A Weekend of Momentous Firsts

Today, Andrew is 5 weeks old; and the little guy had a weekend of momentous firsts.

First, A.J. was without his parents for the first time (since the hospital). James and I went to the UT basketball game with Uncle Anh Tuan and Auntie Monica Friday night and again this afternoon. My parents were kind enough to watch him and said that he behaved really well for them both times much to our delight. Although, I don't know if this was more momentous for Drew or more momentous for me! It was nice to get out and watch the Longhorns, but I have to admit that I did suffer some separation anxiety. But it's nice to know that we can leave him for a few hours and everything be okay...for both Andrew and Mommy.

Secondly, this weekend marked another milestone when A.J. slept the longest he has ever slept on Saturday night--6 1/2 hours straight!! I guess it was also momentous for me since I slept 5 consecutive hours. Gosh, it felt great!

So, the Lenzes had a pretty great weekend. If only the Horns had won today, it would have been even better. But oh well, at least we made it to the Elite 8.

Happy One Month Birthday!

I know Andrew's one month birthday was actually yesterday, but I didn't finish the slideshow until today (thanks again, Uncle Foo).

It's crazy for me to try to reflect back on the last month. It has gone by so fast!! It seems like yesterday that we took that fateful drive to the hospital where it all began.

Of course, we have noticed the physical changes, especially the weight gain in his cheeks, stomach, and legs. But we have also seen changes in his behavior. He is definitely learning more every day, such as how crying will get our attention. We love watching the progression of his development, like gaining more control of his head and neck and rolling over.

James and I love being parents; and most of all, we love being his parents. He is really a good baby even though he does make things more difficult for us at times. His new thing is not liking to sleep in his crib. He used to sleep for hours there all the time, but lately, he only sleeps there for a few hours every once in a while, but the norm is only for an hour or so. But we are resolved to be persistent and hope that he will learn to sleep well there again.

We know that we are blessed to have a fairly happy and very healthy baby (minus the slight case of jaundice). So, here's to one month passed and here's to many more months ahead of us. We can't wait! Happy One Month Birthday, Andrew James!

So, here's the slideshow (I do realize that some of these are repeats from the blog). And I see now that it's blurry. I will have to consult my resident Blog expert and see if I can fix it later. Please bear with me. Sorry!

Andrew's First Easter

Yesterday marked Andrew's first Easter as well as being alive for 4 weeks. We tried to go to mass, but it was standing room only and with people almost out the door. So, we went home and waited for my parents to drive up from League City. They were coming up so we could pray for Andrew, which a Buddhist ritual done when a baby is one month old. Here are pictures of Papa and Ngoai with the birthday boy.

Rolling Over

We have been working on A.J.'s neck muscles. And it's a good thing too apparently. Here is a clip of Andrew rolling over from his stomach to his back taken over the weekend while his Aunt Kelly was visiting. Our little ham! He actually did it a few times, but this was when we finally remembered to pull out the camera (and probably the least impressive of the attempts).

Hands

Here are some funny (or interesting, at least) photos of Andrew's hands: (1) I Love You; (2) I Love You...Not; and (3) Hook 'em (in honor of the Horns' win on Saturday).

Venturing to the Outside World

Leaving off from last time, we spent our Friday night giving Andrew his first bath. He was okay in the beginning, but started to cry after a while. I think James and I just took too long; and Drew wanted nothing more to do with the whole ordeal. Our Friday nights have gone from dancing at the club to giving our son a tub. I guess we aren't kids anymore, huh?

James and I took advantage of being able to get out of the house this weekend and took Andrew venturing to the outside world. Saturday morning, we took Andrew to look at what could have been his first house--and he slept through the whole thing. Later that evening, Drew took his first extended car ride of around 45 mins down to Ngoai's and Papa's house--slept the entire car ride down. There, we spent the evening with family including my aunt's family who were visiting from Dallas--and he slept almost the whole time. Jenny and Justin also stopped by for a visit so that A.J. could meet his first friend, Eric--again, slept during their entire visit! Then, this morning, we took a walk to our nearby Target--and slept through this excursion as well. See a pattern!? Hopefully, with all these trips outside and with more to come, we can work out his jaundice.

So, Andrew sleeps better during the day, but we are seeing a night owl in the making. I guess he is his mother's son! He likes to stay awake for about an hour or so and not go to bed until 1 am. I guess his sleeping patterns are changing. Stay tuned...

Here's a short video of him working out his neck muscles and lifting his head with dear ole dad as he reads Bambi to him.

Doctor's Visit #1 - Two Week Check Up

Here is a recap from Andrew's first doctor's visit this morning.

Two Week Check Up Vitals:
- Height: 20 3/4 in (from 19 3/4 in at birth); and
- Weight: 8 lbs 0.5 oz (from 7 lbs 2 oz at birth).

Andrew is growing on schedule, which was a huge relief for Mommy as she worried that he may not be feeding enough! His belly button and circumcision have healed nicely; and he was cleared to take real baths. Good luck to all of us on that one!!

He does have a slight case of jaundice, but our pediatrician, Dr. Isenhower, is not too worried about it and says a little sun will do him good. This is good news because Mommy got approval at her doctor's appointment to take walks as well; and a little sun will definitely do her some good too! Can you say "stir crazy?"

A.J. was really good at both appointments sleeping for most of it. He only cried during the second part of his newborn screening when the lab technician squeezed his little foot to extrapolate more blood.

Generations

Yesterday, Andrew met his great grand- mother (my mom's mom); and it really moved me as I reflected about what this meant. If not for her, then there would be no Mom. If not for Mom, then there would be no me. And if not for me, then there would be no him.

The last few years, James has been very interested in genealogy and has spent a great deal of time researching and documenting his ancestors. Unfortunately, a family tree on my side would have few branches and limbs--definitely not for of a lack of family members, but for of a lack of information. Sadly, memories have faded; and Vietnam was not the best country for documenting births and deaths.

I think this is why seeing Andrew meet his great grandmother meant so much to me. I saw firsthand a span of four generations of the Hoang family and realize how fortunate we are to have had this moment.

Giddy Up!

I wanted to share a picture of Cousins Peter and Kathryn (John's kids, ages almost 5 and 2, respectively) on their Cowboy Day at school! Giddy Up!

Two Weeks Later

The past week has really flown by. We were thrilled to have visits from friends, like Cynthia and Lora (who I haven't seen in years, so that was such a great treat to see her and her family) and from family, like Nonna (thank you for everything), Granddad, and Uncle John. We even got an unexpected visit from Uncle Anh Tuan. It's been so nice have family and friends around. We feel so loved!

Andrew has been testing the waters of staying awake more and more. He is definitely more alert and getting better at tracking. And sometimes when he hears a voice, he will follow the sound and intently listen and watch you talk. Sometimes, he will make noises back at you too! Could he already be a talker just like his mother!?

But these periods of staying awake can cause a problem when he does it at night when Mommy and Daddy are soooo tired. But this past week, I am happy to say that I got two nights of really good sleep. My standards of what a good night's sleep have definitely changed. But last night, Andrew slept from like 12:00 to 3:00, then 3:30 to 6:30, and then 7:00 to 1030. Mommy took the middle-of-the-night diaper changing, so Daddy managed six consecutive hours of sleep!!

These are some pictures taken this past week: (1) A.J. on his activity mat; (2) Stick 'Em Up! (3) Andrew and Nonna; (4) Andrew meets Granddad; and (5) Drew meets his Uncle John.

One Week Later

Happy first week birthday to our sweet baby boy!!

Today had been marked in my calendar since June as D-Day (Due Day). But instead of being the day our baby was scheduled to come to us, Andrew has already been here seven whole days already.

Andrew, or A.J. as Daddy, Aunt Anh Thu, and Cousins Cara and Emma like to call him, is still very well or well enough for us. I have been around newborns before, but never really paid any attention as to how much they cry, how much they poop, or how much they sleep. I just knew they all did these things quite frequently. He continues to sleep a lot, anywhere from 2-4 hours at a time, with the average probably being 3 hours. He does like to give us our run for our money during the night and wakes up one time where he is more fussy than normal. My bet is that gas or poop, or both, is the culprit.

The only other frustration that James and I have is A.J.'s impeccable timing during diaper changes. The kid loves to pee or poop when his diaper is off or when his new diaper has just been placed on. But this happens with all kids; and our son is no different. We will just have to work on changing diapers faster and more efficiently.

Other than that, we are very fortunate to have a pretty easy baby so far. He still does not cry too much--only when he's hungry, getting his diaper changed, or after he wakes up. But sometimes, we will walk into the room; and he will be awake just chilling. This makes Dad and Mom so proud.

James and I are definitely sleep deprived, but we are managing. We are still in awe that Andrew is here and he is our son. We knew we always wanted children and that we would love them dearly, but never imagined how great it would be.

Here are some pictures taken today to celebrate A.J.'s week birthday: (1) Andrew with an involuntary smile (this was actually taken last night by Monica, but wanted to share it anyhow); (2) the birthday boy; and (3) Ba Ngoai, Uncle Footon, and Andrew.