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.