what's in a name

Since he was born I've had several people ask me about the inspiration behind Asher's name.

What better time to discuss it than on a random Friday!

When I first found out we were pregnant I immediately sent Drew out for a baby name book.  He returned with the Baby Name Bible - 50,000+ names for my casual perusal.  Picking a name ended up being a much, much harder task than I'd originally assumed.    

I don't know about you, but before I was pregnant Drew and I would throw around names that we liked just to test the waters {so to speak} and see how similar our preferences were.  That was a lot of fun!  However, once it became a reality and we had to pick a name for a REAL person it turned into a whole different ball game.

This name would follow him his entire life.  It's what they would call out at graduation, at his wedding, at restaurants when his table was ready.

We needed something really great!

A name that was approachable, but garnered respect. 

A name that was easy to pronounce, but distinctive.

A name that fit an infant as well as a grandfather.

The pressure was really starting to mount.

While the name we ultimately chose had to meet all of these qualifications, for a major bonus point it also had to have a great meaning {although I wasn't about to nix a terrific name just because it meant 'nasty boil' or something}.

While flipping through the Baby Name Bible one day I came across a name that jumped out at me.  It caught my eye and I just started smiling.  I looked at it and didn't want to look away.

That was my son.  I knew in an instant. {lucky for me, Drew agreed}

Asher - origin: Hebrew, meaning: happy and blessed

Wow!  Who wouldn't want that for their child!  To be happy and blessed is all I could ever wish for my Asher.

This name is pretty non-traditional {which I love!} but it's also extremely traditional in one sense since it's from the Old Testament.  The first 'Asher' was a son of Jacob and led one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

When we told Drew's grandparents that we chose a name from the Bible and that he was Asher they didn't believe us and had to look it up {Genesis 30:13, if you're skeptical too}.   Hahaha...

Mr. A's middle name is a family tradition.  Thomas was the name of Drew's grandfather and is also his father's and oldest brother's middle names.  We wanted to honor our family in some way with Asher's name and this just rolled off our tongues.

Asher Thomas

May you always be happy, blessed, and keep your family close to your heart.

We love you.

the clash

I'm going to be MIA for a few days, in a few days.

Hopefully there will be some blog updates during our super secret mission, but I can't give any guarantees.

{I will say, however, that it doesn't have anything to do with me having baby #2 -- that seems to be everyone's assumption every time I say anything remotely veiled on here! Haha}

I can't give any other clues as to while I'll be away from the computer, except to say that it involves Asher having a very limited wardrobe.

So limited, in fact, that we had to resort to my absolutely least favorite thing today:

Asher's outfit clashed.

Badly.

This makes my eyes water a little.  Sorry to expose you all.  Something about this blog prevents me from keeping anything to myself.

What's cookin' good lookin'?

Happy Thursday!

shoulda named him george

This boy is into everything.  He's interested in everything.  He's curious about every. thing.

Which is great!

I love that he wants to learn new things and experience new sensations.

As an adult, however, I am sometimes baffled by the things he prefers.  For example, here's his play space in our living room.

Tons of baby toys that flash, make noise, rattle, and squeak.  They stimulate all of his senses and are varied enough to provide an for an interesting day.

Apparently I'm deluded by the propaganda Fisher-Price is putting out there because Asher is consistently more interested in the fuzz on the carpet that my vacuum missed than he is in his toys.

Or the computer cord that hangs in his line of sight.

Or the pillows that rest on the couch.

Or, as I found yesterday, the big metal floor lamp.

He loved this thing!

When I picked A up to move him back to the baby zone he lunged at the the shade and wanted to touch it all over.

I figure as long as it's safe he should be able to explore whatever he wants!  You go, Curious Asher, you go.

betrothed

I know that arranged marriages have fallen out of fashion as of late, but I really can't understand why.  Who better to pick your life partner than the people who know you best!

Asher is lucky that Drew and I aren't swayed by popular opinion and have already set him up with a lovely lady {to be}.

Remember our friends, Carl and Karen, who are expecting their first baby in January?  Well, the Dads decided that if Karen had a boy then they would team him up with Asher to start a Baby MMA {mixed martial arts} club.

{The moms weren't so excited about teaching our babies to fight, but figured we had time to dissuade them}

And they decided that if Karen had a girl then Asher would simply marry her someday so our families could be joined together, like they should be!

Well, Karen just found out the baby's gender and announced it on her blog....it's a girl!

Yay!!  We're so excited for them to welcome their little girl in just a few more months!

Plus I'm super relieved that Asher doesn't have to join a fight club.  Having a future girlfriend in the works is way better.

Congratulations Karen and Carl!  We can't wait to meet little girl Carter and introduce her to Asher!

it's a wedding, baby

We had a very busy weekend!  And I know you're all dying to hear about it.  :o)

On Friday my dear friend, Emily, and her brand new {as of 2 weeks ago} husband, Shawn, came to visit us!  Emily and I grew up in the same area, but didn't meet until college.  After 4 fun filled years at Bucknell we try to get together as often as we can - which unfortunately ends up only being once a year or so.

This weekend was the perfect time because another friend of ours from Bucknell, Lara, was getting married just a few hours south of my house in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Emily and Shawn stopped over on their way to Williamsburg to meet Asher and visit with Drew and I for awhile.  If I've learned one thing since having a baby it's that you have to be very intentional about getting photos or it just doesn't happen.  In this case, it didn't happen.  Bummer.

On Saturday we all packed up and headed south on the worst road in America, Interstate 95.  My parents were meeting Drew and I in Williamsburg to watch Asher so we could have a date night at the wedding.  Yay!

Mom fed Asher his dinner while I pumped and got changed for the ceremony.

Drew and I decided to bring Ash with us to the ceremony so he could meet our friends.  He was so well behaved...but had to be taken out anyway.  Unfortunately, the wedding was in this gorgeous little {extremely echo-y} chapel, so every little excited squeak echoed like a banshee scream.

After the wedding we took Asher back to the hotel to be bathed, fed, and put to bed by my parents.  I was worried the whole time because Mr A has been having a lot of separation anxiety recently and doesn't want anyone but me at bedtime.  True to form, he cried and screamed for a loooong time before finally collapsing from exhaustion and disappointment at 9:30 {he usually falls asleep at 7}.

Luckily for me, I didn't know about any of this until later - we were too busy having fun!

My parents were great troopers and responded to all of my worried, check-up emails with calm confidence.  Thanks you both!

While Asher was fighting the inevitable, Drew and I were having a great time at the reception!  It was held at the Williamsburg Winery.  So beautiful!

Lara and Greg looked so happy the entire night.  It was wonderful to see.

Lara, Emily, and I were all roommates senior year along with our 4th Vidinghoff suite-mate, Bethany.  Vidinghoff reunion!

Then:

Now:

It may have been 6 years since we graduated, but I think we all still look pretty good.  :o)

It was a completely whirlwind weekend, but I'm so glad we were able to go.  I love seeing old friends and reconnecting with people.  Hopefully it won't be another 6 years before the Vidinghoff girls get together again!

On Sunday morning we met up with Emily and Shawn for breakfast, then spent some time playing at the hotel with Asher.  My parents made a big trip up from Raleigh to see him and didn't even end up getting that much time {since we got stuck on 95S for a couple extra hours, grrr...}.  Asher wore his Phillies gear for Pop Pop and lapped up all the extra attention.

We'll see you both again in just a few more weeks!

hide and seek

Asher recently discovered that this little green door on his music table will open and close.

And open and close it does.

Like 100 times in a row.

Open.

Close.

Open.

Close.

Open.

Close.

Open.

Close.

Get the idea....

Oh, by the way, did I mention that it plays music / says "open" "close" every time he does that?

It's cool.  I'm not losing my mind!

But we might lose some batteries.

Anyway, in the middle of one of these marathon open/close sessions I decided to throw a wrench surprise in the process.  The door opens up to reveal a small compartment, so I snuck A's teethifier inside when his head was turned.

He was shocked to find something in there!

It was pretty funny -- but may have backfired on me.  Rather than distract him away from the table by playing with the teethifier, the surprise discovery just encouraged him to open and close the door more often -- supposedly hoping for another fun toy to appear.

That boy.  Good thing he's so darn cute. {and smart!}

funny story

Blogging about my Expecting the Bean book reminded me of a funny birth story that I forgot to tell you all! 

{Plus, I want it recorded for Asher's 1st year book!}

During my first day in the hospital after Asher was born the nurse brought in some paperwork for me to look over.  It was all of Asher's details {birth weight, length, bilirubin levels, etc} as well as the medicines/vitamins that they were giving me. 

Since it was a hospital form it automatically included all of my details {weight, height, birthday} and medical appointments that are on the schedule.  As the nurse was talking me through all of the info, our conversation went something like this:

Nurse:  You see here that you have some appointments booked.  It looks like you have one in 6 weeks with your OB for a postpartum check-up and, hmm...what's this?  You're scheduled to report to Labor & Delivery on Wednesday 12/16 at 7am?  That's in 2 days...what could that be for?

Me:  That's for my induction.

Nurse:  What?  Your induction?  Um, you just had a baby.

{I guess she thought I was high on painkillers and forgot about the whole experience...despite the fact that this was the scene she walked in on}

Me:  Yeah, I know.  I was scheduled for an induction on Wednesday.  Don't they usually cancel those when you get admitted for a birth?

Nurse:  They should.  We'd better get this straightened out. 

A few minutes later I noticed that there was a number on my paperwork to call to reschedule/cancel appointments.  So I called it.  From my hospital room phone.

Receptionist:  Labor and Delivery

Me:  Hi.  I'm calling to cancel an appointment for my induction on Wednesday.

R:  Oh, ok, why are you canceling?

Me:  Well...mostly because I already had my baby.  In fact, I'm right down the hall.

R:  What?  You're here now?  Why didn't anyone tell us?

Me:  I just did.  Why didn't the hospital tell you?  I'm not sure.  At any rate, let's get me off the schedule.  I already had a baby and I'd really like to make that big ole IV bag of Pitocin available for the next lady who needs it.

I love that I had to cancel my induction while still in the hospital!  Medical efficiency at its best!

{By the way, thanks for all the info about Blurb.  I'm going to check it out.  Maybe they can make Asher's 1st year book!}

expecting the bean

I know that some of you started reading along with us after Asher was born, so you might not realize that I documented virtually every important {and silly, but fun!} thing that happened during my pregnancy here on this blog.   

Emily and Drew {later to become Emily and Drew Plus Asher!} was around long before the bean was conceived, but it almost completely became an electronic pregnancy diary once I found out that I was expecting.

I love looking back at this time last year to see how big the bean was, what my belly looked like, and what I was feeling at the time.  However, clicking back through the dates isn't quite the same as flipping through the memories in a book.

So, I had my blog made into a book!

I love, love, love it!!

These memories are so special to me.  I know that I'll always treasure this book, especially if {God forbid} something happens to the archives of this blog.

It takes us from the first big announcement...

To the biggest announcement.

And everything in between!

The book was made using Blog2Print.  Creating a blog book with this service is a very simple process.  You choose the cover style, cover photos, posts to include, and whether you want the photos in the orientation that you created or in a space saving mode.
 
I thought reorganizing the photos really messed with the integrity of my posts, so I chose to keep my original orientation {even though it made more pages = cost more}.  Although, if I had it to do over I would definitely go for the hardcover.  The default choice is a soft back, which is fine, but since I plan to keep this forever I'd rather have the hard back.

When I make a book from Asher's first year I'll go with the hard cover upgrade for sure!  And I will be making a book for him -- how could I not?  This is his baby book!

And let's face it -- he's too adorable not to document!

Overall I'm really pleased with the final product.  What they do is simple, but exactly what I wanted.  If you're looking to publish your blog I'd definitely recommend it!

pineapple pork tacos

It's dairy-free recipe time again!

Based on my recent recipes it probably seems like I eat an extraordinary amount of pork.  That's just a coincidence.  Actually we tend to eat quite a bit of chicken and beef, so when I find good pork recipes I get super excited to try them out!

This recipe came from an issue of Real Simple magazine.  Do you get Real Simple?  You need to!  I love this magazine!!  It has tons of great recipes, organizing, cleaning, fashion, and parenting tips.  Wait, this wasn't suppose to be an ad for Real Simple.  Back to dinner...

Pineapple Pork Tacos


1 chipotle chile + 2T adobo sauce
3T honey
2 cloves garlic, crushed with press
1/2 small pineapple, cut into 1/2" slices (or 1 can pineapple slices)

1 pound boneless pork chops
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/4C cilantro, chopped

8 corn tortillas

• In blender, puree: chile, adobo sauce, honey, garlic, 1/2 of the pineapple slices, 1/4tsp salt + pepper
• Put pork chops in gallon zip bag, pour 1/3C sauce over chops
• Seal bag and marinade chops in refrigerator for a few hours
• Save remaining sauce in sealed container
• When ready to cook: grill pork chops, onion, + remaining pineapple until cooked through
• Chop onion + pineapple, place in bowl + add cilantro
• Cut pork into chunks
• Make tacos using pork, pineapple salsa, + extra sauce

This sauce has a pretty intense kick to it, but the pineapple cools it down remarkably.  If you like less spice, just use half a chile, instead of a whole one.

Enjoy!

visitors from the north

We had some very special visitors this weekend - my sister and brother in law, Erin and Ryan!  They only live 2 hours north of us now so they were able to zip down for a fun weekend. 

Asher, are you excited that Aunt Erin and Uncle Ryan are here?

Erin and Ryan got here on Friday afternoon.  Erin came in with a huge bag of new clothes for A.  She spoils him!  Thanks for the goodies Aunt Erin and Uncle Ryan - Asher can't wait to wear some of his new duds!


We took it easy for the rest of the night, ordered food in and watched a movie from the handy Blockbuster Express kiosk {way to go Ryan for finding us a free coupon code!}  Nothing too exciting, but a nice way to end a busy week.

On Saturday the boys spent the day together so Erin and I could have a girls' day of shopping.  Woo hoo!  We hit the mall and Erin picked out her belated birthday gift at the Vera Bradley store.  I love her new bag!!  If only it would fit diapers, a change of clothes, a bottle, pacifiers, toys, and burp cloths....then I could have one too!  I did, however, do some damage at the Baby Gap sale.  Asher will be lookin' good in the coming months.  :o)

Sunday morning Asher surprised us all by waking up an hour early.  Thanks, friend.  Since we were all already up we decided to hit an earlier church service than normal.  Asher did so great in the nursery.  Since he turned 8 months old last week he got bumped up to the "Crawlers" room from the "Infants" room.  SOB!  He's not the littlest baby anymore -- when did that happen?? 

The rest of Sunday we spent grilling chicken {inside because of the lovely rain}, playing with the bambino, and chatting.  I love it when Erin and Ryan visit - Asher loves you both and is so lucky to have such a great aunt and uncle!

Asher loves having visitors!  He spent a lot of time last night {and already this morning} looking all over for them.  Sorry, buddy, they had to go home, but they'll come back again.  See you guys soon!

eight months old

Asher, you are 8 months old!

Another month has flown by us at warp speed.  I know every parent says this, but I really can't believe how quickly the time is going.  Can it really have been eight months since I first met this wonderful boy?

Asher, you are growing in leaps and learning new things exponentially. 

Just this month you learned how to blow raspberries, drink through a straw, sit up independently {if I help you get up}, and roll over {really quickly!} in both directions.

You are so interested in everything that goes on around you.

Mr. A you make your Daddy and I smile all the time.  You are our biggest joy and the reason we don't mind waking up at 7am on the weekends.  :o)  Keep learning and growing little man - we can't wait to see what you do next!

At 8 months, Asher:

• weighs around 18.5 pounds
• wears a size 3 diaper
• wears 6-9 month clothes
• nurses/drinks 4, 8oz bottles a day
• eats 2 cubes of food twice a day
• still doesn't like any finger foods
• has tried applesauce, sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, oatmeal, peas, green beans, avocado, and carrots
• sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night
• takes 3 naps during the day {at 8:30, 12, 4}
• rolls everywhere!!
• can't crawl yet, but scoots pretty well
• went to a whole summer worth of Little Bugs classes
• babbles constantly {you love to tell me stories! Ah, bla, mmm, ddd}
• loves your Jumparoo!
• splashes like crazy in the bathtub
• can now sit up like a champ in the highchair, shopping cart, and restaurant highchair
• has 2 teeth {bottom, center}
• smiles hugely every time I sing your favorite song {This is the day that the Lord has made!}
• thinks the mesh bag hanging from his closet is the coolest, most exciting thing {go figure}
• and Mommy's personal favorite:  you reach up for me to pick you up!