And just like that it's September! We had such a wonderful summer and just like everything else in life, it has absolutely flown by! Andrew is now 14 months and a full-blown toddler now. He is learning so much each and every single day, and we are just loving the little personality he has developed.
We started July by celebrating Andrew's first birthday. I pretty much spent July 3rd-5th replaying and reminiscing about when I went into labor and when Andrew was born. It was the best day of our lives, and I can't believe that is was now more than a year ago. The night before Andrew's actual birthday I could not stand my excitement. I wrapped all his presents and wanted to start a tradition of decorating the outside of his bedroom door. I kept waking up throughout the night because I couldn't wait for him to wake up to his decorations and presents. I was one who just loved my birthday growing up, but now that I am a parent, celebrating birthdays brings on a whole new meaning and level of excitement. When Andrew woke up and opened his presents, he didn't show any real sense of interest or anything, just realized he had more toys to play with (and of course more crap for us to store and clean up!). We kind of just hung out all day and had birthday cake at night. I was shocked that he didn't dive right in and smear the cake all over the face. He was actually pretty delicate and was just taking pieces of icing and eating that.
It's obvious a one-year-old has no understanding of their birthday or what is going on, but it didn't hold me back from having a party and inviting all of Andrew's relatives down to celebrate his special day. I decided to go with a baseball theme, and focus everything around that. My sister was a huge help with pulling this off, and I don't know what I'd do without my in-house party planner! Andrew is lucky to have his Aunt Kelly!! Part of my plan was to have people outside to eat and socialize, however we ended up having the hottest day of the summer that day, so going outside wasn't too much of an option. We squeezed everyone into our tiny townhouse, but everything worked out wonderfully. Andrew got more toys than what we knew what to do with, and he seemed to really have a good time. It was nice to have our relatives from Connecticut and Pittsbugh come to celebrate, as well as Andrew's good buddy, Matthew. Not sure how we'll follow this party up for next year, but whatever we do I hope it's not as hot!
After Andrew's birthday, we went to Lewes Beach, Delaware with Gram and Pap and Uncle Bob and Aunt Sharon. We had a wonderful week visiting the Maryland and Delaware beaches. The weather for the most part was pretty good, and Andrew continued to enjoy the beach. He loved the sand and more than playing in it, he loved to eat it! We also discovered Andrew's true love of dancing as we would listen to the country music channel at the house, and every time he heard a song he would start to break it down! It was hilarious. I can't wait to show those videos at his rehearsal dinner some day :)
After our beach vacation, we rushed back home to go celebrate Kelly and Alex's engagement. Aunt Linda and Uncle Jeff had a party for Kelly and Alex in Solomons and it was a great time! Our family got to know Alex's family and we also met several of Kelly and Alex's friends. Luckily the weather cooperated and the rain went away as well as the awful July heat. I think everyone had most fun taking the boat to the Tiki Bar later on in the evening. The bridal party had fun getting to know each other, and if that night was any indication of what the wedding will be like, I think we have a wild and crazy wedding to look forward to next July! We are so happy for Kelly and Alex, and can't wait to celebrate their special day.
In August, we traveled with my family to Bethany Beach, Delaware for a week. This is our usual family vacay spot and we absolutely love going every year. Andrew had a great time at this beach as well, and enjoyed going to Happy Hour at our favorite beach bar, Mango's. We went to Ocean City one of the days we were there to see the fish weigh-ins at the White Marlin Open. After being there it's clear that Todd and Alex are ready to quit their day jobs and fish all day!
After vacation, my summer of fun unfortunately came to an end. I had to go back to school, which of course means Andrew goes back to daycare. We started a new daycare for this school year and we've been very happy with where he is now. Andrew is the youngest and I think is learning to play with the older kids and his vocabulary I fell is taking off as well. The beginning was difficult as he would cry everyday when he was dropped off, but he seems to have adjusted now and seems to just love it! When I picked him up the other day, I walked in and he looked at me then said, "Ma Ma". Picking him up is the best part of my day, and hearing him say that and seeing the smile on his face erases any of the stress and crap that I had to deal with all day.
Over Labor Day, we went to Pennsylvania to celebrate Todd's cousin Courtney's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding that was held on a farm. The farm was gorgeous and there were some really great photo ops there. I think it's safe to say that Andrew was the hit of the wedding. When the dancing at the reception started, Andrew knew that was his cue to start getting his groove on. At one point I walked into the reception room and there was a hug circle of the people on the dance floor with Andrew dancing in the middle. He was having the time of his life and danced all night long. I can't believe the energy that this child has. I seriously think that if we had let him go all night, he'd still be dancing now!
So here we are in September, and as I mentioned earlier, Andrew is quite the little toddler. He has become very inquisitive, and is always getting into something. He enjoys playing with puzzles. We have one where he is able to get some of the pieces in, but mostly he likes to clap the wooden pieces together and make as much noise as possible (which we just love!). He loves the wooden puzzle pieces so much that he decided to bang them on our dining room chair which left some awesome scratches. Yeah, we were thrilled about that! He loves to sit in our laps and read books. Some of his current favorites are "Corduroy" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?". Sometimes, we read these books 2-3 times before bed, but he loves it so we just go with it. He loves hiding things and asking "Where'd it go?" then reveals said missing object and and saying in his way 'here it is". It's so adorable to watch and he gets so excited over this. His favorite t.v. show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and honestly we might watch it 7 times a day. He gets so excited as soon as we turn to the channel and he sees the opening screen shot. He usually doesn't pay attention to the entire show, but if we were to turn it off, he points to the t.v. and asks "Where'd it go?' Andrew is also a child who knows what he wants. Whether it's a snack or our iphone, whenever there's something he likes, he points to it and says "I want that!" He isn't saying a ton of words yet, still a lot of gibberish. By this point though, I think the words we can make out are "cracker", "wa" (water), "Ma" (mickey), "wuh-wuh" (woof woof for when we see dogs), "sh" (shoe), and of course "ma ma" and "da da". I'm sure there are others but at this point in the evening my brain is fried and I can't think of others! Andrew loves to dance, and his current dance move is literally dancing in circles. I don't know where he got that from, but he does get dizzy afterwards and looks like he had a few drinks after spinning around and around. He has six teeth but I don't see any new ones breaking through at this point. His hands are constantly in his mouth though, so I'm sure there will be new ones any day. At his one year appointment he was 20.8 lbs and 20 inches. We go back to the pediatrician at 15 months, and I'm sure he's grown plenty since our last appointment! Andrew continues to be such a sweet and happy baby. I know I'm his mom and I'll be the first one to brag and clearly state what a perfect child he is (haha), but he really it happy all the time. From the second he wakes up in the morning to the second he goes to bed, he is always happy and smiling and puts anyone who comes in contact with him into a good mood. We are wondering when the onset of the terrible twos begins, so until then we will just enjoy his mild and positive ways....for now at least :)
We are looking forward to transitioning to fall. We're excited about fall weather, pumpkin patches, and most importantly FOOTBALL! I of course am pushing Andrew to be a Redskin fan so I am hoping he will be smart and stick with Mommy when choosing a football team to follow. Todd will continue to push hard for the Steelers, but let's be honest here people, Mommy knows best! We are hopeful that RG III is the answer to the Redskins horrendous seasons over the past um forever! So far he's been exciting to watch and I think he'll be a great quarterback for Andrew to cheer for.