Merry Christmas!

I am not sending Christmas cards out this year as I'm trying to save $ every little way possible.  So, I've written up my Christmas letter to post onto the blog.  Since basically everyone that I would have sent a card/letter to already checks the blog, I don't have anything to say that's new information.  Still, I feel like I should post this summed-up update anyway.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

I can not believe how quickly this year has gone by.  It's been a good year for us, with exciting changes and much to be thankful for.

The biggest event was the birth of Asher McConnell on January 19th, weighing an incredible 9 lbs 1oz.  Now, at about 11 months old, I just can't believe that he's almost a year.  He has grown so quickly and Brian and I just love him to death!

 

Brennan turned 3 at his last birthday (April) and continues to amaze us with his growth.  He has loved being a big brother this last year and Brian and I enjoy watching the boys interact with each other.  Brennan loves to "father" Asher by playing with him, and helping him with tasks like climbing the stairs.  (Not Mom's favorite undertaking for them to do together, however).  Last night, Brennan excitedly approached me with Asher's bottle he'd made up himself... meaning he got a bottle, carried it upstairs to the bathroom to fill it up in the sink, and then dumped a scoop of formula in.  He was so proud of himself.  I gotta give him an A for effort.

 

Brian continues to work at McGrath's, but last August he also picked up a web design job for Corvallis Technical.  This new business, started and run by a friend at church, has been a great oppportunity for Brian to learn and expand the skills he's studying at school, and because he works at home, it's loosened his schedule further and he's able to spend a lot of time interacting with the family.  School, (studying Information Technology) is also going well for Brian, and his projected date of graduation is THIS September.  We are sooooo excited!

 

Heather has just been plugging right along.  She took a term off from school with the birth of Asher, but resumed again when he was 5 months old.  She is so thankful for the opportunity to attend school through an online program, but can not wait to graduate this August with a Bachelor's in Social and Behavioral Sciences.  With that schooling out of the way, Heather intends to focus on other activities like preschool activities with Brennan, and learning new talents.  (Because all the other Mom's have the time to spend their days doing fun crafts and projects, right?)

 

We're so thankful for all that God has blessed us with, and hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas, and a wonderful 2009.

 

Love,

 

Brian, Heather, Brennan, and Asher Stevenson

 

5123 SW Meadowflower Dr.

Corvallis, OR 97333

541-738-2650

 

BLSteve80@gmail.com

hezilicious@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Snow Days

We've gotten some snow the last few days. For the Valley here, this is a lot. School was closed, but probably more because of the horribly icey roads than the amount of snow. Last year every time it snowed it melted before I had a chance to make it outside with Brennan. But this year, we got out in time. He even talked me into going out to build a snowman. It was about 15 degrees outside (seriously, temps in the teens. Very unusual for us). It's been very exciting, despite all the cancelled activities like the McGrath's Christmas party, our band concert, and Brian's Monday night shift at McGraths.

Are We Going to Say of Asher that He Learned to Run Before He Learned to Walk?

Asher's walking is coming right along. This little movie includes some footage from last Sunday, although we weren't able to capture any of his best, and some footage from tonight. My favorite part is the last few seconds. Unlike Brennan who learned to walk by taking his time and perfecting his balance between steps (over the whopping 3 days it took him to learn to walk), Asher is learning by charging ahead, using speed to try to keep from falling. I love it!

Asher is 10 months, 4 days old today.

So, as a basis of comparison, I revisited Brennan's first walking video. These shots are from the third day after his first steps: He was 9 months, 9 days old in this video.

Bubble Fun

Also, Asher is starting to take single steps... most of the time I think they're instincts as attempt to keep from falling, but whatever works.

Actually, last night Brian and I were trying to get some good video of Asher trying to walk. He was going back an forth between us, and when he'd reach us, he'd let out big, squaky, yells, which we think were supposed to immitate the praise we were giving him. He was doing 1-2 steps in a stretch before falling, but not as good once we brought the camera out. Anyway, he was quite enjoying the experience non the less.

Winter Camping

It all started after Halloween when Brian brought a camping light into the house after its use for trunk-or-treating. Brennan immediately took it to play camping. He was using upside-down laundry baskets for something and having a pretty good time. Then... I remembered that he has a tent thing which I almost never get out because it's kinda big for a small apartment.

I got the tent out for him, which he LOVED! Where I first set it up, there happened to be a few chair cushions sitting near me with nothing to do. They became his bed. A small chair of his became his "camping chair." We've relocated the tent to his bedroom, and all of a sudden, naptimes have never been so embraced!

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The other day he actually fell asleep in it, which was not to be the last time, apparently.

Ready for Take-Off...

... (Yes, I'm referring to his hair)

This is Asher's most common "do". It starts off really curly just after his bath, but as soon as the hooded towel touches it, or he lays down, it all flattens except for those funky curls above his ears.

I was shooting some pictures of Asher's hair while he was eating dinner, and talked Brennan into posing for one too. I sure love my boys.

"Mmmmm, these pears are finger-lickin' goooood!"

Young MacBrian Had a Farm, EIEIO

This year Halloween fell on a non-work night for Brian, so of course I encouraged him to get in on the festivities. Although every year I start thinking about Halloween two months before and want very badly to have everything together ahead of time, I still, every year, end up rushing to have everything together on Halloween day.

Brennan had expressed interest in being Spider-Man, so I didn't give his costume much thought. As the holiday approached however and I was deciding on Asher's costume, it opened up Brennan's eyes to the idea of being anything else he wanted. In the end Asher was a chicken (thank you Angie for letting him borrow the costume), Brennan a cow, myself a pig, and Brian was the farmer. I was pretty excited about having a family theme... and very excited that I actually talked my husband into dressing up!

When Brennan said that he wanted to be a cow, I was pumped because I had at my parents house a cow hood which I'd received in high school. I then spent all week, and literally hours looking for an easy way to make the rest of his costume. (Also looking for the pieces of the rest of our costumes). The day before halloween I ended up buying a pattern and fabric and spent that night, and all halloween day making it for him. We had a potluck at 5:00, but showed up a half hour late because I was still trying to finish up. I didn't get it 100% done, (hundreds of strings hanging out all over the place, didn't get the elastic at the bottom in), but I'm pretty proud of myself, and I thought he looked awesome.

We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat activity. This is the first year Brennan "got it" and really enjoyed himself. My parents were there and Brennan frequented their trunk quite a bit. I'm thinking about half his candy is from my Mom... thanks a lot!


The night shots didn't turn out too great, but here's the general idea. Brennan's "moo"ing, and lest you think Brian and I have failed miserably on our diets, I must mention that we're both stuffed. (In Brian's case because the overall's I found at Goodwill for him are about 3X as wide as he is ;-)

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

I realized the other day that we were running out of days to go to the pumpkin patch/corn maze. Brian had a lot of homework to do today, but I couldn't risk missing the beautiful weather we've been having, so I headed to the farm with the boys by myself. I have to admit, I'm a pretty big wimp about going places with both of them alone, which is why I grocery shop when Brian's available to watch them at home, or I get a sister to come along with me. Anyway, today I bit the bullet and took them out.

I carried Asher in the front-pack for one of the only times in his life. Man, this kid's a chunker! I couldn't get one of the sides fastened because of his big belly... but, also because of that belly he was held in tight enough anyway.

We had a lot of fun. This year Brennan was brave enough to ride the hayride, so that was cool. (He actually did it last year with friends, but when Brian and I took him we didn't even attempt it with him because we went just a month after a big "riding on a school bus freakout." He's always been scared of new places, and particularly to be up close and personal to favorite things like firetrucks or buses.) I think he's finally growing out of this fearfulness thing.

Below is a video slide show of some pics and clips of the day.

Just Like Daddy

Apparently Brennan decided his little chair resembled Daddy's [laptop] lap-desk. He pulled it over to the couch, placed it upon his lap, put his computer on it and let out a big sigh. He then put a big, bored look on his face and proceeded to do his homework. Brian laughed when I relayed the story to him later. It was all very much what he does.

Children are a Blessing (Usually)

I remember hearing many times growing up when parents would express how much joy their children bring them. Before having kids of my own, I thought, "Okaaaaay..." but I didn't really comprehend it. Now I know.

As Brian and Asher were playing, Brennan ran into the office and grabbed the camera. He asked if he could take a picture of them. How could I resist. It's a little blury, but it is his first, after all. Mostly, I love that he recognized it as a kodak moment, rather than trying to jump in and play too.

This is becoming a common after-church sight. Poor kid. It is rough to miss those afternoon naps. Starting January he'll miss the morning nap on Sundays, and the afternoon one will be late, making it's likelyhood of being good, "iffy."

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There are two new items that Brennan has become interested in. One is the bungy-cord which we use on our elliptical when it's folded up, and the other is a baby play table, recently reassembled for Asher's benefit.

Brennan was playing with both of these items in a corner of the room, then dragged them out use them. Can you figure out what he made?

I'll give you a hint: before dragging it out into the room, he used the wall electrical outlet to pretend to turn on the faucet.


Yes, it's a sprinkler! He was jumping and dancing all around this thing--everything he doesn't do with a real sprinkler. (He's not a fan of cold water I guess.)

Sick

Well, something hit us. Asher got sick last Tuesday. He still had his usual appetite, but didn't keep anything down. After about 24 hours of that I took him to the Dr.'s office and they determined it was some virus so we'd just have to wait it out. Later that afternoon Brennan threw up all over my couch, and in a nice trail leading across the downstairs to the bathroom. A few hours later my turn came, with Brennan still throwing up a few more times and Brian at work. Even all my family was/is away on a trip and I felt desperate for someone to help me through this experience.

Wednesday night was horrible for me. I was throwing up about every 15 minutes. By the next morning I was pretty much back to normal, other than feeling a little nauseous, and sore in muscles I didn't know I had. My body really took a beating that night!

Brian was last to get it, holding off until Friday. His too seemed to be about 24 hours. I'm sure we all got the same bug, but it sure manifested itself in totally different ways. Brennan was sick for about 4 hours, Brian and I for about 24 hours, but Asher STILL seems to be affected by this. He's been keeping down almost all of his food since Wednesday, but he's like a totally different baby. I really don't know what to make of it. He's totally somber... not grouchy, not happy, not especially tired, but not lively. He also has a very nonchalant appetite - he'll eat what's offered him but not show any signs of hunger or want me to give him more when I stop. I'm starting to wonder how long this is gonna go on. He doesn't seem sick, but he isn't himself. I want my baby back!

Boys Will Be Boys

I figured this was coming since Brennan was born. I must admit though, it has come much earlier than I anticipated. I had no idea that an 8 month old could be such a good wrestler!

Asher likes to wrestle his big brother. Well, as long as he's winning at least. At first I liked watching them play like this, but the longer it goes on the bigger a loser Asher becomes and the more a hassle it is for me to "break it up." What happens is that Brennan, who is obsessed with this game and attempts to play it ALL day long, wraps himself up in that big quilt and starts wrestling Asher. Asher, who doesn't appreciate being attacked and finding himself wrapped underneath the blanket, begins to cry. If he makes it out and tries to crawl away, Brennan is hot on his heels (literally) and continues to get him.

I've made several rules to this game:
1. The blanket has to stay in the living room (it's the only room downstairs with carpet. I guess I'm just "being a Mom" but I wouldn't want to wrestle on the hard floor).
2. Brennan cannot "get" Asher, only Asher can "get" Brennan.
In theory, Brennan is just fine with these rules, even #2. In practice however, no matter how many reminders (including him reminding me), he just won't let up on the poor baby.

The video montage is from one of their first wrestling play. It's lost its novelty to Asher though, so he's not putting up with it quite as well anymore. Still, it's pretty cute. I have to appreciate that Brennan wants so desperately to play with his little brother.

Deep Thoughts

Some recent stuff

We're all doing just hunky-dory. I'm back in school again after about a month break between terms. Just 3 more semesters including this one to go... YAY! (Or as Brennan would say, "Tip tip, uh-rraaaaay")

Brennan has been doing pretty good with the potty-training, plus we're about to run out of nice days before the fall/winter/spring rainy season. Soooo, I got Brennan his promised bike. It wasn't my first choice color/style-wise, but I went with the one on clearence. (Normally all the bikes run $80 and up, this one rang up at $35. A steal for sure, which is my favorite price, after free of course.) Anyway, he L-O-V-E-S it! From Wednesday thru Friday the kids and I stayed at a beachhouse with our friends, and although Brennan had a blast there, he mentioned several times that he wanted to go home to ride his new bike.

Asher turned 8 months old yesterday. He makes me and Brian laugh the way he's constantly on us. I had to get some pictures today when Brian was attempting to work on the church bulletin/program for tomorrow, but finding it difficult because Asher was trying to grab the mouse, among other things. Later, as I tried to make dinner, besides that when I'm standing in one spot Asher is using me to also stand, every time I bent down to get something from a cupboard Asher was immediately on me again, and I couldn't get back up myself without finding a way to help him gently down (all the while trying to juggle the item I'd bent down to get to begin with). It's cute to boot, though admittedly gets a little old when you're just trying to cook.

I'm attaching some video shot mostly today, plus one from a week or so ago. It includes Asher doing a little cruising & crawling. I came upon Brennan today encouraging Asher to climb up the stairs (uh, not a good idea Brennan. Asher did make it up two stairs at my parent's house already). Then, I couldn't help but try to record some of Brennan playing with his dollhouse. I wasn't recording at first, but much of the conversation his characters were having was so funny.

New Arrival

Brian and Heather are pleased to announce the arrival of their new baby. "Spin" arrived after some labor on Brian's part, weighing in at many lbs and measuring about yay high. Brennan is quite taken with this new addition to the family. He's geared up and ready to play.


But in all seriousness, we're pretty excited about this recent purchase from craigslist. I'm just not resigned to the idea of these extra lbs from each baby sticking to me forever. Ever notice that I don't usually post pictures of myself on here? Those extra lbs are the reason. Brennan loves to have his turn. Last night I exercised while he was up, so when I finished he took a turn for a few minutes, then joined me on the floor and mimicked my stretches. It was the cutest thing EVER!

And yes, he is wearing his backpack. (Much of the last several days in fact) and yes his pockets are inside out, his shirt's on backwards, and his clothes clash. When I get up in the mornings these days I'm finding him already dressed. Why not, I say... saves me the hassle.

Asher is standing pretty good now. The last two mornings he's been standing in his crib when I've gone to get him up. It's a pretty funny sight actually - I hear Brennan and get up, open their door, and see Brennan dressed in who knows what, sitting on his bed playing quietly with his toys, while Asher's standing in his crib just watching him. I have no idea how long this goes on before I actually wake up... but I'm certainly not complaining.

I always like to see Brennan "reading" books.

"Uh oh, caught me red-handed!" Asher is a scavenger, searching for anything he can possibly stick in his mouth. (I'm still searching his poop for the door stop cap he swallowed a few days ago - we've had to make sure all the others are stuck on or take them off ourselves.)

"I'll smile for the camera, Mom, but seriously, I'm stuck!"

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We're all doing really well. Asher is getting super fast and I'm having to get used to him being constantly under my feet. My entire day is constant re-child proofing which means picking up every last little rock or dirt clump that's fallen off a shoe, scoping for Brennan's toys that aren't baby-friendly, finding all the food pieces that have dropped off the highchair or that Brennan's managed to leave in another room, and so forth. It was never this much work with Brennan, but it's certainly WAY more work now BECAUSE of Brennan. I don't even remember Brennan following me around like this. He was pretty content sticking to the living room. Then again, when he was a baby I didn't have as many reasons to wander around myself - I saved most housework for his naps. Either way, Asher is keeping pretty good pace with me, which means that I walk into a new room, quickly scope for any hazards on the floor while Asher catches up, and then I do what I've gone into the room to do while Asher climbs up my legs.

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I love my life! My family is awesome!

This kid is growing up like a human whirlwind! Now Asher can get himself into standing position. He usually uses a person sitting on the floor (I spend a lot of time on the floor playing with Brennan while Asher climbs all over me). I think he's used the couch to get up once. It lasted about a second before he toppled over, but still...

So, he's not cruising yet because he can't stay standing on his own, but at the rate he's teaching himself these tricks, I'm sure it's coming much sooner than I originally expected. Yikes!

Pictures of crawling/climbing to come soon, I hope. Although he can crawl all over, he spends much time just sitting - at least he does whevener I pull out the camera. Babies never perform when you actually want them to.

Is my house really that dirty?

So, Asher can really crawl now. This has created two new problems: He can reach the toys that Brennan thinks he's saved when he moves them across the room (but still on the floor), and he's finding every stray crumb, rock, and other small object that the adult eye (and vacuum cleaner) miss. Today Asher took his first venture outside of our living room. He headed towards the kitchen and dining area, with some pit stops along the way. Souvenirs included a cheerio, a small piece of bark, and the cap off of a door stop. The bark was the only item I caught before it went into his mouth. At this point I relocated him to his high chair so I could finish getting breakfast ready.

And the toy thing, Brennan is not pleased. He's not used to having joint-ownership with his things. When he was very young I tried to teach a non-ownership lifestyle, but by 3 years old he'd long figured out that the world doesn't operate that way. This has created some strife lately. What I'm now trying to do is make the rule that if Asher finds it on the floor, he gets to play with it for 2 minutes and then Brennan can exchange it for some other toy. This also means that every minute I have to remind Brennan that if it's on the floor Asher can play with it. My couch is getting pretty full because that's where Brennan now puts his things after each reminder. (And here I was hoping that it would cause Brennan to start putting his toys away during the day... no such luck!)

I have a fear though: I'm starting to think I've got a major climber on the way. As Asher learned to crawl he picked up another new trick - he uses something/one to get onto his knees and then onto his feet, almost to standing position. He doesn't get past a 45 degree angle without some help because his standing balance is just not that good, but he sure tries. If you help him to standing position, he'll continue trying to climb you like a tree. Oh no! He's g0ing to be the kid that starts climbing out of his crib at 9 months or that we'll discover sitting on top of the fridge when he's 18 months. (I have a friend who found her 18 month old there.) I think he's gonna keep us busy.

What a Time of Growth

I still can't get over how quickly Asher is learning and improving upon his skills. One day he started sitting for a few seconds on his own, a few days later he was basically stable. Two days after that he figured out how to get into sitting position on his own (and nap times haven't been the same because once sitting, he sits there crying in tiredness without the comprehension that he needs to lie down in order to fall asleep). Every day he's drastically improving in his crawling - which means I'm in a constant state of impression.

I love watching Brennan's growth too. His responses get cuter and more clever all the time. I can't think of all the examples, but, for example, I laughed today when, after I told him that he's an awesome kid (he put his breakfast dishes on the counter before I asked him to), he agreed, "Yeah, I-yam a awesome kid!"

I should get a picture of Brennan with his friend Wyatt who lives across the street - it's a relatively narrow street in our complex and they live literally right across. If Wyatt's sitting in his window upstairs at his house and Brennan goes outside, Wyatt calls "Hi Brennan! Wanna come play at my house?" or "Come play in my bedroom with me!" or whatever. Brennan, likewise, will call similar invitations from our house when Wyatt's outside. Because Wyatt is almost always outside, when we get home from an outing Brennan runs over and they meet each other in a 'best-0f-friends' embrace. It may be a long time before I get a house with a garage or fenced yard, but in the mean time at least Brennan has his kindred spirit.

Survival of the Deaf-est - To Idaho and Back

We've stopped at this one park two summers in a row now, and both times it's had huge puddles surrounding almost every play structure. I think we'll go ahead and find a different park to stop and eat at from now on, although as you can see, Brennan doesn't mind puddles.

Well, we survived yet another trip to Idaho. Brian's brother Peter returned from serving a mission in the Vancouver, British Columbia mission. It was really great to see him again after his 2 year absense.

The car trips were... long, but we all did o.k. On the way home Brennan almost constantly screamed. Not because he was was sad or crying, he was making silly sounds to get Asher to laugh. (Which he did) On the one hand, Brennan's antics kept Asher from crying at many times, but on the other hand Brian and I were going crazy with the loud and extremely high-pitched screams. So, we spent a good portion of the 15 hour car trip home telling Brennan to stop screaming while he protested that he wanted to make Asher laugh. I've got to appreciate that he has any interest at all in his brother, let alone that his great desire is to make Asher happy.

We had a really great time while in Idaho Falls. We always enjoy seeing the family. Brian brought his telescope out there and it was a pretty big hit. On our final night there, 7 extended family members showed up for a star party, which surprised Judi (Brian's mother) who had not been warned that a group of people would be showing up at 9:30 pm. She's a good sport! The only thing Brian likes more than viewing the stars through his telescope is helping other people to view the stars through it.

I was able to get together with two roommates from freshman year - Janna and Moon (Now Ashton) and that was fun. The kids played on the playground while we had a picnic and found out more about the twins Michelle is expecting.

Yep, we had a good time. We always hate to leave. Brennan especially didn't want to. Many times on the way home he asked to go back to Granna's house and I told him that we will at Christmas time. When we pulled into our neighborhood, Brennan started crying. All that time he'd thought we were on our way back to Granna's and he was VERY disappointed to find himself back at his own house.

Lincoln Logs & Family Blogs

Brennan loves Dad time...

and they both LOVE Brennan's Lincoln Logs!

Brennan loves to play with Asher, but he can sometimes be a little rough with him. Oddly enough, Asher still ADORES his big brother. After Asher's naps, Brennan asks to go "get him" which means he goes and plays with Asher through the crib railings until I wander up at my convenience. In the mornings, unless Asher wakes up earlier than Brennan, I wake up to the sounds of laughter from their room. Brennan plays with Asher for a while before knocking on his door for me to get them up. It gives me some time to get my tired hiney out of bed, and it's enjoyable to listen to Asher laughing (i.e. screeching) in delight.

One of their favorite games is for Brennan to sit on Asher. Yep. I figure as long as Asher doesn't seem to mind, why not. Brennan will do silly voices and tickle Asher and what not. Asher thinks Brennan is the greatest thing since bottles, apparently.

Eyelashes Galore

Brennan used to constantly get comments about his long eyelashes. Maybe his eyes are growing into them now, but I was admiring Asher's the other day and decided to take some pictures of both of their eyelashes. I love 'em.

Spiderman helps people

Spiderman has been frequenting our house lately. It's actually quite awesome. Brennan knows that Spiderman helps people (except when he wears the black costume which makes him be naughty).

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"Spiderman, help me!" I cry. "I need someone to throw this diaper into the garbage can!" Spiderman arrives, and it is done.

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"Spiderman, help!" I cry. "Asher needs another toy to play with." Spiderman arrives, and it is done.

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Brennan will actually come up to me, in costume, and say "I'm Spiderman, I wanna help you" and he waits for me to give him something to do.

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I love Spiderman.

Well, Asher's been doing awesome with his new "tricks." In the same two days he started getting into crawling position and started sitting for longer periods of time on his own, and started saying "Mumma" and "Mum." He also got his first tooth in and currently rolls all over the place. Yep, he's mobile

now! I leave for a second and come back to find him wedged under furniture or clear across the room. It's crazy awesome! Gosh I love this phase.

Of course, on the down side is that he had been really grouchy during a lot of this. Perhaps from wanting so badly to be mobile, perhaps from the tooth. Either way, these last few days he's been back to his cheery self, and enjoying himself as a "big boy." I really think he likes being more accomplished.

This video is about 2 1/2 minutes, but I hate editing out portions of video of my own kids. Afterall, I could watch it all day!

Home at LAST!

We went camping Thursday night. What an experience. Although Brian and I have talked about our desire to go camping since before we were married, we've actually only gone one other time-last summer when Brennan was 2. The trouble is getting time off of work. A few weeks ago I decided to just go with Brian's one weeknight off and camp that night only. So, off we went.

I hadn't planned ahead of time enough to make reservations, so I got the names of 4 relatively close campgrounds. After many, many delays we got to the first site and weren't impressed, so we moved on to the second location.

In between two lakes there's a road leading to two campgrounds. We headed for the further back one without thinking about how far 15 miles is on a winding road. Half an hour later we were past the supposed location and I was running out of gas to go much further without risking not making it back. We finally found the campground on our way back and stayed there. By the time we arrived, it was about 3 1/2 hours after leaving our house for a campground that was supposed to be up to about 45 min away!

The place was nice, but it was a struggle keeping Brennan from wandering off. That happened last year too. We also discovered many items I'd forgotten to pack. I'm still regretting not having bug spray. We didn't have enough firewood to last very long that night, and we hadn't packed any form of entertainment. So, Brian and I sat by the lantern at the tabel and played a few games of travel BINGO that was in my car, then headed to bed early (for us).

That night I will never forget. Asher kept waking up more and more frequently. Eventually neither the pacifier, nor nursing, nor a bottle, nor being held would help. He was crying at drastic levels and I was at my witts end worrying about disturbing the entire campground. So, at 2:25am I headed home with Asher for lack of any other conceivable options. Part way home I remembered that I'd left my housekey with my parents and I hadn't remembered to get Brian's before I left. Luckily I did borrow his wallet because I'd left mine at home and needed to stop for gas at 3:00am on the way home. At my parents house everyone was asleep of course and didn't hear my knocking. So, I went out and found a payphone, called my sister and had her unlock their door and went back and found my house key. Asher and I finally stumbled through our own door at 4:00am.

I have never loved my own bed so much!

I slept solidly until 7:00 when Asher woked up and we headed back out to the campsite. I had chosen the campgrounds because of their location on lakes or rivers. However, this campground I hadn't noticed was actually near a boat ramp, but not a swimming location. So, we left and hit another campground/park that supposedly did have a swimming area at the same lake. After getting on our suits and getting all ready, we were told (and saw for ourselves) that the water level was WAY too low. We could have jumped off some rocky cliffs if we'd wanted to swim, but with a 3 year old and 6 month old?... hardly!

At this point I was really discouraged. Almost nothing had gone right with this trip. In one last attempt we stopped at the original campground that we'd tried (the one we weren't impressed with) to see their day use swimming area. There was in fact a tiny little beach area at the river and we got a chance to get our feet wet. (Or in Brian's case, braved hypothermia for a macho underwater plunge.)

Despite the discouraging aspects, all worked out well enough and I think we'll try it again some time.

Another sad thing is that the backup batteries on our camera didn't work, so there aren't but a few pictures. I'll see what they are and hopefully post them some other time.

Bunch O' Pictures

I've got a hodge-podge of pictures I wanted to post.

This first one was taken during Asher's first solid food feeding. He didn't put on the show of funny faces like Brennan did. He just ate the stuff like he'd been eating it forever.

Like father, like son. Brennan got his "computer" so he could do his "homework" on the bed like Daddy. Then when lunch was ready I let him eat on the bed too. (I figured it was about time to change the sheets anyway)

Yesterday Asher and I walked over to the store. Brian and I thought he looked very sweet in the stroller.

This is from the 4th of July. Our and my Parent's wards had a pancake breakfast. Afterwards most of the kids went to play on the playground at the park that borders our church building.