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!