Asher Man

Asher has grown and changed so much over the last year. It seemed that when we were with other people, he used to be content to hanging out in Riley's shadow. She was the one that would say hello to strangers, and he would look at them with a shy smile. When asked questions like how old he was, he would gladly let her answer for him. I wouldn't say those days are completely behind him. Just today someone said hi to Riley and then asked Asher his name. He stood there quietly while she answered.

But we have seen huge improvements. He has made a new friend in his tumbling class, and will occasionally strike up conversations with adults while we're waiting in checkout lines. Also, we've had reports from his teacher at church that he doesn't seem a bit shy in her class. Hooray!

At his four-year checkup, we learned that Asher is in the 12th percentile for weight and 15th for height. He has quite an imagination, and will play by himself with his action figures and cars for quite a long time. He told me today that his favorite foods are macaroni & cheese and green beans. In fact, he asked me if he can be in charge of planting the green beans in our garden this spring. Asher has a few pairs of inexpensive stretchy mittens that he often wears around the house. And he will not play any type of ball until he has them on, as he insists they help him catch better, just like the real football players. He enjoyed watching football with Dad during the season, and can't get enough of Wild Kratts and Angry Birds. I'm pretty strict about TV and iPod time, but that doesn't stop him from asking for it...frequently. Scot is a little more of a push-over, and it hasn't taken Asher long to figure out that he'll probably have better results if he asks Dad.

Asher has started doing lessons in the same learn-to-read program that we used for teaching Riley. It's fun to see how excited he is when he finishes a difficult lesson, or reads a word that he started out thinking was too hard. But his real interest right now is numbers. Whenever he sees two or three digit numbers he'll ask me "what do 1 and 9 and 6 make?" He is good at adding and subtracting small numbers, and he's really close to being able to tell time on a digital clock. He loves counting for no particular purpose. Yesterday he was asking how old Scot and I were, as well as all our siblings. After each answer, he would start at one and count up to their age. That kept him occupied for quite a while. Asher loves his class at church, and often tells us how nice his teacher is. And he is VERY excited to start preschool in September.

He and Tyson are slowing learning how to work and play together, but Asher and Riley really get along well. Although that's really nothing new. We had a huge snowstorm last weekend, and when it was all over, had two foot drifts in some parts of the backyard. Asher and Riley would bundle up and play out there for an hour or two each day while Tyson napped. One day he was ready to come inside before Riley was, but she bribed him to stay out there until she was ready to come in too. I knew that some sort of deal took place, but I didn't know the details, so I asked about it at dinnertime. Asher explained to us that if he stayed outside with her, Riley promised that he could play with a particular doll of hers every day that week. As soon as he was done telling Scot and I what the deal was, he turned to Riley, pointed a finger at her, and told her, "You better write that down, Riley." Smart boy.