All About Asher

Here's segment two in the series of things I don't want to forget about my children.

The Best Spin
Asher loves to ask for things in his baby talk, then when I guess what he wants, he nods and smiles, and says, "Okay!" like "Great idea mom, I'd love some chocolate milk!."
When I ask him is he has a poopy diaper, he says, "not yet." Without realizing it, he puts a positive spin on everything.

My Vegetarian
Asher loves fruit and veggies. If I keep the fruit bowl too close, he'll eat the entire thing by the end of the day.
When he wants to be held he says, "Hold you!" and reaches his arms up.
He has no idea how big he is, he acts like a baby but is the size of a 3 year old.

Little Lover
Ash is full of sweet kisses and snuggles. Yesterday we were reading books on my bed and he kept touching his forehead to mine, then he'd give me butterfly kisses, then eskimo kisses and then a little kiss on the lips. He did this over and over. At the end, he gave me a juicy kiss right on my forehead. And I cried. It's such a blessing to have this sweet wonderful boy, so full of love and caring.

The Fan Club
At church, if Asher's not there, people will stop us and ask about him. As he walks through the halls at church, most people greet him with smiles and high fives. He's really the favorite of our family, almost everyone we know would rather spend time with him than with anyone else.

A Peacemaker
When Jaxon occasionally hurts Asher, I will get angry at Jaxon, raise my voice, etc. Then Asher will quietly walk over to Jaxon, put his arm around him and give him a hug.
My heart melts every time.

Fraidy-Cat
It's a good thing he learned the sign for frightened really early, because Asher uses that sign a lot. Whether he hears the vacuum, is stranded on a bar stool, or sees a stranger, Asher is a little fraidy-cat. It's really very endearing, and he always wants lots of hugs when he gets scared.

Loves his Daddy
For a while, Asher would cry when he saw Mark putting on his work clothes. He knew that meant Daddy was going to work. Even during the day when we hear a noise that sounds like a car door shutting, Asher jumps up with bright eyes, "Daddy home!"

Summertime Fun
My very very favorite memory of Asher is during the summer. He's wearing a swim diaper at my parents house, and although he is having so much fun swimming in the "warm pool" he climbs out because my mom has just delivered a bowlful of watermelon. Asher runs to the bowl, gets two big handfuls of watermelon and shoves the delicious fruit into his mouth as fast as he can.
I just watch in delighted awe as he smiles while chewing, the red sticky juice running down his belly.
The summer is just not complete without watermelon juice running down Asher's little tummy.

All About Jaxon

I'm imitating my best friend Leslie's post about things she doesn't want to forget about her children.
I know I write about my kids all the time, and when they're in bed, I should focus on something else, but there are wonderful things about them that I don't want to forget.
Here's the first in this series.
Jaxon
I should have named this child "Enthusiasm" because he is always so excited and happy about going places and
doing things. Each morning he asks, "Which day is it?" I answered today, "Wednesday." He says, "What do we do on Wednesdays?" meaning, "is this library day, pool day, museum day, friends day, or what?"
At the playground or the gym, Jaxon makes friends so easily. He's the first to walk up to a child and say, "Hi, I'm Jaxon, do you want to go play?" He'll share his ball, or play tag, and he always has a smile on his face.
Around the house, Jaxon can be very helpful if he wants to. When Finley was a few months old, I would mention that he needed a diaper change, and Jaxon would run to get the portable changing table (always making sure to buckle Fin, even when it was on the floor) the diaper and wipes. He can also clean his room pretty well when he puts his mind to it.
When it's time to play, Jaxon loves to play tickles on the bed, play mancala or chess, or read books. When mom or dad aren't available, Jaxon loves movies or playing games online (sesame street, calliou, or curious george).
A budding photographer, Jaxon takes pictures of me, the other kids, or his favorite items around the house.
Always the gymnast, Jaxon has been climbing since he was 18 months old and he surprised us by scaling the play gym at McDonald's without our even noticing. Today I saw him leap from the top of my dresser to the bed, just to get a laugh out of Finley. I think my oldest has a love of adventure.
Jaxon's other loves are gardens, anything that grows, Thomas the Train, things that shoot, learning about Australia, and playing the harmonica.
He is the first to comfort anyone in the house who cries and will bring a stuffed animal right away to help ease pain.
Some of my favorite memories of Jaxon:
He yells, "I'm a spleeding baris!" and runs as fast as he can down the hall.
How he answers inquiries about how he's doing, "Pretty well" or "Not pretty well." and answers invitations with, "I'd be so delighted."
He uses glorious, unbeatable, and unusually (among other big words) in amusing ways.
How I find hooks of every kind hanging strange objects all over my house. One of the most common are bungee cords and toys dangling from hangers or wall hangings. Also, he perches cars and trains precariously on the edge of the counter, waiting for them to fall.

Having Jaxon turn 6 last week has reminded me how fast the years are going and that I need to stop occasionally and remember the good, fun times, and put the irritating, stressful times in perspective.
Here's to you, Jaxon.
You're my little wonderboy!

So Sleepy

On our vacation, Finley fell asleep in the strangest places.
First, my mom put him behind the tent (because it was too hot inside).












then he fell asleep in Michelle's arms right before our drive back from ID to Ut.















Last, he slept in grandma's lap, next to great-grandma Starkey. Such a cute picture.
sweet, sleepy guy!

Starkey Family Reunion

My mom's family had a reunion in Bruneau State Park, Idaho last weekend.
We had a great time, and were one of the lucky families to avoid the stomach flu virus.

I've posted a web album HERE, but wanted to post a few of my favorite pics.

1. (clockwise from bottom R) Grandma and Grandpa Starkey, then Aunt Lorraine (grandpa's SiL) Uncle Val, cousin Dominic and cousin Maria.







2. Cousin Michelle (holding baby Fin), John (husband of), Cousin Alicia.
Rocking out to Collective Soul.











3. Kite Flyers
If you can't tell, it was a Japanese-looking ship with sails.
My brother David is the tall one, Jaxon's on his left and Asher's on the right.















4. Here's the girls.
First, my newest cousin-in-law Caryn, then me, Christine, Michelle, and CiL April.
Cousin Alicia is in the front. (I'm loving calling my cousins by their titles!)

Leaving Las Vegas!

On our way to Idaho, we passed through Las Vegas, then Utah.
Katie and Justin were kind enough to host us on our travels, and we had a great time hanging out with them.
The boys enjoyed Addie's Jeep (she still can't reach the pedals, but she let Jaxon take her for a ride) a little too much.
They want one of their own, I'm afraid.
My favorite picture is the one in the middle. Jaxon threw the Jeep into reverse and didn't look as he backed up. I caught a shot of Justin, frantically saving Adlen from being run over by her cousins. Whew! That was close!
We're excited to see them again next week when we head back to UT (this time with Mark) for the Sunstone Symposium.
(I'm publishing our trip in phases, I took 591 photos, and I can't possibly just do one post!)

My Chessmaster

"No, Mommy! If you move your rook there, then I'll capture it with my knight!"
Ah, indeed, Jaxon.
You brilliant chess player. Please stop waking me up at 6 A.M. telling me that you have the chess board set up and you want me to come play.
I don't play chess before 7.

Twinkie Toes

Such cute toes. Honestly, I'm not a fan of feet, but I LOVE baby feet.

Glorious

I joined a Flickr photo group and the second challenge was to take a photo of a body part with writing on it.
So, I lined up the boys, wrote on their backs with lipstick, "It tickles, Mommy!" put a book and cheerios in front of them and snapped as many shots as I could.
Jaxon thought it was awesome, and said, "Aren't we glorious?"
So, that's what I named this photo.
Glorious.

Our Trip to the Mall

Normally a trip to the mall isn't that exciting, but we had a nice family outing.

Here's the double-decker carousel Mark took the boys on.

We gave Fin a taste of vanilla ice cream. (50 seconds long)

Good times. He'll be a lover of Dairy Queen just like his mama.

Here's Asher at the pet store. My kids want a dog soooo bad! (7 seconds long)

Haven't laughed this hard all week

I've been to Dooce a few times, but her post today nearly made me pee my pants.
Hope you like it.

Always Crack Your Windows!

We had a scary experience today.
After a quick trip to Walmart with Ash and Fin (yes, I do now shop at Walmart) I dumped the stuff in the car and wheeled the kids down to a furniture store to look for bar stools and waste a few minutes before I had to pick up Jaxon from day camp.
When I came back 10 or 15 minutes later, I noticed the sliding passenger door on my mini-van was still open (gasp!) and the people next to me were loading in their groceries. Well, that was stupid, I forgot to shut the door with my key when I left.
So, I loaded Asher into his carseat, buckled him, tossed in my purse, shut the door and went around the van to put Finley into his seat. Unfortunately his side was locked. So, I went back around to Asher's door, which was also locked. (I had locked the car without shutting the door before I went to the furniture store)
"No way!," I thought. I've never done this before and it's 103 degrees outside.
Asher was already crying about something else, so I just went as fast as I could into Walmart and asked for help. The nice old lady told me she would get security to help me. I asked for a hanger because my windows were cracked and I thought I could pull the lock up. They didn't have a hanger, but I saw a feather duster with medium length handle (not long like a broom). I ran back out to the car and shoved the straight end into the 2 inch gap of my windows and realized I couldn't hook it over the lock to pull it up.
But, I did see the lock switch and I managed to get the handle over there to push the switch up, unlocking all doors at once.
Hooray!
Asher was hot and sweaty. He was still fussy, but I gave him his water and turned on the A/C.
By this time, an onlooker was glad to see me get the car open and said to his 2 year old daugher, "I'm going to teach you how to unlock the car." It's a good idea, especially if they're not buckled in.
As I was leaving, the old lady and security guard were walking through the parking lot looking for me.
I honked, stopped, got out, and gave them back the duster with a big thanks.
Then they informed me that the fire trucks were on their way. "Really?" I asked.
Yes, because they don't waste any time when a child is locked in the car.

Whew, it was a little scary, and I will remember to always keep my keys with me until I sit down and start the car.
A little blessing and a reminder to always keep the windows cracked.

Jaxon and Mommy at the Lake

Jaxon and Cami on the tube


On Friday, my mom watched Asher and Fin so I could take Jaxon to the lake with my dad, brother David, and sister Cami. My dad's friend, Dave owns the boat and invited us along with his kids, Alexis and Joey.
It was a full boat. (I estimated that our 8 persons exceeded the 1150 lb maximum capacity, but it just made a deeper wake)






Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful getting up on the wakeboard (It's been years since I've done it!). However, Jaxon and I had a great time on the tube. He went with me, with Cami, and with his Uncle David and favorite friend Joey. They had a great time.

While we were riding I told Jaxon, "Let's go home and ask Daddy if we can have a boat!"
(what is with my hair? wow!)










Here's David on the wakeboard. He was trying to get up, then go over the wake 4 times for his boy scout merit badge.


















Alexis (our new favorite babysitter) and Aunt Cami.
Aren't they darling?











Jaxon with Joey and David





Obviously they were going pretty slow if Jaxon could put his arms out, but he was having such a great time!