First Tooth and No Dad

Asher's first tooth has come in. I first noticed it last weekend. It's on his bottom left side and can be super sharp! He is drooling like a mad man. And has been a bit ornery to deal with. He is still happy most the time, but is being clingy. He follows me around all day and climbs up my legs and wants to be held. But once I pick him up he is all smiles again and wants to play. So I put him down and he'll play for a few minutes, then we start the process all over again. He also hasn't been sleeping that well the last few nights, meaning I haven't been sleeping that well the last few nights. Normally, I have Ryan to help me out but not this week. Ryan is training with his new firm this week and they put him up in a hotel. Kind of funny since it's only 15 min. away (though I guess it'd be a longer commute because he'd take the metro). But since he also has to get his work for the week done, it's probably for the best that he stays there and works when he's not in training. So I am alone to deal with Asher the first time he decides to be a bit trying- go figure!

All Things Asher

Having Asher sure makes for plenty of opportunities to try new crafts. I always have a project going. Making toys for Asher is one of my favorite.

Here is a tag ball that I made. Our coffee table is perfect for his hanging toys, they circle all the way around it and he can lay under it for tons of fun:)

A while ago I made him come blocks to play with.

This was a fun project to incorporate lots of different colors and to embroider out the alphabet and numbers.

He may not be able to read yet, but he still has fun. (Asher is so much bigger now, these pictures are from 2 months ago. Now we have to buy Asher 18 month old clothes!)

Speaking of clothes, Asher sleeps in sleep-sacks because he is a crazy sleeper. He moves around so much, blankets just get thrown off or tangled all over, so we use these:

Of course I had to add some fabric at the bottom so they are long enough, a little ghetto but it works.

I also made some burp cloths.

Asher has never been really bad with spit-up, but they were a fun thing to make for him.

Of course we still use them because he slobbers and spits plenty.

Cute Asher

He is too big for his chair, but it's a cute picture.

I also made crib bumpers. Like I said earlier he is a crazy sleeper and is always bumping his head up against the sides of his crib, so now he has some padding to bump his head against:)

I made it all Winnie-the-Pooh so that it matches his quilt and crib skirt.

Most recently, I made a quite book. This was my practice one, and I am now working on a gospel stories one. But here's the first results:

Cover Page

Snap on the monkey tails

The animals velcro on and off, and play hide-and-seek.

More animals and buttons on string the slide up and down for Asher to play with.

Animal to take off and velcro on, and fish to swim back and forth on a string.

Asher loves the simple. The buttons don't do anything, but he loves to grab on to them.

I love the penguin, so cute. And more things for him to grab, Tassels!

The last page. An egg with a little chick inside.

Home Improvements and Baby-proofing

Since Ryan started his new job, I have started some new projects. The first was to spruce up our apartment so I can survive in it for another year.

I painted the dining area and a strip in the living room. I think it looks pretty good.

And since we got pictures of Asher, we were able to add some cute decorations:)

The next home improvement I did was to baby proof our tv stand. Asher was getting into it all the time. He'd turn our movies on and off and made Dad proud by getting the xbox remote and turning the xbox on.

Here's the starting project. I got it for free from someone when we lived in Chicago.

I then got some cabinet doors for $5 on Craigslist. They were a little too tall so we used my brother-in-laws table saw to cut them to size.

We also got a Dremel tool and made a groove in the bottom so that the middle door could be attached. I was quite proud of us making the doors work since the stand and the door weren't made for each other!

Here's the finished product!

Here it is open. Here's the knobs that we got to go on it.

Now Asher can't get in to trouble:)

Philadelphia

We went to Philadelphia to see the sights before Ryan started his new job. We had a great time as a family. I'm glad that Ryan was able to take a vacation between jobs and spend more time with Asher and me. We spent two days in Philly.

First, we went to the visitor center and to Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Here's Asher in front of Independence Hall.

Inside the Hall.

Here's Ryan holding Asher in the Hall, and then Ryan in front of a statue of a guy named Barry. We have no clue who Barry was, but it's still a cool statue.

Next, we visited the Liberty Bell. I love all the history in this area.

Our family in front of the bell.

Asher and the Liberty Bell.

We then had lunch at Franklin Square. After we toured the United States Mint. It wasn't that great because none of the machines were running and they are planning on redoing the exhibits, so what we saw was some pretty old and unimpressive stuff. Maybe we'll go back after the remodel.

Asher and me at the US Mint.

Asher would get tired of being in his stroller all day so we'd get him out and carry him for a while. Ryan likes to carry him on his shoulders. It works out well for Asher too- he has perfect handholds:)

Asher holding on to Dad's ears! So funny!

Here is the courthouse. We didn't tour it, but did drive around it.

That night we walked into Philly and got some Philly Cheese Steaks. They were pretty good, and fun to eat the local food.

The next day we went to the art museum.

And the Rocky Statue!


Ryan posing as Rocky. Asher posing as Rocky.
Who's tougher?


And the steps Rocky Balboa runs up. I guess Ryan's tougher because Ryan made it all the way to the top, Asher just lounged in the shade at the bottom:)

Lastly, we went to Longwood Gardens. I loved it! Probably my favorite stop of the trip. It was beautiful and relaxing. Here are some pictures:


They had an observatory, waterfalls, a tower, fountains, landscape of all different styles from Europe, and tree houses.

My favorite photos are of Asher (of course) when he was crawling around in the grass next to the Shrub Dog. Asher sometimes acts just like a dog- crawling and rolling around on the ground, chewing on our shoes, reaching into the toilet bowl...