Ok! I know! It's been a looooooong time since I've posted any more pictures. There's no excuse other than to say that we've been so consumed with staring at Andrew and being amazed with everything he does that posting pictures fell by the wayside. You'll see that his is much bigger than the last postings. You won't see that he is making all kinds of noises now, and that he has outgrown two sizes of diapers already, that he sleeps until ten in the morning sometimes, and that he loves to stand. We think all of this is pretty amazing.

And without further ado...

These were taken at Laura's parents house. The little shades were a gift to Elaine from a coworker.

He rolled! That's right.

From his stomach to his back, he did. It's kind of early for him to be rolling regularly and efficiently, which he's not. We think The Roll was more out of frustration with us not flipping him from front to back than it was from sheer determination to see us clap and cheer like, well like goofy parents. And that's what we did.

I've said a few times now that being a parent and having a baby have found me doing things that I never otherwise would. You know, in the Old Normal. This is the New Normal. I'm not talking about the standard things like diaper changing and spit wiping. I mean such activities as marching around the living room couch Andrew in hand chanting "what's the matter" repeatedly. Or, Laura employing the Drop Out calming technique where she is again marching around the kitchen island while doing half squats/ knee drops with every third step. These are the weird things that no one and no book will tell you that "you'll be doing this in a matter of months". These are the actions you find on your own in spits of, not desperation so much as a sincere desire for your child to be calm and happy. Happy babies equals happy parents.

A little video action

Diapers!?!

We are giving the cloth diapers a shot today. We calculated that we used seventy five throwaways in the last two weeks. This is amazing! Not only is that a lot of diapers, but that's a lot of poo sitting in the basement waiting for trash day.
The environmental implications of using throwaways are obvious and staggering. Multiply seventy five diapers over two weeks by the number of babies in the country, or even the world, that are using these things. That's a lot of poo. And, a lot of non-biodegradable material being buried - in the best case scenario.
That is the guilty side. The convenience side says that these throwaways are easy, clean, and effective. And, man are they ever. The most amazing aspect of disposables is the quality of the Velcro. All I have to do is brush the Velcro tab with nearly anything and it sticks frustratingly well, and the loops are tiny. Baby diaper Velcro shoes - gold mine. Or, trouser closure. Or, cap adjustment, whatever. The stuff works.
We'll see what happens with our poo gear adventure.

Happy Parents.

One happy Grandfather.

One happy Grandmother.

One happy Great-Grandmother.

These photos were taken just minutes after he was born.

Post number one.

So this is it. A blog of Andrew where those interested can check in, read stories, see pictures, and be connected from far and wide.
It is also my first blogging experience, so please excuse my lack of blogging etiquette. If such a thing exists I'm not even sure.

It's fair to say, and a little understated, that Laura and I are totally blown away by everything that Andrew does. We have not reached the point where we can't imagine not having a child of our own, but I can say that in a strange way it feels completely normal- even from the first minutes of his birth. I know, you that don't have kids are thinking that I'm full of it and this is just something that parents say to make them feel more normal under abnormal situations. And, you that have kids know exactly what I mean. It really is crazy. One second you are a normal person, and the next second BAM, you are a parent. This child will rely on you for almost everything for hopefully no more than eighteen years. Though I hear that twenty eight is the new eighteen. We'll see.

This is not to say that we have it all figured out at all. We feel pretty comfortable with the whole parenting thing, but it's more a fly by night operation at this point. I can say with confidence though that Laura is an amazing mom. She has the soft knowledge of what to do in almost all the situations that we have faced so far. Her love and devotion for Andrew and his wellbeing are matched only by her lack of sleep. She is, without a doubt, a Mother in the best sense.

Enough about us. What about the kid? Well, he said his first word today, and that was "daddy". Yeah, like you I was blown away too. He isn't eight weeks old and can already pick my out of a crowd by name! Well maybe not, but his is smiling a lot, and it's the smiles that originate from thought, or though it seems. He smiles when we interact in a way that only a goofy parent (or grandparent) would ever think of doing to a child that is their own. I don't imagine myself talking the way I do to Andrew to any other human, ever (subsequent babies of mine excluded of course).

He's got other tricks, too like standing on laps, holding fingers, staring out of windows, and sleeping for almost six hours a night. Seriously, I hear that's really good. He is the man, for sure.

We'll try to get more words to page soon, and pictures galore. I expect the stories to get better with time as he begins to develop into the smart ass that I think he will be. Either way it should be interesting.

Much love.