grab my button!

I have a new blog button!

If you want one, it's all yours!

Just copy the code in the little box {over there -->} and paste it into an HTML widget on your blog.

Presto!  Easy access to my lovely bambino any hour of the day!  :o)

weekend visitors

Asher's grandparents came for a visit this weekend!

He loves having them come over -- mostly because of the non-stop attention he ends up getting!  You know, of course, when it's just the 3 of us Asher is pretty much on his own.  Having the g-parents around guarantees a neglected baby a weekend of play filled bliss.

Jumping, jumping with Grandma

It's hard to get a good photo of Asher these days because he is either jumping, kicking his legs, or throwing his arms around constantly.  I'm thinking about switching my camera over to the "sports" setting in the hopes that these action photos won't be so blurry. 

Drew's parents spoiled Mr A with some terrific new toys.  Grandpa was in charge of freeing them from their boxes.  That's easier said than done.  Why, oh why do toy manufacturers feel the need to secure preschool toys with the same kind of zip ties that law enforcement officers use to apprehend dangerous criminals?  I mean, seriously, who's trying to rip off the "Pop Up Friends" toy?

Hurry, Grandpa!

More photos of Asher playing with his new entertainment to come!

We have a wonderful weekend visiting with them {despite the fact that both Drew and I were really sick with the cold that Asher was kind enough to share with us}.  On Saturday, the boys were left at home while Grandma and I hit the outlets!  Asher has virtually no clothes beyond 9 months, so we had to remedy that.  His closet is full now!  It was so nice to have someone {older than 7 months} to go shopping with -- thanks for coming out with me!!

While we were burning a hole through our credit cards, the big men were at home with the littlest man.  They lowered Asher's crib {SOB -- how can he need a lower crib already??}, went to the grocery store, and got some lunch.  I was very impressed by how ambitious they were.  Way to go Daddy and Grandpa!

I think the next time we'll see them is at the family shore vacation next month.  We can't wait!

determination

Hmm....I

think

I can

reach

it

Yay!

new look!

I got really tired of looking at my same old blog background, so I decided to play around and came up with this!

What do you think?

There is still some tinkering to do {including making a new blog button} but so far I like it.  I was looking for something a little cleaner and less fussy.  Plus I'm lovin' orange these days!  Yay summer!

Happy Friday!

{By the way I still have my old template, so if you like the other one better, please be honest!} 

daddy's new ride

Drew thought Asher might like to take a Cruise around the living room.

Asher disagreed.

He spent the first minute or 2 crying.  Then, once he resigned himself to the fact that this ride was happening, he just got really quiet and looked around skeptically.

Mr A kept looking down into the box.  I think he was looking for a safety harness.  Little man is used to being strapped into anything and everything with a seat {car seat, swing, high chair, stroller} and seemed very disconcerted by the lack of clipped webbing.

Of course he always loves chewing on his seat belts {whether in a bid for freedom or simply because the nylon feels good on the gums, I don't know} so he might just have been looking for something, anything enjoyable to justify this experience.

Nice idea, Daddy -- we'll have to try again in a few months!

funny daddy

I could listen to him laugh all day long.

rhinos of a feather

Drew got Asher out of bed on Saturday morning and suddenly yelled for me to come...and bring the camera.

Little man had {somehow!} worked his rhino covered foot in through the tiny space between the snaps on the other foot.

Back to normal.  Thanks, Daddy.

I have a feeling this won't be the last, um, situation he gets into that I can't figure out.

Knock on wood that Houdini doesn't figure out a way out of his crib!

seven months

Asher, you are 7 months old today!

I think this past month has gone by the fastest yet.  How is my little boy closer to being a year old than he is to being a newborn already?

Sweet Asher, you are up to so much these days!

At 7 months, Asher:

• weighs about 19 pounds
• wears size 3 diapers
• wears size 6-9 month clothes
• has tried sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots, peas, peaches, and oatmeal
• prefers bananas over any other food
• drinks 4, 8oz bottles of breastmilk a day
• eats a bottle every 4 hours
• eats baby food 2x per day {2 ice-cubes per feeding}
• is completely unimpressed by the sippy cup
• loves his bath and has learned how to splash big time
• rolls both directions
• has started sleeping on his belly
• has great fine motor skills {passes things from hand to hand}
• could care less about sitting up
• will chew on anything that gets too close
• smiles all the time
• loves to tell me all about his night during his morning diaper change
• sleeps 12 hours a night {with some recent brief wake-ups to be flipped over}

Asher, you are such a great baby.  Not only are you super cute, you have a terrific personality -- so loving, so cuddly.  You aren't afraid to make your preferences known, but there isn't much that can't be satisfied by a big hug and kiss.

Daddy and I love you more than you can know.  We want to give you everything.  We hope you will always be as happy as you seem to be now.

Happy 7th month birthday, dear one.

You are loved.

baby on the way!

Not for me...

For these lovely people!

Our friends, Carl and Karen, are expecting their first baby in January!

Drew and I are both so excited for them.  They are such great people and will be terrific parents.  Our #1 biggest regret about leaving Cleveland is that we had to leave them behind.  In fact, we're seriously considering driving out to the Cleve, kidnapping them, and forcing them to move into the house next door to us {it's for sale, you guys!}

On second thought, that might put a little strain on our friendship.  I'll keep thinking.

When I say they are great people, that isn't just empty flattery.

K&C are great listeners

and really know how to pay attention.

They give great gifts

And are darn attractive.

Karen and Carl were so kind and generous to us the entire time we were expecting Asher and then after he was born.  Karen helped to plan and execute our baby shower last fall.  So fun!

The night my water broke they drove right over to our house to grab our house key in case we needed anything from the house, then about 15 minutes after they got back home dropped everything to come back over, pick up my "baby notebook" and drive it to the hospital for me.

They came to visit us the day after we got home from the hospital with Asher and were our first friends to hold him!

I can't tell you the number of times Karen and/or Carl called me on their way home from work just to see if I needed anything from the grocery store.  Who does that?? 

They did.

You guys go well with a baby.

You both are seriously the best kind of friends. If there's anything at all we can do to support you during this very exciting time, you have to let us know!

Everyone else out there needs to hightail it over to their blog and offer up some congratuations!

I can't wait to follow along with your journey to parenthood!

teeth, rolling, crying...oh my!

We've been having quite a bit of whining excitement around here.  Asher is working towards his seven month birthday on Tuesday and wants me to have a lot to tell.

I mentioned last week that he has started consistently rolling from back to front while playing and in his crib.  In fact, Ash decided that sleeping on his belly is very comfortable and does it all the time now.  The only problem is that since he started doing this he wakes up very confused and aggravated. 

5 or 6 times a night. 

Every night.

I'm talking about screaming {loudly} until someone comes and flips him over.  This from the guy who can't be stopped from rolling back and forth during the day.  Maybe it's the dark, maybe it's the sleepiness, but whatever the cause Asher has been having a hard time sleeping soundly over the past week.

Drew and I also think that his teeth are really bothering him.  He popped through the first 2 without blinking an eye, but the past few days he's been extra cranky and keeps trying to shove everything into the back of this mouth.  I read in Baby 411 that the molars hurt a lot more than other teeth and can take quite awhile to push through the gums.   

Awesome.

Baby 411 also says that babies who seem fine during the day can be bothered a lot more by tooth pain when they are quiet and still at night. It's amazing how distracting playing can be!

I just ordered this little beauty {called the "teethifier", I'm not kidding} that's suppose to be great for soothing back teeth pain.  Let's hope it works!  You can be sure I'll let you know.

I hate giving Asher medicine of any kind without knowing for sure that he needs it, but given all the evidence of teething Drew and I decided to slip him a little Tylenol last night before bed.  He sucked it right down and slept well.  Of course, he also managed to stay on his back all night long and I think that helped big time.  Mr A still woke up crying once, but only for a few minutes.  I didn't even get up -- bad mommy, I know.

Hopefully his sleep will get better soon.  As much as I hate being woken up several times at night {didn't we just move past this?!} I really hate how much it changes his personality.  Poor guy is so tired throughout the day when he sleeps badly at night.  Even with extra long naps he just seems a little out of it. 

Welcome to teething and seven months!

cart cover

You ask, I'll tell!

A few of you were wondering where I got Asher's shopping cart cover that was featured in yesterday's post.  It's a Floppy Seat brand cover and came from Babies 'R Us.

It's even softer and more cushioned than it looks in the photo!  I love it it has elastic the whole way around {rather than buckles or snaps}.  This makes it so easy to slip over the seat one handed.

This cover also fits over those wooden restaurant high chairs.  I shudder to think about what happened in those seats before we arrived -- bringing our own cover saves my sanity {and feeds my germ-aphobia}.  We haven't tried it in a restaurant yet, mostly because we haven't been out to eat since Asher has been able to sit up in a high chair!

Since Asher is putting his mouth on everything that he can reach these days, I really like having a cover that I know is clean.  Does anyone ever clean grocery cart handles?  I don't know for sure and would rather not worry about it. 

Here's to clean and comfy shopping!  :o)

riding in style

Yesterday Asher took his first ride in a grocery cart seat!

Everytime we've gone to the store before this he has either ridden in the Beco carrier or in a stroller.  Having him sit up in the cart is SO much easier. 

He looks so big in his seat!

I don't think we'll do this every time just yet, but it's a great option for quick trips.  Mr. A is still a little small and ended up slouching over towards the end.  Poor guy needed a little help to sit up straight after awhile.  I get tired at the store too, buddy, it's ok.

Ash loved being able to see everything from his new higher perch.  I love that everything is new and exciting for him.  It makes going to the grocery store a lot more fun for me!

Happy Friday everyone!

va-room, va-room

Asher's cousin Owen brought him a present when they visited last weekend. 

New pajamas!

Owen loves all things race cars, so naturally he picked out some racing PJs for his little cousin.

They came with a cute t-shirt too, but since Asher can't really wear t's very well yet we decided to stick with a onesie and the pants.  The lack of footies are perfect since it's been so hot here.  Even with the A/C running Asher's tootsies could use a breather.

Thanks, Owen!  We love them!

be careful what you wish for

Asher has always been a back baby.  He heard about the "back is best" campaign and took it very seriously.  This guy was more worried about SIDS than me.

For the first few months of life this was ideal!  He happily slept and played on his back and we all enjoyed it.  While doctors recommend that babies sleep on their backs, they also suggest giving them "tummy time" to help strengthen their neck and back muscles in preparation for rolling over, sitting up, and crawling.  Asher hated this.  He would scream and scream for the whole 10 minutes 3 times a day. 

Eventually he learned how to roll over from his belly to back.  From that day forward it was a battle to get him to spend any time on his belly at all.  He would immediately roll over the second you put him on his belly, the little stinker. 

Because of this I never thought we'd get him to roll the other direction {back to belly}.  I did everything I could to encourage it, including putting all of his toys out of arms reach.  He was totally capable of getting them, if he rolled over...he just didn't want to.

The great stand off of 2010.

Asher just stared at them for a long time, then looked at me, then back at the toys.  Then he sighed and started playing with his toes.  He would not give in!  Stubborn little bugger.

Then, one day, like flipping a switch he started rolling onto his belly!  You might remember, the first time was when we were visiting Drew's grandparents.  After that day he started doing it more and more.

Now he takes every nap on his belly and often spends part of the night there.  This wouldn't be a problem at all, except that when he wakes up on his belly he is disoriented, can't roll over, and screams bloody murder for me to come help him.  What should I do?  I don't want to start running to him every time he cries {especially since I know he can roll onto his back...if he wants to} but I hate to hear him cry!

The good news is that Mr A is doing 100% better at spending time on his belly!  His neck and back are getting really strong.

Now we just have to work on sitting up!  I'm sure this will be the same kind of situation where he refuses and fusses until one day it clicks and all he wants to do is sit.  Wish us luck!