Weekend Rewind

This past weekend really felt like it stretched out and was not rushed--such a nice way to spend our "whole family" days. :)

Friday:  On Friday we had a check-up for Anna Reaghan (and me).  Everything is still going fine!  Our doctor thinks Anna Reaghan is head down, which is good news. :)  We just need her to stay that way for the next few weeks! ;)  We have another appt. in 3 weeks, then we cut to 2 weeks later, then we'll be at every week.  How in the world did we get this far already?!?  I never felt like Asa's pregnancy dragged on, even during the 2 weeks we went past his due date.  But I also heard each subsequent pregnancy feels faster, and that has certainly proven true this time around!  Matt picked up some yummy Panera for dinner Friday night, and then later he got our weekly ice cream treat for dessert.  It was a tasty way to start our weekend. :)

Saturday:  Matt got up with Asa so I could relax in bed for Mother's Day weekend. :)  Then he and Asa made waffles for breakfast--yum again!  We played around the house until nap time, and then Matt went to run some errands while I sewed and played around at home.  After Asa woke up, we had lunch (I ate the leftovers of my Panera) and then went out together to run some errands.  Then it was back home to try to get Asa an afternoon nap before too long.  While Asa napped in the afternoon, Matt joined some other guys from our Sunday school class for a board game get together.  He learned 2 new games, Dominion and Agricola, that he is SUPER excited about.  I'm glad he had a good time and is continuing to get to know people. :)  Meanwhile Asa and I had dinner, I bathed him, and then I got him into bed to get good sleep before Mother's Day. ;)

Sunday:  We went to church after having some left-over pancakes (that I made with Asa Friday morning) for breakfast.  Asa did not cry when we dropped him off in the nursery (yea!  He hadn't cried in months and months and months, and then he didn't go for a few weeks because he had a cold and we were out of town and had a hard time going back again)!  We ate lunch at a little local burger place (kind of like Backyard Burgers), and then we came home for Asa's naptime.  It was rather short-lived considering that it would be his only nap of the day, but at least he rested enough to get by.  Matt ran out while Asa was asleep, and I sewed and relaxed.  We each got to talk to our moms and wish them a very happy Mother's Day--we are BLESSED!!!  After Asa woke up we took a family walk through the neighborhood--hooooooray for sunshine!!  Then Matt grilled chicken (my request) and we also had baked potatoes and fresh strawberries.  Asa (with some help from Matt) made me an awesome Mother's Day card--I love it!!

  Matt also brought me a bouquet of tulips,and my boys gave me the ruffler foot I wanted for my sewing machine.  I mean, we ARE expecting a baby girl. Ruffles just might need to become a regular thing around here now. ;)  I also got to open some cards and sweet gifts from my parents.  For dessert we made some ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies and ate them while we finished watching season 5 of Dr. Quinn.  It was nice to unwind and just hang out together.

Now we're at the start of a new week!  I'm 32 weeks officially today.  That really does seem unbelievable.  We've had another sunshiney day, so Asa and I took a walk this afternoon.  I'm so glad we've been able to get outside--he looooooooves it. :)

We hope you had a happy Mother's Day and enjoyed your weekend.  Have a blessed week!

Weekend Rewind

We had a low-key weekend of enjoying family time and celebrating Easter.  As I mentioned on Friday, God has been so faithful to give us friends to celebrate with each year as we just live too far away to make it home for such a short weekend (and would end up driving home ON Easter--that's no fun!) visit.

Friday:  On Friday afternoon, Asa and I were browsing Target and found a perfect little table for Anna Reaghan's room.  It has a lower platform that's great for a clock/sound machine/cd player, a drawer (Asa's table doesn't have a drawer, other than that they're almost identical), and a table top that's just the right size for the little incidentals (WATER BOTTLE) that are handy to have nearby when nursing. :)  After Matt got home we went to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.  Asa napped late, so he was not too sleepy or falling apart and he ate every.last.bite of his refried beans (and dipped chips in salsa). :)  He went to bed later than usual after napping late, but it was worth it for a family night out.  A break from routine every once in awhile doesn't hurt him. ;)  Right before bed, we Skyped with G-Pa & G-Ma.  Asa was soooo excited to see them and literally bouncing up and down, playing peek a boo (that HE initiated), and "near/far" with them.  It was adorable.  He was devastated when we turned the computer off to get ready for bed, but we Skyped again later in the weekend to make up for it. :)  After Asa was in bed, I finished some sewing I started during naptime and then Matt and I cuddled up on the couch to watch The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Matt received a subscription to the Blockbuster movies/games by mail program (like Netflix) for Christmas from a friend, and while he misplaced his activation card for awhile, I found it after we moved. ;)  This was our first selection, and a good selection it was!  We both really enjoyed the movie.  Matt REALLY enjoyed it and proceeded to watch it 2 more times before we went to bed on Saturday!  When he gets into a movie, he reallllllly gets into a movie. ;)

Here's my Friday sewing adventure (made from a flat sheet I picked up awhile ago at a thrift store):

Saturday:  Asa slept in a little (yea for his 30 min. late bedtime not reversing sleep!!), so we got to sleep a little extra.  We all had breakfast together, and then we just kind of played around the house Saturday morning until naptime.  I love seeing Asa EAT UP playtime with his daddy.  He waits all week and you can just tell he delights in weekends when Matt has more time at home.  It makes Mondays kind of sad, but he usually perks up by lunch time on Monday.  During naptime, Matt watched the movie again and I looked up furniture stores.  We wanted to look for a new upholstered chair for Asa's room so his glider could move to Anna Reaghan's room.  Especially with Asa still being in a crib, we wanted a cuddly place to still curl up and read in Asa's room but knew Anna Reaghan will need the rocking motion of the glider more than Asa does. ;)  We tried a different furniture store in town a few weeks back, but nothing was comfortable or in a print that would even remotely work in Asa's room, much less transition to a living room/family room or whatever have you when Asa's room no longer warrants such a chair.  Of course a chair could be covered or reupholstered, but it would be great to find something neutral from the get-go.  At the very FIRST store we tried on Saturday, we found a chair on clearance that is comfortable AND neutral!!  Praise the Lord!!!  It was a very exciting find. :) :)  The chair will be delivered this Saturday!!!  I had been planning on leaving the glider in Asa's room until Anna Reaghan is sleeping longer stretches (as she'll be in a bassinet in our room until that time), and having the new chair in our room until she switches rooms.  But I realized it makes more sense to me to feed her in the living room (steps from our bedroom door) if we get up in the night--then I can listen to my faaaavorite lullaby cd (Sing Over Me) while she eats or talk to her or have a light on low without ANY fear of disturbing Matt.  So we're going to go ahead with the big chair switch on Saturday!

While we were there, we thought we  might as well see what loveseats and couches were on clearance as we'd also like somewhere comfortable to sit in the basement while Asa/the kids play.  We completely agreed on a couch, and it should be delivered in May or early June (it's on back-order).  I can't believe we found BOTH furniture items we were looking for on sale and at the same place!  SUCH a praise and blessing.  We have been praising God for overseeing even the little, trivial details of our life and hopes. :)

On Saturday night Matt watched the movie again (seriously) while I sewed again.  I had seen these little onesie cuddly sacks on a blog and went to a site where they were sold.  I thought I could make one myself for MUCH cheaper, so I went for it.  I want to swap out the band of red polka dot fabric for some type of wiiiide grosgrain ribbon with red in it (and tie it in a bow in front), but other than that it's complete!  I LOOOVE little sacks--they're so great for easy diaper changes and babies with little kicky legs.  Asa would often kick his legs and scrunch them up to his stomach such that they'd get stuck in the tummy of his sleepers and then he couldn't get his legs back into the actual legs of the sleepers and get frustrated and fussy.  Little sleeping gowns were the perfect solution. :)  I think this will be perfect for lounging around the house, and I love that it has Anna Reaghan's monogram. ;)

Sunday:  Brought us EASTER!!  Christ is risen, indeed!!!  Hallelujah!  We got ready for church and were very pleasantly surprised to find it PACKED OUT.  That was really cool to see. :)  Asa cried when we dropped him off in the nursery for the first time in awhile, but he was okay when we picked him up.  I set up with the nursery director to complete my nursery orientation this coming Sunday, and then I'll be on the schedule every 4th Sunday (until Anna Reaghan arrives).  I am excited to serve in the nursery as they have so lovingly welcomed us and Asa!  After church we went to the house of friends from our small group.  They do not have family nearby either, and they thoughtfully invited us to join them for Easter lunch.  They have a little girl Asa's age, and a little boy 3 years older.  There were lots of cars and trucks around to keep Asa very entertained. ;)  And they had a cat, Honey, whom Asa met.  I'm not sure he'd ever seen a cat in person before and he was verrrrrry intrigued.  Now when he sees a cat, he says, "Honey!!"  Doesn't miss a thing. ;)  He also seemed to actually enjoy cake for the first time, taking a total of maybe 6ish bites before he was done.  Asa doesn't have a particularly sweet tooth and usually eats 3 bites of cake/cupcakes MAX... IF that.  No complaints here, and he hasn't been exposed to cakes/cookies much since we are still careful with dairy, but it was fun to see him enjoy it so much. :)

After a nap at home, we gave Asa his Easter basket. 

We got him a McQueen and Mater from the Cars stories (he has only read 1 storybook about Cars, never seen a video of it, but has really latched onto the characters from that 1 book) that he was THRILLED about!  His eyes just lit up and he grinned.  It was precious--you love finding something your child loves. :) 

We also got him some placemats now that he prefers to eat at the table instead of with the tray attached to his booster seat.  Two of the 3 we ordered arrived in time for Easter, and Asa is quite pleased with the trucks and farm animals on the table now.. just wait until the DOGGY placemat arrives! :) 

Our last Easter basket goodies were a harmonica (he LOOOVED hearing it at Caroline's house in TN), a book about Easter, and some toddler 100% fruit snacks he LOOVES (and calls "yummies" instead of "gummies"). :)

He is thrilled with both, and even this morning spotted the harmonica, brought it to me, and said, "Song!"  He hasn't figured out how to play it yet himself, but he just laughs and laughs and bounces along if you play it for him.  He is quite taken with the book as well and we have read it several times.  I want to build a collection of books about the real reasons we celebrate various holidays, and Easter was a perfect opportunity for my little bookworm to get another book. ;)  My parents sent some new pjs and some stickers, and Asa wore his new pjs last night (car!  zoom!  zoom!) and asks for more stickers frequently. :)  We're so glad he enjoyed his basket so much and that we could give him some little gifts to celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ

 enjoying his "yummies"

 See me drink from a cup?  I see you!

 Our trees FINALLY bloomed... on Easter Sunday!  NEW LIFE! :)

We had a very low-key dinner last night, then Asa had a FUN daddy bath before bed (he was faaaading fast from his big Easter day and a bath is a great way to stretch him to a reasonable bedtime).  After he was in bed, we took care of dishes and things around the house, Matt called his parents to catch up with them, and then we watched a movie (a different one!).


Next weekend is supposed to be warm (70!!!!!) AND sunny (lately if it gets to the 60s/low 70s, it's also rainy and stormy).  I don't know yet how we'll take advantage of that, but we'll find SOME way I'm sure. :)

We hope you had a sweet Easter celebration of our RISEN Lord and Savior!

Little Catch Up

So it's been about a week and a half since my last update.  Oops! :)  Asa and I took off to Tennessee for a quick visit with family before Anna Reaghan arrives.  Her arrival should not not be imminent, but May is the last month I'll be able to travel home and it's full of all sorts of things going on back home that wouldn't make it possible for Mom to come get me (and we're saving Matt's time off for those early days and the holidays).  She graciously came to retrieve us :), and we had FUUUN playing with cousins and one of Asa's little friends while we were in town. :)

We drove down on Thursday, and Asa was amazing in the car.  He is usually awfully easy-going for how long he is strapped to a car seat.  He's much more patient than I am--I wiggle and change positions constantly.  He never made even one sound that was remotely fussy sounding.  Incredible.  The drive took up most of Thursday, and on Friday we tried to get Asa back into some kind of routine after being thrown off in by the car trip.  We played outside a LOT and soaked up the beautiful Tennessee sunshine and spring time.  Asa and I even accidentally had some rosy cheeks by the end of the day!

On Saturday Joy hosted a sweet gathering of my mom's closest friends and a few of my friends who still live in town to celebrate Anna Reaghan.  I have never seen so much PINK in my life!  I crack up and just how different this whole girl baby thing is from a boy baby... especially when it comes to clothes. :)  Everything was incredibly thoughtful and the food was delicious (Joy's strawberry cake is amazing!), but the best part was seeing sweet friends who've known me and prayed for me for so long.  I am so thankful, especially living far from home, to know we have an army of prayer warriors supporting us--even states away. :)

G-Pa played with Asa at home during the baby shower.  They played outside at the water table and got soaked! :)  One of Asa's uncles and a cousin came over to play during the shower as well, and I came home to find Asa alllll snuggled up in G-Pa's lap reading books (and in warm, dry clothes).  It was a precious sight. :)  We got the Bobe's down for a nap, and later in the evening Mimi came over (my mom's mom) for dinner on her very birthday!  What a special lady to share the spotlight of the day with me.  Our whole family party for her was on Sunday, but we still wanted to do something special on her very birthday. :)

On Sunday we got to worship at Cedar Springs and then have lunch with Brad & Joy and 2 of Asa's 4 Tennessee cousins.  Asa actually ate as soon as we got home, and he played just long enough to see his cousins when they arrived after their church service.  Then he was off to bed so he could be pleasant for the evening's birthday festivities. ;)  Before the party we hopped over to my friend Rachel's house so we could catch up and Asa and her daughter Caroline could play.  Caroline was so sweet to share everything in her playroom and Asa was mesmerized by her kazoo. :)  Before we left, we played in her backyard and the kids had a few turns climbing up and sliding down the slide and a few pushes on the swings. :)  All the fam came over that evening for yummy and fun grilled out birthday dinner in honor of my grandmother.  I couldn't believe how all the cousins have grown!

On Monday and Tuesday we had more fun cousin time.  I'm so glad we got to see ALL my family while we were in town, even though it felt like a quick trip!  All the cousins are so sweet to Asa, and he just LOVES seeing them and copies whatever they do--he definitely came home with some new tricks to show Daddy. :)

Wednesday was spent back in the car driving to Ohio.  Thankfully we had good weather, no car or road problems, and a cooperative traveler again. :)  It's been fun to show Matt all our PINK!  Mom stayed with us an extra day on this end so she wouldn't have to turn right around and drive back to TN by herself with basically no break.  We had a leisurely day on Thursday and took care of a few minor errands before Asa showed G-Ma the huge park that's just a short distance from our new house.  He loved going down the slide on the toddler playground and looking at the different structures (and giant tires) on the big kid playground, though he's not too sure of baby swings (he prefers the Fisher-Price kind that's very secure to the round baby swings at a park--those garner his "serious Asa" face).  He loooooooved being "side! side!" (outside!)  He isn't going to know what to do with himself when it warms up here in Ohio once and for all after being cooped up in the house all winter! :)

This morning we had a check-up with my doctor.  I'm 28.5 weeks along (29 on Monday).  Time is absolutely flying!  I had the glucose tolerance test.  Maybe I'm just naive, but I passed with flying colors with Asa, so I'm not anticipating a problem.  It was a quick appointment as we have been so thankful to have another smooth, complication-free pregnancy.  We have switched from appts. every 4 weeks to every 3 weeks now and will return for another appointment on May 6 (31 weeks), then one 3 weeks later (34 weeks), then 2 weeks later (36), and I think we switch to every week at 37 weeks.  I can't believe we're at the point of going more frequently!  The staff is always really friendly to Asa which I appreciate.  I mean, goodness, they're in the baby business, but I know most people don't bring their little ones with them.  They were super sweet to him today as Matt got held up at the office and couldn't meet me in time for the glucose test blood draw (he made it in time to hear Anna Reaghan's heartbeat, however ;)), so the nurses and I were working together to keep Asa occupied and distracted as he was a little clingy around all the strangers and Mommy having to do strange things. :)

That about catches you up on us!  I hope to post pictures of Anna Reaghan's room soon.  It's still a work in process as far as details, but we have her bedding in place and there are enough pieces coming together to give you a sneak peek. :)

We hope you have a wonderful weekend and a heart full of joy and worship this week as we celebrate and remember Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

Christ is Risen!

Quack Quack!

As promised, here are more pictures of our little ducky.  He even started saying "quack quack" this week (just a a few days late). ;)

Five on Friday

1.This week has felt fast and slow at the same time.  It's also been warm and cold.  We had been warm (70s-ish?), and then overnight it became cooooold and windy.  Our overnight lows are back below freezing even before the windchill.  BRRRRR!  The Florida in me says, "But it's only October!!" :)

2.  On Thursday Asa dressed up as a ducky for a moms group Halloween party.  I dare say he is the cutest little ducky you'll ever see. :)  When he got up in the morning, he hopped down from my lap where we were snuggling, walked over to his closet, petted the ducky costume hanging from the closet door handle, and then walked back to cuddle some more. :)  Here's one picture to tide you over until a full ducky photo shoot post. :)

3.  I can't believe October is almost over!  As of Nov. 1, I have been in Ohio for 5 months.  It seems like much longer and much shorter at the same time.

4.  I tried to make oatmeal raisin cookies this week, but we didn't have any oatmeal.  I intended to enjoy a spoonful of dough before I baked them, so I'd held off on a the egg while I mixed them.  In the end, we've enjoyed a couple spoons of oatmeal raisin cookie dough (minus the oatmeal and raisins) for dessert the last 2 nights. :)  I kind of doubt it will actually turn into cookies at this point....

5.  We have family coming to visit soon and we are SOOO excited!  We can't wait for you to see all of Asa's newest tricks and to spend time together.  Hooraaaaay! :)

Snapshot: 12 months

A little about Asa at 12 months old:

• the cutest, sweetest baby boy I know (not that I'm biased)
• 4 teeth (5th came through right after his birthday)
• lots of thick, light brown/medium blonde hair
• crawling at warp speed
• cruising (with transfers) with ease
• stands for a couple seconds on his own
• will walk holding onto your fingers
• enjoys peaches, pears, green beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, crackers, fruit puffs, water, scrambled eggs, pancake, tolls, and blueberry muffins (and cheese, but it upsets his tummy)
• drinks water from his own little camelbak
• still nursing
• up to 6-7ish hour first stretch at night if nothing is interfering (i.e. teething)
• has adjusted well to Ohio
• loves his Sammy dog
• says Mama, Dada (both sporadically), Sssss and Sa! for Sammy, signs "all done" and "dog" and responds to "more," working on "please"
• wears size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes
• approximately between 18.5 and 19 lbs.
• LOVES books and will flip through them on his own
• has "told" himself a story by pointing at each page and babbling to go along with it :)
• loves wallets, so he got his own wallet for his birthday
• loves cars
• loves playing in the water, including baths, but especially the splash pad and water table
• has stayed in a church nursery 2 times (the 3rd time was right after his birthday and Mama was paged to come get him--he did not like having his diaper changed by someone else!)
• can sit up in the seat of a grocery cart if I don't have him tied on (I'm sure he could have done this a long time ago, but the first time I tried was our last month in Florida)
• loves his walking toy--his face lights up
• loves to carry things (usually balls) around in his mouth
• loves balls
• loves music and dances to it
• loves to see Dada on video chat when we are away (whole body celebration ensues)
• brings us SO much joy, laughter, and smiles

The Big Three-Oh

Matt's birthday was today, and it was a BIG one... 30!  He is a really good sport about it, and we had fun making today an extra special day!  Unintentionally, his company helped out a LOT.

Matt's company had an employees + families cook out starting at 11 today.  Employees were free to eat and go back to work, eat and leave, or just leave at 11!  We opted to eat and then LEAVE--on his very birthday he only had to work a half day. :)  YIPEEEE! :)

Asa went down for a nap when we got home, and we got to relax.  The pool in our neighborhood opened last weekend and Matt had his heart set on taking Asa swimming today.  Unfortunately, Asa is running a fever off and on (I'm not sure whether to blame teething, using the church nursery for the first time, or misplacing my shopping cart cover...), and today was a fever "on" day. :-(  Poor little guy.  A fever AND no swimming as a result.  Instead, we put together the sand & water table he received for his birthday and headed to our backyard for a little splashing.

Asa loved it!  It's really cool--even Matt thought so. :)  There are 3 towers that each have some kind of pourer/spinner for the water (or sand), train cars you can place on tracks underneath the towers to collect the water, and even 2 sailboats!

We all enjoyed playing around, even Sammy!  We set up the stake in the backyard and let her pal around with us.  She seemed minorly freaked out that she was not on a "leash," but that kept her cautious and she didn't test the stake's boundaries or limitations. :)

best buds (at least Asa thinks so, not sure what Sammy thinks :))

Then we came inside and Asa gave Matt a birthday present and card from him.  Matt asked for a double picture frame for his new desk, and Asa gave him one complete with placeholders for himself and Mommy (at Matt's request). :)  Asa finished his dinner and then played a short while before bed.

After I got Asa down I finished off dinner.  Matt's request was for an herb-roasted pork tenderloin (shout out to the Schackows!), and I made mashed potatoes and corn on the cob to go with it.  After dinner he opened some cards, including one Tyson dug up that Matt had given him for his 13th birthday!!

After cards it was time for gifts.  I gave Matt a movie in blu-ray format, and tried to play it off like I ordered the wrong thing (keep reading to see why).  I told him it was not a problem and could exchange it for a dvd right away.

Next he opened a book I put together for him with letters from influential men in his life.  It was really sweet to see his reactions to the thoughtful messages sent from afar to honor and encourage him on this milestone birthday!  It was also very fun to see his surprise as he learned whom each letter was from! Thank you to everyone who wrote to him (and for keeping the surprise!).  If you're a straggler, there's still room for your letter in the book! :)

The Asa woke up (not feeling great plus I ate a TINY bit of broccoli in the pasta salad at lunch... won't do that again just in case....), I got him back to sleep while Matt finished reading his special book, and then it was time for... the first annual birthday scavenger hunt!!

I made up clues and had Matt scurrying all around the house with lots of up and down and up and down clues in a row to get him to the basement and back again. :)

In the end, he found a chair to use when he's playing his favorite video games and a bluray player.

I don't think he completely bought it when I said I purchased the wrong format of the movie earlier, but he hasn't talked about a bluray player in a long time (I totally shot it down last time it came up because I didn't know you could play dvds on it too and thought our dvds would become useless) so he had NO IDEA I had bought one (thanks for the advice, Brad!).  It was VERY fun to surprise Matt, and he loved the scavenger hunt and crazy clues. :)

Hey, you said the blu-ray disc was wrong but this is a blu-ray player!

We finished off with the dessert of Matt's choice... peanut butter cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream frosting!  Some cupcakes even have peanut butter chips baked into the cake and/or sprinkled on top of the frosting!  Everything was completely homemade... and quite scrumptious if I do say so myself!  Especially for still learning a new oven that cooks hot and fast!  The cupcakes were just right!

I think we are both sad Matt has to work tomorrow. :)  But I loved how the day stretched out with him at home today.  It was perfect!  We are looking forward to a long weekend together. :)

Happy birthday, Matt!  I love you so much, and I'm very thankful we had extra time to celebrate your big 3-0 today!

p.s.  Sammy ate the icing off 3 cupcakes (GAH!!) but so far her tummy is okay.  She is a sneak!

Asa's First Birthday, part II

Okay, time for the actual birthday recap!

On Asa's actual birthday, he woke up shortly before we were headed for bed.  He's been having some restless sleep (I think it's due to either being smack in the middle of prime wonder week territory or this new point/label language explosion--even though his labeling is gibberish), so about once a week he wakes up enough that he won't go back to sleep but won't stay asleep in your arms either.  All that to say, he was momentarily asleep in my arms at midnight, so I got to sing him happy birthday (oh so quietly) before tucking him back into bed for the night.

I greeted him in the morning with another round of "Happy birthday!"  He had pancakes for the very FIRST time for breakfast and ate a whole pancake!  YUM!!  He and I played all morning, playing with toys, reading stories, just relaxing and doing whatever Asa wanted to do.  During his nap I finished his first birthday onesie.  I am very pleased with how it turned out, and Asa seemed to like it too once he woke up and got dressed. :)

We played with bubbles for the FIRST time (other than the bubbles the nurse blew at the specialist's office while she took Asa's blood prsesure) after Asa woke up. :)  Then I decided we need some sort of celebratory lunch, so we headed out and ate at Red Robin, just the two of us.  But FIRST we waited for the clock to read 12:39 so I could officially, officially sing him happy birthday!

I decided we needed to go out for a celebratory lunch, so we went to Red Robin just the two of us. :)  I planned to walk through Petsmart with him to let him look at the animals, bu our leisurely lunch ended closer to nap time than I anticipated.  Instead we took the long way home and played a little before nap time.

During Asa's afternoon nap I worked on getting his birthday cake ready.  He played some more after his nap while I finished things up.  We got to video chat with G-Ma so she could see the birthday boy on his big day. :)  Daddy came home early (yea!) and played with Asa while I took care of all my last minute details.

Asa had a yummy dinner of his usual favorites (peaches + butternut squash and green beans).  He wasn't particularly hungry though--he must have known the party was about to start. ;)  After dinner he got to wear his birthday hat (we had hats too, of course) and then we brought out the cake!

It was a birds nest cake, similar to the unbirthday cupcakes I made.  Asa mostly enjoyed digging into it with his hands.  He had no real interest in eating any of it.  He ended up trying a bite on his own, but that was it.  He's just not a big cake guy yet! :)

After making a sufficient mess of the cake, we cleaned him up and opened cards and gifts.

It was fun to see that he truly liked every gift!  We had thought through the types of things he enjoys when people asked us for gift suggestions, and EVERY gift was a hit!  He would leave my lap to go back to the gift he just opened when I would set a new one in front of him!  Asa received several books (books with sparkly pages and lift-the-flap books are his favorites right now), a splash mat to cool off with in the back yard (we tried it this weekend and he loves it), a sand & water table, a puzzle, a great set of cars, musical instruments, his very own remote control, and a play wallet (he LOVES our wallets), among other things.  This weekend Poppy & Nana visited and brought him some clothes, a wooden train, and Matt's old rocking chair!  So fun to see Asa in it now. :)

 After presents we had one tired little puppy!  It was upstairs for jammies and tucking into bed to close the evening.

I am amazed that he is 1.  I think that didn't really sink in until today.  One.  Not 4 months or 6 months or 10 months, but 1.  That is a BIG number in my book!  It doesn't seem possible!  I am so thankful for every second of the past year--I have loved each one with an overflowing heart.  Asa has brought us so much joy.  It is such a blessing and privilege to be his mom.  I can't even put into words how much it means to me.

We LOVE you, Asa.  Watching you grow and learn the past year, watching your personality shine, exploring with you, playing with you, laughing with you, sometimes crying with you. :)  I wouldn't trade a single thing.  How we pray for you to bring joy to others as much as you do to us, but especially for your life to bring JOY to our Lord!  We pray you come to know Him and love and serve him at an early age and for all the days of your life.  We pray the same to be said of you as is said of King Asa, "Asa's heart was wholly devoted to the Lord all his days" and "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord."  We pray for you to be hard-working, gentle and strong, caring for your family, and finishing well like your grandpa whom you were named after.  We pray you reflect God's heart and that you know and share His grace.  We pray God's best for you, Asa, and we stand amazed at all He has already done.  In the past year, you went from a twinkle in my eye to 18.5 lbs. of LIFE.  You have weight and form and substance.  You have likes and dislikes.  You are your own little person, and we love who God is making that person to be.  We are so glad you are in OUR family and that we get to love and raise you.  You are one of the BEST gifts we could ever be given.  Thank you, Lord!  And we LOOOOOVE you, Asa!