Day 5

It was a beautiful 65 degree January day today. We went for a walk this morning and Teagan made up all sorts of games for us to play in the front yard. After Asher's nap, we walked over to the park in the afternoon. Teagan is practicing doing the monkey bars and Asher likes to go down the slides head first. And just to keep it real, so I remember what these toddler/preschool years are really like, I pulled both kids home in the wagon with Teagan crying the whole way! She claims I was not cooperating with her at the park, meaning I wasn't accurately following her orders, and then got really upset when it was time to leave. It's so fun to leave the park with your child in tears.

Day 4

Teagan spent the day with her Grandma, so I had some nice playtime with just Asher. He loves to look at books and is enjoying some of the new "boy" books his cousin Connor just passed down to him.

Always dressing up! Teagan was modeling a new dress, skirt underneath, and a purse that she brought home from Grandma's today.

Tonight when we were just about to turn the lights out to go to sleep, Teagan said she wanted to sleep in her own room tonight and come into our room during the night when she woke up. Paul questioned her asking if she really wanted to sleep in her own room since she always goes to sleep with Asher in our bed. She answered that what she really meant was that she needed a drink of water. What??? Okay baby girl! I thought that jump from her two thoughts was pretty funny.

Day 3

As Teagan likes to say, "oh, Asher, Asher, Asher. You are tooooo cute!"



Apparently Teagan's shower just wore her out this morning.

Day 2

Asher and his tools.


Teagan having a tea party with Daddy.

New Year, New Plan

Teagan coloring, wearing her typical "dress-up clothes." Receiving blankets held together with kitchen clips.

Asher rocking out with his guitar.


I read today online about a 365 day project to take a picture of your kids every day for a year. Not a posed portrait, but a snapshot of your typical daily life. Seems like a good way to document the kids interests and activities as they grow. So here goes day 1. I hope I can keep up!

Walking & First Haircut

My baby boy is now officially a toddler. His walking skills have been steadily improving in the last week, and he is pretty much a full-time walker now. It has been so nice to be able to play outside with the kids and go to the park without worrying about him crawling around on the ground. I'm sure it was as exciting with Teagan, but I can't get over how cute it is to see him toddling all around. He seems so proud of himself!

I haven't had Teagan or Asher's pictures taken since Teagan turned 3 and Asher turned 1, so we finally have that scheduled for next week. I had trimmed Asher's hair up a bit, but I figured it was time for his first official haircut before we have pictures taken. I took him to the Kids Salon and he got a haircut while sitting on my lap. He was not too impressed with the process. He cried and squirmed, but she was still able to do a pretty good job. Teagan didn't get her first haircut until she was close to 3 years old, so her first haircut was somewhat of a different occasion.

1st Birthday!

I can't believe our baby boy just turned 1 year old! He is such a smiley, happy, easy going little boy. He loves to play with Teagan and I often hear him squealing with delight. When he hears music, he drops everything to dance! Right around his first birthday he started to get a lot more confident with taking steps. He will now take 5 or 6 stops at a time. He has been walking with push toys for several months now and has really been enjoying a new dump truck push toy and ride on that we gave him for his birthday. I am still following a pretty strict grain free, dairy free, and many other things- free diet with Asher. It was a challenge to find a birthday cake that I felt comfortable giving him, but we were able to do one made with white beans and coconut flour. He really seemed to enjoy his first cake.



Seven months after we first started dealing with Asher's eczema, we still haven't been able to figure out what is triggering it. After seeing a chiropractor, a homeopath, our family doctor, a pediatrician, and a dermatologist, the only thing that has ever helped clear it up was the prescription steroid cream. I am not comfortable using that on a regular basis, so we are still looking for other options. An allergy to cat dander did show up on his allergy testing though, so the cat has now been permanently banished to the backyard.

I guess it's about time for us to take down the last of Asher's First Birthday Party decorations! We had a fun party with our family and Paul grilled rack of lamb to celebrate the occasion.

4TH of July

We continued our 4th of July tradition this year by attending the Plano parade with Beth, her kiddos, and my Dad and Marsha. It was quite hot, but we survived. Teagan seemed to like the clowns. Asher acted rather un-impressed. I guess he could take it or leave it. After the parade we all went for brunch at the Pancake House. At least that was air-conditioned!

3 Years Old!

Teagan's 3rd birthday didn't go exactly as planned, but we still had a good time. On her birthday she decided that she wanted to go to the zoo. We had a lot of fun seeing some of the new exhibits at the Dallas Zoo and having a picnic lunch. Teagan really enjoyed seeing the elephants and watching a giraffe eat right next to us. After we left the zoo, we went to Duncanville to visit family, including my Aunt Pam who was visiting from Indiana. As soon as we made it back home, Teagan helped decorate her own birthday cake. We had plans to do a family birthday party over the weekend and Teagan had a bunny cake picked out that she wanted to make for her party. Unfortunately she got sick the day before her party and we had to postpone it. We pushed the party back another week and celebrated her 3rd birthday and cousin Audrey's 5th birthday. Paul was out of town on his Montana fishing trip so we took some pictures to email him. Teagan has been enjoying all her new presents. Some of the things she got were playdoh, fingerpaints, wood paper dolls, a balance bike, a backpack, a toy shopping cart, and a dress for her to wear with one that matches for her doll.

Arboretum

We are having really nice spring weather, so we headed out to the Arboretum with friends for Dallas Blooms. They currently have castles set up with themes from different fairy tales. The kids really enjoyed checking out all the castles and of course just running around and playing. I of course enjoyed all the tulips, my favorite flower! I always leave thinking about how I need a gardener! It's one thing to hire a landscaper to do all the planting, but I need someone to maintain it.