Two and a Freaking Half!

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!

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My Chunka-Monka

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!

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

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:

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Teachings of an Older Child

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!

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Day Out with Thomas

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!

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God Loves Henry

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!

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Smiles!

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.

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The Past Two Months

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.

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