CRAMSTER

Dear Bruss Family,

Come back.

Love, The Olsons

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving (aka Cramster) with Tim and Steph this year.  It involved a lot of 500 (or pfeffer, if you're a Mankatoan), too much food, no turkey, and awesome Cramster t-shirts.

Per the usual, our little piglets 18 month onesies are still a little big...except in one key area.

We decided to do a seafood extravaganza instead of a turkey dinner.  Even Harlan got to eat lobster!

Come on guys, let me outside, I want to play with my lobster...

...and of course by play, I mean shred into a million pieces in about 5 seconds.

This week also marked the beginning of Asher's first Hannukah :)

Hello lovely Bruss family!  

(Family minus Kate and Phil of course, we know you are not a complete family without your pup pups)

It was touch and go at times with Ash as he fought through his sinus infection.  But we are on our last day of antibiotics so hopefully we are over the worst of it.

Asher's favorite food- cheese poofs.

Playing 500, watching Asher crash into Harlan's water bowl.

Out on a daily stroll.

Asher's First Wing-a-Ling

Turtle tries to use a spoon.

Just messin' around.

CRAMSTER.  

(Was originally going to be a lobster stuffed with a crab stuffed with a ham...

ended up being a boatload of crab all on its own.... and it was delightful).

Following up our seafood feast with a trip to the aquarium.

...looks like Steph is getting attacked by fishies....

Steph grabbing a puffer fish (...not really, but these pictures are all so sneaky!)

9 Months

So turns out, getting Asher to hold still for 9 month pictures was an impossible task.  Is amoxicillin an upper?  Because this kid was OUT OF CONTROL today.  Between wreaking havoc at the Indian food restaurant, crashing around our house all afternoon, and trying to knock over/pull down/flip over/tear in two/push across the floor/eat everything in sight, it looks like our 9th month with Asher is going to be a busy one.

Maybe he'll hold still?

Nope... on the move.

Baby loves books.

Walking back and forth along his crib.

...even his lip has a roll...

Teethers.

Happy Monday

After a sleepless, stuffy, snorty Saturday night, Ben and I took Asher in to the doctors (AGAIN) yesterday.  The doctor agreed that this had been going on too long and prescribed an antibiotic.  Gross drainage with nasal saline rinses confirms my suspicion that he's been battling a sinus infection (hence my refusal to let it go as 'just teething' and our racking up frequent flier miles to the peds clinic).

In happier news, we had a winter storm over the weekend!  The difference between the Southwest and the Midwest is that our snow is already completely melted and it is 60 degrees and sunny today.  

...I do not miss Minnesota/Iowa winters.

Asher was confused about where his yard went. 

Today Asher is 9 months old.  We went out for Indian food with Ashley & Payson, and Asher was a LOT to keep track of.  Notice how nicely Payson is staying in her highchair, while Asher has spun around backwards and is doing the splits?  There were several escape attempts that involved climbing over, sliding under, tipping over, and trying to stand up and jump out.  I'm not kidding.  He is a monkey.  He also managed to knock a glass of water over, grab a handful of saag paneer and then promptly swipe his face and my shirt, eat part of a napkin, grab the hair of the woman in the booth behind us, and leave little teeth marks in the wooden highchair.  I swear, I am attentive and careful and vigilant.  Yet somehow he manages to be a sneaky whirlwind of destruction.  He's like a mess-making ninja.

It's Snowing in Albuquerque!

Yesterday Asher and I made our bajillionth visit to the pediatrician.  After running a low grade temp during the week, he woke up Friday morning rubbing and tugging his right ear.  So in we went.  After being on alternating motrin and tylenol for the last 24 hours, he still had a fever when we got to the doctor's office.  I was sure, SURE, he was going to have an ear infection.  But nope.  Ears looked perfect.  The teething saga continues.... I'm baking him a cake when he gets his next tooth.

Speaking of cake!  Today we went to Payson's first birthday party!

Asher's first taste of cake.  Even though he slept for 14 hours last night (he is Ben's son), he was so exhausted when we made him delay his second nap to go to the party that he was too sleepy to be interested in dessert.  But he did manage to scarf down a bunch of pasta salad before the tiredness set in, and that was fun to watch.

On Tuesday it was rainy and cold in Albuquerque.  I understand that there is an unspoken rule of when to put up the Christmas tree (after Thanksgiving), but I live by a different rule.  When the Christmas spirit moves you, you get to bedazzle your house with Christmas hullabaloo.  

I made the mistake of putting Asher in his scooter while I assembled and decorated the tree-- this gave him the ability to speedily sneak up on me and be waist deep in tree faster than you can say 'bah humbug'.  Within 5 minutes he had dropped an ornament, pulled out a limb, and put a light bulb in his mouth.  When I saw him with his cheek lit up green I said "Where's this kids mom?!" and took him out of his scooter, thinking that would limit his destruction.  Wrooooong.

Instead, he had his first run-in with a skirt.

In other news, Asher has learned he can wiggle his tongue around.

Oh Asher.

Becoming better friends (or more tolerant of one another, depends on if you're a glass half empty or half full type of person) every day.