The Fire and Hot Dog Eating Dinosaur Cake

This week was the Blue and Gold Banquet for Scouts. The boys were all supposed to make a cake with their dads for the event. So Zerin and Bryan went to work Monday night, and made a yummy chocolate GF cake together. Zerin then enlisted the help of Grandma on Tuesday for decorating since I was gone to Gunnison the whole day. He had picked out a dinosaur cake...a dinosaur that was eating fire. It was actually leaves according to the picture, but he liked the idea of fire better, so fire it was. In all of her cake decorating stuff, she had a tiny plastic hot dog, so he insisted on having the fire-eating dinosaur eat the hot dog as well. Okay, Zerin. After hours of color combination experiments and probably several hand cramps, the cake was done...it was beautiful! Well, as beautiful as a seaweed-green dinosaur with yellow eyes and fingernails eating a hotdog can be anyway. The only problem was we forgot to take a picture...I know, we're awesome.

But don't worry, I did get a picture of it...eventually ;)

He can SEE!!! :)

So today was the day! I have tried all sorts of tricks to get Asher excited for his glasses (thank you everyone btw for all of your awesome ideas!). This morning, though, I feel like we finally had a breakthrough. I had the thought to make his special bunny "Up Doc" some glasses out of a pipe cleaner. He loved them! So when the optician called this morning and said Asher's glasses were ready early, I was thinking, wow, that's interesting :) So with Up Doc in tow, we went to the clinic. Aeden and Belen were sporting some specs to help Asher get excited :)

Here's a pic of Asher and Up Doc (the brown thing is Up Doc's "glasses")

This is how I thought all of our pictures would turn out, only with less smiling.

But LOOK!

And LOOK!

Yep, LOOK! He's still wearing them! It's been two hours and he hasn't taken them off :D He even sat on the couch for a minute to watch a cartoon! The COUCH...not two inches in front of the tv! When we walked out of the clinic, he looked out the window and yelled "SNOW!" I just can't help think he's experiencing a whole new world today. I am so so so happy for my little guy. Isn't he the cutest thing in the world?! :)

Thank goodness for talented friends!!!

My friend Courtney took these cute pics of the kids. Asher was in kind of a crusty mood all night, and the other 3 were bouncing off the walls, but she still managed to get some darling shots! I still have more to get from her, but I couldn't wait to share these! I can't believe after 18 months, I am finally going to have a good pic of all four of my kids!!!! :)

Happy day!

I should have probably written about this a couple days ago, but I've been a little distracted with worrying about Asher. Which by the way, I love the priesthood!!! Asher got a blessing last night which he screamed bloody murder all the way through, but he slept through the night until about 4:30 am, and then fell back asleep, and he doesn't feel hot to the touch anymore, and his face is a lot less blotchy! If you had seen how bad he was yesterday, you would know what a miracle that really is...he was scary! So I'm hopeful we are on the up side of this nastiness he has had. I miss my happy little man.

So my prenatal visit went great! I decided to be a part of this study where they monitor my thyroid during each visit. I qualified because mine I guess is a hair low, and they are starting to link low thyroid to low IQ babies. The downside is I have to get poked to get my blood drawn each time which isn't my favorite, but the upside, is my baby will get an IQ test :) Somethings are probably better not to know, but it's interesting anyway. When the doctor was doing the ultrasound, he kept laughing, because the baby was moving so much, he couldn't get a heartbeat. You could just see him/her waving its arms, kicking its legs, and doing somersaults in there. Dr. Bierer was like, "you can tell this baby is a Skelton." He knows us so well :) I have only gained 4 lbs this month (10 total), so I was pretty happy about that. Not that it will make a bit of difference in the end when I deliver and I still have the weight equivalent of a jr. high kid to loose, but that's okay :) I am going to enjoy what will most likely be the last week I can wear my normal jeans and binge myself silly on the mixed berry gelato that mysteriously found its way into my freezer (divine!).

My Sad Little Toad

Doesn't this just break your heart? I know, sad. The doctor said the rash could last about 5 days, and hopefully his fever will be gone by Monday. Cross your fingers!

What happens when Mom and Dad are a bit off their game:

Aeden & Asher taking Shadeau for a ride in their "boat."
Aeden & Liah teaching Asher to snort over breakfast.
Good times :)

I'm not ready...

Asher has been growing up at break-neck speed lately. Here is some of what he has been up to:

• He walks along furniture


• Stands in the middle of the floor (as long as he doesn't realize you have let go)


• He got his first tooth yesterday. Teething for him has been a bit more painful than it seemed to be for my other children. He hasn't slept through the night in a couple months, and a couple days before it broke through, he got a fever of nearly 104.



• He loves to tease.







• He loves it when you hurt yourself...he starts laughing uncontrollably. Not sure what to think about that.





• He loves to snuggle when he's tired...my favorite is when he ducks his head under my chin...wraps himself in a ball, and sucks his pointer finger.


• He loves slap-stick comedy. Zerin will owe his stand-up comedy success in part to Asher, as Asher is the one person who can always be counted on to laugh at Zerin's jokes


• He LOVES to give open-mouthed kisses.


• His favorite foods right now are chicken noodle soup, peaches, bananas, cherrios, and bread.


• He hates oatmeal, formula, and rice cereal.


• He just makes everything better...

Asher Crawls (aka: the end of "easy" church as we know it)

The polite acknowledgement to the crowd
Prepping for the pushup

Manly pushup #1

The toy is in his sights...yet farther away than he had hoped.

See the focus, the determination...our little juggernaut in action!

"Stay on target! Stay on target!" - Red Leader, Star Wars

Ah, sweet victory....

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime?

Pick Giant Weeds
Have a baby feeding party
Make a bed in the bathtub at midnight
Look cute in new school clothes.

Meet the Fam...

Meet Zerin

Age: 6 going on 35

Favorite Activity: Going on long bike rides with Daddy

Favorite Foods: Pizza, Top Ramen, Tacos, McDonalds hamburgers with nothing but the patty and bun

Biggest Fear: Eating a Vegetable

Biggest Accomplishment: Making it to the top of Grandma and Grandpa's treehouse by myself

Biggest Quirk: I have to smell everything. The fork, the monkeybars, the shoes...everything.

Biggest Talent: Climbing!

Favorite Subject in School: Math (it's easy), and Reading. I love to read.

What my mom likes best about me: Zerin can pretty much sit down and tell you, in order, every story in the Book of Mormon, all the characters, which are good guys, which are bad guys, and the morals of the stories. It is pretty incredible.

Meet Liah

Age: 4

Favorite Activity: Shopping for and trying on shoes

Favorite Foods: Broccoli, Pizza, Broccoli, and um, everything.

Biggest Fear: Alligators, and being alone

Biggest Accomplishment: Learning to ride a 2 wheeler. I am really good, my dad said so.

Biggest Quirk: I have to have pretties...especially when I am sad. Whether it's a blanket, a pillowcase, a ribbon...gotta have a pretty.

Biggest Talent: I am really good on my bike, and dancing, and making up songs

Favorite Thing to do when I'm home: I love to draw and make pictures. I make beautiful things.

What my mom likes best about me: Liah is so kind and selfless (most of the time hahaha). She worked so hard the other day earning money with her dad, and when she found out Zerin was a little short for something he wanted to buy, without a thought she handed over her hard earned cash.

Meet Aeden

Age: 2

Favorite Activity: Doing happy dance, riding bikes, jumping on the tramp, and swimming

Favorite Food: I devour pretty much everything.

Biggest Fear: Being thrown, going too high, or anything that seems scary

Biggest Accomplishment: I am 2...everything is an accomplishment.

Biggest Quirk: I cannot pass up an opportunity to cheese for the camera. Doesn't matter if I am supposed to be in the picture or not, I physically cannot restrain myself.

Biggest Talent: I make people happy.

Favorite thing to do when I'm home: I like Mommy and Daddy to read me books.

What my mom likes best about me: Aeden is our comic relief. Doesn't matter how on edge or stressed someone is, he comes up with some wacky thing and has that person laughing within seconds.

Meet Asher

Age: 7 months

Favorite Activity: Bathtime!!!

Favorite Foods: Peaches and Sweet Potatoes

Biggest Fear: Being alone

Biggest Accomplishment: I can do pushups! Not girl pushups either.

Biggest Quirk: I suck my pointer finger.

Biggest Talent: I am the world's best snuggler

Favorite thing to do when I'm home: Play with my brothers and sister with their toys.

What my mom likes best about me: Asher makes everyone he's around happy. Doesn't matter where we go, I always have a crowd around me vying for his attention.

Progress, Pirates, Phones, and Pointy Fingers....

We have been making small strides at the house (sounds better than baby steps doesn't it?). The first of the week found us a little overwhelmed, but part way through yesterday, we got our wind back. Last night we got the plans (yea!) and they look great! Rod our architect did a great job by us and finished a month ahead of schedule. We are still waiting on the structural engineer...that should be within the next week or so we hope. So, crossing our fingers, we should be able to get to the bank and the city within the next week or so. We've been trying (trying in this case meaning trying, not always succeeding) to have more fun while we are working at the house, and including the kids more. We were texturing the master bedroom wall, and the kids kept trying to get into the mud, so rather than fight it, we embraced it. They couldn't get enough of it. Aeden thought it was the greatest thing that he could smoosh mud on the walls....and NOT get in trouble :)

Bryan was working on one wall, and carrying Asher, and as you can see, Asher couldn't stop laughing! You just can't help being happy around that boy :)
We were working on the house and Zerin disappeared with Grandpa for a while, occassionally to surface looking for old curtain rods and junk. He later emerged with this amazing curtain rod crusader ensemble created/welded by Grandpa...complete with sword, dagger and sheath, gun, and holster. This only solidifies Zerin's belief that his Grandpa can literally make anything out of nothing!
You know those mornings you just have a bunch of calls to make?! This was one of those mornings, as I wandered back through the kitchen while on the phone, I found Aeden and Liah "talking" to each other on the phone. I totally lost my train of thought with who I was talking to and laughed out loud. I love those moments....
Yes, you are absolutely right...he IS adorable :)

Parades and Reunions...

We got to the Church for the Primary Parade and they asked Bryan to lead the pack. Liah and Zerin were right there at the front next to their dad...so proud! This was only Liah's 2nd official real road bike ride. Whatta girl. Bryan was beaming...like father like son :) Bryan's Dad in the Bountiful Parade with Andy and Bryan.

Some of the older kids flew ahead in front of cars and across streets against professional advice, but luckily guardian angels were on their toes that day :) Aeden didn't want to miss a thing, and even though he was going about a yard an hour, he just kept plugging along...

...until he saw THIS!

Then the older kids all came back and it was time for popcicles...good times.

Then a little later we made our way to Wanship for our Annual Hugie Family Reunion. My dad comes from a family of 9 kids, so even though not everyone can come, it's always a huge group. One of the highlights is the raffle. Everybody brings good, random or crappy things and they raffle them off. Zerin is INTO the raffle. In fact, he has been looking forward to this reunion, asking about it every morning when he wakes up just so he could be on his game for it. When the giant tub of cheeto balls was up for grabs, I've never seen him so attentive...carefully studying the numbers on his tickets...hilarious :) This year's winnings for our family include a fan necklace for Liah, Phase 10 for Zerin, and a broken electronic poker game for Aeden. Some of the kids even ventured over to feed the one-eyed horse. I was more than relieved Aeden didn't lose a hand since all the grass he was giving the horse was stuck tight in his fist :) Liah became best friends with her new cousin, Hailey (black dress) and her cousin Jade (pink dress). They followed each other everywhere. When it was time to eat and we called them to dinner, they looked at each other and said...

"We can't! We're FRIENDS!" Okay then...I can't exactly argue with that now can I :)