Row, Row, Row your boat, gently down the stream....

We want to tell you all about the fun weekend our whole family had.  Mommy and Daddy got to do what they call a little "Getaway".  They went to Chattanooga for two days.  They were really excited to tell us there is one of the world's largest aquariums and children's discovery museums, they want to take us to when we get bigger.  They loved Chattanooga.  They also went whitewater rafting.  They loved it and said when we are old enough we will get to do that too.  It looked super-fun to us, although Grandma M said no way would she do that. (she said she is kind of a chicken)  There is a picture of Mommy and Daddy on the Ocoee River rafting, so you can see for yourselves. They said they also did some fun shopping, eating in restaurants, and listening to some good music.  They love fiddle music and they got to hear Blueground Undergrass w/ David Blackmon and they seemed really excited about that.  We know they love music, and we know we already do too.

While Mommy and Daddy were away Grandma M was in charge of us.  She had some great helpers.  Grantie Patty (Great Aunt Patty) drove down from Wisconsin and she brought two friends who we now call Auntie Barb and Auntie Karen.  They are friends of Grantie Patty's and Grandma M's, and they tell us they have all known each other since their kids were our age!!  Those are some long-time friends!!  We were so happy we got to know them and we had such a good time.  We also loved the fact there were lots of hands and laps for extra cuddle time and maybe a little bit of spoiling time too!  We loved it!  We were the best boys and Grandma M was very proud of us.  We were very excited, they all got really brave and packed us up for a trip to the mall!  Auntie Karen and Auntie Barb were kind of shocked to see everything needed for the excursion!! It was so much fun, we did some big-time shopping and then they went to Silver Spoon Restaurant and had lunch.  We were good boys and sat in our car seats and napped!!  It was a great outing.

(Fun at the Mall)

(Auntie Barb, Grantie Patty, Auntie Karen)

While they were here Auntie Barb figured out Mommy's new Beaba food processor and made our peas!

Yummy!!  We have been doing pretty good eating real food, so far applesauce and peas and we are loving it.  Grantie Patty made a homemade ice cream cake that Grandma M, Mommy and Daddy are still enjoying and she also made Great Grandma Mitchell's famous cheese spread and Daddy has some every night when he gets home from work. 

While they were all cooking Auntie Karen was holding and cuddling us, we loved the extra attention and enjoyed every minute of it.  Thank-you Auntie Barb and Auntie Karen for taking the time to come and get to know us and also for helping Grandma M, and thank-you Grantie Patty for coming again, we know  this has been your third trip to Tennessee since we were born!! That is lots of miles in your Caravan!! Thank-you for helping too so Mommy and Daddy could spend some on their Getaway. Grandma M told us she thinks all of you enjoyed meeting us and being with us as much as we enjoyed all of you.

Grandma M has been back here since Sept. 13th.  She was amazed at how much we have grown and changed.  She thinks we are even more fun to play with now then we were when she left the end of July.  She is especially excited how much we love to be read to..  She says she is a big reader and she loves reading to us and knowing we love it as much as she does. 

She is taking care of us sometimes during the day since Mommy's new business, Smart Close LLC is keeping her busy (which means she closes small business loans for banks).  It is so nice to have Mommy working from our home, because she is still here with us and helps with our feedings and play times.   Daddy is off every day to his job with the US Forest Service, so we are happy Grandma M is here to help out.  She says we keep her really busy and she loves being here with us.  We are also happy to report Nana Harding had her gallbladder surgery and she is recovering nicely!  Yea Nana!!  We send you lots of smooches!

Mommy or Daddy will add some pictures for us, we hope you enjoy them, we don't quite have all the computer knowledge to do that yet..  We send you all hugs and kisses and a little drool, thanks for checking in on us through our blog.

(My brother has a mouth - wow...)

(My brother discovers my ear)

(We're a little kaleidoscope)

Love, Asher, Skyler, and Ryder

P.S. Happy 1st Birthday to our 2nd cousin Nolan Pertzborn!!  A year ago he was in a NICU in Madison, WI and is now a completely healthy and happy One Year Old!  Way to go Nolan!!! We are excited to get to meet you in person and play with you as soon as our Mommy and Daddy can work that out!!  Happy Birthday!

6 mos old and we are still alive!

Hi Everyone!  I have heard a few rumbles out there that we are slacking in the blog department.  I have thought about it on several different occasions knowing I was pushing it so...here I am...

Gosh, I feel like so much has been going on since the last blog update!  We are at constant mach speed; some days I feel like I have been moving with my finger on the fast forward button.  Let's see, where to start...

Nana Harding left last week, and I think this visit was harder on her to leave because the boys are really interacting more.  It was way too hot to do much, but the boys got a ton of playtime inside. At the end of my mom's visit, my sister Carrie decided to surprise her for her b-day and flew down to stay for a few days.  It was the first time she had met the boys and it was just awesome to have her here.  We had some BEAUTIFUL weather and actually drove up to the mountains for a relaxing picnic.  Well that's what we thought we would do...see there's this thing called "baby's prerogative"  have you heard of it?  They get to choose the best times to be fussy and just go with it all day!  Needless to say, we drove two hours to a beautiful spot in the mountains, unpacked the crew in a grassy spot by a lake and bam! we were hit with the "baby prerogative" thingy.  We tried our hardest to make them happy, but it didn't quite work.  So, we got a few good moments and then packed up and drove 2 hours back.  We did decide to just try one more thing on the way home because we adults believed we were entitled ice cream.  We got our ice cream and then homeward bound.

It was great to have my mom helping us once again, thank you Nana...the boys already miss you.

Grandma Meade will arrive here on the 13th for her 6 week stint, and Grandpa Biggie will be here to visit in a week.  I am sure we will be even more busy now that the weather is cooling a bit.  I can't wait to get outside!!

Yes, the boys are now 6 months old.  I can't believe how fast time goes.  They are getting HUGE!  They just had their 6 mos check up and our heavy-weight champion is...SKYLER, weighing in at 19.4lbs!  Asher pulled in at 18lbs and Ryder quickly approaching the big boys at 17.2.  The Dr. said they look great and we can start solids!  Thank goodness, I am so over all these bottles!

This morning was the first attempt at rice cereal.  Ryder and Skyler did great and ate more than I thought they would, and Asher just wasn't too sure about it.  I am really excited about starting food.  I plan to make our own, it only makes sense to me to do it this way. 

We are all doing great, we continue to be challenged as new parents.  Everyday is a "trip" and we are lovin' every minute of it.

Enjoy the new pics!!

Asher and Nana

Asher and Nana

Ryder and Daddy

Skyler lounging in the Mountains

Ryder sitting at dinner table like a big boy!

Ryder

Skyler and Ryder having a conversation

Asher relaxin'

Auntie Carrie and Nana

Auntie Carrie

Skyler at his first cereal feeding

Ryder at his first cereal feeding