Cute cousins!

Ashley and I wanted to take some photos of our kids together to give to our parents for Christmas. It was not an easy task, to say the least. None of them were very into getting their picture taken so it's a good thing they are all so darn cute! Merry Christmas from Hunter, Asher and Brinley :)

I can never decide between color or black and white, so here's both!

6 months!

Asher turned 6 months old this past week. He is becoming more fun everyday and learning so many new things! He had his 6 month check up Thursday and it went great. He did so good with his shots and only cried for a few seconds. We found out that he definitely will not need a helmet, which made me very relieved. I was pretty sure he wouldn't but it is nice to not have to worry about it anymore. Here are his 6 month stats:

Weight: 16lbs 15 oz- 40th percentile
Height: 27.5 inches- 81st percentile
Head: 16.7 inches- 18th percentile

So he is still one tall boy! His cheeks have sure filled out but his body is still pretty thin. And he is just as handsome as ever!
He is learning new things all the time and it's so much fun. He knows and responds to his name. He has been close to sitting up alone for a long time now and pretty much mastered it today. He went from sitting up for about a minute yesterday to sitting as long as he wants today. He still loves to play with his feet. He always pulls off his socks so he can put them in his mouth. Half of the time he will have the next one off before we finish putting the other back on. In fact, the other day while I was getting him dressed he pulled his sock off, put it in his mouth and left it there. It was pretty funny. He is always doing silly things and making us laugh. He definitely has an opinion now and likes to make it known. He is pretty loud when he wants to be. He has started to play with his toys now instead of just putting them in his mouth. He is always kicking his feet. He has really started to like bath time lately and will just kick his feet the whole time and then laugh when the water splashes his face. He smiles every time he sneezes. We love our silly boy!



These pictures were actually taken about a month ago but he just looks too darn cute not to share them :)

5 months!

It's true, our little baby is not so little anymore! He is getting to such a fun age and we love it! He is growing so fast and getting so big. I know I say that every month but I'm always amazed at how fast it has gone by. He has been with us for such a short time but it feels like he has always been here. I really don't remember what it felt like to not have him with us. He just fits so well.

He is super smiley these days and is much easier to get laughs out of. He will even laugh now when we talk to him, which is pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen! He has been rolling from tummy to back for quite a while but just rolled the other way for the first time on Saturday. He has been so close for so long but he really does not like being on his tummy so he hasn't had much motivation. I'm not sure he will be doing it all that much still but at least now we know he can! I'm sure he'll be sitting up anytime now. He is getting really close and does great with minimal support. He cannot get enough of his feet lately. He is trying to eat them all.the.time. I would even be willing to say his feet are his favorite toy. He has also found his voice in the last few weeks. He of course has been babbling and cooing for a long time but these days he likes to yell. I think he just likes to hear himself and he sure is loud! Sometimes when he wakes up in the morning or from a nap I don't go in right away because I like to listen to him through the monitor. It makes me laugh everytime to hear him in there grunting and squealing while he waits. He has also mellowed out a bit and has gotten past the fussy newborn stage. He does seem to be developing some seperation anxiety/stranger danger lately, though. As long as Tim or I are holding him he does just fine but when someone else takes him he gets a little unsure. I don't really mind it though, soon enough I'm sure he will be dying to get away from us so I'll take what I can get :)

Like I said, he cannot get enough of his feet!

How are babies this flexible? It makes me smile.

I may be biased, but I'm pretty sure I have the cutest baby in the whole world :)

Love the silly faces!

We love our handsome little man and we are so blessed to have him in our family! I ask myself everyday how I got so lucky. We love you, Asher!

Starting Solids!

On Sunday we gave Asher his first taste of solid food. We started with some rice cereal and I would say it was a success! It was really just for fun and to help him start getting used to a spoon but he did great!

First bite, he's not so sure yet...

A few bites in and he started to get a little more comfortable...

By the end he was loving it, even though half of it ended up on him instead of in his mouth!

Asher's First Halloween!

I have already decided that holidays are a lot more fun with kids, and Asher is only 4 months! It was so much fun just to dress up Asher and see how cute he looked in his costume! We didn't actually do much on Halloween. We just put Asher in his costume long enough for some pictures and then passed out candy to the few trick or treaters that came.

Here are some photos of my cute robot!

With his cute Halloween Build-a-Bear

Ha ha I love this face he is making!

We spent the night before Halloween at my dad and stepmoms house. They always have such fun activities whenever we go over for any holiday!

Asher and Grandpa Kevin

Tim and Asher

Painting my bat pumpkin

Asher and Ryan- Asher was loving his costume ;)

Like I said, holidays are way better with kids. I am excited for all of the future Halloweens with our little man when he will actually care!

Go Packers!

Last weekend Tim was able to go with his Dad to Green Bay, Wisconsin to go to a Packers game. The McDonald's are very faithful Packers fans and Tim has always wanted to take a trip to Lambeau Field. He LOVED it, and that is probably an understatement. He had a great time with his dad and has informed me that he now wants to move to Green Bay, I'm not so sure that I'm convinced yet :) Asher and I missed him at home but he had so much fun that it was worth it. My mom even came to stay with me while he was gone so we wouldn't be alone. We are very lucky to have such generous family! Tim even brought some souvenirs home for us, a shirt for me and a pennant to hang in Asher's room. I'm sure one day Asher will love the Packers as much as Tim does.

Here are a few photos from his trip. You can see they had AMAZING seats!

4 months!

That's right. My sweet boy is 4 months old! I am totally missing the newborn stage but I'm so LOVING this age! He is so much fun! He smiles for us all the time and even laughs quite a bit these days. It is pretty much the cutest thing I have ever heard. We had his 4 month check up yesterday.

These are his 4 month stats:
Weight: 14lbs 13 oz- 46%
Length: 26 inches- 88%
Head: 16.3 inches- 24%

Yes, you read that correctly. He is a whopping 26 inches! He has grown almost 6 inches since he was born! His appointment was great (except the shots, of course. He did NOT like that part). The best news of all is that he is over his torticollis!! I have to say, I'm pretty proud of us. After countless stretches and exercises for 2 months we were able to overcome it without going to physical therapy. We did meet with a physical therapist a few weeks ago for an evaluation and they gave us some stuff to do at home. We have been super diligent and it was so worth it! He still has a small flat spot because of it so we will continue to reposition his head whenever we can in hopes that it will resolve itself. He also has a condition called pectus excavatum. It means he has a sunken in chest, there is a small cavity between his ribs. It is pretty mild and will most likely not cause any problems. We really won't know for years if it's something to worry about. He could grow out of it so that is what we are hoping for! It seems like he has these weird problems but really we are very lucky that he is a healthy, growing boy!

He is rolling over all the time, tummy to back. I think it's really because he hates tummy time so he tries as hard as he can to end it. Sometimes he even gets up on his knees or toes. You can just tell he wants to be on the go already. I'm pretty sure he will be an early crawler, he already tries so hard.

We have also been doing sleep training the last week and a half. Asher had been napping in his swing everyday because that was the only place he would nap for longer than 2o minutes without being held, which is weird because he sleeps in his crib at night... We had to stop using the swing all of a sudden after going to the physical therapist because it was not good for his torticollis. So after a week of going crazy from either holding Asher for 2 hours or putting him down only to wake up after 20 minutes I decided that we needed to make some changes. He now sleeps in his crib for every nap and will stay in there for over 2 hours. I can even put him down drowsy for naps and nighttime, that never happened before. I have learned a lot through this whole process and will hopefully be able to avoid the same problems with our next child. Asher usually wakes up once a night now but will sleep all the way through every now and then. He was sleeping through the night for a while but unfortunately it didn't last. It finally seems like we may get back to that soon, yay!

3 Months!

Asher is 3 months old already! He is getting so big and getting cuter everyday! He is very smiley these days and even giggles for us now and then. He weighs about 14 pounds but his body is just long and skinny. He is getting some cute chubby cheeks though! Unfortunately, sleeping through the night didn't last too long. We moved him to his crib in his own room a couple of weeks ago since he was getting too long for the bassinet. The transition has taken some time to get used to but we seem to be getting back on track. He will sleep through the night once every few nights and then others he will make it til about 4am before he wakes up to eat. Mostly I just have to give him his pacifier if he wakes up though and he'll go right back to sleep. My poor little guy also got a cold about a week ago so that has thrown us off a bit too. Luckily, we are coming to the end of that.
We are still doing stretches with him daily for his torticollis. It definitely seems to be improving. I am certain that his neck will be just fine but I am still worried about his head. The torticollis has caused Asher to develop a small flat spot on his head. We try really hard to be consistent in making sure he does not sleep on that side, we don't lay him on his back when he is awake unless he is on a special pillow we found him that is supposed to help. He will only nap in his swing so we make sure to use his pillow in there too. It is basically a head support with a hole in the back so it does not put any pressure on his head. We have also been working a lot on tummy time. If it does not correct itself then he will most likely need a helmet for a little while. The more we keep him off of it though the better it seems to be so hopefully it only gets better from here, especially in a few months when he starts sitting up.

One happy boy!

Hanging out with Daddy

My two handsome boys

This is probably the cutest sad face I have ever seen! We tried for days to capture it on camera and finally got it at just the right moment.

He always does this with his hands when he is tired/fussy. I always imagine him thinking "Please, Parents, you are stressing me out."

We love our little man!

Asher's Blessing

Asher was blessed by his dad on September 4, 2011. It was such a great day and Tim did an amazing job giving Asher a blessing. Asher did great also. He didn't even cry during the blessing. In fact, he smiled at his Daddy through the whole thing.



After the blessing we had a little get together at the park and enjoyed spending time with our families. Unfortunately, not everyone we love was able to be there but we were grateful for those who were able to come. Asher is one lucky boy and sure has a lot of people who love him.

Our little family

Asher and Daddy

Asher and Mommy

He was sure tired out by the end of the day!

I am so incredibly grateful for my little family. I am even more grateful that we have been sealed together and get to be with our sweet boy for eternity. I am also very grateful for our families who love us and who love Asher. We are very lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

So Proud!

I am one proud mama these days, I am also one lucky mama. Asher has been sleeping through the night for the last 5 nights in a row!! It has been fabulous. I feel like a whole new woman after getting a full nights sleep. He has been sleeping from about 9pm to 7am. He still wakes up a couple of times as it gets closer to the morning but he is happy to take his pacifier and go right back to sleep. It makes me feel like he is really starting to get big now that he can make it through the night. I still cross my fingers each night though that it will last! If he continues through the end of the week then we are going to try and move him into his crib in his own room. I am still very torn about this decision. I love having him right next to us all night and it makes it easy to give him his binky so he can go back to sleep. He is getting to be too big for his bassinet though and he will probably sleep better in his own room, I will just miss him so much! I know a lot of moms have a hard time sleeping with their baby next to them making noises all night but I do not feel that way at all. I feel so much better having him so close and I don't think I will get any sleep the first night without him there. I guess I have to let go sometime though!

My cute Asher also rolled over last week! I'm still not sure if it was a fluke or the real thing though. He did it twice in a row the same day but he has not done it since. It was pretty cute although he did not seem to like it. He cried as soon as it happened (especially the second time). He does not particularly enjoy tummy time though so it is hard to get him to stay there long enough to try again. I did get the second one I video, it is so cute I have watched it like 50 times. We also got a cute little laugh from him the other day but we are still waiting for it to happen some more. It was pretty much the cutest sound I have ever heard! He is "talking" all the time now. My favorite thing to do is just sit and talk to him and he will coo right back. He sits in his bumbo now and does so good in there! I try to put him in there whenever he is awake and I'm not holding him (which I guess isn't a ton...). It is supposed to be good for babies with torticollis because it helps them build neck strength. He doesn't seem to mind it at all. He will sit in there and watch me clean and make dinner and doesn't complain at all. He also LOVES to suck on his hands lately. He has always liked his hands, but apparently I had no idea how much he really could! He sucks on them whenever he can. It is actually pretty cute and it makes it less dramatic when he drops the pacifier. I don't mind the hands so much but whenever he gets his thumb in there I try to pull it out and give him his pacifier. I would much rather have him want the pacifier than be a thumb sucker, I can't throw away his thumbs!

Tim and I sure got lucky to have such a special boy!

2 months!

Asher had his 2 month birthday on Sunday. He is getting so big and I love it! We had his 2 month appointment yesterday and it went great. He had to get 3 shots and he took it like a champ! He cried during the shots but calmed down once I picked him up and was asleep by the time we made it out to the car. I really can't believe how big he has gotten. He is even bigger than I expected, these are his 2 month stats:

Weight: 11 lbs, 10 oz- 49th percentile
Height: 23 1/2 inches- 75th percentile
Head: 15 inches- 21st percentile

How did we end up with such a big kid? I'll never know! He is sure filling out and is cuter than ever. It seems he is still dealing with some acid reflux and spits up all the time. Our dr recommended switching to soy formula so we will see if that helps. She said it would be best to avoid medicine if we can, it does not seem to be painful for him so medicine probably wouldn't do much anyway. He also has a minor case of something called torticollis. It basically is like he was born with a kink in his neck that he cannot get rid of. He tilts his head to the right and is more comfortable looking in that direction. He also always sleeps with his face to the right, no matter how we put him down he always ends up that way. We have some neck stretches we have to do with him everyday to try and correct it. Luckily, he does not have it severely so we should definitely be able to fix it with the stretches. We have a lot of motivation to do the stretches because if we don't he could end up needing physical therapy or even a helmet! I am determined not to let that happen! It should hopefully be fixed within about 2 months from the stretches.

My favorite thing about Asher getting older so far has been all the smiling! He started smiling at about 6 1/2 weeks and it is so fun! We cannot get enough of his cute smiles. He is especially smiley when he wakes up in the morning but he is smiling more and more everyday. He seems to think tongues are pretty funny so we are always making funny faces with our tongues sticking out. He coos all the time and I love the "conversations". He is starting like his swing more all the time and it is getting easier to put him in it when he is awake instead of only napping in it. He also loves his mobile over his crib. He is still sleeping in our room but sometimes I put him in his crib just so he can watch his mobile, he now smiles at it whenever I turn it on. He is spending more time awake everyday so we have a lot of time to play. He is sleeping longer at night as well, he can go for about 5 1/2 hours before waking up to eat. Unfortunately, that doesn't always mean much more sleep for me since I usually go to bed about 3 hours after him but we are starting to get on more of a schedule lately so that is helping.

As for me and Tim, we are just enjoying being parents and learning more about our little guy everyday. I have been lucky enough to be home with Asher everyday. I also love living by my sister, Ashley, because she makes sure I do not sit in my house all the time! Asher is sure going to love his cousins, he is lucky enough to spend a lot of time with them. They are so sweet to him!

Tim and I went on our first "date" over the weekend and had a good time. We finally saw Harry Potter, which I loved! Tim's parents were kind enough to babysit for us while we were at the movie. I had a little bit of a hard time leaving him for so long but he was in good hands!

Here are a few photos of our sweet Asher from the last few weeks

Smiling big for Daddy (my favorite picture ever!)

He likes to stick his tongue out

Hanging out with Mommy

He likes to watch the mobile on his swing

Sitting in his "Asher" chair...

... it didn't last very long

Napping, looks like it's time to move to the crib, he barely fits anymore!

Asher and I went to Silver Lake with Ashley, Hunter and Brinley. This is how much fun Asher had.

Just finished his bottle before bedtime, doesn't he look relaxed?