Turtle Power

Happy Halloween everyone!

My very curious boy

Don't you wish you were this flexible? When something catches his eye, there's no holds barred to check it out.

This gives new meaning to "bending over backwards"!

A few firsts this week...

* Asher went on his first outing with his Papa to Future Shop. I have a feeling there will be many more of these to come.

* Asher got his first battle wound from a little friend. Asher was crying because he was getting tired after our lunch date with a bunch of moms from our Mother Goose class, so baby Elliot, who is just a few months older than Asher, came over to see what was wrong. Somehow in the midst of all this Elliot grabbed Asher's eye and left a little cut. You can see it there just above his right eye, on his eyelid. It's pretty minuscule, but let me tell you, it led to a lot more crying from Asher!

* Today is Asher's first day as a 6-month old! How did that happen!? Here he is in all his 6-month old glory, wearing a t-shirt in anticipation of his first Halloween on Friday! Stay tuned for pictures of that!

Monday's observations

*The mysterious bruises that I've been noticing on my thighs the last few weeks are exactly where Asher's heels land when I'm holding him. Interesting.

* Just because I cry a little when my son starts solid food, doesn't mean I'm going to be a crazy mom, right? I mean, right?

* It is really sucky to have to hold your son to stop him from crying his head off and push his stroller at the same time. This is especially sucky when you are on an hour long walk with a bunch of other moms and babies and the wind is blowing against you and the car is another 20 minutes away. It is moments like this that I really wish Asher took a soother.

* Speaking of other moms, I think it's so cool how motherhood brings women together, no matter what their background. This week alone I was hanging out with doctors, lawyers, stay-at-home moms, call center workers, folks in sales and a fork-lift operator. Such an awesome reminder that even though we are all so different, we are all so the same. When it comes to mothering, the struggles and triumphs are the same and I love sharing in that with other women.

* Maybe 28 isn't going to be such a great year after all... I bought Preparation H hemorrhoid cream for the first time (sorry if you didn't want to know that... I really wish I didn't know about it either).

* Coming home and eating chips after going to the gym sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

*You can learn a lot about people and the world by talking to a bunch of 5 and 6 year-olds at the local park as they push your son on the swing (gently push, of course). Like, for example, did you know that this one show on TV said that dinosaurs didn't become extinct, they just turned into birds instead? You don't even want to know what I learned about the local teachers and neighbors (note to self: really watch what you say in front of your kids if you don't want it to be repeated to total strangers at the park).

* You can pretty much convince your husband of anything if you just keep randomly saying it, especially if it's stuff he doesn't want to do (which, for my husband, is travel). There's a method though, a technique if you will. You start out by saying rather casually, "Hey the year we turn 30 (which, for the record, is still 2 years away) we should go on a big trip, wouldn't that be nice?" And then the next time you say it with a little more certainty, as if it's actually going to happen. And then you just keep gradually upping the certainty of the thing, and sometimes bring up the topic when your husband isn't really listening, and then before you know it you're saying "So you know that trip we're taking when we turn 30, what about Hawaii?" And then because the topic has been brought up so much, your husband can't really remember all the details, and he doesn't want to seem like a bad husband and admit he wasn't actually listening to you each and every time, and he pretty much has to go along with it. I just about have the tickets bought now for said trip. It's great and I'm totally sure Greg hasn't caught on at all :)

* You can really spend a lot of money at Pier 1 Imports on 2 decorative pillows without even trying. Of course I do not know this from experience, at all. I'm just completely guessing.

thumbs up to organic brown rice cereal

Many of you guessed it right (it was fun to read your guesses, by the way), Asher started solid food this weekend! He will be 6 months old in a few days, and since the current recommendation by the Canadian Pediatric Society is to start solids at this age, we waited until now. On Saturday morning, and twice on Sunday, he had a serving of organic brown rice cereal. He was a little uncertain for the first 10 seconds or so, and then he was very eager to gobble it down! He would actually grab and lunge for the spoon. It was pretty funny! Here are some pictures from the experience...

This is sort of a big deal...

We have a major event occuring in our life this Saturday and I'm really feeling anxious about it. Can you guess what it is? Here's a hint...

It may not be a terabyte, but he does have a memory!

Many of you know we've been going to this circle time/nursery rhyme group called Mother Goose for a few weeks now. Asher is really loving all the new songs and rhymes we're learning and it's very fun to see him get excited when he recognizes one that I'm singing. One of his favorites is this one, called Jeremiah, where I actually blow on his face at 2 points during the song. I know that Asher remembers it because, if you watch closely, the split second before I blow on his face the second time, he blinks and closes his eyes in anticipation of that second blow.

Pretty cool, huh?

P.S. - Please excuse that the song is actually about a pyromaniac kid and that it's teaching about how to get a fire going. I swear they taught this song to a large group of infants who, as they insist at our class, are beginning to understand language. I think I'll stop singing this one before it gets permanently stored in Asher's brain.

Monday's observations

* Although a baby's face and fingers and hair and nose and toes all tend to get slimy and stinky, a baby's belly always has that new baby smell.

* It is very easy for said baby to get a death grip on a piece of your hair and yank it from your head as you're leaning over to smell that new baby smelling tummy.

* The Cat in the Hat is a really long book. We need a bookmark for it.

* I love waking up to 18 new well wishing emails in my inbox on my birthday. I think 28 is going to be a good year!

* You know your mother likes your husband when she buys you his favorite cake for your birthday. What is up with that?!?

* It's kinda funny that my husband and I text each other back and forth when we're within hollering distance.

* The book is always better than the movie. Gosh I love my book club!

* Asher has made his modelling debut in a handout for our baby massage class. He got the gig because not only is he is the poster child for this program considering as he loves the class, but my sister-in-law is also the administrative assistant. He is soo cute on it (I would show you but unfortunately I'm not technically literate enough to figure out how to make that happen).

* Sitting in the car waiting for your son to wake up when he's fallen asleep as you were out can feel like a really long wait, even if it is only a half an hour (note to self: leave a book in the car).

Sophie's here!

Well friends, we have a new little critter in our house. She comes in the form of a 6 inch tall, all natural rubber, edible paint, spotted giraffe toy. Her name is Sophie. And she squeaks.

Sophie actually looks surprisingly like a dog toy, with demented eyes (I know, nice kids toy, eh?). This didn't bother Asher any, and it didn't take him long to begin his work on her.

I ordered Sophie online last week. I had noticed that every baby in the universe had this little giraffe, and when I asked my mom friends about it, they all recommended her with enthusiasm. They all say their babies love her to chew on for teething. Perfect! Asher loves to gnaw on just about anything these days, and I sense teething is not far around the corner. Some of my friends called this purchase peer-pressure, or conformism, but I like to think of it as a wise, well researched, well recommended investment. And, no mom, if all my other mom friends jumped off a cliff, I wouldn't do it! Seriously!

Monday's observations

* Trying to get your son rolling over on video is as challenging as trying to film a Spotted Leopard attack for a National Geographic documentary, and results in enough uneventful video clips to fill a terabyte size server (that joke is mainly for my husband, because who else in the world knows what the heck a terabyte is!).

*It has been one week since the centipede incident, and I am still checking my pillow every night, just in case. I am happy to report that there has been no more centipede spotting's in our home, or in my bed.

* I cannot cook a baked potato. I know it's not rocket science, but for some reason I can never seem to get the timing right. Do NOT come to my house for supper if this is what I'm serving.

* We got dumped by our kid. Seriously. We found out this week that our sponsor child from Honduras, who we sponsored through a reputable program, left us for another sponsorship program. Apparently the other program had better benefits. Well, Bianka, I hope that program has sponsors who write every month, and send stickers, and pictures, and cards, and postcards, and add the Christmas and birthday gift options and... GRRR. Really, I'm not bitter or anything.

* All those baby classes with Asher are really paying off... for me, that is. This week I got invited out by several other moms to lunch, to the Reel Babies movie, and to join a walking group called FitMAMA's. It's great! Oh, and Asher liked it all too :)

*I made a Tofurky for Thanksgiving. The name is slightly misleading though, since it would have you believe that this product would actually taste like a turkey and be good, but it's not. Don't try it. Really don't come to my house for supper if I'm serving baked potatoes and Tofurky.

* Do come to my house for supper though if I'm serving homemade baby food. This stuff is so easy to make you pretty much can't get it wrong! All you have to do is boil the crap out of whatever you're making, and then puree it until it's just about a liquid. This week I've made carrots and sweet potatoes. They are frozen and waiting for Asher to be big enough to try them (which, WHAAA, is in only 2 weeks!).

Stand back... literally!

Stand back! Here's something to make you smile (in case you weren't already) on Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

What she really meant to say...

Yesterday Asher got his first "report card" from his swimming instructor. Here's what she had to say:


Here's what I think she really meant to say...

Look what you can do:

* stare at the swimming instructor and the other babies like they've all got 3 heads

* make it through an entire class without screaming your head off

* lick the water

* suck the toy rubber ducky's beak with such enthusiasm that it seems as if you're trying to draw milk from him


Really, I think we're going somewhere here!

Apple Picking

Here's a few photos from our apple picking adventure over the weekend. There is a beautiful orchard about 30 minutes from our home, and we go every year with friends from our church. This, of course, was Asher's first year doing this tradition (well technically last year he was in my belly, but that isn't really the same, is it?).

Waiting in line to get the hayride to pick apples!


Aww, a family shot (yes Asher is in there)!

Since we got our new camera, Greg has been a little picture happy. Here are some he took of Asher and I (half of them without me knowing).

This is definitely a tradition we hope to continue for years to come!

Monday's observations

* Asher has yet to figure out that he can't actually nurse and babble at the same time, although he has spent a lot of time trying this week!


* Two totally separate people both told me on the same day that Asher is the cutest baby they have ever seen. Clearly I am not just biased here people.


* When changing a baby boys diaper, make sure the "weapon" is pointed down before closing up the shop. Failure to remember this simple trick could result in serious pee leakage, changing of bedding and boy, and copious amounts of laundry.


* Do NOT stand under an apple tree and reach to pick an apple while wearing your baby on your chest in a wrap. Someone could get hurt when a half a dozen apples comes raining down from the tree because you shook the branch! So that's why they say at the orchard "Pick at your own risk"!


* The Girl Guides look at you a little strange when they ask you if you'd like to buy a box of their chocolate mint cookies, and you eagerly jump up and down and say "Oh yes I would!". Apparently most 27 year old's don't do this. Strange.


* There needs to be more motivation for keeping one's eyebrows neat and trim. I pluck them, and 3 days later I have so much new growth that I need to pluck them again?!? Seriously, I can't keep up.


* Finding a centipede crawling on your pillow, and then telling your wife that it probably came in on her hair after apple picking is NOT a good idea.

Prince Charming series

Here he is, Prince Charming himself!

And in a toque

I know, I know, enough with the pictures of Asher! But I just can't help myself!

I think that's what he's actually doing!!!

As I was sitting at the table eating supper last night, Asher sat in his bouncy seat, like he usually does at that time of day. I was watching him play and I was shocked to notice him doing this. Check it out...

Do you see it? I think Asher is actually deliberately using his foot to push the toy up so he can reach it with his hand! Is my kid a genius or what?!?!

babbling toes

A little video from our getting-ready-for-bed routine the other night. Asher discovered something new and it's sooo worth the watch! I love having a 5-month old :)