1st Day of School

Ashton and AJ started school on August 31.

Ashton is in Mrs. Telleria's second grade class. This is his second year with her. We love the looping program. It has made the first of the year an easy transition. Ashton is so excited for all the new things he will learn in second grade!

AJ is in Ms. Murphy's All-Day Kindergarten Class. Ashton loved her class, and we are so excited for AJ to be in her class. She is so good with these kids, and does so much with them. We are looking forward to a GREAT year!

When it was time to take the boys to school, I said "Grab your back packs and go buckle up!" The boys grabbed their packs, I grabbed the camera, and when I turned around, Aryk had found his back pack and was headed out the door too! He is growing up so fast, and understanding so much too! He has enjoyed mommy time while the boys are gone,
but boy does he get excited when they get off the bus!

Aryk's First Head Injury

Boys, we have boys, this happens. This actually happened the day before Ashton's birthday, it just took me a while to post it.

I was at The Vet's with the puppies, when it happened, so I don't have a lot of details. The story is simple. Aryk and AJ were playing with the toys, in the wooden toy bench, at Grandma Likes' house. Aryk was running around, and ran back to the bench. He is still not stable, and fell, into the wooden bench. I got there about a half an hour after it happened, and he had no problem leaving the toys and saying goodbye. He had a good nap that day (and the next). Poor guy. Poor Grandma. Thanks for babysitting?

Ashton's 8th Birthday

Ashton turned 8 this past week. It proved to be a GREAT birthday, despite bad weather. On his birthday we had to cancel our day plans (McD's for lunch and the skate park) due to a sleeping baby brother and rain. That night we invited Grandma and Grandpa Likes and Aunt Nicole over for presents and cake. Ashton received A LOT of LEGO Star Wars from Grandma and Grandpa. Which he loves, of course. They also gave him a builable Light Saber. Jeff helped the boys build the LEGOS over the weekend. Aunt Nicole gave Ashton a Baseball DVD/ Board Game and a Star Wars card game. VERY COOL!! Aryk and AJ gave him Star Wars toys, and Dad and Mom gave him...

A Ripstick! He has been asking for one, for a while. We thought they were a little spendy, but Jeff found one on a steal of a deal, and we couldn't pass it up! He was so excited, he wanted to go ride it BEFORE he ate cake!


Here is his first try on the Ripstick. It was tricky, and it took him... one whole day to get it! He picked it up fast, thanks to a friend and the DVD.


This Birthday Cake isn't super exciting, but I was working on the party for the next day and Jeff helped keep this one simple. Ashton thought it was fun, and chocolate cake always tastes good!



Just ask Aryk...

He was really enjoying the cake, until we laughed at how messy he was and I started snapping photos and threatening a bath. SORRY little man!

The next day was Ashton's "friend party". We had planned for an outside Harry Potter "Tri-Wizard Tournament" pool party. But it was RAINY. Really rainy. Crazy, I never thought that weather would be an issue in August! So, we changed the party to a Harry Potter/ Wii party indoors. Yeah, I never thought I would have 10 boys in my house at the same time either! It was fun. Ashton has GREAT friends.

So... here's the set up...
We set up the counter to be "Honeydukes" the candy shop. We had edible wands, chocolate covered "cockroaches" (they were really cinnamon bears), "Bertties Bots Every Flavor Beans", sour worms, and gummy lizards. For the birthday cake I actually made Wizard Hat cupcakes. And we also had "Butter Beer". YUM!!! What a sugar loaded spread!

Ashton has been asking to learn guitar since he was 4 years old! We told him he had to learn piano first. So, when Ashton was 5, I started teaching him piano. He has done well. He knows the basics of reading music, and the notes on the staff. So lately we have been doing some guitar shopping. Looking at sizes, prices, what we are willing to spend. Ashton even offered to use his allowance money to buy a guitar. This helped, because we knew he was serious! Ashton received money from Grandma Holbrook, for his birthday, to help pay for his new guitar. He also received some cash from Grandma June, Grandma Ashton, and one of his friends. So... Jeff took him shopping, and they bought his guitar.

Jeff bought him a beginner guitar book and DVD, and he has all ready learned a few things. He is excited to take lessons. We are hoping his guitar teacher will be available this week!
Thanks to Grandma(s)too!

Walking, Laughing, Crying, Playing

Lots of pictures of Aryk. We tried to catch him walking a couple times. Some days he would cooperate, and some, not so much.

I don't think we caught his steps on camera very well. But here they are.

While taking photos of his new walk, the other two boys had some fun with dad and the camera too. It was funny the way they kept trying to get in the shot. Aryk thought it was funny too. He was sitting behind them laughing. I love this picture of his laugh! More random photos of Aryk. Jeff was playing with the camera and trying out different things. Here is a funky shot he took. No filters. He thinks he was adjusting the lens while taking the shot. So... such is the craziness of our home... but wait, it gets better. Check back for more of our adventures....

Aryk's 1st Birthday!

WOW!!! One Year Old! He is such a sweet baby. Aryk has 7 teeth, he can walk, but chooses to crawl. He hates to have his diaper changed. He screams bloody murder in the bathtub, but loves to sit in the shower. Aryk loves balls, dogs, trucks, being outside, riding in grocery carts, and watching his brothers. He is all boy. Wonder where he gets that from? He weighs 21 lbs. 8oz. And is 30.8 inches long.

Ashton and AJ love their brother. They are so good to help him, play with him, chase him, tell him what to do, feed him, carry him, buckle him up, and show off for him. Mom and Dad wouldn't know what to do without them. They are great big brothers and helpers. Aryk is a lucky little man. Sometimes when he is jabbering it sounds like he is actually saying thier names. He will sit in one room and holler "AHH JAAA" to the room where AJ is playing. And sometimes he will yell "AAAHAAAN", and we look at each other and ask, did he just say "Ashton"? But it is really hard to tell. He is very close to forming a word. He has sounds for "ball" and "dog". Bets on Aryk's first word? Ball? Dog? AJ? or Ashton? Jeff keeps trying for "dad" and Alyson keeps teaching him "mama". We will see! Aryk LOVED ALL of his birthday presents. It didn't take him long to realize there was fun stuff hiding under the wrapping paper. He LOVES cake and ice cream too! Too bad he didn't sleep very well that night. We blame the sugar. He hated the clean up (remember the bath tub phobia?).

Our 1 Year Old! We LOVE You!

Riding Bikes

AJ received a bike for his fourth birthday. He refused to ride with training wheels. But he couldn't balance without them. So he just didn't ride. Then last summer (when he was five) he rode, with training wheels, for a while. Then he wanted his training wheels off again. But still didn't get the balance thing down. So... this summer (almost six) he thought that if he tried Ashton's old bike, he would get it.

Jeff spent some time with him one rainy morning. And... he got it!Jeff showing AJ how it's done. So now, AJ rides Ashton's old bike. His bike is hanging in the garage for Aryk, and Ashton has a new/ used bike. Aryk wishes he was big enough to ride too.

But he does okay with his toy rocket!

Aryk's 1st Ice Cream Cone

One Friday afternoon we went to Roaring Springs Water Park. We didn't get a lot of pictures, because we were too busy getting wet. But we did take a little break to eat some pizza and ice cream. AJ didn't want the cone part of his ice cream cone, so we gave it to Aryk. Aryk really enjoyed it.

Aryk's first haircut

I waited as long as I could. He even got a couple "cute girl" and "she" references while we were in Tahoe. That curl above his ear was so cute. I knew as soon as I gave him his first haircut, it would mean he was growing up. But I had to give in. Aryk before. Aryk during. He wasn't too bad. It helped to have him in his high chair. He didn't like the scissors, but as long as they weren't in his face, he was fine. Aryk after. He looks so cute! I was so worried for nothin'! I LOVE my baby! And the big boys look pretty darn good too! More of them to come.

Aryk's Eating Cereal!

We started feeding Aryk rice cereal this week. It has been fun! He has such fun facial expressions. Before you comment on if it's the right time, don't worry, he hasn't had any allergic reactions. Ashton and AJ both started eating cereal at 4 months. We didn't have any problems. They started sleeping through the night about that time. How nice... We started cereal, because he was ready. And I know it will help him sleep longer. He has in fact been sleeping better this week. But it's not consistent, yet.