Grandpa's visit, and the almost-snooze

Andrew is such a cuddly little chest warmer that Dad almost fell asleep while visiting his grandson! What a sweet pair.

Nathan Turns Two!

Nathan's birthday party was so much fun. Here are some cute pics from the day:

Bathtime for Andrew

 

We gave Andrew his first real bath this morning, with Julia helping out. He didn't seem to mind much at all, and in fact seemed to really like being held in the sink for a rinse from the faucet. Jeff did a great job handling the slippery little tyke like a pro. 

Swim class in the new pool

 

The new pools opened this week at Burgess Park, about 4 blocks from our house. Julia will be taking swimming lessons every Saturday morning. She had a lot of fun this morning in her first lesson! 

Treasures from Aunt Barb

Look at these delicious, soft treasures Andrew just received from Aunt Barb! My amazingly talented aunt Barb Smith MADE this quilt and the stuffed elephant. They are the most precious things I have ever seen. You can't tell from the picture, but they are incredibly soft. The quilt has already become my favorite thing to snuggle Andrew up in. Soooo cute! And we've named the elephant Sprinkles. It will be fun to watch how quickly Andrew gets bigger relative to him. What treasures... thank you Aunt Barb!

 

A Lesson in Language

(A guest post by Jeff)

These days Julia insists on putting herself in her car seat. I lift her onto the rear floor of the Bronco, and she then climbs up onto the back seat, where she always pauses playfully before surrendering herself to the car seat. This morning, I casually encouraged her to take the last step: "Come on, Julia, hop on in." She glanced at me somewhat quizzically and echoed in customary fashion, "Hop on in."

She proceeded to climb into the car seat and stand completely upright, which she often does before settling down into the seat. Then without warning she yelled "HOP!" as she jumped into the air and bonked her head on the ceiling before falling forward with a sad, startled look on her face.

Her daddy wasn't quick enough (mentally or physically) to prevent her leap, but I was at least able to catch her fall. She seemed more confused than hurt as I held her in my lap to comfort her and fumbled to explain how hop doesn't always mean hop.

First outing with Andrew

We got out with Andrew for the first time yesterday. It felt great to get some fresh air, even if only for a short walk around the neighborhood to the duck pond and back.

  

Cookie Soup

Julia and Daddy were playing before bed and Julia decided to make "soup"...something her Grammy taught her. Here she is stirring it up (with her sand rake, in the collander), and in the next picture she is drinking it. When Jeff asked what kind of soup it was, Julia exclaimed "Cookie soup!"

 

Aunt Janie comes to visit

Aunt Janie was in town on Tuesday and came by to see Julia and meet Andrew. Julia was a big fan of Janie's bracelets, and Janie made the mistake(?) of promising Julia to buy her a pink bracelet and put it in the mail. Ever since, when we mention Janie's name Julia says "Pink! Mail!"

Andrew Davis: How we chose the name

We thought Andrew was the perfect name for several reasons. First of all, we loved the classic, timeless sound. It has two nicknames, both of which we also like. The more common Andy is cute and fun, and Drew is a little more unsusal, and has a solid sound when paired with Holman. (We're calling him Andrew for now, and we'll see if Andy, Drew or perhaps another name develops as a nickname.) The other major reason we picked Andrew is because of its family origins. Andrew is my grandmother's maiden name, and the name of many beloved relatives. It is extra special to be able to use a name that carries such a wonderful heritage.

We chose Davis first and foremost because we liked that it is a little unusual as a given name, and lends a strong middle to the full name. We felt it balanced the more classic Andrew well, and when put all together, it makes for a very solid name. This kid can be or do anything with this name. It also happens that Davis is a family surname from Jeff's side of the family. Jeff's great-great-great grandfather was James Wesley Davis. Little is known of him other than that he fought in the Civil War...twice. He enlisted in September 1861 and was injured in the Battle of Atlanta in May 1864. Upon returning home following his injury, he discovered that his brother Martin was AWOL and was in danger of being killed as a deserter. So, in order to exonerate his brother, James Wesley re-enlisted as Martin Davis and finished the war under his brother's name. A brave and honorable chap, James Wesley Davis was, from what it sounds. Again, how fortunate Andrew is to have such a heritage behind his name!

Andrew is 3 days old in the picture above.

Julia and Andrew get acquainted

Upon arriving home, Julia immediately wanted to "hold the baby!" This picture was taken moments after we walked in the door, in Julia's room in her big chair. She absolutely adores her little brother.

Going home from the hospital

Andrew is safely stowed in his car seat and ready for the ride home. We left the hospital on Saturday afternoon around 3pm. Andrew is one and a half days old.
 

Meeting Andrew

Julia was so excited to meet Andrew!

Here he's meeting his Grammy and Grandpa for the first time:

And here is the new family of four, together for the first time.
 

Introducing Andrew Davis Holman

Born May 19th, 9:37am
8 pounds, 1 ounce
20 and 1/2 inches

Andrew and Mommy are healthy and doing great. More to come soon... 

40 Weeks and 5 Days Pregnant

No picture today, as my belly surely wouldn't fit in the frame it's getting so huge. Yes, I am still pregnant, and just wanted to report that all is well thus far, although I am definitely ready to meet our son. (Still sounds quite strange to say "our son"!) I'm feeling great, and don't tell, but I feel like I could go on for another few weeks if I had to. I am so lucky to have had such a smooth pregnancy. My next doctor's appointment is on Thursday and we'll find out more then, but I have a feeling this little (big?) boy is doing just fine in there. He's certainly continuing to move about a lot. They will probably request that I schedule an induction for next week sometime. Hopefully it won't be necessary! Wish me luck...

Play Date

Another hot afternoon! We had a fun playdate this afternoon with Julia's friends. Here she's in the pool with Gwendolyn and Sawyer.

And here are the mommys, Cristina, Stacey, and Kristen, along with Jackson who was taking a break from the pool, and the two new babies Cooper (Sawyer's brother) and Chloe (Gwendolyn's sister.)

Mother's Day

With Mother's Day falling 3 days past my due date, we hadn't made any big plans, but decided to have everybody over at the last minute for a very casual gathering in the backyard. It was a hot hot hot afternoon, so we got out the wading pool and let the kids strip down, which they loved. I like this picture to capture the essence of Mother's day, because it shows Andrea and I with our big pregnant bellies and our adorable kids having a blast.
 

Watching Daddy's Softball Game

 

Due date today, but no baby yet

The long awaited May 11th is finally here, but there's no sign of baby yet. Fortunately I've been feeling great, so I'm in no hurry. He will come when he is ready. Julia is getting impatient, though, and periodically says/yells "Baby Brother Come OUT!" I think she understands what is about to happen, although I'm sure she has no idea of the extent to which the baby will affect her life. She is absolutely facinated by all the babies we encounter (at the mall, at play dates, in gym class, on the street, etc.) and I have a feeling she will be a very involved and helpful big sister. Anyway, here is a picture of me, practically bursting, as of this morning.

Julia and Nathan in a wagon

Julia and Nathan shared wagon rides at a couples shower for Andrea and Craig's new baby girl, hosted by Andrea's friend Erica at a Los Gatos park. It was a great party and Nathan and Julia had fun playing together. 

Music: Cute Julia anecdotes

Last night Jeff and I were talking about all the cute and amazing things Julia's been doing lately, and wishing we were writing some of them down somewhere so that we wouldn't forget. Hence this entry about music.

Julia loves music, and Jeff and I each have CDs in our car that we play all the time. She loves Baby Beluga and will start yelling "Baby Beluga!" practically from the moment she sees the car. So we start at track #7. (Who knows what's on track #6, we never get back around to it!) When the song ends, she knows what the next song is before it starts, and yells out the name of the song (or her name for it, at least.) She is always surprising me by knowing what the next song is, when I have no idea. She really pays attention! She also makes a lot of associations that surprise us. When a song about lions came on in Jeff's car, she said "Roar" and then said "zoo". When "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" came on in my car the other day, she yelled out "Gym class!" where we sing that song every week. She is so smart! She has also taken to yelling out "louder!" when one of her favorites comes on. (She doesn't seem to know "softer" yet. Loud is so much more fun.)

At night during the bedtime routine, she loves music too and will often ask us to sing "Wheels on the Bus" by saying "round and round" and moving her arms in circles. When we put her in her crib at night, she's lately taken to saying "Ei-ei-o? Ei-ei-o?", a request for Old MacDonald. We think this is a stalling tactic to see if she can delay our departure, and it nearly always works. : )

Backyard snacktime

Friday afternoon was sunny, so we brought our popcorn snack out into the backyard and settled on a beach towel. Julia loves playing in the backyard. We are so pleased with the layout of our new house which makes access to the backyard so easy (vs our last house, where you had to go through the master bedroom!)