Our Little Shrimp

Ok, by no means is he shrimpy, but our little man is now in the Shrimp swim class at the YMCA. It's meant for 5-15 month olds but there were so few kids that the shrimp decided to combine with the eels so now it goes up to 3 years old.


Asher loves bathtime, loves other babies, and usually loves doing anything outside of the house. So swimming was a no-brainer, right? Wrong. He was the only kid in the class who cried when he got in the water. Yep, and he cried for at least half the class. But eventually he realized swimming is fun and starting splashing and kicking and making friends. Daddy swam too while Muma played paparazzi. Next week we'll trade spots.



Hopefully by the end of class he will be on par with the only girl in the class. She's taken it once before and she is so comfortable in the water she might as well be a fish. She looked younger than Ash and she was floating around (with a little help from Dad), kicking, spouting water....it was hilarious! What a cutie.

On the Move

So sorry it's been about a month since my last post! Little man has been keeping me busy. He moved into his big boy car seat and he's learned how to give slobbery kisses. The teeth are getting bigger and he uses them masterfully to chew cheerios and puffy peachies. He's started trying to crawl. Sometimes he army crawls and sometimes he frog shuffles (like in the video below). And Wednesday he clapped to a song all by himself!

Here's a better picture of the toofers, and a cute one of his messy hair. Enjoy the video of the scootin!

Cutie Patootie

Here's a few new pics for you to enjoy....

Chubby Bubba in his crib...














An evening of relaxation....














Bathtime.....























Use your imagination on this one... what do you see?

I see a baby with a mustache and buck teeth!

Ch Ch Ch Changes

It's been awhile since I've found time to update the blog, so a lot has happened since then. Asher can sit unsupported for quite a while now and he loves playing this way! He'll sit in his playpen for 1/2 an hour playing by himself and his new favorite toy is his cruise n crawl musical jungle, which he sits in front of for 30 mins plus! He's getting lots of hair now and he has two teeth! They are hard to spot....if you try to look he sticks his tongue out so fast you can't even catch a glimpse. But if you look closely at this picture, I think I finally captured them on camera!
Asher is also eating real food now! He eats rice cereal, oatmeal, and barley cereal. He also eats squash, bananas, peas, and sweet potatoes that his dear mother has lovingly prepared for him. No store bought baby food for this guy!! At least not for now - I'm having tons of fun making it for him! Someone made on comment on my facebook the other day that that I'm "messed in the head"...some of you may be thinking the same thing now. But I like cooking and baking and I truly love making Asher's food for him. =)

Now that Asher eats real food, he also makes real poops! This has drastically cut down on the blow outs which is always awesome. But now if he happens to have a blow out - WATCH OUT!! He's only had one and it was so horrible I just threw his clothes away. There was no hope of getting them clean. Luckily it was just a plain onesie he was wearing.

Asher's days are spent playing with toys, playing with muma, and chasing Lula in his walker. He loves Lu now and wants to watch her every move! This can be very distracting when he's trying to eat as she wants to be around to lick his hands, face, and high chair tray to get any smooshed food she can find. And he wants to be watching her and petting her so I am constantly yelling "Lula down!" and saying Asher sit up and pulling him up from his reaching position over the side of the high chair.

Life is grand and every day of staying home with Asher is worth the sacrifices that have brought us here. I'm a little nervous for the second one....how could I love another this much?

And no Mom, I'm not pregnant.

Tradition

As I rocked Asher to sleep for his afternoon nap, I got to thinking about Christmas traditions. Our family has some great ones including cutting down our own tree and eating deep fried foods on Christmas Eve. I decided today that we needed to start our own tradition, just the three of us. It had to be Christmasy and fun, and any time I can get dressed up I always do. So we decided to plan our First Annual Lein Family Christmas Program. Click on the link below and enjoy our show!


http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/64rSjJR8ZJXszkt8eFXw

Sara, Sam, and Little T were our inspiration:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/rt2Ev7UYt7T5KyfSWpbb

Exciting Week

Asher has had an exciting and fun week!

He learned that the best toys are free (that's a piece of junk mail that he played with for 20 minutes straight!)

He got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Lein, Grandma Bonnie and all her nursing home friends, and he got to spend some time with Auntie Kimmers.

We found that time spent in a hand-me-down walker is the cure for the crabby patties (no offense Grandmas named Patti or Patty...this is a spongebob reference, not a rip on you!) Asher loves to sit in the walker and he even scoots around a little bit. He bends one leg up (his right) and pushes with his left leg! (You'll want to have your sound on for this video!)

Growin Up

Babies coo, cry, babble and screech. Toddlers, on the other hand, yell. Asher had a productive sleep last night and woke up just a little bit older. Here's how I know...

Saturday mornings are a special time for our family because Daddy is home. Usually he leaves for work before 7 am and before anyone else is awake. But on Saturday, he's home. Once Asher lets us know it's time to get up, Daddy goes and gets him and brings him back to our bed. We have a nice family cuddle time before starting the day. Well today, Momma heard baby first. I went in to get him up and he gave me his usual huge, heart-melting smile. I picked him up and brought him into our room where Daddy was still laying down but awake. Asher was looking right at him and Daddy popped up really fast. Usually when Asher's startled he'll giggle or cry but today he yelled! He opened his mouth real wide and gave a good, startled shout that nearly knocked Daddy right out of bed! He seemed so old at that moment!! This gave us a good laugh as we kept replaying the incident. After the big yell, Asher turned quickly to me and I hugged him and then all was good. He looked back to Daddy and gave him his signature smile.

Since Asher was visibly older this morning we decided today would be the day to try rice cereal! Ok, so maybe we decided it was time because we haven't slept well for the past week and a half because Ash suddenly forgot how to sleep through the night. Either way, today was the day. He was a bit indifferent to it, a bit sloppy, and he didn't really get the concept that he was supposed to swallow it. But there was no spitting, crying, or throwing up so we considered this first attempt to be a great success. I'm sure he'll catch on in no time!

Happy Little Man

Our sweet baby boy will be five months old tomorrow. Man how time flies! Seems like just yesterday we were putting him in newborn clothing and he wasn't filling them out. Now he wears up to size 9 months sometimes!! Asher is a happy little man. He loves to laugh and playing peek-a-boo really brings out the giggles. He likes to look at Lula and occasionally he'll touch her snout or run his hand along her side as she trots by. He's working so hard at rolling over, but that darned arm keeps getting in the way. We'll give him a little push and over he goes. You should see his proud smile when we praise him - like he did it himself!

Here's a little shout-out to our family up north.... Hello Tibb's Family!! Can't wait to see you at Christmas!

Marquette Michigan, 75 miles from nowhere

This past weekend, the family and our good friend Jenny, hopped into the Passat and headed up north for Auntie and Uncle Sam's house. On the way we stopped at Grandma and Grandpa Marble's for a night. Asher made friends with the grandson of one of Grandma's good friends. At one point they were even holding hands! Unfortunately Asher got a little excited and started flailing around and ended up scratching little Timmy's face. I felt so bad!!

Friday afternoon we got to the Galvin's. There was fun to be had every minute of the weekend. It started with trick or treaters and halloween costumes.
Saturday we went hiking up Sugar Loaf. It was chilly but beautiful. Asher got some new fall outerwear for the occasion.

Auntie and Topanga entertained Asher while Uncle Sam played us some tunes.


























It was a fantastic weekend and we were sad to go. Asher was awesome in the car, thanks in large part to Jenny. She had the smart idea of buying buddy lights (the little round lights that you push to turn on - these had smiley faces on them) so Asher could see in the dark. It made a world of difference! Thanks Jenny!

Wonderful Weekend of Weddings and other Wacky Poses

Last weekend was a busy one for the Lein's we had two weddings, one of which was in St Louis, MO. Here's Asher in his new saggy-baggy jeans, getting ready for Josh & Megan's wedding on Friday.














Saturday we hopped in the car with our good ol' friend Lowis and headed south. Asher was such a good boy in the car! Here's us all dressed up for John and Patty's wedding.
Here's Asher with mom's good friend from high school, the groom, John.

Some other exciting things that happened this week: Asher got a bumbo chair so he can sit up without our help! He's getting so strong already and this will help him learn to sit on his own.










He also got a new hat! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

.....

Well, not too much to write about today but I thought I'd share some more photos for those who are ever anxious for them. Asher has started pushing off with his right leg, trying to roll over to the left. He can get on his side but then he stops. He also has a new favorite pose, something of a mob boss - I'm gonna get ya stance. He holds his hands in front of his chest and makes a fist with one and wraps the other around the fist. It's cute! He's discovered his high voice and plays with that once in a while...too funny! He's smiling all the time and is more fun to be around every day.

Asher's Trip to Door County

Asher had a great time in Door County with Mom, Grandma, and Auntie! He did some sightseeing by the lake, lounged in the adirondack chairs, relaxed on the comfy pull out bed at the Yacht Club, and even met a new friend. Leah is 9 mos and weighs one pound more than Asher. He could steamroller her in a heartbeat! (that is, if he knew how to roll over!) Isn't she adorable!? She belongs to my great friend and college roommate Laura, who we got to stop and see in Green Bay on our way to DC.

Tag from Sara K

4 things I was doing 10 years ago...
Driving a Sundance
Studying Psychology
Living with Laura and Andrea
Riding my bike around Lake Antoine almost everyday

4 things on my to do list for today...
Laundry
Take a shower
Take a walk and watch a movie with my hubby
Play with Asher

4 things I love about my husband...
He's handsome
He always does the dishes
He adores kids, especially Asher
He drives the jetta and lets me have the passat

4 jobs I have had...
Core Cutter at a paper mill
Waitress
Delivered meds to people's homes
Therapist for Autistic children


4 places I have lived...
International Falls, MN
Quinnesec, MI
Green Bay, WI
Madison, WI

4 places I want to visit...
The Greek Isles
India
Africa
Portugal


4 (or 5-6) things you may not know about me...
I've driven a tractor and a forklift, not just once but daily for summers on end
I can play the piano
I played the saxophone in my HS alumni marching band in the 4th of July parade 3 years ago - and had a BLAST!
I love cars and speed
I have my own business with The Body Shop At Home
I attended the Milwaukee School of Flower Design last fall

Now it's Sara G's turn.

Gigantor Baby & the Search for a Halloween Costume

My baby is huge. Have you noticed?

Kyle and I have been looking at halloween costumes on ebay for Asher. We have bid on several and have yet to win an auction. It was getting pretty disheartening so I gave up.

So yesterday, mom and Asher went to town to get this costume situation taken care of once and for all. First we hit Walgreens.....nothing. Then we went to Target......they had some adorable costumes for reasonable prices! So I picked out the cutest one (a shaggy dog with a bone) and attempted to wrestle it on Asher while he laid in the basket of the cart. He was not enjoying this and I was struggling. But I didn't want to admit that it didn't fit (did I mention it was size 0-9 months?) so we headed over to the baby section (which is carpeted) and I laid him on the floor to try again. This time he didn't mind, but it was obvious that he was too big for the costume. Yes, my 3 month old is too big for a costume made for 0-9 month olds!!!

Discouraged, disappointed, and worried that my son will continue to gain 4 lbs a month until he's 2 years old and 100 lbs, we left Target and headed for Baby's R Us. At last, we found what we were looking for! An adorable costume, size 6-9, that is a bit roomy so he has room to grow in the next month before he wears it. Yes!

I guess it was a blessing that we didn't win any ebay auctions because the costumes probably would've been too small for our gigantor child.

Angel Baby

Imagine this....

A beautiful blue sky filled with white puffy clouds. My sweet Asher, wearing only a diaper, floats by on the most comfortable cloud of them all.......And he is screaming his head off!!

This was the scene as we took Asher to have his first professional pictures taken. Wouldn't you know it, our seldom fussy baby boy cried and complained almost the entire time. But the photographer knew what he was doing and got some great shots anyway.

Our budget only allowed for us to pick one pose and we choose a handsome one. But now that I think back, I would give anything to have a copy of the crying angel. It was perfect in it's irony. But alas, the studio deletes all pictures as soon as you leave and me crying over it for two days didn't reverse time and didn't get me the picture I wanted. So I will have to take a mental snapshot and cherish it forever.

To look on the bright side, I am blessed enough to get to see him crying everyday. Maybe next time I'll hold him up to the window and try to recreate the scene in my mind.

It's a Numbers Game

My baby boy is growing up!

As many of you know, diapers come in different sizes: newborn, 1, 2, etc. Well for my little one, the one's were holding #1 but not #2. So I had to break down and buy some number two's. Hopefully now the two's will hold both #1 and #2 so we will stop having 3, 4, and 5 blowouts per day!