August

Summer is in full swing and we are spending lots of time outside in the backyard. My mom left in early August and Kathy came for the last 3 weeks of the month. I am still very weak and am so thankful for the help! It was a great visit, and grandma let us know that she was ready to move in! Her words," Asher is the most peaceful baby I've ever met." True.

This experience has made me even more appreciative of my health and strength. I am not used to feeling so weak and tired. Luckily Asher is a decent sleeper, even though he is waking every 2-3 hours he will eat and go right back to sleep.

We are adjusting to parenthood and I must say, at least for me, the transition is not hard. I've been waiting for this baby since I was two and I could not be happier. Roger is doing great. He is doing most of the diaper changing and he is a master at swaddling. He is patient and gentle and you would never know that he has no previous experience with babies.

Some growth and development standouts for the month include 2 weeks of projectile vomiting and his first interactive smile. The vomiting was tough. We're talking profuse amounts of vomit shooting 2 feet out. Think Exorcist. It's pushing me to my limit, I just want to find out what's causing this and stop it! All the good nursing he's doing and it seems that no milk is staying down. And of course I am afraid to go out or have people hold him because you never know when it's going to happen. The family doc thinks he'll outgrow it, I need reassurance from a specialist so we schedule an appt at Children's Hospital. Meanwhile I quit dairy (Kathy's brilliant idea) and the vomiting stops. Whew. Cancel the appt with the specialist, Asher and I agree we're done with the "PV". I will gladly give up dairy for you baby. Oh did I mention our water heater went out during this time? Everyone covered in puke and no hot water for 10 days. Roger took on the major project of installing a tankless water heater all by himself and you know what? He did it. Bravo!

He had some help from Jerry, who moved here from Indy this month. This is a big deal. We are so excited to have him here, and although Seattle might be a temporary home for him, it is our home and we're so glad to have him here.

I will never forget the first time Asher "glamoured" me. We were in the basement, and he was on my lap. We were looking at each other and he smiled and cooed. Once I put myself back together, I stared at him and smiled and he held my gaze, for an hour! And he was smiling and cooing the whole time. Somehow I just fell more in love.

September

Ahh September. I am finally starting
to feel like myself again. To celebrate we decide to take Asher on his first vacation. Get used to it kid, if I have anything to say about it there will be a lot of vacationing in your future. We head to Camano Island for a quick overnight trip. The weather was perfect and Asher didn't mind the 2 hour car ride one bit. Roger played guitar on the beach to a very happy audience.

September included a great visit with Shannon and Asher got to meet his only Aunt! It was a quick trip but we had a great time, and some delicious Sushi.... thanks Shannon!

October

Let's see, I'm catching up. October was great- I turned 36 and we celebrated with dinner at my favorite french restaurant, Le Pichet, with Laura and Obie. Asher was in tow and slept through the whole dinner- perfect! Asher gave me an early birthday present and slept one night for 7 hours straight! I don't think I've had that kind of sleep for oh, 10 months? I went back to work 3 mornings a week and it feels so good to be back at The Pin Cushion. It wasn't too hard to leave the baby, epecially because he's in daddy's loving care. I think it is so ideal that we both can work and share the responsibility of caring for our son, no childcare needed. The one exception is for a couple hours on Sat mornings, when I'm at work and Roger has band practice. Luckily the Crow girls are on babysitting rotation and needless to say Asher's good looks and charm have easily won them over. I have offered up trade too- free acupuncture for the babysitters. So far it's working out. Sara Owens is our hero right now, she got Asher to take a bottle? Now if only he would do that for Roger......

My parents also came to Seattle this month, it was my mom's second visit with Asher and my Dad's first. They are wildly in love. Very cool to see my parents in the role of grandparents, they are naturals. We celebrated my mom's birthday, ate lots of seafood, took lots of pictures. We planned out the next year and it looks like the grandparents will never have to go more than 3 months without seeing their grandson, even if the rendez-vous point is in another country.

The month finishes with Halloween and Asher dressed up as shark. Marissa Price made this costume for him before he as born and we've patiently been waiting for the opportunity to put him in it. The picture speaks for itself. Nothing cuter in the whole world. Nice work Marissa!

November

Asher is awesome and thriving! He is steadily growing and becoming more interactive and vocal. His vocal range is expanding and he's beginning to make new sounds. I keep trying to catch it on video but something about the camera mesmorizes him and the minute I it turn it on he goes silent. Stinker. While I was at work yesterday Roger watched him roll from his back to his stomach- from rolls to steps to sprints- won't be long before our little man is on the move.

We have introduced the pacifier and he can't get enough of it lately. He is still resisting the bottle for the most part, he's decided that he just doesn't need to eat between 9am and 2pm. Now even on the days I'm not working he refuses to be nursed during those hours. Hmm. Alright then. He is of course still cheerful and adorable and all we have to do is smile at him and he lights up, or maybe it's him smiling at us and we light up. Lotta love and light going on!