The Summer of Milestones

Today Asher is 10 months old! Wow! I can't believe we are getting close to his first birthday.  We have had a great summer, and one of the reasons it has been so awesome is that we have been home for many of AJ's big milestones.  

At the end of 2nd semester and leading into summer, AJ was sitting on his own but we still would occasionally throw a pillow behind him just to make sure he was stable.  Now that we are at the end of summer that seems laughable! He has changed so much!

Pretty early in the summer he was sitting on his own like it was his job. 

Then he started to army crawl. He only army crawled for about a week before he was up on all fours really moving! 

Here is a video of Asher crawling that I put together for my grad school class: Asher on the Move

Then he started to go from laying down to sitting up all on his own.  This was a picture of the first time he ever did it!

Next during bath time Tom looked over and AJ was standing! He pulled up for the first time! Crawling, laying to sitting, and pulling up all happened within a week. 

He also was able to experience fun new things, like his first time ever at Shakespeare's Pizza in Columbia, MO.

Or his first ice cream cone on the 4th of July.

Wrestling with his brother has become a new pastime, as well. 

 Additionally AJ has started to "talk" (ok...really he is just babbling), wave hi, and grow teeth (he has four on top and two on the bottom).  We have fought a lot of sleeping battles with our babes but as of the past three nights he is sleeping from 7pm until around 6am.  We are so thankful he has started to sleep better with school starting because at different points in the summer he was waking up 2-3 times a night to nurse! No fun.  

At 10 months old we can already see that Asher is TOUGH (you should see how his brother treats him...ha!) and passionate (do not get between him and his food).  He is so joyful and is quick to give others a smile.  He is complimented quite often on his hair, which we have cut on our own not just once, but THREE times!  He is always watching his older brother.  Those two have a pretty sweet connection.  Although, this is starting to present some problems because Asher can pull up to E's train table, which Everett whines about endures. 

Here are a few more photos of AJ from the summer.  Get ready for a photo explosion...

Grandma Luebbert Turns 90

A few weeks back we drove to Colorado to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday.  My aunts that live out there organized a surprise party for her.  The trip started out a little rocky.  I (Tom) got sick on the drive out there and it lingered throughout the whole trip.  However, we all made the most of it and Bonnie totally stepped up to do way more than her share to take care of the boys and me.  

The trip also doubled up as a family reunion for my mom's side of the family.  We got to see lots of folks that we hadn't seen in several years.  There was tons of great time with my siblings, niece, nephews, and Dad and Jean.

My Aunt Carol informed us that a nearby park had a train.  Of course we went to ride it.

Everett's cousin Mo joined Bonnie and E for a ride.

There was lots of great cousin play time.  Sometimes it occurred in hotel rooms.

I love Everett photo bombing Grandma Jean with AJ and cousin John.

The park was also a great place to get some cousin time.  E, Leo, and Mo.

This is the crew that gathered to celebrate my awesome Granny.

Granny loved the surprise and we loved seeing her.

At the party my aunt Carol had a Power Wheel that her grandson Jaxon drives around.  E loved it. 

Uncle Aaron and AJ.

We decided to make the drive home in one shot rather than breaking it up with a stop in the middle of nowhere Kansas.  There was a good hour plus of peace were these two napped together.

And what road trip would be complete without a last minute potty stop 15 minutes from home.

Wisconsin

At the beginning of the summer Tom, Asher, and I went to Madison, Wisconsin, for a friend's wedding.  Everett stayed with Granny and Gramps for a few days and it was the first time we had been apart from him for an extended period of time.  We did miss Everett on the trip but it would have been tough to wrangle him in the midst of wedding festivities.  Not to mention the fact that he had a blast with Granny and Gramps and didn't really want to come home. Ha! 

Let's do this thing! We were so pumped to go on a road trip and start our summer off with a bang.

Asher baby was okay on the road.  He didn't love his car seat, but we made it.

The first night we went to the rehearsal dinner, which was a Chipotle picnic.  Tom was in heaven. 

One of the best parts of the trip was just hanging out with some of our best friends.  We rented a house and we were able to spend a lot of quality time together throughout the weekend.  Here you can see my friend, Sara, being super mom!  We had a lot of kids in our crew so we did a lot of walking and park adventures.  

Asher and Campbell Roach.  Such cute babies.

Wedding time! Asher did really great at the wedding!

Carly's (one of our friends) mom came and watched the kids so we could enjoy the reception child free.  It was awesome! 

Sara and I.  She is one of the best wedding dancers of all time.

Asher loves loves loves Mary Kate.

One of the many park moments we shared.

Our last night together we shared Carly's famous cookies (made by asking for ingredients from the rental's neighbors!) and great conversation.  My heart left full.

A surprising addition to our Wisconsin weekend was getting to hang out with the Currey's!!! We taught with Isaac in Korea and had not seen him in a few years.  They live in India so it was super special that both of our families just happened to be in Madison at the same time. It was so great to see him and his little family.  

Our trip ended with our car hitting its 100,000 milestone.  This trip was great from beginning to end. We so loved our time with dear friends.