Alex

Here's Andrew at 2 months and 19 months with our friend Alex. He (and his wife Alix) are regulars around here, getting their baby/toddler practice before their first child arrives later this year. They were among the first to meet Andrew when he was only a day old.

Buddies

With his buddies, the Kilbride boys.

Happy Birthday, Dada!

Mama and I love you!

Another First

Truth be told, I thought we were done with notable firsts a long time ago. But this one is worth mentioning. If you know us, you know that sleeping has always been the most difficult part of raising Andrew. He's otherwise a pretty easy kid - active, smart, social, a good eater etc. Today, as usual, I told him it was time for his nap. And as usual he climbed the stairs to his room, bringing along his cars. As usual I got him into my lap and tried to rock him to sleep. Typically I will just wait it out, let him fuss and eventually he nods off. But today he got off my lap, stood next to the crib and let me put him right in. Then he said "byebye" and I took it as a cue to leave. 10 minutes later and no crying at all, he's sound asleep, holding his cars. Perhaps this is just a fluke? Either way I have bittersweet feelings about this transition, as I do all transitions. I am admittedly excited that we're turning a corner with getting him to sleep. But there is something very sweet about rocking a child to sleep that I shall miss. I won't get ahead of myself here. I am still nursing/rocking at night so there's no need for nostalgia just yet, just enjoyment. As an aside, can you believe how big he looks in this crib now?

Hittin the Trails

At the 5 Rivers Environmental Education Center.

Waldo!

Andrew has an eye for small details so Nana thought it would be fun to get him a "Where's Waldo?" book. She was right on the mark - he gets so excited about it! Makes me laugh.

Racetrack

Andrew's having fun racing his car around our new brick patio! Thanks to Shawn and his Dad for building it in 90+ degree heat. We look forward to using it for many bbq's to come.

Byebye

We were sad to see Nana and Pop-Pop go home today, after a weeklong stay.

Toilet Training

Yes, we've begun! Today Andrew went into the bathroom, put the seat insert onto the toilet, came and got me from the kitchen, dragged me to the bathroom, pointed, and said "up. doodoo." Granted, he didn't poop, but wow, he's a quick learner considering that yesterday was his first day on the toilet and we only tried it twice. I'm crossing my fingers that it continues to be this easy. I know he's young for it (19 months), but he's shown interest, so why not make it fun? We blow bubbles and read books while he's resting on the throne. After about 5 minutes he climbs down and resumes play. If I opt to let him run around the house in his birthday suit for a while, I think training would happen pretty quickly. The main challenge being his own awareness of what his body is doing, if he can control those muscles yet and how willing I am to have a pee and poo fest all over my house. We'll see....

Fingerpainting

Andrew had his first fingerpainting experience yesterday. I made paint from water, cornstarch and food dye. A little too gelatinous for my liking, but I doubt Andrew minded, and I didn't have to think twice if he stuck his hands in his mouth. Which of course, he did.

Day Trippers

Yesterday we spent a lovely day with Shawn's parents at the Mononk Mountain House. We walked the trails around the lake, toured the House, and ate a delicious meal. I basically spent the entire time chasing Hurricane Andrew. He's at an exhausting age, where he's a flurry of motion with no ability to judge danger. Here are a photos of a few peaceful moments we spent.

Us, Lately

Shawn (almost 34), Susan (almost 33), Andrew (19 months)
We tried to get Andrew to smile but he wasn't in the mood. So we had to prompt him with "where are your teeth?" to get this shot. Photo taken on the occasion of our 7th wedding anniversary.

Yetta

Its both amusing and oddly comforting (mom would be so proud) to hear Andrew say a yiddish word: Yetta! If you haven't read it yet, check out the book "Beautiful Yetta." It's a tale of a beautiful chicken that gets lost in a jewish neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Role Reversal

The noise-canceling headphones that Shawn bought to drown out Andrew's infant screams are now being worn by Andrew to ignore Shawn. Touche, Dada.

Hair

I love the red curls!

As and Bs

Pretty impressive, eh? Andrew now spends most of his grocery store time screaming out "A!" or "B!" whenever he sees those letters on packaged food. Its pretty funny.

Fearless

Our little monkey climbed all the way to the top!

Papparazzi

Andrew greets his adoring blog fans.

Smartie Pants

The Collector

A fair amount of time is spent every day searching for pine cones and storing them in his push-car. Big ones, small ones, green ones, brown ones, half-eaten ones. I could write a nice rhyme about it....

Backseat Driver

The car always means adventure for Andrew. It must be fun for him, not knowing if the final destination will be the library, a friend's house or the playground. There's tons to do in our area during the summertime and its so nice to be able to enjoy it with my little buddy. This month we hope to try out some new trails, the city pool and the beach at a local lake. Here he is, hamming it up for the camera as usual. Ever since we turned him to face forward, he's been a very happy camper in the car.

Architect Andrew

...with some help from Architect Dada, shows off their tower. Architect Mama does enough of this kind of stuff at work that she is content to just take photos instead. Happy 19 monthiversary to you, my little builder boy!

The Airport

Lately Andrew has had a fascination with airplanes. If he hears one, he'll stop whatever he's doing and search for it in the sky. So what better place to take him on a brutally hot day than our local air conditioned airport, complete with free art gallery and observation deck? He loved watching the planes and all the support vehicles come and go. We packed a snack and it made for a very pleasant afternoon. I'll credit his interest to my Dad who shares the fascination.

Mmmmm

Thanks, Nana and Pop Pop!

Big Boy

Andrew has slowly been sliding out of babyhood since his first birthday. But I swear this week, in the blink of an eye, he suddenly became a big boy (relatively speaking, of course). Every day he says a new word, can recognize another letter in the alphabet, falls asleep easier without his typical baby "but i don't want to take a nap" tantrums, and so forth. He's no longer the mystery peanut he once was. Andrew is both social and inquisitive - always reaching his hand out to mine (or anyone else's for that matter) and pulling me along to join him when there's some new fun to be had, or discovery he's made.

1 1/2 years old

At 1 1/2 years old

you would...
wake up between 5 and 6am, much to the chagrin of your parents
lay down on your own accord when i say its time for a diaper change
spend your mornings with Dada playing with trains, cars, blocks, chalk and sand
take a long midday nap to make up for your early rise, much to the joy of your parents
spend your afternoons with Mama at the playground, library or with friends
eat all your meals with both parents, sometimes outside on the porch
hold bosley's leash during walks

you could...
make 3 word sentences
run at full speed
identify a handful of objects in picture books on each page
sit yourself in a chair with a book, and turn pages by yourself
follow directions well (occasionally you flash me a rascally smile then doing the opposite of what the directions were)

you can say...
about 50-75 words
some family members names
a couple of new words each week

you loved...
collecting rocks
the moon
finding airplanes in the sky
drawing with crayons
being tickled "again, again!" you'd scream
eating berries

you hated...
being told its naptime
most vegetables. you try them, then hand them back to me half chewed.

your most commonly used words...
whas dis?
adain (again) usually screamed at the top of your lungs when having fun
moo (moon)
i know mama (tells this to strangers)
badee (bosley)
byebye dada" (you say this when mama puts you to bed)
up and down
"ett ay dink" (eat and drink)
no mo (no more)
hi (you say this when you hear any phone ring, while putting your hand to your ear)

You're such a smart little cookie, and so cute too! We love having you around, Andrew.

Mr. Smiley

Andrew's great-grandpa calls him Mr. Smiley

Hair!

Dare I say it, is Andrew's hair finally coming in?

Cape Cod

We spent last week exploring the Cape....that is when we were not busy eating and playing on the beaches. Andrew loved the sand and shells, we loved the seafood and sun. We visited Provincetown, the Cape Cod National Seashore and many small beach towns. The house we rented was perfect, and a few nights we bbq'd dinner while A played around in the backyard. Many mornings were spent walking to and from the local main street, showing Bosley a good time as well.

We're Back!

More on our vacation later, here's a teaser photo to hold you over.

Summer's Here!

We're going to enjoy a little R&R this week, be back on the 26th!

Acting Loopy

Here are a few movies of my very overtired boy who refused to nap.

Wacky Wednesdays

We love lunching with Laura and Jenn (with the occasional Todd pop-in) every Wednesday!

Sidewalk Chalk

The master at work.

Choo Choo

Andrew with his new favorite toy: a train set on our coffee table.

Andrew & Dylan

We had a fun time with Amy and Dylan on Thursday - the boys really seem to enjoy each others company, as do the girls :)

18 month well-visit

We had Andrew's 18-month well visit today. Very uneventful - he's in good health (has only been sick once or twice.)

Developmentally he is ahead - I was told he's very advanced for his age, both physically and intellectually.

He can do everything ("mastered" "emerging" and "advanced") on this 13-18 month developmental chart
http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-13-to-18-months_1496589.bc

And he can do most items under both "mastered" and "emerging" for the 19-24 month olds.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-19-to-24-months_1496591.bc

Those charts should give you a pretty good idea about what we're doing with him these days.

Size-wise, he continues to grow, of course. For as concerned as I once was at his tinyness (5-10th percentile), he's caught up. He's 25.5 lbs and 32" which translates into 43% for weight and 48% for height.

Next well-visit is at 24 months.

I'd say the most common thing that strangers say to us when we're out and about is "what a happy baby." He's always smiling and chatting and sharing his toys/food with others. A really good natured little boy.

Today you find me a very proud mama!

The Winner

I can't tell you how many terrible shots were taken at the photo studio yesterday. Andrew was grimacing, running away or tearing down backdrops as the camera clicked away. The coupon I had was for a full photo package of only one shot. Most people would have trouble deciding which pose to use. Not us. There was only one where he was smiling with his teeth showing. This is the winner! He thought the fake flowers were hilarious. Hence the grin.

18 months

Here are portraits of Shawn/Susan/Andrew all at 18 months - easier to compare/contrast when you click to enlarge. Fascinating! Genes are strange little buggers.

Cousins

Cousins Susan (32) and Elise (33) with their boys Andrew (18m) and Perry (15m).

The Many Faces of Little A

Go Team Mama!

This morning Andrew cheered me on while I ran my first 5K race.

Troy Riverfront

Hanging out at the Hudson River after the Farmers Market.