I just can't get enough of these smiles! Andrew is bright and active today. Each day he is more alert, but he is still sleeping great at night. Last night he slept from 11 - 4 (5 hours!), a 15 minute feeding/diaper change and he was back to sleep until 6am. I had a doctors meeting this morning, so daddy got to spend some one-on-one time with Drew for about an hour. I am really enjoying watching him change every second!
Drew is full of smiles when he wakes up in the morning!
After church we met the Byrum Family for lunch to celebrate the event. Drew slept the entire time!
Grandpa & Grandma Shaffer
Uncle Steve & Aunt Michelle
Cousin Ethan being silly and ready to teach Andrew everything he knows!
Cousin Eliza enjoying her dessert and being cute as can be!
Cousin Ella with her adorable smile!
Baby Drew sound asleep!
Today is Andrew's 6 week birthday and we got a present from him, his first smiles. The first 6 weeks we got glimpses of a smile in his sleep, but yesterday for the first time he looked right at his dad and smiled really big. Next he looked at his mommy with another big grin! Since then he is a smiling machine when he is awake and feeling good. What a amazing feeling, what a sweet baby! It makes waking up every 3 hours worth it! 
Here is Drew enjoying a swing, he really likes looking at the ceiling fan.
These smiles came after peeing on Mommy during a diaper change. I think he has peed on the floor more than any puppy could! Im sure I will get faster at diaper changes with time. Drew is changing so much everyday. My little boy is growing up!
This is similar to the travel co-sleeper (I borrowed from my sister Holly), it is easy to travel with and you can sleep with baby between you while on the road. Very nice for our long trip, so we didn't have to set up the co-sleeper at every stop. 
Cloth diapers are a bit more work, but the only thing that keeps my Andrew's sensitive skin on nice and clear. I have tried using disposables, but even with a good coating of Desitin, Drew gets a red, dried out bottom. So I loved these little diapers. They fit him very well and the snaps are very easy to use. You have to use a diaper cover, but we have had very few leaks. Love them! There is tons of great cloth diaper info at http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/. They will ship your diapers in 2-3 days. Definitely more economical in the long run (I was going through 15 - 25 disposables a day at the beginning!) and good for the environment too. The second picture is Bum Genius diapers. These go from newborn to 30 pounds. I love the fit, but you are not suppose to use diaper rash cream with them, which I can't go a change without... Holly (my sis) loves these diapers and Eliza still fits in them, weighing in at 27+ pounds.
So I used the Huggies Natural wipes for a week and my baby boy suffered through a terrible dried, red diaper rash that took quite some time to heal. I will never do it again, not even while traveling... my baby boy has extremely sensitive skin, but just add some water to these wipes and pop them in the wipe warmer and you have toasty warm wipes with no drying of the skin. We used them on our 16 hour trip to Florida with no problems, just put them in a zip-lock baggie when on the go.
This is a newer version of what I have, but it is amazing for doing work around the house and holding Andrew. He goes right to sleep and then we are off doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, mopping the floors, making dinner, anything... Daddy even wore it when he was loading the car for vacation. Allows you to spend close time with the baby and get a few tasks done as well.
After Andrew grew out of the swaddling receiving blanket (5 days old!) my sister brought me this amazing contraption. It keeps the arms close to the body, giving baby a warm cozy feeling that keeps them sleeping...until they get hungry! Drew was sleeping 3 - 4 hour stretches by the second week due to this beautiful invention. Isn't he cute all snuggled in his swaddle blanket in his co-sleeper? The sleep positioner and the burp cloth under his head are wonderful as well. The swaddle blanket is a definite must have for new parents.
This is our stroller, which I love. Yes, it is pretty big, but it handles well and has some really neat features (clock and temperature reading). I think it is nicer than the systems that come as one unit (stroller + car seat). You have to buy the car seat separately, but I think it was only around $20 more. I have not seen anyone with my stroller (unlike the Chico's and other travel systems that EVERYONE has!).
Wonderful invention! Who would want a freezing cold wipe in the middle of the night, not me... This works great with the cloth wipes (even took it on vacation with us) and makes the diaper change a little more comfortable.
This a must-have for breast feeding mommies. During the first few months you need something to support babies head while eating (because they get awfully heavy fast!). It works best in a rocking chair/recliner with arms on it (another MUST have item). Use it every day and took it with us on vacation, made feeding in the car much more comfortable. In the first few weeks Andrew loved to lay in the boppy as well, nice and cozy.
This sleeper meets directly up to your bed, so you can sleep next to baby and easily reach over and get them if needed. Occasionally Drew spits up while dozing off and I love being able to reach over and help right away. This you can get a co-sleeper that turns into a pack-in-play as well, I don't have it but wish I did. It somewhat easily (ask Daddy about that) folds down and comes with a nifty case for travel. Very close to my number one favorite baby item.
This model lady (not me, and definitely did not have that baby!) shows the newborn hold, which Drew has already outgrown. There are many more positions for baby all the way up to toddler. Andrew loves the front carry and usually is sleeping like a baby shortly after getting in the sling. I get comments every time I go to the grocery about how content he looks in his sling. I would not leave home without it. It is easy to use, easy to carry and makes you able to hold the baby hands free. My top pick! See more at http://www.hotslings.com/. Here is a picture of us using the sling on vacation...
The doctors tell you not to take your baby to Wal-Mart until they are 6 weeks old, so we, being the crazy new parents that we are, take our 4 week old on a 16 hour car trip to Disney World! Everyone said traveling with a newborn is easy, right? NO, not as easy as it may seem! I think everyone I talked to told me they "knew someone" who took a newborn on a long trip, never did they do it! Drew was a trooper, but we did have to stop every 2 - 3 hours for feeding and diaper change. We listened to Disney Lullabies the entire trip and both of us could sing the CD by heart! A few times we would get back on the road and Drew would let us know he was not ready yet! One time he had a major blow out and was really upset, so that was the hardest part. It is hard to watch your baby cry and to be unable to make it better. I would end up crying after a few minutes...and I have never seen my husband drive so fast to get to the next exit! I did every thing possible to comfort him in the car seat and even successfully breast fed him once! It can be done, but is difficult with a 4 week old! Good thing we have tinted windows! It took patience, but we made the 16 hour trip in about 24 hours (two 12 hour days with all the stops). We stayed at comfortable hotels in between, took our time and tried to make the most of it. We got pretty good at feeding and changing the diapers in the car. We took our changing table with us, which was amazing - Dave would slide it on my lap and it made diaper changes a breeze. Would we do it again? Maybe, depends on how much we forget between now and then! Davids ending quote was "we are getting a mini-van". All in all, we had a great trip. We spent time with the family and everyone finally got to meet Andrew. 
We took some time for a few photo's around the Vero Beach Resort. We walked on the beach twice, once in the evening and once in the early morning. The sound of the waves put Andrew right to sleep. We were here the first 3 nights, then we moved to Disney World (Orlando) at the Old Key West Resort.
These pictures are from the putt-putt course. We didn't have a chance to play this time, but Dave reminded me of when he beat me in the past!
Mommy even had time for a pedicure! Daddy came to help with Drew, but a massage chair and the sound of the water put him right to sleep on my chest. It made the time even better! 
These pictures are from the Old Key West Resort. We went to Downtown Disney for dinner one night, but did not go to the actual park (too many people for me). There was plenty to do at the Resort and we just enjoyed spending time together. It was nice to have David with us all day long...we went for walks, took naps and just had a wonderful time.
I had to get a picture of Drew with Micky ears. Call me cheap, but I wasn't about to pay 10 dollars for a hat that didn't fit, so we took some pictures in the gift shop. David was a bit embarassed, but no one seemed to mind because Andrew was so cute and a was a big hit with the crowd wherever we went!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! We had fun singing Disney songs to Andrew. As you can see he wasn't all that excited and did a good amount of sleeping!
Andrew loved having Daddy with us all day long and Daddy loved it too. Andrew definitely knows who his Daddy is and they are very sweet together. Looks just like his daddy!
Our room had a huge juccuzi tub and Andrew loved his baths. He really likes the water and we look forward to his everyother day bathtime.
