Here Come the Holidays!

 Well, I had completely good intentions of keeping up on this blog when I returned to work, but it hasn't been easy! The past month has been so busy for us as I went back to school and the holiday season has begun.
   I went back to work on Tuesday, November 8th. All-in-all, I have to admit it hasn't been that bad. The days leading up to my first day back were rough, because every time I thought about leaving Andrew all day made me sick and I would just cry and cry. The morning of, I got up extra early so that I would have plenty of time to get myself ready and I was hoping I could get up early enough so that I wouldn't have to see him awake before I left. Andrew decided to wake up about 20 minutes before I left and that made it extra hard for me. He was smiling and happy and I just sat and held him and cried. I was dreading the day ahead, but it was time to hand him back off to Todd and get on the road. I continued to cry the whole way to school but finally was able to pull it together once I got there. As soon as I got in my classroom there was so much for me to do that it took my mind off the fact I was leaving Andrew and I was actually back at school. Everyone at school was so sweet and it made coming back much easier. I caved when I got to school and emailed Holly to see how Andrew was doing at daycare, and everything was going great. There was no question that he would be fine, but still it was good to hear he adjusted well to being with someone new. The school day went by so fast, that before I knew it, it was time to go pick up Andrew, I was so excited to see him! We are now definitely in a routine with me working and Andrew going to daycare and it's really working out great. I am enjoying school as I have a pretty good group of kids and I really like the other teachers I work with.  Andrew is doing fantastic at daycare and Holly is so wonderful with him. Todd and I are so happy with the way everything has fallen into place and love when the work day ends and we can spend the evening playing with Andrew.
  I was only back to school 2 and a half weeks when it was time for Thanksgiving break. We started out the week with the 2nd annual Cook/Bond/Buffington/Lepovsky/Alex and Tim Thanksgiving dinner. We had a great time this year stuffing our faces and having a lot of laughs. It was so much fun having the babies there this year and have the feeling next year we won't be sitting around enjoying ourselves, but chasing after Andrew and Matthew! We went to Pittsburgh the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and had a really nice time with Todd's family. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Todd's Aunt Jodi's and pretty much all of Todd's family was there. Andrew was certainly the center of attention and everyone loved taking turns holding him and getting him to laugh and smile. We had such a delicious dinner and certainly overindulged ourselves.

  I decided I wanted to join the fellow crazies out in the world who participated in Black Friday this year. Todd's parents offered to stay home with Andrew, so we were up at 5:00 a.m. to hit up all the sales and hopefully get some good deals. We actually made out pretty well and got a good jump start to our Christmas shopping. Todd wasn't entirely thrilled about getting up so early to go shopping, but we did have a nice time together and it was a great way to begin the Christmas shopping season.
  We came back home on Saturday, and had my family over for dinner that night. Everyone was still here from Connecticut so we had dinner then enjoyed a fire in our fire pit out back. It was uncharacteristically warm for November so we really enjoyed spending time outside, roasting marshmallows, enjoying a few adult beverages, and listening to Christmas music.

 The next day we drove out to a Christmas tree farm north of Baltimore to cut down our Christmas tree. It was a beautiful day and seemed weird to cut down a tree in such warm weather. Andrew was so good and was perfectly content being held and walking around with us to find the perfect tree.

Andrew will turn 5 months tomorrow and he's getting bigger by the day! He's still eating rice cereal in his milk and we're hopeful to start homemade baby food soon. He has such a personality on him and really seems to be happy all the time. He is starting to do the "swim", where he lays on his stomach and moves his arms and legs around. He wants to crawl so badly and I really thing we'll be seeing that in the very near future. Still no teeth, but I'm sure those are only a matter of time as well.  He loves playing with toys and likes anything with music or blinking lights.

  Now that the Christmas season is here, we are so excited to celebrate this holiday with Andrew. Obviously he has no idea what Christmas, or presents, or anything like that is yet, but it's still fun to shop for him and think about the new traditions our family will start with him. Having a baby gives a whole new meaning to Christmas and I think makes it even that much more special. Andrew by far is the best gift we've received and we look forward to spending this special time of year with him and our families.

Welcome Fall!

  The past four months have easily been the best of our lives. Andrew continues to grow and enrich our lives on a daily basis and we feel so fortunate to have him as our son. Over the past month or so, he really is starting to seem more and more like a "big boy" and not so much a little baby anymore.

  At about 12-13 weeks, Andrew started sleeping through the night which has been amazing! He stopped needing middle of the night feedings, which Todd and I thought would never end, and sleeps soundly in his own room.  Putting him in his own room was hard for me at first because I liked having him in our room. It was so convenient to just peer over the side of the bed and there he was, fast asleep in his rocker. Thanks to our amazing video monitor though, we're able to see him in his crib and it's as if he's still in the bedroom with us. For so long Andrew did not like sleeping flat on his back, but after a while he was able to and we could put him in his crib. He usually falls asleep between 9:00-10:00 each night, and sleeps until around 7:00-8:00 in the morning. We always put him down on his back, but he has turned into quite the roly poly and we always find him in a different position when we go to get him in the morning. Andrew is such a sweet baby when he wakes up. We usually hear him talking to himself and always greets us with a smile. He is such a happy baby, and to see him like this always gets us off to a great start each and every day.

  Andrew will turn 4 months tomorrow and the time certainly has flown by! He is rolling over from front to back and back to front. He loves to move around and I know we need to enjoy the time we have left where he's not completely mobile! I have a feeling we're going to be chasing him everywhere!! He talks and coos all the time. He also loves to laugh and blow bubbles. He's trying to sit up now and it's so funny to watch him do this! He'll lift his head off the ground and then his legs stick straight up and out where he tries to gain momentum to lift himself up. He's not quite strong enough yet, so Todd and I still need to help him sit up. Once he was able to sit up on his own for like 20-30 seconds, but then face planted into the bed. He thought it was hilarious and was ready to try again.  As I'm typing this, Todd is waving a rattle in front of Andrew and he is cracking up over it! There is nothing like hearing the little belly laughs from our little boy :)

  I think that Andrew is in the beginning phases of teething. No teeth or anything yet, but he's constantly drooling and sticking everything and anything in his mouth. He has yet to realize both hands will not fit in his mouth at once! We've also just started adding rice cereal to his bottles. He had no problems with it and continues to eat like he might never eat again in his life! When we feed him, sometimes Andrew will take the reins and hold his own bottle. He's definitely turning into one independent little boy!

  Last month as always we were on the go with Andrew. We had playdates with many of our friends with babies.  Andrew was very excited to meet his buddy Matthew who came a little earlier than planned. Lauren and I are excited to have our little boys and are looking forward to many fun times ahead with them.

  Todd and I also had one of our first night's out recently. We went to the wedding of a good family friend and had a great time! Andrew stayed home with Gram and Pap and did such a great job for them. I of course was a little sad leaving him, but I knew that he was in good hands! It definitely was weird to go out and not have to worry about making sure I had a bottle, diaper, wipes, or anything else Andrew needs, but we certainly enjoyed the night!

  This past week was Halloween and we dressed Andrew up as a skunk. Aunt Kelly came over and helped us pass out candy. Andrew looked SO CUTE in his costume and I'm looking forward to next year when we can take him around trick-or-treating.

  Well the time has finally come for me to now consider myself a "working mom". I was so fortunate to be home with Andrew for 18 weeks and will truly cherish every single day I've spent with him since he was born. In the beginning it was tough having a newborn who wasn't sleeping, and I thought I'd be ready to go back to work. Well, he eventually grew out of that and life got a little bit easier for us. Now the thought of working is absolutely nauseating for me. The thought of being away from Andrew all day and trying to find the balance between being a teacher and a mom is very scary! Luckily our daycare provider, Holly, is amazing and Andrew will be very well taken care of every day. Knowing that makes going back to work a little bit easier, but I'm still dreading it. I look at his little face and see him smiling up at me and it makes it so hard to think of leaving him all day.   I feel very fortunate to have such amazing friends who have gone through this already and have given me really helpful advice for how to make this transition.  It's certainly not going to be easy, but I know Andrew is in good hands and we will eventually get into a routine and this will get easier! I am very thankful though that I am a teacher have a lot of time off.

 As we enter into November we are excited for the upcoming holidays and look forward to introducing Andrew to family traditions, and starting some new ones of our own. This is by far my favorite time of year and having a child makes it that much more special. Being a mom has certainly changed my perspective on life and has given my life a whole new purpose. I feel very blessed to have such an amazing family and the perfect little boy.

Oh how life has changed!

Our new family!

Todd and I were both separately thinking about blogging but this didn't come to fruition until now. Andrew is now 16 weeks old and is the most precious gift we have ever received. Everyday with him is such a blessing and we love being his parents. I was recently talking to a friend about how fast they grow and how you forget what things were like so I want to try and document as much as we can of our family.

Let's go back to before Andrew's arrival.......
I have to say, my pregnancy was a pretty easy one. The beginning was awful and filled with nausea and fatigue, but after that first trimester everything was smooth sailing. Todd was wonderful and came to every doctor's appointment with me. I looked forward to those appointments each month and loved hearing Andrew's heartbeat and knowing that everything looked good (I also didn't mind getting to take a half day from work!).

The month of June started out very HOT! I thought it was going to be such a long month as I was nearing the end of my pregnancy. One day when I got to school the air conditioner was broken and I thought how in the world is a nine month pregnant woman going to survive a 100+ degree day with a bunch of 3rd graders and no AC?? Luckily they decided to close school that day :) Once school ended, I spent the rest of the month relaxing at home and getting everything ready for Andrew's arrival.

35 weeks prego!

We went to the doctor's on Thursday, June 30th for our weekly check-up to see how Andrew was doing and if we were making any progress. I wasn't dilated at all and I started to think he was going to be a late baby. Since I hadn't made any progress yet, Todd and I decided to go ahead with our Fourth of July weekend plans, which we were very excited about. We knew this would probably be our last weekend where we could do what we wanted so we were kind of happy that Andrew wasn't ready to make an early appearance, although at the same time I was kind of over being pregnant. As everyone knows Todd loves his Pittsburgh Pirates, and they were in town that weekend to play the Nationals. That Saturday was dollar day so we decided to go to the doubleheader baseball game. I'd say it was a balmy 95 degrees when we got to the park, so that was super-comfortable for me :) I was a little hesitant to go at first, but I figured I had just been to the doctor two days earlier, no progress yet, so we might as well enjoy a night out. If I went into labor we would just leave and everything would be fine. Luckily our seats were in the shade so at least we weren't in direct sunlight for the game. We enjoyed both games, but only lasted until the 7th inning of the second game.

The next day (July 3rd), we had planned a Fourth of July (yes I know it was a day early) picnic at our house with Kelly, Alex, Lauren, Jimmie, and Kelly and Alex's friends, Mike and Libba. We usually always do something with Lauren and Jimmie for Fourth of July, and since the baby's due date was so close, we thought it would be best to kind of lay low this year. We had crabs, hot dogs and hamburgers and other junk. Throughout the day, I started feeling some cramping, which I figured were some Braxton-Hicks contractions. They weren't happening long enough for me to time them or anything, so I figured it was all just part of the process and I still would have some time before Andrew got here. A few of them did stop me in my tracks, but I still went on with the day. One of the most exciting things about being pregnant was that I was pregnant at the same time as one of my best friends, Lauren. Last year at the Fourth of July, we had a beach front condo where we were spending all day in the sun, wearing bikinis, drinking beer, and living the life. One year later, we were both pregnant, spending the Fourth at home, wearing maternity bathing suits, and enjoying some ice cold water! It certainly was different but we loved every second. No summer picnic is complete without a friendly game of beer pong, and even though we were pregnant it was not going to let Lauren and I from playing. While everyone was having fun and drinking beer, Lauren and I joined in, but filled our cups with water. It was a fun night, and little did we know, it would be the last night at home before our little boy arrived!

The day before I went into labor. Lauren and I  are thoroughly enjoying our water!!

The next day, I went to the pool for a little bit just to get out of the house and cool off. I watched the annual volleyball tournament, caught up with some family friends, but didn't really stay long since I was feeling a little tired and just not really wanting to be out and be social. I went home and it was nap time for Todd and I. Todd stayed upstairs and I went to the basement where it was nice and cool and I could enjoy yet another rerun of The Real Housewives of New York. After Todd finished his nap, he came downstairs to see how I was doing and I got up go to the bathroom. After I finished "going", I still felt something else coming. Hmmmm could it be?? Did my water just break???? I sat in the bathroom and wondered if this was really happening. After a few minutes Todd got up to check and see if everything was alright. I told him I though my water had just broke! I called my mom to tell her and ask her if I should call the doctor. Now those of you who know me, know that I talk to my mom and sister at least three times a day. We always call each other and are always in touch. Well of course, the one phone call I'm sure my mother had been waiting for for the past nine months comes, and she doesn't answer. I call her like three more times, and still, no answer. Are you kidding me?? I figured she was on the other line and was frustrated she wasn't clicking over!! I decided to call the answering service for my doctor and passed along my story.  Dr. Russell called me about 5 minutes later. I told her my symptoms and she told me it sounds like my water did break, and I should pack a bag and head to the hospital. Once I heard that, I didn't go into full panic mode, but had a hard time wrapping my brain around what was really happening! My mother eventually called me back and I shared the exciting news. Todd and I started to get all of our things together so we could leave for the hospital. As we got in the car, I looked at our house thinking that the next time I'd be home my life will have completely changed. I was very excited as we drove to the hospital and was amazed at how surreal this all was. For months and months I'd thought about this day, and couldn't believe it was actually here. Todd was so calm and made me feel very at ease the whole ride there. Once we got there, they admitted me and found that I was three centimeters dilated. I couldn't believe it since I wasn't dilated the last time I was at the doctor's. It took me a little while to start feeling contractions, and so far I was feeling pretty good. After a while though, I did start to feel the contractions and asked for my epidural. For those of you who know, the epidural is the greatest thing ever!! We could see my contractions coming on the monitor one after the next and they were getting pretty strong, however I didn't feel a thing. We watched the fireworks on tv, good thing we didn't plan on going to see fireworks this year! As we sat and waited, Todd's parents arrived from Pittsburgh and Kelly and Alex came from Arlington. Everyone was gearing up for what turned out to be a long night!

I was making progress and kept dilating further and further. I tried to sleep a little bit, but I was so excited it was hard to. We got to about 5:30 a.m., when Dr. Russell came back to check me. She said I was still at 8 cm, and I had made no progress since 3:30 a.m. She was concerned because she said Andrew had a cone head, and that he might not fit! She said we could try for another hour to see if I would make any progress, but at that point there's a chance I wouldn't progress, I could start pushing and have complications, and could possibly need a c-section.  At that point I was also running a fever and throwing up, so I was done and just wanted the baby out. We decided to go with the c-section, and all of a sudden it was go time. They went over everything I needed to know about going into surgery and what it would be like. I wasn't too nervous, I was just ready to meet our little boy. Todd remained calm through everything and was absolutely wonderful. Once we got into the operating room and all the drugs kicked in, all I wanted to do was go to sleep. I was shivering and felt so woozy, that I just wanted it to be over. At first it was a little uncomfortable, and I could feel them tugging at my stomach. I tried not to think about what they were doing because I was definitely afraid I would pass out. After about 10 minutes or so, the most precious and perfect little boy appeared above the blue sheet in front of me. At 6:38 a.m. on Tuesday, July 5, 2011, Andrew Ryan Lepovsky entered the world. The cleaned him up and brought him over to me, and all I could think was that he was perfect. I never imagined in a million years what he would look like and when I saw him couldn't imagine him looking any other way. After I got to see him, they took him back to get all his stats and Todd cut the cord. Andrew was 7 lbs, 14 oz and 20 inches. It took them a little while to put me back together, and I could not wait for that to be over so we could go to the recovery room and I could hold my sweet baby boy.

Welcome Andrew!

So happy and in love with our little boy.

Once they finished up, they moved us to recovery where we got to spend an hour with our new baby. It was the most special hour of my life as Todd and I got to sit with our baby boy. All we could do was stare and smile at him in amazement that he was finally here. We knew that down in the lobby our families were probably going nuts waiting for an update or a picture, but we decided to make them wait it out. We wanted them to see him for the first time in person rather than over a picture message, and we weren't ready to share him with the world yet, we wanted this time to be just us.

They brought us to our regular room, and that's when our families were introduced to Andrew. There were many smiles and tears of joy, as both sets of grandparents, and Aunt Kelly, met their first grandson and nephew. We had many friends and family come to the hospital to see us and meet Andrew. It was so nice to see everyone and we were very grateful for everyone's generosity. I have to say though the best gift I received was the Subway sub that Lauren brought me. I didn't have any lunch meat my entire pregnancy, so eating that Subway sandwich I think was the best meal I ever had. Thanks Lauren! :) We stayed in the hospital until Friday, July 8th. It was nice to have all that time there because the nurses were there to take care of us and we really enjoyed having all the help.

The first night in the hospital, Andrew didn't sleep a wink and cried most of the night. Todd and I thought since he wasn't even a day old, he probably doesn't know what's going on so he was awake and cried, and will sleep at some point. Well the same thing happened the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that, and so on until he was four weeks old! The first four weeks were very, very rough for us! We tried everything to get him to sleep, but he just wasn't having it. I honestly thought we would never be able to sleep at night again. I took Andrew to the pediatrician and voiced all my concerns about his not sleeping and crying all night, and she said he most likely had reflux. She gave us two different medicines to try, and voila!, problem solved. Andrew started sleeping at night and turned into a much happier baby. We were so relieved!! We also were happy we got to the root of the problem, because we could tell that he was in pain.

Andrew has certainly experienced many things since he was born. It was a busy summer for us and we decided even though we have a baby, it's not going to stop us from doing things. In July, we had relatives from Pennsylvania and Connecticut come down to meet him. Andrew met his great-grandmas and great aunts, as well as some cousins. He has been to the Baker's house in Solomon's Island twice, and been to Pittsburgh to Gram and Pap's house a few times. His first trip to Pittsburgh was in early August for Uncle Bob's retirement party. We had a great time there and Andrew got to meet many of Uncle Bob and Aunt Sharon's friends. It was nice for Todd and I because I don't think we had to hold him once! Every once and a while it's nice to have a break :) The following weekend, we left for the Bond Family Vacation to Bethany Beach. We had a great week with perfect weather. I am quite the beach bum and I was nervous that my days of sitting on the beach and reading a book were long gone now that I had entered into Mommyland. Luckily though, Andrew loved the beach, and we had many people there to help us out, so my beach relaxation time wasn't completely shot. While at the beach, Andrew experienced a few "firsts". We enjoyed Happy Hour at Mango's after sunning ourselves all day on the beach, an earthquake on one of our beach days, and we had to cut our trip short due to Hurricane Irene. All in all it was a great trip and we look forward to many more summers in Bethany. Andrew also went to his first triathlon in Dewey Beach. Aunt Kelly and Uncle Fun participated in this for a second year, and it was so much fun to watch. They did a great job.

With the fall came football season, and Andrew has turned into one confused child. Todd and I take turns dressing him in Maryland, Pitt, Steelers, and Redskins gear to represent our favorite sports teams. Ultimately it will be Andrew's decision as to which teams he decides to follow, but for now Todd and I are having fun dressing him up in our respective teams colors.
As Andrew has gotten older, his little personality has come out more and more each day. He is a very happy baby who is always smiling and has now entered the world of rolling over. He loves to talk and make baby sounds, which absolutely melts our hearts. He loves to lay on his "sports mat" which he rolls around on, and sits in his bouncer and bumbo chairs. He now sleeps in his crib through the whole entire night! There is nothing better than waking up in the morning to get him out of his crib. He always greets us with an enormous smile and is so excited to see Mommy and Daddy. That is by far my favorite part of the day. We like taking him out on walk/runs in the jogging stroller around Crofton Parkway in our neighborhood.
Our life is different now, however I don't think either of us could imagine how much love we have for this sweet little boy and what a wonderful experience parenthood really is. We are aware that there will always be challenges, and we have faced some so far (i.e. no sleeping), however we love this new stage we have entered.
Our goal is to keep this blog updated about our family shenanigans as well as life itself. We'll see how things go once I return to work, but my goal is to try and update as much as possible so that we can look back at this blog and the memories we have been able to save.