Grandpa Boatright intruduced Asher to this little number. Apparently
it's funny when mom does it too!
Asher did an amazing thing last week... yep... gave up his binky! It was really odd actually. One morning after his bath he was being very cranky. I went and found his binky and tried to hand it to him. He simply kept saying "done, done" and refused to even hold it. He took it with him to naptime but wouldn't put it in his mouth. Well, actually, that day he never really napped... he just played in his room for half hour-45 minute increments, came out of his room, got in trouble, then back to goofing off again. That night, he still wouldn't take his binky. Even while crying at night he just kept saying "done" whenever I tried to give it to him. We figured we'd take the opportunity to hide all the binkies!
A friend suggested he might have had an ear infection and that it hurt to suck. I don't know what exactly happened, but he's on the upside of his cough now and goes to sleep without the binky! He asked for it once today so I just told him "You said you were done so all the binkies went bye-bye." and he seemed content with that answer :) So yay!!! I'm so glad it wasn't a super drawn out battle or source of contention. Cole doesn't seem to be near as attached to his so I'm hoping we can raise 2 kids without power struggles over binkies at least!
On another note, I had my last Dr's appt for a while to just check a couple things out with my recovery. I've had a really sharp pain on the right side of my incision on the inside. It feels like a strained muscle does and it gets worse when I do a lot of lifting or working out. My Dr felt the incision and said it was the material they use to close up everything. I guess it's a really strong suture on the right that is in more of a knot that the rest and it takes about 3 months for it to dissolve. Where the knot is can dissolve more slowly and that's probably what's causing the pain. He said I should be painless within a month or so and to just take it easy until it doesn't hurt anymore. I wasn't really worried, just annoyed that I can't work harder to get into shape again. But that's what this summer will be for... hopefully lots of jogging to the park with the kids and swimming in grandma's pool!!
Lastly, Cole is starting to chuckle a bit! Kristi was watching the kids while I was at the Dr's today, and she said her and her daughter really got Cole laughing! I was sad to miss it but am really excited to hear it soon. He's so cheerful (as long as he's not tired or hungry) and so content most of the time. We get lots of smiles and he's becoming slightly more predictable... my kids are polar opposites! But so far, Asher and Cole seem to really love each other... as much as babies can. Cole just watches Asher run around and Asher loves to help me get Cole up after naps. Asher will go running to Cole whenever he cries and will even put his binky in when he's tired. It's so cute to see Asher take toys to Cole and just say his name, even if it is way too close to his face :) I'm glad to have these boys and really look forward to the fun times ahead.
Our first Thanksgiving with little mister Cole... it was pretty good! We're always the last ones to leave mom and dad's no matter what occasion, and true to form, we stayed from about noon until 7pm :) Hopefully they don't mind our constant intrusion!
It was a good Thanksgiving. So much has been going on in both of our lives that it was nice to have a day to just sit back and do nothing in particular - besides changing diapers and feeding kids at least. I'm feeling so tired today that I'm sure I'm not portraying what a blessed time it was. Overall, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving have been nothing but going from one even to the next, taking care of one task and running to the store for something... I feel like since we moved in I haven't had an hour to just sit!! I'm either exhausted and trying to recoup my energy or taking care of mailing something or cleaning more bottles. I would like to say that things might slow down but that's never true this time of year. At least we both love Christmas so hopefully the busyness will be fun!
I've got a few church events coming up, which means planning and arranging details this Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and then of course the Wreath making on Saturday. Mark is playing at the Calvary Chapel Coffee Shop tomorrow, then leading worship next week which means his evenings are full and he'll be gone Thursday evening. Then, cookie exchange, Armstrong Family get-together and other yet-to-be-planned activities... I sure hope I have some down time in January! But, I will probably be doing a photo shoot with a few models and makeup artists then so I'll be busy planning that. I'd love to be able to buy the studio equipment to do it here but so far, I'm about $1000 short... yeah, I've got a bit more to save. But, I also have some photo shoot ideas with some interested people and I might be able to make it happen by mid-January so I'll be attempting to arrange getting that taken care of which also involves clearing out the garage and finally unpacking everything... I'm tired just writing all this! But I'm grateful to be busy (most days) and hope that this whole mother-of-two things gets a bit less hectic... Cole isn't quite the scheduled eater and sleeper that Asher was... but he smiles a TON so it mostly makes up for it!
Well, enough about busyness, here are a couple cute photos... I love the one of all the boys... Mark watching Asher watching Cole watching his hand! I don't know why they always look kinda grainy when I upload them... ugh, another day's work! Stay tuned for more updates... hopefully within a couple weeks at least :-)
I cannot believe how big Asher is getting. He's learning new words every day - although many of them sound like "bee" or "bah," many other words are getting more accurate :) Like car, Cole, baby, eat, food... how come I can never think of all of them while I am writing!! Anyway, he's becoming such his own person. From the way he likes to eat his food without being watched, to the way he likes to take off his socks and pick between his toes (one by one, one after the other - it's pretty hilarious)!
He can turn doorknobs and lately, when I start fixing a bottle for Cole, Asher will run to Cole's room and go right in... he loves to help with everything! He also loves to help push everything... the stroller, the shopping cart, the broom and mop, anything that can go! And he loves going. Whenever I put on a sweatshirt or socks he asks if we're going. He runs through the house and the yard and it's the funniest thing ever - mainly b/c he swings his left arm really hard but his right arm just kinda hangs out, up in the air barely swinging - he might not have inherited my athleticism. He's really good at telling you what he wants and he's pretty patient if you let him know it's on the way... like his toast this afternoon. He didn't even want fruit snacks, he wanted a 2nd piece of toast... he kept crying "toe, toe?" But once I told him I was making it, he just sat there waiting for it without a peep.
Not to say he doesn't have his moments, b/c oh boy, he has plenty!! But he's been getting a lot of teeth too so we try to cut him some slack without compromising on what rules are a must. This morning while he was screaming I noticed that he actually has one of his 2 year molars! Whoa! I knew he was getting his last 2 bottom teeth and that his top kanines had just broken but I was not even looking for molars... poor kid. He loves the new place though and already seems to know what happens where. I'm always amazed at the things he learns without me teaching him - I feel like Mark and I are always laughing about the things he figures out! He also recently started calling me "mom" sometimes instead of mama. If he can't see where I'm at he just shouts "MOM, MOM" until he finds me. He also just LOVES little Cole... it's so cute to see him look at his brother and just smile. We love these boys, even though they are a handful!
Well, here's a photo of him in the new backyard... he's growing up so fast!
It's been a while since I took my camera out. Life with 2 kids is busy enough, much less life with 2 small kids (including a 2 month old) and moving into another home and only having 1 car! Luckily, we had TONS of help and it has not been as bad as we thought. We absolutely love the new place... it feels just like home... and what's even better, Asher seems to love it too and has had no trouble adjusting to sleeping here! What a blessing.
Well, I decided to take some photos of Cole during Asher's nap... enjoy! Hopefully I'll get some pics of the new place once we've had a chance to pack away some of the boxes :-)
Yes, it's been forever since I posted, once again!
Things have been going relatively well :) Cole is falling into more of a routine during the day and he's sleeping incredibly well at night. We had a couple nights (not in a row) where he went 11 hrs between feedings! It was much needed. The past 2 nights he's done 10 hours which I am incredibly grateful for, so we'll continue hoping that he's on a good schedule for the evening at least and hopefully I won't often need to get up before 5am for a while :) I know, all you other moms must be jealous... but really, it's just b/c God knows that I am a crazy person when I don't sleep and ultimately He's having compassion on my husband and children!!
My main reason for posting today is our big move! Tomorrow I'll be spending most of the afternoon and evening packing the kitchen and bedrooms, then Friday morning we get the keys! Mark's aunt Kathy is going to watch the boys while Mark and I get the rest of the packing done and get a few things lined up with our washer and dryer and a Uhaul. Saturday some people from church are going to help us load up and get over there... although we may do some of that on Friday to make Saturday a bit easier - we'll see. But if you want to help, feel free to show up at our "old" house at 10am on Saturday! We hope to have everything boxed up pretty well so it should just be loading and unloading.
Also, if you need our new address just write me an email or on facebook and I'll make sure you get it. We're really excited that we've found a place we can settle into for a while that will be well suited for our family! Feel free to invite yourself over anytime... I know I can often use the company :) I'll post again once we're all moved in!
I've been tremendously blessed the past few weeks listening to a Pastor by the name of Francis Chan. He wrote a book called "
Crazy Love" that I highly recommend and pastors
Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. A whole slew of his sermons are available on their church website, or via podcast (
audio |
video). At the moment, I can't sleep and felt compelled to share with you the ministry of a man that God is using in our lives to begin transforming the way we live. My hope and prayer is not to make
Chan fans out of any of you but that his heart and words would move you to action, to deeper fellowship with the living God and that His Spirit would turn you (and us) from believers in Christ, to true and active followers. My hope is that when He returns, none of us would be found idly on the sidelines, but that we would be found fervently living out His Word and eagerly seeking and anticipating Him.
Yeah well, can you blame me for not writing? I've been exhausted!! Cole is still sleeping pretty well and he's not incredibly fussy but he sure hasn't gotten this eating thing down still. Really, how hard is sucking on a bottle??? It's pretty much the easiest thing he'll ever do but he still makes a mess, falls asleep and just generally isn't the best eater ever :-) Asher was so easy with a bottle - he chugged every bottle from the first time he was given one! Cole, on the other hand, goes incredibly slow and will act hungry in an hour or so but not really suck on the bottle... I'm feeling like I can never tell what he actually needs... food, a nap, a diaper change... I'm looking forward to him being a little older and a bit more predictable.
Anyway, what I wanted to write about was my friend Pat Ketcham from church. She was diagnosed with breast cancer sometime around January of this past year and has had surgeries and chemo so far. Last week and for the coming 4 1/2 weeks she's undergoing radiation 5 days a week. Please pray that it will be effective, that she still has energy and that it doesn't destroy her body. Also, she'll be driving to Portland each day (over an hour) for 15 minutes of radiation so pray that the driving times are good, no traffic and that it doesn't wear her out too much. Pat and I have become better friends through her getting cancer, which both of us think is really unfortunate, but it's also made both of us realize that we need to do a better job of connecting with other Christians and not be so "surfacey." I hope that many of you will be praying for her and her husband Ron as well. He does not know the Lord nor does he want to hear anything about the bible or God... I know this is tough on Pat and we all should be praying for his salvation.
Hopefully I'll update you all on life sometime again in the next couple weeks... that is, if I'm getting any sleep! You can pray for that too!!
Today we had our WIC appointment. Since qualifying for OHP we realized that once again, we'll qualify for WIC! Which is such a blessing b/c formula is expensive!!! And they also give other foods like fruits and vegetables, cereal, milk and cheese... I'm not always a fan of government assistance but I'm thankful that in our time of need we're able to get some help.
At our WIC appointment Asher made a great discovery... his belly button!!! I know, seems a bit late huh? Later, we were at the store using our WIC vouchers and Asher kept pulling up his shirt and trying to look at it :-) The guy bagging our groceries thought it was pretty stinking funny. Then in the car, he was peeking between the harnesses, lifting his shirt and trying to see it again. So hilarious! It's crazy to see his little mind working and watching him react and think about things. I'm sure I'm going to be amazed more and more as he grows up.
I'm quite tired tonight though - I stayed up a bit too late last night working on some stuff, then Cole didn't sleep quite as large chunks of time as he has been, and I think I've just been doing too much as well. Tomorrow I hope to get a little more rest - although, they're showing our house in the middle of Asher's nap so I'm not sure what exactly we'll be doing then... ugh! Thus the move! I really wish we could move next week but financially it just works better Oct 1st and it's a lot to prepare for so... I'll have to wait. Please pray for patience for Mark and I. It's frustrating to be expected to leave your house whenever someone else wants, especially after recovering from major surgery and birth plus taking care of 2 small kiddos. Also, pray for our patience with Asher. He has officially entered the stage where he tests our limits and throws fits when things don't go his way. He also tries desperately to get out of discipline by hugging and clinging when he's in trouble... we know the course of action (mostly) but it's tough to follow through 10 times or more in one afternoon. Pray that God would give us wisdom and that our methods would be effective!!
Alright, I have just a couple things to accomplish (no worries, all while resting on the bed with my laptop) before I can completely crash for the night. Have a great rest of the week!
Today has been good. Asher is a bit off - both in his schedule and attitude - from all the going ons... hopefully it won't take him too long to settle in after we move! Oh yeah, we're most likely moving into some apartments here in McMinnville. It's funny b/c they are the very first apartments we looked at when we first were going to move but something just felt wrong about it. Then, last week, when we really decided we just needed to move, even if it's to a small place in the interim, we checked out the apartments again. The rooms didn't look quite as small and Mark and I both felt really excited about it. So, as long as we're "approved" we'll be moving in October 1st. It's small, but we'll be saving a ton and it'll actually be easier for me to be taking care of 2 kids without running up and down stairs, chasing Asher all over the house while handling Cole too.
Anyway, so Asher has been kinda cranky to say the least. Yesterday he slept in the car super early in the morning for 45 minutes and then proceeded to not take a nap at 3pm. But then at 4:30pm he was falling apart so we tried the whole nap thing again... and then we had to wake him up at 7:30pm to feed him before bed!! Craziness! We tried not to worry about how he'd sleep at night and thankfully, he slept great! Only woke up once and went right back to bed! Asher has actually be sleeping great since we brought Cole home. We've been giving him hot chocolate right before bed to try and fill him up and that has seemed to help a ton.
There's not much else to report really...
I took some photos of Cole last night and this morning... we really want to get my photography business going so I thought I would try a few things and get some newborn photo practice in :) Hope you enjoy!
What a great week it has been. I know, how can I say that after having major surgery and a new bundle of responsibility? But it is true. I'm really enjoying having two boys and I'm sure it'll get more interesting as time goes by and as they grow up.
So, we apologize again to all you visitors who came on Monday :-) I was a bit out of it and throwing up in front of everyone - either that or nursing unashamedly (yikes) and completely zombie like during most of the rest of the time. We had Asher at night so by the time we had visitors I had finished puking and being crazy... so having Cole (yes, we're officially calling him Cole) in the morning was a different scenario that I hadn't thought about.
The hospital stay was pretty good overall. Asher did really well hanging out with the grandparents and was only a small hassle while visiting in the hospital. Mark was pretty worn out by the time I came home but he's hanging in there and I feel blessed to have a husband who can take over the kid-duties so easily. So far, Cole is a great baby. He's already sleeping a 5 hour chunk at night and eating on a pretty regular schedule.
We didn't last long nursing this time either. Even though Cole was a better nurser than Asher, it was still much harder than expected. And trying to recover from surgery while nursing was taking it's toll on me. I think my personality made it hard too... I'm way too A-type for my own good. It was far more painful than expected and Cole was starting to look super jaundice. At his 1 week appt we had to see a different Dr (since his was on vacation) and she had prepped the sub-Dr to have to try supplements and techniques to get him to gain weight since he had already lost 11% of his birthweight the day before we left the hospital... so that made me feel even better for switching to formula knowing that he is on the upswing and staying healthy. Plus, with me trying to work on the photography more, it takes some stress off of trying to deal with pumping and scheduling for photo shoots - overall this will work out best for our family.
And speaking of Dr.s... we got things fixed so we could stay on OHP "open card" so I can see local Dr.s for the kids and myself!!! Such a relief... I did not want to have to make so many arrangements to drive 2 kids to Tualatin for appointments while sharing a car! Thank you Lord! Well, I don't think there is too much else to report. We're certainly enjoying the kids and Asher is growing up before our very eyes! He's looking so much more like a kid and becoming so independent... he won't even let us feed him with a spoon anymore... he just has to do it himself! We had a great time at G&G Armstrong's today - Asher sure loves it there and Cole seemed to enjoy sleeping on the chair most of the time :-)
I'm hoping to take some newborn photos this week while Cole is still small and "new looking" so maybe within a few weeks I'll get the chance to post some of those too! I should be ready mid-October to start scheduling photo shoots again... just in time for beautiful Fall leaves! We love you all and are so grateful for your support! Call anytime and drop in to see our new little guy, we'd love to visit!
The Anesthesiologist just came by, Joellen signed the permission slip / waiver thing and they took her away. I'm starting to get a little nervous now. I'm far too alert this morning to be watching them cut open my wife... Oh well, it's as good a time as any I guess. The nurse should be coming in any minute to bring me my scrubs. Wow, it's like I type it and it happens! I guess that means it's time for me to suit up! More news as it unfolds...
The surgery is supposed to take place between 7:30 and 8:00, so it's right around the corner. We're waiting on the anesthesiologist to come by and do his thing and then the fun will begin. Meanwhile, we've been trying to guess the baby's weight. I guessed 7lbs 8oz and Joellen guessed 9lbs 4oz. If you're one of my Facebook friends, you can "weigh in" with your guess... If you're not my friend, shame on you... but you can still weigh in here. Just add your comment to this post for a chance to win...
Well, the part of the visit where you answer 153 questions about your medical history, background and health is over. I think we passed...
All I hear this morning is the sound of crickets in the back yard. Not a bad way to start the day :) What's more, Asher's been quiet most of the night (which hasn't happened in a couple weeks). I heard him stir and fuss a couple times but that's it. He has no idea that after today his young life will never be the same!
We are scheduled to be at the hospital in a half hour for Joellen's C-section. It's kinda weird having the whole thing scheduled like this. Maybe that's why they have you come in so darn early, so you'll be in a daze like the people who go through labor to have their babies. Who knows?
Anyway, we'll keep you all posted right here on the blog... Joellen's trying to get me moving since we need to be on the road in the 10 minutes so I guess I should go... Stay tuned.
