One month down!

Well, Drew is over a month old now and I think I am finally getting a hang of things. We are reading his signs better and know what he needs. He is also growing and learning. He can scoot himself around 180 degrees in his crib and has pretty impressive head control but still can not hold it up on his own. Drew is all smiles, too! That is the best part right now. He will smile back at you but you can also catch him just smiling at you on his own, too.

We are getting ready for Leah's birthday and Halloween. She is excited about both. Since I've been home I have been trying to work with Leah on writing. She does a decent job with her letters. With numbers she will write 1, 2, and 3. When we get to 4 she says it is too tricky for her, she can be so goofy. Leah can snap and play the harmonica, among recent accomplishments. Oh, and we start a Tiny Tumblers class mid-September! I'm excited for that.

Look familiar?

Gray

I like to call this Leah's gray period. Lately she's been very into mixing colors - all of them. So her pictures and paintings start out nice, she is actually getting pretty good at staying in the lines. But then by the time she's finished, she has mixed everything together and the picture is nothing more than a big gray blob. But, as Leah likes to say "It makes it pretty." If she's happy with it, then I am happy.

Alex, Cooper, Katie, Anna & Leah

Fearless

Jim & Debbie with their grandkids

Tim, Elsa & Leah

Debbie with Drew

My mom with Leah

Elaine, Katie, Jake, Drew, Anna & Leah

My dad with Katie & Elaine

Jake being natural

Leah being my big helper

Family Visit

We had a great week, Joe's family was in to visit and meet Drew.

Drew is a great baby. I've surprised myself a little bit with how much more confidence I have this time around compared to with Leah. Leah is such a sweetheart with her brother. She asks to hold him all the time & then wants to see his "teeny tiny toes & teeny tiny hands". She is getting so big, I think my heart will burst when she is too old for me to hold.

This week Leah starts going to daycare 2 days a week and she will be home with Drew & I 3 days. I am a little worried about juggling her and the baby, and keeping her engaged. The biggest challenge is going to be staying out of the heat with the baby and finding things to do for Leah. We'll get to the park in the mornings if it isn't too hot yet but hopefully the heat wave will pass soon.

First Week

We breezed through the first week as a family of four. Joe and I feel very fortunate to have such a great baby and toddler. Leah has done wonderful as a big sister, she is always interested in holding Drew and helping with diaper changes. I can't wait to give him a bath with her, I think she will be excited about that, too. Drew has been sleeping and eating better than I expected. It has been a real treat to get 4 hour stretches of sleep at night. He only seems to cry when he needs to eat, sleep or burp.

Introducing...

Andrew Joseph, born July 19th, 2010 at 1:24 PM. Drew weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long.



Leah came up to the hospital last night and warmed up to her little brother pretty fast. So far, Drew has been a great baby with hardly any fussing or crying. He has a lot of brown hair (with a possible hint of red), but it is not nearly as dark as Leah's was when she was born. If I had to guess right now, I would say Drew is going to look like his dad.