How Andrew Really Feels About IHOP

Greg's love of IHOP and my utter distaste for the place has become a running joke in our household. You can see who Andrew sided with during a recent breakfast there. Good boy, Andrew.

So this is where all my clothes come from...

Andrew recently met his second cousin Jacob, six months his senior. In the video below we see Jacob showing Andrew some advanced moves on the playmat, while Andrew eyes Jacob's outfit, suspecting that one day it will be his.

Andrew and his Ladies

Andrew also met some pretty girls during his recent travels. Here we see Abby and Madeleine, plus Ben behind the mirror:


And here is Maggie rocking a beret and designer bib:


But Andrew needs to work on his moves -- he didn't do much to impress the chicas. In fact, pictured with Carrie, Sue, and Maggie below, he looks downright surly. Next time, more smiling and less drooling and sulking, Andrew.

Meeting many of daddy's relatives

This is a delayed blog entry, but Andrew made yet another trip last week and got to meet some of his many many cousins (once removed), and great aunts/uncles. He had a blast; in fact as per usual, the day after he returned home he was very upset to be alone in his boring apartment without multiple visitors to entertain him.

Here we see Greg's cousin Madeline doing an excellent job feeding him.

And Greg's cousin Jack entertains him.

Grand uncle / great god-father Bill, Jack and Madeline with Andrew.

Great aunt Mariellen.

Greg's cousin Vanessa.

12 weeks old

I've fallen behind a bit on the time-lapse photos sadly, but this way there's a more noticeable difference since that last shot, taken at 4 weeks. He certainly looks bigger, but also looks like he's losing his hair. Hopefully he'll start growing some replacement hair eventually, or we're going to have a bald child in a few months.

More aquarium

Here we see Andrew, apparently trying to eat the penguins. Mmmm, delicious penguins....

Those penguins got away, but maybe if he's quick enough he can catch himself a fish for dinner!

And here he is at the end of the visit, wiped out and asleep but lit up like a glow-worm under the aquarium's UV light.

Playing with the fishies

Now some might think that paying $40 to take an 11-week-old baby to the aquarium is a waste of money. But they would be wrong: Andrew was clearly enthralled! (Plus, I still love the aquarium and it's worth the money just for me) Andrew spent the first hour of our visit gazing at penguins, looking at the brightly colored fish and lights, and followed the fish intently as they swam by him in the large center tank. After about an hour he drifted off to sleep, to dream (I'm sure) of more fish.

New Toy

Noting how much Andrew has been enjoying his play mat lately, Greg suggested getting him a mobile. It went over like gangbusters -- Andrew was transfixed, elated, and kicked his little heart out from the moment we put him under it. The mobile has been a staple of "happy time" for the past few days.

Ditching

I played hooky from work this morning (obviously it is rare that I can accomplish such a feat) and had a lovely time playing with Andrew for his morning chatty/kicky time. He has pretty strong legs, and enjoys standing up on my knees. I bet he's going to be an early walker. Not so good with the tummy time however, so I would expect he's going to completely skip the crawling phase.

Further Adventures in Florida

Monday we visited Lakes Park where the men went fishing and my mother, Andrew and I rented the bicycle contraption below. It was pretty fun, though I don't recommend wearing a skirt when you ride in it. Unfortunately Andrew did not take to it well -- he was ticked off about being in the Moby and screamed for much of the ride. We must have been quite a sight to the park pedestrians as we rode by, what with me nearly flashing everyone while holding what appeared to be a shrieking white hat.

Back at home, Andrew made another appearance at the pyramids Tiki bar. My parents' friends enjoyed his company and took it upon themselves to come up with grandparent names for my parents. Through a series of jokes and misheard suggestions, we ended up with "Ribar" for my mother and "PeePaw" for my dad. No one is hoping these names stick.

The rest of our time in Florida we just enjoyed hanging out together, trying to make Andrew smile and dressing him in cute clothes for our amusement (well, that was mostly me).


After another pretty smooth plane ride, we're happily reunited with Greg and it's back to reality tomorrow.

Andrew Meets the Sun...

...though his nervous mother is doing her best to ensure that his skin is never directly exposed to its rays. Thus, the giant floppy hat.

So yes, the baby born in the snowiest winter Philadelphia has ever seen has made it to the sunshine state. He was quite good on the plane on Saturday night, and I lucked out and scored a row to myself with our car seat on board. Andrew did NOT like the captain's announcements however. Twice that mean captain made him cry.

Sunday we took it easy in the morning then ventured out to a state park that was the grounds of a Utopian community compound during the first half of the 20th century. Andrew mostly slept.

This was followed by a trip to Sun Market citrus/ice cream stand where we enjoyed some Florida orange soft serve. Andrew slept.

Then it was back to the pyramid complex where my parents stay...

...for a little more fun time on the activity mat.

Stay tuned for a report on Monday's activities...

Supple Brand Travel Toys

Our playmat features the Gymini parrot and some Hawaiian leis my
parents had leftover from a theme party suspended from some wool
strips from my mother's rug braiding, strung between a chair and the
rug braiding stand. It's a hit! Place an order for your very own
through the Comments section.

Preparing to Head South

I tested Andrew's patience this morning trying on a number of warm-weather outfits belonging to his cousin Jacob, all in preparation for our trip to Florida tomorrow. Here we see Andrew telling his Gymini friends about how his mother wasted his morning "smiley time" playing dress-up. He then proceeded to spit up on this outfit, so into the laundry it went after a grand total of 10 minutes on Andrew. (Sadly, I don't even think that's a record.)

Stay tuned for blogs from Florida!

Rollin' in my Moby

Looks like Andrew may have a career as a cab driver.

A Good Day

Today is my birthday and it was a great day for many reasons. I will enumerate:
1) Many lovely birthday emails and phone calls from friends and family.
2) A beautiful, sunny day that reached 61 degrees, which I enjoyed during a couple of nice walks.
3) A tasty cake and lovely gifts from Greg.
4) A tasty dinner, cupcake, and Andrew-care from Laura and Gordon.
5) I spent 19 minutes and 49 seconds on the elliptical machine - the first time since May or June.
6) I wore non-maternity jeans - perhaps not the most flattering ensemble ever, but still.

All this, plus see below for my gifts from Andrew:

Friday with Grandma and Grandpa

Today Andrew and I spent the day with my parents -- a long awaited visit we were all looking forward to! Our day included lunch out, a good 45 minute stint in the Gymini, a walk with Grandma while I took a much-needed nap (will someone please explain to me how I can be both chronically sleep deprived and an insomniac?), and lots of placid time and smiles. Good work, Andrew! He is now recuperating from this excitement in the swing and thinking about his next visit with Grandma and Grandpa in Florida next weekend. And how he is going to be a complete angel on the plane.

Thursday Night Visitors

I am sure Andrew enjoyed meeting Ying and Yang on Thursday night, even if his sleepy/somewhat grumpy demeanor suggested otherwise. At least the grownups enjoyed catching up!

Two Months Old

Andrew turned two months today. He celebrated with a trip to the pediatrician, where he was given a clean bill of health for daycare and he began acquiring immunity to several diseases. We confirmed that he is indeed a little string bean -- at 24 inches and 9 lbs even, he is 86th percentile for length and 4th for weight. But his doctor assures me that this is fine and he's just tall and lean like his dad.

Below is a two month portrait done artfully in black and white because Greg changed the settings on the Nikon and I couldn't figure out how to get them back.

And here is a little iphone snapshot of Andrew humoring his mother by wearing the ridiculously large blue jeans that she bought him. I dressed him up for a fun lunch out with Aunt Charl and Uncle Bruce yesterday.