Right on Cue!

This was a white elephant gift last Christmas. Asher loves watching it dance to the music, and here he "flaps his wings" along with it as if prompted! (Really, he does that whenever he's happy, which is a lot of the time). Sorry for my poor camera skills, I couldn't figure out how to edit it so it's turned the right way!

October!

We love the fall! I think the best part is the week off of school I get, which unfortunately just ended. But we stayed busy during that week, traveling to my Mom's in PA and visiting Amish country while there. Asher got to take his first train ride on an old-fashioned steam locomotive. It took us to Paradise (literally, a tiny little town, one of many in Pennsylvania with quaint names).

Eli finished his first Y-soccer season and loved it. What a riot to see 3- and 4-year-olds swarming a ball and each other!

When Jon got back into town on Saturday he was anxious to get outside to do something, so we ventured to the corn maze. The pumpkin patch there was closed due to early snows/frosts, so we brought along our own and received plenty of comments on our adorable "pumpkin".

Of course it wouldn't be October without a good romp in the leaves with the neighbors. And last night we enjoyed a cul-de-sac pumpkin party. Eli was the cutest little cop, and Asher was a precious dragon.

More pics to come...it's not even Halloween!

Bathtime Brothers

Who can resist a great bathtime snapshot?

Here are a few we've taken recently, as Asher has just started liking the water (or actually not hating it). Eli took advantage of the opportunity to read a story to his brother. How sweet! I will show this to them when they're older to prove that they once did get along (or just to embarass them in front of their friends).

Backyard Adventures

This weekend, while Jon and Eli are in Nebraska, Asher and I have been hanging out in the backyard. Our friends/neighbors gave us a swing, which Asher absolutely loved. Check out the adorable video of him laughing!

Since we moved in mid-summer last year, this is our first season to have a garden at this house. We have really enjoyed working outside in it, as well as the fruits of our labor! Two tomato bushes (that look more like trees), a cherry tomato plant, green peppers, strawberries, two types of cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, and even carrots round out our little "farm".

The pic of Asher and some of the produce features "Jon's" cucumber, or so I claim, since it's shaped like a "J". Even though a hailstorm a few weeks ago threatened to destroy our plants, they were resilient and will hopefully survive to the first frost. Now, what to do with all the goodies...anybody want some zucchini bread or salsa? (not together) :)

Milestones

This month has been one of multiple milestones.

Last weekend we celebrated Whitney's graduation from the University of Phoenix. After two and a half years and a 600 hour internship, I finally have my Master's in School Counseling! The family endured a less than exciting ceremony (evidenced by the bored look on their faces) to come support me so I was grateful. I told Jon and Eli that the degree belongs as much to them as me because they were there through the many late nights of weekly classes, meetings, and papers. It was fun sharing the event with my friend from work, Sherry, who graduated with an MA in Curriculum and Instruction.

Sunday, June 21st marked the 40th wedding anniversary of Burton and Mary Jane Mires! We recognized them when we stood in church, as we also had Asher dedicated that morning. Talk about an emotional day! This year MJ also retired from 40 years of teaching 1st grade, quite an amazing accomplishment in itself.

Jon just finished another successful HC event last weekend (Thurs-Sat afternoon) and surprised me with a birthday party with neigborhood friends on Saturday evening. That's right, today marked the big 3-0 (or, as I put it since my student loans will be coming due soon...three-OWE!). I had a perfect day from start to finish. Eli was anxious to usher me downstairs for breakfast where a "Happy Birthday" banner was hung in the kitchen. After walking to the pool with the neighbors for a few hours I was treated to lunch by my friend Brianne. Next, I went on a mini shopping spree at Kohl's and spent some of my bday cash.

The day concluded with a family picnic at Castlewood Canyon State Park, a beautiful location about 30 minutes from our house. The only unpleasant part of the experience was the unusually strong (for Colorado) mosquito presence. However, the same rain which has fostered those pests provided for some amazing cloud and rainbow pictures.

It was the perfect end to a perfect day. Here's to another amazing 30 years.

Muscle Man!

This is how I found Asher in his crib after his morning nap today. Maybe he'll go for a career as a body builder, or if that doesn't work, settle for governor of California or Minnesota.

He's just getting too big too fast, and this pic proves it!

Family Fun

While one would think I'd have more time to blog since being on maternity leave, I don't know where the time goes (although laundry is a viable guess). Here are some random pics of our adventures as a family of four. We took Asher on his first trip to a zoo when we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs on April 23. Eli loved feeding the giraffes there.

The boys are both growing so fast (Eli moreso emotionally/intellectually) and are a joy most of the time. Here are some cute pics of them together. The one looks like Asher is telling Eli a secret! And you've gotta love the dinner still on Eli's face in the other.

Finally, our dear friends the Brookfields gave us their old backyard play set when they got a new one, so Jon put it up last week and it's been a popular neighborhood hangout ever since. Asher's not quite ready to enjoy the swing, but we thought we'd try it anyway.

We are excited for the pool to open this weekend as it's been HOT here and we are ready for it to "officially" be summer. Stay tuned for some fun pool pics.

Welcome, Baby Asher!

OK, so my second son is already 16 days old and I'm just getting a blog posted. Welcome to life with two kids!

The past two+ weeks have been busy with getting to know and love our new addition. We spent his first 4 days of life in the hospital, thanks to the emergency c-section I had. It was the scariest hour of my life, since Asher's heart rate was dropping and so was my blood pressure. But I was in the hands of a great physician who works for the Great Physician! Now we are all recovered (mostly, at least I get to drive now!) and enjoying life at home.

We enjoyed visits from Grandma and Grandpa Mires for the first week, followed by Gram Owens (my mom) this past week. After a few days of trying it "on our own" as a family of four, we will welcome my Dad and Stepmom for this weekend. Asher is quite a popular little guy. But although he was born little (7 lbs) and lost 10 ounces in the hospital, he had gained it all back at his checkup four days later! He is growing too fast, I love snuggling with my "peanut".

Big Brother Eli has been spoiled by his visitors as well, and we had an initially rough adjustment period. But he is a great helper and truly loves his baby brother. Yesterday when he got home from Ms. Wendy's (daycare/preschool) the first words out of his mouth weren't "Hi Mom!", but rather "Where's Asher?"
Guess that's a good sign that all are adapting well in the Mires family of 4. Jon and I certainly appreciate that Asher is a good sleeper. We joke that had Elijah been as good at night, we would have had a second child sooner!

Baby Blizzard

The title would imply that this was a "small" blizzard, which it wasn't, really. But we are grateful that as of this writing at 9:50 pm I am not yet in labor. Didn't think I'd be saying that at this point in pregnancy, but it would not be fun to contend with these weather conditions in an emergency!

Jon, Eli, and Kip enjoyed our first big snow in the "new" back yard, braving the single-digit wind chill temps. Kip seemed to love it more than everyone, as evidenced in the mid-air jump picture. He is really quite an agile dog!

Tomorrow Eli wants to go sledding so I suppose that will afford he and daddy some more bonding time. The blizzard warning should be lifted by6:00am so I'll be ready to deliver again. At least we have an induction date set for the 31st, so there is an end in sight!

Swimming!

Fun in the fountains!

Happy guy following his lesson :)

Well, as time creeps up on us before the arrival of baby EBS (any day now, although the technical due date is the 29th), we've been quite busy!

Eli started swimming lessons at the rec center across from our house two weeks ago. He loves playing in the water and his teacher, Ms. Carolyn. We are hoping that this special time for him makes the transition to being a big brother a little easier. Once he finishes with these lessons, we'll probably take a break to adjust to our new family before signing up Eli for another sport (t-ball,maybe). He's such an active child, it is nice to give him a natural outlet for his energy.

Christmas Adventures

We enjoyed a busy holiday season filled with travels to see family around the country. On Dec. 17th, we flew to Nashville to visit "GG and PaPa" Cross. On our way out, it began to snow heavily so we sat on the runway for 1.5 hours waiting to de-ice. Although frustrating for us, it didn't bother Eli as he took in the free DirectTV. I was just relieved we didn't encounter a situation like what happened two days later: the plane slid off the runway and burst into flames! Once we arrived in Nashville, another great surprise awaited us. Standing at the gate ready to board the plane we'd just exited was our dear friend from Denver (who recently moved to Phoenix) Nicole! Unfortunately we only got to chat for a few minutes, but it was such a serendipitous experience. What are the chances?

After safely arriving at Whitney's grandparents' in Monticello, KY (2 hours north of Nashville), we kicked back for a relaxing week there. We were joined by "Grandma Mel", Grandpa Cross, and Uncle Paul and Aunt Chrissy over that weekend and enjoyed a beautiful Christmas celebration together. Unfortunately, even though Eli got a digital camera, I have no pictures of the fam from the week, at least not fit for this post :)

On our way back to the Nashville airport on Christmas Eve, we stopped by the famous Opryland Hotel. Our dear friends and former neighbors who now live in Nashville, Holly and Miranda, joined us for a delightful lunch and stroll through the beautiful resort.

Jon's parents and our dog greeted us at the airport to take us home to our first Christmas in Colorado. Eli awoke to a plethora of gifts from Santa, including his favorite, the Smart Cycle.

After a few days with the Mires grandparents, we spent some time around the house and running errands around town. Then, on New Year's Eve, we ventured east again. The last night of the year was spent in the pleasant company of old friends and their families in McCook, NE. After cheering on the Huskers to a bowl victory on New Year's Day, we were joined by Aunt Janet, cousin Angela and our new baby cousin Myles from Topeka. Myles is adorable and Eli demonstrated great big brother potential around him.

The next two days we drove back and forth to Atwood, KS to visit with extended family and celebrate Christmas once more. We had a great time watching all the kids run around with each other.

We returned home to Colorado on the 4th and were greeted by a few inches of snow! Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to change the fact we had to go to work the next day. But it's been a good week back after a long and relaxing break. The only complaint I (Whitney) have is I gained 6 lbs over that time, and it was NOT all for the baby! Our family had a lot of good food to enjoy over the holidays!