Father and Son

Grandma C (Brandyn's Mom) emailed me today to say that she pulled out Brandyn's baby book to look at his 4 month old stats. At 4 months Brandyn was 25.5 inches tall... Andrew is 26.5 inches tall (a full inch taller!). Brandyn is now 6' 6".... where do you think Andrew will be at 30!?!

Happy Four-Month Birthday Andrew

Four months... it really has seemed to fly by. Good bye newborn stage... hello active, wiggly, talkative baby.

At Andrew's four-month appointment, his stats were:
Weight: 14 pds and 14.8 oz
Height: 26.5 inches

In other developments...
- Andrew exercises by doing baby crunches (lifting his head off the ground when he's laying on his back).
- He is crazy with his feet and loves playing in his kick chair.
- He's pretty entertained by his feet in general and will grab, hold and play with them a lot while in his car seat or laying on the floor.
- He's wiggly. He rolls from his belly to his back and from side to side often.

Soothing techniques...

Brandyn has always been better at soothing Andrew than I have. When Andrew was itty bitty and eating what seemed like (and probably was) every other hour... Brandyn would work his magic on Andrew and "entertain" him while I squeezed in a few extra minutes of sleep. He rocked, he shhsh'd, he coo'd, he bounced... whatever it took. Brandyn's patience last much, much long than mine.

My tool box of soothing techniques is limited to one... "the boob." My bouncing, cooing, etc. is apparently not as effective as Brandyn's and my patience has a short fuse. So after a few minutes of fussing, my solution is ALWAYS... feed him. While its a nice "crutch" to fall back on... imagine my thoughts as I'm beginning to wean Andrew and wonder how the heck I'm going to calm him when I can't pacify him anymore. Well, last night... I got a little taste of how Momma CAN sooth.

We were at a friends house and we put Andrew down to go to sleep on a blanket on the floor. He was mildly fussy and so I laid down with him. I put my face against his, and wrapped my arm across his chest and "pet" him. He grabbed my finger in one hand and my ear in the other. And there we lay, my forehead against his sweaty little cheek and Andrew gripping my finger and stroking gently on my ear. He wiggled and wiggled and eventually feel asleep in about 3 minutes. (And I'll admit, I was crying with love and joy while it happened). It was one of the most amazing and touching moments of my "life with Andrew." It felt so sweet and great to be able to soothing my baby to sleep... and to have him "cuddling" with me... I could have laid there next to him for hours.

Sleep over at Evey's!!

This weekend, my brother Ryan, my sister-in-law Katie, and their (almost!) 3-year-old Evey watched Andrew overnight! It was Brandyn and my first overnight away - and it went very well for everyone. I restrained myself from calling to check in, but I did send (and receive) quiet a few text messages! Of course, Ryan and Katie took excellent care of Andrew... and took excellent "mental" care of Brandyn and I too - by uploading pictures and video to show us all the fun they were have while we were away. Here are a few highlights!!


Katie also passed along this cute story from the weekend. Evey was all about Andrew... doting and playing with him all weekend. At one point, Katie was warming up a bottle for Andrew and Evey was "watching" him. The bottle didn't warm up quickly enough... and Andrew started crying. Which made Evey cry exclaiming "He doesn't like me Mama!" (Poor Evey!! Its not you, its not you!!)

Getting in touch my "new" self...

I am overly worried... borderline obsessed... about losing myself in my new "mommy" identity. I dwelled on this topic while I was pregnant (here) and I think about it frequently now. My fear is that I will let my life, my self... become absored by my child... and loose everything about my life that I cared so much about before. I'm so "obssesed" about this fact, I'm pushing myself too hard in the opposite direction.

After 9 months of my body belonging to someone else, I am so excited to have it back, and I am jumping at ANY chance to feel "normal" again. I'm ready to chat all night long with girl friends, celebrate maternity leave, and wine taste (ooh sweet Wine Country, how I missed you!). Its so hard not to go overboard.

Lately, I've over committed socially. I've "stayed too long" at parties, taken advantage of Brandyn's willingness to be home with Andrew by themselves, and generally worn myself out being my "typical" social butterfly.

I need to come to terms with the "new" me - the same, but different. Finding that balance... is hard.

The Backyardigans

With the "luxurious" schedule of a teacher, Brandyn spends most of his summers working on projects around the house. This summer, despite the fact that he's got Andrew to take care of, is no different. He's got a big list of projects he wants to take on. And while he might not get to all of them... he IS making progress... well... with a little help! (Note the bouncy seat to the right of the picture - that's Andrew!!) ;)


Brandyn's version of The Backyardigans!


Seriously... Andrew looks like he couldn't be happier!!

Happy Fourth of July!

We celebrated the 4th at our friends Amy & Matt's. They hosted a delicious BBQ and pool party... where... Andrew went "swimming" for the first time! He seemed to really enjoy himself!

Here Andrew is getting ready for the party! (Note the ADORABLE hate - thanks Jess... and CUTE baby flip flops!!)
Pool time!!!


Andrew was LONG asleep by the Fireworks time, but he dressed festive anyway!!

A little late... but Andrew's 3-Month Snap Shot!!

Below.

Happy Three Month Birthday Andrew!!

Andrew gone wild... and caught on tape! :)

One of my MANY (failed) attempts to capture Andrew rolling over.




The latest game in our house. Andrew LOVES listening to Brandyn sign B.I.N.G.O. He full on belly laughs. And its ONLY to that song... wonder what's so entertaining about that silly dog! Oh, and... you'll note... Andrew is mesmerized by the camera. Once he sees it... its all he can focus on!