And Then He Was Three

On February 1st, 2014, sweet Asher, you turned three.  By this time, no longer a baby, you had grown into a boy.

We were living in our new home.  Adjusting.  At three you were learning.  Learning how to manage your thoughts and feelings.  Learning how to communicate on a whole new level.  Learning how to be a big brother.

At three you loved playing outside, turning anything into a weapon and talking.  At three you were talking allll the time.   You wanted to be heard, your questions to be answered.  You felt that you were one of the adults and you had something to contribute to every conversation.  While a bit frustrating at times, it was an endearing part of you and a peek at who you would be some day.

When you turned three we celebrated in our home with friends, cupcakes and mud in the backyard.  And then with family and a carrot cake that you helped mommy make.

Asher, you continue to challenge us in ways we have never known.  While we're supposed to be teaching you, you are actually teaching us.  Every single day.  You are precious to all those who know you and we cannot wait to see the man you become someday.

When You Turned Two

Asher, my boy, when you turned two, life was so sweet.  You were my constant buddy, going everywhere with me.  You made us laugh, kept us on our toes and always, always wanted to be doing what we were doing.  Cooking, working out, in the mix of conversation.  You were far beyond the skills and personality of a two year old.  I could have sworn you were at least three.

We celebrated you turning two with friends, more friends and family:

Some of the things you loved at two were:

Music.  Whether it was guitar with daddy, drums, singing or just playing music in the house or car. You LOVED music and you were not shy to perform.

Golf.  You had a few different sets of golf clubs, mainly toy clubs at the time.  You were happy just running around the house or yard hitting practice balls constantly.

Your buddies.  You loved, loved, loved, your friends at this age.  Playdates, time at the park.  And you and Nolan.  There's a special bond there.  I can't wait to see what you two are like 30 years from now.

At two you were running fast and learning even faster.  Your words morphed into sentences that morphed into questions.  And your humor and personality were really starting to shine.  You were also starting to show your serious and studious side.

We had no idea what life would continue to bring us but when you were two, we couldn't imagine it getting any sweeter.  And then you continued to grow...

Oh My Heavens - January, 2013

There's a dark side to being a parent that just flat out stinks.  It's inevitable, it's normal, everyone experiences it.  But it is awful.  It's the part when you have to watch your child suffer and there's really nothing you can do.

I type that and can't help but feel overly dramatic.  My family is healthy.  We are blessed in that way.  I know many families cannot say the same. But I will journal this experience nonetheless because it's our story.

Asher had his first concussion.  Long story short, he fell on ceramic tile, on the most tender part of his head - the side.  Smacked his cheek/ear/temple right down on it.  I could tell right away he was dizzy.  Unfortunately, as it always seems, this happened right before nap time.  We were at my parents house and set to leave anyway so after a few tests (walk to me, what's Gigi's dog's name, etc.) I felt he wasn't in immediate danger but I would call the pediatrician on the way home anyway.

Asher fell asleep in the car as I spoke with the pediatrician's office.  The doctor said just watch him and if he vomits, becomes confused or loses consciousness either call them or head straight to the ER, depending on the severity.  Well, I pulled into our driveway and he threw up.  So we headed into the doctor.  She looked him over and all seemed to be fine.  Eyes, ears, mobility, responsiveness.  But my mommy gut said, "Eeehhh, I don't know."  He was really clingy.  He's only clingy when there's something seriously wrong.   She said to take him home, monitor him and if things got worse, go to the ER.  (She also did say, you know your baby.  If it would make you feel better, go to the ER now.)  Well, the question of what to do was immediately answered when he got sick as I was pulling out of the doctor's parking lot.

In an attempt not to panic I pulled over, cleaned him up the best I could and tried to calm him.  He didn't look good.  His eyes were heavy.  I headed straight for Children's Hospital which, fortunately is minutes from our house.  I talked to him the whole way trying to keep him awake without scaring him. Without scaring me.

By some crazy grace of God the ER was empty when we got there.  They got us back and into a room.  While we waited he fell asleep on my chest.  I tried my best not to cry.  A broken bone, stitches, even a high fever (been there a few times) I can take.  The head, that's different.  That can change a person forever.  So of course I was fearing the worst.

The nurse gave him Zofran - apparently this magic drug that stops vomitting.  The ER doctor ordered a CT Scan.  Austin arrived and we headed down the hall to radiology.  The nurse swaddled him and I thought I was going to crumble.  He looked so scared and I could do nothing about it.  Partially because I was pregnant and couldn't stay in the room with him.  Logically, I realize he was fine, especially with daddy by his side, but as a mom it just tears your heart out.  

Over the course of our six hour stay he enjoyed a dose of Mortin, cartoons, apple juice, a popsicle and one more xray on his leg (he was acting like it was bothering him and the doc said there was a chance he could have a toddler fracture based on how he fell.)  Everything came back ok.  He stopped throwing up and looked more like himself, plus a sugar high.

His diagnosis: a concussion.  A seemingly bad one based on his recovery.  He was visibly a bit dizzy the following day and seems to be slowly recovering.  Although it's difficult to tell as two days after the incident he came down with the stomach bug.  Completely unrelated but threw up for 24 hours. It's true, it stinks.  It's the dark side of things.

What I will say is in those dark moments I suddenly appreciate more than ever, the messes, the tantrums, the teaching, the patience needed.  I will gladly take those over scary any day.  But as any parent knows, this is only the beginning.  I am humbled and incredibly grateful for Austin, an amazing husband and dad and our family and friends.  They make those dark sides to life much brighter.

The Holidays, 2012

We had an AWESOME holiday season this year.  We alternate our holidays with our families.  Thanksgiving with one side, Christmas with the other.  It's more of a formality as we still see the other side for the holiday it's just not on the actual day.  It started with...

...a very full Thanksgiving.  This Thanksgiving was with the Joneses and McCanns.  This meant that Austin's aunt, uncle and three cousins from Colorado came to stay with my in-laws and we got to celebrate with them TONS!  As cheesy as it sounds, it was just really fun.  The cousins have grown up so much in the last few years and this was also their first time to meet Asher.  We ate, played games, laughed and then ate some more.  Asher LOVED being around everyone and still asks about the McCann clan often.




...Christmas was long but in a good way.  It started on (Friday) the 21st for me this year.  Austin and I went on a double date with the Newtons, to which we attended concert called Yuletide.  Let me just tell you, the group Folk Angel has changed my life.  I thought I loved Christmas music before but MAN I love what they've done with all the old songs!  That night made my heart sing. (Pun intended.)

That weekend we were set to spend a bunch of time with my side of the family, including my grandparents who were in from Arizona.  Unfortunately, everyone came down with the stomach bug.  First my dad and grandpa, then my mom and grandma.  So, suddenly our weekend was open.  While we were sad to miss out on visiting with family, snuggling in with our own little unit was the sweetest gift.

Christmas eve we attended service at our church.  Asher love every minute of the music and wanted to go up and see each of the instruments.  He kept saying "That's a lot a instruments!" We came home, had Pasta Bolognese, cookies and then put Asher to bed.  Immediately following, Austin assemble Asher's first Christmas morning present.  A toddler motorcycle.  It's plastic, without a motor or batteries.  It was perfect.

On Christmas morning we I woke up before it was light.  I was so dang excited.  Thank goodness Asher started to stir shortly after.  We scooped him up and brought him out to the living room where he immediately spotted his stocking and the motorcycle.  We opened stockings, had breakfast, then opened presents, then had cinnamon rolls.  It was a precious morning spent together and I can't wait to do it all over again next year!

After all the excitement we headed to my parents' house.  We packed a "just in case" bag because the weather report said snow.  My dad laughed.  Then ate crow 'cause IT SNOWED!!!  A few inches in fact.  Northerners, don't laugh.  That's a lot for us Texans.  It made it a white Christmas and I felt like a kid.  We celebrated all afternoon and evening and ended up staying the night just to avoid the icy roads.  It was so nice to spend the time with the family and especially to see my grandparents with Asher.  It's a luxury to have the relationship I have with them and huge privilege for our son to know them.

I say it all the time but I never get tired of it, we are blessed.  The Lord has blessed us in so many ways and this holiday season was such a beautiful reminder of what He has given us.

15...no wait, 19 months

Well, this is just embarrassing.  For the last two three months I thought that I blogged in May. HA!  Apparently not.

Our little man is turning into a boy.  I may have said that before but everyday it becomes more real.    At 19 months he's attempting full sentences.  Acting out scenes with his toys.  Asking us questions.  Recalling things that happened weeks before.  He amazes us every day.

His stats:

Weight: 24.6 lbs
Height: not sure but growing
Overall report: Super healthy and super ahead of the game in so many areas.

We recently changed pediatricians (loved the doctor, didn't love the staff or office) and went to Asher's 18 month check at Dr.Schwartz's office.  The whole way there Asher recited "Dr.Schwartz office".  Smarty pants. And the whole way home he said "Shots. Ban-aid, mommy. Shots."  Yeah...our previous doctor was VERY conservative when it came to vaccinations.  Asher has had plenty of them in the last 18 months but I knew we were a little behind.  Bummer.  Three shots and some tears.  But Dr.Schwartz gave Asher a raving review.

When he asked me how many words I thought Asher knew, my response was "Definitely over 100 but I'm not sure of the exact number."  He blinked.  I think he thought I was lying.  Then I went on to explain that we made a list of words around the time of Asher's first birthday and we wrote down over 50.  I said I was certain it has at least doubled.  His response was, "Ok, so he's a genius."  Mmmm...I'm going to go with verbal at this point.  Our little monkey can communicate and comprehend things very well for his age.  But he's still 19 months.  He still loves learning by getting messy.  He still tries to drink his milk through his fork and tries to cut his food with a cooked noodle.  He throws daily tantrums.  We're glad.  We're not ready to send him off to Harvard.  But he is very amusing and fun to communicate with.

Some of the things he's been up to that keep us entertained:

"Show you." - his way of showing you want he wants, what happened or just what he's talking about.

"Asher do it." - needs no explanation.

"Hold it. Asher, hold it." - wants to hold everything!  We were on the boat the other night and an airplane was coming in for a landing.  You could see it clear as day in the sky.  Asher pointed to it, said "Airplane!" and then looked at me with all seriousness in his eyes and said "Mommy, hold it? Asher hold it?" and looked back up at the airplane.  LOVED that.  Such innocence.

The boat.  This kid LOVES the boat.  And wake boarding (watching, at least.  He hasn't gotten up - yet.)  And "GO FAST!!".  Oh, we hit the jackpot on this.

It may be difficult to see but we're going about 30mph here...that smile just tickles me!

Lawn equipment.  He knows the difference between a trimmer, edger, blower and mower and wants to use all four.  He loves to watch daddy mow and will run from window to window while Austin is out there.  Too cute.

And...the potty.  He recently ran to the toilet and said, "Mommy, poo poo."  And immediately following needed a new diaper.  He definitely got my attention but we'll see about actually moving forward just yet.

I could go on and on but then I would never post this.  So I'll leave it here and look forwarding to posting more often in the future.

The Big ONE

It's been over a month since our last post and it's been over two months since Asher's actual birthday party and I'm just now sitting down to post about it.  The bigger Asher gets the more I want to soak up every moment because it's going by so fast.  Things like blog posts and laundry wait a little longer these days.

On Saturday, January 28th at 4pm, we celebrated Asher's first birthday with a house full of friends and family.  I spent hours the month before preparing and planning and loved every minute of it.  It was a great excuse to be creative with Callie (my BFF :)) and an awesome way to reflect over the last year.

The theme was flight, including airplanes, transforming our house into an airport and a plane themed birthday cake to boot - made by the one and only, Auntie Shana.

*Most of the paper decor, compliments of CallieB Designs.

I took a picture of Asher each month, on the same blanket to watch him grow!

Goody bags for the guest, collected at baggage claim.

Bomber jacket, compliments of Great Aunt Patti and Uncle Steve,  shades compliments of the Newtons.
Ready to fly!

Our tiniest party-goer, Ms. Quinn!

Asher was walking a couple weeks before his birthday and here he is, showing off his skills!

Singing Happy Birthday! 

YUM!

These three babies were all born within a week of each other!  Good friends (babies and mommies :))

And Nolan and Asher are almost exact three months apart.  True buds.

We had close to 40 people in our little house and while there was some debate as to whether hosting that large of a crowd was the best idea, I have to say the chaos was amazing.  If you go back up to the picture of Austin and I giving Asher his cake, there's something missing from that shot.  Our point of view.  From where we sat, picture more than 30 people huddled in our kitchen, singing Happy Birthday to our little man.  Our hearts were full and we are blessed.  It was a pretty cool moment.

While the decorations were a blast to create and I loved making some of the snacks, my favorite part of all the prep was taping pictures to our empty dining room wall.  There were over two hundred and I smiled each time I pressed one into place.  I left them up for a month after the party, until they started falling down on their own.  To see Asher grow before my eyes absolutely took my breath away.  Reliving moments of his first year through photographs is something I will cherish forever.

Asher, at one year you surprise us every day with your growth.  Walking is no longer enough, you must run wherever you go.  Your list of words multiplies each morning you wake up.  You have become our buddy, that likes to go where we go and do what we're doing and I can't tell you how much we enjoy every minute of it.  We love you, Boo Boo.

12 Months

Well, it happened.  Asher turned one on February 1st.  We celebrated and celebrated and played and played.  All month long :)

I was barely able to take his last monthly picture.  He won't sit still for anything!

12 Month Stats:

Weight: 19.5 lbs
Height: 29.5 inches
Overall Report: A+

We have a healthy, happy one year old.  HOLY COW, it's weird to write that!  Here are few things Asher is up to these days:

Mobility: Walking, walking, walking!  He started about two weeks before his birthday, taking small steps here and there.  Now, he's practically running everywhere and crawling is very much a pastime.

Size: He's still a small fry.  His weight falls in the 7th percentile.  He's still in 12 month clothes although his length/height is outgrowing that size quickly.

Food: He successfully made the transition from formula to milk, although we still offer a bottle around bedtime because he can use the extra calories.  He eats almost anything we put in front of him but is like anyone else - sometimes he's hungry for something and sometimes, not so much.  His favorites are bananas, berries and chicken and turkey (or "gobble, gobble" as he calls it!)

Activity: With the warm winter we've had lots of opportunities to play outside.  We love walking the sidewalks, playing with chalk in the backyard and explore the dirt and grass.

Sleep: For the most part, sleeping through the night!  This took some serious work in November but it paid off.  He goes down around 7:30pm (sort of a joke - he gets wound up before bed but thankfully he'll wrestle in his crib, putting himself to sleep) and wakes up between 5:30 and 7:00am.  We've only had a couple of hiccups lately, due to teething.  Naps, we're still at two a day and Asher is a napping champ.  He goes down in the morning at 9, in the afternoon around 2:30 and both are usually an hour and a half or so.

Teeth: For a long time Asher had seven teeth, all in front.  But just after turning one he started teething again and we're starting to see MOLARS!  Painful but helpful when eating "gobble, gobble" :)

Learning:  This one could be a completely separate post...that would go on forever.  I've been told that from here on out their learning is exponential.  The one thing I will say - talking to a baby early is completely the way to go.  They really do understand everything.  So mommy note for the future Jones bambinos: talk, in full adult sentences, all the time from day one. :)

Asher right now knows:
 - Animal sounds when you ask what a _____ says or show him in a book.
 - Off, on, up, down
 - Ouch, hot, yuck
 - Yum, food (he calls it naan)
 - Asher, mom, dadeeeee, Papaw :)
 - Banana, blueberry, apple, onion, cherrio, gobble, gobble
 - Eye, hair, mouth, arm, hand, belly when you ask, he'll touch them.
 - No and Yes
 - Truck, car

Asher surprises me everyday.  He learns so quickly, remembers things very well and is showing independence and defiance, which I know, is completely normal.  He now brings me books constantly, to which we'll sit wherever we are and read.  Just recently I've found myself more often watching him as he plays, pushing his trucks, trying to figure out puzzles, talking to his animals.  It is the coolest thing to watch your kid grow and learn and I feel blessed to be a part of his process.

More to come on the birthday celebration but for now, Happy First Birthday, Boo Boo.  Your mommy and daddy love you more than words.  You bring us joy and challenges everyday and we love it.  Life with you is a true blessing.

Christmas 2011

So...I realize it's February 2nd.  Asher's birthday was yesterday.  And I'm just now posting about Christmas.  Bad mommy.  What can I say?  We've been enjoying life!

So here's Asher's first Christmas in a nutshell:

We kicked off the holiday season by attending our first Christmas concert where we got to watch our friend Ghirin sing a variety of Christmas songs.  Asher had a BLAST!  Love these faces (Ghirin in the middle, his brother Nolan on the right.)

Asher enjoyed his first sugar cookie.

Then, Asher helped daddy put up the lights on the house.

Later in the month we hosted the Newtons for hot cocoa and a stroll through the neighborhood to look at lights.  Definitely a new tradition we're hoping to keep for years to come.

As the actual holiday arrived there was present opening, family time and lots of holiday cheer.  Asher's first Christmas was great and we were left feeling completely blessed.