Time flies when you're having fun

I feel like the days and weeks and months are flying by. Is it because I'm older now? Time was slower when I was a kid, with endless hours of school work, due dates for papers and exams in college, and long work days that never seemed to move toward the weekend.

But now I feel like I'm at church on Sunday and then I blink and it's Sunday again, another week gone. I see the time passing in the seasons, I see it passing in our school progress, and most of all I see it in my children.

Just look at these two! Asher is getting more mature by the day, and Asa is leaving behind many of his baby things. For instance, he now prefers sitting in a booster seat at the table to his high chair. And today I bought diapers for the last time (we're potty-training next week!). Where have my babies gone?

Of course I realize the goal of raising children is for them to eventually grow up, so I'm thankful for the ways they're growing and maturing. I love watching them grasp new ideas and learn new skills. For instance, we have recently made a major breakthrough in regard to Asher's reading. The breakthrough is that he's finally realized reading is fun.

This has been him pretty much the entire day except for when we were doing school. I can't even begin to describe how happy I am that he's finally reading for pleasure! And I have my husband to thank for that. It turns out I've been giving Asher books to read that are too easy and bored him. He reads well above grade level, but I've been giving him easy-ish books in order to prevent frustration since he reads them on his own without me there, such as The Magic Tree House series. They're fun stories,  but Asher only reads them when I make him, and he finishes them quickly. I got constant complaining every day when it was time to read. I didn't understand why. We had done everything we were supposed to do - I read to him constantly ever since he was a baby, Matt and I are readers, and Asher has seen us reading for pleasure often. Asher can read well, so I knew it wasn't that he was having trouble reading the words or comprehending. He simply didn't enjoy it until now.

Matt downloaded the first Percy Jackson book, and Asher is devouring it. He has read it for hours today. Literally hours.

I don't know why I didn't ask for Matt's help in choosing books for Asher in the first place. After all, I have never been a 7-year old boy. Matt, on the other hand, remembers books he enjoyed at that age, and it turns out Asher shares many of the same interests. The reading thing has been bothering me for some time, and it's such a relief to see Asher reading for his own enjoyment. 

Asa continues to bring so much joy to our home. He is a parrot and mimics everything, including the way his brother poses for photos:

A few other sweet things about Asa that I want to remember years from now:

• He gives a running commentary on any trucks he sees while we're driving. He gets especially excited when he sees a "cool bus" (school bus).
• When he spots a church, he calls it a castle (I guess the steeples remind him of towers?)
• Today we were behind a garbage truck on our way to Romp N' Roll. We got to a stop sign, and the truck turned left ahead of us while we stopped. Asa, from the backseat, called out, "Get him! Get him!"
• We have a brand new rug in our front sitting room. Every morning he calls me to come into the room to jump on the carpet with him.
• His favorite things to watch on YouTube are videos entitled "Oh Hai" and "Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom."