A Big Week for a Little Baby

This past week Asher started trucking.  Not crawling, trucking.  He was really insistent on standing and having me walk with him so he could stomp around, and then without warning he was behind his push cart hauling up and down the hall.  When Ben got home we practiced some more, and Asher now walks behind his cart without any help from us.  Scary.  It is looking more and more like he will walk before he crawls.  

Ben came back from Home Depot on Saturday and said "I got you a present!" --  industrial knee pads for all the time I spend crawling after Asher around now that he is walking/running :)

....this look of concentration just kills us...

He actually speeds up to a near-run...Asher buddy...crawl first!

In other news...

The teething saga continues.  We went in to the doctors office on Friday to have a weight check done because it has been 3 weeks of Asher struggling to take his bottle.  Thankfully, we learned that the little moose has gained weight (looks like supplementing with yogurt, blueberries, cheese puffs, apple juice and green olives is doing the trick!).  But today he was back to having a low grade fever (which he has had on and off since the week before Halloween when his first teeth came in).  We have an appointment with his pediatrician tomorrow to talk about what else we can be doing to keep him comfortable, as it is looking like Asher is having to endure the most awful, dragged out teething experience in the history of chompers.  

I'm there.

I had my first "Oh sh*t, I'm a mom" moment on Friday.  Asher and I arrived at the grocery store and I was about to get him out of his car seat when I noticed that he still had a bunch of cereal plastered to his face.  People will judge me, I thought.  But in usual 'super mom' fashion I had left the house without the essentials and did not have a baby wipe in sight.  It took me about two seconds to come up with a solution.  I pulled down the end of my sleeve, let Asher gnaw on it for a few seconds until it was super slobbery, and used it to wipe off his face.  Then I said to myself, Congratulations, you are officially a mom.  

Snicker Snackers

We are knee deep in finger food in this house.  

This morning Asher had his first go at blueberries.  

He is his mother's son (he loved them).

Pretty much hates bananas.  

Probably because they're too slippery for him to pick up.

Getting ready to go for a walk (it's cold in Albuquerque!)

Hi baby.

Asher Faces

Quick Photo Update

Here are a couple photo updates from the last few days here in Albuquerqueland. 

Asher has built upon his love of books to a new love of destroying books.  Nothing makes this baby happier than crinkle paper, and he just realized all of mommy's books are FULL of crinkle paper.  

The store ran out of blue pacifiers.  What are you gonna do?

If you look closely, you can see his two bottom teeth :)

...but clearly we aren't done teething quite yet...

We went to the aquarium yesterday.  There is something I love about the aquarium more than anything else: it's not the seahorses, it's not the sea turtles, it's not the pretty sharks (although just thinking about those guys makes me smile and giggle on the inside)... it's the green chili cheese fries in the cafe.  

Holy Moly New Mexico these things are to die for.

Asher is officially difficult at restaurants these days.  There isn't anything he doesn't want to be grabbing.

Give me your napkin!

Give me your chili cheese fries!

Oh you think that's funny that daddy won't let me eat your food?

Fine!  Watch me whip this table cloth out from under all of your dishes!

Only able to pacify him by giving him my wallet.  Is that a bad sign?

SLEEP TRAINING IS DONE

As a whole: naps, bedtime, the whole shebang... it's DONE.  

While Asher's been napping in his nursery for a few months now, it has still required me holding him for about 15-20 minutes before he'd fall asleep and allow himself to be put down in his crib.  Well, after a few very frustrating nap experiences last week, where I paced around Asher's bedroom rocking him in my arms, whispering bedtimes stories, bouncing him around, swaying back and forth, singing nursery rhymes, rubbing his belly and back... only to have him twist and turn and fight me until eventually (oh, like 45 minutes later) he would pass out in my arms, I told Ben, "That's it.  This weekend we nap train him, I can't take it anymore!".   

Now.  Let's pause for a minute and remember what happened with crib training a few months ago.  I complained, I whined, I called my son a nap monster, and I told anyone who would listen, "Asher will ONLY sleep on me."  And then one day I realized, Well, is that true?  I suppose I've never actually tried having him nap in his crib... And lo and behold, the first time we tried it, he napped like a champ.  And I realized, Crap.  This was not an Asher issue.  This was a big fat me issue.  Next time I'll know better.  Well folks, suuurprise suuuurprise... I didn't.  On Saturday I pulled the curtains closed, wrapped him in a blankie, read him one story, whispered "It's nap time" and put him down in his crib wide awake.  Then I waited, for what I was sure would be a disaster.  He babbled for about five minutes, and then...silence.  I was folding laundry in the other room and I actually froze, half-folded pillow case in mid air, and listened.  Not possible.  I crept down the hall and peeked into his room.  Totally.  Completely. Fast. Asleep.

Part of me thought for sure it was a fluke.  But nope.  I'm calling it.  Sleep training is done.  (Sure it only took us 8 months... but shhhhh....).  I'd also like to take this opportunity to apologize to Asher.  Next time, I'll know better (...waaah waaah waaaaaah). 

Yep.  I did this.  People have been calling me brave... 

I'm pretty sure there are better (more honest) words to describe this move :)

Giraffe!!

Grandma Dot & Grandpa Ed sent Asher his Christmas present a little early.

It is up for debate who was more excited about the giant giraffe- Asher, or his parents.

Har has decided the giraffe is his girlfriend.  He's in looooove.