Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The stats

Asher had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and here's his stats:

age: 5-months old
weight: 15lbs even
height: 26 inches

It appears that our boy is long and skinny... go figure!

Monday, September 29, 2008

observations from the past week

* Nursing your baby inside your own car at a local park while a class of middle schoolers congregates directly outside your vehicle for a school-wide sporting event is a little awkward. OK, a lot awkward. A lot.

* Watching Asher roll over twice this weekend gave me as much pride as I imagine winning a gold medal would.

* On Second Cup's website, the aforementioned "best coffee in the world" is spelled White Mocha, while on the menu board at the store it is spelled White Mocca. Strange. And me knowing this has nothing to do with how often I've been there this week. Nothing.

* Somehow losing the use of your pinky finger makes the rest of your hand functionally useless as well. I know this because of an incident with a can of tomatoes that led to a pretty nasty cut, and a trip to the emergency room at our city's hospital after 4 hours of non-stop bleeding. Now I get to sport a trendy pinky finger cast of sorts until tomorrow. The good news is the triage nurse who works at the city hospital is an angel. Oh this deserves it's own point...

* The triage nurse who works at the city hospital is an angel. She took care of my gaping wound at the triage station so that I wouldn't have to wait the 7 hours to see a doctor about it. Although there were no stitches, this process did include lots of blood dripping incessantly into a sink, a little pain, some skin glue (who knew) and me almost passing out (nice one, Mandi, nice one).

* Asher is really into babbling away these days. It's the thing all the cool 5-month old babies are doing (how in the heck did Asher get to be 5-months old?!?!?).

Friday, September 26, 2008

Chicken

Chicken, yup, that's me. I can't do it! I can't cut Asher's rat tail off! I was so eager and wanting to do it, and then most of you started voting in my favor (thanks for all your input, by the way) and I thought it would be a done deal.

And then it came time to actually cut it off, and the thought of it made me want to cry! Seriously cry people. What is up with that? I think that even though the idea of a rat tail is sort of cheesy (OK, really cheesy), it's kind of cute that Asher has a natural little baby one. It's such a part of him, and I don't think I'm ready to part with it yet.

So even though I know that 66% of you will look at my son and dislike his rat tail (and even though I still feel the same way most days) I can't bring myself to get rid of it. Oh dear. I hope every decision I have to make in parenting won't be this complicated!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

snips and snails and rat tails???

Asher was born with a very peculiar appendage. Nothing gaspingly awkward or weird, but interesting nonetheless. And since his birth, I've been debating what to do with it. Check it out.



Yes, that folks is a bonafide rat tail. My son was born with a natural rat tail! Isn't that crazy? Most days I think I should cut it off and most days (OK, every day) Greg thinks we should keep it. I know the 80's are in, but seriously, rat tails?!?! I haven't seen anyone walking around sporting one of these yet (or atleast not anyone I'd like my son to look like).

So friends, I'd like your input on this one. Do you think we should cut off Asher's rat tail, or keep it? Please cast your vote on the little pole on the sidebar (you don't even have to leave your name... but if you'd like to give your reasoning why, feel free to leave a comment). I'm going to leave the poll open until Thursday at noon.

Monday, September 22, 2008

a few observations

*I really like walking outside in the fall. I love that I don't have to wear a coat, the sunshine still warms my skin, and the air feels crisp and fresh when I breath it in.

* My birthday is 24 days away! Greg is already in panic mode.

* The White Mocha from Second Cup is possibly the best coffee in the world. So good that I am almost tempted to bundle my son up and drive the 15 minutes each way every day just to get a taste of that white chocolate and espresso heavenly mixture.

* Asher is really cute in jeans.

* Asher half rolled over this weekend. Literally. As in, he was on his stomach and flipped the top half of him around so that his head and shoulders were facing up but his legs were still stuck the other way. No matter how much coaxing we did, he couldn't figure out how to get his legs over.

* Asher is starting to get a little strange around other people. This weekend when we dropped him off at my mom's for the afternoon, he would only stop crying when I held him and he stared at my parents with a look of equal parts heartbreak and fear-of-impending-doom. I guess I should be happy that he is securely attached to me, but man, it makes leaving hard!

* Every time Asher sleeps through the night, he also has a diaper blow-out. Why don't they make overnight diapers for babies where the back flap goes up to their neck or something? Because seriously I am not going to wake up in the middle of the night to change my son! Actually, maybe more of a full body diaper contraption would work best, because sometimes those leaks can spring from any which place.

* I saw a bottle last week in a store of "doe-in-heat deer urine". I'm not kidding. Deer urine. And from a doe in heat, at that. Whose job is it to collect that stuff anyways? It apparently attracts bucks during hunting season. I almost thought of buying a bottle for my father-in-law and then I realized that, hello, he is a hunter so he probably already stock piles this stuff in his garage or something. Oh, and buying it would have meant I actually would have had to touch the bottle. As if!

* Buying that 5lb box of chocolate truffles from Costco was such a bad idea. I guess I'm about to start walking a lot more this fall!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Asher this week: what he did and didn't do

Did: manage to have the best nap and going-to-sleep-by-himself day in the history of sleep schedules.

Didn't: sleep so hot when we had a playdate and visit with family all in one day.


Did: pretty much do a summersault in his crib... his head started out at one end when he went to sleep, and was at the other end by the time he got up.

Didn't: roll over by himself yet (although, this evening he was so very close that I'm sure if an ant had of sneezed, it would have pushed him over the rest of the way!).


Did: attend the first of a 10-week Mother Goose program where he had circle time and nursery rhymes with other babies.

Didn't: go to his swimming lesson. I was trying to be proactive, and since he got up earlier than normal on Wednesday, he was so ready for his nap just as our swimming lesson was set to start. I thought I'd save the drama of trying when I knew it just wouldn't work out. 4 and a half months old and already jiggin'!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Don't homemade things just feel better?

A few weeks ago, I started making homemade baby wipes for Asher. I got the recipe from a friend after battling with a pesky diaper rash that wouldn't go away (on Asher, of course). Since we've been using them, Asher's bum is pretty much rash free! They are so easy to make. Here's the recipe, in case you're interested:

2 cups warm water
2 TBSP olive oil or baby oil
1 TBSP castille soap or baby wash
4 drops lavender oil
4 drops tea tree oil

- Cut a roll of strong paper towel (like Bounty) in half and remove the center cardboard tube. Drop the roll into a tall container (like an ice cream container).
- In a jar or bowl, combine all ingredients and shake or stir vigorously. Pour immediately over the paper towel before the oil separates.

Monday, September 15, 2008

"Love is just the skin of knowing"

So I finished reading "The Shack" last week, a book that's getting a lot of buzz from the Christian world. Here's the story; the young daughter of a family was kidnapped during a camping trip and murdered. The father, Mack, who was caring for his daughter at the time of her disappearance, was deeply impacted by this and suffered a great depression. Several years later, Mack receives a note, apparently from God Himself, inviting him back to the shack where his daughter's body was found. The story is about Mack's return there.

The book is a piece of fiction; the story is not true. Young states his reasoning for writing the book; "I was trying to save my kids 40 years! I actually wrote it out of obedience to my wife, who thought I should record the big picture of how I think and what I believe. I did just that, and gave them [the manuscript] in a spiral binder." He also states that, although the story itself is made up, the pain, the longing, the hurt, the questions and the anger are all real.

I found the book incredibly interesting. Originally I borrowed it from a friend, but before I even finished it, I knew I needed my own copy. Young's portrayal of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was fascinating and refreshing. His answers to the question "where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" were wise and insightful, left me wondering, and full of peace and hope.

I do hope, if you'll ever consider reading a book a recommend, that you will pick up this one. Inspiring and worth wrestling through.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

"I may be a little tilt-y, but look what I can do!"

OK, so he obviously doesn't have this skill mastered at all, but check Asher out! He can sit on his own like this for about 15-20 seconds before he falls completely over. And only 14-19 of those seconds are spent bent pretty far forward, but the point is that he's sort of actually sitting all by himself! Isn't that wild!?!




Rolling over on the other hand, not interested at all. Boys.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

well it's Wednesday, so we all know what that means, right?

I'm sure all my lovely blog readers out there are just anxiously awaiting today's update from our swimming lesson at the Y. Probably even frantically checking to see when a new post will come. I'm sure, right? Oh, no? This isn't breaking news in everyone else's life? Well, here's an update anyways!

Today's lesson, not so hot I'm afraid to say. Asher started crying during circle time, which he never does (I do realize this is only our 4th lesson, and I'm probably not entitled to use words like never quite yet, but I just spent an entire lesson with an upset son, so I'm feeling a little on edge!) But seriously people, circle time? Only 5 minutes into the lesson? What could possibly be so upsetting about circle time?!?. We were able to break off from the group and recover, but the remainder of the lesson (all 25 minutes we had left to go) he was on the verge of losing it. I'm sure if one little droplet of water had of landed where he didn't want it to be, the walls of the YMCA would have been echoing with Asher's lovely cry.

And then (and then) we had the task of getting changed out of our wet clothing in a cold change room. You can probably infer how this went down. Go ahead, infer away. Imagine all of your worst nightmares for going out with an upset baby coming to a head at once. I'll give you a minute.
...

OK, maybe not all your worst nightmares... I mean we didn't lose limbs or anything. Come on, people! But there was lots of crying, screaming, wailing, oh, and a little vomiting. It was lovely.

So this all leaves to me wonder, is this worth it? I mean, Asher does, at times seem to enjoy the experience. And there was that one class where he didn't cry at all. Oh, that was lovely. But then there are these moments, when he is obviously (obviously) miserable, and I wonder if the payoff is worth putting him through that? Maybe it's too early to tell? Maybe he just needs some more time to adjust? Maybe I need to be more diligent about making sure he doesn't get up too early so he's not tired for the class? Maybe?

Maybe this is just my son, a sensitive and expressive little boy, and we have to figure out where the balance is of adjusting to his temperament, yet still having experiences that he can learn from and (hopefully) enjoy. Oh dear, I hope I can figure that out.

Motherhood, isn't it great!?! I will never look at another mom with a crying baby in public the same again (and I think I'm entitled to use the word never this time!)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Not nearly as good as Sara Groves...

There is this wonderful recording artist that I absolutely love to listen to, and her name is Sara Groves. She has this one song on her All Right Here album called "You Cannot Lose My Love" and I sing it to Asher every night. I love the message of this song, and although I don't nearly sound as good as Sara Groves does, I don't think Asher minds :) Here's the lyrics!

You will lose your baby teeth
At times you'll lose your faith in me
You will lose a lot of things
But you cannot lose my love

You may lose your appetite
Your guiding sense of wrong and right
You may lose your will to fight
But you cannot lose my love

You will lose your confidence
In times of trial your common sense
You may lose your innocence
But you cannot lose my love

Many things can be misplaced
Your very memories be erased
No matter what the time or space
You cannot lose my love

You cannot lose
You cannot lose
You cannot lose my love

Friday, September 5, 2008

the exercauser

This week Asher went in his exercauser for the first time. He really likes standing up these days, so I figured he'd enjoy this toy. Check him out! I think he's not quite sure what to make of it.


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Tuckered out

Wow, swimming lessons can be so exhausting! Especially when you don't cry, not even once, during the whole class, nor during the entire getting-changed-after-class routine.


Asher has been falling asleep in the car on the way home from swimming every week. Being a baby is tough work, you know!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

my beautiful boy at 3 months old

Thankfully I have photographer friends who can help me to always remember the way Asher looked at 3 months old. Here he is, my beautiful, bright-eyed, glorious baby boy with his curly hair, always whisping every which way, full of wonder and life. I love him so very much!