Week 1...

still full of so many firsts:)

He LOVES his bath (and showers too).

And yes, those are a lot of arms.

Almost everyone had a hand in making his 1st bath a success:)

Very peaceful!

Trying out his bouncy seat.

He really is not a fan of this seat (at least not yet).

He had Patrick and I laughing up a storm when he pulled this face.

Don't you wonder what he is thinking?

He sure loves sleeping on his belly.

Such a beautiful baby boy:)

Meeting Grandaddy...

and Grandma for the very first time.

Family:)

I am so in love with my newest little man!!!

Just had to include this pic too -

Patrick and Luke:)

Day 2 & 3

Obviously, I cannot go day by day forever,

but in the early days there are just soooooooo many cute pictures and so many things to share -

hope you don't mind;)

1 proud Mommy and her 5 HANDSOME men:)

Finally, a pic of Daddy and Asher -

This is a pretty typical expression for him.

All dressed ...

and ready to head HOME:)

Day 1...

Asher's 1st day of life outside the womb.

His 1st time to breath air, to cry, to be set down, to see...

and to meet his family.

Poor little guy...

it was a rough go for mommy after delivery,

so it was quite a while before I got to properly meet you.

But don't worry, Daddy was pretty quick to come over to see you and to talk to you for the very 1st time.

Mommy and Asher together at last:)

Luke gets to hold Asher first.

In our family, each time a new brother arrives, the youngest brother gets to hold the baby first. This way each boy has gotten a turn to be the very first one to hold a new sibling:)

Aidan and Asher

Drew and Asher

Sean and Asher

Grandad and Asher

Nana and Asher

Isn't he adorable?

And back to Mommy for some more snuggles:)

Introducing...

Asher McConaghy

Born: 8/24/11

Weight: 8lbs. 13oz.

Time: 8:59pm

Length: 20in.

Head: 14cm

Chest: 15cm

Not to ruin this post or anything...

but here is a pic of me just moments before heading out the door for the hospital.

CCM

This summer, we were all about any activity that particularly appealed to our younger boys.

The children's museum - perfect!

Balls

The treehouse - Aidan's favorite:)

Waterworks - Luke's favorite along with the Little Sprouts "sandbox".

Dinosaurs

Blocks

Building skyscrapers

Construction workers

What a heavy load.

Trains

Can you tell that he never plays without sound effects;)

Feeding the fish and turtles

Truck driver

Every time he climbed into one of the vehicles, he would pause for a moment...

I watched him carefully to see what he was up to...

putting on his seatbelt:) :) :)

Aidan - 9 years old

Our 2 youngest sons

Luke, Mommy, and baby ______

(38 weeks and counting)

Counting our blessings:

On the way home, Patrick noticed that the Merc was much louder than normal and was pulling badly to the left. Over the next few miles, it continued to get worse. We pulled over to check the tires, suspecting a flat, but all appeared to be normal. We continued 1 more exit before deciding that it was NOT safe to go any further.

To make a long story short, the next morning the tow guy arrived to tow the Merc back to the shop. He drove it briefly and then informed us that there was nothing wrong with it other than a nail in one tire and only 2 lug nuts on another (supposed to have 5). YIKES!!!!

Blessing #1. The truck is not in need of another expensive repair.

Blessing #2. We were protected on the road and pulled over before the entire wheel dropped off.

Blessing #3. A knowledgeable tow guy

God is GOOD!!!

What a memorable day!!!

My friend in the window

Hummingbird feeder

As usual, it seemed to attract mostly females...

this little lady would perch outside my kitchen window on a branch near the ground, making it quite impossible to see her unless one climbed on the counter (the boys) or perched on their tippy toes (me).

To our great surprise, this guy showed up a few weeks ago, and boy, does he have character.

He loves to hang out, peering at me through the window with his little head tilting from side to side.

He is super curious and confident!!!

And he is the KING.

Each morning, I initially find him on top of the feeder, jealously guarding it from any other Hummingbirds who would dare to approach "his feeder".

Between observing me and chasing off his competition, he sure is one busy guy.

Swim 2011

With it being incredibly hot this summer, I was not able to attend many meets.

So the one opportunity I had, I made sure to grab a few shots.

BTW, Aidan did an awesome job and walked away from finals with 3 golds (medley relay, butterfly, and freestyle relay), 1 silver (backstroke), and 1 bronze (freestyle)

- definitely a proud parent moment:)

Waiting his turn.

Swimmers take your mark...

Beep

Go, Aidan, GO

He has really grown a lot this summer.