From the Mouths of Andrews

Hi all! Lauren and I are doing great lately. We are so excited to be getting back into school finally-I am a little worried about taking 16 credits, but hopefully things will work out well for us. Lauren and I have been talking a lot lately about how our relationship has changed since we got married-in some unexpected ways. I would have never thought when we married that I would enjoy so much something as simple as a back rub while I'm falling asleep. (Lauren should have been a professional masseuse!) I was thinking today how right now is one of the most stressful times in our marriage-a new baby, demands on our money, looking for an apartment, and all the stress that comes with moving. Yet we feel closer right now than ever! I think that's part of the reason we have those stressful times-to make us depend on each other and draw closer to each other and to God. I just want everybody who reads this post to know that I married my perfect girl and that I am thankful every day for the woman that Lauren is. I hope one day to deserve the blessing of being with her. Hope things are going well for everybody, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!

The Same but Different

[First off, I know one of the followers of this blog is the one who had the party I'm about to describe and I want to start by saying that I really did have fun and enjoyed myself ]

Last week, I went to a friend's birthday party and it was lots of fun. But it was also awkward in a way. Although I was the only married person there (I think), it was kind of weird being surrounded by PDA. Now it wasn't gross or anything, but more than I'd seen in a while. It got me to thinking though, Andrew and I were like that when we were dating too. But we don't really do that kind of stuff anymore. And with the revelation, I couldn't help but wonder; why was that? We were becoming old fuddy-duddies? Some people say the flame dies during marriage, so could that be true with us?

So I asked Andrew about it last night since it'd been on my mind for a while. And I was surprised by his answer. "Its not that our love has changed, its just that we show it differently than we used to." I asked him to elaborate. "When we were dating we did a lot of hand-holding, cuddling, and kissing, and we still do sometimes; but we show our love in other ways too. You show me you love me by rubbing my back when I start to fall asleep, running to the store late at night to get Sprite when I don't feel good, making my lunch for work, etc."

And I have to admit, it made me think. And I have to say he's right. We do show our love differently. Back when we were dating, we weren't as busy as we are now, and especially with a baby things got busier. So I've come to wonder if its true with other married students. But I know that their public PDA usually isn't the same as single daters. I wonder if its because they show their love differently too. I encourage my married readers to leave a comment with your thoughts, I'm curious how you feel.

Bennett says Blah!

It is always so hard to get a video of Bennett doing anything because he clams up when he sees a camera! But this time luck was on my side! So here is Bennett's newest sound.

Bennett teethes for Boise State!

This is what happens when mom's stay at home :)

Camping and Nieces

Bennett at 5am

Bennett and Daddy snuggling

We decided to go camping yesterday, the 3 of us. Andrew has been wanting to go camping at Palisades Creek ever since we got married, but we've never been able to get a spot. Its about an hour's drive from here, so its always frustrating to have to turn back. I was pretty convinced we wouldn't find a spot either, especially with the frustrating road construction where we waited for 20 minutes and then poked along for 10 more. But we did succeed in finding a spot! As soon as we started getting settled, Bennett wanted to go to bed! Though he found it pretty hard to in a tent at first. He slept in his car seat and succeeded in sleeping all through the night again! Good boy! He's done it for about a month now. Andrew and I managed to eat some hot dogs before it started to rain. So we retreated to the tent where the boys slept and I read Dilbert comics...I think I'm becoming addicted :) And since this was our first camp out as a bigger family, I really wanted to make it momentful and worthy of scrapbooking. But of course life intervened! :) I had packed everything for smores, only to forget the marshmallows, but more importantly, I forgot to pack our pillows! Good thing I packed extra blankets! We still had fun, even though it had rained the whole time.

When we woke up we decided to break camp early and come home. I was eager to come home for another reason. Before we left to go yesterday, my older brother called to let me know that his wife Crystal had gone into labor. The baby was coming about 2 wks early, she is soooo lucky! Then I was asked if I thought they were going to have a boy or girl, the family was taking a poll. Shawn and Crystal have always wanted to know the gender, but in every sonogram the baby's back was facing the camera. So we've all called the baby Spense because its suspenseful trying to guess the gender. Well, we listened to the messages to find out we had a niece! So exciting! And what is even cooler is that this baby and Bennett are only 6 mths apart! I hope they like each other when they meet!

Aurora Josephine born on June 9th at 6:42pm; 6lbs 3 oz

My brother Tom sent me this picture, I love how my brother is just beaming! He's always acted like a big tough guy, but I'm sure he has a big soft spot for his little girl! :)

Losing battles and midnight frights

Well, I'll start this off with good news first: Bennett has finally figured out how to use his teething ring! And about time too! He's been teething since he was 2 months old, but still nothing popped through yet. And he also turned 6 mths yesterday, officially the age for potential spoiling. He's starting to get it down. He really is a cuddly bug and hates being put down, but he's a bit too heavy for me to carry around all the time. So he'll usually cry until he finds a distraction to play with. Then I come back into the room and he begins crying as though to say, "I never had fun, I've been just as upset as when you left me!" It'd be really funny if his cries weren't so heart-wrenching.

Now onto the tough parts of this entry. Its been pretty hot here so we've worried about how best to put Bennett to bed. Ideally I'd like to put him in a onesie and tuck a blanket in, but he won't have any of that! He has a swaddler that's fleece since we got it in the winter, but I fear that its too hot for him! And it is a little, so we strip him down to a diaper then wrap him up. We'll be getting a cotton swaddler soon, thanks to my mom. But in the meantime, I worry for him. Over-heating is a SIDS risk. Oh how I'll breathe much easier once he hits the year mark! And then by then I'll be holding my breath for another reason! But I wonder if every parent is like me, when I get Bennett ready for bed, I can't help but wonder if this is my last night with him. Its a terrible thought, I know. I just hope it never happens. But anyway! Sorry to get off topic! So despite what I want, Bennett knows what works best for him---swaddling. He prefers it so I decided to let Bennett win this battle. He'll give it up when he's ready.

So that is the losing battle, now onto the midnight fright. In all actuality, it was 5am when he wanted to feed, but midnight fright sounded cooler title-wise. Anyway, Once I finished feeding him, I noticed there was blood on my arm, it had come from his ear! Lately, he's been getting into the habit of clawing his ears, mainly the right one. His swaddler is a little small so sometimes he can get his arms out. I'm not really sure why he claws at it during the night but never during the day, maybe its like teeth-grinding? Anyway, it totally gave me a shock! I woke Andrew up, after he barely fell asleep (poor guy) and showed him. Then I cleaned Bennett's ear, it didn't seem to hurt him, which was good, then we all went back to sleep. I hope this day gets better from here!

Trot Trot to Boston!

This is one of Bennett's favorite games! Here Andrew is playing with him right before he leaves for work.