{phfr}, Andrew edition!

It's all Andy, all the time, here. :)

 {pretty}

Miriam is very proud of her baby-wearing skilz.  The photographer is not necessarily as proud of his focusing skilz.

{happy}

{funny}

{real}

this is about the level of activity of which I am capable from 2-4 in the afternoon

One month old!

That first month went fast.  Andrew is now 9 lbs. 13 oz. and 21 1/2 ins. long.  My little baby's growing up!  *sniff*

soooooo big!

 His new talent is smiling at anything with eyeballs.

Hey!  You're a face!  I love you!

 He is still very floppy, but he's getting stronger.

he makes me think of a baby doll in this old fuzzy sleeper -- probably worn by Uncle Joe :)  (and thanks to Aunt Teresa for the wonderful blankie -- sometimes Mommy uses it for naps!)

 So, as I'm sure you've noticed, Andy has hair.  Like, a lot.  This creates a unique problem for my newborns, when the tonic neck reflex meets the palmar grasp reflex:

Ow ow ow!  Someone's pulling my hair!!

 At one month, Andy's cheeks are starting to round out and we're seeing beginnings of a second chin.  So we've been preparing him for his first meeting with his Aunt Katie:

chub chub chub

There's just something so undeniably right about having a new baby in the house.

all is well when you have a baby to snoogle

Andy's baptism

Andrew was de-paganized on the first Sunday of Advent. The first day of the new church year!

claiming him for Christ

"Andrew Karol, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Andrew, the Christian community welcomes you with joy!

Andrew's awesome godparents, Moose and Jean

Yay! I'm a Christian! and my head smells heavenly!

written in the Book of Life

Get me out of this!  I'm tired of being pretty! (and thanks to Grandma-in-law Sweeney for the awesome blanket!)

Tons more at Flickr, for those willing to slog through them.  (I uploaded and edited and commented on them there, then was feeling too lazy to do it all over again here.) :)

Teaser post

So my latest excuse for not posting is that I've used up all my storage space on Picasa (FB friends already know this), so I'm trying to find other (free) ways to post pictures on the blog. Let's see how Flickr works!

{phfr}

Haven't done one of these in a while, although I have ideas for them all the time!

{pretty}

Miriam is a GREAT baby holder

{happy}

airing out the baby blankets before the baby was born -- getting ready for the baby makes me happy every time.  I like feathering my nest. :)

{funny}

bedtime?  teddy bear: check.  hockey stick: check.

when Dad's in charge of school...

Jojo's opinion of beer. (not sure grog rations will appeal to this one...)

{real}

hm. maybe spray painting on a windy day wasn't such a good idea.  either that or I need a larger tarp.  hope this comes off with powerwashing!

I guess Mr. Pickles' gluten-free baking mix isn't totally equivalent to flour in a snickerdoodle recipe.  housewifery FAIL.

Katie's Birthday!

Somebody turned 8 yesterday!

I warned her ahead of time that it would be a low-key celebration this year, what with having a new baby and all.  We still made the day as celebratory as possible, though.  She got to pick the menu for the day: pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast; macaroni and cheese for lunch; and tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner.

Miriam decorated the cake to Katie's specifications

In the morning we took her on a Mystery Shopping Trip to pick out her birthday present.  When we pulled into the pet store parking lot, she gave us a confused look and said, "Hey, they don't have toys here!"  I think she's still happy with the pretty white gerbil she got. :)

behold Snowball!  we would have gotten a friend for him, but he was the only gerbil in the store.

She got to watch TV in the afternoon, play outside while it was nice, and then have our neighborhood friend over for dinner and cake.

All in all, a good day for an eight-year-old!

this is before the sprinkle blitz

Happy Birthday, Bearsweets.

Cozy longies!

Finished Andrew's longies!

I had to take about two inches off the original pattern for both the main body and the legs.  I got partway down one leg when I realized just how enormous they were going to be on a newborn, so I had to rip out a whole bunch.  Fortunately baby clothes are so small and therefore quick to knit.

cutest little model ever

Perfect fit!  They're a smidge long in the body, which is actually just fine, b/c they have to fit over a bulky cloth diaper.  Miriam crocheted a little drawstring for them, which I thought was really special.

my yarn "ball" after

Methinks I won't pull yarn out from the center of the ball any more. :)  Katie spent a good amount of time detangling it and rolling it into a nice neat ball for me, God bless her little heart.  There's a lot left -- maybe enough to make a matching stripey hat!

Scruffy hippie gets a trim

Aha!  Finally found the camera so I can upload more pictures.

Daniel just got his first barber shop haircut.  I was getting pretty adept with a pair of scissors, but I could never get it as short as I wanted.  So Mr. Pickles took him to the haircut store (as Joseph calls it) for a trim.

Before:

he had needed a haircut for WEEKS

Aaaand... after:

he wasn't happy about having his picture taken -- I had to chase him to get this blurry shot

We're all slightly in shock -- he looks soooo different!  But I love fuzzing his head all day long. :)

My baby boys

Daniel's first time holding Andrew

baby brothers are okay, but flying firetrucks are more fun

oh, wait, he's looking at me!  that's pretty cool

*smooch*

MY hold baby!

I have to share a story about the last shot -- I so wish I had caught it on video!  Katie kept offering to take the baby from Daniel, and he kept saying, "No!  Hode beebee!" until finally to make his point he pointed his finger at her and made a shooting noise!  We all fell over laughing.  Ahh, siblings!

One week old!

Despite the best intentions of his siblings (especially his older brothers), Andrew survived his first week!  And the blessings keep coming.

All my babies have had jaundice, to one degree or another. They never needed hospitalizing, or even phototherapy, but we did usually spend the baby's first week of life in the car, driving back and forth to the pediatrician's office and the hospital lab for blood draws.  Not very conducive to sitting and nursing frequently, which is the best treatment for jaundice.  It's so ironic.

Joseph is just fascinated with his new brother.

Well!  Andrew is my first baby not to experience that tortuous first week.  Despite his "precipitous" birth, his bilirubin levels remained within normal range at the hospital.  And we snuggled and nursed so much the first two days that my milk came in the day after we arrived home.

"He's just so cute!" *kiss kiss*

Plus, he's had a good latch from the very beginning -- he opens his mouth nice and wide.  So I've hardly been sore at all, which is a big deal in the beginning!  And despite how much he eats, he has only spit up twice in his first week, and then only a little bit.  He is a good burper. This makes for a happy tummy.

this kid has AWESOME post-bath hair

We also figured out how to nurse lying down the first night home.  That has been a true godsend -- I actually feel rested in the mornings, even though I'm waking up every couple hours to nurse him.  Not having to spend 30 minutes sitting up in the cold and dark several times a night is wonderful! 

My two brunettes!

Considering his activity level in utero, I was concerned that he would come out with his days and nights mixed up, like so many babies.  But Andrew is a good sleeper at night -- he just conks out in between feedings.  And he has some nice wide-awake alert times during the day.  The kids were so excited the first time they saw his eyes. (He was totally asleep for their first visit.) :)

little smooshy squish-face

So far he is a very "good" baby.  He is very patient and seldom cries.  He doesn't appreciate having his diaper changed, he doesn't like getting baths, and he does not love his bouncer.  He seems to have two philosophies about life: when he is awake, he should be eating.  And when he is asleep, he should be held.  So long as those two things happen, all is right with the universe. 

he will accept being swaddled and tucked into his carseat, so long as he is already asleep!

He is a real snuggle bug.  I don't mind -- it gives me a good excuse to sit and cuddle with him allllll day long. :)

who wouldn't want to spend all day cuddling with this little bundle of scrumptiousness?

I'm wondering now if we should have named him "Benedict" (one of the runners-up) -- he is so blessed! 

...Nahhh, he looks like an Andrew.