"it's Asa!"

(Please try to ignore the messy bedroom behind the ridiculously cute kid.)

Asa, in action

Asa begins the new year - welcome to 2010! from lichen richardson on Vimeo.

New Trick: Sweeping

Asa found the broom the other day and it now far surpasses all other toys.

All the baubles and gadgets in the world pale in comparison to the almighty broom.

And don't even think about taking it away from him. The world may very well end in that moment. At least, it seems as though it feels that way for him.

How could I even consider upsetting this face?

8 pictures from our hew home

(We followed fall across the country all the way home)

(Angus and Asa in Lithia Park)

(Asa plays in his new park)

(Fall's colors in black & white)

(One of Asa's favorite new pastimes - food painting/eating in the highchair)

(Beautiful dahlias from the weekly Grower's Market that just happens to be right across the street from our house)

It turns out you can go home again - and it never felt so good.

And then they drove across country...

Time to play a little photographic catch up. We successfully packed up the big old farm house in New York (thanks to Asa's grandma!) and then drove across 11 states in 6 days with everything we own, including our little car towed behind the truck, our blind cat Steve and the aforementioned grandmother. Amazing.

A few photos from the last two weeks of packing and driving and adventuring...

(Grandma and Asa have a wrestle)

(The Pack Men)

(Asa takes his turn at the wheel)

(snacks on the road)

(Antelope in Wyoming - who knew?)

(Little family, big adventure)

(The long, long road)

(Sunrise in rearview)

(Mom drives the big, huge truck)

(Cozy in his seat)

Adventures to be told and more photos to share...soon.

On the road

Our lives in the truck we drive, we are Westbound. Homebound. Every minute one more mile, every day one step closer.





We are on our way.



(More photos and updates coming soon...)

New trick: Holding the bottle by himself

Asa has been interested in holding his own bottle since we introduced it. Recently he has mastered the coordination necessary to perform this task. We still breast feed more often than not, but the occasional bottle has been very handy (and I love the three minutes of free hands it gives me too).

Blue eyed boy

Eyes so blue, like his grandmother, like his aunt. They're a surprise every time I see them.

They catch me off guard, these eyes like blueberries, eyes like sapphires. I don't expect them. Brown, perhaps, hazel most likely, even green. No mom, they're blue.

Blue like storming seas, blue like early winter mornings. Blue like my baby boy's eyes. Asa blue.

He takes his swinging seriously

New Trick: Standing up in the crib

Holy crap! Just last night I sat Asa down in his crib and this happen:





This was shocking, to say the least. Asa has loved being "stood up" on his feet for a while now, but it's always me doing the pulling. As of last night, around 7pm, he will do it himself, thank you very much. 

It's like I blinked and he's mobile. He shimmies on his tummy now, comando style. He sits up sometimes, but usually ends up folded over his legs, trying to suck his toes. Once or twice now I have put him down, turned around for something, and turned back only to find him across the room sucking on my sandal. Kid is quick, thats for sure.

And now with the pulling up - cruising and walking can't be too far behind. This is a whole new ballgame and I have a feeling I am in for some long innings chasing after this one. Here we go...

New trick: Sitting up

Introducing: New Tricks

The first in an ongoing series.




This installment is Sitting Up.

5 Months

Dear Asa,

This has been a month of new tricks and new discoveries. You are becoming aware of your body - your tiny limbs and digits, your mouth and tongue - and using them all the time. You roll and stretch and kick and swing. You grab and taste and wiggle and throw. You are moving ALL THE TIME. It is constant, kicking and swinging your legs, tossing your arms, thrusting your tiny fingers this way and that. You wiggle while you're eating, you twist while I change and jump while in my lap. You want anything (and everything) to be in your hand so that it can then be in your mouth. If there is an object too big for your hand, you simply bring your mouth to it, slobbering it up nicely. Sometimes this results in a face plant on the floor as you desperately try to suck on a piece of the pattern on the carpet, but usually you don't mind. So long as you get a good taste of that bright red square.

(Or, in this case, one of dad's CDs)

You can balance yourself (only for a few moments though) with your arms out in front of you while you sit on the floor. It's not quite sitting, but it's close. And the surprised look on your face as you lean, a little too far to the left, tipping all the way over, all the while in the exact same sitting position, is just too funny. And funnier still is the fact that you suck in your bottom lip while trying to balance. You are tying so hard, with all the might you can muster, and sucking in that bottom lip really seems to help.

(sucking in that bottom lip)

(Mostly sitting)

Really what you'd prefer is to be on your tummy, doing the inch worm. It goes like this: You can get your head and shoulders up way off the ground, doing the mini push up with your palms on the floor. And you can get your knees up underneath your body, (sometimes even straightening them and adopting a sort of 'downward baby' pose). But you cannot do these two things at the same time. As soon as one end is up, the other is down, as if they, these two parts of your body, cannot exist in the same airspace at the same time. As your little butt shoots high up into the air, your head comes down, face buried in the carpet. Then, moments later, your butt is down, legs stretched flat again and your head pops right back up. Now with a cat hair stuck to the drool on your cheek. This repeats over and over (and over and over) until you have inched your way across the room. It looks extremely tiring, but you relish your new ability. Every third or fourth scootch you search the room, looking for someone to look back at you and acknowledge your achievements. Your dad and I sit near by, removing things from your path, and sometimes setting you on a new one entirely, cheering you on and watching you go.

(Downward Baby)

I'd say the biggest development of the month has been (ba dada da!) solid foods! You spent weeks looking longingly at my plate. Your eyes would dart from the bright green salad with those tantalizingly red tomatoes, to the inviting pile of golden yellow squash or mashed potatoes. You'd reach your little arm out, grabbing at the air but hoping to come back with something (anything!) from that plate. Your face would be all shock as you watch me bring a forkful to my mouth and chew. Amazed, you look for the food that has now disappeared. Then back to the plate for the next bite. You've also begun to get good and frustrated while at the breast. Grunting and clawing, you try and pull more milk down nearly every time we are finishing up a meal. This does nothing but upset you and aggravate me. So, while we were in Canada I gave you your first taste of apple. You were so desperate to get at that Fuji that I finally just gave it to you. You could hold it in your hand and press it against your face. Your little tongue flicked about, no doubt thrilled by it's sugary goodness. You played with that apple for at least an hour, gumming and licking, slobbering it up good. I don't think you actually ingested any, but got the taste for sure.

(delicious Fuji apple)

Next came peaches. The softer flesh appealed to you much more. You gnawed away at it, juices running down your cheeks, bits of peach smeared all over your body, for quite some time. To hold it in your hands, squeezing and squishing, was obviously such a joy to you. You brought it to your mouth over and over again until there really wasn't much left but some fuzzy skin, some peachy pulp and a pit.

(a very messy peach)

And now we have begun rice cereal. This has been different than the others and has taken a bit more work. Since this isn't something you can hold yourself, I have to feed it to you with one of those adorable plastic coated spoons. This does not appeal to you much as you would like to hold that spoon all by yourself thank you very much. But once the spoon gets to your mouth, loaded with that delicious gruel, you forget about grabbing and think only of tasting. At first you just pushed it around with your tongue, spitting most of it out and just sort of playing with the rest. But mommy persevered. After a few days of attempts you started to get the hang of it. Your little mouth would open in anticipation (mine open too as it is physically impossible not to do so), when the blue rubber end of that loaded spoon came near. With half of it in your mouth and half on your chin you'd let it in, push it around a bit with your tongue and - YAY! - swallow! After that first bite went down you finished the whole bowl (only two tablespoons of food, but c'mon, that's totally a lot) and then half of another. I was amazed. We've added one meal a day to your diet now, and usually it is cereal.

(Mom's view)

Every time you eat solid food your eyes light with excitement and I can hardly believe it. This is my tiny newborn here, my small 7 pound boy. Only it's not. It's this big baby, this little man. It's my growing son. You are no longer a spectator, you are a full time participant. You are in the game, scoring big points. You are a part of it all and only want more. It's true, it goes fast, and every single day, you are just a little bit bigger.

Love,
mom

Our Northern travels

We are home now after two and a half weeks on the road and I am pleased to say we had a great time! We took three days driving up through Massachusetts and Maine, into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada.

(picking flowers at a rest stop in New Brunswick)

It was a tight pack for us - what with dad's musical gear, clothes for two weeks and all the baby accoutrements. Asa just fit into the Tetris-ed in back seat.

(Can you spot the baby?)

Though we had toys galore ready for play, Asa mostly enjoyed a good chew on the seatbelt strap. He'd gnaw away at it, muttering to himself until he fell asleep.

Despite a few moments of unrest, the little man rode happily more often than not.




Halifax was a beautiful city to visit
(Even in the rain)


Dad played for 10 days at the International Busker's Festival


and in between shows we walked around town, up and down the harbor,
played in the hotel room,

and hung out with Uncle Drew.

We had such a great time on our adventure. Eating out and swimming in hotel pools, walking through the shops and watching the festival. It was a wonderful time. There are moments that are a lot of work, but we can have those moments anywhere, so why not on the road with dad? Already Asa is so well traveled and ready to roll with the punches. I am happy that this new family is so adaptable. To be able to be on the road with Angus is invaluable. And together, we keep rockin.