The Great Outdoors

We all bundled up for a walk in the park on Christmas Eve. Andon was all snuggly in his fuzzy little suit. Ben and I are thinking about getting adult versions for ourselves. And, Andon has discovered the joy of his hand. He loves putting his little fist in his mouth! Peanut also has a fascination with Andon's hands, and is always close by trying to sneak in a lick or two.

Baby's First Christmas

Lots of great pictures from Andon's first Christmas! We had a great morning at our house with Peanut. Andon opened his stocking, which is pretty much the same size he is. We spent the rest of the day with family. Andon's cousin Riley really started to take an interest in him, and kept coming over to touch his hand or his face. So cute! They are going to be good playmates once Andon becomes a little more mobile.

Mommy's Shopping Buddy

Andon has been busy getting ready for Christmas this month. He helped us decorate the tree, got his new stocking hung and, probably much to his dismay, has become my little shopping buddy! He is only good for about 20 minutes of shopping, so I guess that means he is a typical male after all. He started crying in a Hallmark store, and the man in line behind me said, "That must be a boy. It's genetic." But, all the ladies love the big blue eyes he flashes from inside his stroller so mothers, lock up your daughters now. :)

Two Months Old

Our big boy is two months old today. It is hard to believe it has been that long since he has joined our little family. We have loved every second of watching him grow so far. Andon had his two month check up today. What a way to spend your two month birthday - getting vaccines! He was such a champ though, and took them like a big boy. There were some tears for sure, but nothing that a big hug from mom and a little time spent nursing didn't fix. His new stats are 13lbs. 3 oz. and he has also grown 3/4 of an inch. He's a healthy guy all around.

Here's a new picture of Andon in his chair. You can scroll down to the one month picture to see how much he has changed over the last month. Much more head control this time, so he can sit in it without having to lean against the arm. Way to go!

Time really does fly when you are having fun.

Here are a few of the latest and greatest pictures.  Although it is happening before my eyes, I am amazed at how fast Andon is changing and growing.  He is sleeping through the night, holding his head up (still needs to work on the control), starting to be less fussy in the evening (key word there is starting), smiling a lot more and eating like a champion .  I used to think time went by fast before he arrived, now I am concerned that I will blink and he will be driving. It's wild.

First Thanksgiving

Can I also title this entry "Just too cute" because what can I say, our little guy really is, and we have pictures to prove it. It has been a busy week for Andon. He celebrated his very first Thanksgiving by having breakfast at his Grandpa Craig and Grandma Karen's house with his Aunt Michelle and cousins Paulie, Chase and Alexandra and then finished off the day with a low key feast at his Grandma Dale and Dzidzu's house. He cried through soup, but decided to nap through dinner and dessert so we call could eat together. What a courteous boy we have. Then he had a weekend visit from his Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Joe, who snapped some great pictures of him looking really adorable. Andon was really posing for the camera. Here are some great shots of him smiling away. He has really started to love smiling in reaction to things we do and say, which has been awesome and totally validating. It's especially great to see, and a much needed relief I must say, first thing in the morning when mommy is not quite awake and wishing she had another hour or two of sleep. His other new interest is holding his head up. He practices it all the time when he is on his tummy, and he loves to look around and move it from side to side. Those neck muscles will be all strong and built up in no time! We sure are loving our little guy and we can't wait to see what he does next!

Just Plain Cute

Just some pictures of our little guy doing what he does best...being cute! We had his one month doctor visit on the 15th and Ben and I were so excited to learn how big he had gotten. We were thinking maybe 11 pounds, but he came in at 11lbs 9oz, and also grew 2 inches. He is at the 97th percentile for height, and I believe it because most little outfits with feet he doesn't fit into because he is just too tall! He is definitely a healthy, growing boy. And, he has been a rock star sleeper lately. He has been sleeping for 5-6 hours at a time overnight, which has been amazing for me. It's incredible how much better you feel after getting more than 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I hope this isn't just a fluke!

Uncle Tim and Aunt Joanne

Andon's visitors continue. He is one popular guy! Last weekend his Uncle Tim and Aunt Joanne came for a visit. They brought him a spiffy new outfit to wear on Thanksgiving day.

One Month Old!

Andon at one month in his big boy chair. I can't believe it has already been 4 weeks! His best buddy Peanut likes to hang out with him.

Aunt Emily and Uncle Sean

Andon with his Aunt Emily and Uncle Sean who drove up from Long Island just to see him for a few hours. They also gave him some really cute winter hats to stay warm in the next few months. Thanks for visiting guys!

Play Date!

Andon had his very first play date with his friend Jack on Wednesday. Too bad Andon slept through the entire thing! Hopefully there will be more action next time around.

Happy Halloween!

Andon's first Halloween! And, here he is in his first sugar coma after too much candy. Good thing he doesn't have any teeth yet, and also a good thing there is a dentist in the family! This kid has a major sweet tooth. Ok, so maybe the sugar coma was from all the candy mom ate, but doesn't he look cute?

My New Skills

A list of the skills I have acquired since Andon's birth:

1. Catching spit up without getting it on my clothes or on Andon's
2. Doing excessive amounts of laundry. I have developed a close bond with my washer. It now seems strange if a day goes by and I have not washed something.
3. Squats. Andon loves to be bounced. If he is awake and is not eating, then chances are he wants to be dramatically bounced up and down. I have found the best way to achieve maximum bounce is by doing a good squat. By my calculations, I spend about 3 hours of each day doing squats. It's too bad that short season is not coming up, because I am going to have some fierce looking thighs!
4. Preventing poop from getting on the curtains, rug, or any other furniture in Andon's room. Andon, daddy and I have you all figured out. You can't pull that one on us anymore! Excuse me while I knock on wood...and take a minute to throw the curtains in the dryer.
5. Doing anything one-handed...ie. making coffee, eating any meal, typing (I should be in some sort of contest for fastest one hand typer), getting dressed, brushing my teeth, doing dishes, applying make-up, catching spit up without getting it on mine or Andon's clothes, doing excessive amounts of laundry...
6. Completing any of the tasks listed in number 5, one handed, while simultaneously doing squats.

Our Growing Boy

Today we went to see Andon's doctor for a second weight check since leaving the hospital. When he left the hospital he weighed 8lbs. 13oz. One week ago today he weighed in at 9 lbs 4oz. Just 4 oz. shy of his birth weight. All week Ben and I were trying to guess what we thought he might weigh. We were pretty sure that he made it back to his birth weight, and thought he probably would be a few ounces over that. Sure enough, our boy didn't disappoint us. He tipped the scale at 10 lbs. 1 oz. Andon sure does love to eat! He gained almost a pound in a week! We also decided that he no longer fits into his newborn clothes. At least we got a week and a half's worth of wear out of them. Time to pack those away.

In other happy news, I finally can see my ankles. I almost forgot I had any. It's just in time too. With the cold weather approaching, I don't know how much longer I could have worn my summer flip flops.

Great first week

My big brother watching over me.

This  has been a fantastic week.  Chelsea is recovering rapidly.  She still has to take it easy but the spring is back in her step.  Andon has been a lot of fun.  He seems to only get upset when he is hungry, wants to be held or wants to be bounced (pretty predictable).  He wakes up at night but generally goes back to sleep after a meal and a diaper change.  And lastly, Peanut has been wonderful.  He likes to watch Andon and sniff him from time to time.  Every once in a while he even gets a lick or two in. 

For me, back to work on Monday will be tough, but I'll cope.

My first washcloth bath at home.

More Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from today and yesterday.  Andon had his first doctor appointment and had a clean bill of health.  Chelsea mastered the art of the swaddle.  And I just learned that apparently there is a limit to how many pictures I can put up on this blog. Hopefully it's a high limit.   

Coming Home.

We brought our little fellow home yesterday and spent our first night together.

I have learned a few things already.  First the boppy pillow is the greatest invention ever.  Second, number 1 is not the only fluid capable of projecting (our window curtains are in the wash as we speak), third I need to get much better at changing diapers as to not have to wash the curtains every time, and lastly so far, being up in the middle of the night isn't so bad when you have your incredible baby to keep you company.  


On another note, we have  had a lot of help from our families the past few days and received a lot of well wishes from loved ones.  Thank you all so much for all the help and all the kind words. 

One day old (10/14/11).

I got this real world thing down pat.

He has arrived!!!

Welcome Andon Carter Cangeleri to the world.  He was born Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 11:14 am.  Weighing in at a wooping 9lb 8oz and measuring 22in long.  And look at that hair, that's our boy.

Chelsea was absolutely amazing and recovering beautifully. I love them both and can't wait for them to come home.    

Yet Another Surprise

So first this baby surprised us when we found out that he was actually a he and not a she like they had originally told us. We should have known then that there would be many more surprises to come. The day after my due date, I went in for my non-stress test. After lying on the table strapped to the heart rate monitor for 40 minutes while our little guy snoozed away instead of moving around like they wanted him to, we went in for an ultrasound to check fluids and to get an estimated size of the babe. We had anticipated all along that this kiddo was going to weigh in at a reasonable size of approximately 7lbs 10oz - our doctor's guess based on feeling my baby bump. At the end of the exam, the ultrasound tech announced to us that she was measuring him to be about 10lbs 3oz! Ben and I both thought she was making a joke and didn't really react at first, but when she started to make her way out the door to inform the doctor, I stopped her and said, "Wait, are you serious?" The doctor couldn't believe it either and called in for a second opinion, which only confirmed again that our little guy may not be as little as we had thought. Ben took this picture of me while we were waiting for the doctor to come and talk to us about this latest revelation. One thing is for sure, this kid is definitely making sure that we stay flexible. I can't wait to see what surprise he has for us next!

We are ready...we think.

 Chelsea, Peanut and I hanging out in the baby's room. 

The king and his throne

Will someone please make me some nachos!  And put on Channel 13, my show is about to start!

Trial run

So far I think taking care of a baby is easy.  He doesn’t have to eat, he doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t cry and he doesn’t poop.  Our only concern is that he may get made fun of for being more hairy then the other kids.