I missed posting 5 on Friday last week when we were out of town, so I thought I'd make up for it today!
1. We spent last week traveling to visit our families. We usually try to make a summer road trip earlier in the year, but Matt hadn't been at his new job long enough to take time off when our normal vacation week rolled around. We decided to take advantage of Labor Day week instead and visit both our families in TN and SC.
2. The timing was GREAT because we got to see both our moms ON their birthdays!! HOORAY!!
3. Asa had LOTS of great cousin time. I LOVE that he can truly interact with them now. It was his first time seeing his cousin Izzy in SC and really interacting with her (he last saw her at Christmas when he was 6 months old). Fun, fun, fun time with cuzzies! :)
4. Sammy endured a week at the "spa." She definitely lost weight and they told us she refused dinner (at least for the day we picked her up... by the looks of her I'd say she refused it more nights than that), but that's her usual response when we're gone for a longer trip. She is verrrrry glad to be home and enjoying some extra attention. :)
5. It is FALL here now. We're told the temps changed the weekend we left. Highs are now in the low 70s or high 60s and evenings are getting into the 40s! The highs were still low 90s/high 80s when we left! This is CRAZY (but wonderful! I need to enjoy every minute though, because I have NO idea when winter will hit instead!).
6. I switched out Asa's clothes to prep for this cooler weather. It made me sad to pack up some favorite outfits, but judging by the new clothes hanging in his closet, there are plenty of new favorites to be found!
7. We bought a new bed frame. When we were first married, we got a particle board/put together bookshelf headboard. I loved the bookshelf feature even though that's not particularly grown up or romantic, I guess. Anyway, it kind of just barely made the move from the townhouse in FL to the house in FL. It was jerry-rigged (particle board holds up so well ;) ) and definitely not going to survive a move across the country to OH! We've had our mattress on plain rails since our belongings arrived which is fine, but didn't feel very homey or inviting to me. I scoped out a furniture store that runs sales on bed frames each week. We ended up with a sleigh bed! It's a cherry finish and we really like it. It really helps finish off our room--I'll try to post pictures soon!
8. Asa tried some new foods this week and liked one of them! He decided sloppy joe sauce is DELICIOUS. :) HE couldn't get enough! He also liked baked beans for a short amount of time (4 bites' worth) and then changed his mind. :)
9. Asa is growing! Today he is wearing a pair of jeans that are size 12-18 months! I think this is the first (or mayyyybe 2nd) time he's worn something that was the same size as his age! Wow! To be fair, they are a small 12-18 months, but they fit in the waist and the length! Asa has a check up tomorrow with a new ped (please pray it's a good fit!), so we'll know his official stats soon!
10. We (Asa and I) begin Bible study tomorrow! He's stayed in the nursery during church up to an hour, and Bible study is 2 hours, so that will be new and different for him. But the same ladies work on Wednesday mornings and said they missed him last week. :) I am so thankful for our smooth transition to using church nursery. God has really covered that big change for both Asa and me!
And speaking of our sweet boy, I hear him talking to himself upstairs. :) He's up from his nap and ready to roll again!
Showing posts with label 10 on Tuesday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10 on Tuesday. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
10 on Tuesday
1. I had an incredible time visiting family in TN over the July 4th holiday. I am just so thankful Asa got to spend wonderful time with his great grandmother (G.G.) and also my aunt and cousin (Elaina & Sarah). Thank you to THEM for making the trek out from California, thank you to my sweet husband for driving us down and then driving all the way back to OH 2 days later and for "sharing" us for so long when we've already spent a LOT of time apart this year with the move and work travel, and thank you to my mom (and dad) for driving me back to OH (and Dad for sharing her). I ended up getting to spend 2 weeks with my mom!
2. I DID remember to get my 4 generations picture with Asa, G.G., Dad, and me. I didn't get to upload it onto my computer yet, but I will post it when I get a copy of the file from my parents. :) Yea!
3. Asa's big boy car seat was delivered yesterday. Matt and I installed it last night, so Asa hasn't tried it out yet. I'll let you know what he thinks after we go somewhere! :) We are keeping Asa rear facing for awhile. First of all, he's not quite 20 lbs. (the guidelines for front facing are at least 1 year old AND 20 lbs.). Secondly, crash tests show it's much safer to rear face! We had to install the seat on the passenger side because my knees would touch the steering wheel if it were behind the driver's seat. :) So today will be a big day for Asa, a new seat and a new position in the car (he used to be behind me)!
4. We got to go on a date Saturday night thanks to G-Ma! We were in search of something Satchels-esque (yummy deep dish pizza in Gville) but failed miserably there. We did however find a fun and delicious ice cream shop! We will be visiting there again!
5. I organized our closets. It might sound crazy, but I find it much easier to decide what to wear AND to put clean clothes away when things are grouped together. In Matt's closet I group his dress pants, his long-sleeved button down dress shirts, his short-sleeve dress shirts, his polos, and his t-shirts (for summer months). For myself I have polos, t-shirts, sleeveless shirts, cardigans, pants, & skirts. I'm sure that would be overkill for some people, but it saves me so much time! I hadn't gotten around to getting things organized after we moved here (I was doing it in FL), and yesterday I bit the bullet and got everything set.
6. I am preparing to try a new craft project I am really excited about. It's a gift, so I can't give away too many details yet, but I'll let you know how it goes.
7. Asa has decided pancakes and muffins are the way to go for breakfast. :) Cheerios are now only a snack. ;)
8. I cleared a size out of Asa's closet AGAIN. I already did that once since we moved here!
9. Asa has been waking up in the 7:00 hour, sometimes 7:15, 7:30, even 7:00. But THANKFULLY he usually ends up talking happily to himself until closer to 8:00. I really appreciate his thoughtfulness. :)
10. Asa will be THIRTEEN months old this week! Ahhh! Where is the time going?!
2. I DID remember to get my 4 generations picture with Asa, G.G., Dad, and me. I didn't get to upload it onto my computer yet, but I will post it when I get a copy of the file from my parents. :) Yea!
3. Asa's big boy car seat was delivered yesterday. Matt and I installed it last night, so Asa hasn't tried it out yet. I'll let you know what he thinks after we go somewhere! :) We are keeping Asa rear facing for awhile. First of all, he's not quite 20 lbs. (the guidelines for front facing are at least 1 year old AND 20 lbs.). Secondly, crash tests show it's much safer to rear face! We had to install the seat on the passenger side because my knees would touch the steering wheel if it were behind the driver's seat. :) So today will be a big day for Asa, a new seat and a new position in the car (he used to be behind me)!
4. We got to go on a date Saturday night thanks to G-Ma! We were in search of something Satchels-esque (yummy deep dish pizza in Gville) but failed miserably there. We did however find a fun and delicious ice cream shop! We will be visiting there again!
5. I organized our closets. It might sound crazy, but I find it much easier to decide what to wear AND to put clean clothes away when things are grouped together. In Matt's closet I group his dress pants, his long-sleeved button down dress shirts, his short-sleeve dress shirts, his polos, and his t-shirts (for summer months). For myself I have polos, t-shirts, sleeveless shirts, cardigans, pants, & skirts. I'm sure that would be overkill for some people, but it saves me so much time! I hadn't gotten around to getting things organized after we moved here (I was doing it in FL), and yesterday I bit the bullet and got everything set.
6. I am preparing to try a new craft project I am really excited about. It's a gift, so I can't give away too many details yet, but I'll let you know how it goes.
7. Asa has decided pancakes and muffins are the way to go for breakfast. :) Cheerios are now only a snack. ;)
8. I cleared a size out of Asa's closet AGAIN. I already did that once since we moved here!
9. Asa has been waking up in the 7:00 hour, sometimes 7:15, 7:30, even 7:00. But THANKFULLY he usually ends up talking happily to himself until closer to 8:00. I really appreciate his thoughtfulness. :)
10. Asa will be THIRTEEN months old this week! Ahhh! Where is the time going?!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Five on Friday
So I'm taking a short cut, being that it's Friday instead of Tuesday. And thanks to a certain little teething friend of mine, I've been getting less sleep the past few nights. ;)
1. As I mentioned, Asa is teething. The outlines of teeth 3 & 4 on the top (numbers 5 & 6 total) are clearly seen, and I think I see an upper eye tooth starting to descend as well. Oh boy! Asa had worked up to some consecutive nights with a 7-7.5 hour stretch to start things off. It was AMAZING! I declared generic infant Motrin my new favorite thing (it seemed to ward off the early teething pains). We have progressed to a point now where Motrin just isn't cutting it (pun intended). I AM thankful, however, that with Motrin his wakings are every 3-4 hours instead of every 1.5-2 like his teething nights were with Tylenol (when he wasn't old enough yet for Motrin). I'll take what I can get!
2. Matt tried to go in and be the one to console Asa back to sleep the other night. We have the double whammy against that working though--Mommy's milk + all-mommy-all-the-time for 6 weeks. He was comforted by Matt, but would not go back to sleep for him. Matt asked me to come in, and I got the humidifier set back up (we're fighting the downhill slope of croup) in case his throat was bothering him. When I went into the *adjoining bathroom* to fill the humidifier tank, Asa could see me but pitched a FIT that I wasn't the one holding him. It was actually pretty sad to see him step up the crying and reach and reach for me. Matt did great at calming Asa down, and I settled in with him once the humidifier was up and running again. He was not hungry, but nursing seems to soothe his gums and calm him back to sleep. What do moms do during teething who aren't nursing?!?
3. I had to make a "beaver guard." Asa's crib had a plastic guard along the top of its side rails (the head and foot board are solid and arched out of the reach of Asa's mouth) to protect it from little teeth marks. Lately that wasn't enough though. He will rest his top teeth on the top plastic guard, and chew, chew, chew along the backside of the rail with his bottom teeth. I would go in after a nap to find little flecks of paint on him!!! NOT okay. I googled for a solution and found a tutorial for a cloth rail cover I could sew. PERFECT. I had left over fabric from his curtains, and with the tutorial in hand I had the perfect excuse to unpack my fabric, notions, and sewing machine. How I've missed its hum! I really like how it turned out and will add a picture here of it tomorrow. No more paint chips on Asa's face!
4. We tried those gourmet cupcakes the day our house closed. They were tasty but not earth shattering. I decided I could try some of my own special combinations for some fun flavors and started with Reese's cups. I made chocolate cupcakes with mini Reese's cups set into the batter. The I made peanut butter butter cream frosting. Oh. My. Goodness. Matt has informed me he doesn't want a cake for his birthday.... he just wants a big vat of that frosting! It is sooooo good. I will post a pic of the cupcakes tomorrow too. YUM. And I'll hunt down the recipe for you. TRY IT!
5. This weekend marks some busy times for us! On Saturday we're attending a cook out, on Sunday we're trying a new church here in Ohio (oh, what I would not give just to walk through the doors of CCC on Sunday and see Ken & Kathy, Rob & Kim, Frank & Suzanne, and all our other friends!), next Wednesday is Asa's FIRST BIRTHDAY, then on Friday Poppy & Nana are coming to visit, and the following week is Matt's birthday (it's a big one)!! I am enjoying getting Asa's gifts together. I wish we could have a party with his friends, but I am thankful we got to have his unbirthday party. Just another one of those things that doesn't unfold the way you had imagined, but I am determined to make it fun.... even just the 3 of us. Not only is it a day to celebrate the first year of Asa's life, but it's a marker for other milestones as well, like a year of exclusively nursing, making Asa's baby food at home (not a single jar has been purchased!), and surviving a much longer stint of night wakings than I thought I was getting into at the beginning of this journey (Ha! I never imagined he wouldn't be sleeping through the night at a year! But he's worth every minute of middle of the night cuddles!). More on all that later though. There is so much to remember, recount, and be thankful for!
1. As I mentioned, Asa is teething. The outlines of teeth 3 & 4 on the top (numbers 5 & 6 total) are clearly seen, and I think I see an upper eye tooth starting to descend as well. Oh boy! Asa had worked up to some consecutive nights with a 7-7.5 hour stretch to start things off. It was AMAZING! I declared generic infant Motrin my new favorite thing (it seemed to ward off the early teething pains). We have progressed to a point now where Motrin just isn't cutting it (pun intended). I AM thankful, however, that with Motrin his wakings are every 3-4 hours instead of every 1.5-2 like his teething nights were with Tylenol (when he wasn't old enough yet for Motrin). I'll take what I can get!
2. Matt tried to go in and be the one to console Asa back to sleep the other night. We have the double whammy against that working though--Mommy's milk + all-mommy-all-the-time for 6 weeks. He was comforted by Matt, but would not go back to sleep for him. Matt asked me to come in, and I got the humidifier set back up (we're fighting the downhill slope of croup) in case his throat was bothering him. When I went into the *adjoining bathroom* to fill the humidifier tank, Asa could see me but pitched a FIT that I wasn't the one holding him. It was actually pretty sad to see him step up the crying and reach and reach for me. Matt did great at calming Asa down, and I settled in with him once the humidifier was up and running again. He was not hungry, but nursing seems to soothe his gums and calm him back to sleep. What do moms do during teething who aren't nursing?!?
3. I had to make a "beaver guard." Asa's crib had a plastic guard along the top of its side rails (the head and foot board are solid and arched out of the reach of Asa's mouth) to protect it from little teeth marks. Lately that wasn't enough though. He will rest his top teeth on the top plastic guard, and chew, chew, chew along the backside of the rail with his bottom teeth. I would go in after a nap to find little flecks of paint on him!!! NOT okay. I googled for a solution and found a tutorial for a cloth rail cover I could sew. PERFECT. I had left over fabric from his curtains, and with the tutorial in hand I had the perfect excuse to unpack my fabric, notions, and sewing machine. How I've missed its hum! I really like how it turned out and will add a picture here of it tomorrow. No more paint chips on Asa's face!
4. We tried those gourmet cupcakes the day our house closed. They were tasty but not earth shattering. I decided I could try some of my own special combinations for some fun flavors and started with Reese's cups. I made chocolate cupcakes with mini Reese's cups set into the batter. The I made peanut butter butter cream frosting. Oh. My. Goodness. Matt has informed me he doesn't want a cake for his birthday.... he just wants a big vat of that frosting! It is sooooo good. I will post a pic of the cupcakes tomorrow too. YUM. And I'll hunt down the recipe for you. TRY IT!
5. This weekend marks some busy times for us! On Saturday we're attending a cook out, on Sunday we're trying a new church here in Ohio (oh, what I would not give just to walk through the doors of CCC on Sunday and see Ken & Kathy, Rob & Kim, Frank & Suzanne, and all our other friends!), next Wednesday is Asa's FIRST BIRTHDAY, then on Friday Poppy & Nana are coming to visit, and the following week is Matt's birthday (it's a big one)!! I am enjoying getting Asa's gifts together. I wish we could have a party with his friends, but I am thankful we got to have his unbirthday party. Just another one of those things that doesn't unfold the way you had imagined, but I am determined to make it fun.... even just the 3 of us. Not only is it a day to celebrate the first year of Asa's life, but it's a marker for other milestones as well, like a year of exclusively nursing, making Asa's baby food at home (not a single jar has been purchased!), and surviving a much longer stint of night wakings than I thought I was getting into at the beginning of this journey (Ha! I never imagined he wouldn't be sleeping through the night at a year! But he's worth every minute of middle of the night cuddles!). More on all that later though. There is so much to remember, recount, and be thankful for!
Friday, June 11, 2010
10 on Friday
This week included a LOT of unpacking, necessitating the late edition of our weekly update. :)
1. Mom came up on Monday and helped me unpack All.Week.Long. She is the BEST! We got Asa's room situated first, followed by the kitchen (those were the two rooms I had most unpacked before her arrival), then the guest room/basement, living room, and finally our bedroom. Almost EVERY box is unpacked!
2. I still feel like our stuff is just at some random vacation house, but at least I'm surrounded by things that are familiar!
3. As you saw on the video from Monday, Asa L.O.V.E.S. his walking toy! LOVES! The grin of satisfaction on his face when he is walking is *priceless.* Oh my goodness, I just want to eat him up!
4. I am starting to get a mental picture of the lay of the land here.. names of the streets I will use the most and starting to get a feel for how they intersect. Thankfully we really are close to basically everything I "need," and all the shopping is quite close together as well.
5. We succeeded this week in getting me a library card--yea! The library ladies were very kind, and I am hoping Asa & I can start going to "Babies & Books" on Monday mornings this month and meet some other moms and babies at storytime!
6. Matt's car is officially all registered for Ohio.
7. Our house CLOSED! PRAISE THE LORD! It is ONLY Him! I mean, seriously, 3 weeks from the MLS relisting to close?! No repair requests from the buyers?! I have a give HUGE props to our Realtor, Craig Wilburn (PLEASE call him if you are in Gainesville; he is WONDERFUL!!!) and we are just so thankful for the Lord leading us to him, his wisdom, his honesty about the market, and his sensitivity to our situation.
8. Speaking of which, thanks to the housing market we were upside down on our mortgage. Lovely, right? When we realized just *how* upside down, there was a lot of frustration. I admit it is/was frustrating that we pay our bills in full and on time, but other people's foolish borrowing and lending practices precipitated this housing crash. However, how about this for God's provision? We really wanted to try to have a baby a year before we did, but we felt God was telling us to wait. Among MAAAANY other things God has mercifully revealed as pieces of that puzzle about WHY He had us wait, me teaching an "extra" year allowed us to save my income that year, which cushioned our savings in a way that allowed us to afford selling our home in this market. Unexpected, but surely His provision. We Are Thankful!
9. Asa had his first "sick" doctor's appointment today. He'd had a shallow, wet cough for 2-3 days that quickly became a deep, dry, croupy cough last night. :-( I was worried how it might progress over the weekend, so we called a doctor and they kindly worked us in this afternoon. While Asa is not horrible (and thankfully the cough loosened up today, though I expect it to worsen at night again), the doctor said he is not 100% and prescribed some oral steroids to help clear up the croup. I am sorry to see my sweet boy not feeling well and hear the awful, barking cough I know so well myself from my asthma, but I cannot help but praise God we made it 11.5 months before Asa had a "sick" doctor visit! How amazing is that?! (and YEA mommy's milk!!)
10. We heard back from the metabolic geneticist, and one level of his latest round of tests (right before we moved) is still elevated. He said it suggests a B12 deficiency, so I will call him Monday to get the specifics, but in general we'll complete a month of double his B12 intake and then see where things are. He didn't sound alarmed, so I'm glad we know a hopeful "treatment." We'll be praying the increased vitamin load resolves the deficiency, but I'm thankful to have the expert involved and leading the way. :)
stay tuned for a bonus post this weekend! And I promise, I really will take pictures now that the house is coming together!
Happy weekending!
1. Mom came up on Monday and helped me unpack All.Week.Long. She is the BEST! We got Asa's room situated first, followed by the kitchen (those were the two rooms I had most unpacked before her arrival), then the guest room/basement, living room, and finally our bedroom. Almost EVERY box is unpacked!
2. I still feel like our stuff is just at some random vacation house, but at least I'm surrounded by things that are familiar!
3. As you saw on the video from Monday, Asa L.O.V.E.S. his walking toy! LOVES! The grin of satisfaction on his face when he is walking is *priceless.* Oh my goodness, I just want to eat him up!
4. I am starting to get a mental picture of the lay of the land here.. names of the streets I will use the most and starting to get a feel for how they intersect. Thankfully we really are close to basically everything I "need," and all the shopping is quite close together as well.
5. We succeeded this week in getting me a library card--yea! The library ladies were very kind, and I am hoping Asa & I can start going to "Babies & Books" on Monday mornings this month and meet some other moms and babies at storytime!
6. Matt's car is officially all registered for Ohio.
7. Our house CLOSED! PRAISE THE LORD! It is ONLY Him! I mean, seriously, 3 weeks from the MLS relisting to close?! No repair requests from the buyers?! I have a give HUGE props to our Realtor, Craig Wilburn (PLEASE call him if you are in Gainesville; he is WONDERFUL!!!) and we are just so thankful for the Lord leading us to him, his wisdom, his honesty about the market, and his sensitivity to our situation.
8. Speaking of which, thanks to the housing market we were upside down on our mortgage. Lovely, right? When we realized just *how* upside down, there was a lot of frustration. I admit it is/was frustrating that we pay our bills in full and on time, but other people's foolish borrowing and lending practices precipitated this housing crash. However, how about this for God's provision? We really wanted to try to have a baby a year before we did, but we felt God was telling us to wait. Among MAAAANY other things God has mercifully revealed as pieces of that puzzle about WHY He had us wait, me teaching an "extra" year allowed us to save my income that year, which cushioned our savings in a way that allowed us to afford selling our home in this market. Unexpected, but surely His provision. We Are Thankful!
9. Asa had his first "sick" doctor's appointment today. He'd had a shallow, wet cough for 2-3 days that quickly became a deep, dry, croupy cough last night. :-( I was worried how it might progress over the weekend, so we called a doctor and they kindly worked us in this afternoon. While Asa is not horrible (and thankfully the cough loosened up today, though I expect it to worsen at night again), the doctor said he is not 100% and prescribed some oral steroids to help clear up the croup. I am sorry to see my sweet boy not feeling well and hear the awful, barking cough I know so well myself from my asthma, but I cannot help but praise God we made it 11.5 months before Asa had a "sick" doctor visit! How amazing is that?! (and YEA mommy's milk!!)
10. We heard back from the metabolic geneticist, and one level of his latest round of tests (right before we moved) is still elevated. He said it suggests a B12 deficiency, so I will call him Monday to get the specifics, but in general we'll complete a month of double his B12 intake and then see where things are. He didn't sound alarmed, so I'm glad we know a hopeful "treatment." We'll be praying the increased vitamin load resolves the deficiency, but I'm thankful to have the expert involved and leading the way. :)
stay tuned for a bonus post this weekend! And I promise, I really will take pictures now that the house is coming together!
Happy weekending!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
10 on Tueday: Ohio Edition
Alright, here we go:
1. Wow it rains a lot where we live in OH! I think we've averaged about 3 thunderstorms a day! This last one (about 20 minutes ago) even included some hail where Matt works (but not at the house thankfully)!
2. The POURING rain prevented me from making it to the library to get a card during both of my attempts today (after lunch and after afternoon nap). Maybe Friday, but not tomorrow because....
3. The movers are coming tomorrow! Maybe this will start to feel and look and smell more like home instead of a strange, empty, old townhouse.
4. I am not 100% sure the cupboards here are deep enough for our plates, but I have 2 back-up plans if they are not.
5. In the last two days Asa has stood twice for about 4 seconds each time. He's totally unaware he's doing but, but oh my goodness, I know what that means is just around the corner!
6. I made it to Walmart yesterday and only took 1 wrong turn. I bought 2 shelving units, one for the laundry room and one for the extra storage closet by the kitchen to make more pantry space. The one I bought for the pantry is too wide, so we'll have to exchange it. But at least we're not stooping to the floor for laundry detergent anymore!
7. I am ready to sleep on a bed again. Tomorrow is going to be so great. An air mattress is interesting enough, but getting up and then back down from/on and air mattress in the middle of the night to tend to a teething baby is the pits.
8. The house in FL is supposed to close a week from Friday on June 11!
9. Asa talks all.day.long. I can only imagine all the thinks he's thinking (and saying!)!
10. Asa's new favorite activities are pushing up on something with his hands and then pushing it all around the room and taking my wallet out of my purse and emptying it. One of these activities makes more of a mess than the other. ;)
1. Wow it rains a lot where we live in OH! I think we've averaged about 3 thunderstorms a day! This last one (about 20 minutes ago) even included some hail where Matt works (but not at the house thankfully)!
2. The POURING rain prevented me from making it to the library to get a card during both of my attempts today (after lunch and after afternoon nap). Maybe Friday, but not tomorrow because....
3. The movers are coming tomorrow! Maybe this will start to feel and look and smell more like home instead of a strange, empty, old townhouse.
4. I am not 100% sure the cupboards here are deep enough for our plates, but I have 2 back-up plans if they are not.
5. In the last two days Asa has stood twice for about 4 seconds each time. He's totally unaware he's doing but, but oh my goodness, I know what that means is just around the corner!
6. I made it to Walmart yesterday and only took 1 wrong turn. I bought 2 shelving units, one for the laundry room and one for the extra storage closet by the kitchen to make more pantry space. The one I bought for the pantry is too wide, so we'll have to exchange it. But at least we're not stooping to the floor for laundry detergent anymore!
7. I am ready to sleep on a bed again. Tomorrow is going to be so great. An air mattress is interesting enough, but getting up and then back down from/on and air mattress in the middle of the night to tend to a teething baby is the pits.
8. The house in FL is supposed to close a week from Friday on June 11!
9. Asa talks all.day.long. I can only imagine all the thinks he's thinking (and saying!)!
10. Asa's new favorite activities are pushing up on something with his hands and then pushing it all around the room and taking my wallet out of my purse and emptying it. One of these activities makes more of a mess than the other. ;)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
10+ things for 11 Months
It has been a little while (thanks to moving madness) since I have done a month-birthday update. Asa turned 11 months old over the weekend, so I thought I'd make a list of our what our sweet boy is up to these days!
- According to the specialist's scale, Asa weighed 17 lbs. 11.9 oz. on Friday, May 21! If he keeps this rate, he'll be just under 20 lbs. for his birthday. Conventional wisdom says a baby should triple his weight by his first birthday. When you consider Asa got down to 7 lbs. as a newborn, he'll be awfully close to triple his weight--an amazing feat when he didn't double it until this spring!
- Asa is about 27" long. His height is taking a little longer to catch up than his weight did, but he still grew 2 inches in about 6 weeks!
- wears size 3 diapers.
- growing out of 6 month clothes, can wear some 9 months. Sometimes I thought I'd never see the day his size didn't have a 3 in it (he was in 0-3, then 3, and now finishing 3-6 for sooooo long)
- crawls EVERYWHERE and SOOO fast!
- pulls up on EVERYTHING! He doesn't need a ledge to pull up on anymore either (and hasn't for awhile). He can crawl to a straight, vertical surface (like a door or wall) and push up to a stand
- cruising anywhere he wants to go: around the coffee table, along the front of the couch
- transfers while cruising: goes from couch to coffee table, Mom's leg to bookshelf, etc.
- still LOOOOVES peaches, but his 2nd food love is green beans, and he also likes pears, sweet potato, butternut squash, baby oatmeal, scrambled egg yolks, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, baby banana puffs, saltine crackers, an occasional (not very often at all) Ritz cracker, and we tried tiny pieces of cheese, goldfish crackers, and Cheez-Its, but the cheese-based products seemed to coincide with some fussy nights and tummy trouble so *I* can still eat dairy, but Asa is back off of eating dairy directly (I've been back on since 9 months--hooray!)
- has signed "all done" and "more." We are now working on please and thank you. I think I want to find a sign for "up" also, so he can ask to be picked up... maybe we can circumvent the constant tugging and crying that can often accompany toddlerhood if he can ask to be picked up instead :)
- loves his musical table
- LOVES cars, especially after spending 2 weeks playing with his cousin, Sam. He even makes them roll back and forth
- likes to pound on things (but not hard) with his hands or clap 2 toys together
- loves the Sesame St. sound toys
- loves his Mr. Owl. At every nap and bedtime, I make Mr. Owl kiss Asa goodnight, and Asa smiles as soon as he sees me pick up Mr. Owl out of his crib.
- plays peek a boo with Mr. Owl (covers his face with Mr. Owl while he's nursing, then uncovers it and laughs)
- finally drinks from a cup! He has his very own little Camelbak water bottle he takes sips of water from. :)
- naps about 1.5 in the morning and in the afternoon (9:30-11 and about 2-3:30/4)
- has 4 teeth (top and bottom middle teeth)
- LOOOOOOVES Sammy dog. Nothing makes him laugh and smile like seeing Sammy run around
- is learning to pat and pet Sammy, instead of grabbing her fur
- apparently has Mommy's body chemistry when it comes to mosquitoes. One made it in his room one night, unbeknownst to me, and ate him up! He was covered in huge welts for days. :-(
- Is a sweet, delightful, laughing and grinning, curious but cautious blessing in our lives!!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
10 on Tuesday: Thursday Edition :)
So I'm a couple days late again. I think if you saw the huge stacks of boxes in my garage, you would understand and forgive my tardiness. :)
What we've been up to:
1. I met with the new Realtor on Monday. I am further convinced after meeting him in person that he is exactly what my brother would be like as a Realtor. He is a rock star. Matt and I are very encouraged. We know God sells the house ultimately, and not the Realtor, but this guy is at the TOP of his game. Big time. We are thankful for him.
2. Not only is he amazing at what he does, his group totally saved the day for me yesterday! I brilliantly gave him my hide-a-key for the lock box and neglected to set out another spare key for myself. You see where this is going; I'm sure you do. I locked myself out of the house. With Asa. At Noon. In the Summer. In Florida. It was toasty. But Craig's wonderful assistant stopped by the house, got the key from our lock box to unlock the door, and we were on our way once again. Praise the Lord for His kindness shown through everyday people!
3. Our Realtor recommended pressure washing our sidewalk to brighten it up. Again, the Lord provides through His people! Someone from church is coming over with a pressure washer AND is going to do the washing for me on Saturday. Thank you, Lord (and thank you, Larry!)!!
4. I dove into the kitchen. It was intimidating, but I started it. There's no stopping me now! Asa and I are officially in the land of "paper or plastic?" That's, paper plate or plastic plate? ;)
5. Asa had a weight check the end of last week that gave us more WONDERFUL news! In the last 6 weeks, he gained another 2 lbs. and 1 oz! He is now 17 lbs. 4 oz. When you consider he was 12 lbs. just earlier this year, his growth is amazing. We are PRAISING GOD for Asa's growth and health. What an incredible turn-around and as the result of such a simple problem. Such mercy.
6. I took Asa to a historic home downtown to meet our photographer for a fake 1 year photo shoot. We signed up for a 1 year plan, and I really wanted that last photo shoot! I wanted his formal portraits for the first year to all have the same style, so I asked Sheli if she'd be willing to meet with us before we move. The grounds were beautiful, and best of all Asa saved some smiles for Sheli. Actually, he saved a LOT of smiles for Sheli! :) Often he's so overwhelmed by being in a new place and around a different person that he goes into "introspective Asa" mode. But we got him grinning and laughing like crazy. I cannot wait to see the proofs!!!
7. Matt sent me flowers. They are actually a dozen "We only have 2 weeks left and you are doing an amazing job taking care of Asa and packing the house alone" roses. :)
8. It is hot here. Matt says I will be in shock when I get to Ohio and step back several months' worth of temperatures. Crazy.
9. Only one more 10 on Tuesday left in Florida! WOW! The next Tuesday after that, I will just barely have been in OH 24 hours!
10. I am almost finished with So Brave, Young, and Handsome by the same author as Peace Like a River (Leif Enger). I am very curious about how it will end. It's been a good read. And when my dad saw the title as I read in the car on the way from TN to FL, he said it was about him. ;) I love my dad!
What we've been up to:
1. I met with the new Realtor on Monday. I am further convinced after meeting him in person that he is exactly what my brother would be like as a Realtor. He is a rock star. Matt and I are very encouraged. We know God sells the house ultimately, and not the Realtor, but this guy is at the TOP of his game. Big time. We are thankful for him.
2. Not only is he amazing at what he does, his group totally saved the day for me yesterday! I brilliantly gave him my hide-a-key for the lock box and neglected to set out another spare key for myself. You see where this is going; I'm sure you do. I locked myself out of the house. With Asa. At Noon. In the Summer. In Florida. It was toasty. But Craig's wonderful assistant stopped by the house, got the key from our lock box to unlock the door, and we were on our way once again. Praise the Lord for His kindness shown through everyday people!
3. Our Realtor recommended pressure washing our sidewalk to brighten it up. Again, the Lord provides through His people! Someone from church is coming over with a pressure washer AND is going to do the washing for me on Saturday. Thank you, Lord (and thank you, Larry!)!!
4. I dove into the kitchen. It was intimidating, but I started it. There's no stopping me now! Asa and I are officially in the land of "paper or plastic?" That's, paper plate or plastic plate? ;)
5. Asa had a weight check the end of last week that gave us more WONDERFUL news! In the last 6 weeks, he gained another 2 lbs. and 1 oz! He is now 17 lbs. 4 oz. When you consider he was 12 lbs. just earlier this year, his growth is amazing. We are PRAISING GOD for Asa's growth and health. What an incredible turn-around and as the result of such a simple problem. Such mercy.
6. I took Asa to a historic home downtown to meet our photographer for a fake 1 year photo shoot. We signed up for a 1 year plan, and I really wanted that last photo shoot! I wanted his formal portraits for the first year to all have the same style, so I asked Sheli if she'd be willing to meet with us before we move. The grounds were beautiful, and best of all Asa saved some smiles for Sheli. Actually, he saved a LOT of smiles for Sheli! :) Often he's so overwhelmed by being in a new place and around a different person that he goes into "introspective Asa" mode. But we got him grinning and laughing like crazy. I cannot wait to see the proofs!!!
7. Matt sent me flowers. They are actually a dozen "We only have 2 weeks left and you are doing an amazing job taking care of Asa and packing the house alone" roses. :)
8. It is hot here. Matt says I will be in shock when I get to Ohio and step back several months' worth of temperatures. Crazy.
9. Only one more 10 on Tuesday left in Florida! WOW! The next Tuesday after that, I will just barely have been in OH 24 hours!
10. I am almost finished with So Brave, Young, and Handsome by the same author as Peace Like a River (Leif Enger). I am very curious about how it will end. It's been a good read. And when my dad saw the title as I read in the car on the way from TN to FL, he said it was about him. ;) I love my dad!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
10 on Tuesday (a day late)
It has been a whirlwind around here... but to sum things up:
1. Asa and I spent 2 weeks in TN with my parents! We got to be in town for my niece's FIFTH birthday party, 4 days of playing with one of Asa's cousins, seeing some of my friends (Rachel + Caroline, Bekah, people at church) and mom's friends, and a good little space away from the house. The whole selling process was eating at me, Mom came down for a weekend and asked me to think about coming home with her, and it just seemed like a really good idea. :) We even took Sammy with us (thank you, Dr. Vet for the "relaxers" for the car ride!!)! I'm so thankful we had a big chunk of time with them--it is a luxury we don't often get!
2. Matt is all settled in the new house. Maintenance even came this week and addressed the few small issues he had come across and installed the new dishwasher they said was coming. The poor guy only has one plate. :) But now he can wash it, his silverware, cups, and bowls, and tupperware in the dishwasher if he wants to. :)
3. We took our house off the market and will put it back on next week. We ended up realizing the realtor we talked to was not the best fit for us. The new realtor we are talking to reminds me of my brother Matt if he were a realtor. We are praying for a quick sale once we're back on the market (new sign goes in the yard on Monday)! Please pray with us for it to sell quickly. I would be soooo relieved to have an offer before I have to leave. Oh how I would love that. I WILL cry tears of relief when we get an offer we can accept--I can tell you that already.
4. Asa woke up this morning with his first fever. :( The past two days he turned up his nose (and pursed his lips and turned his head) to all table food, including his favorite PEACHES. I was flabbergasted! He nursed great, thankfully, but I couldn't tell what was going on with him. Then last night he woke up 4 times in the first 3 hours after I put him to bed. Something was off. Then I went to bed... and woke with a start at 7:00! I checked my timer and it had been 9.5 hours since the last time he woke up! I immediately went to check on him as he does NOT sleep that long. He woke up when I checked on him and he was burning up. :( I took him temperature and sure enough, he had a fever. He was SO.PITIFUL. Now that he can crawl and cruise, he is never still. But today he just wanted me to hold him while he rested his head on my chest. This morning I had to set him down for a second. He sat for a minute, and then he leaned forward and lay down on the floor looking at me. Oh my goodness. It made my heart so sad to see him feeling so very obviously terrible. He also took 3 naps (instead of 2), and they were 2.5 hours, 1 hour and 45 minutes, and another hour long... he usually naps 1.5 each during 2 naps. Medicine (and a cool bath) helped control the fever and he did not have one when I put him down tonight. I am hoping it stays at bay (especially so we can go to playgroup for the last time on Friday).
5. Tomorrow Asa has his mid-well visit weight check. Even though he was gaining GREAT when were released from weight checks, Asa's doctor and I both felt most comfortable scheduling a weight check for 1/2 way between his 9 month well visit and 1 year check up. Tomorrow's the day! I realllllly think he had a significant growth spurt while we were in TN, so I am very curious about his weight. And if he DOES still have a fever (and even if not), it's perfect timing to make sure everything is on the up and up.
6. Matt found a car! We are praising God for His provision and faithfulness! He is now driving a coppery colored Ford Escape! We are still working on a name. ;)
7. I am just about done packing the master bedroom, guest bedroom, Asa's room, and family room!
8. I had a sweet Mother's Day lunch with dear friends from our community group. Ken & Kathy were so gracious to host Asa and me along with 2 other families. I am so so so thankful for that time together before we leave.
9. Ken came over to deliver some boxes he had that we can use to move. A huge blessing!!
10. Please keep praying with/for us about this move, all the details, transitions, adjustments, and logistics. Whew!
1. Asa and I spent 2 weeks in TN with my parents! We got to be in town for my niece's FIFTH birthday party, 4 days of playing with one of Asa's cousins, seeing some of my friends (Rachel + Caroline, Bekah, people at church) and mom's friends, and a good little space away from the house. The whole selling process was eating at me, Mom came down for a weekend and asked me to think about coming home with her, and it just seemed like a really good idea. :) We even took Sammy with us (thank you, Dr. Vet for the "relaxers" for the car ride!!)! I'm so thankful we had a big chunk of time with them--it is a luxury we don't often get!
2. Matt is all settled in the new house. Maintenance even came this week and addressed the few small issues he had come across and installed the new dishwasher they said was coming. The poor guy only has one plate. :) But now he can wash it, his silverware, cups, and bowls, and tupperware in the dishwasher if he wants to. :)
3. We took our house off the market and will put it back on next week. We ended up realizing the realtor we talked to was not the best fit for us. The new realtor we are talking to reminds me of my brother Matt if he were a realtor. We are praying for a quick sale once we're back on the market (new sign goes in the yard on Monday)! Please pray with us for it to sell quickly. I would be soooo relieved to have an offer before I have to leave. Oh how I would love that. I WILL cry tears of relief when we get an offer we can accept--I can tell you that already.
4. Asa woke up this morning with his first fever. :( The past two days he turned up his nose (and pursed his lips and turned his head) to all table food, including his favorite PEACHES. I was flabbergasted! He nursed great, thankfully, but I couldn't tell what was going on with him. Then last night he woke up 4 times in the first 3 hours after I put him to bed. Something was off. Then I went to bed... and woke with a start at 7:00! I checked my timer and it had been 9.5 hours since the last time he woke up! I immediately went to check on him as he does NOT sleep that long. He woke up when I checked on him and he was burning up. :( I took him temperature and sure enough, he had a fever. He was SO.PITIFUL. Now that he can crawl and cruise, he is never still. But today he just wanted me to hold him while he rested his head on my chest. This morning I had to set him down for a second. He sat for a minute, and then he leaned forward and lay down on the floor looking at me. Oh my goodness. It made my heart so sad to see him feeling so very obviously terrible. He also took 3 naps (instead of 2), and they were 2.5 hours, 1 hour and 45 minutes, and another hour long... he usually naps 1.5 each during 2 naps. Medicine (and a cool bath) helped control the fever and he did not have one when I put him down tonight. I am hoping it stays at bay (especially so we can go to playgroup for the last time on Friday).
5. Tomorrow Asa has his mid-well visit weight check. Even though he was gaining GREAT when were released from weight checks, Asa's doctor and I both felt most comfortable scheduling a weight check for 1/2 way between his 9 month well visit and 1 year check up. Tomorrow's the day! I realllllly think he had a significant growth spurt while we were in TN, so I am very curious about his weight. And if he DOES still have a fever (and even if not), it's perfect timing to make sure everything is on the up and up.
6. Matt found a car! We are praising God for His provision and faithfulness! He is now driving a coppery colored Ford Escape! We are still working on a name. ;)
7. I am just about done packing the master bedroom, guest bedroom, Asa's room, and family room!
8. I had a sweet Mother's Day lunch with dear friends from our community group. Ken & Kathy were so gracious to host Asa and me along with 2 other families. I am so so so thankful for that time together before we leave.
9. Ken came over to deliver some boxes he had that we can use to move. A huge blessing!!
10. Please keep praying with/for us about this move, all the details, transitions, adjustments, and logistics. Whew!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
10 on Tuesday... Returns!
After several weeks' absence, am back with 10 fascinating tidbits of insight into what is going on with us. :)
1. Matt, Asa, and I spent a day at Disney World. We had days on some passes, and we wanted to take Asa before we move. We rode the carousel and took a zillion pictures. Asa got his first Mickey ears. Matt and I got to eat Mickey ice cream bars. It was really fun. And believe everything you've heard about how accommodating their baby center is. Remarkable!
2. We had a whole week together, just the 3 of us. It was fabulous to have some family time before starting the new adventure. We also wrapped up all house projects (little things like outlet covers and bigger things like staining and hanging new doors in a couple rooms).
3. We spent a week at Hilton Head with my family. Unforgettable, as always. It was so fun to see Asa with his cousins now that he is mobile. They love him sweetly.
4. Asa L.O.V.E.D. the pool at the beach house! LOVED. It was SO fun to watch. :) And it has made bathtime even more fun.
5. Matt is officially employed by his new company and living in OH!
6. After about a week of looking, God led us to a great place to live. It's a 2000 sq. ft. (!!) townhouse (so we should have plenty of room--that's bigger than our house!) on a golf course. It has 2 GIANT bedrooms plus a finished basement with a fireplace that will function as our guest room/play room. And get this--all utilities are included except electricity--and it has GAS heat. So we don't have to fret about heating bills our first "real" cold winter!! Matt was excited to learn they even include cable tv AND Sammy is welcome. God is good!
7. Matt's boss has been incredible since Matt arrived, coming through in several pinches. Matt was in an accident his first full day there, and his boss picked him up and took him to rent a car (and stored everything that was in Matt's car at his house). He is loaning Matt a love seat, air mattress, pots, pans, the WORKS until I get there with our belongings. I am so thankful and they are so generous. God is faithful!
8. Matt and I (and Asa) have been able to video chat about every other day or so. It helps SOO much to see each other's face. Relief washes over me everytime Matt's sweet mug comes up on the computer screen. :)
9. We had an UNbirthday party for Asa this weekend. We will be in OH before his actual birthday, but I had all these ideas for a party, and we have been blessed to watch Asa grow this year alongside two babies our friends had around the same time Asa was born. We had LOTS of toys to play with, baby treats (a platter of Cheerios, goldfish, cheez-its, and fruit puffs), cheese and crackers, fruit, and I made birdie cupcakes (for his "bird"day and because he's "flying the coop" to OH). :) Pictures to come!
10. I am enjoying some family time in TN right now. It is fun to see Asa with his cousins!!
1. Matt, Asa, and I spent a day at Disney World. We had days on some passes, and we wanted to take Asa before we move. We rode the carousel and took a zillion pictures. Asa got his first Mickey ears. Matt and I got to eat Mickey ice cream bars. It was really fun. And believe everything you've heard about how accommodating their baby center is. Remarkable!
2. We had a whole week together, just the 3 of us. It was fabulous to have some family time before starting the new adventure. We also wrapped up all house projects (little things like outlet covers and bigger things like staining and hanging new doors in a couple rooms).
3. We spent a week at Hilton Head with my family. Unforgettable, as always. It was so fun to see Asa with his cousins now that he is mobile. They love him sweetly.
4. Asa L.O.V.E.D. the pool at the beach house! LOVED. It was SO fun to watch. :) And it has made bathtime even more fun.
5. Matt is officially employed by his new company and living in OH!
6. After about a week of looking, God led us to a great place to live. It's a 2000 sq. ft. (!!) townhouse (so we should have plenty of room--that's bigger than our house!) on a golf course. It has 2 GIANT bedrooms plus a finished basement with a fireplace that will function as our guest room/play room. And get this--all utilities are included except electricity--and it has GAS heat. So we don't have to fret about heating bills our first "real" cold winter!! Matt was excited to learn they even include cable tv AND Sammy is welcome. God is good!
7. Matt's boss has been incredible since Matt arrived, coming through in several pinches. Matt was in an accident his first full day there, and his boss picked him up and took him to rent a car (and stored everything that was in Matt's car at his house). He is loaning Matt a love seat, air mattress, pots, pans, the WORKS until I get there with our belongings. I am so thankful and they are so generous. God is faithful!
8. Matt and I (and Asa) have been able to video chat about every other day or so. It helps SOO much to see each other's face. Relief washes over me everytime Matt's sweet mug comes up on the computer screen. :)
9. We had an UNbirthday party for Asa this weekend. We will be in OH before his actual birthday, but I had all these ideas for a party, and we have been blessed to watch Asa grow this year alongside two babies our friends had around the same time Asa was born. We had LOTS of toys to play with, baby treats (a platter of Cheerios, goldfish, cheez-its, and fruit puffs), cheese and crackers, fruit, and I made birdie cupcakes (for his "bird"day and because he's "flying the coop" to OH). :) Pictures to come!
10. I am enjoying some family time in TN right now. It is fun to see Asa with his cousins!!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
10 on Tuesday
Whew! These weeks are flying by, but thankfully our "to do" list is getting EVER SO SHORT!
1. Completed projects: fix 2 lanai screens (Sammy helped herself to making her own doggy doors), pick up sticks and other random assorted items in the back yard, rake front yard, clear leaves off roof and out of gutters, buy and fill new potted plants for front door and for back patio, buy and place hanging plants for lanai, touch up walls with paint in various locations, fresh coat of paint on front door, wash windows, rinse shutters, patch wall behind front door and paint, install new range and hood, paint under hood where new hood is more shallow, replace 4 interior doors, stain new doors, buy a new welcome mat, install new guest room curtain rod, touch up crown molding in family room, clean out bathroom cabinets and drawers, declutter kitchen cabinets, mop lanai tile, scrub master shower, clean out storage shed, clean out garage, put out new towels in bathrooms, paint trim for family room.
2. Still to do: install trim in family room, freshen guest bathtub (light cleaning), new screws for bath drains, install new knobs on master closet doors, rake part of back yard, edge front and back yards, dig up bush stubs and dead shrub, trim azaleas on Asa's side, clean eaves. Whew! Almost there!
3. Asa had his 9 month WELL visit (no more "failure to thrive" checked on our paperwork!). In the last 3 weeks (since his last weight check), he gained almost another pound (15 oz. for a total of 15 lbs. 3 oz.), grew I think 1.5" (he was 25" something last time and he's JUST shy of 27" now), and his head circumference (44 cm) is almost back on the exact same curve before all this growth stuff fell off the charts. In fact, he is back ON a curve for 3 out of 4 measurements (well, JUST below a curve for weight for length and not on a curve yet for weight but getting there!). We are SO thankful!
4. Asa is babbling and talking up a storm and likes to repeat after us. :)
5. He is crawling faster and faster (especially to chase Sammy!)! He also pulls up on EVERYthing and loves to pull books off of shelves. :)
6. His top teeth are FINALLY breaking through! The corner of his right tooth broke through overnight. Now he makes this creepy teeth crunching (grinding/rubbing) sound as he's figured out there's something there.
7. I tried dairy again last week (tried at 3 mo. and 6 mo.) and it WORKED! Asa was not cranky and did not have an upset stomach! It has been SO fun to become reacquainted with some foods I have really missed. :) But I am having a hard time remembering what I used to cook 9 months ago before dairy was forbidden! :)
8. We cannot WAIT for the beach!
9. We are taking Asa to Disney World next week. :) Matt has the whole week off (THIS is actually his last week of work!).
10. We are praying for our house to sell quickly!!
There you have it! Lots of work, but trying to keep the fun going at the same time and definitely making some memories while we're at it!
1. Completed projects: fix 2 lanai screens (Sammy helped herself to making her own doggy doors), pick up sticks and other random assorted items in the back yard, rake front yard, clear leaves off roof and out of gutters, buy and fill new potted plants for front door and for back patio, buy and place hanging plants for lanai, touch up walls with paint in various locations, fresh coat of paint on front door, wash windows, rinse shutters, patch wall behind front door and paint, install new range and hood, paint under hood where new hood is more shallow, replace 4 interior doors, stain new doors, buy a new welcome mat, install new guest room curtain rod, touch up crown molding in family room, clean out bathroom cabinets and drawers, declutter kitchen cabinets, mop lanai tile, scrub master shower, clean out storage shed, clean out garage, put out new towels in bathrooms, paint trim for family room.
2. Still to do: install trim in family room, freshen guest bathtub (light cleaning), new screws for bath drains, install new knobs on master closet doors, rake part of back yard, edge front and back yards, dig up bush stubs and dead shrub, trim azaleas on Asa's side, clean eaves. Whew! Almost there!
3. Asa had his 9 month WELL visit (no more "failure to thrive" checked on our paperwork!). In the last 3 weeks (since his last weight check), he gained almost another pound (15 oz. for a total of 15 lbs. 3 oz.), grew I think 1.5" (he was 25" something last time and he's JUST shy of 27" now), and his head circumference (44 cm) is almost back on the exact same curve before all this growth stuff fell off the charts. In fact, he is back ON a curve for 3 out of 4 measurements (well, JUST below a curve for weight for length and not on a curve yet for weight but getting there!). We are SO thankful!
4. Asa is babbling and talking up a storm and likes to repeat after us. :)
5. He is crawling faster and faster (especially to chase Sammy!)! He also pulls up on EVERYthing and loves to pull books off of shelves. :)
6. His top teeth are FINALLY breaking through! The corner of his right tooth broke through overnight. Now he makes this creepy teeth crunching (grinding/rubbing) sound as he's figured out there's something there.
7. I tried dairy again last week (tried at 3 mo. and 6 mo.) and it WORKED! Asa was not cranky and did not have an upset stomach! It has been SO fun to become reacquainted with some foods I have really missed. :) But I am having a hard time remembering what I used to cook 9 months ago before dairy was forbidden! :)
8. We cannot WAIT for the beach!
9. We are taking Asa to Disney World next week. :) Matt has the whole week off (THIS is actually his last week of work!).
10. We are praying for our house to sell quickly!!
There you have it! Lots of work, but trying to keep the fun going at the same time and definitely making some memories while we're at it!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ten on Tuesday
Here's a 10 on Tuesday that uniquely describes where we are in life right now:
1. rake front yard
2. fresh coat of paint on front door
3. de-clutter closets
4. de-personalize home
5. spruce up yard
6. wash all windows inside and out
7. scrub bathrooms like they've never been scrubbed before
8. touch up walls
9. buy new welcome mat
10. give away things we don't want to take with us to OHIO!
1. rake front yard
2. fresh coat of paint on front door
3. de-clutter closets
4. de-personalize home
5. spruce up yard
6. wash all windows inside and out
7. scrub bathrooms like they've never been scrubbed before
8. touch up walls
9. buy new welcome mat
10. give away things we don't want to take with us to OHIO!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Ten on Tuesday
1. Matt came back from his trip last week, and now he's off again! What a traveler! This time he's in NOLA for the ORS/AAOS conferences.
2. I think he won't recognize Asa when he gets back. He is growing SOOO much! Unbelievable how that little tongue clip turned everything around (oh yeah, and peaches might have had something to do with it, too).
3. Asa now eats about 6 peach wedges, 10-12 greenbeans or 1/2 a pear, a cube of some type of babyfood I've made (sweet potatoes or butternut squash so far), 2 tablespoons of oatmeal, and then sometimes a banana puff or two or a soda cracker... twice a day! The boy can put down some food! :) We love it.
4. Mom is here visiting. It's the best. :) Nuff said.
5. Mom has been helping me do a spring cleaning of sorts. Wow. Who knew you could jam so much stuff in your closets?
6. Our cleaning out has made me determined that I MUST use fabric from my stash, scrapbooking supplies from my tubs, and rubber stamps from my collection before I buy more. Out. of. control. Wow. I too easily get into "it's too pretty to use." I can't let myself do that! I need to USE and ENJOY--that's what I bought it for!
7. Asa is teething. If you've tried to sleep in the same house as a teething baby... especially if you have been the nursing mama, you know how that is. I figured out his new weight (YEA) entitles him to a little bit more Tylenol in a dose. We adjusted last night and he went 4 hour stretches overnight for the first time in probably at least a week... except the one feeding I decided to see if it was really the Tylenol making a difference, so I skipped the dose... and he woke up 2.5 hours later. Yup--the Tylenol is helping... and I am praising the Lord it is! He even slept in an hour this morning AND took great naps today since he wasn't so exhausted. Hooray!
8. We have had some beautiful weather here this week! I think spring might actually come. :) Red buds and Japanese Maples are already blooming on our street!
9. Asa had what was hopefully his last blood work for a LONG time yesterday. He is such a trooper! They actually got a line in his arm (wow!) and the blood flowed fast once they got it positioned correctly. Praise God!
10. Tomorrow Asa has what will hopefully be his last weight check before we got back to the normal well child visit schedule. We love Dr. K, but it will (Lord willing) be so nice to know he's back on track and doesn't need the weekly weight checks. We should get the blood work results back at our appt. as well. We are praying for good news!
2. I think he won't recognize Asa when he gets back. He is growing SOOO much! Unbelievable how that little tongue clip turned everything around (oh yeah, and peaches might have had something to do with it, too).
3. Asa now eats about 6 peach wedges, 10-12 greenbeans or 1/2 a pear, a cube of some type of babyfood I've made (sweet potatoes or butternut squash so far), 2 tablespoons of oatmeal, and then sometimes a banana puff or two or a soda cracker... twice a day! The boy can put down some food! :) We love it.
4. Mom is here visiting. It's the best. :) Nuff said.
5. Mom has been helping me do a spring cleaning of sorts. Wow. Who knew you could jam so much stuff in your closets?
6. Our cleaning out has made me determined that I MUST use fabric from my stash, scrapbooking supplies from my tubs, and rubber stamps from my collection before I buy more. Out. of. control. Wow. I too easily get into "it's too pretty to use." I can't let myself do that! I need to USE and ENJOY--that's what I bought it for!
7. Asa is teething. If you've tried to sleep in the same house as a teething baby... especially if you have been the nursing mama, you know how that is. I figured out his new weight (YEA) entitles him to a little bit more Tylenol in a dose. We adjusted last night and he went 4 hour stretches overnight for the first time in probably at least a week... except the one feeding I decided to see if it was really the Tylenol making a difference, so I skipped the dose... and he woke up 2.5 hours later. Yup--the Tylenol is helping... and I am praising the Lord it is! He even slept in an hour this morning AND took great naps today since he wasn't so exhausted. Hooray!
8. We have had some beautiful weather here this week! I think spring might actually come. :) Red buds and Japanese Maples are already blooming on our street!
9. Asa had what was hopefully his last blood work for a LONG time yesterday. He is such a trooper! They actually got a line in his arm (wow!) and the blood flowed fast once they got it positioned correctly. Praise God!
10. Tomorrow Asa has what will hopefully be his last weight check before we got back to the normal well child visit schedule. We love Dr. K, but it will (Lord willing) be so nice to know he's back on track and doesn't need the weekly weight checks. We should get the blood work results back at our appt. as well. We are praying for good news!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Ten on Tuesday
Whew! We have had some busy times around here, but they are making for fun times and sweet memories. :)
1. On Saturday we went to a friend's house for a cook out. They have a baby boy 7 weeks older than Asa and also had another family with a 1 year old girl over. We enjoyed visiting with them, watching the kids play, and eating yummy grilled chicken. Asa had his first real meal away from home after we ate dinner (he had pears, green beans, and peachy oatmeal).
2. It is fun and interesting to see Asa's personality coming out more and more. I have noticed at playgroup, and again at the cookout on Saturday, that Asa's "take it all in" tendency extends to his social preferences as well. When he is at home (where he is comfortable and familiar), he is all over the place. But when we are at someone else's home, he tends to hang back and observe. He likes to just sit in my lap, maybe with a small toy, and watch the other kids. Eventually he is willing to venture forth a little and play on the floor near me. I just think it's so interesting to watch him decide he's comfortable enough to try something new. MUCH more my personality than Matt's (Mr. It's-All-An-Adventure-Dive-In-Head-First).
3. After church on Sunday, we stayed for the "international lunch" capping off our missions month. We used Asa's travel booster seat for the first time, and it was WONDERFUL! He sat so happily while I fed him peaches, pears, and peachy oatmeal. We got to sit and visit with a couple that started coming to our small group right around when Asa was born, so we don't know them as well. They are really fun, and they are super sweet to Asa. As he was finishing his lunch, Asa was really playful and interactive with them. It blesses me to see Asa make others smile!
4. Then Asa went out again on Sunday night! Whew! He's had a busy weekend! Our small group ended up just being us and our dear friends Ken and Kathy. After visiting awhile, Matt asked about going to dinner together. We ended up walking a few blocks up the road (Asa in his big boy stroller) to a mexican restaurant. Asa chowed down on pears and green beans while we ate chips and salsa. :) It was a fun time together. They are such a blessing to us! We heard about a trip they took driving around Puerto Rico, how Kathy decided to become a doctor, and about an unlikely Independence Day treasure trove. :) They also hosted our Gainesville baby shower and let Dad and Mom stay with them for Asa's baptism. Sweet friends.
5. I have to admit I'm a little proud of myself for going with the flow so much this weekend with so many events and so much time away from home for Asa. Especially with last minute things like dinner Sunday night. I am thankful to have seized the moments and enjoyed some really fun times.
6. Asa is pulling up to a stand now! He has pulled up on the tv stand, the couch, his toy box, and most recently--after several longing looks and attempts--the coffee table. He is changing SO fast!!
7. On Sunday night/Monday morning, Matt and I both came down with the stomach flu. Y-U-C-K! So far so good on the Asa-front, but we are continuing to pray he does NOT get it. To make matters more interesting, Matt was flying out of state on Monday afternoon for a meeting on Tuesday! So he hit the road stomach still a bit "off," and left behind a wife who wasn't sure she was done being sick yet. Thankfully I was okay until the middle of the night when my stomach was too empty, and I've been able to munch on Cheerios and crackers to keep the nausea at bay.
8. Asa watched his first tv show yesterday courtesy of Mom-is-so-tired-she-is-dizzy-and-feeling-very-nauseous. We do not let him watch tv. The pluses of that are all the time in person interaction and hopefully avoiding the high correlation between television and ADD. In addition, since he never sees it, Asa is mesmerized when he DOES see a tv on (at a restaurant, friend's home, etc.). I turned on Curious George on PBS but had a praise cd playing through the speakers instead of the show's sound. Two times there was a close up of C.G. smiling on the screen, and Asa grinned back at him. So sweet. :)
9. This week we had to buy diapers for Asa for the FIRST time since he was born. He is 8.5 months old! What a crazy blessing is that?! We are so thankful for the generosity of family and friends that kept Asa's closet stocked full of diapers all this time. :)
10. Asa has figured out the /y/ sound and his new favorite babbles sound a LOT like "yeah" and "hey." It's pretty cute, especially when he says it during a time in a conversation between Matt and me when it actually makes sense. Example... Me: Matt, I really need you to get up now. Asa: Yeah! :) Too fun.
1. On Saturday we went to a friend's house for a cook out. They have a baby boy 7 weeks older than Asa and also had another family with a 1 year old girl over. We enjoyed visiting with them, watching the kids play, and eating yummy grilled chicken. Asa had his first real meal away from home after we ate dinner (he had pears, green beans, and peachy oatmeal).
2. It is fun and interesting to see Asa's personality coming out more and more. I have noticed at playgroup, and again at the cookout on Saturday, that Asa's "take it all in" tendency extends to his social preferences as well. When he is at home (where he is comfortable and familiar), he is all over the place. But when we are at someone else's home, he tends to hang back and observe. He likes to just sit in my lap, maybe with a small toy, and watch the other kids. Eventually he is willing to venture forth a little and play on the floor near me. I just think it's so interesting to watch him decide he's comfortable enough to try something new. MUCH more my personality than Matt's (Mr. It's-All-An-Adventure-Dive-In-Head-First).
3. After church on Sunday, we stayed for the "international lunch" capping off our missions month. We used Asa's travel booster seat for the first time, and it was WONDERFUL! He sat so happily while I fed him peaches, pears, and peachy oatmeal. We got to sit and visit with a couple that started coming to our small group right around when Asa was born, so we don't know them as well. They are really fun, and they are super sweet to Asa. As he was finishing his lunch, Asa was really playful and interactive with them. It blesses me to see Asa make others smile!
4. Then Asa went out again on Sunday night! Whew! He's had a busy weekend! Our small group ended up just being us and our dear friends Ken and Kathy. After visiting awhile, Matt asked about going to dinner together. We ended up walking a few blocks up the road (Asa in his big boy stroller) to a mexican restaurant. Asa chowed down on pears and green beans while we ate chips and salsa. :) It was a fun time together. They are such a blessing to us! We heard about a trip they took driving around Puerto Rico, how Kathy decided to become a doctor, and about an unlikely Independence Day treasure trove. :) They also hosted our Gainesville baby shower and let Dad and Mom stay with them for Asa's baptism. Sweet friends.
5. I have to admit I'm a little proud of myself for going with the flow so much this weekend with so many events and so much time away from home for Asa. Especially with last minute things like dinner Sunday night. I am thankful to have seized the moments and enjoyed some really fun times.
6. Asa is pulling up to a stand now! He has pulled up on the tv stand, the couch, his toy box, and most recently--after several longing looks and attempts--the coffee table. He is changing SO fast!!
7. On Sunday night/Monday morning, Matt and I both came down with the stomach flu. Y-U-C-K! So far so good on the Asa-front, but we are continuing to pray he does NOT get it. To make matters more interesting, Matt was flying out of state on Monday afternoon for a meeting on Tuesday! So he hit the road stomach still a bit "off," and left behind a wife who wasn't sure she was done being sick yet. Thankfully I was okay until the middle of the night when my stomach was too empty, and I've been able to munch on Cheerios and crackers to keep the nausea at bay.
8. Asa watched his first tv show yesterday courtesy of Mom-is-so-tired-she-is-dizzy-and-feeling-very-nauseous. We do not let him watch tv. The pluses of that are all the time in person interaction and hopefully avoiding the high correlation between television and ADD. In addition, since he never sees it, Asa is mesmerized when he DOES see a tv on (at a restaurant, friend's home, etc.). I turned on Curious George on PBS but had a praise cd playing through the speakers instead of the show's sound. Two times there was a close up of C.G. smiling on the screen, and Asa grinned back at him. So sweet. :)
9. This week we had to buy diapers for Asa for the FIRST time since he was born. He is 8.5 months old! What a crazy blessing is that?! We are so thankful for the generosity of family and friends that kept Asa's closet stocked full of diapers all this time. :)
10. Asa has figured out the /y/ sound and his new favorite babbles sound a LOT like "yeah" and "hey." It's pretty cute, especially when he says it during a time in a conversation between Matt and me when it actually makes sense. Example... Me: Matt, I really need you to get up now. Asa: Yeah! :) Too fun.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Ten on Tuesday
1. God has been so gracious and merciful as we have sorted out Asa's growth. 2 weeks ago his tongue tie was corrected and during that week his weight gain returned to "normal" for a baby his age (about 2 oz.). This past week he really kicked the solids up into high gear and blew us all away! He gained TEN ounces in one week!!! Matt, our pediatrician, and I are ECSTATIC! Not only is he gaining how much he "should," but he is also gaining some "catch up" weight making up for lost time. We are thrilled and FILLED with praises!!
2. Asa is starting to play around with pushing and pulling up to a stand. He often plays sitting up on his knees when he's at his little lego table or crawling on Daddy or Mommy. Once he sat next to the couch and looked up with a wondering look on his face like he was trying to figure out how to see what was on the seat cushion. And today he was sitting next to the coffee table, reached up with the biggest grin, and got up to his knees. He tried to get a foot under him to stand but couldn't quite figure it out. He pushes up on everything, but that was his first time to try to pull up. UH OH! :)
3. I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for our dear friend Lauren on Sunday. We met her and her family through church and our small group. She has a 2 year old daughter who is oh-so-sweet to Asa (and calls all her baby dolls "Baby Asa"), and a new little one is due in a month! Lauren and her husband are waiting until the baby is born to find out if it is a boy or a girl, so we did a pretty yellow and green color scheme. And since they have all the baby basics already, we did a gift card shower. People who wanted to bring a gift brought gift cards for things like Target, Publix, and even Dunkin Donuts. :) It was so fun! We packed close to 20 people into our living room. And all the food people contributed looked scrumptious. The 2 other hostesses came up with a baby/Lauren version of Balderdash (you try to get your team to guess a word, like "baby," but there is a list of words you cannot say in your clues, like "infant, newborn, mom, dad, pregnant). There were lots of good laughs, and I think Lauren had a good time. :) I loved getting to use our home to be hospitable--that was a huge reason for us in making the leap to buying a house so soon after we married.
4. Matt was an ALL STAR during the shower. I had to feed Asa before it started, so he finished putting together little finger sandwiches for me (Sister Schubert rolls with provolone and prosciutto). Then he was planning on going out to play with Asa but got blocked in the garage. Instead they played in the backyard and took a walk a couple blocks down the street to look at the plants at a nearby nursery. And then when everyone was heading out and we hostesses were cleaning up, Matt fed Asa his dinner (peaches + pears). I am so thankful for him and his servant heart. All I had to do was ask (for whatever I needed) and it was done.
6. We will be repeating Asa's basic blood work next Monday and then seeing our doctor again on Tuesday. She should have the results of his blood work back by then (fast turn around!) and we'll weigh him again. If everything checks out okay, we won't have to go back until his 9 month well visit!
7. Asa is teething! Those two top front teeth are giving him a little bit of a hard time. I will be relieved for him when they finally break through and he gets some relief.
8. Asa's G-Ma is coming to visit next week! Woo hoo!!! We can't wait to see her. :)
9. We made a head board for our guest room bed. I covered canvases (super on sale!) with fabric that coordinates with the bed quilt. Then Matt hung them from me as if they are a head board. I love how it make it really look like a bed instead of a mattress and some pillows. And I love the bright, happy colors.
10. Asa is EIGHT months old today!!!
after a bath tonight... do you see his tummy sticking out?!?
2. Asa is starting to play around with pushing and pulling up to a stand. He often plays sitting up on his knees when he's at his little lego table or crawling on Daddy or Mommy. Once he sat next to the couch and looked up with a wondering look on his face like he was trying to figure out how to see what was on the seat cushion. And today he was sitting next to the coffee table, reached up with the biggest grin, and got up to his knees. He tried to get a foot under him to stand but couldn't quite figure it out. He pushes up on everything, but that was his first time to try to pull up. UH OH! :)
3. I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for our dear friend Lauren on Sunday. We met her and her family through church and our small group. She has a 2 year old daughter who is oh-so-sweet to Asa (and calls all her baby dolls "Baby Asa"), and a new little one is due in a month! Lauren and her husband are waiting until the baby is born to find out if it is a boy or a girl, so we did a pretty yellow and green color scheme. And since they have all the baby basics already, we did a gift card shower. People who wanted to bring a gift brought gift cards for things like Target, Publix, and even Dunkin Donuts. :) It was so fun! We packed close to 20 people into our living room. And all the food people contributed looked scrumptious. The 2 other hostesses came up with a baby/Lauren version of Balderdash (you try to get your team to guess a word, like "baby," but there is a list of words you cannot say in your clues, like "infant, newborn, mom, dad, pregnant). There were lots of good laughs, and I think Lauren had a good time. :) I loved getting to use our home to be hospitable--that was a huge reason for us in making the leap to buying a house so soon after we married.
the night before, setting serving pieces out
sweet Lauren with her mom and sister
decorations
flower arrangements I put together from Michael's
baby themed sweet tarts
I couldn't resist making some burp cloths
("handle with care" hedgehog and "lucky duck" duck)
("handle with care" hedgehog and "lucky duck" duck)
the sandwiches Matt helped with
5. Our temperatures here made it to the 70s today! I guess spring really IS going to come!6. We will be repeating Asa's basic blood work next Monday and then seeing our doctor again on Tuesday. She should have the results of his blood work back by then (fast turn around!) and we'll weigh him again. If everything checks out okay, we won't have to go back until his 9 month well visit!
7. Asa is teething! Those two top front teeth are giving him a little bit of a hard time. I will be relieved for him when they finally break through and he gets some relief.
8. Asa's G-Ma is coming to visit next week! Woo hoo!!! We can't wait to see her. :)
9. We made a head board for our guest room bed. I covered canvases (super on sale!) with fabric that coordinates with the bed quilt. Then Matt hung them from me as if they are a head board. I love how it make it really look like a bed instead of a mattress and some pillows. And I love the bright, happy colors.
before
after
after
10. Asa is EIGHT months old today!!!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
10 on Tuesday (a day late)
I have not been very good about updating our blog. I think my days are just so filled with Asa, and in general I talk to my family a lot, so they are up to date on our happenings. But I would love for this to be a fun record of Asa's growth and our family's events, so I want to update more frequently (I love the blog --> book companies like blurb and would love to have this turned into a book one day). So, I'm going to try posting 10 tidbits on Tuesdays, even if I don't post anything else that week. I'm a day late this week, but hopefully not a dollar short. ;)
1. Love at first bite
Asa LOVES peaches! We finally found a food our boy loves and will hold his mouth open for. He even makes little sounds sometimes if you don't have the next bite ready and waiting for him when he finishes the previous bite. :) We are SOO very thankful to have found a food Asa likes. It led us to try pears as well, and he's a big fan of pears too! As an added bonus, he is now eating baby oatmeal again--when I make it with peach and/or pear juice. Our ped is a big fan of that "mommy creativity." On one hand, I know that juice is packed with sugars and it gave me pause initially. But this is Asa we're talking about! He can use a little extra. ;)
2. On the move
Asa is starting to "up" crawl. He's been doing all sorts of crawling maneuvers since the end of November. But now he's starting to throw a few real crawling "steps" in as he motors about the house. When he wants to go fast, he drops down to his tummy and army crawls. But he's really starting to coordinate the up crawl. And he is SO proud of himself when he gets to what he wants.
3. Praise upon praise
We think we have figured out the source of Asa's funky blood work! We met with a lactation consultant who checked his mouth before she did anything else... and she discovered he was "tongue tied." The frenulum ( tissue below your tongue) extended too far forward underneath his tongue, preventing him from nursing very efficiently. They were able to correct the tissue length right in the office during our appointment, and the following week Asa's weight gain was NORMAL for a baby his age! PRAISE THE LORD! I am doing a lot of pumping and taking some herbs to get my supply up to what Asa will be able to take in now (apparently he got worn out and would stop too soon before the tongue issue was corrected). He is doing so well! The LC also said that from the outside, he looked like he was nursing perfectly so there was no way I could have known anything was wrong since I didn't have any pain (I guess nursing pain is common when there are tongue issues). We are hopeful everything is back on track and will repeat Asa's blood work a month after it was first done, which is in two weeks.
4. Handyman
Asa's hand control is amazing. Seriously. He is already working very hard on developing the pincer (thumb and forefinger) grasp. He can pick up tiny pieces of "scrot" (dirt, etc.) from the floor--Mommy has to vacuum a LOT these days! He picks up small pieces of food. He grabs and moves his toys with SUCH intention. We often play a game of putting his little people on TOP of their school bus. He carefully brings his hand near and plucks them right off the top. It took about 3 days for him to refine his approach and do it successfully. He is definitely on the verge of getting into EVERYTHING.
5. Brrrrrr
It is cold in Florida. The weather reports said it was on its way out, and then they said it's here to stay for awhile. Brrrrrr. But at least we're all getting to enjoy our wintery clothes more than usual this year. :) Normally they are out for all of 2 weeks! Ha!
6. Will you be my Valentine?
Matt and I had fun doing little things to celebrate Valentine's Day (and going out to dinner the week before when G-Ma was in town). I got him 2 necessities: a new pair of jeans and a new dress shirt; and a silly something: this crazy stuffed figure he always picks up and laughs at when he sees it at Target. He got me some really cute Hoops & Yoyo notepads and a notepad holder, some dairy free candy :), and a card entitling me to a head massage, foot rub, dinner cooked by Matt, diaper changed by Matt, etc. whenever I want. :) It was really sweet. He also gave me a card from Asa. Inside he had printed of several funny pictures of Asa and made "thank you" cards from each of them. For instance, one said, "Thank you for changing my diaper" and inside was a picture of Asa pouting on the changing table. Then the next one said, "Even when they are bad ones," and the picture inside was Asa crying on the changing table. It was very sweet and we both cracked up. :) I made Asa a special Valentine's shirt for the weekend, and he had a "My First Valentine's" outfit G-Pa and G-Ma sent him to wear on Sunday.
7. Sleep
Starting solids has not affected Asa's sleep, at least not in a positive way! Before solids, he consistently slept a 4 hour stretch the first part of the evening. Now it's a 3-3.5 hour stretch. He is NOT sleeping any longer than he was before he started "real" food. It's mostly every 3 hours all night long. So, throw that "conventional wisdom" out the window, at least for my baby! He is also in the process of dropping his 3rd nap. That is hard when he's super clingy (we're in the midst of separation anxiety right now), but it's fun when he's feeling playful. :) It also resulted in a TWO hour long 2nd nap yesterday, and it would be AMAZING if that became the new norm!
8. Babies
I am hosting, along with some friends, a baby shower on Sunday for another friend, L. I am so excited! The only snag is that Asa is currently refusing a bottle. If we can't get him to take one before Sunday, Matt will have to swing by with Asa when it's time for him to eat and I'll have to sneak away for a few moments to feed him and then send the men back out on their merry way. :) Thankfully there are a few of us sharing hostess duties (but it's at our house), so they can keep things running if indeed Asa keeps refusing to take a bottle. The refusal is also crazy right now because I'm pumping a ton, but I have no way to get the pumped milk into him (he doesn't like baby oatmeal made with milk). We're not giving up though! :)
9. Feeling crafty
I made Asa a new floor blanket yesterday. I still need to hand tie it, but then I will post a picture. It's super cute. Matt thought I had bought it when he saw it. :) I'm also ALMOST ready to make my "quilt sandwich" for my first quilt! I just need to piece a strip into the backing and I'll be ready to get started. I am so excited to see how it turns out!
10. A place for everything....
...and everything in its place. We bought a great storage unit for the living room (behind the couch) for my sewing things. I LOVE it! It's one of those cubby shelves you can put canvas drawers in. I have a drawer for patterns, one for notions, two for scraps, one for embroidery items, one for trims, etc. And my sewing machine sits so nicely on top. It's GREAT and everything stays neatly out of sight when I'm not using it. Thank you, Matt, for approving it!! :)
That about covers it. I am hoping to upload some video of Asa soon. But if time gets away from me, you can expect 10 more tidbits next Tuesday. :)
1. Love at first bite
Asa LOVES peaches! We finally found a food our boy loves and will hold his mouth open for. He even makes little sounds sometimes if you don't have the next bite ready and waiting for him when he finishes the previous bite. :) We are SOO very thankful to have found a food Asa likes. It led us to try pears as well, and he's a big fan of pears too! As an added bonus, he is now eating baby oatmeal again--when I make it with peach and/or pear juice. Our ped is a big fan of that "mommy creativity." On one hand, I know that juice is packed with sugars and it gave me pause initially. But this is Asa we're talking about! He can use a little extra. ;)
2. On the move
Asa is starting to "up" crawl. He's been doing all sorts of crawling maneuvers since the end of November. But now he's starting to throw a few real crawling "steps" in as he motors about the house. When he wants to go fast, he drops down to his tummy and army crawls. But he's really starting to coordinate the up crawl. And he is SO proud of himself when he gets to what he wants.
3. Praise upon praise
We think we have figured out the source of Asa's funky blood work! We met with a lactation consultant who checked his mouth before she did anything else... and she discovered he was "tongue tied." The frenulum ( tissue below your tongue) extended too far forward underneath his tongue, preventing him from nursing very efficiently. They were able to correct the tissue length right in the office during our appointment, and the following week Asa's weight gain was NORMAL for a baby his age! PRAISE THE LORD! I am doing a lot of pumping and taking some herbs to get my supply up to what Asa will be able to take in now (apparently he got worn out and would stop too soon before the tongue issue was corrected). He is doing so well! The LC also said that from the outside, he looked like he was nursing perfectly so there was no way I could have known anything was wrong since I didn't have any pain (I guess nursing pain is common when there are tongue issues). We are hopeful everything is back on track and will repeat Asa's blood work a month after it was first done, which is in two weeks.
4. Handyman
Asa's hand control is amazing. Seriously. He is already working very hard on developing the pincer (thumb and forefinger) grasp. He can pick up tiny pieces of "scrot" (dirt, etc.) from the floor--Mommy has to vacuum a LOT these days! He picks up small pieces of food. He grabs and moves his toys with SUCH intention. We often play a game of putting his little people on TOP of their school bus. He carefully brings his hand near and plucks them right off the top. It took about 3 days for him to refine his approach and do it successfully. He is definitely on the verge of getting into EVERYTHING.
5. Brrrrrr
It is cold in Florida. The weather reports said it was on its way out, and then they said it's here to stay for awhile. Brrrrrr. But at least we're all getting to enjoy our wintery clothes more than usual this year. :) Normally they are out for all of 2 weeks! Ha!
6. Will you be my Valentine?
Matt and I had fun doing little things to celebrate Valentine's Day (and going out to dinner the week before when G-Ma was in town). I got him 2 necessities: a new pair of jeans and a new dress shirt; and a silly something: this crazy stuffed figure he always picks up and laughs at when he sees it at Target. He got me some really cute Hoops & Yoyo notepads and a notepad holder, some dairy free candy :), and a card entitling me to a head massage, foot rub, dinner cooked by Matt, diaper changed by Matt, etc. whenever I want. :) It was really sweet. He also gave me a card from Asa. Inside he had printed of several funny pictures of Asa and made "thank you" cards from each of them. For instance, one said, "Thank you for changing my diaper" and inside was a picture of Asa pouting on the changing table. Then the next one said, "Even when they are bad ones," and the picture inside was Asa crying on the changing table. It was very sweet and we both cracked up. :) I made Asa a special Valentine's shirt for the weekend, and he had a "My First Valentine's" outfit G-Pa and G-Ma sent him to wear on Sunday.
7. Sleep
Starting solids has not affected Asa's sleep, at least not in a positive way! Before solids, he consistently slept a 4 hour stretch the first part of the evening. Now it's a 3-3.5 hour stretch. He is NOT sleeping any longer than he was before he started "real" food. It's mostly every 3 hours all night long. So, throw that "conventional wisdom" out the window, at least for my baby! He is also in the process of dropping his 3rd nap. That is hard when he's super clingy (we're in the midst of separation anxiety right now), but it's fun when he's feeling playful. :) It also resulted in a TWO hour long 2nd nap yesterday, and it would be AMAZING if that became the new norm!
8. Babies
I am hosting, along with some friends, a baby shower on Sunday for another friend, L. I am so excited! The only snag is that Asa is currently refusing a bottle. If we can't get him to take one before Sunday, Matt will have to swing by with Asa when it's time for him to eat and I'll have to sneak away for a few moments to feed him and then send the men back out on their merry way. :) Thankfully there are a few of us sharing hostess duties (but it's at our house), so they can keep things running if indeed Asa keeps refusing to take a bottle. The refusal is also crazy right now because I'm pumping a ton, but I have no way to get the pumped milk into him (he doesn't like baby oatmeal made with milk). We're not giving up though! :)
9. Feeling crafty
I made Asa a new floor blanket yesterday. I still need to hand tie it, but then I will post a picture. It's super cute. Matt thought I had bought it when he saw it. :) I'm also ALMOST ready to make my "quilt sandwich" for my first quilt! I just need to piece a strip into the backing and I'll be ready to get started. I am so excited to see how it turns out!
10. A place for everything....
...and everything in its place. We bought a great storage unit for the living room (behind the couch) for my sewing things. I LOVE it! It's one of those cubby shelves you can put canvas drawers in. I have a drawer for patterns, one for notions, two for scraps, one for embroidery items, one for trims, etc. And my sewing machine sits so nicely on top. It's GREAT and everything stays neatly out of sight when I'm not using it. Thank you, Matt, for approving it!! :)
That about covers it. I am hoping to upload some video of Asa soon. But if time gets away from me, you can expect 10 more tidbits next Tuesday. :)
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