Category: Updates about Andrew

Oct. 15: I finally figured out how to log in to my website again!  At the end of September, I must have somehow reset the login, and I have been thwarted several times as I tried to update. Happily, we have been home this weekend, and during Andrew’s nap, I was able to get it working again.

Our little guy has been getting ever so engaged and active these last weeks.  I almost feel like I should change the website category section from Baby News to Little Guy News.  He’s outgrown nearly all his warm clothes from last year.  When I put him in them, they are a bit like high-water pants:)  So it’s all big-boy overalls and clothes.  And he’s so amazingly cute!

The last weekend in September, Bryan went to Michigan to spend time in a cabin with some of his Ann Arbor friends.  Andrew and I had what seemed like a long date.  We went apple picking and went out for pancake breakfasts, went to the zoo, hung out with Grandma, and visited Mum.  Pictures of the weekend are in the gallery.

The first weekend in October we traveled to Carleton.  I had a two-day meeting for an alumni committee on which I serve, so Bryan and Andrew spent a couple days exploring campus and Northfield.  Andrew ate his own Hogan Brother hoagie.  Actually, these days we’re ordering him his own children’s meals.  He’s been known to put away an entire hamburger by himself!

Andrew just interrupted me to tell me that he hears and airplane. He points at his ear and then at the sky.  Signs for “hear” and “airplane”

Aunt Melanie just sent us an amazing box of Halloween treats.  I have pictures in the gallery of Andrew’s new Spooky cat slippers, he new halloween counting book, and many other pictures of the little guy being adorable outside in our front yard. He’s getting where he can put his own hat on his head, likes to try to help put his shoes on his feet, and can follow pretty complex requests. In fact, on Friday when we went to visit Bryan at work, part way there I asked Andrew where we were going.  His reply, “Dada!”

Oct. 15: This morning Andrew and I set out to amuse some of our neighborhood by dressing him up in his Halloween duck costume and playing in the yard.  We made several people laugh:)

I was taking pictures to share with great-grandparents, but now you can enjoy them too. A Halloween prelude! 

Andrew’s first word was “quack-quack” and “duck.”  So being a duck for Halloween seemed like a perfect fit.  He wasn’t too crazy about the hat part of the costume at first, but while we were outside in the leaves, he didn’t seem to mind at all.

Must go now.  The little guy has piled my shoes and several books in the chair around me. And there is a suspicious smell I should investigate…

Happy Halloween planning!

Sept. 29: Granny Lu and Grandpa were in town last weekend, and we all had a really nice time together.  The weather didn’t really cooperate for trips to the park. But Andrew doesn’t need an outing to have a great time with his Granny Lu and Grandad.  He showed off his ever-growing walking skills, and he tried on his Halloween duck costume for fun.

Photos of our weekend (from LuAnn…I didn’t pick up my  camera the whole time) are in the gallery.

Sept. 29: Andrew is taking many steps in a row these days.  He lunges a little like a baby Frankenstein, and he crawls about half the time, but he’s taking 10-15 steps in a row.  It’s incredible to see him walk from room to room!

I have some photos in the gallery of a trip to the apple orchard.
Andrew picked his own apple and then proceeded to eat nearly the whole thing.  And I pulled out his strawberry and pumpkin hats from last year.  When he sees them, he pats the top of his head to tell me he wants me to put it on him.

Sept. 13: Being away from Andrew for five days while I was in Ann Arbor with Heather and Michael was pretty hard.
In sharing their grief over losing their baby, I really had to put thoughts of Andrew out of my mind, and as time went on, I found that separating Andrew from my thoughts really took a toll on my mind and heart. It made me realize how close to the surface thoughts of him are in everything I do.

When I got back home last night, I pulled Andrew out of his crib and held him.  It seemed that he has grown so much in only a few days.  He can push his little push toy adroitly all over the house, he can start to make many more words (like a whispered Sss-oooky for our cat).  And Bryan said he learned the sign for “floor.”  Makes me get a sense for how very hard it must be for Andrew’s grandparents and aunts and uncles who don’t get to see him as regularly.  I want to capture each moment with Andrew in my heart.

During my layover between train and bus in Chicago, I did some therapy shopping for Andrew.  I found some cute clothes, but I was a bit chagrined to find that all the 18-24 month clothes are little boy clothes, not baby clothes.  And when he wears little boy clothes, he almost doesn’t look like my baby any more.  But he still sure is cute:)  And his curly hair is out-of-control!  I love it.

In our gallery, I have pictures of Andrew playing with Clara, my co-worker Pam’s daughter, playing with a ball, and eating chocolate chip cookie dough.  I also have an album with a photo from my Aunt Julie’s wedding and Andrew coloring and playing with Dad.

Aug. 26: I just uploaded a few new pictures into the gallery including some of Bryan and Andrew playing at the playground, Andrew eating and doing a few signs (“more” and “hot!”), and most cutely, Andrew in his new duck costume.  He’s such an adorable baby:) Check the gallery for pics.

Aug. 24: Maybe I should change the title of this post to “first steps.”  Andrew’s been doing incredible baby things this month.  He’s gotten really engaged and interested in baby sign language, and he just started taking faltering first steps.  A little step, a swing of the hip, and “plop” he goes down.  Or maybe not.  Perhaps he catches himself and then goes down to his knees as if to say, “Phew, what was that!”  He can stand up from a squat, and sometimes I look over and he’s just standing up in the middle of the room.  Such a darling cutie!

Andrew is also really getting into signs.  He’s not saying much verbally (started saying “down” and “alldone”), but he’s really picking up on signs.  For those of you not completely immersed in the world of babies, there’s a lot of info out these days about teaching babies some basic types of sign language to help them communicate before their verbal skills kick in.  Here’s a website for more info.  Some of Andrew’s favorite new signs are “elephant” – arm swinging “hat” – patting his head “airplane”  – pointing up at the sky and “frog” – sticking his tongue in and out.  I’m working on getting photos, so check back soon.

Aug. 7: Bryan’s parents just spent five days visiting with us, and we had a blast!  I got to relax and read some books, Bryan and his parents played a fun round of golf, and of course, Granny Lu and Grandad bonded with Andrew.  Grandad played “pony” and “tex” with Andrew, and they had a great time pretending together.  “Comon Pony!  Let’s Ride!
Yeeehaww!”  Photos of their visit especially of Andrew playing in the park are in our gallery.

July 30: As Andrew threw himself around the bed this morning…crawling/crashing from one side of the bed to the other…Bryan and I reminisced about how much he has changed from the little blob of a baby that rested between us last year.  For one thing, Andrew’s perspective has changed so much.  Last year, I posted an album of photos that contained Andrew’s favorite things to look at.
So this morning, I thought I’d go around the house and quickly photograph some of his current favorite views.  Photos are in the gallery.

July 24: We
just got back this afternoon from a great, four-day trip to Ann Arbor.

It’s been over a year since we last saw many of our dear friends from our days in Michigan, and it was so very nice to reconnect over a long weekend.  In the four days we were in town, we saw eight sets of friends, and we’re feeling like our tanks have been refilled.

Andrew also used this weekend to make some new milestones.  Here’s a few…

• He learned how to blow kisses.  He especially likes to blow kisses bye bye to trucks “UKS!” when they go by.
• He can slide down a little slide unaided (sometimes) and can climb back up the ramp again
• He got his first bloody lip on the playground equipment, but he recovered quickly.  You can see a bump on his lip in the photos from our weekend:(
• He said “Cup,” but even more fun, he’s been working on Cock-a-doodle-doo “cA cA…oooo”
• He seems to have figured out that he needs to back down steps, and at Heather and Michael’s deck, climbed down the two low steps rather handily and without help.

I put some of the photos from our trip up in the gallery.
We just love Ann Arbor.  It was especially fun to stay with Heather and Michael just a month before their little baby is due and to see my friend Sheila, who is due in September.  More baby friends!
Ahh…it was a great vacation.  And now we’re back to work!