Here's to 2009!

In the last month of 2008, Andrew and I suffered the loss of both of our grandmothers - neither of which ever got to meet our son. Ironically, Asa James was named after both our grandmothers' families. We are so sure that Asa James came to us so that we could feel comforted by the passing of our Nana and Granny. Their legacy and love lives on through Asa. In life, death is certain. And now we know, in death, life is resurrected.

Here's to 2009 - the first full year of Asa's life, his first step, his first word, his first kiss, and many more firsts. We know Nana and Granny will not miss a thing as they would here on earth. They will now get to watch it all.

Nana, we'll miss you!

Once again, the Zbeeb family mourns the loss of an incredible woman. Yesterday morning, Andrew's grandmother, 'Nana', passed away. She was such a vibrant soul and had a passion for living. Andrew remembers her saying, "no matter how old I am, living is still sweet." Nana was also 'Big Nana' to Asa and she simply loved her great grandchild. In his short 9+ weeks on this earth, she sent him many gifts and well wishes. We are happy to have passed on her husband's family name 'Asa' to our son - we know that brought her great joy.

Nana, we'll miss you dearly. For the obituary, click here.

Alex's Baby Shower

Alex's shower yesterday was a success - she is now ready to bathe her baby at least 3 times a day! :-) Alex got a lot of towels, shampoo, and lotion (even a travel tub) - but more importantly, we all had a lot of fun! For more pics of the shower, click here.

Christmas Day with the Clarkson's

What a big day for us - Asa's first Christmas. We started out with Aunt Margaret's famous Christmas brunch (this year hosted at Ann's house), then we went on to Nana's for presents and good cheer. Tomorrow night - it's back to Nana's house for Christmas dinner (one day late, but not a dollar short - we can't wait!).

Christmas Eve with the Zbeeb's (well, the Jones')

When we got married, Andrew and I started a tradition of spending Christmas Eve with his family and then Christmas Day with mine. We had a great lunch at Murphy's and then Asa got spoiled with gifts for his first Christmas... he got his first DRUM set - can't you see his excitement?!

Asa loves hanging out with Auntie Alex and Uncle Reese.

Waiting for Santa

On Asa's first Christmas Eve, he waits patiently for Santa!

Then, he gets a little impatient...

And he starts trying to see if Santa is coming down the chimney...

Finally, he decides Santa only comes to see SLEEPING babies.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
(and thanks to Ya-Ya for our Christmas Eve outfit!)

BIG BOY Update

Today, Asa turns 8-weeks-old and yesterday was his 2-month check-up at the pediatrician. He is now 1 ounce shy of being a whopping 12 pounds and he has also grown 3 and 3/4 inches since birth (putting him at 23 3/4 in.)!

Unfortunately, he had to endure his first round of vaccinations. It was very traumatic (for both Asa and his Mom)! But today, he is a big boy and gets his first turn in the swing that the Drury's gave to him. He seems to LOVE it and the memory of those horrible shots from yesterday are long gone!

The Reason for the Season

Asa made his acting debut today at Providence Christian Academy. Asa was invited to be the baby Jesus this year and his Mom stood in as Mary. We had a great time - thanks to Sloane and Payton for having us at their Christmas Chapel. We were certainly reminded how good God has been to us.



After two Christmas shows, this baby Jesus was done. A cat nap back stage was in order.

Granny, I'll miss you!

It is with a heavy heart that I post this. Yesterday, my Grandmother, Hazel Dickerson ("Granny") passed away. I loved my Granny very much and this news has broken my heart. She wanted so badly to meet Asa and I just knew I was going to get up to Lexington sometime in the Spring to see her. Now, I know, she can see him clearly and loves it when he smiles.

I will miss my grandmother dearly. She had the most remarkable spirit and everyone around her fell in love with her. I am so glad to know that my son carries on her father's name, James. I will think of her often as I watch him grow up - and I will know she is watching, too.

The following are the details on the arrangements for the services.

The viewing will be held on Sunday, 12/14, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at:
Milward - Southland
391 Southland Drive
Lexington, KY 40503

The funeral will be held on Monday, 12/15, at 11:30 a.m. at:
Milward - Southland
391 Southland Drive
Lexington, KY 40503

Followed by the burial at:
Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery
2089 Versailles Rd
Lexington, KY 40504

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice of the Bluegrass or Immanuel Baptist Church (3100 Tates Creek Road, Lexington, KY 40502).

Click here to see the obituary.

Still counting down 'til the first family Christmas

Asa put on his Christmas pj's from Nana -
hoping Santa would come early.

Extended family

After a couple weeks with Ya-Ya, we all went to Andrea's new place in Atlanta for a nice dinner before she was off to Boston. Asa met his 'cousins by marriage' (Stephanie's gorgeous girls) and flirted the night away. Can't wait for Ya-Ya to come back in January, when Asa will meet his first cousin, baby Jones!

Christmas Countdown begins...

Santa came early to our house this year... Asa got to sit on his lap! Just kidding - it's Jiddo, if you couldn't tell. The official countdown to Christmas has begun!

sMilestone :-)

Yesterday, we hit a major milestone - one that every parent can't wait for... Asa flashed his first real smile (not a fake "I'm about to poop" smile). The first smile was followed by the second, third, fourth, and so on - Mom and Asa had a great time together. It wasn't captured on film because we were just having so much fun and we were alone, so there wasn't a photographer around. But today, Dad got to see Asa's big smile and Mom got a great shot of it. He is clearly a happy baby!

A Week Full of Thanks!

This Thanksgiving, we have SO MUCH to be thankful for. Obviously, the latest addition to our family, Asa, has us thanking God daily. He keeps us amazed and in awe every moment. We got the wonderful pleasure of spending this week with the entire Zbeeb family - everyone was in town! Aunt Andrea and Uncle Vic moved back to Atlanta on Monday (yippee!), Ya-Ya Mary arrived to spend a couple weeks in Atlanta on Tuesday, and Jiddo Andrew and Grandma Jane spent a few days here, too. We only missed Aunt Kiki and Cousin Alexander this go round... but we hope to see them soon! We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Alex and Uncle Reese's house - and Uncle Ryan (the only Clarkson that didn't go to Lexingon this year) came to hang out, too. Of course, we took plenty of good pictures. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Can you believe Christmas is just around the corner?

Tummy Time

Today marked 4 weeks since Asa joined us here in the real world and the doc told us to start "tummy time" with him to help develop his neck and upper body muscles. So, here's a few shots of his first go at it. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long - he wasn't a big fan. But we'll keep working at it daily - even if only for a few minutes at a time - until he starts to love it.

F2D goes to the Hirsch Academy

Last week, Frogs to Dogs visited the children at the Hirsch Academy. Andrew and Barnibus went to show the kids how the Frogs to Dogs Emergency Transportation vehicle helps our pet community in their time of need. The visit was a lot of fun and Frogs to Dogs hopes to go back with other animals in the future.

So you wanna understand the name...

After all the struggles that we had for 39 weeks in naming our son, many people wonder how we came up with Asa James. We find it interesting because the reactions we are getting are pretty funny. It's obvious the folks that LOVE the name because their face lights up and they tell us, "I LOVE that name!" And it's also obvious the folks that are a little less than in love with the name. Their general reaction after we tell them the name is, "Oh, Asa, okay - pronounce that again for me." We're sure everyone goes through the same process when naming their own child - that overwhelming feeling of responsibility to make sure the name is one that will be strong and memorable (and not made fun of by kids at school!). So, it's time to help everyone understand the background of the name.

Of course, if you look it up, you'll find Asa is of Hebrew origin meaning "doctor" or "healer." It is our wishful thinking that leads us to believe Asa will one day be a doctor! :-) But, truly, Asa is a family name - in Andrew's family. Try to follow me...

Asa is Andrew's father's father's father's name - that would be Drew's paternal great grandfather's name on the Syrian side. Asa is actually one of three brothers that came to the United States and each brought three Syrian rugs with them - the rug Asa brought over happens to now be in our house! How cool is that?

James is a name that is found in both Andrew's and Melissa's family. If you look it up, you'll see that James also has a biblical background. But, our family background is the following...

James is Melissa's mother's mother's father's name - that would be Melissa's maternal great grandfather. Doubly adding to the interest we had in James is that it is also the name of Andrew's mother's father's middle name - that would be Andrew's maternal grandfather on the Greek side.

Did you follow all that? We love the name Asa James and how it holds such incredible family meaning. We know our son will appreciate that his namesakes (3 great grandfathers!) will always watch over him and make sure he lives up to his remarkable name.

Asa's 1st photo shoot

We plan to send out birth announcements, so Mommy got a wild hair up her ass and starting taking a million pictures of Asa. Of course, being the true photographer she THINKS she is, we had to set up backdrops. Enjoy a few shots that won't make the announcement, but are still cute...

Visitation Rights

If you've ever had a child, you know the first couple of weeks are, well, HELL! And I say that in the most loving parental way possible. Still, that seems to be when everyone wants to visit and show their love for the new addition. While parents enjoy the time spent with friends (and often the food they bring with them!), visits in the first couple weeks can get a little rough after a while (all you really want to do is SLEEP when you have a chance). Well, now we are past the first couple weeks, and everyone keeps telling us, "it gets better, I promise" and we are truly starting to see that for ourselves.

For starters, Asa is such a good baby! He really loves to eat, so nursing hasn't been a problem from day one. He also doesn't seem to mind if food comes from Mommy or a bottle, so Dad has taken over the late night feeding for the past week or so (thankfully!). Asa is not a fussy baby - he doesn't scream unless he is really upset, which we've only seen a couple times (namely after his first bath). His crying can be better described as whimpering and he doesn't really mind if you get to him right away or not. He is really good at self-soothing, especially when he has his paci. And Asa is a good sleeper, too. He's still trying to figure out the night from the day, but we are working on that and he had several good nights. (FYI - I'm ending this entire paragraph by knocking on wood... we are still only 19 days old!)

So, we are happy to show off the boy when we aren't nursing or napping. This past weekend, Asa met Clint, Sloane, and Marshall. We know we'll see many more folks over the holidays - and we can't wait!

Daddy Time

Drew quit working for a bit during this insane holiday season of scheduling pet care and training to spend time with Asa. Taking a break with the boy is so much more fun than working!