Asher is Five Months!

It can't be! How can it have happened? My newborn is already five months old! He loves to grab and chew on toys, fingers, sleeves, blankets, and anything else he can reach. He loves to stand up and hold up his own weight. He is rolling from tummy to back reliably, and even with clothes on! He blows bubbles and coos and laughs. He gets mad when you have to take a toy away from him. He pees on the potty!

That's right, he pees on the potty. Its called Elimination Communication (EC) and its really not as strange as it sounds! Basically, whenever you have the inclination, you just set your baby on a potty of some sort, or hold him over a sink or toilet (we mostly use a soft silicone kitchen bowl). Occasionally the baby will actually go pee or poo, and you can associate a sound with it (we use "psssss"). Pretty soon your baby kinda gets the idea to go when you sit them on the potty, and therefore, you end up with fewer soiled diapers. Think of it as just another way to take care of a baby's pee and poop needs, like a diaper alternative.

Its certainly not an all or nothing kind of thing - we sit Asher on the potty a couple of times a day, sometimes more, sometimes not at all. It just depends on whether I think about it. But he seems to really like it and lately I have been surprised to find he will stay dry for 3 or 4 hours in a diaper, as if he is holding it for the next chance to go on the potty. I am frankly amazed, considering how little we really do it. I am serious, we did it a little bit pretty early on, then really not at all for many weeks, then here and there maybe once every few days, and lately I've been trying to do it a bit more, but still often miss a day or two here or there. The most would be maybe 5 or 6 times in a day if we are at home and not doing much else and I am thinking about it. Then I just offer a "potty-tunity" at diaper changes. Its truly not stressful at all, and is actually pretty fun!

The point is not really to potty train them early, although that is a common result. My friend's daughter was recently out of diapers during the day at the age of 14 months, and another friend's son I believe was 17 months - these are people I know in real life! Anyway, the actual goals are a) to maybe use fewer diapers, which is good for the wallet and the environment, but more importantly, b) to increase the connection and communication between you and your baby, and c) to help your baby learn about and be aware of his body functions, which does set him up for easier potty training later on.

Let me go back to b) for a moment. At first, catching pees and poos is sort of just luck. But babies are way smarter than we give them credit for and they usually associate the action of using the potty and the cueing sound with their bodily functions pretty quickly. Contrary to popular belief, they actually can and do develop control over their functions. So then you are communicating with them and they are responding to you, and you having a real back and forth interaction. And pretty soon, you get in tune with your baby's expressions and you might even just start thinking, "I bet you need to go pee" and you find out you were right. You are in tune with the baby on a whole 'nother level! Its a little like knowing your baby's different cries for hungry, tired, bored, etc. You just know them better and you can just tell. I think this might be the most fun part - its rewarding for the baby because you are responding appropriately to his attempts to communicate with you, and its rewarding for you to know that you know your baby and his needs so very well. Its just a fun, no-stress, casual thing to do, and I hope you try it with your baby sometime!

Anyway, enjoy a few sweet pics of Asher at 5 months old! (I keep trying to get videos but they are not turning out...)


And one of him on the potty way back when he was only about 6 weeks old!

From 2010 07 31potty

The last warm day... or, the first cold day

Well once I posted on the blog that it was 70 degrees, nature decided to change it up. We had our first snow over the weekend! Gregory was finally big enough to go out and really play in it this year. He made his first snowman, with Daddy's help, and then had fun throwing snowballs at trees. We are talking about getting a sled, or as he suggests, a toboggan. There is a HUGE sledding hill a few blocks away at the park, but it would be much too big for him. I suppose we could just go partway up, but I have a feeling he would be very tempted to want to try it from the top. I think its too steep even for grown-ups!



Also enjoy Asher's verbal stylings...

Well its not winter here...yet!

So the last three days we have had about 70 degree weather, beautiful, sunny, a little breeze, and tonight we even had a little thunderstorm. Yes, it is November 10th. Yes, this is Minnesota. Chalk it up to global warming, but hey, I'll take it! We have been outside enjoying the blissful weather because we *know* it can't last forever!

Anyway, for Halloween, Gregory dressed up as a Superhero. I made his costume, which was a success except for the mask, which was uncomfortable for him if we tied it tight enough to make it stay on his head. Oh well! We went trick-or-treating with some friends and had a fabulous time! Last year, it was very cold and Greg didn't really get what was going on. He tried to run inside at the first house. This year, he was totally on the ball and kept up with the other kids, and even said "Trick-or-Treat!" and "thank you!" We didn't let him eat much candy, but he didn't even ask for it the next day and didn't seem to feel deprived at all. I am sure we won't be able to keep it from him in the future but its nice to have been able to get away with that this year! Asher rode around in my orange wrap, and I pinned on some eyes and a mouth that made it look like a jack-o-lantern, and I wrapped some green fabric around his hat to look like a stem. It was pretty cute considering the minimal effort!


Otherwise, we are just having fun around here and doing our thing. We have a pretty great routine with playgroups and preschool. Gregory is figuring out how to make Asher laugh, and I am sure it is the highlight of his day when Asher wakes up and he gets to "be sweet to him," which is exactly what it sounds like. Asher has been having plenty of naked time lately, in an effort to help him develop his body awareness and maybe start rolling over one of these days. He sometimes makes it from front to back, but I think its mostly still accidental, and he really has no clue how to go from back to front, though he did actually do it in his sleep this morning, oddly enough. I am sure its only a matter of time, and while I want to make sure he is developing as best he can, I have to admit, I want him to stay tiny and immobile because he's just so stinkin' adorable!

A few photos

Thought I'd put up a few photos before the Halloween extravaganza...

We had a little fun last weekend carving a pumpkin... And a friend of ours had a great birthday party at a bowling alley. We had the whole place to ourselves and the kids had a great time not only bowling but also running around in a little pack. Approximately ten 3 and 4 yr olds - quite hilarious!



Stay tuned for the Halloween adventures...

Asher's 16 Weeks

Well, actually, he's 17 weeks as of today, but I started writing this post last week! Anyway, I'm not willing to say he's 4 months yet - its not 4 months until the 19th, right? Time is just flying and our little guy is growing up so fast! He is working hard on grasping toys and getting them into his mouth. He loves biting and sucking on his hands, his blanket, and anything else he can get a hold of. He sometimes even pulls his pacifier out and starts sucking his thumb instead! He also has quite the sense of humor and smiles and giggles whenever we talk to him. He's even starting to like playing a little peek-a-boo.



Otherwise, we have just been trying to enjoy this blissfully mild fall. Grandma Bonnie and Auntie Kim were here for a visit last week, as always lovely to see them. Auntie Kim took lots more pictures but she hasn't sent them to me yet!

Enjoying Fall

I love Fall in Minnesota! Its so pleasant, and it lasts more than a week, in contrast to NE. Its been pretty rainy (south of here has had flooding) and we had a few days where it was a bit chilly with the breeze, but we've also had really gorgeous days, perfect for getting out for a little family walk after dinner. Many of the trees are starting to turn colors, but there are a lot that are still green. So I expect we will enjoy Fall for several more weeks to come.

We are adoring Asher more and more every day, if that is even possible. He's so sweet and happy! Chatty too... Incidentally, it seems he is not going to have Gregory's bright blue eyes. We thought he would, but they never lightened up. For now, they are a mysterious gray blue, with perhaps a bit of hazel coming in, but who knows. Maybe they'll be dark green? How would that be? - no one in the family with the same color eyes!

Fall Approaches

Well Summer wound down rather abruptly here, at least weather wise. One day it was still really hot, next day we are looking at a week of highs in the 60s! Well, we weren't quite ready for that and had to dig out long pants and long sleeves in a hurry. I am totally not prepared to give up my flip flops yet, so I guess my toes will just have to suffer a little longer. But actually the change is otherwise welcome. Gregory started going to preschool 3 mornings a week, so that is giving us a whole new routine. I also started a midwifery study program through the National Midwifery Institute. So of course, I'm trying to study while Gregory is not home. Asher is amazingly cooperative - he's such a nice baby! He is content to sleep most of the morning, with intermittent bouts of playing on the floor or nursing. I can really get a lot done with only him around!

August 30th was, of course, my birthday. My 30th birthday this year, so some would call that my Golden Birthday... We didn't do much but we did have cake. At least we tried to have cake - it was kind of a fail! But it tasted great.


Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Omaha. It was Asher's first big car trip. He did ok on the way down, but cried most of the way back, poor thing. He has since been quite testy in the car pretty much all the time, which is a major bummer. But still, if that's the only time he's ever upset, that's not too bad. Anyway, we had a lovely time visiting our friends in Omaha. Dan participated in a fantasy football draft. We barbecued with two different sets of folks, the old college pals, and my mommy friends. Both were wonderful. The kids had a great time playing together, especially now that they're all older and can actually talk to each other and play games like hide and seek. Very cute! Unfortunately, I did not seem to remember to get the camera out while we were there...here's one from the hotel room:

From 2010 09 03

The Grandparents have been out in full force in September. First Grandpa Mike and Grandma Coralie were down for a Vikings game. Then Grandma Bonnie and her friend, Laurie, came to visit and took Gregory to the Renaissance Festival. They had a great time. Grandpa Mike and Grandma Coralie are going to be here again this coming weekend for, you guessed it, another football game! Boy, we are already counting down the days til Christmas in California so we can get some good quality time with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Nick again!


And of course, I've been trying to get some more fun pics of Asher, he is growing so fast! He is about 13 lbs now, at 12 weeks, so seems to be slowing it down just a little. He seems really tall to me, though. I looked back and saw that Gregory did not hit 13 lbs until 4 mths, so I'll be curious to see if their size differences continue. I think I am figuring out that another reason that Gregory was/is so tiny, he never slept! Asher just sleeps so much, but I think its actually normal, and Gregory was the off kid that fought it so hard. I remember spending literally hours every day trying to get him down for naps, and then he'd only sleep 20 mins. Different kids! The first few of the following pictures are from Labor Day weekend, but the majority are from this morning - so you are up to the minute!