Asher Cade Turns 4

My how quickly 4 years flies by!  It is bittersweet, emphasis on the sweet.  We cannot believe how much Asher has changed and developed, this past year especially.  He used to be so shy, and even a little bit clingy.  He still loves his snuggles and stays close in certain situations, but overall he has become pretty outgoing.  Just the other day we were at a neighborhood function, and two girls who are a few years older than him came over to peek at Hope.  Asher walked right up to them and said "Hey!  Wanna come play?"  I was shocked, in a good way.  Never did I think at the age of 3 would he do that!  He is happy to see family and friends, and talks to them and hugs them easily, something he didn't used to do.  He even talked to a random guy at the beach the other day (to my dismay- I was not in the mood to make small talk, we will work on stranger etiquette haha).
We think he is pretty smart :P and love all the quips he comes up with.  He is inquisitive and generally listens to the answers given to his questions.  He asked me a few weeks ago why God lets tropical storms happen!
One day I asked him to help me bake brownies.  He said "Can I be your assistant Mommy?  Assistants are for people who can't do it right."  I laughed really hard.
Asher is also be very loving.  He adores his new baby sister, and loves to sing to her when she cries (though sometimes he yells "Mommy!  I can't hear my show because baby Hope is crying too loud!"), and also likes to hold her.  He does occasionally say he wishes he had a brother, but I just tell him God decided for us and He decided we needed a girl.  He and Hannah are two peas in a pod!  They play together really well.
He is very sincere in his affections, though you sometimes have to work for them.  For his birthday this weekend we rented a bounce house.  It was delivered on Friday and as he was bouncing all over, he suddenly stopped, came over to me, gave me a big hug and said "Fank you Mommy for buying this for me."  He loves playing tball and loves even more that Daddy is his coach.  If you ask him what he loves most about t-ball he immediately says "Daddy Coach!"
He is very into bringing me gifts in the afternoon (when he's happy with me), for "being a great mommy."  His gifts consist of toys from the play room put into a bag or box.  It's very sweet.  The other night at dinner he said "Mommy when I'm done eating I'm going to make you a letter because you are my best friend and you had that baby and we love her forever."  He truly loves his sisters!  When he and Hannah get to see each other at school on the  playround, I get a report from his teachers.  They tell me Hannah and Asher run up to each other and hug each other more than once, they are so happy to see the other.  When I pick Asher up first from his class he immediately says "Let's go get Hannah!"
Asher loves all things baseball, enjoys playing football, loves Paw Patrol, Curious George, playing board games, dinosaurs and doing artsy things.  He likes painting (loves to paint with Daddy), coloring, stamping, and his new mailbox that he got for his birthday.
Asher wears size 4T clothes, and size 10 shoes, though he prefers to only wear his undies when he's in the comfort of his own home.
He is a pretty good eater as well.  He loves chicken nuggets, green beans, peas, corn, and edamame.  He also likes mac n cheese, Publix meatballs, quesadillas, guacamole, chips, gummy candy, apples, grapes, strawberries and blueberries.  He is picky about food not looking "funny" which I can understand because I am the same way!  He will even eat lettuce on occasion.  His newest food adventure is shrimp!  Loves it!  He also likes fish.
Asher can write his name and is working on writing his numbers, all of which is self motivated!  I offer help when he wants it, but don't force him to do any "school" at home.
One of his most favorite things to do is to help Daddy, and go on errands with Daddy.  They go up in the attic together, go to Lowe's, get ICEE's together, do yard work together and hunt for worms together.  He calls Jayme his "best buddy."  Melts my heart!  His other self proclaimed best buddies are his cousins Caleb and Nicholas, and his pal Parker, who unfortunately moved to Boston, but we get to see them around Thanksgiving!!
He loves fishing with Daddy and Papa as well, and asks often when the next time is that he can go to Port Orange.
I could go on and on and on!  Asher is a huge blessing to us, and though he's not perfect (he can be moody, and if I do something he doesn't like he will pout and tell me I hurt his feelings), we think he's pretty great.  He definitely keeps us on our toes, and makes me think before I speak!  His personality is a lot like his Daddy, so now I have two guys with strong opinions and strong hugs :).  I am one blessed Mommy and cannot wait to see what the future holds for this "big" four year old of ours.

Birth Pics

One Year!

 2nd Bday!

Asher is 3!

Our Grown Up 4 Year Old!