My How Summer Flies By!

I can hardly believe it is August already! Summer is just flying by! We have been having lots of fun, and since work has been a little slower, Jordan has been able to take time off for us to have some fun days. Recently we have been to the Postal museum, which was really interesting, we participated in a tour with a really great docent.

Last weekend we went to Jordan's college roommate, Dan's wedding. It was great to celebrate with him and his bride, Kay, who we met for the first time.


The wedding day was the longest we had been away from Andrew. My mom graciously watched him all day long and the biggest delight was that Andrew took three feedings from a cup (he boycotted the bottle months ago)! What an answer to prayer! Not only that the wedding day went smoothly, but it also means that we can leave him with my mom when we go to Florida next weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary a bit belatedly. It wouldn't have been quite the same if Andrew needed to come along. Today, Jordan joined us for our weekly trip to the farm. We picked peaches, blackberries and green beans, and had a lot of fun with his sister Sarah, and her kiddos. Joining the farm was a great decision, it really has caused us to eat at ton more produce and eat at home--good for the wallet and the waist-line.

Our Trip to the Zoo

Friday, Jordan was able to take the day off of work and we decided to take Andrew to the zoo for the first time. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Although Andrew will not remember this trip, he did enjoy watching the animals and all the people even more. We concluded the day with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We enjoyed crab (and perhaps a pomegranate margarita even more) and Andrew enjoyed his current favorite food, mango mixed in yogurt.

All things green

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Well, another week has passed and with it has come another trip to the farm. We are loving being a part of The Great Country Farms CSA! All the fresh produce is so yummy and good for us. Jordan and I laugh at how "green" we are becoming. We are supporting local agriculture, are cloth diapering, and Jordan even rides a bicycle to work if his schedule permits.
In other news...Andrew has cut his first tooth. It is painfully and slowly making its appearance. Friday night was the first night it could be felt, and now you can see it poking through his gums, but it still has a long way to go.
Cloth diapering is going well, Jordan and I are finding what types of diapers we like and what we don't. I have also discovered that there is a whole, wacky sub-culture of cloth diaper-aholics. The craziest thing I have found are the women willing to dish out $40 or more per diaper!

Andrew's Fluffy Bum

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

We have embarked on a new journey...cloth diapering. Jordan and I have committed to cloth diapering for the next two months. We have our supplies and I am trying a whole variety of different types of diapers. Andrew is sporting a Knickernappie Disposanot diaper in this picture (yes, they all have cutesy names). We chose to try cd'ing (as the groupies call it) for economics, perhaps it is better for the environment, but it is definitely way cheaper!
So far so good, diapering takes a few more minutes these days, but I expect that once we get the hang of it, the time difference will diminish. And the laundry isn't really that big of a deal, (an extra load every other day) especially post basement flood since I was able to upgrade washing machines from one that only turns on and off and the ability to choose warm or cold water to a machine that has more options than one could ever need. I have learned that a prewash and extra-rinse are essential for success, or at least less trips to the laundry room to restart the machine.

Water Baby

Andrew has really been enjoying bath-time lately; splashing up a storm and chasing his rubber duck around the bathtub. So we were eager to see what he would think about the swimming pool. Today we found out when we took Andrew swimming for the first time at his Aunt Cindy's house. He had a great time and was completely comfortable in the water. I think we will be spending lots of time at the pool this summer.

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Wow! This month has flown by. Softball has wrapped up and Jordan has finished his Master's degree (praise God!). This spring has been so busy balancing both of those endeavors with the demands of a new baby, but the Lord provided so much grace in so many ways. Understanding professors, classes that ended early, a delayed project at work, many moms and an assistant coach who loved to care for Andrew--God is good!

On to Andrew--this boy loves spinach! Jordan and I joined a community farm for the summer so that we can have loads of the freshest produce in effort to eat healthier and have good things to feed Andrew. Last weekend we decided to head to the farm to get the first crops of spring, although the official season does not begin until the first week of June. It was a miserable day outside, but well worth the trip. We have been enjoying fresh asparagus and spinach (that we picked ourselves!). There was not much asparagus available, so Jordan and I didn't share that with Andrew, but the spinach was abundant. I figured, what the heck, we'll see if Andrew will each pureed, steamed spinach, and eat he did. He loves it!

Sunny Spring days

We are loving spring! I think Andrew could swing all day!

Our trip to the museum

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Friday, we took Andrew and his cousin Mark to the air and space museum. Mark had a great time looking at all the airplanes. As soon as we walked in all he could do was start pointing and saying "airplane...airplane." His favorite part was going up into the observation tower to watch planes take off and land. Andrew was content to ride around in the stroller. He really enjoys being turned around so that he can see everything, instead of just the person pushing the stroller.

Andrew's First Bite

Tuesday night Andrew had his first taste of "real food," well if you can call rice cereal real food. As you can see from the pictures he wasn't sure what to make of it, and today wasn't any more successful. We'll keep trying, but I can't really blame him, it doesn't seem that appealing to me either.

How time flies!

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

The past month has just flown by! So much has been happening. At Andrew's four month appointment, he weighed in at 18 pounds 9 ounces and that was nearly a month ago,who knows what he weighs now. That boy loves to eat! Andrew is laughing often and rolling over occasionally, and is such a delightful little boy. I am coaching softball again this spring so Andrew has also joined the realm of athletes as the youngest member of the Covenant Life Middle School softball team. And the most exciting thing to happen this month is the arrival of Andrew's newest cousin Margaret, she is beautiful!

My little chubbo

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Andrew loves to eat, this picture captures Andrew after finishing what I have deemed "second lunch" usually occurring around 2:00. All his eating has lead to dramatic growth over the past two months. Last week at his two month appointment he weighed in at a whopping 14lbs. 12oz (98th percentile), is already 24 inches long! (90th percentile) and following in Thomas family tradition he has a bucket head (16.5 inches--95 percentile). All of this growing has allowed Andrew to be a very good sleeper, we thank the Lord everyday for His provision in this way, as his mama is one who needs a lot of sleep. Visit Flickr for some new photos of Andrew enjoying his Gymini, a Christmas present from his Aunt Sarah, Uncle Garrett and cousin Mark and discovering his thumbs.

Tis the season

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

I love the Christmas season! Every year I enjoy decorating the house and going to find the perfect tree. This year is even more special. Saturday the three of us headed out to Gaver Tree Farm to pick out this year's tree. We had a really nice time, and thankfully the weather was beautiful. Jordan cut down and hauled off our Canaan Fir, which now graces our front window. Now I need to find the time to shop for presents. Check out the pictures of our adventure on Flickr.

Monday was Jordan's birthday and marked a month since Andrew's birth. We celebrated with a dinner filled with Jordan's favorites. Andrew is doing well and seems to have night and day figured out. He is becoming quite a good night-time sleeper, lately he has been sleeping for 5-6 hours in a row! He is alert much more during the day and is working on gaining control of that head of his, I think he'll have it soon.

Submarines, Baths and Starbucks...

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Life is well in the Thomas home. Andrew has been sleeping very well, so well in fact that he requires quiet a production to wake up for feedings. We have to strip him down to his diaper and then rub a cold damp washcloth on his skin (would the UN agree to these conditions?). Once he is awake he does like to eat though, feedings are going pretty well. Justi is doing a great job, but the boy sometimes likes to play what we are calling “Reindeer Games” where he bounces his head around while trying to feed, or he latches on and then just looks at Justi and won’t suck. Once the games are over he eats his fill and it’s off to bed. His visit with the doctor yesterday went well, she said he looks good is very alert when awake, and already has some head control (a major feat bowling ball for a head). Her only concern was making sure he had plenty to eat, which we are working on. He weighted in at 8lbs, 8oz at the visit so he lost a few ounces since birth, which is normal. We are going back in tomorrow (Friday) for another weight check to make sure he is starting to put it back on. We also took the boy out for another outing yesterday to Buy Buy Baby (unbelievably we need more stuff) and a treat. As Thomas’s after a doctors appointment it is essential to have a milkshake or in our case Ice Cream and Starbucks. Since the boy is only allowed to have breast milk Debbie, Justi and I decided we would take care of the treat. Today I finally got the mobile of Sailboats and Submarines that Justi and I made hung in the nursery. It’s a little on the big side, but I like it. We gave the little boy his first bath this evening and all went well, we found his hair gets curly when it is wet (the videos reveal Justi and I have few words to say about the whole event as we keep repeating the same thing) . A bunch of pictures from all the events of the last couple of days are posted on Flickr and if Google cooperates we’ll have some videos up as well. You can see all the videos we post by searching Google Video for jordman.com , the pane to the left also has links to them. Also wanted to thank the Kat and Hector for a delicious Chicken & Cheese casserole last night. Justi’s Mom has also been a great help and we are so thankful for her being here this first week. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, God has been and continues to be very kind to us.

All is quiet on the homefront

It has been a pretty quiet day at home, not too much to report. The boy slept very well through the night, only waking up once between two four hour periods of sleep. He has been fairly sleepy today as well, only waking to eat. We did take a small adventure out to Target to get a few things (turns out we can only stay hibernated for about a day before a need pops up). The video I tried to post last night still isn't up, Google says they are having some problems, check back it should be up shortly. Only a few pictures today, so I won't post them until tomorrow. Andrew has his first pediatrician appointment tomorrow afternoon. The Ellis family provided us with a feast of chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls and a vegetable salad, thanks to them. Oh...sounds like the boy is up, time for some late dinner.
;-)

A day of firsts..

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Today the bean (as I affectionately call him) ventured out of the hospital and came home. He encountered many firsts, first car ride, first dog sniff, first nap in his crib and first pair of pants (Mom is dressing him well). He is doing great, feeding well and sleeping well. The pediatrician told us he has a very strong sucking reflex and recommended a pacifier rather than over feeding them, so you may see that pop-up in pictures from time to time. The dogs are having a little trouble making the adjustment, especially Luther who is very confused by all the sounds the little creature makes. Justi is also doing very well (Dogs were quite happy to see her), she is healing well and feedings are good and she is aglow with Joy. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Lasagna from the Hoopers this evening (Thank you!!). More photos and another video are posted. Also just wanted to say that we had a great experience at Holy Cross and would recommend it to anyone, great care and wonderful staff.

And baby makes three...

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Andrew Norman Thomas made his appearance at 1:24am on Saturday (11/10/07) morning. Both he and Justi are doing very well. Official stats at birth, Weight: 9lbs 3oz Length: 22inches. Justi’s OB decided Friday afternoon during our normal appointment that due to some hypertension that it was time for baby to come. They sent us to the hospital, hooked up an IV and 11 hours later, and about 20 minutes of pushing, boom baby. Justi did fantastic and pushed that big old bucket head out. Justi’s mom and sister made it to the hospital just in time with only about 15 minutes to spare before the pushing started. I have uploaded pictures as well as a single video. We’ll be in the hospital until around mid-day on Monday, if your local come visit (give us a call first just to check on timing). Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes, God is good everyday!