Asher James: One Year

Happy birthday baby boy!!!!! We officially have a one year old! What a year it's been...gone are the days off needing to hold up his head, now I have to stop him from climbing onto everything and anything and playing referee between him and Chase. We had such a fun time celebrating his first birthday but a part of me still got teary eyed seeing another one of our boys hit a big milestone.

Stats: Asher continues on being a beast and weighs 24lbs 12oz (90th percentile) and is 31.5 inches tall (97th percentile). He is exactly the same weight Chase was at 2 years old and is only a couple of inches shorter so I don't feel so crazy about pulling out the 24 month sized clothes. Poor boy had to get 4 shots and my heart just broke as he wailed away. We had a good cuddle afterwards though to make things better.

Sleep: I can finally say things are excellent where sleep is concerned. He is sleeping a solid 12 hours at night and one long nap (2-3 hours) in the afternoon. He is also putting himself to sleep. Thanks to recommendations from friends we started having music playing softly in the background and what do you know, it worked! I will rock him for a few minutes to calm him down and he loves snuggles. He cries for a minute when I place him in his crib but then settles down and falls asleep. No waking up in the middle of the night or anything...hallelujah!

Social: Asher has become very outgoing and will chatter and smile with anyone while we are out and about. We have started attending storytime on Tuesdays while Chase is at preschool and he loves it. He interacts well with the librarian and with the other kids there.

Diet: I never thought I would say Asher has become picky, but he has and that has led to a lot of frustration on my part. He will eat sandwiches so I try to fill those with healthy stuff. He has refused to eat meat, pasta, veggies. Basically bread and fruit were about it. I will say the past 3 days he seems to be improving and has eaten pasta, meatloaf, mashed potatoes etc. The doctor said it is normal for them to get picky around a year but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just teething to cause him to be this way. We started giving him milk around 11 months, well I should say he kept stealing Chase's sippy cup. Over his birthday weekend we switched to solely whole milk and have packed the bottles away.

 

Skills/Milestones: We are still working on walking but he is charging full steam with his walker and thinks it's hilarious when Chase rides on his cars next to him. I just love watching them play together. He can say he is a stair climber and makes like the wind towards them if the gate is accidentally left open! He loves to bounce on the trampoline and go head first down the slide...yup he is fearless...lord help us. He has a total of 7 teeth now and the Dr said his 1 year molars are starting to come through. He is continuing to add words to his vocab including; car, Cisco and ball. He can follow directions such as, "go find Chase", "go get me your shoes", "lets go outside", etc.

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Chase, play food, train table, paci, books, water table, ball, Cisco, Mickey Mouse

 

It has been a true joy watching this little boy grow over the past year. He amazes me with how quickly he picks things up and I know the biggest reason for that is to keep up with his big brother Chase. He is such a happy baby and def is a little monkey. He keeps us on our toes but I absolutely love it. He has us all cracking up daily. He has bought so much happiness to our home and our family wouldn't be complete without him .

Chase Patrick: Three Years

Our big boy turned 3 this month and I'm not going to lie this mama was a little emotional (I hid it well). He is just growing so fast and with that he is wanting more and more independence which makes me so sad but I am so proud of the little boy he is turning into.

Stats: He is our petite boy, must be my Mum's side of the family creeping in :) His weight is 27lbs 8oz (5th percentile) and 36 inches tall (20th percentile). I find it amazing he is so light as he never . stops . eating !

Sleep: Chase loves his sleep and I love him for loving his sleep. He sleeps a solid 12 hours at night (sometimes more) and on preschool days takes a 2 hour nap. For a while he was giving us a hard time about going to bed but thankfully that has calmed down.

 Social: The big change in this area is that he has started preschool. He goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings and he is doing really well there. I was a little worried about how he would do being away from me and while he does shed some tears when I leave, the teacher says he stops immediately. When I go to pick him up he tells me all about his morning and the things he has done and what he had for snack that day so I know he does have a good time there and makes me feel great about sending him. I guess with the "freedom" preschool has given him he has started asking that I leave him places, like his friends houses and Grandma and Granddad's house (don't worry not some random public place). Nothing like making Mummy feel not wanted anymore! Just kidding he still asks myself and Daddy that we are going places with him all the time.

 Diet: I have no clue where the food goes that Chase eats, as he weighs next to nothing but will eat and eat all day long. He still will eat everything and anything, thank you easy child! He will still eat his veggies first and we have to bribe him to eat his mac n cheese, bread etc with more veggies (strange child).

Skills/Milestones: We have been diligently working on potty training since spring. He was completely trained, doing both businesses in the potty and wearing underwear out and about. Then it all came to a screeching halt and he regressed...completely. I think a lot of it is to due with Asher and the fact that I still change his diaper. Since the end of the summer we can refocused on this area and he has been doing really well. He will stay dry all day and night long but will not poop in the potty for anything. I've tried stickers, candy and toys on top of the fridge as prizes but nothing seems to work. So we will continue the battle.
Just the other day Chase impressed me with counting to 10. I had no idea he knew all the numbers let alone counting...thank you preschool! He also knows his alphabet. He has really gotten into puzzles and does so well with them. He will sit and do them over and over which makes for a great quiet time activity and gives me a chance to get a few things done around the house.

Favorites: Thomas and Friends, Paw Patrol, Disney Cars, Henry Hugglemonster, playing with Cisco, playing outside, play-doh, digging in the sand, playing with Asher, lollipops, Moes, Chick Fil A, Kinder Eggs, books.

I love this little boy so much! He is certainly trying at times but overall he is such a kind, thoughtful and smart little man. He always makes sure others are ok and he loves his brother to no end. He does such a good job of teaching Asher how to do things and is so proud when Asher does something for the first time. He enjoys helping me cook and Daddy wash his car. He cracks us up daily with the funny things he says. Basically I can't imagine life without him and we are so blessed to call him our son.


 I am so proud of this little boy we call our son. He amazes me every day, the way he views the world with such excitement. I'm so lucky that I get to spend every day with him.

First Day: Preschool

It was a big day in the Prendergast household as we entered the world of school newsletters, backpacks and snack duties, as Chase started preschool.

I was really nervous as to how Chase would do going to preschool, him being ok without either myself or Daddy there, or Asher for that fact. We had been prepping him for a while as to what was going to happen. Every time we drove past his preschool we told him all about it and what we would be doing there. As we walked down the hallway to his classroom I was awaiting the tears and the clinging while telling us not to leave. I am so proud to say that our boy did not do any of those things. He hung up his backpack in his cubby, washed his hands and said "ok I'm going to go and play with the trains now." Both James and I said bye to him and he didn't even notice us leave. I was so happy that it went so smoothly, that he felt comfortable enough there and that he knows we will be back to pick him up shortly.

I love my children, I really do but threenager is no joke (and Chase technically isn't 3 yet), and so I'm not going to lie that getting a bit of relief from the tantrums and attitude is really nice. I also love that I get to give Asher a little one on one time. I will be getting to take him to the baby storytime at the library also. That said I was beyond eager to go and pick him up and to hear how his day went. He was beaming when I walked into the classroom and proceeded to tell me snipits of his morning throughout the rest of our day. Some of the highlights:
- was holding his cup of water, moved it to his lap and then spilt it
- played with a boy named Finn
- he and Finn played with a dog on the road (playmat road not a real one) and it was sooo funny
- played on the dinosaur outside on the playground
- read a book about a school bus

I love getting to have conversation with Chase. His speech has always been his strength and it's amazing the things he comes out with and how much detail he puts into his sentences. I am so excited for Chase. He is a smart little boy and I think he is going to do great at preschool. He is a kind boy and I know he will make a lot of friends. Yay for preschool being a hit.

Asher James: Eleven Months

I am seriously about to start shedding a few tears that we only have one more month left until our Asher turns 1 year old! Time has flown by but at the same time seems like forever ago since he was a little newborn that could barely hold his head up. He is now into EVERYTHING and is our daredevil for sure. He is a huge love bug though and we eat that up.

 

Stats: We don't have an official weigh in/doctors appointment until he turns 1 but I'm guessing he is just over 26lbs and around 31 inches long. He is wearing all 18 month clothing at this point and by fall will be in 24 months.

Sleep: Things seem to be getting better with his sleep (minus when we were in England but we slept in 3 different places and were on a different time zone so I'll cut him some slack ). I do still rock him to sleep but he has been sleeping through the night until 7/8am ish and then has his morning bottle. It has been glorious not getting any middle of the night wake up calls.

Social: I think the separation anxiety has come to an end..woohoo! We met so many new people while we were in England and after about 5 mins of being around them he acted like they had been friends forever. His and Chase's relationship is adorable to watch. Asher wants to do everything that Chase does, hence our little daredevil. Chase has really been acting like the big brother lately, watching out for Asher and giving him hugs and kisses willingly, it makes my heart melt.

Diet: I have no idea what is going on with Asher and eating. One day he eats everything in sight and the next he takes a taste of something he has always loved and spits it out with a look of disgust on his face.

 

Skills/Milestones: Sooo many changes have happened this week, I can't keep track. He is no pulling up on everything and anything. His favorite thing to pull up on is the train table, and it is the sweetest thing ever to watch Chase and him play together. Cruising the furniture is something he has mastered. He has managed to climb a few steps but it's not his major goal. Finally, he has decided it is time to roll, in both directions! Most babies do this waaaay earlier on but apparently Asher has his own schedule. He is saying, "what's this" & "what's that" while pointing to things. It blows our mind that he is saying that already. While in England he cut 2 tooth (giving him a total of 4), one of which was on the flight back home).

Favorites: Mummy, Daddy, Chase, play food, train table, paci, books, water table.


The Prendergast's Take England: Week 2 Swad

The second part of our trip was back to my hometown of Swad. James left us to head back home, and as much as I didn't want us to be separated, I wanted the boys to see where I grew up and most importantly spend more time with my Mum and Stepdad.

We were go-go-go while we were down in Devon and London and any type of schedule for the boys went out of the window. For those reasons we decided to just take it easy for the second week and do a few things locally. The weather was still really nice so we got to do a bunch of things outside including; going to the marina and feeding the ducks, spending the day at Markeaton Park (playground and huge wading pool), and did a little shopping. Of course we continued on our food binge!

The best part about being back home was getting to catch up with family and some of my oldest friends. My brother Steven and his girlfriend had a little girl back in March so I was beyond excited to get to meet little Miss Darcey, she is adorable and getting to see her everyday was great. She was mesmerized with the boys and it's hard to imagine that the next time we see her she will be running around all over. I got a night out with my two oldest friends on the planet, Becky and Ashley, thanks to Mum and Paul as they watched the boys. It was so nice catching up over a few (many) glasses of wine. It's amazing that we can go years without seeing each other, or really talking, yet when we are back together it's like we haven't missed a beat. Hopefully they will come pay us a visit in America one day :)

As much as America is home now it is always hard to leave where you grew up and family of course. We really did have the best time though and some amazing memories have been made and the boys have gotten to know and love their grandparents even more than the last time they saw them.

The Prendergast's Take England: Week 1 London

When we decided to go to England, the one request James had was to go to London and so to London we went. We weren't able to spend too much time there this trip, but we absolutely want to do some more exploring there when we head over next time.

Even though I grew up in England I had only gone to London a couple of times and I was young so I don't remember too much, so I was just as excited as James to go and explore the city. We decided to take a bus tour of the entire city and you could get on and off at different attractions and spots. It really is a great way to see what London has to offer and what you would really like to see while there.

The tour was excellent. We didn't get off at too many stops with having the boys and strollers and diaper bags but we really enjoyed it. We did get off at Buckingham Palace, because you can't go to London and not go and see the Queen. She was in residence but we didn't get to say hi to her..lol. The other stop we hopped off of the bus for was the London Eye. There was a ton of attractions along the South Bank (aquarium, the dungeons, river cruises) that we certainly want to do in the future. We purchases tickets for the London Eye and even though the boys were extremely cranky (aka needing naps) the entire ride, seeing the London skyline was awesome. It was something else to see the old architecture mixed with the modern.

We decided to stay mid-way between the center city of London and Heathrow (James flew out the following day) so we took the underground into the city and back to the hotel. Of course this was the highlight of the day for Chase, along with riding an open top double decker bus. Transportation is his thing at the moment.

It just so happened to be James and I 5th wedding anniversary while in London. Never did I think we could get to celebrate an anniversary in my homeland. Hands down best anniversary yet; we got to spend the day with our two favorite little guys, family and fell in love with London.

The Prendergast's Take England: Week 1 Devon

We had been debating over the past year whether we should go to England this year or in 2016 and due to circumstances with family members we decided to pull the trigger and head over there this year. No matter how old you are, it always feels good to go home and although we have only been back in the States for a week it feels like a lifetime. We had such an incredible time seeing different parts of England, showing the boys where I'm from and most importantly spending time with those we love the most.

The boys and I spent two weeks in England and unfortunately James had to head home after the first week due to work. We spent the first week down in Devon with Grandma and Granddad Banfield, and slipped in a couple of days in London. The second week, the boys and I headed up home to Swad.

This was the boys first time flying, obviously Asher had no clue to any of it but Chase was beyond excited to get on the plane and head up to the clouds. I wish I could say our travel there went smoothly but it was anything but that. Our original flight was cancelled but we were put on a flight that same day just in the morning, fine no problem. Except it wasn't, it make a long story short our flight was delayed a total of 12 hours and then when we landed at Heathrow the boys and my luggage was missing. I have to say the boys did amazing. Poor Chase missed take off as he had been up so early that morning that he just couldn't hang and fell asleep while sitting on the plane waiting to leave. Asher fell asleep about an hour into the flight and stayed that way until the last hour. Thankfully Chase was awake for landing and thought it was the coolest thing ever, so much so that as soon as we touched down he yelled, "lets do that again!"

My Mum had rented us a cottage about 10 mins from Grandma and Granddads house for us all in Exmouth, Devon. The weather was excellent while we were there and we got to get out and see all Exmouth has to offer. We spent an afternoon on the beach playing in the rock pools. We had an awesome day at Country Life Park. We took a train tour of Exmouth, which of course Chase was all for. We visited a couple of seaside towns (Dorlish and Teignmouth). Took a trip to the zoo. Lastly we ate a ton of yummy food as it would be a crime to go all that way and not over indulge on chippy, carveries and English sweets.

One story that I have to share (sorry Paul) involves Chase and cows. The place we stayed was a 2 bedroom so James and I had Asher with us and Mum and Paul has Chase in with them. Each morning, when asked how he slept Chase would respond with, "there were cows in my room". We couldn't figure out what he was talking about, there wasn't any cow art work in the room or on his Thomas bedding. We were perplexed and figured he kept having dreams about cows! While discussing this one day somebody suggested maybe it's Granddad (Paul) snoring. We made the sound and asked Chase if that was the noise he was hearing. To which he replied, "yes, that's the cow!" We all lost it for a good 15 minutes. We all knew Paul was a loud snorer but that's a whole new level.

We made so many precious memories the week we spent in Devon. I was so happy that the boys got to meet their great-grandparents and vice versa. It was lovely for us to spend time with my grandparents and finally visit where they have been living for quite some time. Of course having James to ourselves for a full week (meaning, no work) takes the cake!