PATRIOTIC

Rad shirt, parade, food, park, fireworks. Your day was made. And today we discovered you love olives, can you really be my child? Good thing we have grandma to feed you food I wont bring into my house. No nap, a long day, you were a total trooper. 

THE BEACH HOUSE

Spent a week in Encinitas, CA in a beach house a block from the ocean. We visited with Shamu, got a taste of sand, got smart at the science museum, and spent a lot of time in the pool. Everything was perfect. Here's a glimpse.

E.R. VISIT

Not even a week after you turn one, we find ourselves at the hospital again. Your Auntie Steffy describes it like a murder scene, screams, bloody hand prints, a shirt soaked in blood. Turns out those two little teeth that barely made their way to the surface sliced through your lip upon slamming your face on the edge of the tub. Fortunately the cries were over when I held you, and you seemed happy as can be, no pain. However, the fact that half your lip was dangling off was a little concerning so we made our way to the ER for some stitches.

They gave you a shot of Ketamine to consciously sedate you, and 6 minutes later you drowsy. They numbed you lip with a shot of lidocaine to help with the pain. You immediately started licking your lips and wiping your face. Seeing as the nurse couldn't keep you still enough for anyone to stich up that lip, I hopped onto that table and helped with the pinning. Three stitches was all it took. We waited another hour for your drugs to wear off and we headed home. It was nearly midnight and you had fallen asleep by the time we made it to the parking lot. Fortunately for all of us it only took roughly 72 hours fro your lip to heal.

12 MONTHS

On May 2nd you took our first steps. It wasn't anything special, just letting go of a cabinet and reaching for my reach int he kitchen. Its more than a month later, and you still prefer to crawl, often with your bum in the air. You only take steps when prompted to walk to momma or daddy.

You LOVE food. You eat everything. You love avocados and quinoa like your momma, and you can't get enough of ice cream and grilled cheese sandwiches like your daddy.

For a whole month you had one little snaggle tooth. Just a few days before you turned one the little tooth next to it came in.

Your favorite toy is a spoon and a cup. It serves two purposes, you pretend to eat and you play music. Who knew i had wasted so much money buying toys?

You like to do everything your brother does. If he gets in the stroller, you have to be in the stroller, if he splashes in the tub, you add to the splash and create a tsunami, and if he grabs a camelbak water bottle, you have to have to same one.

You HATE cold water, only warm pools for you.

You are totally off the bottle, and you only use you binky for bed, or on the rare occasion that Gage finds it and gives it to you.

You have become quite the tantrum thrower. If you don't get what you want, or we in any way try to distract you, you throw your whole body on the ground and scream. Very single minded, and stubborn.

Now that Gage has learned to open the fridge, you have moved from pots and pans in the cupboards to pulling everything off of every shelf in the fridge and bringing it to me with pride.

You have discovered how great going up a slide is.

You say hi to everyone, but you are selective with your waves.

You refuse to keep shoes on, and no matter how tight I tie them, no matter how many knots I put in them, you find a way to pull them off.

You have become an independent, mobile, opinionated little person, that is resembling a baby less and less, and transitioning to a toddler more and more. I expect this to be a great year!

TURNING ONE

It seems like just yesterday that your dad was handing you to me for the first time. I remember the moment i laid eyes on you thinking you looked identical to Gage. Dark hair, cheeks for days, cute button nose, pointy chin, arms rolls. You looked like one of my babies. You WERE one of my babies! I recognized your strong kicks in my arms. I have a feeling you weren’t so sure you were ready to come out of your hot tub. I held you close and kissed you to remind you I was still right there.

A lot like the day you were born, on the day you turned one, I found myself holding you even closer, and kissing you more. I wasn't ready for you to grow up. But regardless, the party must go on. We celebrated in the park, under our favorite tree. Your grandma and grandpa came, along with your aunties, uncle jake, and your cousins. We ate bratwurst with chimichurri sauce, you had a bun and seemed pretty happy. You refused to leave your daddy's side, but he loved it. 

After finishing your frosting on your cupcake, we headed home. It was on our way home that I noticed some dried red blood in your ear. My heart dropped. We ran you to Urgent Care immediately. A few hours later, it turns out those fevers you had had the last few days were not from teething after all. Your 104.7 fever could only be explained by two ear infections and a burst eardrum. I felt awful. You hadn't shown any signs of pain, nor indicators that your ears were uncomfortable. You are one tough baby. Here's to being One! lets hope it only gets better from here!

A PART OF THIS FAMILY

As your first birthday approaches, all too quickly for me to handle by the way, I can't help but think back. Think back to when this journey began, to when your daddy and I found out we were pregnant, and when we told our family, to when we knew you were our baby boy and how we knew your name was Asher. You have been a part of our family since before you were even born. And I couldn't be more grateful for this.

I took an exerpt from my own journal to share with you for your birthday, I wrote it shortly after you were born, nearly a year ago, in the middle of the night shortly after laying your exhausted little body down beside me in bed.

"I have a family of four. I have a husband and two precious boys.

There are times that this fact  makes me feel so full and so overwhelmed. Is there enough of me to go around? There has to be…and I will work hard to make sure there is. Now that this family is growing, I know there is still time to find balance but for now my main goal is to love this moment. To hold my baby, to love him and be present for my whole family.

Dishes will get done. Parties will be had. Dates for Jon and I will happen again. I will lose the extra weight. There will be plenty of time to outfit myself and get gussied up……

But for now, my babies are my focus. Welcoming Asher into our family is all that matters. I will blink and his newborness will be gone, so I take as many small glances as I can at him throughout the day and let myself feel him so new in my arms.

Being a parent is tough cookies at times but I refuse to waste my time wishing for something else. Wishing for what at times I think will be easier. Trust me, nothing is easier than loving my kids. Nothing is easier than holding my babies. I promise to keep working hard at living NOW.

I recently came across this quote on Facebook and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it:  "You become like the people you interact with. And if your friends are living boring stories, you probably will too."

I look at my children, and I think, Like it or not, they’re becoming like me. Like it or not, they are modeling so much of their own future stories after the one I’m choosing to live every single day. I pray for the courage to teach them in the only way I know how, by inviting them in- by inviting them into a story they’re proud to be a part of. And I hope that together, we can create a life story so much more meaningful than anything any of us could have ever created on our own.

I want to help create a life story for my family that we are proud to have lived."

I want to always invite you into my life, sweet Asher. You have made me enjoy the NOW more than I could have possibly imagined. Thank you for choosing me to be your mommy. This has been a wonderful year.

Love, momma

ST. GEORGE

I have never seen anyone one pull off a life jacket so well. Those cheeks makes my heart melt. 

Our first time away from dad, he was sure sad he missed it, but spending time with Nana, Jason  Dana, Amanda and of course David, was so worth it!