Memorial Day Weekend

The 3 of us started off the weekend at the Great American Rib Cook-Off with a friend of ours and his daughter. We enjoyed some good BBQ, sweet tea and the obligatory funnel cake that comes with any festival events. It was very hot, but boy oh boy was it good people watching.

On Sunday, I started off the day enjoying my Mother's Day gift; a nice, hour-long relaxation massage! This was followed by a few hours of shopping and errand-running as a family. We ended the night with a beer in hand on the patio at The Winking Lizard and made it home in time just before the storm hit.

Monday entailed mostly of garage painting. BOR-ING. But with the new, bright-white door installed, the actual garage looked a little frumpy. A fresh coat of paint, with Drew's help of course, spruced up the old thing making it look almost new!

Hope you had a great Memorial Day Weekend as well!

New Garage Door

So when we moved in, our old garage door barely passed inspections as it had some wood rot through the bottom. The inspector guestimated that it was near 30 years old and you could tell it had seen its better days. We thought it would be pointless to install a new door right before winter last year, so we decided to let the snow eat away at it for a few more months.  See for yourself -

This past week we agreed it was time to have a nice, new door installed and it looks great!

But now that it's up, it makes the rest of the garage look faded! Guess what Derek and I will be doing this week? Yep, painting!

Back to Normal

After a rough 4 weeks with Drew fighting congestion, a cough and a left ear infection, we are back to a normal sleep schedule. He had reverted back to the early days of waking up every 2-3 hours and not wanting to go back to sleep each time. I was becoming very exhausted and thanks to amoxicillin, we took a happy turn!

He did wonderful this past weekend in St. Louis and these previous five nights here at home, he has done even better. One morning this week he didn't even make a peep until 8:15! Due to the crazy workload this week for me, I had to get up super early anyway and put my nose to the grind. The little turkey was still asleep and I decided to let him continue sleeping until he woke up. With daycare only 8 minutes away, it's super quick to run him up there when he wakes up. I guess that's another perk of working from home!

Needless to say, I am relishing in my 7-8 hours straight of sleep this week and hope it continues!

Weekend in St. Louis

Wow. Where to begin! This past weekend Derek and I drove 9 hours to St. Louis to see Matt (Derek's brother) graduate with his Masters in Urban Design from the Architecture school at Wash U. We were absolutely blessed to have such a little traveler with us. Our little man slept for about 4 hours total on the way there and was generally happy for the rest of the drive just playing with his toys and being entertained by mommy. We really couldn't have asked for a better baby for the trip!

Friday morning began the looooooongest graduation ceremonies ever! Thank goodness for a happy baby because we were outside in the humidity and sun for about 4 hours.

After some time, Drew just decided that the speeches were running a bit long and passed out in his car seat.

We actually lucked out quite a bit with the sun as it was supposed to rain all weekend. We barely had a sprinkle the entire time and were thankful for that! We are all three so proud of Matt and his accomplishments and just wanted to say CONGRATS again for all your degrees!!

Following the graduation, we ventured to Crown Candy; a quaint little 50's style mom and pop hole-in-the-wall with absolutely delicious banana milkshakes. Then it was on to the City Garden to enjoy some toes in the water, views of the arch and Drew's first glance at a horse.

After a quick refresh, we then headed out to dinner at Trattoria Marcella on the Hill. And thus we entered the first "Poop-Splosion" event of the weekend. And what nice restaurants don't have changing tables anymore? Or even a flat sink space to change a diaper? Ugh! Good thing we were at a corner table where we could just hide him on the floor to clean up the disaster and change his clothes.

Later that evening, the in-laws and Whitney babysat Drew and our friends' daughter so that we could all go out and grab a drink. It was gorgeous weather and I had a great time catching up with one of my oldest, best friends!

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed some Starbucks breakfast with our friends and then head to Pappy's Smokehouse for lunch. The sweet potato fries were TO DIE FOR! I could probably eat an entire plate of just those. After lunch, we had a quick nap at Matt's apartment along with some gift opening, another Poop-Opolis event with Drew and lastly, we met my friend Erin and her daughter at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Then it was dinner at Winslow's Home where I enjoyed the best grilled cheese sandwich of my life! After, we headed back to Matt's apartment so that the family could spend some time with Drew. It will be quite some time before they can see him again so we had to take every opportunity available!

After some good 'ole SNL on the tube, we hit the hay only to awake the next morning to the sounds of our sweet boy smiling and laughing up a storm. We plopped him in bed with Mimi and Grandpa to enjoy some morning snuggles before grabbing breakfast.

And what other way to end the weekend than the last event of Poop-Mageddon 2011? We were at breakfast Sunday when Drew decided that he had to leave one final mark in St. Louis. And boy did he. Let's just say the kid must have felt 4 pounds lighter as his body was almost covered in poo.

What an adventure this weekend was and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Our little turkey is a wonderful traveler and made life so easy for us! CONGRATS again Matt on your graduation!



Etsy Find

I know I've mentioned before about why I love Etsy, but I found another love. Since Drew is a big time drooler now, bibs are a staple in our household. This kid can drench one completely in negative 10 seconds, so keeping one on him daily is a must.

How cute is this monogrammed bib that I found? And better yet, it was cheap with shipping at like $2! I really love all things personalized and Etsy is a great site to add initials to almost anything!

Have a Great Weekend

Randomness

Derek mentioned yesterday that our blog has really turned in to an "Andrew blog". I would have to agree. But let's face it... who would rather read about or see anything other than him right now? He's the highlight of our life and I know most of you come here to see how he's doing! So while I try to include posts once and a while about other happenings, the majority of our blog will be Drew for a while. He is the biggest part of our life. He IS our life and the center of our world.

So with that, I will leave you with a few pictures from bath and play time this past week -

Family Pictures

I love having family that loves Drew.

It makes me happy.

Teeth Update

So about a week after his first tooth came in, Drew's second tooth broke through! You know what that means? More slobber. Tons more. We almost need to invent a bib made out of sponge material to keep up.

Oh, and seeing how he wasn't even 4 months old when the second one came in, Derek and I like to think that this kid is already advanced. We'll let you know when he's able to recite all state captials. I'm sure it will be any day now.

It Strikes in 3's

A picture says a thousand words right?

Well this explains the last 3 days here at our house -

Derek and I both have bronchitis and Drew is still battling a left ear infection. At least we're all on prescription meds now and hopefully on the upswing of recovery!

Drew's Baptism

"May the Lord give His angel charge over you, to guide you in all your ways."

                                                  --Psalm 91:11

Drew was baptised this past Sunday at the church that Derek and I and our families have been members of for 13+ years. We were married there and plan to become active again with the church when we get back to KC someday. Our senior pastor, Adam Hamilton, performed the ceremony. Drew did absolutely wonderful and fell right asleep immediately after being baptised. It was as if he knew his part was over.

4 Month Stats

Wow. 1/3 of a year old. Time definitely has flown and we have enjoyed watching Drew grow into this mellow, happy baby who loves his mom and dad.

Stats:
- Weight: 17 lbs, 7 oz (89th percentile)
- Length: 26 inches

Changes:
- We have TWO teeth! Yes, the other one broke through a few days before he turned 4 months. Crazy!
- We have full on giggles often throughout each week.
- He got his first bad cold and ear infection on his left side.  :(
- He hates to be held laying down like an infant. He would much rather be held sitting up like a big boy.
- He was really congested for a few weeks so his sleep schedule is messed up, but he was anywhere from 8-10 hours when he was healthy.
- Tummy time is SOOOO much better. The little guy doesn't scream until he's in that position for a few minutes and he does so well holding his body up. He just still isn't the best fan of his stomach and has NEVER preferred to sleep that way.
- He loves to stand on his feet with mommy or daddy holding him. He has also slowly been able to hold more weight on his legs each week.
- He still needs to suck a pacifier to help him fall asleep but doesn't prefer one at any other time.
- During the week at daycare, he generally takes one long nap (2.5 - 3 hours) and then one short 30-45 minute nap each day.

Sip & See

Since only our immediate family has been able to meet Drew, we had a Sip & See in order to show off our little angel to all friends and family that could stop by. We had about 70 people (including our parade of babies!) and some blasts from the past like my brother and my old piano teacher, our old babysitter and our 6th grade teacher! Oh - and I must give a shout out to Connie's Cookies. These yummy morsels were so soft and the icing was just amazing.... I would highly recommend them!

For a while, I think we had about 7 or so babies/toddler roaming the house! It was so fun to see so many familiar faces and to watch our little man be loved on by everyone. Drew did so well for most of the time but about an hour in he was tired of being passed around and had a bit of a meltdown. A quick nap on grandpa, some food, and he was good to go.

I didn't get many pictures of everyone that came as I was just so busy making sure that I had a chance to chat with everyone. This is about all I got. If you snapped more, email them to me!

I was glad that I caught one of my dear friend, Michelle, and her baby Sam seeing as how she and her husband live Dallas. I was so disappointed to hear that she wouldn't be able to make it, and almost fell on the ground when they walked in to surprise me!

  

We also had friends who couldn't make the Sip & See, but still found time to stop by and meet Drew. Below, our friends Mike and Ann spend time with him. I'm so sad that I forgot to snap a picture of our friends Jenny and Derek who also stopped by the next day!

I guess you lose some brain cells when you give birth.

Thanks to everyone that ventured out of their busy schedules to meet Drew. We had a blast catching up with everyone and can't wait to get back to Kansas City to see everyone more often!

Andrew's 1st Time to Kansas City

I feel like Derek and I had been counting down the days forever until we got to go home with our little man. It's so hard living up here far, far away from everyone and we were excited to make a trip back. The entire time was non-stop moving (splitting time between both sets of grandparents) on top of his Sip & See and baptism, but we wouldn't trade our stressed out bodies and minds for anything else. Being with family and friends rejuvenated the soul. The embraces by warm arms and laughs with familiar faces just plain felt good. It was needed. Very much.

But before I begin to ramble on about how I much I miss "home", let's move on to some pictures.

First up? Actually making it to KC with a teething 3.5 month old! Andrew did very well, only crying for about 60 seconds at one point. He was sleeping and woke up (we think) to some ear pain as he was definitely utilizing his "hurt" cry. Other than that, he just looked around or slept.

Next? Meeting Uncle Bean. Drew had met all of his immediate family except for my brother, Mike, who I've fondly called Bean since before I can even remember. Drew LOVED smiling at him on the ride home from the airport and was quite comfortable in his arms that afternoon.

More pictures and stories to come throughout the week of the rest of our trip to KC!

Andrew's First Tooth

Wow. He's already old enough to have a tooth?! Apparently, he is a bit young to be sprouting one just yet. It seems most babies tend to get their first tooth between 4 and 7 months of age. All babies are different though, and I have actually heard of babies being BORN with a tooth already breaking through!

It's such a weird sensation though when you place your finger on it. Other than maybe a bit more drool than normal, he doesn't seem to be too effected just yet. We have had a few rough nights over the past week, however, and are attributing them to this new phenomenon. We are also trying a variety of teething toys, but in the end the little guy just prefers his fingers!

He has become quite the wigglewort making it hard to snap some pictures, but you can see the tooth decently in these shots. It has little, sharp points, but I haven't felt anything yet when nursing him.

Fingers crossed that continues!

Happy Mother's Day

And to quote my own mother - "First a husband becomes another half of you, then your children all become parts of the whole; the bond inextricably interwoven in a mom's heart forever."

Baby Socks

Hi. My name is Sarah and I am a baby sock addict.

Hey, if I don't get to buy bows and frilly dresses, then my outlet will be adorable, tiny baby socks.

My favorites brands that actually STAY on the feet? Old Navy and Trumpette!

Old Navy socks are by far my favorite. They stay on REALLY well and look absolutely adorable. I've noticed that they go quickly, though, so I nab them as soon as I can!

I received my Trumpette socks a couple weeks ago upon a recommendation and LOVE them. Yes, they are a bit pricey for socks, but if you can find something that stays on their little feet despite all of the wiggling, then I think it's justifiable, right?! They also come in adorable prints and some unique colors to match odd outfits!