Happy Birthday Asher!

Asher's birthday falls only a few days after Christmas, so we celebrated with the fam in Georgia. I figured this event deserved its own blog entry, especially since kids with almost Christmas birthdays often have a complex due to the non-separation of the two events. We can't have that, not even on the blog!

Corey and I have decided that kids birthday parties are the best. All the fun things you can buy to celebrate...you just pick a theme and voila! This year Asher turned 2, and he has taken to Elmo a little more lately. Actually he calls him "Melmo", which must not be too uncommon because his cousin Austin called him the same thing. So, this year it was a Melmo Party!

Everyone humored us and wore their party hats, sang and ate cake. I think Asher enjoyed his special day, and I KNOW he enjoyed his little chocolate cake. We gave him a TMX Elmo (the souped-up version of the old Tickle-Me-Elmo), and he thought it was pretty fun, but....the adults were even more impressed with the moves this guy was pulling off!

Balloons and chocolate cake. Mmmm.

Looks like he's going to blow it out, right? This was taken right before he extinguished the flame with his bare hands...much to his surprise, the fire was hot!

Check out these party animals!

And now for a performance from our party sponsor:

I can't believe my little guy is 2 years old already! The time really does seem to fly by. Happy Birthday Asher, we love you so much!

Christmas in Georgia

After being home for two days, we headed off to Athens, Georgia for a southern Christmas with the Reitz'. It was especially great since everyone was able to make the trip. When you get this family together, there is never a dull moment...especially with the brothers. Too many inside jokes, too fast, and once they get going it's a real trick to get a word in (not that you'd want to because you are laughing so hard).
We had a nice Christmas Eve and Day eating and opening presents. In recent years, it's become a tradition for Rick(Corey's Dad) to make omelets on Christmas morning, although the boys are still hanging onto their favorite one, Cinnabons. It was fun for Asher to be able to hang out with his cousins, Austin and Tyler. Asher and Austin are close in age, so they occupied each other a bit, which was nice. I think we will miss Austin's little voice outside our bedroom door in the morning asking for "Dacker." Little Tyler was too sweet with his endless smiles and sweet temperment, what a good baby!! Asher received some "Cars" stuff for Christmas and is an instant fan. I just want to know what secret ingredient Disney uses to get kids to be so obsessed!
We had a great time eating, visiting, and checking out some of the Georgia sites. These are some of the highlights from the trip (Brace yourself, it was a 10 day trip, so there are quite a few pics.):

The Atlanta Aquarium: The largest in the world...and judging by the crowds, its not a secret!

All the pretty fishies.


I held the camera over my head for this one...there were so many people there, complete insanity. This place is not for anyone with even mild claustrophobia. Yikes.

Stone Mountain: A sort of theme park centered around this small mountain, complete with a train, steamboat, tram, shopping village, plantation with a farm, and a waterpark in the summer.


The confederate generals carved in stone.



Stuffing hay into the poor, overfed goat's mouth.

Asher loving 'Billy Bob', a 200 pound sheep. Seriously, this kid should have been born on a farm.

Grandpa, Asher and Corey on the steamboat. Grandma and Grandpa Reitz on the train.

The rest of the happy train riders.





More pics from our visit:

Feeding the psycho, aggressive ducks at the nearby pond (Corey was seriously scared of these guys!).

Opening presents on Christmas morning.

Corey, Austin and Tyler. Bath time for the boys - Jared just put them through the 'carwash' to get them in and out fast! Yeah!

Cute lil' boys.

Our visit to 'The Varsity' - practically an institution for college students there. Burgers, fries, you name it. Notice the chicken nugget in Asher's hand...one of the few things that made it into his mouth on this trip. Ugh.

Our little traveler. I loved these headphones, and thank goodness, so did he!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Winter Wedding Bliss

Alas, the days of the Pettit weddings have officially come to an end as the youngest sibling in the family tied the knot last Tuesday! Kayla and Jake were sealed in the Timpanogas Temple in American Fork, UT. It was great to see all the family, and Corey was able to come this time since his finals are over now for the holidays (backup was definitely required for Asher's naughty wedding ways). It was proven for yet a second time that Asher DESPISES weddings in every way. Honestly, I think he is in one family picture that was taken, and Jake's brother held on to his flailing body for the rest of them (thanks again!). By the reception, the tie was off, the hair was messy and when he wasn't constrained in his stroller watching a DVD, he was running around the tables, weaving through people's legs.
The day was lovely and the rain and snow held off until that evening. Kayla looked beautiful in her dress, and Jake looked pretty snappy too. Congratulations to the happy couple, and.... sorry about the unruly child.
Asher loved hanging out with all his aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa. He started talking a ton during our visit. It's so fun to see his personality coming through. These are some of the fun pics from our visit:

Asher's true feelings for weddings comes shining through.

Wedding prep.

And now for some of the random pics from our visit:

He couldn't resist the white stuff.

Above: Loved this. He made the most of the bath toys at hand...line up the princesses, then knocked em' all down.

Below: He took all the dishes out of this cupboard, and stuffed himself in. My mom and I couldn't stop laughing. He did eventually figure out how to escape.

P.S. My sister, Laurie was misssed greatly during all the wedding festivities. But...at nine months pregnant flying out was a big no-no. She had her baby 3 days before Christmas though, and we are all so excited that adorable little Allyssum (like the flower) has finally arrived! Congratulations you guys! Finally a baby girl in the family.