Bonding

I just witnessed something so sweet. I brought Asher downstairs from his nap and set him on the couch. He was still sleepy, so was very quiet. When Toby noticed him, he said, "Asher, I didn't know you were here! Can I have a kiss?" He gave Asher a nice kiss and Asher kissed him back. Then Toby asked for a hug and they gave each other a big hug. It is so cool for Tim and I to watch these two boys bond.

Later Toby said, "I love you Asher, " and Asher answered, "I love you Toby." I will read this to them when they are older and at each other's throats. :)

Proud Moment

It really made me smile today when Toby said to Asher, "Race ya!" as they ran down the hall in to the playroom. The best part was that Toby (who is very competitive and hates to lose) let Asher get there first saying, "You won!"

Love and War

Overheard in our living room recently:

T: I love you Asher.
A: I love you, too.

Not only is it fun that Asher can say, "I love you, too" but it is a nice respite from the opposite type of brotherly interaction that is often blaring from the living room. :)

Roomates!

This morning, while Asher and I were at his mommy-and-me gymnastics class, Tim and Tobiah stayed home and worked hard taking Toby's bed apart and setting up in Asher's room. Tonight is the first night that the boys will have shared a room! I put Asher down first, but he was still awake when I tucked Toby in. I thought I'd hear giggles or something after I left the room, but I didn't hear a peep. I had told Toby to go right to sleep so that Asher would too, but I still expected to hear a little interaction between them. I guess they were both pretty tired...and I'm glad the transition went smoothly. We hope that sharing a room will foster a deep bond between our boys!

What used to be Toby's room will now be a playroom, with less furniture and more open space to play. Yeah!

Latest and Greatest

Sometimes when on the phone with my dad he will ask us, "So what's the latest and greatest?", by which he basically means, "So, what's new?" So here is a blog updating you on the boys' latest and greatest:

Months ago I picked up a "marble run" (that's what we call it anyway) at a store that sells used items for children. It consists of a track that you can build in different ways to send marbles shooting and spiraling down to the bottom. We brought it out on a recent rainy day, now that Asher can be trusted not to put the marbles in his mouth. (He hasn't put one in his mouth yet, after more than a week of playing with the marbles, but I still keep a close eye on him when he is playing with or around them and the marbles are safely put away when not in use.) Toby has really enjoyed this new activity and can now build the tracks by himself with just a little help. The picture is of the first track he built almost entirely on his own!

Asher has had to sit through many, many of Toby's gymnastics classes, so we finally signed him up for a class for his own age group! He was SO excited this morning to finally get to really tear around on those mats and do all the climbing, jumping, and rolling he has been longing to do. The class is more of a mommy-and-me type thing than actual gymnastics, which is perfect. At circle time Asher followed along with the motions of the songs like he had been doing it for a long time! I was very happy with his ability to follow directions. He clapped, he marched, he helped clean up the balls...he had a blast and the rest of us loved seeing him have such a good time! In the afternoon when we went back for Toby's class, Asher was perfectly content to sit in his stroller the whole time (okay, he did have snacks for some of it) and watch Toby in action because he had already had his turn. :)

I have continued to sneak lots of veggies in to the boys' food! (Refer to my "Veggie Tales" post in March) I now have frozen cubes of orange, green, and white puree (cauliflower and zucchini) in my freezer that I can take out and quickly add to dishes. Quesadillas, meatloaf, grilled cheese, BBQ chicken sandwiches, mac-n-cheese...all victims of sneaked in vegetables that my kids have eaten without a fuss! I thought about trying to sneak veggies in to Toby's beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but then I realized that that's just gross!

It has been wonderful for me to see the boys playing together and I've witnessed Toby displaying an extra measure of kindness and patience with his brother, which makes this mama's heart proud. Yesterday they were playing so well together (firetrucks, at first, then they were using jump ropes to go "fishing") that I was able to completely prep for dinner without much interruption. Yeah!

Mama, Dada, Ya...

I think Asher is confused. By now we would expect him to be saying his brother's name, but so far the best we get is, "Ya." He hears us call him Tobiah, Toby, or refer to him as brother...so possibly he just can't figure out which name to use? Toby's little friend Katie used to call him "Biah" when she was Asher's age, and we liked it, so we've been trying to encourage that. All this to say,we are excited to hear what he finally decides to call his big brother, who he works so very hard to keep up with and imitate!

Toby, on the other hand, quite often calls Asher, "Ash". He will say, "Look at this, Ash!" and Asher will obligingly reply, "Wow!" They are a fun pair. Soon we will be making the big step to putting them in the same room, so we'll keep you updated on that...

If you watched the video, Toby wasn't too hurt there at the end. :)

Cute Pics

When I ran to get the camera I was not too hopeful that they would be willing to be still long enough for me to take a picture, but they were waiting for me in this exact pose! I must of caught them in the mood to ham it up!