Christmas Highlights

Hanging with Uncle Adam

Torturing Grandpa Richie

Enjoying his new Marble Run 

Sneaky

Kiddo told me he wanted to give me a kiss. I fell for it. Eeew!

Fancypants Pics

Compared to my iPhone pics of last post, these shots from Andrew's party are FAR nicer. Juni's mom is a photographer, so I'm quite lucky in that so many ordinary moments in his life have been captured through her eyes and camera. Here are a few I thought I'd share that gives you a good flavor of the day.

Surprise Party

At Juni's house, before the fun.

With Juni, enjoying the party.

Making handprint ornaments.

It was a blast. Andrew's face was priceless when he walked into the party and heard us all yell "surprise!" - his even even teared up. Next post I will share some of the great shots that Charmon, Juni's mom, took of the day. She was a fantastic hostess, can't thank her enough !

Andrew is 4!

Click to enlarge.

Last Day of 3

Did I ever tell you that I keep a one-sentence journal for Andrew? Mainly its to help me remember the small things that wouldnt otherwise get captured in a photo. I find myself rereading it today to see how far he has come in his 3rd year. Here's a sampler:

2013
1/1 Asks for privacy when he pees (meaning, door closed)

1/23 Helps clean up messes with his small handbroom and dustpan

1/28 Eats the fake ice cream I make him – peas, cream cheese, sugar, sprinkles

1/29 Does a straddle jump, twisty jump, hopping jump on the trampoline

1/31 Enjoys glitter paint, driving cars through finger paint

2/1 Crawls into bed to snuggle with me in the mornings

2/13 Writes “A” and tries for the “n”

2/14 Says “there’s always room for you” when I ask him if he wants me to cuddle with him in bed.

4/2 Puts on his own underoos and pants

4/3 Sleeps on a mattress on the floor

4/4 tells me he loves me all the time “I love you my dear mama” “I snuggle you because I KNOW you LOVE snuggles!”

4/6 can write MAMA and DADA

4/7 sounded out the word “bagel”

4/8 is starting to figure out that he does not pronounce the word construction correctly

4/9 says “of course!” when I ask him to help me

4/25 seems to have gotten over his train obsession

4/27 hates when I use the computer

4/28 hates baths

4/29 can put his jacket on by himself, flipping it over top of his head

5/3 loves riding his trike 5/5 Is beginning to be logical. “Mac n Cheese is hard before you make it but soft after”. Applesauce in the cabinet is warm because the house is warm.

6/15 loves nature walks

6/17 can hop on one foot

6/22 still mispronounces “fwavorate!”

6/23 went geocaching

7/7 said his middle name was Lion, not Ryan

7/8 says “woah!” to things that are interesting

7/18 played the “I’m so hungry I could eat a X” game

7/25 Tries to make jokes

7/26 wrote sticker-letters to Nana and Aunt Erin

7/27 Uses big words like allergic and expensive

7/28 Makes up songs

7/29 Can do all the mazes in his maze books. Left handed.

8/7 says “I like you when you like me, but I don’t like you when you don’t like me.”

8/8 says “you can do it, dad” and pats Shawn on the head

8/17 keeps telling me how much he missed me while I was in NYC (weeks ago)

8/18 says “no way jose” and “okie dokie liverpokie”

8/25 without me = fromout me

9/2 woke up with a new imaginary pet worm, Pinku, who did everything with him today

9/3 ran right into his first day of preschool, and didn’t look back for a hug or kiss.

10/5 Didn’t find Shawn and asked if he was camoflagued

10/10  Blows his own nose with a tissue

10/15 Makes his own pb&j

10/20 can read 4 letter words. Loves finding silent e’s. Argues that book should be spelled buk.

11/24 can propel himself so high on the trampoline that we had to remove its handlebar so he didn’t catapult over.

Random

As promised, our feast for 5. We just knocked off the last of the leftovers.

Andrew drew me a pic of our house in a sudden storm with the car and yard toys accidentally left outside.

Andrew as sextuplets.

Thanksgiving Highlights

Brunch with friends, great views for people- (and Andrew-)watching. We all colored pictures together awaiting our orders. Surprising success of the meal - a beer float. That wasn't a typo.

Walked around Saratoga Springs with this guy! Checked out some markets, toy stores, but mainly just admired the architecture and watched the kid hold doors open for strangers. Mr. Polite.

   Finished off the holiday weekend setting up the tree. The star on top is one Andrew made out of foam and stickers when he was 2 years old. Its attached by twist tied from a bread bag that he taped on. The ornaments are mostly made by Nana during Shawn's childhood, each with a handwritten year. She also quilted the tree skirt. Its a little tree for our little clan and really brightens up the house. We put up some lights in the windows and I have Xmas music on the radio. What can I say, I was raised Jewish, I get such a kick out of all this.

Hope your holiday was as tasty and relaxed as ours!

Shawn has the actual T-giving dinner photos, will post them next time. He and our friend cooked up a storm and we dined chez Lawson with some champagne and dessert brought in from NYC.