Peas on the floor

Andrew began eating cereal a couple weeks ago and has advanced to sweet potatoes, squash (he loved) and now peas. Half of his peas and cereal found its way to the floor this morning. Our first real mess. :) I'd clean up after him anytime. He's so cute! Other advances include rolling over, sticking out his tongue and loving his Jumperoo. He's also trying to sit up on his own. It's just a matter of time before he's crawling. This post will be short on words, but long on pics. Enjoy! Oh, please disregard his outfits. These days, most of them are either soaked with drool or stained with food. Joy.

His new favorite trick! He can barely eat because he's constantly sticking out his tongue.

This is just a dreamy pic. Love those big, brown eyes!

Taking a break from the Cowboys v. Rams game for a photo opp. Look at that smile!

Last, but not least, check out this video of him rolling over. He had been doing this for about 10-15 minutes before I finally capture it on camera. So, he was pretty tired. Just as I reached to help, he helped himself! You'll see at the end, he stretches out as if to say, whew! I'm tired! :) So proud of my Sugar Bear.

Light of Life

Last night was the first time we (almost) allowed someone to babysit our Heavy Duty Cutie while we went to celebrate with the staff, volunteers, fellow board members, and supporters of the Downtown Pregnancy Center. It's an awesome nonprofit dedicated to saving lives. Find out more here.

Well, at the last minute, we decided to take Drew with us. He was an excellent baby. He was sleep when we arrived, woke up, ate dinner, and then proceeded to affirm everything Bruce Wilkinson said in his talk for life. Macie Jepson was the emcee and even former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and his wife, Laura, were table hosts. There were about 500 of us at the Omni Mandalay in Las Colinas, praying and asking God to use us to save lives of preborn babies.

In the end, I couldn't think of a better place for our first born gift to be. Thank you God for forgiveness and restoration.

AP classes

Drew is gonna be an advanced placement student, I just know it. Of course, this speculation was prompted by all the new stuff this little guy has done this week. For starters, he is now apparently ticklish under the arm. I was cleaning his chubby baby folds and he was just laughing out loud. Second, he now bounces up and down when standing on my lap. Third, he discovered a new sound on his playmat by kicking his feet. You could see his brain at work, connecting the dots: move feet = crinkle noise. Drew also has become more aware of our mini poodle, Zuzu. He follows her moves. Later that day, during bath time, I leaned him forward to wash his back and he grabbed the sides of his tub with both hands. I moved mine away and voila! He sat upright all by himself! Lastly, he has made the connection between seeing something, wanting to touch it, and purposefully reaching for it. See, my baby is ready for prime time. :)

Firsts

Andrew has always been a great car traveler. Now, he's ready for a passport! We aren't on our way out of the country just yet, but this little guy has completed his first plane ride, to Chicago, AND his first road trips to Michigan, Iowa and Indiana! In three months he has seen more of this US of A than a lot of folks experience in a lifetime. Another highlight was our family visit to the Indiana State House in Indianapolis. For Anthony and me, it was our 17th state Capitol building, but, of course, it was Drew's first!

Add to all that, while away on his first vacation Drew surprised us by rolling onto his right side, then a couple days later his left. He topped those off by lifting himself forward from a seated reclining position on my lap to sitting upright with very little assistance! As the elders say, this boy is making room... That remains to be seen! Ha

Anywho, family and friends doted on our son and just loved him up as we spent nearly three weeks away from home. When Daddy joined us in Chicago, Drew could not have been happier! It was such a blessing to go, but in the end there truly is no place like home.

It's good to be back!

Hour Glass

Wow! Where has the time gone? It's been nearly a month since we checked in to let y'all know how Drew is making it in his new world! Well, he's doing great, all 12 pounds, 23 inches of him!

In the past weeks, he has grown even stronger and is showing his personality. He laughed out loud for the first time Friday. Prior to then, he was all smiles and chatter. Like last Tuesday, when we called his Nana to wish her a happy birthday. She and I couldn't get a word in because Drew had lots to say and he said it loud!

He's almost three months old now, and every day I grow more and more in love with our miracle boy, something I thought would be impossible after the depth of affection I felt for him when we first met.

I'm your huckleberry!

You know the term cry baby? Well, I'm beginning to think it applies more to me than to my son! Today was my final post delivery doctor's visit and though Drew was well fed, dry, and sleepy, he would NOT go to sleep. Instead, he treated the ladies in the waiting room (and the folks in the hallway) to a melody of cries so loud you would have thought he was wet and hungry.

Coupled with the extended wait time, I became a bit emotional - darn post-delivery hormones - and proceeded to cry in front a of a total stranger who then tried her best to console me. She told me that everyone understood and what better place for him to cry than at the doctor's office! She also told me that once, when her daughter was an infant, some many year ago, she cried from take off to landing in Colorado. Wow! Mind you, Drew and I will take our first plane ride in just a few short weeks.

Anyway, by then the lovely and always cheerful lady who takes your payment and schedules follow-ups had returned to her desk and proceeded to give me the biggest and MUCH needed hug, assuring me that what I felt was normal for a first time mom. She even prayed over me in the process! The Lord knows just what we need, when we need it. I'm so grateful for that rainbow in the midst of my personal storm.

On top of that, you know how babies smile right before they toot, making you think they were smiling at you but they really just have gas? Well, Drew does that often but not today! After the earlier meltdown, he treated Mama to 15-20 minutes of smiles and baby chatter! This was the first of many 'real' smiles and conversation with my miracle manchild. Needless to say, that made everything ALL better... for Mama! LOL

We're still here

Check out this awesome pic courtesy of Lynn in Love.

It has been more than a month since our last post, but we're still here. Andrew Lincoln has turned our world upside right. We are still navigating the choppy waters of new parenthood, hence the absence of daily... heck weekly posts. So much has happened. A few milestones:

+ Drew is alert - Those of you getting the plethora of photos and videos, know this is true. Our little blessing follows my voice and is all ears when Daddy reads the Bible or recites Scripture to him! Joy!

+ Drew is growing - He was born 6 lbs, 8 ounces and left the hospital on May 31 weighing 5 lbs, 15 ounces. Within two days he was back up to 6 lbs, 6.8 ounces and is now more than 8 pounds. He loves to eat, too!

+ Drew smiles - When his great-grandma Viv was here, he smiled at her almost every time he laid eyes on her. It was the sweetest thing to witness!

+ Drew is a road dog - Our baby loves to ride in the car! By the time we back out of the driveway at home and get out of our neighborhood, he's already on his way to Napland. We can be gone for several hours and he'll sleep pretty much the entire time.

Drew is already deciding what he likes and doesn't:

He adores looking at sources of light - the window, white ceilings, light fixtures

When he's sleepy, he likes to be walked around in his Baby Bjorn or have his back rubbed and lightly patted. He doesn't like to sit in his swing or bassinet to be left alone to sleep. He's a cuddler!

He doesn't like when it takes too long to change his clothes or diaper, if the latter situation occurs, one may be treated to waterworks!

He loves to drink at least 4 ounces of milk, but he doesn't like to take burp breaks.

Here we are celebrating Daddy's birthday!