Busy at Work

Asher spent a good 20 minutes "working" on his highchair. We're not really sure what was so intriguing or pressing that he felt it deserved his undivided attention for so long, but I guess he knew what he was doing.



I've also been trying to catch his "conversations" on video. He is a non-stop talker with hand and facial gestures and appropriate intonation changes. It is so funny and I really wish I knew what he was saying. I love his babbling, especially when he says something and then cracks up laughing. As more and more words immerge, I know that these days of sweet made-up language will end.

So I got a little bit of talking on this one. Not a lot, as he was very focused on the task at hand.

One (okay, make that two) small steps for Asher

Maybe it was the shame of being the only guy in the group not walking. Maybe it was the lure of Dumbo being held just a few inches out of reach. Maybe it was to get his nagging mama off his back.

Either way, my little man took 2 steps all by himself today. I doubt he was aware that it happened, but I clapped and cheered like he had been planning it all along. Bethany and Tye were over and Bethany held out Dumbo for Asher to get. I let go of his hand and he took two (albeit shaky and wobbly) steps to claim his beloved elephant.

When you are almost 6 months pregnant and your almost 14 month old child weighs 24 pounds, 2 steps is a huge deal! Carrying two babies, even when one is on the inside, is hard work.

And speaking of walking, a huge shout-out to Josiah, who is now a pro!

Dat! Dat!

"Dat" (that) is Asher's newest addition to his vocabulary. When he wants something, he points at it and utters a frantic string of "dat!, dat!"'s. Then he usually follows it with a lengthy explanation of what he wants and why he wants it but that part is a bit harder to understand.

I try to figure out what he is poiting at and then call it by it's real name, but he just looks at me like, "Yeah, dat! Why are we still discussing this?"

He has also started saying "ta-gah" (guitar.) He gets very excited when he sees Kris' guitar case and points at it saying "ta-gah!" hoping that Kris will take it out and he will get to play. The other night, we were at my parents house and he sat in 3 different people's laps looking through my dad's Acoustic Guitar magazine. Right now, he is sitting at my feet holding an old electric guitar with no strings on it in his lap and is quite content.

The really fun part is when we are at church and Kris is playing up front. We are trying to teach him to sit with us during worship but for the first 5 or 10 minutes of music, he is fighting with all his might to get to "Da" who is playing his "ta-gah." Thankfully the other people in our church are very patient as we train our child what is appropriate behavior during the service!

For Robin

I took this for you today at H.E.B. with my phone. Ugli fruit is apparently low in acid with a sweet flavor. There is nothing ugli about that.

Feel free to link to this post from your explanation of ugli fruit.

Then and Now

March 2007

March 2008

I know the whole point is to actually grow and get bigger, but seriously, why does he already look more "big boy" and less "baby boy?" I think it has a lot to do with shoes. Socks and shoes age a baby. After seeing this picture, I don't think he's allowed to wear them any more.

ps-- Happy First Day of Spring!

“I guess you just stick to it, come what may.”

That is the key to a lasting marriage, according to Mayme Vail, who has been married to her husband for 83 years.

Complex simplicity at its best. You just keep your promise.

It's funny how the majority of couples in this country think that actually staying married is just way too hard and that those who do manage have somehow tapped into an earth-shattering secret that isn't for all to know.

83 years later, "I do" still means something to them...very refreshing!

It's Official!

Our poor little nameless baby is nameless no more, thanks to the final name approver guy's final name approval.

Our little boy's name is Judah Kristopher Rives. I plan on calling him Jude for short. Judah means "praise" and Kristopher, besides meaning "super cute guy that I love," also means "Christ-bearer." I'm very excited that it is official!

Let the monogramming begin!

It just gets more and more entertaining

Those boys! It had been a while since we attempted a group shot. We just thought it was tough to get a good picture back then! Now, it borders on impossible.


We have a new friend in our group now. Josh is about 5 months old and has a lot of fun watching those crazy big boys! It is so funny how the 3 Musketeers all look about the same size now. And as of March 31, they will all be in the "I'm one!" club.



Ummm...not sure what's going on here.



And that was the end of the photo session.



And speaking of entertaining...

This is me at 21 weeks. The size of the belly disturbs me a little. I guess Asher made it so any future babies would have plenty of room to stretch out.

Notice the nice, clean bathroom in the background. The maid forgot to come today--that's why it looks that way. Normally, it is spotless.

Riiight. I clean it once a month whether it needs it or not. ;)

Quote of the Week

"My time with you is like my pants...

...way too short."

--Kris Rives (who will never again buy jogging pants lined with cotton)

The People Have Spoken

Or at least 47 of you have.

It was a close one, with Judah Kristopher just barely edging out Judah Henry. I must admit, Judah Henry would be my first choice. But Henry is a name that is not going to fly with the final name-approver guy, even though it is absolutely adorable. The final name-approver guy and I have so much in common, but taste in names is not one of them.

So the winning name here is my second choice. I hope to announce our child's name soon. In the mean time, I'm calling him Jude* and I mentally add the asterisk when I do. I have to call him something!

Incidently, Kristopher Kevin Rives, Jr. got way more votes than I anticipated. Kris said we should name him that and call him "Dos." I said, "um, no."

Thanks for voting :)

I tried to resist taking this quiz...

...but I couldn't.

**note: I put in red the things that I think are baloney. But some of it was pretty right on. **

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

So what are you? (If you happen to be the quiz-taking sort...)

Kris and Jamie's Excellent Adventure

For the last few days, we have been in Memphis (Tennessee, not Egypt.) We flew out last Thursday to attend a wedding in which Kris was the best man and also to spend some time with my family that lives there.

The flight there was great. Our neighbor works for Continental and offered us Buddy Passes, which means the $900 per person round trip tickets were only $100 each. The catch of course is that you are flying stand-by. We got on the Thursday flight with no problem. Asher did really well! We were on the very last row of the plane right by the bathroom so everyone that walked by to use the facilities was greeted by Mr. Friendly Guy himself. He started getting a little antsy towards the end at which point I busted out the iced animal crackers--the pink and white kind with sprinkles! Oh yeah, baby. That boy is a cracker eating machine and could not have been more pleased with his treat.

Here are a few of us on Asher's first flight.

I look all busted (to borrow a Pez phrase) but Asher compensates for my lack of cuteness in this picture.




We were on one of those little Express Jets that only have one row with 2 seats and then another row with one seat. There was enough room that we had all three seats to ourselves so Asher got passed back and forth across the aisle.

We arrived in Memphis where my Aunt Ginny picked us up and we met my cousins for a fabulous BBQ dinner at Corky's. It was delish! The next day we got to visit my cousin Julie and her kids and then we had lunch with Wes (the groom) and some of his family.

That night we went to the rehearsal and dinner, which was more delicious BBQ (what do you expect--it's Memphis! What Tex-Mex is to us, BBQ is to them.)

Here is one of Kris, Wes, and Asher.


Here is Asher and Elvis, who was gracious enough to stop by the rehearsal dinner.



Asher was not impressed.


Since about 3:00 that afternoon, it had been snowing, which for us Texans was quite a sight. I have only ever seen little snow flurries, never actual snow that covers the ground! So even though it was way colder than I care for, it was a treat getting to see everything covered in white. We woke up the next day to about 4 inches of it on the ground. Of course none of us have proper snow attire, so Aunt Ginny (we stayed at their house and borrowed their car seat and van, making this trip so wonderful!) helped us put together a make-shift snow suit for Asher so we could go outside for a few minutes and get some pictures. We left his fleece sleeper on and then put his feet in ziploc bags which we fasted with rubber bands.





Then we put socks over the bags, then put his jeans on, followed by one more pair of socks. Then we put on a fleece jacket and then his coat and a hat (which we had to borrow from Julie's little boy. We were not prepared for this weather!) We topped it off with socks for mittens and he was good to go!



He had a lot of fun playing in that cold white stuff...



until he decided to act out that scene from "A Christmas Story."



Then Asher decided that he needed to taste the snow.





I had to borrow gloves and that head thing from Aunt Ginny. She even had to show me how to put it on!



The socks-for-mittens were not holding up too well so we went back in. But we sure did have fun!

That afternoon was Wes and Libby's wedding. Here is my little man looking so cute I almost cried.



Kris looked very handsome in his tux, but unfortunately this is the only picture we got. We waited way too late in the day to try to take a family picture. Asher was wiped out!





The happy couple...



We flew back home on Sunday. We got there about 11:30 and we were supposed to leave at 1:15, but with the winter weather, everything was off schedule so we didn't get seats on that flight. Or the 2:00 flight. Or the 4:20. But they assured us the 6:00 would have plenty of room. Asher had a blast pushing his stroller around the waiting area and interacting with all the people.



He loves, nay, needs, an audience, so he was fine as long as there was someone there to "ooh and aw" over his stellar snake impersonation or ask him how old he is. He fell asleep in his stroller for about an hour and a half, which was wonderful!

But then, around 5:00, we got the news that the 6:00 flight was now the 9:00 flight due to bad weather in Newark, where our plane was currently awaiting take-off. Lovely. We decided to call Aunt Ginny, who graciously came to our rescue, took us to buy more diapers (we had one left at this point,) and get some dinner. The change of scenery was much appreciated! We got back to the airport around 8:15 and took off a little after 9:00.

By this point, I was about to fall over. Being 5 months pregnant and spending all day at an airport is not something I would recommend. We loaded the plane with a VERY tired little boy who was still smiling and talking to everyone, bless his heart. He fell asleep for a little while on the plane, but never had a meltdown. We are so blessed to have such an easy-going baby! Please join me in praying that Jude* follows suit!

We landed around 10:45 where Susanna's husband, Kenny picked us up (THANK YOU, KENNY!!!) and brought us home. Asher was awake by this point and very happy to see his toys. He got a bath because, quite frankly, it had been a while, and went to bed. I did the same and slept hard!

And that was the end of our excellent adventure. I'm so glad we got to see everyone in Memphis, but it's good to be home!

A boy and his loveys...

It's a beautiful thing. He now calls Dumbo "Babo" and likes to crawl into his room and pull "babo" out of his bed. Usually, Dumbo is restricted to the bed only, but I have permitted some out-of-the-crib cuddling lately. But I draw the line there. That things gets gross enough just getting chewed on--I can't imagine what he would look like if he got to leave the house.

And I'm sure some of you are thinking, "there sure are a lot of pictures of Asher in just a diaper or just a shirt and diaper! Doesn't he have any clothes?" The answer is no, sadly, he has no clothes. But he is in 18 months clothing and he likes Children's Place ;)

Latest design

Asher's thank you notes

picture taken by Bethany

I finally got them all sent out...just shy of one month after the party. I'm not sure if I committed a serious breech in etiquette, but hopefully the cute picture will make up for any hurt feelings :)

I just mailed them Friday so if you didn't get a hand-delivered note, the USPS should have yours there shortly.

Why is everything funnier when said with a British accent?

It really "huhts!"

No idea who these kids are , but I laugh every time I watch this.

Outfits for "the boys"

"The boys." Poor guys--this is probably how I will refer to them. For example, to say "I'm taking Asher and Jude* on a walk today" would take way too long. So I will say "the boys" even though I think I shouldn't.

So I bought the boys matching outfits. Not that Carters rompers are the cutest things ever, but I was in the mood to buy Jude* something and I had a gift card to Babies R Us and I saw that these outfits came in Newborn all the way to 24 months. So this is what they got.

What I really want for them is an outfit like this, which I now know are called "jon-jons" (thanks Rebecca and Patti.)


Not to dress the boys in all the time...just every once in a while. Most of the time, I dress Asher in a scaled down version of what Kris wears--polos, khaki shorts, oxfords, etc. But he looked so sweet in his birthday outfit that we borrowed, I realized he needs a few more outfits like that. And I refuse to pay $45 for one. So either one of you needs to volunteer to make me one or I will have to make it myself. I am a sewing hack, but that hasn't stopped me before.

* Jude may or may not be this child's name, but the final name-approver guy has not yet given his final name approval. So I just went with it for the sake of this post and provided this disclaimer lest the final name-approver guy think me too forward.