Labor Day Weekend Part 2

After visiting with our family, we packed the car and headed to Augusta,GA. Since I had carried Andrew almost the whole pregnancy in Augusta, we couldn't wait to finally introduce him to all our friends! This leg of the trip was 4.5 hours in which Andrew slept 4 of those hours!! I love that he enjoys traveling!! Some of our dearest friends, the Bruces, were so sweet to host us for the weekend. Once we got there Saturday evening, we had another "Bracen" (Bruces+Paces+Herrens) dinner!! We used to get together every Sunday evening for dinner and fellowship. It was so nice to be back with our friends!! They were so excited to finally meet our Andrew!! Everyone welcomed him with open arms and just couldn't get enough of him!! :) The next morning, Andrew made his first visit to Central CoC. What an exciting morning!! We were met at the door with hugs and smiles! No one knew we were in town, so it made for a good surprise!! We just love the members at that congregation and couldn't wait to see them again, in addition to introducing them to our newest addition! After a wonderful morning of worship and catching up with our dear friends, we headed back to the Bruces for lunch. We spent the afternoon resisting and enjoying time together.

Sonja and Cindy meeting Andrew for the first time!

Andrew joining us at the table for the first time!

Andrew with Grayson and Whitney!

Our little dude!

Andrew and Winston

Grayson had some friends over! Andrew didn't mind! ;)

Birthday girl with Andrew!

That evening, we found out our sweet friend, Ben Ham, had the night off (which was uncommon for this surgery resident). So we got in the car to visit with the Ham family!! David and Ben used to love running together, so the boys met to run while the moms and kids met to play and fix dinner. While running, Ben began to notice an allergic reaction he had to some hand wash was spreading. Once they got home, Ben's reaction had spread all over his body!! Needless to say, I am so glad we were there that evening!! David took Ben to the hospital where he was given an IV and asked to stay for observations for 12 hours!! David then came back to grab some dinner. Jediah had a hard day and was ready for bed. So, David, Andrew and I took Ben's car and some clothes back to him for work the next day. Thankfully, the meds helped and Ben was back at work the next day! Even with the craziness, it was still so wonderful to catch up with this family!!

Buddies! Jediah Ham and Andrew

We began Monday visiting the Drake family. David and I had babysat for this family the past 4 years. We have grown to love this family as if they were our own family! The boys were out of town attending the Georgia Tech football game in Virginia, so we got to catch up with the girls. Cynthia and Molly could not wait to meet Andrew! Molly seemed so big as she held Andrew and rocked him to sleep. We enjoyed playing, eating lunch and catching up with these sweet friends! 

Jennifer, Cynthia and Molly Drake meeting Andrew!

Our big girl rocking Andrew to sleep!

David loving on his girls!

Even on the road, works on his tummy time!

Love these sweet kiddos!

Gracious! One happy, happy little girl!! :)

Our next stop for the day was to visit the Russ' residence. We were meeting Laura (a wife of one of David's MCG classmates- Stephen), Momma Russ (Stephen's mom), Ashlee and Mary Walker (sweet Augusta friends). Laura and I became very close during the time that our husbands were in school. We both attended the MCO bible study together and enjoyed talking about our education backgrounds. I have missed being with her so much, and it was so WONDERFUL to see her again! She is now living in Columbia, SC where her husband is an ER resident- and loving it! Momma Russ had prepared a yummy Southern Living apple pie that was absolutely delicious!! We had such a great time visiting with all these sweet ladies!

Laura and Andrew

Ashlee and Mary Walker

Sweet Momma Russ!

Such a sweet, sweet friend!! Love you!

We then returned to the Bruce residence where we enjoyed pizza, pasta, salad and banana splits with the Bruces and Paces. We sat around watching the GT football game, eating, and laughing with one another. We had such a great time visiting with some of our dearest friends! Before heading out of town, there was one more stop we had to make.....

Labor Day Weekend Part 1

With September being an elective month for David, he was able to take some vacation days this Labor Day weekend. Andrew and I were thrilled to spend more time with daddy!! We wanted to take this opportunity to visit with our Herren family as well as our sweet friends back in Augusta. 

Our journey started late Friday night as we headed to Papaw and Nana's lake house. David has grown up going to the lake and he couldn't wait to take his son for the first time! Andrew did absolutely great on our 3 hour car ride!! He just loved looking out the window and napping in his carseat! Upon arriving, we got to visit with Uncle Justin, Aunts Becca, Heidi, Emily, and Ellen, cousin Ellie, Papaw, Nana and Granny. Ellie (who is 20 months old) was so excited to see Andrew again! We could not get over how big and talkative she has gotten! As we walked in, Ellie greeted us with "Hey Y'all!!" (a true southern girl) We enjoyed sitting around watching our sweet kids interact. Andrew was also able to meet his aunt Heidi for the first time!! We were so thankful to spend time with our family!

Papaw and Daddy telling Andrew all about the fun he's going to have at the lake- fishing, skiing, tubing, swimming and boating! :)

Daddy enjoying his time with his son!

Papaw and Andrew

Ellie so happy to be with family!

Ellie practicing how to help mommy feeding a baby! Baby Perkins due February 2012!!

The family enjoying time with Andrew! (he's in Becca's lap)

Four generations: Nina Brown, Gloria Herren, David Herren, Andrew Herren

Andrew meeting aunt Heidi for the first time!

Loving on our sweet boy!

I love my family!!

2 Months Old!

Our little boy is 2 months old today!! Andrew has brought us so much joy and happiness in these last couple of months!  At his 2 month check-up, he weighed in at 10 lbs. 2 oz. and is 22 inches long. He is a growing boy! We also had to go through the 2 month shots... :( Both Mommy and Gran had a hard time watching, but he did so well! Once I picked him back up, he quieted down and went right to sleep.  Speaking of sleep, Andrew is successfully sleeping through the night! He began this at 7 weeks old. (thanks to Babywise!!) Bedtime is normally around 9:30 p.m. and morning feeding is sometime around 6 a.m. He is doing such a great job! He is eating every 2.5 hours to make up his night feeding that we recently dropped! He is becoming so much more social. Andrew can follow a sound, make eye contact, and make the sweetest little noises. He is also smiling so big these days. It just melts your heart! I am having a harder time finding time to get things done around the house. While he is awake, all I want to do is play! :) It is so much fun to watch him interact with me! Andrew has also become my workout buddy! We have been going on many walks together. He loves his stroller and can sleep just about the whole time. During this last month, Andrew has also enjoyed getting to know his new buddies Adley and Tatum. My mom babysits these two precious girls, but took off the month of July to help me adjust as a new mommy. We have loved having them back at the house! Tatum (who is 1) just LOVES Andrew! It is the sweetest thing! We have also enjoyed having Cooper and John Thomas around the house to play with. Andrew is already blessed with such sweet play buddies! Well, my little man is awake and being too cute, so I better run. I will leave you with a few pictures from this last month!

Celebrating his 2 month birthday at story time in the library.

 Our little doctor!

 Not too sure what to think about mommy trying to get his attention!

 Andrew's reaction to hearing that Daddy is on his way home!!

 Wiped out after his shots! 

All better and happy at home!

Happy Happy Happy!

We have had so much fun waking up to this happy little boy!! 

I just love watching him grow and develop new skills every week. Recently, Andrew has really gotten really good at making eye contact and smiling back at you. It is one of the sweetest sights to see!! I've really enjoyed being home with him as I am learning my new role as a mom. Andrew continues to improve on his naps and continuous sleep through the night. He just LOVES his swing and can fall asleep there with no problem! (who couldn't?!) However, we're still working on naps in his crib during the day. He fights that a little more and wants to be held. We will console him and encourage him to continue to lay in his crib. He's doing better and better at this every week. Andrew also loves his passy. If he spits it out while trying to go to sleep, he is one unhappy camper. He is very comforted by having it in his mouth! Feedings have been a little more challenging this week. He has started fighting a little more during feeding times. I really want to continue breast feeding as long as I can.... SO I take a deep breath and try again! He eventually gets it! 

Daddy has been a little more busy at work this month . He is on his service rotation (in medicine), rounding on patients at the hospital. He is on call every 3rd day (at the hospital) and has 4 days off a month. When I wake up in the morning I have to reference my phone to remind myself what his schedule will be for that day. If he's not on call, he has been very fortunate to get home around 5:30! We cannot wait for him to get home! Andrew just loves to see and smile at him! :)

 Andrew in his adorable pjs!

 Look at that little tongue!

 I could just eat him up!!

 Snuggling with mommy!!

 Oh me! We were having story time in bed one afternoon and this little fella fell right to sleep in the bed!! It was precious!!

 Morning walk with mommy! 

 Love this precious smile!

Modeling his new outfit!

This little man loves to snuggle with Gran!

Enjoying one of Kelsey's last few days of summer together!

 Mommy gets a little tired towards the end of the day.... :) Andrew doesn't mind! He'll just watch the Olympics!

Look Who's 1 Month Old!!

 As of last Saturday, my little boy is ONE MONTH OLD!!! At his 4 week check-up, Andrew weighed in at 9 pounds, 2.5 ounces and 22 inches long! He is growing and changing every day. We are still tweaking his eating/sleeping schedule during the day, but he typically eats every 2.5-3 hours. We love watching him during his wake time. He is beginning to hold up his little head when he tries to focus on objects around the room. We have even gotten to witness the sweetest smiles from him this past week. It is one of the most precious things to see. As for his night sleeping, one night he slept from his 10:00 p.m. feeding all the way to a 5:30am feeding! I couldn't believe it! I'm really starting to love the benefits of the "Babywise" method! Here are a few shots of our previous week's activities...

 Enjoying his bath time!

He loves to be wrapped up after his bath time. 

 Andrew modeling what his daddy wore when he came home from the hospital. His outfit says, "Thank Heaven for Little Boys."

 Andrew modeling an outfit his daddy wore when he was little. The writing says, "Daddy's Boy."

 Andrew at his 4 week check up.

Andrew being a good boy with Gran while Mommy ran out for a few minutes! 

 We got to visit Daddy at work for the first time this week!! We are so proud of him!

 Andrew has loved watching the Olympics!

Look at that little tongue!!

I still can't believe I get to be his mommy!! I am so blessed!