I just did Maddy's 2 month post and thought I should do a little update on Andrew. He says/does the funniest things, and I know I'll never remember them all. I'm going to try to write a few that I can remember so this will be a pretty random post and mostly "things Andrew says" (that I don't want to forget!)

• "Mommy hug you!" (means he wants a hug)
• "Carry you!" (wants to be carried)
• "Big one ____" "New one ____"  (he adds the "one" after a word...for example if he sees a big star, he'll say "big one star!" or a new pair of PJ's "new one jammies!" Corey and I crack up over this!"
• ah = another  "AH ball! and AH ball!" (translation: "another ball and another ball!" lol
• "bam-bu-lance" = ambulance  Absolutely hilarious when he tries to say 2 ambulances "2 - ah- bam-bu-lances"
• I'll hear him scream then say to himself "Maddy's sleeping! Quiet!"
• If you ask him where something is and he doesn't know, he'll either day "I dunno!" or "hmmm..." while looking for it.
• says "o-tay" instead of OK
• has started singing...the funniest is the Veggie Tales song
• is obsessed with washing dishes or rather "dumping" water. It's the first thing he asks to do in the morning.
• Points out "messes"all the time yet he's the one who makes most of them!
• Anytime anything is broken or just not right he asks for it to be fixed. If I can't do it, he'll say "Daddy fix it!"
• Oh...Corey is no longer "Corey" to Andrew! Around the time Maddy was born, he started calling Corey "Daddy" :)
• Will call for Lucy.. "oooooo-ceeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
• Asks me to put Maddy in her swing then says, "Run?" then proceeds to run laps through the living room and kitchen which means he runs by the swing each time.
• When he wants to play with blocks he'll ask to "build something!"
• LOVES when we laugh at him and will keep trying to make us laugh afterwards.
• Exclaims "little feet!" when he sees Maddy. (I die!)

I'm sure there's MANY more but this is all I can come up with right now. He is such a funny little man. Love him to pieces!

Miss Madelyn Kate  :)



She arrived Saturday, October 20th at 6pm on the dot (after 20.5 hours of labor..UGH!). 6 lbs 10 oz and 19 inches long. A total peanut!  I will post my birth story on Maddy's blog hopefully sometime soon, but if anyone still checks for updates, I'm sure this is the blog they look at. :)

I knew I'd really drop the ball on updates once Andrew turned 2 because I would no longer be doing the monthly updates, and that was really the only time I posted!  So, I told myself I had to do one more update about Andrew before Miss Madelyn comes, which could be any day now (I'm 37 weeks today!)  Andrew is at such a fun age. Frustrating at times, definitely, but the things he says and does just amaze me every day.  Here's a little tasting of some of the things he is doing...

Things I Don't Want to Forget:

• Andrew is such a mama's boy. He says, "Mommy" a million times a day in different voices and will call for me if I'm out of the room or not home.
• He is learning new words by the day. Sometimes I have no idea where he's learned/heard them.
• He has several phrases and short sentences that he says but mostly speaks in one or two words.
• Funny:  Andrew now says, "Bless you" when someone sneezes. It's the most adorable thing ever! The other day he sneezed and then right away exclaimed, "Bless you!" to himself. I about died!
• He is still obsessed with cars, trucks, and all things boy!
• Loves to "read" books and will name anything he sees. My favorite is how he'll call people by names of people he knows. In one book there is a picture of a farmer, who he calls Bill after his Uncle. There is a picture of a dog, who he calls Rocco, which is a neighborhood dog. 
• He has started to refer to Corey as Daddy and not always as Corey.
• Tortures our poor dog all the time. He'll often say, "NICE!" to me with an evil look on his face, so I say, "Yes, be nice to Lucy" and he'll yell NOOOO!!
• Speaking of no, aside from Mommy, "no" is his favorite word.  Very, very frustrating and irritating.
• Will have world class tantrums when we ask him to do things he doesn't want to do..mostly come inside when he's playing outside. It's delightful, let me tell you!
• (Have to end on a good note...) Gives the best hugs and kisses ever! <3>

I'll probably be combining my two blogs into one once Maddy arrives.  Hopefully I'll be better about updating them, but I can't promise anything!

I know I am going to totally neglect this blog now that I don't have monthly updates to do, so I thought I'd squeeze in a quick post.  I'm totally enjoying my summer home with Andrew. This year there is so much to do because he's a bit older. He's just such a sponge right now, and I love watching every little thing he is learning. Here are a few of my favorite things about this summer:

• morning walks with Andrew, especially when we get out early enough where it's slightly cool (doesn't happen often)
• Andrew has developed a LOVE for grapefruit! I was eating one one day and he wanted to try it. Ever since, we've shared a whole grapefruit each morning. It's actually the first food he asks for after he wakes up.
• I've been teaching Andrew to say please and thanks. He has started doing this unprompted, especially thanks. It is the CUTEST thing! He loves saying it and always smiles.
• Andrew gets shy around crowds of people or new people he doesn't know. He'll exclaim, "I shy!" He obviously learned that from me because I'd always ask him if he was being shy when he'd hide his head when approaching new people. So cute!
• He has started to hold my hand at random times. I always make him hold my hand as we walk down the stairs or into a store, but he'll take my hand walking down the hallway or sometimes just sitting on the couch.
• One more (even though I could go on and on).. we continue to do the hokey pokey at night right before bedtime, but now he dances in his crib while Corey and I grab his stuffed animals and dance with them. He CRACKS up and asks us to dance with another stuffed animal or his baba. Love it!

Here's a couple pictures as well.. he's too cute not to add pics to the post!

Eating fettucini for the first time

Hamming it up for the camera

Acting innocent even though he was really torturing the dog

Clapping for himself after building blocks!

Well, it came.. Andrew's 2nd birthday! I cannot believe I have a 2 year old! I love that I was able to be home with him for his actual birthday even though we didn't really do anything super special. I did get him french fries, which he loves. lol  His birthday party, a couple days before his actual birthday, was a BLAST. Seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better time. It was hot and humid but the kids all kept cool in the kiddie pool and homemade water slide. I was even able to forget how hot and exhausted I was! I'll post his birthday pics in a new post hopefully sometime this week. This post will have his LAST monthly update (bitter sweet) and his 2 year photos. :)

At 2 years, Andrew...

• weighs about 32 lbs 13 oz (96th %) and is 36.5 inches tall (94th %)
• wears 2T shorts and 2T/3T shirts
• wears size 5 diaper during the day; size 6 at night
• wears size 6.5 shoe
• kicks his shoes off MULTIPLE times a day (in his booster seat, stroller, and carseat) then screams for me to put them back on
• asks me to "fix" his shoes when he gets dirt, rocks, or wood chips in there (MANY times a day!)
• no longer eats in his highchair (we put it away) but rather in a booster at the table. However, he rarely even likes to eat there, so we have been letting him have his food at his little picnic table in front of the TV. Yep, probably a bad habit to start but I want the kid to eat!
• is still super picky with food and eats the same things constantly (a little better when he eats in front of the TV or on the go)

Only one month (well, less now) until my little boy's 2nd birthday. I really can't believe it! Time is going SO much faster. I know I've always said each month how fast it's gone by but geez, it's like I blink and he's another month older. I'll stop doing monthly posts when he turns 2, and then I guess I'll just have to force myself to update when he does new/cute things, which is quite frequently. However, we all know I won't be updating that much. Oh well...  I'll stop rambling now and get on with the update.

At 23 months, Andrew..

• weighs about 32.5 lbs and is about 36 inches tall.
• wears 2T shorts and 2T/3T shirts
• wears size 5 diaper during the day; size 6 at night
• wears size 6.5 shoe
• will finally wear sandals (used to SCREAM when I put them on him!)

Corey referred to Andrew as a 2 year old the other day, and I immediately yelled, "NO! not yet!" I will savor these last 2 months of being able to say he's ____ months old. After that it'll be he's "2" for a full year!  Crazy! I haven't been taking nearly as many pictures as I used to mostly because I can't get any good ones. He's on the move and won't look at me half the time so the pics are always of his back or side, and they just aren't that good. I have to get a lot better at this! I'll try to do an all picture post soon though since I don't have any for this update.

At 22 months, Andrew..

•weighs about 32 lbs and is just over 35in tall - hasn't gained any/much weight since he's been sick for 2 weeks and has no appetite :(
•wears size 5 diapers during the day; size 6 at night
•wears some 18-24 month pants (all getting short!) and some 2T; shorts are 2T with the waist bands pulled as tight as possible.. he has such a tiny waist! 2T and 3T shirts depending on brand
•wears size 6-6.5 shoe.. he's kinda in between right now
•started drinking more milk again, I think because he's been sick.
•so picky with food and doesn't help that he's been sick
•meals right now consist of yogurt at least once a day, cheese, lots of fruit... sometimes I can get him to eat some black beans or veggies and dip. Occasionally mac & cheese and pierogies. Where did my good eater go?
•continues to do super well with forks and spoons. Needs to have both at every meal.
•nap is the same - down around 12 and up around 3 (can be a bit earlier or later)
•bedtime is the same - down between 7-7:30 and up at 6 on weekdays. Weekends still wakes around 6:30. •still loves his "ba-ba" but only gets it for naps and bedtime. He will say "baba" a lot even though he knows he can't have it.
•has 16 teeth
•had his 2nd double ear infection and pink eye all at once.. then a cold virus followed right after. Poor guy!
•vocabulary is increasing by the day. He'll often repeat most things I ask him to say. He has about 25 words he says consistently. My favorite include: carry (cah-wee), stroller (stro-leee) and still calling Daddy, Corey.
•still points at things to tell us what he wants but will say some things for food if he can
•still loves being outside!
•loves to kick a soccer ball or any other ball and is quite good at it!
•loves his toy lawn mower but only on the pavement or smooth surface. He has a hard time getting it to move on the grass.
•loves using a straw now that he has mastered it.
•will sit in the car and watch Elmo for as long as I let him. Somedays he'll sit in there for a half hour before dragging him out. Often tantrums result..
•has been such a Mommy's boy lately and especially in the morning. But will continue to call for "Co-wee" all day.
•now sleeps with TONS of stuffed animals in his crib. He started piling them in there one day and won't let me take them out. He currently has: a big Buffalo Bill's pillow pet (Bill), tickle-me-Elmo, mini Elmo, a large dog that was mine when I was little (Sampson), a Taco Bell dog that was mine, and his seahorse.  Sometimes I find him sleeping on top of them all.
•LOVES trucks. Could play with them all day.
•has to stop and look in every gutter when we are outside walking
•knows some shapes - square, triangle, circle, and star because we stack them in the bath tub. Not sure he'd know them outside of the tub.
•loves listening to music, especially when getting ready for bed
•will jump up and dance to the "Hokey Pokey" when the song comes on
•gives great hugs and kisses
•will snuggle and rest his head on my shoulder (only for a minute or so but I'll take what I can get!)