San Francisco

We just returned from a long weekend in San Francisco and had a fabulous time! Michael's twin sister, Michelle, is an incredibly talented pastry chef in SF and we really enjoyed spending time with her, seeing where she works, and meeting her friends. And, of course, we indulged in lots of yummy food and desserts.

The first afternoon/evening we were there, we realized Asher had another high fever. After multiple phones calls to the E.N.T. doctor in Dallas and a hotel room visit from the house doctor, he started antibiotics for the left ear infection that hadn't quite cleared up. Thank you, Michelle, for the cheese, cookies and wine you sent up...perfect!

Saturday, we spent the day wandering through the Farmers Market on the bay and exploring the city. That evening we reserved a baby sitter so Michael and I could have a date-night. I was quite anxious about it, but was immediately put at ease when I met her. She had Asher giggling and playing as soon as she walked in the door. We had a wonderful evening at The Slanted Door and Michelle treated us to a new dessert that isn't on the menu yet when we returned to the hotel.

Michelle had Sunday and Monday off work, so we were able to spend two days with her riding the cable car, visiting the aquarium and the new Academy of Sciences...and, of course, eating! Sunday evening she took us to a restaurant that she makes all the desserts for and we tried them all. YUM! Thank you, Michelle, for a great weekend getaway.

Asher fell asleep before his 'Dark Star Crunch' birthday dessert came out. Michelle & Peter on the living roof at the Academy of Sciences

Windy & Cold!Heading home

Surgery

Asher had tubes put in his ears last week and we were able to see a difference in him the same day. He is in awe of sounds and actually responds to his name immediately. The procedure went smoothly and we were holding him less than 10 minutes after they took him from us. We did have a little bit of drama with his ears a few days later (of course!) but he is now doing well and we are excited to see him happy again. We had a rough few weeks leading up to the tubes and we're hoping this helps him feel like himself again. Here he is a few hours post-op.

Its My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To!

We had so much fun putting together Asher's party and having everyone over to celebrate! The weather was absolutely perfect and we spent the majority of the afternoon outside playing. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when we moved inside for cupcakes and presents. We ended up rushing Asher to the ER as he was in uncontrollable hysterics for 20+ minutes...obviously in some sort of pain. I tried to convince myself I was overacting, but when the grandparents also suggested a trip to the ER might be in order, we headed out. Fortunately, by the time we were walking in, he started to calm down. He accepted a cereal bar and water, and we decided the gas medicine I had given him 15-20 minutes earlier must have done the trick. Those must have been some intense gas pains! We made it back just in time for a cupcake and a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday'!

Sitting at the big kid's table!

Cupcakes from The Cupcake House

Cupcake Pops I made (Bakerella)

In pain! Our attempt to distract him did not work

Much better!

Yum! No messy cake pics...he only took a few bites since we weren't too sure about that tummy.

Asher's First Birthday

We had such a fun day celebrating Asher's first birthday! Michael took the day off from work and after some Cindi's yummy pancakes, we went to the zoo to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Asher really seemed to pay attention to the larger animals and some kept his attention for quite a while. He laughed at the playful monkeys and was intrigued by the pink flamingos. In the children's petting zoo, he was more interested in the ceiling fans keeping the ponies cool than the ponies themselves.
After riding the carousel on the way out, we went to Jimmy's for meatball sandwiches and Asher's first cannoli...he loved it!

We capped off our day eating mexican food with Nana & Papa. What a fun, memorable first birthday with our little boy!

"Papa, where did your hair go??"

March 6, 2008

Dr. Ruk woke me up around 6:30 and declared we would be celebrating a birthday! The contractions were not letting up, so he scheduled the c-section for 9:30. Michael arrived and we started making phone calls. The anesthesiologist, luckily Dr. Ruk's favorite, came in shortly thereafter. So much for my perfectly coifed hair and makeup for pictures, I barely had time to brush my teeth before I was taken into the operating room. The demerol was in still in effect and making me very sleepy. I was shaking uncontrollably and it seemed like hours before Michael was able to join me. They started by removing the cerclage, and then Asher Joseph made his debut at 9:46am. We were thrilled to hear his little cries and two years of heartache, stress, and frustration melted off our shoulders. We are so thankful for the incredible gift that God has entrusted us with!

Before

He is holding the cerclage. You can barely see it in front of the little screen. He asked us if we wanted it, but we politely declined.

6 lbs 10 oz & 19 inches

Father & Son

March 5, 2008

One year ago today, I got all ready to leave the house, gave myself a big ol' bolus dose and pulled that terbutaline pump out of my leg! We have never been so grateful for something that we were both happy to get rid of. I knew I had three to four hours before the contractions started, so I got a pedicure, ate lunch out and even baked a chocolate cake. It was only the second time I had driven in four months, so I stayed close to home. Michael had a dinner that night and by the time he got home, the contractions were two minutes apart. We paged Dr. Ruk and he instructed us to head on in to L&D to hop on the monitors. The nurse examined me and confirmed the cerclage was still holding tight. Since we had to be in a small, high-risk room right next to the noisy nurses station, we decided Michael should go home to get some rest. I accepted some demerol and tried to sleep...to be continued

Playtime With Pappy

Forward Facing

We turned Asher's car seat around last weekend and oh what a difference it makes! (shhh...it was a tad early, but he is over the weight requirement) Yes, he is officially addicted to the pacifier now. When he was still taking his newborn soothie, he could pretty much take it or leave it. I read somewhere that it wasn't good for his teeth to continue with the newborn paci since the bulb is smaller, so I found a similar paci with a larger bulb and teething nubs at the base. Boy, did that backfire! He has started to relinquish it a little more in the past few days, but he was cutting a new front tooth in this pic, so we weren't about to pry it out.

Playgroup

Asher and I had a great time hosting our playgroup a couple weeks ago. Our group started as a Square One session, an awesome ministry at our church for first time moms, last summer and we have continued meeting at each other's houses every few weeks. In the beginning it was mainly a support group for the moms to bounce ideas off one another and compare notes, but now we really enjoy seeing the kiddos interact and play together. Here they are taking turns pushing each other in the wagon walker.

Asher and Parker Ava and Stone