Standing up!

Andy is pulling himself up to standing quite easily now. He will "cruise" for a few steps, but doens't quite have the feet movements worked out yet. He seems to like to be standing and will pull himself up on any and everything!

Bathroom remodel project still going on. We've had two of the required NINE city inspections for the project. We laugh about being on "contractor time" - original estimate of project duration was 3 weeks and that is today. The attached photo was taken yesterday and no one is working today, so doesn't really look like it will be completed today . . .

Andy's first rock concert

On Saturday we took Andy downtown to the Retro on Roscoe festival to hear Ralph's World perform live.

As you can see in the top photo of Andy, at first he didn't know what to make of it - here were songs he knew, but not coming from our stereo or Mommy or Daddy's voices. But seeing the other kids dance around helped him understand what was going on. In the one photo below, he is actually squealing with delight.

Andy's First Birthday Party!

We had Andy's first birthday party on Sunday July 19th. The weather cooperated for a backyard BBQ.

Joining us in the festivities were Grandma and Grandpa Emmons, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dave, Uncle John, Aunt Stacy, Walter and Steven, Uncle Doug and Uncle Jim, Aunt Heather, Uncle Cory, Grant, Gavin and Renae, friends Lisa and Jerry and at the end, neighbors Sue, Mike and Molly.

Andy had cake for the very first time and for the special day, we let him eat it with his fingers. He was ambivalent about eating the cake and instead just liked smearing it all over!

After getting cleaned up and clothes changed, we opened so many wonderful presents! Aunt Heather gave Andy a bubble machine that we hooked for the kids to see. 4000 bubbles a minute!

Thanks to all for sharing in Andy's special day!

First time in the baby pool

Uncle Jim helped blow up the baby pool Saturday night. Andy enjoyed playing in it without water that evening.

Then on Sunday we added the water and put Andy in his swim trunks for the first time. It took only a few seconds for him to warm up to the pool - he was splashing in no time!

Winding down the long 4th of July weekend

We hope everyone had a pleasant 4th of July holiday! We decided not to travel anywhere and instead enjoy the long weekend at home. On Friday, Chris and I, by taking turns outside, were able to accomplish quite a bit of yardwork. We also took Andy for his 1-year photos at JCPenney. I think they came out cute, but we'll see once we get them in a few weeks.


Saturday morning we went to Brookfield's 4th of July parade, which I loved. So small-town cute. Afterwards, we decided to have a Daddy-Andy day so Mommy could get a break. So Chris took Andy to John and Stacy's in Wisconsin (about a 1.5 hour drive away) for the afternoon and I went shopping and watched 1776 on DVD! All three of us had a good time. And, Andy looked adorable in his red, white and blue outfit that Grandma Sue got for him, complete with "Baby's 1st 4th of July" bib! Unfortunately, we didn't think to take any photos on the 4th. :(


Pretty low-key on Sunday - we went out to breakfast at a yummy little neighborhood pancake house. Then ran some errands, including a stop at Home Depot and Target. Afternoon was just spent at home and Chris went into office around 6pm to prepare for his travels this coming week.

I'm posting two photos that my friend Lisa took on June 20th - I love this close-up of Andy. The clarity of Lisa's camera (same model that Jim has incidently), inspired us to purchase a new camera! We bought it off ebay and should arrive anyday now.

Lovin' lima beans and the first sippy cup

Andy is eating like a champion now, which is such a relief after the three months of him not eating anything! At the moment, his favorite food is canned lima beans. Can't get enough. He also loves the Yo' Baby yogurt in pear and in peach.

We also introduced the sippy cup to Andy on Thursday. We had tried about a month ago, but he wanted nothing to do with at that time. Now, he's cautiously taking to it. He has learned how to suck, but doesn't quite have the concept of lifting it higher to get the liquid at the bottom.

Andy can now pull himself up to his knee. Probably won't be long til he puts his feet under him to stand!

10 months old!

Andy celebrated 10 months of life on May 22nd. Here he is with Daddy.




Since it was a beautiful day we went for a walk. Andy is too hip for the crowd in his baby sunglasses and hat!!

Happy Birthday Chris

Today was Chris's birthday. To celebrate, he, Andy, Doug, Jim and I went to Chinatown for dim sum. Andy was fantastic - sat in a high chair at the table just like a big boy. He even tried a dumpling!

Afterwards, we went to Doug and Jim's for cake and presents. Chris got a new large coffee pot! Here are a few photos of the birthday boy. The top one is Chris opening a card from Andy.

He's sleeping and eating and crawling!!

So many changes around his 9-month birthday!!

I realize the danger in announcing this, but we're just so excited that I have to share: Andy has slept through the night for the past week! He goes to bed about 8pm and wakes up around 6:30am. After all the problems we've had with sleep, it's nice to finally see some advancements. There still is plenty of room for improvement: we currently rock/cuddle him to sleep (we'd like him to learn to fall asleep on his own) plus naps are still difficult, but we just are so pleased to finally see some light at the end of the sleep-deprived tunnel!

Plus, Andy now is a champion eater. It took almost over 4 months of daily trying, but he now has taken to solid foods. He does great at every meal. His favorites are actual bananas, carrots, and peaches plus baby food applesauce, sweet potatoes and yogurt. He loves Cheerios, rice cakes, and surprisingly enough, chick peas and black olives. His only real dislike is green beans (can't say I blame him!).

Andy now crawls quite well. He started by doing an army-style crawl, but now is up on all fours and traveling with lightning speed. That means I spend a lot of time chasing him! We installed our baby gates, electrical covers, cord covers, etc. this past weekend. We still need to close off a few drawers in the kitchen. Andy wants to explore it all!

I'm attaching some recent photos. I love the one of him seriously "studying" the LeapPad! The other one is at a nearby park on Mother's Day. Many thanks to Uncle Jim for taking and sharing some of these!

Happy Easter!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! We had two highlights. First, we had lunch downtown Saturday with Kris's friends, Lisa and Jerry. Lisa and Jerry live in Michigan and were in town for the day so it was nice to be able to see them. It was Andy's first experience at a tapas restaurant - he did great! By the end of the meal he was practicing the flamenco dance with a glass of sangria in his hand.

On Sunday afternoon we went back downtown to Uncle Doug and Uncle Jim's house for a lovely Easter meal. Their house was decorated beautifully with fresh white tulips. Not only was the ham delicious, but it looked perfect, like what would be shown in a magazine. Andy behaved quite well!

So that we can embarass him later, we couldn't resist taking a few photographs of him in his bunny ears today. Enjoy!

Feeling better now

Andy came down with a nasty flu virus Saturday March 7th (unfortunately we were in Wisconsin at the time and had to cut short our visit with John and Stacy and the boys). Then Kris caught a version of it Sunday night. Kris was only out of commission for a few days, but poor Andy is just now getting over it. His flu manifested itself in diarrhea diapers, the likes of which should never been seen (or smelled) by humans. I'm posting a photo of Andy from last Wed when he still wasn't feeling too great. Aren't I nice to take a photo of my son when he's ill??

Loves outings, still hates solid food

These are a few photos we took today. Andy is really content playing with toys, banging and biting each one. Now that he can sit for long periods of time, he no longer needs someone to play with him every moment. It's interesting to watch him when he doesn't know I'm looking (when he knows I'm looking, he grins and waves his arms) - he examines everything and reaches for anything he can see.

As before, he can get up on all fours and he is quite adept at scooting backwards, but he doesn't quite understand how to move his knees to make himself move forward. I don't think it will be long, though.

Andy is quite the hit at the YMCA baby center. Kris joined and goes about 2-3 times a week, taking Andy with her each time. The ladies in the baby center all gush over Andy (although they may do that for every child, I prefer to think it's because Andy is special!). Andy also loves his weekly Baby Storytime at the Brookfield Library. We go every Wednesday at 11:30 for about 25 minutes of reading, singing and dancing. It has been a huge hit.

Not even peaches . . .

As many of you know, we started Andy on rice cereal the evening of December 31st. Since then, in addition to the rice cereal, he has tried oat cereal, barley cereal, green beans, and now peaches. Andy shows great disdain for each and every one of these foods. We had been foolishly optimistic about the peaches, as we had heard that almost all kids love this particular food. Well, not our kid! It's been almost of two months of daily attempts, but he still shows strong dislike for anything not in a bottle.

Sitting on it!

Sorry it's been so long since we posted - not sure where the time goes! We do have a few new things to report, along with new photos as well.

First, Andy can now sit up unassisted for long periods of time. This has opened up a new world of toys to him. He really didn't care for being on the floor previously, but now that he can see and grab the toys he wants, he loves being down on his floormat. Regardless of the toy he selects, it invariably goes into his mouth!

Andy can also now get up on all fours and rock back and forth. He doesn't quite have the knack of moving his knees, but can push off with his hands. The only problem with this method is that he then moves backward, thereby moving further and further from his intended target! While this can be frustrating, it nevertheless is an efficient means of locomotion - he can move backwards across the room in seconds!

Andy's first playdate

We had our first playdate this afternoon! About a week ago, Kris joined a suburban group for moms with small kids. This afternoon was the first event we attended - just a simple playdate at the organizer's home. There were three moms and four kids. Andy did great (although got a little tired at end). There was a 9-month old who could crawl and pull himself up - Andy was mesmerized.

Speaking of crawling, Andy can now pull himself up on all fours. He doesn't have the hang of moving, but he can rock on his knees.

Uncle Jim's birthday party

We hosted Uncle Jim's birthday party this weekend - had a fun make-your-own-taco lunch. Contrary to his expression in the photo, Andy really enjoyed seeing his aunt, uncles and cousins at the party, especially since he hadn't seen his cousins, Walter and Steven, since mid-December. Steve in particular took a liking to Andy and was pleased when Andy gave him big smiles.

Sleep is still a big issue for us here. Andy is waking quite frequently, often unhappily. We're having difficulty pinpointing the cause of the sleeping troubles, but are trying multiple different methods in an attempt to fix the problem.

Andy can sit (well, sort of)

As most of you know, Andy can roll from his back to tummy going in both the left and right directions. Now we notice he is becoming quite proficient at sitting on his own. He can't pull himself up to a sitting position, but if placed on the floor he can maintain his balance for about a minute. He's getting bigger and stronger each day!

Today we went through a box of clothes that had previously been too big, but now are a perfect fit - it's like he has a new wardrobe. If only I had such a box . . .!

Andy is Six Months Old Today!

Happy Birthday Andy!

No big parties, balls or festivities planned for today, but we did have a fun outing yesterday. Andy and Mommy went to the first Baby Storytime at the Brookfield Library. It was targeted to children 6-23 months so Andy was definitely the youngest. Although he couldn't do everything the older kids could do, he seemed mesmerized watching them sing and dance. Between reading books, singing songs, dancing and shaking rattles, the whole event was about 25 minutes - perfect for short attention spans. He did great and we're looking forward to going back next Wednesday.

I have one new photo (albeit not a great one) of Andy playing in his Exersaucer, which he loves! Kris's friends, Tracy and Eric, gave this to Andy when he was born and although it took him a little while to warm up to it, he now gets so excited when he gets to play in it.

Andy photos and sold car

To the left is a photo of Andy enjoying the company of Kris's dad last week. Kris's parents stopped in for a 2-night visit before flying out of O'Hare to Honolulu for a cruise among the Hawaiian islands. They picked a great week to be gone as it was brutally cold and snowy.

And to the right is the first photo of Andy in his crib. John and Stacy, Chris's brother and sister-in-law, have been so generous in offering all their kids items to us. This crib looks brand new, but has slept both their boys. We are extremely lucky to have this.

Andy has taken to the crib fine, but now we just need him to actually sleep . . . More on that saga later.

Our news this weekend is that we sold our Ford Focus! It had been my car before we were married, but now that Chris has the company car (aka "Black Beauty"), we certainly didn't need three cars! I posted an ad on craigslist and the second person who test drove bought it. It was a nice car and served me well - hope it likes its new home.

Welcome

Hello. Thanks for visiting the Mose Family blog. While we'll pretend that this site will tell of the adventures of all three of us, let's be honest - it will mainly be about the star of our family, Andy. After all, that's all the grandparents want to read about anyway!


I must admit that this is my first foray into the world of blogging. My cousin Nicole is doing a college internship in London and created a blog to chronicle her adventures. In order to read her entries, I had to create an ID. Lo and behold, after I did that, a button appeared that said "Create Blog". I clicked it and here I am typing our first entry. I know I sound like an old lady, but I didn't realize how easy it was.

My hope is to update this blog frequently and include pictures. Please stop by often!