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!

Good News...

The aversion to spaghetti that Asher went through was just temporary. He is now a big fan which means that he might just have a shot at surviving in this family. Spaghetti is on the menu quite often here.



He's also shown a lot of interest in feeding himself lately, so we are trying to let him practice. Spaghetti is a tough one to master though, even for the most experienced utensil-user.

I Think I Might Be Nesting

I am SO not a bed-maker, but for the last week, I have made it almost everyday. That is huge. I even vacuumed our room AND cleaned the baseboards!?!

I can't wait to see what else I get motivated to clean!

/hi-may-ree-vez/

Apparently, Jamie Rives (which rhymes with "fives" and "hives" and "jives") is the most difficult name in the world to pronounce. I can probably count on one hand the number of times someone who reads it for the first time says it correctly. My mother-in-law warned me on my wedding day that from this point on, no one would ever be able to pronounce my last name, and boy was she right!

I usually get "Reeves" or "Rivez." Today I got my favorite--the pronunciation "Hi-May Ree-Vez." I am a girl that is as Euro-looking as they come, but with the name of a hispanic male I guess.

There have been several times, upon reading my name, that customer service people assume I need a Spanish speaking person to talk to. So they call me and begin speaking to me in Spanish, only to find out that "Jay-mee Rye-vz" has a very limited Spanish vocabulary.

Ok--I think that's the end of my rant...adios!

Add it to the "Firsts" list

First trip to the E.R.

This is my happy boy on the way to get his poor little gashed-up eye looked at. He fell into the coffee table (which has since been relocated) and cut the area above his eye. The bleeding wasn't profuse, but he was screaming and we couldn't get the bleeding to stop. Kris called his friend Lanny, who is a surgery resident, and he recommended since it was on his face, to take him into the E.R. We didn't want any hacks at the Urgent Care center to ruin his future modeling career, so we loaded him up and headed for the hospital.






As Kris was on the phone with Lanny, Asher began to calm down, but was still upset. I kept having to blot his eye and that was really getting on his nerves. So I did what I would want someone to do for me in this situation--I busted out the Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. The tears dried up as I began to feed him ice cream. Medicate pain with food--that's what I always say.

So we get to the E.R. and we get "fast-tracked" since Asher didn't require a bed. It only took about 30 minutes of waiting before he was seen by a doctor, who essentially glued his little skin back together. I was really grateful that he didn't need stitches, but we're forking over some serious money for what I could have done at home with some Elmer's. I kid. I was glued back together after my c-section and I will take that over staples or thread any day.

I think the worst part for him was the bracelet that they put on his leg. He did not appreciate that at all and kept trying to rip it off.



His eye is still pretty swollen, but he is back to his old self. We came home and he ate dinner and played for a little while and then went to bed.

We are so thankful this was a minor injury, but it is still so hard to watch your baby in pain. He is such a trooper and has a pretty high pain tolerance, but each time he gets hurt (which seems to occur more frequntly now that he is upright) I want to make some sort of deal where he never has to hurt again and I just take it all. And I'm a pretty weak and selfish person. Being a mom changes everything though, doesn't it?

31 Weeks and 31 Years!

I'm at the 31 week mark and my parents are celebrating 31 years of wedded bliss!

In case you were wondering, that's my "uh-oh! Only 9 more weeks--I should pack a bag for the hospital" face. Or maybe it's my "I can't believe that maid forgot to come again. She is so fired" face.

If you'd like to see the growth progression, here is the one other "belly shot" I've taken. I keep forgetting to take them. I guess once every 10 weeks will have to do.


So, getting back to my mom and dad--they have their first ballroom dancing class tonight, but after seeing this video of them, I hardly think they need lessons!

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Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!!

First Haircut...Almost

We started out the day fully intending to get Asher his first haircut. His hair isn't completely out of control, but on non-humid days (the humidity makes it very curly and sweet), it tends to take on a bit of a mullet shape (nothing sweet about that.) So I spent the morning taking lots of pictures of his hair. All of a sudden, I felt very overwhelmed by the prospect of cutting that those precious little blonde locks.

He does have really sweet little flip-out pieces right above each ear that sometimes I love and other times looks a little too unkempt. And when he wears a collared shirt, his hair hangs over the back of his collar.

Ugh. Just what I need--one more head of hair to stress out over. Mine keeps me busy enough.

But today was the day. We were going to a place that a friend recommended. We got there and found out we would have to wait about 20 minutes. That gave me way too much time to ponder the whole issue. I called my friend Kelli, who is the only person I know that has deeper issues regarding hair than I do. Hers, as well as her kids, always looks great, but only after making the hair-cutting person crazy. I wanted explicit instructions on what to ask her to do, and more importantly, what not to do. Kelli did not disappoint and gave great advice.

But after waiting, and then talking with Kris about how no one in that shop looked like they had kids (or if they did, would have the same idea of what a good haircut would look like on them), I decided we needed to postpone this whole thing. Kris, who is used to my weirdness, fully supported me--I think because he was in no mood to deal with a traumatized wife if things did not go well.

So we left and walked down to a new mexican food place to eat lunch. We ran into the Wimberlys there so it made the whole haircutting excursion well worth our time. We enjoyed a nice lunch with them and then we came home and Asher took a great nap.

We will attempt the first haircut next weekend...maybe.

ps--Do you ever let your kid make a mess while you are blogging because the 5 minutes it gives you to type is worth the 20 minutes it will take for you to clean up?

yeah, me neither.

Baby Shower for Jude

The teachers at Kris' school threw a little shower for us today. It was so sweet and we got lots of goodies! Asher had a blast of course because he had a new audience to perform for.



Big brother Asher with the button to prove it!

15 months old!

Asher O. is now a big 15 months! And a walker! Praise the Lord!

Here are a few pics I took today. He is crawling in and out of our barstools. Climbing on, in, out of, around, or through anything is great fun to him. He always asks that at least one couch cushion be off at all times so that he can climb on and off of the couch. I let him...he's only flipped off once and he has so much fun.





And here are a few of him riding his zebra. That zebra gets a good workout.

50,000

That's the death toll right now in the wake of the cyclones in Myanmar. Ashamedly, I had no idea of the magnitude of this disaster.

As usual, Pastor John Piper has some incredible words of admonishment and encouragement that give us some direction in a time like this. I found this on the Desiring God blog.

6 Ways to React to the Cyclone
May 6, 2008 By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

As the carnage from Cyclone Nargis moves toward 50,000 dead and beyond, there is a way to pray and act:

1. Be softened to the pain nearby.

The Good Samaritan knew nothing of the calamities in first century Burma, but was commended by the Lord for mercies at hand (Luke 10:25-37).

2. Pray for the followers of Christ in Myanmar:

That they would be still and know that God is God (Psalm 46:10; 100:3).
That they would be awakened from the illusion that this life is long or sure or the main point of eternal existence (James 4:14).
That they would be given a new vision of the supreme value of Christ who promises his followers that famine, nakedness, and death will not separate them from his love (Romans 8:35).
That God would meet their needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus, so that they might have to give to those in need (Philippians 4:19; Ephesians 4:28).
3. Pray for the millions of unbelievers near the calamity and far from it:

That they would see the helplessness of man before the Power that rules the world and fly to Christ who alone delivers from the final cyclone of God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
That they would not respond like the people in Revelation (9:20; 16:9, 11) who did not repent at the devastation but cursed God.
That they would hear the best news in all the world—not the news of health, wealth, and prosperity in this world, but the news that Christ became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13) so that in him we can be more than conquerors in every calamity of life (Romans 8:37).
4. Pray for those of us who live in the seeming security and prosperity of America:

That we would see what is about to break over us in due time—either collectively as God removes the hand of his providential restraint, or individually as one by one we are whisked to the hospital, then wheeled to the nursing home, and then carried to the funeral home (Hebrews 9:27).
That millions would be made to see this and repent from the adultery of treasuring anything more than Christ (James 4:4).
5. Give money to replenish the coffers of compassion “since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).

6. Muster a team from your church, and when the doors are open, be ready to go.

This kind of going always has the promise of a special, “I will be with you to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

I want these

I love these cutting boards! I have major cross-contamination fears and, assuming the dividers really keep the boards separate, this could solve my problem. If I wanted to pay $85 for a solved problem.

I don't, by the way.

Yet another first

This is not a fun "first" though...first ear infection :(

Poor little A started running fever on Wednesday night. I assumed he was teething because he was also drooling a lot and his temperature was only about 100. So I gave him some Tylenol and he went to sleep. We kept hearing him wake up every hour or so and kind of fuss a little, but always stopped and fell back to sleep. But around 11:00 pm, he was crying. We went in to get him and he was just laying there, looking pretty listless and pitiful. I picked him up and he was burning up. We took his temp and it was 104. And he was shivering. We could tell he was miserable.

We put him in the bath for a little bit to try to get his fever down, which he hated! Then we got him out and took him outside to calm him down. His current passion right now is airplanes so living below the flight path for a major airport is actually a plus for our family. This took his mind of his hurting and gave the Tylenol we had just given him a chance to work its magic.

So at around 11:30pm, Kris, diaper-clad Asher, and I are sitting on a blanket in our front yard looking at planes. His fever went way down and he was chatting and pointing at the planes and was once again his usual happy self. We came back in and he went to bed.

But all day yesterday, the fever never completely went away. It stayed around 100-101 and would go down with Tylenol, but always came back. He wasn't too hungry during the day, but still drank lots of water (thankfully he still doesn't know about juice!) and ate some fruit--and of course crackers--a major staple in his life. He ate lots at dinner though and his temp was down so we thought maybe it was just a 24 hour virus and in the morning he would be all better.

But once again, he wakes up during the night burning up, this time with about 104.5. We gave him more Tylenol but stayed inside this time. It was much later and he seemed to feel even worse than the previous night. He fell asleep on me as I laid with him on the couch. Apparently Jude did not appreciate the extra 25 pounds on top of him because he kept kicking me. One asleep, one awake--a little something to look forward to. Asher slept for about an hour at a time the rest of the night and then from about 6-8:30.

I took him to the doctor this morning and we discovered that he has a double ear infection. I didn't think it was his ears because he never pulled at them and didn't seem uncomfortable when he sucked on his sippy cup. But I did notice he was very unstabel walking--even more so than usual. He could only take about 3 steps without losing his balance.

So we start the medicine and hopefully he will be as good as new in a few days. I hate that he feels bad, but it has been nice getting to hold him more than he usually lets me these days. And the reminder of what it feels like to go with very little sleep has been helpful, too--those days are soon approaching again!

I know there is so much wrong with our healthcare system, but I am always humbled as I walk out of the doctors office with a diagnosis and a prescription because there are so many mamas around the world who just watch their babies hurt and have no way to help them. Yes, there are lot of things that need to be fixed (but not your way, Hillary), but the fact that I have access to doctors and medicine and healthy food is a blessing I am truly grateful for.