Happy six months, Asher!

Dear Asher,
 Happy Half birthday! The past six months have been beyond what I could have ever imagined. In such a short time, I have watched you grow from a wee helpless, fragile infant who just entered the world into a strong and fun-loving little boy. From the moment they laid you on my chest and you looked into my eyes, I knew my heart was forever yours. I still get the same fuzzy feelings whenever you look at me, especially with that magical smile of yours. I cannot wait to keep bonding with you and watching you grow up! So glad you are my son, Asher. 

I was inspired by blogger, the stork and the beanstalk, to write to Asher so that we will remember the milestones. I love reading about Ashley and her boys! I love Ashley's honesty and transparency. 

sleep: I have already posted about this, but sleeping at night is not your forte. You love being close to mommy and daddy in our bed at night. We start you off in your crib, but eventually you end up in our bed. Mom eventually gets tired of going into the other room to get ya. You are most comfortable laying on your side with your back arched, just like mom and dad. You do not take long naps during the day anymore. You only take little random naps, unless you are out in the stroller or in the car. The car can keep you knocked out for awhile. You sometimes snore. It's so cute. When you wake up in the mornings, you are usually lying there talking to yourself or making noises with your lips. You are your happiest the first few hours after you wake up. 

eating: You nurse about every 3 to 4 hours during the day. When we are out and about, you can go much longer. Sometimes it surprises me how long you can go. Recently, you have started becoming really distracted while nursing. You have to look around at what's going in the room, just like dad. You also like to look up and smile at me....like you are making sure I am still there. hehe it's so sweet. You like to have you hand up, swatting in the air, like you are trying to touch my face while you are eating. A lot of the time you scratch me and claw at me. I try to keep your nails short, but it still hurts! In the evenings around eight, you get spoon fed. So far, you have loved everything we have given you. (apples, pears, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots) You gobble it up. You love sipping your water while you eat too. You make a mess by sticking you hands in your mouth right when we put the food in. 

growth and appearance: You are a strong, sturdy boy! Most people comment on how big you are for your age. Dont worry, I was a chunky baby too. We go to the dr soon to see how much you weigh, but I am guessing that you are about 21 lbs. It is hard carrying you around now! You are wearing size 3 in diapers and 6/9/12 month clothes, depending on the store. You have big strong legs with the cutest rolls. The roll over your wrist is my favorite though. Your grip is super strong. Your hair is long and your locks are getting more and more curly. They curl up the most right out of the bath tub. I am curious to see how your hair is going to turn out when you get older!! Your sweet little eczema cheeks have slowly been getting better. Sometimes, they just flare up and then you make it worse by scratching them. No sign of teeth either! Those gums of yours are the cutest though when you smile. 

development: You can sit up now! I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone sitting because sometimes you decide to throw yourself backwards. You hold your head up strong while you are on your tummy. You kick your legs like you are trying to get to what's in front of you. First steps towards crawling! You can ALMOST roll over! You are 95% of the way there! So I am expecting to see that pretty soon. 

Things that make you laugh: You laugh hysterically whenever we fake cough, oink like a pig, say boo, drop pillows on you, play peek a boo, jump up and down, fly you on your stomach towards a mirror, tickle you by poking you in your sides or your neck area, we throw you up in the air, clap your hand while singing the clap your hands song, when i throw you hands up in the air and say yayyy, and when you see baby einstein. 

favorites: You love being with your mommy. You are definitely a mommy's boy. You also love laying down and talking to daddy. You like to grab his face and his fingers. You like being held and walked around to look at things, stopping at random places to feel things. You like farmer tad that is on the fridge. You like riding in your car and stopping to pet the puppies. You love your pacis still. They save the day a lot. You love all of your little toys that you can hold easily and put in your mouth. You like sitting on the counter to touch the bananas. You LOVE being naked. You act like I just gave you a bunch of sugar when I take off your clothes. You love playing with your grandma. She makes you laugh so hard. I always end up with a tired Asher after she gets done with you. 

Silly things you do: You always are twirling your ankles and moving those feet. It's how you show where you want to go and that you are excited. You still do the pouty lip at strangers! Sometimes you even start screaming at them, ha. You get startled really easily. You really like to grab people's faces. Secretly, I know it's because you want to put their nose in your mouth. You even put your stuffed animals' noses in your mouth, especially your mickey mouse.  You like to feel the  back of chairs everywhere we go. You also like feeling the textures of things, You will put your hand on something and the open and close your fingers to feel it. You swing your head around and hit me a lot, especially when dad tries to give you kisses haha. 

Overall, you are such a happy boy. Your smile lights up a room and your laugh is so contagious. My favorite moments with you are in the morning when we have snuggle time in bed. We talk for awhile and then I stand you up on my belly. I say, "Good morning! Look how big you got!" and your smile is from ear to ear. It just melts my heart. I am excited for you to reach for me, say mama, and give me a hug. I am trying to take advantage of this time that you are still dependent on me and try and get as much snuggle time as I can. You will forever be my baby boy. 

Happy six months!

Crib time.

It has been almost 6 months since I have been able to get a good night's sleep. Well, technically, he was keeping me up before he even got here too! So, I would be SO delighted to find the solution to Asher's restless nights and to finally feel rested again. 

This wild boy calls for a lot of energy throughout the day.

Asher has been sleeping in a little rocker next to our bed. 

It was more for convenience because it is

easier to just reach over and pick 

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and that was Asher's reaching over banging on the keyboard to say something to everyone. 

Ha. anyways, it is easier to just reach over to get him instead of having to go get him in the other room.

So, I have tried reading books & articles about what the solution to his sleep problem is. I have tried the rice cereal in the bottle, the warm bath before bed, the "comfort toy" in bed with him, the story time, the pacifier, dinner right before bed......etc. 

Asher does well putting himself to sleep. If I lay him down and he is still wide awake, he will lay there until he goes to sleep. No problem.

His first chunk of sleeping is the longest. It usually is like 3 or 3 and a half hours. The problem is that he continues to wake up about every two hours after that. The only thing that calms him down is nursing him.

He is not even hungry, it just a comfort thing.

He definitely does not look like he is lacking nourishment, haha.

I have tried comforting him without nursing him, but it just leads to him screaming uncontrollably.

So.....the cycle continues. He cries......He wont stop until I nurse him. Anyway, I am trying different things every night to see what might work. 

We figured him sleeping in his own crib in his own room

would be a good step towards him being more independent during bed time.  He ate dinner, had a bath, had story time, and then his bottle with rice cereal.

It really did not make a difference, but I still think it is good for him. 

It has been more tiring for me having him in his crib because I have to get up and go to the other room 

to get him. Usually, I just pull him into bed to nurse him without really having to wake up. So....hopefully I start seeing a difference soon!

The next morning after our first crib attempt, I woke up to Kirk handing me this. It was exactly what I needed, haha. Thanks babe!

Inked up.

Kirk and I both love ink. If we had the money, we would be inked up yal.....

It has been a few years since I have had one. I think I have forgotten what it feels like now.

Kirk is a little more impulsive when it comes to tattoos. 

Urban gave us some cool stick on tattoos the other day, so we figured....Hey let's tat Asher up.

He smiled the whole time. I swear he felt cooler afterwards, ha. 

My personal favorite is the "i love cats" one....makes me giggle.

Kirk and I are trying to go to all these places to eat on this list of "bests" in charlotte. There are several different categories such as "best japanese.....best milkshake.....best breakfast." you get it.

We went out to Bad daddys in birkdale for the best burger.

I am not a big burger fan, so I got a tuna burger. However, i did scarf down a 

cheese burger from five guys the other day. Kirk is a burger/bacon man.

It was good! They had so many choices. We both did the "build your own."

The sweet potato fries were the best I have ever had. Ahh.

So....we are working on this list. So far, we have done best lunch, best chinese, best breakfast, and now best burger. I think that's it...?

Oh, and going out to eat with an almost 6 month old is getting more challenging. He is not content sitting in his seat anymore. He wants to get out and attack everything, including my hair. Toys on the table get thrown on the floor.......ab every two seconds. Pick it up, throw it on the floor, pick it up....throw it on the floor. I can remember how proud I was when he started picking things up....haha.

My day with my two guys.

We had a little family outing this weekend. First, we started off at Southpark mall. Did a little shoppin' and had some lunch. Then we didn't feel like going home quiet yet, so we stopped in University area near the pond. We walked around and fed the ducks! Unfortunately, Asher started feeling blah that evening. He has had a stuffy nose...the poor guy has been sneezing and coughing a bunch. He's just strugglin to breathe. I don't think it is because he is sick. I think it is from all the pollen! So, the past couple of nights have been rough. He has only been sleeping if I am holding him, so that calls for some barely sleeping nights for me....

Today, I did a little closet cleaning and organizing.....started switching my winter clothes out for my summer clothes. Whenever I do that, it makes me realize how much stuff I really have. I sold some of my clothes to uptown cheapskate in the university area. Made some extra cash which is always nice! I always have a hard time letting go of certain items.....items that I havent worn in years but I just can't seem to let go of. 

Cleaning out the corners of your closet and reorganizing feels so good! Actually, just guilty for making more room for new stuff......