Andrew's Birthday Video

Here is a video of us singing to him. He sang along with us! He was pretty excited about his special day!

Andrew's 2nd Birthday

Andrew turned 2 on Saturday so we had a family birthday party for him. He was a little unsure at first but really got into it once he started opening presents. He is a busy little boy - he loves playing with cars or anything that his big brother plays with. Andrew loves to play chase or anything that involves running. He also likes animals, reading books, and singing. He is a pretty bad eater.....I made a big late Thanksgiving dinner and he ate a roll. Needless to say, we had his favorite, pizza, for his birthday! He is also talking so much more now - he is talking using multiple words. It's fun listening to him!!

Josh and I got him a kitchen after a little debating....Josh thought it may be a little girlie but he loves it!! (I won that discussion!) He got a lot of food to go with it!

Andrew and his superhero brother

Grandma Betty made horses for the boys - they love them!

We went to the zoo. It was a bit cold but fun to get outside and run around a little. No comment about the lions mating....

When someone would ask Andrew how old he was, he would say, "5."

He loves dinosaurs so we had a dinosaur party complete with toys and tattoos. The cake took a lot longer to make than I thought it would but it was worth it after seeing his face!

We had a great day! Thanks to all the family that was able to come to make it a special day for him!!

Our Rough Thanksgiving Week

We had a rough past week. On Tuesday night, Andrew was sick to his stomach. We decided not to go down to Josh's parents for Thanksgiving in fear of someone else getting it. I ended up getting sick on Sunday and Will on Monday in the car on the way home from school. Thankfully, Josh was driving!! Today, we were feeling a little better and I decided to take the boys outside to get some fresh air after being in the house for a week. I even opened the windows to try to get the germs out.... does that really work? I'm not sure but it sure made me feel better! The boys were so excited about the snow! We only stayed outside for a short time but the fresh air was great!

Grandparent Day at School

Betty, Angela, and her fiancee, Josh, came up to visit before Thanksgiving. Will's school had Grandparent's month so Betty came up to go with Will. We had a great time together!

The boys had fun with Ang and Josh!

Betty and Will in front of school

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween this year! We were all excited and it ended up being a beautiful day. We spent most of the day outside playing and having a picnic in the yard. As you can see, the boys were both cowboys. We went trick or treating when Josh got home. The boys LOVED it!!! They liked being out and ringing the doorbells and getting candy. Shortly after we started, the boys got tired of carrying their horses and a little later, their hats but they had a good time anyways!

My 2 cowboys

Andrew and his horse, Sam

Will and his horse, Blackie

Enjoying another day of warm weather!

Playing with sidewalk chalk - Will was drawing pumpkins

Will is Student of the Week

Will is the feature student this week at school. He had to fill out this poster and then gets to bring a show and tell on Wednesday. He had a great time coloring his poster. FYI - if you click on the picture, it will get bigger so you can see what he wrote!!

Will's Halloween Party

We went to a Halloween party at Will's school on Sunday. This was the first time they got candy from trick or treating since we were sick last year. They were so excited!!

Will I ever get a picture of them both looking at the camera??

This is the first time they were in a bounce house - you can see that it was torture for them!!

Pumpkins

We carved our pumpkins - I think Josh enjoyed this most. The boys did not want to get any pumpkin filling on them. Therefore, they wouldn't stick their hands inside it or scrape it out. When it came to carving, Will told me what shapes to carve and I made them (note the "W's" for eyes). He did enjoy that though. They loved putting the candles in them and turning off all the lights!

More Pictures from our Week

My mom came and helped out with the kids on Wednesday night. When they stay at her house, they have "toast on the steps" but since we don't have steps, they just sat on the floor!

Everyone in the pj's after a long, fun day!!

This is the best picture of the 4 of them!

Andrew and Adrienne loved the swings at the park!

Zoo Boo

Nicole came down to bring the girls to stay for a little under a week while they went on vacation. We had a great time - it was very busy but the kids got along great!! We took the kids to the zoo before she left for their "Zoo Boo." As you can see, they all wore their Halloween costumes.

Will and Andrew are cowboys. Leslie is Ariel and Adrienne is an angel.

Will petting a goat...

We went to see an elephant get a bath. Afterwards, you got to go up and touch it.

Nicole and Adrienne after feeding the giraffe.

Fall Festival

On Saturday, we went to a festival with some friends at a nearby hospital. They had a lot of things to do. They had pumpkins, food, characters, and many other things.

Andrew was picking out a pumpkin with Josh

Will picked his own pumpkin this year.

Will won this mask playing a game - he wore it most of the day!

Will met Mickey Mouse and then informed me that he was ready for Disney World. Andrew wouldn't go near any of the characters so... I guess it will be a couple more years for Disney World!

Will sitting in a helicopter

Mowing the Grass

Josh just loves having helpers when he has to mow.... too bad they don't really cut!!

Visit From Aunt Christy

Stretch Andrew.....

Yum... good apple!!!

Will wanted Aunt Christy to go on this slide with him - it was fast!!

My sister, Christy, came to visit from Ohio this past week. The boys were so excited to see her. They had a great time playing together. One day, we visited the apple orchard and had a picnic. Thankfully she was at the park with us.... Andrew fell and his mouth was bleeding a lot. If I had been by myself, he would have gone to the doctor but Christy assured me that he was ok even though his gum was cut and bruised. Thank goodness for Doctor Christy!!

A Trip to Great Grandma's

This past weekend we went to visit Josh's Grandma. On Sunday at church, they had a country western day. After lunch, they had a couple horses to ride. Both boys rode. Will is already asking for a horse!!

Firetrucks!

At our library, some firemen came and talked with us. Afterwards, we went out and got to climb in and look at the firetruck. The boys were a little scared when they saw the fireman in all his fire gear but they explained that they are our friends!

Field Trip to the Apple Orchard

pull harder!!

That's a big bite!

Will's class went on a field trip to the apple orchard. I went along as a chaperone. We had a lot of fun picking apples and eating them! Each child got to pick a small bags worth. Needless to say, I got stuck carrying them! Later that day, we made some caramel apples - they were yummy!!

Andrew's Dedication (Finally)

Josh and I finally got Andrew dedicated at our church. The pictures are dark so I just posted a couple. Andrew is now 21 months old. This time has flown by so fast! His favorite things to do are: playing "hide seek," following whatever his big brother does, and "riding" the bike which is him walking around pushing the bike. He is not quite tall enough to reach the pedals but loves pushing it around. Andrew has always been full of energy but seems even more so. Our friend commented that she never sees Andrew walking - he is always running!!

Our Garden

Wow - check out those zucchinis!

These are our 6 green beans - we each had 2 for dinner... Andrew wouldn't eat any!!

When I started the garden this year, I was thinking that I would have a variety of fresh produce all summer long. Needless to say, those hopes were crushed when nothing came up for a while afterwards. My parents and the boys then planted some new plants and I still wasn't expecting much. But..... lately, we have been getting some food! We dug up the carrots tonight thinking the tops only grew but little did we know, we actually had carrots!! Will and I were the most excited about it. Andrew just liked digging in the dirt!! Josh couldn't believe I was making him go inside to get the camera! We also picked our first two tomatoes. We are pretty excited and check every day to see if there is anything else to pick!

Visit from the Grandparents

Josh's parents came up to visit over Labor Day weekend. We went downtown one night and walked around and had dinner. We had a great time!

Our Trip to Michigan

The boys and I went to Michigan to meet my parents, sister and brother in-law, and their two girls. The first few days of the trip was great! We played in the sand, went in the pool, and did some fishing. On Tuesday, Andrew ended up getting the flu. It was pretty rough to say the least! He started feeling better on Wednesday but Will started getting sick. I decided that we should leave while we still could!! So, we made the trek back home as I was just praying to make it home without any kind of mess in the car. We did it! I'm glad we went even with getting sick - we had a great couple of days!

Andrew playing in the lake

Will and Leslie loved playing in the sand

Grandpa, Adrienne, and Andrew

Grandpa made fishing poles for all the kids. Adrienne had a pole without a hook on it - Andrew ended up using it later since he was more interested in swinging and making it splash than trying to catch fish. "Bama" (Andrew's word for Grandma) and Uncle Blair were in charge of putting on the worms and Grandpa took the fish off the hook.

Grandpa and Will with his fish (he ended up catching 2)!!