Christmas Morning

Nick was checking his stocking to see what Santa stuffed in it. He put in lots and lots of candy, some car puzzles/games, and he didn't forget the special electric toothbrush, for all those sugar bugs (Ha, Ha).

Christmas

What ??? Santa was here!!!!

First Present

It is tradition that we open one gift on Christmas Eve. This gift is always new pj's, a book (bedtime story), and a new ornament to put on our tree. This year when we got home from mass the boys opened their first present of the holiday season.

Ashe is not quite in his jammies yet but it was Nick who read him his first Christmas Eve book, "Daddy Snores."

Nick got new soccer jammies, the book "Mrs. Clause takes a Vacation", and a Darth Vader ornament for our tree.

Ashe got "Santa Helper " jammies, a bear Baby's First Christmas ornament, and the book "Daddy Snores."

Christmas Eve

We were asked by Father John to be the Holy Family at the 9pm Christmas Eve mass. Ashe was representing the baby Jesus. It was such an honor for our family. We had a great time. When we got there lots of families were coming up to us remembering many many years ago when their child playing baby Jesus. I am sure when Ashe is grown I will be doing the same thing. We sat up on the alter throughout most of mass. This was so nerve racking. I hate when everyone is looking at me and here we were having everyone look at us. It was so hot in these clothes and I was nervous. To our advantage Ashe feel asleep just moments before going down the aisle.

Smiles

I know what you are thinking this is not a really good smile. I am having a terrible time capturing it on my camera. Every time I try and use my lightening speed to take his picture the red light goes off for the flash and he stops smiling. I just wanted to post a milestone. Ashe has been smiling so much lately. He also coos a lot and for quite a long time, he likes to talk a lot like his mommy.

I Can See!!!

Doesn't he look smart?

When we took Nick for his 8 year old check up, he didn't do so well on his vision test. I then took him to a special children's eye doctor to have his vision rechecked.

I guess he has his mother's bad vision.

Nick really enjoys wearing his glasses, for now, he even helped to pick out the frames.

Ashe Goes to School

Today was Ashe's first day of Day Care. Here he is in his school clothes all ready to start his first day with his new friends. When I got there to pick him up he was so content and happy. I really wish I could stay home and be with him all day. I am very glad however that God brought Ashe's teacher Ms. Danielle into our lives. He seems very happy to be there each day with her.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Steven's mom and dad, aka Grandma and Grandpa Herod. We had a great time and of course the food was awesome. Ashe sleep through the meal and Nick picked through his, eating only a select few items.

• Nick was thankful I didn't make him eat veggies today.
• Steven is thankful for the leftovers, which means turkey sandwiches his favorite part of today, next to football.
• I am thankful for my family. Just to think a few months ago Ashe wasn't in our lives and just a year ago I never thought he would be. I am thankful to spend this holiday with my family. I just wish that I could have spent it with them all.

Spending Time Together

Nick loves being a big brother. He is so sweet to Ashe.
Ashe loves having a great big brother. When Nick comes in and talks to Ashe he turns his face towards Nicks' voice and smiles. I am so glad they have one another.

Tummy Time

1 Cute Baby + 1 Cool Activity Mat = 2 much fun

Math can be fun.

Ashe loves Tummy Time.

Puppy Tails

What are little boys made of?
Snips and Snails and puppy dog tails that's what little boys are made of.

Question... What the world is a snip???

I guess Ashe will sleep on that one.

Thank you Gainer family for the cute puppy outfit. I didn't think he would be wearing it so soon (size 6 months and Ashe is not yet 2 months).

Happy Birthday Nick!!!

Nick is now 8 years old. This weekend we spent the day at the park with a picnic. For Nick's birthday we got him some fun Nerf items. Well after the boys shot these things in the house we decided we needed somewhere with more room so we headed to Trotwood park. Nick had a great time even though we didn't go to a bunch of places. We just spent time together as a family. As you can see from looking at Ashe it was a little chilly.

1 month

Ashe is now one month old. I can't believe a month has already past. He has gotten so big and is getting so strong. He is staying up longer during the day and night. We have learned that Ashe loves to watch football. He is all boy. He is a little couch potato. He is also very amused by lamps. He enjoys looking into the bright lights. I know this can't be good for his eyes.

Happy Halloween!!!

Our little pumpkin looks full of candy or should I say milk. This outfit is so cute if you look at the pants the pockets are pumpkins. I only have one year to dress him in these crazy outfits.











Our sleepy little pumpkin man.

Happy Halloween!!!

Our Little Pumpkin

Look at how cute our Jack-o-lantern is this year. I know it's hard to believe but Ashe actually didn't mind this too much. He is now almost a month old. Look how well he holds up his head.

Ashe-o-lantern

Playing with Ashe

BOO... I see you!!!

Where did Mommy go?

Yummy Arm

The Pumpkin Patch

Here is our family at the pumpkin patch picking out a perfect pumpkin. After we spent a great deal of time walking through we found a nice pumpkin for our jack-o-lantern.

Ashe's Baptism

Today Ashe was baptized at St. Stephen's Catholic Church. He was given a saint name and is know in the Catholic community as Ashe Dane Jacob Herod. We are so glad that Ashe was baptized by Father John, just like Nick. Ashe and Nick both have the same god parents. Lisa Shiffer is their godmother, my sister. Robert Herod is their godfather, Steven's brother. After he was baptized we went out to dinner at Kobe's Japenese Steakhouse with Lisa, Grandma, and Grandpa. We had a yummy dinner and a great time.
Welcome to the Catholic Community Ashe!

Aunt Lisa comes to town...

Aunt Lisa came to sunny Florida for the weekend for Ashe's baptism. Aunt Lisa is a godmother again. The worst part of this weekend was that it was so short. We needed a lot more time together to laugh, catch up, and have fun. We miss you so much Aunt Lisa. Next time she comes to FL we hope she brings the family.

Brotherly Love

Nick and Ashe are so close. I am so glad that Nick and Ashe will have each other as they grow up. Some of my best memories are with my sisters. Having siblings is what being a kid is all about. Who would want to live their life without all the drama of siblings.
As for the boys things have been good. Nick loves having Ashe in our lives. He worries about him all the time. He is doing great at school and getting very big.
Ashe on the other hand spends most of his time eating, sleeping, and filling many, many diapers. I love being a mom!

Beary Cute

Look how cute our little boy is...beary cute. We have been working very hard to get Ashe to take the paci. I know that is strange because most parents would not want there child on the paci. However, Ashe would eat all the time if we would let him. So this paci is our attempt to hold him off to scheduled feeding times. The paci attempt is not going well, so this may be the only picture with the paci. Isn't he so cute with it.
Thank you Ms. Aimee for the cute bear shirt.

Getting Big

I can't believe how quickly he is growing. He is now staying up longer and is much more active. Today Ashe's umbilical cord fell off. He is also quickly growing out of clothes. There are many newborn outfits that Ashe no longer fits in. He is so big that when we went to buy his baptism outfit we had to buy it in 3 months size.
What a BIG boy!!!

Day and Night

This is Ashe during the day. I guess you can see the problem because at night he is wide awake. Why is it that babies are nocturnal little people?

Little Linebacker

Our little Linebacker wore his Dallas outfit for about an hour before leaking. I think we ordered a very leaky baby. Thank you Ms. Buschmohle for my back up football outfit. I now have something comfortable to wear when I leak from all the exciting plays.
Look how cute the football is on the backside of this outfit.

Sunday Football

Are you ready for some football?
Here are the boys cheering on the Dallas Cowboys on a relaxing Sunday afternoon. How cute do they all look wearing the football attire? Soooo Cute!!!

Thank you!!!

Thank you Klein family for my snuggly puppy pj's. Ms. Kristi is teaching me right... I will need to work on mom and dad for more puppy dogs.




Thank you Padilla family for so many cute baby things. Ashe like to spend time with his puppy from Ms. Aimee.
Since mom won't let the real puppy near me I will have to spend time with my stuffed friend. I know between Ms. Aimee and Ms. Kristi they will help me get another real puppy some day. Love, Ashe



Thank you Priske family for the super cute Pooh outfit.
I wish I could have gotten a better picture of it, the feet look like he is wearing Pooh Bear slippers.




We are so grateful for all the warm thoughts, prayers, and gifts that we have received as we brought Ashe into this world.
I just wanted everyone to know that we thank you and appreciate everything you have done.
Please, stay tune throughout the blog for many more pictures of beautiful gifts Ashe is enjoying.

First Bath

Tonight we had our first attempt with giving Ashe a bath. He had his first bath at the hospital but now it was our turn. It only took the three of us to give one little person a bath. After the bath he was so sleepy and couldn't wait to get into his comfortable jammies.
Boy did he sleep good tonight.

My Boys

Many of you know I thought for some time when we were pregnant with ashy that we were having a girl. I even thought I was a little disappointed that we weren't having a girl when we found out. I now know that God has a plan. He knows that I love my boys and that maybe I was meant to raise boys.
I hear girls are a lot of stress and work and I already give myself enough work. By having boys I will have the opportunity to just enjoy them, no matter how crazy they get.

Going to the Doctor's

Today was Ashe's first outing. We took him to see his new doctor, Dr. Smith. He was great, we are so happy (thanks for the tip Lynn). The doctor really spent time with us going over everything in detail and answering all of our concerns with patience. Ashe was very content he was even great when he got the needle in his foot. Poor Baby!!!

Big Brother Nick

Nick has waited so long to be a big brother. We even got to the point in our family that we were starting to think that Nick was never going to get his wish. Things were content at home with lots of rest and relaxation. Nick was now older and things were calm. I can't believe how much has changed in such a short time. Nick adores Ashe. He reads to him and plays with him and just thinks he is a great little guy. Ashe on the other hand follows Nick's voice when he is in the room. He loves to just look at Nick. I just hope these boys will always think the world of one another.

Daddy's Little Boy

Daddy is very excited to be welcoming a new little boy into our family. Now he has one more to turn his hair gray.

Our New Arrival

Today we welcomed our new little boy...

Ashe Dane Herod

Winter Park Memorial Hospital

Oct. 3, 2006

9lbs. 6ozs.

21.5 inches long

1:38pm

Welcome to the world!!!

After all that waiting and thinking he was never going to come. Today welcomed our new little one into the world on Tuesday Oct. 3, 2006. Now he and his cousin Stephanie share a birthday. The day that Ashe celebrated his first birthday his cousin in PA celebrated her 3rd birthday. We are so glad that he is with us and is healthy.

Going to the Hospital

This is my last official day of being pregnant. One part of me will miss having the baby growing inside of me. The other part of me will be glad not to be so uncomfortable and to be able to hold my precious baby boy in my hands. The smile in the picture above is from nervous. This morning I woke around 4:15 and thought that my water could possibly be leaking. I wasn't sure so I changed clothes and went back to sleep. I woke some time around 5, wet again. I still wasn't sure so around 6 I woke again and thought this could be it so I got in the shower and started to get ready for the work out ahead of me. After talking to the doctor we got to the hospital and starting checking in round 8 am. When I got to the hospital my water was leaking and I was 6 cm along, so I had to stay. I tried to tell them I was schedule to have my induction on Thursday, but the baby had other plans. The hospital was great and the staff was awesome. The best part of the whole experience was my anesthesiologist Larry, you were right Trish, Larry took good care of me. What woman in labor doesn't love the guy who hands out the meds. For those of you who don't know I work at Red Bug with Trish and she forewarned her husband Larry that I was coming to his hospital soon and I would be looking for him. When I got there he came right away just to make sure I was comfortable and didn't need my medicine. I was really thinking that I could do it without meds, silly me I waited until we thought it was too late. At 9 1/2 cm I was yelling for them to find my friend Larry. He came in and they didn't think there was time for the epidural so the gave me a spinal, a shot of medicine in the back. Well that medicine started to wear off and I was getting uncomfortable again. They then had to start the epidural because they thought he as face up and it was going to be a long pushing process. All he got in me was my first dose and it was time to have the baby. It was only a few pushes and our very big boy 9lbs. 6 oz. came into the world.

Ashe Dane Herod

Still Waiting

We are now many days overdue and we are still waiting for our little one to arrive. We were just so sure he would be here sometime in Sept. but we are now starting Oct. and he just won't come out. Here his bed sits waiting for him. I have mixed feeling about being ready. I am torn between being nervous about the whole experience and being excited to finally hold the baby we have waited so long to have. I feel like I have been pregnant forever and I am starting to think I will be like this 'til Easter. I think he has it too good in the womb. I have my doubts if he'll ever come out.

Dinner with the girls

Since I live with a house of boys it is very, very nice to get away and spend time with some girls. Tonight the girls from work took me out for what may be my last grown-up meal. With the little one soon to arrive I don't know when I will have the chance to eat real food and have adult conversation. So we went to a restaurant called Kobe. This is a Japanese steak house where they cook the food right in front of you on this large grill. It meant a lot that they did so much to make me feel special at this hard, sometimes emotional time. Since my family is so far away and I don't have them to close to turn to, it is nice to have special work friends that have made this pregnancy so wonderful for me.