Easter

Just hanging out under the apple tree at grandma and grandpa's house. He looks a bit mischievous, I think!
Great grandma and grandpa Brown sent this little red wagon our way, so Andrew can enjoy it! I have many memories of playing in this, and hopefully he will too.

Proud papa....


What a blessing to celebrate this holiday as a family of three, now! Praise be to the King, who has risen and will come again! Thank you Lord, for giving us so many things that we don't deserve. The infectious smile of this little boy, to name one! :) We look forward to many more Easters together...and I think that grandma has a few easter egg hunts planned for future easters, too :)

The cottage

Over the Easter weekend, we spent some time at Mom & Dad's new lake cottage on Dewart Lake. It was so much fun! We relaxed, laughed, celebrated Ben's birthday, kayaked, hiked, and loved on Andrew :) I think we are all anxious for the summer months to descend upon us, as we anticipate more weekends just like this at the cottage!
Daddy and Andrew, playin' patty-cake.
Grammy loves her little man!
Ben's birthday cake was the topic of discussion this weekend...too funny! And although it was less that steller looking (actually not that bad, mom and libby!) it tasted amazing! He is 24 years old now...hard to believe! I can still remember him as a little boy, playing with legos, guns, basketballs, and tractors. Growing up with 2 sisters was probably not the easiest, but I like to think we helped him understand women a bit more. Well, ok maybe not. But at least we had fun together and made many memories!
Well, Happy Birthday, brother and now Uncle Ben! May you have many more to come! We love you!

Bathtime Fun

Doesn't Andrew look so grown up here? This was taken at about 3.5 months. He just loves bathtime! And right now he is still small enough to fit into our bathroom sink at home. And of course rubber ducky comes along for bathtime, too! We hope he loves the water elsewhere, such as swimming pools, lakes, and the creek. Because we will be going to all of those places! Oh, the adventures that lie a head, little one....

3 months!!!

Today, April 6th, is Andrew's 3 month birthday! yay!! Where has the time gone? He is now holding his head up so well (still a bit wobbly) and is cooing and almost laughing. His eyes light up when he sees mommy and daddy, and will give most anyone a contagious smile. He love the songs "Itsy bitsy spider" and "Hohoho Hosannah", as well as daddy's version of the Popeye song. We are not swaddling his arms anymore, because he busts out of the swaddle everytime (so strong!) We have truly enjoyed these last 3 months, and surely do look forward to the next 3 and more.

Moose Man

Ahhh...
Uhhhh.....
Whoaaaa! This cute outfit is from Granny Brown :) It has a little moose on the vest and is just too cute. He is our little lumber jack. I just love his expressions in these photos. I have a feeling he is going to be one little squirt :)

Hangin' with Sam

Well, we just wanted these two to continue getting acquainted...so we took advantage of this opportunity when Sam seemed relatively calm (as well as Andrew :)). Although Sam has a slightly scary look on his face in this pic...I am not quite sure what he is thinking. Andrew is beginning to take interest in the cat and the dog. His eyes get really big when either one walks by...he usually seems to be fascinated by their tails. Someday, buddy boy, you will be running around with the both of them, throwing the ball for molly and letting sam chase his little mouse toy. And I am sure that dad will show you how to make them do tricks :)

Got my Overalls on

Little shoes for little feet...

Still not so sure of this camera.

I just had to capture Andrew in this outfit, complete with tennies. There is just something irresistible about a little boy with overalls on. I just want to pinch his little cheekies. :) I have a few pairs, one for every few months as he gets bigger. Yay!

The Sunroom

Is this your new friend, Andrew?? His teddy bear is usually accompanying him when he is on the floor playing...it is so colorful and full of shapes! This actually used to be my baby blanket, but my cousins mom skillfully turned it into a teddy bear! How cool. And now Andrew can enjoy it.
Oh, how that face has captured our hearts. My sweet boy, may you never stop smiling. May you be filled with joy, and may the source of that joy always come from our Father Above!
It was so nice out the other day, I opened up our sun room, and Andrew and I sat out there for a while, reading and playing, and of course, snapping some photos. I propped him up in the satellite chair and hoped he would give me a few smiley faces....at first he wasn't too sure.
....but then after mommy began talking in funny voices and making silly faces, he decided that was funny enough to smile :) Yessss, my boy thinks I am funny! Oh Andrew, we are going to laugh so much together. I can't wait to hear your sweet giggles fill this house!

Growing....

Here is Andrew at 10 weeks! This is one of my favorite little outfits to put on him...I am sure he loves it too! Isn't it funny, I just can't get enough pictures of this kid. You know, they say by the time you have 3 or 4 kids, your youngest have so few pictures :P We will try not to let that happen, but I haven't experienced life yet with 3 little ones running around. Every day Andrew is getting more and more expressive and cooing at all the different faces joe and I make. He is almost beginning to reach out for toys or objects in front of him, as well! The other day I sang "The Itsy bitsy spider" to him, and he had the biggest smile ever! He was almost singing along with me:)
Family photo time! Last sunday I had us all stay in our nice clothes and take a quite photo together. Andrew has little tennis shoes on, which you can' t see in this shot, but take my word for it....they are too darn cute!!! And his t-shirt reads, "My dad rocks!". Now, to make sure we get minimal spit up on this thing...
Mama and Andrew...two peas in a pod. My little boy is just so amazing. I am trying to savor these days that he is small enough to fit in my arms, and content to just stare at me. *sigh* Yet i am all too excited for each stage to come. Gosh, doesn't he look like his daddy in this picture? So Handsome!

Generations

While we were home for the weekend, Great Grandma & Grandpa Brown came over for lunch. This was the first time they were able to see Andrew...it was great! I loved being able to share him with them. I am going to have to get used to calling them great grandparents, I guess!
Grandma got a chance to hold Andrew and it was so neat to think about how many lives are now in existence because of grandma and grandpa's love and committment to raising a family! We are continuing to build this 4th generation of their family, and it is amazing. Thank you, Grandma & Grandpa!!! We love you!
I love your expression here, Grandma! This says, "Ok, where is his mama?" Funny to think that now I am the woman to whom everyone will pass this babe back to when he starts to fuss! Well, I should consider it a blessing, right!?!

A Visit to Milford...

Grandma was so happy to see you, Andrew! And we even wore your special "Goin' to Grandmas" outfit, just for her. I think you love her sweet kisses and attention, little man.

Finally, Uncle Ben got to meet his first nephew! Andrew smiled at him right away the first time he saw him! Very sweet. We had fun Saturday night at mom&dad's cottage on Dewart Lake....what a NEAT place! Games, pizza and laughter made the evening quite enjoyable. We loved making Andrew smile. I can't wait until this summer, when we will make a few trips out to play on the lake. This little boy will be so big by then! (Andrew, not ben:) hehe)
I think he was lookin' at Aunt Libby in this shot...too cute.

Hawaiian Night!

Last week we had the chance to attend a camping conference for Ohio camps. Andrew made the trip with us, and it went really well!!! We had a blast up at Bulah Beach, a nice camp set on the shores of Lake Erie. Joe was on the planning committee for programming and events, so one night they planned a luau! Luckily our good friends katie & glendon had sent a box of boys clothes to us...and in it was this cute hawaiian shirt that matched daddy's!!! Aren't they so handsome? Needless to say, I had a bit of fun dressing him up for this night:)
I am sure he is wondering if this is going to happen for the rest of his life (mom dressing him up). Hehe...you are just too cute, Drew!

Many faces

How many faces can one little boy have? And just how can I capture all of them?! We are truly enjoying Andrew's personality as it shows itself more and more each day. He is communicating with his whole face now! I snapped these shots as he sat contentedly in his swing, watching a toy, as well as his momma! Sometimes he is just too cute. I praise the Lord for him and what he means to Joe and me.

Little Lamb

Today, Andrew is 2 months old! (counting weeks after his delivery, i guess). My how time flies. I snapped a few photos with some of his little animals that scatter the house. Although he doesn't really "play" with them as of now, he likes to look at them and "talk" to them, I guess you could say. I can't wait for the day that he picks one up and just carries it around the house. We are ready for the warm spring to arrive, so we can have some outdoor playtime! I just noticed yesterday that some of my spring bulbs are starting to poke their little leaves out of the ground. And as I tell Joe this, he informs me that this weekend they are forcasting for snow. Bummer. Oh well...spring will come again. I just know it :) Andrew and I will be ready.

Entertaining and meaningful...

Thanks to my sister Libby who reminded me that I could find Cosby Show episodes on Netflix! Now each day, during one of the times I am feeding Andrew, I turn on an episode and take myself back in time! I absolutely love the early episodes. Thanks Lib for that idea!!! Joe teases me that all I do around here is watch Cosby and eat bon-bons. At which I appropriately respond with a "what did you just say?" haha :) Thankfully he is totally kidding. I have also begun to listen to Family Talk radio productions (www.myfamilytalk.com) once a day, as well. We used to listen to the radio program together in the car each morning on the way to work. Now, Joe listens as he goes in to work, and I get on their website and listen at some point later in the day. What a blessing. Dr. Dobson has so much wisdom, and brings so many different people and topics on to his show. Praise the Lord for technology, allowing me to listen and watch each of these things!!!