Where does the time go?

Goodness gracious it's been a while since I've had the leisure time to sit and type! My last post was about Asher waking in the night. I ended up calling the pediatrician and speaking to a nurse. I guess I was looking for permission to let him scream it out.  : (   We had let him do this some as an infant but I guess we felt now he really knew what was going on. She said they've had them cry for 4 hours before and that toddlers are smart enough at this age to know that if they wake and scream, mom or dad will come and give them undivided attention. So, Asher cried from 2:50 a.m. to 5:10 a.m. Brent and I pretty much stared sadly at the monitor as Asher cried and cried. This story does have a good ending however...Asher has not woken up and cried during the night since that night and I'd say it's been 2 weeks or so?
The issue has now transitioned to nap. My normally 2 1/2, 3 hour napper has decided he will now nap for 45 mins. to maybe an hour.  Anyway, I don't want to just purge my problems so I'll just stop there.

I'll move on to all of the good things that are going on. Asher loves to run (especially away from, or to, mommy and daddy)! He talks all day long and says new words daily. He now lets his daddy give him his nighttime milk. He has always enjoyed books but especially now. He sings with pretend words and uses the granite in front of the fireplace as his stage. He loves anything that goes "broom broom." He has this new thing where he gets close enough to you, throws his arms up into the air, and then falls into your arms. He thinks it's so funny and I appreciate his trust but just have to be ready to catch at all times. He loves to say "bye bye" so much that he sometimes says "bye bye" to his toys when he leaves the room. Today he even went up to a full length mirror, said "bye bye," gave himself a kiss in the mirror and then said "hug" and wrapped his arms around the mirror before walking away. Oh how I love that little guy!!! : )   Now just a few photos to show what we've been up to...

Asher plays drums at the Lexington Peach Festival, where we also enjoyed peach ice cream, peach cobbler, peach tea, peach zinger, peach honey, and even brought some peaches home.

 

I love these guys...

The 4th of July on Lake Murray

At my parents' pond property...

He does always seem to be the center of attention...

At Ansley's 2nd birthday, there was a little jumping on the bed before going to bed.

Riley and Asher's misplaced kiss goodnight.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing brother and Asher's Uncle "TOY!"

HELP! Sleep Regression at 18 months?

Oh my, how our little one has changed at 18 months.  So, we're going from 3 hour naps to 1 1/2 some days to 3 hours others.  From sleeping through the night since he was teeny tiny, to waking up screaming almost every night like he's had  a bad dream.  I don't understand.  I'm writing now because I'm getting frustrated and I don't want to be frustrated.  I googled, "18 month sleep" and many parent comments came up about sleep issues at 18 months.  Why is this?  He also went from waking up and just rolling around talking to himself to now standing and calling, "mommy" "daddy" even "Na Na" right away.  I'm looking at the monitor now and he's laying down but I've already gone in there twice to put everything back in his crib.  Now, I'm just leaving it out because I don't want him to use that as his fishing technique to reel me back into his room.  I just don't understand what's going on!?!  Some nights he cries briefly and goes back down on his own.  Other nights he screams uncontrollably and we have to go in there.  He's great while we're holding him but then clings to us and begins to scream when we try to lay him back down.  Moms and dad's out there, any similar experiences?  Should we be doing something differently?  Is it just a growth spurt?  Fortunately, I read that he will get through this and go back to his normal amazing habits.  I just hate going to bed at night dreading what the night holds and also that his 12 hours of good sleep is being disrupted.

This is a first from yesterday...Asher has never fallen asleep while eating lunch!  After I cleaned him up and changed his diaper, he slept for more than three hours.  So obviously, there are still good days.

Asher turns 1 1/2

So I wanted to go ahead and get these on here before too long.  They were taken June 19 when Asher turned 18 months.  We did something special when he turned 6 months only it was a strawberry cupcake with icing because that's what I wanted so obviously, at 6 months we wouldn't allow him to eat it but his mommy did.  It was just a good photo opportunity.  Basically, we don't give Asher sweets or things with added sugar.  Brent and I just feel there is so much growth and development going on that we want to make sure he's getting his nutrients from foods that count.  I made his one year birthday cake, which was an apple cake with whipped topping.  So for his year and a half, I made a blueberry muffin with whipped topping.  I agree, the whipped topping surely is not as good without the added sugar and as you'll see later on, he wasn't a huge fan.  He actually ate it upside down so that he didn't eat any whipped topping.  

My Masterpiece

Sampling the whipped cream

"Hmm... maybe if I turn it over I can bypass the white stuff..."

"Oh yeah, now we're talking.  Hey, thanks mom for finishing off that top layer for me."  : )

Who knows what he was thinking here.  Probably, "Why do you guys have to take pictures of everything..."

Now, just a few to show the many precious faces of Asher...

He finished the day by "going PP" in his own potty.  You guessed it... I have a photo, I just chose not to include.  : )  I know, for those old John & Kate Plus 8 fans, I'm a little like Kate when it comes to documenting firsts! (No matter what they are.) 

Broken Arrow

(Just added to the Playlist.)  Ok, I giggle a little just thinking about what crosses your mind if you visit the blog and Broken Arrow begins to play by Rod Stewart.  I LOVE this song!  It's funny because I go for long periods of time without hearing it but when I do, the volume goes up.  It seems like such a powerful song and yet Brent and I had a deep discussion in the car one day about what we each thought it was about.  Turns out, we both had different ideas.  So, I welcome interpretations...scroll to the bottom, go to track 23, and turn up the volume.  You have to listen to the whole song because it definitely gets stronger.  Oh, it's even better sung with windows down in the car.  : )  Enjoy!

Tim, I look forward to hearing what you have to say about this one.  : )

A day at the Zoo

We recently decided to get a Zoo membership.  There's truly more than we can ever really appreciate (or Asher can handle) in a day, and living in Lexington, the Botanical Garden entrance isn't far at all.  By the way, I can bring one guest with me so let me know if you ever want to plan a trip!  Children 3 and under are free.  We went one toasty day last week... 

Oh he wanted to get in so bad...and it was hot enough that I couldn't blame him.

He was just as happy playing with a large stick in a bamboo forest.

Love this one.  My favorite part of the zoo is the gorillas.  I could seriously watch them for hours, and I have so many more pictures.  This one is just my favorite.

I was telling Asher about the monkey.  Thanks to Head to Toe by Eric Carle, Asher is a fan of waving his arms like a monkey. 

Brent insisted we go feed the birds.  I never knew about this area and now I'm afraid a trip to the zoo won't be complete until we've given the birds some nectar.

One last ride before heading home.  Asher needed his nap.

Until next time!

WE LOVE PLAY DATES!

So, now that we have settled into a later nap time it's a little easier to get together with friends. It's amazing how being home all day can cause you to crave socialization and unfortunately sometimes I get it from Bravo. It's just hard to balance between the getting out and about and then getting everything done around the house. I am the queen of a "To Do" list, just ask Brent, my problem is that I add to it and change it daily so that it is impossible to ever complete! Ugh! Enough about that... last week we were able to get together with Heather and Morgan Kate. Heather and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. I'm hoping Asher and Morgan Kate can be buddies as well. At this age, there is a little more "parallel play" than interaction with each other but their mommy's sure had fun!

Just look at all the toys!  Asher's looking like, "It wasn't me!"  : )




I don't remember how many times we had to put them back into their chairs.  They're used to being strapped into a high chair and enjoyed the freedom to eat on the go.




I'd say they were pretty sleepy after all the playing.




Time to go "Bye Bye," these guys needed a nap!

Father's Day on the Lake

Let me first show you how Brent's weekend began. I had Shari's Berries delivered on Friday. I had to put my finger in the photo just to show the massive size of these things!

Saturday, I cooked a yummy dinner but didn't take any photos to document. Sunday, Brent and I kept the 2 year olds during extended session and then we ran by the house to grab our stuff for the lake. We joined my mom's family at Lake Murray for a delicious lunch and fortunately we had some time on the water before the storm came in.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Asher was so comfortable on the boat. He looked like he would have just jumped right in.

Loved snuggling with my baby boy.

He kept smiling so big! I love when he shows off his teeth.

I may look like I was enjoying this but I was a nervous wreck. Brent told me not to worry, he wouldn't let Asher go anywhere without him. I got more comfortable and things were actually smoother when I went faster but it was still a short ride.

Another first! Asher steers the boat!

He was a little more concerned with the horn.

As Asher swims he says, "kick, kick, kick."

What adults do on a large raft when you have no fear of it flipping...

After a full day of church and then the lake, this little guy was pooped!