Andrew & Leah

Andrew has already been on an airplane! We all went to Colorado over Memorial Day Weekend. Andrew traveled like a champ. I was pleasantly surprised how great it went. We sure did have a lot of stuff to bring. How can someone so little require so much gear? Stroller, car seat, his own suitcase, 2 diaper bags… Luckily the airline is very accommodating to those traveling with children.
We stayed at Ryan’s aunt and uncle’s place in Downtown Denver. It was awesome! They have a beautiful loft and we were so close to so many restaurants. We put Andy in the stroller and off we went to eat. He is such a good boy in his stroller even when we weren’t moving.
On Saturday, we went to meet Andrew’s newest playmate, Olivia. She is about 1 month older than Andrew. Olivia’s mom is my good friend from high school, Maria. They live in Colorado Springs now. Maria got some rolls and juice for breakfast and then we headed to check out the Garden of the Gods. It’s a red rock formation at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. It’s kind out of place there, so that’s why it’s so unusual. They made it into a place with trails and different look out spots. After we checked out the rocks, we headed to the Colorado Springs Zoo. It was a fun zoo with lots of different animals. It is built in a mountain side, so we got a good workout pushing the stollers up the steep paths. The giraffes were the highlight. You could buy some crackers and feed them. We were treated to a nice supper at the Studens before heading back to Denver for the night.
Ryan lived in Denver area for a short time when he was about 9 years old, so we ventured up to the suburb of Westminster to try and find his old house on Sunday. At first, we didn’t have much luck as a lot has changed in 20 years. But then we passed a middle school that he recognized. Then we got into the right area and found his old school. From there we were able to find the neighborhood and his house. He showed me the park where he used to play baseball and cut across to get to school. Pretty neat! We checked out the Cherry Creek Mall for a couple of hours and then hit up the Wazee Supper Club. They had a variety of foods, but the pizza seemed like their specialty, so that’s what we tried. Yum!
We had a morning flight on Monday morning, so we got up early and headed up to the airport and were back home early in the day. Andrew did very well on the flights again.
This weekend, Ryan is umpiring the North Dakota State High School Baseball Tournament. We will be lonely without daddy, so Andrew and I are heading to Grandma and Grandpa Lindsay’s for a few days. This is my last week of maternity leave. I can’t believe that our little man is already going to be 12 weeks old on Monday. He is such a good baby! Ryan and I love being parents. We really feel like a family now that Andrew has joined us. It is so fun to watch him grow and develop, too. There are many more firsts to come.

Andrew's big news is that he was baptized on Sunday at Olivet Lutheran Church. Pastor Kris baptized him. He was also the pastor that married Ryan & I, so that was a neat connection. Andrew also got a guardian angel, Rebekah. It's a neat program at Olivet. She is going to be his special friend at church. She is a cutie. It's a great way for the older kids to see the baptism up close, too! We hope Andrew can be someone's guardian angel when he is older. Andrew was great during the baptism. He was wide awake for the whole thing and didn't cry one bit. Andrew's Great Grandpa & Grandma Perreault were able to come. It was great they could come & meet Andrew on his special day! Others at the baptism were Godmother Allison & Godfather Brian, Cousins Reese & Isaac, Auntie Angela & Uncle Jason, Grandma & Grandpa Lindsay, Grandma & Grandpa Tilock & cousin Charlie. It was a fun group. They all came over to our house for tacos, fruit & dessert after the service.

Auntie Angela and Auntie Allison were a little bit sore on Sunday because they ran in the 1/2 marathon on Saturday morning. They both did great finishing right around 2 hours for the 13.1 mile course. Wow!! It's their 2nd year running it. The course for the marathon, 1/2 marathon and 5K run come right by at the end of our block, so we got to see all of the runners come by. Over 10,000 runners participated. It was just a sea of people running for many blocks -- quite the sight. Reese & Grandma Lindsay made some signs for the twins and friend Gwen to cheer them on.

Andrew also got to meet a couple of friends from college on Saturday...Shelagh and Suzie were in town for the weekend. They both recently moved to the Twin Cities...Shelagh from Chicago and Suzie from Seattle. It was great to see them and catch up! My friend Lisa was there, too. I work with her, but since I'm on maternity leave I haven't seen her for a while. By the way, thanks to Lisa -- she is doing my job while I am gone on leave. I'm not sure, but I think she is counting the days until I am back to work. ;)

Today Andrew had his 2 month check up. He is doing great -- Dr. Tingley gave him an A+ on his health. He is officially weighing in at 12 lbs 9 oz which is the 61 percentile and he is 24 inches long, which is in the 78 percentile. He did have to get the dreaded vaccinations today, too. He got one oral vaccine and 3 shots. After the first shot, he cried pretty loud, but as shots 2 and 3 were given, the screams came out...that made me cry, too! I'm not sure about dad, but he might have had a tear in his eye. Andy cried for a bit, but was easily calmed when he got to eat right afterwards. He fussed a little as we got him buckled into his car seat, but was asleep for a 3 hour nap before we even got to the car. We went for a stroller ride around the mall (it was raining outside) since he sleeps great when stroll along. Speaking of sleep, he had a couple of nights with 5 to 6 hour chunks of sleep. Last night he was awake again about 2 a.m. for a little snack, but then slept through until morning. Yeah!

Tonight Andrew found his thumb and sucked it for a little while. He had done it once before a couple weeks ago, but I thought it was a fluke. This time he really seemed to be trying to do it. I guess we will have to wait and see if he does it again.

Saturday is the big marathon. The runners will come by our block, so we will watch and hopefully get a couple of pictures of the aunties running.

We had a very nice weekend. On Friday night, Dad was umping the Redhawks exhibition game. Andrew and I were lucky enough to get a ticket to the NDSU suite so we could go and watch and not sit outside. Andrew lasted for about 5 innings then it was time to go home and eat. He's been to quite a few baseball games this spring. It would be nice if the weather would get a little nicer so Andrew wouldn't have to be so bundled up. At least he doesn't seem to mind it.
Saturday morning we headed off to Allison & Brian's. Andrew travels great. He just sleeps the whole time. Isaac was baptized on Sunday and we are Godparents. It was a special day and we were happy to be a part of it.
We will have a full house for Andrew's baptism this weekend. Plus aunties Angela and Allison will be running in the half marathon on Saturday. The route comes very close to our house at mile 1 and mile 12 so we will get to cheer them on at the beginning and end.
Andrew is still sleeping great in his crib. He is a little smiler and just melts our hearts with his grin. He is such a good baby. He doesn't cry unless he wants to eat or has a burp. Or if the car stops at a red light. It is so funny. He will be perfectly content and even could be sleeping, but when we stop, he cries. Then we go again and he immediately stops crying.

A Mother's Day Poem

Before I was a Mom -
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much...
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Andrew is doing great. The big milestone is he has been sleeping in his own room in his crib for the week! No more cradle in mom and dad's room. He has been doing great with it. Mostly keeping to his normal schedule, so that is wonderful. Plus, mom is sleeping better (light sleeper) since I don’t wake up with all of his little baby noises. He definitely lets us know when he really has to get up to eat...usually around 3 am depending on how late he eats before bedtime. He will be back to sleep until about 6:00-6:30 am. Not too shabby!! During the day, Andrew takes little catnaps, but he is awake for a lot of the day. He likes to be under his play gym and kick around and look at all of the toys hanging above. He likes his bouncy chair, too. I think he likes that a lot because he can see what’s going on. His favorite place is lying on his changing table – especially if we let his little legs out. He just LOVES to kick, smile and coo. He will stay happy there for such a long time. Even in the middle of night, he gives a big smile when he is getting his diaper changed.
This weekend we are heading to the cities for Isaac’s baptism. We are so happy to be part of his special day.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms! It’s the best!