Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Funny Girl!

Anna and Grandaddy had a blast playing with the wrapping paper rolls over Christmas. Not sure who had more fun. As you can tell Anna makes us smile a good bit. A great example of this is a conversation that took place at a Chick-fil-A not too long ago between Anna and a woman sitting at a booth behind us. Eating at a "restaurant" as Anna says is one of her favorite things to do as she gets to people watch and interact with so many.

Anna: "You have shakemilk?"
Me: (interpreting) "milkshake"
Woman: "No, I am drinking coke. When you get to be a big girl you can have coke too."
Anna: "You wear underwear?"
Me: (apologetically) "We are potty training and we have told her that big girls wear underwear."
Woman: "Yes, I wear underwear. Do you wear underwear?"
Anna: "Yes"

We are so proud of our big girl. She has been wearing underwear since November 1st with only one accident to report. Anna just made up her mind one day that she was ready for underwear. More than likely there would not have even been a single accident if she didn't have a mom who rarely remembers to ask her if she needs to use the bathroom. Potty training had been taken off my radar once Aiden arrived. Anna had other plans though. She has amazed us as we rarely prompt her to go. But it is VERY nice only having one in diapers during the day!
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The real reason for it all!

Our 2 1/2 year old surely helped us keep the real meaning of Christmas in perspective this year. A little over 2 years ago, shortly after Anna was born, I was asked to be a part of a group that was making Jesse Tree ornaments. We each made 25 of one ornament and then exchanged them. Giving each family 25 different ornaments, one for each day leading up to Christmas in December. The ornaments correspond with a story in the bible that ultimately prepares you for the coming of baby Jesus. Although we have had the ornaments for the past two years this was our first year of reading through the Jesse Tree book, the corresponding scripture and hanging the ornaments on a small tree. We thought Anna would be old enough this year to begin to grasp some of the concepts. Little did we know how much she would understand and how excited she would be about hanging a small ornament each night. It was the highlight of each day. We were blessed listening to her recap what she had gathered from each story. It was amazing how much she began to understand sin. She refers to it as disobeying and will either give you the example of Adam and Eve eating the apple or someone pinching. Little minds. One of our favorite moments in sharing with her was when we were reviewing the story of Abraham. The night before we had shared with her about Abraham having to sacrifice Isaac. We asked her the next night," what present did Abraham give God instead of Isaac?" She looked at us very seriously and immediately said, "Livy." We have good friends who have twins the same age as Anna. Their names are Isaac and Livy. Another night we were talking about Jesus coming back to earth or as Anna refers to it, "Greenboro (Greensboro)." Anna immediately had multiple questions, "Jesus have car, Jesus walk, Jesus have backpack, Jesus have puter (computer) like daddy?"
Christmas Eve was another reminder of the excitement of Christ's birth through the eyes of a child. Anna was so excited about going to the Christmas Eve service at our church. She could hardly wait to sing. She kept asking us over and over again if we would sing, "Go Tell it on the Mountain." This is one of her favorite songs right now. She knows it word for word. We told her there was a possibility we would sing it. After the first song was sung, Anna blurted out for all to hear around us, "Go tell it on the Mountain." Sure enough, moments later the words to her favorite song appeared on the screen. Those sitting around us turned around and smiled at our sweet girl and continued to watch her as she clapped and tapped her foot as we sang those wonderful words!
Anna was surely excited to open presents on Christmas morning but nothing compared to the birthday celebration for Jesus. Yes, a new basketball goal was thrilling but it paled in comparison to singing happy birthday to Jesus and blowing out his birthday candles on the cake she had decorated. I believe we lit the candles at least three times and sang "Happy Birthday" five times with Anna's voice towering over everyone else's. Before we had Jesus' party, Anna kept asking when we were going to celebrate Jesus' birthday. She knew the real celebrating had not taken place!
Thank you Anna for reminding us why we celebrate this time of year.
"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'"
Luke 2:10-12
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Sunday, December 27, 2009

My little helper!

(More Christmas pictures to come but still trying to catch-up on posts from the last two months!)

Most of the day Anna is my little side-kick. A lot of the time Anna will do whatever task I am doing with her toys. For example, if I am cleaning up the kitchen she will go to her play kitchen and begin to wash dishes. If I am wiping the kitchen floor she will get on her hands and knees with a rag and wipe the floor. She continues to love playing mommy these days and rocks, soothes, sings, feeds (yes, she does nurse her baby dolls, a site to see) and strolls her baby all day long but more times than not she has her phone in hand when she is performing any of these tasks. Her conversations are hilarious! One task she loves to help with is the laundry. She has watched me fold laundry so much that she really does have it almost down. She always puts the article of clothing underneath her chin to begin the folding process (just like her mommy). She just can't seem to keep it folded and thus will more or less put it in a ball and place it on the clothes I have folded. As you can tell she is VERY serious about folding her clothes. She doesn't take her work lightly! I surely love you, Anna. You make mommy and daddy smile, A LOT!
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Saturday, December 26, 2009

J's

according to Anna but known to the rest of the world as PJ's or Pajamas!
Three cousins.

Big Sister and Little Brother.

Anna and her baby cousin she refers to as Ewwiot (Elliot).

Patiently waiting...

to hold and kiss the one she adores!
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Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

What an excruciating hour and a half. In my head I thought it would be a quick afternoon task that could be checked off my to-do list in no time. How could I be so wrong?! By the time Anna was up from her afternoon nap and both were dressed, Aiden was ready for his afternoon nap and Anna was ready for her afternoon snack. I took well over 100 pictures that afternoon. Kevin tirelessly propped up, moved and positioned our children while I tried to get the perfect shot! After tears, pulling hair (Aiden pulling Anna's), jumping up and down for smiles and eye contact I wasn't even sure we had a picture that we could send!

But thankfully we did! We agreed it was worth it all and we would do it again!

Today may you experience the birth of our Saviour and be reminded of all he had to endure in order for us to have true life!
And know too that he would do it all over again if he had to.
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10
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Thursday, December 24, 2009

What a difference a year makes!

Last year Anna was very unsure about the white stuff that covered our yard and streets. However, this year she couldn't get enough of the snow! Here she is getting all bungled (bundled) up as she says.

All smiles!

Ready, set, go! Anna couldn't go fast enough or enough times down the hill in our front yard!

What a fun family day!

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The princess and Thanksgiving!


For Thanksgiving we headed to Fredericksburg to spend time with family. Aunt Kristen and Great Uncle Jim were able to meet Aiden for the first time! Aunt Kristen gave Anna a very special present all the way from Vietnam. Shortly after Anna was born Kristen visited Vietnam and it was there that she bought Anna a princess dress. On this trip Anna was finally old enough to wear her gown! She surely looked like a princess in it as she was dressed from head to toe in pink. Thanks Aunt Kristen for such a fun and fitting gift as we often refer to Anna as "our princess." It was actually not too long ago that I made a phone call and when the person on the other end of the phone picked up I said, "hello princess." Needless to say we are a little sleep deprived here and I just repeated words that often come out of my mouth throughout the day as I wasn't talking to my little two year old princess but instead to my thirty-two year old prince charming!
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Three Months!

We are WAY behind on blogging these days but I have high hopes of catching up or at least giving you glimpses into the Sasser household over the next few days! It seems that with the arrival of a second one everything gets done a little later or sometimes not at all. Here are some pictures I took of sweet Aiden at three months. The top picture was included in our Christmas card but when it was printed it was zoomed way in. :( But it was sent anyway, as getting something, anything out was a small feat (more on that later!). At three months our little man weighed 12lbs! We only know this because we took Aiden in to see the doctor at the end of November because he was very congested and having difficulty breathing. We feared RSV. Instead we discovered he had a double ear infection. Aiden gave us no clue that he had an ear infection. He continues to rarely cry and has such a sweet disposition. His eyes love to follow his sister around the room as he sits in his bouncy seat. She provides all the entertainment he could ever want. She continues to be smitten with him! Dancing and singing for him, rubbing his sweet belly as he sits in the bouncy, hugging his neck and giving him more kisses than he can take in.
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Sunday, November 8, 2009

It's his brthday...

and I couldn't be more thankful to have him to walk through life with. Although, these days it often seems as though we are running.

and to have him by my side to lead and teach us.

and to carry us through the difficult times as well as the good times.

Not to mention he provides for our needs and often most of our wants!

Thanks for loving us ALL well! We love you today and always!

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Saturday, November 7, 2009

Two Months...

and thriving!




I can hardly believe we are starting in on month three with this little man. We had his two-month check-up last week. In a month he has gained two whole pounds. Aiden weighed in at 10 lbs 8 oz. He was 22 1/2 inches tall. Both in the 25th percentile. He is growing! Aiden is a very content baby. His disposition couldn't be more different than that of Anna's as a baby. Not to mention he rarely spits-up. I can count on one hand the number of times he has, which is the exact opposite of our Anna who had such stomach issues. We can use the same burp cloth for a week for him, while with Anna we had one in every corner of the house. Thankfully, Aiden is finally beginning to nurse well. It was a slow start. He is our sweet boy who is starting to engage us more and more with his big blue eyes. He smiles the biggest when he sees and hears the voice of his proud big sister. Anna continues to be enthralled with her baby brother. When she wakes in the morning or from her nap the first question out of her mouth is, "Where's Aiden." She wants to be where he is. She is thrilled that he now has time on his play mat because that means they get to "lay together." She can actually be face to face with him on the mat. Aiden's toes are full of more love than most toes as that is where we try to get Anna to kiss him. Of course sometimes she can't contain herself and has to kiss his sweet head. She also loves to hold his hand and sing to him, count for him or just stare sweetly into his eyes. Some of Aiden's favorite things are having his head washed. This look of complete contentment comes over him and he begins to coo. He really enjoys the bouncy seat, especially when it is vibrating. He loves having his back patted firmly, even when he doesn't need to burp. It is very relaxing to him. Of course, like his sister he sleeps on his tummy. We just don't tell his doctor. :) Aiden can still sleep through anything-bright lights or loud noises. And the minute the vacuum, shower or hairdryer are turned on this little guy is fast asleep. Just this week we put him in the baby bjorn for the first time. He automatically falls asleep when he is placed in there. Like his sister he loves to be held close and will fall fast asleep on your chest within minutes. If only we could get him to go longer stretches at night between feedings.
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Friday, November 6, 2009

Weekend Fun!

We headed back to the beach two weekends ago. But this time with two other families. Anna LOVED having live-in playmates. Once again the weather was amazing and exceptionally warm. Fun was had by all!

For the past two years our good friends have hosted a gathering for all the little ones. The children have a blast playing together in their costumes with all the outside toys you can imagine and yummy food is enjoyed by all. This year we didn't even attempt to get a picture of all the kids together. It was just a challenge to get pictures of them individually, looking at us and smiling. Here are a few shots of our little cowgirl and our sleeping cow!

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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Comparisons!

Anna Catherine and Aiden Caleb
I recently came across some pictures of Anna that were similar to ones we have of Aiden around the same age. I've always thought they had the same nose. This definitely confirms it!
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009