Asher is 2 Months Old

Our baby boy is growing so fast! I took staged "watch me grow" pics with Zander for his first year. Now it's Asher's turn! Wish I had been more creative when Violet was a baby. I took a ton of pictures of her as a baby but didn't really do comparison photos. 

Asher had a great, 2 month check up. He weighed 14 pounds,1 ounce. That's a big gain! He was 7 pounds, 9 ounces at birth. As you can tell, he eats very often. During the day he nurses about every 2 hours. He's still sleeping in our bed with us. We have co-slept with all of our babies. I like to keep him close. Easier to wake up & feed him or change diapers this way. Zander is now sleeping on his toddler bed in our room since baby Asher took his spot. I think he's okay with it though. He likes his big boy bed :)

Asher at 2 Months Old

1. Loves to be held while he's awake. 
2. Has rolled from tummy to back a few times.
3. Smiles! Usually when we tickle his face.
4. Coos when he's happy & has a full belly.
5. Likes to stare at family pictures on the wall.
6. Gets lots of hugs & interrupted naps from his well meaning brother & sister. 
7. His eyes appear to be different colors. They went from being 1 brown & 1 blue. To now 1 brown & maybe green. 
8. He has a strawberry birth mark on the back of his neck.
9. Looks a lot like his big brother Zander.
10. Super Adorable in every way!

Introducing Baby Asher Matthew!

Asher Matthew

was born on April 15, 2013 at 10:29am

7 pounds, 9 ounces. 

20 1/4 inches.

Look at this beautiful boy! 

 Happy Mama of 3 right here! 

Wow, this past month went by quick! It's been challenging but so wonderful too. A few nights ago I was holding my sweet, new baby. He was content with a full belly. Then he gave me a big grin outta nowhere! I started crying because it was just so sweet and my heart felt like it could burst because I love this baby so much. 

Every morning Violet & Zander come jumping onto our bed to snuggle up with Asher. They are crazy about him. Zander can be kinda rough with him. But most of the time he softly pets his head saying "That's Niiiice" or my favorite "I KISH HIM MOMMY!" Then he puts lots of wet kisses on him. Violet is a great big sis. She's very careful & makes sure to support his head when she holds him. She also helps him with his pacifier while mommy is busy driving the car. 

Asher is doing great with breastfeeding. I think it gets easier with each baby. He wants to nurse every 1-3 hours right now. He must get plenty to eat because he goes through lots of diapers. Still sleeping a lot during the day. At his weight check 1 week after his birth he had already surpassed his birth weight by over a pound. So thankful he is healthy & doing well. 

Loving these little ones.

~Jill

Still the baby

   
In about 13 weeks I'll be a mommy of 3! I'll have a 5 year old, 2 year old and a newborn. I'm nervous, no doubt about it. But also super excited to meet our baby boy. Speaking of baby that title still belongs to this little guy right here-ZANDER!

He's the baby on both sides of our family. Gets away with just about anything. When we point at my belly and ask where the baby is he points at himself! Then he says "baby" or "Dander". He's actually gotten better at saying his name. He used to say "Donder". hahaha.

I know it must be really confusing for him to see his mommy grow a huge belly and say it's a baby! When he's in a curious mood I tell him his brother is growing and sleeping in there, that they will be friends and have so much fun together. Sometimes he will say Asher's name. Makes my heart melt.

When Asher arrives I know there will be lots of love to go around for all 3 of my babies. I wondered and prayed how will I be there for 2 children whenever I was pregnant with Zander. Now I know. A mother's heart just grows.

23 Weeks Pregnant Update

 There's our sweet baby....BOY!

How Far Along- 23 Weeks 1 Day

Total Weight Gained- 10 pounds as of 2 weeks ago

Maternity Clothes?- Yep, I've kept all my previous maternity clothes. 

I've had to go buy a few long sleeve tops for this one.

Stretch Marks- No new ones.

Sleep- Doing okay. I sleep on my side with a pregnancy pillow. 

I usually wake up 2-3 times to go to the bathroom.

Best Moment This Week- Christmas with my family! 

Violet & Zander were so adorable and happy.

Movement- I feel him moving around a lot during the day.

Gender- We found out Boy at 13 weeks. So, super early! 

We've had 2 ultrasounds since then and he's all boy.

Belly Button In or Out- Still in.

What I Miss- Sleeping on my belly and no back pains.

What I'm Looking Forward To- Seeing our baby in January for an U/S and of course, meeting him in person! 

About 17 weeks to go! I've been looking over names for months. The only first name we both agree on is Asher. Such a cute name and it means Blessed. His middle name will be Matthew after his Daddy. Crazy to think that the boys will outnumber us soon in this household. Growing up with 3 sisters this is all so different! We are so excited to add this baby boy to our family.

Dear Little One

 Dear Little One,

I had my 4 month check-up yesterday. You had a strong heartbeat of 160. I've been feeling you move for a couple weeks now. We got to see you at 13 weeks. Daddy & Violet went with me. (Zander stayed with Gigi) Even though you were so tiny. You already looked like a precious baby. Made me wonder how anyone could think there is no God. What a miracle you are. We all love you so much! The Tech asked if we wanted to know the gender. We said Yes! She thinks there is a big chance that you are a boy but we are not for sure yet. Violet has lots of names for you if you're a girl. Right now it's Lindsey Lucy. :)

See you in 2 weeks! (Anatomy Scan)

Love, Mommy

We are Expecting!

I'm currently pregnant with Baby #3! 

My due date is mid to late April 2013. I'm not sure yet. Looking forward to my Doctor visit next week. Violet will be 5 almost 6 this spring and Zander will be 2.5 years old. Violet is thrilled that we have a baby on the way! Matt and I have been planning to have 3 children. We are so thankful. 

I'm in week 8 and having lots of morning sickness. 

It's pretty bad. I don't want to cook or grocery shop. Today I picked up a sampler pack of prenatal vitamins. Praying that I can find a good brand that eases the nausea. 

Looking forward to the Second Trimester!

Zander is 20 Months

 My baby is now 20 months! 

He's a total toddler now. Always finding furniture to climb and things to throw! At his most recent check-up the nurse exclaimed "so much energy!" That's our Zander :) 

 He has a very silly personality and shows a lot of expression with his face.

 We LOVE his kissy face! This past week he has started saying "love you". So very sweet. 

 5 Things About Zander

1. He loves Elmo whom he calls "Melmo"
2. Favorite Food is bananas
3. Enjoys being in the pool
4. He loves to play with big sister "I-Let" 
5. 22 pounds & 33 inches tall

Zander is 14 Months

Check out my handsome baby boy!

He's been an official walker since before Christmas. He's super busy and loves to climb. Makes his mommy nervous every day. He can now hoist himself on top of the glass coffee table and stand proudly, yikes. I'm ready to get a soft leather one. You know the kind that opens and you can stash toys and stuff :)

He loves this Gloworm he got for Christmas. He hugs it and gives kisses.

One of his favorite things to do is find brooms or mops and then wave them around! Not good :) So, I got him the tiny, green set from the Dollar Store. But he still wants the the big ones.

We see you getting into the pots & pans! We had baby cabinet locks on the cabinet under the sink and he broke them off. He is one determined little boy.

His One Year Stats-
31 " tall
19lbs. and 15 oz.

He is still a tall baby in the 85th percentile. But he's very slim. The Doctor had so many questions. Wondering if he eats solids and how much. When I told her I was still breastfeeding she looked shocked! I don't think it's that uncommon. I know lots of moms that are still nursing. That is still the only way he will go to sleep. He eats 3 meals a day and snacks often. He tried milk in the sippy cup recently. He doesn't drink much of it. Still working on that. We had to get blood work done to check his white blood cell count after his hospital visit back in October. All came back normal. Thank God!

Zander is growing & learning. Thanks for stopping by!

My Baby is One!

My handsome baby boy is one today! We celebrated his birthday this past weekend at our house with friends and family. It was a tiger theme since he likes to make a tiger face! I'll do a separate post with party pics and details.

Zander is such a joyful baby. We are so blessed and happy to have him in our lives! He has started saying Ma Ma consistently which makes me feel good. His favorite word is still "ball". At his birthday party we had lots of balloons which he happily called ball over and over! Zander and his sister are starting to fight over toys. Didn't think that would happen this soon, ha! He now grunts back at her when she tells him No. A few weeks ago he took his first steps. He still tries to walk off and on. But he knows he can get around faster crawling.

I love this baby like crazy!

Here are some newborn pictures of my sweet Zander. So tiny.

I'll miss doing his "Watch Me Grow" monthly pics. I want to think of a new monthly photo project to do that would involve big sister.

Happy Birthday my baby boy! Mommy loves you so much.

Zander is 11 Months

Words can't describe how much we love our little Zander! He just turned 11 months. Feels like yesterday that I was walking my huge pregnant belly around a pumpkin patch last year! My little boy is getting so big and such a blessing to be around.

A couple weeks ago he got very sick. He was sluggish, not eating much and had a fever. I took him to his pedi where he was tested for urine infection and a blood infection. We were sent home to wait for results. His temp then spiked up to 105 and we had to drive him to the ER. This was around midnight. There they repeated the previous test, then xrays and a Spinal Tap. He was given an IV. We had to stay at Cook's Children overnight. I held Zander all night and prayed while he slept. I was so worried. We got to go home the next day after his test came back clear. He was diagnosed with a fever virus. I'm so thankful my baby is back to his healthy self!

I've been putting him in cloth diapers lately. Here he is in the Gpant. Super Cute!

Sneak Peek of his Dragon Costume.
Big sister Violet said he had to be a dragon cuz she's the princess!

Playing in one of mommy's old rompers and trying to mess with sister's dollhouse.

That smile melts my heart! and those big brown eyes do too!

Sweet little fingers!

I love how chubby & silly he looks here. We are in the middle of moving so he's always finding random things to play with!

That's my little "Toot Toot, Tinkers, Zanners, Brother Bear, Chunky, Zander!"

-Stats-
around 20 pounds
loves to pull hair
still crawling & cruisin' furniture
can say "ball"
waves bye-bye
eats alot!
loves to get to the stairs at the new house
likes to grab mommy's phone and hold it to his ear and yell. Guess that's what I sound like!

Zander is 9 months

Zander turned 9 months yesterday! I took him in for his check up recently and they asked where did his baby fat go?? He crawls and climbs everywhere. We can't slow him down. He always wants to be busy!

Zander is 18lbs,130z and 29.25 inches long.
He can be very loud! Violet likes to have screaming matches with him.
He is very smiley and loves to laugh!
I'm still nursing him and he still wakes up to eat at night.
Some of his favorite foods are cheerios, bread, shredded cheese and cantaloupe.

Violet loves to take naps with little brother!

This picture was taken during one of their screaming matches :)

Zander at a birthday party. He makes this funny face a lot. Matt started it by trying to get him to growl and this is what he does!

I'm still taking his monthly pictures. Were going on vacation soon and I want to do his 9 month pictures on the beach! Yay Zander, Happy 9 months!

Make Baby Food! Chicken, Rice & Peaches

Chicken, Rice & Peaches for Baby~recipe adapted from wholesomebabyfood.

You will need-

ice cube tray
1/4 cup white or brown rice
1/2 cup cooked boneless chicken-diced
1 ripe peach, take the skin off
1 T. apple prune juice
1 T. water

Save some of the chicken broth that you used to boil the chicken to thin out the puree if needed.

Throw it all in a bowl. Mix on HIGH with a hand held blender. (I love this blender and have used it many times!) Puree until you get a consistency suitable for your baby. Baby Zander only has 2 teeth so I made it a soup like texture.

Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid. Then divide 3-4 cubes into baggies. Store in freezer. I grab a baggie every morning to thaw out in the fridge. It's ready to warm up at dinner time. Usually takes about 20 seconds.

Easy peasy and saves money!

7 Months Old

Zander is 7 months old! Thought I would share some pictures from this past month.

Here he is modeling a swim diaper at Gigi & Bum Bum's house on Father's Day. This picture cracks me up on so many levels! His "speedo", dimpled thighs, rolls around his ankles..I could go on and on...(my mom was holding his hand but you can barely see her, baby was safe)

Smiling with Mama for a quick pic!

He's got 2 teeth now! You can sort of see here in this 2 week old picture.

Someone sharing their tea with him. He loves tea!

Collage of him feeding himself Gerber Puffs for the first time. Try clicking to make bigger!

He now weighs 19 lbs. He has started to crawl on all fours but is way faster at the army crawl. He climbs everything. We have to barricade him into the living room with pillows and bean bags. But he crawls over those too!

I've been making him homemade baby food. His favorite is pureed pasta with carrots and monterey jack cheese. We give him fruit (usually store bought) with cereal in the morning then he nurses every few hours until dinner. At dinner he gets 3 cubes of frozen baby food with cereal. Then he wants to nurse most of the night until he passes out. I think he's too busy exploring during the day and then realizes his tummy is hungry at bedtime. That or he's having a growth spurt.

Matt got him to say Da Da a few days ago. His voice is so precious! Can't wait for him to say those magical words.."Ma Ma" to me!

Zander cracks me up

He has so many funny faces!

His big, happy grin!

He's saying "Haha, Violet I got your toy!" She's already tattling on him, ;)

"You lookin' at my booty?"