Trick-or-Treat

What a fall it has been so far! Having a toddler who gets excited about holidays and what goes along with it has been so exciting for us. We've spent the fall visiting various pumpkin patches and of course trick-or-treating, and Andrew has had the time of his life!

Early in October, we went to Pittsburgh for the weekend because Todd was asked to be his friend Craig's daughter's godfather so we had to go to the baptism. It was such a gorgeous fall weekend and we decided to go with Gram and Pap to Schram's Farm. Andrew had more fun then he could even stand! The farm was amazing and such a wonderful place for kids to go. Andrew loved running around and checking out the different pumpkins. They had these big wooden displays with holes cut out to stick your face in, Andrew could not get enough of that. He also had his first pony ride. He looked like a natural and it seemed if he had done it a hundred times. 

We also did a second trip to Pittsburgh in October to see the every 4 year grudge match between the Redskins and Steelers. I'll keep this short and sweet. The Steelers won, the Redskins were awful, 'nuff said. Looking forward to the rematch four years from now!

Our first attempt with the Halloween costume.

Halloween was last week and prior to the day, I wasn't quite sure how Andrew would handle it. When we first got his costume, we tried it on him and he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it! He screamed and cried and we couldn't get the thing off of him soon enough. I figured there was no way in the world I'd get him in any type of costume and that Halloween would be a bust this year. Well, enter Halloween night and I try and put his costume on. So far, so good. It's about 6:15 or so and he still seems to be pretty happy so I'm thinking it's a go and we may actually be able to pull off some trick-or-treating. We go outside and go to the first couple of townhouses on our street and Andrew absolutely loves this! He picked up on what he needed to do, so he would walk up to a house, knock on the door, and at some houses try and walk in! We'd say trick-or-treat, then Andrew would take a piece of candy and drop in his little bag. He'd say goodbye and try and close the front door then it was off the the next house. We easily hit 20-30 houses and he was just having the time of his life. I could not get over how much fun he was having and that he just loved wearing his costume. My sister came along with us and then Todd and my parents took turns walking around with us as well. Halloween was definitely a hit and I can't wait to see how he does next year.

Andrew is now 16 months old and is seeming more grown up by the day. His vocabulary is growing, as well as the amount of gibberish that comes out of his mouth. He loves trains or as he calls them "choo choos", and has taken a liking to Sesame Street and Elmo. At his 15 month appointment he was 31 1/4 inches and 22.15 lbs. His pediatrician said he's doing great and meeting all developmental milestones. Today he started saying "oh no" if he dropped a toy or if something went wrong, it was hilarious. He certainly puts on a show for anyone who watches and is such an outgoing and energetic little boy. I cannot wait for Christmas and to see the excitement that this special time of year will bring for Andrew.

Where did that summer go?

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.

Heat Wave!!!

Summer has certainly arrived here in the D.C. area. The forecast for this weekend is a balmy 100 degrees, so I think we may make a brief appearance at the pool, but try and spend as much time as possible in the AC!



 I've been out of school about 3 weeks or so, and am loving my stay-at-home mom role now that school is over. Andrew keeps me very busy on a daily basis, and it is unbelievable the amount of energy this child has. I would definitely consider him a full time walker, and if it were up to him, he'd be on the go 24/7. Since Memorial Day, we've had another trip to the beach and gone to the pool a few times. Andrew is definitely a water baby and loves splashing and playing around in it.
 We've also started going to Gymboree one afternoon per week, which he loves! There are little songs that they sing with the kids, and allow them to play on different types of equipment and do things to build strength and muscle. He's had fun playing with the other kids there, and I've enjoyed seeing how he interacts with other kids close in age to him.
   This month Todd has been busy on the road with work and then did a golf trip in North Carolina with some friends. While he was gone, Andrew and I went to Bethany Beach to stay with the Hathaway's for a couple of days. We also got to visit with my cousins from my dad's side of the family. None of them had met Andrew before, so it was fun for them to to get see him and to see all the cousins playing together.  Andrew was on the go the entire trip so it wasn't very relaxing, but at least we were at the beach so the chasing him around didn't seem as bad!
  Andrew turns 1 next week, and I've spent the past few days reminiscing about where we were a year ago at this time. It is absolutely crazy how fast this year has went and the amount of joy that Andrew has brought into our lives. Last year at this time I was so anxious about when he would arrive, and what the whole birth process would be like. It was so exciting and scary to think about that unknown, but looking back, it was clearly the best experience of my life. I can't wait to do it all again someday, but I think we want to enjoy our time with Andrew now before we travel down that road once more.
  We are planning to do our usual 4th of July festivities with the Buffungton's, and then celebrate Andrew's big first birthday. For Andrew's  party, we decided to just have something small with our families, so we look forward to everyone traveling here from Pittsburgh and Connecticut. It should be an exciting day!

Busy Boy!

**I actually wrote this posting at the beginning of June but am just posting it now at the end of the month. If the dates and events seem a little off, that's why! :)

Andrew turns 11 months today, and I can't even believe our sweet, little boy will turn a year old in just one, short month. Andrew has changed so much in the past month and is definitely a little boy now. Everyday he changes and is certainly growing out of the baby phase. He is full on walking now and walks everywhere and anywhere. He loves to explore, climb under tables and chairs, and even attempts to climb the steps. He continues to be such a happy little boy, and bounces around the house with  constant smile and talking everyone's ear off. Andrew is clearly a talker, although we really can't make out many of the words he is saying. He is trying to associate sounds to different objects, and has started pointing to things he wants. When we catch him getting into something he's not supposed to, we say "Andrew No", and he will look up at us and start shaking his head "no". It's the cutest thing ever!! We do think he is starting to understand the concept of "no", and he usually will stop whatever it is he's doing when we say it. Lately I've had music on in the background while we're home, and Andrew loves to go near the ipod speakers and dance. It's so funny to watch him do this, he usually waves his hands and bounces, so cute!! He only has 4 teeth and I feel like this is an area a growth that has taken a little longer for him. His two front bottom teeth came in around 7 months, and his top two teeth just broke through within the past couple weeks. He seems to have handled his new teeth pretty well. Luckily he hasn't been kept up in the middle of the night due to the pain, so if this is something that has bothered him, he hasn't let us know! Andrew is still a really good sleeper and gets a solid 9-10 hours a night. He also takes 2 good naps a day, so overall he is a great sleeper (I wonder where he gets that from!?!).  I finish school at the end of this week and couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to spend the summer at home with Andrew. Even though Andrew is usually up between 6:30-7:00, I'd much rather wake up to my sweet, little baby than an annoying alarm clock representing a day of school ahead. We plan on spending our days at the pool, as well as have many beach trips planned. Ahhh the life of a teacher in the summertime :)

April and May were as usual busy months for us. The easy fix of amoxicillan for Andrew's spring break ear infection was not as easy as we thought! Andrew ended up being on anitbiotics for 6 weeks due to recurring ear infections. If the third medicine didn't do the trick, we were going to be referred to an ENT, but luckily everything cleared up. In the beginning-mid May, I decided to stop breastfeeding. It was a very hard decision, but it was kind of a decision that was made for me. I got a nasty stomach bug in April, and that totally threw off my milk supply. After a whole day of not eating or drinking anything, my supply went way down. Ever since I was sick, I was pumping less and less. Normally I was making enough milk to get 28 oz. a day, however I got to a point that I was lucky to get 10 oz. I thought long and hard and started out giving Andrew as many breastmilk bottles as I could in a day and supplementing the rest with formula, but I got to a point where the formula bottles were more frequent than the breastmilk. I had such high hopes of breastfeeding until he was a year old, but things just didn't work out that way. I was very proud of myself for lasting 10 and a half months, with pretty much only pumping for most of the time. I plan on breastfeeding whenever little brother or little sister come along, but for now, will enjoy the break from it. Andrew took to formula very well so I was happy to see the transition went smoothly. I look forward to starting him on cow's milk once he turns a year.

Todd and I enjoyed "Rockin' the Red" and going to the Caps playoff games. It was such an exciting time in the DC area to see the Caps do so well in the playoffs, however their run ended earlier than everyone hoped, so I guess there's always nest year. We are so excited for the day we can bring Andrew to a game. I'm sure he will be a huge hockey fan if Todd has anything to do with it!

Andrew took his first trip to Connecticut to celebrate Grandma's 85th birthday. The first night we were there was less than fun for Todd and I. We got to our hotel around 1:00 a.m., and as soon as we got to our room it was party time for Andrew. He was so excited to be in a new place, that sleeping was totally out of the question. We tried everything to get him to go to sleep, but he wanted no part of it. Around 4:00 a.m., we decided to take him for a ride in hopes that would do something for him. Luckily he was able to fall asleep, but don't worry, he was back up at 7:00. To say Todd and I were tired was a complete understatement. We went ahead with our day though and knew we'd eventually catch up on sleep. Todd went fishing with my dad, Cousin Barry, and Alex. They had a great time and Todd caught a fish. One thing he did forget was sunscreen, nice job! Andrew was the hit of the party and so many relatives who have not had the opportunity to meet him got to see him for the first time. My grandma had such a great time and it was so wonderful to have the opportunity to celebrate with her.

We spent Memorial Day weekend the same way we have the past few years, although this year we found was completely different from years past, We stayed on 110th street in Ocean City with Lauren, Jimmie, and Matthew. The weather was amazing and it was the perfect beach weekend. Andrew decided to pull his same stunt of not wanting to sleep the first night we were there, so Todd and I tried forever to try and get him to sleep and not wake up the Buffington's. Todd took him for a ride down Coastal Highway at 4:00 a.m and Andrew fell asleep. As soon as they got back to our condo, wide awake again. Andrew chose not to sleep at all that night, so I just stayed up with him until Matthew woke up at 5:30 a.m. I would say we were all up and at 'em but 6:30. Three years ago there's no way we would be awake and alert at that time of the morning. Boy do kids change things! Since the boys were awake, we decided to start our day. Lauren and I took the babies for a walk, and Todd and Jimmie went fishing. After naptime, we ventured to the beach and the boys had a blast. Andrew wasn't too sure about the sand, but enjoyed playing with the beach toys and crawling around the blanket. We also took him in the pool one of the days we were there, which he absolutely loved! He was splashing and kicking his legs, and loved every second of it. I can't wait to take him to Whitehall this summer. Overall the beach trip was great! Definitely different from what we're used to, but we still had a great time.

June started out as birthday month! My dad celebrated on June 1st, and Todd's dad on the 3rd. We drove up to Pittsburgh to help celebrate Rick's 60th birthday. There was a family party at Aunt Sharon and Uncle Bob's house. Andrew as always won everyone over and we had such a great weekend. Todd surprised his dad with tickets to go to Boston to see a Redsox game, so they are looking forward to that this weekend. I'm sure they will have a great time and will love having some father/son bonding!

I am so excited about the summer ahead and all of the exciting things we have planned. The biggest event will be Andrew's first birthday party. I am still in the planning phases and can't wait for the big day to arrive! I know the summer will come and go quickly as it usually does, but we will make the most of it and enjoy all the exciting things we have planned!

Busy Spring!

Wow, it has been such a long time since I've added to our family blog. The past month and a half or so has been so busy it's obvious that the blog has gone lower and lower on our priority list! We finished up our mild and snow-less winter, and welcomed an early and quite warm spring. Andrew turns 9 months tomorrow and has turned into quite the busy little boy.
  Throughout the month of February, Andrew started running these fevers on and off. He of course was acting totally fine and normal, but these fevers of 100+ degrees kept popping up. We were back and forth to the pediatrician countless times, trying to get to the route of this issue, and after many exams and blood tests, luckily it turns out he's perfectly fine. It seems that he might be one of those kids that is prone to having a slightly higher body temperature or just hangs on to viruses a little longer than normal. Other than that he's had a pretty healthy winter. We did start spring break off with an ear infection, but it was nothing a little Amoxicillan couldn't fix!

  Andrew continues to be the absolute light in our lives and is growing into such an energetic and loving little boy. Around 7-8 months he started pulling himself up and now he currently cruises around the living room furniture. He's able to stand up without holding on to anything, and even took a couple steps this past weekend. He's so unbelievably determined to walk and I'm sure it is a feat he will conquer by the end of April.
  Andrew also loves to talk and interact with people. His conversations include topics such as, "Da-da-da-da", or "Ba-ba-ba-ba". He also does a lot of grunting and blowing raspberries, and also makes a bunch of noises that we really can't even describe. Every once and a while we can get him to wave and it sounds like he is saying something similar to "bye-bye". Todd and I have turned into his own personal jungle gym. He has no problem just plowing over top of us if we are in the way of a toy he wants to get to or anything like that. Andrew loves the t.v. remote and is always playing with it, and of course shoving it in his mouth. He really doesn't have a favorite toy that he hangs on to, but will play with all the toys equally, and honestly his favorite things to play with are not your traditional baby toys (i.e. t.v. remote). He loves to crawl up to the wall and walk along side of it. I'm not sure the appeal, but he seems to enjoy doing that.
  I'm still making his baby food, but slowly transitioning to some of the pre-made organic food from the grocery store. Now that he's getting older and can have more of a variety in his diet, it's getting harder for me to keep up with making so many different things for him to eat. He's growing so fast, and weighed in at 18 lbs 2 oz when we were at the doctor the other day. We continue to marvel at how much he changes from day to day, and can't believe our little tiny baby is now turning into a little boy. He still has his bright blue eyes, and his hair is really starting to come in more and more, and it is very blonde!
  February ended with a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium to celebrate Todd's birthday. Kelly and Alex came with us, and we had such a fun day! Andrew was so well behaved and sat through the dolphin show and did great going through all the exhibits. I can't wait to take him back there once he is older and really can understand what he's seeing and what's going on there. It's such a wonderful place to take kids.
  For my birthday this year, we went out for a night in D.C. for dinner and bowling. We left Andrew home with MiMi and Pop Pop and had a great night out on the town. Later in the month, we went out to Arlington to have brunch with Kelly and Alex for Kelly's birthday. It happened to be St.Patrick's Day, so after we ate, we decided to stop at a bar to have a quick drink and then head back home. Well, it ended up being a gorgeous day out, and we found the perfect place to sit outside of this bar to enjoy our afternoon beverages. The first drink went down pretty well, so we decided to have another, and then decided to make a day of it. We had so much fun just sitting around, watching all the crazy, St. Patrick's Day people, and enjoying the beautiful day. Andrew was with us for all of this, and he really enjoyed the nice weather and seeing all the people. It was such a nice day and we were glad we could celebrate Kelly's birthday that way.
 The following weekend we went to visit Todd's family in Pittsburgh. Everyone was so excited to see Andrew and could not get over how much he's grown. Todd and I put Gram and Pap in charge of Andrew that Saturday night so we could go to dinner, then try our luck at the new casinos in Pittsburgh. We had a lot of fun donating money to the city that night, and unfortunately came home empty handed. Oh well, maybe next time!
  We finished out March with a trip down to North Carolina to visit the Sandell's. This was the first trip I had made down there since we moved back, so I was looking forward to seeing the area again. Lauren and I got up super early on Saturday morning and ventured down with my parents driving behind us. All-in-all the kids did well, but with diaper changes and food stops, the trip took a little longer than anticipated. We had a great time visiting with Leigh, Rowan, and the Sandells. It was fun to see Andrew interact with the other kids. He seemed to really enjoy them, and I really love the fact that my friends and I all have kids around the same age. It will be so much fun to watch them grow up together and become friends.
  April looks like it will be another busy month for us. I have recently moved into my brand new school, which is awesome! No more driving all the way out to Chesapeake Bay Middle, but a short drive to Severna Park. I feel so lucky to be in a new school and look forward to using all the new technology being offered there, and more than anything the shorter commute!

  It's been a great start to the month as I am currently on spring break. I love that I've been able to stay home with Andrew and know I will be sad about having to return to work next week. I'm getting used to this stay-at-home mom thing again! It's all good though because summer vacation is just around the corner :)

And he's off!

So far, it's been a very, happy new year and a great start to 2012. Andrew is growing and changing so much it's unreal. He is seven months now and is starting to become a "big boy".   He is constantly on the go and keeps Todd and I on our feet. Around 6-61/2 months he started full-on crawling and has never looked back since. He is such a busy baby and loves to explore, move around, and most recently climb! Andrew will climb on just about anything these days. He will crawl up to the edge of the ottomon or couch and stand there holding on to the edge. We have to stand close by because he's still a little wobbly, but he's starting to get sturdier the more he does this.
   Gone are the days when we go into Andrew's room to get him out a bed and see him lying there smiling back at us. Andrew is still extremely happy in the morning, but he now greets us standing up in the crib and holding on to the edge. I have no doubt in my mind that he will climb out the the crib once he gets a little older. Good times! He is still a pretty good sleeper, and goes down between 8:00 and 8:30 after his bath, bottle, and a book. We'll put him in the crib, and immediately he will pull himself up to standing then kind of just look around. He eventually slumps down, rolls around, pulls up to standing again, then repeats this whole process about three or four times before finally falling asleep. It's so funny to watch him do this. For a while he was sleeping until 8:00-8:30 am, but those days are long gone. He usually wakes up between 5:45-6:00 on most days. That is awesome, especially on the weekends! Definitely not the ideal time to be awake, however when you see his happy, smiling face in the morning, you forget how tired you are and love spending time with him no matter the time of day!
  Andrew is still eating like there's no tomorrow and
never denies a meal. I, for the most part am still making homemade baby food and he still really enjoys it. His menu usually consists of sweet potatoes, squash, or bananas (and of course milk). I'm looking to trying some other foods soon as well.

One of the most exciting things to happen in the past month was the engagement of my sister and Alex. Alex was very sneaky and only let my dad in on the surprise. My dad loved the fact that he was able to finally know something before my mom, Kelly, and I did. Kelly and Alex are so excited and we couldn't be happier for them. They are such a wonderful couple and truly complement each other. I'm so excited to help with the wedding planning and can't wait for the big day! As everyone knows, planning parties is Kelly's forte, so we all can't wait to see what an amazing and beautiful vision she has for this special day. Andrew is especially excited since he gets to be the ring bearer. He will be the cutest ring bearer ever!
  It's been a pretty uneventful winter weather wise. I was totally looking forward to some snow days to stay home and spend time with Andrew, but come June I'll be relieved we didn't use the days and will be able to get out of school a little earlier.
  Todd has kept busy with work, and has been lucky enough to score a couple trips to Las Vegas. As you know we are both still working, so you can see he didn't win big on either of his trips out there. Oh well, there's always next time! Todd did have a rough start to January as the Steelers lost early on in the playoffs. I, of course would love to see nothing more than the Redskins make the post season, however knowing that isn't a reality in the near future I quite enjoy playoff football time. I can enjoy the games and not worry about having worry if my team will move on or not. I told Todd not to worry, you totally get use to the losing. His response is always, "We have six rings, you have three". Point taken!
  We're looking forward to the next couple of weeks as we both turn 31. It's hard to believe we're that old already. I think that each year we get older life gets better and better, so I say bring on the old age! We are fortunate to have our health, a beautiful baby boy, amazing family and friends, good jobs- all I can say if that life is good!

A Very, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

       We are now almost three weeks into the new year and as I reflect back on the recent holiday season I can't help but feel so lucky to have such an amazing family and wonderful friends. Our first Christmas with Andrew was by far the best we've ever had.
    Before Christmas, Andrew came down with his first illness, a double ear infection. We knew that with him going to daycare he would catch some sort of bug eventually, so we were at least glad it came before Christmas! His ear infection came on pretty quick, but it was nothing a good dose of Amoxocillan couldn't handle! He was a great patient throughout this and I loved being able to just cuddle with him and comfort him until he was better.
   We started Christmas a little early by celebrating the week before with Todd's family in Pittsburgh. We had such a nice time spending the weekend with everyone up there and Santa was very generous to Andrew. He was the hit of Christmas and everyone was so amazed with how much he's grown and how he personable he has become. He loved all of his new toys and had such a great time. The Saturday night that we were there was great because Todd and I got his parents to babysit and we had a date night. It was so nice to get out and have a night just us.

   For Christmas, my family from Connecticut came down and we had so much fun! We hosted Christmas Eve at our house and went to church after dinner. Andrew was very well behaved throughout the entire service and didn't fuss at all. He especially liked seeing the candles lit towards the end of the service. I was so excited for Christmas morning and to start our new family tradition with Andrew. Even though he had absolutely no idea what was going on, it was still so exciting to celebrate this special time of year with our little boy. We brought Andrew downstairs and helped him open the presents Santa left for him. He got even more new toys and really enjoyed testing them all out. After we finished up at our house, we made our way to my parents for presents and breakfast. Santa was very generous to everyone and it was such a nice morning. Once the wrapping paper was cleaned up and the breakfast plates put away, we went to Great Falls to the Baker's house. We have spent Christmas day there for many, many years and always have such a wonderful time. Everyone had fun playing with Andrew, but I'd say the highlight of the evening was playing some dance game my cousin Derek got for his XBOX Kinect. Everyone was showing off their dance moves and it turned into quite the dance-off between the cousins. We also had the "Yankee Swap" and everyone received some interesting gifts. The gift of the evening by far was "DAS BOOT"!! Das Boot will have to make an appearance for next year's Christmas.
   For New Year's, we went over to Lauren and Jimmie's as usual and this year had a special treat! Leigh, John, and Rowan came up from North Carolina and it was great to ring in the new year with them as well. This new year's was much different from new year's of the past where we are out partying until the wee hours of the morning and curing the hangover the next day. Now that we all have babies it was a much calmer evening, but we really enjoyed ourselves and loved ringing in 2012 with our little ones. Maybe next year we'll get the grandparents to babysit and we'll go out!

Andrew is 6 months old now and is changing everyday. He is so close to crawling now it's scary! He's mastered the army crawl and is working hard to crawl on his hands and knees. He's able to get himself up and rock back and forth, go a few paces forward, but usually falls. I'm sure in no time he will have this down. He can certainly take off and is now trying to get into everything and anything. We're still working on the teeth. He drools like crazy and sticks everything in his mouth, so I know we'll see that first tooth pop through any day now. Andrew has started sitting up now as well. It's so weird to just see him sitting on the floor playing with his toys, he's turning into such a big boy! Andrew loves to play in his exer-saucer and has taken a liking to eating the tv remote. All these crazy toys this child has and he likes the remote the best! I've start him on solid foods and he's really doing well with them. I've been making my own baby food and have found it to be so simple. So far I've made sweet potatoes, squash, and apples. He has responded well to it all, so I look forward to sticking with the homemade food route. At our 6 month appointment, our pediatrician said that Andrew is meeting all of his developmental milestones and he is between the 25th-30th percentiles in the height, weight, and head circumference categories. He continues to speak so much gibberish and Todd and I are waiting for the day when he can say "Ma-Ma" or "Da-Da'. It's so funny to listen to him talk and we love watching his infectious smile and listening to him laugh. He continues to be such a happy baby and everyday we are more and more thankful that we have him in our lives.
   Andrew continues to do well at daycare. He has his off days every once and a while, but overall he really does well. Being a working mom still has its challenges, however being in a routine is helpful. I just wish there were more hours in the day to get things done!
  As we enter 2012 we are excited to see Andrew grow and are amazed daily at the things he learns and is able to do. One of my resolutions is to keep this blog updated! I figure if I can at least update once a month, that will be considered a success! Happy New Year everyone!