Road Trip to Spokane (7/3/08-7/7/08) More pictures still to come

We left for Spokane on Thusday July 3rd to visit family and friends. We left about 11:30 which is Andrew's usual naptime, but do you think he slept in the car....nope! We tried giving him his milk, reading him stories, and playing soft music. He didn't sleep the whole way there! I had bought him a couple of new toys at the dollar store to keep him entertained.

During the trip it was a lot of staying up late and getting up early and not napping. But he was very well behaved for not having as much sleep as usual. At the hotel Andrew usually got to have first and second breakfast, like a good little Hobbit. :) He would get up early and daddy would take him down to breakfast and then maybe go swimming and then when mommy got up he would get to go down to breakfast again. :)

A funny picture in the rearview mirror. :)

He was a tired little boy. He doesn't usually get to ride in the Saturn but we took it because it has air conditioning. The car is smaller so he could reach the front seats easily with his feet and liked that he could put one on each seat.

This is daddy showing Andrew how to howl like a wolf/coyote :)

Andrew trying to copy daddy. :) While he didn't sleep much he was very entertaining. He knows A LOT of animal noises and can tell you them (such as dog, cat, owl, sheep, cow, duck, monkey, chicken, bird, tiger, lion, bear), but daddy was trying to teach him wolf...Owwwwoooo!

The camera man

Giving his tiger kisses, how sweet :)

So sorry for the break

Sorry for the break in Andrew's blog. We were in Spokane from 7/3/08-7/7/08 and then had a friend staying with us the week we got back. Then was my (Jana's) birthday. :) I am working 12 hour shifts today and tomorrow but I will post pictures from our road trip soon.

Andrew is a lot of fun! He's starting to use three words together most of the time. Like 'come please mommy', off/on/down please mommy, bye-bye Ethan (or whoever's name it is). He has said 'I love you' for a long time. Sometimes he'll say I love you mommy, or daddy.

Pictures to come soon I promise! :)

Last Week

Andrew had a pretty fun-filled week last week.

On Monday (June 23rd) he got to go to Northwest Trek for the afternoon and we took three neighbor boys and their mom with us. I think he had a lot of fun chasing after the boys, usually he just goes with mommy and daddy. :) He cried again before we got on the tram, but I wonder if the microphone is too loud when the guide is explaining the tram ride. He liked seeing the animals. We even saw two of the elusive moose. Towards the end he wanted to sit on the seat like one of the big boys and he was very good. He didn't want mommy putting her arm around him though. He wanted to sit by himself. :)

A lot of the animals came to their windows to do 'tricks' for us, like the raccoon. We also got really close to the buffalo on our tram ride.

Here is a bison calf. (I didn't intend to upload the other picture, but I don't know how to remove it. lol)

Andrew sitting like a big boy on the tram. (Instead of in mommy's lap, I took this picture with my arm out in front of us, that's why it's not that great)

The goats having a 'bad hair day' :) and the roosevelt elk up close.

On Tuesday morning we went to get Andrew's haircut. He was a very good little boy! The only problem she had was that he kept turning his head to look at the cars or the dog or in the mirror. :) He looks very handsome after his haircut.

The 'before' picture. (Sorry it's sideways, look how long his hair is! And I just got an inch cut off on May 3rd!)

Tuesday afternoon, after naptime, we went to visit Ethan and his mommy Kelley.

When I ask Andrew, "Who's your buddy?" he says, "Ethan!" He can say buddy too. He missed Ethan when he went on vacation with his family in Hawaii. Those two boys have a lot of fun. They played outside all afternoon blowing bubbles, riding bikes, playing in the sandbox and chasing balls in the yard.

The 'after' haircut picture, what a handsome little fella. :) Sitting with his 'buddy' Ethan.

Ethan leaned over to give Andrew a hug...and a kiss on his tummy.

The two boys retrieving balls from the end of the yard. All Andrew needed were some bowling pins. He would roll the balls all the way down the path and then go get them.

Bike ridin'


"Don't drink and drive" (Don't worry, it's just milk :)

Wednesday and Thursday he went to Gram's and Grumpa's house while mommy and daddy were at work. He had a lot of fun in his swimming pool and in his sandbox. He did not take any naps however. One of the days, they tried to get him to go to sleep in the car. They were driving along and Andrew started blowing raspberries. Grams thought it was Grumpa and told him to stop making noises or Andrew wouldn't go to sleep. lol :) He fell fast asleep in the car on the way home about 7:30p.m. In fact mommy couldn't tell that he had fallen alseep because he had his tigger hat and his cool sunglasses on until his head was flopping around when I slowed down and I asked if he was okay and he didn't say anything, then I saw that his hat was falling down. :)

Friday, we went up to the Supermall to go shopping and to go to daddy's store. We got to see how they changed it and Andrew got to sit in the chairs with the stuffed animals. :)

Saturday, it was VERY hot!!! We went to the park and started to play but all the toys were HOT!! So we took a walk through the trees and looked at the ducks. We also went for ice cream on the way home, that's Andrew's favorite part. Yum! :)

We sometimes call him "Hollywood" when he wears his cool shades.

Daddy and Andrew taking a break to look at the ducks.

My boys :)

Sunday we just took it easy after church. (We did have to go pick up our car though from being fixed after mommy 'munched' it. :(

Today (Monday), we went to the library and Andrew had a lot of fun doing puzzles and looking at books. He liked it a lot so I think we will try to come back for storytime. This afternoon we went to a baby shower. He was shy at first but then he loved playing outside. On the way home, he knew where HE wanted to go. When we passed by the street to gram's and grumpa's house he told me 'that way,' then we went by the park, 'that way,' then we went past Dairy Queen and he told me 'that way, ice cream.' He definitely knows where things are.

He has also started throwing things (mostly in the car) and telling me 'uh-oh!' He throws his cup, or his hat, or his sunglasses. I told him it's not uh-oh and take it away. He also does something similar at bedtime. Our routine is to brush his teeth and then we go in his room and he turns off the light and shuts the door, then we sit in the rocking chair and snuggle and I sing to him. For the past couple of weeks about half the time he doesn't want me to sing to him and he points at his bed. (I had a mini mommy pity party one night, that's my favorite part about bedtime :( Well, there is a Pooh afghan on the back of the chair and he pulls it down and says uh-oh. Then I put it back up and he does the same thing. He thinks it's funny and it's uh-oh when he does something on purpose not that it happens on accident. He is very cute he blows a kiss and says 'I love you' and 'night-night' when he goes to bed.

The Dentist

On Thursday Andrew went for his very first visit to the dentist. He didn't take his sunglasses off the entire time but he was good. He played with toys while mommy talked to the assistant, then he wanted to go outside. It was sunny out, who could blame him. :) I asked him to show me his teeth in the car and he grinned with his mouth open to show me his teeth but he wouldn't do that for the dentist. He didn't cry though. The dentist laid his head in his lap and pulled apart his lips and looked at his teeth and then painted on fluoride with a little toothbrush (hopefully that doesn't give Andrew ideas when he's painting) Andrew got to keep the little mirror afterwards and he got a new toothbrush and a duck. They even had a child size door for him to go out next to the regular one. Overall it was a pretty good experience. I think he'll be okay with going back.

I was very proud of him! He did a good job, way to go Andrew! :)

Comic Book 'Nerd' inTraining

'Batman' playing with his toys


He's getting ready for storytime, his favorite time of day. :)


The Little Superhero!

Daddy is very happy that Andrew knows some of his superheroes. (He tried to get me to do a Spider-Man theme for his second birthday party, but I tried to convince him that it would be better in a couple of years. We did Elmo. :)

He says 'Spidey' for Spider-Man and can identify him in toys and on shirts. He also knows 'Hulk' and has a t-shirt with him on it...just like daddy. :)

So I usually try to make sure I buy one t-shirt or pair of pajamas with superheroes on it that daddy would like. I found Batman pajamas, complete with a cape. Now he can say 'batman' too, the best he can anyway.

Camping 2008

We went on our annual camping trip with some of Matt's high school friends for Father's Day weekend. We went to a State Park called Joemma Beach out on the Key Peninsula. We decided not to take our dogs this year again, they are worse than keeping track of children. There were 12 adults and 13 kids! And one Great Pyrenese (sp?) dog. :) We had a lot of fun! Not very much sleep...but a lot of fun.

Andrew was shy at first and then warmed up to everybody. He was happy that his Uncle Marc came along. He wasn't shy of the dog though. This is him giving 'Aslan' kisses soon after we got there.

Mommy and daddy don't see eye-to-eye when putting up a tent so it was a good thing that Uncle Marc was there to help daddy.

Andrew got up at 5:00 the first morning and daddy took him on a car ride, he only slept another hour though. He was very excited to see us in the tent next to him when he woke up.

He was a good little camper, just sitting in his chair around the campfire.

We took a walk down to the beach in the morning. Andrew like the beach, he just wasn't so sure about the water. We turned over rocks and looked at sealife. He's watching a crab run all over mommy's hands.

What a happy boy!

We tried to get him to take naps but it was hard with all the other kids around.

Getting ready for another trek to the beach, it was warmer in the afternoon. We had lots of sunshine!

Andrew liked throwing the rocks in the water and looking at boats...

however, when we went for a short ride in Chris' boat he cried the whole way. :( Mommy thought he would really like it but I think he got scared when he was standing on the shore washing the sand off his hands and Chris brought the boat right up by him.

One of Andrew's favorite activites, he got to bring his 'bike' with and the boys would walk with him. He also figured out that grandma's corn popper worked really well out there.

He 'lopped' all over us most of the evening because he was really tired, but he had his very first s'more and he loved it! Who wouldn't?

We took one last jaunt down to the ocean in the morning. Andrew crashed in the car as soon as we got out of the campground...so did mommy. lol

Daddy had a very interesting adventure 'fishing' for a maglite, but you'll have to ask him about that. I don't know if he'll tell.

Andrew's New Fashion Trends

Andrew has decided to start some new fashion trends this last week. (6/9/08) We put on his 'Spidey' shirt and then he really wanted to wear his 'Spidey' swim trunks but it was too cold outside for those so we put them on over his jeans. Very stylish don't you think?!


A tired snuggly boy


6/12/08--I had been cleaning out the car so we could get ready to go camping and I brought a bunch of stuff inside. Andrew found my rainbow scarf and decided it was 'mine.' He really likes to wear it. (I was afraid however that Uncle Marc and daddy would think it was too girly)

Family Day :)

Andrew brings us blankets and moves the chairs so we can make forts. :)

Even the dogs come in his fort. :)

2 weeks ago Point Defiance Zoo opened a new part of their kids zone so we decided to take Andrew to the zoo (June 1st, 2008). He loves the animals!! We have a year membership to the zoo and Northwest Trek. There were new animals and new toys to climb on and a toddler sandpit which was Andrew's favorite.

Aaaah!!! The hippo swallowed my baby! :)

Andrew actually fed the goats this time, and he liked it! (That is until the goat jumped up on top to get food out of somebody's hand. He didn't cry but it startled him so he was done feeding them and just watched mommy brush them.

Hello Mr. Goat, would you like a kiss? Oh wait, don't eat me!

There was a sandpit with turtle shapes underneath you could dig and uncover. (Andrew is trying to shake the sand out of his band-aid :( )

I didn't mean to upload this picture, but now I can't figure out how to remove it. So you get a bonus picture of Andrew riding his bike.

The long awaited pictures...2 weekends ago

Grumpa's Birthday--
We celebrated Grumpa's birthday two weeks ago on May 30th. I let Andrew paint pictures to give to Grumpa for his birthday. He wasn't so thrilled when I put one on my old t-shirts on him but then he liked painting. He was really good and didn't get any paint on himself (until I did his handprints) or anything else. Except...one time he took the paintbrush, with green paint on it, and stuck it in his mouth. :) Yuck!



He had a lot of fun!


The proud Picasso. I asked him to smile and lifts his chin up.





I'm not sure what this face is, again, I asked him to 'smile.'



It wasn't a really hot day, but it was very warm directly in the sun in grams and grumpa's back yard. So we got out the swimming pool. As you see here Andrew is playing in it...from the outside. The hose water was a little too cold for the prince's liking. :) Grams boiled him some water to take the edge off and he eventually got used to it.






This is another posed shot where I asked him to smile and he grins and lifts his chin up. Very cute, you just can't always see his face well.



JUST CHILLIN'--The prince on his throne. It's hard work swimming you know.




This is Andrew telling the rest of us where he would like us to sit. :)

TROUBLE with a capital T

I got home from work on Saturday night (6/7/08) and daddy said, "These three (Andrew and the two dogs :) are a handful! They all make messes!" My response, "What did I tell you." Daddy found Andrew getting into trouble several times today, here are a few examples:

*Unscrewing the cap to a giant bottle of pancake syrup...in the middle of the living room floor(while daddy is in the kitchen)

*Feeding the dogs his cereal snack...as they sit very pretty and he takes turns throwing them to each dog and squealing with laughter as they catch it in their mouths. :)

*WALKING up the stairs by himself. Andrew can now walk up the stairs instead of crawling/climbing. He just started that at the end of last week. He can't reach the railing yet and he has one hand on the wall but he's still a little unsteady so we walk up behind him. He knows he's supposed to have somebody with him. He also likes to practice walking down the stairs, he also knows he's only supposed to do that while holding mommy or daddy's hand. (He does turn around and climb down backwards if not)

*Hitting a lot of keys on the computer keyboard...I got home and went to use the computer and I asked daddy if Andrew had been online. He's the only one who opens the Compaq support center...10 times. The little round buttons at the top are just SO interesting. So I closed all those but then I couldn't type correctly. There was a little symbol that said 'sticky keys,' which I think is thanks to Mr. Sticky Fingers. (It's okay now though)

*He did also build forts with daddy and got to leave them up.



He's done some funny things the last couple of days.

We were upstairs a little while before changing his diaper and getting dressed for the day. I had gotten out his clothes and the diaper wipe box, I went to go look for him and he was laying on the floor next to it. I guess he was telling me it was time to change his diaper.

I was in the kitchen and he was playing in the living room and I went around the corner to check on him and I was saying, Andrew, where are you and I was searching all over, but down low (he's short, what can I say) All of a sudden I looked up and he was sitting on the couch, just looking at me as if to say, What, I'm not doing anything. (He just learned that he can take his step stool over to the couch to climb up, before he would always point and want you to help him get up. He points where he wants everything else.


He was also asserting his independence with a new fashion statement. I had dressed him in his Spider-Man shirt and jeans and he insisted on wearing his Spider-Man swim trunks so I put them on over the top. Very stylish! (I wish I had a picture, but he kept turning away or running away)


I have Andrew trained well. Yesterday morning we were laying in bed and Andrew's calling "Addy, addy, ADDY!!" (Addy=Daddy) So daddy went in to get him out of his crib and he pointed at his diaper and said stinky. It was a really nasty poopy diaper, and I didn't have to change it!

Lining things up

Andrew seems to have this thing with lining things up in rows. ??? I guess it's a skill he's mastered so he wants to practice. ??? About a month ago I came out of the kitchen and he had taken 6 baking potatoes and lined them up on the living room floor and was dancing in front of them. A little odd....







Now he makes rows of EVERYTHING!! His favorite is to line up chairs. He likes to line up his two little wooden chairs, his camping chair and his rocking chair under the window so he can stand on one to look outside. Today he decided to add his potty chair to the lineup. Then...he has a row of bowls in the window sill so that he can eat his snack or cereal while he stands and looks outside. The other day he lined up all 6 of the dining room chairs on one side of the table and he did the same thing in his class at church.

He also makes rows of cars and balls, but his favorite thing to do is 'feng shui' the chairs. :)

Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Andrew goest to grandma and grandpa's (daddy's parents) house on Wednesdays. Grandpa got really sick this Wednesday and so daddy left work soon after he got there to go pick up Andrew. Well, Andrew had other ideas. When daddy got there grandma said "Look, it's daddy! He's going to take you home and play with you today." Andrew ran to grandma and said Noooooo!!!!! He wanted to stay and play, he hadn't been there long enough and he knew cousin Sam would be home from school soon.

He likes to play Wii bowling so he ran and grabbed the Wii controller and said 'bowl, bowl' He did get in a game before he left.

Last Weekend...pictures to come

We had a fun and busy weekend with Andrew. We went to 'grams' and 'grumpa's' house to celebrate 'grumpa's birthday on Friday. (He named himself that by the way.) Then we stayed home and did stuff around the house mostly on Saturday. Then we went to the zoo on Sunday and had a lot of fun. I will post more later, complete with pictures but I worked a 12 hour shift today and I start another one at 7 a.m.