Asher Update

Asher loves to hang out with his dad and lots of times that means sitting with him while he studies. This gives me a break so I can cook dinner, tidy up the house, or just do something on my own for a little bit. It may look like Austin is playing with his phone in this picture (which he often does :) but he is actually reading a book for class that is on his phone.
Avoiding studying with dad.

I was only trying to get a picture of how cute this monster towel is on Asher, but this is a good example of every time we get out of the bath. He has gotten used to taking baths and usually tolerates them pretty well, but as soon as its time to get out into the cold air and put a diaper on, he screams.
Me and Asher hanging out.
More studying with dad.
More not-studying with dad.


Asher has been doing lots of fun new things that we have enjoyed watching. He is learning to use his arms and legs and becoming more social every day. One of our favorite things is listening to Asher use his voice. During the day he will coo and make noises every now and then, but at night he really turns it on. Asher sleeps in between Austin and I in our bed (he is all swaddled up and doesn't use our sheet and blanket so there is no danger of suffocation). When we first get into bed and turn out the light he is very quiet but as soon as Austin and I start talking Asher will make noises like he is trying to be part of the conversation. He will turn his head toward whichever one of us is talking the most and be very persistent with his cooing and trying to get our attention. Its so cute.

Firsts

Yesterday was a day of firsts for our little family. Austin had his first day of classes for law school. He came home optimistic, but a little surprised at what was expected. He was very tired when he got home and wanted to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon because he felt exhausted by all the thinking he had to do. But to make his dad feel better, Asher rewarded Austin with a huge, open-mouthed, ear to ear grin when Austin was playing with him and acting silly. This was his first real smile and was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Of course it caught us both by surprise and we didn't get a picture of it, but this is a picture of Asher later on in the evening with just a little bit of a smile. Apparently he doesn't think that I'm as funny as Austin is. (My dad insisted on having a picture of Asher in a Utes outfit :)
Also, on Sunday I noticed that Asher started mimicking me when I stuck my tongue out at him. At first he made a weird, confused face and moved his mouth around like he wasn't sure how to control everything, then he stuck his tongue out. When I kept doing it, it took him less time to figure out how to do it too. It was so fun to watch him.

One Month

Friday was Asher's one-month-birthday. Its hard to believe that we have had him for a month already, but at the same time it feels like he has always been part of our family and it would be impossible now to go back to life without him. I thought it would be fun to take a picture of Asher every month to document his growth and changes and decided that using the neutral background of our love sack would be good. We have discovered that Asher absolutely loves the love sack! I guess he just likes how soft it is. We can set him on it and he is happy to quietly look around the room for quite awhile. Its fun to watch him enjoy it.

The Boys

Asher loves snuggling with his dad. . . almost as much as I love seeing them together

Auntie Abbey

Abbey is in love with Asher and thinks that he is her baby. He really likes her too, since she will do about anything to make him happy.
She has given him a manicure

Put his swing together for him, taken it apart, then put it back together again once we got to Washington


Sorted out all of his clothes, toys, and other things to try to get his new room in order. This included sorting his outfits by size, type, and even color and hanging the ones that fit him now in his closet. (This is quite a feat for Abbey, since she has a hard time even keeping her own clothes organized)


Plays him a song on her phone over and over again because he calms down when he hears it, and snuggles him constantly. I always know he is in good hands even when he isn't with Austin or I.

Bath Time

Asher had his first tub bath last week, but it was quite the traumatic event for him (he screamed the whole time) so we didn't take any pictures. He had another bath a few days ago, and it was a little better, but he needed his pacifier to cope with it. I gave him a bath again today and he seemed to enjoy it- at least he did until it was time to get out and get his diaper back on :)

Moving . . . Again

Here we are in our third state since we have been married. Idaho, Utah, and now Washington. At least we know that we will be here for at least 3 years while Austin finishes law school. It's a good thing, because I'm so sick of moving. This time was extra stressful since we have Asher- and all of his stuff :). Brent and Kenny helped Austin load most of our things and move them up to Washington. My mom and Abbey came up with me to help with Asher. He was actually really well behaved in the car and slept most of the time. I think he got bored of being in his car seat so much, but he made it. We are still in the process of getting unpacked, but most things are in their place and it shouldn't be too much longer before everything gets put away. We like our apartment so far- I especially like the built in desk in the kitchen area because I'm hoping Austin will use it study at home as much as possible. Even if we can't talk to him, it will be nice knowing he is home.