We just got Asher a doorway jumper and he is really good at it - although in this picture he was more interested in eating the edge of the seat then jumping.
While Asher does still sometimes end up tangled in the crib slats, I think he has found his preferred way of sleeping (pictured below). Half tummy/half side with his hands up by his face (usually sucking his thumb). As I go to lay him in his crib he turns and twists into that position before he even hits the mattress. Sleep tight Asher man ; )
We got Asher this little Squirt stuffed animal from Finding Nemo when he was born and now they are buddies. Now that Asher can grab and hold on to him it's pretty cute to watch them play, or rather watch Asher slobber all over Squirt.
We blessed Asher on June 10th, 2007. Justin did a beautiful job and we were happy to have so much of our family there. Asher's Grandma Carrier made his blessing outfit and did a wonderful job! Thanks Joyce!! What a handsome boy.
Justin and I decided to enter Asher in the Orem Summerfest Baby Contest. I don't think we would ever do it again, but we sure had a fun day. The theme was "Dancing Stars" so I thought of a little ballroom dancer. The only tux small enough was at Build-A-Bear Workshop, and yes I did it. I put my son in a stuffed animal outfit! He looked adorable. I even made a little ballroom dancer sign for his back. He was in a great mood when it was his turn to see the judges and they loved him. He won third place in his age group and he really...couldn't care less.
That face totally shows how he feels about Binky's
Sleeping on Uncle Spencer
Our little family at the Zoo
I love it when I pick up my phone and see "Hannah Crossett" on the caller ID, and get so excited when I drive up to my parents house and see her car parked in the driveway. You just can't ask for a better sister or friend than Hannah!
k up to me the same way I looked up to and learned from my father. Was my father perfect? No, and he'd probably be the first to admit that. But he did his best, and I love him and am grateful for his efforts and examples. I'm grateful he's taught me how to be a dad, and what it means to support and love your children. I would like to be the perfect dad, but since that's not possible I'm definitely going to do my best. During my Mother's Day talk, I played on a comment by the youth speaker and joked that when you have to get up in the middle of the night to help change a diaper that your love can be somewhat conditional. I take it back; my love has never been and never will be conditional. I love my little Asher boy so much, and I hope my words and actions always show him that. It's also amazing to me how much he's done for our relationship as a married couple. Life has definitely changed, but I couldn't think of a better way for it to.
the road) of you that I'm doing what I'm doing. Am I excited about my future career? Absolutely; I love PT school and the privilege I will have at the end of 3 years to be a professional, a doctor of physical therapy. I'm also excited that we have and will have the opportunity to talk about and work together in this field. I guess I'm lucky, blessed really. I am going into a profession I love, and I have a family that I love even more. I'm grateful for the blessings and opportunities which have been and will be presented to me to take care of and ultimate be with my family. Thanks for sticking with me, encouraging me, and loving me. I really do have the greatest family in the world.
Asher had his 2 month shots today. He also has a little cold that he caught from his daddy. He really did have a rough day, but he was still such a good little boy. This picture was taken right after I finished giving him a bath. I massaged him with baby lotion and got him dressed and we sat down with the boppy pillow in the big red chair - and then he gave me those eyes. They seemed to say "Momma, I'm sick. I need you. I wanna snuggle." 
Wow, tonight was wonderful. Justin, Asher and I all enjoyed Family Home Evening in the park. Asher slept the whole time in the Lucky Baby sling (Asher and I love it), all the while grunting and snoring which kept making us laugh while we were trying to talk about the lesson. We read the conference talk by Bonnie D. Parkin entitled Gratitude: A Path to Happiness.
It was also fun to be watching Super Nanny earlier this evening and see Jo talk to the family about having one night a week where they spend time together enjoying positive activities and building each other up.
Well, I could tell you stories about this girl, but I won't...at least not right now. I just wanted to put a picture of her up here and say how great I think she is. Gretchen is graduating from Orem High School next week and starting BYU in the fall. What a great accomplishment! There are few things in life that I love more than spending time with my sisters. Lisa, Hannah, Gretchen and Olivia are four of the most wonderful girls I know!!! I am so glad that sisters are forever!
Our baby won't take the Bink. As convinient as it would be I understand if he just doesn't like them, but we just keep trying to give him one because he really acts like he wants it. He makes all sorts of sucking and smacking sounds and loves to suck on our pinkies. Lately he has even been munching on his fists - even when he is not hungry. So, in our mission to be good parents we thought maybe he just hasn't found the one he likes yet. After all, there are many different types of Binkies to choose from. So, now we have one of every kind, and he still looks at you like "How dare you put that in my mouth!" every time you try to give him one. The frustrating part is that it's not something you can return once you've tried. So, we are getting quite the collection. Oh, well...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Asher makes so many funny faces and does hilarious things with his lips. At first I tried really hard to snap the picture at the exact moment, but that rarely works. So, I decided to just enjoy them and not worry about the camera. My favorite is just his pucker lips. They make me want to kiss him, and I usually do. Then he gives me this face like "Mom, do you really have to do that every 10 seconds?!"
Well, Justin has started the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Utah, and he loves it. It's going to be a lot of work and a tough three years for him and for our family, but we are excited and up for the challenge. Right now we are still living in Orem and Justin takes the UTA express bus which makes for some pretty long days (Asher and I took this picture of him as he left on the first day). We miss him very much when he is away from us, but we love him and are thankful for the hard work that he is doing for us! It is fun to be able to chat with Justin during the day when he gets a minute (Thanks Dads for the laptop!). So, basically what I am saying is: "Justin, I'm so proud of you!"
Asher Mckay was born April 4, 2007 at 5:39 am. He is our first child, and we have greatly anticipated his arrival. He was due to be born on March 24, putting his arrival a week and a half later than predicted. This is one way he’s taught me patience. Sometimes I can do something about the wait, but this time all I could do was wait. All I wanted to do was to meet my little son, but he told me to be patient. Needless to say, the wait was worth it.
My wife labored for about a day and a half leading up to his birth. When the time was right and with the help of the midwife she began to deliver, pushing when the contractions came. She started pushing around 1:00 am, but the contractions were not frequent enough to be effective. The midwife decided to wait until they were closer together so that my wife and the baby wouldn’t get worn out. After a while, the contractions still were not any closer, and despite good pushing on the part of my wife there was little to no progress. As they watched his heart rate, it would drop during contractions then stay low for a short period following, which caused the doctor to worry slightly. After a little more time and more “lates” as the doctor called them, he suggested that a cesarean section may be necessary. I was worried for my wife because I knew she didn’t want a c-section; what I didn’t know at the time was that she knew it was what needed to be done and had no reservations. I went into the bathroom and prayed; I prayed that my wife’s body would work how it should in order to push the baby out, that she and the baby would have strength and that everything would work out and we could avoid the c-section. During a short rest period his heart rate dropped twice during normal contractions and it was decided that the c-section would be necessary. I wondered what was wrong with me; was my faith too weak? Fortunately, the c-section went smoothly and without incident. As they delivered my son the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, most likely the cause of his heart rate drops.
Thinking back I realized that God was in control. See, the interesting thing is that my wife was almost fully dilated when she received an epidural, and her contractions were practically one on top of the next. When it came time to deliver however, they weren’t coming any closer than 6-8 minutes apart, which the midwife said was very atypical; even trying to “help” with small amounts of pitocin did nothing. God did answer my prayer in the way that he knew was best. If my wife would have been able to push, Asher could have been seriously injured during delivery. We truly believe He slowed her contractions, and while he was born healthy and without complication despite the c-section, he really is our miracle baby. That’s how my week old son taught me to trust God, having barely been in this world.
He has taught me love and what it means to be a father simply by being here. Like my wife, he inspires me to be a better man. I realize that someday he will be watching everything I do, and that it is my privilege and responsibility to teach this amazing child of our Heavenly Father. That is how Asher has taught me what it means to be a father; and that is how someone so small, so new, can teach those of us who at times think we are so big and so wise.
