4 Months

We actually did take these pics on time.  I just waited to post until his four month appt. 

This past month has been a little more challenging because Asher got so sick.  He is done with his breathing treatments, finally, and is back to acting like himself.  

He is smiling all the time and has started laughing a lot too.  Just recently he has begun to play with toys and loves to have something in his hands.  He also puts everything in his mouth!  Laying down is no longer fun.  He wants to be sitting up and looking out.  If he is laying in your arms, he will try and pull himself up to a sitting position.  It's so fun to see him start to develop a personality.  For the most part he is pretty laid back.  He loves to watch us, especially Annika.  I'm pretty sure she is is favorite person!

4 month stats:  17.1 lbs. 25.75 inches long

  His head:  17.24 inches  95%.  

Dancing

 Annika asked Derek to dance with her one night.  

Love.

Snow

Last Thursday Kansas City was hit with a major snowstorm and Annika was so very excited.  I think the final total was around 12 inches, and Annika loved playing in every bit of it.  Derek had to force her to come inside because it was getting so cold.  We are gearing up for another blast of snow tomorrow and I'm sure we will be out playing in the next 12 inches.

Just to show how much snow we got.  

3 Months - Late

Believe it or not I actually took these pictures on January 12.  But, I posted his pics from our Picture People shoot instead of these.  Honestly I forgot about these until I uploaded a bunch of pics from the camera tonight.  So, here are his 3 month pics with Thor and Green Lantern.  

Sick

Asher started not feeling well about a week ago.  He was exposed to RSV at daycare and because of that, our doctor's nurse wanted him to be seen.  Our doctor had already left for the day but we were able to get an appointment with a different doctor.  So, off we went and found he just had a cold.  Good news, right?  Well, after a couple days of no daycare, he was still feeling horrible and really not acting like himself.  On Friday night we ended up at Urgent Care with the thought he might be dehydrated.  Nope, just a cold.  Everything looked fine.  Over the weekend he started throwing up.  So, on Monday, I called the doctor again.  Our doctor is out of the office on Mondays and the nurse I talked to said he just had a virus and it needed to run its course.  The throwing up continued so Tuesday morning Derek took him into our doctor, thank goodness.  His lungs sounded bad, his oxygen was low, and he had Bronchiolitis.  Not great, but at least we know what's wrong.  Now we have breathing treatments for 10 days to help him feel better.  He looks so sad with the mask on, but I think he kind of likes it.  He doesn't fight us and it really helps.  Three days down.  Seven to go!

Siblings

Since we were getting both kiddos pictures taken, we decided to take a few of them together.  They didn't turn out great, but at least we have them.  By this time in the shoot, Annika was having a blast and was willing to do just about anything.  Asher, on the other hand, was done and didn't want anything to do with smiling.  Oh well!

3 Months

We took Asher for his 3 month pictures today.  He wasn't really into it and didn't want to smile much.  But, the photographer got one really great pic and we love it.  It's hard to believe he is 3 months old.  It feels like he has been here forever.  I don't have his stats because he doesn't go back to the doctor until 4 months.  But we did have a busy month.  He celebrated his first Christmas, which of course he loved.  He started sleeping a little longer at night, which is nice, but still not sleeping all night.  He usually wakes up around 3:00, eats pretty quickly, then back to sleep until around 6:00.  We moved him from his basinet in our room to his crib, which means he is now sharing a room with Annika.  That is actually going really great.  He has started smiling a ton and laughing.  He loves it when Annika plays with him and she can always make him laugh.  Happy 3 months Asher!

3 Years

It's still so hard to believe Annika is three years old.  She is the best little girl and we love her so much.  We got her pictures taken today and I love them. 

2 year old Vocabulary Lessons and Wisdom

Annika's vocabulary has really taken off in the last year, and many times we have to figure out what she is saying, and sometimes, we know exactly what she's saying, and it's fun to hear her say it the way she does :)
For posterity, Monica and I thought we should write down the words that Annika has used in this past year so we don't forget them.

B'byes= pacifier
Penciper= temperature
Ambidal= animal
Ottopus= platypus
Her Pirate= toy eyepatch
Pack-Pack= backpack
Naroccas= Maracas
Abadaba=abracadabra


'Ana and I both have January's! She has a January! and I have a January too!'  = we both have birthdays in January :)

'I don't like Breakfast.  I like chips'
'I'm not a big girl, I'm a tiny little person'
'I just tooted.  I'm full of toots.'

'Mom, I smell something.' Yes, Annika, I'm making muffins.  'No, I think Asher pooped.  It smells bad.'

Watching Family Guy and they were recreating the Nativity scene with Lois as Mary, Peter as Joseph, and Stewie as Baby Jesus.  She said, 'Look, it's Mary, the Baby Jesus, and God!'

Monica was changing Asher and covered him with a peepee teepee.  When she turned to grab a wipe, she heard Annika, 'Mom!  Asher's party hat fell off his butt!'

Happy Birthday Annika!

We had Annika's 3rd birthday party this past Sunday and it was Cat in the Hat!  We found someone to make a cake and it came out so great!  The party was just family and turned out great.  Annika had a blast and got so many presents!  It's hard to believe she is 3 years old.  She is so funny, loves her little brother so much, loves to play with her dolls, her imagination is amazing, and  is the best little 3 year old around. 

When it was time to sing Happy Birthday, she became really shy.  She didn't want us to stop but was very embarassed about being the center of attention.  She wanted Derek to help her blow out her candle.