Andray Loves His Exersaucer!!!

Jake put Andray in his exersaucer for the first time yesterday and he did pretty good. He was so excited he was just kicking and flapping his arms around. I think he couldn't believe all the things to look at and all the colors. It was pretty cute... also, if you can tell from the photos, he's had some pretty crazy hair going on the past couple days, ha!

Another Great Week...

Hi everyone - we had a great week last week. Jake was in one of his good friend's JD's wedding. Needless to say we had a great time! Andray stayed back with his Auntie Rhonda and we are so grateful that they both had fun together. Also, Jake's niece/Goddaughter Ella turned 4 yesterday, so we got to celebrate her b-day which was fun. Andray was so excited for his older cousin's b-day that he rolled over for the first time yesterday! Pretty exciting stuff. Lastly, our Godson Andrew turned 2 on Sunday, so we can't wait to see him this weekend when we come home for Josh and Jolene's wedding! Ah, so much fun in the summer. Enjoy the photos and have a super week,

Love, Jake, Celest and Andray Paul

Andray is wearing one of Andrew's shirts...so funny because I seem to call Andray "Handsome" more than any other nickname.

Andray catching some "rays" at his cousin Ella's 4th b-day party on Sunday.

Jake and his Goddaughter, Ella...so precious.

Skyler (5) and Ella (4) just love their pool! Ella got a slip-n-slide for her b-day as well.

Andray still loves his fist and his Auntie Rhonda thinks he might start teething soon!

Andray working on rolling over....good stuff.

Andray loves to play with his little rattle now, and throw it of course...right-handed that is, sorry Uncle Aaron and Auntie Rachel, doesn't look like Andray will be a "lefty"!

Andray sure does love his daddy....

Andray's shirt said, "Daddy's Lil' Pumpkin."

Have a great week everyone! Love ya!

Jake and I at JD and Emily's wedding this past Saturday in Roseville. Needless to say, we had a great time.

Richmond Days a Success...

Hi everyone - hope you're having a good week. Things are busy as ever. Jake's good friend from high school is getting married this weekend, and Jake's a groomsman, so we're excited to help JD and Emily celebrate on Friday and Saturday! Andray has been a champ...eats good, sleeps good, and is talking more and more. It's so fun to watch all the changes daily. He now grabs rattles on his own and plays with them, and he also grabs his nuk out of his mouth and can put it back in when we wants it, so that's fun to watch. Overall, everything is great, just busy as always. Have a great weekend everyone...we love you!

Jake, Celest and Andray Paul

One of the women's hockey players at SCSU gave Andray this bib....it's hilarious. But it's not funny because later that night, he really was up at 3 a.m., thank goodness for Jake who got up with him to put him back to sleep! Good stuff though, thanks Felicia for the bib!

Andray had a blast at his first official parade...and truly enjoyed being held by Grandma Stang and Great Grandma Stang!

The Stang cousins....Andray, Skyler, Mya and Ella....the girls got a ton of candy! It was awesome.

Even Jake got in on the parade fun with the kids. This little red chair that he's sitting on is the chair that his Godmother Karen gave him when he was 2. Now Steve and Sandy bring it for the grandgirls to sit on. Mya wasn't all about sharing with her Godfather Jake, she wanted her chair back. It was pretty cute...

Andray's Excited for Richmond River Lake Days!

Andray and I went to Paynesville last night for a last-minute family reunion at my great aunt Mary Ann's. It was great to see family and Andray didn't cry once while we drove there and back, or while we were there. Once we got home about 9:30 p.m. he was all jacked up and smiling! Jake and I think he's just so excited that it's Richmond River Lake Days! It was one year ago this weekend that Jake and I found out we were pregnant with Andray. Wow, how time flies and how much things have changed in a year, for the better obviously. Have a super weekend, we love you all and can't wait to tell you how much candy Andray collects at his first official parade in Richmond on Saturday!

Little Man Feeling Much Better

Hello everyone - Hope you are all doing okay. We had quite a week last week, but the most important part is that our Aunt Susie and Uncle Dennis are okay. Their rental house south of Willmar was completely destroyed in the tornado that hit Willmar last Friday night. Everyone is okay, and they had their two granddaughters Whitney and Gracie with them, along with one of Whit's friends, but they all made it down to the basement safely. We are just so grateful that they are all okay. I've included a couple photos for you to see that Dennis took himself, it's pretty unreal....as for Andray, he's feeling much better and continues to enjoy daycare with dad every day. Jake is enjoying his time with Andray as well and the three of us are excited to celebrate Richmond River Lake Days this upcoming weekend. It was on the Saturday of Richmond Days last year that we found out we were pregnant with Andray, so it will be a pretty special day to have Andray at the parade with us. Have a great rest of your week everyone!

Love, Jake, Celest and Andray

This is the photo that my Uncle Dennis took just minutes before it hit their rental place south of Willmar on Friday night.

This is the damage that the tornado did to their rental house. In the photo is my Aunt Susie, cousin Cassie (who's 8 months pregnant), lil' Gracie, Jason, Whitney, Gram, cousin Matt and Uncle Dennis. We again are so grateful that no one was hurt! Thanks Gpa Shorty for looking over them all!

Andray's 4 month old photo with his favorite blue bear that he got from his Great Grandma Rausch.

Adam and Heather gave Andray this Chipotle shirt...on the front it says, "Food Goes in Here" ...

...and on the back it says, "Comes out Here." Pretty funny stuff!



Andray wore this shirt of Andrew's to church on Sunday...he looked so old in the button down collared shirt! Pretty good stuff.

Rhonda and Brian let us use this jungle gym (so-to-speak) of Mya's for Andray...he loves it, thanks so much! (I think Jake likes it too! ha!)

A close up of Andray's fun...

Andray can hold his head up pretty good now...and he's pretty darn close to rolling over. Jake and I aren't pushing that matter yet though. We kind of like just laying him down somewhere and not having to worry about him moving around yet.

Andray does rest his head on the pillow sometimes for a breather...

The Joys of Being 4 Months Old

Little Man has been running a temp since he had his shots on Wednesday. Poor kid, he's been a good sport though and doesn't even pull off the cold washcloth that we put on his forehead! What a champ! Have a great weekend everyone, love you all.

Growing Like a Weed.....

Hello everyone - hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July. Again, it's been quite an amazing week. Heather and Adam were home the past two weeks to see family and for her brother's wedding. Congrats to Stef and Dane! It was so awesome to see Adam and Heather again, and they even let Jake and Andray and I tag along to their parent's cabin off of Silver Creek exit for the 4th. Andray had his first pantoon ride and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Adam's mom enjoyed it more as she got to hold Andray the entire time. Jake and I also got to see his family a lot this past weekend, and on Monday Andray and I traveled to Paynesville to visit my great aunt Mary Ann, and my mom and Gram showed up too. So needless to say Andray had quite a great day on Monday with us four women! Latest news, Andray had his four-month check up and he's 50% in height, weight and head circumfrence. He now weighs over 14 pounds and is 24 inches long. Hard to believe how fast they grow. And although the shots were painful at the time, Andray did pretty good once Jake picked up up off the table to cuddle with him. Love you all and hope you have a great week...enjoy each day, summer is just flying by!

Love the Stang's

Heather and Adam gave this shirt to Andray before he was born. They are big Georgia football fans now!

Andray with his girlfriend Heather...they both had Georgia shirts on!

Adam and Andray...gotta love it.

Heather and Adam gave Andray this little outfit when he was born. There are little planes on the belt and the shirt...how fitting since Adam is a pilot! Andray looked pretty awesome in this outfit! Thanks Adam and Heather!

Adam's dad Chris was so pumped to hold Andray. They even had matching hats!

It was sooooooooooooo good to see Heather again...we had a blast at the cabin on the 4th.

Andray saying his good-byes to Heather before we had to leave on the 4th...so sad!

Andray loves playing with this Teddy Bear that my Gram gave me for Christmas. If you don't remember, it's the bear that has the clothes that my Grandpa used to wear to my basketball games. Very special...

Andray loves to wrestle with the Teddy Bear too!

My mom, Gram, Andray and great-aunt Mary Ann on Monday...Andray had a very nice day with such special ladies.

Andray's great-aunt Mary Ann gave him this guardian angel...very special.

Little Man was a champ today at the doctor's office. Jake picked him up right after his shots to settle him down and seconds later he was just cuddling with Jake. Andray even posed for his big boy photo of his shots before we got him dressed and took him out for lunch. He slept through the lunch, but Jake and I sure enjoyed our salads at Perkins!

Happy 4th to Everyone!

Hello everyone - wow, what a week it was last week. We were quite busy, Jake had a two-day bachelor party for JD (can't wait for that wedding in July), I got to go home to Redwood/Morgan for Jolene's bachelorette party and shower, and Andray got to spend some time with his Godfather Jacob on Saturday night while I was out on the town. They definitely bonded, as Andray had a blowout just before bedtime and Uncle Jacob cleaned him all up! Gotta love it! On the way back from Redwood Andray and I got to stop at my Grandma's place on the farm and Andray loved it...he was talking and smiling the entire time with Gram. So precious. Andray continues to sleep through the night and is a great baby. He's sitting up now if we prop a pillow behind him, he smiles a ton, and we're teaching him to start rolling over. And today we head to the clinic for his 4 month check up! Unreal! We're excited to see how much he weighs though...he's a good eater needless to say.

Have a great week everyone and a safe and happy 4th of July! Enjoy the photos, we had some fun with Andray this week.

Love, Jake, Celest and Andray Paul

This is the best photo ever! Talk about a great photo for a brochure at Duke! I already sent it to the sports information director at Duke. Hopefully they can use it for some big promotion when Duke plays UNC! Hilarious...gotta love it!

This is Andray's favorite book, and he used to be the same size as the book...wow, has he grown.

Andray is starting to help me turn the pages now in his Duke book...and I swear he can pick out the Blue Devil on every page.....

Andray, the future Husky! One of Jake's and my best friend from college, Jess Abrahams, came to stay with us on Thursday night and we just had to get a photo of Andray with her in their SCSU apparel! We miss Jess very much and were so glad she could stay with us for a while! She brought the coolest toy for Andray too...THANK YOU!

Andray smiling with his Great Gram...brings tears to my eyes.

Gram's yard out at the farm is BEAUTIFUL. For those of you that have never been out there, you're missing out. Gram continues to amaze me every year. For being 80 years old, her yard is immaculate, and that's even an understatement. I wish I could spend a lot more time out there, but I take advantage of the times I get. She is such a special person...and again, we miss Grandpa every day.

Andray was introduced to cards and cribbage this weekend in Redwood and he loved looking at the cards! Guess we found Andray's new pasttime!

Papa Larry had fun teaching Andray the "tricks of the trade" in cribbage...

This is a photo of Jolene with her mom's mom and her two sisters. I love generational photos, and even though Jolene's mom is no longer with us on earth, I know she was there at the shower on Saturday looking down on her three beautiful daughters. What a precious photo.

Here is a photo of some of the bridesmaids and usherettes for Jolene's upcoming wedding. We all had a blast a the bachelorette too later that night (no photos will be posted of that though, ha!)

On Monday night Andray and I went to Jake's softball game in Cold Spring. He was all dressed up in his Twins apparel and did great at the game...what a trooper.

Those blue eyes....

Andray is doing much better with tummy time and is getting so strong!

Have a great 4th everyone, and if Andray hasn't told you lately, he thinks his "Dad Rocks!"