The thing you must stop doing immediately.

And I’m not kidding. Your latest trick is to, as Christina put it, grind your teeth.

Now, let’s break this down… you have 3 teeth. Three teeth don’t grind. They make this awful, horrible, stomach-churning clicking sound.  And it literally makes me sick to my stomach. My initial reaction every time you start this is to just yell “stop it!” Which has scared you a couple of times, because I know you’re just playing with these new things in your mouth… but you have to stop.

Really, I’ll do anything. You can lick the TV. Anything.

Getting my speach ready…

For Mother of the Year. And the award goes to…

Yeah, funny story. Today, I was sitting at the table trying to write some emails, get some work done (ha!) and you were just sitting in your favorite spot playing with old tennis shoes. Then that sixth sense kicked in and I suddenly decided I should see what you’re up to. It was this:

Yep. You pulled yourself up to a standing position all by yourself. Now, you have done this before many a time on the chair or couch in the family room, but we were always on the floor with you. This was the first time I looked and saw you standing there staring back at me. Sorry for screaming.

Reminds me of that time that I opened the patio door for the dog to go outside and you just crawled your little butt out onto the deck. While I was standing there.

I’m beginning to think that my sixth sense is really more like five and a half.

A Day in the Life of Asher… a very long post…

On Tuesday, it was just us. And the camera, of course.
We started off the day in your most favoritist spot in the house:

Then we spent some time under things… because that’s your other favorite place to be.

So, admittedly, I took more pictures in the afternoon, so we’ll fast-forward to lunch:

Then, after lunch, the real action started. Like, you found the stairs:

Then you found that I found that you found the stairs:

Then, you considered climbing all the way up the stairs:

So, we moved onto other things, like the GIANT toy box to climb, and yet another table to crawl around:

And then you found the laptop. Thought about sending some email:

And then you saw I saw that you saw the laptop:

Oh, but wait! Kitty! Kitty! Kitty!

Oh, but wait, the couch… you can crawl on Mommy to get on the couch!

Then we flipped through (ate) a catalog:

So, finally, you went down for a nap. But, not after leaving a little trail in your wake (ha! I didn’t mean that to be a pun, but it’s brilliant!):

After dinner, you watched the puppy bark at people from the backyard:

Then, onto bathtime where we got a little camera-happy!

Good night!

Billy Bob, is that you?

This is a habit you started long ago. It started as a sound like you were clearing your throat. Cute at first, but after a couple of days of spending the day with someone constantly “hmm-mmm-ing”, I began to feel a bit nervous. Then it turned into more of a growl and it reminded us of Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade and we started calling it your “sling blade”. Dad would call to see how our day was and my only response would be “well, we’ve been sling blading all day.” I just started to call you Billy Bob. Then the sound evolved again into a full-on growl. You growled for weeks… honestly, I forgot what your voice sounded like because the only sounds that would come from your mouth would be a growl or a cry.

Then, suddenly, two weeks ago, it stopped. I even asked Christina if she had heard you growl for a couple of days, and after thinking about it, she realized it had stopped. Until this week… it’s started up again.

Since I can’t adequately describe the growl, I’ve exported the audio from a couple videos. For your listening pleasure:
The Growl from Gregory Olivet on Vimeo.

Playing it Safe

The biggest news at the Olivet house is that you’re moving… everywhere. Yes, you started crawling a good month ago. Then you learned to sit up on your own a couple of weeks ago. Now, you’ve started pulling yourself up to your very unsteady feet. They’re probably so unsteady becuase I keep pushing you down. See, we just don’t have enough gates yet. Besides, you’re just too young to walk. Period. Stop trying already. Dad will let you know when you’re ready.

We also had to move your mattress down one notch again. How did we know it was time to do that? Well, I was putting you down for your afternoon nap one day, and you just weren’t going to settle down in my lap as you usually do. So, I put you in your crib, wished you sweet dreams and left the room. Then I secretly watched you from a crack in the door. I watched you crawl all over your crib, covering every single inch. All while babbling in your baby language. Then you pulled yourself to your knees and started chewing on the edge of the crib. I couldn’t go in to stop you, so I watched as you made your way down the crib… it was like listening to a beaver make a dam. Then you started jumping up and down on your knees. Oh, what fun you had! Then you laid down and fell asleep.

The result of your effort:

 

Oh, and we can all sleep at night knowing at least we bought outlet covers:

Weeeee!

A couple of weekends ago, Grandma and Grandpa G came down to see you. We went to the park near us to swing on the swings and slide on the slide and get out of this house! It was really a nice day and Mommy and Daddy got to go eat sushi, while you amazed your grandparents on your latest skill of growling (more on that later).

We captured some great video of you swinging and also got some great pics of grandpa pushing you on the slide:

 

Hello, Baby!

Yes, it’s been such a long time since I’ve written on the blog… Aunt Lara asked if it was because you weren’t doing anything, or if it was because I was so busy. Well… you’re doing LOTS, but Mommy is being beaten down by deadlines. Stupid ole deadlines. The good news is I haven’t stopped taking pictures and I’ve been mentally filing all the little stories about you. Let’s see if I can find the files…

First up are some photos. These are just random little photos taken over the past few weeks that I just find absolutely adorable:

We call this one Trouble:

And, then there’s Sunshine:

And then just Pure Joy:

You’ve grown into such a big boy, with some Big Boy Shoes:

Life is full of curiosity:

And naps:

I’m the luckiest girl, because I get to see this look many times a day:

So, I ask you, as you ask me in this picture, “What’s Next?”

I can’t wait…

 

 

A Letter from Daddy – 9 Months

You left the nest this month and it was the first time I’ve been away from you for more than a day. Like a kick to the gut. Both my babies gone, gone, gone. But you had mom and I had contact. Even when I’m at work, I’m usually updated on the goings-on at home. It’s going to be tough sending you out there on your own–day care, elementary school–handing you over to these strangers who will not take pictures of you throughout the day or call me when burst out laughing because a ball bounced toward you. I’ll get a recap of the plot points for the week, but that’s a thin reward. I know this because bookending this month was a 3-1/2 day stint with just you and me. Despite how much I missed having your Mom around and the light she brings to the house, I got to indulge in all the little nothings that are Asher. Watching you crawling or eating solid food for the first time, to be sure these are milestones I will remember, but they don’t begin to approximate the depth of feeling that washes over when I get you to laugh, when I rest my cheek on your head as you succumb to sleep. I had my own first this month: stillness that let me reflect on the inexpressible joy and fulfillment my family gives me.