Much to be thankful for!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Andrew's first Thanksgiving. We got to hang with both of our families and saw both cousin Sophia and cousin Rachel.

We also hosted a sip and see for Joe and Kristin so people could see their adorable bundle of joy! We had over 50 people at our home and it was just perfect! Lots of food, drinks and fun!

Andrew is really motoring around. His crawl is a full on sprint and he's pulling himself up on anything he can reach. He gets such a kick out of exploring the house and finding us. He's also very into patty cake, trot-trot, and loves to dance.

More Stopulos Cousins!!

We were excited to go and visit our new niece Rachel Marie today (she was born November 15)! Her mother was quite the rock star - doing 12 hours hard labor and 3 hours of pushing, all without an epidural or pain meds! She is a beautiful baby and we are so excited she is here! Joe and Kristin were so adorable and its so much fun to see them as parents! The holidays are going to be even better this year with all the new arrivals in our family!

Spooky Stuff on Halloween

It's my favorite time of year and we enjoyed it thoroughly!

PART 1: We began the day at Ruhl&Ruhl's annual corporate Halloween costume contest. We were the Flinstones - complete with Bambam and Pebbles. I think the cuteness of the kids won over the judges as Marketing took first place (finally!)! We were thrilled to have Pete participate too!

PART 2: We didn't do much trick or treating but brought our little dragon over to Mimi and Papa's house for dinner. He loved it - but I think loves anything that puts him in the center of attention!

Cousins!

Andrew has a new cousin!! Blake Hunter Kearney was born October 11th. We made the trip down to Kansas to see the little guy along with big brother Cole. Cole was incredibly cute - waiting in the front living room for Andrew to get there. We had fun playing with Cole's Elmo train track - Cole played rather as Andrew laid across the tracks and stuck the train cars in his mouth. Cole kept asking me, "why is Andrew doing that to my toys?" He's going to have fun when Blake is ready to play!

We also got to stay with my parents and saw cousin Sophia - so much fun to have the kids together even though they don't really play together!

6 Months Old!

We can not believe its been 6 months that our little man has been in our world. It's amazing how wonderfully our lives have changed - we couldn't feel more blessed! It's also crazy how much he has grown already!

At his 6 month check up Andrew weighed 18 lbs 6 oz (67th percentile) and was 25.5 inches tall (18th percentile). So we have a little shorty on our hands - but I think he'll catch up to his weight and head size (which is also 67th percentile!).

Andrew is also crawling and sitting of propped up. So there's no leaving this little guy be - he's on the move and will get to anyone or anything he so wishes. He also enjoys dumping out his toy basket and spreading out his toys all across our living room. So our house now looks like a toy store that a tornado went through - I am sure it's only going to get worse from here on out!

Here are some updated photos!

Yum Yum Cereal!

Andrew is turning into a big boy! He ventured into eating cereal this week and is truly enjoying it! It was kind of a non event ;) We can't wait to try some veggies next week after our trip to the doctor for our 6 month check up!

Andrew is also done with breast milk (at least from me - there's plenty in the freezer!) We had to try 2 different kinds of formula to find the right fit but he's taking to it well and it's such a relief for me to have so much more time!!

Poor Baby

Our little guy finally got the crud. Not fun but he's being such a trooper. We decided to take him to the doctor since his cough got so bad and were prescribed breathing treatments. Again, Andrew has been his wonderful self. He had a bit of a fever tonight after spending the day at his first BIG 10 game against Minnesota. So hopefully it's just due to the busy day and we didn't push him too hard!! He got to see a win too and celebrate the engagement of his cousin Ted - what fun!!

Let's Go Hawks

Today we shared the excitement of an Iowa game with Andrew! He loved it! We started with a little tailgating and then we stayed for the entire game to watch the Hawks defeat the UNI Panthers (sorry Nana and Papa G)! He mostly hung out with daddy in the baby bjorn carrier. It was like We were with a movie star walking to the game - everyone was talking about how cute Andrew was (and why wouldn't they?). Two women even asked to have they're photo taken with Pete and Andrew - too funny! Andrew was completely exhausted since he hardly napped so it wasn't the most fun ride home but still worth it nonetheless! Here are some photos from our fun day!

Teeth and a Trip!

Yes it has happened. The teething has commenced. Drool, boogies and a few crabby days, not to mention the new must have accessory - a bib, have led to Andrew's first tooth! He has taken it like a champ and I think the second one will be close behind.

We also hit another milestone - mommy and daddy's first trip away. We headed to Chicago to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and my 30th birthday. We stayed downtown, went to Iowa day at the Cubs game and then joined our college friends for tailgating and an Iowa game at Soldier Field. What great times capped off by a Tim Stop concert! And I only cried a little when we left. Both grandparents took a day/night to ease the "burden" but baby Andrew was his usual self and slept through the night and was a very good boy! Pete and I are already considering where the next trip should be ;)

Andrew continues to grow - measuring about 17.5 pounds on our scale. Only a half pound more and he will have tripled his weight since birth - a feat normally not reached until 1 year! But he's happy and growing just fine according to the doctors - I can't wait until his 6 month check up to see how he's changed!

Here are some updated photos:

Day Care Fun

See what fun Andrew has at Villa Maria! Here he is taking a walk with his friend Sam Bonis (thanks for the photo Ellie!). Pete says it looks like they are on a ride at Great America! Ha!

Funny Girl

Kids really do say the darnedest things! We were hanging with the Snyders this weekend and Elizabeth and I were discussing the Olympics. She randomly said that Andrew was going to be a swimmer. I said that I didn't think he would be tall enough and probably would be better suited to be a wrestler. She said, "Why? Because he's got the big guns?" Hilarious!

And earlier when she was holding him she was looking at his pointy 'Spock' ear and asked her Mom if Andrew was going to be an elf when he grew up! Where does an almost 6 year old come up with this stuff!!

Growing Out and Milestones

Andrew had his 4 month check up this week and he's growing! He is now 24 inches tall (40th percentile) and 15 lbs 8 oz (50th percentile). No worries about the height - Pete compared his numbers to a 3 month old (what he should be) and he would be 80th percentile. Not that anyone's counting! Ha! So he's growing fully on breast milk alone. We will see how long we can keep up with the pumping, as he is only bottle fed. I am hoping to do it another month or so.

We went to visit Nana and Papa this weekend since Daddy had a bachelor party to attend. We had so much fun with lots of visitors and Sophia. Great Uncle Steve and Great Aunt Jeanette visited with Great Gram, and Uncle Joe and Aunt Kristin (and Cousin Stopulos too)! Only a few more months and we will be able to visit 2 cousins in Des Moines! Of course Sophia, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Chris were there too. And Mommy's high school friends came over to hang as well.

We hit another milestone while we were there too - Andrew started rolling over. Life is ever-changing!!

We are so truly blessed with Andrew. Every time I look at him I remember what a miracle he is and how lucky we all are. Life is so great!!

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Andrew was baptized yesterday! It was a wonderful ceremony performed by Father Chuck at St. Ambrose. My parents were able to, as were Andrew's godparents, Joe and Kristin. Mike and Mary Fran were of course there, joined by several other family members in the Quad Cities. We had a great lunch back at our house and people stayed around for awhile celebrating. Andrew was great the entire time - didn't fuss even once and loved getting the holy water splashed on his head! He's just a great baby!