Belly Belly!

So when I ask Asher where his belly button is...




Oh, he's so smart!

Lightning McAsh

So the wee man had his first taste o' takin' the wheel this past weekend, and I think he likes it...

How Sara Got Her Groove Back

So last weekend was my very first Arttour... an open studio tour in which 40 local artists participated. It was self-guided and open to the public, and at least 125-150 people wandered through my working spaces over the three days it ran.

I have to say, it felt like a success...

I sold work, made contacts for commissions, had people reserve some of the in-progress works on the easels, and generally relished the opportunity to meet some really interesting people and receive alot of wonderful feedback. All in all it was a good way to feel a bit of my artistic mojo again, and re-introduce myself to some of those aspects of my creative self that have spent much more time on the shelf than finding their way to canvas over the past year.





It is a brave new world for this little painter... one in which my heart is currently only two feet tall and toddles around outside my body clutching a pooh bear doll, has an older sis, a Dad, and a whole slew of things I never saw coming... and the "first child" of my own creative life has had to transform and evolve to accommodate and incorporate this new reality.

As is to be expected, for awhile now I've been struggling to balance the combined experiences of absolute love and profound loss, boundless inspiration and massive new time constraints, the desire for more time for myself and my work coupled with the grief of giving up any precious moments with him....

I truly believe that carving out significant ways of nurturing that "first child" will ultimately make me a much more balanced and therefore better mother to my baby boy; it just doesn't make it any easier to leave him in daycare for the day and miss all those fabulous little learnings and "lightbulb moments". One of the profoundly unfair dilemmas of life, but it's ok.

So I guess it's not really "getting my groove back", as much as it is discovering a new groove.

The Itchy Scratchy Show

Poor little punkin.... he had a rather nasty allergic reaction to a mere fragment of a cashew today.





So there he was toddling around the doc's office, one giant hive, not quite sure what to do with himself but whimper and scratch. I could do nothing but sit on the floor and whimper with him and feel powerless, while gnashing my teeth at our lengthy wait to be seen (so as to vent my protective but powerless Mommy spleen).

Someone shared a quote with me recently which I can not recall in its exact incarnation, but basically says this:
that becoming a parent means one must be prepared to accept that from now on your heart will be walking around outside your body...
and today mine had a terrible rash.

I am currently very grateful to Benadryl for healing my heart's itchy welts.

He's the Walkin Man

So our little guy has decided it's time to walk... and I do have video that I hope to post SOON... but we at least needed to put the word out.

WALKING! Full-on, letting-go-of-the-furniture, free-standing, grinning, arms-out-front-like-a-mini-franken-baby, Walking.

He's so proud of himself (and we of him).

Wow.

Where does the time go?

He Otter Be in Pictures...

So my wonderful friend (who happens to be a fabulous photographer) Donna Reid came by the house a few weeks ago, and took a whole series of shots of Asher... Bella and I slipped in there too, but he was the real star. She has them posted on a site for viewing (or purchase); called EventPix.
So, here's the skinny on getting to the goods...
From the home page click on "view event guest", on the following page fill in "Reid" for 'photographer's last name' and click "find event", Asher is at the top of the list, and the password is "kingsbeach" (all one word).

Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

And Now....

He is Totally Cruising!!!
He's still utilizing couch, chair, wall, pant leg, available thumbs, cabinet knobs, baby-gate, planter.... but we're gonna have to change his name from Couchwalker to Speed Racer, I think. The kid is practically RUNNING as fast as his little baby legs can carry him, at least whenever he has solid furniture or a human to hold on to for balance. Move aside, Bella, he's comin' through!



I am amazed by how fast he's learning.

Couchwalker

Here he is, our boy, learning the joy of vertically-oriented furniture travel. This was taken about three weeks ago. Note the thoughtful foot placement and adjustments...

Asher at the Kidzone

Experimenting with movie posting here....
a quick clip of ash at the Kidzone in the baby-crawler area. Kinda cute....

Mom goes Skiing!!!! (without wee ones!)

Yes, its true... Ernie was superdad on sunday morning and kid-wrangled (even though he was called out for a tech emergency... go E!) so that I could go hike and ski Third Creek for the first time. It was a steep hike that kicked my nearly-off-the-couch mommy butt, and we had to pick our way out through manzanita to the trailhead, but in the upper bowl the corn was fast an fun, and well... can you beat the views?






Ahhhhh. I needed that.

With my Mind on my Bottle

...and my bottle on my mind.



He looks pretty comfy in there, hey? Just out for a cruise around the 'hood that day.

It has occurred to me on at least a few occasions that it's a pretty sweet deal for the kiddos getting toted and rolled around in their various conveyances....




Here we have the "baby backpack", made for carrying kid, diapers, bottles, extra clothes, toys, books, hat, blanket, etc etc etc... all conviently on Mom's back. We skied to the local coffee shop down by the beach during the last big storm as all the roads were thick with snow.




And here's Charlotte looking utterly exhausted after being pulled behind Dad in her "princess carriage" (aka the ski trailer, of which we unfortunately have no picture, but to describe it is a totally enclosed sled, complete with padded seat and clear plastic front "window"... quite cush)...see, she's even too tired to wipe the whipped cream off of her nose. Poor kid.



And last but not least, we have the old standby... Momsarms. This pic is from the Snowfest parade... ironic ain't it? A few weeks ago we were skiing on the streets, and during "snowfest" note the profound lack of snow...

This summer we'll be torturing them with the strenuous "bike trailer", in which they will be required to actually sit upright, cozied in with blankets and toys, while being wheeled around behind a parent-powered bicycle. No-one call cps, please... all this exercise is GOOD for them.

Howdy There Pardner

It was another gorgeous, sunny day here in Tahoe, so the Ash Man and I were out on the front deck goofing off with the computer's camera. I think this look says it all for our little charmer... kinda like he's about to say "so hey, how about comin' over to MY play disc for awhile and checkin' out the plastic barn and spotted cow here.... and this toy tractor has some pretty sweeet tunes..."

Who's the Cutest?

A picture (or in this case four) is worth a thousand words. Good lord, I love this little guy.

Teeth!

ok, I finally managed to catch him flashing those new pearly whites and just had to share.

Charlotte's fashion show

One of Charlotte's favorite activities seems to be playing "dress up"... like most four year old girls. I remember that lure of the theatrical well from my own childhood... and considering my continued love of costumes I think I still have a fair amount of it lingering. So one Saturday afternoon we started changing some of her costumes and taking "fashion" pictures, and then (joy of joys) pulled out the MAKEUP. Ooooh. That was it. I won't show you the results of what she did to make my face "beautiful", but I did take a picture of her wielding the brush that I am willing to publish.






I will be shocked if this girl doesn't one day go into some form of theatre.

Some Post-Valentine's Day Goodness

So here are a few sweet little images of our sweet little guy... chewing on a red plastic heart... then banging it on the countertop, and finally (not pictured) throwing it on the floor and laughing hysterically. I hope he's not practicing for anything...





And just for giggles, photographic evidence of my attempt at a romantic (or at least humorous) dinner, because what says love better than heart-shaped meat?



Mmmm, heart-shaped buffalo burgers. Original idea courtesy of Grandma Kathy, BTW.

And just in case...

So that (assuming one day soon we get the video link to work and you get to see it) nobody thinks we ONLY feed the poor little dude spinach, here he is happy as a clam in his little clip on chair (thanks Jim and Shannon!)



And here he is enjoying what he USUALLY gets, which is food he really likes!








He looks alot like his Dad, huh? But with a little more drool...

Awwwww

So I attempted to post a video... and will have to try again when tech support comes home.
:)
So instead, I'm back to pictures for now. Simple pictures... much easier for me. Many thanks to tech support (aka Ernie), btw, for making it possible for me to post on here again.

Here is a truly wonderful moment between Charlotte and Asher. Love this photo.

Mom and Dad torturing Asher with spinach

Poor kid, being made to eat spinach for his parents' amusement. So why, exactly, do you think they make stage 2 baby food in "spinach and potato" variety? Exactly how many babies are expected to LIKE it?

my motto

"better late than never", I say...
Good motto for me, as late is an operative word in my life and always has been. Mom told me I was even late being born, but I'm not really sure if that was just to prove a point...
Anyway, I have scores of wonderful photos still from our week in Miami that have yet to b shared, so I thought I'd get a few more out there for your general enjoyment.


First is a picture of Asher and Grandma Kathy by the pool...

Charlotte and Jordin having no fun at all in the pool with Grandpa George....

"The Fam" in Naples, Asher's first day at the beach....

JJ's sweet ride, being tooled around at the Fairchild Gardens....

Charlotte and Jordin celebrating New Years Eve, having been convinced that 8pm is actually Midnight....

JJ in the pool with his Dad, proving without a doubt that it's good to be the King....

Charlotte with Daddy at his birthday dinner....

Charlotte and Jordin lamenting Charlotte's imminent departure....

And finally, Asher's improvised "baby boat", constructed from his stroller hood, which allowed him to (thankfully) sleep uninterrupted nearly the whole plane ride home.

So much cuteness, so little time

Wow, asher is taking a mega-nap today, so I thought I'd try to get a new post up and running....

And lo and behold, as I type, he wakes...

Sigh.

Here are a few new pics tho, quick quick.... Charlotte and Jordin at the Fairchild gardens in Florida, and a photo clip taken from video awhile back, of Asher playing with his teddy.

:)