Asher turns 1 tomorrow; Ella practices skills that will eventually aid her in her quest for world domination; and Better than State Farm.

As I was holding Asher this evening, getting ready to put him to bed, I started to feel a bit tender because this is his last night of being a baby. Tomorrow he turns 1. In a lot of ways, I feel like I squandered that time away. I didn't make the most of that year that will never ever happen again with him. I tried to get one last pre-1 picture of him. I tried to capture the sweet, content little baby boy who sleeps well and is generally quiet and just happy to be around. Instead, I got this photo:

Ella helped me make Asher's birthday cake tonight. It was funny to see her reaction to the idea that the reason for a special celebration might be someone or something other than her.

Ella: Mom, can I eat the part of the cake that says Happy Birthday, Asher?

Me: Sure. He probably won't let you next year, but this year he won't know, so sure.

Ella: OK.

Later-

Ella: Mom, when you sing Happy Birthday, can you say my name, too?

Me: No, sweetheart. It's Asher's birthday tomorrow, not yours. So, we'll just sing "Happy Birthday to Asher". It's Asher's special day tomorrow.

Ella: I know it's not my birthday tomorrow, but can it be my special day, too?

Me: Well, tomorrow is a day where we are going to pay special attention to Asher to celebrate that he is in our family.

Ella: OK.

Later-

Ella: Mom, when you take pictures of Asher tomorrow, can I be in the picture standing beside him?

Me: Sure. There will be some pictures of you with Asher. There might also be some pictures of just Asher with his cake.

Ella: OK, but can there be some pictures of just me, too?

Me: Sure, Ella.

I can just picture her trying to implement her plan for taking over the day piece by piece.

And in other news:

THIS WOMAN deserves the awesomest neighbor ever award. Their family came over as part of our impromptu wild party this weekend and with 9 kids running around our house, you can imagine that things weren't exactly pristine when the night was over. But that's part of having people over and I was TOTALLY fine with it. BUT, Darci who lives next door and has a key to our house, actually came over while I was at work and VACUUMED downstairs AND upstairs. I couldn't believe it. What a nice woman. I felt like it was Christmas and I had just received the most thoughtful gift.