Andrew is TWO?

I can't believe it, but it's been two years since we brought our son home from the hospital.
He's doing great. He's putting words together to form simple sentences. He will soon be ready for Preschool.
We have not seen the birth mom in about two months. Every time we would plan a play day she came down with a bad flu and or other complications. Then one weekend it rained so we had to cancel...but we plan to see her this weekend so stay tuned for more pics of Andrew and his Mommy. In the meantime, enjoy these updated pics of Andrew.

A couple of Videos in the Philippines

One video is of our house and the other is our littl guy taking a bath outside in front of our home in the Philippines.

Hello From The Philippines

Well, we are a little more than half way through our vacation. The time is flying by. Andrew has adjusted very well to the time change (16 hours forward from PST). At first, it was a bit difficult because his Daddies did not adjust as well as him...but we are back in sinc.

Here are some pics of Andrew with his neighbor TJ. He took a bath outside at our neighbor's house. He had so much fun playing in the water that he did not want to get out.

Andrew and Mommy 9/13/09

This is our first visit since losing Emily. After this unfortunate event, my partner also lost his sister. She was 39 years young and the loss was a very emotional one. We have finally got back on track and met up with Andrew's Mommy. I have attached some pics below

"Daddy, Can I Take The Car?"

OK, well maybe my son is asking for the car to just play and bite on the steering wheel, press all the buttons and beep the horn but soon he will be asking me to hand over the keys to take a friend to the movies.

Stop, I Wanna Get Off This Ride!

Over the last two days, the birth mom has had some health challenges. At 5 1/2 months pregnant with Emily she had some serious bleeding and her water broke.
Little Emily did not make it through. It was a sad day for all of us.
Being with the birth mom on every appointment and seeing Emily develop each time was incredible. Each appointment made it feel more and more real that we were going to have a baby sister for our son Andrew.
This experience was truly like a roller coaster with incredible ups and some serious down falls. We look at this as our only shot. We had not originally planned to have a second child. When the birth mom of Andrew told us she was pregnant again, we instantly thought yes, we will have a second child. But, that's it, we are done. We won't be jumping on any more rides like this one unless it's at a real amusement park and our son Andrew is sitting between us.

In my heart and mind I say, "Emily, I was prepared and ready to love you and protect you. It's funny to say that I miss you, but I do. I heard your strong heart beat, I saw you tumble and move in side your mom. I could have sworn you even waved at me. I pray that you have moved on to heaven and will look over your big brother and know we loved you with all our hearts."

Being One With The Potty

So I began reading about the best ways to teach my son how to use the potty like a big boy. He is only 19 months and all the books I have read said you should not start too early and most agree by 2 1/2 years old the child should begin the learning process.

I did read that you should expose your baby even at an early age the potty seat. They say if your baby becomes familiar with the potty seat, he will not be afraid of it once you begin to teach him how to use it.

That made sense to me, so I went to BabiesRUs and bought him a nice white cushion-ie potty seat.

I left it in our living room so that Andrew and the Potty Seat could become better acquainted. Here is how they got along. Quite frankly, I think this potty training will be a breeze...How about you guys?

Aging Parents

Ed, Me and Andrew


Uncle Robby and Godson Andrew

Cuz Brandon and Andrew

Mom at 75

Me and My Best Friend Rob

Rob

Mom and Me

Grandma and Andrew

Grandma and Andrew

Uncle Robby and Andrew



My Aunt and Andrew


We took a little trip to San Diego for the long 4th of July weekend. We really had a great time. Andrew had his first experience in a swimming pool and to our surprise was not afraid at all. He really enjoyed being submerged in the water. He was able to hang out with Grandma, and his Uncle Robbie (my best friend) as well as some extended family.

We celebrated my mom's 75th birthday. She looks great! She is still very strong and mobile.
We were having a great visit at my Cousin's place and were all sitting in the living room watching my son play with his 2 1/2 year old cousin. My mom came into the living room and looked at me and said "When did you come in?". I said "What?" and started laughing. She said "I didn't see you come in". I got up and said "Mom, I drove you here to Cousin's house". I stood up in disbelief. When I walked toward her she said, "oh, Paul, I thought you were Cousin (insert name)". I looked at my Aunt and we connected eyes. I took my Aunt aside and she told me these sort of things were happening. Not often but enough to know it could potentially get worse.

I speak to my mom maybe twice per week and I never noticed this. My Aunt said she will be going with my mom to the doctor on July 23rd (normal check up) and mention this to the doctor.

There were two instances where this disconnect took place during our weekend trip. The rest of the time she was alert.

When I thought of my mom getting older, my biggest concern was losing her. How one day she would no longer be in my physical world. I was not concentrating on the possible developments of dementia or senility and how that would also affect our lives. It makes me so concerned...and now I'm calling her every day.

It also made me reflect on my son and his soon to be little sister. I want to make sure my partner and I will minimally affect their lives as we become older. Then, my brain thought, who will leave this earth first?..my partner or me?. How will we go?...Then I tell myself, STOP! Live in the here and now and prepare for the future.