Blog
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4th of July!
My delayed posting is an indication of how much fun we’ve been having this summer. We spent the last 8 days on LBI enjoying friends, family and some awesome summer weather!
First, we rented a pontoon boat for the day for a late fathers day celebration with grandpa. Andre liked the boat but hated his life vest.
Pool party at the Hogans!
Pig roast. Yes, we were those neighbors with a giant pig roasting in the driveway! 
Playing in the pool without water. Classy. 
Watching the women’s soccer team win the World Cup! 
First trip to the beach! 
Quality time with grandma and grandpa and more shenanigans!
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Not where I left him….
He’s on the move! It may not be smooth or fast, but this little guy is mobile. He scoots, rolls and propels himself to where he wants to go. I will admit, this new frontier is a little scary.
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More PB & J Vacation Pics!
Me and the Andrews:
Kayaking beauties:
Cousins and grandparents galore!
Grandpa with his grandsons on Father’s Day:
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Father’s Day!
The Sunday after we arrived was Father’s Day; a momentous occasion since it was Andy’s first. He enjoyed a nice long sleep-in, day by the pool and steak dinner that the kids (aka women) prepared for the three great dads among us; Andy, Paul and Gabe.
And even though it’s only been seven months, Andy has already become a truly wonderful daddy to Andrew. My favorite moments have become watching Andy and Andrew play and laugh together each night. His unconditional love is obvious and he works so hard to create a beautiful life for our family. Andrew and I are so very blessed to have him in our lives!
From first cuddles….
… to silly buddies! I can’t wait to see what this dynamic father-son duo has in store. I’m sure it will lead to lots of laughs, many adventures (a few gray hairs) and more memories to last a life time! 
And I couldn’t write a post about Father’s Day without recognizing the first man in my life, my Dad. He’s taught me about hard work, the importance of family, unconditional love, loyalty and how to live life to the fullest. From climbing the Great Wall in China to rafting the Grand Canyon or simply sharing some sushi and wine while we discuss (and debate!) the ways of the world, I say ‘thank you.’ They’ve helped me become the person I am today and I am forever eternally grateful!
Happy Father’s Day to these two and all the wonderful fathers out there who have helped shape, influence and love our little family!
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PB & J Vacation 2015
The Phillips-Barba-James clan decided to head down to the Chesapeake Bay this year for our family summer vacation. Our house was beautiful; equipped with a pool, kayaks and fire pit with a prime location right on the banks on the bay. We took advantage of all the toys but mostly enjoyed watching the babies bond and play together. So thankful to be able to build these wonderful memories with our family that I know we’ll cherish for years to come!
Here is the first batch of pictures now that our server is back up. We’re cruising down the interstate with a car just about bursting at the seams. These are the times I miss our carefree-fly to vacation with just a carryon days!
Andrew rocking his resort wear. He’s too cool. 
View from our yard. So beautiful at sunset! 
Pool time! 
Goofing around with Baby E! 
Both riveted by something Granpa had to say… 
Nap time on the hammock with the little guy. May possibly be the highlight of my vacation. 
Little bad ass: 
Lots of playtime with Everett! 
Andy treated us to a campfire almost every night! Charlotte helped ‘Unka Annie’ collect sticks and ‘hiney cones’ to burn. We toasted s’mores, drank wine and enjoyed the peace and quiet after the boys went to bed. Pretty perfect. 
More cousin silliness. It was awesome to see them look at each other and laugh….in between using each other as human chew toys. 
We rented a boat one day and explored the neighboring inlets and rivers. Charlotte made an excellent first mate! 
Andrew took his first boat ride! He loved the wind but wasn’t too sure what to make of the life jacket situation….. and his quirky, cute as can be cousin! 
Who doesn’t love cold beers on a hot day by the pool?! It is vacation after all!
Andrew being a little ham for the camera! 
The boys taking instructions and listening to the ring leader. Not sure how long this will last….
Cuddles with Aunt Cathy! 
A pretty great vacation if you ask me! -
7 Months!
Andrew William is 7 months old today! I say this every month but, damn, time is flying by. Our little man continues to fill our days with so much joy and silliness….and that’s A LOT of joy when you get up at 5:30-6am every morning!
What can we say about 7 months?! Baby boy is 29 inches long and weighs 19 lbs 10 oz. He can just squeeze into a few 6 month onesies but fits squarely in 9-12 month clothes. Still no teeth but can sit really well. This is his biggest accomplishment and milestone of the last month- sitting! I still swear he’s just days from crawling, though I’m beginning to sound like the mom who cried wolf. The kid gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He’s got to be close. One of these days I will be right…
Andrew has also made awesome strides with eating and sleeping. He regularly sleeps from 8pm-6:30 am each night. He rarely wakes before 5 am (baby morning) and no longer eats during the night. Andrew takes 6 oz, ‘man size’ bottles each day at school and is eating more and more ‘people food’ each day. Yogurt is his new favorite. He makes an ‘mmm’ sound after most bites. And speech- Andy swears Andrew has said Dada but I’m not forking over first word that easily. I will concede that the boy is close….very close. We’ve also started sign language in the last few days with minimal success. I’m trying to teach him ‘more’ and ‘done’ in order to replace the banging and high-pitched hyena squeal he has become accustomed to making when he hasn’t finished eating.
So much to say about this little boy. He melts our hearts and makes us so proud to be his mama and dada!
Andrew William at 7 mos:
And all the outtakes because the kid won’t sit still:
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Videos!
3 videos from the last month to share! I’m still testing out the video functionality and it looks like I’ve got some kinks to work out. But I’ll let Andy deal with that when he comes home from his business trip. In the interim, just enlarge the video in the bottom right corner to get a better view![youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZavGCtBdtY[/youtube][youtube]https://youtu.be/qRdMd0tyzTw[/youtube][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRhEbBFp2mg[/youtube]
