A Wonderful Weekend

Wow! We had such an amazing weekend with my brother and his family. I was so sad when they got in the car yesterday to head back to Georgia. They arrived late Friday evening and Sami immediately ran in asking "Where's baby Andrew?" He was sleeping, of course, and I didn't want to wake him up! He woke up on his own about an hour later, so I was able to briefly introduce him to Douglas, Casey and Sam. I think he loved them right away! Especially Sami!

On Saturday, we got up bright and early, had some breakfast, then headed out to the pool for Andrew's first time!! We have a pool in our townhouse community, but I didn't want to take Andrew out too early. I decided since there was only one weekend left before the pool closes, we better get him out there to see what he would think of the water. I was nervous since he HATES baths, but Andrew really seemed to love the pool!

Our family just before we got in the pool!

Andrew seems to love the water!

Sleeping on Daddy's shoulders.

Totally zonked out from the sun.

The whole crew!

It was so exciting to be sitting around with my brother and see the wonderful families we have created. There is so much love between us all, I think my parents really taught us right!

Saturday evening, we headed to the mall. George carried Andrew in the baby bjorn and he was such a good little boy the whole time! We took Sami to my very favorite store - the Sanrio Surprises store, home of amazing Hello Kitty items. She got some fun things and then we headed to the food court for Japanese. Yum! After a little more shopping, we all headed home, completely exhausted from being in the sun all afternoon.

Sunday, Douglas and I made bacon and pancakes for everyone, so we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast. We had planned to head to the pool or the park, but unfortunately it was too stormy to go outside. We had a good time just hanging out around the house and talking instead. Sunday evening, we went out to Texas Roadhouse and Saloon for dinner. Wow, what an awesome time!!

Sami, Casey, and Douglas.

George, Andrew, and Me!

At the restaurant, Sami was so well behaved! She colored and sat so nicely while we all talked. Andrew was a little bit fussy so his daddy had to take him outside for a while and then feed him, but when he came back to the table, he was quiet and sleepy for the rest of our dinner. The food was delicious and we had such a good time together. Man, I really wish we could get together more often!

Sami is such a beautiful and sweet girl!

Pretty ladies!

One of the best pics of me and Doug together ever.

George feeding Andrew and calming him down.

My brother with his little girl.

Both families having a great time.

It was truly an amazing trip, and I am so grateful they made the long drive up here to be with us. I'm sad they are gone, but already looking forward to seeing them all again over Thanksgiving.

Visit With Quinn

Today Andrew got to spend some time with two very special people. First, my therapist. Yes, I see a therapist. I honestly don't know how I would have worked through some of the craziness in my head if it wasn't for her. I haven't seen her in almost 2 months, so it was great to get to talk to her about how life has been since I had a baby. It was also great to show her just how much Andrew has grown since she last saw him at just 2 weeks old!

Also, I got to introduce Andrew to Quinn Takei. Without Quinn, I'm not sure Andrew would have come into our lives the way he did. I had been struggling to get pregnant for quite some time and had read that acupuncture can help, so I made an appointment with a guy recommended by my fertility clinic. Ick. I did NOT like him at all. He was very judgmental and not sensitive at all. I left his office in tears and never went back.

Still, I didn't want to give up on the acupuncture. When I mentioned this to my therapist, she suggested her friend Quinn at the Center. Let me tell you, he is amazing! He really treats the whole person and he definitely knows what he's doing!! After just a couple of months of treatments with Quinn, I was able to get pregnant without IVF or fertility treatments. It was such a miracle, and I truly believe that acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and an organic diet made all the difference.

A week or so ago, Quinn called to let me know that he and his daughter had picked out a special present for Andrew! Today, we finally got the chance to stop by his office and pick it up. It was such a special time, and it touched my heart to see Dr. Takei holding Andrew in his arms. Without him, I'm not sure how long it might have taken us to get pregnant. He helped to heal my body and keep me healthy throughout my pregnancy so that I could be a good Mommy to Andrew right from the start of his life.

It's so much fun to introduce Andrew to the special people in my life. I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, when I can introduce him to all my Georgia family!!

Short Visit From Nana and Grandpa

My parents were here last night! They spent all of last week at the mountains visiting with my Aunt and some friends here in NC so they made a slight detour on their way home to GA to come see Andrew. Of course, my mom was here for the first 10 days after he was born, but my dad hadn't seen Andrew in person yet. It was so exciting to see him hold Andrew for the first time!

Unfortunately, they were only able to stay overnight. Mom is a teacher and school starts back on Wednesday. Booo!! Still, I was grateful for the little bit of time we did have. They got here around 2:30 yesterday afternoon and we spent a few hours just hanging out with the baby. He fell asleep on his Nana's shoulder!

When he woke up and was fed, we decided to head over to the mall to do a little bit of shopping and to go out to eat. I am always a little bit nervous when we take him out for such a long stretch of time. The past couple of weeks have been very tough since my sweet little guy is having some gas/colic problems. He cries A LOT, so that doesn't make him very portable. We've been spending most of our time in the comfort of our house, but it was so nice to get out for a little while.

Even though Andrew did cry in the car on the way to the mall, he quickly settled down once we got him into the Moby carrier and he was snuggled up next to my body. He seems to really like the movement when I walk. I'm guessing it feels very similar to when he was still in the womb. We walked around for a while, and I got to go to my very favorite store - the Sanrio store! I haven't been shopping in a while, so I sort of went nuts buying new Hello Kitty stuff for myself. It's back to school time which means they have their new design of loose-leaf paper. I've gotten the paper every year for the past 5 years (it's a new design every year and once it's gone, it's gone forever), and I really love the design this year. I also bought a calculator, a new binder, and some pens. Fun!

After the little bit of shopping, we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We had to wait for about 30 minutes to get a table, but Andrew did a really great job of being patient and not too fussy. The five of us had a wonderful time talking and eating. Andrew only got really fussy once, but as soon as Mom stood up and walked around with him for a few minutes, he was calm and quiet again. I took a bottle of pumped milk with me just in case, and he downed about 4 ounces while we sat there! Hungry boy!

Last night, we sat up and talked. Can you tell how happy I was to get some good adult conversation for a change?

 I know my parents loved being able to spend all that quality time with Andrew. We all went to bed around 11:00 and when we got up this morning, Andrew was his usual smiley morning self. I was so happy that my parents got to see his morning smiles!

I think Andrew was fascinated by his grandpa's low voice! He kept smiling at him and wouldn't take his eyes off him. So sweet!

We were all sad to part ways, but I was incredibly grateful to have them here. I wish we all lived just a little bit closer so we could have visits like this more often. It would have been so much fun to have Kris and Kanon and Susan and Doug and Sami and Casey here too!! I can't wait until Thanksgiving when we can all be together for the first time. It's hard to believe Andrew will be almost 6 months old by then.

I think Andrew was especially sad to see his grandparents leave. He's been crying all day since they left. :( Poor little guy. I really hope we can find a solution to whatever it is that's been bothering him. Until then, we'll shower him with love and let him know we're here for him and doing everything we can. He is one very loved little baby.