November 21, 2014 (2 Years, 9 months)

Andrew was a penguin for Halloween. After his brother got a hand me down penguin costume from his cousin, Andrew decided he wanted to be a penguin too. He enjoyed lots of Halloween activities including the Fall Festival in Baraboo, Trunk or Treats, and trick or treating in our neighborhood.

Andrew sometimes has a hard time deciding what he wants, when he is given two options he usually wants both. "Andrew, do you want to play upstairs or downstairs?" "Upstairs AND downstairs!" "Andrew do you want your dinner hot or cold?" "Hot AND cold!"

Andrew likes to dance, which to him means run around the room in circles until he falls down laughing.

Andrew continues to make us laugh with his unusual sleep positions.

Andrew had his second dental visit, the dentist said he has very nice teeth! He was scared by ended up doing really well.

Andrew has taken more interest in learning his ABCs and 123s. He can sing the whole alphabet song; he usually gets distracted before he gets all the way through and sometimes sings out of order or misses a couple letters but he does know all parts. He can count to fourteen. He is also starting to be able to recognize and point out some letters and numbers when he sees them in world on signs, toys, etc. He usually correctly identifies A, I, O, S, W, 1, and 8 and sometimes others.

Andrew is getting much better at putting together jigsaw puzzles and is really proud of himself when he is able to put one together without any help.

Whenever Andrew is given the choice of what color he wants, he almost always chooses pink. Pink plate, pink marker, pink cart at the grocery store, pink paper, etc. The only exception is when it comes to his vitamins in which case he insists on purple.

Andrew isn't letting the cold weather get him down. If I tell him its too cold to play outside he replies simply that he'll just put on his snow pants to keep him warm. He also insists on wearing both his hats that his aunt crocheted for him last year.

October 21, 2014 (2 Years, 8 months)

The highlight of October was definitely our visit to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom. Andrew was so excited to see all the trains and go for a train ride, every time he saw another train he excitedly pointed "Ooh look at that one! Look at that one!"

 

 

Andrew is such a tall kid he already outgrew his toddler bed so Daddy built him a twin bed. He really likes it, especially because it came with a Thomas the Train pillow. After a couple days we added legs so now he can play under his bed which is also pretty exciting.

 

 

 

 

 Andrew doesn't always play with things the way I expect, for example, instead of playing with the play dough on the table he decided to put it on the floor and stand on it.

 

 

Andrew loves raking leaves and making a big pile to jump and play in. Of course he has to bring his gray train engine along for the fun!

 

 

Andrew got the idea from his cousin to add Butt on to the end of everyone's names, i.e. Mommy-Butt, Daddy-Butt, Alex-Butt, Grandma-Butt. He also decided to start calling my Jamie. I'm not sure which I prefer.

 

Andrew continues to be the world's messiest eater. He likes to rub his hands all over the table to "wash it," he takes food off his plate so he can cut it directly on the table, he uses his hands to shovel food into his mouth which inevitably leads to food all over his shirt, chair, and floor, and just in general does whatever he can to make what he proudly declares "a giant mess!"

 

Andrew can count to eleven. He can say the alphabet up to g.

September 21, 2014 (2 Years, 7 Months)

Andrew is becoming very inquisitive always asking questions, a few of his favorites are "What are you doing?" "What is that?" "What's in there?" and "Where's my train?"

Andrew continues his obsession with trains and still takes his gray train engine with him pretty much everywhere including the car, zoo, park, tricycle rides, grocery store, and bed.

We went on a weekend getaway to Milwauke with Andrew's Aunt Jen, Uncle Dave, and cousin Sammy. Andrew's favorite part of the Milwaukee Public Museum was running down the long hallways and in the open areas, good thing it wasn't busy! Our hotel had a kiddie swimming pool where the boys had fun playing and splashing around. Andrew still avoids water features like fountains and spraying water. Andrew was afraid to go down the slide until a couple girls came and he felt the need to show off for them, then he realized it was fun and wanted to go down again and again. The boys definitely wore themselves out, they passed out snuggling while watching a movie. The next day we visited the zoo. Andrew enjoyed seeing all the animals especially the giraffes but the train ride was by far the highlight of the day.

Andrew is doing awesome with potty training! The other day after going number 2 Andrew informed me that his poopie was swimmin' in his peepee. Yup.

I asked Andrew if he would like a muffin and he responded that he wanted 2 muffins and 2 cookies. Looks like he got his Daddy's appetite and his Mommy's sweet tooth!

We went camping at Pride of America and Andrew loved every minute of it: splashing in the lake, playing in the sand, swimming in the pool, eating ice cream, napping outside, roasting marshmallows, and sleeping in the tent. We definitely are looking forward to many more family campouts.

Andrew helped us pick apples at the Door Creek Orchard. This year he was more concerned about pulling the wagon than picking the apples though.

 

 

If I hear Andrew go in the bathroom and shut the door I know I am going to find trouble. He likes to fill up the sink with soapy water and wash whatever he can get his hands on.

 

 Andrew can finally reach the pedals on his tricycle and now loves to ride it down the sidewalk.

 

August 26, 2014 (2 Years, 6 months, 5 days)

Andrew has really been embracing the garden harvest this season. He asks to pick tomatoes every day, he loves eating Daddy's homemade pickles, and he even helped husk corn.

Andrew continues to amaze me with his ever expanding vocabulary and complex thinking.

Andrew interacts more and more with his baby brother Alex as he is getting bigger. He is very helpful with giving Alex his nuk when he is fussing. He also likes to take his nuk away and hide it under the couch, in a random drawer, etc. Andrew makes silly faces and noises to try and get Alex to smile or giggle. Often if Alex is fussing or crying Andrew will go up to him and give him a toy and say "you okay baby", other times he isn't as patient like the other day in the car when Alex was crying and Andrew told him "settle down baby!"

Andrew continues his obsession with all things train related. He has worn his Thomas the Train footie pajamas so many times that his toe poked a hole through. He was really sad when he pointed it out to me and asked to change to different PJs.

After being quite successful with using the potty Andrew  now wants nothing to do with his big boy underwear. He still uses the potty several times a day but he is back to wearing diapers for now.

Andrew loves swimming! He did great at swimming lessons and he loves to play in his cousin's pool. He has no fear and jumps right in to the water. He paddles around really well with a life jacket and arm floats on.

We went camping for our family reunion and Andrew loved it. He enjoyed all the outside play time and did really well with staying up later than usual around the fire. For days afterwards he was telling everyone that he slept in a tent outside.

Andrew tries to assert control over his world by demanding certain sippy cups or different colored plates and bowls. We are working on using our manners and not having a meltdown if our dishes are the wrong color.

Andrew gets really upset if you try to cut his food for him, saying "No, Andrew want to eat it like that!"

If Andrew has his way he would eat watermelon for breakfast, lunch, supper, and all snacks.

July 27, 2014 (2 Years, 5 Months, 6 days)

Andrew likes to get out his play lawn mower when Daddy is mowing the yard so he can help.

Andrew had fun playing with his Minnesota cousins who came to stay with us over the Fourth of July weekend.

Andrew ran in his 2nd Neighborhood Fourth of July kids fun run. He was so excited to start he was at the front of the pack but after a few moments he got confused, started playing the sand, and picking dandelions. He ended up coming in last but he had fun!

Andrew is terrified of the carousel at the zoo but in love with the train!

Andrew is obsessed with all things train related. He plays with his toy trains everyday even taking them with to the park, in the van, and to bed. He loves to ride the train at the zoo. The only thing he ever wants to watch is Thomas the Train.

Keeping Andrew in bed at naps and night time has been a challenge, he used to lay down and go to sleep, now he gets up continuously, opening his door and coming down the hallway. He is still figuring out how to sleep in his big boy bed.

 

Andrew loves to read books. He usually picks a favorite and wants to read it every time. He then gets sad when the book has to go back to the library and continues to ask for it for several weeks.

Andrew had a blast helping pick strawberries at the Berry Farmer. Very few of the berries he picked made it to the box, though. We were joking that they should have weighed Andrew and charged us for him because he ate so many strawberries. He was a sight of red!

Andrew started swimming lessons and he really enjoys them. He is still scared to blow bubbles but he loves getting wet and splashing around. He clings tight to Daddy the whole time.

Andrew has outsmarted most of the baby proofing tools in the house, he can now open the baby gate, unplug the outlet covers, and open doors with the handle covers on them.

Andrew got a haircut this month that makes him look like such a big kid!

 

Andrew has staked his claim over his parents. We are no longer just "Mommy" and "Daddy," we are "My Mommy" and "My Daddy."

 

Andrew tries to climb up and on everything. We have been spending a lot of time at the local parks trying to burn off his never ending energy.

 

 

 

June 21, 2014 (2 years, 4 months)

Andrew loves to help out in the kitchen, mostly because he always sneaks a taste of whatever we are making before it is ready, here he took a bite out of his pizza crust.

Andrew continues to give his baby brother lots of loving attention. He likes to hold him, bring him toys, and lay with him during floor time.

 

Andrew was really excited about going to the splash park. Unfortunately when we got there he was afraid of the spraying water and would only go in the water if Daddy was carrying him.

 

Andrew is continuing to work on his climbing skills, often making Mommy really nervous! He is getting to be really good though.

 Daddy took Andrew fishing and helped him catch his first fish.

 

 

 Andrew often does not want his food cut up for him. When Andrew sees Mommy getting ready to cut up his sandwhiches, apples, etc he insists "Andrew want eat it like that!" So naturally he didn't want the corn cut off his cob!

Andrew painted Daddy a plate for his Father's Day gift at Fired Up Pottery. It turned out super cute!

 

May 28 (2 years, 3 months, 1 week)

Andrew is really sweet with his baby brother Alex. Often if Alex is in his bouncy chair and starts fussing Andrew will go over to him and say "It okay baby" and try to put his nuk in his mouth. Andrew also likes to lay on the floor by Alex for tummy time, give him hugs, hold him, and bring him toys to hold. He has also been known to yank Alex's nuk out of his mouth and run it over to Mommy saying "wash it, wash it."

Andrew's transition from his crib to his big boy bed started off really smoothly but then Andrew realized he could actually get up out of bed rather than lay down and fall asleep. So, naptime and bedtime have been a bit more challenging as of late but usually after a couple reminders he does stay in bed and go to sleep. One time he decided to take all the clothes out of his dresser which turned in to a battle of wills when he woke up and Mommy insisted that he help put his clothes back before he could go play.

Andrew is turning in to quite a good little climber! Thankfully the weather has finally warmed up so he has been able to practice his climbing skills on the jungle gyms at the parks in addition to the couches and tables at home. He loves playing outside and going for walks to the park.

Andrew has officially started potty training! We started by watching a cute video called "Potty Power" which got him really fired up to use his potty chair and wear underwear. We also colored a poster that says Potty Power and bought stickers for potty prizes. Unfortunately after trying on his underwear Andrew decided that he "no want wear underwear!!!" So, Andrew was set loose to run around the house without pants and much to my surprise he went right for the potty whenever he had to go. He lost interest in the stickers after less than a day but as long as he is naked Andrew has been doing great using the potty with only a couple accidents. We are still working on remembering to use the potty when he is wearing underwear or a diaper.

A few of Andrew's favorite things right now are the ducks that swim in our next door neighbors pool, trains, bunnies in the yard, the pond across the street, pushing his stroller on the sidewalk, the park, the library, open gym, and juice.