Asher

I'll try to post a few photos of our trip here.. they will be out of order of course.. :-\

Asher

Asher

Wow! What a thrilling day this has been. All the kids got to see and hold their new baby brother. Eli greeted his mom and since she was holding Asher, he announced 'I turn!', and he was allowed to hold him. I was a bit concerned that he would have a meltdown again when he saw his mom, but I'm told he did very very well with the visit. Amen.
He has done quite well today for Wendell and me also. I have to admit, he took a very long afternoon nap, but woke up very pleasant later. I made roast beef and mashed potatoes for supper. It was all put away when Eli woke up, so he had a ham and cheese on white with a handful of chips.. followed by cherry jello with whipped topping and then some fresh strawberries- he ate every one.
The older kids went outside to play for a while and I got the evening snack ready. Esther asked me one day this week if I could please stay longer as she loves having a real prepared evening or bedtime snack. Truth be known, I do it for Wendell especially to ward off insulin shock.. you know, just in case? But I've been more creative with the snacks.. apples and cheese, cheese and crackers, or crackers with cream cheese.. tonite we had a dinner plate full of fresh strawberries along with colby-jack cheese. Another plate had crackers filled with cream cheese. I asked the kids if it was okay and they all gave me a thumbs up and said "awesome!"

It's 11 pm right now.. I'm really tired, but though all the household is asleep.. Eli is awake and 'fixing' the kitchen table with masking tape. He's so sweet- "one more pease?".. how could I say no to that polite little guy?? With each piece of tape he tells me 'tack you'.. and I reply 'you're welcome!'

I think I need a little sandwich before bed. I missed out on the bedtime snack.. and since I can't eat beef, I feel a little hungry..

baby Asher Valentine

Cory with baby Asher

Papa held him too.. he's so little!

Happy Birth Day Asher

It was a rough night for everyone.. I guess I mentioned that I got up around 2:30am with Wendy. I had a difficult time assessing her status, but it seemed she was having some hard contractions though they were not even close to regular or mostly short duration. Braxton Hicks can do that too.. but she was so very miserable .. She called the hospital to ask what to do.. of course they told her to come in to be checked.. I knew something was up, but Asher wasn't due till August 13th.
Wendy toyed with the idea of getting some relief in a warm tub of water, but between Cory and me, we urged her to just go get checked out.. that was after 4am.. Asher made his appearance at 5am. We were all truly surprised, but delighted. He's a little guy- 5# and 6 oz- Wendy was 5#12oz when she was born at 36 weeks also. He's 19" long.. definitely preemie. He spent the first few hours in the NICU but did so well, he's now in the regular nursery and the plan is to hopefully bring him home Saturday if nothing else holds him back.
The kids were so excited when Cory came through the door and said "Asher is Here!"
In fact he had to call them all back inside, as they thought he meant he brought him home with him..
We made arrangements for the other grandparents to take the kids down after lunch.. Wendell and I cranked up my GPS and off we went to the hospital to see #10 grandchild. He was in the room with Wendy and the nurse had just changed his diaper..I did take a couple pictures and some movies of him too..