Andrew David is in the house!! ...or he was...and now is missed

Aww...my little brother was in town and perfectly timed to be here on his birthday. I still can't believe he is 27 - how did that happen?! We've missed Andrew since he moved to Reno, so it was especially fun to have him around for a birthday dinner, cake, and card playing (after the boys were in bed). It felt like old times. The boys loved getting in some play time with their uncle, of course!

More on Asher

Asher's half birthday is on February 25th, so we celebrated with half a cake, which we all enjoyed for dessert! (His mommy will use any excuse to eat cake.)

He is getting pretty good at pedaling! The bike and helmet were inherited from Toby.

And...drum roll, please!...he is sitting on the potty!! (and sometimes putting a little something in there...)

More Asher quips:

Asher: I don't like it! (said rather rudely...)
me: Is that how we talk to our mommy?
Asher: I don't like it, please.

-I don't want to sleep. I want to wake up early.

-Mom, I wanna do it myself. I wanna do it myself, Mom.

-Not 3 books. I want to read 1-2-3-4-5 books!

Doesn't he sound just like a two-year-old?

I two.

A little taste of Asher-talk:

-Let's play these. Yeah fun!

-You okay Toby? I'm sorry. You need mommy?

-I give you big, big, big hug!

-I want to eat mama's dinner. (Said as he eyes what mom is eating for breakfast.)



Asher: Mama, is your hair dangerous?
me: No, my hair is not dangerous.
Asher: My hair is dangerous.

The only thing I can gather from that conversation is that I must of told one of the boys to please not touch my hair...and Asher correlated that with the typical warming of, "Don't touch! It's dangerous." He does not like his hair touched either.

Arm Art by Asher

me: Asher, do you want to go on a walk with mommy?
Asher: Ya! That be fun!

The latest big news in Asher's life is that we moved him to a toddler bed. The transition has gone very well!

Zoo Playground

On our latest visit to the zoo last week, we thought it would be okay to let the boys get up close and personal with the animals. :)

Happy Birthday Nana!

The boys wanted to wish their Nana a very Happy Birthday today!

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. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Toby, Asher, my crazy sister Debbie, and me!

Sierra Madre Rose Parade Float

The City of Sierra Madre puts together a float for the Rose Parade every year. The warehouse where they build it is just down the street from us, so it is neat to walk down and see the work in progress. This year the theme for the float was "Bollywood Dreams" and represented an Indian bridal procession. We were there when they drove the float out of the warehouse for the first time on Wednesday morning for the judging! The judges arrived and white vans (looking very official) and the float was put in to full effect for them - music, fountains, dancers, etc. It was beautiful! It was fun for the kids to see the Sierra Madre float again this morning when we watched the parade on television.

Two Cuties Singing Just For You Mom!

It is my mom's birthday on December 30th and I was delighted with how sweetly Tobiah and Asher sang her the birthday song in the following clip.




Mom, you are very loved in this household! I hope you have a fantastic day. Wish we could be with you, but we will be celebrating you and your wonderfulness across the miles!

Christmas 2008 - Packed with SNOW and FUN!!

Can't you just see all the excitement of Christmas in their eyes?

We had a fun adventure driving (two days each way!) to Camas, Washington to spend Christmas with Tim's parents, grandma, and aunt and uncle. What made it extra special was all the snow!!

To see more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tsbundy or click for direct link on the left. :)

Christmas Fun?

It can be tricky trying to get Christmas shopping done with kids in tow. I seem to be a glutton for punishment because I took both boys with me to Target this morning. Granted, it is a store where they usually do okay, but Toby has a cold and needed a tissue every few minutes, and Asher was especially impatient and fussy. I made the mistake of putting a bag of gummy bears for a certain someone in my cart. The boys immediately coveted them. Asher wanted to hold them and them and kept asking, "Mommy, this mine?" Even though I told him several times, "No, they are for Debbie ," he kept begging for them. So, feeling badly that I drug them along on my shopping expedition, I thought I could open the bag and let them have a few as a treat for having to be at the store with mom. Little that I know that Asher would continue to ask for "more please!!" and that to save my sanity and try to plow through everything on my list the boys would end of eating almost the entire bag! Toby kept guiltily asking if I was going to buy another bag for Debbie's stocking, but that didn't stop him from enjoying them. Between my sneezing five-year-old (I kept stashing away used tissues in the diaper bag because I had no where else to put them - he must of gone through at least 10! Then I would bring out the Purell - we went through a lot of that too!) and my two-year-old gorging on gummy bears, I was feeling a bit self-conscious and kept telling myself that at least I would never see any of these people again anyway. In the middle of all this, Toby managed to knock quite a few clothes off of hangers, among other things, and was up to his usual mischievous antics. It was just one of those shopping trips...but we survived! And on the way home we sang silly songs about our shopping trip starring Asher as a fussy bear and Toby as a tiger with a runny nose and it helped lighten the mood. :)

After Thanksgiving Christmas Ornaments

After enjoying a relaxing and blessed Thanksgiving, it was time to decorate for Christmas! We have a small decorative Christmas tree that works perfectly for putting up in the playroom so the boys have their own tree to decorate, redecorate, and decorate again. They have such a good time with it! One of my favorite things about their little disheveled tree is that Toby and Asher leave "mommy's tree" in the living room alone because they know they can play all they want with theirs. The small tree was already loaded with ornaments, but Toby wanted more! We often do crafts and activities at the table in the afternoons, so I went to familyfun.com (great magazine and website!) to find an idea for an easy homemade Christmas ornament.

I chose "Pie Plate Ornaments". The idea behind them is to use the leftover pie tins from Thanksgiving to made pretty ornaments. I happened to have a tin roasting pan, so I used the flat lid. The first step was to trace a cookie cutter on to the tin and cut out the shape (I did that part). Then we embellished them with a chopstick - swirls and such. We used buttons and regular craft glue to decorate them, since that is what I had on hand. The finishing touch was a hole-punch at the top and ribbon threaded through as a hanger. They turned out so beautifully that we will be sending some along to the grandmas!

Asher did well decorating at least one star ornament, then he proceeded to put glue all over one arm and adhere buttons to himself! I didn't think to get a picture. :)

Asher Saying Happy Thanksgiving

Thankful for...

Boys who help in the kitchen!

Debbie


Lindsey, Debbie's roommate

Family near and far.

These two!

Red and Yellow and Orange and Brown...

Enjoy a video clip of Toby (front row in yellow) singing with his classmates during their preschool Thanksgiving program. It was extra special for us because last year he developed a terrible fear of the stage and church sanctuary at the preschool. He had a really hard time during practices and bravely survived the program. So this year it was fun to have him in the front row, singing and enjoying himself!! We had not talked about his fears last year because I didn't want to put any ideas in his head but this morning he brought it up. I asked him why he was afraid last year and not this year and he chalked it up to the fact that he is now 5, and that was long, long ago when he was only 4. Kids are unpredictable!

Happy 5th Birthday Toby!!

Hard to believe our firstborn son is a 5-year-old!! We planned a "bring your own bike" party for Toby at a local park. The invitation read: Grab Your Bike and Head This Way! We're Celebrating Toby's 5th Birthday!! The party registered high on the fun scale for the kids - Toby had the time of his life! The kids made name plates for their bikes and scooters and, after having snacks and cake, formed a bike parade with Toby as the leader.

Here we are trying to protect the candles from being blown out by the wind! :)

Happy Birthday to You!!

Ready to lead the bike parade!

What a great bunch of friends!

Toby, we feel so privileged to be your parents! You fill our lives with so much joy, fun, and adventure. We love you so much!

More pictures posted on our web album! http://picasaweb.google.com/tsbundy or click the link that says "WEB ALBUM" to the right.

Soccer!

Toby has had a blast playing AYSO soccer (American Youth Soccer Organization?) this Fall! Although the games and practices are not highly structured for this age group, they do scrimmage against another team every week. There is the typical amusement of watching young kids play the sport: stealing the ball from their own teammates, falling dramatically in to the goal after scoring (just for the fun of it), easily distracted by other things while the ball is rolling right past them...there have been a lot of shared laughs among the parents.

It has been fun watching Toby make new friends, learn new skills, score goals, celebrate, and enjoy himself so much. We are proud of our little soccer star!

All the kids received trophies, which was SO SUPER, DUPER exciting for Toby. He talked about it constantly for a couple days.