Asher's 16 & 17 month update.

Dear Asher,
Mommy is very behind with keeping up with your blog. Please know that this is no reflection of a lack of care for you...it is however, because I am with you and your brother constantly and therefore haven't had the time that I'd like to have to spend on keeping this up-to-date. I'd rather be making memories with you than just writing notes, so you'll have to understand the condensed blog posts! I love you!! xoxo- mommy.

Asher had his 15 month check up- when he was actually 16 months old.
Here are his stats:

Weight: 28lbs (75-90th percentile)
Height: 33.25 inches (90th percentile)
Head- 50 cm (97th percentile)

Asher is doing great in his development. He pretty much can say most anything we ask him to say. He asks for the things he wants, and most of the time we understand what he says. :O) However, the other day he said something only Matthan could understand. He was going to take a nap and kept saying "bypasser, bypasser, bypasser" I kept asking him to repeat himself, he again said "bypasser" looking at me very intently as it that would help me know what he was trying to say. Matthan was downstairs and heard me trying to figure out what he was saying and he yelled upstairs "Mommy- Pacifier!" Sure enough, Asher wanted his pacifier. Due to cutting some teeth- he recently "found" one of his pacifiers from when he was younger and he has been rather attached to it ever since. The strange thing is in the past he never even put them in his mouth, he only held onto the pacifiers, but now, he chews on them.

As for sleep, Asher has been doing amazing! He actually seems excited to go to bed. We say "Are you ready for nap time" and he will say "nap" or "sleepy" and goes to get his blanket and other little belongings he likes to take with him, and without any objection he goes upstairs to bed. When I pray with him before bed- he starts saying "AMEN" at the points at which he thinks I should be wrapping things up. :O) I then tell him I love him- and he one day just started saying love you -which sounds more like "lus-u". He takes one nap during the day, and goes to bed early- sleeping 12-14 hours at night. Wonderful blessing! Im convinced he's making up for his first year of lack of sleep!

Asher still LOVES playing with Matthan. One of the first things he asks for when he wakes in the morning is "Maffey". They both adore one another- but wow they also can really struggle when one of them has a toy the other one wants. Lots of refereeing around here. LOTS!

As for Asher's food update. Well, he continues to be willing to try most of the foods he's offered. However, due to a rather sensitive gag reflex, he still prefers pureed forms of veggies and banana's. He eats quinoa, beans, chicken, salmon, ground beef, ham-etc. So, he's doing well overall with his eating.

Calling Mimi on the phone.

Asher remains very joyful. He laughs all of the time. Especially when told No. I know, not a good thing. I think he will be quite the challenge to discipline. He is certainly entering the world of the need for training- but determining what he can actually understand about the process, is what we are working through. He is a quick little guy. He will grab something (he shouldn't have) and run and hide behind the chair- laughing. Stinker!

A rare sight....the little one sleeping on mommy.
Asher loves playing with trucks, cars, his lawnmower, pretty much anything that Matthan enjoys. He loves this little statue of a puppy in his room, sometimes we hear him talking to the puppy in his crib. He loves wearing his shoes- and would go to bed wearing them if he could! He really loves playing outside- and could do so all day long despite how hot it is! He enjoys coloring as well! One day Mark noticed that as he was moving his hand back and forth on the paper to color, he also was moving his head in the same direction as he colored. :O) Silly boy. Recently he has started lifting his shirt up to show us his bellybutton. He then asks to see ours- and anyone else who may be around. He really is a lot of fun.

As for his allergies.....last month, he did have a very scary reaction.
Prior to putting him to bed one night, we had given him Benedryl, as he seemed to be affected by being outdoors that day. He went to bed without any problems. About 4-5 hours later he woke up screaming. We went in to find he had thrown up all over his crib. As we attempted to clean him up, I was holding him (in a dark room) and from the smallest bit of light on his face I could tell something looked strange. I told Mark we needed to turn the light on, something didn't seem right. Mark took him downstairs, and immediately was calling for me. I went down to see Asher's swollen body. His face,ears, hands, legs, and feet were blown up- covered in dark purple/red hives. It was terrifying. Immediately we were trying to figure out what to do. We gave him Benedryl, while I called the doctor. She advised we get him to the ER as it could be anaphylaxis given the severity of the reaction and the fact that he'd thrown up. She told me if he were to vomit on the way to the hospital, I needed to give him the Epi-pen injections. Needless to say, I was terrified. I had to drive Asher to the hospital by myself, because Mark had to wait for someone to come to the house to stay with Matthan while he slept. The whole way to the hospital I alternated between praying and talking to Asher to keep him awake and to make sure he was breathing ok. We got to the hospital, and they administered medication. It took 5 hours before he began to improve, but thank God he did respond. We had no idea what caused the reaction, which is what made the situation more alarming. His breathing was not affected, and his little swollen body, finally returned to normal.

We consulted with the specialist at Hopkins and they concluded that what had occurred was actually something called Histamine Dumping. At the time, Asher had a virus and this, likely disrupted his system and triggered this response. We were terrified and yet so grateful to God for so many details we couldn't have been aware of apart from this situation.

The ways God sovereignly cared for Asher: The fact that I gave him Benedryl before bed- this likely kept the swelling from getting to a more dangerous level. The fact that Asher woke up, and then alerted us in the middle of the night by crying- we therefore found him in time. We were so clearly reminded that God is our son's protector. He can be trusted. He loves him more than we do-which is so hard to even fathom. We are so grateful.

Asher Cannon, what an eventful two months you've had! Each day we love you more and more. We are so excited to see what God will teach us in the days ahead as we have the joy of being your mommy and daddy!