Est. 2006 The Schreibman

Beach Week 2013

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 02:04:00 +0000

Click here to view this photo book larger

The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.

Life is great...

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:25:00 +0000

so great that i fell off the blogging band wagon for the past 6 months.
i took the extra energy that i put into the blog each night and put it into being a good mom, wife and coworker. i also attempted to get some sleep juggling this busy life, but im pretty sure i failed at that.

did i miss blogging? yes.
it helps me keep up with my life.
this life i live moves much to fast for my liking.

so i am back.
to what extent is unknown.
but i plan to post here and there.
when i feel like it
to capture these memories i cherish so very much in our lives.

we still have a lot going on. who doesn't?

the mr.
the mr. graduates with his MBA in 3 short months. we would be lying if we didnt admit that we were counting down the days. he loves his work at the hospital system and is taking on new leadership roles and projects daily. they love him.

the mrs.
work is good but unbelievably busy. doing the work of four people is exhausting and we are short staffed. missing the boys daily while keeping it real. currently playing the role of room parent for both classes even though mr. mayer isnt at school yet. crafting up a storm. loving the new craft room and the cricut. even got a laminator!

mr. asher
four years old going on fourteen. he is unbelievably articulate. his vocabulary never ceases to amaze us and he is very interested in participating in all of our conversations, appropriate or not. he has tons of energy but very minimal focus. boy much? his teacher is ms. miriam this year and a much smaller class. he is happy go lucky yet forming his own identity

mr. mayer
14 months old and crawling and climbing like a wild man. he is mischievous and devious ... yet completely delicious. his big plump lips and his 6 teeth are always smiling. rarely does her get upset or fuss without real reason. he wants to walk so badly but he is SO BIG. his height is way off the charts and his weight is still within the 80th percentile. mayer has stolen our hearts and pulls on our heart strings daily.

the family
unfortunately papu has not been doing so well over the past 6-12 months and his health continues to decline. i am not sure how much i have actually blogged about his parkinsons disease in the past but there are no more secrets in this house. papu's disease is taking a major toll on him. he has been living in an assisted living facility for the past 12 months and it is now time to move him to the memory care unit so that he can get the 24 hour care he needs. he continues to fall multiple times a week and his cognitive abilities are fighting to hold on. this has been quite a heart break for us over the past few years and this past year has been tremendously hard. we ask that anyone who reads our blog pray that we can all find peace with papu's disease and that we are given the opportunity to spend as much time with him as our lord our god will allow. softa celebrated her 65th birthday this summer and has gotten her back on the ground after the rough start from earlier this year. she continues to watch mayer on thursdays and asher con's her into frequent sleepovers at her place. nana and poppy have a rocking business giving LinkedIn seminars and tutoring clients on how to leverage LinkedIn to grow their network or business. they have also taken great aunt estelle in under their wings in recent months. she keeps them on their toes and very very busy. over the summer asher spent the night with nana and poppy every Tuesday night after Tae Kwon Do. it was quite a treat to both us and to him.

life is great...
we count our blessings daily and are so thankful to live this life.

Asher's Spring 2013 Progress

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:14:00 +0000

As come to close another school year we are in awe over asher's progress.
his teacher's state...
"asher is a terrific little boy. his communication skills and joyous personality allows him to develop wonderful relationships with his teachers and peers. asher approaches new things with great enthusiasm allowing others to follow in his footsteps. he especially loves participating in sports, games and any physical activity associated with running....asher enjoys coloring, writing and creating with all art materials. he utilizes and creates with markers, crayons, and pencils actively using a tripod grip. this technique is great for early writing skills. continue to encourage letter and number recognition through puzzles, games and picture cards during the summer. This was a year well spent getting to know asher aka the AshMan. Love, Team Keshest"

that pretty much sums up my boy.
he is loving, nurturing, caring and sweet.
he truly "loves him family" as he reminds us daily both verbally and physically.
he loves to snuggle, cuddle, hug and kiss.

i cant believe in one short month he will be 4.

Mayer Man at 9 months

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 01:18:00 +0000

Mayer is still THE BEAST
he is somewhere above 23 lbs and
he is wearing 18-24 months or 2T clothes.
mayer loves all kinds of foods, all textures of foods and doesnt care what temperature they are.
he eats baby food and table food
he drinks about 20 ounces of milk a day and is still napping 2-3 times a day
his naps are not consistent and can range from 30 minutes to 2 hours each nap.
the one consistent thing is his night time sleep. 645 to 630. since he was three months old
just like asher he rarely if ever wakes at night (teeth and high fever were the exception)
mayer has 4 teeth (top two and bottom two) and is attempting to cut many more at one time.
at 8 months and 3 weeks he finally decided to take a bottle.
he took the ThinkBaby transition bottle/sippy cup.
he felt like a miracle and is such a relief for our entire family.
freeeeeedom!
mayer loves it when you sing or read to him.
every monday his nanny elizabeth takes him to music class and he loves the music
he LOVES attention. wants it all of the time. he loves to snuggle and be held.
he is very very very busy. asher was never ever like this. he wants to get into everything, grab everything, squirm out of your arms when you are holding him.
he is log rolling, army crawling and pulling up on to all fours in the crawling position and rocking back and forth on his own. he can pull both his knees under him and his arms, now he has to coordinate it all to move forward to crawl. he loves to stand and lean up against the couch.
we took out his bumpers around 8 1/2 months since he started tugging on them and rolling all over his crib.
mayer is SO serious in public. blue steele. it takes him quite a long time to warm up but once he is comfortable he talks non stop, laughs with deep belly laughs and smiles constantly.
mayer LOVES to talk. non stop
he can say momma, dada, bella, asher, bye, hi
he can wave hi and shake his head no

mayer still is getting PT every other week and has not had a major episode in so long i cant remember.
he had a minor tilting episode one week ago, but its nothing to write about.

all things books...

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:39:00 +0000

brothers book reading before bed time

asher story telling...

books are big time around here. we read them. play with them, talk about them and admire the pictures.

saturday morning entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:55:00 +0000

this will be shown at ashers wedding.

mark my word.

ps this is rated pg 13.

ashers passover story

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:28:00 +0000

Chag Sameach Pesach!

...frogs in your underwear.... (asher's version)

i am hosting pesach this year...

i think i was crazy for thinking i could pull this off with two young kids, working full time and finally feeling healthy for the first time in ohhhhh 10 months!

but we are doing it, with lots of help from family.

i finally get to use the seder plate rabbi judy gave us at our wedding 7 years ago next week.

on the menu:

brie, smoked cheddar cheese, matzah crackers, spinach artichoke dip, veggies for dipping

matzah ball soup, gefilte fish, hard boiled eggs, charoses, matzah

leg of lamb, brisket, tzimmes, broccoli casserole,

berries in a cloud (meringue and mousse), fruit and whipped cream

amazing, both my 32nd birthday and our 7 year anniversary fall on pesach this year

multiple milestones

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:25:00 +0000

mayer is learning new things everyday...

just in the past two weeks he started clapping. this is his version of the clap.

this weekend we got "ma ma", inch worm crawling, rolling continuously like a log and he picked up a mirror, saw himself in it and smiled unprompted.

i forgot how awesome it is to watch a child experience new milestones such as these....

and his laugh is contagious...

filling in the blanks

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:49:00 +0000

more photos from the past two months. thank goodness for the iphone camera and photo stream.

it is no secret that asher has mommy's exact hair color and texture.

that means its super thick

daddy loves it shaggy and long

mommy is in the middle

softa and nana liked it trimmed up

asher's most recent hair cut was his best yet

he now has his own stylist at doolittle's (Shannon) who has been cutting his hair the past two years.

i think we mastered the asher cut!

asher learned all about purim at school this year and kept coming home telling me different pieces of the story. i asked him what he wanted to dress up as for purim and he said "haman". of course my sweet sweet boy wants to be the nasty evil character. and so i made his costume. the hat was huge and hilarious. needless to say after being haman for shabbat at school on friday he decided he wanted to be a king for the celebration the next day at temple. i whipped up two costumes, used crowns from previous years. and we paraded through temple celebrating purim last month!

i waited till the last minute to make the costumes (because I had been sick, of course!) and had to drop it at school that morning since he had spent the night with nana and poppy. i had no idea the hate would be that huge!

trying on their crowns at dinner

mayer ready for the tot parade at temple

king mayer

mayer has the funniest faces

he laughs constantly

but is so shy in public

this was a laughing session before bed time

the boys love to take baths together now. mayer would prefer to lay in the water. he is a total fish and loves to kick and float. he doesnt even mind if the water waves over his face.

did i mention we have been sick? yup.

one of the many weekends asher was sick

he had been throwing up since the middle of the night.

he was pitiful.

mayer with his nanny elizabeth. she would kill me if she knew i posted this of her.

she rarely ever wears her back, but mayer is a hair puller so lately she has had to wear it back.

mayer had a crazy rash all over his cheeks. not sure what it was, but probably some virus.

mr sweet cheeks.

this is his most favorite smile. he scrunches up his nose, shows off his teeth and smiles with his entire face. i am obsessed with this face

more to come...

two months later...

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:09:00 +0000

im completely embarrassed that i have not blogged in two months to the day.

for most of the very same reasons as i mentioned last time

but most importantly.

we have spent the past two months being a family

loving every minute of every day that we have spent together

oogly googly over mayer and everything he does

warmed by the love and compassion that asher possesses

nursing ourselves back to health

spending time with family and friends

trying to live life... a very crazy busy life.

ive missed blogging.

many a nights when i have laid down in bed, exhausted i think about writing a blog or posting some adorably cute photos of these kids that i can not get enough of. but instead i chose sleep. sleep that i so desperately need to be the very best mom i can be.

it is no secret that i have been sick. really sick for the past 9 months. ive been on antibiotics and steriods more than i have been off of them. ive been in and out of my doctors offices almost bi-weekly. my body is exhausted and so is my spirit. after a very rough month of february we finally determined that i would need sinus and nasal surgery. 9 days ago i had surgery. the day after surgery i can down with a stomach virus or a reaction to the anesthesia. i felt like the sickness was never going to end. thankfully i am finally on the upswing. battling migraines and headaches post surgery, but trying to put the pieces back together on this thing called life.

(daddy's mini me)

mayer is a totally different child than two months ago.

i missed documenting so many milestones

one week shy of 8 months old he is 23 lbs and 30 inches.

he is wearing 18-24 months clothes and has officially outgrown everything season appropriate we had from asher...forcing us to go out and for the first time ever, buy clothes to hold us over till it is consistently warm.

mayer is rolling from back to front, front to back.

he lifts his knees up under him and sticks his tush in the air.

he can rotate around on his tummy in a circle and is working on perfecting his army crawl.

he can hold himself up on all fours and rock back and forth.

mayer loves to talk. he is extremely verbal, yaps non stop, squeals and loves to hear himself.

mayer is a very snuggly baby. asher was the complete opposite so i am really enjoying my snuggles.

he is still exclusively nursing and refusing a bottle. he loves to nurse and typically nurses 3-4 times a day. he is a very fast and efficient nurser, sometimes using it as a way to comfort himself but mostly just to eat. mayer is eating any and all kinds of baby food, homemade chunky or stage 2/3

he enjoys bread products and is starting to eat table food.

mayer refuses to bring anything except his hands to his mouth. but if you put it in his mouth you can guarantee he will bite it...

he has cut four teeth. his top two and his bottom two. all of this without putting one toy or chew toy in his mouth. he cut his bottom two teeth right before his 6 month birthday almost simultaneously and cut his two top teeth right after he turned 7 months. we had several sleepless nights because of his painful early teething.

mayer started swim lessons right after his 6 month birthday and he LOVES them. he is extremely calm and relaxed in the water and never cries (he is pretty much the only baby that doesnt cry).

mayer has very sensitive skin and has had multiple rashes on his sweet lil cheeks

asher adores mayer. he is sweet, gentle and patient with him. he reads to him, talks to him and always wants him nearby. lately he wants confirmation that his brother loves him. "mommy mayer is looking at me, he likes me!" he still will only kiss him on the top of his head or on his forehead. mayer likes to pull asher's hair.

asher is constantly verbally exploding. he says the funniest things and we continue to journal all of the things he says so that we can look back and laugh together. he is one of the most genuinely sweet and loving children i know. he loves to hug and be hugged, kiss and be kissed, snuggled and praised. he is very open about his feelings and tells us that he loves us daily if not multiple times per day without prompting.

just this morning he asked me if he could get into bed with me after he woke, to snuggle. we spent 20 minutes snuggling. i didnt care how late i would be to work. those 20 minutes were worth cherishing.

for the past two months asher and daddy participated in a dad and me sports class with coach dan at the jcc that introduced all different types of sports. his favorite was basketball and his least favorite was soccer. we found this funny since we both played soccer in high school.

asher's attention span is extremely short. much like his mommy. he has a hard time staying focused on anything and can bounce around in conversations as well as activities. he is a social butterfly and doesnt know a stranger. everyone is his friend.

he is beginning to recognize and write his letters, but we have some work to do in this area before his transition to the 4's class next year. he loves to read and sit and "read books". he loves to trace and draw. he is passionate about crafts and cooking, just like his mommy. we started a sunday tradition of baking blueberry sour cream muffins that he enjoys greatly. he actively participates in baking, cooking, setting the table, putting away the silverware from the dishwasher, taking his dishes to the sink and putting his clothes in the laundry basket.

these kids are the most amazing blessing in our lives. we are so thankful for their presence, innocence and joy that they bring into our lives.

so much more to share... so little time.

i promise to be back soon for some more.

the beast

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 03:11:00 +0000

at 6 months old
mayer weighs 21 lbs 2 ounces
he measures 29 inches

mayer is the same height at 6 months that asher was at one year.
we are in for one heck of a ride.

Daddy's Pride and Joy

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:39:00 +0000

the Mr. put together this cute video of the boys...using iMovie...

we just got a new iMac so he wanted to test it out... supposedly it was super easy to do.

i think its super cute, but i am biased

enjoy.

Brudders Bond

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 23:08:00 +0000

asher truly loves his brudder.

different than girls, he was always affectionate but at somewhat of a distance.

or he would talk about loving his brother and kiss him on the head or forehead...

now that mayer is more interactive he wants to be closer to him, bathe with him, kiss him on his cheeks and lips and "play" with him.

i love watching mayer follow asher around a room or watch him talk to him

the brudder's bond is forming...

Bubbbbbles!

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 01:49:00 +0000

mayer is great at mimicing...tonight it was blowing bubbles

he is delicious.

Mayer Update 4/5/6 Months...ek!

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 15:01:00 +0000

im ashamed that i havent posted an update on mayer's progress since september....

we are creeping on his 6 month appointment and god forbid the world wide web doesnt have his stats documented.

clearly my priorities are out of whack.

mayer is GINORMOUS.

that sums it up

at his 5 month appointment (which really was probably a sick visit, because we are professional sickos around here)

he weighed 19+ lbs, measured 28 inches. his head is 25th%tile. tiny compared to the rest of him. he has a perfect head shape. thank goodness!

he is WAY off the charts. WAYYYYY.

his height is crazy off and his weight is just slightly off.

he is wearing 12-18 month clothes and in some cases 18 month clothes

mayer can roll from his tummy to his right side. thats it. too much mass to move. he loves his tummy

he is just starting to sit up without assistance, but still teeters over often

he LOVES baby food. this is foreign to momma bear. i had no clue what a baby food eatin baby was like. we introduced food at 4 months. i had no choice. he still refuses the bottle and the kid clearly loves to eat. he can scarf down some baby food. we have introduced carrots, apples, pears, bananas, peas, broccoli, avocado, squash, mango, milk, milk and more milk. breast milk of course. he also loves to eat his hands. he still hasnt figured out that he can bring things up to his mouth other than his hands.

im still coming home at lunch every day to nurse.

at almost 6 months mayer has a great schedule

he has been sleeping through the night since 3 months, with a few blips from ear infections.

he wakes around 630. nurses and goes back to sleep till about 9. wakes eats some kind of baby food, plays and naps from 1030-12ish, wakes in time for me to get home to nurse, nurses and then typically goes down for a nap around 130-330/4. Plays lots till i get home. Nurses when I get home at 515, eats his baby food dinner and by 630 he is DONE and ready for bed. bath, book, song, nurse and in bed lights out no later than 7 or he turns into a devil. zzzzzzzzzz through the night.

he still receives PT every other week for his BPT. he still has episodes about once every two weeks.

he was super crooked this episode....but typically still a happy guy.

ive reintroduced leafy greens, acidics and dairy.

we are almost 100% weaned off reflux meds!

now if we could get rid of these double ear infections.

we are on our second one in a month and just cant seem to kick this one we are on antibiotic #3

and a few more cute sweet photos of mayer from the past months iphone photos...

i rarely have my camera with me anymore and tend to use my iphone more than anything.

hopefully this weekend i can get some real shot outside in the upcoming beautiful weather!

mayer is yet another angel baby. he is sweet. smiley snuggly. delicious. im in love all over again. sometimes i cant believe these kids are both mine. so blessed.

Back Blogged

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:25:00 +0000

Im so far behind its not even funny. Another month has passed without a blog update.
We have definitely had a bad streak of luck over the past few months and are praying that things are looking up for our family in 2013.

My modified schedule is ending this weekend and I will return back to work full time.
I am convinced my prayers are being heard that we need things to calm back down in our lives.

In order to remember this hectic time I will rehash some of the recent life events.
Poor softa had 3 vertigo attacks over the course of a month. During each of them she was laid up in our family room on our sleeper sofa from 3-5+ days. She is now living with us till the end of the month until she moves into her apartment. No longer on the sofa as we moved her into our 4th bedroom and are in the process of getting her a day bed with a trundle. She is feeling better and things are looking up!

Papu had a TIA (aka. mini stroke, two days before Thanksgiving) which also happened to be the same day that Softa had a vertigo attack. Crazy life!

the Mr. and Papu were driving home from Thanksgiving dinner on 485 (major highway that loops around Charlotte) and were hit by a drunk driver from behind at 8 pm at night. thankfully the Mr is a super duper driver and somehow was able to gain control of his car without it spinning out or flipping. his car is totaled, the driver was charged and we are patiently awaiting the drivers court date. thankfully both the Mr and Papu survived without any major damage to themselves but the Mr. definitely had whip lash and required many visits to the chiropractor. as a result we had to rush into buying him a new car once the insurance totaled his car and settled the property damage. we are so thankful they are both OK, but devastated that we lost a car that was paid in full and had many more years of driving left on it. the Mr. found a 2007 Toyota Camry with low miles that he purchased last week and is now driving around town. the stress this situation placed on our family could not have had worse timing.

the following week I came down with the stomach virus after all of us finally started to feel better after having a viral infection for over 6 weeks. mayer and asher both got ear infections.
our lives in photos....

the many adorable faces of mayer...

seriously yummmy

deeeeeelicious....

Our first night out since Mayer was born....Amy and Ross' wedding at the Ritz!

Asher's Class Thanksgiving

his pine cone turkey

this pine cone was massive.

mayer bear enjoying the beautiful december weather

check me out? im so grown!

i even like baby food!!!!

my brother never liked it, but i think its delicious.

mommy made me carrotts, apples, bananas, peas, squash, pears...yum

mayer celebrated his first hanukkah... clearly he loved it.

more hanukkah celebrations and photos later..

admist everything Softa finally closed on their house, which makes the sale of their house one of he longest and drawn out closings in the history of real estate. not really, but it felt like it. buying and selling homes these days is brutal. they make nothing easy. we are thrilled this burden is no longer upon our family.

to add fuel to the fire our deep freezer tripped the outlet and we lost everything in our deep freezer including my precious breast milk I had been saving. DEVASTATED. liquid gold gone. tears.

things are looking up. we are tired. but we are healthy. and we are surrounded by the love of our family and friends....to be continued

ketchup...catchup

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 02:04:00 +0000

Im so behind on life....

my maternity leave is closing in and i am scrambling to get everything i wanted to do, DONE.

i never imagined 17 weeks would go by this quickly, but a lot has happened around here. more than i could ever handle had i been at work....thank heavens for maternity leave.

first and foremost i must update you on my sweet mayer

at his 3 month check up he did fabulous

took his shots like a champ with no reaction!

he weighed 16 lbs - 100+ percentile, he was 25 inches tall - 95th percentile and his head was only in the 25th percentile.

although he is a hefty boy he isnt nearly as chunky as asher was. asher's feet were so fat and his head was much larger! mayer can actually put on the cute little baby shoes and hats that people bought asher. he can also still fit in the bumbo. ive had a grand ole time dressing him up.

Mayer and Nana for a lunch treat at Ballantyne Resort

Me and my sleeper Mayer at Ballantyne Lunch

mayer is a belly sleeper and has been since day one. he doesnt like to be swaddled, but loves his sleepsacks and mittens. on his 3 month birthday he started sleeping from 730-630ish... a full night sleep! amazing. his schedule isnt concrete but in order for him to sleep through the night he must get at least 2-3 naps a day. typically he wakes between 4-7am, nurses and goes back to sleep till 830/9. Once he wakes up he eats and plays for a little under 2 hours before he is ready for a little snack and a nap. His morning nap is usually from 1030-1130. He goes back down around 1 pm and sometimes sleeps till 430...just depends on the day. he usually eats around 5pm and is ready to go down at 645 or earlier depending upon when he got up. we bathe him every other day and have to wash his hair with t-gel twice a week (Monday and Friday). he had a bad case of cradle cap around 2 months that flaked off his head and caused a horrible rash all over his face and upper torso. it was so bad that the aquafor didnt work and we had to apply hydrocortisone cream on his sweet little skin.

at 13 weeks mayer found his hands and sucks on them constantly. we are not sure if he is already teething but based on his recent oral activity it is very possible. he will suck on anything that is near his mouth. time to get the teething toys asher never used out of the attic. mayer also drools and blows lots of bubbles. he is fabulous at mimicing and copying sounds/intonnation. during his PT eval he was rated at a 5 month level for communication vs a 1 month level for head control (he is a bobble head from his BPT)

mayer is a super sweet and cuddly baby. this is completely foreign to me as asher was stiff and jerky) and i can not get enough of it. he loves to be held, cuddled and played with. asher was the complete opposite. they both have very calm dispositions and are very "chill".

During my leave Asher had off school a lot for the Jewish Holidays so we hit the park for some fun in the sun!

i feel so lucky to be able to spend so much time with Mayer on my maternity leave but also asher...12 weeks just isnt enough.

during my maternity leave softa and papu sold their house and papu moved into an assisted living facility so he could get better around the clock care and supervision. his parkinsons disease and dementia have progressed a lot over the past few months. its been really hard on us, especially philip as he is still learning to accept what this terrible disease has done and continues to do to his dad. he also fell within the first two weeks of living at the assisted living facility and ended up in the hospital...and now is in rehab working to regain his strength. we are sending lots of love and prayers to papu during this tough time and trying to make visits when we are not sick.

Papu with the boys at his new place

The wreath Paige, Brittan and I made for Papu's door at his new home

we also have had a lot of visitors during my maternity leave...

aunt janet, cousin brittan, cousin paige, aunt andrea, aunt eliza, uncle rich,

lots of events...jewish holidays, birthdays (papu, philip, aunt estelle)...and the list goes on.

uncle Rich took asher took the kids create at home depot and they made a bulletin board!

we took a trip to the beach (hilton head) a trip to raleigh and a trip to washington dc to surprise my sister.

Daddy and Asher at his first NC State game!

He loved the NC State football game

While in Raleigh we got to sneak in a play date with the Plunkett Girls. We had a blast catching up!

We also made a stop to see some more friends in Raleigh and their kids. Lauren had Cassie and I (plus kids and husbands) all over and the kids enjoyed her newly expanded house and gorgeous backyard. I cant believe we all have two kids!?!?!? How did we grow up so fast. I feel like we were just in high school?

Crazy to think we are all grown up mommas and still such great friends 10+ years later! Lauren and I have been friends since high school and Cassie since my very first day of college. We have been through so much together.

Auntie E with her Big M during our surprise visit to see her and uncle rich in DC

Sisters forever!!!! Elizas birthday dinner at Maggianos

Nana and Asher in DC outside of the worst Aquarium ever!

Aunt E with her nephews!

Halloween weekend face painting at the DC Aquarium. Spiderman invades!

over the past 4 months we dealt with lots of doctors appointments and lots of sickness...sinus infections, walking pneumonia, wheezing, nebulizers, cough's...even the dog had a stomach virus. i feel like a copay machine between the dr's offices and the pharmacy... and yes the pharmacy knows us by name.

Poor Ash had to do nebulizer treatments for almost 2 weeks 3-4 times a day. He was such a trooper even when we had to pull him out of class to administer the medicine.

Sick day home.... mayer's bottom lip sticking out is my favorite part of this photo. He is too cute when he does this

Mayer at 2 months old.

i attempted to eat gluten free, dairy free, leafy greens free and acidic free for almost three weeks. going gluten free didnt help my GI issues at all so i added it back in to save my bank account and sanity. it was a "fun challenge". im ready to have my leafy greens and tomatoes back, but mayer's GI track isnt ready yet..... i used to eat salad at least once a day and havent had it in 14 weeks. im jonesing for salad BADLY. so is my waistline. somehow ive managed to stay below my pre preganncy weight but i have been missing the gym and havent been in 3 weeks due to sickness.

over the past month (during the sickness) our sweet asher grew horns. yup. something called the terrible three's have invaded our house. our sweet sweet asher has learned a lot about family rules, discipline and time out. he is fairly receptive to the disciplinary tactics we use and we work as a great tag team to discipline. we are extremely consistent which i think helps and do not put up with his bad behavior. pretty positive a lot of what he is doing is coming from school. grrr. one naughty boy in his class who has influenced many kids. frustrating but thats life and thats reality.

Asher and Mayer dressed up for Yom Kippur BreakFast.

Mayer at 3 months old

my major maternity leave project is underway... designing and contracting for a remodel of our office and 4th bedroom. currently the office is empty (we sold all the furniture and cleared everything out - now sitting in the dining room) the plan is to move my craft room which currently resides in the 4th bedroom, downstairs to the office as well as make it a space for homework, computer stations, books and lots of storage. i drew up the plans and now we are waiting on two more bids before we begin. we are ripping up the carpet and replacing with hardwoods (we had them left over from the house build), putting in lots of filing cabinets and drawers, a very large wrap around the room counter space and cabinets and shelving above the desk space. we also plan to paint the room and eventually down the road add new lighting. the fourth bedroom will finally become a bedroom/guest room...until we have another child.

yes we will be having a third child sometime in the future... but not ANY time soon. im pretty excited about having a designated craft space for my sewing machine, paints, projects, gifts, fabric, paper etc this renovation will allow us to stay in the house much longer since it frees up the bedroom upstairs and makes use of a space that previously went mostly under utilized. lots of photos to come to include before and after shots....if i remember.

asher and tahli having a fun play date over yom kippur

friends forever!

my return to work is set for nov 19th. i will return 30 hours a week through the end of the year.

the new nanny started TODAY she is fabulous and her name is elizabeth. she found us on care.com. she will watch mayer and help with asher on monday, wednesday friday. she is a student at UNCC majoring in Math/ Actuary Science. Um yeah, she is really smart.she is perfect for this job. maybe she can work her baby magic on mayer and convince him that bottles are not the devil. mayer HATES bottles... i think he hates them even more than asher did. its stressing me out, but i know he will have no choice in the next two weeks, but to take a bottle with my impending return to work. we have officially tried every single bottle on the market and nothing is better than the other, we have tried every technique ive read online, even sippy cup or transition cups. different people , warm, cold. you name it. he will have to just cave at some point.

we attempted to give him a bottle over a 24 hour period exclusively... lots of crying, resistance and falling asleep due to crying. finally at 20 hours i caved and nursed. we have tried the following bottles: medela, closer to nature/tommee tippee, dr browns, born free, avent, think baby, the first year breast flow, odiri, nuk, mum and a cheapo one... last attempt is the rubber nipple or go back to the breast flow with a faster nipple. i keep forgetting he is 3 1/2 months old and thinking he is a baby. he is a very quick nurser so i think that the flow is making him made in the bottles. he is way too smart for his own good. i am now ok with the fact that i know he wont starve if he goes without while i am at work (if that is what he choses). what a mess that boy!

while i was out we got to attend a few fun things like asher's first UCS photoshoot. our good friends own UCS and asked asher and another friend to be models for their upcoming catalog. several photos will be featured with asher in them in their upcoming equipment catalog and website. he did really well and loved getting his photos taken. he has asked for another photo shoot...funny.

and i think that is a huge recap of four months with tons of stuff missing....but ill pick back up with halloween (even though that was three weeks ago) in a separate post. if you stuck along this far into the post enjoy some of the sweetest sounds to my ears, mr mayer laughing....

thanks for hanging in there while i try to get my life in order.

Learning...

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:06:00 +0000

mayer is learning how to use his hands to get things he wants.

watching his mind work to figure this out is just as amazing as it was when asher went through this...

another mayer milestone caught on camera... intentionally swatting at hanging things in front of his face.

after i stopped recording he kept swatting over and over and then giggling. he clearly was so proud of himself as i was too!

Riding in the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:50:00 +0000

nana and poppy took asher to the greenway for a bike ride.
i was a little worried since he is still trying to get the hang of it and loves to look at his feet instead of in front of him....but he did fabulous!

it ended up raining halfway into their mile bike ride so they ended up riding back in the rain, but he didnt seem to mind. he probably loved it! the quality is bad but the memory is great!

Caught on Camera

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:46:00 +0000

somehow we were able to catch mayer's first laugh on camera...iphone camera that is...

nana got mayer to giggle for the first time... enjoy the sweetest little giggle!

Hilton Head 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:28:00 +0000

i was dead set and determined to get to the beach this summer. i couldnt imagine a summer without the beach...especially for asher's sake. before mayer arrived we agreed that we would go for a long weekend over labor day whether we had to stay in a hotel or at our friends beach house.

thankfully our family friends weren't renting out there house the week before or after labor day so we made the trek down to the beach on friday afternoon. with the car packed to the brim we departed from charlotte much later than we anticipated.... 4:30 pm. that would put us arriving sometime after 9 with dinner and bathroom stops. thankfully there was no traffic and mayer slept the first hour. we stopped for a quick dinner and so i could nurse mayer and then hit the road again.

neither boy slept the remainder of the ride till we got to the house at 10 pm.

thankfully they both went right to sleep when we got there and mayer slept close to 8 hours after being wide awake the majority of the ride.

the next morning we hit the beach around 10 and stayed out till 1. we packed lunch, rented chairs and an umbrella and mayer slept almost the entire time we were out there in his baby tent. we realized when we arrived at the beach we were missing a memory card for our camera hence the reason for no pictures.

after naps we hit the skull creek boat house for dinner. this was the very same spot we visited with asher 3 years earlier when we came to hilton head. he was 3 months old. we dined on the early bird special ad ate oysters and fresh seafood. it was delicious

asher finishing off my soup

lemon face

after we ate we went out to the pier for our annual family photo...

asher is working on mastering his "smile" for the camera... it either consists of a mouth wide open or a squint right now

thankfully we went to dinner early enough that we could get the boys home for a decent bedtime after such a late night the night before.

asher and mayer had a little love fest...i love this sequence of photos

we also threw the crab traps out in the morning before the beach and when we came home we found three crabs (that we later accidentally killed before eating and had to trash). asher loved catching crabs and fishing off the dock.

we got some crabs!

the big bad crabs, caught!

fishing off the dock... looks like a pro to me!

im gonna catch a big one daddy!

on sunday we went down to the beach again around 10 am and snapped some photos, ate some sand and soaked up the near perfect weather

asher and daddy spent move of their time at the beach making sandcastles and burying each other.

asher was a complete beach bum the entire time and couldve played out there for hours!

while mayer napped most of the time we were at the beach each morning in his pea pod

each day we would return from the beach, shower off the sand and nap. on sunday we invited our friends the rosens (Jen and Andrew) over for dinner. we found out on our way down to the beach they were also in hilton head staying in a hotel and figured we could all get together and enjoy each others company away from home!

mayer was in la la land....

thanks jen and andrew for visiting us and taking our pictures! we enjoyed a great night with the two of them and we know the kids enjoyed having them there too!

monday morning was our final beach day and asher really hammed it up

mayer in 2012

asher in 2009

this was our beach set up each day....

and prior to leaving the beach we would hose down the sand...

asher enjoyed sticking the hose down his pants hahaha

sweet mayer

our final night we decided to go to harbour town in sea pines where we were staying to check out the boats, shops and play on the playground before dinner

mayer in 2012

asher in 2009...

asher got to play on the playground for a little bit, but our tummies were growling!

we headed home to find two new crabs in the crab trap!

this crab was gripping the tongs fearing for his life...

asher thought they were going to "scream" because someone said lobsters scream when you put them in the steamer...

for our final meal we feasted on the crabs and grilled chicken.

we ate all of our meals in except for one dinner and one lunch at the sea shack.

between my dietary restrictions and the kids this was the best option

we had the most fabulous trip. we came home well rested and sun kissed.

so thankful for our friends the adelsons for letting us stay at their beach house and for the break from home life. it was great to get away and soak up the sun and play in the sand.

summer is now complete!

Oh so different

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:41:00 +0000

asher at 3 months in Hilton Head over Labor Day Weekend in 2009

mayer at 6 weeks in Hilton Head over Labor Day Weekend in 2012

i love their differences!!!!
i realized that asher's face rounded out around 8/9 weeks.
it will be interesting to see if mayer does the same or if he stays this way.

mayer update

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 02:37:00 +0000

mayer is 7 weeks old

he weighs 14 whopping pounds and is approx 25 inches tall

in comparing him to asher... he is MUCH LARGER!!!!

asher was 14 pounds at 10 weeks and was only 22 inches at 10 weeks.

mayer is heavier and taller. WATCH OUT ASHER!

lots going on health wise...

mayer arrived with many more gi/reflux issues than asher. hopefully not like mommy....

it got so bad in the first three weeks that we had to enlist a gi specialist

the only good thing was that mayer was gaining rapidly and he wasnt spitting up

but this was a double edged sword.

because he wasnt spitting up the acid was irritating his esophagus and his stomach

we think we finally got his reflux under control through medications and probiotics and a very strict diet for mommy that has eliminated dairy, leafy greens and acidic foods (pretty much everything mommy loves...but doesnt love as much as mayer)

however we quickly picked up on something else around week three or four

mayer has the same neurological condition that asher had...benign paraoxysmal torticollis (BPT).

(mayer right after an episode where he switched sides and was extremely curled)

to say i am totally bummed about this would be an understatement

the upside is that we already know what it is, know how to treat it and have another child that went through it and came out ok.

based on the support groups that i participate in online every kid handles this differently

we hope that mayer will outgrow it as quickly as asher did

after looking back at photos of asher we realized that he showed signs as early as three/four weeks old as well but we had no clue because we were first time parents and didnt realize his head tilt was not normal

ive been recording mayer's tils (where his entire body banana's to one side) for the past three weeks. we have not caught him during an "episode" however the past two times he has switched sides it occurred while he was swinging in he swing (movement triggers episodes, so he will no longer be able to swing). bummer. before we know it we will catch him during one of his episodes and i hope to be able to video it. he exhibits light sensitivity and body stiffness during his episode peak and then has a deep sleep following it (7-9 hours).

we have his first neuro appointment sept 26. most likely we will have to go through the full gamut of testing to confirm his diagnosis. we will also be submitted to the carl watkins center so that we can begin county services for PT like we did last time (which proved extremely effective)

a lot of people ask... will he need a cranial band. as of now, NO. why? due to mayer's horrible reflux he sleeps on his stomach. if he were to sleep on his back we would most likely need a cranial band. why? when BPT babies lay on their back and they are tilted they are semi stuck in the same head position/tilt. this is what causes their head to develop in an uneven flatted shape because they are unable to move. when sleeping on his belly he is not "stuck" in one position. we are praying we wont need a cranial band.

mayer is a happy baby. he started smiling around 5 weeks and now he mimics, coo's, laughs, talks and has fabulous eye contact. he can lift his head up, loves to be held and have his tushy patted and nurses like a champ!

keep mayer in your prayers. we hope that this too will pass over the next 12 months like it did for asher.

Pics on the go

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:18:00 +0000

i think even those with fancy shmancy camers have the tendancy to resort to the camera phone, namely the iphone for on the go photos...we have caught a few really priceless smiles or memories with our iphone and i wanted to cherish these memories on the blog

snuggling with daddy on the floor in the family room, this happens all the time but those sweet moments are rarely captured

i surprised my great aunt estelle for lunch at le peep one day and she was so elated to have mayer there

he was 2 weeks old

already waving to the camera...

aunt eliza and uncle rich came to town to visit

uncle rich took asher to kids create at home depot while eliza and i went to starbucks

she got some sweet snuggles in with mayer

uncle rich and asher at home depot kids create...

they made a cork board with his name on it. super cute

snuggly bugs

listening intently to daddy's bed time story

the first day school in the 3s class at CJP

asher and ella enjoying jasons 30th brunch

while ella and asher were enjoying their food... their siblings harper and mayer were chillin in their car seats... rough life!

mayer the gangsta

mommy and mayer playing on the floor

baby boy smoochies

a special belgium waffle treat with mommy that included a whip cream and fruit smiley face!

asher's obsession... cars. lined up side by side, front to back, often grouped by type of car or color.

mayer the "man"

i picked up asher from school the second week mayer was home and took him on a date, just the two of us to carolina cafe. he selected a blue iced cupcake and i had a peanut butter and chocolate bar. we brought home mommy's leftovers for daddy. he devoured his cupcake.

funny story. i always try to empower him and give him independence. we needed a to-go bag for our leftover items and he was up to the challenge. he walked up to the counter by himself and said the following with very little prompting (mind you i was not sitting anywhere near the counter or the person he was talking to). he said "excuse me..(pause)... may I please have a bag for my snack?" the people behind the counter were shocked when they realized such a little guy was asking for this. it was way too cute and he was so very proud of himself. as we walked out the of the cafe they said "see you again soon, sweet boy!" i love manners and my outgoing child.

mayer my stomach sleeper. this was nap time. he is drapped in the baby blanket that softa made for him to match his nursery. its gorgeous!!!!

"i didnt know golf would be this boring dad"

some of our first smirks and smiles...

and the photo that got so much attention, mayer in his tallit onesie.

my friends mom bought this for mayer and its from a shop in NYC. so cute.

....lots more to come....

Mayers Birth Announcement

noreply@blogger.com (The Schreibman Family) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:51:00 +0000

before I was pregnant with Mayer i saw a birth announcement that i fell in love with

i had no clue where it came from but i knew i needed it...when the time came

once mayer arrived i kept looking at different sites for announcements but they were so restricting and left me feeling empty.

i kept mentally going back to the announcement i had seen and pinned on pinterest

i decided to ask my sweet neighbor miguel who is graphic designer to recreate my vision using the photo i had taken of mayer in the womb his softa made him.

this is the original photo...

my only input was the actual information, the photo and that i wanted to tie the womb colors into the wording on the announcement.

it turned out so much better than i had ever imagined.

love love love it!