first swim class ~

one of my goals for this summer was to take Asher to swimming lessons. 

we just finished our last day!  

because Asher is still so little, the swimming class was obviously a mommy and me class. It was a relatively small class (5-6 mommy & baby pairs) and was only 25 minutes for each session! Asher has always loved the water so I was so excited for this class! 

He was the youngest in his class by far (everyone else was 14+ months old.) Asher couldn't do 90% of the stuff because he doesn't really know how to follow directions (kick your legs, splash with your arms, blow bubbles, etc) but I had fun splashing him around and getting him comfortable in the pool. He was so fascinated by all the big kids and would watch so intently. Can't wait to see how much better he will be next year! 

If anything, Asher learned how to dunk his head under water (I think....lol) and both of us had fun bonding under the summer rays. Thankfully, we have a couple more months of summer left so we'll definitely be having lots of pool days in our near future! 

PS. this is our sleepy boy post-swim class. he alwaaaays fell asleep in the car on our short drive home and would take the longest nap afterwards. I remember post-swim naps being one of my favorite things growing up, so I'm so thankful to be able to share that with my beautiful boy hehe.

cheers to many more summer adventures! 

Summer Goals!

I know we are practically halfway through summer but here are my goals for the summer! 

I literally get nothing done unless I put things down on paper (physical or digital) or compile them on some sort of list. There are lots of things I've been hoping to accomplish these last few weeks/months but I've been s-l-a-c-k-i-n-g! Hopefully putting it down on paper will help me get some of these things checked off! 

only a couple months of summer left. 

let's do this thang.

BFF4HNL

Asher has a new BFF. 

it used to be a cute little plush which we lovingly named Elfie. However, as we adults do so often -- Asher has moved on. 

Sorry, Elfie. You were good to us. 

It all started after we crib-trained/sleep trained. Elfie was somewhat helpful initially but later did not sufficiently meet A's needs. 

Obviously. He needed something to cuddle and Elfie just wasn't cuddly enough. 

So I introduced him to Aden and Anaias.   I tied the swaddle blanket up with a couple spare hair ties and Asher has been literally obsessed. They are inseparable. 

Here they are in LA at grandma's. A&A helped him adjust quickly to a new environment. 

BFFs. 4 N0W. but hopefully not 4LYF3. 

#BFF4HNL. 

{DISCLAIMER: Babies are usually recommended NOT to have anything in their crib until after they are 1 years old due to the risk of SIDS. All babies are different though so if you have a crazy active, moving-all-over-the-place-in-the-MOTN energizer bunny with good head control like mine, consult with your pediatrician and make sure you get the "OK" before letting him/her sleep with anything!}

Asher is 6 months!

1/2 a year already!!

Where has the time gone? Time has truly never gone so fast....

Asher at 6 months is such a little ham and so much fun! He is learning and growing and developing so much. This age is seriously so great! He has graduated from rolling to crawling around everywhere (army crawling, to be exact). Finally sleeps through the night (11 hours!) Has a ridiculously early (but normal for babies, I guess) bedtime of 7pm. After some nap training he now has 2, almost 3, solid naps almost every day. Loves to eat (finally started solids!), and chew on everything. He loves/prefers things cold (i.e. water) and loves, loves, loves chewing/sucking on ice chips -- his fave ice chips are from Coffeebean, lol! He seems to have won his battle with the eczema monster and is learning to take the bottle (from a straw!) We had a lot of overnight trips this month at grandma's and showed me how valuable sleeptraining was because he was able to sleep at a foreign room with me only a few feet away with almost no wake-ups (Hooray!) He has been getting a little bit fussier than normal (teething, maybe?) and has learned how to fake a pretty heart-wrenching cry. He will occasionally do scrunchy face out of no where, just like his mama! He learned how to do "high five" and will belly laugh at peek-a-boo/kkakkoong (sometimes) and when mommy sneezes or coughs really loud. He is just so wonderful!

As tiring/hard as it can be sometimes, I'm learning to just enjoy every moment and every day with my little guy. He is just so sweet and fun at this age and I love how small and cuddly he still is. At the end of every day, I always give him the biggest hugs and kisses goodnight and say "I love you, Asher! Mommy's gonna miss you!" because I do! I know it's crazy but even after an entire day of trying to keep him entertained and struggling to get things done while keeping him away from cords and small choking-hazards, I feel semi-sad that he's going to bed because I miss him almost immediately afterwards. Living in a life of so many uncertainties and unknowns, I'm trying to be mindful of being thankful to the Lord for each day that we are blessed to experience the joy of raising him and having him in our lives. There are always so many things to be grateful for and Asher has been a living/breathing/crawling/eating-everyhing-off-the-ground reminder of God's goodness + kindness to me.

Dear baby,

We praise God for you everyday! We love you so, so much Asher baby boy. Cheers to a new month of lots of eating (baby-led weaning, woohoo!), lots of popiscle parties and millions of cuddles and kisses!

P.s. I really hope your front hairs grow out because you look a little funny. But for now our aquaphor faux hairgel will have to do. xoxo

love,

Mama