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. 
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!
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 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.
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. 
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 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!"
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.
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.
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.
