4 Months

First the stats:
weight - 13 pounds, 8 ounces (23rd percentile)
height/length - 25.2 inches (64th percentile)

Andrew was 12 pounds, 1 ounce and 24.5 inches at 3 1/2 weeks (his 4 month appointment was early).

What he's doing...
*Austin likes giggling, especially at Andrew.

*He puts a lot of energy into trying to spit and blow bubbles.

*He's a pretty happy baby. Often in the middle of the night when I'm changing his diaper during a feeding (I'm usually half asleep and trying to be all cool and calm so I don't get him excited or wake him up too much) he'll do a happy dance on the changing table with a big smile on his face, oblivious to the fact that it may be 1 or 4 o'clock in the morning.

*He's getting more and more predictable. He generally eats every 2 1/2 - 3 hours and needs a nap (albeit a short one!) at 9, 12, and 3.


*He tries to grab anything within his reach. Austin usually ends up sitting with me at some point during dinner and I have nearly had my plate in my (and his) lap several times.


*He's a mover...a scooter, a wiggler, something. A couple of times I have found him in his crib 90 or 180 degrees from the position he started. It freaked me out when I peared in looking for his head and saw his feet instead! In the picture below Austin started off smack dab in the middle of the blue blanket and somehow, with no rolling involved (because he isnt' rolling yet), he wound up way over there.


*A few days ago a nice checkout lady at Michael's told Andrew he had a cute little sister. What do you think?

Slip Sliding Fun

Andrew, Andrew...what am I going to do with him? We went to Meijer last week and as I wandered away from the grocery section, I found a display of pool/water things on sale. That is where I found a $6.50 slip 'n slide that called my, um....I mean Andrew's name. Andrew, who was sitting in the bench of the shopping cart (you know, the huge shopping cart with the extended cab) was very excited about his new slip 'n slide and demanded to hold the box. He clutched it tightly while we finished our shopping. All the way home he asked if he could play with his "new toy," but I told him we had to wait until after lunch and after nap. Fortunately, he managed to set aside his excitement and actually took a nap, and when he woke up it was the first thing he asked for. So, we headed outside and set up the slip 'n slide. Austin was being a peach in the bouncer while Andrew and I had some fun. Andrew took his position at the end where a pool of water collects and stayed there. Every once in awhile he would inch towards the sprinkling water and squeal...yes it was a squeal...and then run away.

"Aahh! I got wet!"

I'm pretty sure Andrew thought he was slipping and sliding...

and then the dancing...

a little thirsty...

After I noticed Andrew's hesitation I asked him if he would try the slip 'n slide after I did it. He said "yes!" and like a sucker I ran up and got my bathing suit on and proceeded to throw myself down a slippery yellow sheet of plastic in hopes that Andrew would follow suit. Did he? No. But, I had so much fun that I did it over and over again while Andrew cheered me on. I have to say, it was the most carefree fun I have had in a long time!

more of Andrew's dancing

It's a little long. Enjoy!

3 Months

Wow, the past 3 months sure have flown by! Austin didn't go to the Dr. this month, but I was able to check his weight. The hospital he was born at has a scale in a woman's gift shop, and it's very easy to run in and weigh him really quick. I need all the reassurance I can get that he's getting enough to eat. He weighs (or did 2 days ago) 12 pounds, 4 ounces which is a gain of 1-1/2 pounds in 4 1/2 weeks. Not too shabby! I think the Dr. only looks for him to gain 1 pound a month, so he's still doing well. Andrew was 11 pounds, 8 ounces and 24.5 inches long at about 3 months.

other news and accomplishments...

- Loves being upright, so I have introduced him to his jumperoo. He doesn't stay in there very long, but it's a good place to put him for a few minutes.

- Isn't a big fan of tummy time, but as you can see he's getting pretty good at holding his head up, especially with the help of the boppy.

- The last few days I have really noticed Austin concentrating on getting his hands to grab things toys that dangle in front of his face. It's fascinating to watch him. It takes so much effort!

- so NOT a good napper. I could write a whole post on naps, but I'm not going to. (Happy thoughts...happy thoughts.)

- he does sleep well at night! 99.9% of the time he goes down very easily and goes back to sleep very easily after feedings. He gets up 1-3 times at night, but since I can put him back down without any effort, I don't mind. He always gets at least 5-6 hours during his first stretch. He has gone as much as 10 hours straight, but that only happened once. Apparently it was a flook.

- his eyes are looking more and more brown

- I can't think of anything else.

Andrew's flyers

We went on a walk to the park on Monday and after playing for awhile, we decided to take the long way home. This meant Andrew decided to run/walk instead of ride in the double stroller. It was a long walk home. He ran for awhile and then took a break by plopping down in some shade. He did a lot of running at the park and it was getting hot and humid, so I didn't blame him for needing a break. We spent the rest of the walk picking "flyers". The only thing we found were dandelions and another kind of flower/weed/whatever they are. I remember picking them as a kid and tying the stems together to make necklaces and bracelets. What are they called? Anyway, Andrew was excited about his flyers and had a handful of them along with 2 sticks. He clenched them in his fist all the way home and when we got home he wanted to water his flyers with his "watering canning". I thought placing them in a cup of water was a better idea. But, NO! Andrew marched his flyers out into the backyard and walked to a flower bed and asked me for help. I decided this was one of those precious moments that was well worth going along for the ride and planted Andrew's flyers in some mulch. Andrew then very proudly watered them with with his watering canning.

Video games?

...and it begins.

Andrew. Sitting inside. Playing video games. All. Day. Long.


Not even close!

But somehow (ahem...Loren) Andrew has learned how to play a game (something about penguins) on Loren's iPhone. If it wasn't for the fact that we made a family trip to Kohl's over the weekend and I had to run to the car, for lack of a better spot, to feed Austin in the middle of our shopping excursion, I may not have found Andrew and Loren sitting in their respective butterfly chairs near the picture frame section in Kohl's - Loren teaching Andrew how to play a game on his phone. My first thought was, what is he doing?, but when I saw Andrew holding his Daddy's iPhone with a big grin on his face while sitting in a hot pink butterfly chair it was impossible not to laugh. I was even impressed that he could actually play a game! He played one more time that night and now it's somewhat of a distant memory. Well, probably not, but I'd like to think so.

To be a little brother

These pictures don't really need much explanation do they?







Just to add to the pictures...
Andrew gets a big kick out of getting Austin to smile at him. However, when Austin stopped smiling, Andrew shouted at him, "Smile!!! Smile!!!" It didn't quite have the effect Andrew wanted.

Andrew also told Austin to rollover, as if he was a puppy. And when he didn't Andrew tried rolling Austin over himself.

(He means well.)

At least I know Andrew has it in him to act like this towards Austin...

a little tentative

I obviously haven't been great about posting lately. I'm going to try and get better.

I have to admit, the idea of taking Andrew to the neighborhood pool made me a little nervous this year. I had visions of him running around the edge of the pool and me not being able to stop him before he jumped or fell in. I wasn't taking into account the fact that the water wings he would be wearing would actually keep him afloat. I guess that's what they're supposed to do. Imagine that. (Sidenote: last year he was too small for water wings and we toted him around the pool with a floatable device that he sat in.)

(July, 2008)

On our first trip to the pool I quickly learned that I really didn't have much to worry about with Andrew. While he did get into the pool only by clinging to me and climbing up my legs if I dared to dip him further into the water, he spent most of his time hanging out around the edge watching the other kids play. He had fun, though, and that's what matters.

(a couple of weeks ago)

"Where'd the Poops Go?"

On the way to the bath last night Andrew told Loren he needed to go potty. This wasn't surprising because he walked into the bathroom and saw his little potty. I had just emerged the potty from under towels, sheets, etc. in the linen closet earlier that day and told Andrew that he's going to start sitting on the potty before bathtime. Again. We go through this every once in awhile and when Andrew loses interest I put the potty away and wait. For something, I'm not sure what exactly - maybe a sign from the gods that it's time to potty train Andrew. So, Andrew wanted to go potty last night. This normally involves Andrew sitting on the potty, requesting and reading book after book after book, standing up, looking in the potty and asking "any pee in there?!" with of course no pee being in there. OR it turns into a fun activity of Andrew taking the removeable soft potty seat and holding it up in front of his face with seemingly no clue of a potty seat's true function. Well, last night Andrew sat on the potty, got up once to dump his basket of foam letters and numbers into the tub, and sat back down again. When Loren asked him if he was done, Andrew said "No, I go potty." He then proceeded to wrap the shower curtain around himself and ramble - counting, naming the cars and trucks that were on the shower curtain, etc. Loren, wanting to get on with the bath, eventually looked in the potty and saw both poop and pee! We were all excited and did a happy dance for Andrew. Andrew's version of the happy dance involved him holding onto the side of the bathtub in the buck, dancing his feet, and shaking his head side to side with a huge smile on his face.

Andrew went to the potty one more time before bedtime and peed again. This time he was a little disappointed and asked, "Where'd the poops go?"

Indianapolis Zoo

Short, sweet and to the point: We went to the Indianapolis Zoo last weekend. Luckily we went early enough to beat the big crowd and most of the heat and humidity. Here are a few pictures from our day. The highlight was probably watching an elephant take a bath. We had an opportunity to walk up and touch the elephant afterwards. Austin and I hung back while Loren took Andrew, but Andrew, who was initially eager to touch the elephant, politely declined when he got up close. Austin spent most of the day sleeping in the stroller, but he got to enjoy a little of the elephant bath as well. It was fun and we are now members, so I'm sure we will be going back soon.

(click on the collage to get a closer look at the pictures)

2 Months

Austin had his 2 month well baby visit to the doctor last Friday. He's doing really well. He has moved up to the 30th percentile in weight at 10 pounds, 12 ounces and he also jumped to the 64th percentile in height at 23 1/4 inches. Andrew was 11 pounds, 4 ounces (50th percentile) and 24 inches (90th percentile) at 2 months.

The other news...

*He's holding his head up really well. He still occasionally knocks it against my chin or collar bone, but his doctor was pleased with his overall strength.

*The doctor said (after shining a light in his eyes) that he is very neurologically advanced for his age. I'm not sure what you did, Austin, but good job!

*I was told I could stop giving him the morning dose of his reflux medicine to see if he does okay. I tested him for a few days to see how he would do with just one dose/day and tonight will be the first night that I go without any medicine at all.

*Austin received his first round of shots and although he cried, he handled it pretty well. He was asleep by the time we reached the checkout counter. However, when the first dose of Tylenol wore off...Whoa, buddy! He was MAD and it took awhile, probably a good hour, before he started feeling comfortable again. I felt so sorry for him. He would fall asleep in my arms and if I moved even a millimeter he would scream out in pain. Poor guy. He wasn't in any pain overnight, though.

*5 out of the last 7 nights Austin has only gotten up once around 2:00 or 3:00, and then has been up for the day around 5:30/6:00. His last feeding is usually between 6:45 and 7:00ish and I get him to bed as soon as I can (depending on when I can feed him) which is anywhere between 7:00 and 7:45. We're getting there.

*He naps a lot in the Bjorn (a baby carrier). He has a hard time napping for long periods in his crib, bouncer, or anywhere really except in the Bjorn. It keeps me from making 614 trips upstairs and I can get so much done with 2 hands free. I don't know how much longer my back and shoulders will be able to handle it, but for now it's a lifesaver.

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*I think that covers it. I can't think of anything else to report.

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he's smiling!

It's a blurry picture with no flash, but do you see that smile?!

andrew's favorite things

This started off as me simply making conversation with Andrew during lunch, but when Andrew started getting excited about answering my questions I continued asking and also grabbed a pen and paper. Each time I paused to think of a new question Andrew asked, "more?"

Enjoy!

favorite color? "orange"
favorite game? "ball...kick a football"
favorite food? "broccoli"
favorite animal? "cow"
favorite book? "counting book"
favorite toy? "fire truck"
favorite friend? "how 'bout...Andrew?"
favorite car? "race car"
favorite shirt? "football game shirt" aka: Colts shirt
favorite drink? "milk"
favorite fruit? "strawberry"
favorite song? "Happy and You Know it, Clap Your Hands"
favorite snack? "granola bar"


On a different note...I asked Andrew a couple of days ago, "Andrew, hold are you?" I expected him to hold up his thumb and index finger like he normally does and respond with, "two", but instead he looked at me and casually said, "umm, two-and-a-half." I was impressed. He must have heard me say that to someone before and I had no idea he was listening. If only I could get him to listen when I really want him to...

Big Brother - Little Brother

This shirt and onesie was sent from Reagan, a friend and former roommate of mine, after Austin was born. Aren't they cute? (Thanks again, Reagan!) I thought the onesie would be getting close to fitting Austin, so I put it on him. It's still a little big, but it fits pretty well. Then I had to put Andrew's shirt on...and then the camera just had to come out.

Andrew is turning out to be a good big brother. Not that I'm surprised, because I'm not, but in the early days the only interaction Andrew had with Austin was asking me "where's Austin?" if he wasn't in the same room as him. As soon as Andrew knew where he was he went on playing. Now Andrew says, "bless you" everytime Austin sneezes. If I start to leave the room without Austin Andrew says, "Oh, we need Austin!" Andrew insists that Austin needs the pacifier (or pacerfiter as Andrew calls it) at all times and tries (and fails) to put it in his mouth even when he's not crying. He rocks Austin when he's in the carseat (a little too hard) and if he's swinging Andrew swings him harder. Every once in awhile I catch Andrew talking and explaining things to Austin, but by the time I notice it Andrew stops as if he's embarrassed that I saw him. This morning when Austin was laying on Andrew's bed and Andrew was sitting on the bed, he said, "kiss Austin" and kissed him on the foot. It was so cute.

naptime success!

Yesterday I took Andrew up for his nap like I normally do at 12:30. Austin was asleep in my arms, so I thought I would humor myself and lay him down in his crib. This was at 12:35. Normally when I put him down he either wakes up right away or may sleep for 30 minutes. After what was about 45 minutes I heard him begin to stir through the monitor so I hurried up to his room and put his pacifier in his mouth. He went back to sleep. After about 20 minutes, he woke up again. I hurried upstairs again, but when the pacifier didn't work right away I picked him up, sang to him a bit, gave him the pacifier and he went back to sleep...for another hour!! Andrew woke up at 2:39 and like a good little brother Austin woke up at 2:40. With the exception of running up to Austin's room a couple of times, I had 2 full hours to myself yesterday!

As I'm writing this post, I have had a good 45 minutes with both boys sleeping at the same time. I could definitely get used to this. It's probably a good idea if I don't get too used to it...yet. Austin could very well be toying with my emotions or going through a growth spurt, but I'll take what I can get.

last day of preschool

Wednesday was Andrew's last day of preschool for the year. His class had a tricycle parade and picnic which Loren and I were both able to attend. Andrew hasn't figured out how to ride his trike yet (or any for that matter). We can't get him to push the pedals! (It'll come...one day it will just click.) He borrowed one from his friend Kylie - a trike that has a long handle, so someone could push him. Genius, right? We felt sorry for Miss Kate who was pushing Andrew through the parade, so Loren took over. Andrew was livin' it up, but soon decided he wanted to get off of his trike and walk it around the roped off area. That lasted all of a couple of minutes when he realized it was more fun to run. The kids rode their trikes (or ran around) for awhile. After that they sang a few songs for the parents. Most of the kids were shy performing in front of us, including Andrew, but it was still cute. My favorite part was the one time Andrew came out of his shell while the kids were singing songs. The last song was more on the religious side, but I can't remember what it was. The only word I remember is, "Amen!!" because that was when Andrew got really excited and shoved his fist up in the air (see picture above) every time that line of the song came up. We also had a picnic lunch with the other parents and kids, and hung out for awhile. It was a gorgeous sunny day - a good way to wrap up the school year.

One Month

I have no idea where the last month went. Time sure flies when you aren't sleeping and don't have much time to sit down. My saving grace is that Andrew is still hanging onto his nap. Can I get a halleluiah?! Thank you.

Austin weighs 8 pounds, 6 ounces (20th percentile) and is 21 inches long (40th percentile). Andrew at one month was 9 pounds, 7 ounces (50th percentile) and 22 inches long (75th percentile).

What is Austin up to? He eats and sleeps. How much sleep he gets during the day is entirely decided by him. It varies. He'll have a sleep day and then a not-so-sleepy and fussy day. As of a few nights ago, he's been sleeping in his crib at night where he seems to be more comfortable. Before that it was the pack 'n play in my room. I try to put him down sometime between 7 and 8 and then he may sleep for 3 or 4 hours (not all of the time, but sometimes). He has gone as much as 5 hours after the "last feeding". After that he nurses every 2-3 hours. He usually falls asleep after eating and then I can easily put him back in his crib.

Enjoy Austin's One Month pictures...
Just for kicks I included a picture of Andrew at one month. Any resemblance?

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Andrew - One month

2 1/2 Year and 1 Month Checkups

Austin turns one month on Saturday and Andrew will be 2 1/2 on the 15th, but they both had their checkups today. Here are the stats:

Andrew - 37 1/4 inches (80th percentile); 31.2 pounds (70th percentile)

Austin - 21 inches (40th percentile); 8 pounds, 6 ounces - yeah me!!! (20th percentile)

Andrew has his very first ear infection, but unless it starts to bother him I don't have to give him anything for it. He also may have allergies on top of a cold. Lovely.

Austin has been diagnosed as a reflux baby. I casually mentioned that he nurses constantly, sometimes every hour or hour and a half, and is very often fussy in between feedings. Based on that information and some observations the doctor made, on top of the fact that he's gaining weight beautifully and obviously not starving, I now have to give him medicine to help with the reflux twice a day. Hopefully the medicine will help Austin feel a little more comfortable...and maybe give me a bit of a break.

So, other than a few minor issues both boys are doing great. I was very excited to find out that Austin is gaining weight so well. I was hoping for 8 pounds and gave myself a little pat on the back when he turned out to be even more than that. Andrew very willingly got on the scale this time. If you remember, at 2 years he refused and I had to get on the scale with him and then I had to be weighed by myself. Not this time, thank goodness. However, when the Dr. asked Andrew if he'd get on the table so she could look at him he politely responded, "Mmm, no thanks." He eventully cooperated.

I think that's all.

the kid knows his cars

Andrew has a pretty good memory and knows the names of all of his cars, the ones that have the names stamped on the bottoms of them. We improvised on a couple of them where the name was unknown, such as Sedan. It makes me laugh when Andrew drops a car and says, for example, "Oops, I dropped my Aston Martin!"

Here's a video of him showing off for me and the camera...

oh, the innocence

When I picked up Andrew from preschool today, Miss Bethany was very excited to tell me a quick story. She brought cocoons into class and explained to the kids how they were going to turn into butterflies and that they would have butterflies in their class soon. Andrew very innocently asked, "and elephants, too?!" Miss Bethany got a big kick out of that.

When I was getting dinner together tonight I asked Andrew if he wanted green beans. At first he said yes, but then retracted his answer and said, "Hmmm...how 'bout jelly beans?"

The Story of Austin

For memory's sake, here's how it all went down...

Last Wednesday, April 8th, I had a routine Dr. appointment at 39 weeks. I saw a different doctor because mine was on vacation for Spring Break. What timing. I had the option to be examined or not and I chose not to be. My thought was I didn't want anything to be bothered. I was hoping the baby would hold out a little longer. There's probably nothing to my theory, but at about the same point in my pregnancy with Andrew (2 days earlier) I was examined and then went into labor that night. I decided to just leave things alone. The rest of my day was completely normal. I took Andrew on my normal long walk in the afternoon and let him play at the park for awhile. I was moving a little slower, but otherwise I was feeling fine. Late that night I was vedging on the couch. I watched American Idol and then the first episode of the Real World/Road Rules challenge. I started having painless contractions at the top of my uterus and assumed they were Braxton Hick's contractions. No big deal. I just layed there and enjoyed actually being able to feel them. I didn't remember feeling any with Andrew and hadn't felt too many this time around either, but I had felt enough of them so that what I was feeling didn't alarm me. Eventually, there began to be a little bit of pain associated with these contractions that moved lower in my abdomen. Hmmm...well, I had read that that wasn't uncommon and it could be false labor. I went on watching my show. They seemed to be coming pretty often, so at about 10:15 I casually began glancing at the clock and realized they were coming about every 5 minutes. Huh...that's weird. I was in such denial. I really thought they would be more painful than what they were for as close together as they were. I continued watching my show, but then realized I probably wouldn't be able to sleep when I went to bed and since it was so late, I thought I should have a plan. I called Loren and told him that I thought something might be happening, but it also might be nothing, and asked him to come stay at the house just in case. I told him not to hurry. By the time he got to the house, the pain had increased, but was still tolerable. Still in denial. After thinking and looking up some information and pacing, I decided to call the doctor's office to get the on-call doctor. My doctor had instructed me to call when the contractions were 5 minutes apart, but because the pain wasn't very bad I waited. By the time I did call they were probably 2 minutes apart. The on-call doctor, Dr. White, even hesitated to have me come in right away. Eventually, she told me just to come in and see what was going on. At about 11:45 (I think) we gathered our things, Loren got Andrew out of bed, and we all 3 went to the hospital, not sure of what to expect. It seemed to take forever for the nurse to ask me a bunch of questions, etc. I still didn't know for sure if I was even going to be staying at the hospital or if I would be sent home or what. I was eventually examined and was 5 centimeters. I was given several pretty bracelets, one of which said Heather Garrison, 30 years old. It was my birthday. So much for allowing myself to live in denial. My age was stamped right on my wrist! Shortly after that I was moved to the labor/delivery room. Right before they started moving me a nurse asked if I wanted an epidural and I said, "No, not yet." As soon as they started wheeling my bed into the hallway, I changed my mind. I think it was well after 2:00 by then. I have no idea about the exact times, but I was examined a second time...my water broke and I was 7 centimeters. The nurse told me that since this was my 2nd child, he could be here pretty quickly. I was just hanging out enjoying my epidural, the nurse situated me so I was laying on my side. It wasn't too much longer when I called the nurse in because I was feeling "weird things". She examined me and I was fully dilated and what I was feeling was pressure from the baby greatly disguised by the epidural. I requested for the epidural to be decreased because I didn't like the feeling. I wanted to know what was going on. The anesthesiologist did cut it back a little and I had a better sense of when to push, but I wasn't supposed to push because we were waiting on the on-call doctor to get there. When she arrived I did one series of 3 "practice pushes," as they called it, and to their surprise I brought Austin down pretty far. They started rushing around getting everything ready for him to be delivered. I did one more series of 3 pushes and ta-da! Austin arrived in no time at all, at 4:07 am. It was so fast.

During this time Loren and Andrew were in the delivery room. Andrew was an absolute trooper, especially since it was in the middle of the night. He spent a decent amount of time in the stroller, entertaining the nurses in the lobby, playing with some wooden puzzles, attempting to sleep in the reclined position of the stroller until we thought it best for him to try and sleep on the pull-out couch...which he actually did!

Andrew, before Austin was born...3:32 am Andrew

Andrew after Austin was born...5:08 am.

Andrew was so oblivious. When he woke up we told him that he was a big brother and pointed to Austin who was being cleaned up by the nurses. All he said was, "Go to Mommy's car?" In other words, he wanted to go home. I'm amazed at how well Andrew handled it all.

I have to say, having experienced two labors in two different ways I can't say which one was better. I had an epidural with both. With Andrew, I was in labor much longer and I was completely pain medicine free when it came time to push. Austin was painless and fast. I'm very glad I had both experiences.

Easter Egg Hunt

This was way back on April 4th, which seems oh-so-long ago. Andrew had a great time. As soon as the lady said, "Go!" Andrew took off and ran. He ran and ran, passing every egg on the way. I had to chase after him to remind him to pick up the eggs!

Austin Tyler Garrison

Austin Tyler was born at 4:07 am on April 9th. The lucky boy gets to share a birthday with his Mommy! He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 19-3/4 inches long. He has really dark brown hair and dark blue/gray eyes.

more pictures & details later...

The serenading continues...

Andrew put on a full-blown show for me, inititated by him. I'm going to love looking back at these months and years from now.

Good Morning to You...

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Jingle Bells

I have no idea how Andrew learned this song. He only started singing it a few weeks ago. I haven't sung it since December and I can't imagine they sing it at preschool, but maybe they do.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (again)

I know I already have video on here of Andrew singing this song, but the show wouldn't be complete without it.

more singing

I don't know what it is about lunch time that inspires Andrew to sing.

ABC's at high speed...

The Turtle Song...

Andrew's preschool class is called the Turtles and this is their special song. Here are the words in case you can't understand Andrew:

I have a little turtle/his name is Tiny Tim/I put him in the bathtub/ to see if he could swim/he drank up all the water/he ate up all the soap/and now my little turtle has a bubble in his throat. Bubble, Bubble, Bubble/ Bubble, Bubble, Bubble/Bubble, Bubble, Bubble/Bubble, Bubble, Bubble/POP!

37 Weeks

I had my 37 week appointment today and things are progressing. Last week I was 50% effaced and 1/2 centimeter dilated. Today I am 80% effaced and 1-2 cm dilated. The baby has also dropped quite a bit. I wish I could say that those stats mean the baby is coming soon, but it doesn't necessarily. I couldn't get my doctor to say when she thought I'd go into labor. It's so different for every woman. Andrew was 8 days early, so I'm kind of hoping this baby will be a little early as well. I say that, but am I really ready? Hmmm...I'm not so sure about that. As good as I'm feeling, I'm okay if he stays inside a little longer. I have no problem getting around and I have been walking a lot. I have a decent amount of energy. Thankfully, Andrew still takes a nap and I try to rest a little during that time which is extremely helpful. My bladder has been reduced to the size of a pea - I swear I'm not exaggerating! That's really my only complaint.

So, who knows when he'll arrive. I wish I could say!

random stuff

* I was eating a cinnamon bagel with cream cheese for breakfast and Andrew begged me for some of it. I didn't know if he would like the cream cheese or not, so I gave him a little piece. He loved it and asked for more. He then started singing, "I love bagels and bagels love me!"

* Andrew finally started referring to fish as fish instead of siffs. I couldn't tell you how many times he's gotten mad at me for correcting him when he has pronounced fish, siff. "No, actually, it's siff!"

* This afternoon I was wandering around contemplating outloud. Well, I'm sure I was talking to Andrew, but didn't necessarily expect a response or even expect him to be listening. I think I said, "Hmmmmm...." a couple of times to which Andrew asked, "Just the matter, Mommy? Come here (as he walked up to me). You need a hug?" It was the sweetest thing!

* After dinner Andrew was in the dining room working on a puzzle as I rinsed some dishes. All of a sudden I hear, "Hey!! Heather!" come from Andrew's mouth. I'm sorry, what? It actually sounded more like "Hey!! Header!" He then called me Header about 10 more times as he was talking to me. Very bizarre. You know, Header. That's a train table, Header. Super Why puzzle, Header.

36 weeks (as of yesterday)

What a difference 8 weeks makes! I'm feeling rather huge and uncomfortable these days, but I only have about 4 weeks (hopefully less!) to go. Luckily the weather has been nicer, so Andrew and I have taken several walks. Being pregnant in the winter is rough and it's been great to get out and exercise a little. My 36 week appointment is tomorrow, so I'll report back tomorrow if there's anything to report. I'm running out of maternity clothes, I've been sleeping well for the most part this past week, I'm suddenly craving fruits and vegetables as opposed to anything and everything with sugar, and Andrew decided to start waking up by 6 or before every morning this week; but all in all things are going well.

Just for fun, here is Andrew looking at his baby belly. He's so cute.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

How cute is this?

(Sorry the lighting is so bad.)

so random...

As Andrew was taking his baby on a walk around the house with his stroller, he stopped in the living room, pointed to the ceiling and said, "Mommy, the top." I looked at the ceiling and said, "The top? The top to what?" "Mommy, the top to the wall!"

Oh, right.

It's time to pick up the toys...

To make a long story short, I have been trying to teach Andrew to pick up his toys before bedtime. So far, it's going pretty well. Tonight, there weren't very many toys out and they didn't bother me, so I didn't think very much of them. We were all ready to go upstairs - Andrew had his Goodnight Moon book and a dinosaur puzzle (don't ask) in his hands - when he noticed one toy on the living room floor. "Oh no, Mommy! Toys on the floor!" My first thought was yeah, whatever I'll get it later, but then it hit me. Was this happening? Andrew is actually telling me that we need to pick up the toys?! We, of course, had to stop everything and pick up the one toy from the living room and then we proceeded to the playroom and finished picking up the few toys that were in there. It was fun and Andrew was very helpful. He was very satisfied once all of the toys were picked up. I'm so proud of him!

Someone, please teach this kid some moves.

To be Andrew...

Every once in awhile I feel I need to write some of Andrew's quirky behaviors and expressions down so I don't forget them. I started this list several days ago, but I decided I should go ahead and publish it so I didn't forget to. I'm sure there are things I'm leaving out, but if I add to it then I can always change the posting date and move it to the top of the list of posts.

So anyway, here is my list of 16 things about Andrew...

1 - When I seem a little distraught about something he will ask "Just the matter, Mommy?"

2 - After making some sort of statement he follows with, "because why..."

3 - If he doesn't agree with something I say, he says, "Oohhh, Mommy." As if he feels sorry for my stupidity.

4 - If he does agree with something I say, he replies, "Yep, I do!" Often this response doesn't make sense, like today I said something to the effect of "Andrew, you are so smart." His response was, "Yep, I do!" At least he has self-confidence.

5 - He likes to close his eyes real tight and say, "I can't see! It too dark!"

6 - Andrew refers to other people as "guys" regardless of whether it's a man, woman, boy, or girl. If he sees a group of people walking in the street, he says, "more guys!" If he sees a woman on the grocery aisle he says, "another guy!"

7 - He becomes obnoxiously talkative when his mouth is full of food.

8 - He has developed a recent obsession with the garbage truck.

9 - He loves trucks in general and points out every truck he sees while we're driving.

10 - If Andrew hears a noise, and sometimes when I swear there was no noise to be heard, Andrew will ask, "What was that?" He then answers himself with, "prolly (probably) a truck."

11 - Andrew is very aware that a triangle has 3 sides, but if he is told that a square has 4 sides, he gets mad and says, "NO! Triangle - 3 sides!"

12 - The very few times Andrew has been outside while it's dark out (remember, he does have a 7:00 bedtime), Andrew asked, "Where'd the light go?"

13 - When Andrew sees a word, phrase, or title he will rattle off the letters and then say, Purdue. We went to Toys R Us the other day and when we pulled into the parking lot I heard from the backseat something like "s...u...t...r" (he doesn't always say the letters in order) and then, "Purdue." Brainwashing at is finest. He also thinks his own name spells Purdue and Lowes spells Purdue. This all started with a Purdue sweatshirt.

14 - Andrew pronounces Clifford like Quipper. It's so hard to say No to him when he asks, "Mommy, Andrew watch Quipper...please? Please, Mommy?"

15 - Andrew reads books by finding a book going over to the couch, climbing up on the couch, opening the book, flipping through it quickly - sometimes going straight from the front cover to the back cover, closing the book and annoucing, "The End. Great book, Mommy!" and going to the shelf and starting the whole process over. It's especially funny when he finds a text book or an adult book and reads it.

16 - I had Andrew put his head against my belly one night when the baby was being active and Andrew actually felt him move. You should have seen the look on his face when he pulled away quickly in excitement. Ever since then when he puts his head to my belly, he'll hold it there for a few seconds and then pull away quickly with a big smile on his face and says with a squealing voice, "Did you feel that?!" He only felt the baby move the first time...unless he felt soemthing that I didn't.

Negotiating with Andrew

Andrew: "Mommy, some juice?"

Me: "How about the rest of your milk?" (from lunch, in the fridge)

Andrew: "No, juice!"

Me: "How about some water?"

Andrew: (looking up to the sky while pondering his comeback) "Mmmm...ice water!"

Me: "Of course!"

Andrew: "Thank you, Mommy."

What a feeling!

This is an event that I have to document, so when I'm having a rough day I can remember that anything is possible. Last night I, Heather Garrison, slept through the night! I'm 99% sure that I didn't even get up once to go to the bathroom. My alarm went off at 6:00 this morning and for once I didn't scowl at it, hit it, and roll back over. Okay, I lied. I did turn it off and roll back over, but then I realized that I felt rested and refreshed. What? I don't know what this feels like, but I don't want to forget it.

Andrew's family

This began as a fun craft activity for Andrew and I to do together, but between Andrew spending the morning at the museum with Loren and then taking a long nap coupled with the fact that Andrew can't use scissors, goes way overboard with glue and that he would most certainly lose the fight with double-stick tape (which was used in place of glue), I decided to use my relaxing day to work on it myself. I dug up pictures of every family member, printed them out on regular paper, cut the pictures into hearts, taped them to bigger red hearts, covered them with self-laminating paper, and tada! Andrew can now practice naming and remembering all of his family members. I think it turned out pretty well!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Spring in February?

What a nice treat! I'm not sure what the high was, but I know I saw 60 on my thermometer at some point this week. It may have been warmer than that. Incredible. It's going to hit Andrew and I really hard when it dips back into the 30s. A few weeks ago that seemed warm, but this week has been a real tease and now we're itching for Spring (to stay!) more than ever.

Handprint Heart

This is harder than it looks. It's a good thing Andrew enjoys having his hands painted. We made 5 and wound up with 2 that somewhat resembled hearts.