The power of a baby...

I have a sad, but sweet story I wanted to share...

I was putting Andrew in the grocery cart outside the store when an older gentleman came up to me and said "My wife has dementia and she's over there in the car just talking to your baby like she's holding him--breaks my heart." I said, "That is so sweet and at least she is happy."

Just shows you the power of a baby.

Baby's First Halloween

Too bad Daddy wasn't here for this because he loves Halloween! Well, those of us here in AZ dressed up and had fun. We had the zookeeper (me), the monkey (Andrew) and the banana (Minnie).

We spent the night having fun at the Howards' house. Their little lobsters were a hoot and their Aunt Jesslyn and cousin Makenzie--Andrew's ex-GF :-)--were there too. Check out this Hallmark Smilebox scrapbook I made of the event...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Time to Celebrate

I love fall holidays and that means lots of photos! Lots of firsts for Andrew, too. First, our 1st trip to the pumpkin patch. Autumn backdrops can even be pretty in AZ.

I love his Oshkosh overalls!

6 Months!

You may see some duplicate posts from Andrew's site, but I want to keep everyone in the loop :-) ...












Not loving bananas...

Everyone that knows and loves Andrew can't believe he is already halfway to his first birthday. I can't say it enough that he is such a wonderful baby. Every single day he makes me smile, laugh and be in awe of him. These are some of the reasons why Andrew is such a blessing to us and such a genuinely good baby.

• First, the important stuff--he sleeps through the night at least 8-9 hours every night! :-) He is an early riser a lot of the time, but apparently he got that from his dad!
  
• He nurses and takes a bottle like a champ. Andrew is one lucky baby; he gets breastmilk, formula and now some solid foods. He gets the best of both worlds! I absolutely love nursing him and I am grateful for our special bond we've had.
  
• He smiles and laughs constantly! This is the kid who smiled at the nurse who was about to give him his 6-month shots, barely cried after she did and then smiled at her again before she could get to the next leg for his next shot. Oh, and he even smiled at her on the way out the door! Andrew doesn't hold a grudge. Another good trait from daddy.
  
• He is easily amused. I guess most babies are, but I just love that he can be so content singing with me or just playing on the floor or in the exersaucer by himself.
  
• He can go out shopping with me for hours and never get cranky unless he's hungry or tired. I don't know how many times people have commented about what a good boy he is being. Let's hope he keeps it up when he's older ;-) He tags along to the grocery store, Target or to the mall. He just goes with the flow.
  
• He loves people watching and just being outside. Recently we were sitting outside an outdoor shopping area and he would smile at everyone who walked by on the sidewalk behind us. What a little flirt!

You know I could go on, but you get the picture. He's our sweet, smiley "little angel" (as daddy calls him) and he's the best ever.

Andrew's Website

So I started another website. Like I have time to maintain all of this, but I just can't help myself. The internet is just too much fun :-) You can now visit Andrew's own personal website with photos, videos and journal entries...Go to http://www.andrewthomas410.shutterfly.com/. Shutterfly, Blogger, Kodak Gallery, Picasa, Facebook--I'm everywhere, but like I said, I can't help myself!

Ready for fall

I am SO ready for fall weather. I want to exercise outside again (I want to exercise in general!), I want to actually take the dog for a walk at NOT the crack of dawn (not that I do it that much anyway!) and I want to feel chilly in my bed and snuggle under the covers. As long as I've lived in Arizona (5 years this August), it's always like this. Once the weather cools down, we all forget about how awful the summer was and instead talk about how we love living in AZ.

I wasn't even outside much this summer because I was busy being a new mom, not wanting to take my baby out into this massive heat. Yet still I'm ready for fall and winter in AZ. Living alone makes for some boring days and me and the little man need to get out and about as much as possible.

Speaking of our little man, he is doing wonderful and taking better naps lately. (knock on wood!) I see all of these moms online who are giving their 5-month-old babies sippy cups and bragging about them standing or pulling up and I wonder why they are trying to rush things. I want my baby to be a baby while he's supposed to be. I want to savor this time. That is one blessing about Jeff being gone. I can really focus on Andrew and our time together. I get upset about not being able to share him with his family, but the positive side is that I get extra mommy 'n me time. He's gonna be a mama's boy for sure!

Love to the Brim

Time really does fly because it seems like I just blogged last week! Since I’ve checked in last, Andrew has started at his new babysitter, we’ve flown to IL for a visit with the fam and I sent Jeff off to Egypt. Plus, Andrew will be 5 months old this week!

Since nanny Jess can’t watch Andrew at our house anymore, Andrew is going to an in-home daycare in Chandler which is on my way to work. Tracy is Rachel’s friend and someone who I had met several times and trusted. She has two boys, ages 4 and 6 and also watches several other kids from ages 2-6. They are mostly boys, so Andrew has some new buddies. They absolutely LOVE playing with him and entertaining him and I know he enjoys it, too. Today I rang the doorbell and heard the yelling of “Andrew is here!” behind the door. It was so cute. Tracy enjoys having a little baby and I can tell he likes her. It makes me feel good that he is well taken care of and is having fun. So he goes to Tracy’s Monday through Friday until about 1 p.m. and then he is home with me Thursday and Friday while I work from home.

This past week we went to Illinois to see Grandma and Aunt Beth and we had such a great time! Andrew misses his family and they LOVED having him around. I really cherish our time with them because I get to share the love that is Andrew with them. Being here in AZ, I feel like there is no one here that loves Andrew like I do since Jeff is gone. Sharing Andrew with Grandma, Aunt Beth, my Aunt Judy and my Grandma was so wonderful. Everyone had a fun time. I stayed for several days and then I headed off to Ft. Lewis, Washington to see Jeff one last time before he left for Egypt. Beth watched Andrew and realized how exhausting having a baby can be! She is used to being around kids, but not 24/7! She and her new hubby were so great with him. My mom came over and helped with Andrew too since Beth has 3 kids she watches in her in-home daycare. They were busy ladies that week!

Aunt Beth and Grandma May feeding Andrew during our mall outing.

Andrew got to visit with his Aunt Juli and Grandma Burchfield, too!

Jeff and I had a good time seeing Seattle (Space Needle, Pike’s Place Market, etc) and spending some time together. However, the whole trip was emotionally exhausting. The last night, we went bowling and had some fun. It was our first actual real date in a long time. We had fun and I got to enjoy some adult beverages!

However, Andrew was always on our minds (especially since I had to pump my milk!) and Jeff told me several times to make sure to take good care of our boy and kiss him for him. I wish we could have had 10 more days to have fun and talk more, but he had to leave and I have to be strong.

I flew back to IL September 5 to tear Andrew away from Mom and Beth (they had a plan to keep him!) and get ready for one more tearful goodbye. We flew home yesterday and Andrew did great on both of his plane rides. I am so lucky to have such a good baby!

Jeff made it to Egypt yesterday and is doing well. We have to adjust to the 9-hour time difference! I miss him a lot, but try not to think about it. Andrew keeps me busy luckily and at 5 months old, he is growing and developing rapidly everyday. He loves to be sang to, to be tickled and always loves attention. He is kicking his little legs and babbling constantly. He is going to very active like his parents!

Andrew gives everyone in his life so much love and we couldn’t be happier!