It's been a month since Asher was born, and everything is going very well for all of us. Paul and I have had our ups and downs, but what couple doesn't during the first few weeks after bringing home a new baby? We are all getting much more rest now, and that has made a huge difference.
Asher was a sleeping machine the first week or so, but we hit a few speed bumps. He is a very gassy little guy, but we seem to have that under control now. Emma had a super nasty cold (it's actually STILL lingering), and Asher caught a touch of it. Mostly he just has a stuffy nose. He was sleeping very well in bed with us, but we were unable to keep him propped up enough once he got stuffy. He hated the bassinet, the vibrating lamb chair and both of his swings. Luckily, we found a bouncy chair on clearance at Target, and that did the trick. Some eucalyptus and rosemary oil in his humidifier and a whole lot of nose suctioning also helped! He is still stuffy, but he's back on track with sleep 3-4 hours at a stretch at night. Hooray!
Asher smiled for the first time today! What a way to celebrate his one month milestone. I didn't know if it was just a silly face or not, but he smiled again when I spoke to him in a silly voice. And he was looking right at me when he did it. He smiled several more times before I got the sense to try to take a picture. This one is the best I could get.
We have about an hour every night when Asher hates the world. It breaks our hearts, because he is such a happy baby otherwise. But from about 8pm-9pm, Asher is angry. It's not the full on meltdowns Emma had at his age (and still has, as a matter of fact... haha). He cries out a little and grunts a whole lot, but you can tell he is not happy. He will every once in a while cry his little heart out, but we think that was mostly due to his gurgley tummy. We just know to anticipate this, and a little snuggle goes a long way with him. He wants to suck all the time, but the silly guy just will not take a pacifier. His hands only make him mad, and... well... I have other things that need to be done, if you catch my drift. He'll figure it all out eventually, though. Actually, he gets better and better every day.
Emma is still her wonderful monstrous self! Her top two year molars are the only teeth she has left to cut, and we will all be so much happier once they finally come through. She has been miserable, and a miserable Emma takes everyone else down with her. The one plus to a cranky little lady is it makes her extra snuggly. However, we aren't always able to pick her up or have her on our laps, and that is NOT okay with her. The one person who can brighten her day no matter what, is Asher. She loves that little guy like nothing and no one else. When she goes to bed, she gives him the longest kiss and the biggest hug. She always tells him she loves him, and she hates when she can't see him. When we pick her up from school, the first thing she does is look for him and asks, "where Asher?" For as angry as Emma can get, she can be 5 times sweeter. She brings me water whenever I am feeding Asher. If I am holding Asher, she will sit there and just watch him or lay her head on him. If he starts fussing, she will drop everything to make sure we are taking care of him. The best thing we ever did for our little girl was give her a little brother to love so much.
I got a new car stereo for Christmas, but we don't use it for anything more than listening to Emma CDs. I am thankful to have a working CD player, though, or else I would have to do all the singing. Emma knows how to ask for her favorite songs now, and it's hard not to play or sing them for her when she asks so sweetly. It is amazing to hear her sing along with the songs. She may only get a few of the words right, but it's still evidence that my Pumpkin Pie is growing up. She also likes to help me in the kitchen and take showers with me now. Both of which are fun most of the time, but a bit of a hassle at other times. Since figuring out how to get to the kitchen counter, Emma has decided that is the ONLY place she will eat dinner. Fine with me. But while she's up there, she smears food in all the drawers. Oh well. Shower time is no longer my private quiet time. If Emma hears the shower, she makes a beeline to join me. She also asks for showers all day and all evening long... I have to have Paul distract her in the mornings from time to time, so I can take a nice super hot, super short shower by myself. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love watching her point out her body parts and draw pictures with her bath crayons. I draw shapes for her, and she identifies more and more of them every week. She is such a smart little girl, and it amazes me every day.
An old game has come back as one of Emma's new favorites. That girl LOVES to play peek-a-boo. She'll hide behind something or put something in front of her face and say "where Emma?" When we ask where she is, she'll show herself and say "peek-a-boo!" She also likes asking where her daddy is. Even is he's standing in front of her, Emma will ask "Daddy? Where you?" When he says where he is, Emma giggles and thinks it's just the best thing ever.
Emma is more and more grown up every day. It's amazing and heartbreaking at the same time to see how quickly it happens. It's equally amazing and heartbreaking to see how quickly Asher is developing and growing bigger and bigger every day. I couldn't ask for more than my perfectly little family.