Mommy and Andrew

Nesting

With a mere 10 weeks until Sarah's projected escape from the womb, we're feeling the pressure to "get things done" in preparation for her arrival.  The conversation regarding the To-Do List was quite short and it went down like this:

Sue Ann: I'm nesting. I'll try not to spend too much money.

Dave: OK. Let me know when you're done.

Dave's been great about lifting heavy things, assembling new furniture and picking up the slack (as well as picking up Andrew's clutter on the floor that Sue Ann can no longer reach).

Andrew is nesting, too--literally, he builds little nests with his stuff.  In the past couple of weeks, he's become attached to his little pillow and blanket.  At least once a day, he pulls them out of his crib and sits on the floor. He gathers them up around him (along with his lotion, Desitin, toothpaste, pajamas and any other items belonging to him), pats them down and lays his head down on them.  We've begun the transition to his new bedroom, so maybe his nests are his way of dealing with the uncertainty (and calling dibs on his stuff!).  It's still pretty cute.

A Visit From Grandma

Last week, Sue Ann's mom came to El Paso for a visit, providing a much-needed break for Sue Ann and Dave (and a week-long playdate for Andrew).  We had several projects that needed to be completed so it was nice to have a third pair of hands to wrangle Andrew.  Sue Ann's mom especially liked sorting the baby clothes since she got to point out which of Andrew's boy-clothes Sarah is Not allowed to wear or be photographed in.  We're so glad she could visit and hope to see her (and Jerry) again soon!

We also made time to have fun in the pool. The water is finally getting warm enough for Andrew to tolerate. He's become our little Scuba Steve.  Our neighbors had their annual birthday blow-out for their two sons (although the adults seemed to have more fun than the kids). They had three large inflatable slides, including the adult version of the slip-n-slide (i.e. inflatable and elevated, so you're not scooting your 40-year-old butt across the hard ground).  Andrew had a good time playing in the puddles resulting from all the super-soakers, water balloons and water-slide run-off. He also discovered the savory goodness of Fritos.  Mmmmm.

Andrew's First Word

Andrew communicates quite well with a combination of body language and grunts--and he understands lots of words.  Unfortunately, though, he has yet to put his vocabulary to use. Actually, he's probably been saying his "first words" for a couple of months and we simply haven't recognized them as words. Over the last week, though, there's one word we've been able to repeatedly identify: SpongeBob.