8 months

At 8 months, our Andrew has become quite a happy baby. We are sure glad to see that! He smiles a lot, plays by himself, has learned to take longer naps & sleep through the night, and more than anything he loves to eat! We thought we would post a few pictures that are evident of this.

Such a strong boy! He can't pull himself up to things yet, but if you stand him next to the couch or a toy he can stand there for a bit.
















Look at those chubby cheeks! They practically hang down to his shoulders!














Front view of his big belly



















Side view of his big belly

Playing with Andrew

Andrew is learning how to use his hands more and more each day. Among his favorite activities is that he has learned how to make 'toot-like' noises with his hands...should we be proud of that?!


Andrew's also gotten to the point where he can pretty much clap on command. We still have to show him sometimes, but once he starts, it's difficult to get him to stop.


Finally, I hope no one is sick of watching Andrew giggle. I know we can't get enough of it!!

Thanksgiving and more

This was Andrew's first Thanksgiving. We spent the weekend with my family which included my parents and my brother, Matthew. Poor guy didn't get to enjoy any of our Thanksgiving feast, but he did heartily eat his cereal and bananas.






























Andrew is enjoying books more and more. He's pretty good at turning the pages himself on the cardboard books. He has also been learning to clap his hands. Fun!














Spending time on his belly is actually something he is enjoying more. Tummy time used to be quite an ordeal...he'd scream and instantly be in a bad mood. Glad that's over. Even though he is spending more time on his stomach, we don't see much evidence of him crawling anytime soon. But who knows? That could change quicker than we think :)














Here is my preppy little guy...along with quite a bit of slobber.



















I will feed him just in his diaper sometimes because of the huge mess he makes (it's just easier!). Obviously this picture is pre-dinner because he's so clean. I thought the pose was funny so I had to share it.

Thumb sucking and talking

By now, many of you know Andrew sucks his thumb as a soothing technique. What's odd is that he has extended this to eating solid foods. For some reason, we cannot get even one spoonful into his mouth without him putting his thumb in immediately after!



And this next part absolutely melts our hearts. Andrew has started "talking" to us. He responds to squawks and squeaks and anything that's part of his vocabulary. We absolutely love listening to what he has to say!

Texas and tigers

So Andrew, my Dad, and I went to Texas last week to visit my sisters and their families. We had a great time. Andrew did amazingly well on the plane but didn't do so well when it came to sleeping at night. I guess I can't blame him for being in a new place and all, but it sure did tire me out!

In this picture Andrew is playing with his cousins, Dayana & Daniel.














One main reason we had to go to Texas was to visit my new nephew, Isaac. Isaac is about 4 months and Andrew is almost 7 months.














Andrew's first Halloween! As you can see we dressed him up as a tiger. He didn't get to celebrate too long in his costume seeing as he usually goes to bed around 6:30. We did not take him door to door because Ryan and I would have eaten all the candy (not good!). But we did let him hand out a few pieces of candy to the kids who came to our door. He seemed to be content with that and so were we :)

6 months

Andrew is now 6 1/2 months old. We had his 6 month check up today and my chunky monkey actually lost weight! The good news is that he grew almost 2 inches taller. That puts him at 25% for weight and 75% for height.

He's learning to sit up on his own but still has a ways to go. Maybe a second after I took this picture he fell over














I love the expression on his face here as he holds this small pumpkin



















His infamous pout



















And finally just spending some time outside. He loves to reach out and touch things lately. He loved the flowers but wasn't so sure about the leaves.

Nicknames

When Andrew was born, people asked us what we would call him: Andrew, Andy, Drew? Mary and I figured we'd play it by ear and let people call him what they want. After 6 months, almost everyone calls him Andrew, but his nicknames revolve around Drew: "Drewby", "Drew-Drew", or "Drew-Drew Bean" are the most common. His Michigan cousins simply call him "Baby Andrew".

More cuteness

Not too much to report at the VanderKamp household. I just caught a few more good shots of Andrew that I had to post. He can now roll from his back to his stomach...he has been able to go from his stomach to his back for quite some time. He is also getting close to being able to sit up on his own. Tomorrow he will be six months!

5 months & 2 weeks

Fall has arrived! It's time to bundle up Andrew when we go outside. Initially he doesn't like us putting on all those layers, but he better get used to it! I couldn't help but take a few pictures because I think he looks so cute and like such a big boy in his fall attire.



































Andrew continues to want to put everything in his mouth. It must be his way of getting to know the world around him. In this picture, he tried for quite some time to stick that whole toy in his mouth. It was fun to watch him try.














When giving him a bath the other day, he stole the washcloth from me before I could even use it. He stuck it in his mouth and then went on to play in the tub like it was no big deal. How he makes us laugh!

More Giggles

If you catch him just right, our serious little boy can actually give more than one giggle on camera.

Lions and more

Ryan is a HUGE Detroit Lions fan. So as you can imagine, he has the same hopes for Andrew (poor guy). Sunday was the first Lions game of the year so we put Andrew in his Lions gear and watched the game. He fell asleep half way through :)
















Today was a beautiful day in Michigan! Andrew and I just had to take advantage of it. No playing with the toys indoors...bring the toys outside. As you can see, Andrew loved it!

5 months

Andrew is now 5 months old. I can't believe that we have experienced spring & summer with him, and now comes fall. I'm looking forward to 'throwing' him in a big pile of leaves. Pictures to come :) In the mean time, here are two recent pictures: one showing off his big grin, and the other showing off his big blue eyes.

new toys

We have thoroughly enjoyed watching Andrew grow and learn the past few weeks. 4 months is a really fun age. Lately he has been able to entertain himself more. We have introduced some new toys to him, his favorite being the exer-saucer. He has also been bringing toys up to his mouth to chew on which makes us wonder if new teeth are not far off. And when all else fails, he has his toes...I love that!

More Firsts

It was another day of firsts for Andrew. First, the most precious part: our beloved little boy learned to giggle. And not just a little bit -- he giggled for the most part of five minutes!! Of course, when you get the video camera out, he suddenly stops...sorry! We were only able to get one giggle on camera. Maybe he's getting camera shy!




After swing time and giggling, Andrew worked up an appetite where we tried to feed him his first cereal. He gave it a good try, but he let us know in his own way that his thumb was plenty fine for now.

4 months!

Our boy is 4 months old. Hard to believe. Here are stats from his recent doctor's appointment. He weighs 15 lbs 15 oz which is the 75 percentile. He is 25 1/4 inches in length which is the 62 percentile. We are so proud of him!

fun with the cousins

My sister Sara and her family are visiting from Texas this week. This is the first time that they have gotten to see Andrew. Andrew absolutely loves them! I have never seen him behave so well. I think he likes to have someone new to look at and watch...truth be told Sara's family can be quite entertaining :) Here are a few activities we have been up to so far:

Dayana and Daniel helping to give Andrew a bath














Having fun on the swings














At the zoo