on his hands. Sand, paint, grass, food etc.  He immediately wants me to wipe it off. He warmed up to the  idea of finger painting toward the end.

 And then it was Thanksgiving time! We put up our tree which Asher squealed with excitement when the lights came on.  

 He was also lucky enough to put the star on the top of the tree.  I hosted the Thanksgiving dinner at our house with a lot of help from Chandra and Julie.  We had a gigantic feast!!!

 Asher is definitely obsessed with his daddy!

 The young single adults from the branch came to the game and definitely came ready to support Ryan and Spencer!

The last few months have been great! We have made fabulous friends and have created a lot of great memories.  Asher is changing by the day.  He is such a joy to have around.  We love our little buddy!