Jam Session

Asher and his daddy played a little guitar yesterday afternoon. The guitar that Poppy and Mamaw bought for Asher is the new favorite toy! Check out the monster-sized pick that came with it.

Here is some footage of the jam session. Daddy played lead and Asher filled in with a few little riffs.

Where's Asher?

There he is!



Hours of fun, let me tell you. Never gets old either. There are an assortment of "where's Asher" games, but this one is the favorite right now.

Dah!

We think Asher may have picked up a little Russian somewhere, because he doesn't say "yes," he says, "dah!" The "dah" is usually accompanied by a little bobbing up and down, especially if it is something he really wants or is really excited about. I hear it is pretty common at this age to be fixated on the word "no!" so we are happy to hear lots of "dahs!" It is so nice to be at a point where we can communicate more easily. It makes for much less frustrating conversations for both parties.



So when we were at Zoobilee last week and we asked him if he wanted to go pet the goats, the response was a big smile and a "dah!!" He brushed those goats like he was born on a farm.



And when we walked up to the carousel and asked him if he wanted to ride that, we got a very exuberant "dah!" paired with vigorous deep-knee bends. He loves the carousel!




Daddy and Asher got to ride. Mama and Jude waited with the stroller and tried to take pictures as Asher whizzed by on his lion.



Not the greatest photography (shocking, I know!) but each time they passed by, I tried to get a shot. He was having so much fun!



When it ended, as all good things must, they came back to where I was waiting and Asher looked at his Daddy and pointed to the carousel and then signed "please!"



We told him that was all for now...next time we'll ride again. What he doesn't know is that we will not be setting foot in that zoo until November because it is so stinking HOT!

So he reluctantly got back in his stroller, enjoyed a refreshing beverage, and was ready for more zoo fun.

The Shirt Says It All

Not the wimpy kind of mama's boy, mind you. The tough "I-make-Chuck-Norris-a-little-scared-but-I-still-love-my-mama!-Got-a-problem-with-that?-I-didn't-think-so" kind of mama's boy.

Just wanted to clarify.

My Tiny Little Baby

He's changed a little, no?

I've taken out most of the baby gear from storage. It has provided a whole new source of entertainment for Asher. The trick will be to keep him out of the bouncer seat while Jude is in it. I foresee Little Bro getting real tough real quick.

What We've Been Up To

Wonder no longer. I will fill that gaping hole in your soul that constantly yearns to be informed of the daily goings-on in the liveses of the Riveses. And I shall do it in bullet-points...

--We bought a used dresser for Jude and Kris is in the process of painting it. It's a long dresser that will serve as a changing table too since space is at a premium in the boys' room.

--"The boys' room" is sort of a misnomer because Jude will not sleep in there for quite a while. But his clothes and diapers will be in there so I guess he can consider it his room, too. He will be in the pack-n-play in our room until Asher graduates to the big-boy twin bed. I want them to share a room eventually, but until everyone is sleeping on about the same schedule, I see no need to have two boys waking in the night when I can keep it down to just one.

--I have decided that the only way that it is economical to have one boy is to have more than one boy. I took down all of Asher's 0-3 month clothes (which I swear I just packed up a few days ago) and was really thankful that we are getting more wear out of them. We have quite an investment wrapped up in baby paraphernalia so I'm glad it will get put to good use again.

--I've also decided I'm really glad we don't ever have to be first-time parents again. As hard as "two under two" will be, I am comforted knowing that at least we aren't going to be blind-sided by how stinking hard it is to go from "life is about us" to "life is about the baby." We are still selfish people and will struggle against that all our lives, but at least we are no longer laboring under the dillusion that it is all about us. Thank you, Asher Owen.

--Kris is working a lot this summer. He is getting the opportunity to put in a lot of contract hours doing audio stuff at one of the larger churches in our area. I am so thankful to have a hard-working husband who cheerfully provides for us.

--I am 35 weeks today!

--Asher spent the night at Mamaw's house last night. She bought him his very own "TA-gah!" (That's "guitar" for those of you that don't speak Asher.) She said he played it, in his car seat, the whole way home from the store. And when I called to check on him this morning, the sound of sweet music could be heard in the background. Pictures and video to come, I'm sure.

--I am currently reading two great books for the two women's bible studies that I am a part of. In my monday morning "Mommies" bible study, we are reading Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper. I have been so challenged by reading the stories of these women whose love for God and desire to serve Him made them willing to face persecution, humiliation, heartache, and sorrow. And they didn't face all of that because they thought that the more miserable they were, the more that God would be pleased with them. They faced those things because they knew that this world is fleeting and they rejected the heresy of "Your best life now" for the biblical teaching of "Your best life later--when this passing world is done and we are with Christ."

In our church's women's bible study, we are reading The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul. I have read this one before, but it's subject matter is such that I will spend my whole life trying to wrap my head around the concepts Dr. Sproul addresses. My prayer is that, as God graciously helps me to understand who He is more, that I will have a deepended desire to serve Him with abandon, as the women in the first book that I mentioned did. When reading books on theology, the temptation for me is to just acquire knowledge and then feel really smug and secure in knowing "about" God. But if knowing about Him doesn't lead to a greater humilty before Him and a greater desire to obey Him more fully, then all the knowledge I gain is worthless. That, in no way, lessens the importance of having solid, biblically-sound theology and doctrine, but if "having" it never leads me to "living it out" then it's pointless.

I guess that's a good place to stop for now. Be sure to check back for the much-anticipated "Hospital Bag-Packing Update" post in which I will tell you about how I took out all of my nursing camisoles to pack in my bag and how they are now sitting on our guest bed. It will be riveting, to say the least (that's right, Robin...riveting!)

Fondue? Fondon't.

We celebrated our three years of wedded bliss this past Monday night. We wanted to go somewhere special where we had never been before. I suggested we try The Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant. It's a little on the pricey side (or a lot if you are us) but since this was a special occasion, we decided to splurge.

So we put on some nic(er) clothes and headed out. Mamaw the Great, once again, offered to watch Asher for us. We don't know what we would do without her! We got to the restaurant and got seated. Our waiter was a little creepy, but other than that, we were looking forward to our meal.

First course--a cheese fondue served with various types of bread, some raw veggies, and some Granny Smith apples. The waiter prepares the fondue at your table. The fondue was okay, but the fact that some kid named Blake was preparing a portion of our $80 meal (not including drinks and tip)kind of irritated me. But oh well.

The second course was a salad. They were good--nothing spectacular, but good.

The main course was next. We selected the "Fondue Feast," which consisted of an assortment of beef, chicken, shrimp, and pork, all seasoned differently, and a platter of different types of veggies. Here's where the meal went completely south for us. The platter of meat they brought out was raw.



Blake the 20 year old starts explaining to us what to do, how long to cook each item, what each sauce is, etc. That's right...you cook the meat yourself!!! If I wanted to deal with raw chicken, I could have stayed at home. I'm looking at this guy like, "You're kidding me, right? You want me to pay you a lot of money to dump raw meat into a boiling pot of liquid, fish it out with your freaky slotted spoon, and then eat it?" Disturbing and disappointing all at the same time.

So Kris and I proceed to cook our own meal at our table. When I go out, the main purpose is so I don't have to do an darn thing but bring the fork to my mouth. The fact that we paid so much money (for a public school teacher and a stay-at-home mom, it's a lot!) to cook our own meal in a weird pot on a burner built into our table with a waiter that seemed to have a little trouble finding our table to refill our beverages after he dropped off the plate of carnage.

The final course was dessert--the only redeeming factor of the evening. I must say it was delicious. We ordered the Bananas Foster fondue with white chocolate. It was served with a little pieces of brownie, pound cake, rice krispy treat, fruit, and cheesecake. I thought they might make me go to the back and harvest my own strawberries, but thankfully, they were served to us without requiring manual labor on our part. What a relief.

So then Blake brings the check. The same Blake who couldn't be found for the greater portion of the meal. Kris pays. We wince at what we just spent for what we just got. We go home.

Thankfully, Kris and I truly enjoy each other's company.



It makes being married to each other so much nicer. So the fact that we got an evening out alone was great. We talked and laughed and reminisced. That part was wonderful.

We will probably never go back to The Melting Pot--I think we'll stick to Pappasitos Fajitas for any future celebrations.

3 Sweet Years

photo by Ari Jones

Happy Anniversary, Kris! And they said it wouldn't last ;)

Hospital Bag-Packing Update #2

Target bag with toiletries has been brought inside and is now sitting on my dresser.


To get caught up:
Hospital Bag-Packing Update #1

Blessing

Kim, Laura (and Steven to the far right), Roxanne, Ashley (and Jackson), Cheryl (and Meadow), Me (and Jude), Krisi (and Avery), and Becca

This past week, my sweet friends Laura, Cheryl, and Becca hosted a "baby blessing" for me at Laura's house. A blessing is kind of like a shower, except that the emphasis is more on the mother and taking time to encourage her as she approaches the birth of her baby. Each woman present takes a turn to share her prayer for mom and baby and usually says a few words to encourage the mom in this amazing journey that is motherhood. Also, everyone brings a page on which they have written their blessing and decorated (you can definitely tell who the scrapbook people are!) These pages are compiled into a book that is presented to the mom as a keepsake of all the special words that were spoken over her and the new baby. (Ashley and Roxanne--yours are coming, I promise--just know I'm not a scrapbooker!)

It was a really special time for me. There is something very inspiring about women gathering around one another to help and support each other as we prepare for the births of our children. Each woman there said something that made me feel stronger and more excited about the arrival of little Judah Kristopher.

In their kindness and generosity, my friends also got us some really great gifts! Since gifts aren't really the focus of the blessing, they are opened afterwards. They are still very appreciated though!!! Thankfully, I had a super-duper present opening assistant!




A few more pics from the day...

Laura and I (sorry it's blurry--my camera was having issues. Thanks to Becca for the ones that are clear!)



Official photographer for the event



Bethany and Tye and Asher and me


Dianna and Lee Ann from church



Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time of countless blessings!



ps--quick plug: my friend Becca makes amazing personalized baby gifts! Asher and Jude have been the recipients of some adorable things--you should check out her collection at Too Cute Creations.

Hospital Bag-Packing Update #1

At our playdate last week, Bethany recounted the events of the days before Asher's birth in which she urged Kris to urge me to get that bag packed. Asher came (as most of you know 6 weeks early) just a few days after that conversation.

So in effort to avoid that scenario a second time (although I have had a little talk with Jude about how not fun the NICU is and how he might as well just hang out in the ol' uterus for a few more weeks) I have decided to get that bag packed!


So here's where I am at now...
--bought travel size toiletries at Target today
--the target bags are still in the van

I'm pretty pleased with my progress. Please stay tuned for any late-breaking developments that may occur.

Lunch with Friends

The guys got together to play on Wednesday. We are finally at the point where we can throw some lunchmeat and cheese on their trays and actually eat out own lunches at the same time. They are getting so big with their 18, 16, and 14 month selves!

First Haircut...For Real

I'm a little behind in my posting! Last Friday, my mom (the adorable Mamaw) and I took Asher to get his first haircut. We went to a little shop right down the road from my parent's house.

It was only mildly traumatic. At first, Ethel was being very conservative--just trimming up his side wings. But I told her if we were getting a haircut, then we were getting a haircut! So she went to town whacking off those sweet little mullet-curls.


I'm sure he was not her easiest client that day. My mom held him and I fed him M&Ms and took pictures. He kept turning his head so it is really amazing that she was able to cut it at all.



There was also a puppy dog (or "ruff-ruff" as Asher insists on calling them) at the shop. It made the whole expereince even better for him.



This is Ms. Ethel and Asher after the cut. Asher has chocolate all over his face and has already messed up his sweet part, but you get the idea. He has a big boy haircut now!