Labor Day

September 1st was Auntie Angie's birthday so we went to grandma and grandpa's house for a family dinner to celebrate. Andrew had a blast with his cousin Sam and his aunts and uncles. He was running back and forth down the hallways, from person to person laughing so hard. He sounds like he has asthma or something when he gets really excited. There's nothing wrong he's just laughing so hard when he breathes in that's how it sounds. I think he also feeds off of people's reactions.

He likes to play on the deck in his sandbox and with his toys. Our neighbor's deck is above, off the top level of their split level, so he can see them. He runs around laughing when he sees them on the deck. When Arien opens and closes the barbeque it looks like she's playing peek-a-boo, which Andrew thinks is hilarious.


Crazy Uncle Tim!


A hug for the birthday girl! (Andrew and Aunt Angie)

Andrew got to have his buddy Ethan come over on Tuesday also. He loved that!

He also takes lots of trips to the park with daddy when mommy is at work. Sometimes they feed the ducks too. Andrew gets a little scared if they come too close. It's really cute when he tells me about his day. :)

A Rough Weekend

We have had a rough week, especially last weekend. I don't know if we have hit the terrible two's or what!! Ever since last Friday (the 29th), my sweet well-behaved, polite little boy will NOT go to bed!!!! At naptime or bedtime!! Last Friday, after fighting with him for an hour and a half, daddy fed him lunch and took him in the car and he slept for about an hour and he was cranky after that.

That evening however, even though he won't lay down, he was putting everybody else down for bed. First he did this to Zoe. She was laying on the floor in his bedroom and so he decided to cover her with his blankets and give her his stuffed animals for company.


Poor Zoe! What a good sport.




Then...he decided he would lay on top of her.


Then...he put mommy to bed.


Then daddy. We were all tucked in except for Andrew.

That night I finally had to give him time-outs because he wasn't listening to me. He doesn't want to sleep in his bed anymore, he prefers to sleep on the floor right next to it on a pillow. That's fine with me as long as he stays there. Now, I tell him to go lay down and he would lay down, start laughing hysterically and get up. Or he won't lay down at all and tells me no and runs for the door. I take him back and lay him down when he gets up, but it's very difficult when he won't even lay down. On another note he wants to go sit in his time-out chair because he wants to do anything but go to sleep. Until I buckle him in (it's his booster seat from the dining room) and tell him he has to stay there for 2 minutes by himself, then he starts screaming. The first night I only had to give him 1 or 2, then the next night 3. And he's not going to sleep sometimes until after 9:30! (And we started at 8:00) And he didn't take naps either most of those days. By Tuesday night I couldn't handle an hour and a half of this anymore and I needed to go to bed too so I could get up for work. After daddy laid next to him for quite a while and gave him a few time-outs, I told him to get the playpen out of the garage. Andrew threw a major fit! I put him in it and he started stomping his feet and screaming. I told him good night and closed the door. The next couple of nights have been more pleasant, he's just still not going to bed until 9:00-9:30. He wants somebody to stay with him or have his door open, usually he wants somebody to stay with him.

This is just very trying! We haven't been getting as much sleep because by the time he goes to sleep we have other things to do or want to do before going to bed.

A Mommy Day

Thursday (August 28th) we had a mommy and Andrew day. We made Muddy Buddies in the morning and he loved helping. I was inspired to make this the last couple of times by my friend Kelley. I've had them before, they are so yummy. You can get the recipe from the Chex website.


He's standing on his chair watching mommy stir the chocolate and peanut butter together. Yum!


What a cute little boy! :)


Andrew is testing out the chocolate chips to make sure they're okay for everybody to eat before we put them in our treats. What a sacrifice. :)


It's really easy, first you melt together chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter, and then add vanilla. You can also do that in the microwave. Then you pour the mixture over the Chex cereal and stir until well coated. Then you put it in a ziploc bag with powdered sugar and shake it.


The chef


Stir, stir, stir


Andrew got to shake the bag of powdered sugar.


Here he's two-fisting it after the treats were done. (Ignore daddy's half-closed eyes, the picture of Andrew was cute)



For the rest of our mommy and Andrew day we drove up to Owen's Beach at Point Defiance Park. He played in the sand and threw rocks in the water. We also walked along the water.



My outdoor boy







Playing in the 'dirt' (as Andrew says)

Last Weekend

Friday (8/22/08)--Andrew and daddy went to get the oil changed on the car (and he insisted on ice cream at Dairy Queen next door, that's what we usually do) and to Home Depot to get bee spray and screws for child-proof latches. Yes...we never finished putting the latches on and he's almost 2 1/2. Better late than never.

By the way, do you think it voids the childproof latch if the child helps install it? :)


Andrew loves to use his screwdriver.


Daddy's little helper :)


Cool, the drill


Say cheese Andrew!

Well, you heard that we had to get beespray. We had a giant bee's nest in our cable box in our front yard. Daddy with his Ninja-like skills went to go take it out. Actually I tease him that he screams and runs like a girl whenever he has to do this...but I wouldn't do it. Thanks daddy!




The bee warrior

Andrew got to spend quite a bit of the weekend with 'Mah' and 'Grumpa' (AKA grandma and grandpa--mommy's parents). He went to their house on Saturday night while mommy and daddy went putt-putt golfing and to a movie. Then 'Mah' and 'Grumpa' came to our house on Sunday for dinner, that was a real treat. Andrew loved that! He was very excited to show 'mah' his new bed and his room.

He did something very cute while they were here. Zoe was curled up on the floor and he was sitting by her. I asked him if he was going to curl up on Zoe and use her like a pillow. So he left and went up to his room and got his pillow and brought it down and laid down on Zoe. Poor Zoe. But very adorable! :) He was also taking the pillow off his bed and putting it on the floor in the office, then he would come get all his stuffed animals and line them up on the pillow, then he brought them his blankets and a book and tucked them in. How sweet!




A boy and his dog (one of them)


Then Grumpa decided he and Grover needed to curl up with Andrew.


How ironic, Zoe is curled up next to a stuffed dog

**3 years ago a stuffed animal would have had her in hysterics.**

Last Week

I don't have a lot of things to post for last week. Monday (8/18/08) daddy and Andrew tried to go to the park so mommy could go back to sleep (it was early in the morning and I hadn't been sleeping much), but there was thunder and lightning so they went to Fred Meyer, walked around, shared a chocolate milk, and came home with a Hot Wheels car. We went to his buddy Ethan's house in the afternoon.

Reading books "together."

Ethan got up when I was trying to take pictures....

I asked him to sit back down with Andrew and he came closer to the camera when I took it. :)

Tuesday (8/19/08)--Daddy and Uncle Marc took Andrew to Northwest Trek for the morning. Andrew also got up VERY early and he and daddy had already been to vote and for a walk by the time Uncle Marc came to our house at 8:30! Mommy had a relaxing day and went to a movie in the afternoon with friends.

Another tram ride (for some reason Andrew cries every time we stand in line to get on the tram, but he likes the animals)

the free-roaming animals

A roosevelt elk I think??

Uncle Marc

They're studying the animals very intently

and playing with tractors

Say cheese! Andrew and Uncle Marc

A mountain goat

Daddy and Andrew

We don't always get to see the black bears, but apparently that day they were playing and splashing in the stream.

Andrew likes the wolves and usually they're sleeping when we have been there but they were playing right up close. There is a kids tunnel with plexiglass on it so they can get up close and see them. Andrew howls at the wolves. :)

Friday, I took Andrew to get his haircut, it was getting very shaggy! He was such a good little boy! He didn't cry the entire time and was very patient, he got to have a sucker afterwards. He likes the barber now. We go to Chong's and I asked him where we were going and he said 'chong's' although it sounds more like 'ong's' I asked him if he was going to say hi Chong and he said no. Here are before and after pictures:

BEFORE:

Good smile Andrew!

And the big cheesy grin. Look how long it is! Time for a cut so it won't get so sweaty when he's hot.

AFTER:

SOOOO adorable!!

Much better, now it won't be so hot!

We spent most of the weekend around the house, cleaning and getting things done. He did get to go to grams and grumpa's house on Saturday night while we went out. He had a great time as always. He was also very excited when Grams and Grumpa came to our house for dinner on Sunday. He got to show Grams his new bed...which he doesn't sleep in now (for about a week) because he prefers a big pillow on the floor next to the bed. :)

He did enjoy a trip to the library this morning (Monday, 8/25) , he loves to play with the puzzles and blocks. He is talking up a storm. He can do 4 word sentences now and he's becoming a lot clearer and saying many more words than I knew he could say. Like, "Andrew do it." Which means there is a struggle at bedtime over brushing teeth. We let him do it first and then Mommy or Daddy does it too, which he doesn't always like.

Uncle Marc's Graduation at Owen's Beach

We went to Uncle Marc's nursing school graduation on Friday, August 15th, 2008. They had it at Owen's Beach, which while the weather was pretty warm all day it was surprisingly pleasant that evening during the ceremony. Andrew didn't see much of the ceremony, he spent most of the time playing in the sand or with his cousing Sam. :) We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory afterwards, one of Andrew's favorite places too.


Andrew and cousin Sam playing in their little tent


Sam has a broken leg so he's just relaxing while Andrew plays with cars and digs in the sand.


Grandma giving Uncle Marc his nursing pin.


Uncle Marc and Andrew (Andrew just wouldn't look at the camera, good smile Uncle Marc)


Grandma, Uncle Marc, and Grandpa

Mommy also went to a friend's house afterward and it was already 9:40 when we got home. Not smart on a night before work, but friends (and neighbors) of ours were going to move to Utah on Monday morning (and I had ot work all weekend) and she was having a girl's night, it was fun to get out by myself too. Andrew loves playing with Ian (especially, since he's 3 1/2), Hayden, and Nelson. We will miss them. :( He also won't understand why nobody answers the door or why mommy won't let him go up to their house. :(