Almost Two Weeks of Catch-up

Hey all! Sorry it's been so long between posts. I know my seven loyal viewers have been itching for more pictures of Andrew. However, as is usual with most of us, life caught up to all three of us this summer and we seemed to have more on our plates than normal. For Andrew, the past few weeks have been filled with visits to and from: aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, doctors (standard two month checkup), friends, and even the occasional contractor bidding a roof for the house. These past few weeks have also brought with them, visits to daycares, church, and a trip to both mom's and dad's school.

Mom and Andrew have also been perfecting the art of bath-time. Andrew loves the bathwater and seems to have a good time while mom sings and talks with him. I used to believe that both Kelly and I were more in love with the duckie bath towel than Andrew, but he seems to be liking it more and more. But as I was saying, bath-time is typically filled with laughter, singing, a little splashing and a healthy dose of good-times.

Andrew has also been hanging out with his cousins. Logan and Andrew get together from time to time allowing aunt Julie a chance to hang on to a baby as compared to chasing after hers. Andrew has also been getting together with Peter, Ryan and Katlyn. Grandma and grandpa Baron's living room seem to be the hot spot for hanging out. Occasionally it looks like a small tornado has passed through when all four cousins have been in, but everyone seems to be having a great time. Andrew even got the chance to be fed by his cousin Katie this weekend.

Andrew also wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you to grandma Fasching for taking the time out of her schedule to hang out this week while mom and dad went to work. On day three of the mom and dad going to work experiment, Andrew got to visit both mom and myself at work. We just hope he had as much fun as everybody else did. Rumor has it, he was a bit hit at both schools.

Andrew has also been doing several public service events. Most notably, he has been coaching grandpa Baron through nap time. Now I know this doesn't sound like the most earth shattering of public service endeavors, but we decided to start small and work our way up.

Today Andrew was baptized at St. Michael's. We had a number of family members come and take part in the service. God-parents: Sara, Don, and Julie were all wonderful sponsors. Andrew wanted to take special care to say thank you for all you did to make today special.

We also wanted to take this chance to mention how much we appreciate all of the food, chairs, tables, and refridgerator space given to us to make today's event so successful. Thanks for coming back to celebrate with us.

Sincerely,

Andrew, mom and dad

Smiles and more family.

Last week began with several daycare interviews. Some candidates were so-so, which means not acceptable, some were downright wrong, and one was just right. We are planning on asking her if she would take care of our most important package while we work. This was not easy, as not just anyone is 'qualified' to take care of our Andrew. We are hoping that this will work out for all of us. If not, it's back to the drawing board.

Beginning late last week and early this week, Andrew has started smiling when prompted. (As a note, not before feeding, or during bath-time.) He has also been heard cooing and briefly giggling. Kelly and I have been found blowing off other responsibilities to spend time with Andrew, just watching and listening.

This past weekend Andrew went on a road trip, again. This time we went to see two of his great-grandparents, and a number of dad's aunts and uncles. Both great-grandma and great-grandpa were very excited to meet Andrew. Upon arriving, grandma and grandpa Fasching handed him off to aunt Diane, aunt Susie, uncle John, and then later aunt Linda and uncle Randy. Everyone took their turn holding Andrew and getting to know him. He really liked all of the attention, and as always being held. Andrew also got to meet dad's cousin Kelli, her fiancé Dusty, and their daughter Peyton. We had lunch, visited for a while and then headed for home. Andrew did a great job with his five plus hours in the car.

Photo ops at a parade (or two)

This week Andrew did his first professional photo shoot. That is, he had his pictures taken by a professional. Our friend Kristen (the professional photographer) took the pictures. She does a great job, and if you'd like her information just send Kelly or myself an email and we'll hook you up. Andrew seemed to like most of the experience. It was just the multiple outfits that he didn't get into all that much. Otherwise, he liked Kristen and had no objection to having his picture taken, and taken, and taken again. Kristen gave us the CD with all of the pictures on it, and I have been making copies (yeah, makin' copies...all of you SNL fans understand) like they're going out of style.

On Thursday, Andrew, Peter and Ryan all went to the annual Coon Rapids parade. Ryan and Peter were seasoned veterans of this parade business, but Andrew was rather new to all of the sirens going off, girls dancing in the street, and politicians looking for a photo opportunity with a baby. He took it all in stride and even slept through a few of the sirens going off. Peter and Ryan really got into the festivities surrounding the parade. Peter was clapping and dancing, while Ryan was pointing out all of the vehicles that made noise or had dancers near them. In all, everyone had a good time.



After the parade it was time to light off some fireworks, and above all sparklers. Peter and Ryan loved them. Again, Andrew was rather indifferent, but seemed to like everyone's company, especially auntie Sara's. Murphy (the dog) even got into the mix a bit. He and Ryan are good friends and really like playing together. The sparklers did tend to make Murphy a bit more cautious about walking up to Ryan however.



On the fourth it was time to head out to a water skiing show with cousin Katlyn, uncle Don, aunt Susan, grandma, and grandpa Baron. We had a great time listening to the music, watching people wipe out and enjoying the weather. We were able to see some fireworks off in the distance, but Andrew was in dreamland by that time. Andrew really likes hanging out with his cousins, as well as his grandparents.