Easter at the Finzels

This year we spent Easter with Mark's family in Denver. We went to a Sunday morning Easter service at Coors Amphitheater and then spent the rest of the day eating good food (thanks Donna!) and hanging out at the Finzel's house. Because of their busy trip schedule, Hans and Donna had not seen Asher in over a month so it was great for them to be able to spend some time with him - he changes so much every week! Here are some pictures from Easter:

Ok, so this was actually the day before Easter but Asher was pretty much dressed like an Easter egg in his green and yellow outfit. You can't tell in this picture but he has matching pants that are also green and yellow stripes...it is quite the ensemble.

Easter morning...Asher loves falling asleep in his swing. Notice the placement of his hands - done all by himself!

Our little family
(Yes, I know he's wearing the same outfit as he did to the wedding but it's the only "dressy" outfit he has ok!)

Grandpa Finzel and Asher

Grandpa and Grandma Finzel

Asher loved having Grandma Finzel read to him

Aunt Cambria - Asher has 5 uncles and only 1 aunt so she's pretty special!

Asher's First Road Trip...California or Bust!

This past week we took a family road trip to Southern California for Steve and Victoria Smith's wedding (Mark was a groomsmen in the wedding). Asher did AMAZINGLY well on the 18 hour trip both to and from California. Actually, he slept better on the trip than he ever does at home! We had a great time overall and it was so good catching up with old friends and enjoying the awesome weather and food of Southern California (I visited Golden Spoon - my favorite frozen yogurt shop - 3 times in the 4 days we were there)! The only downside was that we had a slight encounter with an elk on our drive home. And by "slight" I mean we hit one on the drive home and it banged up my car quite a bit. Not to worry though, Gladys the Stratus is ever so faithful and will not go down without a fight. She is still driving strong, even without a side view mirror and dents all along the side! :)

Here are some pictures from the trip...

Asher lookin' cute

Asher reunited with Uncle Drew!

The Fam at Victoria and Steve's wedding

Asher looked so slick for the wedding...check out his sweet hat!

Those cheeks are just so chunky and irresistible

Our pre-marital counselors and good friends Pete and Julie Forbes

Our good friends Anette and George Rihovsky

Asher absolutely LOVED his auntie Kathleen. He had so much to say to her and made sure to give her lots of smiles! He had so much fun staying with her (actually, we all had SO much fun staying with her). Thanks Kathleen!

Our little frog

After his bath yesterday we tried out Asher's frog robe for the first time and it was pretty much the cutest thing ever! Here is our favorite picture of the little dude:

2 months already!

These past two months have seemed to fly by - but, at the same time, thinking about our family without Asher in it seems like a lifetime ago. It's crazy how quickly and completely your perspective and life changes with a child. We just love him so much and learn more and more each day what it means to sacrifice and give to this child. You definitely see how selfish you can be when it's 3:00am and everything within you wants to stay in bed instead of feeding a crying baby and changing poopy diapers. Nonetheless, we love him more than we ever thought possible. We still can't get over the fact that this little guy will grow up and become his own person with his own unique personality...incredible.

You'll notice most the pictures are still of him sleeping or looking around...we can't wait until he starts becoming more interactive and playing. But, he's still so cute and fun. Even the past couple weeks he is responding more to us. He stays awake longer between naps, and enjoys staring...especially at lights. He also smiles more and is starting to try and 'talk' to us.

He loves falling asleep in his swing, which is great, except his head flops over. We would move it back, but he gets real grumpy when we do.

Asher met Aunt Brook this past weekend for the first time

Apparently Asher didn't like his Pooh Bear outfit quite as much as we did...

Oooohhhhh...look at the lights.....so pretty........

Falling asleep with Aunt Susan

This pretty much sums up how we feel these days...

Ah, the days when it's cute to have coordinated puppy paws on every part of your outfit...

Just a few pics of the dude...

The past week or so we have really noticed changes in Asher. He is growing so quickly! He has started to realize that his hands are attached to his body and that he can control them and his eyes are following things with colors. His loves watching the animals on his mobile and is transfixed by the colors on the wall. We are having so much fun watching him change and become more interested in things around him!

Hanging out in his swing

Asher and Grandma Finzel
(She came down to watch him for a few hours so I could get out of the house last week when Mark was gone...Thank you Donna!)

Asher and his new friends...Avery and Caiden. Avery is Mandy's daughter and is 8 1/2 months old and Caiden is Amanda's son and he is 5 months old.

I love this new outfit that "Grandma" Reba sent to him...I call it his jail break attire.

Mark and Asher just chillin' in the rocking chair....Asher loves being held facing outward so he can look around.

His first night sleeping in his big crib! He actually slept really well and I was able to get 6 straight hours of sleep...it was AMAZING!

O2 Free!

Our little guy is finally oxygen free and his face is so stinkin' cute! Here are a couple pictures I took this week...

Just sleeping away
(Note: his eye is not naturally that shiny...it's an ointment that I have to put on it.)

Hanging out in his cradle...this is his favorite face to make. I just love those pursed lips!!

A close up

The Babe is growing...

I know it has been forever since we updated the blog...the days just seem to fly by and I don't know where the past month has gone! Asher is doing great - growing a ton and is more interactive each day - we are really enjoying being parents (though I don't love it quite as much in the middle of the night as I do during the daytime hours)! We hope to have him off oxygen in the next day or two which will be such a great thing...I can't wait to see his whole face without the oxygen tube and pads! Here are some recent pictures of our beautiful son!

Thanks to "Auntie" Amy, Asher was able to get in the Christmas spirit with his "Santa Clause" outfit. I kind of wish they made these in adult sizes cause it looks so comfy!

He looks so small in his big crib!
(Don't worry, he isn't sleeping in it yet...i'm afraid he would get lost)

1 month old!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the baby buns...they are just so cute!

Asher with Grandma Brokke at her birthday party

Aunt Deanna came to visit Asher this past weekend - it was so fun to have her here!

Asher loves walking around the house and looking outside with daddy...Oh the adventures of a one month old!

He's just so precious!
(Notice the double chin action starting. Asher definitely likes to eat...he must get that from his mother!)