9 Months!

Andi is 9 months old today! Yesterday we went to see Dr. Horst for her 9 month well visit, and we are so thankful that again she checks out all healthy :)

Here are her stats:

Height: 27" (30th percentile, down from 45th. She grew about 1.5" in 3 months)

Weight: 18lbs 13.5oz (50th percentile, down from 75th. She gained about 1.5 lbs in 3 months)

Head circumference: 44.4 cm (63rd percentile, up from 55th)

A standard check included a blood test for hemoglobin levels: all in a normal range (14), so she's not anemic. She's also right on track developmentally. We've been enjoying her brabbeling. She says "Mam mam mam" a lot, and I'm looking forward to the time when she knows what that means! In the mean time, we'll work on the word "dada" too :)

Here's her 9 month shot with Slungel:

Big smile, because I've got both my fists full of banana crackers!

Oh the places you will go ... (part II)

Andi got her first passport today .... The world is now open for travel! Wohoo! First trip on the agenda: spending two weeks in the Netherlands with my side of the family for Christmas and New Years.... we can hardly wait to go!

It's a US passport, maybe she'll get a Dutch one too one day :)

Doesn't she look proud?

Thanksgiving pix

Pictures courtesy of Aunt Melody! We had a great Thanksgiving day with Marilyn's side of the family, at Grandma and Grandpa Maynard's house. Of course for Andi, the day consisted mostly of being squeezed by all the Great Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents and Great Grandparents:

Great Grandma Maynard.

Great Uncle Fred.

Great Aunt Melody

Grandma and Grandpa! The weather was so nice (upper 60's!), that we got to sit outside!

Andi is always the center of attention :)

Don't we look purdy :)

The Bryans. Oh how grandpa loves to get his picture taken.

Nope, no pictures of a turkey or any other food, because you know, we didn't really eat anything at all .... ;)

Daddy's home!!

Friday morning Andi and I finally got the long awaited phonecall....Ben's coming home!! We had the choice of waiting until 4:50 pm for him to fly to Laramie, or to drive to Denver and pick him up there at 1:50 pm. Since I had done just about all the waiting I could, I decided to leave right away, and drive to DIA!

One word: YAY!

We were wondering how Andi would react to seeing her Daddy again for the first time in 3 months, but even though she was a little hesitant in the first minute or so (heck, even I had to do a double take when he came up the escalator ... Army uniform, shaved head, -20lbs ...!!), she warmed up to him again really quickly, especially after hearing his familiar soothing voice.

Home with her daddy.

Daddy brought me an army bear!

This morning...having a blast playing on the floor!

Just for comparison with the top picture...below Ben and Andi right before Ben left:

A few more days ...

Ben didn't end up coming home on Sunday, and instead we get to wait just a few more days. Hopefully he'll be coming home on Thursday, though we don't know yet what time, and if that might delay into Friday.

Meantime, we are keeping plenty busy, of course. My neighbor says I'm doing a very good job acclimatizing Andi, taking her on walks with Sage even when it's cold out (though the single digits are off limits) :)

Andi's watching her mommy shovel the driveway and sidewalk from her high chair put in front of the window.


Playing together downstairs. Who doesn't like to play with measuring cups and spoons, a mini army football, package stuffing, a toy phone, a real phone and a giant dog? We all know it, kids these days like sensory overload ;)

8 months

Tuesday marked Andi's 8 month 'birthday'
... here are a couple of pictures from the last week or two:


8 month shot with Slungel






We had fun swimming with Debbie and Jo and the kids, and Debbie captured a nice shot of Andi's rolls with my camera ... this girl is healthy! :)


Playing on the floor:

In her halloween costume on Oct. 31st:

The best news? ... Ben is supposed to be coming home on Sunday! We can hardly wait .... :)

Long time no blog...

Andi and I have been keeping very busy since my mom left, and we're definitely due for putting up another blog! Andi is doing so well, and I keep being amazed by all her developments. I can't wait for her daddy to come home and see it all! She can sit up by herself now and really loves this new perspective. She's also working on her immune system ... :) ... since the beginning of fall she's had two colds (yay for kids sharing bugs), and she also had a nasty 3 day stomach bug that had her throwing up lots, and even had us in the ER one night.
Here's just a couple of pictures from the last three weeks:

Andi's 7 month picture with Slungel.

At grandpa and grandma's Bryan's house. I can sit up now!

Future piano player.

Getting a taste of grandma Bryan's home grown, homemade carrots!

Carrot lipstick, a new trend.

I love fringe!

Smiling pretty.

Andi really loves dogs! Sage always makes her smile and giggle when she walks by, and Andi really loves it when it sit on the floor with her and let her pet Sage. Dog licks are even more hilarious! (I'm being very careful though!). While grandpa Bryan was out hunting for a couple of days, we watched Kenai. Andi loves to sit by the window and watch Kenai and Sage play.

Andi and Kenai.