Happy Father's Day!

We love you, Wilson! Andrew and I are blessed to have you in our lives, and we thank God for you each day.

9 months old!

Andrew is 9 months old!! The 9 months of his life have flown by... so much faster than the 9 months when I was pregnant with him!
What a joy he is everyday...

He really seems to be growing up....Sunday at church, a friend said to me, "Laura, you probably don't want to hear this, but Andrew doesn't even really look like a baby anymore...he's starting to look like a toddler." And, I know exactly what she means. He doesn't have those full cheeks anymore, and his weight seems to be more evenly distributed - not just a big tummy! :) And, then the way he moves in our arms!! He's definitely growing up...it makes me a little sad, but that's the way God intended it and that's the way it should be, and I know he'll continue to bring us lots and lots of joys as he grows.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.

Da-da (which Andrew is saying now) and Andrew with spiky hair!

On the deck of the cottage

in the big boy bath

sweet potato mustache!! and look at those teeth!!

Bratley Girl Beach Trip (+ Andrew)

The 3 Bratley girls and Andrew spent a weekend at the cottage together ...just like old times, as Rebecca kept saying. Elizabeth packed us some fun beach happies...Andrew even got a new beach towel!! (thanks, izzy!) And we enjoyed some good time together relaxing on the deck, eating some good food, and playing "Go Fish"! (We'll have to rematch soon...)

Andrew wasn't at his best, as he's been fighting yucky ear infections, but we still had a good trip and his aunts were so sweet to be patient with us. Since we weren't feeling so hot, we didn't get many good pictures... somehow we managed to get home without a single sister picture! We'll have to get one of those soon, girls!

Here are a couple from the weekend...

Andrew had lots of fun with Izzy's j crew magazine!

Andrew and Izzy - Andrew is so funny with anything that is a stick. He loves them! Wilson thinks that maybe that means he'll be a good golfer or baseball player one day....hmmm... Izzy is making Andrew happy by letting him hold the stick to the blinds.

"Are you taking a picture of me???"

Andrew's new favorite thing!

Wilson and I can't believe how in a matter of a couple of weeks our little man has become so mobile! Now we aren't walking or even doing the "real" crawl yet... but with ease, Andrew can roll, sit up, pull up, and do a great "army" crawl! (Wilson calls it this - he uses his arms to pull his body!) He's quite a little monkey. Here are some "pull-up" pictures!

In the past couple of days, Andrew has realized that kneeling at the piano is actually a better height for him than standing!...He makes me smile!

Orange Beach Trip in May

We had an amazing family trip to Orange Beach in May - a great week for the 3 of us before Wilson's busy summer got going. We usually go to Fort Morgan, AL, but we weren't able to work that out so we ended up staying at a friend's condo in Orange Beach. Although we love the quiet, laid-back setting of the "cottage" in Fort Morgan, it was great to introduce Andrew to the swimming pool! He loved it! I hope we'll be able to do some more swimming as the summer goes on. We did go to the beach one day and Andrew had fun grabbing the sand in his hands. When I was looking back at our pictures there were hardly any of him looking at the camera, because he was always looking at the sand or the water!

First time in the pool - all smiles!!

Splish-splash!

Picking the sand up, dropping it, and then doing it again!

Relaxing in the indoor pool - Andrew knows just what to do!

Pardon our progress...

We have resized the video of Andrew pulling up. So...if you tried to watch it before and it took too long to load, then try again. We think it will work now! we hope!!

First Time to Pull Up!

Today Andrew pulled up in his crib for the first time! I took a few pictures right when he got on his feet...as you can see, he was SOOOO proud of himself! We also took a video of him... The video is of 2 different times, and Wilson spliced them together. You'll see in the video that Andrew loses his balance at one time, but no worries, it was no big deal to him...he just rebalanced himself and kept right on standing and smiling! Check out the video below.

wagon rides & hammock time

We have loved the wonderful weather these last few days and have spent lots of time outside. Wilson put our hammock out in the backyard and we had some relaxing family time.

watching the puppies run the fence!

just relaxing with Da da da da...

Sara Beth and Andrew had a fun wagon ride together...these are post-ride pictures. Aren't they cute in their hats??!
This first picture is a great one of Andrew's hair - it sticks up a little - and i love it!! We get all kinds of comments on it. The guy at Banana Republic asked me if we "styled" it...he obviously has no baby experience! Who has time or patience to "style" an 8 month old's hair??? I guess there probably is somebody out there who would...but not me!

They are checking each other out!

Checking the mail...

Andrew checks the mail with either me or Wilson everyday...and he loves it! He starts getting excited as we near the mailbox. Then he opens the mailbox - I taught him that several months ago - and now he proceeds to put his hand in the mailbox to pull out the mail! He's quite possessive with whatever he takes out, too. Yesterday, some piece of unimportant mail traveled with us to the mall because he just wouldn't give it up. Hey...whatever works!

You know, I've always loved checking the mail, too, especially when there's "fun" mail!

Wilson snapped this picture of us reading the mail when we got inside yesterday.

Water fun!

It seems as though Andrew is quite a fan of water...

He loves baths, had a great time in the swimming pool on vacation (I need to post those pics), and absolutely loved his first time in his swimming pool/mat. It's the cutest little playmat! Water squirts up from all over the mat - which could scare some little ones, but Andrew loves it. He was trying to grab the little fountains of water. We'll be staying cool with this during the summer!

my sweet blessing

Andrew is such a blessing in my life and I am so thankful God gave him to me.

Here are some pictures from Mother's Day.

after bath...

getting ready for church...

My first trip to the beach!

Andrew's first trip to the beach was in March. It was a little cool and windy so we were bundled up when we went on the beach. Andrew loves being outside and we have no doubt that he'll be a great beach baby...it seems to run in the family anyway...

Look at the cool dudes!

Bathtime is one of Andrew's favorites!! Check out the fun he is having! Notice that with all the bath toys in his tub, he wants to play with a spoon!

Wearing May-May's glasses...

Life is good!

(especially at the beach!)

Andrew at 6 months

Well, life is busy as we all know (especially with a baby!), and I have neglected our blog... I hate to not post some of the pictures we have taken since January, because we have had lots of fun times in the last couple of months. So, in the next few posts, you will see new, old pictures of Andrew and us...if that makes sense!

On March 11, Andrew was 6 months.

Andrew's Baptism

"Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call.'"

Acts 2:38-39

Everybody loves a naked baby...

Rice Cereal, Anyone???

We snapped a few pictures of Andrew's first taste of rice cereal...

As you can see, more cereal made it on his face and bib than actually in his mouth ...and the cereal that made it in his mouth was gagged on, then spit back out! Wilson and I got a big laugh out of the whole experience. Yesterday, after a few days of practice, a little light bulb seemed to click in Andrew's head and the process is starting to make sense....he is opening his mouth for the spoon and then swallowing! What a big boy!

I'm 4 months old!

We can hardly believe our little fellow is 4 months old! He is growing and changing so much. Even since Christmas he is more interactive with us and he has become much stronger, wanting to stand up in our laps and holding his head up like a pro. Then, earlier this week he rolled over and got his first tooth! At his 4 month check-up, he weighed in at 17.12 and was 26 1/3 inches long - the 90% of weight & height.

This has to be one of my very favorite pictures of Andrew...He's striking quite a pose for me in his crib!

Andrew loves this puppy dog stuffed animal that he got for Christmas. I lay it on his belly and he holds the puppy's head in his hands and coos at it.

Andrew on Jan. 11th - 4 months old!

Christmas 2006

Our Christmas was a wonderful one. Wilson and I have always loved Christmas, and this year was a special one, of course, as it was our first with Andrew. Somehow having a baby seems to give us a new perspective on the birth of Jesus and the gracious gift the Lord gave us in his son.

We hope your holidays were wonderful, too. We have posted a few pictures from our

Christmas for you to enjoy.

David, Semmes, and Wilson on Christmas Day at Cassie's.

Papaw and Ganny with Andrew, Elizabeth, Alexa, and Chian on Christmas night in Meridian.

Andrew playing in front of the Christmas tree.

Oh, how he loved looking at the lights and decorations!!

Laura, Wilson, and Andrew on Christmas Eve in front of May-May and Buddy's tree.

A Bratley Family picture on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning!! Santa Claus brought Andrew lots of fun toys...here Wilson and Andrew were looking in Andrew's stocking.

Andrew and Gretel wish each other a Merry Christmas!! Andrew loves the puppy dogs, and they love him, too!