Visual Trademark

Andy here. CJ and Andrea are doing great.

Here some stats for you:

• 10:02 (maybe 10:04 pm) on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at Hilton Head Medical Center on Hilton Head Island, SC
• 4lbs 9.7oz
• 16″ Long

Here is Asher’s first video. For being two months early, he’s huge!!!

They will be moving Asher tomorrow to Charleston for 3-4 weeks. Andrea will stay in the hospital until probably Sunday. Her mother is on her way down to Hilton Head. CJ is probably going to stay with Andrea for a week or so. I (Andy) will be going back to Atlanta sometime next week, but then will be in Charleston from Friday to the following Saturday. We are going to figure out the rest later.

That’s all we know now. Thanks for all the prayer and support.

Yes, we are having a baby early and could use all your prayers as we are many miles from home and 2 months away from the due date. Pray for our little guy!

post sent from my Treo smartphone

As we get ready to go out and enjoy our last day here at beautiful Hilton Head Island, I wanted you to enjoy a few more photos below…

I love visual media (hence the name visual trademark). A big part of visual media for our family are vacations and the images and memories they create. I think Andrea thought it was great at first but is becoming more and more annoyed with it now as I am constantly asking her and Jadyn to “hold still” or “move a little to your left” or “one more photo.” As many of you know, the beach is the absolute WORST environment to try and take photos. How do you keep it protected from the sun/sand/air/water? I find myself freaking out every time someone attempts to pull a towel out of our bag.

Well, this year that changed. We bought a new camera that is virtually indestructible. The camera is waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, freezeproof and perfect for the beach. This allows me to take some pretty creative angles without worrying about hitting the water or Jadyn splashing the camera itself.

The quality of the underwater photos and videos turn is actually pretty good:

Click here if video doesn’t play

I have a feeling this will come in handy as our family expands and spends more time in creative chaos.

I am a first time Dad. By that, I mean that I’m experiencing all the stages of being a parent for the first time. I am slowly learning all the “tricks of the trade” in preparation for my little boy who is scheduled to make an appearance in July; however, this week I have experienced a new one - the realization that my baby girl is starting to grow up.

I don’t know what caused me to realize this. Maybe the fact that we pulled her hair up for the first time (yes, the curls CAN be managed) and she just “looked” older. Maybe its the fact that she has been so good this week. Maybe it was the fact that she started drinking coffee with me in the morning (just kidding). Whatever it was, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I immediately started to think about what kind of teenager she will be. Who will she date? Who will be her friends? Who will be her enemies? Who will hurt her for the first time? When will she realize I’m not the coolest/hippest/best Dad in the world? When will she scream “I HATE YOU” for the first time? When will she say, with complete understanding of the meaning, “I love you” for the first time? When will she decide if Christ is to be a part of her life? How good of a student will she be? How good of an athlete will she be? How good of a musician will she be? Will she be a leader? Will she be a follower? How will she handle peer pressure? How will she dress? How much will she love me and her mother? Will she find someone who loves her as much as I do? Will she marry someone good enough? Will she ever know how proud I am of her? Will she ever appreciate how hard her mother and I work to provide the best life possible for her? Will she ever appreciate how great of a mom she has? Will she ever understand how deeply I love her?

These are only a few of the questions that I have thought about since she came into this world. This week they all became a little more real. But in the midst of all those questions, I know that she has an incredible mother who is raising her wonderfully. I know that she is one of the most polite little kids I have ever seen. I know that she is surrounded by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends who love and care for her deeply. I know she is loved.

I know I will go through this same realization with my little boy, but I will be a little more prepared for it. This is why I love being a parent. These tough questions really put life in perspective. They make you drop what you are doing, sit back, and watch your kid grow up in front of your very eyes.

I love you, Jadyn.

Today was great. We drove down to Jacksonville Beach to meet up with a client friend of mine at his water park. The water park was closed today, but the rest of the attractions were up (mini golf, go karts, arcade, kiddie rides, etc.). As we were taking a tour, the owner introduced us to his water park manager and told her that we were going to be enjoying the warm weather that we don’t get back home and to turn on some of the little slides for Jadyn - how cool is that? The entire park all to ourselves. Jadyn loved it! He then gave us a bazillion tokens and multiple passes for the go karts/batting cages/mini-golf/kiddie rides which we used to introduce Jadyn to her first (kiddie) roller coaster.

I work my butt off at work and today was a chance for me to say thanks to my family for putting up with my long work days and pissy moods. I’m grateful that my job and my clients allow me to do that every now and then.

The day started with storms, but ended with sun. Enjoy some of the photos…

Happy Mother’s Day, Andrea. I love you and all that you do to make our family complete! Words cannot express all that you are to me and Jadyn. I am truly a lucky man!

We finally made it to the condo on Hilton Head Island. Jadyn did extremely well in the car, but as soon as we parked in the garage and got out, she wanted to “go to the beach!” Andrea bolted to grab the groceries while Andy and I took Jadyn to the beach — something she’s been looking forward to for a very long time.

Sunday’s schedule consists of the beach and only the beach. More pictures will follow, but it is late and I am tired….

My wife insisted that I post a disclaimer that I am a terrible typist. I defend that accusation by saying most of the posts are sent from my Treo and, for those of you who have smart phones, you know that typing with your thumbs is hard. Additionally, I am multitasking fool, so I tend to drift as I type away. But excuses aside, I am sorry for the typos…please ignore them

Happy Andrea?