Happy 3rd Birthday, Asher!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Asher!!!

 

Wow! Our little boy is getting sooo big!  I can't believe it!  We are in Mexico, and fortunately, we are lucky enough to have kids around that are Asher's age - yay! 

 

 

This year, we celebrated by having those friends over and eating lots of food in a semi-cowboy/western themed party :)

 

 

Festive decorations...

 

Lots (too much) of good food!

 

And Asher's cowboy cake :)

 

We had friends over to help celebrate the day.

 

Asher did an awesome job blowing out the candles!

It was a late night for his birthday, so we decided to open the presents the next day... Our goofy little boy.

 

 

He got a fire truck!

 

He loves making the fire truck noise, or mimicking any noise for that matter :)

 

He got the bouncing ball with the handle that daddy got to blow up...

 

And his most favorite gift?  Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

 

 

This past year has been full of changes for Asher.  He gave up naps at two and a half.  He was potty-trained right before he turned three over a surprisingly easy week-long period.  He moved into a regular-sized bed and we recently removed the side rail after we saw that he wasn't turning too much in bed (he still has some struggles sleeping through the night, however).  I'm pretty sure that we got rid of the binkie when he was in his early twos.  He can count to 20, recognizes the important colors, and knows all of his letters (except B, which continually stumps him) and their corresponding sounds. 

 

Asher's vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds!  He is now talking in very full, understandable sentences, and does an excellent job communicating - except for the periodic melt downs where he loses his ability to communicate and instead grunts, cries, and screams :)  He is riding his balance bike well, lifting his feet up as he goes - we just need some hills to really get him going!  He doesn't take toys as much, he shares much better now, and he is really starting to make-believe play (having his toys interact with each other). 

 

Since Mexico, I have been able to go shopping with him in tow, and he does soooo well!  There are days when we are in El Paso from 9-2pm, and he is a trooper!  He started gymnastics, and his change from the first day 'til now has been huge.  He is listening better to his coach, going through the activities without running away, and interacting better with the other kids.

 

Favorite toy: Hungry Hippos (birthday present), Fisher Price Airplane and Bus, tools, toy cars, balance bike, anything that can be used as a gun or a sword

Favorite stuffed animal: Not applicable - He's really not into stuffed animals :)

Favorite color: Orange

Favorite book: Sam I Am & There's a Wocket in my Pocket.  Awhile back he loved The Berenstain Bears, My Every Day Book.  It was the first book he knew by heart and could "read" it with his Daddy.  He also liked David Shannon's "David Gets in Trouble"  :)

Favorite TV show/movie: Peppa Pig - Yup, you read correctly, Peppa Pig. Though he did go through a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse phase and a Little Einstein phase, Peppa has just stuck around the longest.  As for movies, he finally grew out of his long The Lorax phase - though to be honest it was a movie that I didn't mind having on in the background.  Since then he became obsessed with the movie Up, or as he called it "Scary Dogs," and more recently Toy Story 3 became his favorite.  Currently, he's not into any specific movie, just Peppa Pig :)

Favorite foods: Still Fajitas, tacos, pizza and cucumbers - though he really likes the small sweet peppers and all varieties of fruit.

Favorite things to do: Play with play-doh,, jump on couches, ride his balance bike, sing songs with mom, play with friends, wrestle with Dad, go camping!, jumping in muddy puddles

Favorite song: The Farmer in the Dell, I am a Child of God, Nobody Likes Me, Boa Constrictor

Favorite thing to wear: Florida Gator's shirt with Dad

Favorite people (other than his parents, of course): Grandpa Brent, Grammy Trish, Jake, Heather, Andelyne, Seth, Tade, and Jake again - He really likes his Uncle Jake - someone must be sneaking him candy :)

Crazy Antics: 

• Trunking (To suck up water and spray it out of your mouth at something or someone - like an elephants truck "I'm trunking you daddy!"), Swording (using any type of sword-like object, to perform any type of sword-like action - "I'm swording you daddy!" )  Seriously, this kid makes total sense in his words, instead of stabbing, slashing, cutting, dissecting, or cleaving he's just "swording"  :) 
• For the first few weeks of potty-training, when we were at home, he would only flush the toilet with his foot or his forehead....yup.  That's my boy!  Now it only happens occasionally :)
• He occasionally says words the British way, thanks to Peppa Pig - Like ToMAHto, or ZEHbra.
• Monitor Daddy.  Asher had broken our last video baby monitor right before we left Albania and we replaced it with a new one that has a talk back function.  When Asher would cry, Sean would talk to him through the monitor to calm him down, and it worked!  Except that during the day he started talking about "Monitor Daddy"  and how he wanted to talk to "monitor daddy" not real daddy, thinking that there was another daddy in the monitor that spoke with him :)  Hahaha.  I love this kid!
• He has also begun to pretend that his blankie is actually a kitty cat.  He will stuff it up his shirt and walk around saying "kitty cat is licking me! Kitty cat is licking me!"  This game usually continues for about half an hour and ends with him rolling around on the floor, fighting his blankie and hysterically laughing while saying "the kitty cat won't stop licking me, it's tickling me, help, it tickles"... I have nothing else to say about that...
• We were making dinner the other night, and I was about to put the gnocchi in the boiling water, but the package was missing.  I looked on the counter - nothing.  Checked the floor - nothing.  And then I glanced into the other room where Asher was watching me with a grin on his face.  Looking me right in the eyes, he began to sing between laughs (think of the tune for the farmer in the dell): "The Asher takes the YOKI, the Asher takes the YOKI, hi ho the Derry-oh the Asher takes the YOKI."
• I sometimes struggle to keep my cool with other drivers.  I get frustrated when people fail to operate their vehicles in a logical manner, and I'll sometimes mutter or say things like "Come on!" or "What are you doing?"  After being cut off the other day, I said something and Asher piped up from the back seat: "Stop that, mommy.  Don't talk to the cars like that.  I don't like it."  To make matters worse, Sean was in the passenger seat and they both ganged up on me...
• On another occasion: Asher: Hey daddy, I can make it rain;  Sean: Oh really, I would like to see that;  Asher then reeled back and spit right in Sean's face.  Asher: See daddy, I can make it rain;  Sean: Yes, son, you can, I regret questioning your abilities;  Asher: Hey mommy, I can make it rain;  Shauna (in the same room but involved in something else and not seeing the first interaction): Show me;  Sean remained completely silent while watching what Asher would do next.  Asher reels back and spits in Shauna's face and Sean begins laughing uncontrollably.  Sean: You really should have seen that one coming.

Thank you for everyone who made this a fun birthday, and an easier year!  So far Sean and I are LOVING age 3.  From his very birthday on, there have been marked improvement in his behavior, attitude, and overall levels of fun, and we are loving it!  Age 3 is the best!!

 Here's a fun little video (though a bit long - 3 min) of Asher in his natural, 3 year old, environment.  He is doing great, and bringing us humor and love everyday :)