It was a full day for all of us.
We got loaded up and were out of the house by 3:20am and nearly 200 miles down the road before Andrew really woke up.
12 hours later and a couple of stops for gas, food, and rest stops (even a final stop to the outlet mall just across into Indiana and even a fireworks warehouse for Daddy to get himself a birthday present for himself as well!) we made it to Indiana.
After saying hello to everyone and getting a little bite to eat we ran out to the Babies R Us to pick up a gate for the trip. The "baby corral" works wonders, and after seeing him with the Christmas tree it was a needed addition to Andrew's items to travel with!
Back to the house for a piece of cake and some presents and then off to bed for all!
Long day, but worth the drive to get together with family!
Love,
Daddy
Monday, December 25, 2006
My little guy.
We got "Little Guy" and "Big Guy" matching shirts for Daddy's birthday. We can't wait to get a chance to wear them together.
Crazy baby!
Andrew is just like his Dad. See's a birthday cake with some candles on there and he goes a little cooky!
(Note his cute little face getting excited with the cake and candles)
Daddy's little bird...
Once we all settled in and had some dinner we sat down and had a little birthday cake to celebrate Daddy's birthday. How many is it again?
Andrew sat on Daddy's lap while he blew out the candles, it was really fun.
Silliness
They took to each other quite well...
Once they both realized that they both knew how to open wide and just kinda yell into each other's mouth it was all silliness around the house.
Papa came home!
After we were in for only about 15 minutes or so Papa came home from work and got to see his Grandson for the first time since July (and there was a lot going on in July!).
-D
Andrew's first sight of the tree.
This year since we were going home to Indiana we decided not to put up a tree for the holiday (and figure out how to protect it!).
So this was his first view of a Christmas tree. He really enjoyed seeing all of the lights and really had fun with an ornament or two.
I think that this was the only real time that he had with the tree to play with it. After this time we started more vigilant guarding of the tree while the little many was up.
-D
Just checkin out the luggage
Daddy,
There is a lot of stuff back here... Some of it is wrapped up in paper as well! We gotta go get it and let me taste that paper.
-Andrew
Momma's outside!
While at one of fhe rest stops in Ohio Momma snuck up on Andrew while he was in the back seat of the truck. They had lots of fun making faces and giggling with each other through the window.
-Daddy
Pictures on the way!
Here are a few pictures from the trip over to Indiana to see Andrew's Nana and Papa for a few days including his first Christmas!
-D
Friday, December 22, 2006
All packed up and out the door!
Boy was it good to get out EARLY this morning. Andrew was up coughing a little this evening and after his last one I looked over at Angela and decided that it would be good to get up and get going.
So I showered up and got the last few things out to the car while Angela made our little guy ready for the trip. He was still dazed a bit while we carried him out to the truck and got him all snuggled in tight in his little car seat. He gave out a little yelp, but settled in with Momma in the back seat once we were on our way.
One quick stop for a couple of donuts and some get goin coffee for Momma and Daddy and we were off for Indiana!
-Daddy
So I showered up and got the last few things out to the car while Angela made our little guy ready for the trip. He was still dazed a bit while we carried him out to the truck and got him all snuggled in tight in his little car seat. He gave out a little yelp, but settled in with Momma in the back seat once we were on our way.
One quick stop for a couple of donuts and some get goin coffee for Momma and Daddy and we were off for Indiana!
-Daddy
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Recovery for Andrew
Andrew was able to recover from his bout from last week and by Tuesday he was nearly back to normal. It was a little scary for Momma and Daddy for his first "real" sickness over a longer period of time than a simple cold with a little fever...
First real time that Mr. Smiley wasn't! At least for a few days in a row!
While he made it over his flu-like symptoms Monday and Tuesday, he still held on to a pretty rough cough. Ht was waking him up throughout the night and was really kinda rough.
He was back to normal (no fever, and started to eat and drink more like normal) on Tuesday and he needed to head into school for a few hours at least. While Momma was there to pick him up after a meeting she got news in his cubby that there were two confirmed cases of RSV in his classroom! Boy it never stops!
So that answers the question about the rough cough and potentially the wheezing while he was sleeping.
Momma and Andrew got running around on Wednesday and got some of the last minute errands done prior to us heading out on Friday.
Momma really did well wrapping and wrapping all afternoon even while Andrew was running around helping a bunch!
Lots of packing to do! Gotta run.
Nathan
First real time that Mr. Smiley wasn't! At least for a few days in a row!
While he made it over his flu-like symptoms Monday and Tuesday, he still held on to a pretty rough cough. Ht was waking him up throughout the night and was really kinda rough.
He was back to normal (no fever, and started to eat and drink more like normal) on Tuesday and he needed to head into school for a few hours at least. While Momma was there to pick him up after a meeting she got news in his cubby that there were two confirmed cases of RSV in his classroom! Boy it never stops!
So that answers the question about the rough cough and potentially the wheezing while he was sleeping.
Momma and Andrew got running around on Wednesday and got some of the last minute errands done prior to us heading out on Friday.
Momma really did well wrapping and wrapping all afternoon even while Andrew was running around helping a bunch!
Lots of packing to do! Gotta run.
Nathan
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Penguin balloon
While Andrew is convalescing a bit here at home Momma got a cute balloon of a penguin for him to play with. He has always enjoying pulling on the strings of balloons and playing with them, so we figured that he might enjoy one while he is recovering a little.
You know he is sick when he grabs onto the string and just has it float along with him as he is carried from room to room by Momma or Daddy. He gives it a little tug every once in a while, but overall he sits there with a hand on it looking pitiful and looks up at it as if he knows what do to but his little recovering body just can't do what he wants to do with it.
It will be a good measure of when he is recovered to see the activity level with the balloon I think.
Once he is himself again and playing with the balloon we can assume that he has made a partial or full recovery. You miss the little things like him bouncing on your knee when he sits on it to get you to play with him and his little smile when he looks back at you to get approval before doing something that he shouldn't!
Ah, the balloon barometer for his health. He just wants to be well and play all day, so we will see just how well he feels by the bouncing and tugging on a balloon string...
-Daddy
You know he is sick when he grabs onto the string and just has it float along with him as he is carried from room to room by Momma or Daddy. He gives it a little tug every once in a while, but overall he sits there with a hand on it looking pitiful and looks up at it as if he knows what do to but his little recovering body just can't do what he wants to do with it.
It will be a good measure of when he is recovered to see the activity level with the balloon I think.
Once he is himself again and playing with the balloon we can assume that he has made a partial or full recovery. You miss the little things like him bouncing on your knee when he sits on it to get you to play with him and his little smile when he looks back at you to get approval before doing something that he shouldn't!
Ah, the balloon barometer for his health. He just wants to be well and play all day, so we will see just how well he feels by the bouncing and tugging on a balloon string...
-Daddy
Andrew the patient
It's been a long end to the week so far.
On Wednesday, Andrew started to have both diarrhea as well as vomiting. Momma was at a holiday dinner with her work and Murphy's law came into effect. As soon as Daddy got to school to pick up Andrew he was told that Andrew did not have a fever, but that he had a pretty good bout of diarrhea (his teacher called it "atomic poop"!
We got home a little later than normal and played for a bit prior to getting a little something to eat.
As soon as we sat down for a little bite Andrew vomited more than Daddy had ever seen a little guy do before! Daddy cleaned up Andrew, the chair, the floor, and changed himself and then let Andrew sit on his lap for a bit before trying a little more.
When Andrew is hungry he tends to put his fist in his mouth and this was what he was doing after a bit, so I knew he was hungry. Once again (this time only in a diaper since a bath was to follow) Andrew got into the chair while Daddy got some things for him to eat ready (bottle and a container of fruit. Once Daddy sat down again with Andrew for a bite he again vomited, again just a tremendous amount.
Now Daddy was more than a little worried, so we went into the living room and just rocked for a while to settle down the Little Man's stomach a bit. He didn't fight laying with Daddy at all, so I knew something was wrong at this point (after all, Andrew doesn't settle down easily unless he is truly tired!
While we were rocking in the living room Daddy heard a little rumble from Andrew's pants and we went in to change. Again, he had really bad diarrhea and we had to do something a little more drastic. So we called Momma and sent her a little text message saying to call home when she gets a chance.
Daddy has never had any interactions with babies who are sick, so when he is presented with one he is more than a little concerned. So he called in the reinforcements. Fortunately, Momma didn't get either the message or the text and she went on with her group holiday dinner (thankfully the restaurant is in a black hole of cell phones)!
After another change and some more rocking, Andrew started to feel a little better, and Daddy drew him a bath so that he can get a little better cleaned up after several times of explosive pants!
We were not really ourselves in the tub, Daddy quickly cleaned up the Little Man and sent Momma another message and text message assuring her that everything was OK and not to worry or to call home until she was finished.
Just then, she got these messages and called home, I reassured her that while he was not feeling great, he was not too bad off at this point. So we agreed to wait for a bit and let him be for a bit.
That night after Momma got home and Andrew was asleep he woke up around 3am and again vomited all over himself and his bed. Momma worked to get him all cleaned up and Daddy got the clothes cleaned up for him while he was just all out of sorts.
It was tough going to work for Daddy since this was the first time that Andrew was sick with anything more than a cold, so every few hours we would check in to see how he was doing.
Over the next few days Andrew was quite ill. He couldn't keep anything down for any length of time. We kept the electrolytes flowing, and limited breast milk, but he still kept having some diarrhea and once or twice a day he would vomit as well.
After a few days of convalescing with Momma on the couch and sleeping and resting quite a bit, we think that he is starting to come around a little. Still sick, as he is not really playing much, but showing signs of getting better. He decided that he doesn't like the electrolytes anymore and spits them out or refuses the bottle now, only accepting a little cuddle time with Momma and limited feedings. Every time that we let him eat to his fill, he doesn't keep it down for long, so we are cutting the feedings short and making them more often.
So from Wednesday o today (Sunday) he has been sick, but we have been pushing the liquids and every once in a while some rice cereal; really watered down; and a little banana for his tummy. But overall he is starting to get back on the mend we think.
Hopefully he and Momma can relax a little this week as she took vacation this week to use what she could prior to the end of the year and get a little ready for the holiday season.
Our little guy is so precious, it just breaks my heart when he is sick. You can see it in his eyes that he is not feeling good. And he has been more fussy than normal, which while is a bad sign, is interesting to see "Mr Smiley" in a bad mood, which is not the norm!
He has also mastered in the past three days the arching of the back when he doesn't want something; like his bottle with electrolytes in it! This is a new one for him, and it is interesting to see that all babies go through the same arching of the back to get away from whatever they don't want! How interesting it is seeing him grow up. He's nearing his 11 month now and I can hardly believe that he is so big and all the things that he can do now.
Daddy
On Wednesday, Andrew started to have both diarrhea as well as vomiting. Momma was at a holiday dinner with her work and Murphy's law came into effect. As soon as Daddy got to school to pick up Andrew he was told that Andrew did not have a fever, but that he had a pretty good bout of diarrhea (his teacher called it "atomic poop"!
We got home a little later than normal and played for a bit prior to getting a little something to eat.
As soon as we sat down for a little bite Andrew vomited more than Daddy had ever seen a little guy do before! Daddy cleaned up Andrew, the chair, the floor, and changed himself and then let Andrew sit on his lap for a bit before trying a little more.
When Andrew is hungry he tends to put his fist in his mouth and this was what he was doing after a bit, so I knew he was hungry. Once again (this time only in a diaper since a bath was to follow) Andrew got into the chair while Daddy got some things for him to eat ready (bottle and a container of fruit. Once Daddy sat down again with Andrew for a bite he again vomited, again just a tremendous amount.
Now Daddy was more than a little worried, so we went into the living room and just rocked for a while to settle down the Little Man's stomach a bit. He didn't fight laying with Daddy at all, so I knew something was wrong at this point (after all, Andrew doesn't settle down easily unless he is truly tired!
While we were rocking in the living room Daddy heard a little rumble from Andrew's pants and we went in to change. Again, he had really bad diarrhea and we had to do something a little more drastic. So we called Momma and sent her a little text message saying to call home when she gets a chance.
Daddy has never had any interactions with babies who are sick, so when he is presented with one he is more than a little concerned. So he called in the reinforcements. Fortunately, Momma didn't get either the message or the text and she went on with her group holiday dinner (thankfully the restaurant is in a black hole of cell phones)!
After another change and some more rocking, Andrew started to feel a little better, and Daddy drew him a bath so that he can get a little better cleaned up after several times of explosive pants!
We were not really ourselves in the tub, Daddy quickly cleaned up the Little Man and sent Momma another message and text message assuring her that everything was OK and not to worry or to call home until she was finished.
Just then, she got these messages and called home, I reassured her that while he was not feeling great, he was not too bad off at this point. So we agreed to wait for a bit and let him be for a bit.
That night after Momma got home and Andrew was asleep he woke up around 3am and again vomited all over himself and his bed. Momma worked to get him all cleaned up and Daddy got the clothes cleaned up for him while he was just all out of sorts.
It was tough going to work for Daddy since this was the first time that Andrew was sick with anything more than a cold, so every few hours we would check in to see how he was doing.
Over the next few days Andrew was quite ill. He couldn't keep anything down for any length of time. We kept the electrolytes flowing, and limited breast milk, but he still kept having some diarrhea and once or twice a day he would vomit as well.
After a few days of convalescing with Momma on the couch and sleeping and resting quite a bit, we think that he is starting to come around a little. Still sick, as he is not really playing much, but showing signs of getting better. He decided that he doesn't like the electrolytes anymore and spits them out or refuses the bottle now, only accepting a little cuddle time with Momma and limited feedings. Every time that we let him eat to his fill, he doesn't keep it down for long, so we are cutting the feedings short and making them more often.
So from Wednesday o today (Sunday) he has been sick, but we have been pushing the liquids and every once in a while some rice cereal; really watered down; and a little banana for his tummy. But overall he is starting to get back on the mend we think.
Hopefully he and Momma can relax a little this week as she took vacation this week to use what she could prior to the end of the year and get a little ready for the holiday season.
Our little guy is so precious, it just breaks my heart when he is sick. You can see it in his eyes that he is not feeling good. And he has been more fussy than normal, which while is a bad sign, is interesting to see "Mr Smiley" in a bad mood, which is not the norm!
He has also mastered in the past three days the arching of the back when he doesn't want something; like his bottle with electrolytes in it! This is a new one for him, and it is interesting to see that all babies go through the same arching of the back to get away from whatever they don't want! How interesting it is seeing him grow up. He's nearing his 11 month now and I can hardly believe that he is so big and all the things that he can do now.
Daddy
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Andrew and music
Andrew has really taken to music. Wether it is music from the internet radio stations that we constantly playing through Tivo or just some mucis around the house, he really has been enjoying it.
We found a channel (bluegrass and county) that whenever it starts playing he looks at you and with a big grin starts to "dance" by bouncing up and down and swaying side to side. We all get in on this dancing and he really laughs and enjoys it with all of us dancing and swaying to the music.
This also happens when he plays with his round about play station. It has a little keyboard and it plays music, some phrases, or notes by whichever page he turns it to. He seems to always keep it on the music page and dances to it, but every once in a while he decides to put it on the notes setting and plays us a little tune as well.
While we are pushing this with him, we also recognize that if he moves forward with the music and dance abilities that Angela and I are currently not musically inclined! So we will see where this one goes!
-Nathan
We found a channel (bluegrass and county) that whenever it starts playing he looks at you and with a big grin starts to "dance" by bouncing up and down and swaying side to side. We all get in on this dancing and he really laughs and enjoys it with all of us dancing and swaying to the music.
This also happens when he plays with his round about play station. It has a little keyboard and it plays music, some phrases, or notes by whichever page he turns it to. He seems to always keep it on the music page and dances to it, but every once in a while he decides to put it on the notes setting and plays us a little tune as well.
While we are pushing this with him, we also recognize that if he moves forward with the music and dance abilities that Angela and I are currently not musically inclined! So we will see where this one goes!
-Nathan
Baby proofing the living room.
Over the past few weeks Andrew went from pulling up on the sofa's and the coffee table to now "cruising" around the room and sometimes even forgetting to hold on with both, or sometimes even one hand! This doesn't last for long, and it is always fun to see his face when he realizes that even though it is fun to hold a phone and a remote in each hand, he is a little unsteady and goes back to holding on to something.
At this pace, Andrew should be walking pretty soon. He already can do it fairly well with a little help from a finger or two for confidence and balance. Just needs to get over the hurdle of walking along the table and strike out on his own!
So we are busily trying to baby proof the living area that we are usually in. We have all of the contraptions that you usually see, from plug guards, to cable ties. But one interesting episode happened last night after Angela, Andrew and I got home from getting a few cabinet ties.
These are fairly simple looking devices that are nearly impossible to operate and usually do a fairly good job at keeping little fingers out of cabinets that you would like to keep items in.
We have a buffet cabinet that was from Angela's Mother's and it has all sorts of goodies within it. From candles, to decorations and some other knick-knacks, they are all held within this buffet cabinet. So we got a device that basically secures around two cabinet pulls together so that neither drawer opens.
Angela installed it and started to do the same thing on the media cabinet where all of the components reside only to turn around and see Andrew sitting playing with not only the cabinet, but had the baby proofing thing in his hands waving it around!
What took a minute or two to install and secure, took nearly 5 seconds for him to figure out how to take it off. Our little Houdini was just laughing and was so proud of himself for getting that new "thing" off the door!
Momma and I started laughing pretty hard watching him with it. So we reinstalled the latch on the cabinet to see him do it again, and grabbed the camera this time. I got a three frame burst of pictures, the first is him with the tie in his hand, the second with it off of the cabinet being twisted off, and the third is an action shot of him pulling it away from the cabinet. Truly pretty funny stuff!
We will have to go back to the drawing board on that one, but the other cabinets we seem to have all secured for now!
Our house is starting to look more and more like the house with a toddler in it! I am sure there are many more changes to come.
Daddy
At this pace, Andrew should be walking pretty soon. He already can do it fairly well with a little help from a finger or two for confidence and balance. Just needs to get over the hurdle of walking along the table and strike out on his own!
So we are busily trying to baby proof the living area that we are usually in. We have all of the contraptions that you usually see, from plug guards, to cable ties. But one interesting episode happened last night after Angela, Andrew and I got home from getting a few cabinet ties.
These are fairly simple looking devices that are nearly impossible to operate and usually do a fairly good job at keeping little fingers out of cabinets that you would like to keep items in.
We have a buffet cabinet that was from Angela's Mother's and it has all sorts of goodies within it. From candles, to decorations and some other knick-knacks, they are all held within this buffet cabinet. So we got a device that basically secures around two cabinet pulls together so that neither drawer opens.
Angela installed it and started to do the same thing on the media cabinet where all of the components reside only to turn around and see Andrew sitting playing with not only the cabinet, but had the baby proofing thing in his hands waving it around!
What took a minute or two to install and secure, took nearly 5 seconds for him to figure out how to take it off. Our little Houdini was just laughing and was so proud of himself for getting that new "thing" off the door!
Momma and I started laughing pretty hard watching him with it. So we reinstalled the latch on the cabinet to see him do it again, and grabbed the camera this time. I got a three frame burst of pictures, the first is him with the tie in his hand, the second with it off of the cabinet being twisted off, and the third is an action shot of him pulling it away from the cabinet. Truly pretty funny stuff!
We will have to go back to the drawing board on that one, but the other cabinets we seem to have all secured for now!
Our house is starting to look more and more like the house with a toddler in it! I am sure there are many more changes to come.
Daddy
Where oh where is the remote control?
Just a quick one...
On Sunday we were all out and about running around and had a pretty full day. So it was a real surprise that evening after Andrew and Angela were settled in for a little early sleep and I went to watch a little TV in the evening.
I spent nearly 20 minutes looking everywhere I could think of where we would put the controller for the TV. Finally I saw that the light was still on in the bedroom so I asked Angela if she knew where it was.
After another 20 minutes of looking with both of us we were even going into other rooms to see if one of us had mistakenly walked the controller out and forgotten it.
After much searching we finally located the missing controller... It was right where Andrew had left it, in one of his toy bins.
Just a little glimpse of what there will be to come! I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
Daddy
On Sunday we were all out and about running around and had a pretty full day. So it was a real surprise that evening after Andrew and Angela were settled in for a little early sleep and I went to watch a little TV in the evening.
I spent nearly 20 minutes looking everywhere I could think of where we would put the controller for the TV. Finally I saw that the light was still on in the bedroom so I asked Angela if she knew where it was.
After another 20 minutes of looking with both of us we were even going into other rooms to see if one of us had mistakenly walked the controller out and forgotten it.
After much searching we finally located the missing controller... It was right where Andrew had left it, in one of his toy bins.
Just a little glimpse of what there will be to come! I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
Daddy
Grand Mother and Grand Dad come for a visit
Last week Momma had a trip that took her to CA for a few days. It was a great opportunity for Daddy, Grand Mother and Grand Dad to have some fun with the little man and get to know one another a little better at this stage of his life.
While we all really missed Momma, we all got along just fine on our first experience without Momma around since he has been with us. Momma did a tremendous job getting us all prepped for her trip and was a milk pumping fiend.
Thankfully for the few times over the days she was gone Andrew was able to take to a bottle or two of formula really well. No real arguments or complaints.
While Momma was gone we went out shopping, out to eat a bit and also went to see his art work that is being displayed at the local library. He did a really good job making a snowman out of some paper squares and some other supplies!
We all took turns helping him out at night (he was up a little more than normal at night during the week), but it all worked out well. Grand Mother got her quotient of baby rocking, singing and meal time antics and I think that both Andrew and Grand Dad enjoyed getting up really early and playing with each other while everyone else in the house was sleeping!
I think that Grand Mother really enjoyed getting to know Andrew's facial expressions and he kept us in stiches all week. Grand Dad even got some more diaper experience while here!
I will try to get some more updates up for pictures and stories soon, but everyone enjoyed themselves I think.
Glad to have Momma back though!
-N
While we all really missed Momma, we all got along just fine on our first experience without Momma around since he has been with us. Momma did a tremendous job getting us all prepped for her trip and was a milk pumping fiend.
Thankfully for the few times over the days she was gone Andrew was able to take to a bottle or two of formula really well. No real arguments or complaints.
While Momma was gone we went out shopping, out to eat a bit and also went to see his art work that is being displayed at the local library. He did a really good job making a snowman out of some paper squares and some other supplies!
We all took turns helping him out at night (he was up a little more than normal at night during the week), but it all worked out well. Grand Mother got her quotient of baby rocking, singing and meal time antics and I think that both Andrew and Grand Dad enjoyed getting up really early and playing with each other while everyone else in the house was sleeping!
I think that Grand Mother really enjoyed getting to know Andrew's facial expressions and he kept us in stiches all week. Grand Dad even got some more diaper experience while here!
I will try to get some more updates up for pictures and stories soon, but everyone enjoyed themselves I think.
Glad to have Momma back though!
-N
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Fun hiking with Andrew
As a little narration of the hiking picture the other day I figured I would put a little something in about our afternoon out.
Andrew and I went to a local trail system and suited up for some relatively chilly weather. It was in the low 50's but very sunny and it felt a lot warmer than the temperature out there. The trails that we went to are part of the city parks commision and Momma and Dad have used them often, but never really had the opportunity to walk too terribly far on them.
But Saturday Andrew and I decided that we would venture out and see what the woods had to offer in this area. So after seeing a couple of people with their dogs near the trailhead (boy do we enjoy seeing any animal at this point, especially when Daddy bends down so that the doggies are closer!) we pressed on to see a new branch of the trail system and where it leads. It worked out well since after only 10 or fifteen minutes of looking back in the little mirror at the little guy he was out for the count.
The funny thing is that I wanted to head out a little earlier in the morning but Andrew decided that it was time to zonk out and take a nap. So Dad waited until he woke up before dressing him up in him little prince winter outfit (nice since it zips over nearly everything and has covered feet and hands as well as a hood built in to keep him toasty).
Andrew slept for the entire length of the trail and most of the way back to the car. He woke up with about 20 minutes of hiking left (nearly two hours quietly sleeping in the backpack). But during those last twenty minutes he really enjoyed himself. It was so cute how every few paces I would hear him giggle at something or a little breathless gasp at something that made him get excited. Nothing I could see was making him so excited or laugh, so I chalked it up to just enjoying his time out with Dad on the trails.
The other thing that Andrew learned and enjoyed quite a bit during his hike in the backpack was how once he wiggled his little hands out of the hand covers, he was just within striking distance to grab the loop on the back of Daddy's hat he had on. This was just TOO MUCH for a baby to handle without giggles and chortles every time that he would latch on with his little pincers of power and yank back making Daddy's head pull back as well. Just too baby funny! We both enjoyed it and I got him back by tickling his little feet as we approached the car to finish our afternoon out.
At the end I was tempted to turn around and put in a little more but then I realized that this time that we just had, from his quiet sighs as he was sleeping, to his giggling and kicking his feet to get them away from Daddy's tickles were enough for the day.
It is so precious the little time that they are in our lives. Every minute is a differant experience and every one, both the highs and the lows are equally important to building memories that make up our lives.
I hope that Andrew enjoys all of the little things that his Momma and I will introduce him to, the sights, sounds, and experiences that we enjoy and will involve him in over the coming years will help to not only form his personality, character and life, but also change ours forever.
OK, too sappy, but every once in a while I just think back about what he has already taught us and what he still has in store!
Here is to many more hikes together in the future Andrew!
Dad
Andrew and I went to a local trail system and suited up for some relatively chilly weather. It was in the low 50's but very sunny and it felt a lot warmer than the temperature out there. The trails that we went to are part of the city parks commision and Momma and Dad have used them often, but never really had the opportunity to walk too terribly far on them.
But Saturday Andrew and I decided that we would venture out and see what the woods had to offer in this area. So after seeing a couple of people with their dogs near the trailhead (boy do we enjoy seeing any animal at this point, especially when Daddy bends down so that the doggies are closer!) we pressed on to see a new branch of the trail system and where it leads. It worked out well since after only 10 or fifteen minutes of looking back in the little mirror at the little guy he was out for the count.
The funny thing is that I wanted to head out a little earlier in the morning but Andrew decided that it was time to zonk out and take a nap. So Dad waited until he woke up before dressing him up in him little prince winter outfit (nice since it zips over nearly everything and has covered feet and hands as well as a hood built in to keep him toasty).
Andrew slept for the entire length of the trail and most of the way back to the car. He woke up with about 20 minutes of hiking left (nearly two hours quietly sleeping in the backpack). But during those last twenty minutes he really enjoyed himself. It was so cute how every few paces I would hear him giggle at something or a little breathless gasp at something that made him get excited. Nothing I could see was making him so excited or laugh, so I chalked it up to just enjoying his time out with Dad on the trails.
The other thing that Andrew learned and enjoyed quite a bit during his hike in the backpack was how once he wiggled his little hands out of the hand covers, he was just within striking distance to grab the loop on the back of Daddy's hat he had on. This was just TOO MUCH for a baby to handle without giggles and chortles every time that he would latch on with his little pincers of power and yank back making Daddy's head pull back as well. Just too baby funny! We both enjoyed it and I got him back by tickling his little feet as we approached the car to finish our afternoon out.
At the end I was tempted to turn around and put in a little more but then I realized that this time that we just had, from his quiet sighs as he was sleeping, to his giggling and kicking his feet to get them away from Daddy's tickles were enough for the day.
It is so precious the little time that they are in our lives. Every minute is a differant experience and every one, both the highs and the lows are equally important to building memories that make up our lives.
I hope that Andrew enjoys all of the little things that his Momma and I will introduce him to, the sights, sounds, and experiences that we enjoy and will involve him in over the coming years will help to not only form his personality, character and life, but also change ours forever.
OK, too sappy, but every once in a while I just think back about what he has already taught us and what he still has in store!
Here is to many more hikes together in the future Andrew!
Dad
Nicknames...
I think that it is interesting how parents give their children nick names through the lives of their children. Some stick, and some don't but it is fun to hear about what babies, toddlers, and children are called throughout their lives.
Andrew is ten months old (can he be that old already?!?) and has already gone through a few nick names that I can think of.
He started out with "Little Man" which has pretty much stuck so far. Other notables have been "Buddy" as in Hey there little Buddy! Which always warrants a smile from him. We have also nick named a few of his cutest little body parts.
The two that come to mind are: Andrew's little Dinner Rolls which refers to his ever so cute and chubby feet. They are so cute with his bulging feet and cute little toes sticking out. I can't help but think about those little dinner rolls that you get which look like they are bursting out of their crust. Same thing with his little feet!
The other one is based off of his little fingers and hands. We like to call his little chubby fingers his little Snausages. It's so fitting and we absolutely love just having his little snausages around our fingers, hands, nose or anything else he can grab hold of.
But typically if we are not calling him Andrew then usually we stick with The Little Man in some form.
Just a note, Daddy's nick name has always been Tiger and Momma's hase always been Angel.
Dad
Andrew is ten months old (can he be that old already?!?) and has already gone through a few nick names that I can think of.
He started out with "Little Man" which has pretty much stuck so far. Other notables have been "Buddy" as in Hey there little Buddy! Which always warrants a smile from him. We have also nick named a few of his cutest little body parts.
The two that come to mind are: Andrew's little Dinner Rolls which refers to his ever so cute and chubby feet. They are so cute with his bulging feet and cute little toes sticking out. I can't help but think about those little dinner rolls that you get which look like they are bursting out of their crust. Same thing with his little feet!
The other one is based off of his little fingers and hands. We like to call his little chubby fingers his little Snausages. It's so fitting and we absolutely love just having his little snausages around our fingers, hands, nose or anything else he can grab hold of.
But typically if we are not calling him Andrew then usually we stick with The Little Man in some form.
Just a note, Daddy's nick name has always been Tiger and Momma's hase always been Angel.
Dad
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Not sure if we had posted a picture of his swing set that a friend of Daddy's gave to us after his three children outgrew it. We took some pictures of Andrew in it during the weekend prior to Holloween. It was a really nice weekend and I think that he enjoyed his time out in the yard with Momma and Daddy clicking away!
Time for some more pictures.
So my first order of business is to post some pics of the little man in his Tigger costume. Once that is done, I wanted to get a few other events posted and update a little on our new little games as well as some pictures that we got taken this weekend.
Dad
Dad
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
voting today
Andrew enjoyed going to his future elementary school and watching Momma and Daddy vote today.
Too many pics without a costume!
Once again, Daddy got carried away with publishing older pictures and has run out of his daily allotment of pictures for posting to the blog.
I will have to try to get at least one up of the little guy using plain ol' elbow grease instead of the nice and easy tool provided... there is no limit on that one!
-Daddy
I will have to try to get at least one up of the little guy using plain ol' elbow grease instead of the nice and easy tool provided... there is no limit on that one!
-Daddy
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