it's pahty time!

Asher's been developing in leaps and bounds, from more teeth (canines) to language (understanding and tons more expressive words) to his first haircut!! (See Brent's facebook for pics, I will post some here eventually.)

For a little while, he has been saying the word "poopy" and then we discover he indeed has a poopy in his diaper. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it, though, and he still has full diapers overnight. But then more recently, he's been saying the word "potty" and pointing to the toilet. However, he is deathly afraid if we try to sit him on the big potty. Yesterday, we went ahead and bought a potty chair, because it can't hurt to get him introduced to it. We got the Bjorn potty chair, which is super cute, looking like a real toilet in all white. There are some whacky potty chairs out there, ones that make sounds and even look like thrones... weird. I like that this is just functional and claims to be ergonomic, to boot.

We got home late from the store and dinner, so I didn't get to set up the potty yet. I am working today and Asher gets a Daddy day. I get a text message at work about some "news," but I am busy, so I said to email me. This is what I get:

"So we were watching noggin, and asher got off the couch and went to the bathroom and sat on the potty in his diaper. so I said to him, lets take the diaper off, I took it off and he sat for a moment, then he ran out of the bathroom into the living room and pee'd on the floor."

LOL!! I love it. This potty training thing should be a real blast, haha. I haven't read too much about it yet, so if anyone has any tips or advice, especially about training boys to pee sitting vs. standing, please chime in!

It's Dancey Dance time!

Things have been good. Asher is growing so big, and his receptive language is booming. Not a lot of expressive words, but a few. He like to walk and run, and he likes to climb up stairs (but not down). He can climb down from the couch, but doesn't climb up onto it. He went through some crazy growth spurt a couple weeks ago where he was hungry ALL the time, but that seems to have subsided since he now seems satisfied after eating. He might start teething again soon (oh joy). I always get good reports from his daycare, I think he likes going there. I can't wait for the weather to get nicer so he can really enjoy the playgrounds around Boston. We also hope to do weekend hikes this summer and we got the ergo carrier so we can carry him on our backs.

And now, here is Asher's 5 second debut of super awesome cuteness dancing!!

handmade gifts

When Asher was born, my crafty internet friend Marissa (who I also went to middle and high school with!) made him a pair of Saartje's Bootees, which were way too big when he was newborn. I put them on his shelf in his room, along with stuffed animals and books and baby cowboy boots.

Suddenly, I remembered they were there, and I thought, I should see if those fit him now! And so they do.

That button has a cute little chick etched in it.

He likes to kick them off, however.

Today we also received a nice surprise from our friend Karina, who lives with her beautiful family out in WA state. She had this cute diaper/wipes case made especially for Asher:

I love the sock monkey fabric and the personalized label :)

Thank you to all of our friends for the lovely gifts, whether handmade or store-bought, it's the thought that counts and it's usually something useful!

Babies R Us is evil

Yes, I already knew this, but I get reminded when I go there to spend $12.99 and end up spending $50.

When I was pregnant, I wasn't going to register at BRU because they are like "The Man" in new-parents-land. But alas, they were the only store to carry the stroller travel system we wanted. Thus began the registry there... which of course snowballed when I got their catalog with the thousand-and-one things you "need" for a new baby. So I went online and got registry happy. Look, it's a national chain, so anyone can order from them, they do have everything you need, and it just became convenient. Coupons and sales help too.

Last weekend, we were out and about in the rain (without the car), so I had to rig a receiving blanket over the canopy of the stroller so Asher didn't get wet. It worked OK (if you call a soaking wet receiving blanket OK), but I decided I definitely need a stroller rain cover. Notice how that link is for the "deluxe" version and costs $12.99. You might think they have the same stuff in the store. Well, not always. They had different brands, so the "deluxe" model I wanted was $17.99 (Graco brand). They had one for $12.99, but I decided to spend the extra $5 because it looked like the cheaper one had snaps instead of a zipper and this one has reflective binding (!) that I decided would be good to have in the traffic-laden city.

Then, what do they have right next to the rain covers? They have the Evenflo Switch-a-Roos! So we just had to get little Asher-boo some new toys for his exersaucer! We got crinkle bee and chewy fish. Brent wanted to get more, but I said Whoa now! We can always get more next month!

Then we are cruising around, let's take a peek at the clothes on clearance. Brent likes the super-preppy stuff. Like an argyle pattern sweater-vest. [insert putrid face here.] I maintain my stand that little girl clothes are cuter than little boy clothes. Maybe that's just me. Anyway, Brent then discovered baby poloshirt style onesies, striped just like the kind Daddy wears! So, had to get one. Also got one that was just a shirt (not onesie), and of course had to get the matching carpenter khaki pants! Stay tuned for Mini-Brent! I will have to knit a miniature cell phone to go in the side pocket, hahaha.

But yeah, all that little stuff adds up. BRU-is-eeeevil!

Sling alterations

Last night I tried the New Native baby sling a couple times with Asher, but it was late, he was tired, and he of course spit up on the sling and me. I wanted to wash the sling anyway, since the people who sold it to me have a dog, even though she told me she washed it already. It also came with an instructional DVD. This was pretty funny. The girl in the video was really weird, Brent and I kept making fun of her. The babies were cute though.

This morning (or was it early afternoon? who knows anymore!), I schlepped Asher to and fro, in and out of the sling to test it out. I decided it was, in fact, too big for me. I probably needed the size S. But the website gives instructions on shortening the length to make is smaller! Not that I couldn't have figured out how to do this on my own, but it's good to know that this is an approved method for using their product. So I pinned the sling at the shoulder and it fit so much better! For the hip carry, Asher was actually on my hip like when I hold him in my arms. I'm still working on the other positions, as I don't quite have the hang of it yet.

Last summer I bought a Singer sewing machine. I took a beginning sewing class at Spark Craft Studio, where I was supposed to make a tote bag... but I was having problems with the bobbin thread getting all crazy, so by the time I resolved this issue, I didn't have enough time to finish my bag, so I took everything home with me and then never finished the project because I really didn't like the fabric I picked out at the class anyway...

I busted out the sewing machine, practiced some on a scrap cloth to see if I could sew in a straight line, haha. Then I sewed the sling. I measured 2" from the shoulder fold, so that means it was taken up a total of 4". I drew a line, but I don't know that my stitching was exactly straight the whole time. But really, it doesn't matter. I tested it out after doing the one seam and decided it was OK where it was. I then went over the seam again to reinforce it (and they tell you to do that in the alteration instructions). I was debating on whether to then stitch down the flap that was created, because that seam would show on the outside of the carrier. I tested it out some more, and decided it would be best to have that flap stitched down. That seam really is not straight! But again, it doesn't really matter. The sling is now functional! Asher looks so cute sitting in it. I will get Brent to take a picture of us wearing it later :)

Baby Sling

I got a baby sling yesterday, used from craigslist for less than half the retail price. It's the New Native organic cotton sling in khaki. It's kind of like a pouch for the baby, it's all one piece of cotton fabric, no buckles or ties. It's a size M, which may be a little big on me (it is sized since it doesn't adjust), but I need to practice more with Asher in it to see if I might need to sew a new seam at the shoulder to make it shorter for me.

Brent likes the Bjorn carrier, but when I tried it on yesterday with Asher facing out, it didn't feel comfortable on me. I don't know if I just couldn't get it adjusted properly because it had been set for Brent or what. So then I used the Moby wrap, also facing Asher out, and we took a walk like that. He seemed to like it, and the Moby can cover his legs and I can tuck his arms in so he stays warm and cozy. The Moby is very comfortable, but it's a whole production to put it on (and take it off) because it's a wrap of one huge long piece of fabric. I think I will let the Bjorn be for Brent, and I will stick with the Moby and the New Native.

One of the main reasons I wanted the sling carrier is because I wanted something simple that I could throw on when taking Asher downstairs before getting him in the stroller. Now that I'm not always using the car seat in the stroller system, it's very cumbersome and awkward to hold Asher (and his blankets) in one arm and have to lug the stroller down the front porch steps with the other hand. I am hoping that this sling will provide good hands-free support for this purpose, and the other great part is that it is small enough to just fold up flat into the diaper bag!

Chicco Polly Highchair

I assembled the highchair today, because even though Asher isn't eating solid foods yet, I thought he might like to sit up in it. Here's a phrase I never thought I would read (from the instruction manual):

"Fit the rigid crotch strap to the tray...The design of the crotch strap attachment only allows one type of assembly operation."

and then...

" ! WARNING - Always fit the rigid crotch strap to the tray before fitting the tray to the Highchair. Once the rigid crotch strap has been fitted, it must never be removed."

Anyway, it wasn't hard to assemble, and Asher seems to really enjoy being in it so far! Here are some pictures and video from my phone camera. The quality is crappier since the good digital camera is still in Brent's bag from the weekend.

Oh, and the highchair matches our stroller and car seat ;)

Exersaucer!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Asher's new exersaucer arrived today! It was a bit annoying to put together, but not hard. I think Asher will need to get adjusted to all the new stimuli, but here is his very first encounter!

Asher contained

Asher's Aunt Chelle got him a play yard for Christmas, and we just opened it today. We'll bring it when we visit NYC next month, so we are testing it out.

hmmm, where am I Daddy?

I am NOT a blockhead!

I like to roll with it

Mommy said to do that again, so I did it again

Just chillin'

Then there was the prize fight of Awesome Asher vs. Blanket Buddy:

Then he started to get a little fussy, so that concludes Asher's romp in the play yard.

Milk Mumu

Friday I got to use my milk mumu nursing cover for the first time in public. Well, it was semi-public, I was in a lounge at Sargent (my school) and only a couple people passed through while I was in there. But it was very convenient not to worry about having too much exposed. When I first got the cover, a gift from Susan, I tried it out in the house. Asher just played with it, flailing his arms and exposing me despite the cover's purpose! But while we were out, I think he was too concerned with eating to play around. I still need to get the adjustment of the neck strap right, and it's kind of hard to do while it's on me and I'm nursing, so I need to adjust it at another time. The terry corner is cool, although I didn't actually use it because I had a diaper for a burp cloth; but I was thinking they should put a terry corner on each side so you can use one no matter which side the baby is on. Anyway, I like it and I think the pattern is cool. I think Marissa would like the funky Japanese pattern because it's got bright colors and lots going on. Brent says it looks like an apron, but so what?! I say, Thanks Susan!!