A Smile a Minute

Thought I'd let you in on a few examples of what makes my job The Official World's Best Job: lots and lots (and lots) of baby smiles!

There are big ones.

And small ones.

There are playful ones.

And shy ones.

There are...Woops! Wrong picture.

Sorry about that.

There are sunny ones.

And there are messy ones.


There are grins.

There are chuckles.And there are moments of elation.

But I'm here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, each and every one of them is even more wonderful than the last.

Something a Bit Fishy

We had another glorious weekend of Jacob not having to work, so we decided to walk down to the National Aquarium for a little infant education.

Andrew was ready to ride the streets in style!

He loved watching the fish dart back and forth through the tanks.

He even found Nemo!

Can you believe these colors exist naturally? It's my fifth grade dream palette in sea life.

We saw some pretty cool creatures.

And then we saw some other creatures.

Yikes! How would you feel if that showed up on your dinner plate?
All in all, we had a great day with the fishies!

Andrew at 6 Months

Some way, somehow, we've woken up to find we have a 6-month old in our midst! That's one-half of a YEAR! Oh, my!

So just what does a 6 month old look like? Well, he might look a bit like this fine specimen...


And just how big is a six month old? Well, this one is 26 3/4 inches long and weighs in at 15 pounds, 6 ounces. That's above the 50th percentile for height and just above the 10th percentile for weight. But fear not, the doctor says that Baby Andrew is just a lean little guy and that he is obviously thriving.

"See??? I've got a little tummy pudge hanging around!"

The doctor said she'd seen an unusual number of 6 month olds today and that Andrew was definitely the most animated and smiliest. {It's not bragging if it comes from the doctor's mouth, riiiiiiight?} What a joy!

And what a foot eater! He gnaws on those things like they're spareribs. Like they're spareribs and he hasn't eaten in 2 weeks. Not only did Andrew add foot chewing to the resume this month, but he became quite the flipper. Let him alone with a blanket and he'll roll himself up baby burrito style in two seconds flat!

Lately, we've been rebooting the daytime sleep routine. We said goodbye to the Swaddle 2.0 and to the fourth nap (finally!). He now sleeps (swaddleless) for 2.5 hours in the morning, about 2 in the early afternoon and sometimes another 45 minutes to an hour in the late afternoon. Having a window in the middle of the day where we can be out of the house for up to 3 hours between naps and feedings is grand! We've had such a good time meeting up with friends for lunch, running errands, and going on outings. I feel quite liberated, just in time for summer!

Andrew's also doing great at night. He goes down at 8, eats at 10 and goes immediately back down, and then sleeps through until around 6 or 7. I'm tempted to move that last feeding of the day up to 8 to let him have a continuous night's sleep, but I hate to tamper when things are going so well. Any thoughts?

And the best news of all? The poopy diaper daily total has fallen to a more reasonable level of 2-4! Yippee!

Can I just tell you how blown away I am by Andrew being six months old?! Almost every night before bed, Jacob and I end up gazing at our little infant, consciously basking in the blessing that he is and thanking God for the gift of his life. He brings us so very much happiness and has made these past 6 months the best of our lives. I am so thrilled that this is only the beginning!

Half-Birthday Party

In celebration of Andrew turning the big 6 months old today, there was some rice ceral served at Chez Snodgrass!

You mean I'm getting real food? You don't say! It was a huge success!

The little guy thought this was the best new activity ever!

He kept eating and eating. And only sneezed rice ceral on us twice!

He even learned to wipe his face after eating. And believe you me, there was plenty of wiping to be done!

Thanks for the grub, Mom and Dad!

Progress

Do this... ...and this...

...count as sitting up?

Because if they do, the little guy has been sitting by himself for minutes on end!

If they don't, well, we're still making progress!
Back to baby bootcamp...

Caption It!

To me, this picture is screaming for a caption. But I can't figure out what it is!

I mean, that face! There's something being said in that face.

Leave a comment or shoot me an email with your perfect caption! I'll be forever indebted to you for your genius.

{Double-click on the picture if only life-size Andrew will get your brain juices flowing.}

Update: There have been 118 views of this post since yesterday and only two suggestions made...come on, y'all are more creative than that!

Swaddle 2.0

Faithful readers {gold star to you!} may recall that Andrew L-O-V-E-S to be swaddled for naps. For the first couple of months, the ordinary swaddle kept him contained, but as he got stronger and more mobile, the need for a newer, better swaddle emerged. A little Google searching and trial by error modification later and we had down pat what we like to call the Swaddle 2.0.

{And to think my Google searches used to go something like "Jessica Simpson fashion photos" or "how to do smoky eyes"...}

Well, at almost 6 months, Andrew is outgrowing even the Swaddle 2.0, so before it's lost to infant care history, I thought I'd give a little tutorial in hopes that it may help somebody out there to get their baby to sleep...well...like a baby. And for all you snickering non-parents, just you wait! ;)

Please pardon the sidewaysness of the next two photos. Blogger refuses to post them correctly.

Step 1:

Fold a stretchy receiving blanket into a triangle.

Step 2:

Line baby's shoulders up with base of (inverted) triangle.

Step 3:

Take one corner of base and wrap over baby's arm and pull under baby's body. I always give a nice upward tug toward the armpit for extra snugness, too.

Step 4:

Repeat with other corner and soon enjoy soundly sleeping baby.

Now you see why the Swaddle 2.0 is also known as the Straitjacket Swaddle.

Oh, the hours and hours Andrew would sleep when wrapped up like this! But now...

...he can do the fully swaddled flip, so it's time to bid adieu to the Swaddle 2.0!

Dinner Date

It's that time again in DC...Friday night jazz in the sculpture garden!

Andrew said it was about time we kicked our feet up and relaxed.

So we complied. We packed our picnic basket, strapped the little guy into the stroller, and were on our way!

A dinner date with these two is simply superb.

I can't believe nobody else thought to show up.

Ah, city life...

He's Got a-Holt-a That Pull Toy...

...and he won't let go!



If you watch this video, say, sixty-two times, your afternoon will start to sound a lot like mine!

Unsolved Mystery

I've got a problem: I would like to thank someone for this cuteness, but I don't know who is responsible! Some sweet somebody brought this adorable playsuit to my parents' house for Andrew, but we couldn't find a name on the package. If you are the giver of this lovely gift, please be so kind as to let me know, so that I may thank you! He loves it!

Emily + Bryan

We headed out to Delaplane, Virginia this weekend for the wedding of my sorority sister, Emily, at the groom's family farm. What a beautiful place! And what a beautiful couple!Isn't this a sweet daddy-daughter moment?

We had a great time catching up with college friends and meeting each other's husbands!

Many congratulations to Emily and Bryan!

Perfect Pink Polish

I used to be an OPI Bubble Bath nail polish girl, through and through. Come Summer, Winter, Fall, or Spring, I had Bubble Bath-ed nails. But there's something that's just a bit too white about Bubble Bath--not quite pink enough. And two coats makes the polish quite opaque, while I prefer a somewhat sheer look. After all, a girl on the go can't have a polish that shows the very first hint of a chip! So, although my nails were done in Bubble Bath, my heart was always somewhere else.

On a hunt.

For the perfect pink polish.

At last, I've found it! It's sheer but not too sheer, pink but not too pink, natural but not too natural!

Presenting Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri polish in Petal Pusher...

{I've discovered that my bookshelves can double as a black box for photography of products--you're in trouble now!}

Not only is it perfect in terms of color, thickness, and gloss, but it dries in a flash! Oh, and it has a brush three times as wide as an odinary one, so that each nail can be painted with just one stroke. Know what that means? No streaks! Could there be a more perfect polish?

A Little More B'ham Fun

Before leaving Birmingham, we managed to squeeze in a good bit more fun!

Andrew had his first outdoor swimming adventures with his aunts and uncles! Here he is, trying to relax away the stresses of city life.He did great the first day, but the return trip was not as successful. He fussed a good bit and we eventually reached full meltdown mode. Later, I realized that was the first true meltdown he's ever had. I've got it easy, don't I?Swimming's okay, but calisthenics at home is more Andrew's style.

After all, he's got to get in shape if he ever hopes to keep up with his cousin.Because this little girl...is ready to get her crawl on!

She's also become a rabid catalog shopper! Did you know that? It's true!

"I've torn the whole durn thing apart and still can't find what I want!"
After calisthenics came couch time.Which soon became wrestle time. Mainly because Lily loves Andrew so much she would like to eat him. She is a very sweet girl.
The Hulking Drewsky vs. Lilybit the Lightweight!
Lily claimed the victory, but Andrew says he let her win.After all the baby games, Andrew got in some visits with my dear friends.
And I got to have a girls' night out!

And enjoy a fortuitious meeting with a good ol' buddy!

In sum, Andrew has this to say about our week in Birmingham:

Yep. It was that fun. But we sure were glad to see Jacob at the end of our flight back home. The little guy just giggled and giggled.