Kids say the darndest things...

I promised a post, but I forgot that report cards and parent teacher conferences fit in between Marcus' sixth and seventh month. Bleh! So, with students on the brain, and not much else, I will share some of my favorite quotes from my six years of teaching:
- When asked if anyone knew what a disguise was, "It's what you wear when you're 14 and want to go to the bar."
- When seeing a picture of Brian and me for the first time, "Look! She gots a brown guy!"
- After explaining what a mustache is, "Oh, my mom has one of those."

- When helping a student, "I was kind of having a hard time, but I thought I could figure it out. But I remembered that your name is Mrs. Askew, so I decided to ask you. Get it? Askew?"

- When talking about growing up and encouraging my students to go to college, "Mrs. Askew, what do you do for work?"
- After teaching a very animated math lesson, using my microphone for the first time, an aide in my classroom told one of my students she had missed a lot of the lesson while she was in the bathroom, "No, I could hear it all in the bathroom. I know how to do it now." (My classroom was right next to the bathroom)

-After getting after a student who wasn't working, he insisted he was sick and needed to call home. I told him he was fine and that he just wanted to call home because he had gotten in trouble. He replied, "Yeah, that's when I get sick, when I'm in trouble."

- When another teacher was calling my students into the computer lab one by one, she had gone through the list and one student was left. She asked who he was, he told her, and she replied that she had called him already, why didn't he answer? "They said I was in the bathroom." (He was standing right there)

 If nothing else they certainly keep me entertained!

Six months

WE LOVE OUR SON!! No really, he's pretty much amazing. He makes us smile and laugh a million times a day. We couldn't be prouder. At his six month check up he was 16 lbs. 11 oz. (38th percentile), 26 1/2 in. (54th percentile), and his head was 17 1/2 inches (71st percentile). Brian was concerned that his weight was below average, especially considering our builds. But I reminded him that Marcus NEVER stops moving. That kid must burn a million calories a day! This is what he is up to this month;
- He is a rolling maniac, and rolls across the room before you even know what's happened.
- He loves rice cereal and squash, and loves drinking out of cups
- He is becoming more and more independent every day and he is not shy about telling you if he doesn't like something.
- He has a hilariously expressive face and is so much fun to watch.

- He waves, but never when we want him to

- We, and others, agree that he says hi, mim (mom), and da (dad)

- He loves the cat and dog and wants to watch them and touch them as much as possible. (thank goodness they are patient about him pulling on their fur)

- He sits up really well, after we have put him up

- He scoots around and turns himself in circles, and daycare considers him "mobile"

- He is trying to crawl and to pull himself up on things  and gets pretty frustrated when he can't do it.

- He thinks his feet are incredibly delicious

- He is good natured and sleeps like a champ

That's all for now, but I will try to do a post before seven months, I promise! I will finish with our favorite family photo. Once again, Fotofly did a great job!

Five months

Yes, I am a bad mother and I did no post for 4 months. But I am back to school and life is busy! Now you just get to hear about lots and lots of new tricks, and many things that have happened:

-Marcus rolls around like a maniac; front to back, back to front, and all over the place! One downfall of this is that he now prefers to sleep on his stomach, which makes his parents nervous!

- He loves toys, books, and songs, and is fun to play and interact with.
- He spits up a lot less, and burps mostly on his own. That may sound weird to you, but is fabulous to us.
- He will sometimes reach for people he wants.
- I took Marcus swimming for his first time Labor Day weekend with his Grandma Kristl and Auntie Michelle and he loved it.

- He will give big slobbery open-mouthed kisses.
- He had his first cold and came through it really well. He's such a sweet boy.
- He is getting more and more personality everyday and will tell you,  loudly,  if he doesn't like something.
- He is doing incredibly well at daycare and has charmed everyone!
- He tried rice cereal and bananas and didn't like either one. We'll try them again in a little while.

- He still loves to cuddle, but also wants time to be put down so he can play on his own.
- He loves to put his hands on the cheeks of the person who is holding him. It's incredibly sweet.
- When you are drinking water, he grabs the cup so he can drink some too.
- He's a pro with his hands and will grab anything that he wants, and he is pretty fast and strong.
- He loves to suck on his fingers, much to our dismay.

- He sleeps from 9pm to 6am most nights without a peep.
- He talks and talks to anyone who will listen.
- He tries to watch any TV that is on around him, and we really have to work hard to keep him away from it.
- He's getting very close to being able to sit up on his own.
- He scoots on his toes and will probably be crawling soon.
- He loves his feet and grabs them all the time. He often chews on his toes.

 He is such an amazing boy and we are SO blessed to have him. I can't help but smile every time I look at him. I will try my best to post at 6 months. He will get measured and weighed again then, and we can't wait to find out how much he has grown.

Three Months

Time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe our fun little boy is growing up so fast. Here are some of Marcus' tricks this month:
- He rolls over from his stomach all the time. He rolls to the left and to the right.
- He has found his voice and loves to "talk" to us. I swear he sounds like he says "hi" and "mama" all the time, but I know it can't be. 
- He is sleeping 6-8 hours at night. Thank goodness!
- He is getting great with his hands, and grabs everything and promptly puts it in his mouth.
- He giggles and laughs a lot. He thinks his parents are pretty funny.
- He continues to gain strength in his head, neck, back, and legs. He tries to sit up when we're holding him.
- He is so curious. He loves to look at anything with color or light, and he loves to hear new sounds.
- He loves to be read to and played with. He also doesn't want to be in the same place for too long. Most days he spends time in his swing, bouncy seat, bumbo, carseat, play mat, crib, and whoever's arms are around.
- He is adorable and charms everyone he meets.
- He is an expert at blowing spit bubbles.


We absolutely adore our little man and are so glad to have him!

Two Months

Our beautiful boy is growing and changing, and somehow is already two months old today. He is such a joy in our lives and we couldn't wish for a better baby. He is doing so many wonderful things;

- He holds his head up like a champ and has been for a few weeks
- He smiles at anyone who talks to him and he has the cutest smile EVER
- He is sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night and that makes his Mama very happy
- He giggles when his Mama tickles him
- He loves his tongue and is constantly sticking it out or sucking on it
- He loves to stand up and demands you hold him up so he can do it often
- He has rolled over from his stomach 3 or 4 times
- He has found his feet and thinks they are amazing, now to figure out how to grab them
- He is constantly moving, and we know he'll be a handful when he starts to crawl
- He is so curious about the world and watches things with more attention span than my 3rd graders have

We love you Marcus. Thank you for being such a blessing in our lives!

Little Man

Wow, we are loving our little man. He is sweet, cute, funny, he smells good, and he's all ours. It doesn't get much better than that. Marcus is eating well and weighs more than ten pounds now. It's hard to believe he's six weeks old. Here are some pictures we had taken, enjoy!

Stationery card

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Marcus Alphonso Askew

He's here, he's here, and he is PERFECT! Marcus was born Tuesday April 26 at 2:38pm. 7 pounds 9 ounces, 19 1/2 inches.  My water broke at 4:40 Tuesday morning, and he was here ten hours later. Labor was relatively easy (as much so as labor can be), and I am VERY glad that I went naturally. We had a little hiccup around noon where my contractions were constant although I was only dilated to a five and Marcus went into distress. They almost took me for an emergency c-section,  but they gave me a shot of something to slow my contractions and everything worked out fine. We are all feeling great and Brian and I are very grateful for our new addition. And yes, he will get darker.

39 weeks

I feel like a big waddling whale. Good thing I think whales are cute! I really am still feeling good, but Marcus is sitting right on my sciatic nerve and it makes walking difficult sometimes. I am amazed at how tired I am too. I feel like it's right back to the first trimester. Thankfully, I am home now and can take a nap everyday. I guess my body is just preparing for no sleep! We are ready to bring him home any day, but there are things that we are still working on around the house. But, I'm convinced there are always things to work on around the house. My doctor's appointments have still gone great. My blood pressure is good, he has a strong heartbeat, and I have gained about 25 pounds. That is more weight than we were hoping for, but still much better than it could be. Hopefully between having him and then breastfeeding, it will come off fairly quickly. As of my appointment Tuesday I am almost dilated to a two, and I am 60% efaced. He is definitely head down and has dropped, I still don't think I have really had contractions though.

We had a get together with friends and family two weekends ago. It was what we saw as a last chance to go out and see people for a while. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad that we did it. Yesterday, my mother-in-law and her friends threw me a Skype baby shower from Arkansas. they all got to see my belly, and I watched as they opened all the wonderful gifts. We were spoiled yet again! We are so grateful for all of our wonderful friends and family and how much love and generosity you have shown us. We can't wait for Marcus to meet you all!

Hopefully in the next week or so we will be posting about the arrival of our baby boy!

Natural Birth

Possibly even more than people wondering if we have named our son, people wonder if I will get an epidural. The plan is NO! Everyone immediately responds that I am crazy, and I have no idea what birth is like, and I will change my mind. I think they underestimate me. No, I have not given birth before and I don't really know what it is like. But I have listened to stories from friends and family, and I have done research on my own, and I truly believe that an epidural is not for me or my baby. Here are some of my reasons;
1. Needle in the spine, hell no!
2. Catheter, no thanks. Things should be exiting, not entering.
3. Possible death, paralysis, or permanent nerve damage
4. Better recovery time for mom and baby without epidural
5. Less drowsy baby who is more likely to breastfeed better
6. Epidurals slow labor. Often moms then have to get a pitocin drip as well.
7. Being unable to walk around. I am too much of a control freak for that
8. Possibility of causing mother and/or baby distress, and makes moms more likely to need a c-section
9. Side effects from epidurals can effect babies for up to six weeks after delivery. You leave my baby alone!
10. Women have been doing it naturally for thousands of years. If they can do, I can too!

I am asking that as my friends and family that you support and encourage me. Not try to negate my decision and discourage me. I am stubborn, and I will do my best to have a natural birth for me, and my son.

Ninth month

      We are here! Hallelujah, hallelujah! We cannot wait to meet our son! I am still feeling great and my blood pressure is good. I am starting to slow down and I am getting more tired and sore than before, but I am managing just fine. I started my weekly appointments this week, but I am not dilated at all, which I am totally fine with. We are still not quite ready for the baby to come. We have a car seat, and a pack n play to use for the cradle, and the crib is set up. But the house is not as clean as I want it to be, and we still need a few more essentials. One thing is certain though, our son will not be naked. We have gotten so many cute clothes for him, it's hard for people to resist.
       I had another great shower last weekend hosted by my wonderful friends Kiera and Michelle. It was wonderful to see family and friends, and they all spoiled us! I forgot my camera, once again, so I am waiting for Michelle to develop the pictures she took.
      Although our son is not set to arrive for another 3 1/2 weeks, I am done at work in 2 weeks. Part of me is really sad to see the school year end so early, and part of me is SO ready to get out of there. The students in my class have not been really difficult this year, but we have had 12 move out and 19 move in, along with the 11 that have been there all year. That is a grand total of 42 students we have had this year, that is a lot! I have had a student teacher this year that will be taking over for me when I go on maternity leave. I am grateful to have someone there that cares about my students and will continue to hold them to high standards.
       That's all for now, but we will update again soon!

Maternity pictures

We did maternity pictures today, and I LOVE them! We went to Fotofly in Draper, and they did a great job. They took all of our pictures, edited them, and gave us the CD with the rights for $79, what a steal! Anyway, here are some of my favorites, enjoy!

34 1/2 weeks

5 1/2 weeks left! Exciting and amazing! I am feeling great and my doctor's appointment this week went well. I am incredibly lucky and have had no Braxton Hick's contractions. It is starting to get uncomfortable to sleep, but I still do it as much as I can! I had a baby shower at work this week, and we were spoiled by my wonderful coworkers. I am excited for more showers to come, and getting to see family and friends. Brian is enjoying his new job. He is very glad he made the change, but I am still feeling a little anxious about it. Other than that, it is life as usual for the Askew family. Here is my belly again, I know, you love it.

32 weeks

     Only 8 more weeks until our little Marcus Alphonso makes his appearance into this world! Oh my goodness, I could pee my pants out of excitement (and his little head that has been pushing on my bladder). I am finally starting to feel a little nervous, but mostly because Brian got a new job. We're not sure how great they will be with him leaving for the birth, and all of his paternity leave will be unpaid. Other than that things are great. The house is still not as ready as we hoped it would be, but we're working on it. We bought the crib last week, and there are two baby showers in the works.
     We had a great Dr's appointment today. The baby's heartbeat is nice and strong, my blood pressure is good, and I have gained less than 17 pounds. We have appointments every two weeks now! We had our last Lamaze class on Tuesday, and I will be very glad to be able to get to bed early again on Tuesdays. I got a fabulous massage on Monday at Salt Lake Prenatal Massage I highly recommend it to all you sore pregnant women out there. They have cool contoured pillows that allow you to lie on your stomach. I feel rested and rejuvenated now! That's all for now, but here is a picture of my 32 week belly. I hope it makes my mother and mother-in-law happy! (sorry the coloring is funny, we were having camera issues)

30 weeks?! Are you kidding me?!

     Holy cow I AM EXCITED!!! I also am an admitted slacker. Yes, it has been 10 weeks since my last post, but between holidays, work, pregnancy, and life, I am proud of myself for getting here today!
     So, third trimester has been beautiful so far, minus the infections from messed up horomones. But, I heal, and I would take those everyday for this sweet baby kicking away inside of me! He's an active little bug, and we can't wait to meet him. We are currently halfway through Lamaze classes, and I really hope that I will make it through delivery with no pain meds. No, I am not crazy, I AM stubborn as hell and I know that both the baby and I will heal better with no pain meds. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it!
     We have been slowly but surely preparing our home to bring home our son. We are not ready for him, but we're working on it. By next week the nursery should be ready, and really that's the most important part. That's all for now, but here is a picture of my 30 week belly, for your enjoyment.