Fun with Family

Uncle Caleb and Auntie Amanda arrived today from Australia for a 2 week visit. Asher and Anna were so excited to see them, but were a little disappointed that no kangaroos came with them...but were still happy to "lei" them.

And of course they arrived with presents. Anna loved her dress up Cindarella outfit complete with earrings which she still refuses to take off.

Uncle Caleb took this cool picture of Asher playing his new nerf ball gun while enjoying some fun time in the backyard.

Jesse had just been sleeping most of the day but we know he is still happy to see his family...see this smile?!

Reflection

This blog is just a look back over the past few weeks. I feel like I am slowly coming out of the fog and being able to enjoy the kids and beautiful weather some more. Of course, the 4 day weekend helped since Joel let me sleep in everyday...WOO HOO!!! We celebrated the weekend and Memorial Day with a picnic at the playground, a huge block party that a friend had with a jump house for all the kids, and then we had some friends over for a barbecue on Monday. Tomorrow I am going to attempt a trip to the zoo with a friend and all our kids-it will be my first attempt at a big outing with the kids by myself. May not seem scary to some, but the first outing I attempted after Anna's birth resulted in the momentary loss of Asher (18 months old) at an outlet shopping center (Yes, seriously!). Hopefully I will do better this time. And then this weekend Joel's brother Caleb and his wife Amanda fly in from Australia to spend 2 weeks with us. We can't wait!!! The kids are counting down the days.


Here is the family with my college roommate from Virginia Tech. She was here on a work trip and cooked for us the whole time she was here! We haven't seen her in almost 3 years, so we had a wonderful time catching up. Who knew we would see so many old friends by moving so far away?

Two days of rain turned our inflatable trampoline into a pool. I was chatting on the phone with a friend when I heard a huge splash and found them like this. OH well, they were all ready wet-might as well let them have some fun.

A pose too adorable to pass up. We are still trying to decide who he looks like. Any ideas out there?

Still Celebrating

Here we are still celebrating Asher's birthday. The poor kid is so confused but how great is it to have a birthday month! We had is party one week, but saved our presents for him until his actual birthday (the 20th), preschool celebrated him on another day, and presents continue to trickle in. Everyday he asks me "Am I back 3 again?" and "Am I really 4?". Despite the confusion he is still enjoying all the cakes and presents! I just can't believe he has been a part of our lives for 4 years. Time really does fly.


Asher enjoying his gift from Mommy and Daddy. We tried the bike without training wheels but that only lasted for about 10 minutes. He got so many fun outside toys for his birthday which makes enjoying life here much easier for all of us. He also got a scooter which he loves just as much as his bike. He runs back and forth between the two all day. This evening we took a family walk to the grocery store. Anna pushed her baby in a stroller next to me and Jesse while Asher darted away, "superfast" as he would say, on his scooter.

Anna and Asher enjoying cold stone ice cream-something we did to celebrate is "REAL" birthday. It was kind of cool to let them each pick there own ice cream and fillings...just another thing that shows us how different their personalities and likes are.

Asher performing with his preschool class during their end of the year program. He is on the top all the way to the left...in the yellow shirt with a yellow mask on. It was so fun to watch-he did great! The summer has officially begun now since preschool is over until the end of August. Next year Anna will be going as well and I will get a few hours of Jesse alone time.

And here is Jesse this week. I think their faces change so quickly in the first few weeks. He still isn't smiling (except in his sleep) and I am just waiting for the first one to light up his face. He is still sleeping awesome and enjoying a bit more awake time during the day. The kids are still doing great with him. Asher told me today that he didn't want Jesse to leave us. As for me, I just pray for patience everyday since I feel very thin on it due to the sleep deprivation. And boy, I can't believe Asher or Anna were ever this small!!

Happy Birthday Asher!!

Even though his birthday isn't until the 20th, we celebrated Asher's 4th birthday with a bowling party today. We had never taken the kids bowling and they had such a blast! Asher has been counting down the days until his birthday my marking off on a calender and he has been so excited for a month now that this day was coming. He has had his whole party planned...where it was going to be, who was coming, and what presents he was going to get. Even though it wasn't exactly as he predicted, I don't think he was disappointed! We have been playing with all his new toys all afternoon and it will make for some great entertainment during this coming week (my 1st alone with the 3 kids. We were so sad to see Grammie leave!!).


"Happy Birthday Dear Asher...". Joel baked Asher's cake, with sprinkles and gummy bears on top. It was a hit with the kids and parents.

Asher loved bowling. I have a feeling we might be doing this a bit more often now.

Opening presents is always a nutty time a birthday parties. I am not sure what presents are from who, it all went so fast. Asher would throw the card at me and by the time I opened it he was on to the next present. He was one happy and excited kid.

Asher enjoying lunch with Anna and some of his friends.

More Weekend Adventures

Joel took Friday off so we could take my mom out to see some of the island. I felt bad that she has been house bound since her arrival! So off we went to the Dole Plantation for a train ride to tour the plantation, a huge maze (which we gave up on after an hour-it was soooo hot!), and pineapple ice cream eating.


Asher and Anna being silly.

Jesse and Mommy enjoying the train ride. Jesse slept but Asher and Anna loved it-they couldn't keep still! We got to see pineapple fields as well as a bunch of other different hawaiian crops. Asher's favorite part was seeing all the big tractors and machinery.

Our first photo of the siblings :). They both love holding him.

This morning we had breakfast at one of our favorite places-a cafe right on the water at the Air Force Base. It is along the channel where all the Navy ships and submarines come in, so it is always fun when we get to see one arriving. This one is a "small" carrier.

Family pictures

The first picture of the new Thorson Family

Anna singing to Jesse.

Anna and Asher loving on their baby brother.

Life in Thorson household has drastically changed, but we taking it day by day. Asher and Anna just adore Jesse. Anna is such a little mommy, constantly wanting to hold him, sing to him, and love on him. Much to Joel's mortification, she even nurses her baby dolls. Asher is always concerned about where he is and what he is doing. Anytime Jesse is crying, they both panic and order one of us to "take care of my baby brother!". I was scared of jealously, but so far it hasn't reared its ugly head. Jesse has been a great baby. He even likes to sleep at night...he wakes up to eat and goes right back to sleep. I am not sure if I say that because we are less stressed about having a newborn or if it is because he really is a good baby. My mom has been awesome, playing with the kids and taking care of housework. We are so blessed.

But even so I have an embarrassing Mommy story. We had to take Jesse in for a routine check up. As we are walking out the door, I realized I didn't have a diaper bag or anything, but thought we will only be gone for half and hour, what could really happen. So of course, we had to strip him to get weighed and he had a dirty diaper, so I embarassingly had to say that I didn't have any diapers. The nurse looked at me a bit strange but said she would find one for me. So there is Jesse, laying naked and wailing on the scale while she leaves to go find a diaper. I am thinking, "I should pick him up, but what if he pees on me!". Well, right then, he pees all over himself, his clothes, the wall, the scale (but not on me...hehe). I just stand there dumbfounded wondering how I could not of packed a diaper bag! The pediatrician came out and said "Oh, you must be a first time mom" and she was very shocked when I told her this was my 3rd child! Oh well, I packed a diaper bag as soon as we got home, ready to go now for any outing.