Neener Neener

He's Almost Four, You know

2011-10-28T17:44:00.000-04:00

Asher turns four in just two short months. So hard to believe. I mean, just look at this big boy!

He's fully potty trained. And our POOPIES! issues appear to be finally fading away. (Finally!)

Unfortunately, he's still a terrible eater. He seems to be getting worse in that respect! I think he does it just to drive me crazy. He derives a certain pleasure in watching me weep when I'm unable to convince him that homemade chicken tenders are the same as the ones you get at a restaurant.

He's the world's best big brother, though, which more than makes up for the pickiness at dinnertime. True, he does get very upset when Henry snatches a toy away from him or bites him. Many screams have been shouted for Mommy or Daddy when this happens, but he never retaliates, which has completely shocked me. He watches out for his baby brother in the sweetest ways. Henry gets hurt and Asher kisses his boo boo. He yells at Henry to stay out of the street and takes his hand to guide him to safety. And if I get upset with Henry, Asher reminds me that Henry doesn't understand because he's just a baby.

I just adore my little Asher Bug who is getting to be less and less little.

18 Months With Mr. Pickles

2011-10-25T22:59:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, we finally celebrated Henry's birthday. He had only turned one in April - we were just a mere six months late in celebrating. Because Aunt Carolyn's wedding was on his birthday, and the sorrow from Suzanne's recent tragic death was still fresh, we just didn't feel up to celebrating. Once April passed, I really didn't know when would be the appropriate time for a belated birthday party, if at all. When Mom said she wanted to have a Halloween party, I realized that coincided with him turning a year and a half, so - voila - it was decided we would have a Halloween themed birthday party for him. Unfortunately, I was running around like a mad woman the whole day, so I didn't get any pictures taken myself, and only have a handful that my cousin, Kiley, was nice enough to take. Oh well. At least I don't have the guilt of no first birthday party looming over my head anymore.

Henry has been the busiest little boy I've ever known, as well as the most adventurous. He is not afraid to get dirty. Animals do not scare him. Heights and climbing don't phase him one bit. Getting hurt is no big deal. He is still afraid of the vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, and pretty much anything else that makes really loud noises, though, which is funny because he's pretty darn loud himself.

One of my favorite things about Henry is his wonderful appetite. After having a chronic picky eater on my hands for the past three years - really, I have two if you count Stephen - it's an absolute joy to have a child who will EAT! While Asher's list of what he'll eat continues to dwindle, Henry's grows. One of his favorite foods is peas - he can't get enough of them - and he'll try things like Brussels Sprouts, meatloaf, and V8 without throwing a fit. If he doesn't like it, he'll spit it out, but no screaming, no tantrums, and no pleading from us to get him to try something. Words cannot describe the relief we feel - for the most part, we don't have to make special foods for him at dinnertime and if we go someplace else to eat, chances are very good he will go with the flow and eat whatever we give him.

Henry's personality is really starting to blossom, too. His sense of humor is budding. He gives kisses and loves reading books together. He is rough and tough, but takes time for snuggling a few times a day. He likes to have his feet tickled and rubs our hands on his face when he's tired. He shares his big brother's love of trains and cars. Dancing to Yo Gabba Gabba and singing along to Thomas songs are a couple of his favorite pastimes.

It's the beginning of the end of babyhood for Mr. Pickles. His speech is becoming less foreign to us - we can now hear him say "cat," "dog," "car," "truck," "train," etc., as well as "Mom," "Dad," and "Ash." He is following instruction better and better; in fact, before I took the pictures directly above and below, I asked him to sit by the tree and stand by the wall - much to my surprise, he did! So, he definitely is understanding us better, too - which obviously makes life a teensy bit easier.

I catch myself often thinking back to two years ago when Asher was Henry's age. It completely amazes me how much Asher changed between 18 months and two years. I know Henry is going to sprout just as quickly over the next six months and will be a "big" boy before I know it. I intend to relish the last few days of his baby-ness as much as I can!

Here are some pictures taken so far from the month of October. I'll add to them as more are taken.

Fun Things to Think About Before Bed

2011-09-19T00:49:00.000-04:00

It's past midnight and I really should be getting my beauty sleep in preparation for my favorite time of the week - Monday morning, of course - but no. Instead I'm being my usual weirdo self and am lying here thinking up horrible scenarios that could happen at any given moment. I won't talk about my specific morbid thoughts or fears, though - too disturbing. I will say that many of my fears revolve around my kids nowadays and, to me, this is the worst thing about parenthood.

It's amazing the amount of love you have for your kids. I never ever could imagine the depth of love a parent has until I had children of my own; people talk about it, but you just can't fathom it until it's yours. I mean, all I have to do is look at my kids and my heart skips a beat. Yeah, this love is great and all that, but you know what comes with love - insane amounts of WORRY. And here it is, keeping me up, reminding me of all I could lose if *gulp* something were to happen to either of them. Or BOTH of them! Oh you think NO WAY could something that horrible happen to someone but then you read an article about a woman losing all three of her children thanks to the driver of the car going the wrong way down the highway. Like really - how do such bad things happen? How do you survive that kind of grief?

Sometimes I think I love my kids too much. Maybe I'm obssessed? Or do all parents go through this agony of worrying? Is there a way to outlet these anxieties, or am I just going to have to bubblewrap my children? Thoughts would be great. I feel like I'm going a little nutty!

Asher & His Lesson

2011-09-16T18:25:00.001-04:00

I am sitting outside the room where Asher is having his piano/violin lesson. He doesn't seem to mind anything that Mr. Sabatino instructs him to do. It's so frustrating to see him, more or less, ignore what he's told to do. I just would like to go in there and grab him by the arm and tell him to pay attention.

But actually, he is paying attention. He is picking up on the things that are told and shown to him. He knows all the parts of the violin, how to hold the bow, and the correct way to bow the bow across the strings. And now he knows where middle C is and two songs. His lack of paying attention during practice and his lessons was/is so frustrating. But I just need to "sack up" and be more patient. He's obviously picking up on something.

Big Baby = Big Clothes

2011-01-22T11:53:00.006-05:00

I recently made a comment on Twitter about Henry wearing clothes that Asher just wore last Winter and Spring.

Remember this picture of Asher from last January?

Henry is wearing that article of clothing (size 24 months) today.

My nine-month old is the size of a two-year old.

The Past Month

2011-01-11T20:35:00.013-05:00

It's been busy (as usual) around here, and I've been terrible at keeping up with my blog (as usual). Just a little recap of the past month...(Has it really been a month since Christmas?!)

We stayed home for Christmas this year. Most years we end up at my mom's house, so it was hard breaking that tradition, but keeping the boys at home so they could open their presents from Santa at a leisurely pace and play with them all day seemed like the right thing to do. Luckily, I didn't have to spend Christmas away from my mom, though; she and Bob came to us! The boys didn't finish opening all their gifts until the evening after Christmas due to a combination of Santa's generosity, a baby who could care less, and a toddler with the attention span of, well, a toddler. So, it turned out to be a good thing that we didn't go with the plan of going to Mom's after opening presents. We would have been two days late!

The day after New Year's, Asher turned a whopping THREE YEARS OLD! We had a low-key celebration with family. We spent the afternoon at The Children's Museum with NeeNee and PaPa. Grandfather, Marmie, Uncle Adam and Cathy joined us afterward for cake and presents.

(Asher requested a Thomas cake again this year. Unfortunately, the bakeries at the grocery stores only have one Thomas design, so he got the same cake as last year. Fortunately, he is very easy to please and was even more enthusiastic about the cake this year than last.)

Henry has been a busy little baby now that he has the ability to crawl wherever he wants. His favorite destination seems to be Asher's room; more specifically, Asher's train table. Things are easier in a way now that he's crawling because that means he's better able to keep himself entertained. In another way, things are harder because we really have to watch him every second to make sure he's not getting into something he's not supposed to. It's been a challenge trying to get Asher to understand that he can't leave small toys out where Henry can reach them. He either doesn't comprehend the dangers of choking, or he has a dark wish for his brother.

(We can blame the lack of blog posts on Henry's new skill, too. Chasing a baby around takes up a lot more time than one would think.)

Go, Mr. Pickles, Go!

2010-12-13T22:01:00.003-05:00

Henry is SO close to crawling, he can taste it! Look at this little booger, all in a perfect crawling stance. But then - doh! - he starts bouncing his butt and slides himself backwards. He rolls and scoots himself really well now - he just hasn't quite figured out the whole direction thing, yet. It's only going to be a matter of time and I'll be struggling to keep him in the same room with me.

He's also able to get into a sitting position on his own now. Stephen said yesterday after Henry did this, "Hey! When did he start doing that?" Like a good, caring mother, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "I dunno. Huh. I guess that is new. Must have just started doing it. I guess." You mean he didn't come out of the womb sitting up on his own? How quickly I forget.

Cat Puke & Glitter

2010-12-10T13:52:00.003-05:00

I love decorating for Christmas. The tree, the lights, the sparkly ornaments - nothing makes me feel more festive and all around warm and fuzzy. However, there is a pretty big downside to having the decorations out - THE CLEANUP. No, I'm not talking about after Christmas when it's time to put everything away (although that isn't on my list of favorite tasks to perform, either). I'm talking about the little tree needles that I'm still vacuuming up in mid-July - and we don't even get real trees! The decorations that I have to continuously put back in proper order - see Exhibit A, the picture I took of the nativity scene in which Asher has gathered everyone EXCEPT the lonely baby Jesus (back in the barn) outside for a gathering. (It also appears that the angel has had a little too much eggnog and is passed out on the ground.) We have an infinite amount of kitty tree needle throw-up. Then there's unique instances of cleanup that you wouldn't even think of - like Exhibit B, where Asher managed to get glitter not only all over his hands, but also all over his mouth like a sparkly goatee. I still haven't figured out what he was doing with the ornaments to get so much glitter on his mouth, but maybe it's best I don't know.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Come to think of it, maybe I won't be so upset when it's time to do the big cleanup of putting everything away for the year.

New Skills

2010-12-04T22:11:00.002-05:00

Henry is this close to getting into a sitting position on his own and pulling himself up into a standing position. Earlier this week, Stephen went into Henry's room to rescue him from his crib after his nap and found him sitting on his knees. Guess we better lower the mattress in his crib before he perfects his ability to pull himself up completely.

Christmas Bonding

2010-12-03T22:01:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season is to put on some sweats, make a cup of hot chocolate, light some candles, plug in the Christmas tree, pop in a Christmas movie, stretch out on the sofa, and just bask in the coziness. With babies, however, this simple luxury of doing nothing is next to impossible, let alone be lazy AND enjoy it. The past couple of years, I've kind of had to let my Christmas movies collect dust because Asher hasn't had any desire in sitting still or doing anything close to relaxing. Bah humbug.

Well, we're still in that same boat to a degree with Henry, but Asher is beginning to enjoy movies and the art of lounging. On more than a few occasions, he's been very content to lie in bed with me and watch Sprout and words cannot describe how much I relish those moments. I love being a parent, don't get me wrong, but much of parenting does not revolve around actually enjoying your child's company. I don't know about anyone else's opinion, but I'm really not the biggest fan of dealing with temper tantrums or cleaning up the endless trail of messes that my children leave behind. Or changing dirty diapers or stressing about eating habits. I think a large reason why I am thrilled to just sit and stare at a TV screen with my child is because during this time he is quiet, peaceful, and snuggly. I can kiss the top of his head as many times as I want and he's too entranced to even notice, let alone brush me off. With the TV on, I can just hold him and enjoy his presence.

Anyway, I'm stoked that he is showing more interests in movies especially now that the Christmas season is here because now maybe I can enjoy some of my favorite holiday movies with him! The one movie he really loved last year was "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and a couple of months ago, he decided he wanted to start watching it again. I love this program, but after watching it almost every night for the past month at Asher's request, I was ready for something different. We watched "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Shrek the Halls" the other night, and although Asher sat and watched most of them, when they were over, he was ready for them to be over. When I asked him the next night if he wanted to watch them again, he said no because we watched them already. And then he begged to watch Charlie Brown. AGAIN. For the millionth time. (The logic of a two-year old cannot be explained.)

Personally, when I watched "Polar Express" a few years ago, I thought it was a little creepy and weird. However, I was excited to see that it was on TV tonight because I thought a movie about both a train and Christmas would have to be loved by Asher. Luckily, I was right. He remained glued to the TV during the entire two hours, became upset when commercials interrupted the movie, and randomly informed me throughout the movie that he liked the movie. I knew it was a winner when it was over and I told him that I'd recorded it in case he wants to watch it later on and he then started whining that, yes, he wants to watch it again. NOW. And, this time around, I enjoyed the movie so much more. Of course, I think part of that may be because I spent half of the time watching him watch the movie. The movie has a few suspenseful moments, which Asher is completely unaccustomed to - I've never caught myself biting my nails during an action-packed scene of Blue's Clues - so it was funny seeing his reaction when he was feeling tense. At one moment, he exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! That was CLOSE!"

With Asher's comprehension maturing, I'm so excited about Christmas approaching. Watching Christmas movies together is one of the many ways I hope we can celebrate my favorite time of the year.

Mr. Mouthy

2010-11-27T13:37:00.006-05:00

Asher is really on a roll today in driving his mother nuts. Defiance and stubbornness are set at maximum strength. Fortunately, during the part of the time when I'm not beating my head against the wall in frustration, I'm able to see the humor in some of his tirades.

Me: Asher, I'm going to go take a shower.
Asher: OK, Mommy. Can I splash you?
Me: No, not today. Mommy's in a hurry to get ready. Maybe tomorrow.
Asher: Come on, Mom. Cheer up. I splash you!
Me: Sweetie, maybe tomorrow, but today I need to take a quick shower.
Asher: NO TOMORROW! CHEER UP, MOM - I SPLASH YOU!

Asher: MOM! TRAINS! WATCH TRAINS!
Me: Asher, please be quiet. I'm giving Henry his bottle and he's trying to go to sleep -
Asher: NO HENRY BOTTLE NO SLEEP! TRAINS!
Me: Asher, you're being selfish -
Asher: I NOT A FISH!
Me: I didn't say you're a "fish," I said "selfish" - do you know what that means?
Asher: NO MOM I NOT A FISH! I NOT A FISH!

Me: Asher, it's time to change your diaper and get dressed!
Asher: No diaper change or get dressed - watching trains!
Me: You can watch trains after you get dressed.
Asher: No diaper change! OR! GET! DRESSED! MOOOOM! I busy! I have jobs to do! I watch trains, OKAAAAAAY?!

Me: Man, I am getting REALLY tired.
Asher: Tired, Mom?
Me: Yes, Mommy is tired. You boys really wear me out!
Asher: No tired, Mom! Not tired time, LUNCH time!

I am finally understanding what people meant when they said, "Just wait until they start talking!"

Unseasonably Warm Weather

2010-11-22T21:08:00.004-05:00

Today it was windy and gray outside, with a sprinkle of rain here and there. But, it was warm - 70 degrees - so no one was complaining! When I came home for lunch, I found two cutie patooties playing in the driveway, practicing their sweet driving skills.

A Little Less Hair, A Little More Teeth

2010-11-17T20:55:00.004-05:00

(1) I hate to say it, but my mother-in-law and my husband were right: Henry's baby locks had grown into a wild and crazy rattail. I mean, Henry is usually wearing more than just a diaper and doesn't drink Mountain Dew out of his bottle - he simply wasn't playing the part of white trash baby very well, no one was buying the act. So, I gave him his first haircut at bathtime, mainly just trimming up the back and sides. He was super squirmy, just like I thought he'd be, which is the reason I'd waited this long to cut it, but I managed not to pierce anyone's skin.

(2) Henry has still been pretty restless at night and cranky at times, and since his first tooth popped through a couple of weeks ago, I figured he probably had another in the works. (I remember with Asher they seemed to come in twos and threes.) Sure enough, this afternoon I felt another sharp little toofer poking out of his bottom jaw, right beside his first one. I hope he uses them for good (eating all his veggies) and not evil (biting his brother or eating my Oreos). Chomp chomp chomp!

Seven Months of Pickles

2010-11-12T21:21:00.007-05:00

Henry turned seven months old a few days ago. The closer he gets to the age of walking, the more excited I get! I feel so bad, but the kid really is almost too much for me to lug around anymore. We have a mirror at the end of our hallway, and the other night I was walking down it while carrying Henry. I caught a glimpse of myself with him in my arms and realized he is about half as long as I am - I really DO look ridiculous carrying him! He's exceeded the size limit of the Baby Bjorn, and we moved him to the larger car seat - so we no longer have the luxury of a baby carrier with a car seat base. He's able to sit on his own, so he can sit in a highchair or a cart, but he's not stable enough where he looks comfortable doing so for any period of time, so it's kind of tricky going shopping or to a restaurant. Poor little guy has just outgrown all of the helpful, comfy baby stuff too soon! He's getting pretty close to army crawling, though, and he keeps trying sit up on his own, so we're getting closer to independent mobility!

Henry loves to eat, so we know he's positively thrilled about sprouting his first tooth last week! Just a few more and he'll be chomping on steak in no time! We think more are in the works; this past week has been awful as far as sleeping goes.

My little big guy is so good at entertaining himself. It seemed like Asher would only last seconds when playing on his own (and sometimes that's STILL the case!), but Henry will often spend 20-30 minutes in his exersaucer or playing on the floor by himself before he starts getting fussy.

I think those are about all the updates in the Land of Pickles for now. I'm sure I'll have some more in the weeks to come...you know how babies are about constantly learning new tricks!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like THREE

2010-11-11T19:01:00.006-05:00

Not only have I been terrible about blogging, but I've been even more terrible about posting updates about Asher. You know, my firstborn - the one who, just over a year ago, had constant coverage on here. Then I went and got pregnant and basically fell off the face of the earth, taking Asher with me.

In just a couple of months, he'll be turning three. The first couple of years, I couldn't grasp how much he was growing and how quickly. Now, I'm reaching the point where it feels like he's been in my life forever and I'm thinking, three? Is that it? Seems like he's been around a lot longer than three short years...

I've heard from many that age three is worse than age two, and I'm starting to see where people might think that as we approach that age. We really didn't experience the "terrible two's" with Asher; for the most part, he's been a little sweetheart. Lately, however, my little sweetheart has been more stubborn, more loud, more rambunctious, more moody, less cuddly, more demanding and particular, and has been spending increasing amounts of time perfecting his sweet temper tantrum throwing skills.

Some of his outbursts are pretty funny and cute. Like, when he can't quite figure out how to tell me to leave him alone when I'm annoying him and points at me and tells me, "GO LOOK AT CARS, MOMMY!" Or, "I told you to BE QUIET!" Or, "I can't do that, Mommy - I BUSY!"

Some of his outbursts are downright frustrating and make me want to throw myself out a window. Like, when he refuses to brush his teeth many nights. What should take less than five minutes ends up taking fifteen to twenty. Or when he begs for something, you give it to him, and then you get, "NO, NOT THOMAS! WANT REGULAR THOMAS!" Or "regular" noodles, or "regular" juice, or "regular" yogurt...Not to mention, what he deems as "regular" seems to change on a daily basis. I had absolutely no clue that one of the requirements of being a parent was having the ability to read minds.

I have a feeling it's going to be a bumpy road to independence, which is to be expected. I just hope there will be more stories to tell of good than of bad.

Since Winter Is Obviously Right Around the Corner...

2010-11-05T13:12:00.005-04:00

I've had to wear my coat to work for the past week, it was sleeting on my way home at lunch, and the number of leaves on the ground is beginning to outnumber those on the trees.

Winter is coming!

Since the next round of pictures I take will probably involve snow, I thought I'd go ahead and post a few pictures I took last weekend of Henry playing in the leaves.

These are some of the good pictures. Most of the pictures, however, were of him eating leaves or trying to eat the pumpkin. And notice that Asher is not seen in these pictures. Asher was busy running around behind me like a busy little squirrel frantically searching for nuts. He has apparently decided that he will no longer participate in posed photos if it requires holding still or looking at the camera.

Maybe There Is a Slight Resemblance...

2010-11-01T22:06:00.005-04:00

Just about every single person we encounter swears up and down that Henry is a miniature version of Asher. In fact, this weekend, Mom and I were at Wal-Mart - she was pushing Asher in the cart, and I was carrying Henry in the Baby Bjorn - and a woman stopped and did a double take and said, "Twins?" Before we could answer, it obviously dawned on her that there was an age difference and she said, "Oh, I guess not!" It's funny so many people think they look so much alike, but I, the mom, haven't really felt that there was that strong of a resemblance.

But maybe I'm wrong.

I awoke around 3 a.m. Saturday morning. We were staying the weekend at my mom's, and Asher typically sleeps in bed with me, while Henry sleeps in the pack 'n' play. In my groggy state, I looked over at Asher and - wait - who put Henry in bed with me? Where was Asher? Feeling startled, I looked over in the pack 'n' play to find Henry sleeping soundly. I looked back at Henry in bed next to me, then back to Henry in the pack 'n' play. What the heck was going on?! How could Henry be in two places at the same time? What kind of Halloween trickery was being played on me?

Oh. Huh. That wasn't Henry in bed next to me. It was Asher. EERIE.

Then, last night, I was going through some pictures I took of the boys over the weekend, and found one in particular of Henry that reminded me of one of my favorite pictures of Asher from two years ago.

Asher, 2008:

Henry, 2010:

Yep, these boys are definitely brothers. Still not sure I totally agree with people when they say Henry is a replica of Asher, but they could never deny being related to one another. It's a good thing they're handsome boys - Henry should take it as a compliment that he resembles his big brother!

Dragon Brothers

2010-11-01T18:58:00.005-04:00

Last year after Halloween, when I was pregnant with Henry, Mom and I found this really cute horse costume at Cracker Barrel for next-to-nothing. Henry, of course, turned out to be really good at growing, so the horse costume was a good size-and-a-half too small for him. So, I found this cute dragon costume for him:

I had no idea what Asher should be, and when I'd ask him what he wanted to be, he'd just say, "Ummmmm....I unno." We took him costume shopping, but he seemed completely uninterested in everything there was. A monkey? "Ummmmm....sumpin' else!" How about an elephant? "Ummmm....sumpin' else!" A shark - a shark would be cool! "Ummmm.....hmmm......sumpin else?" He was no help. Even the Thomas the Tank Engine costume at Target didn't phase him. So Mom and I went to Old Navy and guess what they had there? A dragon costume! Not identical to Henry's, but a dragon nonetheless!

So we got home and asked him if he wanted to dress up like a dragon like Henry. Dragon brothers! Asher thought about this and then seemed pleased with the idea. For the past few weeks, when asked what he was going to be for Halloween, he'd say, "Dragon brothers with Henry!"

They were definitely the cutest pair of dragons I've ever seen in my entire life.

Mr. Pickles Turns Six Months

2010-10-20T19:30:00.008-04:00

Life has been pretty good for the most part here in Neenerland...just a little busy, to say the least. Who knew having two monkeys under the age of three would keep you so busy? And so crazy?

Henry had his sixth-month checkup with the doctor today. He's still a chart-topper, weighing in at almost 22 pounds (95th percentile) and just shy of 30 inches in length (above the 100th percentile). This might explain why my arms and back hurt so badly after having him in my arms for only a few minutes at a time! We've, thankfully, been given the green light to start feeding him soft table foods and juice because this child is CLEARLY malnourished and needs as many sources of caloric intake as possible! Oh, who are we kidding...I've been dying to sneak him spoonfuls of mashed potatoes at dinnertime for the past month, the doctor doesn't have to twist my arm! I mean, seriously - doesn't he look like someone who would love mashed potatoes?? Couldn't he be a model on a box of potato-flakes? Henry also had five shots and only whimpered a little - no crying! Asher even joined in the fun by getting a flu shot and was so brave that Daddy gave him a present as a reward. Daddy said Henry didn't need a reward because he doesn't know the difference, but don't worry, Henry - remember those mashed potatoes? Yes, your reward will come by the buttery spoonful!

Henry has lots of tricks up his sleeve, from sitting up unassisted to rolling wherever he wants to go to "inchworming" backwards. He loves bathtime now that he can sit up and splash and play with toys, but hates being "manhandled" when it's time to be toweled off and dressed. As I said, he's a big boy, fully into 12-month-sized clothes now and already wearing a few smaller fitting 18-month-sized items. I'm just hoping he won't catch up with Asher too quickly...although I guess I could just rotate the clothes between the two closets! Henry adores eating (Shocker? He is my son...) and pretty much likes everything except for green beans. He hasn't sprouted any teeth, yet, but I'm sure they'll be up before we know it - I can feel them charging through his bumpy little gums.

The boys are super sweet together and it warms my heart every time Asher gives Henry a big, unprompted hug or whenever Henry gazes at Asher with a huge, gummy smile. It's funny and a little remarkable to me when Asher wakes up from a nap and immediately asks to see Baby Brother or when Asher acting like a goofball is the only thing that will cheer a grumpy Henry up. Asher lets Henry "play" with his trains and Henry loves watching Thomas episodes with Asher on TV. Could they be two peas in a pod, or are they just softening me up before a horrible decade or two (or more?!) of sibling rivalry erupts?? Only time will tell...but in the meantime, I will bask in a disgustingly nauseating whirlwind of emotions over these two affectionate brothers...

And He Continues to Grow

2010-08-12T13:29:00.003-04:00

Henry had his four-month checkup on Monday and, no shocker, he's still a big boy. He's in the 90th percentile for height at 26 inches long, and remains in the 95th percentile for weight, at 17 pounds, 14 ounces.

I had no idea all those steroids would pass into my breastmilk - honestly!

In the past week, he's apparently started rolling over, too, although we haven't witnessed it firsthand. We always put him to sleep on his back like they say you're supposed to, but a few times we've found him in the morning lying on his stomach. He's also getting better and better at grabbing toys (and faces and hair and glasses...) and stuffing them into his little mouth.

He's pretty cute.

(Thanks for the picture, Jamie! I couldn't find a recent full-body shot of Henry in my stash, so I thought I'd use this one. I thought it was a pretty cute shot of Mom and Henno!)

Bumbo Baby

2010-08-08T11:52:00.004-04:00

Mr. Henry Pickles sure is growing up fast. My mom told me the second child seems to grow up faster, partly because he'll try to keep up with his older brother, and partly because I'll be so busy with two kids that I won't dwell on his growth so much. I'm finding this to be an unfortunate truth. As much as I'd love to pay as much attention to Henry as I did to Asher when he was a baby, I simply can't. Our pediatrician said this: Having your first child is so special, but having your second is so much fun. We may not put Henry under the microscope like we did with Asher, but we also don't get as frustrated with him or worry so much about him, which I think makes him a happier baby. Because really, who wants to be stared at all day?

Anyway, I mentioned in my last post that we've started Henry on baby food. Another change he's going through is sitting up. This boy loves to sit up and see the craziness going on around him. Mom bought him a Bumbo seat last weekend so he could have an easier time doing this. He seems to enjoy it. And then, just like with every other baby contraption we have, he's screaming to get out of it within ten minutes. But hey - ten minutes is enough to make a quick blog post, right?

Feeding Time Struggles

2010-08-06T17:56:00.007-04:00

The kids have me constantly worrying about their diets. Henry is a little butterball turkey, so he's obviously getting plenty of nourishment, but since I started pumping, I've become obsessed with how many ounces he eats and whether I'm producing enough for him, blah blah blah. Same annoying worries I had when I pumped with Asher. I stopped nursing Henry altogether for about five days last week because he has started becoming violent with the goods - my guess is he's frustrated because he thinks taking the bottle is easier - he gets to look around and I'm sure the flow is faster with a bottle. But, I started nursing again, and he's tamed down a little bit. Sometimes. We've also started him on solid foods. He's improved his eating skills quite a bit - he's getting better at swallowing instead of pushing the food out with his tongue and now opens his mouth when the spoon nears his pudgy face. And with the introduction of food comes STINKY diapers and MESSY mealtimes. I'd forgotten how frustrating it is to feed someone who flails his arms constantly and blows raspberries with a mouth full of food.

And then you have Asher.

The foods he'll eat: chicken nuggets, fish sticks, french fries, most fruit (with the exception of cantaloupe and honeydew), corn, grilled cheese sandwiches, plain noodles (don't even try putting any sauce or cheese on them), white rice (with just salt, pepper & butter), yogurt, any kind of bread, and cereal. I finally got him to eat a few bites of a peanut butter & jelly sandwich last weekend, and he said it was good, but I'm not adding it to the list quite yet. Of course he's OK with any kind of junk food you have to offer, and ketchup. This is what's all over his face in this picture. He'll eat it plain if we let him. He also likes to eat salt & pepper directly out of the shakers when we go out to eat. Do you know how grossed out I get when I look away for a second and look back to find him licking the top of a sticky pepper shaker? Almost as grossed out as I get when he does something like lick the floor at a restaurant under the table. Yeah. He won't eat macaroni and cheese or any vegetable, but he'll lick the floor at McDonald's.

Oh, and I did convince him to try cucumber last week. He nibbled a little bit on a slice before becoming completely distracted with the seeds, which he pushed around all over the table like tiny slimy cars, yelling, "BEEP BEEP!" I don't know if he liked it much, but I felt like buying him a car out of the happiness I felt over the fact that he tried something green.

And Then Everything Was OK

2010-07-26T21:56:00.002-04:00

I've been in a bit of a funk lately - not constantly, and nothing extreme - just enough of one to be a giant pain in the ass to both myself and my husband. I think it's mainly the bliss of returning to work that's gotten me down; being pulled in five different directions takes some getting used to. I'm sure it's not a new feeling for any parent out there, but it's really been hitting me hard the past week - that I'm not much more than just a mom. Don't get me wrong; being a mom is, in my opinion, the most important and rewarding job one can have, but sometimes, on occasion, I miss being Kim. I miss being able to run to Target on a moment's notice, or spend an hour editing and organizing my photos, or blog about my kid, or do laundry without having to re-fluff the clothes in the dryer ten times before I finally get a chance to fold them, or even just watch thirty minutes of TV that isn't something on Nick Jr. or Sprout. Asher was at the age where we no longer needed to drag five changes of clothes and twenty diapers with us everywhere we went. We didn't really have to plan our outings around his feeding schedule. He can sit up on his own. Get this - he can walk! Then we went back to square one with Henry and are having to adjust to giving up those tiny freedoms again. This time around, though, we are more hopeful because we know it gets better. We know this ball-and-chain phase doesn't last forever and, actually, up until I returned to work, I hadn't even really been bothered much by our return to newbornland.

Returning to work this time around is tougher, though. For one, I know Stephen is at home struggling with caring for two kids. And then, when I get home, I'm now having to split myself between housework and two children. I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that I can't be a good, attentive mom and get all the laundry done, bathroom cleaned, floors swept, etc. I might be able to get some of the laundry done and at least pick up the assortment of toys that were strewn about on the floor that day. And that's about it. As far as doing anything additional that I might want to do, I can forget about it. Henry's screaming at me to pay attention to him, and Asher's about to explode if I don't get another train video lined up for him on the computer.

It's funny, though, how one second I can absolutely feel like I'm going to bash my head through the wall, and then Henry will give me a giant smile (see below) or Asher will tell me he loves me, and then all is right with the world. Amazingly - that's all it takes. I wish there was some way I could bottle those smiles and coos and sweet and funny words that come from my kids and take a hit off of it whenever I need a pick-me-up. Because sometimes when I get that overwhelming anxiety attack, my kids aren't showering me with love. Sometimes they're both screaming at me at the same time, and both have poopy diapers, and both need to be fed. And this is why I have about a million pictures of my smiling babies plastered all over the walls of my house, so that no matter where I am and what kind of wringer they're putting me through, I can glance up, take a deep breath, see my happy babies and remember that I'm not just their mom. I'm a good mom. I may not be able to be in two places at once or have four arms to hold them at the same time or have floors clean enough that they can eat off of, but not once have I drowned them in the bathtub or driven them into a pond of water. I will always remind them of that.

Back to the Grind

2010-07-25T11:20:00.001-04:00

Sadly, my maternity ended a few weeks ago and I went back to work on July 9. I miss being at home all day with my boys. I think we're all still adjusting to my return to work, but slowly and painfully we're starting to develop a new routine.

Along with going back to work is the return of not being able to blog very often. I've just now finally uploaded all the pictures of the boys from June - just in time for the end of July!

Two and a Freaking Half!

2010-06-30T23:48:00.006-04:00

Wow. I haven't written one of these updates in quite awhile, and somewhere along the line, my baby turned into a kid. One who gives out kisses, says, "Oh Mommy, I love you," without prompting, one who totally knows what buttons to push on Mommy and Daddy to make them either laugh hysterically, melt into mush, or burst in a fit of frustration.

He's seriously amazing, as I'm sure most parents think their kids are. I mean, first you have this blob and just when you think he's never going to be anything other than a blob, POOF!, he's walking and talking and being amazing, and then at that point, you kind of forget that he was ever a blob...that is, until you have another blob and you realize just how truly mind-boggling it is that this little person was once a blob like your second blob is right now...What I'm trying to say is, I look at Henry and honestly can't picture Asher ever being that helpless or little. He's come such a long way from that bald-headed badgering baby he once was!

He's not totally grown up, yet, though. I had hopes that we could get a good start on potty-training while I've been on maternity leave, but our hectic schedules and his stubbornness hasn't quite allowed that to happen. Last Monday, I decided we should start, but of course Asher threw a fit and begged to wear his diaper. So, I told him he could keep his diaper for now if we could work on giving up the pacifier. He only gets his ba-ba now at naptime and bedtime. (I was a thumb-sucker for a long time when I was a kid, so I totally understand the comfort his pacifier brings him and I'm not going to take that away from him if he needs it to relax and go to sleep, but, like I did, he has to learn there's a time and a place for his crack!) He's whined for it a few times, but overall I've been impressed by how little he's missed it. It seems like either his speech is increasing or we're just better able to understand him without it in his mouth, too.

He recently became a big brother and boy am I proud of what a good big brother he's been! Seriously, I've seen only the tiniest bit of jealousy - occasionally when I'm holding or nursing Henry, Asher will beg to be carried or held - and I've yet to see any meanness directed toward Henry. Asher can wake up super grumpy from a nap, but if I bring Henry over to him, his mood perks right up. He is concerned when Baby Brother is not in sight, and is always trying to kiss, tickle, or talk to Henry. I can only hope he stays this sweet...it would be so wonderful if he and his brother could grow up and be best friends. Only time will tell on that, but at least for now all I have to worry about is Asher loving on Henry too much. You know, hugging can kill if you squeeze too tightly!

I mentioned earlier that Asher knows what buttons to push, and luckily he usually uses his knowledge for good and not evil. He knows that saying, "new pillow" or "marshmallow" in a super whiny voice with his lips all pouty makes his mommy laugh like crazy, so he's started saying other things that he wants in the same way to make me laugh (and to get what he wants in return!). He knows that hugs and kisses and hearing, "I love you, Mommy," are things that make me happy, so he's been doling such treasures out to me more and more frequently. He expresses concern when any of us seem upset or in pain by asking if we're OK. He is really good at saying please and thank you and you're welcome and bless you. He (usually) gives kisses and hugs and says "I love you" when saying goodbye to his grandparents. He is just a really sweet little boy.

I sure hope he stays this way and that turning three in a few months doesn't change things too much!

My Chunka-Monka

2010-06-28T20:14:00.004-04:00

Henry had his belated two-month checkup today with the doctor, and guess what? He's PERFECT! Okay, well, he's everything he's supposed to be. And even more so. The doctor and nurses were most impressed with his "healthy" size. Henry now weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces and is 25 inches long, which puts him over the 95th percentile in both weight and height. Am I surprised by any of this? No...Mr. Pickles is actually already starting to grow out of his 3-6 month-sized clothes and is moving into 6-9-month. So, yeah, I sorta knew he was a chunky monkey. Dr. Timmons said he's more the size of a six-month old than a nearly three-month old, which led me to wonder, is he overweight? Nope - she said he's perfectly proportionate, so he's not overweight at all - he's just a big baby. Because of his large size and the fact that he probably has a large appetite, she also gave us the green light to go ahead and try giving him a little bit of rice cereal if we want.

Poor Mr. Pickles also had to have four shots in his little chubby legs today. He was so brave and only cried for a minute.

Since we were so close to his three-month mark, we won't be going to the doctor again until August for his four-month checkup. Let's hope he won't be in 12-month clothes by that time!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2010-06-28T19:35:00.003-04:00

In Asher's kid's meal from Wendy's, he received a toy microphone. Here is a sample of his sweet singing skills that we enjoyed for almost too long in the car today as he tried out his new toy:

Teachings of an Older Child

2010-06-22T00:44:00.004-04:00

My niece, Ella, along with my sister, recently came home from Virginia for a couple of weeks to visit. I love it when they visit. It's wonderful to see my sis and dote on Ella, but more than that, I love seeing how excited Asher gets over seeing Ella. I'll be honest - when she's around, he's occupied, out from under my feet, clinging to someone else - it's like a mini-vacation for me! She's so good with him, too, and I think she enjoys spending time with him just as much as he enjoys spending time with her. He totally looks up to her. She has had positive influences on him - such as improving his attitude toward toothbrushing and his brushing skills - and some...interesting influences, as well. Like, encouraging the development of an overactive imagination. Never before had Asher been afraid of storms, or of monsters, but since her last visit, I've heard talk of monsters galore, and every time it thunders, he crawls under the table and says he's "skeered." (Which is a little hard to believe when he's laughing while saying it.) Thanks to Ella, Asher is obsessed with tickling Henry ("teekle-teekle-teekle!!!") and playing in our closet. AND, he's been better at playing by himself - like, imaginative, pretend play. The stories and scenarios he comes up with are hilarious, and I just sit and watch him and wonderwhere and when he became so creative. And then there's his language. I swear, his vocabulary has increased tenfold and his speech pattern has improved greatly over the past few weeks. How is that possible? Oh yeah - he's been hanging around with a six-year old.

I seriously wish I could rent her for the summer. Maybe she could convince him to finally try eggs or eat a hotdog. I always hear about the negative influences older kids have on younger siblings, but not so much about the good influences they have. I think Henry is lucky that he'll have a live-in older kid to look up to. (Watch, Asher will be the one to give Henry his first cigarette and beer.)

Come back soon, Ella. We miss you!

Day Out with Thomas

2010-06-19T15:57:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was our big Day Out with Thomas event in Connersville with Marmie, Grandfather, Angela, Rowan, and Lydia. It was a scorcher - around 90 degrees and humid - but I, personally, thought it was well worth the misery to see Asher's excitement over seeing Thomas in person. In case you didn't know, Asher has a little bit of an obsession with Thomas - some of that obsession may have been slightly encouraged by his parents who have bought him about a million and one trains and various other Thomas merchandise *ahem* - but I figured, with my luck, we'd get there and he would be terrified of the life-size Thomas train. Thankfully, he was extremely happy to see Thomas, and it was only Sir Topham Hatt that scared him. Whew! They had all sorts of activities for the kiddos - pony rides, a petting zoo, train tables, etc. - and thankfully, Marmie and Grandfather were there to take him around to do the fun things because someone decided he needed to eat and kept Mommy and Daddy sitting in the back of the van for the first half hour that we were there. So, I didn't get to do any of the fun things with Asher, which was a little disappointing, but I'm glad someone was there to help out and make sure he had a good time! The heat was terrible, but I guess it kept any tantrums over leaving at bay - I think we were all ready to go by the end of the train ride.

Here are pictures. (Mostly taken by Marmie since both of our cameras are currently, conveniently, broken, so thanks to Marmie for being photographer for the day!)

Thank you, Marmie and Grandfather, for such a fun day!

God Loves Henry

2010-06-18T21:38:00.004-04:00

We had Mr. Henry Pickles baptized on Sunday. It was a very nice day - our baby was blessed, we ate lots of good food, we visited with our closest family and friends, and Henry got presents. Oh, and there was yummy cake, too. We're very lucky to have such a great family to share this special day with us.

(FYI, The 38-year old baptismal gown that Henry is wearing has been worn by Stephen and all of his siblings, as well as Angela's two children and Asher. Is it wrong that I have looked forward to my children's baptisms, not so much because of the salvation it represents, but because it's the only chance I'll have to dress my boys in gowns??)

See pictures here!

Smiles!

2010-06-15T22:44:00.003-04:00

Henry has been smiling more and more over the past couple of weeks, even when pooping isn't involved! Here's a little video with a few smiles in it that Mom recorded this evening while I was burping Henry.

The Past Two Months

2010-06-11T14:47:00.008-04:00

I'll admit, I feel pretty guilty about not giving Henry the face time that I've always given Asher on here. In my defense, Henry, this should show you what a good parent I've been - my time and attention has been pretty focused on more important things, like feeding you every 2-3 hours, changing your diaper every 2-3 hours, soothing you when you cry, picking up the house, doing laundry, wrangling your monkey brother...you know, parent-y things. Of course, there's also been the fact that I ran out of storage space on Google over a month ago and couldn't upload anymore pictures. Oops. Well, we've finally resolved that issue, so now I can slowly start sharing pictures from the past couple of months. That is, if you boys can coordinate a long enough nap at the same time for me to accomplish such a feat...

As I expected, my maternity leave is totally flying by and leaving me in the dust, struggling to slow things down and enjoy every precious second. Fat chance of that happening. For one, because I'm off of work, we've been trying to cram all the visiting with family and running around in that we can since we won't be able to do once I'm back on a grown-up schedule. Two, because Stephen works during the weekends, I've been packing up and spending many of these weekends at my mom's, so I can get some much-needed assistance with caring for two little ones. Surprisingly, that adjustment hasn't been as tough as I thought it would be. Luckily, Asher is, usually, a pretty good little boy who doesn't require constant attention from us, and he seems to understand (usually) that Henry needs more care from us than he does, so he's been good about sharing his parents with his brother. I've been so much more calm with Henry than I was when Asher was a newborn. Like, I know that a poopy diaper can wait a few minutes until we reach our destination in the car. Or, there's the fact that Henry isn't going to shrivel up if he has to wait ten minutes for me to finish my dinner before he gets fed. I also know that a little crying is normal, babies are a lot tougher than they appear to be, and they don't have to be held 100% of the time. Of course there are still things I'm struggling with...like how to entertain a newborn. I'm feeling the exact same frustration I felt when Asher was a newborn - how do you play with a slug? I want to interact with him, to teach him, to play with him...but, all he wants to do is sleep, eat, poop, and be cuddled. It's starting to get better, though...he's beginning to smile and coo, so I know he's starting to come out of the "blob of baby" phase.

Asher is still totally in love with Baby Brother and constantly wants to hug, kiss, and pat Henry on the head. Our biggest fight right now is keeping Asher off Henry...his love sometimes hurts. He's a very caring big brother: he fetches pacifiers, sings Henry songs, and shares his toys with him. Now I just need to teach him how to change diapers...

Henry has been a great little baby. He's very easygoing, cuddly, not too fussy, and doesn't treat me like a chew toy when I feed him. He's sleeping for 3-6 hours at a time at night, and I usually end up getting around eight hours of sleep total, so I haven't been too much of a zombie. He's really chubbed up nicely over the past nine weeks, too, and has managed to keep his head full of luxurious hair. He has his two-month check-up on Monday, and on Sunday he's going to be baptized. Yet another busy weekend is ahead of us!

Here are pictures from April and pictures from May.

Can You Spot Where My Genes Enter Into the Family?

2010-05-06T09:56:00.003-04:00

We finally had the opportunity to make a trip over to Dayton last Friday in order to visit with Grammy for a couple of hours and introduce her to Henry. Maryann had the idea that we should get a four generational photo of herself, Grammy, Stephen, and the two babies. Asher, of course, decided to be a total spaz and wouldn't cooperate. They threw him out of the picture, so then it was up to Henry to add some flair to the photos.

It was great to get to see Grammy for a bit. Stephen and Asher have been over to visit her a few times over the course of the past few months, but I hadn't seen her since January. Thanks to my maternity leave, hopefully we'll get to squeeze in a few more trips before I go back to work. She'll turn 92 in July, but if you ask me, she doesn't look a day over 80.

How It's Been

2010-04-26T22:56:00.006-04:00

As usual, I've been so far behind on keeping up with this blog. It's not like I've been busy or anything...I've just had a little nine-pound human attached to my boobs for approximately a third of every day the past two and a half weeks. Then, there's the two-year old who is constantly up in my grill wanting to see Baby Brother, touch Baby Brother, squeal in Baby Brother's face, cuddle Baby Brother, or tickle Baby Brother. I'm already running interference between the two boys, and they've only been living together for a couple of weeks. Luckily, so far, it's been good attention Asher has been doling out on Henry, but it's still a lot of work and stress to make sure little Henry doesn't get crushed under all of Asher's good intentions. On top of that, our sweet little toddler has suddenly turned into...well, a toddler. We're pretty sure most of it is his way of dealing with the new addition to the family, but, WOW. Temper tantrums galore. Defiance. Stubborness. Whining. Throwing things. Running around screaming like a banshee. Our pediatrician (and everyone else we've talked to) has assured us this is perfectly normal and said the best thing to do is to stick to our guns when it comes to the rules and to praise, praise, praise him for every little good thing he does to encourage positive behavior. We've been doing this as much as possible, and it seems like as long as we make sure he gets his naps in and smother him with as much attention as possible, life is much easier.

I have to say, knock on wood, things have been going so much better than they did after Asher was born. So far, I haven't had any postpartum depression like I did with Asher. There have been some instances of feeling a little overwhelmed and lonely, but nothing like the completely and utterly lost and hopeless feelings I had two years ago. I was worried that going back to the days of feeding and diapering every few hours would be horribly rough, but surprisingly it's been a groove that's been pretty easy to slip back into. I don't know if it's simply the fact that we've done it before and know what to expect, or that Henry is (so far) a VERY easygoing baby, or that Stephen has been home more than he was in the first few months after Asher was born, or maybe even the time of year has made things more pleasant - Asher was born at the beginning of dreary January, which kept us pretty much hibernating indoors, whereas we have the windows open now and can smell the neighbors' flowers and hear the birds chirping. My recovery has been MUCH shorter and less painful this time around, too...it's easy to sink into depression when you physically feel like you've had a semi-truck crash out of your lady parts. I also am very happy to report that nursing is (again, so far) much easier this time around. It feels much more natural this time - i.e., I don't feel like a chew toy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Henry doesn't turn into the little badger that Asher was, but it's nice to know that breast pump is around if I need it! Although, I will admit, I do occasionally pump just to give myself a break every once in awhile. Besides, I think it's nice to let Daddy have some feeding time, too.

Henry had his two week checkup last week, and he's apparently pretty perfect. His weight was up to nine pounds (50th percentile), and his height is up to 21.75 inches (90th percentile). We'll see the doc again in a couple of weeks for his one-month checkup.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to post pictures up from the past couple of weeks pretty soon, but in the meantime, I've finally gotten the pictures uploaded that were taken during our hospital stay.

Our Little Henry

2010-04-09T20:49:00.003-04:00

I was dilated to 6-7 when my blood pressure started dropping, which cause the baby's heart rate to do funky things. I was given oxygen and blood pressure medication to help me out. The nurse kept asking if I felt any pressure "downstairs" - after about fifteen minutes, I did. She did another check and found that I'd jumped to 10 cm. and the baby was right there, ready to greet us.

After 20 minutes of pushing, Henry Major Barr was born at 3:15 p.m. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 21 inches long. He's very handsome, bearing a striking resemblance to our other very handsome son. Only difference is, Henry has a full head of hair, whereas his big brother had just this funny patch of hair on the back of his head. Henry is currently styling a faux-hawk, thanks to the nurse who gave him his first bath. Now, the nursery nurses don't want to put a hat on him for fear of messing up his adorable hair-do.

Henry is a family name on both sides of the family, and Major is my father-in-law's middle name. I'd always thought it was a cool name, and he's a pretty cool guy, so we thought it was a cool choice for Henry's middle name, too.

I'm flat-out exhausted, considering I only got a couple of hours of sleep last night and no naps today, coupled with the fact that I just birthed a human being. Other than that, no pain yet and all my vitals have been great. Henry is having his blood sugar monitored like crazy since he's a little large for his age and even had a half a bottle earlier to bring him up to par, but other than that, he's perfect.

More pictures and updates to follow!

Now I Know How It Feels to Have a Wet Diaper

2010-04-09T10:59:00.005-04:00

They just broke my water, and I have one thing to say: GROSS! The brilliancy that flies out of my mouth to the doctor? "That is so disgusting. I can't remember the last time I peed my pants, but I bet that's what it feels like."

Duh.

My contractions are definitely getting stronger now and I'm dilated to four. I think it's almost time for the magic of Mr. Epidural. But not quite yet. I'm having way too much fun. I figure as long as my hunger pangs are stronger than the pain from contractions, I'm OK.

The Beginning of the End

2010-04-09T07:59:00.005-04:00

I'm at the hospital, trying my best to type without pulling the IV out of my arm, "enjoying" the last moments of my second pregnancy. It's been a rough one - not the pregnancy itself, but the time period during which the pregnancy has taken place has really kinda sucked. I've beaten myself up a little bit over the fact that I haven't documented this pregnancy the way I did Asher's, but I guess my priorities had to lie in taking care of myself and my family, rather than in blogging. It's funny, though; both pregnancies have been so similar that, in a way, it's like both are documented through my first pregnancy postings. I had very similar issues with nausea during the first & second trimesters. Both pregnancies were complication-free. I've had heartburn and backaches with both. My weight gain has been very similar as the first's. Both of my babies practically outgrew my uterus.

There have been some minor differences, though. My appetite hasn't been quite as good as it was during the first pregnancy. It seems like heartburn has been more of a constant this time around. I don't recall really having any cravings with Asher, but with this kid I've been on a non-stop chocolate binge. I think I've been much more tired and achy during this pregnancy, too, but that's probably due to the fact that I'm chasing around after a toddler and have had a lot of crap to deal with that I didn't have during the first.

I'm more ready for this pregnancy to end than I was during my first. Because so little was going on back then - no other child or drama occupying my time - I tended to dwell on every little part of my pregnancy. I loved being pregnant and carrying around the baby inside of me. I know I'm going to miss feeling Retus moving around inside, I'm going to miss that bond that a mother feels while carrying her child. But my body is SO DARN TIRED and worn out that I've really been prevented from enjoying being pregnant as much as I was with Asher.

Although I'm probably not quite as nerve-wracked as I was about my first delivery, I'm a lot more nervous than I thought I would be. I spent so much time preparing, studying, and bracing myself for Asher that, even though I didn't know firsthand what to expect, I felt somewhat prepared. This time, due to having done it before and having everything else occupy all my time and attention, I really haven't spent any time at all preparing myself for Retus' arrival. (1) Everything went so smoothly with Asher that I'm scared the opposite will happen with this one. (2) Even though I've gone through caring for a newborn just two years ago, I think I've blocked it all out of my mind. It was my only defense! Shit, we're talking about sore nipples, feedings every two hours, and a child who can't hold his own head up. Explosive diapers! Engorgement of boobs! Postpartum depression! Feeling literally anchored to your child! Am I ready for all of this again?! I mean, Asher can feed himself, and he SPEAKS! Of course, Asher can also outrun me at the store and jump out of the cart. It will be kinda nice to have a baby that just lies wherever you put him again.

I'm very excited about meeting Retus, though, and introducing him to our family. For some reason, I figured I wouldn't feel as much excitement over the second baby, and happily I can say I was completely wrong. The Pitocin is freely flowing into my veins now, so it'll only be a short matter of time until I get to hold my new little sweetie!

He's No Fool

2010-03-24T17:39:00.004-04:00

Stephen: Asher, tell Mommy what we're having for dinner.

Asher: Um, Lucky Charms!

Stephen: No Lucky Charms...(Points to rotisserie chicken.)

Asher: Chicken!

Stephen: Yes, chicken! And what else? (Points to box of rice.)

Asher: Rice! Yay!

Stephen: Right! And what else? Are we going to have some rolls?

Asher: Yes! Rolls!

Stephen: And what else?

Asher: Um...Lucky Charms?

Stephen: No...*whispers* Beans?

Asher: Um...No thank you!

It's Sing-a-Long Time

2010-03-05T14:52:00.001-05:00

I'm realizing more and more that, as a parent, you really have to have something that records video on you at all times. This is a prime example.

Fine Example of the Things a Working Parent Misses Out on

2010-03-03T19:29:00.004-05:00

Here are Asher and his beloved cousins having a dance-off this afternoon.

Sure, the kids are cute, but being in the office is SO rewarding.

*sigh*

Thanks to Stephen for the much-needed dose of cuteness!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2010-01-18T01:56:00.005-05:00

Well I thought that I had made a post but I guess it didn't take. This just goes to show that I need to do this more often. Here's what I had written:

I'm home after a painful week at the hospital. I now have three weeks of doing nothing but put my foot in the air. I already feel awful about all the stuff Kim now has to do while all I can do is sit on my ass.

I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I wish I could do more.

Dad was here today and did an excellent job of getting me the few things I needed and also corralling the quickly building fury that is Asher. Thanks for your help, Dad, and I look forward to more quality help in the very near future. Angie will be here for the next two days and I know Kim is looking forward to some more femininity in the house.

The Old Rocker

2010-01-07T20:54:00.004-05:00

This little red rocker may not look like much, but it has a lot of sentimental value. It was originally my grandfather's chair when he was little, then was my mom's, then mine, and now it's Asher's. It had been sitting in my garage for the past couple of years - I think since I was pregnant or since Asher was newly born - in dire need of some major TLC, as one of the runners was broken. Stephen finally took it to his dad, who is far more talented than Bob Villa, and in no time at all, he had it back in perfect working order. Is it any wonder I love my father-in-law so much??

Asher is so excited to have a little chair that's his size. This evening, he wanted to watch "Brown" - which is what he calls Charlie Brown, with whom he's developed a strange obsession since we first watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas" this year - so we placed his chair in front of the TV, and there he sat for at least ten minutes without moving. (That's like two hours in toddler years.)

Yes - I'm a Big, Fat Slacker

2010-01-05T20:58:00.005-05:00

Yes, I'm well aware - it's been a ridiculous amount of time since I've posted. I could blame it on the early pregnancy nausea - how, there for an amount of time that seemed like an eternity or two, I felt like I was dying and couldn't stand even the thought of touching the computer after being on it all day at work. I could also blame it on the fact that, just as I was starting to emerge from the horrible first trimester crud, we moved. Moving requires packing and unpacking and who do you think did the majority of that grunt work? I wish I could say it was Stephen! Then came the holidays...first, Thanksgiving, which we had at our house a mere three weeks after we moved in. So between the move and Thanksgiving, there was a buttload of unpacking and organizing and painting that had to be done. Christmas came next quickly, after hours of shopping, wrapping, visits with family and friends, card making and addressing (the mailing of them, unfortunately, didn't occur until NEW YEARS). New Years and Asher's birthday wrapped up the busy season, and surprisingly, I'M GLAD IT'S ALL OVER. I'm usually so depressed when the holiday season ends, but I'm so thankful to be able to breathe a little again. In the mess of all that, Stephen worked almost every weeknight and weekend for a month, and...did I mention I'm pregnant? Even with all the motivation I've been feeling to go-go-go, I just can't-can't-can't. 9:30-10:00 rolls around and I'm ready to call it quits.

Anyway, long story short, something had to give. And that something was the blog. And everyone else's blogs. And FaceBook. And e-mail. And photography. And pretty much anything that I used to do in my spare time that I enjoyed. There's only so much time in the day, and only so much energy to go around, and the list of to-do's only seems to grow.

But! It's a new year and what do you do at the start of a new year? That's right - make resolutions you probably can't or won't keep! One of my resolutions is to start doing some of those things again that I enjoy, now that life isn't so hectic. Of course, there are still 20,000 things that need to be done around the house...not to mention, there will be a new BABY joining our crew in just three months. Gee, that won't make life more hectic or anything...

I hope to post both a pregnancy update soon as well as a belated happy second birthday post for Asher Bug. No promises, but I'll try...In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of my Retus-the-Fetus belly and my little birthday bug...

Fall Has Officially Fallen

2009-10-12T19:57:00.004-04:00

On Sunday, Mom, Bob, Stephen, and Asher managed to pry my sorry, pregnant butt off the sofa for a few hours of autumn celebration at the local pumpkin patch. Asher had fun playing on all the toys, wandering through the corn maze (which we were delighted to find our way out of...until we discovered we'd exited through the entrance), taking a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and picking out a couple of pumpkins, and sipping on cider. His favorite part, by far, was looking at the farm animals. He liked petting the goats and quacking at the ducks, but the crowing roosters were, by far, tops in his book. I had to stand by him for what seemed like eons as those stupid birds cocka-doodle-dooed. That was apparently the funniest and most fascinating thing he'd ever in his life experienced. Watching him imitate them and belt out repeated belly laughs was the funniest and most fascinating thing I've ever experienced.

We had a very nice time welcoming Fall, especially considering the fact that the temperature was only in the mid-fifties. All of us broke out our heavier jackets, gloves, and hats. All of us except for Stephen, of course. He was perfectly comfortable in a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved polo. WEIRDO.

12 Weeks Gives Us a Happy Anniversary

2009-09-28T22:33:00.009-04:00

Some people seem to think I've crawled into a hole and died this past month, and really, they aren't too far off. I've frankly been way too busy to keep up in the electronic world recently. Busy throwing up. Busy feeling like I'm going to throw up. Busy trying to figure out what the hell I can eat because if I don't eat something RIGHT NOW my stomach will growl and will make me throw up but I can't find anything to eat because EVERYTHING makes me want to throw up...So, essentially, my battle is deciding whether I want to vomit from hunger pangs or from the smell or taste of food.

We found out on August 15 that we're expecting another baby in mid-April, and I swear that day I started feeling the symptoms. That's about a month and a half of feeling like pure death warmed over. People have asked if I was this sick with Asher, and honestly I'm not sure. It's funny - I loved being pregnant with Asher, and now that I'm going through it all again, I think I must have been high to have loved this! Of course, what I remember most about my previous pregnancy are the last two trimesters - after the sickness phase was over and I could feel Asher move around inside of me and I watched my belly grow plump. You tend to forget the horrible parts. I'm hoping I'll eventually have another pleasant pregnancy once this stage is over. I think the bad symptoms have been a little different between pregnancies, though. I had horrible nausea with him, but I didn't throw up too much, and when I did, it was usually due to my gag reflex being on overdrive (stupid toothbrush). This time around, the vomiting is FOR REAL. Plus, I've had horrendous heartburn, worse than I had in my ninth month with Asher. I was flat-out exhausted the last time and just wanted to sleep all the time. So far with this pregnancy, I'm physically exhausted, but I don't feel the same type of sleepy-tired that I felt last time. My appetite is the same as last time - food in general sounds disgusting to me and I'm literally having to force myself to eat. It's definitely been more tiresome going through this with a toddler to deal with, but luckily I have the best husband and mom ever who have made it so that I hardly have to lift a finger when it comes to taking care of Asher. Stephen takes care of everything from bathing to feeding to appeasing Asher in the evenings, and on the weekends, since Stephen works, I've been going to Mom's and allowing her to entertain and care for Asher while I moan and groan from the sofa. It's pretty pathetic and I'm not exactly proud of myself, but what's a sick girl to do? One thing that has been good about having Asher around while I'm going through this is that he is living proof that my sick days will end and it will all totally be worth it in the end. All he has to do is flash me one of those goofy, cheeky smiles, and suddenly I don't feel like jumping out of the window anymore.

I think the end of the worst of the first trimester woes is nearing, though, THANK YOU, GOD. Over the past couple of weeks, I've slowly felt my energy levels increase, I've been able to eat a little bit more of a variety of food, I haven't been throwing up as much, and nausea doesn't consume my body every second of the day anymore. I had my doubts, but I think I might make it through this, after all.

As is to be expected, most people are primarily concerned with the gender of this baby and this turns out to be the focus of most conversations I've had about my pregnancy, whether it be their prediction regarding what it is or their curiosity regarding what we want, or even their opinion as to what THEY want us to have. Since we had a boy the last time, of course nearly every single person is certain that we will/should have a girl this time around. Honestly, I feel the exact same way I did last time I was pregnant regarding this issue - and even more strongly since I just witnessed what my dear friend went through when she lost her babies during pregnancy - I JUST WANT A HEALTHY BABY. I love having a son and would be very happy if Asher gets a little brother to play with. A girl would be great, too - I'm just a little concerned I might spend a bit too much money shopping for her! We won't find out the sex for a couple of months, but rest assured, I'm not going to lose any sleep hoping for one gender over another.

It's funny - I assumed because I'd been through this before that I wouldn't worry much this time around. I feel almost like I worry more now than I did during my first pregnancy...maybe not about things like nutrition or sleeping on one side as opposed to another, but more about all the things that didn't go wrong during my first pregnancy that SURELY in my mind will go wrong this time. From the health of the baby, to the delivery, to having a pretty good-tempered baby, I got lucky once, something's got to give this time! And then I worry about silly stuff like not paying enough attention to Asher, "cheating" him out of love and time, messing up our family's ecosystem with a new addition...all those worries I've heard most people have during their second pregnancies.

Today we had our second prenatal exam. The first one was with the nurse practitioner, so this time we got to meet our new doctor (we weren't impressed by any means with the doctor I saw during my first pregnancy). She is AWESOME. I think I'm going to love her - she is soft-spoken, calm, sweet, has a good sense of humor, listens and encourages us to ask questions and actually talks to us, and just overall makes me feel at ease. Plus, she is around our age and has two boys who are four and two, so she seems to really "get" all the concerns we have. My urine checked out, my blood pressure checked out, my weight was down a little from last time, but that's normal with all the nausea, and my uterus "felt great." We got to listen to Doodlebug's heartbeat for the first time, too - which was very strong at 166 beats per minute - MAN, talk about hammering the nail of reality in my heart. I'M NOT TERMINALLY ILL AFTER ALL! THERE REALLY IS A BABY INSIDE OF ME! It's funny how much those few seconds of listening to a swish-swish sound has changed my outlook and put things into perspective. All of this suffering has a purpose. A person is growing inside of me and it's just as magical as it was when Asher was in there. Now that I've heard the proof of my unborn child's existence, I'm overcome with feelings of excitement and happiness. Those feelings of IS IT EVER GOING TO END and WHAT THE HELL HAVE I DONE are quickly diminishing. Today is our seventh wedding anniversary, and what a perfect gift this was for the both of us.

It's hard to imagine me being a parent to two children; sometimes I feel like I can barely keep up with one. But even despite my feelings of guilt from bringing another child into Asher's world, I know it's going to be a wonderful thing. Asher will have a playmate, someone he can confide in and complain about his crazy parents to. I really do think he'll love having a sibling, and I know Doodlebug is going to be very blessed to have him as an older brother; it's just a matter of me getting past my motherly guilt that I'm so full of.

One thing is for certain: they were right about showing earlier after your first pregnancy. Here I am, just barely twelve weeks along, with a baby bump clearly making its presence known. Yes, I've already broken into the maternity clothes!

When Good Drugs Do Bad Things

2009-09-23T21:07:00.005-04:00

Poor Asher Bug. A few weeks ago, he came down with a cold that only seemed to get worse, so we took him to the doctor and found out it was developing into an ear infection. The doctor prescribed him a strong dose of Amoxicillin, which he was supposed to take for ten days. The cold cleared right up, and Asher quit tugging on his ears after a few days.

On the evening of day seven of his medication (last night), I noticed a few red bumps on his cheek and legs. I didn't worry much about it and figured they were bug bites. This morning, however, red welts had taken over his sweet creamy complexion. After another trip to the doctor, we were informed that Asher is allergic to Penicillin. Although he'd taken it a few months ago, that dosage was not as strong as this one, so it caused no allergic reaction - or, at least, none that we noticed. The doctor said the symptoms of this type of allergy usually don't appear for 5-7 days, which is just great, considering the fact that, had we known sooner, we could have quit his medicine sooner. Like I didn't feel bad enough forcing him to take that horrible tasting medicine in the first place - now I feel like I've been poisoning him. A mother's guilt is a wonderful thing.

We're to give him a teaspoon of Benadryll every 4-6 hours for the next three days and he should be just dandy. Of course, he hates the Benadryll - maybe even more than he hated the Amoxicillin - so at least we weren't freed of the joy of tormenting our child. We aren't completely horrible people, though; we're going to give him oatmeal baths every night until his rash goes away, which he really seems to enjoy.

My poor boy looks like a burn victim. I hope it clears up soon.

He's Got Rhythm

2009-08-12T21:26:00.004-04:00

We were upstairs playing this evening when "Everything" by Michael Bublé came on the radio. Asher stopped what he was doing to perform this lovely little dance:

Now we know he has good taste in music and sweet dancing skills.

Triking

2009-08-10T22:35:00.004-04:00

The Easter Bunny (aka, NeeNee) gave Asher this (pre-)tricycle for Easter. For whatever reason, probably mainly because we're ungrateful bastards, it's mainly just been collecting dust in the garage. Tonight I decided Asher needs to learn to ride it. Why? Because the messes he causes with his crayons, balls, and push toys have become so predictable. He's ready for a new weapon of destruction. And I'm just plain crazy.

He still hasn't fully caught on to pedaling - I think he's perfectly content to have Daddy push him around - and the steering system frustrates him to the point of madness. That's right - about five minutes after this snippet was taken, this angelic, smiling little boy picked up his trike and threw it to the floor because he couldn't figure out how the steering worked. What a lack of patience. This boy is not my son. No, not at all.

Nineteen Months Old

2009-08-05T19:08:00.007-04:00

He's made it past the hump and is now closer to age two than age one!

I'm finally finding myself starting to replace the word "baby" with "boy" or "son" or "child" when referring to him. And I haven't even had to force myself. Wow, it's like the realization that he's growing up is sinking in and isn't being completely rejected by my mind. Maybe there is hope for me after all? Maybe Asher won't have to battle his mother to allow him to take someone other than her as his prom date! Well, now I'm getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I? I really don't want to make any promises I can't keep.

This has been a really super fast month; I don't know where the summer has gone. One day it was July 4th, the next day, it's August 5th. I don't know what we've done over the month - it's really stupid, I honestly can't recall! I feel like I'm in a daze lately, just going through the motions like a robot. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I'm so tired lately; I'm not sure if it's a slight case of insomnia, or stress, or just the fact that I've been staying up way too late. All I know is, I'M TIRED. Of course, it could have absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that I live with a little guy who makes monkeys look lazy and sluggish.

Asher's eating is the same - particular and finicky - but I've just about given up on caring. You only want to eat three kernels of corn and a lick of your chicken for dinner? Fine by me! I've realized that if I think of him as having five small feedings instead of three meals and a couple of snacks, I feel better and more relaxed about his eating habits.

He is talking more and more. The vast majority of it you cannot understand, but he is a nonstop chatterbox. He points at just about everything and always has something to say about it. I'm enjoying this because this is the brief stage when everyone thinks he's so cute when he's "talking" and that overweight man sitting next to us cannot understand that Asher is calling him fat. He's imitating what we say so much now that I'm trying my hardest to break my fond addiction of swearing. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make after hearing Mom's story about me, as a toddler, calling a woman a bitch at the grocery store.

What I'm really loving, though, is watching Asher's interests blossom. Of course he's into everything right now - a shredded piece of tissue on the floor is pretty fascinating to him. But there are definitely certain things that peak his interests more than others. He LOVES to color and draw. He LOVES to play ball. He LOVES to play with his Megabloks. He LOVES reading - and lately he seems to enjoy reading to himself more than us reading to him. His biggest obsession of all, though, is MATCHBOX CARS. He carries these cars around with him everywhere. Every night I find them all (or most of them) and put them in their bin. Every night I have to do this, because he spends every day meticulously scattering them through the house. One on my bed. One on the nightstand. Six lined up in a row in the bathroom. Two on the windowsill on the landing. Four down the staircase. One on the sofa. Three on the kitchen floor. And when he sees the full bin of cars that I've gathered, he shrieks and runs over to it on his tippy toes with the biggest, most excited grin I've ever seen and starts taking them out, one by one, and showing them to me, one by one, all the while giving me a lengthy description of each of them. Geesh, this kid has it B-A-D for cars and trucks. I think he'd be in seventh heaven if he could sit at a construction site all day and watch the equipment move things around and the dump trucks haul stuff away.

OH...THAT explains why I've been referring to him as a BOY lately instead of as a BABY!

Here are the pictures from July.

The Battle (One of Them, At Least)

2009-07-31T22:15:00.004-04:00

I sometimes feel like we have no routine or schedule in place, but I've just realized we actually have a very strict routine, one to which we adhere almost too well: Parents clean, Baby messes; Parents clean, Baby messes; Parents clean, Baby messes. Get the point? Every evening either during Asher's nighttime snack or after he goes to bed, I pick up all the toys, arrange all the books in nice piles, stand up the knocked-over picture frames, put away all the food from the pantry he's moved to the coffee table...basically, I try to make it look like the Tazmanian Devil hasn't been kicking the house's ass all day long.

And then I come home from a long day at work and I do a double take and - WOW - I must really have been high the night before because I SWEAR I picked all this stuff up! I mean, same messes, same locations - it's eerie. Stephen took these pictures yesterday of the perpetrator in action.

Let Me Completely Contradict Myself

2009-07-27T23:16:00.005-04:00

Didn't I just make a post recently about my child being a brat? I have no idea what child I was thinking about, because mine is clearly the opposite of brat.

All of the tantrums and whining and fussing that Asher dished out over the past couple of weeks seems to have been replaced over the weekend with chattering, laughing, grins, funny faces, kisses, hugs, and hand-holding. I don't know what has happened, but I like it. I like it A LOT.

Today was a rough day - nothing major, just a long, tiresome Monday - but it's amazing how being greeted at the door when I came home from work by my child, with an ear-to-ear grin, who threw his arms around my legs and squealed in delight because I was home, just made it all better. All stress = GONE. It's so corny, but when Asher flashes me one of his smiles, my heart absolutely melts. Really - the kid makes my heart skip a beat when I just look at him.

I know the tantrums will be back all too soon. But I'm going to enjoy the sweetness while it lasts.

Feed the Puppy

2009-07-24T23:23:00.005-04:00

If you've spent any time around Asher lately during his meals or snacks, chances are good that you've experienced his fondness for feeding others (i.e., you've had food crammed in your mouth by his grubby, slobbery paws). It appears his generosity regarding his food is now expanding to include sharing it with inanimate objects:

And no, this is in no way an indication of the need for Asher to have a dog. MOTHER, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING.

Dark Clouds Looming Ahead

2009-07-21T23:12:00.004-04:00

I'm afraid Asher may be entering a new phase in his life. The one in which he tries to murder his mother with no hands, no weapons, only his button-pressing skills that, if he masters it perfectly, could cause a horrible stroke or heart attack in an instant.

Yes, the terrible two's are upon us. And I am nowhere near prepared.

The tantrums are increasing on what seems to be almost a daily basis. It's not uncommon for me to turn a sippy cup right-side up or tear a bagel into two pieces and end up with a screaming toddler lying face down on the floor screaming. Brushing his teeth is a nightmare half the time. Heaven forbid I read a magazine while sitting on the floor next to the tub during his bathtime. Heaven forbid I fold laundry or run the vacuum or dust or BREATHE without first consulting Master Asher Barr. The most common trigger for his tantrums, however, seem to stem from his own frustrations - not being able to get the right shape into the sorter, not being able to get a door opened, not being able to get a bottle of bleach opened with his teeth...

This is an incredibly fun stage, don't get me wrong - the increase of vocabulary and comprehension and sense of humor and affection are all so wonderful and I can't even begin to imagine why when he was a little baby I was so sad about him getting older because I LOVE this kid he's turned into so much! But wow...I'm sure things are only going to get worse before they get better. It's bad when the grandparents - the doting, wrapped-around-his-finger-so-tightly grandparents - are noticing his change of behavior. My mother actually almost scolded him at dinner the other night, and Grandfather doesn't want to watch him this week because he has been such a fussy boy the past few times he's been down there.

I am praying this is just a phase. I hope to God my mother isn't getting her wish that I've born a child with my temperament.

Dirty Hands

2009-07-17T23:31:00.003-04:00

This little video was taken on Wednesday evening during one of my step-dad's park band concerts. Although we love going, trying to keep Asher corralled in the audience is a little daunting. Not to mention, last week we ran into an issue involving copious amounts of goose poop and Asher's clothing. We recently had the brilliant idea to go to the baby park during the performances and let Asher play while we listen. My favorite part about this video is how it illustrates Asher's conflicting personality - he's curious about the dirt and wants to get his hands on it, but he hates getting his hands dirty. He does this a lot during mealtime, too - he'll squish food in his hands, but as soon as he's made a mess all over himself, he'll become very upset. Asher is clearly a very complex individual, just like his mommy.

Loverboy

2009-07-12T22:50:00.002-04:00

Asher has been becoming quite affectionate lately. We noticed the other day that he's finally learned what hug means. He's known how to give kisses for a long time, but when we'd ask for a hug, he'd just give us a blank stare. Then one day out of the blue I asked for a hug, and he came over, climbed on my lap facing me, and laid his head on my shoulder. We keep asking him for hugs now and that's what we get - a little baby head on our shoulders. There may be no embrace, but it's sweet enough all on his own.

And the kisses - that's a thing he's been doing on demand - ask for a kiss, and he'll usually (but not always) lean in with his mouth gaping open and tongue hanging out. Tonight, though, during bathtime, he suddenly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me toward him, and kissed ME! Talk about melting my heart! Then he proceeded to kiss me and kiss me and kiss me and kiss me...I think I got a million wet, open-mouthed, sloppy baby kisses and it was WONDERFUL...until the eager kissing turned violent, that is. Soon, he started grabbing my head and forcing his kisses and I don't even think they were kisses, anymore...I'm pretty sure the kissing turned into badgering. The head grabbing was a little too pushy, in my opinion, but I tolerated it. The screaming in my face was kind of funny, so I let it slide. But when he chomped down and bit my puckered lips? I had to draw the line somewhere. Asher, trust me - tongue should be used only in moderation, and teeth are generally a total no-no. If you ever want to keep a girlfriend past the first kiss, you'll listen to your mama on this!

Eighteen Months Old

2009-07-09T17:26:00.007-04:00

Wow, it's been a busy month, and we're pooped! Asher spent nearly a week with Grandfather and Marmie at the beginning of the month when Stephen was working at Ball State for the week for HP, spending a couple of nights and the majority of his days wearing them out. Then, Jamie and Ella spent two weeks visiting, so we made two trips to The Children's Museum, one trip to the zoo, one trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and spent both weekends with them at Mom's. Asher had the BEST TIME EVER playing with his gorgeous older cousin, Ella. When she was around, I don't think he took his eyes off of her for two seconds. Park band started up this month, too, so we've had a couple of evenings spent listening to PaPa toot his horn. Last week was especially fun when Asher managed to get goose poop all over his shoes and pants and, of course, we didn't have a change of clothes for him with us. I change Asher's clothes if he gets food or grease on them, but goose poop? Nah, no biggie!

Asher is still Mr. Picky when it comes to food, but I think I'm finally starting to relax a little bit about it. I think. A little bit. This month he added pizza to his list of favorite foods, which made Daddy very happy. You know, because it's always good to share interests with your children. Asher has also developed a taste for coffee milk and grapes. Yes, grapes! I don't know how many times I would offer him grapes in the past and he'd turn his nose up at them. One day NeeNee sliced some up for him, and he couldn't gobble them down fast enough. I can't tell you how excited I get when he'll try something on his own, without me forcing it in or tricking him into it. It doesn't even matter if he doesn't like it - all I care about is the fact that he TRIED it. He's sprouted two more teeth this month, so he's up to eleven chompers now, and I know there are more coming soon at the rate he's been chewing on his hands. Maybe more teeth will equal more food variety, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

I am really excited about Asher's progress in communication. He's slowly beginning to talk; the words are few and far between, but they're there. I swear I heard him say truck over the weekend and I've heard him say kitty a few times. Tonight we were sitting on the deck coloring with markers and blowing bubbles and he kept pointing and saying bubbles. Of course, truck sounded more like gwuck, kitty was didday, and bubbles was buhballs, but close enough, I say! Grandfather has also taught Asher the signs for more and all done so he's able to tell us at dinner time when he's still hungry and when he wants to get the hell out of his highchair. Although, he often has more colorful ways of telling us when he's finished, ways that involve screeching like a banshee and trying to push all the food off of his tray...

It's funny how kids have their own little quirks that leave you in both amazement - because WOW he's this real little person! - and bewilderment - where the hell did he pick that up?! For instance, Asher has this obsession with knuckles and elbows. He gets some sort of comfort from jabbing the tip of his finger into my knuckle and then wiggling it around over the bone. He does the same thing with elbows, but knuckles, especially my knuckles, seem to be his favorite. When he's really tired or cranky, giving him his buggy and my knuckles to mutilate is often the only way to calm him down. And when does he demand knuckles the most? In the car, of course! I guess he's a perfect little driving companion when I'm not present, but when I'm in the car, he wants KNUCKLES and he wants them NOW. So, here I sit in the passenger seat, contorted far beyond my comfort level, so Asher can hold my hand and crush my knuckles. I don't get it. What's wrong with your teddy bear from Sloan, Asher? Or that nice little fluffy blankie that Uncle Adam gave you? Or even your little green Brobee from Santa? Nope. The kid has a million stuffed animals of all shapes, sizes, and textures, and quite a few nice blankets that I've often caught myself running my hands over, and he wants nothing to do with them. He wants KNUCKLES.

We've noticed that he's been a bit grumpier lately. We figure it could be because we've been doing so much more running around than normal that he's just tired and off his schedule, or it could be because he's been busy teething and his little gums hurt. We refuse to look at the possibility of him entering the terrible two's, because that isn't even possible. I mean, there is NO WAY my sweet little boy is going to turn into a monster, right? RIGHT?!

Here are his pictures from June. There are a lot!

Splishy Splash

2009-06-30T22:58:00.005-04:00

Just a snippet of some of the high jinks that goes on during bathtime.

Funny Elmo

2009-06-23T23:02:00.005-04:00

At the end of last summer, Mom bought this Elmo sprinkler mat that was on clearance for Asher to enjoy this summer. I finally took it out of the box this evening and Asher was completely fascinated with this huge, plastic cut-out of Elmo. He spent a good ten minutes running over it, laughing hysterically. I caught this little snippet just before he pooped himself out.

I'm sure once we hook it up to the hose and water is sprinkling out of it, once we're using it as intended, he'll want nothing to do with Elmo anymore.

NeeNee The Corruptor Strikes Again

2009-06-16T22:29:00.006-04:00

When my sister and I were little, we loved it when Mom would make us a special treat of coffee milk - basically, half milk, half coffee, with sugar, of course! I still to this day LOVE coffee milk.

During brunch on Sunday, Ella got her mug of coffee milk, while Asher got his sippy cup of juice. Apparently, NeeNee found this to be highly unfair. This was not surprising, considering the fact that I was chastised for being an unfun mom at Bob Evan's the morning before because I ordered Asher white milk instead of chocolate and informed her he never gets chocolate milk, unless it's just a drink from my glass. It's not that I'm anti-sugar, or anti-junk food - I'm a believer that if you're too strict about things like that, it could easily backfire. But, I figure while I'm still making his food choices for him, before he can tell me what he wants, I'll try to be as healthy as I can. You know, as healthy as you can be with a steady diet of chicken nuggets, french fries, and no vegetables. Anyway, NeeNee decided it was time to break out the ultra-dorky-but-funny cowboy coffee mug we found for Cowboy Asher at Goodwill last year and give Asher his first mug of delicious coffee milk. At least I can say it was decaf.

Asher thought it was the BEST STUFF EVER. He couldn't suck it fast enough. And guess what happened not more than twenty minutes later? Yep - poopies.

First ice cream, then soda, now coffee. What's next? Beer? Cigarettes? Porn?

It's no wonder why kids love their grandparents so darn much.

A Goodbye Letter

2009-06-15T21:42:00.003-04:00

My Dearest Twenties,

Well, here we are. The end of our journey together. I hoped one day we'd reach this point - after all, I knew if we didn't, that would only be because I was dead. But I never imagined how quickly the ending would come. Like a good book, you want to reach the end, but at the same time, you want to hold on and savor every page of that story. At least with a good book, though, you don't gain gray hairs or wrinkles, or find that your boobs hang just a little lower at the end.

You gave me a lot of special memories that I'll cherish my whole lifetime: college graduation, marriage, getting the first pet of my very own, gaining nieces and nephews, buying my first house, having my first child. We had our share of heartache along the way, too: losing a beloved grandmother, losing a beloved first pet, losing a couple of childhood pets, financial struggles, losing our first home. We've made dear friends along the way, people who have helped us reach this point, people who have pulled me off the roof of the building just as I was about to jump. We successfully grew out of those teenage years and attitude and realized how important family truly is. You've taught me responsibility, patience, and forgiveness.

I'm sad to see you go, it's true - it's kind of scary leaving the comfort zone of that young adult stage - but I'm hopeful that my thirties will hold good things for me. I'm hopeful that I'll have the chance to write a goodbye letter to my thirties one day, too, but I'm going to savor each day, one at a time, and try to make the decade last as long as possible.

P.S. I am willing to let you keep the gray hairs that have started to sprout, if you will let me keep my twenty-something boobs.

Big Sister Cousins Are Awesome

2009-06-14T22:13:00.006-04:00

My sister and niece have FINALLY come home from Virginia for a visit! We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving - which is way too long to go without seeing your sister and niece, if you ask me. This had been the longest amount of time I've ever gone without seeing either Jamie or Ella, and I didn't like it one bit. When you've been apart from most people for that long, I always think it's kind of awkward at first when you see each other. But nope, not with them. Ella came barging into my bedroom and started yapping away to me like she just saw me yesterday, and Jamie and I acted as bored as usual to see each other. That's the great thing about family - you don't have to pretend.

Asher was SO excited to be around Ella. They arrived by train SUPER early on Saturday morning (around 5 a.m.), so Asher and I were still in bed when they got to our house. They came in and woke us up just before eight, and usually Asher is a total grumpersaurus if you wake him up. But the second he flopped over and saw Ella's face, he sat straight up, got a huge cheeky grin, and started kicking his crazy legs like mad. And that's pretty much how he was the whole time around her.

We have lots of fun things planned for their visit home. This Friday, we're going to The Children's Museum, next Thursday we're going to the zoo, and next Friday we're going to make some pottery and go to Chuck E. Cheese. I love it when Jamie and Ella visit. Not only is it awesome to see them, but we all actually go out and do activities as a family. Who knew I'd miss doing things together as a family so much? Ten years ago, going to Chuck E. Cheese with my parents and sister would have sounded like cruel and unusual punishment.

40 Years Strong

2009-06-08T17:38:00.004-04:00

I love my husband to pieces. I really, really do. We began dating our senior year of high school, dated all through college, married after six years of dating, and now have been married for seven years. As much as I'm still in love with him as I ever was, I can't imagine being married to him for forty years. Of course, I can't even imagine myself living for forty years! I guess the next ten years will prove if I can even handle that, let alone maintain my marriage vows.

Stephen's wonderful parents have successfully survived forty years of marriage, and who knows? I think they could survive forty more. If nothing else, I think they'd do it just to drive each other insane. Really, though, this is an amazing feat in this day when the divorce rate is taking over the lead from the rate of successful marriages - I'm really proud of them.

Our gift to them was to "loan" them our baby for a couple of nights this week. Asher will be spending tonight and Wednesday night with them. Nothing puts you in the mood quite like chasing around a toddler all day. Which is exactly the point, Maryann: maybe Joe will leave you alone tonight and you can get some rest!

Happy slightly belated anniversary to my favorite in-laws!

Screaming Match

2009-06-05T22:44:00.003-04:00

Stephen has informed me that he and Asher have a new game they play, primarily when they're out shopping. It's basically nothing more than Asher pulling Stephen in so they're nose-to-nose, and then proceeding to scream their heads off at each other. I got to witness a snippet of this tonight. Stephen said that this was a very weakened version of the game because Asher was distracted by other things going on; normally, they yell a lot louder at each other.

The next time you're at Target and get annoyed by the sounds of a screaming toddler off in the distance, it's probably just Stephen and Asher, duking it out.

Seventeen Months Old

2009-06-02T23:06:00.001-04:00

Our little monkey bug turned seventeen months old today. He celebrated by having a frozen fruit sorbet after dinner, helping Mommy with the laundry, and spoon-feeding himself yogurt before bedtime. It was a pretty low-key evening, but that's just how Asher rolls.

Asher's comprehension continues to amaze me with each day. I tell him to stand up, and he stands. I tell him to bring me a book, and he'll walk over to his bin of books, pick one out, and bring it to me. I tell him to find his ball, and he starts searching the room for his ball. The other evening while he was eating some crackers, I asked him where Elmo was on the box. Imagine this - he pointed to him! This evening I was reading Parents Magazine and, of course, he started whining because I wasn't paying full attention to him. So, I leaned over and asked him - where is the baby? where is the little girl? where is the cow? - and HOLY CRAP he knew! He pointed to each one without a mistake. The best one was when I showed him a picture of a man and a toddler and asked him to point to the daddy in the picture. Asher looked around, then looked up and pointed to Stephen. Oh, Son. Sometimes I think it really is possible to be too cute.

A big reason why I think I'm so impressed and relieved and shocked by Asher's comprehension is the fact that he STILL isn't talking. I know, I know - kids all develop at different rates, and I've read a million times that some babies don't say their real first words until around age 2. Asher can say mama, dada, and papa, and he does speak a lot of his own mumbo-jumbo language, and sometimes he'll try to imitate words, but I haven't heard any concrete English words, yet. Well, supposedly a couple of weeks ago he said kitty twice, but I've yet to hear it. I know I'm just a worrier - it's in my nature to think the worst and anyone who knows me knows I have zero patience. I've been very good, though, about not expressing this concern to Asher or pushing him too much. I just try to talk, talk, talk to him as much as I can, and keep that pacifier out of his mouth as much as possible when he doesn't appear to need it. Which is another thing some people have questioned me about - OH HE STILL USES A PACIFIER?! Good grief, really? Is THAT what I need to be fretting about? I always provide the same, vague answer of you have to pick your battles, and this isn't one I feel needs fighting right now. Maybe this is because I was a thumb-sucker for many years beyond what most would consider "normal." I couldn't fall asleep without it. I was scared of the dark, scared of going to sleep, scared of ghosts, scared of burglars, scared of everything under the moon, and the one thing that brought me comfort was my thumb. So be it. My mom never pushed me to give it up and never made me feel bad about it, although I can remember I felt very ashamed and embarassed about my dark little secret. Maybe that's why I was such a good kid and never did drugs or smoked or had sex - I had my addictions fulfilled in my thumb! What really strikes me as funny is that some of these people who have given me a hard time about his pacifier are the same people who in previous conversations belittled me for my beliefs in the importance of breastfeeding or putting my newborn baby to sleep on his back. Okay, so your priority is ridding your baby of his sucking needs; my priority is my baby's safety and health. By the way, annoying-judgmental-person, did you know sucking on a pacifier can help reduce the risk of SIDS? Oh wait, you also think placing a baby to sleep on his back to reduce the risk of SIDS is ridiculous, sorry!

I'm so fired up about something so minor, and just think - this is just the tip of the iceberg of all of the unwanted advice and opinions and criticism I'm going to receive regarding my parenting skills (or lack thereof). The real issue here lies not in Asher's pacifier, but rather in how to prevent myself from committing a very serious crime.

The picky eating issue continues to rear its ugly head and gnaw on that one last little nerve I still possess. This is the current list of foods that Asher will eat on a regular basis: chicken nuggets, fish sticks, grilled cheese, oatmeal, cereal bars, cereal, bananas, watermelon, applesauce, cheese (only if it's orange in color), french fries, corn, yogurt, crackers, and chicken noodle soup. I know it could be worse and it's a fairly good list, but when you spread these foods over three meals a day, every day of the week, it turns out to not be a very big variety. We continue to offer as much variety as we can, but just getting him to try a new food - let alone him liking it - is all so very hit-and-miss that it's easy to fall back on the same old foods. We tried peas for the hundredth time tonight. He wouldn't let even one past his lips, and we were punished with spitty raspberries. Lima beans he tried and seemed to like the first time I gave it to him; now he won't even bring himself to touch them. Grapes, we've tried unsuccessfully a couple of times before, but last night we gave him some (sliced) and he somewhat reluctantly ate a few. I know it's normal, I know we're doing all we can do, but ARGH.

Child, eat your peas! Mommy is going gray over the fact that you go DAYS without eating ANY vegetables!

Despite a nasty cold and his first almost-ear infection (the doctor said he was showing signs of one starting), Asher is doing really well. Once the lump in his gums gives birth to a tooth, he'll be up to ten chompers. He's energetic, climbing all over everything he can, running from here to there and everywhere. He does whine and fuss - he is a toddler! - but he is mostly a very happy, smiley little guy. Stephen puts it best when he says that Asher makes friends everywhere he goes. He loves everyone and I think he makes the world a tiny bit better every time he flashes one of his charming, cheesy smiles to the grumpy checkout lady at Wal-Mart or waves bye-bye to some lonely old man at McDonald's. Those are the times when I could care less that he has a pacifier stuck in his mouth or has eaten chicken nuggets for lunch the past three days straight. He's happy and healthy and all mine, and that's all that matters!

Here are his pictures from the past month.

Bye Bye, Wesley

2009-06-01T21:41:00.004-04:00

Stephen's younger brother, Wesley, was home for the past week and a half from San Francisco visiting family and friends. We were able to visit with him briefly on several occasions during his stay, but, unfortunately, between my working, not feeling well, and Asher's sometimes-not-so-pleasant disposition, we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with him. No going out for a drink or to English Ivy's for some kick-ass bar food. Bummer.

We were happy to learn that he's planning on coming back for Christmas, though, so we won't have to wait a whole year before seeing him again. I'm sure Asher will be very happy about this. Uncle Wes and Asher seemed to get along really well - they watched Thomas the Tank Engine and Ernest Goes to Jail together, lunched together, and Uncle Wes even read to him. It was the cutest thing ever.

We look forward to seeing you later this year, Wesley - thanks for visiting us! Maybe we can plan a little trip out west before that...Lord knows we could use a vacation!

Dinner Time Isn't Always Painful

2009-05-26T21:44:00.002-04:00

I know I tend to make it sound like Asher never eats anything, which is often the way it feels to me. But, there are some joyous occasions when he surprises me and totally pigs out on something weird like fish sticks or lima beans.

Below is a video of Asher chowing down on my corn-on-the-cob during dinner with my parents yesterday evening. Asher had his own corn, which I cut off the cob for him, but my rod of corny bliss must have been much more appetizing to him, as he whined for it until I finally handed it over to him. There is also some riveting discussion in the background regarding my step-dad's ability to take pictures with his cell phone. At least, Asher finds it pretty amusing for a couple of seconds.

There Are Some Things in Life That Make No Sense, and Sometimes Those Things Are in My House

2009-05-20T18:20:00.004-04:00

I'm, thankfully, feeling lots better today, so I went back to work, both at the office and at home. I'm not quite sure yet which has been a scarier task, but I'm beginning to think it's the home stuff. At the office, I really only missed two days, because my four-day yuckfest fell on a weekend. But at home...well, we all know there's no such thing as a "weekend" from housework, so I've fallen four days behind on laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, and tidying up. And before you start rolling your pretty little eyes, Stephen, because I KNOW you are, for once I am not ripping on your not-always-sweet housekeeping skills. You worked a ton of hours over the weekend, and when you weren't working, you were busy being a doting father and husband, taking care of your sick boy and wife. You had no time for housework, either. You are a good man and we love you!

So, anyway, I come home from work and begin to feed the cats and notice that, hanging on the banana rack - WHICH, I might add, I fully give credit to Stephen for not only using but for also purchasing on his own, with no prompting from me - are a bunch of nicely ripened bananas - WHICH, I also add, were purchased by Stephen the last time he went to the grocery store. And below these bananas are not one, but two halves of bananas. And next to those halves? (Here is where my panties get in a bit of a bunch.) A PERFECTLY CLEAN BANANA SAVER.

Wait - what's a banana saver, you might wonder? Well, it's this nifty little plastic clip thingy that you put over the end of a cut banana, which keeps the air off of the banana, and keeps it from going bad so quickly. So...it makes perfect sense that the banana halves are laying next to the banana saver, right?

Okay, okay, so maybe the banana saver was dirty when the first banana was cut. But that doesn't explain why there are still TWO banana halves laying on the kitchen counter. If the first half was too yucky to eat this morning - because as you can see, it's turning black, and when I picked it up to throw it away, it was definitely mushy - why wouldn't you just throw it out? Why would you keep it there, and lay the fresher half right next to it? Are we intentionally trying to attract fruit flies? I DON'T GET IT.

Stephen, any insight you can provide on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Blech Weekend

2009-05-17T21:47:00.006-04:00

Normally I completely dread Mondays, but I'm actually looking forward to moving past this weekend. Both Asher and I have been sick, and to make matters worse, Stephen had to work ALL day both days this weekend (it's 10:00 right now and he still isn't home), so I've had to suck it up and try to pretend like I didn't want to just crawl in a hole and die. Yesterday wasn't too bad...I was feeling alright enough to take Asher for an hour-long walk around the neighborhood, so at least we got out of the house for a little bit. Today, though, was another story. My ears have been all stuffed-up, my head feels like it is going to implode, and my throat has been really itchy and scratchy. I've spent much of the day moping around the house. Asher took a four-hour nap, which would have been lovely if I'd been able to fall asleep, too. My stupid sinuses kept me awake the whole time. Ugh.

The funny thing is how much better kids seem to handle being sick than adults. Asher was whiny and you could tell he didn't feel good, but he was just as active and ornery as ever. Here I had been thinking we could at least be a couple of couch potatoes together, but NO. Asher took full advantage of the fact that I was miserable and pulled all the DVD's out, drug tons of food out of the pantry, ripped all his flashcards out of their box TWICE (what he was doing in the below picture), discovered the third shelf of big kid books on his bookcase - which he's never touched before - and pulled half the books off of it...I sat there, weakly muttering, "Asher no..." but he knew he could totally get away with it today.

A Rare Photo of the Three of Us Together

2009-05-14T22:01:00.004-04:00

I've hung close to a trillion photos in our house over the past couple of months and have discovered something strange - there is a disturbingly low number of photos of the three of us together. There is no shortage in the number of Asher pictures (duh). There is a good amount of pictures of Stephen with Asher, and a fair number of pictures of me with Asher. But of the three of us, together? Honestly, I think the last picture that was taken of our family was from July. Sad, sad, sad.

My goal is to have more pictures taken of us, which may involve me harassing you to be the photographer. This photo was taken by my mom the day before Mother's Day. Next time, maybe I'll be smart enough to suggest we face something other than the sun in our photo.

Think This Is Bad? You Should See the Other Guy

2009-05-13T20:04:00.004-04:00

My baby niece has recently lost her first tooth! Okay, seriously - didn't she just get teeth? I mean, my memory of her being all gummy and toothless is still pretty strong. For crying out loud...I guess she is five and a half!

Thanks to my sister for sending this picture. I hear Ella is very proud of her new hooligan-smile. She should be. The little stinker couldn't be any cuter!

Where Would We Be Without Mommies?

2009-05-10T22:43:00.006-04:00

This was my second Mother's Day as a mom. We did nothing too crazy, just went to my mom's for the weekend, ate a lot of good food, did some serious napping - the usual stuff we do when we go home. I've got to say I'm feeling a lot more comfortable in my role as Mom than I was feeling last year; I definitely feel like a mom now, and although I can't say I've completely got my shit together, I feel like I'm handling the mess of life a lot better than I was a year ago. Motherhood still seemed pretty crazy and unknown last year. I've now gotten to know that craziness extremely well and have become best friends with it; in fact, I'm not sure how I ever functioned without it.

I have to give many thanks to my mom for the wonderful job she's always done in dealing with the chaos of motherhood. I could not have asked for a better mom, not only for myself, but for Asher, too. I feel like I'm doing a pretty darn good job so far of being a mom, and a huge reason for that is because my mother was such a good role model for me when I was growing up. She is still the first person I turn to for advice and reassurance with my own parenting - she always seems to have all the right answers and, no matter what, she always makes me feel 110% better. Always. I think that, right there, is a huge sign that you're an excellent mother - when even at thirty years old, your child still fully believes that you are one of the wisest people to have ever walked the planet. Of course, it could also just be a huge sign that you've done a perfect job of brainwashing your child, but at this point, does it really matter? Someone thinks you rock - that's all that counts!

Thanks to all the moms out there for all the hard work you do. Mothers really do make the world a better, brighter, and less scary place!

Just Another Typical Meal with Asher

2009-05-07T22:19:00.005-04:00

Tonight for dinner we had grilled hotdogs, a delicacy offered a couple of times previously to Mr. Barr with unfavorable results. We even served it outside on the deck since the weather was so lovely. Unfortunately, he made his distaste for this supposed "kid-friendly" food apparent, once again. Only this time, all the neighbors now know not to invite Asher over to their house on beans 'n' wienies night.

Still Totally in Shock

2009-05-06T21:25:00.003-04:00

My BFF Laurie informed me five or six weeks ago that she was pregnant, and I was completely thrilled for her. For one, I know how much she's been wanting another child. Second, I know she's a wonderful mother. Her ten-year old daughter, Sloan, is honestly the sweetest, most caring, most well-behaved child I've ever encountered; it's pretty obvious that Laurie does great work in the parenting department. And three, well, it's selfish, but I felt she needed to have children closer in age to my child. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore Sloan and am totally looking forward to the day when I can use her babysitting services. But Laurie had already been waaaaay past the diaper and sleep deprivation stage by the time I had Asher. I can use all the friends I can get to be down in the baby trenches with me.

As if that isn't exciting enough, I read her blog last night and discovered some VERY interesting news...she had an ultrasound done yesterday and found out that she will need to purchase not one, but TWO car seats - she's having TWINS! How freakin' cool is that?! I had to read her post about three times and stare at the ultrasound picture for five minutes for it to finally sink in. Wow!

I am so very happy for her and her family. I can't wait for more pregnancy updates!

Baby Continues Quest for Danger & Driving Mother to Insanity

2009-05-05T22:54:00.006-04:00

So I come home from work and inform Stephen I have to go to the bathroom. On my way upstairs, I become distracted by the fact that all the windows in the house were closed. It's a gorgeous day for once, and no open windows - madness! While I'm opening windows, Asher follows me upstairs. I shout down to Stephen, look, I've really gotta go bad, you're going to have to watch him or something. Then I think I hear him get up off his butt downstairs, so I leave the room and conduct my business.

I come out of the bathroom and find the above. Baby sitting on top of desk, COMPLETELY unattended. No daddy to be found. What is not captured in this fine parenting moment is the fact that he had a large paperclip hanging out of his mouth, too. I was smart enough to yank that out of his mouth and yell at Stephen for not coming upstairs before snapping this shot. And his excuse? He thought I was taking Asher in the bathroom with me, and since Asher was completely silent during that time, he had no idea he was up here alone. Yeah, he was silent...BECAUSE HE WAS BUSY EATING PAPER CLIPS!

Can you just see the pure orneriness oozing out of this child's face? All I'm saying is, if you look up "stinker" in the dictionary, it's not a skunk's picture you'll find. I lost track of the number of times he climbed up on the desk this evening. And there's the climbing on top of the coffee table, out of the bathtub, on top of his toy basket...Evidently, we're in the climbing stage. Yippee.

No Time for Clothes

2009-05-03T22:12:00.006-04:00

Dressing Asher is usually a fairly difficult task; Heaven forbid he sit still for three minutes. We typically have to chase him down to get his pants on him, corner him to put that second sock on, tackle him to get his shirt on over his head. And I don't even want to discuss the wrestling matches involved in diaper changes. Yesterday was no exception. For some reason, I could not get that second sleeve on him. I may as well have been trying to dress a slippery, flopping fish out of water. I finally just gave up and let him run around like this until he settled down.

The headband? I did that just for my own amusement. And it never fails: that was the one thing I put on him that he didn't fight me with.

Sixteen Months Old

2009-05-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

For some reason, I'm having a really difficult time writing this post. I'm racking my brain for things to write about, things that Asher is busy doing, developmental progress he is making, ANYTHING...but I'm at a loss. Instead, I've just yawned at least twenty times in the last minute and a half. It's no wonder I can't think of a darn thing to write - I'm pooped! This is pretty much how I've been feeling lately, too...flat out exhausted. Part of it is my own fault - not getting as much sleep as I need and eating really poorly. But the other part of it? I'm blaming it on my son. Sometimes I sit back and am totally floored by all the energy that kid has, constantly sprinting from one room to the next, up the stairs, down the stairs, on the bed, off the bed. I am of the belief that our children suck the energy right out of us, just like they do our money and our sanity, and that is the real explanation behind parental poopedness.

Asher's comprehension continues to grow, which I think is just about the most thrilling thing in the whole entire universe. If he's in the mood, he can do the entire Itsy Bitsy Spider, and has learned to play Ring Around the Rosie. He tries to mock more and more words, nevermind that they are still completely off. If you ask him a question, he'll answer you. "Have you been a good boy today, Asher?" "Bah!" "What did you and Daddy do?" "Bwah bah!" "Was that fun?" "Bah! Da-da...Da-da...Da-da..."

Asher has also sprouted a new tooth! We're very happy that all the drooling and finger gnawing had a purpose, after all. Although, his teeth seem to be pretty pointless if he WON'T EAT HIS FOOD. I'm praying this is just normal, picky toddler behavior and not any true indication of his future diet. If he turns out to have his Daddy's taste in food, I'm pretty much screwed.

We're really excited that warmer weather is moving in so we can expand Asher's adventures to the outdoors. We've already played outside in the backyard on a few occasions, and have gone to the park several times. We're looking forward to getting his wading pool and sprinkler toys out, going to the zoo, teaching him to ride his pre-tricycle, going hiking, watching fireworks, attending PaPa's park band concerts, and hunting down some good fair food this summer. Yeah, I know we're only a month into Spring, but by the time I get the energy to do just one thing on the list, it'll be mid-August.

Here are pictures of Asher from the month of April.

Can I Do It Again?

2009-04-29T22:12:00.003-04:00

It was two years ago this month that Asher was conceived, and the time has already come for Stephen and I to start re-evaluating our family plans. It's strange - before I had Asher, I felt young and like I had all the time in the world to have a baby. Now that two years have passed and Asher is growing like a weed, I feel more pressure now than I did before. Before, those pressures were primarily from the mothers, relatives, and friends pushing us to get on the baby bandwagon. This time around, I'm finding all of the pressure is being created internally.

And, by the way, this in no way means we've started trying to get pregnant, or even that we've decided when to have another baby - now, six months, a year, two years, perhaps? This simply means we're talking about the possibility of when we might want to start thinking about having another child. And yes, we are the most passive, indecisive people I have ever known. Sometimes I really hate us.

I feel like between two and three years is a good age difference between siblings. If I want to obtain this age difference, we need to start cracking. Asher keeps getting older, you know! And speaking of age, I'm not getting any younger myself...I mean, seriously, I tweaked my back a couple of weeks ago by just getting into the car! And then there's the fact that both of us are getting very nostalgic about babies. Granted, this is probably partially due to the fact that Asher is acting less like a baby and more like a wild beast these days, but still, the baby craving is out there and it seems to be growing...

On the other hand, have you seen me lately? I'm a wreck! Hair is crazy, clothes are frumpy, the upkeep on grooming is poor, diet is atrocious...Mentally, I feel about ten times worse than that. I keep thinking about how insane everything felt right after I had Asher, and, though it's a different type of insanity, things still feel hectic and crazy right now...what kind of horrible, horrible mess would we create if we collided both of those worlds? Moreover, how would I cope in that chaos? And then there's money...sweet, cruel money. Of which we have none! But will we ever have some? Can we afford to wait until the economy shapes up and Steve gets a full-time job and our bank accounts are brimming with cold hard cash?

These are the thoughts that are eating away at my mind lately. I know we'll never really make an actual decision. We'll just finally give up, like we did the first time around. Two years after Asher's conception, and I'm still trying to figure out if I want to get pregnant. Although, I've got to admit, our passive decision-making the first time around had some pretty awesome results...

Baby Kills Innocent Tube of Lipstick

2009-04-27T22:15:00.005-04:00

This is really my fault; I saw Asher grab my lipstick off the table and toddle off with it, but I didn't think anything of it because, oh I don't know, I obviously had a complete mental shutdown at that exact moment, or something. Duh: toddler + lipstick = not a very good combination!

After a couple of minutes of him sitting across the room very quietly with his back to me, I knew something was up. Sure enough, I peeked over his shoulder to find him attempting to stuff both of his thumbs in the tube at the same time. Luckily, I came to my senses when I did; though the lipstick would have been saved entirely had I been sensible enough to not let him play with it in the first place, at least I caught him before he got bored with squishing it and learned he could fingerpaint on the walls and every other object in the house with it. The mess did take a good ten minutes to scrub off of him, and it only came off after we broke out the Comet with bleach. (Alright, so we didn't...that was our last resort if the Method dish soap didn't work. He was very relieved that it did.) Who knew lipstick was so hard to get off of skin? Not to mention, while cleaning him, he felt the need to touch every single thing on the sink he could reach with his grubby little stained paws, so I had a second mess to clean after him. That's okay, I got my revenge by scrubbing his rosy nostrils out.

Boys just have no respect for cosmetics!

Rowan Turns Two

2009-04-26T22:56:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, we attended a joint birthday party for Rowan and his friend, Lola, who were both turning two within a few days of each other. The weather was great, the babies were all on their best behavior, there were lots of crackers and juice to be consumed, there were slides and bouncy castles to play on...aside from the slight sunburn I got, it was a perfect party. Here are a few pictures taken from the day. I can't believe it's been two years ago since my little nephew was born. It seems like only yesterday that Stephen and I were lurking outside of the delivery room while Angela had him.

We also noticed that Asher and Rowan are playing together so much better now. Before long, their eight-month age difference won't be noticeable at all and they'll have so much fun getting into lots of trouble together. I mean, just look at that picture. They've both got "STINKER" written all over their faces.

Spring!

2009-04-23T22:52:00.004-04:00

72 degrees today, 80 degrees tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, and 75 degrees on Monday? Could it be that Spring has finally decided to stop teasing us already and stay? Stephen and Asher went to the park to enjoy the weather this afternoon while I slaved away in my gray cubicle with nothing but cold, hard fluorescent lights shining down on me. Asher made Daddy take him down the slide at least 150 times, and I hear they also played on the swings and just ran around in the grass like a couple of wild men and taunted other small children who got in their way.

Above is a photo I took this evening of Stephen and Asher inspecting Marmie's beautiful tulips. I have to post this picture because I didn't get to take any pictures of them frolicking together at the park because, well, of that whole being-busy-letting-the-corporate-world-suck-my-soul-out-of-my-body-through-my-nose thing.

Good Kitty

2009-04-22T17:57:00.004-04:00

Asher's fascination with the cats is ever-increasing, and luckily, so far, their tolerance of him has remained. Sophie and Charlie mainly just ignore or run from him, but Sam is usually pretty sweet and lets Asher play with him a little bit. You know, until Asher does something like shrieks in his ear or pulls his tail or tramples over him.

Missing My Niece

2009-04-20T18:22:00.009-04:00

While on my quest to find what are apparently rare photos of me and Stephen as a couple, I've become distracted, as is typical of me. Heaven forbid I have a goal in mind and focus on it. Going through my photos, I've discovered that a large chunk of them are of Ella when she was a baby. The above picture particularly melted my heart - this was taken on Christmas Day of 2003, when Ella was about five weeks old. I remember during those first few months after she was born I was absolutely obsessed with that little girl - buying her clothes, thinking of her, visiting her almost every weekend, and even dreaming of her - Stephen said there were several times in the middle of the night I would tell him in my sleep to be careful not to roll over on the baby. I was so excited for each of her first milestones - her first crawl, her first teeth, her first steps, her first words. Anyway, this picture pretty much sums up how enamored with Ella I was.

Now Ella has been living in Virginia for over a year, and I haven't seen her in six months. I had a conversation with her on Easter, and I'm absolutely amazed by how much she's growing up. She is going to be starting kindergarten in the fall and turning six in November - how is this even possible?! I'd been okay with her living so far away up until the past week or two. I don't know why, maybe it was the conversation we had on Easter, but I've suddenly really been missing my little niece more than usual. Like, a TON. Like, so much that looking at these pictures of her is making me cry. I think the reality of her growing up and the distance is finally sinking in. I've been so crazy the past year with the chaos of being a new mom that I hadn't had much time or energy to really realize how much this sucks. I hate it that there's so much separation between us now. I hate it that I haven't seen her in half a year. I hate the thought that once she starts school, I will probably see even less of her. I hate it that Asher is missing out on developing a close relationship with his cousin.

I'm feeling a bit like when I was ten and Jamie was seven and I'd want to play with her Barbie doll. Back then, I could just take it away from her. Tell her to suck it up, or I wouldn't play with her. Oh yeah, and she has to play with the amputee Ken doll, too - I get the one with both legs.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure things might not be so simple anymore. I'm almost certain that stomping my feet and throwing myself down on the floor and screaming, "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!" isn't going to help matters, either. Jamie, if you were looking for revenge regarding the Ken doll situation, I think you found it.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2009-04-18T00:19:00.004-04:00

Here is a little snippet of Asher doing his moves to "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." You really have to look for it, but it's there - the twisting of the hands as Spider climbs up the waterspout, the lifting of the arms for the downpour of the rain and the appearance of the sun, the (very brief) twisting of the hands as Spider climbs back on, and then, after exerting much patience and restraint to cut the song short, applause.

So his execution isn't perfect. And my voice is terrible. I still think we put on a pretty kick-ass performance, though.

Wal-Mart Baby

2009-04-14T23:05:00.004-04:00

Stephen surprised me this evening with a nice little point-and-shoot camera that he got for a steal at Costco. I've been whining forever that I want a little camera I can stick in my purse, and I've been whining for even longer than that that I want a video camera. Well, the video camera will have to wait, but in the meantime, it's nice that I finally have a makeshift one in this camera that will actually record sound. Yes, one of our old cameras has a video recorder, but it doesn't record sound - can you believe that? What's the point?! I guess if you want to record your local street mime or Charlie Chaplin impersonator performing?

Of course, I was eager to try it out right away, so I shot a little clip of Asher playing with the Wal-Mart shopping cart the Easter Bunny gave to him that I put together this evening all by myself with no instructions. (The thing is sure to fall apart within the next three days.) Just as I suspected, that $12 toy is keeping him very entertained...he's got to be dizzy from the number of laps he's made around the house with it. After a half a lap in this shot, he gets distracted by Blue's Clues and has to stop and figure out what the hell Joe is singing about THIS time.

Easter Bug

2009-04-13T22:10:00.004-04:00

Asher spent his second Easter at NeeNee and PaPa's house, just like last year. Except this year, he was able to rip through his Easter baskets all by himself (almost), hunt for Easter eggs with a little bit (read: A LOT) of help, stay awake for all of the festivities, and partake of the bountiful Easter feast. Well, he could have, at least; of course, he didn't want to have even a bite of ham or a spoonful of sweet potato - we ended up giving him a cereal bar and Cheerios for dinner. Point being, he wasn't a little blob this year, so I think we all were able to have a lot more fun with the holiday this year than last.

We started off with a trip to the mall to visit the Easter Bunny on Easter Eve. Asher was less than enthusiastic about this, but I reminded him that if he was nice and visited with Mr. Bunny, he might stop by in the morning and drop off some goodies for him. Asher decided he would make the attempt and, after about ten minutes of NeeNee showing him how to tickle the bunny's ears and nose, Asher warmed up just enough to sit him on Mr. Bunny's lap for thirty seconds to snap one okay picture.

The next morning, Asher awoke to find his traumatic experience had paid off. There were two Easter baskets, a gift bag, a big toy, and a bike sitting in the middle of NeeNee's living room floor. He crawled down the stairs and stopped, gave me a quizzical look, and then toddled right on over and started digging things out. I was happy to see he was much more interested in gifts this time around, as compared to Christmas when I basically had to open all his gifts for him. The Easter Bunny hid eggs full of Rolo's and dollar bills around the house, but it turned out not to be the best environment for an egg hunt for a 15-month old because there evidently were far too many other interesting things to see and do other than look for stupid plastic eggs, things like playing with cat toys, or the lid to the trash can. After a few hours, I re-hid the eggs in the backyard and we had a second attempt at an egg hunt. Asher did much better due to fewer distractions; even though I still had to point almost all of them out to him, he did really well at picking them up and putting them in the basket. Of course, he's been practicing this skill for quite some time with his megabloks and a cookie tin.

Here are a bazillion pictures of Asher on Easter, mainly of him frolicking in the yard at NeeNee's, enjoying the so-so weather.

Much-Needed BFF Fix

2009-04-07T19:54:00.004-04:00

Angie made a spontaneous trip down from Chicago to spend the weekend with us, and man did it make me realize how much I miss having close friends nearby. We stayed up until 2 a.m. talking. We watched movies together. We took Asher to the playground. It was very low-key, and very, very nice. And, I can't even begin to describe how much of a relief it was to have an extra set of eyes to help watch Asher Bug. I am currently working on convincing Angie to move to the area so I can get my BFF fix whenever I need it, but in the meantime, I hope she'll come back and visit again soon.

Mr. Grumpers

2009-04-06T22:35:00.005-04:00

Asher has been teething for the past couple of weeks, but it seems to be getting worse. He has constantly been gnawing on his little fingers this weekend and the drooling has gotten so bad that, this evening, I had to dig out his bibs. I'd finally packed those darn things up a few months ago because THANK THE LORD he didn't need them anymore. Or so I thought. On top of that, he started coming down with a cold a couple of days ago, and now his cough sounds like that of a forty-year smoker. And just when he couldn't be any happier, we drug him to the doctor today for his 15-month checkup. I thought this was going to be an easy visit - I could have sworn no shots were going to be involved this time. Ah, but Mommy's memory is crap, we all know that, and he did have to have a couple of shots. He has spent the rest of the evening letting us know, too, that he is miserable and that we should be blamed. Because that's what parents seem to be there for, right? He didn't have a completely awful time at the doctor's, though. We got stuck in the waiting room for 40 minutes, which normally would be a disaster, but luckily there was a little 19-month old girl who was eager to play with him. They were so cute, I wish I'd had my camera. They spent lots of time spinning each other on the chairs, looking out the window together, dancing, tackling each other, and chit-chatting in their own language. The little girl was so smitten with Asher that she cried when we had to leave, it was so sad! Asher is up to almost 24 pounds, so he's in the 50th percentile for weight, and is 32 inches in height, which is in the 75th percentile. The doctor said he looks perfect, and I said WELL, DUH!

Because we felt so bad for him, we did what most parents do when their kid is sick: we became complete pushovers. All he wanted for dinner was banana, yogurt melts, and apple juice. SO BE IT. He did NOT want his pajamas on, so he got to run around the house for a couple of hours in his diaper. We read all the books he brought to us, multiple times upon request. He got to sit in Daddy's chair and watch TV and play with the remote for as long as he wanted. We did stand our ground and made him go to bed at a reasonable hour, however, which gives me hope that I will not cave and buy him a car should he ever break a bone or get chicken pox.

Child Labor

2009-04-02T21:50:00.003-04:00

Although Asher's curiosity is exhausting, we're finding it can also be very beneficial to us. He's expressing more and more interest in the chores we do around the house. He loves chasing after the vacuum and helping Mommy push it around. He finds the dishwasher very interesting and enjoys handing clean dishes to Daddy to put them away. Stephen was hanging curtain holdbacks in our room and Asher was right by his side, handing him tools and hardware. When we're at the store, Asher thinks it's a treat when we take him out of the cart and let him help push it.

He doesn't quite understand, yet, that working sucks, and we're trying to keep it that way. Maybe by this summer we can get him to mow the yard for us?

Fifteen Months Old

2009-04-01T20:48:00.007-04:00

This little guy will officially be fifteen months old tomorrow. That's a year and a quarter! Okay, so maybe that's no milestone, but fifteen months sure sounds like a lot to me.

Off the top of my head, I don't think there have been any major developments this month - still no "real" words, no more teeth that I've discovered (though I think he has been teething), and he's still unable to solve a simple mathematical equation. But, I feel like he's really matured a lot in other ways. His comprehension is ever-increasing. He's learned that a crack in the sidewalk is not the same thing as a step, so he doesn't need to get on all fours and crawl off of it, and he's also learned that if it is indeed a step, he still doesn't need to get on all fours and crawl off of it - there's this magical thing called stepping down that you can do if you slow down, are really careful, and hold Mommy's or Daddy's hand. He's getting better at getting into things in much messier ways than before. For instance, we went from opening cabinets, to opening cabinets and pulling Mommy's lotions out, to opening cabinets and pulling Mommy's lotions out and "hiding" them, to opening cabinets and pulling Mommy's lotions out and "hiding" them and then finding them and opening the lids. So far, there have been no major messes to report, only messy hands. SO FAR. I'm sure I'll have a different song to sing in the not-so distant future.

This child never ceases to amaze me. Never in my life have I seen someone so curious about everything. I find his fascination fascinating. To me, paper clips are about as dull as you can get, as far as entertainment goes. But watching him pull out an entire container of paper clips, take them out one-by-one, arrange them just so, hand them off to Daddy, and then put them back one-by-one - MOST AMAZING THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. Sometimes I feel like we'll never have the opportunity again to go out and do fun things like go to a concert or see a show, but then I stop and think, WHY? Look at this entertainment we have right here, in our own home, right before our very eyes? FOR FREE! He's going to go rearrange the spices and cans of cat food in the pantry? I'll make the popcorn!

He's so quick now, too. I love to watch him dart from room to room squealing and looking around like he has some sort of secret mission to accomplish but he just hasn't quite figured out what it is, yet. He's toddle-running now, which is so funny to watch - he looks like a tiny drunken Frankenstein. What's especially great about this age is that he's pretty good at entertaining himself. Saturday, I gave him a bunch of Megabloks and a cookie tin and he was happy for a good half an hour, filling it up, carrying it around, and emptying it.

And sleep - I can't forget to mention the sleep! Since we started letting him fall asleep on his own in his crib, without us hovering over him, he's been such a good sleeper. He's been sleeping through the night for a good 10-11 hours per night this entire month. I can't begin to describe how much nicer and less of a struggle bedtime is than it used to be. I think I'm just going to block our old bedtime routine completely out of my memory.

I'm beginning to understand now what is meant when people say kids keep you young. In my ripe old age of almost thirty, I feel tired, bored, unimpressed, and just overall jaded about the world around us. But when I'm around Asher...okay, I still feel tired - REALLY tired - but I feel refreshed, pulled out of my slump. He's fascinated by the tiniest of things, each and every moment he's awake it's a learning experience for him, and he laughs for no reason. His presence chips away at the crusty bitter shell that has formed around my soul over the years, and if only I could bottle it up like a drug and take it in the middle of work or while sitting in traffic, I'd be a much happier person, thinking more about rainbows and butterflies and less about homicide.

Here are Asher Bug's pictures for the past month.

An Evening of No Parenting

2009-03-31T22:38:00.003-04:00

It's been quite awhile since we've been sans baby. There was one evening this past winter when Stephen and Asher were snowed-in down at his parents' house, but other than that, I haven't spent a night without my child since last summer. I was agonizing over this all day long - actually I began fretting last night - because I remembered how heartbroken I felt the last time when he spent the night away from us. When I got home from work tonight, though, I was a little surprised: it didn't feel too bad not having to turn my mommy switch on.

Don't get me wrong - I miss the little booger like crazy, and when I was informed that he cried for twenty minutes before finally falling asleep, I was this close to jumping in the car and driving forty minutes to...I don't know, wake him up just to tell him Mommy was there and everything was going to be okay? I didn't, though; as hard as it was, I let the umbilical cord remain detached.

But it's definitely different now than it was last summer. He was so much smaller then, and more helpless. Letting someone else care for him overnight felt like letting someone else take your prized childhood teddy bear or blankie away for a night. AND THE WORRY! But now? I don't know; could it be everyone was right? That there WILL come a day when I'll be thankful and even begging of grandparents/relatives/friends/someone, anyone to take my child off my hands for a night or two? That used to seem like a ridiculous thought to me, but now...I can appreciate a little time off, I think.

So what did us two crazy kids do with our responsibility-free evening? The question really should be what DIDN'T we do! First, we went to fabulous Costco to look at patio furniture. Gosh, that was exciting! Then, we had a FANCY dinner at Boston Market - with COUPONS! We ate for half price, baby! We got really wild and crazy after that and went to the mall. Things got a little sticky there when I saw a baby with Easter Bunny ears on - he'd just visited the Easter Bunny and it reminded me that we need to take Asher out to see the Easter Bunny and then I started thinking about Asher and that I was - *GASP* - semi-enjoying my time out without him and then I felt like a bad mom and wanted to go home and cry into the mountain of dirty laundry on the floor of my closet because that's where bad moms like me belong - on top of a pile of dirty laundry. But, Stephen suggested a less crazy way for me to direct my emotions by leading me to all the kiddie stores. We found a bucket hat for Asher for this summer at Children's Place, a really-dorky-for-an-adult-but-super-cute-for-a-two-year-old Christmas sweater at BabyGap, and a bunch of stuff on sale for next winter DIRT FREAKIN' CHEAP at this new store, Crazy 8. This place is awesome! They are owned by Gymboree, but the stuff is a bit more hip (less cutesy) and WAY less expensive. We wrapped up our evening out with a short trip to Target, where I bought CURTAIN RODS. Wow, I know!

Now that we've been pampered by an evening off, I'm looking very forward to Asher Bug's return tomorrow. I'm sure after two days of toddler wrangling, Marmie and Grandfather will be looking very forward to Asher Bug's return home, too.

Riding Bareback...and Barebutt

2009-03-27T17:32:00.004-04:00

NeeNee and PaPa gave Asher a really cool Spin & Bounce Pony for his birthday. You'd never guess it from its name, but you can spin and bounce around on it. You can also hook it up to the TV and play interactive learning games. It's been sitting in the box all this time, though, mostly due to the move and partly due to the fact that we are lazy parents. Last night, tired of looking at the box, I decided to finally put it together so there would be a much less tidy mess to look at.

Asher doesn't quite get the interactive games, yet...All he's mastered so far is getting on and off the horse, spinning it a little, and pushing the forward button on the handle that makes it skip to the next game. Stephen and I were getting a little frustrated because HEY this is a pretty cool toy, gosh, it would have been fun to have had neato toys like this when WE were little, and here was Asher, completely fascinated with climbing on, off, on, off, on, off and push-push-push-push-pushing the buttons. Stephen came this close to pushing Asher off the horse and climbing on himself, but I think he realized his butt is about the size of the horse and fun would not have been had if he made the attempt.

Asher is so excited about his new toy that after his shower last night, he came tearing out of the bathroom naked and climbed right on the horsey. I cringed a little, listening to his naked butt and private area squeak across the plastic, but he didn't seem to mind. I guess real cowboys don't need clothes. He does need a hat, though, and then he could be the new naked cowboy. I certainly think Asher is much cuter, don't you?

Living Room & Dining Room

2009-03-24T22:21:00.004-04:00

Nothing too exciting, other than the fact that I think we're just about all settled in - YIPPEE! We just have a few minor things to do...put up curtains, buy some furniture for the deck, hang a few pictures here and there...but other than that, DONE. Hallelujah, praise the Lord!

Just don't look in our garage. Or the guest room.

Why Monitoring Your Child's TV Viewing Is Important

2009-03-23T22:31:00.005-04:00

Pay no attention to my messy bedroom, please. It's still in the works. What needs to be seen here is the evidence that if you turn your back for even one minute - just one! - your child could find something totally horrific on the television and want to watch it. Go ahead - click on the picture. Enlarge it!

That's right - I leave the room with Spongebob on. I come back to find Asher, remote in hand, deeply entranced by an episode of Family Matters. It's not surprising that he changed the channel - he is a boy, after all; channel surfing is one of his favorite pastimes. What is shocking is that he found Steve Urkel on BET while flipping through the channels and was so mesmerized by him that he halted his channel surfing and SAT STILL FOR 15 MINUTES - exactly in that position - watching the show until I turned the TV off. The horror!

Here come the nightmares of Asher saying his first words, "Did I do that?"

It's Best Not to Think about the Other Side of the Line

2009-03-22T16:25:00.001-04:00

I've received numerous calls from several different people in the past in which they flat-out told me they were sitting on the can while talking to me. Personally, I can't do this. For me, I typically behave no differently when on the phone than I would if the person were actually in the room with me. There have been a couple of instances with my mom or BFF in which I've gone tinkle while on the phone, but these were emergency weeder situations only; besides, I've gone pee with them in the room, anyway, so it really wasn't breaking my rules. Pooping while on the phone, though...I'm a prude, I know, but I'm just incapable of doing this. And, unlike Asher, if the phone rings while I'm in a state of undress, I'll normally have to throw a robe on before I answer it. Call me paranoid, but if they can hear me, I feel like they can see me.

So if people poop while talking on the phone, it makes me wonder what other things people do on the phone. I know a lot of you out there EAT while on the phone - let me tell you, it's annoying! My dear husband used to fall asleep while talking to me on the phone back in our dating years...also annoying; he's lucky I married him after that. I'm guilty of nursing while on the phone. Again, though, I did that in front of people, too, so no rule breaking there. What else goes on on the other side of the line? Baths? Waxing? Taxidermy? It makes me wonder about all that goes on the other side of the line in chat rooms and even on e-mail, too. Like right now, while I'm typing this - for all you know, I could be biting the callouses off the bottom of my dirty feet.

You know, we received a couple of phone calls last week from PRISON. And, yes, that's exactly what our caller id read - it certainly didn't sugar coat the information. Do you think I picked up the phone? Too bad whoever it was didn't leave a message. I'm just hoping it was a wrong number.

Asher Freaks Out the Ladies...AGAIN

2009-03-21T23:02:00.008-04:00

Friday night, my dad and step-mom came up to see the house and pay a visit to Asher. It had been a long time since we'd seen them - since August - so we were really happy to have them over. They brought along a special treat for Asher, which was his cousin, Kayleigh. She is the daughter of my step-brother, Jason, and is only three weeks younger than Asher.

Asher was absolutely fascinated with Kayleigh, but he's definitely got a lot of learning to do when it comes to how to treat women. First off, SHARE YOUR TOYS, Asher. He didn't fuss at all when she'd try to play with his toys; no, he'd just toddle over to her and YANK them right out of her hands. Or, he'd use the even more subtle tactic of simply pushing her out of the way. Granted, he's not used to being around other kids, but apparently Kayleigh isn't, either, and she was just as sweet as pie, not only sharing her toys, but also not crying when Asher would take them away from her. Second, TAKE IT SLOWLY IN THE PHYSICAL DEPARTMENT, Asher. He was in her poor little face nearly the entire time; if he wasn't stealing her toys or pushing her, he was hugging her, kissing her, grabbing her, pulling her down, or even tackling her. That's right - my son knocked her down and climbed up on her at least twice. She was a pretty good sport, though; much more tolerant than I would have been. I really, really hope he gets some better manners by the time prom rolls around.

I learned from hanging out with Kayleigh for a few hours that what everyone tells me seems to be true: boys and girls are different. I couldn't get over how calm she was; she would sit and play with one toy for a couple of minutes, would sit on my lap without squirming, would come when you called her name, was extremely gentle with everything. Asher, on the other hand, is like a constant ball of motion. He's grabby, rough, wiggly, squirmy, always on the go and busy trying to climb things. He's too busy most of the time to pay any attention to us when we call for him, and play with just one toy for longer than two seconds? That's crazy talk! Any time I've complained about this to other people, I typically get the same "oh well he's just being a boy!" response. Before, that really meant nothing to me. But, if Kayleigh is a good example of how most girl babies are, then yeah...I guess they are different.

Asher had a great visit with everyone, aside from the fact that he wouldn't go near my dad for most of the time. Maybe if it's not another seven months before we see Grandpa and Grandma again, he'll warm up to Grandpa sooner. Asher did wear his motorcycle jammies just for Grandpa, though, so Grandpa shouldn't feel too slighted. Hopefully, Kayleigh will forget how handsy Asher is and will be agreeable to another date in the near future. She wasn't totally miserable around him, though - as you can see in the below picture, she not only let Asher kiss her goodnight, but she actually enjoyed it. In fact, she let him lick/kiss her cheek many times before we finally pulled him off of her.

(Oh, and about the picture above: everyone was waving bye bye. Grandma and Grandpa probably won't be too happy about the silly picture of them, but hey, sorry - the kids look cute. Plus, it's the best group picture I was able to get of everyone. Darn babies and their great skill at being uncooperative during picture time...)

Sorry Folks: No Crazy St. Patrick's Day Stories Here

2009-03-17T22:48:00.002-04:00

As usual, St. Patrick's Day was a pretty uneventful occasion for us. No crazy drinkin' stories, no bar hopping, not even one green beer consumption on this end of the computer. YES, WE ARE BORING. And I can't even blame that on the fact that we have a kid. This is just what we are good at.

Actually, this year we did more than we typically do. We went down to my in-laws for some homemade Irish cuisine, which consisted of corned beef, carrots & potatoes, steamed cabbage, and deviled eggs, some of which were dyed green in the spirit of the day. Stephen and I were apprehensive about the menu, as neither of us are fans of Irish food, but it was surprisingly very good. (Well, at least I thought so.) I ate so much cabbage and deviled eggs that I thought I was going to explode. (And maybe I will; we'll just leave it at that.) It was totally worth it, though.

Asher wore his "lucky & charming" t-shirt in celebration, along with his green-striped socks and green & gray shoes. Like his father, he hardly touched the food that was served. Party poopers.

Thanks to Joe for pulling us out of the house and getting us to celebrate the day with some great food!

Playhouse

2009-03-16T23:01:00.005-04:00

It was so nice out this evening that Stephen decided to whip the grill out for the first time this year and make burgers. While he grilled, Asher played in his new backyard for the first time. The super fun thing about his new backyard is that, thanks to the people who used to live here, he has a playhouse in which to play.

Okay, okay, so what is a toddler boy going to do with a playhouse, you might wonder. Well, probably not much. However, we have discovered there are oodles and oodles of little girls in the neighborhood. Little girls who love playhouses. Little girls who used to play in this playhouse with the little girl who used to live here. Little girls who will continue to want to play in this playhouse. Twice already, in fact, I've peeked out the kitchen window and spotted the neighbor's daughter and her friend running in and out of the playhouse.

Stephen advised me that if any little girls come knocking at the door asking to play in the playhouse, I should flat out tell them NO. I, on the other hand, see a great opportunity to get in nice with the girls and find some prospective future babysitters for my child. Asher simply sees his playhouse as a great big chick magnet.

Avid Reader

2009-03-15T11:46:00.004-04:00

Asher has liked being read to for most of his year-long life, but over the past couple of weeks I've noticed that he's taken more of an interest in "reading" to himself. It used to be, he'd grab a book and toddle over to us, grunting and waving the book, as if to say, "READ TO ME, BITCHES!" More and more, I'm finding him quietly occupying himself, often times with a book.

His favorite books are those by Sandra Boynton, which we started collecting after several hand-me-downs were given to us by Cousin Ella and we discovered how cute and fun to read they are. He also enjoys his Sesame Street "Sesame Beginnings" line of books, Disney Babies books (much to our chagrin, as they are pretty weak and lame), and Muppet Babies books. We had bought him several books in a series by Olivier Dunrea for his birthday because we thought they were adorable, but for some reason he can't seem to stand them. After about two pages, he pushes the book away, starts whining, and rushes over to pick out a new book. Go figure. He is also really getting into "flap-books." So far, he's been really gentle with the couple he has, so we just bought him a set of Elmo flap-books for his Easter basket. (Shh, don't tell him.)

Asher is a man with a variety of tastes, though, and lately doesn't seem fully satisfied by those baby books. He occasionally likes us to read to him from the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader books or Reader's Digest when we're conducting business in the bathroom. Then there are times we find him pulling books out of the bookcase and perusing them on his own. In the below picture, he was caught looking at one of his favorite books, Sinatra 101. I guess what surprises me the most about this is that he seems to be entertained by the words, as these books really don't have any pictures to look at. Why am I surprised, though? This is the boy who watches Hogan's Heroes with Daddy and the military channel with Grandfather with almost as much excitement as Yo Gabba Gabba.

Notice Anything Missing?

2009-03-13T22:24:00.005-04:00

That's right - I finally bit the bullet and took a pair of scissors to Asher's head tonight. The overall length itself wasn't bothering me - actually, I thought the little wisps of fine baby curls at the tips of his hair after his bath were the sweetest things in the whole wide world. But the hair hanging over the ears had been getting on my nerves for awhile now. And I couldn't just cut the hair above his ears, because then poor Asher would be sporting a baby mullet. I'd been putting it off, though, hoping that Stephen would put his well-known barbering skills to use, because I had no clue how to cut it, but this evening Asher was being such a good boy while I was giving him a bath, sitting so still while looking at his bath books, that I decided it was time to snip.

I don't think it turned out too bad. Luckily, baby hair is so fine that it's hard to screw it up. There was less than an inch in length I cut, but his hair looks so much more tidy and proper now. I think he looks older, too. No more Hippie Asher. This is for you, Grandfather!

Office Space

2009-03-12T18:33:00.004-04:00

One of the things we really like about this house is the dual built-in desks. We have a lot of crap, between Stephen's collection of electronics and all of my craft and art supplies, so workspace has always been an issue for us. Now we each have our own separate spaces in which to make messes - the above desk is mine, and the one below is Stephen's. Of course, we are good children and share well. Currently, I am typing away at his desk, and he has his laptop sprawled out on top of mine. Before you know it, our junk will merge once again into a unified pigsty.