Asher's been posting...

Be sure to check his blog.

Lunar Eclipse

We had a lunar eclipse last night. This is the view from my parking lot. Neato!

Asher - 5 Months

A few pics...

Quilts

My best friend, who has three and a half kids and no spare time, made two gorgeous quilts for us. This first one is a cowboy theme, and the second is one she did before I changed my mind on Asher's bedding set. can you believe how beautiful they are?

Miscellaneous stuff

Mmm, rice cereal. Bitter? Bland? Delicious and squishy? Not sure yet...


For those still experiencing winter, here's a balcony shot from about 5 minutes ago. Sunny and 70. Sweet.

Who to vote for?

HERE is a neat survey that tells you which candidate most closely matches your beliefs.

THE handsomest boy in the world!

Snow and stuff

Our friends just bought a new home. Here they are at the doorstep on the day of their final walk-through. Lucy was born one week after Asher.


We had lots of rain last week, which was great for greening our pastures and capping the distant peaks with white. Seems paradoxical for the snow caps and the palm trees to be in the same frame, eh? Gotta love California!


Just couldn't resist a little bit of my sweetheart.

Scarface

Asher keeps digging chunks out of his face with his sharp little nails! He didn't really do this as a newborn, which is when most people worry about it. Why now? It happens when he gets tired or mad and starts rubbing his eyes and grabbing his nose. Hope he quits this soon! He's got five marks now, all from different incidents.

New arrangement

I came into Asher's room this morning at 3:30 and found him playing with the circles of the mobile, which means I needed to move it up so he doesn't pull it down on his little head. So, since our mobile attachment is a clip variety, I just stuck it up on the quilt rack. Perfect!

We made a trip to Toys R Us this afternoon and bought one of those Fisher Price soother aquarium things for the crib. It plays soothing music, has soft lights and little floating fishies. He likes it. I put him down in the crib fully awake tonight, turned on the aquarium, and he was asleep within 5-7 minutes with no crying. Yay!

Gotta go; Asher wants to blog.

4-month scrapbook

4 Months

Had Asher's 4-month pics at Sears today. It went pretty well. The link is HERE.

Rogaine

Instead of going to bed like I should, I decided to play with PhotoShop a bit. Here's Asher with hair!

Ergo

I got a new baby carrier, the Ergo. It can be worn on the front, hip or back. I haven't tried the alternate positions yet, but Asher seems to like the front OK. He didn't like it at first because he can't face out, but he's adapting. Here we are after walking the dog tonight. Asher fell asleep mid-walk. The Ergo has a sleeping hood that supports baby's head that seems to work great. It folds up from the pocket and snaps onto my shoulders.

Update

For those who have been following for news on Asher's enlarged spleen, we had him rechecked yesterday. The doc says it's back to normal and no longer a concern. He said that it's uncommon for colds to cause enlargement, but not unheard of. So, no more testing. Phew! We go back in two weeks for his 4-month visit (even tho he's actually 4 months this Friday), so we'll get another recheck then, too. Anyway, PTL!

Cat nappin'

Caught my boys kickin' back a few minutes ago. This is a new position for Asher. He always sleeps like this in his crib, but not on the Boppy (at least not facing out). I couldn't resist a picture!

Movin' on up

Grandma got Asher a highchair yesterday; Peg Perego's Prima Pappa. It's super cool. Seven different chair heights, three reclining positions, a five-point harness, two trays (one for play and one pop-off one for easy cleaning), and wheels. Asher doesn't seem to mind it. It's not as quick to drop him in as the Bumbo or the bouncy seat, but it's so much better, because he can be at human height rather than on the floor. He's a big fan of seeing what's going on, so this way, he can eat at the table or hang out with the grown ups like a civilized gentleman. :o)

Asher's new post

Asher had some time today to play with scrapping. Check out his blog.

Rollin' on a river (of pee)...

So, Asher rolled over for the first time last night!! He started crying at 3 a.m., so I went into his room and found him face down and MAD about it. (He'd also peed through his diaper and was wet and cold, so that made him all the madder.) Anyway, that was exciting. He hates being on his tummy, so I'm sure it was an accident that he got there, then couldn't get himself back over. Hehehe...

Turning up roses

Today I went with my friend Andrea to volunteer with decorating floats for the Rose Parade. I didn't know until recently that all the floats in the parade are decorated with only flowers, fruits/vegies, etc. No paint or man-made deco. Here I am peeling leaves and spreading petals on irises.


This is the Lions Club float. Guess that makes sense.


This is part of the Farmers Insurance float. It's a gigantic Indian with these bears and a horse behind it.


This is the bear's eye. Coconut/palm husks for hair and [pepper corns, various seeds and salt crystals make up the eyes.

Quilt Rack

I ordered a custom quilt rack to hang Asher's bedspread, and it finally arrived. Pretty, huh? I planned to hang it full length with clip rings, but that made it too high, so I just folded it over.


Sometimes Asher wakes up too early ... before 6, and he'll often go back to sleep if he's being held. So, you'll regularly find us sleeping together in the La-Z-Boy til 7:30 or 8.


The boy was SO tired and SO hungry that he fell asleep while grandma was burping him, fingers lodged firmly in the mouth via suction.

3 Months!

Here's the link to his new photos at Costco.

Tom to the Rescue

Ken got a new job today!! Yay!! Not just any job, either. It's his dream job — one he's been chasing for three years... He'll be working at Tom Anderson Guitarworks. Anderson makes high-end electric guitars. Ken explained it like this: If Gibson and Fender are the Mercedes and BMW of guitars, Anderson is the Ferrari. Anyway, Tom is a gem to work for, we hear, pays well, has good benefits, etc., so he has virtually no employee turnover. Seriously, the dude who's leaving (moving to Colorado) that vacates a spot for Ken is the first employee to leave in three years.


Anyway, he starts next Thursday. It'll be interesting to see how I do by myself all day with Asher and no help. Anderson works four 10s, so they have Mondays off. So, on work days, DH will be gone from 7:15 til 6:15 (their shop is about five miles from us... nice!).

Then again, I'm supposed to start working some next week, too. Guess it's time to schedule some granny nanny hours!

Thursday

Today we went to the mall so that Asher could meet Santa. See his blog for a picture of that.

It's been raining for a few days, so it's really miserable to be outside. You'd really think they sky was falling for how people freak out and forget how to drive when there's moisture in the air. We got Asher's 3-month portraits done yesterday, but I accidentally left the CD with the images at my office. I went by to get it today, and found that my secretary had mailed it to me, so it should be back in my hands by tomorrow. Then I'll post a few more of those, or a link to the album or something.

Have you seen the ads for the Smart Lidz? I wonder if they really work...

Ken and I have become really boring at Christmas.

Him: What do you want for Christmas?
Me: Maybe a mixer. Or a food processor.
Him: Where should we get it?
Me: Costco. What do you want?
Him: A ProTools bundle.
Me: Where should we get it?
Him: Guitar Center, so we can take advantage of their no-interest financing.
Me: Guess I better put the Costco stuff on my AMEX so I can earn the points.
Him: Should we just go buy our own presents?
Me: I guess. Merry Christmas.

Guess it'll be a lot more fun when Asher is old enough to appreciate presents!

Here are the boys watching something on the Food Network.

Three Months!

Chillin'

Watching Rachel Ray...


Santa and his elves.

Holiday cheer

Well, we got our annual Christmas picture done today. It was hard enough in years past to get the dog to cooperate. Now with a baby in the mix, it's a miracle to get something presentable!

Sheesh

I must've been busy lately, because it's been too long since I last posted!

We finally decided to trim Asher's "old man fringe," which was the longer, thicker hair around the nape of his neck. The top is starting to grow in, but the back is still bald from rubbing on the mattress, car seat, arms, etc. So here's Ken doing the buzz.


Smiling and talking with daddy.


Don't forget to check Asher's blog, too. He'll be hurt if no one reads it!

House

My friends are selling their Newbury Park home. If you're interested, here's the info.