He's One!

I can't believe our littlest guy is one already. I remember his birth like it was yesterday.



We had a fun day. We ran to the store to pick up a few things and Andrew loves going out. For some reason he thinks riding in the carts is a lot of fun.

After Kevin came home, we had some dinner with Andrew's favorite for the moment: strawberries. He is in that funny stage where he will love one thing one day and the next he changes his mind and throws it all on the floor.

We opened presents and he loved his new touch and feel book, the bristle blocks, and a new little cell phone - because of the buttons of course.









After presents we had cake and ice cream. Andrew was not bashful in the slightest. He grabbed that cupcake, took a taste, and almost couldn't get it into his mouth fast enough. He was also a huge fan of the ice cream and cried when he couldn't have more.











Some fun things about Andrew:

He is our cuddler. He loves to be held and snuggled.

He has started demanding that he be fed what everyone else is eating. We have quite the little moocher on our hands. You'd think he would be weaned by now, but he has also been my most attached baby in that regard. It might be a few more months before I can convince him to give it up.

He isn't walking yet, but he is learning to balance and can walk a few steps on his own when he wants something really badly. That's just his personality though. He can't be foreced to do anything unless he just wakes up one day and decides to do it.

He only says mama or mum mum as far as words go, but he does babble a lot and looks at you like you should know what he is saying.

He loves to play with balls and anything with buttons. He would also play with legos if he could, but of course they are off limits (something he is not happy about.)

His favorite places to play: downstairs with the boys, in the dishwasher when it is open, and anything else he can get into and empty.

We sure love this little boy and couldn't imagine our crazy house without him. Happy Birthday Andrew!

Andrew's Busy Week (Feb. 6 - Feb. 10)

Monday: Hmmm. I've been cruising around the furniture for a couple of days now, so maybe I should take a crack at walking?

Piece of cake.

It's been a busy day.

Tuesday: Those stairs look interesting. Maybe tomorrow. I think I'll just show mom I can wave bye-bye.

Wednesday: Hey, I remember those stairs from yesterday. Looks pretty easy. I'll just venture up the first one for now. And maybe I'll try to grab the knives out of the dishwasher while mommy is trying to load. What? That's not a good idea?

Thursday: Those stairs were fun. Guess I may as well climb up the rest while I'm at it. (And mom didn't take a picture because she was busy making sure I didn't fall back down the stairs.) But here's some great video taken later that day!

Friday: Aha! Mom left some cupboards open. Maybe she'll let me bang those jars of spaghetti sauce together.

Saturday: When I stand at the top of the stairs, shake the gate, and yell, mom takes me downstairs to play with my brothers. It's nice to find a new place to play.

Sunday: These graham crackers are delicious!

My Boys!!!!

Taken Dec. 2010

This just makes me smile.

We got Trouble....

...right here in River City! With a capital T and that rhymes with C and that stands for Crawl! (Music Man anyone?)

This little boy started crawling around the beginning of December. And while it was slow going at first he quickly figured it out and started moving everywhere. Full baby proofing came into effect, mostly meaning the floors had to be scoured for potential snacks. I've already saved Andrew from swallowing small Legos, a wrapper, a dried out pea, and a piece of yarn. I honestly don't know where he finds it all, especially since I have tried to be better about sweeping and vacuuming to keep said paraphernalia off the floor.

And with added mobility comes the desire to get things he WANTS. None of those baby toys for him, oh no. Favorites include any type of remote, cord, computer, phone, etc. Basically anything under the electronics category is fair game. He has learned to pull himself up, stand on his tiptoes, and reach his hand for anything and everything he can reach. And doors and drawers are no match for this little monster. It's amazing how you forget what these cute little people are capable of.

Trying to open the cabinet where the Wii remotes are hiding

Caught!



Trying to cuddle up with daddy? Nope. Sneaking up to grab the cord for the remote.


Everyday we find something new to put on the "Keep Away from Andrew" list. But how can you resist those cute legs and guilty smile? I know I can't.

Football

With all the nice weather this winter we have spent some time playing outside. Football has been a recent favorite, especially for Matthew and Zachary. One day we all went out for a game.

Here's Andrew enjoying the game from the bleachers. I LOVE those chubby cheeks.

Ryan isn't much of a football fan, so he cheered from his bike.

Matthew and Zach in the game

Action shot!

And this is Zachary trying to convince me to put down the camera and play with him. His version of football involves him holding the football most of the time, me chasing him, and him deciding on whatever place he wants to be a touchdown. It was pretty funny.