Life with Two

Where do I even start.... the last three weeks have been awesome. and hard. and wonderful. and overwhelming. 

Asher is such a content baby.  He loves sitting in his bouncy chair, is sleeping great and tolerating his big sister's kisses and attempts to "share" her toys with him. 

We had a big scare at his two week checkup.  He hadn't gained any weight (had actually lost 1 oz) since we brought him home from the hospital.  His pediatrician was very concerned and sent us to Cook Children's ER for testing.  We spent most of the day there - probably one of the worst days of my life. The doctors drew his blood and tried to take a urine sample for testing.  Thankfully everything came back normal.  I am now pumping and bottle feeding him to make sure he is getting enough to eat. 

Avery is such a great big sister!  I adore her sweet little personality, she is growing up so fast.  I cannot believe my sweet baby girl will be two in a few weeks.  I love spending the days with her, she is constantly making me laugh and makes my heart melt with her kindness and happy spirit.  If I could only get her to stop saying "no" a thousand times a day :) 

Asher had his first real bath on  the 18th!  Don't let this picture fool you, he hated it and screamed the whole time.  Have I mentioned this little guy has an amazing set of lungs?  He can really wail.

 

Happy and clean.  The bath really wore him out.  He is still sleeping great at night, we usually put him to bed after his last bottle at 10:30 and he sleeps until about 3:00.  He's usually good at going back to sleep after his early morning bottle and will sleep again until 6:30 or so.  I am so incredibly grateful for this and I hope he keeps it up!

 Here is Avery after her first bath.  I forgot how much hair she had!! :) I think they resemble each other but also look very different. 

Family and Easter

We've really enjoyed having family here during the past two weeks. Matt's mom, sister-in-law and her kids came up to meet Asher the weekend after he was born. 

Emily did a great job holding him!

My parents were here for Easter. It was great to spend a holiday with them, I don't think we've had Easter with them since Matt and I were in college!

Decorating Easter eggs with little miss. 

Mmm... candy!! 

 

Silly girl

It was hard to get Asher out of my dad's arms.  After seven sisters, two daughters and one granddaughter he is very excited to have a grandson!

Avery's new favorite pastime is taking her baby for walks.  Luckily Grandma and Grandpa were willing to go as often as she wanted.

Our Family of Four

We are getting used to being a family of four around here.  So far it hasn't been that big of an adjustment thanks to my mom being here all week!  Also, Asher is a pretty easy baby right now.  He actually slept through the night the past two nights but I think I will set an alarm tonight because it just doesn't seem normal for a newborn to go almost 7 hours without eating.  Avery is adjusting well and LOVES to kiss him all the time.  He is really sweet and gentle but has started showing a little jealousy.  I'm not sure if she is jealous or is just being a wild almost two year old.  :)
 
 Here are a few pictures from our first week as a family of four.

At the hospital, waiting for discharge papers

Sweet little boy 

Getting ready to go home! 

Avery's first time holding him

She is so sweet, it melts my heart

Spending a little time sunbathing to try and help his jaundice

First trip out! Dinner with my parents. 

First sponge bath

The boys :) 

Our family of four! So, so blessed. 

Asher James

Asher James was born last Wednesday, April 4th at 9:14 pm. When I woke up Wednesday morning having a baby was the last thing on my mind. Avery was sick, I had steady contractions Monday night but they subsided and nothing since then. I should have known that my children like to make a grand entrance and catch me off guard.  I went in for my weekly OB checkup at 2:00 (with Avery in-tow) and thought we would be in and out in time to stop by Sonic for a cherry limeade during happy hour!

Instead, Mr. Asher had other plans.  My doctor checked me and completely surprised me by saying I was dilated to a 4!  She put me on the fetal monitor to watch his heart rate and count contractions for the next hour and a half.  For 90 minutes Avery and I sat in a small checkup room while I was strapped into the monitor unable to move.  It was a very long 90 minutes and when Matt finally arrived it looked like a tornado had come through.  Not long after the doctor came back in to check me again and I was already at a 6! She told us to go immediately to the hospital.  No going home, no dropping Avery off... straight to the hospital.  Thankfully Avery's favorite babysitter was able to pick her up and we were admitted to L&D by 4:30.  I had my epidural by 6:00 and was feeling great!

Matt and I laughed that we were almost bored sitting there waiting for me to be fully dilated.  I can't remember the last time we just sat around with nothing to do for a couple hours. I stayed at a 9 for awhile and the nurse decided I should go ahead and start pushing anyway. I pushed for about 15 minutes and our little guy was born just after 9:00 weighing 8lbs 5oz, and 20.5 inches long.  Everyone seemed a little shocked (myself included) that he was so big at only 37 weeks.  Thankfully I didn't go the full 40, I probably would have had a c-section!

First picture :)

After getting weighed and cleaned up a bit.

Such a precious miracle.  This little guy stole my heart within seconds.

Proud daddy!

Hi, I'm Asher!

We are so thankful to have two healthy, wonderful children.  I cannot believe how much God has blessed our little family.  We were able to go home Friday morning and other than jaundice issues, Asher is doing great! He is a good eater and sleeps well.  Avery is so excited to have a little brother, she calls him Ashers and asks about him constantly.  It is so fun to watch how excited she gets when she holds him or gets to help put his blanket on.  I love my little family so much there are times I think my heart may burst.

Springtime

WARNING: Picture overload!!

Now that the weather is so nice Avery wants to be outside all the time.  In the afternoons she runs up to the front windows and watches for Daddy.  

She loves it when he gets home because he's always up for playing outside.

She still loves her little car... especially when daddy is pushing her

 We went to our first DBU baseball game of the season, she had fun playing with friends and getting into everything!

 
Saturday morning we went to the Grimes' house for an Easter egg hunt! This is the second year they've hosted and it is so much fun!

Avery, Kennedy and Tatum having fun playing together.

Some of the kiddos enjoying a picnic lunch before the hunt :)

All the kids with their baskets

Failed attempt at a mother daughter picture.  She was too worried about her eggs to sit with me.

Sweet friends
Hanging at home... such a daddy's girl