Mr. Asher is FINALLY here!

Well after taking his sweet time and arriving a few days late, our little boy, Asher Owen Tangen finally made his big appearance! He's a good boy - we are smitten! He was 8lbs, 6oz, and 20in long. Labor was much easier this time around, and so was the recovery, other than a bruised tailbone - ouch! We had a bunch of people praying that Asher wouldn't arrive until the 6th of September (he was due the 1st) since Grandma Honey (Sean's mom) wasn't able to get here before then. Well wouldn't you know...labor pains started as soon as she landed! God certainly does have a sense of humor!

Shayla has been a terrific BIG SISTER and is always bringing Asher blankies, binkies, and burp rags. She's so sweet to him...it's a good thing I'm writing this down now, so that I can look back on it and reminisce when she's poking him in the eyes and terrorizing him down the road!

Updates! Updates!

My oh my...I can't believe how time flies! Somehow it is already March. A week into March actually! Where does the time go? Life is blasting by at a break-neck speed but somehow we are still managing to savor the moments...I think having a baby does that to you...it forces you to slow down and revisit the smaller things on a daily basis...it seems like the mundane is now intentional if that makes sense. Our biggest update: We are thrilled to be expanding our family! Our new addition should be here early September, but we've already bonded with "New Baby" and can hardly wait to meet this little one! We still have a month or so before we will be able to find out if it will be a boy or a girl, but we are all betting on a girl. We'll keep you posted!

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY!

Aaaahhh! When will it ever end? June? July? Sheesh! I'm sick of it already! Good thing we are prepared this year in the event of a power-outage though...a shiny new generator is sitting in the back of the truck as we speak! Too bad it wasn't ready for today's power-outage...figures! We will probably get it all hooked up and not have to use it all winter. That's not likely though, since our power goes out pretty much anytime the wind blows. Thank God for my Dad's old generator last year during the big storm...it kept us warm and the frig cold...and let us provide a temporary home for our neighbors. Shayla and Sean were practicing how to put on snow-gloves...just in case!

Pics, pics, and more pics!

So the truth is out...I'm a picture FIEND! I love snapping pics of our babygirl, but I really love it when Alecia, our photographer snaps those pics too! She's simply amazing, and for those of you who have gone to see her, you know what I'm talking about. To everyone else, go see her! (Or tell someone you know who has or is expecting little ones, to go see her!) I've put her link on the right, and even if you aren't needing any pictures right now, visiting her site will bring smile after smile to your face. She loves what she does, and it shows. I can't say enough good stuff about her, can you tell?

Granite is here (well, at M&D's)!

OK well this isn't the best photo, but I wanted to get a pic posted as soon as possible. I'll post better ones later. The counter tops are so beautiful...you just can't stop looking at them! The granite is full of specks of color and movement - it truly is amazing. Just a slice of God's earth, right there in the kitchen! The space is on it's way to getting put back together. By the time I left Friday evening, Dad had already installed the new microwave, cook top, and hooked up the oven. He was working on the sink fixtures and I wouldn't doubt if they have running water already. You know Daddio...he's pretty quick!

Here fishy fishy...

Take a look at the salmon that Sean caught last week - well this is one of them! The other one is in mom's freezer. This was my first attempt at filleting - I think I need a little more practice however. Sean gives all the props to his brother, who hooked the fish in the first place. We think Jeremy should give up his day job and become a guide, really -- he's THAT good!

Raise your hands if you love vanilla yogurt!

Check out our experiment this morning with self-feeding with a spoon! It wasn't ALL that bad until she pitched the bowl over the side of the tray and yogurt went flying. Sigh! When do kids start acting civilized at mealtime anyway?

Moving right along...

Grandma Sue's table and chairs were delivered yesterday - they are bee-u-ti-ful! And comfy too...just in time to eat a huge turkey dinner and sit back stuffed and slightly comatose! The woodwork is gorgeous - Grandad Rog gave his seal of approval. Good choice Grandma Sue! The kitchen remodel is coming along nicely...the amazing granite countertops are to be installed this week - I'll post a pic when they are in. Trust me when I say EVERY detail has been agonized over!

The Littlest Elephant

Like I was saying, since Shayla slept through last Halloween and never got to wear her little lady bug costume, I was really hoping this year would be a little more fun. Shayla (who detests hats of all types) actually left the elephant ears on all night! I really think she liked her costume. We had tons of trick-or-treaters, OK, well actually just ONE cute little girl. (We heard this from Sean, since it just so happened to occur as I was changing a diaper, and we both missed it!) Feeling bad that Shayla didn't get to answer the door for any trick-or-treaters, Sean decided to ring the door bell and go through the motions. I'm sure the whole thing will make a little more sense next year. We continue to amaze ourselves at the lengths we go to to amuse this kid!

Happy Halloween!

Well since Miss Shayla slept through her first Halloween (what else is a 10-week old to do?), I decided to make this one a big deal! We spent a sunny afternoon at the pumpkin patch where Shayla insisted on trying to lick all of the various pumpkins, squash, whatever particual gourd happened to be in close proximity.