Andrew's Half Birthday

Today, July 24th, marks Andrew's half birthday. Just six months ago he was born at 8:39am and became part of our family. It is hard for me to believe life without him. There are so many things I love about him it is hard for me to begin. But, since it is his half birthday, I feel like it is appropriate to reflect on life with Andrew so far...

Well, how to say this...the first few months were difficult. To be exact four. Andrew literally cried for 2-4 hours straight every evening. If he happened to miss even 1 evening, he would make up for it by crying for hours straight in the wee hours. Not sobbing...I mean inconsolable heart-wrenching crying. Many of you witnessed this scenario and it was u-g-l-y. No bouncing, bobbing, white noise, singing, dancing or any routine could or would quiet him down. I am proud to say, we got through that. Whew...

Now, Andrew is fun, funny and such a charmer. Here are a few snipits into his demeanor...

1) I love when he is looking at me from across the room smiling and I don't realize it for a few minutes. When I turn to look at him, he has this huge grin on his face as if he is trying to say, "about time you looked my way." I love it.

2) I also love that he LOVES his sister. She makes him grin and laugh the most. She rolls with him on the floor, tells him silly things and he EATS it up. He does big belly laughs at her that just make my heart melt. I am hoping this mutual love continues well into their adulthood.

3) I love it when I nurse Andrew and he pops off and gives me this look as if he is thinking "OK, good, you're still there" and then gives me a little smile. To me, it is him saying "Love ya, mom."

4) I love it (and know that Ned hates it) that I can settle Andrew down when no one else can.

5) I love his coos, whimpers and even the poutey cries. I love the "conversations" we have when no one else is listening.

6) I love how ticklish he is. Head to toe...anywhere and everywhere I can get him to giggle. His giggle is contagious.

7) I love his thighs so big and so meaty. They are like big turkey drumsticks. You are my little turkey.

8) And, those big blue eyes couldn't be prettier.

I love my boy.

Happy Half Birthday Bubski (a nickname Dad gave him) and it fits.

Green Goatee

Andrew had his first taste of "real" food. I say "real" because have you ever seen jarred peas??? He seemed to like it despite the green goo sliding down his chin.

Another milestone for Andrew. His first veggie!

Just for fun...

Check out the side by side comparison of Andrew and Katie. Both are 6 months old trying their first food. (Katie had sweet potatoes).
































We see some similarities in their feature... Both have a round face, same nose and their smiles are similar. Hair is completely different. Andrew is blond or strawberry blond (the jury is still out) and he has an occasional curl right on top. And, he has blue blue eyes. Katie's coloring is darker...hazel or brown eyes depending on what she is wearing and light brown hair that curls only in humidity.

Newfound Lake Vacation

As the Go-Gos song says..."Vacation, all I ever wanted, Vacation had to get away...." Boy, was it. Newfound Lake was such a getaway for all of us.

We swam in the lake every day. The temperature was probably about 70 degrees. It was clear and calm with a sandy private beach. And, as most of you know, Katie is a fish. She has absolutely no fear of the water. The first day, no the first hour, she told me she wanted to jump off "that." "That" was the floating dock. Can you believe that at 2 1/2 she wants to swim out to the dock (at least 30 ft from shore) and jump off of a floating dock! And, that she did! Several times. Andrew too loved the water. This was his second water experience (The first being a heated pool over the 4th of July) and he loved it. He rode on the raft with mom and splashed in the sand.

Mid week we went out on a motor boat, all of us... Tucker too. We had a beautiful tour of Newfound Lake. Katie even drove the boat.












Lastly, and probably most exciting to Katie was the Scenic Winnipesaukee Train. For about the last 8 months or so Katie has been into trains. She loves to "chase" trains...aka find train tracks and watch trains go by. For the last 6 months, we tried to catch the 8:57am train on her way to school on Wednesdays. Most of the time we were successful, but every now and then we were running late. Those were sad days in Katie's world.

So, imagine how excited Katie was to ride a train. We chose the one hour ride (rather than the 2 hr) from Meredith to Weirs Beach (and back). I thought she might hyperventilate when we boarded the train. She was so excited. Every time the whistle blew, Katie said "do you hear that, that's us" It was adorable. I tried desparately to capture her saying that on video, but for those of you have/had toddlers know that cooperation is not their middle name.

Happy Birthday America

This weekend was the Fontecchio (Ned's Italian roots) family reunion in Saratoga Springs, NY. BBQ, brunch, dinner and a trip to Lake George! We really packed it in and a good time was had by all.

Even Steven...

As Andrew starts to move and get more animated with his personality, he seems to be soaking up the camera and video camera more and more. And, Katie is noticing. The other day, she was swinging while Andrew was taking his afternoon nap and she said "mommy, get the camera. I want to see myself singing." (We always look at the pictures and video after shooting them) With that, she busted out her ABC's, a rendition of "what's the weather?", and "itsy bitsy spider."

She is pretty good at her ABC's for 2 1/2, but always seems to get "s" and "x" confused. Give her a break, though, they do sound a lot alike.

Check it out...