Always On Holladays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHER!!!

My One-Year-Old

I can’t believe he is one already!  He is such a happy, cuddly, easy going boy…so fun to have around!  ”Asher” means happy and lucky, so I think we named him right…he is happy and we are SO lucky to have him in our family!  Asher was born on June 9, which was actually the calculated date, so he came right on time!  I remember that day well…

The night before he was born I was up having contractions the whole time…and I was pretty sure it was real cause I could feel it in my back (I have back labors).  My parents came in bright and early in the morning to get Russell and Bryn, but I was still talking and smiling…obviously not ready to go to the Hospital yet.  But they, and Justin, insisted I go in.  So I did, and I was right…they sent me on my way again.  I insisted that we go out to Stirling so I could be with the kids (I hate being away from them) while we waited, so that’s what we did.  Justin had not been feeling well that morning, so as we drove to Stirling I was bending over with contractions, which were getting worse, and Justin was trying to drive while feeling really queasy!  As soon as we pulled into my parents driveway, Justin ran in the house and threw up.  Of course, Justin couldn’t help it, but it was really bad timing for him to be sick!  I don’t think we were in Stirling too long before I felt like I should be getting back to the Hospital, so off we went…again!  By the time we got to the Hospital my contractions were such that they put me right into a delivery suite.  Justin left for another bathroom run just as I was getting my epidural…poor guy!  I remember pushing and Asher’s head just wouldn’t come down…they had me hang like a monkey over a bar attached to the bed thinking that gravity would help…that was a horrible experience!  I just remember being SO exhausted – no strength left in me at all.  I also remember the Dr. telling Justin (who was trying so hard to be supportive and encouraging to me) to sit down cause his face looked green.  I felt so bad for him!  Anyways, they decided me squatting at this bar wasn’t helping, and as soon as they let me stop that, there was progression and Asher was born!  Wooo hooo!  I wondered why it was hurting so bad to push him out, when I had this epidural and I wasn’t supposed to be able to feel the bottom half of my body…turns out they turned it off when I started pushing so I’d be able to tell when to push or so it wouldn’t stop the contractions!  Unbelievable!  I was so mad when I found that out!  But anyways, there he was – my new little boy!  Well, not so little…he weighed 9lbs 5 ounces!

Some of his milestones for his first year are walking, saying a few words like mommy, dadda, eat, and ball, and he can sign baby, car, airplane, eat, milk, please, and thank-you.  Nice work Asher!  For his party we did the usual…had the grandparents and my brother and his family that live close, and some good friends of ours come over for cake and ice cream.  I don’t intend to start throwing birthday parties with friends their age any time soon.  Here’s a few pics of the celebration:

Opening Presents

Here he is opening presents.  We got him a little book, some shorts and a kid pool for the backyard (more of a present for all three kids).  They love the pool, and even I enjoy jumping in after a long run.  It’s quite refreshing! Ash wont get in unless the water is on the warm side, so we end up hauling pots of hot water out there to add to the water coming out of the hose.  I’m sure you’ll see pics of this fun present in a future blog somewhere…or on facebook.

The Cake

Ash looks fairly unimpressed with his cake.  ”My brother got a cool train cake for his birthday, and I get this pathetic 1 run-way airplane mess???”  That’s what it looks like he’s thinkin’.  I wanted his name to be spelled in the same color. Yellow wasn’t my first choice, just because it’s a little hard to see, but it worked ok.  I had to open like a thousand boxes of smarties just to have that many of the same color.  Anyways, that’s what it ended up as…at least it tasted good!

"Eating" the cake.

Asher wasn’t too crazy about eating his cake.  I did get him to touch it once or twice though.  I toyed with the idea of smearing some cake on his face and all over his chair, just so I could get “the picture”…but I guess this is his “picture” so that’s fine.  I put a piece in his mouth, but he didn’t like it.  I should have just cut up some fruit and put there…he’d have liked that way better!

The Ice Cream Was Better!

Grandma Larson gave him some ice cream…he liked that a lot better.

(For some reason I can’t get my words and pictures lined up tonight…it’s driving me crazy!  Oh well..it’ll have to do for this one.)