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.

April 21, 2014 (2 Years, 2 Months)

Andrew welcomed his baby brother Alex into the world on April 8th. Andrew adores his brother and though he sometimes needs reminders that we don't poke eyes or throw toys by him, he is for the most part really sweet and gentle with him.

Andrew spent a couple days with Grandma and Papa while Mommy and Daddy were in the hospital with Alex. He had a great time and only missed home at bedtime. Once he got back home he kept asking "Grandma play toys?"

Andrew likes to bring Alex toys to play with and he gets right up in his face to say "Hi Baby, Hi, Hi Brother!"

Andrew transitioned to a big boy bed this month after all his jumping finally took its toll on his crib and broke a side rail. The first night he laid down and went right to sleep. He has ended up on the floor twice but otherwise it has been a relatively smooth transition.

Andrew insists that you not only kiss but also hug his owies. Sometimes he wants to kiss his own owies until he realizes that he cannot kiss his own forehead, elbow, etc then he asks for help.

Andrew is Daddy's big helper outside working in the yard and building the shed.

 

Andrew also likes to help in the kitchen and is especially good at mashing bananas.

 

Andrew had a great Easter. He got to go to two Easter Egg Hunts one in our neighborhood and the other at America's Best Flowers. He was really excited to see the Easter Bunny and kept his eyes on him the whole time.

 

 

 Andrew had a lot of fun decorating Easter Eggs with kool aid and stickers. He was really upset when we were all done. He also wasn't happy about Daddy eating his Easter Eggs the next day.

 

 

The Easter bunny filled Andrew's basket with plastic eggs, an Easter book, a stuffed animal duck, a new Elmo toothbrush, and watercolor paint supplies. Andrew's favorite part was the empty plastic eggs.

 

 

March 21, 2014 (2 years, 1 month)

 

When Andrew feels the need to show off, he does so by jumping up and down, running in circles, and hitting his head saying "Owie owie owie."

It took Andrew a couple days but he adjusted well to the daylight savings time change and now he sleeps in until around 6-6:30!!

Andrew loves to go on walks and splash in puddles. He is excited to finally be able to play outside and never wants to go back inside. No toys needed- rocks, melting snow, and sticks are all it takes to keep him entertained outdoors. He also likes to be pushed on his bike-he isn't big enough to really reach the pedals or the ground when sitting down.

Andrew knows most shapes, colors, animals, and corresponding animal sounds. He likes to repeat after you letters, numbers, months, and days of the week. He can count up to 4 on his own.

Andrew likes to clarify whether something is big or little. He also recognizes when there is one or two of something.

Andrew loves to put money in his piggy bank.

Andrew likes to get out his computer, vacuum, phone, etc so he can be just like Mommy and Daddy.

Andrew's 2 year old molars are starting to poke through.

Andrew is talking more and more everyday and he is able to string together several word sentences. "Andrew still eating" "Daddy be home soon" "Finn come over today"

Andrew loves to dance and insists that you dance with him.

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.