For Andrea’s first Christmas, I wanted to do a photo shoot in front of our Christmas tree. I thought it would make a nice Christmas card picture and I wanted to do print and frame some pictures to give to family for Christmas. She did so great! Here are my favorites…
This is the one on our Christmas cards:
I love the look on her face in this one, like “What are they doing?!?”
This might be my favorite. ? ? ?
A big belly laugh to end things…
We flew out to Portland to see Paul’s family for Thanksgiving. It was Andrea’s first flight, and she did soooo well! She was a real trooper cruising through the airport with Mommy carrying her in the sling. The flight was at 8:30am, so we had to leave the house around 6, and she stayed up the whole time, fascinated by the airport and all the new sights. Then once we got settled in on the plane and were ready to take off, she was really tired. She nursed from the time we got on the runway and was asleep before we hit cruising altitude, then she slept for over an hour an a half. When she woke up, she just played on Mom’s lap with the toys we brought for her and we read a few books. She loved just staring out the window and at the little TV screen in the headrest in front of us too. She shared a banana with Mom too, which she really enjoyed. It’s a 5 1/2 hour flight, so after a couple hours of playing, it was time for a nap and we had almost 2 hours left to go. She nursed and fell asleep, and woke up just before we landed. She nursed right through the landing and never fussed a bit. There were screaming babies all over the plane and a toddler behind us crying “My ears hurt, Mommy!” But Andrea didn’t seem bothered at all. Yay!
She didn’t adjust too well to the time zone difference, and being in a strange crib in a strange house, with lots of new people around, but that’s a lot for a little girl to deal with (especially one with a routine as regular as Andrea’s). She had restless sleep the whole trip, and woke up earlier than normal, but she got a little better every day. Poor girl. 🙁
Hopefully the flight back goes as well as the trip out here!
It took us while, but we finally got Andrea’s birth announcements out in the mail, so if you are coming to this blog for the first time after getting her announcement, welcome!
You can click on the Photo Gallery link to the right to see lots more pictures of Andrea.
We just added a Month 3 album with some brand new pictures, so enjoy!
Thanks to everyone for all the cards, emails, phone calls, flowers, and gifts over the past few months. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful baby and to have family and friends as amazing as you.
Mommy posted new pictures of me on Krohnert.org (www.krohnert.org/gallery/v/paul/baby) – in the Month 2 album and the Trip to Missouri album. She also posted all the Trip to Missouri pictures and highlights of the Month 2 pictures on Facebook. There were a lot of cousins to tag in the Facebook pictures! 🙂
You can also click the link to the right to get to my Krohnert.org Photo Gallery at any time.
We spent a long weekend in Missouri visiting lots of relatives. Andrea got to see all four of her great-grandparents, plus lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Saturday we went to Grant’s Farm in St. Louis and rode the train around with her Great-Grandad Carl, who used to drive a train at Grant’s Farm. He gave us some inside info he remembered from his days working there. It was REALLY hot and sunny, so Andrea stayed in her carseat and stroller with the cover up once we got off the train, so she didn’t see much, but she was a real trooper – sleeping through the brutal temperatures.
Saturday night, we went to a party at Great Aunt Becky & Great Uncle Robert’s house. Everyone wanted to see Andrea and take turns holding her. Her cousin Bryan liked holding her so much there was a line of people waiting to take her from him at one point. 🙂
After the party we drove to Columbia to see the Blount side of the family. We arrived at her great-grandparents’ house around midnight. Her Great-Grandad stayed up to see her the moment we arrived. Andrea slept good that night in her Pack n Play and woke up around 7:00 Sunday morning. Her Great Grandad and Grandmother got to spend about an hour with her right after she woke up when she is so alert and happy, so they got to see lots of smiles and hear a lot of baby talk. We went out for lunch and dinner with the whole family, and she slept through both meals (as usual), but everyone got to see her back and her great-grandparents house. Aunt Susan loved holding her and would only give her back to Mom when it was time to eat. We were afraid they may not let us take Andrea back home!
We left Monday after breakfast and drove all the way back to Atlanta, getting in just after midnight. We stopped a few times to eat and feed Andrea. She stayed awake for a few hours in the car, so she slept well once we got home. It was a big weekend for a little girl!
We had a big day today. First, Andrea rolled over from her stomach to her back for the first time! She did it during some “tummy time” before Dad left for work, so he got to see. She’s most active and alert first thing in the morning, so we were taking some time to enjoy her happiest time of day when all of a sudden she rolled over. She seemed surprised, so we probably won’t see it again for a while.
Then, Mom decided a little later that we should go to Missouri for the weekend to see the relatives. Dad left work early and we got on the road before rush-hour. It was Andrea’s longest road trip yet, and she went through several states she had never been to: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. She slept almost the whole drive, except for a couple stops to eat at a McDonalds near Chattanooga, TN and a rest stop in Paducah, KY.
We got into St. Louis late Friday night (actually, early Saturday morning) and she slept in bed with Mom and Dad at her Great Uncle Chuck & Great Aunt Becky Rose’s house. We set up the Pack n Play for her, but she had been sleeping all day and didn’t like being laid down in her bed. She slept great in Mom’s arms though. 🙂