Road Trip

This past weekend we took Ashton on his first road trip to Delaware.  It was a great trip - too short as usual but wonderful to see everyone.  Ashton managed pretty well in the car - we stopped a couple times to let him eat and stretch his legs and eventually arrived in Wilmington around 1:30am on Thursday night/Friday am. 

We kicked off the weekend on Friday night with a visit to Erin and Josh's new pad in Philly.  Grammy and Grandad graciously offered to watch Ashton so we could have a night out on the town.  We got to check out their new place, which is fab, and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner together.  On Saturday, we celebrated St. Patty's Day with a home cooked corned beef and cabbage dinner complete with soda bread and Irish potatoes for dessert.  My best friend from high school, Goldie, and her adorable daughter Katie joined us, which was super fun.  We capped off the weekend on Sunday with a trip to enjoy the amazing weather at Bellevue State Park and then had a big family dinner to introduce the little man.  Sadly, with all of the excitement, I spaced on taking photos during dinner on Sunday. :(

All in all, it was a great trip and so wonderful to see everyone!   

Jeff and I at Erin and Josh's new pad

Erin and Josh

Erin and I and a giant goose!

Goldie and Katie, Ashton and me

Ashton's First St. Patty's Day!

Bellevue State Park

Grammy, Grandad, Ashton and Me - Bellevue

On our way back home

Love,

K & J

The Aliens are Coming, the Aliens are Coming!!

How do we know?  Clearly someone has taken our child in the middle of the night and replaced him with a baby that sleeps.  Ashton slept for 7-8 hours IN A ROW the past two nights.  I'm almost afraid to even put this in print - I certainly don't want to jinx us!  I've been replaying the days events over and over in my mind to try to determine what the secret may have been...was it our walk? our various outings? the cluster feeding at night? Hmmmm....could have been all of these items combined.  It could be a fluke too of course but even if he reverts back to his prior days, we at least know it's possible for him to sleep that long and most importantly, we have HOPE.  Hope that he's turning the corner and for this sleep deprived mama, that is good enough for me!  

On another sleeping note, he recently put himself down for a nap.  That's right.  I laid him down in his crib for a few minutes while I went to make the bed and when I returned a few moments later, he was asleep!  Oh how I love this child!

Baby Houdini manages to break one arm out of his swaddle. :)

Sweet baby boy

Rockin' my Brooklyn Brewing onesie - thanks Auntie Karen & Uncle Christian!

Love,

K & J

 

Our Little Butter Bean

Ashton had his two month check-up this week.  He had to get several shots which he took like a champ - even the nurse commented how brave he was.  He packed on the pounds this past month and now weighs 10lbs 11oz, jumping into the 50th percentile for weight (from the 25th percentile last month).  He's now nearly two feet tall (if he could stand of course!), which puts him in the 50th percentile for height also (down from 75th percentile last month).  In other words, he's perfectly proportioned! Our little string bean has grown into a darling little butter bean!

It's only appropriate then that 'Bean' is one of his many nicknames.  We call him any variety of nicknames ranging from 'Bean', 'Beanie Baby', 'Babycake', 'Cake', 'Bugaboo', 'Babypotamous', 'Bird', 'Lil' Squirt', 'Little Man', 'Cheeks Taylor', 'Worm', and 'Mr. Wiggles' to name a few.  I started shortening Ashton to 'A' at times, but realized I sound Canadian when doing so, 'How are you doing, A'?  Makes me giggle everytime...

He's really become much more interactive over the past month also.  He makes lots of funny faces including sticking out his tongue, giving the stink eye, furrowing his brow and offering up gummy grins to melt your heart.  He's especially smiley in the morning, which makes waking up so much more tolerable.  He loves his activity mat and looking at his reflection in the mirror.  He's holding his head up pretty well also but you still have to watch out for some erratic 'Bobble Head Baby' episodes.  He also loves music and will often sing (or coo) along.  One of my favorite developments is that he will now put his arms around your neck - it's the sweetest thing, like a little baby hug. 

Sleep-wise, things are also starting to improve.  He has given us 4 nights (yes, we are counting!)where he has slept 5 hours in a row - woo hoo!  Hopefully, he'll start stringing those 5 hour nights together into a pattern soon.  He's sleeping in his own room now too.  Such a big boy...(sniff, sniff).

We've also started going to Baby Yoga, which has been great for both of us.  We get to do some yoga and learn some fun new songs to sing and at the end, Ashton gets a baby massage.  It's a tough life, right? 

Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to my return to work next month.  I've loved being home with my little man and have so enjoyed our time together and getting to know him.  We love you Ashton Trex!

Popster (my dad) wants to know if you're going to be a lefty.

We took advantage of a few nice days in Cleveland this month!

Looking like such a big boy!

 Chilling by the fire with Daddy.

Tummy time with Wally the Whale

Cutest lifeguard (even with my grandpa pants)!

Love,
K & J

If You're Happy and You Know It...

This past weekend, my mom and sister came to Cleveland to visit.  Sadly, my poor mom was sick, which was such a bummer.  She made the best of it though and we had a great time.  It was so nice to see to see them both!
We spent most of the time relaxing at home and playing with Ashton.  We did make a trip to Iron Chef Michael Symon's burger/brats/beer restaurant though, which was DEElicious.  Ashton's becoming quite the foodie! 

My mom captured a great video of us singing 'If You're Happy and You Know It', which Ashton loved.  He lights up to anything musical, even my horrible voice.  Unfortunately, I'm having trouble uploading it.  Any of you that know me well, will not be surprised to hear that I'm not singing the correct lyrics (as Erin points out in the video hehe).  Apparently, the second verse is 'If You're Happy and You Know It, Stomp Your Feet', not 'Clap Your Feet' (which admittedly makes more sense).  Oh well, Ashton didn't seem to mind.  :)

Really, Dad?

Sleepyhead

All smiles!

Snuggled up with Aunt Erin





You're funny, Dad!

I wanna ROCK!

Love,

K & J

Shake, Rattle and Roll

We celebrated Valentine's Day today with our first restaurant outing.  Ashton was a trooper and slept the entire time.  It was so nice to enjoy a meal and conversation together, all with the little man within arm's reach!

A couple of weeks ago while I was cooking dinner, Jeff was entertaining Ashton and recorded the video below of him holding (and shaking!) his rattle.  I wanted to share before he got any bigger!  I've also included some of our favorite photos taken over the past couple weeks.

Tomorrow, Ashton and I are trying out Mom and Baby Yoga...wish us luck!  The toughest part will be getting up and out of the house by 11am!  :)

Little bean

Fishy lips

The thinker

Apres bath, getting ready for bed

Gearing up for the big game!

My guys

First Valentine's Day - I love Mickey!

Love,

K & J

All Good Things Must Come to an End

After 5 great weeks together as a happy threesome, Jeff returned to work last week.  His last day at home was a rare 60 degree and sunny day in Cleveland so we enjoyed the afternoon at the lake.  We can walk to the lake from our house - it's about a mile - so we put Ashton in his carrier and off we went!  Ashton loves his Baby Bjorn and pretty much slept the whole time.  Funny how this familiar walk felt so much further when sleep deprived and carrying a little one.  I needed a nap afterwards! 

All in all, it was a great day.  And now, it's just the two of us...we miss Jeff and all of his help but Ashton and I are managing well and getting into our own routine.



Love,

K & J

Our Little String Bean

Ashton had his one-month check up this week, which went great!  He's growing like a weed and was very brave when he got his second Hepatitis B shot.  He's now 8 lbs 12oz, which is exactly 2 pounds more than his birth weight and nearly 3 pounds more than his hospital exit weight.  He's grown more than 2 inches and is now 22.5 inches long.  Our little string bean is in the 25th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height/length.  He's now officially outgrown his newborn clothes -not sure whether that's a happy or sad event.  We left the appointment feeling very proud of our little man and a little bit in awe of how much he's grown already. 


Below are a few photos and a video taken on his one month birthday for your viewing pleasure (I will do less chatting in future videos!).

Bday bath

Yeah - it's my bday!

Love,

K & J