Learning...

mayer is learning how to use his hands to get things he wants.

watching his mind work to figure this out is just as amazing as it was when asher went through this...

another mayer milestone caught on camera... intentionally swatting at hanging things in front of his face.

after i stopped recording he kept swatting over and over and then giggling. he clearly was so proud of himself as i was too!

Riding in the Rain

nana and poppy took asher to the greenway for a bike ride.
i was a little worried since he is still trying to get the hang of it and loves to look at his feet instead of in front of him....but he did fabulous!

it ended up raining halfway into their mile bike ride so they ended up riding back in the rain, but he didnt seem to mind. he probably loved it! the quality is bad but the memory is great!

Caught on Camera

somehow we were able to catch mayer's first laugh on camera...iphone camera that is...

nana got mayer to giggle for the first time... enjoy the sweetest little giggle!

Hilton Head 2012!

i was dead set and determined to get to the beach this summer. i couldnt imagine a summer without the beach...especially for asher's sake. before mayer arrived we agreed that we would go for a long weekend over labor day whether we had to stay in a hotel or at our friends beach house.

thankfully our family friends weren't renting out there house the week before or after labor day so we made the trek down to the beach on friday afternoon. with the car packed to the brim we departed from charlotte much later than we anticipated.... 4:30 pm. that would put us arriving sometime after 9 with dinner and bathroom stops. thankfully there was no traffic and mayer slept the first hour. we stopped for a quick dinner and so i could nurse mayer and then hit the road again.

neither boy slept the remainder of the ride till we got to the house at 10 pm. 

thankfully they both went right to sleep when we got there and mayer slept close to 8 hours after being wide awake the majority of the ride.

the next morning we hit the beach around 10 and stayed out till 1. we packed lunch, rented chairs and an umbrella and mayer slept almost the entire time we were out there in his baby tent. we realized when we arrived at the beach we were missing a memory card for our camera hence the reason for no pictures. 

after naps we hit the skull creek boat house for dinner. this was the very same spot we visited with asher 3 years earlier when we came to hilton head. he was 3 months old. we dined on the early bird special ad ate oysters and fresh seafood. it was delicious

asher finishing off my soup

lemon face

after we ate we went out to the pier for our annual family photo...

asher is working on mastering his "smile" for the camera... it either consists of a mouth wide open or a squint right now

thankfully we went to dinner early enough that we could get the boys home for a decent bedtime after such a late night the night before.

asher and mayer had a little love fest...i love this sequence of photos

we also threw the crab traps out in the morning before the beach and when we came home we found three crabs (that we later accidentally killed before eating and had to trash). asher loved catching crabs and fishing off the dock.

we got some crabs!

the big bad crabs, caught!

 fishing off the dock... looks like a pro to me!

im gonna catch a big one daddy!

on sunday we went down to the beach again around 10 am and snapped some photos, ate some sand and soaked up the near perfect weather

asher and daddy spent move of their time at the beach making sandcastles and burying each other.

asher was a complete beach bum the entire time and couldve played out there for hours!

while mayer napped most of the time we were at the beach each morning in his pea pod

each day we would return from the beach, shower off the sand and nap. on sunday we invited our friends the rosens (Jen and Andrew) over for dinner. we found out on our way down to the beach they were also in hilton head staying in a hotel and figured we could all get together and enjoy each others company away from home! 

mayer was in la la land....

thanks jen and andrew for visiting us and taking our pictures! we enjoyed a great night with the two of them and we know the kids enjoyed having them there too!

monday morning was our final beach day and asher really hammed it up

mayer in 2012

asher in 2009

this was our beach set up each day....

and prior to leaving the beach we would hose down the sand...

asher enjoyed sticking the hose down his pants hahaha

sweet mayer 

our final night we decided to go to harbour town in sea pines where we were staying to check out the boats, shops and play on the playground before dinner

mayer in 2012

asher in 2009...

asher got to play on the playground for a little bit, but our tummies were growling!

we headed home to find two new crabs in the crab trap! 

this crab was gripping the tongs fearing for his life...

asher thought they were going to "scream" because someone said lobsters scream when you put them in the steamer...

for our final meal we feasted on the crabs and grilled chicken.

we ate all of our meals in except for one dinner and one lunch at the sea shack.

between my dietary restrictions and the kids this was the best option

we had the most fabulous trip. we came home well rested and sun kissed.

so thankful for our friends the adelsons for letting us stay at their beach house and for the break from home life. it was great to get away and soak up the sun and play in the sand. 

summer is now complete!

Oh so different

asher at 3 months in Hilton Head over Labor Day Weekend in 2009

mayer at 6 weeks in Hilton Head over Labor Day Weekend in 2012

i love their differences!!!!
i realized that asher's face rounded out around 8/9 weeks.
it will be interesting to see if mayer does the same or if he stays this way.

mayer update

mayer is 7 weeks old

he weighs 14 whopping pounds and is approx 25 inches tall

in comparing him to asher... he is MUCH LARGER!!!!

asher was 14 pounds at 10 weeks and was only 22 inches at 10 weeks.

mayer is heavier and taller. WATCH OUT ASHER!

lots going on health wise...

mayer arrived with many more gi/reflux issues than asher. hopefully not like mommy....

it got so bad in the first three weeks that we had to enlist a gi specialist

the only good thing was that mayer was gaining rapidly and he wasnt spitting up

but this was a double edged sword.

because he wasnt spitting up the acid was irritating his esophagus and his stomach

we think we finally got his reflux under control through medications and probiotics and a very strict diet for mommy that has eliminated dairy, leafy greens and acidic foods (pretty much everything mommy loves...but doesnt love as much as mayer) 

however we quickly picked up on something else around week three or four

mayer has the same neurological condition that asher had...benign paraoxysmal torticollis (BPT).

(mayer right after an episode where he switched sides and was extremely curled)

to say i am totally bummed about this would be an understatement

the upside is that we already know what it is, know how to treat it and have another child that went through it and came out ok.

based on the support groups that i participate in online every kid handles this differently

we hope that mayer will outgrow it as quickly as asher did

after looking back at photos of asher we realized that he showed signs as early as three/four weeks old as well but we had no clue because we were first time parents and didnt realize his head tilt was not normal

ive been recording mayer's tils (where his entire body banana's to one side) for the past three weeks. we have not caught him during an "episode" however the past two times he has switched sides it occurred while he was swinging in he swing (movement triggers episodes, so he will no longer be able to swing). bummer. before we know it we will catch him during one of his episodes and i hope to be able to video it. he exhibits light sensitivity and body stiffness during his episode peak and then has a deep sleep following it (7-9 hours). 

we have his first neuro appointment sept 26. most likely we will have to go through the full gamut of testing to confirm his diagnosis. we will also be submitted to the carl watkins center so that we can begin county services for PT like we did last time (which proved extremely effective)

a lot of people ask... will he need a cranial band. as of now, NO. why? due to mayer's horrible reflux he sleeps on his stomach. if he were to sleep on his back we would most likely need a cranial band. why? when BPT babies lay on their back and they are tilted they are semi stuck in the same head position/tilt. this is what causes their head to develop in an uneven flatted shape because they are unable to move. when sleeping on his belly he is not "stuck" in one position. we are praying we wont need a cranial band. 

mayer is a happy baby. he started smiling around 5 weeks and now he mimics, coo's, laughs, talks and has fabulous eye contact.  he can lift his head up, loves to be held and have his tushy patted and nurses like a champ!

keep mayer in your prayers. we hope that this too will pass over the next 12 months like it did for asher.

Pics on the go

i think even those with fancy shmancy camers have the tendancy to resort to the camera phone, namely the iphone for on the go photos...we have caught a few really priceless smiles or memories with our iphone and i wanted to cherish these memories on the blog

snuggling with daddy on the floor in the family room, this happens all the time but those sweet moments are rarely captured

i surprised my great aunt estelle for lunch at le peep one day and she was so elated to have mayer there

he was 2 weeks old

already waving to the camera...

aunt eliza and uncle rich came to town to visit

uncle rich took asher to kids create at home depot while eliza and i went to starbucks

she got some sweet snuggles in with mayer

uncle rich and asher at home depot kids create...

they made a cork board with his name on it. super cute

snuggly bugs

listening intently to daddy's bed time story

the first day school in the 3s class at CJP

asher and ella enjoying jasons 30th brunch

while ella and asher were enjoying their food... their siblings harper and mayer were chillin in their car seats... rough life!

mayer the gangsta

mommy and mayer playing on the floor

baby boy smoochies

a special belgium waffle treat with mommy that included a whip cream and fruit smiley face!

asher's obsession... cars. lined up side by side, front to back, often grouped by type of car or color. 

 mayer the "man"

i picked up asher from school the second week mayer was home and took him on a date, just the two of us to carolina cafe. he selected a blue iced cupcake and i had a peanut butter and chocolate bar. we brought home mommy's leftovers for daddy. he devoured his cupcake.

funny story. i always try to empower him and give him independence. we needed a to-go bag for our leftover items and he was up to the challenge. he walked up to the counter by himself and said the following with very little prompting (mind you i was not sitting anywhere near the counter or the person he was talking to). he said "excuse me..(pause)... may I please have a bag for my snack?" the people behind the counter were shocked when they realized such a little guy was asking for this. it was way too cute and he was so very proud of himself. as we walked out the of the cafe they said "see you again soon, sweet boy!" i love manners and my outgoing child. 

mayer my stomach sleeper. this was nap time. he is drapped in the baby blanket that softa made for him to match his nursery. its gorgeous!!!!

"i didnt know golf would be this boring dad"

some of our first smirks and smiles...

and the photo that got so much attention, mayer in his tallit onesie.

my friends mom bought this for mayer and its from a shop in NYC. so cute.

....lots more to come....