pumpkin patch

Saturday we took Asher to his first pumpkin patch. Quinn's work had an event at Ganyard Hill Farm in Durham.

Besides the ridiculously cold temperatures it was a lot of fun.

First stop was visiting the goats with Dad.

Next up was some cotton picking with Mom.

We spent some time in the patch and picked out three pumpkins to take home with us.

After snapping a family photo it started to get dark and really really cold. We ate some food and then hurried home.  We stopped for hot cider on the way home which helped warm us all up. Then we settled down to watch some ALCS playoffs. Unfortunately, I had to go to bed before the game was over.

Our house is slowly starting to feel more like a home. I cooked our first meal in the house and I'm beside myself with the amount of counter space and cupboard space. I love it! We also had neighbors stop by today and bring us brownies and welcome us to the neighborhood.

moving day(s)

We have spent the last two weeks getting the house move-in ready. My mother-in-law graciously came down last week and helped us paint all the bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was an ugly pale orange and one was a bright pink. We also painted the master bedroom. It was blue. We are so grateful she could come down and spend the week with us. We could not have done it without her.

Tuesday the movers came and moved all of our stuff from storage to the house. Here we are in front of our new house on moving day!

We spent a lot of the day unpacking. We made good progress but we still slept at the apartment since our clothes and toiletries were there.

Asher and I spent Wednesday at the house waiting for the cable guy and doing more unpacking. I took this picture of Asher playing with Daddy's lancer replica from Gears of War. It might make me a bad mom, but I think it is adorable :)

Today I spent  most of the day packing up all the stuff we have acquired over the last 3 months. We have made due (or at least we thought) with the bare minimum but we still somehow managed to accumulate a ton of stuff. After work Quinn made a couple of runs to the house with boxes of stuff. We will sleep one more night here at the apartment and tomorrow we will officially be living in our new house!

another first

Yesterday Asher had a bit of a tough day. It really wasn't that bad all things considered but since he is usually so amiable, I was a little frustrated. I tried for about 2 hours to get him to go down for a nap. He just cried and thrashed around the whole time. Very unlike him. He finally went down but not until he had been up for about 5 hours straight. His crankiness continued throughout the afternoon. Then today, I discovered why. I felt his first tooth coming through. I don't know why but this just got me so excited. My little boy is growing so fast. I can't believe how much he changes everyday.

progress

my little eating champ!

the joys of home ownership

We have already had our first unexpected surprise with our home. Thankfully this is a cheap and relatively easy fix. We drove out to the house today to do some cleaning. We had brought a few blankets for Asher to play on while we cleaned. We spread them out on the carpet in the master bedroom and let him roam. A few minutes later Quinn and I joined Asher on the floor to eat the Taco Bell we had picked up on the way. Pretty soon Quinn kept seeing little bugs everywhere. He wasn't sure what they were. We watched them for a while and Quinn said he thought they might be fleas. Yuck. It wasn't long before I saw two jump on and off of Asher. That was it. I picked him up off of the floor lightening fast and we were out of there. We packed up everything in the car and left. As soon as we got home I started calling and emailing exterminators. I even got a hold of one at 5 pm on a Saturday. He is coming out to the house Monday night to take care of the fleas. He asked if the previous owners had a pet and I told them they had a cat. "Great, cat fleas, those are the worst," was his response. Yay, what joy is mine. Also, he told me because of the life-cycle of fleas that it will take 6-8 months to get rid of them completely. Great, again, what joy is mine.

I was a little disheartened by this experience. Not exactly the way you want your first 15 minutes to go in your new home, but deep down I know we are actually really lucky we caught this before we moved in all of our stuff.

it's ours

We closed on the house at the crack of dawn this morning. We had to be at the attorney's office at 8:30 am and with a baby that feels like the crack of dawn to me. About 45 initials and 30 signatures later we had the keys in hand. Asher and I were exhausted from the excitement of it all so we went back to the apartment for our mid-morning naps and Quinn went off to work. It doesn't feel real yet. But I think after we do some work in the house this weekend it will start to become more of a reality. I think we will move in the weekend of the 10th.

After our naps, Asher and I went to the mall today to return a few things. While leaving the mall parking lot I saw a RAT...disgusting. It ran right under my car. I know I was in the safety of my car but I still screamed and it sent shivers down my spine. I kow they are out there but why do I have to see them and in the mall parking lot of all places?

So between buying a house and seeing a rat it was a pretty eventful day!

time flies

Asher is 6 months old today. I have no idea how that happened. I swear he was just born yesterday. I know all I have to do is blink and we will be celebrating his first birthday. It goes by so fast.

But what a difference six months makes. I remember being totally overwhelmed when he was first born, totally sleep deprived and wondering if I would ever have a "normal" life again. Thankfully, I don't have my old "normal" life back, I have a new and improved "normal" life which involves spending time with Asher every day. He is pure joy wrapped up in a not so little 18 pound package.

I mean with dimples like those how could I not want to spend every waking minute with that?

                                         

Asher has the happiest disposition. He just wants to laugh, smile and play all day. He definitely has his Dad's personality.

He hardly ever cries.

He still doesn't like to nap very much.

He now thankfully sleeps about 11 to 12 hours straight!!!!!!!

He has slowly been introduced to fruits and veggies. He still HATES the rice cereal, he is not so sure about peas, but really enjoys applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash and prunes.

He now totally refuses formula which I'm desperately trying to rectify.

He is incredibly curious and grabs at everything. I can no longer hold him and eat or drink anything at the same time.

He is constantly pulling at and out my hair. Ouch!

To celebrate his half birthday we gave him what I'm sure will be the first of much officially licensed apparel...an Iron Man graphic tee. We are also going to give him some juice today as a special treat. Well, really this is more of an attempt to help him figure out the sippy cup. I've been putting formula in it but once a drop touches his tongue and he figures out that it is formula he stops trying.

                                          

This was obviously taken before he realized there was formula in the cup.

cha-ching

I think I'm finally getting the hang of the coupon world. The local grocery store, Harris Teeter, just started triple coupons this morning. I went first thing this morning before Quinn left for work so I could just run in without having to haul the baby. Last night I prepped by scanning the blogs for the list of freebies and cheapies. Here is what I came away with.

I paid a grand total of $7.59 for all of it. But even that I feel is a bit misleading because i had to buy salsa because I needed it for two meals this week (and I'm picky about my salsa) so that added 3 dollars to my total. But all in all I'm feeling really great about it and I'm excited to do it all again on Monday after I get the new Sunday paper!

farmer's market

We went to the State Farmer's Market this Saturday and had so much fun. We walked up and down the aisles drooling over the fruits and vegetables. Quinn's favorite booth was a booth with about 15 different varieties of salsa. We ended up buying a super delicious mango salsa. We also bought some fall peaches and an italian loaf bread. We ate lunch at the NC Seafood Restaurant on-site with all kinds of seafood from the shores of North Carolina. We ended up sharing a lunch plate that consisted of fried flounder, cole slaw, fries and hush puppies followed by a slice of coconut cream pie. A very delicious southern meal.  Now that I know all that the market has to offer, I can't wait to go back this weekend.

Later that day we drove around in the town we are moving too where we saw this little delight... an entire fast food restaurant revolving around the biscuit. I think I'm going to enjoy living in the South.

a sitting-up montage

Asher has really started to sit up lately. We did a photo shoot this morning to commemorate.

under contract

We are officially under contract to buy this house:

the yard is huge

I'm so excited to have a proper kitchen and not a lame apartment kitchen

If all goes as planned we will close on September 30th. I'm excited for some southern country living! There is even a swing on the front porch!

our first attempt

"i'm not so sure about this"

"yup, i'm pretty sure i don't like this"

"i think this look should tell you how i feel about what you just put in my mouth"

and if those pictures don't tell you enough about how our first attempt went, check out the video. Notice how Asher tries desperately to hurl his body out of the Bumbo so that he can get as far away from the rice cereal as possible.

4 months at 5 months

Asher went to his new pediatrician today for his 4 month check up. We are a month behind with the whole moving business. He passed with flying colors.

Weight: 17 lbs and 7 oz --90th percentile
Height: 26 1/2 inches --92nd percentile

He smiled and laughed with the doctor the whole time. She could hardly help herself and just giggled and flirted back with him the entire appointment. She asked me if he was always like that. I told her yes. He pretty much smiles and laughs all day long. He was a huge hit.

He got a couple of pokes in his legs and off we went.

We cuddled up on the couch when we got home. I got a few "you know that long needle thing they stuck me with? well, that kind of hurt and I need extra attention today" cries, but now he is fast asleep.

I just love this boy!

He is growing up so fast. He grabs at everything now and my hair is definitely paying the price. He is dying to sit up. Bath time is a struggle since he won't relax enough to lay back but also can't quite sit up yet. He pretty much spends his days laughing, smiling, bouncing in his jumparoo and resisting all attempts to get him to nap. I think this week sometime we will introduce him to the wonderful world of solid food.

cameron and the beach

My newly engaged brother (yay! Cameron & Ashley) came into town this weekend for a quick visit. He took the red-eye in Thursday night/Friday morning. We hung out mostly at home Friday because he was pretty much too tired to do anything but we made up for it today. We headed out early this morning to Wrightsville Beach. We spent a couple of hours there soaking up the sun and the waves. Cameron and Quinn played frisbee in the ocean while Asher and I chilled under the umbrella. (These aren't the greatest pics because I forgot my memory card at home and Cameron ran out of disc space so we did camera phone pics.)
Quinn did dip Asher's toes into the sand and water. He liked the sand...the water, not so much.

After the beach we drove into Wilmington to check it out. We passed the USS North Carolina Battleship Memorial and thought we would check it out. This battleship served in the Pacific during WWII.

The boys walking towards the ship


Asher holding onto the battleship

We didn't take the tour because we didn't have the time to make it worth the money but we definitely plan on going back.

We then headed back home exhausted. Cameron heads back to Arizona tomorrow but we are so glad Cameron could come to visit even if it was only for a few days.

frugality

I've been wanting to get into the world of coupon shopping for a while now. I've been to many websites but it all sort of seemed overwhelming and I didn't know where to start. Last week I saw a show that talked about this lady and her website The Grocery Game. Basically, she will provide you with a list of the best sales and the best way to use your coupons to maximize those sales for each week for pretty much any grocery store. So I signed up for the 4 week trial (I think it is $10 for a 12 week subscription after that). So I did it. I bought the Sunday paper and clipped away last night. Then I logged on and chose the store I wanted and saw the list of what she recommends buying this week. I made my list, gathered up my coupons and off I went this morning.

Here are the end results:

I bought $72.87 worth of groceries and cleaning supplies for a total cost of $38.09 for a total savings of: $34.78

Not bad for my first time out. And I know the more I clip the more I will be able to save. And I bought two things that I didn't have a coupon for some wheat bread and a soda (because it is ridiculously hot here today and I was dying!)

Also, I'm getting better and navigating the world of getting screaming deals at Walgreens. And now I live by RiteAid so I need to start learning about that too.

lately

Quinn and his mom, Vicky were able to fly back to Dallas last weekend and drive the truck back. I'm so glad and thankful Vicky was able to make the drive with Quinn. And many thanks to our friends Sterling and KC who drove them out to Rockwall where the truck broke down!!

While they were gone Asher got a new toy. We copied his cousin Miley and ended up with the same jumparoo.

This kid loves and needs constant stimulation. So I'm loving this because I can put him in it and get a good 30 minutes out of it before he realizes I'm not paying attention to him. I love to watch him discover all the little things at his fingertips. And just today he finally figured out that the seat turns so he can move from section to section.

Vicky was able to stay for a few days and was a huge help to us when the moving truck arrived with all of our stuff and also on our first day of house hunting.

Quinn also took her for a tour of his office.


Asher loved having his Grandma visit.

Asher and I spent the day at home yesterday working on his sleeping habits. I think we are making progress. We have been doing the same today as well. He has been such a happy and joyful little boy through all the chaos of the last few weeks but it has definitely messed with his sleeping habits. I'm hoping we can get back on track soon.

Tomorrow we go looking at houses again. I liked 3 of the 6 we already looked at so I'm hopeful we will be able to find something we love.

we are here

Asher and I have been in Cary for a few days now and are adjusting well. It is really a beautiful place. There are trees every where and it is taking me a minute to get use to that. Especially since they block your view of everything so you often don't know you are at where you wanted to be at until you have already passed it. The u-turn is my friend.

We had a few hiccups getting here. My mom, Asher and I flew in Saturday morning. I called Quinn to get an update on how far he and my dad were in their drive. Not far. The transmission in the truck blew about 30 minutes outside of Dallas. After much debate, they decided to leave the truck to get fixed the following week and press on together in the other car. There were really no good options and at least this way they were together and no one had to drive alone and Quinn didn't miss work and my Dad didn't miss spending time with the family (Danny, Stacey & Jax had come down from VA). Quinn will fly back to Dallas tomorrow and do the drive all over again. Thankfully, his Mom has graciously agreed to join him. I just hate the thought of anyone driving long distances by themselves. I'm just a worrier that way so this definitely puts my mind at ease.

We have already seen quite a bit of NC. We drove about 2 hours to Carolina Beach one day. It was a lot of fun. I spent most of my time under the umbrella with Asher. I did walk along the beach for about 15 minutes and came back with a nice sunburn on one arm.

We toured several college campuses...NC State, Duke and UNC Chapel Hill. We got an early start for Asher :)Future Blue Devil??

We drove out to see the Raleigh temple. It was raining so I didn't actually get out of the car so no pics of that.

All in all it has been a great start to our new life here. I am still having such a hard time believing that this is where I live now.

moving day

for heather

It finally fits!

4 months

Asher is now 4 months old. Where has the time gone? I can't believe he is already that old.


Asher is joy during the day...not so much at night :)

He now weighs probably close to 17 pounds. He is HUGE! He laughs all the time. He loves to play with toys and grabs at everything, including my hair. He loves his hands and feet and is constantly trying to suck on them. Just in the last two days he has mastered rolling over--both tummy to back and back to tummy. He had mastered sleeping in the crib and sleeping all night but our trip to Virginia has set him back a bit. I am seeing progress everyday but I'm sure it will all be undone with the move this weekend. Oh well, we will get there eventually.

I'm excited for the upcoming months to see how he further grows and develops.!

time of his life

I'm pretty sure Quinn is having the time of his life. Every time I speak to him on the phone he just raves about his new job. It is so exciting to hear about him interacting professionally with people he has looked up to for so long.

Quinn arrived safely in Cary, NC on Tuesday morning. There was a small snafu when he got to our temporary apartment and it was only a one bedroom. The company is switching him to a two bedroom on Friday just in time for Asher and I to get there. Other than that, everything has gone smoothly.

This single parent thing is hard. I've realized how lucky I've been to have Quinn home the last few months. It's only been three days but I miss having someone else around to help out with Asher. I really missed Quinn last night when Asher was awake from 2 am to 3 am. Thank goodness my Mom agreed to come and help out while I do moving related tasks. I can't wait for her to get here on Monday so I can have a little adult company.

Family Reunion 2009

We got back Sunday night from the DelHoyo family reunion in Lake Anna, VA. We had such a great time. It was so nice to be with all of the DelHoyo family. I got to finally meet the people in the family I had yet to meet since being married to Quinn and everyone got to meet Asher. For a better recap and more pictures you can visit my sister-in-law Cara's blog here and here. For now I'm going to stick to chronicling Asher's reunion.

Here he is on his first airplane ride. He was so good and I had suffered such anxiety over it but it was all for not.

He got to meet his cousins--Miley (3 months), Chloe (10 mos) and then Asher (4 mos) and yes I am aware he is the biggest one.

He got decked out in his swim attire and headed to the lake.

More lakeside fun for Asher who spent his time in the shade with Mom.

Dad dipped his toes in the water. He didn't like it very much.

He enjoyed sitting out on the deck with Mom but not for too long because Mom kept getting bit by mosquitoes.

He discovered he can suck on his toes.

He visited the beach again with the family.

And he was much more alert on the ride home.

bright and early

Bright and early tomorrow morning we are getting on a plane for Virginia to go to Lake Anna and stay here and spend a week with Quinn's family. I'm so excited but also nervous for Asher's first plane ride. He has been known to cry for long periods of time for no particular reason (at least as far as I can tell). I'm really hoping that doesn't happen tomorrow. Luckily, I checked seats this afternoon and the entire back of the plane is empty so I'm hoping we won't disturb too many people.

I'll catch up next week when we get back!

my new pastime

I've been messing around in Photoshop. I really want to take a class some day soon as well as some sort of basic photography class so i can take better pictures of Asher. This is what I created today.

Before:


After: