Merry Christmas!

The month of November was a busy one. Early in the month, the three of us went to Chicago so Aimee could attend a conference there. We played with the Kinney’s for a few days beforehand. Then Marshall had babysitting duties while Aimee learned about the basics of health law. Each day was very exciting for Andy as there was so much to see and do, but he was well tired of Dad and very excited to see Mom by the end of each day (see video below if you haven't already; it is very cute.) The day before this video, Andy and Dad were in the hotel room when Mom came ‘home’. Andy was so excited; he took his first couple of steps. And hardly a step since—yep, he still is mostly content to just move along furniture or do his crab crawl.

Not long after Chicago came perhaps the highlight of the month—a visit by Andy’s Mommom (Marshall’s mom, Carol). Mommom came in from Pennsylvania and brought Andy’s first Christmas and birthday gifts. Mommom and Andy had a blast playing and going on walks together.

Then of course came Thanksgiving, and we had much for which to give thanks this year. It has been a tough year in a lot of respects, but 2008 will forever be precious in our memory as the year we began learning how to be parents. Andy has brought so much joy to us.

During this Advent season, we are reminded of a year ago when we lived in anticipation of Andy’s arrival into the world. We were excited, yes, but we had no idea how much this child would change our lives for the better and how much joy he would bring. May you experience the same joy this season as you anticipate the celebration of Jesus coming into the world.

Blessings to you,

Marshall and Aimee

BIG KISS FOR MOM!

Marshall and Aimee and Andy went to Chicago so Aimee could attend a conference, and at the end of a long day with Dad, Andy was REALLY happy to see Mom. That noise is the sound of Andy blowing zerberts on Mom's face.

October 2008

October began with the long-awaited chaos of asbestos removal from our basement. Our contractor was delayed until now by the surge of work created for him by buildings flooded earlier this year throughout the upper Midwest.

In the midst of that, Aimee and Marshall celebrated their 5th anniversary (already!). Marshall then flew to California for the beginning of his two-year Journey program with the Leadership Institute. It is a program that teaches the integration of personal spiritual formation and ministry leadership skills. The setting is a beautiful spot across the ridge from Palm Springs and very near the Pacific Crest Trail. During some free time, Marshall scrambled up to the PCT and enjoyed long vistas both east and west from the ridge. (One photo can be seen in this month’s pics on the sidebar.) Praise God that he can even do this one year after the foot surgery.

October also marked the beginning of a fast for Marshall. It became clear to him that he was not the only one experiencing stress and angst from the supercharged political atmosphere that exists right now. He felt the call to fast from political news and spend time instead fixed in prayer for others similarly affected and for our country.

Thoughts from Aimee about being a mom...

People often ask, “So how’s work.” And I respond something like, “It’s fine. But let me tell you about Andy.” It’s not that I don’t like work; I have a great job that I find interesting. It’s just that Andy is so much more fun. Nobody really wants to hear about the complicated estate plan I drafted or how I completed the due diligence for the sale of business (you’re already half-asleep, aren’t you?). It’s so much more fun to talk about the cute things Andy is doing. I really do love being a mom. It’s totally different than I expected and way more fun. It’s changed the whole way I see things. Now I cry at cheesy email forwards about babies. I can’t watch news stories about lost children. And I’ve become aware of a strong sense that if anything or anyone threatened my baby, I’d have to take them out. (It’s the same thing that makes mama bears so dangerous.)

Which brings me to a prayer request: my good friend and work companion is pregnant and her baby may be very sick. Please pray for Sarah, Brian and baby Boston if you think of it. You can check out their story at their blog: http://www.babybostonsmarathon.blogspot.com/.

Fun stuff about Andy

• He’s become attached to his blankie and keeps it tucked under his arm while sleeping.


• He’s become friends with Henry, another baby at Suzanne’s house, and enjoys making Henry laugh.


• Repeats sounds. Mom even thinks he said “brush” after she pointed it out.


• Very talkative and curious. Loves to play in the cereal drawer.


• Giggles and laughs a lot (as you can see in this month’s videos).


• 7th tooth came in on the bottom. Number 8 is close behind.


• He loves to put his binkie in mom’s mouth at bedtime, and he’s good at sharing his toys and food. It’s very funny to hold his toys to dad’s mouth and watch dad pretend to eat them.
  
• Andy and dad have lots of fun together on Mondays. They visit mom at the office for lunch, go to the grocery store and play with Virginia in the back yard.


• Anytime he hears music—or any repetitive sound with a beat—he starts to dance by shaking his torso and moving one arm. He apparently got his dance moves from his dad.


• He’s figured out how to put his toy frog in its tube and push the button to get it back again. We tried to get this on video to demonstrate, but were not successful.

Enjoy the new giggling video posted below!

More Giggling!

September 2008

There's not much to report for September. Fall arrived very early and then warm temps returned briefly. Aimee became very busy at work. And Andersen Beck had his 9-month appointment where he weighed in at 18 lb. 10 Oz. and 28" long. He is still standing a lot, and he moves along furniture well, but no walking yet. We hope you enjoyed the laughing video below, and we post another here of Andy having discovered that his "frog" makes noise. And don't forget, more video vignettes can be found on the sidebar archive videos link...

Making Noise

Andersen has discovered the joy of noise-makers.

Laughing Out Loud

We couldn't resist sharing this one. Kids find humor in the funniest things! No wait, let me re-phrase that...

August Update

Andy’s new skills:

• Waving (shakes his whole arm up and down)
• Shakes his head “No” when he’s finished eating (as in “No more food, please.”)
• Shakes his head “No” when he sees his mom and dad because he thinks it’s a fun game
• Opens and closes cabinets
• Chases the dog. Virginia is still faster.
• Will finally eat a meal of baby food. Peas are a favorite.
• Standing and walking along furniture
• “Walking” while holding onto someone’s hands. He takes a BIG right step and then a smaller left step, so he ends up going kind of sideways.
• Will sit still for one whole book, as long as it’s a good one.
• Modeling! (He had his first 'professional' photo-shoot. See this month's photos for samples.)

Attended three birthday parties:

• Cousin Owen’s 10th
• Friend Jennifer’s 24th
• Friend Truman’s 7th

Other new things:

• Andy appears to be growing hair. It’s very blond and starting to curl in the back. Just like Marshall when he was a baby.
• Marshall finished demolishing the walls in the basement and soon the asbestos abatement team will go to work. Maybe someday we’ll have a play room down there.
• Aimee had a busy month at work helping a client sell his business.
• We attended the funeral of Dorotha Anderson, mother of our dear friend Terry Anderson. Terry's wife Bonnie also lost her mother just the previous week--we have been praying for them in the midst of this sad loss.
• Marshall is considering entering the Journey program at Leadership Institute in California. This two-year program would earn him a Certificate in Spiritual Direction.

Good Summer Fun

Note: you can now access this site at the easier-to-remember domain name http://www.TheMinnichFamily.com/.

As you’ll see from the volume of pictures we posted this month, July was eventful. We stayed close to home, but enjoyed a nice 4th of July with friends. Andy even met Ben Franklin (see photos and video). We did travel to the Lake of the Ozarks for a weekend to vacation with the Andersen family. Andy had no shortage of playmates as his cousins were all eager to help take care of him.

Andy is still almost-crawling, but prefers to pull himself up and stand. If he really wants to go somewhere, he’ll scoot on his bottom or maybe even his head. He’s also experimenting with table food. So far avocados, cantaloupe, and mangos are his favorites. He grew a couple more teeth to make this easier.

At the six month checkup, Andy was 17.5 pounds and 27 inches long. That’s the 45th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height. Not to worry; he slimmed down because he became “mobile” shortly before this check-up. But by Aimee’s unofficial guestimate, he’s beefing up again.

At work, Aimee rejoiced that she was NOT studying for the bar exam like she was this time last year. Instead she got her feet wet in some interesting court appearances as a licensed attorney. Marshall had two more weekend retreats at the Abbey in Maryville this month (if you’re curious what this place looks like, see this month’s photos on the sidebar.) Aimee and Andy joined him for one of the retreats, and Andy put on the charm for all of the monks and the retreatants.
Finally, we leave you with a cute video of Andy, his basket of toys, and an unsuspecting dog (also, see more videos on the sidebar link)....

Andersen Empties His Toy Basket

Happy Half-Birthday, Andersen!

Two teeth, sitting up, almost crawling—June was a month of milestones for Andy. We weren’t expecting the teeth and discovered them by accident (ouch). He seems to think sitting is pretty fun. Plus it puts him in a better position to roll and get up on his hands and knees. He rocks and scoots backwards, but, to his great frustration, hasn’t quite figured out how to move forward. Virginia really wants to participate when he’s down on the ground, which has always been her territory until now.

We’ve spent lots of time in the front yard as a family with Andy in the swing, Virginia on her long leash, and Aimee and Marshall (mostly Marshall) doing some landscaping. You can see the work in progress in this month’s photos. The pond is gone and we’re sad to report we had to give up two members of our family—Jane and Sylvester moved in with the other fish in Mary Lou’s pond.

Also, Marshall went to Seattle at the beginning of the month to be in Greg Larson’s wedding. Greg and his sweetheart Stephanie had numerous events planned besides the wedding itself—all were meticulously planned and executed. Marshall arrived a couple days early hoping to hike to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier as a ‘finale’ to his foot-surgery recovery, but many factors combined to thwart this achievement, none the least of which was a detour to the local emergency room with severe abdominal pain. The doctors never figured it out, but many tests and hours later the pain remarkably subsided. By then, the hopes of reaching Camp Muir were shot, but as you can see in the photos, lots of snow, fresh precipitation, and poor visibility stopped him anyway. Someone died on the Muir snowfield just four days later in similar conditions. Yikes. Draw your own conclusions, but it sure seems like Marshall was being protected.

We leave you this month with a video of Andy sitting up for the first time. See below.

Andersen learns to sit

Warm Weather Arrives

Finally, warm summer weather is here after a long winter and a chilly spring. It has been fun taking Andy on walks more often, and also just letting him explore the new colors outdoors and the smells of lilacs and roses in our backyard.

The month of May was not too eventful for us. Andy had his first solid foods—rice cereal and bananas—and mastered rolling from his back to his belly. He has also discovered Virginia and thinks she’s really funny. Virginia, for her part, pretty much steers clear of Andy’s grasping hands. This month also saw a visit to the pool and Andy’s first night with a non-family babysitter. Thanks, Chris N.

That’s all for now. Hope you all enjoy our May pics and videos, too.

Andersen tells own bedtime story

After taking a week and a half of silence to focus on learning to play with his toys and the jumpy chair, Andersen is now chatting up a storm with anyone who will listen. His favorite thing is to tell us bedtime stories before going to sleep.

“I have 5 grandkids and this is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.”

-- Anonymous woman on airplane commenting on our son.

Speaking of Andy, he’s figured out how to grab his feet and play with, i.e. eat, toys. These new skills came at the cost of a few quiet weeks, where Andy didn’t talk or babble. I guess Andy takes after his Daddy—both can only do ONE thing at a time. Talking was getting in the way of learning about toys, so it had to go away for a bit.

Andy has really started to enjoy books. His favorite seems to be Construction Trucks. He’s basically a happy kid, content to smile at friendly faces and be held by anyone with willing arms. On a trip to Chicago with Nana and Aimee, he charmed everyone at the airport and on the airplane. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip (just over 24 hours), but we enjoyed visiting with Aimee’s sister Laura and her family and attending Cousin Carolyn’s first communion.

Also in April, Aimee learned that she passed the Kansas Bar and so we went to Topeka for her swearing-in. But besides all of this, it was a pretty uneventful month. But we kind of like it that way.

Stats:
26.25 inches – Andy’s length on April 17
14 pounds, 13 ounces – Andy’s weight on April 17
~7,003 – number of deep knee bends it took to make Andy happy during his first cold
2 – days Andy was under the weather

FYI--We (Marshall) have figured out how to post videos on the site. So we’ll periodically post a new offering for your viewing pleasure. This week’s video is Andy in his doorway jumper for the first time. He’s gotten better at making it bounce and spin since then.

Andy tries Bouncy Chair for first time

Welcome to our family blog!

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you'll enjoy this blog that we've started. Primarily, we hope to use it to share pictures with you and help you keep up with our son Andersen who is growing up way too quickly! So keep this site on your desktop and check in once in awhile--you'll always find a slideshow of the latest photos on the right-hand column, and links to older photos just below that. Clicking on them takes you to higher resolution images, and from there you can even order prints if you like. Occasionally, starting now, we'll also post verbal "snapshots" of our life.

Today, Andy is almost 3 1/2 months old already. He weighs almost 15 pounds and still has very little hair, like his daddy. He is learning to giggle, smiles a lot (that, we hope, is the Abe in him!) and has learned to turn over in his crib. He spends his days in the care of Ms. Suzanne, charming her and anyone who peeks in on him. Mommy is back at work at Seigfreid Bingham and keeping quite busy. Daddy is busy taking care of the house and working at his new job with Rhythm of Grace. He also has taken to educating people on nutrition, becoming a distributor of Juice Plus+, something he has himself been taking for 5+ years now.

Blessings to you,

Marshall and Aimee