Family Vacation

About a week ago The Pettey's returned from their first ever independent family vacation.  Of course, we met half my family there, but still... :)  Anyway, we, along with my father, went to Orlando to visit my brother and sister who live there, and my other brother, who lives in Detroit, drove down and met us there.  It was a family reunion, of sorts, and pretty much a BLAST!!! 

We naturally went to the parks while we were there and below is the documentation of the great times we had.

Dad and Asher speeding through Ewok land.  It's a good thing Asher's driving, because Dad's having too much fun!

Grama and Grampa taking a nap in Muppet land.  We just wore 'em right out!

We ate lunch at the French restaurant in Epcot and when we were finishing Remy, from Ratatouille, came out to visit us.  This was a dream come true for Asher.  That is his favorite show, always wanting to watch it.  He was so excited he could hardly contain himself.  Pretty much made the trip totally worth it. (Oh, and the food was DIVINE!!!!)

This is actually one of my favorite photos.  Asher loves Donald, as does his dad and grampa.  It was a lot of fun to see him get so excited about such a family favorite. 

Here we all are at the entrance to Universal Studios.  Not a bad pic! :)

A big day at Universal Studios may be hazardous to your sleep habits.

When Hayden showed up in the pajamas that Asher had I couldn't resist getting a photo.  They could seriously be brothers.  Dane and Alicia were awesome with these kids, and earned any rest they could have received after the vacation.

Overall, I would say it was totally worth the lost sleep, money spent, and stress involved.  I seriously had the time of my life, and am lamenting the fact that it is over.  It was so fun to spend time with my siblings and parents.  The memories we made will hopefully be a part of our lives forever.  I can only hope there will be many more opportunities like this in the future.  It really is all about family and the relationships we have.  LOVE IT!!!

Unfortunately...

So, I was so proud of myself for remembering to bring the camera for Asher's 2nd birthday parties.  Then... the memory card was malfunctioning.  The good news is, we were able to get the photos that were taken on Christmas morning.  The bad news is, we didn't get ANYTHING else.  I've contacted my mom to see if she can send me some from the birthday party, and if any of you viewers have any please send some - I would REALLY appreciate it.  I'm just plain sick that I have absolutely no record of my first kids second birthday.  Loser mom!!!

Anyway, here are a few photos we took of opening up the gifts here at the house.  Asher was so excited about opening things he wasn't really interested in what each gift was.  It was just so much fun ripping the paper off, he could hardly wait to do it again and again. 

I know D's eyes are closed in this one, but I honestly couldn't resist showing how excited Asher was to be eating his candy cane.  Yes, as a matter of fact, we did regret letting him have so much candy.  Won't be making that mistake again.

Father and son reading a new Christmas book.  Pretty intense, hunh?

This is my first attempt at Christmas Casserole.  Turned out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. :)

The two lessons learned from this Christmas: 1) easy on the sugar, 2) expect that your kid will be out of control and instead of enjoying the day you get to be the devil.  I now have a real love/hate relationship with the holiday that I'm sure will last for at least another 15-20 years.  Thank you, son... :)

No, in all seriousness (now that it is almost a month past) it was fun to see Asher have so much fun and we are excited to take some established traditions and start creating some of our own.  Can't wait!

And the Doctor Says...

We went and had the ultrasound on Wednesday to see whether Asher would have a playmate or a protectee.  And the verdict is......a GIRL!!!  The due date is still pretty much the same, and all looks good and healthy.  She is about the size of a banana, and it was truly amazing to see so much detail in the ultrasound in something so small.  We saw her heart beating, her spine with all it's parts, but my favorite was her feet, they were pretty dang cute. 

We are thrilled.  Personally, I had suspected for some time that it might be a girl because of how different the pregnancy was.  That and Asher has maintained since the beginning he was having a sister.  However, I was absolutely positive that Asher was a girl and we all know how that turned out.  So, I wasn't so sure of my mother's intuition and waited for confirmation before I dared hope.  Durrant, while saying he would be happy either way, was also hoping for a girl.  He's always wanted to experience both a girl and a boy, and he was very excited that we will get that opportunity.

The next question everyone asks is, do you have any names in mind?  Yes, we do.  We have felt for a long time that we would have a Joyce in our family, named after Durrant's aunt.  So, one of the names we have in mind is: Joyce Odessa (my grandmother).  The other name we have in mind is after my aunt and his grandmother, Vanna Vilate.  While this is technically our second choice, Vilate is currently 99 years old, and we are hoping that she will get the chance to hold her namesake before she goes.  We do have a third choice as well, after both our mothers, Esther Marilyn.  I guess we will wait and see when she arrives which of these three, if any, she will choose.  Either way, we are thrilled to have her come and are pretty excited to get to know her.

Some Updated Pics

I got chewed out (yes, Macey, I telling on you.  The same Macey who DOESN'T have a blog) yesterday for not updating my blog with current pics of Asher.  So, here are a few that I have taken recently. 

This is what my little boy looks like after some toast and jam.  Looks good, hunh?

 When were in So. Utah Dad and Asher took their virgin run on the sled.  Oh, the memories I have with Dad pulling us behind the truck on the old sled.  Oddly enough, these guys didn't stay out on the sleds as long as we did as kids.  Wimps...

We do a lot of dancing at our house.  This particular pic was the other night and Dad and Asher were dancing to some Christmas songs in front of the tree.  It was actually very touching and I'm glad I was able to catch a small part of the magic.  

Seriously LOVE the memories we are making!!!

May 25th

I've tried to get him to smile while he's wearing this shirt, but he simply won't cooperate.  I hope this isn't an indication of how he will treat his new little sister/brother... :)

Halloween 2010

I don't have a lot of photos, but I thought this one was cute.  Cutest lion EVER!!! :)

I never said I would be consistent, did I???

Yes, I realize that it has been over one month since I have posted anything.  And, I'm sorry to say, I don't really have anything fun or excited to show you this time either.  However, I'm feeling a little bit of blogger guilt for not at least saying hello.  So, in an effort to repent I thought it would be fun to tell you a little about Asher's current vocabulary.

Each morning (afternoon, night, snack, and any other time in between) Asher wants a "pockisal dinner."  Just in case you can't tell, that means: Popsicle for dinner.  No, we don't have popsicles for dinner on a regular basis, in fact, never.  However, that is our son's chosen meal. 

I think we might have an athlete in our son.  He is actually very coordinated and LOVES any kind of ball.  We play a lot of bikaball hoop (basketball) and he also loves watching "football" (pronounced correctly) with his dad.

Some how "too big" and "too small" were too confusing for our son.  So, instead he simply says "too fit!" (usually in a high-pitched whiney voice that is oh, so attractive.)  I can't help it, I think it's pretty cute. 

We still go on lots of walks, but now we go in the "stollr," which is actually pretty close to stroller.

"No way!" has also become our nearly two-year old's favorite phrases.  Yeah, pretty thrilled about that one...

Recently when Durrant and I are both with Asher he will name us both (i.e. Mommy, Daddy, Mommy) and then proceed with what he has to say.  It's pretty funny because I think he is trying to get both of our attention while addressing one of us.  Clever boy!

Our neighbor has a motorcycle that Asher is somewhat obsessed with.  Only he calls it "cycle-ride."  And he does the courtesy of pointing one out whenever he hears a whisper of one anywhere remotely close to us. 

Anyway, there are lots of Asher-isms.  I will try to remember more and let you know.  I am really enjoying his growing vocabulary and watching his mind put new words and concepts together.  He really is a very clever boy, just like his dad.