Mark...

Mark doesn’t know I am writing this...so let me start out by saying hi Mark:)...you can “pretend” like you are mad later. We all know by now that you really don’t know how to get mad...reason number 654 why I love you so much.

Anyway. Back to the matter at hand.

My friend, Bradie and I are in charge of the “Father’s day festivities” at our church this year, so I have been doing a lot of thinking about Father’s day and how Asher just might be the luckiest little boy in the world to have such a great daddy. (I can only say this because I, Allyson (Ballinger) Thompson, really had the best dad ever, but I am not a little boy, so I don’t fall into the same category...sorry to all you other people who think that you might have had the best dad...it’s not true, it was me, but that is for another time and another blog. Love you, Daddy aka T. Mark!)

From day one, Asher and Mark have had a special little bond. To put it mildly, Asher adores his dad. All Mark has to do is walk in the room and Asher lights up. Anyone who has been around the two of them for about 5 minutes can attest to this phenomenon. In his 4 short months of life, Asher has already realized that he has it pretty darn good. Mark genuinely enjoys doing all the dirty work. He likes to change Asher’s diaper. He likes to calm Asher down in the middle of the night. He likes to make Asher a bottle. He likes to pick the nasty gunk out of Asher’s right eye in the morning. He likes being a dad, correction, he LOVES being a dad. In fact, I am beginning to think that is exactly what he was created to do. So, this post is dedicated to my husband, the best daddy my Asher could have asked for. (Asher, you can thank me later for my excellent picking skills...)Mark, watching you love Asher has been one of the biggest blessings of my life. I am looking forward to the man that our little boy will one day become because of the example that he has in you.
Enjoy some pictures of the fantastic duo!








The lucky wife and mommy,
Allyson

4 months

Here we go again...winning the blog slackers of the year award. Oh wait, Jeremy and Tera already won that one, we forgot:)
Since we have last updated we have been on the go! Asher is quickly getting a taste of living the life of youth ministry. About 3 weeks ago, we headed up to Olivet Nazarene University for Regional Celebrate Life. We loaded up the van at 6:00 am with 5 students and made the 4 1/2 hour trek. As you can see, it was a little early for some of our kids...

Asher, however, did great!

He enjoyed a bottle while we stopped to get the kids some breakfast and had a quick diaper change on another stop. While we were at Olivet, Asher enjoyed watching volleyball and basketball and listening to our girls sing.

After 2 full days of running, Asher started to wear out. First he got a little silly...
Then, he started to tire...

Then, he finally gave up.

All in all, it was a great weekend and we had a great time watching the kids use their talents!
Last weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Ballinger came back into town to get their Asher fix. We had a fun, relaxing weekend full of snuggles and giggles.


Today we took Asher for his 4 month check-up. Everything was great! Heart sounded perfect and he is developing wonderfully. He weighed 14 pounds and 5 ounces and was 27 1/2 inches long. 27th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for length. That's right, long skinny boy. Tell us something we don't know. Wonder where he gets that from?:) The doctor wasn't concerned. She took one look at Mark and said that it was just genetics:) We are starting cereal tonight which should be fun! That should help him put on some pounds.
This afternoon, I caught some great smiles that I wanted to share with you...never get tired of those eyes:)
That's all for now. Looking forward to finishing school next week and our travels to Georgia and Ohio next month!
Love,

The Thompson clan

Giggles

The littlest things bring us so much joy these days. Anytime Asher gets to giggling, he makes our day! Enjoy!

Notice the eye-brow lift at the end of the video...subtle yet classic.

Hope this made you smile!
Thompson crew

The many faces of Asher...

How did Mark and I entertain ourselves before Asher? Who knows?!?!...We only know that now life is nice and entertaining. Bath-time is one of our favorite times with Asher for a couple of reasons. #1 He is most always a happy camper in the bath and a happy Asher makes a very happy Mommy and Daddy. #2 We get to play with his crazy hair and snap funny pictures of him that will be embarrassing when he is 16. This week, every time we did this he looked like a famous person or character and it just cracked us up. Please enjoy the following non-intentional impersonations by our very talented son, Asher:)

#1 This could go two ways. Either David Beckham with the "faux-hawk" or a munchkin from "The Wizard of Oz" with that silly smirk.#2 If this towel was red he would totally be "Little Red Riding Hood"#3 Mother Teresa...this one cracks us up every time.The last two pictures are just too cute and have nothing to do with bath-time.

Pretty blue eyes...Our little charmer...Love,
Mark, Allyson, and the funny guy

1?

1 post for the whole month of March???...and you can't even count that one as a real post. Pitiful. To say we have been busy would be an understatement. We are going to try our best to catch up the next couple of weeks. No promises! We have a ton of pictures and some video from the past few weeks. The last couple of weeks have been filled with Asher's dedication, lots of family visiting, dirty diapers, Wii-playing, many Asher firsts (basketball game, high school play, trip to Ohio, sitting in the bumbo seat, to name a few), Easter weekend, and some other things in between. Asher is smiling often lately. He has even sneaked in a chuckle or two. We cannot wait for him to cut loose and let a good laugh rip! It will be soon.

To wet your appetite (maybe), here is a video clip of the coolest nephews in the world. The whole Arizona crew visited in early March for almost a whole week and we had a great time! The boys (maybe mom and dad too) are huge Michael Jackson fans. They really enjoy his dancing. So, enjoy some Jackson classics with some good interpretations of the dance moves. We thought they were quite entertaining! You will also see Caleb singing a duet with Pop-Pop...a song Pop-Pop taught him awhile back. And the video ends with Cully cutting a rug to a little Beyonce.



We think one of the greatest moments is when Cully has had enough of the dancing and decides to plop himself in Asher's bouncy chair. Classic. Check it out towards the end of Thriller.

Much love,
Mark, Allyson & the little guy