August! Introducing Asher...

Yay, I finally got to August! Not that anyone hasn't seen most of these pictures already but there are probably a few that you may not have glimpsed. Most of August was spent waiting for Asher and then enjoying him.

The delivery: I had been having contractions for a few days irregularly but the 13th I started contracting pretty regularly and the early hours of the 14th I knew it was probably going to happen that day. About 6 AM it was time to head in. When I arrived I was dilated to a 4. Within a few hours I was at a 7, and got an epidural. By about noon I was at a 9. And I stayed at a 9. For about 2 hours. My water sack still hadn't broken and the doctor had to break it for me - he said it was a pretty tough one - and checked again. He proclaimed I was at a 9 3/4 and said within the hour I could start pushing. He said he was surprised because Asher still hadn't "dropped". By this time the epidural was wearing off on one side and they wouldn't give me another boost because I was too close to pushing. Pushing was hard. Duh. For about 2 hours I pushed without showing much progress because his head was wedged. I had to try different positions to unwedge him. The doctor decided that he was too big and they had to turn off the epidural in the hope that I could push better, otherwise I'd have to have a C-section. The pain was not something I'd ever like to experience again and had I a gun, the doctor would have left the earth for turning off the epidural on me. :D Finally his head moved and he came pretty quickly after that. He was born at 5:52 pm. They were afraid he might have inhaled some meconium and suctioned him but didn't get anything out. His scores were low at first though so they took him to the ICU for about four hours. I FINALLY got to see him about 10 that night. My new little man!

Kate loves her new brother!

My little man

Caught him sort of smiling

Love the red in his hairMy favorite picture. I love the way he looks at me, like he's happy to finally see me and knows me well. I feel the same way about him!

My beautiful little girl!

The hospital: Asher was born at St. Joseph's hospital in Syracuse, NY. The delivery room was nice but the post-partum rooms were wonderful. They had just redone the whole unit and the rooms were light and cozy. The only problem was that the plumbing broke. So I couldn't take a shower. For like a day and a half after giving birth. Ick. I was quite tired and recovery was pretty typical for giving birth I guess. His big size bruised my tailbone and sitting or standing was painful. When the doctor came in to check on me the day after Ash was born he looked at him and said, "He's a little overcooked, isn't he," referring to his 8 lb 15 oz size. Yeah, I'd say so. I think my due date was probably a little earlier, to be honest. Anyway he was a good baby in the hospital but I was excited to go home. I hate being awakened by the nurses and being prodded every few hours.

Finally showered, holding my little man

Geez am I lucky.

About 4 hours old

Kate and Jon visiting the new little man.

Pants holding little man.

At home: My mom came for a couple of weeks to help out and to play with Kate. It was immensely helpful and I am so very very grateful she could come. Kate of course loved it and had a really hard time after Grandma left. There was no one at her side whenever she needed someone and that's been a hard adjustment for her, even now. She loves her little brother though and is a very good big sister. She was so excited to help give him a bath.

First bathPants being a good big sister

Little man leaving the hospital - out of order, sorry

Kate loving her new brother

Pants just being pants.Little man's funny faces

Drunken slumber of milk

Trying to stop the crying...

Kate, Grandma, and the newest grandbaby.

My little Ute.

It seems like we sleep an awful lot but not at all...

too cute

Janet and John were in the neighborhood for a little vacation so they stopped by to see us. We went to dinner that night and had a picnic in the park the next afternoon. It was a lot of fun. We rented a bike made for seven people and rode around. Kate liked running in the mist-maker as well.

Kate playing in the mist-makersThe bike made for seven

Grandma and Asher

Pretty little princess

Grandma and Kate being penguins at the zoo

Grandma and Kate at the zoo

July, short and sweet

Though July seemed busy I guess I didn't take my camera along. Here's a few pics though.

We went berry picking for currants, raspberries, and gooseberries. I've never cooked with currants or gooseberries and I was very curious to try them. Gooseberries are odd little fruits, hairy and grape-sized. They are quite bitter but are pretty good in a fruit crumble with apples. Currants are just beautiful little red, black, and pink fruits and taste wonderful in muffins. The black are a liitle sweeter, I think. I also made a cake that was soooo good. I'll tack on the recipe.

Black currant orange sour cream cake
from Epicurious

Ingredients
1 c. Butter

2 c. Sugar

4 Eggs

2 ¾ c. Flour

1 ½ t. Baking powder

1 t. Cinnamon

½ t. Baking soda

½ t. Salt

¼ t. Cloves

2 c. Fresh black currants
1 c. Slivered almonds

1 T. Orange peel
1 c. Sour cream

Directions
Grease a 9” tube pan. Preheat oven to 325°.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add eggs 1 at a time. Blend together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and cloves. Stir in the currants, almonds and orange peel.
Alternate into the batter the sour cream and the dry mix. Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 1 ½ hours until a skewer comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on a rack and set right side up. Punch a lot of holes in top with skewer.
For a glaze heat ¼ c. orange juice and ¼ c. sugar until syrupy. While cake is warm, drizzle orange syrup over the top.

Kate showing off her haul. She wanted to pick the pink currants, go figure.

She just ccouldn't get cuter.

I felt ready to blow at any time. I was just huge and decided to take a picture before I exploded. I gave birth about two weeks after this.

Kate's new favorite outfit, sent as a gift from Sharon, a friend of mine.

June. movin' right along!

I don't really have the great skills and deep thoughts that so very many people post in their blogs. I do this just for family and friends who can't see my darling little daughter and now son. i hope it still holds interest in just being an update of their lives.

June was busy and fun. Kate and I went to Utah for a visit and it really hit the spot for what we needed. My hip was killing me but over the two weeks we spent there it got better so it really WAS just what i needed. We had fun seeing everyone again, as always!

Nathan and his family were wonderful enough to come spend a lot of time with Kate and I. We went to the zoo, went swimming, went to Lagoon, and had a sleepover. Kate had a ball with her cousins and I had a ball watching Kate have so much fun.

The Hogle Zoo. Kate loves her maps! Grandma with the grandkids

Totally engrossed We had a dinner for Melissa's birthday at the Stalsbergs' house. Kate and her cousins Hudson and Sam had a great time in the paddling pool. Kate really didn't jump in like the boys did - she's pretty timid about stuff and asks for a lot of help - but she had fun watching them splash around so much. Then Grant gave them a ride in the wheelbarrow.

In the paddling pool

In the wheelbarrow

My family decided to have a little cookout at Moss Ledge one night. It was a beautiful evening and we had a good time playing games and eating our tinfoil dinners. Kate and Ainsley both fell and were not happy campers but they cheered up with s'mores.

Eating dinner and playing Mob Wars

Meghan enjoying s'mores

Ainsley enjoying s'mores

Kim. Nathan decided to take some pictures from random angles.

Brian and MaryAnne stoking the fire

Kate and Ainsley not allowing Grandpa to take a nap

Kate burning s'mores

We went to Lagoon with Nathan's family one day. It was really the first time Kate went that she could (and would) go on the kids rides. Last year she wouldn't get on any ride without me but this year she went on a whole bunch of rides with Grant, Meghan and Ainsley since I was quite pregnant and looked ready to blow.

Flying Ace Helicopter pilots

Grandma, Kate, and Ainsley

Ninj and G, homey style

Riding the train

One of the best rides at Lagoon - Rattlesnake Rapids. There is a section where one or two people in the raft get drenched but you don't know who until you get there. Brian shielded MaryAnne but Nathan got the brunt of the onslaught, I think.

Gliding like a whale (in and out of hotels - it's a song...)

On the dragonfly

Great job, coast guard

On the speedway

I'm still trying to figure out who this character is G and Kate are riding in... a mix between a penguin, a duck, and a bee?

On the Log Flume

Cute pic of LaRisse on the Log Flume!

Shades and their coolness teacher on the Log Flume

Another go at Rattlesnake Rapids. I don't know who got it bad that time, maybe LaRisse.

Kate and I went to the Gateway one day because it was a beautiful afternoon and Kate wanted to run through the fountains. She enjoyed it for about 10 minutes, then absolutely refused to do anything further because she was scared of the jets of water and probably of all the other kids too.

My crazy pants!