Stale Cereal, Mama, Dada, & Doggy

Our Labor Day weekend was productive and eventful! We cleaned out our kitchen pantry which was much, much needed - even more so than I realized. I won't miss the cans of soup from 2008 or the box of stale cereal that had been taking up precious shelf space for months. We now actually have a place to store our baby formula and rice cereal! It's the small things in life, it really is.

This weekend also marked a very exciting milestone for baby Asher. He said "Mama" and "Dada"! Check it out...




We also think we may have heard "Doggy" but the jury's still out on that one. How exciting! These are definitely some of the greatest moments in parenting. And the 6 month cuddles... I die!

This month also marked another record breaker at our shop. Holy moly - we are busier than ever! I have to apologize for my lack of blog posts but this momma has been busy, busy, busy. Thank goodness that 6 1/2 months also brought some self-entertainment skills and Asher is able to play happily on his own for a little while. Our Pack and Plays have finally become our go-to lifesaving baby gear during the day. We keep one at our shop and have one in our living room now, too. He actually took a nap in it while we were getting our clean on in the pantry. Woop-woop!

This week is going to be another hectic one while we continue to fulfill the orders that have been pouring in throughout the past month. Asher's rearin' and ready to go with Signing Time and his Pack and Play. :)

Enjoy our latest iPhone favs and have a wonderful short week!

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The Teething Monster

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It's been a whirlwind few days of cranky baby, cloth diaper annoyance, and a disdain for cleaning and cooking. I was a little too ambitious with adding in homemade meals every night. I mean, it's just me here eating it. I learned the hard way that a lot of food goes to waste. So, I am going to aim for every 2-3 days since leftovers will fill in just fine. Oh - don't get me started on the diapers. I am so over the diapers. For now. Update soon. I promise. 

Dare I say our little bundle is finally sleeping soundly and has been since 7:45pm? What a relief. We've been having "bedtime battles" for the past few nights and Asher has been winning. He just doesn't want to sleep! Here's a little snippet of what we've got going on at bedtime...

This will last for hours! Eventually I'll go get him, try my best to keep him calm out in the living room with me covering all the bases - change, feed (if he'll eat), burp - then I'll put him back to bed and the cycle continues. Thank goodness that tonight he is letting me take breather and is staying in bed - asleep. Hallelujah. 

The little guy is also starting to show signs of teething discomfort. They're coming! He's been gnawing on anything and everything much more often and much more forcefully than ever before. Around 5pm, like clockwork, it seems the aching starts to get the best of him and the tears start to break through. He pulls on and pats his cheek and ear and the most calming thing for him has been a cool teething ring. He even prefers it over his paci. Poor little guy. 

"I never asked for teeth!!!"

Although our household has been turned somewhat upside-down for the past few days with lack of sleep for everyone and the 3 Cs of the Wonder Week (clingy, cranky, crying), we still have a content and happy baby for most of the day... As long as you're holding him or playing with him. Hence the aforementioned disdain for cleaning. So, without further ado, here is a fun compilation of his happy and giggly moments throughout the past few days followed by my latest iPhone favs... Gotta keep it lighthearted up in here. ;)

You see? A teething and wonder week filled household can still be a fun and laughter filled household! You just have to find the silver lining. Let's just say we all needed that video around here.

I bought this for Asher, and when it arrived it was MY SIZE! Talk about luck!

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iPhone Favorites & Random Thoughts

A post recapping Father's Day will be up soon, I promise! We have had one of our busiest weeks with our Etsy shop, so time has been in limited supply to say the least. We are all EXHAUSTED! We do realize how blessed we are to have a business that is growing day by day and we know all of our hard work will pay off in the end. My mom has been a tremendous help and Asher has enjoyed coming to our shop with me, too! 

HOWEVER, toting the little guy around with me like this is taking a serious toll on my back. My poor back and shoulder muscles are crying out for a break. Up - down - up - down - up - down... all day long! Who would imagine that such a small baby could wreck such havoc on one's muscles? I think I just may schedule that prenatal massage that I never had a chance to get... maybe I can trade it in for a couples massage and treat John to a late Father's Day gift, too. ;)

In addition to my ridiculously sore muscles, I think my immune system and my energy level in general are in need of a pick-me-up. I'm so pooped mentally and physically. I bright blue bruises everywhere - even on my finger (??!!) and have no idea where it came from. So, I've started on a multi-vitamin, some probiotics, am drinking an apple cider vinegar mixture each day, and am starting on a B12 supplement. We'll see if I can get back to my usual, energetic self. I will try to talk John into letting me get a Treadmill if I can find a good deal on Craigslist or something... Some exercise would probably provide a much needed energy lift. If anyone has any suggestions for boosting energy for new moms, I'm all ears!!

Next up will be revamping my eating habits, which are admittedly awful from time to time. It's difficult to eat very healthfully when I am home alone with Asher at night. I'm usually heating up a frozen Kashi meal and calling it a day. Once he is on solids, things will need to change. One thing at a time, though, so I will revisit this later..

Today, I am leaving you with my recent iPhone Favorites! I had over 400 pictures on my phone and had to clear them all out so I can continue to take pics! Here are my favs...

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iPhone Favorites

We had a very busy weekend for baby! Saturday was my 2 nephews' combined birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. It was Asher and my first time there - what a whirlwind! That place is sure to be one of Asher's favorites once he gets a little older.

Sunday, we went to John's cousin's wife's (got that??) baby shower. Another second cousin for baby Asher is on his way! It was a beautiful shower with the cutest nautical theme. I fully intended on taking a million pics but unfortunately didn't even get one due to disposable diaper fiasco and overwhelmed baby episode.

This was the second day in a row that I found out just how unreliable Seventh Generation disposable diapers are for us. Asher doesn't fit into his cute little shorts in his cloth diapers, plus I am still waiting on 2 wet bags to arrive (my current wet bag will only fit 1 diaper at a time). I ventured back into the world of disposables again with a brand I thought might cut back on the redness. Well, yes, there was much less irritation but for the price of changing his clothes at each diaper change due to leakage! Ugh. Not impressed - taking suggestions for another disposable alternative. I wish our gDiapers would fit already!

NEW Developments 17 Weeks:

• Looks like Asher wants to crawl. He kicks his legs while on his tummy and tucks his head under with frustration. 
• Suki & Sumo (pugs) howl when Asher cries! It's the cutest thing ever. They think their little bro is in distress.
• More chewing than sucking on the pacifier during the day. Could we be teething?? No signs of pain. We'll see!
• Moving around in bassinet more now. We'll soon need to raise the side next to the bed or think about migrating to the nursery... :( Sad day for mommy!
• Giggles when ticked! It's still intermittent - but happens more and more often. 
• 4 Month shots coming up on Tuesday. Wish us luck! Maybe mommy can hold back her tears this time.
• Ordered a chicken wing shaped teething toy. Extremely excited for it to arrive. May have to break out the chef hat again for a photo op we won't ever forget!
• Asher smiles and laughs when mommy says, "SQUISHY!", and pinches his cheeks. This is the one source of laughter that works again and again. 

Asher, I love you more than ever. How is it possible that my love grows for you everyday? I hope you know how much mommy and daddy love you and care for you. You are our world stuffed into one very small and extremely adorable package of cuteness. 

Today I am leaving you with our latest iPhone Favorites. Asher is getting more animated each day and it's amazing to witness his budding sweet and silly personality.

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14 Weeks + Phone Favorites

iPhone Photo Favorites!

{Forgive my writing today. I'm not really in the mood for full sentences!}

Asher's New Developments - 14 weeks

• Phasing out the nighttime swaddle. Prefers to fall asleep swaddle-free, but then wakes himself up! Falls into a deeper sleep with it on, then "houdini"s his way out of it to suck on his hands. Gotta love it!
• 95% there with the roll from back to tummy. Gets stuck on his arm! So close!
• Erupts in the cutest laughter over the silliest things!!! 1. me singing the 'Diaper Dance' song 2. peek-a-boo with Mommy - VIDEO BELOW - SO CUTE!!! :)

• Wants to look at my face while eating.
• Can drink from his Tommee Tippee bottles now. Getting use out of our bottle stash - finally!
• Awake for longer periods during the day and constantly wants to be entertained or carried... Mommy getting less done around the house. ;) HOWEVER, I tried a new position with our K'tan carrier today and this may be the solution... I got some much needed work done on the computer and Asher played piano on the iPad while in the K'tan. That required some interesting positioning, but worked out pretty well!

• Introduced iPad baby piano app with farm animal sounds. LOVES IT! After only 2 days developing skills to touch the keys, he is now using his hands more than ever to grab and touch his toys, pacifier, self, my face, Suki, Sumo…
• Asher is absolutely in LOVE with his Baby Signing Time Vol. 1 DVD. I need to get volumes 2, 3 and 4!
• Learning various signs - milk, more, mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, diaper, dog, frog... He gets dog and frog mixed up, i.e. looks around for Suki I say "froggy". We're not expecting him to sign back until 7 months or so, but he's watching and taking it all in!
• Reading him at least 1 book a day, sometimes 4-5 (baby cardboard books). Current Favorites: Little Monkeys Jump in the Bath, Goodnight Moon, Are You My Mother, Doggies by Sandra Boynton, & Llama Llama Red Pajama

MOMMY UPDATE - 14 Weeks Post-Partum

• 3-5 lbs left 'til pre-pregnancy weight! Feels like 15 due to redistribution of weight and needing to tone up. :( I want to start running again but my body is still saying, "Yeah, right!" Thinking about the P90X DVDs collecting dust in our closet... but with a 3.5 month old?? Really??? Who has the time for that?????
• Just when you feel like you're returning to some sense of normalcy, 3 mo. pp hits and you really do start losing your hair! My thick, pregnancy locks are everywhere except attached to my head. I swear there is hair all over the house. I'm shedding like one of our pugs! Ha!
• The hair issue reminds me to be more easy on myself. My body is still going through a lot and my hormones are obviously still far from normal. 
• The songs from the Signing Time DVD are always stuck in my head. "It's time to eat, eat, what a treat! Eat, eat, eat!" LOL

I have LOTS of pictures to share from John's birthday yesterday (age 29 and holding?????), so be on the lookout for that post within the next few days when I finish uploading and processing the photos! Here's a teaser - First attempt at a baby-free day at the beach and there may or may not have been a thunderstorm that lasted all day. You just have to laugh on days like that! ;)

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