Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Various

I'd like to apologize for the quality (or lack thereof) of the pictures. Our camera is rather a mess. The batteries are being held in by tape, which is about to be fired for it's not doing it's job very well. I think the poor camera's seen it's last few kodak moments. I wonder if the numerous times it's been dropped has been a factor?

I was so busy trying to keep my kids warm, dry, and happy that I didn't get a whole lot of pictures of our zoo trip. And by "not a whole lot" I mean 2. And neither one is that good. Brennan liked sitting on this barrell-sheep quite a bit.

Tonight we had a rather pretty sunset. The picture didn't capture the colors exactly. They leaned more towards baby pink and baby blue. The blue's not showing very well, but I thought the contrast between the two colors (in real life) is what made it especially pretty.




Dad time! Everybody find a leg. Hey wait a minute, where's Hez gonna sit?

Cruisin' & Bouncin'


Asher is now over 4 months old. I can't believe how fast he's growing. Brennan seemed to take forever... but then again I was kinda anxious for him to grow. I was always so excited for upcoming milestones and new things, and of course I thought things would be easier once he reached certain ages. They weren't. Each age brings new challenges. Actually, I think he's a lot easier now than he has ever been, so I guess it really does happen. But I digress...
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Anyway, it just seems like Asher is growing so fast. I can't keep up with his wardrobe. Partly because of how quickly he's growing and partly because I can't walk through the mess in the kids' bedroom where all the clothes are kept. ;-) This last week I tested Asher out in the doorway bouncer and the walker. He seems to like both well enough, unlike Brennan who was NOT a fan. And it's growing on Asher even more. Just in these last few days he's improved 10-fold in his ability to grab and retain a hold on his toys. A few days ago he was knocking the toys off his tray at lightning speed, but today he actually held on to them for several minutes before dropping them over the side.
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The video is a little long, like a full minute maybe. I have spent much time trying to find a program that edits video from our digital camera, with no luck. We need a new camera anyway, so maybe with the next one... Anyway... (Actually, it looks like it's exactly one minute. Weird.)

The Boringest Babysitter

I came home from something one day which I had attended without the kids. I had come home later than I'd said, and Brian was anxious to get back to his mounds of homework. For some reason though, upon my arrival Brian didn't get right up like I expected. It turns out he was stuck between two sleeping kids. And we know the phrase... "Never wake a sleeping baby."




Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Together at Last

Yesterday Asher had his 4 month check-up. Except for the skin rashes that both my kids deal with CONSTANTLY, Asher is the perfect picture of health. I feel so blessed. Brennan got the same report at his check-up last friday.

I did bring up with my Dr. some concerns about Asher's sleeping. The Dr. suggested that it might be time to send Asher out of mine and Brian's bedroom. So, as soon as I got home Asher moved out! Yay!!! Brennan was/is SOOOO excited. We went over some expectations and rules before-hand. For example, I warned Brennan that Asher will cry at night, but he needs to stay in his bed and try to sleep some more... he is not to come tell me.

I put them down at the same time, but didn't expect Asher to last because he was fully awake, not even acting drowsy. Well, I never heard a peep out of either kid until Asher woke up 6 hours later. How awesome! The rest of the night went about like every other night. Asher woke up every two hours. (Actually, to the minute almost. He woke at 12:40, 2:40, 4:40, and 6:40. Weird.)

Not for the first time, I think tonight we'll go back to pacifier-free training. Since I intend to let him cry it out when he just wants the pacifier, there's a chance he'll be waking Brennan up, which never happened last night. Needless to say, we may ALL be tired for the next little while, except Brian who is excited to now not wake up several times a night. Spoiled, I know. Maybe every time I bring Asher in to eat I'll "accidently" bounce the bed a lot. J/k.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The Great and Terrible Day at the Zoo

Yesterday my mom's group (AMI Corvallis Chapter) planned a trip to the zoo for $2 tuesday. I decided to go ahead and just go for it. So, I went alone with Brennan and Asher (alone as in without Brian), and this involved almost 2 hours of driving each way besides the time at the zoo. It was pouring rain the entire time. It was crowded because, like for my group, the rain didn't stop those of us wanting to take advantage of the discounted price. When we arrived Brennan's fear of unfamiliar places kicked in and he spent some time crying that he wanted to go home. Hmmm. Kinda terrible. We were soaking wet and my hands were freezing cold.

The good news? Overall the trip was great. Asher did pretty good in the car both ways, and PERFECT at the zoo. He never fussed, and even slept for a while in the middle. He just sat all bundled under the cover of his carseat and smiled at me when I looked at him. Brennan did get over his initial fear and LOVED it there. He got in and out of his stroller (thankyou grandma Stevenson for the awesome double stroller with the older kid sit/stand platform) to see the animals up close. I only lost him once when followed some kids to another room where they were eating. He was trying to mooch. He totally ignored the fact that it was raining. He wanted to go back today. (Ha!)