Same outfit, Same place, different day

November 21st and December 26th, I dressed Asher in the exact same outfit, which normally is obviously nothing noteworthy...BUT I also happened to take him to the CA Science Center on both of those days! SO, all my pictures look like the same day!!!!! I was momentarily mortified, but then I got over it. I mean, I have to admit it is pretty funny and random! Plus, it is not like he cares or anyone else knew until now! Just for kicks I might purposely dress him in the outfit again the next time we go ;)

Seeing how different beaks catch food - Nov. 21

Checking out the fish in the Kelp Forest - Nov. 21

Do you see the fish between their heads? - Nov. 21

The Aquarium "tunnel" - Dec 26th (my Mom is in the red sweater)

Getting so old! Sitting with all the big kids watching a diver's presentation - Dec 26th

China

A couple months ago I read an interesting article in Mothering Magazine (my favorite!) about staycations. This mom of 3 wrote about a summer spent at home, yet still "traveling the world" through books, movies, ethnic restaurants, costume shops etc. It was inspiring and I have been mulling it over every since.

I often feel like I struggle in planning purposeful and engaging things to do with Asher, since our resources are so limited here on base. When I lived in Boston, I pictured raising city kids who had amazing learning opportunities at every corner (which would make up for not having a front yard:) Since Asher is only 2, I knew I didn't need much to entertain him nor, did I need to make things very involved. So with that in mind, I decided to start a year-round "staycation". I have purposed to pick 1 or 2 countries a month to "study" with him.

A cool place mat, I found months ago online. The words around the edges are written in English and Mandarin and have to do with food/kitchen things. I have 2 more, one for Mexico and another on Italy.

I picked China as our first country, because it is big, with a lot of interesting things to learn and the food/people are noticeably different than our everyday world (not much ethnic variety on base sadly!) I pulled every single Atlas, encyclopedia, and book on China our little children's library had. I wasn't sure how much Asher would like the books, as they were definitely more geared to book report writing, but the other day I came in the kitchen to find this....

He is very curious about the water buffalo and giant pandas! It has been fun for me to be purposeful with my reading to him, and show him pictures of Chinese festivals, the Great Wall of China, and read story books that told from a Chinese perspective! (2 random things I have learned are the meaning behind the stars and colors on the Chinese flag and that the Cinderella story is actually originally Chinese and centuries older than people think!) Netflix as been a great resource for movies. Asher loved watching a documentary on a panda being born at the National Zoo in DC. We are planning to make pot stickers and moon cakes with him and maybe a few other things, if we can find the time and energy.

1 country down...Lots more to study! I think Mexico is up next!

A Miracle!

Are you wondering what the miracle is???

No, we are not expecting another baby, although that would be awesome and we do think every baby is a miracle....Guess again!

Ok, I will tell....We got SNOW!!!!!!!! It was completely surreal and only lasted less than a day, but it was still awesome!

* The snow actually came Jan. 3rd, I am just a little behind in blogging of course:)

I think all the neighbors were out taking pictures with me. We were in disbelief!

A beautiful site the next morning, though it was all gone by the afternoon!

Poor Andrew had to leave at 4am for the LA airport and it was a mess! People in this area are not used to snow!! (obviously) It took him almost an extra hour of driving time to get to the airport.

1%

Yup, that is where Asher falls on the growth charts! He weighed 21.5pds and was almost 32in at his 2 yr. old check-up. Our Dr. would of course like him to gain more weight but when I told him what he eats and how we are always trying to add calories to everything he eats, he decided not to pursue any special testing. Asher is definitely not lacking for energy or strength and for now I see his small size as an advantage because my arms don't get tired of carrying him and he can still fit in his infant car seat! (amazingly he isn't annoyed by still being rear-facing and since it is actually best for kids to be rear-facing till 2yr old, we are going with it!) I think it will be pretty funny and totally the Lord, if one day, Asher reaches 6ft+ and we can look back on these days of always worrying about calories and growing, with a laugh. Until then we remind ourselves that he has grown so much since his birth (3pds 12oz and 16.5in) and that God is in control. Our job is just to fed him well and leave the rest up to the Lord!

For next year....

Nope, We don't eat the eat the cookie cutters Asher...I know they are called"cookie" cutters, but still.... :)

In case you are looking for a fun craft or possible homemade gift for your kids to give away, try making cinnamon ornaments! They smell wonderful and just need 2 ingredients, 1 normal sized bottle of cinnamon and 3/4 cup of applesauce. Mix together, roll out between wax paper and then press cookie cutters into the dough. (Remember to put a hole in the top to thread ribbon through to hang them on the tree.) You just bake them at 200 for a couple hours or leave them out for several days to dry out. The "dough" is pretty wet and a little difficult to handle, but it is a relatively easy and little mess project.

Although the mini cookie cutters are easier for little hands, they don't make the best ornaments. I recommend using full-size cookie cutters for best results.

Christmas caroling

Some friends of ours decided to host a Christmas Caroling party this year. I hadn't gone Christmas Caroling in years, but had fond memories of going as a child. I knew Asher would love it, as he loves being outside and singing/music. It turned out to be a cold and rainy night, which was unusual for this time of year, but it didn't slow us down. There was a huge turn out of people to carol and lots of people in their homes to sing to, which was wonderful. For the briefest of moments, I actually felt like it was Christmas time!

Asher and baby Kate, staying dry and warm!

Welcome Home Brian!

Our good friend Dutch, returned the first weekend in December, after a long 7 month deployment. His wife and I have been in Bible study for over a year together. She did an awesome job while he was gone, of making the best of life and parenting their 8yr old daughter and almost 5 yr. old son. It was a sweet reunion and we were blessed to be there at the airport cheering when he arrived! It brought back memories of Andrew's return just 2 yrs. ago and a bit of dread at the thought of possibly going through it again, this time with Asher.

Thank you Dutch and Kristy for sacrificing for us! And thank you Lord, for bringing Dutch back healthy, whole and in time for Christmas and his daughter's dance recital!

Pumpkin waffles

This is our second Fall/Winter season in the desert. It's not getting any easier or likable for me! (hopefully we will only have 2 more winters here, before we move!) It's hard for me to get in the mood for Fall or Winter when it looks the same as July outside. I was at Trader Joe's the other day though and saw all these mixes they had for pumpkin waffles, scones, brownies, breads etc. I purposed myself to not buy them and try making things from scratch at home. Since I am always looking for things to do with Asher, and have lots of time on my hands most days, why not, right?!?! (especially on the 50+mph windy days)

Well, a quick google search for pumpkin waffles turned up a blog devoted to specifically pumpkin waffles!!! I couldn't believe it! A quick scan of the ingredients showed I had everything we needed, so as Andrew left for work, I excitedly started pulling ingredients out and getting prepped. Asher was thrilled! Especially, since he had never since the Belgian waffle maker and loved that it made a little ding noise when it was ready :)

To fellow Mom's out there reading this.....When checking out a recipe for the first time, I highly advise reading the WHOLE recipe and not just the ingredient list! Otherwise you might up to your elbows in 3 different bowls and whipping egg whites into stiff peaks, just for some waffles!!!!

Just part of the mess afterwards

Anxiously waiting for the waffles

All done...ready to eat!

Are you sure, you can't fit anymore waffle in there Asher!?!? :)

It turned into quite the mess and project, but those waffles were worth the effort! They truly were like pumpkin pie in a waffle! They filled the whole house with a wonderful scent and when I closed my eyes it smelled like Fall just for a few minutes. I ended up making them again over Thanksgiving weekend for everyone. I think they are going to be a special Fall/Thanksgiving tradition going forward. I highly recommend making them, but I am giving warning that they are an involved process!

Thanksgiving in Big Bear

If you have read our blog for any amount of time, you know we get the heck out of Dodge and head to the mountains every chance we can! Thankfully (and a bit shockingly) Andrew's Aunt and Uncle have yet to turn us away and say enough :) This year, Andrew actually got to take part in Thanksgiving and family time....(Last year, he worked the morning of T-day, the whole drive up their house in the afternoon and put in no less than 8 hrs. a day of work on the laptop while we were with them!) This was a special year for us because Andrew's grandparents flew in from Iowa. Anytime we can have with them is so wonderful!

Asher got lots of cooking time with cousin Maggie and Great-G.ma Maggie. She taught him how to make pumpkin pie! These days no one can cook or do anything in the kitchen without Asher wanting to take part. He is definitely a Master Chef in the making :)

How many cooks in the kitchen is too many?!?!

Asher only let Great G.Ma help him stir for about 5 sec! She didn't realize he is such a "big boy" and can stir all by himself ;)

Stacking is a favorite activity these days! Asher definitely prefers the least amount of clothes possible to play in :)

Please don't be mad Momma! It's Thanksgiving! I promise I won't eat any more cherries off the pistachio pudding dish!

Helping Daddy...Notice the piece of wood is almost as big as Asher! Andrew and Mark split all the wood themselves!

Picking out some sweets, that he actually had never tried before, but was sure he wanted! :)

Asher got hours and hours of playtime with Maggie, got to help build fires with Uncle Mark and Daddy, go into Big Bear village and see Mrs. Claus and Santa arrive on a fire truck and visit his favorite candy/fudge shop! For Andrew and I, it was such a blessing to be away from the desert, sit by a fire, watch lots of TV and hear stories from Andrew's grandparents! Andrew's grandpa can remember being a small boy, going to visit one of his Aunt's who had a frig/freezer and getting an ice cube as a treat!! He could still recall the wonder for him and his siblings to see ice cubes and a refrigerator! Thanksgiving night, we sat around the table listening to their stories, while Mark videoed it. I am so thankful we were able to record some of their stories! I look forward to next year when Asher can contribute to the "what are you thankful for" conversation around the table!

Overwhelming...

It's overwhelming when you have a cute kid and LOTS of cute pictures and stories to tell, to try and stay on top of blogging....Seriously, what an annoying problem to have ;) Going to try my best to catch up a bit, but since it isn't a New Year's Resolution, I don't have high hopes for myself :)