Better Days

For all of you who were on pins and needles about how Andrew's second day went, it was much better than the first. The teacher read to him and sang to him, and she said he seemed very interested in the book. And he only went 3 hours without a bottle, which is a drastic improvement. We're still a little jilted by the first day experience, but at least now we're not as worried about his physical health being compromised. Today he's home with his Mommy, who is taking some scattered vacation days over the next couple weeks to ease the transition for both of them, and Daddy will have him every Thursday. Daddy is very excited.

Daycare Woes

Andrew started day care yesterday, and it was a disaster. Lynn was quite anxious about leaving her constant companion of the past 3 months (or year, arguably) with almost perfect strangers, no matter how well-recommended the place and teacher are. The drop-off seemed to go alright, but when Lynn went to pick him up the teacher had just started a bottle. If Lynn were late, that would be understandable, but when the Mommy is on time, there is no reason to start a bottle right before. That did not help Lynn's anxiety. Then when we got a chance to look at the daily report, we noticed that he had only gotten 3 bottles for the day: 10am, 3pm, and 5pm. Note the 5 hour gap in the middle. Perhaps needless to say, Andrew was nearly insatiable last night and ate more frequently than ever (and cried more than ever too). All in all, a horrible start to the day care experience. We are hoping that today will be better.

Good sleeper

Andrew has been sleeping through the night much more reliably than in the past. I think we've gotten stretches of at least 6 hours all week! He is also much more interactive and actually plays by himself in his bouncer. You can see in the picture that Lynn keeps hanging more and more toys, and he plays with them all. His favorite activity is to pull on the rings until the chain breaks, which I don't think I could do if I tried (the notches have to be lined up just right).

Happy Morning Baby

We woke up this morning after a very good night (6.5 hours straight) to find our baby in his crib flipped to his side and exploring the elephant toy that hangs next to him. Awake, but playing happily alone. He has been showing a lot more grasping and self-play the past week, much of it with the dangling toys in his bouncer. He has also been bubbling quite a bit, which I guess is a more "advanced" form of the drooling he was doing earlier. He seems quite proud of himself for blowing bubbles, but he is also quite happy when we wipe his face (usually).

Andrew's other recent developments are the proliferation of the social smile and saying "a-goo". When the aunts were here, Emily became an expert at getting him to smile. She would gently brush his cheek, and he would grin from ear to ear. Jenny never achieved quite the same level of response, but he was clearly happy to have both of them there. Along with the smiling, Andrew is trying very hard to communicate verbally with us. He is obviously not saying anything too intelligible, but his parents are hard at work trying to figure out his sounds. The only thing we've picked up so far, and it might just be wishful thinking, is that he gets really happy when he hears his name. He also got really good at saying "goooo" (as most babies do), and then started adding "ah" at the beginning. I swear he's trying to say "Andrew". He probably has no idea that it's his name, but I think he's realizing that his parents say the word a lot and they always seem so happy when they say it. Perhaps he thinks "Andrew" means "best thing ever", which, in a way, it does.

Doctor Thumbs Up

Last Friday, Andrew went to the doctor for his 2 month check-up and immunizations. He is officially 10 lbs 3 oz. On one hand, we're ecstatic he's over 10 lbs. On the other hand, he should really be closer to 12 at this point, so our mission to fatten our child continues. The doctor was also impressed that he is drooling a lot, which she says means his oral development is ahead of schedule. Apparently drooling is a sign that he's getting ready for teeth! I always knew we had an advanced baby. Now if only he could get some real hair.

The past couple days Andrew has enjoyed meeting his Aunt Emily and Aunt Jenny (Nick's sisters) who came to visit him. They have been impressed with what a good boy he is (usually), especially on our outings. Then again, if they heard any of the activity last night, they may have gotten a better idea of his true range (Lynn was up at least 3 times, and Nick helped a couple times too). He was probably just too excited about having his aunts here to sleep.

Birthdays Galore

Andrew would like to wish his granddad, great-uncle Al, and cousin Nathaniel very happy birthdays. He would also like to extend a very warm "Welcome to the world!" to his new cousin Levi Michael Salmon. Unfortunately, he is a day late. He's two months old! What do you expect?

To the Zoo!

Last Saturday was such a beautiful day that we took a family trip to the zoo. Andrew enjoys time in his stroller, so he was happy to be out and about in a new place. He couldn't see all that well into the various exhibits so he was getting pretty bored. He did react when we walked into the zebra building and he smelled the unique smell. We also walked around the conservatory and discovered that the paths were not the most stroller friendly. It was nice to get out with Andrew as it was over 40 degrees for the first time in Andrew's life! It was also a great outing for Mommy and Daddy as we have always loved going to the zoo and conservatory and even had our wedding photos taken in the park there. It was a grand day out.