photo updates

* Proof that we actually went to Mother Goose; a booklet we got as a gift with our picture on the front and all the words to the songs and rhymes we learnt. I'm not just guessing at them anymore! And I learned that Charlie Chapman's name is actually Charlie Chaplain. Oops!

* Asher's swimming lesson report card for November. Danielle, our instructor, again put it rather nicely by saying "comfortable getting face wet" rather than the truth, which would have been "looks stunned, coughs and only partially cries after dunking underwater".

* The new back pack carrier we got because Asher is getting rather heavy for the Moby Wrap. Bummer. He seems quite happy in this, though!

fairwell Mother Goose

Today is a sad day because it's our very last Mother Goose class. Asher and I have really come to love the rhymes and songs we've learned, so much so that we use them at home all the time! It makes my heart smile when I start to say or sing one, and Asher looks at me and smiles or kicks because he recognizes it. Here's one of his favorites; Charlie Chapman!

Monday's observations

* My heart always jumps a beat with worry when I see my family calling long distance in the middle of the afternoon. Thankfully it was just about Christmas.

* Paying $6.50 to get into a craft fair is sort of ridiculous, don't you think?

* I always cry at weddings. Even if it's just a little.

* It REALLY sucks when one of your favorite sweaters gets a hole in it. Really sucks.

* Asher is finally big and strong enough to sit in the "top-basket-where-the-kid-goes" of a shopping cart. Whoo hoo! This means I don't always have to drag his car seat in everywhere we go, which is great, since he's getting so freaking big!

* You know you love your friends when let them store their chicken in your freezer and you're a vegetarian.

* For the first time ever, my husband came shopping with me, for me. It was great, and he didn't even complain. I'm not yet convinced that he didn't have ulterior motives.

* In case you weren't aware, the new Guns and Roses album came out recently, which means that I've had the pleasure if hearing it everywhere I've been for the past day now. Even the washroom. Great.

* It is a slight miracle that I was able to go to the mall and not get a White Mocca from Second Cup. I must be coming down with something.

* 6-month old baby boys need to have their naps, even if they don't want to. The results can be pretty ugly if it doesn't happen.

* 6-month old baby boys should stay 6-months old forever. I LOVE this age and I can't believe that Asher will be 7-months old this week. How did that happen?

snow bunny

It snowed here today for the first time this season, so I brought Asher out to see what he thought of it. We only managed to stay outside for about 2.5 minutes before he had his mittens and boots kicked off. I think this is going to be a long winter!

Monday's observations

* The more you order from the Sears catalogue, the more catalogue's they send you, and then the more you want to order. Sears, STOP SENDING ME CATALOGUE'S!

* Nobody warned me that once Asher started solids, his poop would drastically change. I almost always gag now. It's gross!

* Have you all seen the baby Asher on the "come live in New Brunswick" commercials? He looks about the same age as my Asher but he is not nearly as cute! I have a sneaking suspicion that we may start to see his name pop up more and more now and I don't like that!

* It takes me a good 3 hours of being away from Asher before I finally am able to (mostly) clear my mind of him and relax. This gets easier the older he gets, right?

* I wanted to scream like a little school girl when I saw the Canadian Idol Top Three concert this weekend. What is it about Mitch McDonald that makes me feel like I'm 13 again?

* Whenever I go to a concert or show, for some reason, I have this irresistible urge to buy the t-shirt, even though I know I'll only wear it to vacuum the house and it will get baby puked on.

* Is there really anything better than sitting by a fire, cuddled up with a blanket, looking at the ocean, and drinking coffee with girlfriends? That moment made my week! And it made me want a cottage by the ocean even more than I already do (and that's a lot!)

* If you leave my husband home alone long enough, he's bound to re-wire or take apart/put back together something. This is not always as handy as it may sound.

* And speaking of my husband, he rocks! As you can tell, I've been away a lot this weekend and he and Asher had lots of bonding time. They even started dressing alike (well except for the bib). Seriously! Check it out...

Answers revealed!

Well it seems some of you know us well! Here's the answers to the Lawson Family Balderdash...

TCP
Greg - Transmission Control Protocol (I can't even tell you what this is...)
Mandi - The Children's Place (kids clothing store)

ACOA
Greg - Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (where Greg works)
Mandi - Adult Children of Alcoholics (evidence that I actually did study Psychology at University!)

VBS
Greg - Visual Basic Scripting (again, some computer terminology that I can't explain)
Mandi - Vacation Bible School

Thanks for playing!

A little Lawson family Balderdash

Greg and I really do speak a different language at times, and this makes marriage interesting to say the least. Over the last few years as we've come across different acronyms, we've laughed at each other's interpretation. Can you guess what either Greg or I thought each of these acronym's stood for?

TCP

ACOA

VBS

Happy guessing!

Monday's observations: Anniversary Edition

This Monday's observations edition is inspired by our wedding anniversary, which is only on Wednesday, but Greg and I went away overnight on Saturday to celebrate.

* Going "away" when you have a 6-month old consists of driving 15 minutes to a bed and breakfast at the other end of your city.

* The new Microsoft Streets and Trips was apparently a required necessity to help us find said bed and breakfast (reminder: the bed and breakfast was in the same city we live in, and that city is not that big).

* It takes a really long time to eat a 5-course meal. So long that your bum gets sore from sitting on the same wooden chair the whole time, and so you start to find excuses to go to the bathroom just to get a break from it.

* You know your husband really loves you when he watches an episode of Oprah with you on the anniversary night, doesn't complain and then proceeds to have a really interesting discussion about the topic.

* It is important to realize that the amount of bubbles you have in a jacuzzi will quadruple when you turn the jets on.

* You remember that it feels great to laugh so hard you cry with your husband about nothing and everything.

* You realize how geeky your husband really is when he gets excited when a train storms by the bed and breakfast at 10PM (and 2AM and 6AM and 10AM) and then proceeds to give you a 20 minute lecture on how train engines work.

* Your husband really is committed to you breastfeeding when he is willing to run out to the car late at night and early in the morning to put your pumped milk in the cooler (there was no little fridge in our room).

* You can feel really full after a 2-course breakfast (who in the world has ever had a 2-course breakfast?!?!)

* Waiting 30 minutes in the car while your techie-husband plans your route home on Microsoft Streets and Trips from said bed and breakfast can be frustrating. But then you remember that your husband watched Oprah with you the night before and realize that this is payback.

* When "Tripsy" (our new name for the voice chick on Microsoft Streets and Trips) pronounces Assumption Boulevard, it sounds really funny.

*It's also fun to annoy the crap out of your husband by repeating the funny pronunciation of Assumption Boulevard over and over again.

* After 3 years of marriage, I love the crap out of my husband, his quirky geeky side and all.

Asher FAQ

How old is Asher now?
He turned 6 months old last week.

How big is Asher?
At our 6-month doctor's appointment last week, he weighed in at just over 16 lbs and was just over 26 inches long. He is still the 25 percentile for weight, but it's okay because he continues to grow and maintain that 25 percentile. I guess he really is going to be a skinny boy (this is not surprising considering Greg's size).

Is Asher still colicky?
Thankfully, no. Somewhere between 3 and 4 months of age, the colic really started to disappear on its own. It keeps getting better and better every week, although he still is, what I call, a "sensitive" baby.

Does he sleep through the night?
Thankfully, yes! His first time doing this was at 3 months old, and every week from there he just kept doing it more and more. He has slept through the night every night now for probably close to two months. It's great!

Are you still breastfeeding?
We sure are! It's going wonderful and it's something we plan on continuing to do atleast until Asher is a year old.

How is Asher making out with eating solids?
He LOVES to eat his baby food! I have been busy making it at home (it's so easy) and so far he has had rice cereal, squash, and sweet potatoes. We've been waiting about 3 days in between introducing new foods, that way in case he has a reaction to something, we can pinpoint what it was. We'll probably be adding barley cereal, avocado and carrots next.

Will Asher be a vegetarian too?

This question is getting increasingly popular these days. Of course I want Asher to make that decision for himself, when he is old enough to understand and make an informed choice. For now, Asher will follow the diet we have in our home, which is meat-free. I'm not going to have a canary if Asher eats meat every once in a while when we are out somewhere else for supper, just like Greg does, but I'm not going to go out of my way to make sure that happens either. I've done quite a bit of reading on the subject and talked with my doctor and a dietitian, and it seems that Asher does not need to eat meat, as long as he is getting sufficient protein from other sources (just like the rest of us).

Does Asher have any teeth yet?
No he does not. Although I think every day that one must be coming with the amount of drooling and chewing on toys he does, but there's no sign of any in there.

How are swimming lessons going?
Awesome! He loves it! Asher is really into splashing in the pool these days, which is pretty fun to watch. At this weeks swimming lesson I finally dunked Asher all the way under the water. Twice. Although I had been working up to this for weeks, I was quite nervous to do it, but he made out totally fine. He didn't even cry.

What are all the classes you're doing with Asher?
Well, we are quite busy, but we're having fun! We've obviously been doing swimming lessons at the Y for a few months now. We did a 3-week baby massage class, which Asher LOVED (who wouldn't, really?). We are almost done our 10-week Mother Goose class, which is the nursery rhyme and song class. It was offered free through a local program, and unfortunately we are only eligible to take it once during Asher's first year. Bummer. We like this class a lot. We are taking an 8-week Kindermusik class, which is focused on brain development, music and movement. Also, we are a part of a weekly mom and baby walking club. There's so much out there to do with babies, and it's fun to see all the stuff Asher is learning.

What is Asher's favorite toy and favorite thing to do?
He is really happy to be out and about because he's pretty curious right now. He loves checking out people, especially other babies (read: he stares, a lot). He is really enjoying his exercauser toy, his small wooden blocks, and he loves it when we play music and sing songs.

How is Greg adjusting to being a dad?
Greg loves Asher to pieces. He is the first thing Greg wants to see when he comes in the door after work, and if we're not right in the kitchen or living room, he comes looking for us. Greg still says Monday's are the hardest day to go to work because he's been with Asher all weekend. Also, Greg continues to be the only one who gives Asher his bath... it's their thing.

I think that's all the normal questions we get asked on a weekly basis. Anything else you're wondering that I didn't answer?

my self-soother

Look what we caught Asher doing the other day during his nap!

Yip, that is his thumb stuck right in his mouth. I couldn't believe it! I know some of the debates about soother vs. thumb, but Asher has never ever once successfully taken a soother, so I was actually kind of glad that he found his thumb. He's learning how to soothe himself, and I'm quite proud of him.

poster boy

I didn't have a life this week because I had been sick for most of it, so today I have no funny observations to share with you. I hope you will forgive me and accept this picture in replacement.

I had Greg help me figure out how to make the file I had into picture format so I could post it on my blog (and by "Greg help me" I mostly mean "Greg did it for me"). So this is Asher as poster boy for baby massage class. Yip, this handout will be given out to numerous parents as they come to learn about baby massage. Asher's hair was a little wacky that day, but it's still cute nonetheless, huh?