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.