The sweetest thing happened today and I (Paul) had to post about it.
Last night in the middle of the night we had a window shaking thunderstorm. It carried on for maybe half an hour and I was worried that Asher and Madeleine wake up scared, but they slept soundly through the whole thing. This morning there were a few more rumblings and Asher and I watched the far off lightning before I headed off to work. This evening when we were working/playing in the yard another storm rolled in. Asher loved it and kept saying that "the thunder is loud like a garbage truck." I had told him that the thunder can get so loud that it shakes the house. We sat out in the yard watching until it started getting too close.
We went inside, laid on the floor and watched through the open back door. Then suddenly a monster lightning bolt and thunder cracked simultaneously, directly over our heads. It made me jump and yell "Whoa", but Asher and Maddie scrambled away from the door crying.
Asher was really scared and was having a hard time settling down so I suggested saying a prayer and asking Heavenly Father and Jesus to not let the thunder shake our house any more. Asher has had a hard time praying lately, but tonight he asked me to pray to ask Jesus to not shake the house. When I was done he said "amen" but then informed me that I forgot to ask Heavenly Father to not shake the house too. So Asher prayed and although I may not have understood every word he was definitely pouring his heart out for the first time in a long time.
While Asher was thankful that God made the thunder stop shaking the house, I was certainly happy that he sent it in the first place.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
We miss our friends!
Our good friends Melinda, Jeromy, Lydia, and Carter Riggs just moved to Colorado to attend the University of Colorado. They were our first friends that we made when we moved to the Tri-Cities. Lydia was also Asher's first friend ever. I hate it when people move away. We've moved so much since we've been married that we're used to being the ones to move so I guess it serves us right.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Updates
Not much is going on here. I've been out of town so much this summer that I am actually enjoying staying home and cleaning. I have also been staying home in part because Asher's potty training takes a lot of attention. He is doing so well! He hasn't had an accident since Saturday. My favorite part is that he is so proud of his success. He can use the potty from start to finish, even washing his hands without help too. He no longer has to be completely nude to use the potty either, which helps when we're not at home. He has also started taking afternoon naps again for which I am so grateful.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Let's Get ready to Potty!
This is going to be one of those Mommy posts that Asher may someday hate me for, but I consider it fair because of the thousands of diapers I've had to change.
Today was the first day ever that Asher used the potty all day with no accidents! He has been in big boy pants for a whole week. I am so proud of him! He doesn't even need treats or stickers anymore. Occasionally, I still have to bribe him with a You Tube video of a garbage truck. If you're interested, here is the link to his favorite one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9ePIbRYg8&NR=1
Does anyone have good suggestions for taking your newly potty trained kid to the bathroom in a public restroom while also dragging a 14 month old along? Madeleine is impossible in public restrooms! Her favorite thing to do as soon as I put her down is to peer under the surrounding stalls to see if she can meet some new friends. This is not a preferred way to meet new people. Asher still needs help so it's really hard to hold her the whole time. It doesn't help matters that Asher feels he must be completely nude in order to use the potty, which means I have to simultaneously get him dressed again and hold Madeleine. I have to break him of some bad habits, but so far I am just to thrilled when he uses the potty.
Sorry my life is so lame that my child's bathroom habits are exciting news. My brother Zach and his wife Katie have their twin toddlers in Spain for the summer. They keep getting robbed so their lives are a bit more interesting.
Today was the first day ever that Asher used the potty all day with no accidents! He has been in big boy pants for a whole week. I am so proud of him! He doesn't even need treats or stickers anymore. Occasionally, I still have to bribe him with a You Tube video of a garbage truck. If you're interested, here is the link to his favorite one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9ePIbRYg8&NR=1
Does anyone have good suggestions for taking your newly potty trained kid to the bathroom in a public restroom while also dragging a 14 month old along? Madeleine is impossible in public restrooms! Her favorite thing to do as soon as I put her down is to peer under the surrounding stalls to see if she can meet some new friends. This is not a preferred way to meet new people. Asher still needs help so it's really hard to hold her the whole time. It doesn't help matters that Asher feels he must be completely nude in order to use the potty, which means I have to simultaneously get him dressed again and hold Madeleine. I have to break him of some bad habits, but so far I am just to thrilled when he uses the potty.
Sorry my life is so lame that my child's bathroom habits are exciting news. My brother Zach and his wife Katie have their twin toddlers in Spain for the summer. They keep getting robbed so their lives are a bit more interesting.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
4th of July!!!
Paul leapfrogged my 4th of July post so it's out of order. We have been so busy with family for the month of July. It's so nice to be able to see everyone since we don't live close by. We should be in town for the foreseeable future, though. It's so wonderful to visit, but I am happy to be normal again.
Asher conquered his fear of riding Grandpa's tractor! Paul started it a where Asher couldn't see it and then drove it around the house and Asher decided to take a ride. He loved it! Apparently it was just the sound of the tractor starting that scared him.
Asher also found baby kittens to love.
Every 4th of July since he was born Asher has screamed in terror when the fireworks go off. Not this year though! He loved the little fireworks, and later he really enjoyed the big fireworks show. He thought he was the one making them explode. He kept saying "pop" to make them go.
Madeleine, however, thought we were insane.
This is my sister Hannah and her new dog Teddy enjoying the fireworks.
Asher conquered his fear of riding Grandpa's tractor! Paul started it a where Asher couldn't see it and then drove it around the house and Asher decided to take a ride. He loved it! Apparently it was just the sound of the tractor starting that scared him.
Asher also found baby kittens to love.
Every 4th of July since he was born Asher has screamed in terror when the fireworks go off. Not this year though! He loved the little fireworks, and later he really enjoyed the big fireworks show. He thought he was the one making them explode. He kept saying "pop" to make them go.
Madeleine, however, thought we were insane.
This is my sister Hannah and her new dog Teddy enjoying the fireworks.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Like Father, Like Son
Its my (Paul's) turn to post again.
At the end of last week we got a visit from my sister Rachel, her husband Marco, son Damian and daughter Naomi. Damian is a year older than Asher, but Naomi and Madeleine are just a month apart in age. It was lots of fun to have them in town and we took them down to the Playground of Dreams. They had lots of fun playing first on the playground and then in the fountains. Asher's favorite toy was the digger. He got pretty good at working the controls.
He loved the digger so much that we had to drag him away to play in the fountains, but he got over that quickly and had tons of fun.
Madeleine had a good time with the fountains, but didn't play with quite the same gusto that Asher did.
We traveled to Portland as the kids crashed that afternoon. The next day my dad and I took Asher on the downtown transit tour. My mom drove us to the bottom of the Oregon Health and Sciences University Tram. We took the tram up to the top of the hill. Asher (and I) loved soaring over Interstate 5 and the rooftops. He wanted to know if we were going to fly over Grandma's house. 
The views were spectacular. You have great views of downtown Portland and the brand new towers that are getting built around the tram's lower landing. We rode the tram to the hospital, where we got some snacks and then headed back down, because the tram was just the beginning of our adventure. Once down off the hill, we hopped on a waiting streetcar to head downtown to catch the MAX train for the Beaverton Transit Center where my mom would pick us up. 
Asher was so excited to ride on the streetcar. It made me happy to see that he shares one of my interests. It was also really nice to spend some quality time with my dad. 
Asher sat next to me at first, and then quickly ditched me for my dad, but I didn't mind since it was a rare 1-on-1 opportunity. Asher was glued to the window and loved every minute of it. 
All in all the weekend was a roaring success. We had lots of fun with family, but a real highlight for me was to share an afternoon with my son and dad, and sharing one of my real interests with Asher. I don't know if his interest will last until adulthood and in the end I want him to make a profession doing whatever he would like, but it sure was fun for me to share that with him.
At the end of last week we got a visit from my sister Rachel, her husband Marco, son Damian and daughter Naomi. Damian is a year older than Asher, but Naomi and Madeleine are just a month apart in age. It was lots of fun to have them in town and we took them down to the Playground of Dreams. They had lots of fun playing first on the playground and then in the fountains. Asher's favorite toy was the digger. He got pretty good at working the controls.
He loved the digger so much that we had to drag him away to play in the fountains, but he got over that quickly and had tons of fun.
Madeleine had a good time with the fountains, but didn't play with quite the same gusto that Asher did.
We traveled to Portland as the kids crashed that afternoon. The next day my dad and I took Asher on the downtown transit tour. My mom drove us to the bottom of the Oregon Health and Sciences University Tram. We took the tram up to the top of the hill. Asher (and I) loved soaring over Interstate 5 and the rooftops. He wanted to know if we were going to fly over Grandma's house. 
The views were spectacular. You have great views of downtown Portland and the brand new towers that are getting built around the tram's lower landing. We rode the tram to the hospital, where we got some snacks and then headed back down, because the tram was just the beginning of our adventure. Once down off the hill, we hopped on a waiting streetcar to head downtown to catch the MAX train for the Beaverton Transit Center where my mom would pick us up. 
Asher was so excited to ride on the streetcar. It made me happy to see that he shares one of my interests. It was also really nice to spend some quality time with my dad. 
Asher sat next to me at first, and then quickly ditched me for my dad, but I didn't mind since it was a rare 1-on-1 opportunity. Asher was glued to the window and loved every minute of it. 
All in all the weekend was a roaring success. We had lots of fun with family, but a real highlight for me was to share an afternoon with my son and dad, and sharing one of my real interests with Asher. I don't know if his interest will last until adulthood and in the end I want him to make a profession doing whatever he would like, but it sure was fun for me to share that with him.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
lots of Blanchards
Last weekend, we had a Blanchard family reunion at my Grandma's house in Leavenworth, WA to celebrate her 90th birthday. She lives on a beautiful property surrounded by the cascade mountain range and much of her property is looped by the icicle river. Growing up, my cousins and I would start with rafts or inner tubes at one end of my granparents' property and loop around. It used to take us about 15 minutes. When I was about 12 there was a drought and I could walk almost the whole way around the river. This year the river was really high, fast and cold because of the large amount of snow that fell in the mountains.
I really enjoyed seeing my grandma, cousins, and aunts and uncles. My mom and 9 year old sister Emma were the only ones able to be there from my immediate family because of Girls camp and work schedules. There were 7 2-3 year old boys and 3 1 year old girls so my kids had a terrific time playing with their cousins. I slept at my aunt Lynn's house for two nights and then Paul joined me and we camped out on the property. Madeleine woke up as soon as the morning light hit at 4:30am. Paul, the Saint that he is, walked around with her for 2 hours while Asher and I slept. Paul even met his very first bear while walking around with Madeleine! Luckily he only heard grunting noises and the bear running away. Paul's favorite part was the sandy beach and making a warming pool for the kids using his engineering skills.
Me, my mom, Asher Maddie and my Grandma Blanchard. I know I look awful, but keep in mind I was camping. Do you see how curly Madeleine's hair is becoming?
This is the view of the back of Grandma's house from the sandy beach.
Madeleine, her second cousin Eliza, and Emma in the background
This is part of the front yard
I really think that it took Paul an hour to finish his pool. He used boulders and driftwood for the structure and then piled it with sand it make it water tight. The boys were fascinated with the construction. The water warmed up enough that they were able to splash around a bit. And then they were delighted when they got to help demolish Paul's creation.
This is my sister Emma
I really enjoyed seeing my grandma, cousins, and aunts and uncles. My mom and 9 year old sister Emma were the only ones able to be there from my immediate family because of Girls camp and work schedules. There were 7 2-3 year old boys and 3 1 year old girls so my kids had a terrific time playing with their cousins. I slept at my aunt Lynn's house for two nights and then Paul joined me and we camped out on the property. Madeleine woke up as soon as the morning light hit at 4:30am. Paul, the Saint that he is, walked around with her for 2 hours while Asher and I slept. Paul even met his very first bear while walking around with Madeleine! Luckily he only heard grunting noises and the bear running away. Paul's favorite part was the sandy beach and making a warming pool for the kids using his engineering skills.
Me, my mom, Asher Maddie and my Grandma Blanchard. I know I look awful, but keep in mind I was camping. Do you see how curly Madeleine's hair is becoming?
This is the view of the back of Grandma's house from the sandy beach.
Madeleine, her second cousin Eliza, and Emma in the background
This is part of the front yard
I really think that it took Paul an hour to finish his pool. He used boulders and driftwood for the structure and then piled it with sand it make it water tight. The boys were fascinated with the construction. The water warmed up enough that they were able to splash around a bit. And then they were delighted when they got to help demolish Paul's creation.
This is my sister Emma
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