urban playground

One of Asher's favorite games is running up and down our storm drain baby slide.

I mean, sure, it's a little non-traditional.

But he really loves it.

And I really love him.

So up and down he goes.  :-)

croc-tastic!

Asher's got some new kicks!

The sneaker/sandals that he's been wearing all summer have gotten sooo stinky, I just couldn't take it anymore!  I'm honestly worried about what it will be like when he's a teenager.  His shoes will have to stay in the garage permanently!  ha!

Some friends said that Crocs might be a good solution for him because they don't hold odors.  That sounds right up our alley.  I went to my go-to deal finder, eBay, to search for some toddler Crocs and found these beauties brand new for over half off.

They're a little big because Crocs does their toddler sizing as 4/5 and 6/7.  Asher wears a 5.5 - awesome.  The 4/5 was too small, so we went with the 6/7 and they are just a little too big.  They stay on pretty well, so I guess that will be ok for the rest of the summer.

Asher gave them a good inspection and approves.

Cross your fingers for us that they stay stink-free!  :-)

botanical gardens

Last week Asher and I went to check out a local botanical garden.

We were so excited to get there we ended up arriving a little before it opened - oops!  No problem, though, because Asher had tons of fun exploring their front stoop and displays.

I'm pretty sure he would have been fine if we'd spent the whole time out there, then went home!

Once we got into the main building that leads to the gardens there were some displays of local wildlife, including...a turtle!

Asher was very interested in him.

But I don't think the feeling was mutual.  Poor turtle got a little scared by our inspection.

Once we got out into the botanical gardens I had to stash the camera because there were huge fields that Asher just had to run through.  It was all I could do to keep up with him!  Next time I'll keep him in the stroller for a few minutes so I can take some shots of the beautiful grounds.  We'll definitely be back once the weather cools down!

no such thing as a free lunch

Around here Asher has to work for his meals.

Almost done eating, buddy?

You know what that means.

First - clean off your chair.

Make sure you sweep under the island,

around the garbage can,

and, oh yeah, on the lid.  Thanks.

Please wipe down the fridge really well.

What a lucky Mommy I am, to have such a great helper.  :-)

where the wild things are

Last summer Drew and I took Asher on a trip to the National Zoo, but he was still a bit too small and really didn't get what the whole to-do was about.  Oh my, look how little he was!

Since A had such great responses to the farm animals recently we thought he might be ready now to do the zoo.  So on Saturday {a few weeks ago - I'm behind...} we woke up and decided that this was The Day.  Zoo Day!  Once Asher was up and around we went out for a family breakfast to a new {to us} place called the Silver Diner.  It is the really cool 50s style diner and features all natural, organic foods - not your typical combo!

It was sooo good!

Asher colored some pictures, played with his neat-o convertible, and ate a banana that mama brought for him.

That was the good part.

The bad part came next.  Asher loves french toast.  On this particular day he loved it so much that he shoved too many pieces in his mouth at once, gagged, and...vomited.  All. over. the. place.

Of course, I jumped into action and kept most of it from decorating the restaurant.  I'll spare you the details, except to say that both baby and I were a little yucky and Drew ended up leaving a sizeable tip.

{No photos of that part - you're welcome.}

Not a perfect start to zoo day, but we persevered.  After the breakfast fiasco we went home to play for awhile and have a nap, during which time it started p-o-u-r-i-n-g rain.  Ah, geez.

When he woke up the rain had stopped so the zoo plan was still on!

Once we got there our first stop was the Panda exhibit.  Asher loves pandas!!  Because of the rain the bears were inside and we got to see this sleepy guy...

Asher was only a little impressed.  Since the panda was sleeping I'm not sure if A understood that it was REAL!  Oh well.

Next was gorillas!  Asher was very intrigued with the apes and kept doing his King Kong impression that Drew taught him {note to self: must video that}

After we left the monkeys it started to POUR rain.  We were drenched to the bone, slipping out of our flip flops, and not seeing any animals because they {being smarter than us} were all inside their private homes.

So we went home too.

This sounds like a depressing day, but you know what?  I loved it.  Sure, it would have been better if everyone had kept their breakfast down and if the weather had stayed dry, but we won't forget it and as a family I think you need some days like that.  :-)

future architect

Sometimes when I'm working in the kitchen Asher will wander off towards the living room and I can hear him banging around, playing with his toys.  Then other times he wanders off, but it's quiet.  Too quiet.

When this happened the other day I silently worked my way towards his play area {I'm super stealth - if you didn't know} and caught him in action...

building with his blocks.

A little less sinister of an occupation than I was anticipating.  Happy surprise!

I just love seeing him "constructing" on his own.  He's getting so big!

think we can blame the earthquake?

Probably not.  Shucks.

{although it was pretty scary and did wake Asher up from his nap - things were seriously rocking and rolling.  The ole 5.8 rattled some stuff off of his dresser - I think that banging was what woke him.  Luckily, his short nap was the worst thing that happened!}

new duds

I've been a bit of a sewing machine recently.

Asher needed a new shirt so I whipped one up the other day!

I decided to put his name on the front...

and his monogram on the back!

It's simple, but I like it!

Then while I was at it, I just had to make something for a special girl friend of Asher's.  Remember Miss Olivia from our farm trip?  Well, she needs a cute shirt too.  :-)

I've been seeing these a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e turkey shirts on Etsy recently and have been dying to make one.  This was the perfect reason!  I found a super easy tutorial here and fired up my sewing machine last night.  I have to say - I LOVE the way it turned out!  Seriously, the adorableness is almost too much to take - ha!

You can bet I'll be making one for Asher...but with less pink.

So fun!