Art Omi

this is a concrete playground.it is really fun!

these are copper tubes that got smooshed!

by Andrew

Lego WeDo

We had occasion to go over to our local library and try out the Lego WeDo system which is an intro to computer programming and robotics through building blocks. Pretty neat!

https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-education-wedo-construction-set/9580

Flu

Architect Andrew

We've had a pretty relaxing winter after returning from Disneyworld. First grade is halfway over already! The cold weather keeps us inside alot, and I've been working on alot of projects with Andrew, given his budding interest in architecture (surprise!)


After our trip he became pretty infatuated with roller coasters, and designed one out of straws! It was our first hot glue experience...pretty gooey. Once he built it, he ran the ping pong balls down the track.

Here he is making an igloo out of mini marshmallows. Then decorating it with glitter glue. When his glue tubes ran low he came up with the idea of using a pair of pliers to push the rest out.

And without prompting, he drew some floor plans of our house. I started doing the same thing around age 8 or 9 I think (he's 7).

Roller Coasters!

Andrew is a roller coaster fiend. This year he was tall enough to ride the adult coasters, and luckily Shawn and I are still up for it as well. Here are some of the photos that the ride takes while we're on board:

Ohio Fun

Andrew with Aunt Erin and her new puppy Lily. Lily scared the pants off Andrew when they first met but gradually they became good buds.

Here he is opening one of many gifts, with Nana and Pop Pop looking on.

 The youngest in the family gets the honor of loading up the stockings!

Andrew and Nana sharing a moment :)

As you can see we had a lovely Christmas in Ohio with the Lawsons. As usual we spent lots of time relaxing on the farm, taking walks, and sharing meals.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from me and Mom! 

He swims!

We had been putting off swim lessons forever, but now that Andrew is quite close to outsizing his swim vest, we bit the bullet. Here's what it looks like from my seat in the parents room.

On his 7th birthday last week, he was 3'11 and 47 lbs, putting him around the 35% percentile in height and weight.

Back to Blogging

Sorry for the delay, folks, My phone app, which I used to use to update this website, stopped working, and I was too busy to investigate alternate apps. However, things are a bit calmer, so I'll do my best to get back to it!

We've had a great autumn. Its probably our favorite season here in upstate NY. We took Andrew apple picking, to local historic sites, to Ithaca with Nana and Pop Pop, to swim lessons and gymastics and to museums and playgrounds. It was a glorious season with beautiful colors. Here are a few highlights!

His First Grade school picture. Behind the cute grin are lots of new adult teeth! School is going quite well, he loves it. His class is just 13 students and they are all very tightknit. He has a 5th grade buddy that he pairs up with weekly who he idolizes and overall he's a smart cookie, so homework takes him maybe 5 minutes (he gets one packet on Monday, it's due the following Monday.)

 This is us on a neat old carousel at the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown - each of its panels was devoted to NY State history. And yes, he's riding on a skunk.

Can't forget about Shawn! Shawn and Andrew are getting along alot better now that they can enjoy shared activities like legos, bike rides and thumb wrestling.

That's all for now....but keep the site bookmarked, I'll be posting more to catch up on the past few months.

Birthday Party Fun

We have gotten to the point where we spend at least a weekend a month at birthday parties. Andrew loves seeing his school friends on the weekends.

Swim Lessons

So far so good!

Forest Folk

Andrew and Juni sitting in a tree. 

First grade!

Splish Splash

Andrew's school buddy Henry also attended a swim party today, held by their former kindergarten teacher. Swim lessons start next month and he will finally lose the vest!

Late Summer Fun

Master of the playground.

Andrew and his big kid friends.

Summer Fun

Hiking the Albany Pine Bush trails.

His new love: snap circuits

Building a wooden marble run.

Byebye Tooth #5

Silly Boys

Making weird faces at an outdoor concert.

Baby Smookley

Meet Baby Smookley. Child of Smookley and grandchild of Smookley's Mom. Happy to have a new member of Andrew's stuffed doggie family!   

Zak

Andrew adores Shawn's college roommate, Zak. I think the feeling is mutual!

Entrpreneurship

This weekend, Andrew held his second annual lemonade and cookies stand on our front lawn. It brought out at least a dozen neighbors and the little man collected $20 over two hours. He was responsible for cooking the making the set up and clean up.

Farm Camp

As expected, and you had a great time with Nana and Pop pop on the farm for two weeks. They did more fun activities with him in two weeks and we probably have done all year!

So Sad

He sobbed the entire visit. As did I.

Beach Boy

Andrew very much enjoyed his first trip to Point Pleasant at the Jersey shore. He would shriek with delight as the waves rolled over his feet. Rather than building Sandcastle's, he preferred to dig holes in the sand then fill them up with water. We also enjoyed having Italian ice is on the boardwalk and doing beachside miniature golf. Cute town!

Happy Fathers Day!

Sorry I have not been posting on the blog very much lately, it is just been crazy town around here. I promise I will do a better job. We had a nice Father's Day which involved opening gifts, going out to breakfast, seeing a movie, having lunch with friends, and spending time in the park with aforementioned friends. Shawn remains a fantastic dad, ready for tickle fest or some snuggles. You can tell in the photo that Andrew thinks he's pretty great too.

Eric Carle Inspired Art

Brown School Buds

With D&E, classmates in kindergarten

With L & L, first graders

Big Boy Teeth

Here they come...adult top teeth!

Settlers Junior

We are a board game family. How excited was I to find that there is a kids version of settlers of Catan?!!!??