2 more weeks of Asher pictures

camo like Dad

and computering with Dad

sleepy and sweet

these two get along really great! they get the most time together other than with me

chee-toes party

goofy grin

yea... not quite 7 weeks... forget this whole 4 months thing... sitting up is way better than being stuck on the floor or in a car seat or something!

just because :)

and I loved this one! (yesterday)

sleepy boys

happy happy boy! he still looks just like his daddy to me! Williamson cheeks all the way :)

Asher---the first month

a month of pictures... these ones are new to the blog/FB, but not new in the sense that they're most recent.

2 days old

2 days old

9 days

11 days

12 days--and isn't that an ADORABLE outfit?! I love it, made for us by a lady in our new ward :)

13 days

i'm skipping a bit here because this post covered a week or so of Asher pictures

3 weeks, 6 days

4 weeks

4 weeks 1 day, aka 1 day before 1 month.

I'll get a few new ones on the computer soon, it truly amazes me how much he's grown and how fast! I pulled out the 3-6 (and preemptively 6-9) months clothes today because the little ones are too tight!

Asher's a great sleeper, and a great eater, I guess those two facts help to show why/how he's growing so fast. He rarely cries, and he's very patient with his VERY loving (and close-up) siblings. I can only hope that'll continue. Fortunately, Malachi's pretty good with him also, though he does like to get in pretty close. I take Asher for his 1 month check-up on Wednesday (even though he's actually 6 weeks), so I'll post stats then, I'm pretty sure he's past 12 lbs. we'll see the official then. I sure am glad we have this sweet big boy in our family! he's an absolute angel!

Camping and Crabbing on the Chesapeake

okay, okay, technically it wasn't the Chesapeake, but close enough, and that sounded better (on the Patuxent, but right at the mouth where it joins the bay)

The kids have been looking forward to camping on the beach since they found out we were moving anywhere near a beach, and they've been equally excited about going crabbing (though strangely enough, not wanting to eat the crabs, just catch them) since we went to the beach this summer and they saw someone else crabbing... I guess it looked like fun.


Saturday morning, when I remembered my camera and started taking pictures.
This was right by our campsite

So about three weeks ago a couple families from church sent out a group invitation to just about everyone from church they could think of inviting everyone to a navy rec center to camp and/or join them for a crab-fest. The boy scouts were doing a lot of the crabbing, but basically anyone that wanted to could come. fortunately living in MD, there's a lot of cool beaches within about an hours drive. Naturally, having a 2-week old baby didn't slow us down, so we jumped at the opportunity and joined everyone Friday night for a big bonfire and camping. The fire was just perfect, it wasn't too hot for it, and it was cool enough of an evening to appreciate sitting close to it!

we weren't literally camping on the beach, but it was only about a 10 minute walk from our campsite to this little beach and promontory where the scouts were basing their operation.

we all had fun clambering about on the rocks 

the girls played for hours on the beach with their friends

we did bring their suits, but I thought it was too cold to get wet... silly me! I know Afton! and Rayna didn't hesitate to get pretty completely soaked either.

first campout!

the boys were both pretty tired by lunchtime, and one of our friends let them crash in their double bike-stroller. with a warm towel for a blanket :) it seemed somehow appropriate.

the girls got a chance to go crabbing with Dad! they came back with 9 I think.

This year was supposed to be a bad year for crabs, and they had to let all the female crabs go, plus all the too small ones of course, but with 2 boats (the other was a hand-made canoe I wish I'd gotten a picture of, it was BEAUTIFULLY made by a guy in the ward when he was in his last year at medical school, because he was getting bored... I thought med school was supposed to be hard and time consuming!) I think the final haul was 3/4 bushel, more than plenty for everyone that wanted some, and we had probably 25-35 people eating them.

and that's not counting the kids that each had a couple bites... I was proud of Afton and Chi for trying it, Rayna wasn't feeling too adventurous, I think chi just wanted the bib :)

and no large group activity is complete without a bunch of kids wrestling an Uncle to the ground with much accompanying shrieks of laughter, and an appropriate amount of tickling and wrestling. 

I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter whose uncle it is either... this one only had one nephew there, and that boy isn't even in the dog pile!

thanks to all our friends that invited us along! it was a great weekend!

 

and crossed at least 2 items off Afton's MD-bucket list!

More pictures from September

So I think Malachi 'feels' the change with the new baby the most, which isn't that surprising I guess as he was the youngest for a long time, but it's cute to see some of the ways he compensates and gets some love back :). He especially loves to give me lots of hugs and kisses, reminding me that I'm his best friend or that he loves me (and of course getting plenty of love back in return). He's a little rougher with Paul, lots of tackles and tickles and climbing. This one evening I was laughing pretty hard at their antics, I know they don't come through in the pictures as funny as in real life, but I still thought it was worth posting :)

Chi can reach the ceiling!

and this was particularly funny, monkey-boy

This evening was a 'wrestle-fight' that I'd probably call a tickle-attack, with soft balls...

you can see the glee there, right?!

I know, probably not the most flattering photo, but maybe that shows more why Chi calls it 'wrestle-fighting'

this one might be my favorite...

Who is it that always tells me how easy girls are to raise, because at least they don't like getting dirty? I sometimes think I hear that one every month... I still don't believe it that people actually think that!

it was a rather chilly day too, though not so cold that they couldn't get wet...

you should have heard the squeals as they got hosed off!

you know, the laughing/almost-crying sound kids make when they're having fun, and kinda miserable at the same time?

Rayna was a bit more practical... but she wasn't quite as muddy either.

and another day, the 24th, Afton finally lost her first tooth!

we were waiting for that one for over a month of wiggling... and yes folks, she's already 7! this kids teeth are firmly attached! (from daddy's side of the family, I guess, they were all later to lose teeth)

and since we had this cute snack, Rayna wanted to pretend she lost one too

Temple trip with Grandma W

Paul had training the week his mom was here visiting, which meant he left really early and didn't get home til a bit late most nights, what with the extra travel and such, so we took Friday afternoon and drove up to meet him. The hospital he was doing his training at was very near the temple, so we took a picnic and took the kids to see it! It was a good experience.

climbing a tree in the parking lot

family pose

and one with Grandma

Malachi loved the water fountain (waterfall)

we also loved the doors. we took a bit of a walk around the grounds and appreciated the fall foliage and the grounds

and the temple itself of course... we love stained glass

random little insert here, does anyone (Mom) know what these flowers are?
they reminded me of crocuses, but it's fall, not spring...

I spy three little kids hiding in the Japanese maples

our picnic spot (we had homemade pretzels with ham and cheese rolled up in them--yum)

and of course we spent a bit of time in the visitor's center. there are dozens of church videos and things there. I'm pretty sure they designed it on purpose so parents could leave their kids there with a babysitter while they go to the temple. our older kids would love that! (we didn't take the time to watch very many)