A parade and a shower (not the rain kind!)

Jason is from Hampton Bays, NY (Long Island) and it's a place we love to visit. I'm sure I've mentioned that here before. We went down this past weekend for his sister Melissa's baby shower (aka Ashton's Aunt Lizzie, who has also been mentioned here before. Actually, now would be a good time to comment in advance on this post: I am so sleep-deprived that I don't anticipate being able to come up with my usual Pulitzer-worthy material. I might rely mostly on pictures this time. And in those pictures you'll notice Ashton has a new rash on his cheeks. :( ).

Anyway, after screaming down to the ferry on Friday night (7 pm was the last boat and we barely made it),  we woke up Saturday to go to the Hampton Bays St. Patrick's Day parade (typically the weekend after the actual holiday). The whole town was there, we saw lots of Jason's friends, had corned beef sandwiches and drank beer out of green cups (obvi). Ashton got in the spirit as well with his green polo and "Irish for the day!" pin:

For some reason the bagpipers failed to make an impression:

Other parade pics - me and Katie (yes, she is my Boston friend, but her brother lives in Southampton and she was visiting. Perfect timing!):

The main line through town:

The stroller pulling double-duty as the bar. Is there anything this thing doesn't do?!

Ashton, Aunt Lizzie, Grandma and Grandpa:

Ashton got a duckie somehow from one of the paraders and he held onto that thing all day, it was really cute. We put it on a necklace for him. Here he is about two hours later:

And lastly, me with Jason :)

Sunday we got up and it was baby shower day! Melissa is due 5/5/12 with a little boy. Here are the parents to be :)

Other shower pics:

Aunt Lizzie I can't wait for my cousin!

Hard to believe that the next time I see Liz she will be a mom too!! And I will be an aunt! 6 weeks!! Watching her open all the baby clothes definitely made me think back to my pregnancy and how much I anticipated Ashton's arrival. Such an exciting time and I can't wait to share it with her :)

A Beautiful Sunday

Hello blog readers, apologies for the short hiatus. Ashton's mom (ahem, myself) had a big event in NYC last Wednesday for my old employer and got pretty busy. But there's good news: First, 3.13.12 was my first night away from my baby and I survived it! Minus the pumping in random closets at the Nasdaq Marketsite as well as in the Amtrak bathroom (yuck). I missed Ashton terribly and thought about him all the time (um, Tate, not so much you, sorry buddy). It's such a catch-22 because although I yearn for breaks, when I actually get them I feel guilty, sad, or anxious to get back to him. The rare times that I'm not with Ashton, I am either talking about him or looking at his picture. Motherhood is so annoying.

Anyway, I left Ashton in Jason's incredibly capable hands but even still, I cried when I left :( Jason told me it was just one night, I was going to do great and he was so proud of me, and THAT just made me cry more! Again, so annoying. But the event was a great success (too many details to share here) and everyone is already talking about next year, so I guess that's a good sign :)

The more important question is, what has Ashton been up to since my last post?? Well, for one thing, he has been outgrowing his clothes:

Just after I took this picture, the belly snap couldn't hold on any longer, flew off and hit me in the face. I told Ashton that was it, no more fries.
(Fun fact: the silver rattle in his grubby little fist belonged to me when I was a baby :) )

He also has been on his first playground swing:

I took a few videos of this momentous occasion but they are even more boring than what I usually put up so I'm not going to post them. Picture Ashton swinging back and forth and the only sound: birds chirping. No laughter, cute giggles, nothing. He was like, "Great, I'm swinging. So what?" It must have been the brown bear outfit I put him in. Are the ears not cool?

And that's about it until today. Today was a perfect 10, the best day of the year so far. 70, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Jason had the day off but was off doing all kinds of house projects so we were left to our own devices. Ashton had his first iced coffee (along with his peaches) for breakfast:

I know I don't need to explain what an important milestone Dunkin Donuts is. After that, we headed outside to play on the deck for the first time this year!

After that, tummy time. Ashton's still not up on all fours or scooting but he does do these interesting yoga poses which I will fully document in another post. For now, he just looks cute on the floor.

The most blissful part of the day was 4-6 pm, we went to the park and truly, the clear air, blue sky, perfect temperature, and slight breeze made you close your eyes, breathe in, and think, "My god it's nice out." The kind of afternoon where your blood pressure is low and your heart feels calm. We set up a blanket and I just had to take a couple pictures.

Then Ashton's friend Owen came. Now, Owen was born on 12/22/10, so he's twice Ashton's age at almost 15 months and totally Ashton's role model, see?

Now, I'm very good friends with Owen's parents (especially his mom Chera) and have relied on them for a lot during the past 7.5 months of Ashton's life. Watching Owen is like watching a preview of what is to come and it has been invaluable. Also, it has scared me to death. Of course I know that the day will come where breastmilk won't cut it and that Ashton won't stay where I put him, and I can only hope Ashton turns out to be as cute and as adventurous as Owen is.

This is my usual post time because it's after Ashton goes to bed and right before dinner (I know, we eat late). So if you'll excuse me, my very handsome husband is making chicken piccata and I'm starving :)

Splish Splash

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Snap Crackle Pop

Ashton demonstrates how to eat a Rice Krispy for the first time ever, when you have no teeth. Not surprisingly, it's a slow process, hindered by the fruit pulp stickiness left over from the chum bag he had just had. The little Krispies were everywhere, honest to god a half hour after I shot this video Jason found one on the back of my shoulder.

Also, if you're thinking that's a ridiculous outfit he's in, you're right and don't judge me. It was laundry day. (Mmmm, that's a lie. Laundry was yesterday. But Ashton was scratching his head and I don't have a hat that fits, and as this christmas will be his second, this poor bib's career would have been finished if not for me.)

Good night all!

7 month birthday

We hit the 7 month mark yesterday! We don't have another pediatrician appointment until 9 months, so I don't have any official stats on height, weight, etc. but there is plenty more to talk about!

Food: All kinds of purees, fruits, veggies, rice and oatmeal cereals. It's hard to feed him because he gets so distracted but we aim for two solid meals a day, one in the morning for breakfast (fruits, oatmeal, sometimes a piece of fruit in the chum bag. I sliced grapes in half the other day and put them in, boy did he go crazy for that!). And one mid afternoon (lunch/dinner) with veggies.
Teeth: None. But drooling like Niagara Falls.
Sitting up: Yes, but is still a bit wobbly and after awhile will tip over.

When I tell him to drop and give me 10, he listens! 

ha ha! More like he is just starting to push himself up when I lay him on his tummy on the floor :)

Toys: Anything within reach is fair game. I am trying to teach him to use a sippy cup but he doesn't quite get it yet. I think I mentioned a few posts ago about how utterly fascinated he is by everything. It's so cute.

Diapers: Size 3

Favorite Clothing Designer: Hatley

Sleeping: Still up once or twice a night. He gave me the same present that he gave me for his 6 month birthday, which is sleeping from about 6 pm - 4:30 am, being fed and then sleeping in until 8 am. This is amazing folks. Today we were up at 6:30 am, which is more of the norm.

Hmmm what else. Favorite song is Itsy Bitsy Spider (hand motions and sounds included) and his friendship with Tate is progressing slightly. Tate still looks like a deer in headlights when Ashton gets anywhere near him, but is starting to learn that if he is patient he will get treats after Ashton pets him.
So the big question is: what did Ashton DO on his 7 month birthday? He had quite a day. First, because I didn't have to report to work at Allegria until 11:45 am, I got to go with the boys to Shrimps. There are about 10 babies in this little swim class and it is positively the cutest thing I have ever seen. The parents do exercises with them, float with them, etc. and they are all in miniature bathing suits and it's just adorable. I took no less than 3,000 photographs. Here are the best ones :)

The boys

Ready to swim!

Floating!

And the most heartmelting one of all. If you enlarge the picture by clicking on it, you can see all the waterdrops in Ashton's eyelashes.

Action packed footage:

After Shimps, we came home, Ashton went to sleep, I went to work, and everything was okay. I should mention, when he woke up yesterday morning we noticed his breathing sounded a little raspy/hoarse and he had a cough that sounded like a barking seal cub. Yes, that specific.  By the time I was home around 4:30 pm, he had gotten worse and woken up from his second nap struggling to breathe. Called the pediatrician on call (these things always happen on nights and weekends!) and long story short, ended up in the Emergency Room at Newton Wellesley Hospital. He has croup, which is a virus common in young babies/children that causes respiratory trouble. (Don't you hate how all the doctors and websites use the word "common"? Is that supposed to make me feel better that he has it? It's still scary!!) Anyway, he is doing better today. They gave him a liquid shot of a steroid to reduce the inflammation in his lungs and while he is still raspy, no more seal barks. He is pretty cranky as I type this and hasn't napped well, but hopefully in the next day or so he will be back to his happy self :)