I just thought this scene was too cute. Asher had fallen asleep in John's arms last night during family night, so I thought I'd just let him stay put on the couch (so as not to wake the baby) while I put Ruby to bed. When I came back out to the family room, I found that roles had been reversed. Now John was completely knocked out, while Asher (as wide-eyed as could be) was holding his own head up, and gazing all around the room. So funny.
I can't believe that I forgot about these little treasures. While we were visiting Paul and Amy last month, George and Ruby got into some of Amy's craft paint. John discovered what they had done as he went downstairs and spotted purple paint spots in the hallway. These two were having the time of their lives painting each other. I'll never forget the look on Ruby's face either...I think that she truly believed she was the prettiest person alive with all that purple "makeup"! I was so relived that Amy was such a good sport about it all, because, yes, they weren't so thoughtful as to avoid painting the carpet. All Amy did (through her bursts of laughter), was tell me to run grab my camera. Then a few days later I got this comment from her on my blog...
I am so so happy that I was able to meet Asher yesterday. I love you guys and though I have a contact buzz from the cleaner I am using I am getting the paint out of my carpet :)
Being around Amy has helped me to be a bit more relaxed in life as I strive to roll with the "punches" it gives me. 
In keeping with the whole princess theme, I just couldn't resist posting this video clip of my own little princess...naming her princesses.
I have discovered Ruby's passion. Her newest obsession. With it, she is perfectly content, she feels beautiful, she even smiles more. But the moment I mention that it may be taken away due to her unruly behavior, is the very moment her entire world comes crashing down. (I try to avoid making those threats if at all possible...it's just not pretty.) I can also bribe her to do essentially anything by the mere mention that if she act in accordance with my wishes, she will be able to exult in her newly discovered fascination.
I have my dear friend, Rania to thank for this...this...thing that just so happens to be ruling my daughter's life! You see, while we were in Utah to get Asher, Rania and her daughter, Kailey, gave Ruby a Cinderella dress (or as Ruby would say...her ci'rella dwess) and a pair of glass slippers. Little did they know what a hit this gift would be. Seriously, Ruby's entire universe revolves around Cinderella now, and the funny and ironic part about it all, is that we don't even own the movie. In fact, before receiving the dress, I don't think she even knew who Cinderella was...and now?...well...now she thinks she is Cinderella.
She wears the dress to the store, to the Dr. office, to play group...she eats in it, sometimes naps in it, and when she wakes in the morning, it's the first thing she asks for.
And I thought I was doing a lot more laundry due to Asher's incessant spitting.. but no, it's mostly because I'm washing that darn dress everyday so that my sweet little Ruby can continue to muse in her princess dream world. I love being a mom...never a dull moment.
Many have asked how we came up with Asher's name. Was it something we were able to choose ourselves? Did the birth mom name him? Well, to answer your questions...I guess a little of both.
We've liked the name Asher for awhile now. I like it because it's biblical (I've always liked bible names for boys), but not a super common/overused bible name. To be truthful though, we hadn't really considered using this particular name for this baby. We began throwing names around a couple of months before he was born. We scoured the Internet, name books, etc... but nothing seemed right. Nothing jumped out at us. We even asked our birth mom if there were any names in particular that she really loved. (At that point, we felt like we needed all the help we could get.) She gave us a few ideas to think about, and John and I continued bouncing ideas off of each other. It wasn't until we looked up the origin and meaning of the name, that we were finally convinced that this unborn baby was most definitely...an Asher.
The name Asher \a-sher\ is pronounced ASH-er. It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "happy" and "blessed". Biblical: Asher, the eighth son of Jacob, was promised a life blessed with abundance.
I also found it interesting as I read the account of Jacob, in the book of Genesis, that Asher's birth mother was actually Zilpah, Leah's handmaiden; yet Leah loved Asher and Gad like her own biological children.
In the short time that we've had our little Asher, we have loved him and cared for him no less than we have our precious Ruby, who is our own biological daughter. To us, the important thing is not how he got to us, but that he's here...with us. He's ours. And oh how "blessed" we are to have him...and oh how "happy" he makes us feel. I know that his birth mother made the decision to place him for adoption with only his "happiness" in mind; and our promise to her is that we will do everything in our power to ensure his "happiness" and teach him the way to live so that his life, like that of the biblical Asher, will be "blessed with abundance".
Jordan was one of the names that Asher's birth mom told us she really liked. When we looked up it's origin and meaning, once again, we just felt that this name would be so appropriate for his middle name.
The name Jordan \j(o)-rdan, jor-dan\ is pronounced JOR-dan. It is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "down-flowing". Name of the major river in Palestine, used as a given name since the Crusades.
I liked that there's some consistency between the two names, both being of Hebrew origin. I also love that the name Jordan means "down-flowing", referring obviously, to the river Jordan. We know that Moses was born to a Hebrew mother, but as Pharaoh ordered the execution of all Hebrew baby boys, Moses' birth mom (for his protection and well being) sent him "down a river", and we know that he was found by Pharaoh's daughter, and then "adopted" into the royal Egyptian family. To me, using the name Jordan is just a subtle way of linking Asher's heritage to Moses' (both being adopted) rather than directly naming him Moses.
Plus, I just think it's so neat that Asher's birth mom was able to contribute in choosing his very special name.
I hope that when he's older, he'll love and appreciate his name for the very same reasons that inspired us to choose it.
that's what I am...very spoiled indeed. I have the most amazing friends and family imaginable; sometimes I just feel so undeserving of their love and kindness.
Being that Asher is my second, I wasn't expecting a baby shower, or anything of the sort; but was completely blown away by the two showers that were given in my honor.
While we were in Utah to pick up Asher, my sister Kim had organized a family shower at the Olive Garden. My sisters, sister-in-law, step-sisters, step-mom, and grandma all attended; and Asher and I walked out of there feeling like royalty. I'm so grateful to Kim for thinking up and organizing such a fun evening, to Lynell for footing the bill, and to everyone else for attending and for bringing such darling gifts for my new little king.
Last weekend, my friend, Amber (with the help of several other friends), threw the most amazing baby shower I'm sure I have ever attended. Everything was entirely color coordinated, and perfectly displayed, and superbly thought out...down to every, single, minute detail. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of time, and work, and energy that went in to making everything so perfect and enjoyable for me and my sweet boy. 
Once again, I'm sure that I have the most amazing friends and family around.
They make me feel so absolutely spoiled...and altogether loved.
Thank You.
Last night John and I took the kids out and went to a few stores. I had been itching to get out all day, but wasn't able to, as it was just one of those days...you know, the kind where it's all you can do to just stay above the water (or the heaps of toys, and mounds of laundry), the kids are crying and upset, you feel like you live in a pigsty, and the day is 3/4 over...but you're still in your pj's? Luckily I managed to pull myself (and my home, and my kids) together just minutes before my husband walked in the door from work...giving the appearance that I just have this whole homemaker, wife, and mother-of-two thing completely under control. Ha.
So, while we were out last night, we stopped into Babies-R-Us to pick up a sleep positioner for Asher. We had been told that allowing your baby to sleep at an incline, will help eliminate some of the harsh effects of acid reflux. We ended up finding something that seemed worth trying, but as it turned out - go figure - he was way too big for it. It was actually quite humorous watching him lie in it...his body spilling out over each end and both sides. Well, needless to say, the thing didn't quite work out, so this morning I loaded the kids in the car, and we headed out to make the "quick" exchange. This is where the fun begins. The store is a good 20-25 minutes away from our house, and it wasn't until we got all the way out there, and parked the car, that I realized I had left the sleep positioner at home! The kids were behaving so well that I found no harm in heading back home to grab it, and then returning to the store. By the time we made it back though, we had spent over an hour in the car...and both kids were sound asleep. I hung out in the parking lot a little while to allow Ruby some additional napping time (wasn't as concerned about Asher...he'll sleep anywhere in that portable bed of his). While I waited, I picked up a diet coke (seems to make everything better), and relished every sip.
That is...until Ruby wakes in a panic, holding herself, and declaring that she needs to go potty. (Yes, I never blogged about it, but Ruby is potty trained, and has been for about two months now.) So I throw open the trunk, grab the double stroller, toss both kids inside, and run like my life depends on it to the restroom. Poor Ruby - bless her little heart, didn't quite make it. I had to strip her down to nothing and steal Asher's blanket to wrap around her until we could get her something to wear. We found a pack of princess panties - which she was thrilled about, a skirt from the clearance rounder, and then exchanged Asher's sleep wedge for something that appeared to be more functional.
I decided after we left, to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart, which happened to share a parking lot with Babies-R-Us. I knew exactly what I needed so we rushed around the store gathering our items, and then headed for home. The whole way home, Ruby tells me that she has to go potty again. I asked her if she could hold it until we got home (at that point we were pretty close, and I just wasn't feeling up for another stop). She said okay, but when we finally got home, and I was finally able to get her to the potty...we were just seconds too late. Once again, poor Ruby - bless her little heart (and poor, poor momma...bless her heart, too). It wasn't until I got her all cleaned up, and began putting away all of our stuff from the day, that it occurred to me that I had left the Wal-Mart bag...at Wal-Mart. Oh boy.
So once again, I load both kids in the car, and we head out to retrieve our abandoned items...knowing that the whole trip will cost us another 45 minutes.
We made it home safe and sound, and before the heavy traffic hit, which was a good sign; but my sanity still hadn't returned to me by that point; because...when we pulled up to the house (for the 3rd and final time), the garage door opener wouldn't work (I guess it had reached it's quota for the day), so I unloaded everything out in the driveway and unlocked the front door so that we could enter the house that way. I took Asher in first thing, and handed Ruby my diet coke to take in while I went back out to retrieve the rest of our loot. I couldn't have been out there more than 30 seconds, and Ruby had managed to spill the entire soda all over the carpet, and all over Asher's infant carrier. I don't even want to think about how the large droplets of coke appeared all over his face...but I have my suspicions.
It was all I could do to keep my cool at this point. And thankfully, I did keep my cool...barely.
When John came home from work (close to two hours later), he handed me my keys which were still dangling from the outside lock of the front door...
yep - totally losing my mind. I guess though, since it's primarily because of these two...
I can't complain. They make it all worth while :)
Little two week old Asher was hospitalized this past weekend. He was diagnosed with an ear infection in each ear, caused by - get this - acid reflux. Because he is so young (too young to have any type of infection at all), the doctors were concerned about the possibility of the bacteria spreading into his bloodstream, spinal column, or brain. To rule out Meningitis (which was a huge concern), they took samples of his blood, urine, and lumbar fluid. Each was cultured over the course of a few days, and then tested for bacteria. They kept us in the hospital while they waited for the test results to come back - which, thankfully, were all negative. During the four days that we were there, they also had him on two antibiotics administered through an IV. It made me so sad to see him be poked and prodded so many times, but he handled everything so well. He slept almost the entire time we were there, which I was so grateful for, as it indicated to me that he probably wasn't in a great deal of pain.
Just after we were discharged, we went to the records department to obtain copies of Asher's medical charts. While we were waiting, a man entered the lobby area and began making small talk with Ruby and me. I watched the man as he admiringly watched our new family of four. As we finally acquired what we needed, and began gathering our things to leave, the man said to us with a smile "you really are blessed, aren't you?". His words resonated in my heart and soul the remainder of that day; and, in fact, have still remained with me.
When bad things happen to us, it seems to be in our nature to focus on the negative, the scary, the unknown...
Amist all the "bad", we often times fail to think of all the "good" that surrounds us. We forget how blessed we truly are. No, it wasn't fun seeing Asher in that hospital bed with an IV poking out of his tiny little arm. But at least, overall he's a happy, healthy baby. And at least he was well cared for by the doctors and nurses. And at least he didn't end up having meningitis. And at least he's feeling better...and he'll be okay...and we got to take him home...and he's our little pride and joy. I really have a lot to thank my Heavenly Father for. That man at the hospital was right...we really are blessed.
A few photos from the hospital...
