February 21, 2014 (2 Years!)

I cannot believe that Andrew is two years old already!!! He continues to amaze me with how much he learns and grows everyday. He is a very active, curious, social, and sweet little boy.

When asked how old he is, Andrew holds up his two pointer fingers and says "Two!"

Andrew is becoming more aware and thoughtful of the needs of others. He is often very concerned about making sure other kids have their blankets, cups, and special toys. We are still working on sharing and not taking toys from others but he is getting better at waiting for his turn and he likes to bring other children toys to play with.

Andrew is Mommy's little helper, he likes helping with laundry, feeding kitties and turtle, washing the table, sweeping, and vacuuming.

Andrew is continuing to practice using the potty. He doesn't tell us when he has to go but if we sit him on the potty he almost always goes and he is usually very proud of himself!

We finally had a couple days when the weather was warm enough to play outside in the snow. Andrew loved helping shovel the driveway but in the yard he struggled to walk in the deep snow and became very frustrated when he kept getting stuck or falling down.

Some nights Andrew uses delay tactics to put off going night night. His usual requests include rocking chair, juice, milk, water, book, song, feed turtle, and see Daddy.

Andrew enjoys arts and craft and asks to do "projects" often. His favorite things to do are glue paper, scribble with markers, and finger paint.

Andrew really likes the train set that he got for his birthday from mommy and daddy. I think he likes the box even more.

Andrew had a fun birthday party. His aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents all came over to play and celebrate.

January 21, 2014 (23 Months)

Andrew reminds us randomly throughout the day that the stove is hot.

 

Andrew sleeps on his tummy with his butt up in the air and his blankets rolled into a ball under him.

Andrew has been resisting sitting in his booster chair and asking to sit in a "big chair." This is a problem because he is still a very messy eater-rubbing his hands everywhere and throwing his food on the ground. Also he thinks he should be able to get down and walk around the house while eating if he isn't buckled in.

Andrew loves to watch Sesame Street and The Magic School Bus.

Andrew likes to do yoga with Daddy.

Andrew takes really good care of his baby doll, covering her up with his blankey and putting her down for night night.

Andrew likes to give a play by play of what everyone is doing: "Daddy working," "Kitty napping," "Turtle eating," "People walking," "Mommy sweeping."

When Andrew sees that Sophie has climbed up on the table or shelf he starts shouting "Kitty up high. Get down. Right now!" He will also tell Mommy and Daddy to "get down" if they are caught sitting on the coffee table or counter top.

Andrew likes to pick out his own pajamas but it can be a long process as he decides between every pair in the drawer.

Andrew often declares that something is "Nice!" or "Awesome!" He especially thinks that his block and lego creations and artwork are nice.

Andrew has always been an early riser but he went through a couple week period this month when his internal alarm clock went off around 4:30am each morning. He would usually play for about 15 minutes before he either threw all his stuffed animals and blankets out of the crib, got his leg stuck in the crib slats, or needed a diaper change. Thankfully we seem to be back on track with 5:30-6am wake-up times.

When Andrew gets out of the bath tub he clings tightly to Mommy or Daddy and insists on being picked up, he isn't very concerned about drying off or getting dressed.

Andrew has been feeling cooped up this winter. A couple times after we returned from an outing when we pulled into the garage and Andrew realized that we were home he started saying "no, no Andrew buh bye again." Other times when we have been home all day he will get out his shoes and go do the door saying "Andrew buh bye!"

We took Andrew to see the holiday model train exhibit and Olbrich Gardens and he loved it. He kept running after the trains pointing and saying "new new train!" We aren't sure why he stopped saying "choo choo train"...

Taking pictures or videos of Andrew is becoming increasingly difficult. As soon as he sees the camera he immediately runs towards it and wants to see the screen. Maybe someday he will be a director because he always wants to be behind the camera. As a side note-the lack of pictures this month is because our camera was sent out to be cleaned.

December 26, 2013 (22 Months)

This entry is little late but Andrew is 22 months! He is a very high energy, rambunctious boy and he is talking more and more every day.

Andrew likes to dump his cereal on the floor, then get out the broom and dust pan to try and sweep it up. He also will not hesitate to tell you if something is "messy" or "dirty" or "icky"

 

One good thing about living on a somewhat busy street is it provides a lot of entertainment for Andrew. Who would want to watch TV when we could look out the window?? We get a lot of foot traffic, runners, dog walkers, city buses, school buses, police cars, fire trucks, and on Monday's we get to watch for the garbage truck! The winter weather only adds to the excitement with snow plows and people shoveling or snow blowing.

Andrew pronounces snow without making the s sound; for example he says "no-pants" and "no-man" except when it comes to snowplow, then we get a very excited "TOO-POW!"

Andrew is very determined and persistent. One day these will be good qualities. For now it is very difficult to stop him or distract him from doing something he is not supposed to do but he has his mind set on doing like crawling down the stairs face first or climbing on the table.

Andrew's favorite song is by far Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and he asks to listen to it constantly. We found a youtube video that he would watch over and over if you let him and he also likes to read the corresponding book.

Andrew got to meet Santa at our neighborhood bonfire. He wasn't sure what to think about him but did make sure to tell him the fire was "hot!"

Andrew is starting to understand that there is a baby growing in Mommy's belly. He likes to lift up Mommy's shirt and point at her belly saying "baby." This is okay when we are at home.

The ornaments on the Christmas tree proved to be too tempting for Andrew and had to be moved to just the top half of the tree. Whenever Andrew had the chance, he would quickly grab the ornaments from the tree, rip off the hook and toss it aside, and run away as fast as he could. He also likes to play with the nativity set and crawl under the tree.

 

Andrew got to go snow tubing for his cousin's birthday party and he loved it. We took a moving sidewalk up to the top of the hill which Andrew thought was the ride because when we stepped off of it he got sad and said "again again." Andrew had a huge smile and little giggles going down the hill and as soon as we got to the bottom he wanted to go "again".

Andrew officially lost his soft baby hair when his dad buzzed his hair with the clippers this month. The haircut made him go from baby to big boy instantly.

With all the Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings over the past month Andrew got to spend lots of time with family. He loves playing with all his cousins and while he is still one of the younger ones he is able to play really well with the big kids.

For Christmas, we bought Andrew a Little People farm toy, a stuffed animal Woodstock from Charlie Brown, and 2 story books along with a few small stocking stuffers. Andrew was much more enthusiastic about opening his presents and playing with his new toys rather than just wanting the packaging like last year. He also received a Little People Pirate Ship from his cousin's gift exchange and a remote control car from Grandma and Papa.

November 21, 2013 (21 Months)

Andrew dressed as a bumble bee for Halloween this year. He practiced trick or treating with the big cats at the sanctuary in Rock Springs then ventured into the rain to trick or treat on Halloween night. Andrew held a tight grip on his candy bucket the whole time and said "thank you" to almost everyone. When we got home he spotted our trick or treat candy bowl, ran over, and starting quickly grabbing handfuls for his bucket. He had fun just looking at and playing with all the colorful candy.

Andrew is starting to learn his colors. His favorite color is yellow; it was the first color he was able to say and identify. He likes to point out when he sees something yellow and he often will pick out only yellow Legos to build a tower.

Andrew had fun helping rake the leaves. He was full of giggles whenever his daddy tossed leaves up into the air and they rained down on him.

 

Andrew thinks that all cats are named Sophie.

Andrew's vocabulary has really exploded this month, he is constantly trying to repeat words and says new words everyday. He has also been putting two words together to make short sentences (get down) or show possession (mommy hat).

Andrew has a thing for shoes. He is always pointing out other people's shoes and he likes to put on grown up shoes and walk around the house.

Andrew knows how to blow kisses.

Andrew is getting really good at puzzles. He sometimes gets frustrated when he can't get a piece to fit in but he is usually able to find the right spot.

Andrew still loves to play peekaboo and thinks its really funny to hide in the coat closet.

Andrew is allowed to watch a limited amount of television. He loves the TV (pronounced teebee) and asks to watch it all the time. When I tell him "no" he gets the remote (pronounced "mote"), climbs up on the couch, and tries to turn it on himself.

Andrew likes to put things on his head and pretend that they are hats: his toy drum, bowls, a toy tote, anything can be a hat.

Andrew does not like to wear socks. If I am able to convince him to put them on when he gets dressed in the morning, they don't usually make it past breakfast.

Andrew really loves to dump things out. Buckets of Legos and books on the bookshelf are his favorite.

Andrew was really enthusiastic about the first snow fall. That morning he looked out the window in amazement saying over and over WOW SNOW!!!! Later that day he was really excited when we played outside.

October 21, 2013 (20 Months)

Andrew has been having great fall filled with seasonal fun. We visited the Orchard Creek Apple Orchard where we learned just how much he LOVES apples. Andrew had a great time picking apples, trying all the varieties, and just relaxing in nature. At one point he plopped down on the ground under an apple tree, laid back, and just relaxed looking up at the tree and sky.

 

We visited the Monona Fall Festival where Andrew attempted the toddler hay bale maze. He didn't really get the point and kept trying to climb on the hay but he still had fun!

We also checked out Treinen Farm in Lodi which was awesome. We took a horse drawn hayride to the pumpkin patch where Andrew helped pick out a pumpkin. He also got to play on tractor riding toys and pet some farm animals.

 

Andrew got his first substantial hair cut and he looks so grown up!

Andrew loves drinking out of his Dad's big water jug.

Halfway thought eating Andrew feels the need to dump out his plate or bowl and finish his meal straight off his tray. He still has the habit of throwing food on the ground when he's finished.

Andrew got a new froggy potty and has been practicing sitting on it. So far he has successfully peed in the potty 3 times. One morning after a few minutes of trying, he declared that he was all done and got up to play with his rubber duckies from the bathtub. I walked across the hall to his bedroom, grabbed a diaper, and came right back. In that time he had taken a whole pee in the potty and was splashing around in it with his duckies!

Andrew now has 16 teeth.

Andrew is starting to put 2 words together: Daddy work, Hi Turtle, Mama no.

Andrew has developed a love of Legos. He is getting really good at stacking the blocks to make towers. He also loves shaking the container and  dumping the blocks everywhere so he can push his corn popper toy or ride his riding toys through the rubble.

 

 

September 20, 2013 (19 Months)

We just returned from a weeklong family vacation to Gulf Shores, AL. Andrew had a blast splashing in the ocean, playing in the sand, floating in the pool, and feeding animals at the zoo. He is definitely not afraid of water, he would run full force into the ocean and kept trying to jump into the pool. Needless to say Mommy and Daddy got their exercise chasing him around!

Andrew is a Daddy's boy! He insists on being held by Daddy and only Daddy whenever possible. He wakes up from nap and asks for Daddy. He walks around the house looking for Daddy when Daddy is not home.

Andrew is getting good at pointing out his body parts; he can show you his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hair, belly, butt, hands, and feet.

Andrew is learning animal sounds; he knows moo for cow, baa for sheep, hoo hoo for owl, and mow for kitty.

Andrew does a really cute wave where he straightens his arm out and then opens and closes his hand like a claw while saying buh bye in the sweetest little voice.

Andrew is Mommy's little helper. He puts clothes in the dryer as I hand them to him, he can throw something in the garbage when asked, and he loves to push the vacuum canister around behind me while I vacuum. He also enjoys sweeping and washing the table with a wash cloth.

Andrew is saying a lot of words these days; a couple newer ones are shovel, birdy, and kiwi, paper, water, pickle, and picture.

August 22, 2013 (18 Months)

 

Andrew is on the go! He doesn’t slow down for anyone.

Andrew thinks that all animals say “Moo” or “Baa”

Andrew got to wear his first bandaid this month when he smashed his thumb in the toilet seat lid. I think he was equally upset from the pain and the Band-Aid.

Andrew got to visit his Minnesota cousins this month and meet his new baby cousin Jacob. Aside from his difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep in a new environment, he was a great traveler.

Andrew is a mosquito magnet, just like his daddy. At one point he had no less than 8 bites just on his face when no one else that was outside at the same time had even a single bite.

A few of Andrew’s favorite things are puppies, airplanes, dump trucks, his blankey, and bananas.

Andrew has the word “no” down pat. Some days everything is “no”.

We visited the Wisconsin Deer Park in the Dells and Andrew had a blast! Several times his excited running and shrieking scared most of the deer away but when he was able to contain his excitement he was able to pet the deer and give them hugs. We bought some crackers to feed the deer and at first Andrew thought they were for him to eat and he didn’t want to share with the deer. Once we convinced him to share he realized how fun it was to feed the deer and had them eating out of his hands.

Andrew is up to 12 teeth and is working on his top canines.

Andrew thinks it’s funny to put his blankey over his head and walk around bumping into things.

Andrew loves to eat fresh tomatoes, carrots, and green beans straight from the garden. He will walk around and eat an entire heirloom tomato. We are trying to teach him to only pick the red, ripe tomatoes but so far he sees nothing wrong with eating unripe, green tomatoes.

Andrew loves animals. He especially loves to give them hugs.