I love presents!

We decided to let Andrew open a couple of presents early so that he could enjoy them all and not be overwhelmed. So here's a couple of pictures of him playing. As you can see he got a new kitchen. Thanks grammy and grandpa! And one of his favorite features of the kitchen is the blue cordless telephone. He wanders all over the house, jabbering on the phone and laughing at his own jokes. I don't know where he learned that?!

Grammy and Grandpa - Happy Thanksgiving

Grammy and Grandpa came to visit for the week of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, when they arrived, Andrew had the stomach flu and then Keith got it. I was very glad to have help caring for the sickies! We didn't get to have the Thanksgiving we had planned, but we did get to spend a lot of quality time together since Andrew and Keith were too sick to leave the house. And Andrew learned to say Gampa and he started to say Mama, finally, but only when he feels like it.

First Black Eye

Andrew got his first black eye. He was running as usual and tripped and fell into the entertainment center. And then he barely cried.
The bruise lasted for about 2 weeks and we had to deal with people constantly asking what happened. And as you can see, it didn't affect his mood - here he's having his usual after-dinner laughing fit.

Happy Halloween!

So, I'm a little late in posting these pictures... Andrew was sick much of November and now it's December and I'm trying to catch up. Andrew was an elephant for about 5 minutes on Halloween. He wasn't very happy about the whole thing. And it was too cold to take him out and about.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday and Andrew loved it! He was sick all week with a little flu bug and so we didn't go anywhere, and we certainly didn't go outside because it was very cold. So cold that we got our first snow. We weren't ready for it and thankfully it has all melted. So, we were all very happy to be blessed with another beautiful fall day and a large open space where Andrew could run wild. You'll notice that in most pictures he has something in both hands. That's his mean parents' way of tricking him to keep his hat on. :)

A beautiful fall day!

Last weekend we went to Turtle River State Park to enjoy some of the beautiful fall weather. We tried to take some cute pictures of Andrew with the changing leaves as a background, but he wasn't interested in looking at the camera. He thought the dandelions and the playground was a much better choice.

climbing is fun for some

Andrew has discovered he can climb. God help us! It started with him climbing on top of his Lego table, which is under the kitchen counter as you can see in the picture. So we're sure the next step is running around the kitchen counters. Guess we need to move the Lego table! And last night he finally figured out how to get up on the couch, which does not make Oliver happy! The windowsill was the one safe place he could go to escape Andrew. Oh well, those days are over.

Fall is here!

Last week we enjoyed 80 degrees and today it's in the 40s. Fortunately Andrew hasn't figured out how to pull his hood off. He, of course did try, but finally gave up. Sadly, we fear winter is just around the corner, and we don't know what we will do with our stir-crazy child! So we are running him outside while we still can...

Destruction!

Andrew has taken to destroying everything in his path and finding items no where near his path! He loves emptying the pots and pans and spreading them all over the kitchen floor. And the other day he emptied the bookshelf 3 or 4 times. I finally gave up picking up and just took a picture of the mass chaos! He's working on molars and so he's a little cranky today, but overall we can't complain. We had a successful garage sale today in a beautiful 62 degrees, and he slept through half of it!

14 months old!

So, I'm a slacker and haven't posted anything for awhile. Ashley's going to yell at me again. Andrew is now 14 months old, going on 4 years. And here's a couple of pictures of what he's been up to. He likes to help clean, but he's not a fan of the vacuum unless it's turned off. He also likes to play with his new Little People barn that we got on ebay. And because he doesn't have enough toys, he has to play with our tennis shoes. Poor deprived little boy. He walks them around the house like animals on a leash. Andrew has several pull toys, but none are as cool as the shoes! But right now one if his favorite toys is a book from Uncle Chad and Aunt Sondra. They made him a video and songbook with felt fish and stars. He LOVES the fish, but only the red and blue one. He's also stopped walking and switched over to RUNNING. Makes it harder to catch him as he tries to run in the street. Ah, the life of a toddler/runner!

Heritage Days

Today we went to Heritage Days in EGF, a little flashback to way things use to be done. There were demonstrations of wood planing, broom making, a little one-room school and an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. YUM! And lots of old tractors!

grandma and grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and they brought their puppy. Andrew's a little afraid because the puppy doesn't have manners yet. We're having lots of fun and Andrew's showing off all his tricks. Monday is going to be a tough day for me when they leave. He's getting kind of spoiled...

dill pickles

Here's some pictures of Andrew "enjoying" a dill pickle, which gave him the shivers. I can't get him to eat ANY vegetables, but a dill pickle he'll eat. And of course the more we laughed at his reaction to the pickle, the more he ate.

Tomatoes! Tomatoes!

Andrew is fascinated by my tomatoes plants. And so he decided to "help" me by picking a couple of them. Unfortunately he chose a couple that weren't quite ready to be picked and then banged them together like cymbals. Apparently he wanted tomato juice...

let's get grilling

We got this grill for Andrew a couple of weeks ago at a garage sale and he loves it. We, on the other hand, don't think it's so great. Did I mention it talks? It says many things, like "Hey, fire me up." and "Let's get grilling." and "Who wants their buns toasted." all the while it is making a loud static sound that is supposed to be the sizzling food. And it doesn't have an off switch. Who makes children's toys these days?? But the important thing is he loves it and grills all day long!

playing outside

Here's our attempt at joining the technology world. I don't promise to do this everyday, but will try to update you on any exciting and not-so-exciting news of our family. Here's a picture of our little helper. Andrew LOVES to be outside, even when it's 98 degrees with a heat index of 104, like today. He also loves climbing on his new birthday slide. Thanks Grammy and Grandpa! Keith really wanted to turn the hose on Andrew, but I wouldn't let him!