On the move

Drew officially learned to crawl this week. My dad came over to watch him for about an hour while Nate and I went to church and when we came back he decided to show off his new skill for all three of us!

Later that night, Nate and I took a quick video with our camera:

My sweet boy

On the move!

3 things we did this week

Thanks to the warm weather, we went for a run in the park and lost a sock along the way

and decided to relax on the screened porch for a bit

 

And someone learned to stand up in his crib all by himself!

In my next 30 years...

Oh, 30....it has arrived.  Last year I went a full 3 days in the weeks before my birthday thinking that I was turning 30 and when I casually mentioned to Erin on the phone that "the big 3-0 was coming up" she was like, "Alison--we are turning 29!  30 is a whole year away!" Oops.

But this year actually was the big 3-0 and I feel blessed this year more than ever for so many reasons...

Reason #1: I get to wake up to this little face every morning!

Reason # 2: Good friends! On Friday, I got to eat dinner with 3 of my dearest friends...Amanda, Mary and Erin

Erin and Mary at dinner

Reason #3: More friends! So after dinner, Erin told me we were meeting our friend Paige who was in town but when I got there (O'shea's) Nate had gotten together a bunch of our friends for a little surprise party. I was probably in shock in this picture saying "WHAT?  You planned a party??!!??" If you know Nate then you know that is truly a miracle!

Katie, Aaron and Tom

me and Audrey

Jess and Erin

Love these girls! We've known each other since middle school and I feel lucky to get to celebrate my (and Erin's) 30th with them.

Reason #4: Amanda is having a baby! Isn't she the cutest pregnant girl ever?

It's hard to believe I've known her since we were awkward little 7th graders. I love the little baby in her belly already!

Andrew's dedication

This past Sunday we had Andrew dedicated at our church. I have to say, I love how they do the baby dedications at Highland--the parents write a statement about how they chose their child's name and their hopes for him as a Christian and in his faith. We chose Nate's dad to read the statement to the congregation, while my mom and Nate's mom walked Drew up and down the aisle of the church.

At the beginning of the dedication, when our minister asks us if we "will tell him the stories of Jesus and sing to him the songs of faith"

Nate's dad reading our statement (I put the text below) while DeeDee walks Andrew across the front of the church

My mom, walking Drew up and down the aisle

I love this picture of him just looking out at everyone

 

He seems to be listening very intently while Joe tells him that "before we loved God, God loved us" (these are the words that are said at all baby dedications at our church)

 Here are the words Nate and I wrote about Drew:                             

It wasn’t long after we found out that we were pregnant with a boy that everyone began asking the standard question: What are you going to name him? Being a teacher, I, Alison, knew there were plenty of names I didn’t want (as any teacher knows--certain names are etched forever in your memory) but choosing Andrew as a first name was simple: It is Nate’s middle name, a Biblical name, and reflects what we hope is passing on of a family name, as Nate’s parents chose it for him.

We selected “Carter” for his middle name based on the name of the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia. This is the place where we went on our first date, sitting on old bus seats in a barn as we watched Jeannette Carter on the autoharp and Joe Carter on the guitar play “Keep on the Sunny Side,” and Carter is also the name of the county in east Tennessee where, during college, the two of us spent countless hours hiking in the Appalachian Mountains (when perhaps we should have been in Humanities 101). We wanted Andrew’s middle name to reflect all of these ideas: an appreciation for traditions and community as well as a love for the outdoors. 

And just as the Carter’s music reflects the Appalachian community, it is our hope that Andrew will find a community here at Highland that reflects the broader family of Christ. We hope and pray that he can discover his place in that body, embracing the teachings of Christ, knowing Him as his Lord and Savior. We believe that a community of believers is essential if we are to raise Andrew to follow in the steps of Christ.  

Through his, family both immediate and extended, as well as his church community, we pray that Andrew knows the love of our Heavenly father and as he grows up, desires to share that love with others through compassion, acts of service and a strong faith that shapes his character. 

                       
 It was such a meaningful and special dedication for all of us as Nate's parents came in town and both of our families were able to participate (in case you were wondering, my dad video-taped it, as he's not much of one for being in the limelight).  After the service, everyone came back to our house for lunch and of course we took some more pictures.

With Grandpop and Granna

Family picture with the Moulders

Picture taken at the church

8 Months Old

I didn't get a chance to do a 7 month post in all the chaos of December but here are the details of Andrew at 8 months, facts which will likely only be of interest to me and Nate (and maybe a few grandparents:)  My friend Casey took some of these pictures (like the one above) this weekend so she gets the credit for the good ones!

At 8 months, Drew is sitting up on his own and loves checking out the world.

 However, we still do baths in the sink because even though he sits fine, he likes to throw himself backwards or forwards without a worry in the world about hitting his little head. I have visions of that sweet head hitting the porcelain bathtub so we are sticking to the sink for now.  I knew that an under-mount sink would come in handy for more than just letting the dishes pile up!

And he is definitely starting to crawl or at least figure it out. He's done a few little forward crawling motions but not enough to make me childproof the house just yet (but I have a feeling I'd better get on that one!)

He still loves to be outside and hang out in the backpack on his dad's shoulders.

As far as eating goes, he is a pretty good eater. He eats solid foods 3 times a day, mostly fruits, veggies and yogurt and oatmeal. I've tried to give him smallish chunks of green beans or peas but he usually spits them out with a horrified look on his face so we'll try again later.
Other details:

• Sleeps 7:30 to 7:30 (He's done really well with sleeping  through the night the past couple months...yay!)
• Naps for an hour in the morning and about an hour and a half in the afternoon
• He's getting really good about "playing" independently in his pack 'n play if I put some toys in there.
• His favorite thing is still to just watch people or Sadie, who just by walking into the room can provide great entertainment.
• Lately, he's been growling like a bear which is pretty funny. He also likes to mimic Nate or me...If I go "la la la" or something he repeats!
• He waves hello to the dog or to himself in the mirror and sometimes to us.
• He says "d-d-d" when Sadie comes in the room (knows what "doggie" is)
• Says "mama" and "dada" but not always referring to me and Nate (but sometimes!)
• He's cut his first tooth that we noticed barely peeking out of his bottom gum yesterday.
• Overall, this is such a fun stage (I think I say that about all of the stages so far) and even though he is keeping me on my toes (he's quite active!) I am loving it!