Asher turns 5 months old...already!

Asher turns 5 months old…already!

 

Oh, how time flies. Asher is now a happy baby. He has grown out of that fussy period completely now and is finally developing a routine. He goes down around 8:30 at night. When he wakes for the day varies. A couple times a week he gives me a 3 am wake-up call, which I have grown to not be surprised by. He has finally started to take 2 naps a day, the morning one at 9-9:30 and one in the afternoon. We have stopped the Zantac, but the nondairy diet continues. He will tell me when I have had the wrong thing to eat by making a big mess. So, I try to be a good girl. He is nursing about every 4 hours, sometimes more often depending upon his nap schedule for the day.

 

Asher now can sit momentarily without support, cries when he can not see Mommy, holds his arms up when he wants to be held (which is most of the time), likes to play with his hands (and eat them), jibber jabbers a lot, has the cutest little laugh, & has yet to actually swallow any baby cereal. He is now done with the bouncy chair and the Bumbo seat, having found how to escape  them! His cries are rarer now, limited to when he goes down for a nap, when I leave the room, & whenever Addison cries.

 

I can not believe he is 5 months old! It is so sad how quickly the time is going by.

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Hello?...Hello?...

Well, I finally did it! I cancelled our home phone. The deciding factor was one afternoon I had finally gotten the girls down and asleep and had just sit down to nurse Asher when the phone rang. I, of course, jumped up to go and answer it before the rings woke up the girls. Who was it? Um, some recording about working from home! I do work at home, don't you know!! And, the recording was disturbing that! I tracked our home calls for a couple months. The calls could easily be transferred to our cell phone. Many of the calls to the home phone during the day were calls during nap time from places like affordable health insurance & placing my donations to the vets curbside. Those I can do without. Although Chris initially was dragging his feet (we have had a home phone forever), he was in agreement when the phone company called him offering him 50% off for 6 months if he stayed.

So, "Sorry, the number you are calling has been disconnected. No further information is known about this number. Goodbye."

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Do I really sound like this?

The Mom Overture

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Daddy's Little Wingman...

...With a mohawk!

 

Asher: Daddy's Little Wingman

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#1

Our nephew, Henry, turned 1 today. His party was on Sunday where his Mommy, a pastry chef, made yet another beautiful cake (oh, I dream of being able to do that!). Happy #1 Henry!

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A Weekend Yummy: Chocolate Cake Cookies

1 chocolate, milk chocolate, devil's food or the like, cake mix

4 egg whites

1/3 cup applesauce

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Mix together. Drop by the small cookie scoop dropperful. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes, watching closely. These cookies are a healthier, yummy treat!

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Sunny Smoothie

This recipe is from Parents Magazine, April 2008. Yummy! Alivia & Addison both asked for more (Although the smoothie maker was a little too loud for Alivia)!

3/4 c. diced pineapple

1 small banana

1/4 c orange juice

Blend the above ingredients. Then add 1/2 c nonfat vanilla yogurt and 1/2 c. ice cubes, process until smooth. Divide between 2 glasses.

Cheers!

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Treat of the week: Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.)
• Granulated sugar

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour and baking soda in small bowl. Beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.

DROP dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Press down slightly with bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar.

BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set but centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 4 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

This is one of Topher's favorite cookies!

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21 months ago...

 

Addison 21 months old

...Addison was brought into this world. So hard to believe that she will be 2 in only 3 months! Things we love about Addison...

...Hugs & Kisses, blowing kisses, cuddle time, her many taggies (along with her thumb in her mouth), her big smile, her loud scream as she runs through the house, how she says, "Hello Asher," every morning and pats his hair (oh, I love that!), how she tells me now when she wants a new diaper because it is wet or when there is, "poo in there, Mama," her endless chatting in her own little language, her gentle touch with all of her baby dolls, how kind she is to Alivia & Asher (she runs to them and hugs them if they cry and sits with Alivia when she is in time-out), her need to sometimes play alone, although she is a Mommy's girl - she is growing into playtime with Daddy, when she runs to Asher to give him his binky (although he does not typically take it from her) & if he does not want it how she puts Asher's binky in her mouth! She is surprisingly the little leader around here. She leads and Alivia follows. Funny how we thought that would be the other way around. We love how she says all of her words, too many words to list, but our favorites are Alivia, Asher, Mama, Daaa eee (Daddy), Piper, Thank-you, Peeese (please), owwwcch (ouch), night-night, & I love you.

What Addison likes now adays...

...Play-doh, coloring, markers, baby dolls, stroller rides, helping unload the dishwasher, helping make lunch or dinner, baking with Mommy (especially if chocolate chips are involved) & playing with Alivia & Polly Pockets. She likes to run and climb on everything. She is constantly falling and hurting herself because she thinks she is a big girl already.

Addison went back on milk this week & appears to be doing okay (no hives). Her favorite foods are broccoli, peas, califlower, pizza, yogurt, oranges, grilled cheese, macaroni, with muddy buddies being her favorite snack. Although it is cute to hear her say "cookie," Addison would eat broccoli over any cookie we would give her. She is usually a pretty good eater.

Oh, we are seeing our baby girl grow into a toddler. Oh, makes me sad. Why can't she stay 1 forever? 

 

 

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First Bites...

Asher's 1st bites

Last night Asher made attempts at his first bites of rice cereal. He was not sure what to do with it, opting to spit it out. Now, time for the high chair to come out of hiding!

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When will I be ready?

 I tried to go through all of our baby clothes again, trying to begin to get rid of them. However, as tears welled up in my eyes as I went through the clothes, I just can not do it now. There were a few of the girls' items I was ready to part with, but I could not part with any of the clothes Asher has outgrown. So, when will I be ready? I don't know, but I'm definitely not ready now. The minimalist theory does not apply when it comes to our kids!

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Asher Laughing

Too Cute!

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Spring Fever!

Finding Nemo...

Alivia is on spring break this week, so this morning we went to the zoo. Having a zoo pass, we are going to be doing a lot of mornings at the zoo. That is about all the 3 kiddos can last (and Mommy too). We visited the desert dome, the juggle and the aquarium today. Alivia's favorite thing was the fox in the juggle (Like Tod in the Fox and The Hound). Addison & Asher liked the aquarium.

Enjoy the photos!

 

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24 hours

A new routine? I hope so. Asher slept last night from 8pm-7am this morning! And, he did not want to eat before going to bed. As any breastfeeding Mommy knows, a baby that sleeps this long can be a painful thing. Anyway, he did not even want to eat when he woke up. Just wanted to stare at me and smile. He also napped for an hour this morning and for 2 1/2 hours this afternoon! Yeah, my sleep training is working! Or, is this just a fluke because he has a cold. Only time will tell.

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Topher's Big Day

 

Happy Birthday Topher!

Happy Birthday Topher! Today (or this weekend actually), we celebrated Topher's thirty something birthday, despite Addison, Asher & I feeling crummy with colds. He says he now feels old. Yesterday he didn't? Yes, his cake is pink. He wanted strawberry frosting, & it just so happened to be pink. I made the cake in this new cupcake cake pan I got for Christmas and it turned out weird, but tasty. I don't think he so liked that it was pink, though. Some weird manly man thing I guess.

 Happy Happy, Big Daddy!

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Arachnophobia

Spider found in our basement office

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Another Recipe: Citrus Chicken & Rice

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 3/4 cups chicken broth                    1 c uncooked white or brown rice

1/2 c. orange juice                              3 TBSP chopped parsley

1/2 c chopped onion                            sauteed orange slices

1. cook chicken in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until browned. Set aside.

2. Mix the broth, orange juice, onion and rice. Heat to boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

3. Return chicken to skillet and add broth/rice mixture. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until chicken and rice are cooked. Stir in parsley.

For a special touch, saute orange slices in a hot nonstick skillet until lightly browned. Garnish chicken with slices.

I thought this was a wonderful, yet easy meal that looked delicious when I served it.

* Okay, I made this dish for my family last night. Let's just say, I have a whole new appreciation for my Mother-In-Law (how did she feed Topher all those years...& he was even pickier as a kid!). Chris started loitering in the kitchen to see what ingredients I was using as I was preparing it. 85% of the preparation time, I had Asher on my hip ready to eat himself. I served dinner with what I thought was a wonderful presentation. Alivia sat down and said she would not eat it and wanted dessert, Addison, normally the good eater, immediately wanted down off of her chair (she has a cold), Topher cut up the chicken into 4 pieces and did not eat it and just said he tried the rice (but I knew he had not) & just ate breadsticks. Within 5 minutes, the table was cleared. At least I thought it was good! Now, do not ask why I do not cook dinner for my family! Um, there is really no point. I may as well just buy food and throw it into the trash and save myself the time and energy of cooking. :)

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1 month later

 It has been 1 month since I began my new role as a stay at home Mommy. It is hard to believe how quickly time passes. So, is it what I thought it would be? Yes, and more. We have been really busy despite not having a car on most days. On the days we do have a car, Addison, Asher and I are running errands all morning while Alivia is in preschool. On our at home days, we try to get to daily art projects and Alivia has a workbook that we have been working on. I also like to bake with them at least once a week. We have done fun things that I did not have time for before, like going to the mall to play in their play area (which is full of germs), playdates, and visting the Easter Bunny. We are looking forward to warmer weather so we can go to the park, take walks, and ride bikes, etc outside. Alivia and Addison are really good friends, which makes it nice. They play really well together. The household stress level is nothing like it was when both Topher & I were both working. That is something all of us can enjoy.

Although it saddens me to see what I have missed during my working mom days, I feel so blessed to be home with our kids now.  I have been excited to see the first moments with Asher that daycare would have seen - rolling over, laughing, & his many smiles. At home is where I am supposed to be. I would not change our decision for the world.

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April Fools!

Our 2007 April Fools

Boy, what a difference a year makes. Remember last year?

http://ckaustin.vox.com/library/post/april-fools.html

Needless to say, I have decided to skip April Fools THIS year. 

 

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