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!

Going Back to Work

So I realize it's been some time since I last posted (almost 2 months!). That's how exhausting it has been to get into the swing of things. Although we have been loving every minute, it's been challenging to get into a routine. I have been trying to get up very early so I can start getting Andrew ready for the day, but most of the time Pete does the morning bottle and gets Andrew dressed for daycare. I didn't cry the first day of work, but had a break down the night before. I guess it was good to get it out :) Pete was in LA with Tim recording a couple of songs my last week of maternity leave so I was so happy to have him home before I started back to work.

The days at work go fast as I am so busy. I work Monday thru Thursday and work from home on Fridays. It's a great schedule to adapt to everything. Andrew seems to enjoy daycare as he comes home exhausted and happy. They definitely keep him occupied and he enjoys seeing the other kids. Sam Bonis will be joining his class on Monday!

The weekends have been very busy too! We have enjoyed many days at the pool (even though its been so hot!), had a good 4th of July holiday (but fireworks were out of the question due to the heat), spent a day with Andrew at the John Deere Classic and much more! We had our first baby sitter last weekend for the DCC Member Guest Tournament dinner and had a great night out with each other and friends.

Andrew seems to change daily. He's now on a great sleep schedule, sleeping about 9 hours at night (from 10pm - 7am) with a short morning nap and long afternoon nap. He now enjoys his exersaucer so much and loves to stand with us holding him up. He's still a little small for the Johnny Jump Up but still had a blast moving around in it. He has yet to roll over unprompted but I feel that it's coming soon! He loves watching people and overall is a very calm baby. He LOVES TV! I hate to admit it but he is a TV hound, but we try to limit it to news and sports :) He has cooing conversations with us and the rest of the family and really is just a joy to be around. The running joke is that no one has heard him cry!

Andrew also got to meet two of what I know will be his besties! Susie and Joe Aubin came to the Quad Cities to visit with their son Lucas, who is 1 month younger than Andrew. Then Sarah and Matze Knobloch stopped by on their way back home to Chicago with their son Felix, who is 2 weeks older than Andrew. What fun to get our boys together!!

Here are some more photos of our little guy!

Doing His Nights!

Andrew started sleeping through the night!! The day before his 2 month check up, Andrew slept from 10 to 5 am! We are thrilled!! And he's slept until at least 4 am every night since. Our little boy is growing up so fast!

At his 2 month check up, Andrew showed that he really packed on the pounds. He had grown to 22.5" long (moving into the 70th percentile from the 10th percentile) and 11 lbs 3 oz (moving into the 50th percentile, from the 5th percentile). He got all his shots and only cried for a second. He is such a good boy!!