Beach Week 2013

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Life is great...

so great that i fell off the blogging band wagon for the past 6 months.
i took the extra energy that i put into the blog each night and put it into being a good mom, wife and coworker. i also attempted to get some sleep juggling this busy life, but im pretty sure i failed at that.

did i miss blogging? yes.
it helps me keep up with my life.
this life i live moves much to fast for my liking.

so i am back.
to what extent is unknown.
but i plan to post here and there.
when i feel like it
to capture these memories i cherish so very much in our lives.



we still have a lot going on. who doesn't?

the mr.
the mr. graduates with his MBA in 3 short months. we would be lying if we didnt admit that we were counting down the days. he loves his work at the hospital system and is taking on new leadership roles and projects daily. they love him.

the mrs.
work is good but unbelievably busy. doing the work of four people is exhausting and we are short staffed. missing the boys daily while keeping it real. currently playing the role of room parent for both classes even though mr. mayer isnt at school yet. crafting up a storm. loving the new craft room and the cricut. even got a laminator!

mr. asher
four years old going on fourteen. he is unbelievably articulate. his vocabulary never ceases to amaze us and he is very interested in participating in all of our conversations, appropriate or not. he has tons of energy but very minimal focus. boy much? his teacher is ms. miriam this year and a much smaller class. he is happy go lucky yet forming his own identity

mr. mayer
14 months old and crawling and climbing like a wild man. he is mischievous and devious ... yet completely delicious. his big plump lips and his 6 teeth are always smiling. rarely does her get upset or fuss without real reason. he wants to walk so badly but he is SO BIG. his height is way off the charts and his weight is still within the 80th percentile. mayer has stolen our hearts and pulls on our heart strings daily.

the family
unfortunately papu has not been doing so well over the past 6-12 months and his health continues to decline. i am not sure how much i have actually blogged about his parkinsons disease in the past but there are no more secrets in this house. papu's disease is taking a major toll on him. he has been living in an assisted living facility for the past 12 months and it is now time to move him to the memory care unit so that he can get the 24 hour care he needs. he continues to fall multiple times a week and his cognitive abilities are fighting to hold on. this has been quite a heart break for us over the past few years and this past year has been tremendously hard. we ask that anyone who reads our blog pray that we can all find peace with papu's disease and that we are given the opportunity to spend as much time with him as our lord our god will allow. softa celebrated her 65th birthday this summer and has gotten her back on the ground after the rough start from earlier this year. she continues to watch mayer on thursdays and  asher con's her into frequent sleepovers at her place. nana and poppy have a rocking business giving LinkedIn seminars and tutoring clients on how to leverage LinkedIn to grow their network or business. they have also taken great aunt estelle in under their wings in recent months. she keeps them on their toes and very very busy. over the summer asher spent the night with nana and poppy every Tuesday night after Tae Kwon Do. it was quite a treat to both us and to him.

life is great...
we count our blessings daily and are so thankful to live this life.

Asher's Spring 2013 Progress

As come to close another school year we are in awe over asher's progress.
his teacher's state...
"asher is a terrific little boy. his communication skills and joyous personality allows him to develop wonderful relationships with his teachers and peers. asher approaches new things with great enthusiasm allowing others to follow in his footsteps. he especially loves participating in sports, games and any physical activity associated with running....asher enjoys coloring, writing and creating with all art materials. he utilizes and creates with markers, crayons, and pencils actively using a tripod grip. this technique is great for early writing skills. continue to encourage letter and number recognition through puzzles, games and picture cards during the summer. This was a year well spent getting to know asher aka the AshMan. Love, Team Keshest"

that pretty much sums up my boy.
he is loving, nurturing, caring and sweet.
he truly "loves him family" as he reminds us daily both verbally and physically.
he loves to snuggle, cuddle, hug and kiss.

i cant believe in one short month he will be 4.

Mayer Man at 9 months

Mayer is still THE BEAST
he is somewhere above 23 lbs and
he is wearing 18-24 months or 2T clothes.
mayer loves all kinds of foods, all textures of foods and doesnt care what temperature they are.
he eats baby food and table food
he drinks about 20 ounces of milk a day and is still napping 2-3 times a day
his naps are not consistent and can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours each nap.
the one consistent thing is his night time sleep. 645 to 630. since he was three months old
just like asher he rarely if ever wakes at night (teeth and high fever were the exception)
mayer has 4 teeth (top two and bottom two) and is attempting to cut many more at one time.
at 8 months and 3 weeks he finally decided to take a bottle.
he took the ThinkBaby transition bottle/sippy cup.
he felt like a miracle and is such a relief for our entire family.
freeeeeedom!
mayer loves it when you sing or read to him.
every monday his nanny elizabeth takes him to music class and he loves the music
he LOVES attention. wants it all of the time. he loves to snuggle and be held.
he is very very very busy. asher was never ever like this. he wants to get into everything, grab everything, squirm out of your arms when you are holding him.
he is log rolling, army crawling and pulling up on to all fours in the crawling position and rocking back and forth on his own. he can pull both his knees under him and his arms, now he has to coordinate it all to move forward to crawl. he loves to stand and lean up against the couch.
we took out his bumpers around 8 1/2 months since he started tugging on them and rolling all over his crib.
mayer is SO serious in public. blue steele. it takes him quite a long time to warm up but once he is comfortable he talks non stop, laughs with deep belly laughs and smiles constantly.
mayer LOVES to talk. non stop
he can say momma, dada, bella, asher, bye, hi
he can wave hi and shake his head no

mayer still is getting PT every other week and has not had a major episode in so long i cant remember.
he had a minor tilting episode one week ago, but its nothing to write about.

all things books...

brothers book reading before bed time

asher story telling...

books are big time around here. we read them. play with them, talk about them and admire the pictures.

saturday morning entertainment

this will be shown at ashers wedding.

mark my word.

ps this is rated pg 13.

                        

ashers passover story

Chag Sameach Pesach!

...frogs in your underwear.... (asher's version)

i am hosting pesach this year...

i think i was crazy for thinking i could pull this off with two young kids, working full time and finally feeling healthy for the first time in ohhhhh 10 months!

but we are doing it, with lots of help from family.

i finally get to use the seder plate rabbi judy gave us at our wedding 7 years ago next week. 

on the menu:

brie, smoked cheddar cheese, matzah crackers, spinach artichoke dip, veggies for dipping

matzah ball soup, gefilte fish, hard boiled eggs, charoses, matzah

leg of lamb, brisket, tzimmes, broccoli casserole, 

berries in a cloud (meringue and mousse), fruit and whipped cream

amazing, both my 32nd birthday and our 7 year anniversary fall on pesach this year 

multiple milestones

mayer is learning new things everyday... 

just in the past two weeks he started clapping. this is his version of the clap. 

this weekend we got "ma ma", inch worm crawling, rolling continuously like a log and he picked up a mirror, saw himself in it and smiled unprompted. 

i forgot how awesome it is to watch a child experience new milestones such as these....

and his laugh is contagious...

filling in the blanks

more photos from the past two months. thank goodness for the iphone camera and photo stream.

it is no secret that asher has mommy's exact hair color and texture.

that means its super thick

daddy loves it shaggy and long

mommy is in the middle

softa and nana liked it trimmed up

asher's most recent hair cut was his best yet

he now has his own stylist at doolittle's (Shannon) who has been cutting his hair the past two years.

i think we mastered the asher cut!

asher learned all about purim at school this year and kept coming home telling me different pieces of the story. i asked him what he wanted to dress up as for purim and he said "haman". of course my sweet sweet boy wants to be the nasty evil character. and so i made his costume. the hat was huge and hilarious. needless to say after being haman for shabbat at school on friday he decided he wanted to be a king for the celebration the next day at temple. i whipped up two costumes, used crowns from previous years. and we paraded through temple celebrating purim last month!

i waited till the last minute to make the costumes (because I had been sick, of course!) and had to drop it at school that morning since he had spent the night with nana and poppy. i had no idea the hate would be that huge!

trying on their crowns at dinner 

mayer ready for the tot parade at temple

king mayer

mayer has the funniest faces

he laughs constantly

but is so shy in public

this was a laughing session before bed time

the boys love to take baths together now. mayer would prefer to lay in the water. he is a total fish and loves to kick and float. he doesnt even mind if the water waves over his face.

did i mention we have been sick? yup. 

one of the many weekends asher was sick

he had been throwing up since the middle of the night.

he was pitiful.

mayer with his nanny elizabeth. she would kill me if she knew i posted this of her.

she rarely ever wears her back, but mayer is a hair puller so lately she has had to wear it back.

mayer had a crazy rash all over his cheeks. not sure what it was, but probably some virus.

mr sweet cheeks.

this is his most favorite smile. he scrunches up his nose, shows off his teeth and smiles with his entire face. i am obsessed with this face

more to come...

two months later...

im completely embarrassed that i have not blogged in two months to the day.

for most of the very same reasons as i mentioned last time

but most importantly.

we have spent the past two months being a family

loving every minute of every day that we have spent together

oogly googly over mayer and everything he does

warmed by the love and compassion that asher possesses

nursing ourselves back to health

spending time with family and friends

trying to live life... a very crazy busy life.

ive missed blogging.

many a nights when i have laid down in bed, exhausted i think about writing a blog or posting some adorably cute photos of these kids that i can not get enough of. but instead i chose sleep. sleep that i so desperately need to be the very best mom i can be.

it is no secret that i have been sick. really sick for the past 9 months. ive been on antibiotics and steriods more than i have been off of them. ive been in and out of my doctors offices almost bi-weekly. my body is exhausted and so is my spirit. after a very rough month of february we finally determined that i would need sinus and nasal surgery. 9 days ago i had surgery. the day after surgery i can down with a stomach virus or a reaction to the anesthesia. i felt like the sickness was never going to end. thankfully i am finally on the upswing. battling migraines and headaches post surgery, but trying to put the pieces back together on this thing called life.

(daddy's mini me)

mayer is a totally different child than two months ago.

i missed documenting so many milestones

one week shy of 8 months old he is 23 lbs and 30 inches. 

he is wearing 18-24 months clothes and has officially outgrown everything season appropriate we had from asher...forcing us to go out and for the first time ever, buy clothes to hold us over till it is consistently warm.

mayer is rolling from back to front, front to back. 

he lifts his knees up under him and sticks his tush in the air.

he can rotate around on his tummy in a circle and is working on perfecting his army crawl.

he can hold himself up on all fours and rock back and forth.

mayer loves to talk. he is extremely verbal, yaps non stop, squeals and loves to hear himself.

mayer is a very snuggly baby. asher was the complete opposite so i am really enjoying my snuggles.

he is still exclusively nursing and refusing a bottle. he loves to nurse and typically nurses 3-4 times a day. he is a very fast and efficient nurser, sometimes using it as a way to comfort himself but mostly just to eat. mayer is eating any and all kinds of baby food, homemade chunky or stage 2/3 

he enjoys bread products and is starting to eat table food.

mayer refuses to bring anything except his hands to his mouth. but if you put it in his mouth you can guarantee he will bite it...

he has cut four teeth. his top two and his bottom two. all of this without putting one toy or chew toy in his mouth. he cut his bottom two teeth right before his 6 month birthday almost simultaneously and cut his two top teeth right after he turned 7 months. we had several sleepless nights because of his painful early teething. 

mayer started swim lessons right after his 6 month birthday and he LOVES them. he is extremely calm and relaxed in the water and never cries (he is pretty much the only baby that doesnt cry). 

mayer has very sensitive skin and has had multiple rashes on his sweet lil cheeks

asher adores mayer. he is sweet, gentle and patient with him. he reads to him, talks to him and always wants him nearby. lately he wants confirmation that his brother loves him. "mommy mayer is looking at me, he likes me!" he still will only kiss him on the top of his head or on his forehead. mayer likes to pull asher's hair. 

asher is constantly verbally exploding. he says the funniest things and we continue to journal all of the things he says so that we can look back and laugh together. he is one of the most genuinely sweet and loving children i know. he loves to hug and be hugged, kiss and be kissed, snuggled and praised. he is very open about his feelings and tells us that he loves us daily if not multiple times per day without prompting. 

just this morning he asked me if he could get into bed with me after he woke, to snuggle. we spent 20 minutes snuggling. i didnt care how late i would be to work. those 20 minutes were worth cherishing. 

for the past two months asher and daddy participated in a dad and me sports class with coach dan at the jcc that introduced all different types of sports. his favorite was basketball and his least favorite was soccer. we found this funny since we both played soccer in high school. 

asher's attention span is extremely short. much like his mommy. he has a hard time staying focused on anything and can bounce around in conversations as well as activities. he is a social butterfly and doesnt know a stranger. everyone is his friend. 

he is beginning to recognize and write his letters, but we have some work to do in this area before his transition to the 4's class next year. he loves to read and sit and "read books". he loves to trace and draw. he is passionate about crafts and cooking, just like his mommy. we started a sunday tradition of baking blueberry sour cream muffins that he enjoys greatly. he actively participates in baking, cooking, setting the table, putting away the silverware from the dishwasher, taking his dishes to the sink and putting his clothes in the laundry basket. 

these kids are the most amazing blessing in our lives. we are so thankful for their presence, innocence and joy that they bring into our lives.

so much more to share... so little time.

i promise to be back soon for some more.

the beast

at 6 months old
mayer weighs 21 lbs 2 ounces
he measures 29 inches

mayer is the same height at 6 months that asher was at one year.
we are in for one heck of a ride.

Daddy's Pride and Joy

the Mr. put together this cute video of the boys...using iMovie...

we just got a new iMac so he wanted to test it out... supposedly it was super easy to do.

i think its super cute, but i am biased

enjoy.

Brudders Bond

asher truly loves his brudder.

different than girls, he was always affectionate but at somewhat of a distance. 

or he would talk about loving his brother and kiss him on the head or forehead...

now that mayer is more interactive he wants to be closer to him, bathe with him, kiss him on his cheeks and lips and "play" with him.

i love watching mayer follow asher around a room or watch him talk to him

the brudder's bond is forming...

Bubbbbbles!

mayer is great at mimicing...tonight it was blowing bubbles

he is delicious.

Mayer Update 4/5/6 Months...ek!

im ashamed that i havent posted an update on mayer's progress since september....

we are creeping on his 6 month appointment and god forbid the world wide web doesnt have his stats documented.

clearly my priorities are out of whack.

mayer is GINORMOUS.

that sums it up

at his 5 month appointment (which really was probably a sick visit, because we are professional sickos around here)

he weighed 19+ lbs, measured 28 inches. his head is 25th%tile. tiny compared to the rest of him. he has a perfect head shape. thank goodness!

he is WAY off the charts. WAYYYYY.

his height is crazy off and his weight is just slightly off.

he is wearing 12-18 month clothes and in some cases 18 month clothes

mayer can roll from his tummy to his right side. thats it. too much mass to move. he loves his tummy

he is just starting to sit up without assistance, but still teeters over often

he LOVES baby food. this is foreign to momma bear. i had no clue what a baby food eatin baby was like. we introduced food at 4 months. i had no choice. he still refuses the bottle and the kid clearly loves to eat. he can scarf down some baby food. we have introduced carrots, apples, pears, bananas, peas, broccoli, avocado, squash, mango, milk, milk and more milk. breast milk of course. he also loves to eat his hands. he still hasnt figured out that he can bring things up to his mouth other than his hands.

im still coming home at lunch every day to nurse.

at almost 6 months mayer has a great schedule

he has been sleeping through the night since 3 months, with a few blips from ear infections.

he wakes around 630. nurses and goes back to sleep till about 9. wakes eats some kind of baby food, plays and naps from 1030-12ish, wakes in time for me to get home to nurse, nurses and then typically goes down for a nap around 130-330/4. Plays lots till i get home. Nurses when I get home at 515, eats his baby food dinner and by 630 he is DONE and ready for bed. bath, book, song, nurse and in bed lights out no later than 7 or he turns into a devil. zzzzzzzzzz through the night. 

he still receives PT every other week for his BPT. he still has episodes about once every two weeks. 

he was super crooked this episode....but typically still a happy guy.

ive reintroduced leafy greens, acidics and dairy.

we are almost 100% weaned off reflux meds!

now if we could get rid of these double ear infections.

we are on our second one in a month and just cant seem to kick this one we are on antibiotic #3

and a few more cute sweet photos of mayer from the past months iphone photos...

i rarely have my camera with me anymore and tend to use my iphone more than anything.

hopefully this weekend i can get some real shot outside in the upcoming beautiful weather!

mayer is yet another angel baby. he is sweet. smiley snuggly. delicious. im in love all over again. sometimes i cant believe these kids are both mine. so blessed.