Adventures with Andrew Man Jumbo

Snow days....

2010-02-24T23:29:00.006-05:00

We've had many snow days recently here in Ohio... more than I would like in one winter, but I can honestly say that in Andrew's opinion, there can never be too many :) Last year we were living in Arkansas, where there was no snow, but this year Ohio has provided us plenty of the white stuff so that Andrew could enjoy his first snow days!

Getting ready for our first snow experience!!!

Trying to walk through the drifts

Andrew's favorite snow activity to to help shovel...this will come in handy when he's a little older :)

Our "New" House

2010-02-03T22:36:00.008-05:00

On January 2nd we made the most permanent move of our married life to our “new” house.

Zac bought the house in 2005 before we were married and lived in it for a few years. In 2007 we got married and soon after moved to Enid, OK. When we moved, instead of trying to sell the house we decided that renting it would be a better decision seeing as the housing market was starting to go down and we wanted to keep it around to build equity. So, we rented it for almost 3 years while traveling and thought we would never live in it again, but all of that changed in December when we got it back and started remodeling!

We spent the month of December fixing it up, painting and replacing carpet. Once it was ready we moved in! On a very, very, very cold and snowy day we moved from our apartment with the help of all of our friends! We are really enjoying all of the space and the feeling that we have finally settled somewhere!

Here are some pictures of the house! We are still working on unpacking a few things here and there but for the most part are set up! I don’t think that we will ever unpack every box - but I’d like to think that someday we will!

Living room

Andrew's Playroom

Dining room (we still have to get our table from storage)

What to do......?

2010-01-22T23:39:00.001-05:00

It seems in our family that we don’t waste time doing much of anything. In the 3 short years that Zac and I have been married, we’ve moved 5 times to 3 different states and had a baby. For most of those 3 years we have been told what to do, where to go and when to do it by the military but now we find ourselves out “on our own” for the first time in our life.

We made our first huge decision this fall to stay in Ohio and try to make living in one state and Zac commuting to another for drill weekends and trips work out so that he could keep his job in Ohio, which has better opportunities for him. We also decided to move back into a house that Zac bought in 2005 and stop renting it so that we could finally settle somewhere. These decisions came somewhat easily as there was a clear feeling for both of us as to what we wanted for our life and these choices seemed to make the most sense.

Once we got our taste of freedom and a chance to make some choices of our own, there seem to be endless options for what else we want to do with our life now that we can control some of it. This brings me to the big one that has been weighing on our minds recently; when to have baby #2. For most families, baby #2 can be an easy thing to plan. You decide what your optimal spacing is and then go for it once you know that you are ready for the challenge of adding another little one to the family. For us it is a different story. Being that we are a military family, we have to face the challenge of how to fit deployments into our family planning. This is where we are having issues with the planning part.

This decision has become one of the most difficult things I have ever thought about and has truly been consuming my thoughts for months now. As it is now, Zac will be gone during our “ideal” time to have baby #2, so that has left us trying to figure out what is best – before he leaves or after? Do we have one before and then I'm alone with a baby and toddler or do we wait and run the risk of a 4 year spacing, which is not what we wanted? We have so many questions and thoughts as we try to figure it all out. We know we want the next one sometime soon, but how do we work it all out or is it even possible that we can make it all fit into our schedule when it is something that we do not have control over? What to do? I have so many more thoughts, we both do, but there is no way to get everything that is running through my mind down.

I feel like blogging about this because maybe it will give me a little more clarity on the situation, or maybe some of my fellow mama friends and military family could lend some advice. However, I believe that whatever does happen for us will be fine and will work out, I just wish it was a little easier to figure out! Sometimes it helps to get things out there into the world – so that is what I’m trying!

trying something new

2009-11-20T22:56:00.001-05:00

I've been practcing with some new software to help keep everyone up-to-date. I finally got around to putting something together and actually posting it. Hope you enjoy...

Make a Smilebox postcard

Andrew has learned a new skill!

2009-09-23T21:28:00.003-04:00

For the past few weeks Andrew has been working on his walking skills. He started out by standing up by the couch or the coffee table and reaching out, taking a step and then falling. Then he started taking a few more steps, three was about the limit for the last week or so. We have been working with him daily and trying to get him up and moving as much as possible. We use his mickey mouse truck to help him practice by placing it a little out of his reach and letting him reach for it, taking a few steps to get to it until he falls. Here is a video of him trying to make it to his truck.

Tonight, he took more steps than he ever has in his life! This next video we shot tonight, he made it all the way from the coffee table to his daddy :) He did this several times and we were able to catch it on tape - one of the hardest things to do!

Zac is Coming Home :)

2009-09-10T11:19:00.002-04:00

And now for a post about me...

My hubby comes home tomorrow and I cannot wait! It has been 3 months since we left him in Little Rock, AR and he traveled to New Castle, DE to continue his training with the Air Force, while we moved to Worthington, OH to be near family. I am so happy that we are finally done with the training and he can come home and start to live a normal life again, and that our life as a family can go back to normal!

These past 3 months that we have been apart definitely had intense moments, but we all survived and it will be great that we can start doing things like a "normal" family once again. No more 8 hour drives to visit, no more "single"married mom, and no more living in a hotel room for him! For the next few months we get to live a normal life, until of course it is time to move again!

YEAH! Counting down the hours until he is home! For all of my fellow military spouses out there - you know what this feels like!!!!!!

AHA!

2009-08-19T00:17:00.009-04:00

Andrew had a super fun day today; he got to visit the AHA children’s museum in Lancaster, OH with his Great-Aunt Cindy! The museum offers many different interactive stations for children of all ages. We spent a lot of time in the Plop Zone, which was for kids ages 0-3. It was an area where Andrew could crawl around and play freely, without the risk of being run over by a bigger kid! There was a foam slide and stairs to climb up and many balls to play with. Andrew practiced climbing up the stairs and sliding down the slide on his tummy (face first) and also climbing up the slide and trying to go down the stairs face first! Let’s just say it was never a dull moment keeping up with him!

http://www.aha4kids.org/

We also spent some time at the water table playing with boats and duckies and trying not to get soaked. Then we played in a pretend house for a while working with tools and dug at the sand table with a rake and a shovel.

There were many other stations including a fire truck (with costumes), a Lego table, a bank, grocery store, kitchen, vet office, stage (with microphones and costumes), a garden and fishing! Many of those activities were for slightly older kids so we will have to go back some time and learn all about those!

Here are some pictures from our fun day!

Heading up the stairs!

Interesting way to go down the slide!!!
Trying to figure out how those balls got in there and how do they come out?
"YEAH, SAND!" Andrew's new favorite thing! We turned this kid into a sand monster!

Andrew had so much fun climbing on things at the museum that he decided he wanted to test out his skills at home! This is what he does when mom turns her back :)

"I'm just trying to get a good look out the window!"

A's Big Birthday Bash :)

2009-08-14T01:38:00.010-04:00

On Sunday, August 9th Andrew took part in his very first birthday party! We had tons of family and friends over to Grandma and Grandpa Piper's house for a Mickey Mouse Luau! Andrew enjoyed every minute of it! He had several little friends come to play, he got to open a million gifts and smash a cake!!! Mom and Dad enjoyed the party too and it was fun to celebrate one year with our little man <3 It was great to have daddy home for the weekend also!

The smash cake mommy decorated!

Andrew smashing the cake!

Opening some cool presents!

Playing with the presents!

A rare family shot...we really need to do a better job at taking more!

Although the party was a lot of fun, I'm glad that it is over! There was A LOT of time spent on preparation for the party for a 1 year old who will not remember any of it! We will however have our fond memories of the day and many photos to look back on! Hopefully Andrew is not expecting quite the blowout that he had this year for his 2nd birthday!!! LOL!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Andrew!

2009-08-12T23:23:00.009-04:00

Happy 1st Birthday Andrew :)

We celebrated Andrew's 1st Birthday today and went out to dinner where Andrew got to eat his first kid's meal at a restaurant! He had cheese pizza with fries and LOVED IT! He was so excited when the waitress set it down in front of me, he grabbed a slice! He knew it was for him! We really missed daddy and sent him some pictures while we were eating so he could be a part of it too!

Coloring and getting ready to order :)

Pizza and Fries on the plate!!!!

Pizza all over the place!

A present to open on his birthday

the aftermath! Verdict is - Cheese Pizza is DELICIOUS!

A special birthday treat!

Hope you enjoyed these photos from our fun dinner out! Be sure to check back soon for pictures from Andrew's First Birthday Party :)

Visiting Dad in Delaware...as in state of ...not Delaware, OH :(

2009-08-02T00:46:00.006-04:00

We traveled to Newark, DE on July 14th to visit Dad for a few days before heading down to the beach! We got to check out the local area and see where we are going to be living soon! Zac is staying at a local extended stay hotel, so we took advantage of all the perks; the nice walking path, the free food, etc.! We had a good time and it was great to see Zac :)

Andrew made a new friend in the mirror at Daddy's hotel room :) It looks like this one's a keeper!

11 Months - July 12th 2009

2009-08-02T00:34:00.007-04:00

Ok, we'll start the smorgasbord of photos and video with Andrew's 11 Month Birthday! He turned 11 months on July 12th, it was a Sunday (in case you cannot remember that far back!) and we spent the day lounging by the pool and enjoying the company of Grandma and Grandpa Piper! It was a fun day, but we missed Daddy, he was stuck in Delaware, awaiting the beginning of another fun work week :(

Here are some photos from our day of swimming and fun!

Floating like a big boy!

I don't think we'll ever be able to get rid of "the bink"

It's been awhile...

2009-08-01T11:43:00.001-04:00

As you can tell I have not posted anything in awhile. I'm going to blame it on our super busy month of July. It seemed that once July 4th celebrations were ending our month began to fly. Andrew turned 11 months on the 12th, we left for Delaware to visit Dad on the 14th, then to Myrtle Beach with the family on the 18th, back to DE on the 25th and then back to Ohio on the 29th. It's been a little bit of a whirlwind of a month. August is now here and we are rapidly approaching Andrew's 1st Birthday!

Anyway, I have tons of photos and videos to load from the last month. Hopefully over this weekend I will have a chance to get it all on here! Check back Monday and we'll see if my goal has been accomplished :)

Flipping for my new Flip :)

2009-06-30T15:45:00.002-04:00

My wonderful hubby got me a Flip video camera :) I had been doing some hinting that I really needed one, not just want, but NEEDED! Apparently he got the hint loud and clear, because when he surprised us with a visit last weekend he showed up with a gift! My very own 60 min. Ultra Flip Video!!!!

Needless to say, I am very excited! It is the size of an average point and shoot digital camera, so I can take it anywhere me and Andrew venture to! I can shoot video and load it to the blog, or anywhere else, in a matter of minutes! This means I can share videos with all of you, something I was not able to do previously - I could have figured out a way with the big camera - but who wants to do that! LOL!

I hope you enjoy this video, I shot it the first full day that I was using the Flip! I know it's not the most exciting of videos, but I had to share something :) Andrew's first tastes of a Kraft Single!!!!

10 Months Old :)

2009-06-13T00:10:00.010-04:00

Andrew turned 10 Months old today! Only 2 short months until he is 1...can you believe it? I know that I cannot. It seems like only yesterday he was a newborn who just ate and slept. So much for those lazy days! Andrew is now crawling around the house like a crazy man! Everyday he gets faster and faster and his technique improves.

He is not only learning to crawl, but also pulling up to stand against furniture and people. He has always liked to stand as apposed to sitting or laying. Now he is able to crawl, sit up and then stand up if he wants to. Andrew especially like to use mommy as a support system. Daily he uses me to stand up, sit down, and climb all over - I guess I'm a playground these days!

Here are some pictures from our day as we not only celebrated Andrew's 10 month birthday, but also Zac's 26th Birthday :) We got to eat out at Max & Erma's and it was delicious! You can see that Andrew was especially excited about the free cookies that we got!!!

"These must be for me since I'm such a good boy!"
It took forever to get him to sit still for one smiley pic!

On the move!

The Birthday boys together
Zac and his birthday pie!!! YUMMY :)

"Thanks for looking at my pictures!"

2009-06-05T23:12:00.007-04:00

I know it has been a while since the last post, but that is due to the fact that one week ago, Andrew and I moved back to Columbus, OH! So, with the organizing, the packers, movers, driving to OH, unloading, the movers again and now the unpacking - it has been a little chaotic. We are currently staying at my parents while I attempt to get our new apartment set up - we should be moving there to stay on Sunday :) We really like our new place (and hope that Zac likes it when he gets here to visit) and are excited to start our next segment back in OH if only for 6 or so months!

Something cool that did happen while I was unpacking; in a stack of boxes, sitting under on box - on top of another, was a map of Philadelphia. Neither one of us have ever seen it or even know how it got in the middle of a stack of boxes, but we think that it is a sign telling us that although Philly might seem scary, we will be OK there!

Here are some pictures of our last days in Arkansas

Staying out of the movers way...

Snickers trying to find a good hiding place from the choas

Andrew and Caleb's last playdate

"Mommy let them take all the good toys"

9 Months Old!

2009-05-12T23:25:00.005-04:00

Andrew turned 9 months today. We cannot believe that he is only 3 short months away from being a 1 year old! It's amazing at how fast time flies! Here are a few photos from today's photo shoot and one from Mother's Day!

Enid, America...here we come (and the Memphis Zoo!)

2009-05-09T19:41:00.017-04:00

Andrew took his first (and most likely, Only) trip to Enid, Oklahoma this past week. I wanted to visit friends who still live in Enid and friends from My Dentist, where I used to work. So, we planned a little getaway to Enid since we were only 6 hours away and soon would be heading farther. Here are some photos from our trip!"Yum! Rib Crib BBQ!"

Sitting in the midst of a stampede...just kidding...these guys are made of wood! Government Springs Park, in EnidAt the dentist..."I'm ready!"

Ready to take off...to space!

Flying around the playground at Vance AFB!

We went to Enid on Wednesday and Thursday and decided on the way home from Enid that we should go to the Memphis Zoo on Friday with Daddy since he was not flying. We packed up Friday morning and headed off once again, this time to the East to go to the Zoo which is located in downtown Memphis and is one of the only 4 Zoos in America to have Giant Pandas. We also saw Polar Bears, Sea Lions, Giraffes and Zebras!

Daddy and Andrew at the Zoo!
Mommy and Andrew in the Northwest Passage
The sea lion show!"It's really hot, but I had a great time!"

Our Recent Adventures!

2009-05-04T19:42:00.011-04:00

Check out some of our most recent adventures...we've been having a lot of fun these last few weeks in Arkansas...Soaking up the south so we never have to return!

Andrew and Caleb at McClard's BBQ - Most famous BBQ place in Hot Springs, AR
Checking out the Koi Pond at the Garven Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs
Swinging time at Burns Park in North Little Rock
Hanging out with daddy at the Old Mill in NLR!

Bike riding adventure with Caleb - they look happy - that didn't last long!

Pretending to be a crawler...maybe someday!!!

Balloon Fun!

Showing off his most prized possession...teeth!

Getting ready to move...AGAIN!

2009-04-26T23:39:00.002-04:00

We are rapidly approaching the end of our stay here in Little Rock...I was beginning to think it was never going to end, but there is hope! We have begun to pick out our next apartment and are starting to think about all that needs to be done to have another successful move! Luckily for us, we are headed back to Ohio for a while and will be able to enjoy the comforts of our hometown once again before we embark onto the next new city.

Since we are getting close to the end, time seems to be flying by as there is so much to get done and never enough time. Unfortunately for the blog followers, it means less posts to enjoy...I will however try to keep things up and running while we are transitioning! Please check back often as we have been doing a lot these days, and I will hopefully get pictures posted if nothing else!

We cannot wait to get back to Ohio - we are "done" with Arkansas and are ready to leave! We miss our friends and family and the luxuries that come along with having those folks nearby! See you soon!

Easter and 8 Months Old!

2009-04-16T17:09:00.007-04:00

Andrew got to celebrate Easter and his 8th month Birthday on the 12th! Here are some pictures from our day of fun!

Having a chat with the Easter Bunny!
"Look, I found an EGG!!!!!"

Andrew's first Easter basket

Showing off his little teeth!

Posing for some 8 month pics!

Trip to Ohio

2009-04-16T11:34:00.015-04:00

As many of you already know, Andrew and I recently took a trip to Ohio to visit friends and family. We were able to spend two weeks at home and still did not have time to do everything and see everyone that we wanted too. However, we did have a great time while we were there and we did squeeze in a ton!

On our way home we were able to stop in Memphis and see Graceland and the Civil Rights museum. The three of us packed up early Friday morning and headed to Memphis and spent the day there, we stayed over and continued on our way to Nashville to meet up with my mom who drove down on Saturday to make the big switch.

The Neely's Bar-B-Que (from the Food Network!)

On Saturday we headed to Ohio and Zac headed back to Little Rock : ( For the next two weeks we enjoyed all that Ohio had to offer us! After two weeks at home, Andrew, myself, my mom and sister took up Thursday afternoon and drove down to Nashville. We spent Friday in Nashville visiting the Grand Ole Opry and the Gaylord hotel at Opryland. Zac drove up to Nashville and picked us up and we went back to Little Rock.

Inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

More fun in the hotel

Grandma and Andrew

Our Little Cowboy!!!

We had a great vacation in Ohio and are looking forward to moving back as soon as we can.
Although it is nice to be able to get out of Ohio and see other parts of the country, I am finding more and more that Ohio has a lot to offer us and is much more progressive then the last few places we have lived. I am hoping that the east coast has as much to offer us and what we have at home.

At the Columbus Zoo

Playing with Julian (bestest buds!)
Playdate at Aunt Alice's (Andrew, Macy and Cohen)

Hope you enjoy the photos from our trip! We can’t wait to get back to Ohio!!!! Easter pics are coming soon...

In Ohio!

2009-03-30T18:39:00.001-04:00

As many of you know we are in Ohio until April 9th, so there will probably not be any Andrew updates during our vacation...hope you are not too sad!!! We will be sure to post many pictures when we get back to share our trip to Memphis, Nashville and various parts of Ohio!!!

A TOOTH!

2009-03-25T00:15:00.005-04:00

Something very exciting was discovered tonight! Andrew finally is getting a tooth! Zac was the one who made the discovery and we were both eager to stick our fingers in and get a feel, although Andrew did not enjoy it very much! Once we both confirmed that it was a tooth coming through we got out a flashlight and tickled Andrew to get him to open his mouth wide so we could get a good look at it!!! I wish that we could get a picture of it to show everyone! I was so excited that I had to share the news!!!

Here are some recent pictures for you to enjoy until we can get a good one of the tooth :)

Andrew and his buds at Caleb's House

Andrew enjoying a homemade teething biscuit

The Lesson Plans You've All Been Waiting For!

2009-03-18T22:33:00.004-04:00

Finally I am posting about the last 3 sessions of Gym…I guess you could call that a little “behind”! Oh well, I figure everything will get done eventually  For all of you out there who have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the lesson plans to see what we’ve been up to, I’m sorry for the delay!

We had our first outdoor session today and it was a ton of fun! It was a beautiful, sunny, almost hot, day in Arkansas. It was forecasted to be 78 and sunny today and in my opinion it is perfect outside! I’m very excited about the spring weather that has graced us with its presence and I know the members of Andrew’s Gym were excited about it too! Babies seem to be so much happier when they are outside, something about the fresh air I suppose.

Today we learned about outdoor things. We tried to listen to some fun songs about spring such as “Mister Sun” but unfortunately my iHome was not operating on its batteries (very sad). Just so we had a little music during class we did sing a song about spring coming! We learned some new signs for animals that we might see including duck, cat, dog, horse and frog! We have really been adding to our repertoire of signs and are hoping that we soon start to see our little men displaying their new language!

The best part of gym was at the end when Caleb’s mom Sarah read us a book about clouds that look like spilt milk and when Parker’s mom Leigh Ann taught us exercises with our strollers (still feeling the burn)! I really love that we have each been able to bring our specialties to the table and share with each other. I think it is not only good for our little men but also for us!!!

Here is this week’s lesson plan and the spring song!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13401253/318-Plan

Here are the last two sessions that were held 2/25 and 3/11. I really won’t elaborate much on them since they were a while ago. I just wanted to make sure that I got the links up to all of the lesson plans – hopefully in the future I can be a little more timely about postings!

2/25
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13401251/225-Plan

3/11
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13401252/311-Plan

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2009-03-17T23:28:00.008-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I’m really starting to slack with posts to this blog. It seems that somehow I have become busier with other activities and am finding less time to make updates and keep people in the know. So, I am making a little resolution to try and post two times a week to the blog. I really think this is manageable as I was posting a million times a week before. I think that our family trip to Disney just slowed me down a bit, which is probably a good thing. I also think that the change in weather has promoted more activities in our day which is leading to less time inside on the computer – good for everyone!

As today is St. Patrick’s Day I feel that I should post lots of pics of Andrew in his Patty’s day apparel. His wonderful godmother sent him the cutest onesie, bib and Winnie the Pooh toy for the holiday!!! He also had a pre-St. Patrick’s day outfit on yesterday as he ended up with two outfits! He looked really cute and had a fun time with the photo shoot!

As for posts on lesson plans (which I promised last week) I will try and post these tomorrow after we have gym time. I know that it is fun for everyone to see what we are doing at gym, so I will put up pics also!!! We are taking Andrew’s Gym on the road tomorrow and heading outdoors as the forecast is 78 and sunny for tomorrow!!! Yeah for spring. That is one thing that I do love about Arkansas – it is warm all of the time here, I don’t think it got lower than 30 during the winter for more than 1-2 days and as for warm weather I think it is here to stay!!!

We Went to Disney!

2009-03-10T22:37:00.007-04:00

As you probably have noticed there have not been any new posts for over a week now and that is due to the fact we took an amazing, impromptu, much needed vacation to Walt Disney World! For the year of 2009, Disney is running a special for all active duty military members offering them a FREE 5 day hopper pass that includes the water parks and Disney Quest. For spouses and other family members they are offering up to 5, 5 day passes for $99 and then for just $25 you can make the pass a hopper. It is basically the best deal ever if you frequent Disney. The average cost for a 5 day pass is around $222 and for a hopper, it’s another $50. So, as you can see $124 for a 5 day hopper pass is a great deal and a free ticket is even better (also kids 3 and under are FREE!). I recommend this to anyone who is active duty, active guard or reserve and retired, it is really the best deal you will ever get! So…we took advantage of this awesome offer and went to Disney! It was a very spur of the moment trip. We decided to go on a Tuesday and left that same week on Friday! Zac is on casual duty right now while we are waiting for a back up on the flight line to pass, so we have a lot of free time, and I mean A LOT! It was a much needed vacation for both of us. We have not been anywhere since we went on our honeymoon and the past two years have been grueling on both of us.
We had the greatest week ever! It was relaxing and fun to get away. It was so much fun to take Andrew to the parks and watch him take it all in. Zac and I are both Disney fanatics and we knew Andrew would love it just as much as we do! He was able to ride many of the rides and we saw the parks through a new light. For the two of us, the parks are fun, but we have done just about everything – with Andrew, everything was new again. I know that sounds really cliché but it was true! One of the best parts of the week was when Zac and I got to have a day to ourselves and go do all of the fun adult rides and activities! Uncle Chip and Aunt Sarah watched Andrew for us, making it the longest time we have ever left him – and they survived – haha!

It was an awesome time and we are really looking forward to the next time we will go. I hope you enjoy the pictures from our trip! There will be more posts soon as I get caught up on everything! We are looking forward to baby gym tomorrow so look for a post about that and lesson plans from the last two sessions! As for my other blog on baby food – that one may be put on the back burner for a few more days :(

Mum-Mums and Puffs

2009-02-23T23:38:00.008-05:00

Andrew has just started learning how to self feed and drink, which is very exciting for me as a mother because it means a little bit of freedom. We have started giving him Gerber Puffs a few weeks ago and he really did not understand what they were for and did not understand that he could pick them up and eat them. We gave it a week or so and have given them another try and he loves to snack!

Last Friday night we took some of the Sweet Potato flavored puffs with us to a restaurant to keep him occupied while we ate with some friends. He finished the whole bowl that I brought before we were done! We were shocked that in just a little bit of time he went from not understanding to being able to chomp away and enjoy the puffs. He does still have a little bit of trouble picking them up, which is funny to watch. He gets them in the middle of his hand and then puts his hand to his mouth, but doesn’t open his hand and can’t figure out where the puff went when it’s still in his hand!

The other new snack we have started is Mum Mum crackers. They are puffed rice and sort of the shape of a small surfboard. He just started eating them on Saturday night and had some last night also. Last night he definitely did a better job of eating most of the cracker and smashing it all over himself and his monkey!

Anyway, we are excited that Andrew has started to eat some snacks on his own. It is so much fun to watch him munch away and be so excited about it! He is still working with the sippy cup. I recently bought him a new one because the spout on the first cup I got was a little hard to work with. The new one has a nice soft silicone spout, so I think it is working better for him! We practice every day though, and maybe by the time we get back to Ohio he will have mastered the cup!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Andrew's Gym!!!

2009-02-19T23:08:00.006-05:00

Announcing: Andrew’s Gym for Babies Who Don’t Want to Spend Money!

We recently attended the Little Gym to test it out and see if we liked it. We loved it, but did not love the cost. It is a little pricey and especially because Andrew cried for about half of the session. We did love the fact that it got Andrew out of the house and experiencing new things. After a discussion with Zac, it seemed the answer was to host our own version. So, I have taken on the task of this! I sent out an invitation of sorts to our other baby and mommy friends inviting them to “Andrew’s Gym for Babies Who Don’t Want to Spend Money”

It seems as though we have a hit! Both of Andrew’s friends were interested in coming and came to the first session which was held yesterday. The sessions are held every Wednesday afternoon currently at our apartment, but once it gets nice outside, I would like to take it on the road and go to parks and maybe our friend’s houses also! The great thing about Andrew’s Gym is its portable, free and the sessions are customized to include just what we want to learn.

Here is a sample of the “lesson plan” we did yesterday! ( I'm currently tweaking the way I post PDF files, so for now here is a link)

http://documents.scribd.com/docs/1619okucnj1ca7phe7jp.pdf

We had such a great time, the babies really seemed into all of the activities and it was also fun for the mommies!!! It gets a little boring being a stay at home mom sometimes, especially in a city where you don’t know many people or what’s around. I know Andrew and I are really looking forward to next week’s activities, and I’m sure I’ll get to planning the lesson plan for that one soon! I’m really excited about being able to use my ASL and music minors too! At least all of those hard earned (and expensive) credits are going to something!!!

Hope you enjoyed the photos from the day!

Finally a Solution

2009-02-17T23:47:00.005-05:00

We think we have solved Andrew’s fussiness, at least for now! Soy seems to be the answer!We have switched Andrew to soy formula and I am trying to cut all or at least most dairy out of my diet so that he can still have breast milk. He seems to have made an instant turn around in his personality and it’s almost a miracle.

I was at my wits end, and so was Zac dealing with Andrew. He is a great kid and we love him so much but we could not stand the constant screaming anymore. Everyday seemed to get worse and worse. I honestly needed a break from him because it was so stressful dealing day in and day out with him. He wasn’t sleeping, he wouldn’t take a bottle and cried all of the time at home.

Andrew has always been fussy, but I thought it was getting better when we got his reflux diagnosed and he was put on medication. He seemed to be doing so much better taking bottles, sleeping more and had a more pleasant disposition. This all took a turn for the worse around 5 months.

In the end of January things began to get worse for us. For weeks, none of us got any sleep at all, as Andrew was up all night, every hour. He also was not drinking much of his bottles anymore; he would cry and push them away. He would still be crying after he had been changed, fed and even after napping. It didn’t matter what anyone did, he was upset. We knew that something had to be wrong, but we didn’t know what.

When Andrew’s 6 month appointment came around we asked about his medicine to make sure it was still working for him. The doctor adjusted his dosage for his weight and said that it should work better for him and needed to be adjusted as he got bigger. We didn’t think that the new dosage was doing anything for him, so we knew we still needed to do something else.

So, I decided to describe all of Andrew’s current problems in a post on an August 2008 Baby board on BabyCenter. I love BabyCenter because there are so many other mothers out there who are willing to give suggestions to any question that you could ever have. I immediately got responses from mothers who had similar problems with their children. I also asked friends of mine who had babies and found out a few of them had similar issues. Everyone was suggesting that Andrew may have a milk intolerance or sensitivity. Apparently these issues can peak around 5-6 months, which puts us in the right time frame. The main suggestion is to eliminate all dairy from my diet if I’m going to continue to pump and to switch him to soy formula.

We gave the soy formula a try 2 nights ago and he has made a huge turn around. I have read a lot of stories that babies who have dairy issues change almost instantly once they are given soy, but I did not believe it till I saw it! Zac and I are both amazed. We are going to continue giving soy and talk to the doctor about it, and see when we should start to introduce milk again. I have read that it is suggested to try again after a year. So, that is our plan for now! We have not had him tested yet for an allergy, but we are thinking that it’s not an allergy, just intolerance at this point.

On another note, here are some V-day pics for all to enjoy!

"In my special Mickey V-Day outfit!"

"What, I thought these were for me?"

"Look, I'm standing with no help!!!"

2009-02-13T00:10:00.002-05:00

Happy ½ Birthday!

Today is Andrew’s half birthday! We did a lot to celebrate today including: taking some pictures, opening presents and going to the doctor. The first two activities were probably a little more exciting than the last, but that is how it goes!

As for new developments as a 6 month old – there are not any. Our miracle of rolling around the room has not happened yet and at the rate we are going, probably won’t. He is however sitting more and more each day and bearing more weight on his legs. I guess that we might just have to reach for standing as our next big accomplishment! He now just lays and cries when on his belly not even trying to hold his head up much – I think he is just plain lazy.

His new stats are…

18.5 lbs
27 ½ inches

So that puts him in the 75th percentile in both categories – I guess he’s a big kid, even though he still fits in most of his 3-6 month clothes…interesting! He even wore one 0-3 size onesie last week. Baby clothes are just like women’s clothing, everything fits differently!

At least his is still enjoying trying new foods. It’s amazing how many different ways you can mix together basic fruits and veggies (in ways you might not think are tasty) and he still gobbles them up. I guess he’s a typical male! One food we just started is lentil and we will soon be mixing in rice and pasta with his fruit and veggie favorites! I am also amazed at how easy it is to puree up any type of food, really anything can be popped into a blender!

He is beginning to have some favorite toys that make him smile as soon as he gets a hold of them. He loves to chew on and cuddle his Monkey and Tramp (even though we just call him puppy!). Anything that lights up and plays noises is at the top of his list too! His Tiger Ball Toss and Tool Bench are among the favs! Somehow his crab that speaks in English and Spanish can help him take naps in his swing - who knew!

I guess are biggest setback is sleeping. He has never been one to sleep through the night and when it does happen (once or twice a month) we are still shocked. Most nights we are up several times trying to get him calmed down and back to bed. We recently have given up the battle and let him sleep in the bed with us because we need a few solid hours of sleep. There we go setting a bad habit, but hopefully things will start to get better soon. We are going start implementing some different techniques in hope to someday soon get a nights rest!

All in all, the past 6 months have really flown by and it’s hard to believe that we have a 6 month old! It’s been an interesting and enjoyable journey so far and I’m sure it will only get better!

As Promised...

2009-02-07T00:16:00.008-05:00

Here are some of the latest pics of the Andrew Man...hope you enjoy :)

Andrew discussing the world's issues with Snickers...or maybe just saying hello!

Fun with a sippy cup? Or maybe not so much fun by the look of that face!

Before going to The Little Gym with Parker! They were having a very interesting convo

"This is the best asparagus ever, thanks mom!"

Sharing some drool, one of his best talents!

The best thing about Andrew today is...it's midnight and he is asleep and went to bed two hours ago! Yeah for regaining a normal bedtime again!!! Today's menu was Squash (he loves it now) and Pears for lunch and Carrots and Grapple (a mom specialty) for Dinner! Tomorrow who knows - probably something green !!!

We Must Be Millionaires...

2009-02-06T14:20:00.002-05:00

Well, we really aren't millionaires, but we've been dropping the moola like we are these past few weeks. It seems that in the last 2 weeks we have had problems with every technological device we own or have had to complain to management at every establishment we've entered. Apparently, we've have some bad karma circling us...or something!

So, we started out buying a deep freezer because our teeny refrigerator freezer could not accommodate our food and all of Andrew's milk and food. So, we got a Sam's Club membership, bought a freezer and now have it stocked! As the week continued we hit up a JCP sale and got some cute summer clothes for Andrew since he is growing out of his 6 month apparel. As the week progressed we had other problems....and more money was spent

Which brings me to the most exciting of purchases...new laptops for Zac and I. Yes, I did laptops, plural, we each have a new one now! My computer decided to poop out (for lack of a better term) on Wednesday evening, I spent around 4 hours at Best Buy trying to get it repaired and then deciding that it was not worth it, and eventually buying a new one. So, this is the first post I have typed on the new laptop!!!!

It's been a little insane around here for the past 2 weeks, and hopefully things will get a little better for us next week. Some things are turning around, like the weather - it's supposed to 68 or something crazy like that today - how's that for Feb. 6th!!!!

Since this post had nothing to do with Andrew, I'll put up some photos later. We now also have a super sweet 1TB external hardrive to organize all of our photos, videos, etc of AJ, so...YEAH We can also finally make cd's for all of you out there wanting copies of pics!!!

Finally a Milestone, Thank Goodness!

2009-02-02T23:30:00.010-05:00

I was beginning to think that my son was somehow developmentally challenged because he doesn't roll yet. He has done the occasional roll from his stomach to his back, but nothing to write home about. When reading developmental charts, you see that rolling should begin around 4 months and we are well past that marker. So, I begin thinking, what is wrong with my son. There is the obvious fact that I know I have not given him enough "tummy time" but the kid hates it and screams as if you were punishing him. I continue to wonder, what else could I have done that would be causing this delay and then a miracle happens...

He can sit by himself, not just for a second, but at least 5 minutes. He was able to balance, then he started to fall over, caught himself and continued to sit there. I know it's not rolling, but who cares about rolling, he can sit! He's not even 6 months old yet and a self sitter! We were shocked, I ran and got the camera while Zac sat there across from him waiting for him to topple over, and it never happened!

So, other than that exciting new development in Andrew's life, there are more firsts that await him this week! We are attending The Little Gym tomorrow to try out a 4-12 month class, we will start some 2nd foods and begin wearing some 6-9 clothes, soon to be in size 3 diapers....This is a big week....and his 1/2 birthday is coming next week! Maybe he'll even get a tooth! Oh, he can hold a bottle...sometimes...if it's the small one, but still it's progress, sippy cups are in our future!

In other news, Babies 'R Us and I are currently not getting along. I could rant for a while about how much I dislike the store in Arkansas and how much better the stores are in Ohio, but there isn't much point. So, I guess I'll save it for my strongly worded letter that I'll be sending their way...today was the last straw for them!

(just a memo to all those who might purchase items for Andrew - please no more long sleeves or 3-6 / 6 month sizes, it's getting warm and he's getting bigger! Size 6-9 or 9, or even 12 month would be great for the summer!)

A New Year Calls for a New Blog...a few weeks late!

2009-01-26T23:24:00.005-05:00

Since we are still in the beginning of the new year, I figure that it is still alright to begin this new blog. We used to have a family blog, but it slowly died out. It was all about Zac's flying experiences and then a little about our family. While visiting with friends today, I decided that we needed something bigger and better to communicate with our friends and family (their blogs are quite lovely!). So, I hope that you all enjoy reading these posts and keeping up with the Balas' on our adventures, although I have a feeling most of the stories will be about the Andrew Man - as he is our life now.

To begin, I assume that everyone wants an Andrew update. He is working towards 6 months old, his 1/2 birthday will be on February 12th, which will be here all too soon. It seems like time has been moving even more quickly since he made his appearance. He is doing more and more each day as he learning new skills. His feet can reach the bottom on his exersaucer, he is able to balance sitting for at least a few minutes (getting better each day), he is much more talkative (especially using vowel sounds) and he continues to try new foods every day including avocado, prunes, asparagus, grapes and zucchini.

Unfortunately he still refuses to roll, even though we think he actually knows how. He has rolled about 5-6 times from his tummy to his back, no rolling across the room at this point. Currently he loves to stay up way past his bed time - like now as I type this at 11:30pm, he is lying by me chatting away and kicking me to get my attention

As for Zac, myself and Snickers, we are just going about our lives as usual. Zac is keeping busy with sims and the academic portion of the 2nd phase of his training. We might be getting a break at some point, we are looking forward to that even though it means we will have to stay for a bit longer. I am trying to find new ways to keep Andrew and I entertained, luckily the weather is nice here, so there are many options for us to get out and about. Snickers is getting more and more used to her brother, although I don't know that she loves him all of the time.

Check back soon for more on the Adventures of Andrew, you never know what he might do!