"Happy Birthday to You"

**When we carved our big pumpkin last week we put a candle in it to see how it looked. Andrew wanted to blow out the candle and then he sang Happy Birthday to the pumpkin!! I didn't know he knew how to sing the whole song, but we did have a lot of birthdays in September. He sang the whole thing!! It was so cute!

"Happy Birthdayto you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday pumpkin,
Happy Birthday to you!

Anytime I'd ask him what we did to the pumpkin or ask him to tell grandma and grandpa what we did he would say "Happy Birthday to you" or "Happy Birthday."

ANDREW TIDBITS: (this is a journal for me to keep track of the things he does too, so you'll probably get a little more than you wanted)

**Andrew has taken off with his words and sentences. I didn't know he knew so many words! If you ask him to say pretty much anything he can say it. We have conversations back and forth. When he was in the bathtub the other night I asked him what we had done this weekend, like trick-or-treating, and he told me all about it. I asked him what he learned at church and he said "Noah." He told me about his boat and the animals he put in it.

I asked Andrew if he was a monkey, a pig, a dog, a cow (any animals), etc. He said "No, I'm a boy!" I asked him again later and he said "No, I'm Andrew B____ (I don't want to put last names on here)

He started being able to do animals and their noises interchanged. I used to always ask what does a certain animal say and he would make the noise, but he wasn't very good at it when I would ask him to tell me which animal made a noise I told him. Now he can. I asked Andrew which animal says Owwwoooo (like a wolf) and he said "Toby." :) Our neighbors dog (who is a beagle I think) howls outside right underneath Andrew's window. Smart little boy.

**Now he wants to watch a "movie." For about 20 minutes anyway.

**Andrew likes to roughhouse, I blame it on the dogs. He says "Ready, Set, Go!!" and dog piles on mommy or daddy.


**Andrew has been a very helpful little boy. He kind of has some of his own chores. He puts his dirty clothes in the hamper, he throws away his diapers, he picks up his toys, he feeds the dogs breakfast and dinner...that's all I can think of right now. He set the table with the silverware at my mom's house so daddy had him do that once today.

He was helping me clean the bathrooms today, with a paper towel and no cleaning supplies of course. He also likes to help me do laundry. He pretty much did one load himself. He picked up the pile of socks and white stuff off the floor of the closet and put it in the basket, then he handed them to me to put in the washer, then I take them out and put them on the door of the dryer and he pushes them in, puts in a dryer sheet and shuts the door. He took them all out too. He helped me do quite a bit of the laundry. Sometimes when I ask him to put his dirty clothes in the hamper though he tries to go put them in the dryer. :)

He also likes to help daddy cook. He helped make oatmeal this morning, mostly stirring and watching. He also helped make spaghetti for dinner. The other day he made pancakes with daddy and he got to stir it and pour the batter in the pan. He comes and announces to me what we are having. He wanted to make sure I knew he had made the mashed potatoes. We have a budding chef on our hands.

He likes to do EVERYTHING himself!! I always hear "I do it!" or "Andrew do it!" He is fairly good at undressing himself, with a little help. He can put on his rubber boots himself and then he comes and says "car ride." He can put his jacket on and zip it up if I start it a little for him. My little boy definitely wants to be a big boy, he's growing up. Sniff, sniff (bittersweet)


I have to be careful if I talk about something and he hears me because then he wants to go do it or if I say I need something he runs off to find it. He'll look for my keys, or go get me a flashlight. He's really into putting things back where they belong (when he wants to), I couldn't figure out what he was doing when he went upstairs but he went all the way to my bedroom to hang up the portable phone and came back. I can usually send him to do little tasks and then he comes back.


**He'd ask where daddy was going and we would tell him to school. He gets upset because he says Andrew go to school too and grabs his little backpack. :) When he asks where daddy is when we're eating dinner or something I ask him and he says "daddy's at school."

"Carve it"

We carved our giant 34lb pumpkin the other day. Andrew had a lot of fun! I asked him what we were going to do to our pumpkin, he said "carve it!" I asked him if we should make a happy face or a scary face.


Happy face



This was our attempt at a scary face. :) (the pumpkin had a happy face though)

Daddy carved the top out and pulled out all the guts, eww. But mommy did most of the carving of the face.

With Andrew's help of course. He kept insisting on using the knife. I let him have a Pampered Chef bamboo spreader that has a littel serrated edge...he still wanted the knife. He say me using a crayon to sketch out the face so he started coloring the pumpkin. He also had to color 'his' pumpkins--grandma had bought him a painted one and he had some little gourds.

Pumpkin head!! (I didn't even notice that I got Grover's poor pathetic face in the picture, kind of cool. He wants to come inside)

Mommy's carving the big pumpkin and Andrew's 'carving' his pumpkin.

Almost finished

Daddy did some of the final touches

Hoot 'n' Howl

We went to Northwest Trek again on Friday night for their "Hoot 'n' Howl." We had so much fun! We got to go on a nighttime tram ride and they brought some of the animals out for trailside encounters. There were a lot of activites to do and games. The kids got to go trick-or-treating for
prizes and candy.


Andrew's ready to go! (he wanted to ride in his stroller quite a bit, and we had to convince to put on his costume by telling him that the animals wanted to see him dressed up as an animal--a dinosaur)


This was after getting his tattoo. :) Some people thought he was a frog, they couldn't see his big spiky tail when he was sitting in the stroller.

They had a lot of activites in the research cabin, they even had a 'funkin patch' with easy little games for the littler kids.

Andrew was really good at throwing the squishy little pumpkin balls in the hole, it was just hard to get a picture without it being blurry, too much action. :)


Fishing

They had these sports bottles with cotton balls in them soaked in different things and you were supposed to guess what they were (peppermint, cinnamon, oranges, etc.). You had to squeeze them to get a whiff of the scent. If it looks like Andrew is putting it up his nose in this picture, that's because he is. :)

Making bug soup with mommy.

Andrew and mommy did a relay with an apple on a spoon.

Here he's trying to balance little bears on an old fashioned balance scale. They got prizes after each one of the activites.

dropping parachutes

He even made a picture frame

Helping daddy look for the raccoon. The pictures on the tram ride didn't come out very well. The tram ride was only about 20 minutes but we saw a lot of animals--bison, elk, mountain goats for example. The cougars, the wolves, and the bears were closed off but we got to see the coyotes, owls, eagles, beavers, etc.

Hoot 'n' Howl 2008. Andrew won't stop saying 'Hoot 'n' Howl', he had so much fun. He says we should go back again next year.

A Mommy Meltdown

This week has been particularly trying and stressful for me. Actually the past 6 weeks have. I've had extra computer classes for work, Matt started his night class (which is going great and he's enjoying, it just means I have to pick Andrew up after a 12-13 hour shift and go home and feed the dogs and get him to bed so I can get up and do it again the next day), and Andrew has been throwing fits when he doesn't get his way.

Monday (10/20)--I was about ready to snap. We had done fun things all weekend but Andrew has been saying 'NO!!' and crying and throwing tantrums whenever we asked him to do anything and my personal favorite, running away in public. He ran away from me 3 times out the door of the library that morning. I brought him back in and had my arm around his waist while I checked out books so he couldn't get away. He was shouting "Ow, ow, ow!!" The librarian came over and helped me.

That afternoon/evening, we went to Fred Meyer and the bank, which is inside the store. We came out of the bank and he wanted to walk and I calmly told him no, he's going to ride this time. I lifted him up and he was not going to let me put his feet down into the seat and he was crying and wailing, somewhat embarrassing. He was good through the store. We had some tussels at dinner and bedtime, but he helped me make 'muddy buddies' and that is the night that he went on the potty.

Tuesday, luckily my dad watched Andrew at our house and I didn't have to pick him up because I didn't get home until almost 9:00!! And still had to read him stories and do his regular bedtime routine. We started our all computer charting at work. Needless to say it is a lot more work right now, I know it will get better. But I leave work feeling so drained and have a headache. I was there until 8:00 and I only went to the bathroom twice!! (in 13 hours) One of my bosses so aptly put it when she walked by and said 'smile, you look like you just got the crap kicked out of you.' I said that's because that's the way I feel.

Wednesday was not much better at work and I didn't get out until 8:30, so Matt picked up Andrew after school. I didn't get home until after 9:00! I was sooooo exhausted. On top of which I've been trying not to get sick for the past 4 weeks because Andrew and Matt have been sick and I usually get what they've had.

Matt was very sweet and sent me for a massage on Thursday morning which was very relaxing and we had a playdate with Ethan and his mommy Kelley in the afternoon. Andrew was very well behaved at their house this time.

Friday we went to the Hoot 'n' Howl at Northwest Trek. (See next post)

Saturday I was exhausted at work and just plain worn out. By 5:30 I started to get a fever and chills and felt like I was going to throw up so I left, by 8:00 I had a fever of 102.6. Something had to give, me.

Northwest Trek

Northwest Trek is one of our favorite places to visit, we have a dual memebership to NW Trek and Point Defiance Zoo (but we live closer to NW trek). It was a perfect day on Saturday, a crisp, clear Fall day. Here are a few cute pics of Andrew. (10/18/08)

The Snowy Owls, Andrew needed to stop for a quick drink

Mommy and Andrew at the big tree...he's usually standing in front of it by himself, we'll have to compare pictures and see how much bigger he gets.

Andrew and daddy on the tram

Andrew was so cute! He would say "hi baby bison, and bye-bye baby bison" he also said "hi baby elk, and bye-bye baby elk." It was feeding time, we also told him to say "Have a good dinner." :)

The animals usually come really close to the road and the tram but we had never had a Roosevelt Elk come this close, he was practically sticking his nose in the windows.

Andrew wanted to lay across me and lean on the open windowsill. I was a little worried that his hat and sunglasses would fall off and I'd have to pull the emergency cord, that would have been embarrassing.

What a cutie! (he'll be a heartbreaker someday...like when he's 30 right :)

"Here's the tail." The wolves weren't out so Andrew was showing us the tail and nose of the stuffed wolf.

"Here's the nose."

My handsome boys :)

We're going to go back this coming Friday night for their 'Hoot 'n' Howl.' They have nighttime tram rides and you can see the nocturnal behaviors of the animals. The kids also get treat bags and there are a lot of fun activites.

Pictures to come in a few days on this one too. :) (Sorry about it taking so long, I've been sick and my wireless internet adapter broke)

"Ready, Set, Go!"

Andrew got to go to his buddy Ethan's house on Sunday afternoon/evening. We hadn't seen them in a while, the boys played while the parents played games (or tried to between getting snacks, breaking up squabbles, and putting the train back on the tracks). They really do get along pretty well. There were only a few times where they wanted the same toy. Andrew had to have a time-out before we left because he wouldn't put away toys.

It's really cute, whenever we arrive at their house, Ethan runs over and gives Andrew a hug. :) He also usually goes and gets a toy and gives it to Andrew.

They decided they both wanted to sit in the big chair and cuddle up with a blanket. Ethan whipped out his cheesy grin when he saw the camera.

Beautiful music...sort of. They played piano together, sometimes fighting over who was at which end, but apparently Andrew had to take his union break for a quick drink.

Dinnertime--Ethan grinned big again because he saw my camera.

Daddy had them play the 'scream and run' game before we left and it was bedtime. They would stand at one end of the hallway and say 'ready, set, go' and run laughing and yelling to the other end. Andrew would usually go as soon as he said 'ready' and then he would keep saying 'set, go!' as he raced down the hallway. That really wore them out.

Look out, here they come!

A fun smile from Ethan

My happy adorable little boy :)

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you Andrew!!!

Andrew went pee and poop on the potty!!!! Way to go Andrew!!! I was sitting on the couch for a few minutes while he was playing before getting him ready for bed. He came over to me and had a funny look on his face (he was straining to have a bowel movement) and quietly whispered potty. So I rushed him around the corner to the bathroom and he's telling me 'stinky' as I took off his diaper. He sat down on the potty and went both pee and poop.

This is a huge accomplishment!!! (especially since his favorite word is 'no' and so that's what he usually says when I ask him if he needs to sit on the potty)

If I had a nickel...

for every time I heard the word NO!!!! I would be rich. Oh my goodness, I am getting so tired of hearing Andrew say no. Every time I say we're going to do something or ask him something he says no. If you don't get just the right thing he says no. And he thinks it's funny to run away, mostly from daddy. He ran away from daddy out the door of the library on Thursday and when we were at Northwest Trek today he kept running away from daddy. We even gave him a time-out on one of the benches.

Needless to say, he is REALLY trying my patience!!!

Here are a few cute pictures from a couple of weeks ago:

(9/30)

Carefully carrying the watering can from the bathroom to the sandbox, and he didn't spill a drop!

We had been adding water earlier in the day so we could build things in the sandbox. So he decided he wanted to do it by himself. Daddy was at school so we were just playing before dinner.

He's using the cup to build 'sand castles'

What an adorable little boy

In this picture he's trying to tuck himself into our bed at storytime. He thinks he wants to sleep there instead of his room (he doesn't get to). He even brought all his friends with him. :) Nice try Andrew.

We had another birthday celebration for daddy at daddy's parents house so Andrew got to help daddy blow out candles again.

Grandma got out the trains for him. He loves Thomas the Train. We have two Thomas books we have to read every day at naptime and every night at bedtime.

The toddler picture saga continues...

Yeah!!! We did get a lot of good pictures today. Andrew did really well. He really wanted 'mah' and 'grumpa' to come (he was insisting) so they came for moral support. :) We did one round of photos and then the girl noticed when we were done that her flash was not on and none of the pictures recorded on the camera! Bummer!!! I was really afraid that he wouldn't do anymore, he said he was done. We walked around the store for about 10 minutes and came back and he did a really good job. Way to go Andrew!!

When I get them back in a couple of weeks you can see them. :)

Wish us luck...

because we are off to get Andrew's pictures taken again tomorrow afternoon. The last two times it has not gone well (we did get some cute picutres though, with mommy holding him). He used to take such great pictures, and he is so cute!! :) But he cries when we take him. I set him down and I don't know if he thinks we're going to leave him there or what.

I asked him if we could go get his pictures taken tomorrow and he said 'yeah' and mommy and daddy would get pictures with him and he said 'mah' and 'grumpa' too. But we'll see when it comes to the moment of truth.

His favorite word the past few days is NO. It is starting to try mommy's patience. I'll ask him if he wants something, he'll say no, then 1 second later he'll ask for the very same thing. Toddlers!

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Friday (10/10) we took Andrew to Spooner Farms in Orting to go to the pumpkin patch. He had a blast! I took a LOT of pictures. (He even got to go to two pumpkin patches with grandma and cousin Sam yesterday)


Andrew is all ready. He made sure everybody was wearing their boots--mommy and daddy too. Doesn't he look adorable in his fireman rain jacket and fireman boots.


The boys, off on the quest for the best pumpkin




Andrew and mommy


He of course had to spash in the mud puddles. What are boots for?!


Oops, he blinked. :)


He's trying to help daddy pick up the pumpkin



Giant hay spiders


Mommy and her sweet little boy






Where's Andrew??? He might get lost in that tall corn (we didn't go in the corn maze though because it was $8/person for adults!! Too crazy expensive!)



The family (taken by daddy)


Andrew thought pushing the wheelbarrow was really fun (I wouldn't let him ride in it though. There were signs saying you couldn't, but there were plenty of people doing it)


There were things for little kids to do in this little barn. This was a rubber duck race. You pumped the water pump handle up and down to send the duck floating down the shute as fast as you could. There was a 'ball' pit of gourds and some metal dishes and tools to make music. There were also roosters, turkeys, and rabbits.


What a sweet boy!


He wanted mommy and daddy to sit on the cow with him but then when mommy wanted a picture he wanted to climb off.


There were more animals we went to see in a back pasture (I'm not sure why we didn't take any pictures, although we had taken a lot already). There were donkeys, sheep, and goats. The mother goat was half out under the fence until one of the other goats pulled her back. LOL