Kim & Duane & Andrew

Oops!

2010-04-10T21:30:00.002-04:00

Oops! I had a few posts queued up in December but never published them. Even though it's April, here they come...appearing in the order they were originally intended...

Please Touch Museum

2009-12-30T23:58:00.007-05:00

We joined the Roth's on a trip to the Please Touch museum on December 30th. Apparently a lot of other people had the same idea but we had fun despite the crowds. Andrew will probably have more fun next time when he can walk and not get trampled by the herds of hyper children though! Most of the pictures he looks stunned and overwhelmed be I swear he had a good time! He even had his first Carousel ride at the museum! Fun times!

Longwood Gardens Christmas Lights

2009-12-30T23:57:00.003-05:00

We joined the Roth's on a trip down to Longwood Gardens to see the Christmas lights and displays. Turned out to be more for adults than kids and the night we chose had to be one of the coldest nights of 2009 but we had fun anyway, especially at the dinner at Friendly's afterwards! :)

Merry Christmas 2009!

2009-12-30T23:37:00.006-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Andrew was able to open his presents and really enjoy them. He must have been a very good boy, Santa was very good to him!

Christmas eve we opened presents at Mom-mom and Poppy's house. Then we were joined by Gramma Peck and had dinner at Harpoon Louie's. Andrew was such a good boy despite the long wait and long day.

Christmas morning started around 8 AM. Andrew opened his stocking then his presents and had a blast doing it! Duane opened his presents next and seemed a little stunned to find out his surprise gift was a MacBook! I opened my Keurig (LOVE that thing!), some other nice things and then found out why Duane was stunned...he had gotten me a MacBook as a surprise too! Great minds think alike! Sadly, we ended up returning one of them :) Later in the afternoon, G-mom and G-pop came over bearing more fun presents for Andrew, then Mom-mom, Poppy, and Nan joined us for a nice dinner. It really was a wonderful day!

Peck Family Christmas card 2009

2009-12-30T23:29:00.004-05:00

Card designed by Mary of Paper+Ink Studio, photos by Amy Ro Photography, both super talented friends of mine from an online community:

Andrew's first haircut!

2009-12-30T23:18:00.005-05:00

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we took Andrew to Snip-it's in Exton for his first haircut. That day he was not keen on taking a nap but we headed out anyway to what would turn out to be a scream-fest. We put him in the chair, he got his smock on, started to look a little nervous and when the lady came at him with scissors, he completely freaked. He reacted similarly to when we go to the doctor and he has to have his ears looked at; it was not pretty. Fearing that the stylist would take an unwanted huge chunk out or worse, cut an ear or other extremity, we thought that if I held him he'd do better. We were wrong. I ended up bear hugging him while he struggled, flailed, grunted and screamed the whole time. Everyone in the place stared. I made Duane take photos but really video would have been the better media for documenting the moment. :) Despite such conditions, she didn't do too bad of a job and as soon as we were done and out of the torture chair area, the little drama king Andrew was all smiles again.

Happy Thanksgiving 2009!

2009-12-30T23:13:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving 2009 was spent at our house. Sickness hit the Peck family after the birthday party and Mommy and Daddy both had Strep throat, Andrew had an ear infection and Mom-mom had some other infection. We thought this was a perfect situation to order Wegman's catered Thanksgiving meal and were pleased to report that it was pretty tasty! WAY more food than we needed or wanted but also a lot less work and probably even cost less compared to if we cooked it all from scratch. Andrew ended up napping during dinner, just like last year when he was just one week old! :)

The Cozy Coupe wearing the Pilgrim hat since Andrew wouldn't:

And for fun, here he was one year before:

Happy First Birthday Andrew!

2009-12-30T23:06:00.006-05:00

When November 19th, 2009 rolled around, I seriously couldn't believe that it had been a year since meeting our favorite guy. Such an amazing year it's been, we love Andrew even more every day that goes by, sometimes I think my heart is going to explode!

For his special day, Duane and I took the day off of work and we spent it together. Andrew opened his presents in the morning, enjoyed a birthday cupcake then we took a trip down to the Adventure Aquarium. It was a fun day! Here are some pics of the day:

Then on the Saturday after his actual birthday, we had his big party! We were joined by many of our family and friends for a fun party at Mom-mom and Poppy's house!

Hoping to catch up soon!!!

2009-12-03T22:22:00.004-05:00

Ugh, I know I have fallen behind on updating the blog. I have a lot to share including Andrew's first birthday, his party, Thanksgiving, first hair cut and other random photos I've taken of him. The past 6 weeks I've been spending my nights in a Photoshop course that has taught me tons so when I finally do get some photos ready for posting, hopefully you'll see some improvement in them all!

By the way, is anyone out there reading this (besides you mom and dad)???

My baby and I project - Week 44 and 45

2009-11-22T22:39:00.004-05:00

Flipping the boy around always provides squeals and giggles:

We've been doing a lot of finger holding walking around our house lately! He gets such a kick out of himself...

Poorly in Britain

2009-11-22T21:26:00.003-05:00

Most of this half of the year I have been working on a Regulatory Intelligence project with my director. It's pretty important and part of a huge strategic initiative backed by the VP of QA. I was both excited and nervous when I learned I'd have to make a trip to our Basingstoke office to do a consolidated project called a Kaizan.

I getting over a slight cold that I had the 4 or 5 days prior to leaving on November 1. I got to the airport, hung out in the British Air lounge and watched the Phillies with my colleague. We boarded the flight and I got comfortable in business class. It was nice, the seat went to a full bed, and it was a "sleeper service" flight leaving at 10 PM. I was able to fall asleep pretty fast (we had a busy Halloween party the night before!) and woke up with the chills. This wasn't very unusual for me, I'm always cold on the plane. That is of course why I wore my long johns. I pulled my quilt up higher and went back to sleep. I woke up with about an hour to go in the flight. This time I was hot (not surprising, I was sleeping in my jacket, with long johns and a quilt), felt achy and had a headache (not surprising, I just slept 4 or so hours in a "bed" that turns into a airplane seat) and nauseous (again not surprising, I was probably hungry). I got up and went to use my freshen up pack and brush my teeth. I felt a little woozy but figured I just didn't have enough sleep. I took some Motrin and had a Fruit bar and juice. My ear gave me a lot of trouble with the entire descent, it was very painful but I figured it was because I was just getting over that cold. We landed, used our Business class passes to breeze through immigration and customs and met our driver to take us to the Four Seasons Hampshire. The drive wasn't spectacular, just the "motorways" as they say in a van with the steering wheel on the right.

The Four Seasons Hampshire is however very spectacular, in a tiny village in Dogmersfield about an hour outside of London city limits, close (about a 20 minute drive I hear) to the Shire Basingstoke office. Set in huge green open fields, looking down upon a pond filled with ducks, geese and swans, surrounded by horse farms, cattle, sheep and goats. My room was also great, very large with a beautiful marble bathroom and spacious bedroom area. I got a little bit unpacked although I was distracted by the outlet situation. Never once did I consider that the electrical outlets would be different but they sure were. I had to have housekeeping bring me this box that converted the output to the plug size for my stuff as well as the correct voltage. Once I got that figured out I was feeling pretty lousy so I figured I'd take a short nap and still have time to go back into London as planned to take a bus tour. Our flight was super fast and did arrive almost an hour early so I had time, right?

I woke up feeling awful. All of a sudden my previous feelings of discomfort hit me and I feared the worst - I had the flu. I didn't know what to do so I pulled my chilled body out of bed and called the concierge after looking up flu symptoms on the internet. He was able to offer me a hotel visit for at least 150GBP, a taxi to take me to a medical center or a phone call from a doctor. I chose to have a doctor call me already pretty much knowing what they would say. A nice woman doctor called me about 10 minutes later and after describing my symptoms said "sounds like you have the flu, doesn't it?" Oh and we were pretty sure I had conjunctivitis (pin eye) too but that was the least of my worries. Without a thermometer we weren't able to confirm I had a fever but I had all the other symptoms and was 99% positive I had a fever as well. She was able to have the office call and get my details then call in a prescription for Tamiflu. The hotel sent a taxi to pick it up and deliver it to me.

I broke the news to the team I was working with and they were more than understanding. They all felt horrible that I was poorly (the British way of saying feeling sick) and wanted me to just rest. By this point the entire hotel staff knew of my condition and were sending me get well cards and calling to check on me. The Four Seasons staff is well trained to give superb service and they were all able to pretend that they didn't fear for their health when delivering me things, although I did have one guy let up on the service act and act as though I had the plague (although I guess I did!). I literally slept from Monday through Thursday at 3 PM, only getting up to have room service once or twice a day and play on the internet a bit.

By Thursday at 3 I knew I had to get out of there and see SOMETHING of Britain so I went for a short walk around the grounds to take photos. I obviously was still very poorly as most of the shots are out of focus but I did manage to salvage a few that you can see below.

Although all my colleagues at the Basingstoke office were concerned I wouldn't get out of the country (our admin was calling to find out about the heat seeking cameras and trying to get a doctor clearance for me, etc) we had no issues. I'm pretty sure I had the illusive Swine flu but we'll never know. It took about 2 full weeks for me to finally feel somewhat back to normal again.

I'm thankful I was able to get Tamiflu and lots of rest while I was away. Although having so little distractions made me miss home more I was glad to keep my germs on the other side of the ocean and not pass them to Duane or Andrew. I hope I get another chance to go back to Britain to see more than Heathrow airport, the motorways and the grounds of the Four Seasons!

In this one below, if you look close you can see the bonfire that was lit for their annual Guy Fawkes night where they all party around a bonfire to celebrate the downfall of the Gunpowder plot on November 5, 1605.

Happy Halloween 2009!

2009-11-08T21:35:00.005-05:00

Happy Halloween (a little late!) from Andrew! He was a Four Armed Blue Monster for his school parade and Buzz Lightyear for the Peck Halloween Party. Duane and I were Woody and Jesse from Toy Story to go along with Andrew for the party :)

Pumpkin patch trip!

2009-11-08T11:09:00.006-05:00

We waited and waited for a weekend without rain so that we could go to the pumpkin patch. We thought we missed our chance but the Sunday before Halloween turned out to be beautiful despite the washout the day before. Duane was coming down with a bad cold (that Andrew and I would go on to catch) but we decided to go anyway. Merrymead farms was our first choice but when the traffic stopped long before we could even see the silos of the farm we went onto Plan B which was Northstar farm in Trappe on Rt. 113.

North Star Farm is a fully functioning farm with cows that make milk for Land O Lake's butter! We parked at the school across the street and the hayride took us over to the farm. We looked at the apple launchers and cows then took a hayride out to the field to pick our pumpkin. It was a fun afternoon!

My Baby and I project - Catch up post!

2009-11-08T11:02:00.003-05:00

Boy, we have been busy! I have a ton of photos to edit and post so they will slowly be making their way here. I haven't missed a weekly photo yet so here's a few from the past 3 weeks:

Week 41 - Getting out of the house to go shopping on a rainy Saturday:

Week 42 - Another wash out of a weekend. Just watching the rain fall:

Week 43 - playing with our balloon on Halloween morning:

My baby and I project - Week 39 & 40/52

2009-10-11T23:48:00.005-04:00

Just two weekly snapshots of us laying around with Charley and getting ready to leave for school...

The many faces of Andrew

2009-10-11T23:09:00.005-04:00

Chasing Charley

2009-09-27T14:38:00.009-04:00

I'm beginning to think Andrew's first word is going to be "cat." He already calls Charley "dat" and he thinks he is totally hilarious. This weekend during one of the few times Andrew wasn't feeling miserable, I asked him where the cat was and he certainly found him...and tried to grab him too (please excuse the mess and quality, these were snapped with my phone):

My baby and I project - Week 38/52

2009-09-27T14:17:00.006-04:00

Another sick day photo. Unfortunately it's not until he's sick that he slows down enough to get a lot of photos lately! Wednesday Andrew was sent home with a fever again. He spent the day cuddling with mommy and waiting for daddy to return home from a conference in Vegas. Thursday he spent the day with daddy and on Friday when we got him to the doctor it turns out he has an ear infection in the same ear as before. She thought maybe it didn't totally resolve itself the first time so we're on new antibiotics.

Friday night though, he really gave us a scare. The tylenol we'd been giving him seemed to fail and his fever spiked really high, like 104-105. He started acting delirious, limp and really strange. A cool bottle and cool bath weren't helping so we called the on call pediatrician. She suggeseted a dose of Motrin instead and thankfully we had some in the house from my baby shower. When we got the dose in him he started vomiting a lot but after that he seemed to be totally wiped out and fell asleep. I was thisclose to rushing over to the ER. The fever got a little better after we gave him another half dose of Motrin but stuck around all night and most of the weekend. Poor guy is just so miserable, I'm wondering if he has some strain of the flu. He just seem so uncomfortable at times and so malaise. We're hoping he totally kicks the infection this time and it doesn't come back for a long time.

Turks and Caicos trip

2009-09-26T22:01:00.006-04:00

Sadly, it feels like we were on vacation months ago but it was such a fantastic trip it needs to be recapped...

We left on Saturday September 5th. My parent's took us down to the airport with our jumbo suitcases, two carry ons and stroller. We opted to pay for the overage fee of one super huge bag rather than have multiple suitcases under the 50 pound limit. I think it only worked out to be about $10 or $15 more anyway. Our flight down was hardly half full so we had an extra seat for Andrew which was awesome. Despite me worrying my head off about how the ear infection he had the week before our flight would affect him, he did so well, no fussing, crying or whining at all and even managed to take a short nap, have lunch and drink some milk.

When we arrived in the Providinciales Airport we were greeted with a band complete with a guy playing the saw! We got through immigration and once we got our luggage and breezed through customs the Beaches people were there to take everything away from us. There were two other families waiting so we got in the van with them and off we went.

When we pulled in the resort, they passed by the French village which is where we had reservations. Someone in the van mentioned that they upgraded everyone to the Italian village and I could only hope it was true. The French village would have been nice but the Italian village is only about a year old and that is where I originally wanted to stay even though our budget just wouldn't allow it.

We were greeted with cool cloths, champagne, fruit punch for the kids and cookies. Our concierge then took us to our room where our luggage was already waiting for us. To say the room was incredible is an understatement. We ended up in a Family suite complete with a room for Andrew! This suite would have slept at least 6 people, maybe 8. Our sliding doors opened up to a gorgeous patio which looked right at the pool! We were in awe for the first few hours and Andrew was happy too - despite only having a short afternoon nap on the plane he played by himself while we unpacked, happily rode along in the stroller as we explored and entertained us with his giggles and laughs during dinner. We ate dinner at Mario's the Italian restaurant in the Italian village and it was great.

Our first full day we had breakfast at the buffet at Reflections, lunch from the pizza place while Andrew took a late afternoon nap and Duane caught a taxi to the supermarket for Andrew food and dinner at Schooners. During the day we did some more exploring and hung out in the gorgeous pool. Andrew LOVED it, especially when other babies were playing in the pool near him. Like I mentioned, we only brought a few jars of food for Andrew and got the rest at the IGA on the island. They cost a bit more than at home but again it was worth it to not have to bring 30 plus jars of food!

Monday we spent the morning at the beach and after getting used the the slightly cooler water of the ocean, Andrew loved that too, although he did not love the sand. That did not surprise me, the boy hates the grass afterall! We ate at Guiseppe's for breakfast, Cricketer's for lunch, Bobby Dees for snack/ice cream and Arizona's for dinner.

Tuesday again we were at the pool after Mario's for breakfast. For lunch we decided to introduce Andrew to Camp Sesame. Gigi and Lovely were there to take care of him and they did a great job. I was emotional about leaving him like I was the first day of daycare at home but I'd end up being glad we decided to spend some Kim and Duane time too. We ate lunch at Reflections then returned to get him to hang out for the afternoon. For dinner we had reservations at the Japanese Steakhouse, Kimono's so we again left Andrew at Camp Sesame.

Wednesday we had reservations for the Kit Kat cruise so after breakfast at Guiseppe's and hanging out in the pool for a bit, Andrew went to Camp Sesame, we grabbed some quick lunch and got on the boat. They took us to a snorkel location then to hang out on a beautiful deserted island. The sand and water at Turks and Caicos is by far the most gorgeous I've seen in my travels. I just couldn't stop looking at it and exclaiming "Look at that water/beach!" On the way home I started to get paranoid about leaving Andrew in another country and going so far away but it all ended well and he had a great day at camp. We had dinner that night at Barefoot, the restaurant in the sand. Loved that place and the food seemed to be especially delicious.

Thursday morning we went to the Sesame Street Character Breakfast! We weren't sure how Andrew would react to his first encounter with big furry monsters but as long as they didn't touch him, he thought they were pretty cool. It was a breakfast with about 8-10 other families with small kids then a dance party with the characters! Fun times! We split our time at the beach and pool, had lunch at Arizona's, dropped Andrew off at Camp Sesame while we snorkeled on the reef off the beach and then had dinner again at Schooners because we loved the atmosphere there. We packed up that night and apparently Andrew was not happy about leaving so he kept us up from about 11 PM through 2 AM. Otherwise he was pretty good, would nap at least once during the day while we got out of the hot sun for a while and after he had some dinner would fall asleep in the stroller while we ate dinner. Not sure what the problem was this particular night but it made for an extremely short nights sleep since our shuttle was to pick us up at 6 AM that morning.

Our flight home was first to Miami then to Philadelphia. Again, we weren't on a full flight so we were able to spread out and Andrew did a great job again. In Miami we had to go through immigration, get our luggage to go through customs, go through security again and wait about 3 hours for our next flight. Unfortunately, weather in Philadelphia caused us to wait more like 7 hours. We did remarkably well, Andrew napped and Duane and I were tired but not overly cranky or anything. The ride home was full so the poor guy next to us (he was a chaplain) had to deal with me bumping him as a rambunctious Andrew was all over the place. It was during his dinner and bed time afterall. He never cried enough to annoy anyone but was just a little difficult to keep somewhat still and he destroyed every magazine within reach!

After landing and getting our luggage, the Peck's picked us up to take us home. We got home around 9:30 PM, a long day of traveling over with. It was such an amazing trip, the only complaints I could think of was that it was a little hot (even during nights when there was no breeze) and the flight delay I could have done without, both things that were out of ours and Beaches' control . I don't remember the last time I was in the Caribbean during the summer and definitely didn't consider it would be 90-95 degrees with 70% humidity during the days! It actually worked out great that after a while in the sun, we'd need a break and it would be a perfect time for Andrew to nurse and nap.

Honestly I would recommend Beaches to anyone. It definitely caters to families but the service and operations are just so flawless that you can't go wrong. Families with older kids could utilize the water park (the only minor regret I have is that we didn't use that at all) and younger kids, but older than Andrew could go to Camp Sesame and do all the activities they have set up for elementary age kids.

I truly believe that Andrew had as much fun as we did, and that was a lot of fun! I'm so glad we took this trip as a little family and proud of Andrew for doing so well with the travel and changes that we put him through.

You can find all our photos at this Flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22403102@N07/sets/72157622373256530/

Sleepy time

2009-09-20T12:31:00.003-04:00

Friday September 18th was the first time I found Andrew standing in his crib. I heard him wake up babble to himself, only to hear him get quiet then talk again. Turns out he was standing up and announcing to everyone how proud of himself he was!

When he's sleeping in the crib like he's supposed to be doing, he gets in some of the funniest positions. Many times he's butt up but last night he was on his back, just width wise in the crib. We've got a tall boy on our hands :)

My baby and I project - Week 37/52

2009-09-20T12:27:00.004-04:00

Now that Andrew has recently started pulling up on the furniture, we spend a lot of time around our coffee table. He's cruising around it too! Here are three shots of us hanging out.

My baby and I project - Week 35-36/52

2009-09-19T09:50:00.003-04:00

This weeks photos are from our trip to Beaches! Another post about the trip is coming but here are weeks 35 and 36 for now...

My baby and I project - Week 34/52

2009-09-19T09:44:00.002-04:00

Getting ready for our trip to Turks and Caicos required a lot of shopping. Andrew was my little shopping buddy and even seemed to enjoy himself and smiling at all the people he saw!

My Baby and I project - Week 33/52

2009-08-27T19:43:00.003-04:00

The week of August 17th was a rough one for Andrew.

Monday the poor boy was sent home from school because he had a fever.
Tuesday he stayed home and was so sad, he clung to mommy and slept on her shoulder most of the day. In the afternoon we went to his 9 month well check to find out he's a healthy growing boy despite the virus he had. He was 30.5 inches long (95th percentile) and 19 pounds, 4 ounces (40th percentile). His weight was great and even up a bit from his last check at 6 months. He wasn't able to get his shot because he had a fever.
Wednesday, his 9 month birthday he stayed home with Dad and again was sad, clingy, and tired.
Thursday he stayed home one more time with mom.
Friday he went to school but was very cranky.
Saturday and Sunday he was miserable and we thought he may be getting teeth but nothing showed up.
Monday and Tuesday he went to school but still wasn't his happy self. Everyone was concerned. We went back to the doctor on Tuesday to find he has his first ear infection. He's now on amoxicillin (which he hates taking) and it will end the day before we leave on vacation! After 2 days of it he's starting to be his normal happy self again and we welcome the happy Andrew with open arms.

Here are some pics of the poor boy feeling sick and the weekly shot, another rendition of Week 1

My Baby and I project - Week 32/52

2009-08-15T22:36:00.005-04:00

My Baby and I project - Week 31/52

2009-08-15T22:14:00.003-04:00

The week 31 photo is about learning to crawl, or at least trying to show Andrew how to crawl. Since this was taken he's really looked like he was going to take off crawling any minute. He moves from a sitting position to getting on all fours, will move one leg then collapse onto his belly and scoot to where he wants to go :) Must catch it on video.

Andrew - some more 8 month pics

2009-08-02T15:29:00.006-04:00

Here's an assortment of recent Andrew photos for your enjoyment:

Leavin' on a jet plane...

2009-08-02T15:07:00.004-04:00

Well, not quite yet, but in about a month from now we'll be going on our first family vacation to Beaches, Turks and Caicos! Andrew's passport is ready to go, now if we can only figure out how we're going to pack all the crap we need! The passport is too funny not to share:

First Phillies Game

2009-08-01T11:00:00.003-04:00

On Sunday July 26th we took Andrew to his first Phillies game! He had a great time looking at all the people, hearing all the new noises and watching the Phillies beat the Cardinals! It was a super hot and humid July day so we watched 3 innings from our seats, did a little walking around the concourse and watched the end of the game from the concourse behind home plate. All the excitement wore out the little guy and he ended up falling asleep in the carrier for the end of the game and the walk back to the car! We hope to take him to many more fun games in the years ahead!

First swimming class

2009-07-30T21:19:00.004-04:00

Andrew's first experience with the pool wasn't quite the happy time I hoped it would be! While we were waiting for the class to begin at the YMCA there was a poop incident that cleared the kids pool. Luckily they didn't cancel the class all together but moved us into the adult lap pool which is 10 degreed colder! Duane got in with Andrew and when Duane had issues getting right in, I figured Andrew was going to freak out. Sure enough, he did as soon as his feet hit the water. He spent the rest of the class clinging to Duane, legs pulled up and screaming when he touched the chilly water. We're hoping the next 4 classes are in the warmer pool :)

My Baby and I project - Week 29/52

2009-07-30T21:16:00.003-04:00

At Andrew's first GUS Open

8 months old!

2009-07-22T17:54:00.005-04:00

Andrew at 8 months:

Still always a happy boy, full of smiles :)
Plenty of teething false alarms but nothing has popped through yet
Sits up like a big boy and can reach in front and side to side without toppling over
Just started "dancing" to the songs the Body parts puppy or Animal train sing
Still nursing or drinking bottles of breastmilk plus eating solids 2 times a day. Loves all fruits and tolerates most veggies as long as they come before he tastes the sweet stuff
Says lots of "da's" and "dadadada's"
Starts rubbing his eyes around 7, is usually asleep by 7:45 and sleeps until about 6 AM
Is observant to everything going on around him, never misses the chance to grab something and looks to see what every new noise is coming from
Is able to pick things up with his feet that his hands can't reach
Not really trying to get on all fours yet; rolls over to his back after being on his belly only a short while
Is loved by everyone who knows him

My Baby and I project - Week 28/52

2009-07-18T23:24:00.004-04:00

A week ago we got a new 24" iMac and one of the applications on it is "photo booth" which uses the webcam to make photo strips or funny photos. Me and Andrew tried it out today with these results:

My Baby and I project - Week 27/52

2009-07-18T23:19:00.004-04:00

Andrew kisses are a little sloppy and feel more like he's sucking on your chin than giving a kiss :)

My Baby and I project - Week 26/52

2009-07-14T20:53:00.004-04:00

Holy cow - we're over halfway through the year (and I'm behind on blogging)! Friday July 3rd we walked to downtown Phoenixville to enjoy the First Friday and Fourth of July festivities. We took Andrew in the carrier instead of trying to control the stroller on the hill going downtown and pushing it up the hill on the way home. We had dinner at Baxters, walked around the streets to listen to the music and see the sidewalk sales and walked home to enjoy the fireworks from our deck. Andrew did great in the carrier and even fell fast asleep on the way home as Mommy huffed and puffed up the hills! Here's a pic of us on the way down:

A fun weekend of firsts

2009-07-03T13:21:00.007-04:00

The last weekend of June was a big one for Andrew! He had his first overnight stay away from home, first trip to the beach to see the sand and ocean, first time sitting in a restaurant high-chair and booster, first time on a playground swing and first time to the boardwalk. Mommy even had a first - first taste of cheese on Mack-n-Manco pizza since the no-dairy diet started February 1st (and boy was it delicious!).

We left for the Flower's house in Sea Isle, NJ on Friday night after meeting the Roth's for dinner complete with a crazy hail storm at Chic-fil-A. Andrew slept great in his Pack and Play for his first night away from home.

Saturday morning we got up, hung out and decided to go to the beach. Evan didn't want to go so Andrew, Duane, Shannon, Abby and I packed up and hiked over to the beach. We obviously didn't plan the trip out to well because we got there at high noon with high tide and people jammed everywhere, burned our feet on the hot sand, sweated with no breeze, upset Andrew by putting his feet in the cold ocean then left about 20 minutes after arriving when Andrew was melting down and needing a nap. It's pretty comical to think back to it now. After a nap and take out dinner we all took a long walk to the playground and Andrew had his first swing on a playground swing! We walked home, saw a turtle laying eggs and watched the sunset. It was a fun day.

Sunday we went to breakfast on the pier and Andrew sat like a big boy in the resturaunt high chair! Later in the afternoon we attempted the beach again and it went much smoother. Andrew played on a towel in his tent, Abby slept and Evan played ball and with his trucks. After showers we went over to the Ocean City Boardwalk. I couldn't resist my favorite Mack-n-Manco pizza so went against the no-dairy diet and had a few slices while Andrew again sat like a big boy in the booster seat. We were having so much fun we decided to stay over on Sunday night and take off on Monday.

It was a great weekend! Here are some pictures from it:

My Baby and I Project - Week 25/52

2009-07-03T13:20:00.003-04:00

My Baby and I Project - Week 24/52

2009-06-25T22:22:00.003-04:00

Week 24 was my closest to missing a week. For no particular reason, the week was over before I knew it. I thought that no pictures had been taken that week of us until I was looking at my phone photo album. Monday night I was nursing Andrew and snacking on some pretzels. He is so easily distracted - just the mere presence of toys in the room is enough to capture his attention but the noise of a bag of pretzels was just so interesting to him. Before I knew it Mr. Monkey feet was kicking and then grabbing the bag of pretzels. He grabbed it with his feet so that he could bring it to his hands and inspect it like he does everything he can get his paws on. I couldn't get over how he realized he could do that and now notice when things are out of the reach of his hands he kicks, pushes or grabs them with his feet! Anyway, I was trying to take pictures with my phone of him inspecting the pretzel bag so intently and not really intending on being in the shots. Luckily for my project I was in them; not my best shots but they're something :)

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T10:11:00.002-04:00

Happy Father's Day to Duane, G-Pop, Poppy and all the other dad's out there!

New Andrew photos

2009-06-15T21:11:00.003-04:00

He likes bubbles and his jumper! It was amazing to watch him figure out the jumper. One day he just kind of sat there and knew there were toys all around then the very next day he got it and realized he could stand up, jump and spin around to play with all the toys. He hasn't stopped jumping since :)

My Baby and I Project - Week 23/52

2009-06-15T20:52:00.003-04:00

After work on Tuesday, June 9th, I was talking on the phone to a friend. Andrew was whiny and wanted to be held. I knew he was tired because of the whining but I didn't realize how tired the poor boy really was...by the end of my conversation, he had fallen fast asleep sitting on my lap! Coincidentally, that night we put him to bed and I only got up once to give him his pacifier - mark it down as the first time he slept through the night! I, of course, didn't sleep quite as much as him because I woke up a few times wondering if he was ok. Learning to be a better sleeper is just one of the few things he's learned this month!

Andrew's Six Month photos

2009-06-04T20:39:00.003-04:00

For Andrew's six month birthday we had a professional family photo shoot with the fabulous Amy Ro Photography. She is the one who did our maternity and newborn photos. We're sorry to say she's moving away to Rhode Island this month but we love what she's given us in the past shoots! We'll really miss having her do Andrew's one year photos. Here's a link to her blog post with our sneak peak. You must check them out, the family shot is one of my all time favorites so far!

Amy Ro Photography LINK

Also, a few weeks ago I rented a professional lens and hoped to get some good photos of him and good practice in. Although I still need a LOT of work, I got a few keepers to share:

My Baby and I project - Week 22/52

2009-06-04T20:32:00.004-04:00

Dinner time is a bit of a messy time, especially when it's something like carrots! Andrew has gotten really good at eating his dinner and has had rice cereal, apples, sweet potatoes, peas, pears and carrots so far. We introduce something new every 4 days but in the meantime can mix up the things we already know he's not allergic to. When he doesn't seem to like something (peas are the only thing so far he really didn't like and I don't blame him to be honest!) or isn't in the mood for his plain rice cereal, it goes in a lot easier if it's dipped in a bit of applesauce! That's what we had for dinner in these photos for this week. Rice cereal, carrots and applesauce, sometimes all in the same bite! He ate it all up and despite the way it looks, ended up with not too much on him, the floor or me!

My Baby and I Project - Week 21/52

2009-05-30T21:07:00.003-04:00

Remember this shot from week 1:

Goodness he's gotten bigger since then:

Bedtime routine

2009-05-28T22:19:00.003-04:00

Our daily after school/work routine consists of me picking up Andrew around 4:30 pm, going home to play or nap if he happens to fall asleep on the way home, eating dinner (we're doing "solids" now!), playing a little bit or sitting outside on the porch, getting a bath, hearing a story and going to bed. Up until a few weeks before his 6 month birthday, he would only sleep well is he was swaddled. Then one night he fought so hard when I tried to swaddle him I decided to see how he did without it. He has been sleeping without the swaddle-me blanket ever since! Now he usually sleeps on his side but the pics below were taken that first night of no swaddling before he really found how he is comfortable.

My Baby and I Project - Week 20/52

2009-05-26T21:58:00.004-04:00

From our Longwood Gardens visit...

Longwood Gardens visit

2009-05-26T21:42:00.005-04:00

Duane and I took off the Friday before Memorial day so that we could spend the day and long weekend with Andrew...he'll only turn 6 months once after all! I love this age, he's such a happy boy who is curious about everything. The weather on Friday was gorgeous. Because of that and also since I had rented a professional lens for the week, we decided to spend the Friday at Longwood Gardens. What a beautiful place! My zombie tired brain (no, he's still not sleeping through the night and was having an especially hard time this past week) didn't think about the settings much when I was snapping photos so I didn't get the shots I wanted but at least looking back I learned something about photography. Regardless, it was a fun, relaxing family day!

Happy Half Birthday Andrew!

2009-05-19T20:31:00.003-04:00

Happy half birthday to our baby boy! It's been an awesome journey so far and we can't wait to see how much more you learn and grow in the next half a year! We love you, Andrew!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-11T20:09:00.004-04:00

I had a great first Mother's Day! I'm so happy to be Andrew's mommy. He and Duane treated me to cards, flowers, a Nordstrom shopping spree and brunch at the Columbia Grill with the grandmom's! After brunch Andrew and I both enjoyed a short nap then we had a BBQ dinner at Aunt Cheryl's house. It was a good day. Here's a picture of me and Andrew before we left for brunch (also my submission for MyBaby and I Project - week 19):

At school, Andrew made me Mother's day gift. It was a little tote bag with his foot prints on one side and an adorable photo of him on the other.

Finally, one of my new favorite photos of Andrew was one we took for Mother's day to give to the grandmom's and great grandmom's and it's of our cutie Andrew holding the stuffed animals me and Duane loved most when we were little - Pooh and Little Guy:

It was a fun first Mother's day :)

My Baby and I Project - Week 18

2009-05-11T20:06:00.003-04:00

Last Tuesday I worked from home so me and Andrew had a lazy morning instead of the rush out the door we normally have. Before leaving for school we snapped a few self portraits, here's the best of them:

Teacher Appreciation Week

2009-05-10T21:11:00.002-04:00

Last week was teacher appreciation week. The principal at Andrew's school asked parents and kids to show our appreciation for the teachers by doing something different every day. There was a brunch one day, fresh flowers and school supply/craft supply kits another day and Friday was home-made card day. Andrew wanted to incorporate his adorable face onto his card so we made this one up for him (the teachers loved it!). Thank you Miss Lisa, Miss Zehra, Miss Shelly and Miss Jean for taking care of Andrew while he's at school!

Andrew gets the giggles

2009-05-07T20:52:00.001-04:00

Andrew gets the giggles

My Baby and I Project - Week 17

2009-05-03T13:33:00.003-04:00

Even though we had nothing different going on it seemed like a particularly busy week so Saturday seemed like a perfect day to hang out at home. We played, worked on sitting up, took a few naps, watched the Phillies and the Kentucky Derby and tried to beat the colds Mommy and Andrew have caught. Here's a few pics from the last day of week 17:

More Spring school projects!

2009-05-02T15:44:00.003-04:00

Here are two photos of the things Andrew has been doing at school!

(He's gazing at bubbles in the picture if you can't tell!)

My Baby and I project - Week 16

2009-04-25T21:18:00.004-04:00

This week doesn't only feature my real baby, but it also features our first "baby", Charley. Charley had a rough time getting used to Andrew but now it doesn't phase him when he gets kicked in the face or has his fur pulled - since Charley is still always with me, he's usually pretty close to Andrew too and sometimes is within the grabbing and kicking range! He still acts crazy excited when we get home, sleeps in the sun, brings us toys to play with him. Andrew smiles when Charley comes around, I guess he thinks he's as cute as we do!

Here we are after dinner one night when Charley climbed up for some head rubbing and scratches!

Andrew is 5 months old!

2009-04-18T21:13:00.004-04:00

It's amazing how much Andrew has grown and learned in his first 150 days! He's always such a happy and smiley boy now! He's been putting everything in his mouth for the past month or so but now is really good at grabbing what he wants and holding onto it. For his 5 month birthday he accomplished putting his cute little feet in his mouth!

He goes to bed fairly easily now and is usually asleep by 8 PM. He'll usually sleep until around midnight then wake up for some milk, go back to sleep and get up again between 2:30 AM and 3 AM for some more milk. He wakes up for the day full of smiles around 6 AM. After about a week of trying the rice cereal we stopped giving it to him because although he was getting good at eating it I think it was making his belly hurt after eating it. He didn't gain as much weight as he should have between his 2 month and 4 month check up's (only 1 pound in those 2 months) so we'll be going back to the doctor on Monday for a weight check. We're pretty sure he gained at least a few pounds, you can feel it and see it in the chub he's getting on his thighs and cheeks. I'm not sure what the issue was during those two months but I think it was a bunch of things including starting school, getting his first bad cold, and getting into a routine. He still spits up way more than we think he should so we'll be talking to the doctor about that as well. Good thing is that it doesn't seem to bother him even though mommy and daddy could do without all the outfit changes and carpet scrubbing! Here are some recent pictures:

My Baby and I Project - Week 15

2009-04-18T21:02:00.004-04:00

Week 15 started with Easter Sunday. Andrew's first Easter was nice, it was a sunny but chilly day with dinner spent surrounded by family. We all enjoyed dinner at Mom-mom and Poppy's house and G-Mom, G-Pop, Great Mom-mom and Great Nan were there too. Mommy and Daddy even had a fun Easter egg hunt - their last since Andrew will be the hunter next year! Here's some pictures of our handsome man in his Easter outfit:

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:55:00.005-04:00

Happy Easter from our happy little bunny boy!

A catch up blog post!

2009-04-10T07:46:00.003-04:00

Oh my, I've been a bad blogger! I honestly don't know where the time has gone for the past few weeks! I've kept up with the "My baby and me project" but just didn't have the time or energy to download the pictures until now. I'm going to make more of an effort after seeing the results from these past three weeks - all were taken with a point and shoot camera or the iPhone! Yikes, this project is also supposed to help with my photography after all!

Week 12 - Taken on my birthday morning:

Week 13: Taken with Duane's iPhone after bathtime (this is sadly the only shot we took this week and I just happen to be in it!)

Week 14: Taken at my family birthday dinner at Red Lobster

School days - Spring 09

2009-03-27T21:24:00.004-04:00

Andrew has been having a blast at school! He is always happy when Daddy drops him off and when Mommy picks him up! He has fun on the floor with all the toys and watching the other babies. Starting this week he even began taking all his naps in the crib, sometimes even sleeps over two hours! Mommy and Daddy sometimes can't believe his nap stats but we don't think the teachers would lie to us either! He's been busy doing some art projects too - here are scans of the things in his portfolio this month as well as his class photo!

Adventures in Baby Feeding

2009-03-24T20:27:00.002-04:00

Andrew's first attempt at some rice cereal

Andrew's first "real food" experiment from Duane Peck on Vimeo.

My Baby and I Project - Week 11

2009-03-16T13:30:00.007-04:00

It's amazing to me that today we have this wonderful little boy who is growing up in front of our eyes while exactly one year ago we were finding out I was pregnant!

If this doesn't make you smile I don't know what will...

2009-03-10T19:48:00.004-04:00

My Baby and I Project - Week 10 & Zoo trip

2009-03-09T12:57:00.003-04:00

This weekend was the first of 2009 with Spring like temperatures so when the Roth's asked us if we wanted to join them on a Zoo trip, we were very excited! It was Andrew's first trip to the zoo, using the big stroller and the baby carrier! He did great and seemed to really enjoy the warm weather, fresh air, tons of people and even took a little nap in the baby carrier. We got to hear the lion roar and gibbon's yell and see the gorilla's chase each other and monkey's jump all over the place. It was a great day!
Week 10: 15 weeks old

My Baby and I Project - Weeks 8 and 9

2009-03-02T15:02:00.005-05:00

Week 8: Week 8 flew by! We had a couple nights with very little sleep by the end of the week Andrew developed a bit of a cough. I took him to the pediatrician on Friday to get it looked at and it turns out he had a little fever and was wheezing a bit. The doctor had me give him a nebulizer breathing treatment in the office then she listed to him again. The medicine in the mist helped so she prescribed it in liquid form. Here's my week 8 contribution -giving my poor sick baby his breathing treatment. (Taken with my iPhone)

Week 9: SNOW day! Sunday night into Monday we got a Nor'Easter that ended up being the blizzard of '09. By Monday afternoon we probably had about 8 inches of snow. Duane and I both worked from home because Andrew's school was closed! He wasn't quite as excited about this first snow day as I'm sure he will be in a few years!

My baby and I project - Week 7

2009-02-20T19:43:00.002-05:00

Andrew and I spend some time at the King of Prussia mall on Monday, President's day since I was off of work and his school was closed. Here are some shots from my point and shoot camera, one from in the mall while he was snoozing, one from in Nordstrom's mother's room after he just had lunch.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T13:43:00.005-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!! (a day late)

Love,
Andrew

My Baby and I project - Week 6

2009-02-12T19:48:00.005-05:00

On February 11, 2009 I officially became a working mom. Armed with more bags than hands I went back for two days carrying my pump bag, laptop bag, lunch bag, and purse! Despite the smile in the picture I wasn't happy about it! My first day back was Andrew's third day at school. Duane took off my last two days of maternity leave so that we could do two practice runs of our morning routine. It went pretty well and much to our delight, Andrew did great at school! He played, ate bottles and even took some long naps, something that he doesn't like to do at home! His first two full days were much like his half days and we are relieved to say it seems like the extreme fussiness has gone away! We have our happy boy back again!

I'm transitioning back slowly - I won't be there a full week until the end of March. I'll work 3 days for three weeks then 4 days for the 3 weeks after that and enjoy my days off with the little guy. We seem to have a morning routine that works so as soon as Andrew lets mommy get more than 5 hours of sleep in small increments we'll be good! That and avoiding spitting up on mommy's work clothes - I went to work on day #2 with spit up in my hair and on my tank top. Lovely!

Two years ago...

2009-02-10T10:46:00.004-05:00

...we were in Mexico hoping the rain showers would pass quickly. Me, the girls and the cabana guy even did a "sun dance" to chase away those rain clouds. The rain did come but by 4 PM as our wedding ceremony started in it's alternate location, it was one of the happiest days of my life! I love how every detail of our wedding turned out, it was such an amazing day. Two years later we aren't basking in the sun, drinking pina coladas or eating all the delicious food at Azul, we're hanging out together while our baby boy is getting used to being at school. We'll pick him up in a few hours and hang out as a family and I couldn't be more happy about it!

If you want to go back to that day, our slideshow is still active at: http://kim-duane.lifemosaics.net

Upate and My Baby and I project - Week 5

2009-02-06T20:49:00.006-05:00

This has been a tough week for Andrew (and Mommy and Daddy too). Poor little man has been really fussy for the past couple of weeks and we're not entirely positive why. He showed signs of a cows milk protein intolerance around 8 weeks. At that point I stopped drinking milk but still ate other diary products. Before this happened we discovered he'd get super fussy after I had eaten any chocolate or had anything with red pasta sauce. Those are foods that commonly cause fussiness in breastfed babies. Then last Thursday I gave him a bottle of milk which I had frozen back when I wasn't watching my diet at all. A couple hours after he ate it and until the next day he screamed like we'd never heard before. I finally got so worried I took him to the pediatrician. Of course as soon as we pulled into the doctors office parking lot he fell asleep, slept through the long wait then was just all happy smiles while the doctor checked him out! She did find that his belly seemed to be super gassy and we figure it was due to something in the milk. That Saturday I had cheese a couple of times and his fussiness returned full force. At that point I decided, as hard as it would be for me to do, I'd go diary free. No milk, no cheese, no butter and no foods with any milk products as a major ingredient. Oh and no chocolate, no red sauce and nothing that is acidic like red sauce either. It's only been a few days but has proven to be really difficult but if it makes him happier I'll continue without one complaint. Everything documented about cows milk protein intolerances says it can take up to 2 weeks to get out of my system and another 2 weeks to get out of his system. We're hoping things clear out much faster than that, it's so hard to see him get so upset and not be able to calm down. It's also entirely possible that the milk isn't the only thing making him upset and that he's just going through a super fussy phase. We're hoping for the best, when he's happy, he's so happy and smiley and we just can't get enough of him! (We also still love him when he's screaming!) Here are some recent pictures and our weekly project photo. I love his little bear jacket so we did a "Hoods up" shot for the week. He's been eating his hands a lot so this is the best I got!

My Baby and I project - week 4

2009-01-28T17:42:00.004-05:00

Andrew is usually so happy and smiley while we change his diaper and dress him so I tried to take advantage of that to capture some cute shots. Today was no exception but these shots were hard to get so he started to get a little annoyed with me I think!

Week 3 - My Baby and I project

2009-01-20T18:34:00.004-05:00

Happy Inauguration Day! Today was a big day for us - we had Andrew's 2 month well baby visit and got a new president!

Andrew weighed in at 11 pounds 8.5 ounces and was 24.75 inches long. That makes him in the 95th percentile for height and 50-75th percentile for weight. He got 5 vacinations - 4 shots and one oral dosage and he did so well! Only cried a little bit then had a small snack and fell asleep for over an hour which is a LONG time for him to sleep compared to recent days! He's been on a strike against sleep for the past few days although never has been a long sleeper. He's smiling and "talking" a lot now and loves to lay on his play gym! He's found his hand and loves to slober all over it as he tries to stick the whole fist in that little mouth.

Also today was Barak Obabma's Inauguration. We decided to make the Photo project part of this historic day. Mommy has a terrible cold so excuse her messy appearance - here's a sequence of photos during the swearing in of the 44th president and his speech:

Week 2 - My baby and I project

2009-01-15T16:06:00.002-05:00

Week 2 - Nursing Andrew (8 weeks old)

Week 1 - My baby and I project

2009-01-08T11:45:00.003-05:00

Some of my online friends have started a project to take a photo of us with our babies every week for a year. It's a great idea because lets face it, most of us don't like to be in photos but have tons of photos of our babies. I can go months without being in a photo which is a shame for when Andrew wants to see what we looked like on the normal days of life. It will be nice to look back and see how we've both changed over the year (hopefully we'll all see me shrinking to my previous size!!)! I hope I can keep up with it!

Week 1: me and Andrew (7 weeks old)

Old baseball pictures

2009-01-07T10:21:00.014-05:00

So Kim and I just bought a scanner on Amazon and have been scanning some old pictures into the PC. Here are some pictures from the baseball years. I'm sure we'll posting plenty more in the future as our quest to digitize our photo collection continues!

The swing remains the same!

Age 13:

Age 15:

Age 30:

The Duane Peck trading card collection:

Pitching for JP Mascaro:

And PSU Berks:

One Month Appointment

2008-12-31T00:56:00.002-05:00

Today we had Andrew's one month well visit. He'll be 6 weeks old tomorrow so the appointment was a little late but I guess he technically is still one month+ old. Anyway, the last visit was around 3 weeks and he weighed 9 pounds 7 ounces. Today he weighed 10 pounds, 13 ounces and was 23.25 inches long (up from 21 inches at birth). That puts him in the 90th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight. He's going to be a big boy! He got his second round of HepB shot and did pretty well. Overall he's a healthy guy!

We had a milestone on Sunday, while changing his diaper and kissing his face I got my first smile! It was so cute, I wish I had a picture to show everyone! Andrew is also starting to make little cooing noises and really focus on things in his line of sight. When he's awake and happy he likes to kick his legs, swing his arms and try to talk to us with his sweet little baby voice. He's still nursing every 1.5-2 hours during the day. He'll go as long as 3-4 hours between feedings at night (though usually I'm not that lucky), sometimes goes right back to sleep until the next feeding, others he's wide awake - mommy isn't sleeping too much! When he is sleeping, he co-sleeps with mommy and daddy in a Co-sleeper in between them and listens to white noise or heartbeat sounds. He seems to wake up with the sunrise and only naps well while being held. He's a good traveler, as long as he's not hungry, he'll usually fall asleep in the car and while we shop.

Here's some snapshots from today:

Merry Christmas from the Peck's

2008-12-30T23:38:00.008-05:00

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Andrew! On Christmas Eve, we went to Legal Seafood's with the Pecks, Gramma Peck and Nan. Andrew looked so cute and was dressed in an oxford button-down shirt and corduroys - matching daddy! He was so well behaved - ate a bottle then sat on mom's lap for the night. Then we went back to the Peck's to open presents. Santa had already come and left a pile of gifts!

At the restaurant:
Matching Daddy:
Four Peck generations - Gramma Peck, Poppy, Daddy and Andrew:

Christmas day began at the normal {early} time. We opened presents at our house then got ready and headed to G-mom and G-pop's house to open presents. Andrew looked like a little man in his red and black plaid button down, red sweater vest and black corduroys. Next we went to my Aunt Bev and Uncle Dave's house for dinner and a silly dollar store gift exchange. Finally we went to Mom-mom and Poppy's house for a small visit and fun in the garage with pop guns.

Our Christmas tree on Christmas morning:

Even though he slept through a lot of it, our first Christmas with Andrew was a special time. We're so lucky to have such a lovable, well behaved, healthy little guy - he is my favorite gift this year!

Dressed for Christmas:
Hanging out with G-mom and G-pop:
Having dinner with Mom:
Taking a little nap:
Four generations - Mom-mom, G-mom, Mommy and Andrew
Nan getting into the pop guns:

One month appointment

2008-12-30T23:38:00.007-05:00

Santa visit

2008-12-30T23:33:00.004-05:00

Andrew had his first visit to Santa (and the King of Prussia mall!) on Saturday, December 20th. We arrived right after Santa had been on break so the line was wrapped around to the exit, full of crazy parents who waited until the last Saturday before Christmas to see Santa. Andrew did great with the wait, even ate a bottle while in mommy's arms. We waited a little under 2 hours but to see the REAL Santa, it's always worth it! Duane and I have been getting pictures with Santa for our parents for several years now, this will probably be the last one with us in it :)

Three week update

2008-12-11T15:25:00.006-05:00

Despite my new mom worries, Andrew has been doing great! We confirmed that with a quick trip to the pediatrician today because I was worried about his spit up, poop colors and weight (funny the things we become obsessed over when a newborn arrives!). You can get yourself convinced of the worst when you look up information on infants spit up and poop on the internet (or any health ailment for that matter!).

He's been eating even more than every 2 hours which made me worry he wasn't getting enough, especially when he spits up a lot after every feeding. He's a bit of a lazy nurser, sometimes it takes him almost an hour to finish if I'm not poking him and egging him on! This makes for a tired mommy if he decides to take his time to eat then need some more in less than an hour later!

Anyway, it turns out he's gained a bunch of ounces and is now 9 pounds 7 ounces, up from 8 pounds 8 ounces less than two weeks ago! The doctor was pleased with this gain and wasn't the least bit concerned with his spit up or strangely colored poops. It was nice to make sure everything is going well!

Here's a pic of Andrew's tiny hand holding onto Duane's finger, I love this shot, especially since it seems like he's not going to be very little for much longer.

Two weeks old

2008-12-03T19:19:00.005-05:00

Our baby has been with us two weeks already! He's doing great being his cute little self. So far he seems to be an early riser and is usually content to hang out and look around after his morning feeding, usually naps in the afternoon, is a little fussy around dinner time and then sleeps pretty good at night, as long as mom is close by. He is eating about every 2-3 hours, 3-4 during the night.

Today Andrew and Mom ventured out alone to go shopping! We had a successful trip to Target and AC Moore despite mom being a little nervous about it.

And because I like to include photos in each post, here's a pic from last week in the cocoon mom knitted:

Andrew at 1 week old

2008-12-02T11:46:00.002-05:00

Andrew at home stats and pictures

2008-12-02T03:19:00.013-05:00

When we were discharged from the hospital, Andrew had lost some ounces as expected. He was 8.4 pounds and healthy otherwise.

We took him home Friday, 21Nov08 and found ourselves a bit overwhelmed by the entire experience! I had probaly only slept about 4 hours since Tuesday so I was exhausted physically and emotionally. We quickly figured out how to best set up our house for taking care of him and me - set up everything downstairs! Sleeping in our elevated bed wasn't really an option for me so couch and chair sleeping we did!

The first night went fairly well, Andrew ate about every 2 hours and slept on my chest while I napped in our big plush chair/ottoman.

We had his first doctor's appointment on Monday, 24Nov08. He looked good but was still 8.4 pounds and Dr. Smith wanted to make sure he wasn't getting jaundiced so we had to get his foot pricked for a blood test and bring him back for a weight check in a few days. It was way worse on me than it was on him. His results came back later that afternoon and were great!

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Mom-mom and Poppy's house with G-mom, G-pop, and Nan. Andrew did a good job napping so that Mommy could eat then he woke up in time for some pictures.

Friday after Thanksgiving we took him back for his weight check and he had gained 4 ounces in 4 days - perfect weight gain! All those feeding were paying off!

He's been a great baby! He is content after he eats and has only a few fussy times during the day, including when his diaper is getting changed! He still only really like to sleep while being held but will take short naps in the bassinet. He loves to look around and has become more alert by the day.

Here are a few pictures of our first days at home:

Enjoying the bouncy seat
Sleeping in the bassinet

Checking out Dad

Snoozing with Mom

The things we love about Andrew

2008-12-01T11:45:00.007-05:00

Well, we love everything but some things that are especially cute...

His adorable sneezes and the way his hands fly up when they happen

The look of wonderment he gets when he has the hiccups

The way his big yawns make us yawn too

How he can squish up into a little ball when sleeping on our shoulder

The milk coma face he gets after a feeding

All the little faces he makes while looking around

Frogger legs

Squishy cheeks

The way he loves to sit up and see the world around him

All the little noises he makes

The pensive/inquisitive look he gives when something catches his attention

His super silky hair

Adorable ears

Long fingers and toes

Slate gray eyes

Dimple in his chin

How we can spend hours just staring at him...

Welcome Andrew!

2008-11-28T16:09:00.013-05:00

Andrew's birth story:

Since I wasn't dilated really at all on my 40 week appointement, the doctor scheduled me to be induced after staying the night in the hospital to be given a drug to help me dilate. We were admitted at 7 PM on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 and I was given Cervadil to help with dilation. When they hooked me up to the monitors we found out that I was indeed having fairly regular contractions but just wasn't feeling them. We went to bed for the big day ahead and around midnight I started to actually feel the contractions. It was hard sleeping with the baby heart rate and contraction monitor on, plus the contractions got stronger as the night went on but I managed to get maybe 2 hours sleep. We were woken up around 6:30 AM to have the Cervadil removed and for me to take a shower. The Cervadil did it's job because at that point I was 1-2 cm dilated with regular contractions.

After my shower they found that I was getting a slight fever and my heart rate was a little elevated. They broke my water and decided not to induce more labor with Pitocin because of that. I wasn't upset at that, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of pitocin because I'd read it brings on super strong and close contractions, can stress out the baby and can cause breast feeding issues. The slight fever and raised heart rate got better as the IV gave me fluids and it turns out they were a blessing in disguise because I was able to labor on my own and make enough progress that they never had to give me pitocin.

By 9:30 AM I was really uncomfortable with the contractions. I felt nauseous when they would happen and afterwards I'd feel like I was on fire. I was just past 4 cm at this point and so I asked for the epidural. The anestesiaologist came in and gave me the epidural around 10 AM and it slowly began to work. It was such a weird sensation to slowly loose feeling from my chest down. I'll never forget feeling my legs and thinking they were swollen 3 times their normal size but it was just the numbing feeling - kind of like how big your tongue and lips feel when you get novicaine.

Around noon I was about 8 cm so Duane made the call to the parents to come to the hospital. Dr. Senzon was in to check on me shortly after that. She found that I was progressing quickly and that the baby was in a face up position. Babies are supposed to be face down to fit more easily through the pelvis. She tried to turn him but he was pretty wedged in my pelvis. She asked if I'd be completely upset if I had to have a c-section and said that if he did come vaginally he would most definitley have a cone head. She wanted me to push for an hour and see how far he'd come down.

Around 1 PM, I began the pushing and after an hour they were really impressed with how far he'd made it. Dr. Senzon didn't want to have to do a c-section at that point because he was so low and my nurse Marina encouraged me to get him out as it would be so much better than a c-section for recovery. Duane was great and held my hand, my head or leg when pushing while encouraging me to keep it up. Around 2:30 Dr Senzon told me that if she performed a small procedure he'd be out and I agreed to have it done otherwise we could be pushing for hours. Once she started, I gave one more push and he was out! He cried right away and they put him on my chest. We were in love right away, he looked so squishy and swollen but adorable. Duane cut his cord, they got me cleaned up and him as well. Duane and I decided he looked like an Andrew and that became our final choice...Andrew Allen Peck.

He was born at 2:49 PM, weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21 inches long. He is just perfect and we adore him!

Here are some of his earliest pictures:

After being admitted to room 247, last pic of him in my belly

Right after he came out he was all swollen and squishy, normal for the tramatic trip he'd been on...

Getting checked out, already starting to look less puffy

Meeting Dad for the first time
Hanging out with Mom after getting all cleaned up

Turning into the cutie he is today

Mom watching over him in his crib

Getting in the car seat for the first time for our trip home

In case you didn't hear...

2008-11-28T15:17:00.002-05:00

Andrew Allen Peck was born Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 2:49 PM! He weighed 8.13 pounds and was 21 inches long. He's been home for a week now and doing great. He's quite the snuggler and loves to be held so that's why Mommy is so behind on posting our big news!

Almost forgot...I'm officially a Master of Science

2008-11-17T15:01:00.003-05:00

Back in September I finally received my diploma from Temple certifying that I'm a Master of Science in Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs! It'll probably live in it's envelope for a little while so I took some pictures to display instead:

40 week, 3 day update

2008-11-15T11:38:00.002-05:00

We had our doctor appointment yesterday and I didn't come out of there too happy. The doctor checked me and said that the previous doctor who told me I was dilated 1 cm has "small fingers" and she didn't think I was even that far. She felt the baby from the outside and asked how tall I was then said "well, I don't think he'll be a small baby, but I'm sure you can handle it." I have no idea what weight range that means though! Then she said, we'll schedule you for an induction next week and ran off to do that.

I'll be calling in Tuesday night (I think just to make sure there is room for me) and going in that night to get medication to help me dilate. They will then start the induction with pitocin on Wednesday morning. From what I've heard from others, that could mean I have a baby on Wednesday afternoon or even as late as Thursday.

I'm still hoping something happens naturally but I won't be surprised if I'm sleeping in the hospital on Tuesday night either. I find it hard to believe that this baby doesn't want out yet, it feels like he's mighty uncomfortable in there when he moves (or maybe that's just me!).

Baby boy's nursery

2008-11-14T11:49:00.005-05:00

The nursery is ready to go, all we need is a baby! He probably won't be sleeping in here for a little while but I think he'll like it when he does:

And here's a pic of Pooh and Little Guy - the stuffed loveys that Duane and I had as babies:

Happy Due Date to us!

2008-11-07T09:53:00.008-05:00

Well, it would be happier if I was in labor or had a baby by now! I'm feeling mostly impatient and sometimes a little bit nervous but otherwise good. At my last appointment on Friday I found out that I was 1 cm dilated and the cervix is softening. The thing about these measurements is that they don't mean much really, labor can come as fast or slow as it wants!

Last Wednesday was my last official day at the office. I'm working from home in my comfortable clothes and no shoes and it's great, so much easier on me. I still have a lot to do for work so I'm trying to get it done as quickly as possible. When I return to work in February I'll have a new position due to a restructuring in QA and a new manager (who will be across the ocean in the UK!) so I really just have to close out all the remaining stuff I have open at this point.

So far, I've had a few contractions but nothing too bad, timely or consistent. I did have a few that surprised me because they weren't the strong cramping feeling I was expecting but more of a sharp stabbing pain. The doctor said those were indeed contraction feelings which made me a little more nervous about what to expect. I'm still feeling really swollen, my feet usually get hot and tight by the end of the day, and I think I'm just all around retaining water. I managed to gain 4 pounds in one week (which concerned me more than the doctor!) and I think it's got to be water weight. I'm pretty sure he's dropped lower because my hip pain while sleeping has returned and the lower part of my belly is stretching and super itchy now. They say that when the baby drops you can usually breathe easier and have less heartburn but unfortunately mine has gotten twice as bad now! I think he must be stretched out in there b/c I still feel feet in my upper belly! I usually require Tums after I put anything in my mouth! Baby boy is still super active, he get's especially excited as soon as I eat something! I don't know if he hears my stomach or what! He's definitely under tight quarters now because the movements feel more like stretches and a little bit of struggles to get in a different position. He's a strong little guy, he's made my abs sore for weeks now with his pushes and punches!

Thanks for all the check ins, we'll keep everyone updated once something starts to happen. Tomorrow is a full moon and they say Labor and Delivery wings are super busy then...maybe tomorrow will be our day?!

Vote 2008!

2008-11-04T16:53:00.003-05:00

Duane and I both worked from home today and walked down to vote around 11AM. We only had to wait about 15 minutes and after a little confusion because I was still listed under my maiden name, we both cast our paper ballots! We were voters #321 and 322 at our polling place. Here's a pic of the line inside our polling place, the Santa Anna Italian club and my souvenir slip(taken from my iPhone):

World series parade!

2008-11-01T08:39:00.020-04:00

As soon as the Phillies won the World series on Wednesday, we knew there would be a parade on Friday and mobs and mobs of people would be going to see it. Right away I booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown with my Marriott points (thank you travel for work for once!). The hotel is right across from City hall so it was the perfect central location. Duane and I planned on taking the day off on Friday and going down Thursday night to avoid the travel nightmare on Friday morning. Thursday I got an email from corporate that said "If you want to make the trip to this monumental event for the Philadelphia Phillies, please take the day and do NOT use a vacation day!" That was one moment I really loved Shire, I saved a vacation day for use another time! Thursday before we left we thought it may be a little crazy trying to get out of the city after the parade so we booked another night at the Courtyard with my Marriott points.

Also during the day Thursday, we lucked out and got the presale code for the celebration in Lincoln Financial Park. Sharkie had given us the inside scoop that the players were going to make a stop there on their way to Citizens Bank Park and also that they were going to be broadcasting the whole parade during the day. We got some great seats and planned on going there after the parade passed us around City Hall.

Our trip down to the hotel on Thursday was easy and flawless. We had an awesome room and it was only costing us the valet rate. We watched Cole Hamels awkwardly do the Top 10 List on David Letterman and went to bed. We got up and Duane went scouting for a good place and a subway station. He went out around 8:30 AM and the streets were already mobbed! The news was reporting that the Regional rails were already behind schedule which wasn't a surprise because they weren't adding any additional trains (which are already full with rush hour commuters at those times). The subway lines were running OK but they were anticipating extremely full trains all morning. As the plans to meet up with Tom, Fred, Warfel and some others was fizzling we decided we'd probably be safest going just to the stadium to watch. We knew the stadium would be cool and we'd be closer to the players than we could ever get a spot on the streets. Although it would have been cool to see the floats and ticker tape and confetti flying around Center City, there was no way my pregnant self was going to be able to stand around on the streets for that long then fight the mobs of people to get on the subway and make it to the stadium in time.

We left the hotel room around 10 AM to make our way down to the stadium. I could not believe the number of people already lined up on Broad Street - they had to be 6-8 people deep from the curb already! Everyone was screaming and super excited and all the cars driving in the city were honking and waving out the windows! There were people already on roofs, on top of planters, anywhere they could get higher for a better view and the parade wasn't scheduled to start at Market and 20th until Noon! We made our way to the subway station and got on the second or third train to come through. The trains looked red inside as they flew by stuffed with Phillies fans. It was a little uncomfortable, smelly, hot and loud on the train but I managed to get a seat as we rode to the Stadium stop.

We met up with Sharkie in the stadium and he gave us tickets to Section 123, Row 1, seats 1 & 2!!! We were so excited and excited for him too because he was scheduled to drive the cart with Charlie Manuel, Pat Gillick and the trophy ahead of the team as they took a lap in the Linc!! The seats were amazing, we could watch the parade come down Market then Broad, have snacks, bathrooms, a seat (very important for me!) and avoid all the chaos.

The stadium wasn't too full until the parade was close to the stadiums. The announcer let us know they were in the building and before we knew it Sharkie was the first out of the tunnel driving the cart with the team walking behind him! It was so exciting and being in the first row was awesome! I had my camera on continuous shutter release so we didn't miss any of the action passing by! Duane got to high-five Rich Dubee, Milt Thompson and Pat Burrell! A lot of the players were taking pictures as they walked by, I'm sure we're in some of them! Once they passed by, Shane Victorino, Jamie Moyer and Charlie Manuel all spoke at the podium a couple of sections down from us then they made their exit to get over to Citizens Bank Park for the final celebration.

We stayed for a little while to see the entrance to CBP on the big TV then decided it would be a good idea to get on the subway before the crowds really left the stadiums or the makeshift viewing area that was set up in the parking lot with TV's and speakers. We made it into the subway just as they stopped the crowd to control the number of people on the platforms. We had to wait for a few trains in order to get on but once we did I even got a seat! We got off and walked back to the hotel to wait out the traffic and see what was going on on the news. Turns out we were smart for leaving the stadium at the time we did because shortly after we got on they were inundated with people, the line was outrageous and people were so frustrated that some started making the walk down Broad to Center City. The regional rails were also inundated with people, some stations closed and didn't let anyone else in the area until they could clear some people out. The SEPTA system was so crazy with people, the news stations weren't even doing the normal traffic reports! During our walk back to the hotel, the streets department were already doing a majority of the clean up. The streets had been washed and swept although cans, bottles, glass and confetti were still everywhere you looked. Every car that was parked on the streets off of Broad were covered in dents and footprints from people that were trying to get a better look.

We decided to have dinner at the hotel then make our way home. After dinner we packed up and went to check out. Since it was only about 7 PM, this confused the front desk staff a bit and they ended up giving me back all my points for the second night's stay! The drive home was super smooth, we didn't hit any traffic, either from the construction on 76 or the people still leaving the city!

I had almost forgot that it was Halloween until we got home and saw a few straggling trick-or-treaters in the area. We were too tired to give out candy so we'll be snacking on it for a while now. All in all, it was such a fun, exciting and once in a lifetime experience! We lucked out with everything and couldn't believe how smoothly it went. I even think that all the walking started to move baby boy down (or at least I'm hoping it did!). Either way I was glad we got to experience it and can tell Baby boy that he was there for the parade!

Here are a bunch of the pictures we took during the day...

Corner of Broad Street around 10 AM, 2 hours before the parade was to begin

Me and Duane on the street

More people lined up 2 hours before the parade was to begin

View of Center City, CBP, Port-a-potty lines and the makeshift viewing area in the stadium area

Me and the baby boy belly at the Linc

TV screens broadcasting the parade. That's Pat Burrell riding on the Clidesdale carriage

The Linc as the parade comes through

Sharkie driving Charlie Manuel

The trophy

Pat Gillick with the trophy on his head

Duane high-fiving Rich Dubee

Duane high-fiving Milt Thompson

Shane Victorino

Brett Myers

Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz, Pat Burrell (and Elvis)

Pat Burrell (and Elvis) about to high-five Duane

Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Kyle Kendrick

Ryan Madson, Greg Dobbs

Ryan Howard

Jamie Moyer

?, Pedro Feliz, Brad Lidge, Cole Hamels

Brad Lidge

Cole Hamels

Geoff Jenkins, Chris Coste, Rudy Seanez

Matt Stairs, Chad Durbin, Eric Bruntlet, Scott Eyre, So Taguchi, Jimmy Rollins

Scott Eyre, Jimmy Rollins, So Taguchi

Subway train after the Linc ceremony

William Penn on City Hall

New Comcast building (with miniature William Penn statue to lift "the curse" on top of it)

And here are two video's of the parade passing by that Duane caught...

Phillies are World Champions!

2008-10-29T23:01:00.004-04:00

And the Phillies win it! Soooo exciting! Baby boy was even excited, he was awake the entire 3 innings and bouncing all around! We're going to the parade to celebrate on Friday, we've already booked a room in Center City on my Marriott points!

2 weeks till my due date!

Jack-O-Lanterns

2008-10-23T21:20:00.005-04:00

Happy Halloween (a little early)! We carved our Jack-O-Lanterns tonight, I think they turned out pretty good! We're hoping there's no Obama haters in the neighborhood that smash Duane's!

3 weeks to go!

2008-10-22T20:13:00.008-04:00

My due date is only 3 weeks from today! Thank goodness because I can't wait to meet our little guy. I'm getting more uncomfortable by the day and the boy seems to be either getting really strong (not a bad thing!) and/or really crammed in there. I sometimes can't believe how hard he pushes body parts out of my belly, it's crazy! I've yet to really identify what each push is but I can usually tell where his butt is! When I lay down on my side, it's the most noticeable to everyone else but at this point I feel like I'm aware of every move he makes (again, not a bad thing!). I've been keeping the camera around when I lay down after work as that's been pretty typical for how tired I've been and even though I've yet to capture when he REALLY pushes out, the video below shows you what it looks like when he's moving around normally. I'm determined to get it when he's really bopping around, like today when Charley was sitting on my side, he was getting pushed around by the boy! I wish my camera was around!

Disclaimer: not sure why I look blue for the first part of the video and it's kind of weird angle but you get the idea! Oh and that's Charley's ear in the bottom of the shot, he gets a little curious about what's going on sometimes!

As for other belly shots, Duane and I took these last week. They are poses that a lot of maternity photographers use and I think are kind of cute...
The ultrasound picture was at 20 weeks

Finally, here's a shot of me today at 37 weeks. It was Phillies day at work in honor of Game 1 of the World series! Go Phillies!

Yikes - swollen feet!

2008-10-11T10:02:00.004-04:00

I read that it is pretty normal to have swollen feet and hands by this point in pregnancy but it's still a little bit of a shock to look down and see feet that you don't recognize! Previously in pregnancy I'd get a little bit of swelling after flying but what I've started to experience lately is just from everyday life. I have noticed my rings being a little more snug and my watch leaves a rather deep mark in my wrist but its mainly in my feet. I haven't had to keep my rings off yet but I think the watch will have to stay off for the remainder of my pregnancy. It sometimes is uncomfortable to bend my ankles because they feel like they're going to burst. I tried to capture the loveliness of the swelling but it's really hard to take pictures of your feet, especially with a pregnant belly in the way... but here's what they looked like yesterday:

Although I don't have many photos of my feet normally, here's one to compare with. This was taken on our engagement trip to Aruba while sitting on the beautiful beach:

Maternity photos

2008-10-10T23:13:00.003-04:00

Like I mentioned before, Duane and I had the fabulous Amy Ro Photography take maternity photos for us last Sunday. After just seeing a few of them, I'm so happy we had them done. Everyday I'm totally amazed by this belly and boy inside and these images will just help to remind us of such a great time. She'll also be back when Baby boy is only a few days old to capture the earliest moments of his life.

Check out the maternity sneak peek on her blog HERE and makes sure you check out her website and wonderful work HERE!

Keep on going Phillies!

2008-10-10T23:09:00.004-04:00

Duane was lucky enough to get tickets to Game 1 of the NL Championship series and witness another exciting Phillies win last night! Here's a pic from his phone from his seats:

Keep on winning Phillies!

34 weeks and Go Phillies!

2008-10-02T19:30:00.003-04:00

Six weeks of pregnancy left until my due date! Kind of hard to believe I've come this far but also feels like a long time before we meet out little guy! The nursery is about done but needs to be organized and have a few finishing touches. I'll post some pics soon after we get it all under control! We wanted to have it mostly together by this weekend because we're getting maternity photos taken and some will be in there. I'm excited to have the talented Amy Ro take our photos and then she's coming back for newborn shots too! I've "known" her for a while now through an online message board and ever since I got pregnant thought about having her take some so it was perfect when she offered! I'll make sure to share the sneak peak she posts on her blog.

Duane was super excited to score 3 standing room only tickets to game 2 of the Phillies vs. Brewers NL division playoffs. As much as I wanted to go, I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the standing for that long. Too bad because I'm writing this as the game is going on and it's turning out to be really exciting - something we never seem to get when we go to games! Go Phillies!!!

Here's a quick snapshot of me at 34 weeks, sporting my comfortable clothes and Phillies hat, all ready for the game!

Be careful drinking the water...

2008-09-27T21:49:00.003-04:00

...That is the big joke at work because in our QA department alone, there were 6 women pregnant at the same time! Not only are there a that many in my department but there are probably 3 others that I frequently see in my building and a handful of others at our Maryland facility! Our admin thought it would be nice to take a picture of us who are still pregnant so here we are.

From right to left is Jenn (Due Oct 15), Me, Michele (Due early December), Mary Ellen (Due mid-December) and Tia (Due late-December). Nona was the other one but she's currently out on maternity leave enjoying her new little boy.