I'm behind!

It's been awhile. Now I am going to attempt and catch up on the last month....

In January we made a last minute SURPRISE trip home.  We started off in Utah.  The trip home went well with Asher.  The only bummer is that he caught a cold as we were flying. I could see him get sick while we were flying.  That is why Asher looks not only jet lagged but really congested and pale in these first pictures.

 Asher's girlfriend Riglee came to see him the first night we arrived!

 Ryan was in Utah for less than 48 hours.  He made the rounds making sure to see everyone he could!  He saw his college Basketball coach, college friends, family and even went to both the doctor and physical therapy for his shoulder. It was a CRAMMED 48 hours.  We went down to Arizona to surprise Ryan's family but that is a whole other post...

 After a visit to Arizona, Asher and I came back to Utah for another 10 days. We spent time with my girlfriends...

 visited my sweet granny and gramps!

 Gammie bought Asher some really sweet Nike Frees and then they snuggled.

 We even had a get together with High School friends!  So great to see everyone!

 Asher fell asleep on bumpa after enjoying a great steak and mashed potato dinner at Chef's Table.  While we were in Utah I ate nonstop.  My dad is such a party animal and took us out for every meal. The scale is feeling it now.

Asher LOVES his uncle Cody. I think he thought he was Ryan sometimes because Cody helped me out so much.

Asher loved playing with his cousin Lulu. She was so cute and would get down and crawl around with Asher instead of walking.  They are the exact same size but almost a year apart.

One bummer about the trip is that everyone got the flu except Asher and me. I think we may have brought the Turkish flu because first everyone got sick in Arizona and then everyone when we came back to Utah. Oops!

Our visit to Utah was great! I love being around family and friends. It's always so refreshing and makes the months away seem like they flew!

Tay Park

Lately Asher has been really into animals.  When we see dogs or cats he screeches and starts kicking his legs really fast.  We decided to go find more animals for him to see.  Right down the street from our house we have a "Tay Park" which means colt.  It is adorable! There are mini horses just walking around in their corrals and they are not afraid of people.  

 Asher LOVES his daddy.

 Connected to the park there is a small Vet Clinic with a few animals.  Rabbits, goats, lambs and some cats.  They were so fun to look at and Asher loved every second. He was diving at the animals and wanted to touch them really bad.

They are the cutest little buddies.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas morning!  We brought Asher out for his first Christmas and set him in front of the couch with all of his new toys.  At first he sat there and stared but then he decided to grab things one by one and drop them on the ground.  He loved to bang the new tubber ware bowls on the ground that mimi sent him and he loved to eat his new gerber puffs.  

 Ryan got new shoes and a watch from Santa and Asher loved his chocolate Santa.

 Ryan got me another charm for my necklace!  He got me an "A" for Asher.  I also got a new GPS watch that I am obsessed with!

 I gave Ryan a bunch of pieces of paper....with gifts written on them.  He is going to be getting all of his gifts when we get home in the summer. 

 His biggest gift being that he gets to buy a new gun this summer.  

                            

 When we needed to leave for church we had our hands full with food, trays and bags.  Ryan had the great idea of putting Asher in his basketball bag to carry him down.  Asher sat in the bag and held perfectly still the entire time.  I think he was a little confused!

Our branch on Christmas day!  We had such a yummy feast and I ate my heart out!

We ended the day with a Basketball game!

It was a great day! Christmas is definitely more fun with a little one.

This year Christmas kept on giving because we just received a package from my mom! The post office decided to keep it there for three weeks without letting us even know it was there. Way to go postal service! I've been ruining my New Year's Resolutions everyday since we got the package.  See's candies and peppermint chocolates are causing me to run a few more miles at the gym.

Christmas Eve

We had a low key Christmas Eve. A night at our apartment with some friends.  It was perfect.  We invited Brian and Misty over and had breakfast for dinner!  We can't get a ham and all of the traditional food so I decided to make homemade cinnamon rolls.  They were yummy! I think you would have been proud mom.  We were lucky enough to have some bacon and it was on the plate for about .02 seconds.  When you can't have it regularly, you want it even more!  We had a fun evening and loved watching Asher open gifts for the first time.

Starting him on the tradition of opening Christmas jammies!

Ryan and I attempted at putting together our Christmas pajamas.  He wore his green team sweats and I wore a GAP shirt that is supposed to be a candy cane.  Next year I'll have to start buying us pajamas.  Our attempt didn't quite cut it. 

 Brian and Misty were nice enough to bring Asher a Christmas gift.  They got him rubber duckies and a fishing game to play in the tub.  He is obsessed with both.  Every time he hears the ducks squeak he starts to laugh and makes a squeaking noise back. Thanks you guys!

My favorite is that Ryan told Brian and Misty to come over in pajamas and so Brian wore his team sweats and a red shirt. Love it!  Of course a 7 foot guy doesn't own any "pajamas." 

Christmas post to follow...

Who?

Guess who is 8 months old!

You guessed it...

 Asher is 8 months old. 

 He is...playing nonstop

 laughing more and more and has discovered his screaming voice and clicking with his tongue

 eating absolutely everything that his gums can chew (loves yogurt and green smoothies) and he is sprouting more teeth

   He is into everything! Pulling, tugging, dropping and throwing.

He attended his first playgroup! He played so hard that by the end he had worked up a good sweat and when we got home he took a 3 1/2 hour nap.

 and he is still a thumb sucker!

 

We love our little buddy.