Baby Love!: Every little thing he does is magic!

I feel like I could watch Andrew for every minute of every day and never get bored. He is at that age right now where I just want to soak everything up. I love seeing the world through his eyes and watching him discover everything around him. I think there is something new every day that he's learning to do that he's never done before. There is never a dull moment in our home, that's for sure! When Bill and I are together with the baby on the weekends, we don't get much "me" time, because the other one is always yelling from the other room, "Honey! Come watch him! Come and look at what he's doing!" It is pretty phenomenal how the littlest things can be so exciting.

The last few weeks have brought many "firsts" for Drew, as I'm sure I'll be saying for a long time now...since he has a lot of "firsts" yet to go! He's growing so much and is gaining so much more control of his body. His movements are smoother and his head isn't "wobbly" anymore. He is so strong and just loves to be sitting up, supported by cushions or pillows. He has discovered that he has toes and loves touching them, and everything else in sight. He's taken an interest in his toys and can reach for and grasp them when dangled or placed in front of him. He laughs and squeals all the time and has started testing out his voice... whether it be a loud shriek or just a monotone "ahhhhhhhh". We definitely encourage ALL sounds and find ourselves imitating him so that he can learn that there will be a purpose for all those sounds.

I can also see the "teacher" coming out in me with him already... especially the special ed part, where I'm kind of obsessed with making sure he's meeting those developmental milestones. I make sure that we take time for play (on his playmat) and am already telling him all the names of the animals on the mat as well as the colors (hey, it's never too early!). I read books to him almost daily (a few of his "faves": "Guess How Much I Love You", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Pat the Bunny"). I think it's important to expose him early to many different learning opportunities. I want him to have the same zest for learning that I had, and continue to have.

Among some of the interesting things Drew is learning now:

He's starting to roll over! I can foresee in the very near future that my days of putting him down and not worrying about him going anywhere are going to become a distant memory. This kid is a mover and a shaker... always moving his legs. About a week ago, he started getting ready to roll over, by pulling his knees in the air and lifting his booty clear off the ground. I knew it wasn't too far off, since all it would take is some momentum to get him rolled onto his side... and lo and behold, a few days later he rolled onto his side, and has been doing it ever since!

Get ready... get set...

GO!

Now he can roll all over his playmat if he wants!

I was also so happy that since Drew has such good head control now, I could take the baby sling out of the baby tub and just bathe him in the tub without it now. It makes it so much easier to give him a bath and he LOVES it. I put the baby sink in the kitchen sink and run the tap water on warm-ish and he just goes to town, kicking the stream of water and just having a good old time!

My first bath without the infant sling!

He is also starting to hold his bottle when we feed him now. It's so cute! Before, he would ball his fists and hold them close to his body. Now, Drew is interacting more with objects and wants both of his hands on the bottle. He has actually held his smaller bottles up by himself for most of some feedings. It is so fun to watch!

My first time holding the bottle

I think within the next few weeks, Drew is going to start trying to sit up by himself. He does so well when supported and prefers to be sitting up and opposed to lying on his back. He is able to turn his head and visually track you throughout the entire room. His favorite spot to sit up is in the big brown chair in the living room. He'll just smile and squeal the entire time. He's getting to be such a big boy!!!