Clapping happy, baby-o!

... and that's a line from a book we borrowed for Asher from the library last week. And then guess what? This week, look what Asher started doing for the first time.



CLAPPING! We have clapping!

(The end of the video when Asher looks down at the floor and says "uh uh uh. oh oh" that's him saying "uh oh" to tell me there's something on the floor. He is definitely my child.)

Do you think taking a book out of the library about walking would help our cause any? :)

Funny guy

My dear husband sent me this, and apparently thought it was hilarious. What a funny guy.

Apparently my kid could bench press yours

So much has been going on with Mr. Asher that I haven't had the chance to tell you about yet, so I thought I'd update you with this post.

Asher self-weaned from breastfeeding a couple of weeks ago. Talk about the weirdest mix of emotions: relief at the new found freedom, and complete anguish over the fact that this special time of connection is over. I'm sad because I really loved the breastfeeding experience, and it also feels like Asher is less of a baby now that he doesn't nurse. There are moments where I really miss the convenience of nursing, many of them (like when I was trying to get Asher to sleep at a friends house, nursing always knocked him out), but I'm also trying to embrace this phase of Asher's life. He is more independent and beginning to understand who he is separate from us, and that's cool to see develop, too.

With the end of nursing, I finally made the commitment to only give Asher organic cows milk to drink. Greg and I drink soy, but I know that Asher needs the fat from cows milk, so soy is not an option just yet. I was on the fence about what to give him, but the organic just makes sense to me, even though it is double the price of regular milk (is that not crazy??). If he's not getting breast milk, I'm atleast glad that what he is drinking doesn't have hormones or pesticides or antibiotic residue. Asher is also doing really well drinking his cows milk from a sippy cup; something he hadn't been so keen on when we first tried it.

We decided to start investigating a bit further into my concerns for Asher's gross motor development (this non-crawling/walking business). My gut has been telling me there's something there worth looking into for several months, but I actually found I had to really push to get some referrals through. Last week we started seeing both a private Pediatric Chiropractor and a Pediatric Physiotherapist. From the Chiropractic stand point, there were some issues that Asher is receiving treatment for. Some of this had to do with Asher's birth (the vacuum extractor mostly caused some alignment issues), but Asher also needed many adjustments in his lower back and hips. The Physiotherapist noted that Asher was not using his pelvis fully, which has caused the back of his leg muscles to not fully develop, and those 2 things combined are really limiting his movement options. Somehow along the way, Asher figured out that he could get what he wanted without needing to do a wide range of movements or without needing to fully use his pelvis, and since then he's been just building off of the same few types of movements he has (which, in the long run, is hindering what he can do). I'm sure the vertebral subluxations were a part of this issue developing. This, in turn though, has given him crazy upper body strength. The Physiotherapist was quite surprised with how strong his arms are. I guess that's what happens when you pull your body along all day. So we are doing tons of homework to help Asher learn how to move and use his pelvis and develop the back of his leg muscles. He isn't crazy about it but we are so impressed with the improvement he has made in just one-week. I feel like the combination of the 2 therapies really make sense and are lining up to help us help Asher in this area.

In other developmental news, Asher is really getting the hang of using a fork. It's certainly easier for him to use his fingers still, but getting food on the fork (the hard part) and into his mouth (the easy part) is really coming along.

Asher is coming out with so many words, it's amazing! So far he has mastered: Papa, Mama, ball ("baw"), hi, and "uh oh" (when he drops something). He occasionally can say up ("uppie"), book ("boah"), baby ("ba-be"), boo and wow ("woaw"). Just in the past 3 days has come out with dog ("daw"), banana ("nana"), and all done ("aw da"). It was crazy the first time he said dog. We were upstairs near the window and he heard the neighbors dog barking outside and started saying "daw" and looking out the window. I thought it was just a fluke, but then the next day we went to my moms and as soon as he saw their dog, Dexter, he said it again; "daw". Then he spent the whole time chasing Dexter around saying "daw". Then today when he saw a picture of a dog he said "daw". I find it funny because we don't even see dogs that often, so I don't make a point of really emphasizing that word with him, like I have others. He is understanding so much more, too. I can say "Asher go get your truck", or "Have a drink of milk", or "Use your fork", or "Where's your sock?" and he will respond appropriately!

Asher's teething again. He currently has 3 bottom teeth and 1 top one, but his second top tooth is so close to coming through, as well as his fourth bottom one. I love his little off-balance smile though! It's so unique.

He is also making the transition from 2 naps a day, to 1. I'd say about 2 days a week he naps once, with the rest of the time still napping the regular twice a day. I'm excited about this change because it feels like we will be able to be out and do more without him needing to sleep.

Asher's favorite things to do these days: turn the pages of a book and look at the pictures, press buttons on any phone or remote, point and say "ohhh", push his toy trucks and cars around, roll his ball, play in water, take an object out of a container and put it back in, and watch other children.

Finally, I thought I'd leave you with Asher's one-year pictures that our dear semi-professional photographer friends took. We just got the edited versions back a few weeks ago, and I realized I haven't shared them yet (the last one is my favorite). I really feel these capture Asher at 1. Love that boy!

I really like this quote...

"May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder"
John O'Donohue

Discovery Boys

Last week I bought a sand and water table for Asher off of Kijiji and this weekend we got it all set up on the back deck for him to play with. On Saturday he spent OVER AN HOUR very interested and involved in playing with this thing (miracle toy, I tell you, miracle toy). I was amazed that a little 13-month old could have that much fun for that long. He enjoyed discovering and exploring and gave himself a lovely reminder of what sand tastes like :) Take a look at these pictures (I especially love the "splash series"... those faces are so Asher!)(Also, see what I mean about the splashing! This is what happens at our swimming lesson every week).

In addition to that boy discovering sand and water, the big boy of the house made another discovery about the broken stroller (this is sooo Greg).

Geez, a girl can't get away with anything in this house!

Those are my boys: observers, analyzers, discoverers, and I love them for it!

Season's Pass

A couple weeks ago we bought a season's pass to our local zoo. Asher is free since he's under 3 years old, so we only had to buy one adult season's pass, and it pays for itself after 4 trips. So far we've been 3 times. And since we live so close (like 2 minutes drive), I don't feel guilty for going and only staying for an hour. And let's be honest, the boy still naps twice a day, most days, so we really couldn't stay all that long anyways.

It's been fun. Asher is very interested in the animals, and he usually points and says "Ohhh" when he sees them. He's been most excited over the squirrel monkey's so far, since they are really active and was pretty surprised when he heard the sheep "baa-ing" this morning. It's cute!

He is also very interested in the local elementary school children we've seen and spends half his time staring at them (since it's end of the school year, I think it's field trip time). I should have just walked up to our local school, and the boy would have been just as happy, I think. Oh well, atleast the zoo is entertaining for me too (I really like the lions)!

Time = 37:44

I ran my first 5K race and I made it across the finish line alive and on my own 2 feet! It was one of the hardest things physically that I've ever done (besides pushing an entire person out of my body) and I am insanely proud of having accomplished it.

The whole race I ran 10 and 1's (run 10 minutes, walk 1), and it took me 3 and a half of those to finish with my time of 37:44. I will admit, there were some 8-year old's who beat my time, and one 10K runner who also beat my time (which means he ran more than twice as fast as me!) but atleast I wasn't the last one to cross in the 5K race (not even close, actually). And now I have a time to work towards beating for next time (because there will be a next time, and probably before the summer is over). It was fun to wear the number on my shirt, get a participant medal (which I wore for the whole day), and do the classic runner "grab-the-water-from-a-water-stop-and-throw-the-cup-on-the-ground-without-stopping" move. I think it's amazing what God made our bodies to do.

Here's a picture of me after the big run. It's funny that I don't look like how I felt in that moment, which was like I was about to throw up. Classy.

What am I thinking?!

This Saturday I am signed up to run a 5K race as my "graduation run" for the Learn to Run clinic I just finished. The only trouble is the longest I've ever ran in the clinic was 3.2K. I'm not sure why our "graduation run" is a 5K, but it is. Everyone says we'll be able to do it. I'm not feeling super confident about that, but I am going to try! I figure, even if I have to do some longer walking breaks, atleast I'll have a time to work towards beating next time. And there will be a next time because I just registered for the 5K clinic at the Running Room! It starts in 2 weeks.

Wish me luck!

Happenings

Hi friends, I'm still here! I know you haven't heard much from me lately, but I have good reason. Here's what's been going on in our lives:

~ I just finished taking care of another little one, Lulu (Baby L's nickname). We have known this family since September, and since Lulu's regular babysitter was away for the month, I offered to take on the challenge. I had Lulu part-time (usually 3-4 days a week, 6.5 hours a day) for the whole month. It was a little bit of a transition, but in no time I was hauling 2 babies all over the place and having a blast. It certainly was a lot of work, but I think it was good for both Lulu and Asher. I think I'll miss seeing Lulu so regularly now!

~ Asher now has 4 teeth, but probably not the 4 you'd think. He has 3 bottom ones and 1 top one. Teeth usually come in pairs, but not for Asher I guess. His smile is going to look awfully cute, I tell ya!

~ 100 times a day I hear the words "Papa" (that's what Asher calls Greg) and "baw" for ball. Asher loves saying those words! On occasion he can get "Mama", "hi", "boo" (for peek-a-boo), and "up".

~ Asher continues to be king of the bum scoot, and boy is he fast! Although he is not walking independently yet, I find he is taking more risks, and needing less support.

~ Swimming lessons with Asher continue to go well. He LOVES the pool. He splashes so much that people actually move away from us during the lesson. The Asher splash zone, as I like to call it, is about 3 feet in any direction around us. Asher is kicking his arms and legs a lot as we do "laps" at the pool (and by that I mean I tow Asher around), and the teacher says this is a great sign. I think Asher will swim before he walks.

~ Asher received his 3rd haircut last week and we went a bit shorter for the summer. I hope to not have to cut it again for a few months. He seriously looks like a different boy right now though, and I miss his crazy hair, but I know it will grow back. I also discovered that allowing Asher to watch the 10-minute sampler video we have of Baby Einstein (second time he's ever watched TV in his life) really works when he needs to stay still for a hair-cut.

~ Asher played in our little sandbox outside for the first time last week, and did what I imagine all baby boys do with sand: he ate it. (And yes I stopped to take a picture before I got the sand out of his mouth, BUT the camera was around my neck!) (Oh, and also, you can see his new hair-cut in these shots.)

~ Our whole family has been quite sick lately. Asher and Greg had some sort of infection thing going on 2 weeks ago, both with fevers and coughs. I managed to steer clear of that, but did get Strep Throat. It sucks, but we're all on the mend.

~ I am still running! Right now I can do almost 3.5K (about 20 minutes of running), and I'm so proud of how far I've come in just 10 weeks. My Learn to Run clinic will end this week and I think I will continue on and join the 5K clinic next. I really am enjoying it!

I think that's all the highlights. Now that we're on our way to feeling better again, I hope to post more regularly. I already have some juicy stuff brewing! :)