9 Months Update

Our little lad. He was 9 months when these photos were taken thereabouts. Ando is getting more personality every day. We are often amazed at what a happy baby this guy is. He loves engaging with people, even strangers, slowly breaks into a mischievous smile when they look at him. He loves the attention and can't figure out when people just pass him by. He'll give me a look like "what's wrong with them?"

Last week we went to his 9 month old check up. His current stats: 29 3/4" in height 90%. Last month he grew over 1.5" in under a month. ouch! Like bamboo, I swear I can just sit and watch him grow.

Weight 23.8 lbs 80%. Yes my back is killing me. He is heavy! There is part of me that will be happy when he starts walking so he can pull his own weight. Seriously no one ever told me how hard it is to lug a kid around. Vilma his nanny calls him her "little rock", she is even wearing a special belt around her waist to pick him up. I hear ya sista!

55cm head 100% + + +, my kids got lots of brains in there and don't you forget it! Last month at Thanksgiving he might have said his first word. We were sitting around with the Powell's talking head size and Ando says....."Ea-da". Everyone turned and said together. "He said HEAD!" The jury's still out but that would sure be funny.

Ando is on the move by scooting and one might call it a semi-crawl. He likes to pull himself into standing position and have you walk him around the room. He has a walker and chases the cats. The cats look at me like HOLY SHIT now were really in trouble. Every day he is more and more mobile. With all his new activity, the good news is that he is only waking up 2x a night. Good for mama!

Ando can also play quietly by himself with his blocks and his toys on a blanket. When I walk by he says "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" and throws both his hands in the air. It is so sweet to see him break into a big smile when he sees it's me. This look must warm every mothers heart! He is also learning to wave and that is super sweet.

Happy Owloween + Fall Days

Happy Owloween! Hoo Hoo.
Fall has come and our little owl is 8 months old. He is getting not one, but two teeth in the bottom front of his mouth. He hardly complained as the teeth were breaking the surface. Not that he has not had discomfort but he has been pretty tough with this new occurrence. You can feel them coming in but barely see the little white teeth surfacing. He is sitting up sturdily, very curious and grabs at everything in sight. He loves to try to be a big boy and drink out of a glass cup. Tummy time is more bearable but he is still quickly flipping over again to his back, he is still not ready to crawl. Maybe we should enjoy the peace of mind that where you set down Ando he stays put.

Fall has come and Papa continues to film him in daily life. Here is a sweet video of Ando discovering the bamboo leaves in our backyard. Of course the end of every story is that everything must go in his mouth. All of his little happens are such a joy to witness.

Happy Child

Ok so I think I birthed the most extroverted child. He loves people, younger babies are his new thing. This boy is so excited to interact. I went to Berkeley bowl last week and Ando was strapped into the cart. I could only move a half isle at a time and then he catch someone's eye and they come up to us. He loves siting in my arms faced out so he can interact with people and see what is going on. He's a happy child!

Notes from Papa

Ando is sleeping ok, still waking up 3-4 times a night, I'm suppose to sleep train him. But the doctor said don't do it until you can keep it consistent. I am waiting until we build his room which I hope is SOON....he get's up anytime between 5:30-7am. Mostly it is around 6am which is well, TOO early. Since I am the one who gets up with him during the night the deal is when he is awake and ready to play. That is when I hand him to Eric and he gets up with him. This is his time with Papa. I go back to sleep.

Eric has been filming and drawing Ando since he was born. This was an espically nice journal entry about him. I love it besides the fact Ando looks like a toddler. NOT YET, your still my baby. Well kind of. 7 months and doing well!

My little marsh-mellow sits up!

Just a few days ago Ando learned to sit up. He is a few days away from his 7 month birthday. Like everyone says......it goes SO fast! Where did my baby go? We are working on crawling next. He seems to want to go straight to walking but the osteopath and other experts say that crawling is the main function that integrates the right and left brain. Eric is setting up a morning obstacle course that Ando must finish before he get's his 8am bottle.

Now if you want to see the sitting in action check out my little marsh-mellow's balance. This is only after a few days of sitting. It is amazing how each day he learns a little bit more about his body and his coordination. Good job Andosan! I think he's happy about this new accomplishment.

Andosan on the Cashmere Trail

Ando is six months old. He is going to be ACTIVE. He is not crawling yet but check this out. He has found his own way to get from point A to B. Gotta watch him of he'll be in Nevada before I know it.

This months check up.....
Weight 17 lbs 10 oz 60%
Length 24.5" 80%
Head....ah over 100% ( A Powell for sure!)

Good job Ando. Keep growing & keep going!

5 months & on the way to 6 months

The months have been flying by. In about a little over a week Ando will be 6 months old. We had a re-shoot with our photographer Leon that had photographed Ando at 3 months. We were lucky Leon had us back, Ando peed all over his fabric, backdrop, carpet etc. Leon said he'd have to have a man to man talk with my wee man before the second shoot. Ando lost it with exhaustion the first shoot, before we got a good mama son photo. So this 5 month shoot I had many that I loved to choose from.

Ando is SO much fun! We couldn't ask for a happier baby. I like to say to him everyday..."Ando try to be in a good mood today." He is eating food and actually was so excited his first few meals he would scream in between bites. Shortly after learning to eat he weaned himself from breast feeding. At first I was sad and tried to prolong it but then I realized. Ando is so his own person. I need to respect who he is. And now I'm totally fine with it. And he never looked back. I have a theory that Ando is so ready to be a toddler and infancy just wasn't for him. From the second he popped out he was wide eyed and knew what he wanted.

He loves people, the more the better. He is so happy to interact with anyone. Even if he sees a non kid loving person. Ando will try to engage them by smiling at them and looks perplexed if they don't smile back. Then he'll try again. And then with no response go back to kicking and playing.

We went to Hawaii in July and boarding the plane Ando was facing forward in his carrier. Walking down the aisle I saw everyone seated on both sides of the plane smiling back at us. I looked down and Ando was turning his head to the left and then to the right and back again. He really knows how to engage with people. Or in this case should I say...work the crowd.

Both Eric and I have a great relationship with him. I love how he lights up when I enter a room and look at him. That said I am very happy that he is so generous with his joy and feels secure enough to go to anyone at this point. I love my Andosan. It just keeps getting better.

Ando has learned to crawl backwards. By this I mean he lays on his back and scoots backwards. He can pretty much travel across the whole length of the room if we let him. I can only imagine how active he'll be once he starts crawling and walking.

We got some nice family photos too this round. I was so happy to get these too. Let me know which one you like?

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#3#4#56 months ~ right around the corner...

all photos: Leon Borensztein

4 months old ~ "my little Kook-a-nogin"

I am posting this a wee bit late~ but these photos were taken on his 4 month birthday. It has been a joke in our house that I say pass me his little sock, hand me his little shirt, get me his little shoe. But one thing that I don't say is look at that little head. We call him Kook-a-nogin as one of our nicknames. It is from a Jonathan Richmond song but we changed the world Kook-a-nockin to Kook-a-nogin. But isn't it a cute head indeed?

Stats are in from his four month old check up which confirm it. Head 45cm 97%! Yeah Ando good work. His weight was 14lbs 14oz putting him in the 50%. His height was 25.5" 75%. So the question is....if his weight is in the 50% and his head is 97%, just how much does that head weigh? And is that why he is progressing more slowly in sitting up? Not that we really care it's just fun to think about.

He's our little Kook-a-nogin. The song goes...

Kook-a-nogin, Kook-a-nogin, I love you.
Kook-a-nogin, Kook-a-nogin, I need you.
Kook-a-nogin, Kook-a-nogin, oh oh oh ohhhhhhh......

First Father's Day!

Photo: Leon Borensztein

I have always wanted a good father for my child. My father was somewhat absent. With Eric, I have really GOOD one! It makes me so happy to see the way he relates to his son. This was a special day for me as well to know I have a Papa in Ando's life that really loves him and wants him to be all that he can be.

One Year Ago....

Ando was conceived.

We can't image life without him.

Ando Mika ~ 3 Months Old

When Ando was inside the womb. I use to call him Mika as his nickname which mean New Moon. I watched my belly, a flat mound like new moon and with every week grow fuller and fuller. After we found the name Ando I kept getting the feeling while he was inside me that he was a funny guy. Ando Higashi Powell just seemed so serious. So we added his nickname...Mika which lighted it up a bit.

Today Ando Mika is 3 months old today....and as you can see he is a funny guy with lots to say. Scroll down for my experimental movie making, where you can see more of his personality.You'll see why we needed Mika in his name.

And now
Andosan...The Movie

Ando Cat

Do all parents look at their kid and say...OMG he's just so damn cute? Well I'm not saying I said that but here are some new photos. Ando is 2 1/2 month old and 11lbs. He is following people with his eyes, reaching, grabbing, and along with cooing~ he is squealing with delight! We feel lucky to have his fun & sweet personality. Well most of the time, except when he is hungry look out! He can get MAD. But let's go back to cute & funny! Enjoy...

But isn't he so damn cute!

My first Mother's day with Andosan...

My first Mother's Day! I felt kind of emotional knowing what a long path I have been on to be a mom. To be honest I was kind of weepy today. But happy to see my sweet boy in my arms.

We visited my dear friend June Schwarcz who is 92 this year for this special day of celebration and introduced her to Ando. She is my friend / mentor and we adopted her as family! We met when I was 30 and she was 80. It was at her 80th retrospective and I went up to tell her I admired her work. But instead we started complimenting each other about the other's skirt. We both loved clothes, enamel, art! A match was made immediately. Three months later I started working with June. April & June. We are fifty years apart and I never think of her as an old lady. She is who I hope to be when I grow up.

So sweet to see her holding Ando. I am so happy she got to meet him and hold him. I felt teary seeing the two of them together 92 years apart, the oldest person and the youngest person I love dearly!

On another note......Look out I just got an iphone with video! Here is my smiley Andosan and my very first editing attempt with imovie.

I made this for my mom for mother's day who is on the East coast and does not get to see him as much as she'd like. We wish she was closer to see him growing like a weed. He misses his Grandma Joyce but will see her for her birthday in July.

Really this is kind of silly but I'll get better. I literally worked on this for a few minutes. So enjoy!

2 Months Old!

My little Tiger-Fish is 2 months old today! Wow the old cliche is true. He is growing up so fast! Yesterday we had a pediatrician visit and he is now 10 lbs and 1 oz. His weight is in the 25% but his head is in the 75%. Eric jokes that he has a 'fivehead' instead of a forehead, so I have a joke with Ando and say to him. "That is the chance we took.... you do have your father's fivehead."

We have another nickname from him which we modified from a Jonathan Richmond song: we call him 'Kukanogin' because of his big head. I also call him my little 'Nipple Urchin', 'Milk Breath' and 'Andito'. I'm sure the nicknames will keep coming. The other day I thought I should say his name more or he is going to think his name is Kukanogin.

He is a very alert baby and has been smiling from very young. Now his smiles are more connected to what and who he sees. He is also laughing and cooing. His demeanor is very sweet and playful. He always has his hands going moving and touching things. You can see from the middle photo above he is modeling his 'blast off' pose. (ha! ha!) He seems like he is a very good natured baby. The only thing that really gets him mad is not getting his food fast enough. And then he can really scream!

We are really enjoying our time with him, sleep deprived and all. He is getting into a schedule of sleeping; mid-night, 3am, 5:00am, 6:30-7am and somewhere around 8am we drag ourselves out of bed. I tell ya sometimes it is not easy getting up. I actually think I'm going to die. And then I see this cute little face that is all smiley and hungry. So I do it. Eric is very helpful and loves his bonding time with him and changes his diaper and hands him to me.

This week also I am going back to work part time. Just two half days and Saturdays at the gallery. I want to start back slowly, my gallery manager is pregnant with twins so this is pulling me back sooner than I would otherwise go back. But I'll ease in and still have lots of time with him.

Ando Mika is 2 months old today! I have to say I think he is going to be a little flirt. He already knows he is very charismatic. I think today is a big milestone. We go from counting his birth weeks to months! Happy 2 Month Birthday little guy!