cards from tiny prints

Back when Asher was first born I bought his birth announcements through a website called Tiny Prints.  The quality was amazing and I really loved their attention to detail.  When designing his announcement I wanted all of the text to be lowercase, but since this is a little non-traditional they actually had a reviewer call me to make sure that it wasn't a mistake!  Great service!

Since I just started searching for our Christmas card I decided to swing over there and see what they had to offer.  Um, W-O-W!  There are 100s of cards to choose from - all fully customizable.

Here's what I'm liking so far!

I just love the red chevron design - and, of course, Asher's cute mug.  :-)

If you're looking for a photo card for the holidays check them out by clicking HERE.  I guarantee you'll find a design that suits your taste.

I'm so excited to start receiving cards this year too.  I saw a fabulous idea on Pinterest {of course} on how to display them by wrapping ribbon around cabinet doors, then clipping the cards to the ribbons. 

After the holidays I'm going to use another idea I found on Pinterest and create flip books out of the cards so Asher can learn who our extended family are!  Yay Pinning!

Let me know if you end up using Tiny Prints for your holiday cards.  I'm excited to see what cards everyone chooses this year!

christmas card decision...

I don't know about you, but picking out a Christmas card is one of the hardest decisions I have to make around the holidays!  Ever since Asher was born I literally have 1000s of photos from the past year to choose from.  {But usually only 1 or 2 of the three of us - ha!}

Last year I got our card from Shutterfly and it's still hanging on our fridge - love it! 

I'm thinking about using them again for this year's card, but I can't decide which one to get.  Here's the current front runner...what do you think?

Sunny Christmas Christmas

Create personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

we are all witnesses

LeBron should count his lucky stars that Asher is still a little too young for the NBA.



It might be time to invest in a taller hoop.

And pants. 

they make my world go 'round

i have a smart kid

This is one of those posts where I just have to brag a little.  There aren't any photos {sorry} just a fun story that I want to remember.  :-)

Last night Asher walked over to where I store my folded step stool {I'm short and need a boost to reach the upper cabinets...} and started pointing at it.  Drew was home and we were both interested in where this was heading, so Drew pulled it out for him.  Asher directed him over to a certain part of the kitchen and had Drew open the step stool.

Wouldn't you know, but Asher started to climb the ladder!  He's never done this before, but somehow knew that to get his cereal he would need a little vertical help.  Asher got up to the top step {still feet from the upper cabinet} and pointed up, so Drew opened the cabinet for him and retrieved the cereal that Asher was wanting.

Why Asher didn't just ask us for cereal - like he does every morning - I have no idea.  Guess he thought he could handle things himself this time, if he only had a little help in reaching.  :-)

Smarty pants.

Drew and I will be completely superfluous any day now.

a table of his own

Over the weekend Drew and I took a trip to Ikea and got Asher a table and chairs that are just his size!  There were a couple important reasons that we did this, but I have to wait until I've got a nice stretch of time to type out the big story for you all.  It's coming, though, I promise.

Anyway, we thought that Ikea would be a great place to look for kid sized furniture and we were right.  They had several different options for tables and chairs {rectangular, square, wood, plastic} - all at great prices!  This little blue number is really sturdy and big enough to last Asher through a few years of growth. 

He loves it!

The other night Asher sat there to eat his dinner and I couldn't get over how big he looked.  {Even with the shoebox beneath his feet to let him put his feet flat down.}  :-)

We're still working on sitting still through a-l-l of the meal without hopping up to play in between courses.  Currently Ash eats part of his meal there, then transitions to the high chair {with straps and a tray} for the remainder.

If you're looking for a table for your toddler, I highly recommend it!  We're looking forward to lots of lunch dates, coloring, Play-Doh, and craft sessions at this little table.  Yay!

hair today, gone tomorrow

One of Asher's {formerly} secret super powers is amazingly fast hair growth.  I really don't know how he does it, but one day he looks great and the next day he looks, well...like this.

Ahh, the power of bedhead.  Poor guy!  Needless to say we hightailed it to the barber shop this morning to get a little off the top.

She took off a little more than I would have liked, but oh well - might as well get our money's worth and keep out of there for an extra day or 2.

Lookin' good Super Asher!

{anyone notice that in every picture I post Asher mouth is stuffed full?  yeah - that's the only way he'll stand still for a picture.  it's getting ridiculous, ha!}

let it snow, let it snow

Did you all hear...we had snow here last weekend!

The forecast was calling for snow on Saturday, but I seriously just thought it was weatherman hype.  You know weatherman hype, right?  Happens here all. the. time.  However, I owe the local weather folks a big ole apology because they were spot on.  Saturday morning dawned sunny and cold, but by noon the white stuff had started to flutter down.

Even though Asher was still recovering from his cold/ear infection we couldn't let him miss the first snow of the season.  He was bundled up so well I don't think he even felt the cold - ha!

Based on his refusal to go back inside and his suggestion that we go to the park I don't think winter weather is going to slow us down this year.  Might have to invest in a sled!

boo at the zoo

Drew thinks it's funny to scare people.

Wait.  I stand corrected.  Just tonight Drew clarified and said that he hates to scare people, but does enjoy perpetrating a good startle.

I don't know about you, but those are the same thing in my book.  I have absolutely never been startled without getting scared {and I startle ridiculously easily...}.  But, anyway. 

When we were at the zoo there were some Halloween decorations up here and there, but since the weekend was over, most were starting to come down.  While I was lagging behind with Asher and Grandma Linda, Drew hustled ahead with his Dad and stumbled across a big pile of scarecrows.

I'm sure you can see where this is going...

I warned Drew that if he scared Asher there would be a lot of crying and we might even have to go home.  I had no idea how Asher would deal with getting scared to death by a man-figure on a stick, but I didn't see it ending well.

Should have known better.  He is his father's son, after all.

Asher thought it was hilarious!  He loved it!

Good grief.

Hmm...which one do you think will scare Mommy the most, Daddy?

I can already see a long future of me getting scared out of my wits by two boys who think it's the height of hilarity to make Mom jump out of her shoes.  Fan-tastic.  :-)

wordless wednesday: in love with grammy

I think the feeling's mutual.

the zoo: take two

A few weeks ago Drew and I took Asher to the National Zoo with the hopes that we could have a fun family day together.  You might remember that it started with vomit and ended with a monsoon.

Not ideal.

When Drew's parents came into town for his cousin's wedding last weekend we decided to give the zoo a second chance.  We made a few important changes to the plan and it was those, I think, that made all the difference.

For one, we went on a Monday morning.  Genius move.  The zoo was really empty and since it was such a cool morning the animals were {almost} all up and about.  Yay!

The other thing we did was take some grandparents.  Asher loves his grandparents and couldn't wait to point out all the animals to Grandma and Grandpa! 

Look!  Elephants!  Did you see the elephants?

 

How about the gorilla?  Did you see the gorilla?  He goes like this - {enter: King Kong imitation}

Asher also finally got to see his beloved pandas.  Have I mentioned how much he l-o-v-e-s pandas?  There might be a "nanda" or 2 at our house.

Can you see him here?  This panda was a little shy...

The last time we were at the zoo they were inside, sleeping.

This time they were outside...sleeping.  Oh well.

Ash definitely understood that they were "nandas!  nandas!" - maybe it was because they were outside?  At any rate, he was pretty darn excited.  Love that!

While we were walking from one exhibit to another I saw this bronze statue and asked Ash if he would like to pet the "kitty" - he jumped at the chance.

We also wandered over to the "farm" area and saw the prettiest cows ever...eating a pumpkin.

I thought it was pretty hilarious that these goats lounge on the same playground equipment that Asher enjoys.  Who knew - goats like those wobbly bridges too! 

Asher enjoyed peaking at them.  :-)

After wandering over to the chicken coop, Asher looked through this window for less than a second before he turned around and started signing "eat".  I asked him if the chickens made him hungry and he said "YES!" Ha ha - who knows what goes on in his head sometimes!  

We got some much needed {demanded, really} lunch and headed home for a long nap.  All in all this visit to the zoo was hands-down our best ever.  I think we've got this thing figured out now.  Who wants to come next time?!

Asher can show you all around.