Thanksgiving

Well, it is a little late. Better late than never. We went to St. Louis for Andrew's first Thanksgiving. We flew in early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day. Brad's parents, Cindy and Dave, picked us up at the airport. We went to Bagel's house (my grandmother). Andrew really liked playing at Bagel's house. He had been taking a few steps here and there, but preferred to crawl. After Bagel's house, we went to Great Aunt Cindy's house. Andrew got to see Uncle Mark and Aunt Cindy. He also got to meet his cousins, Julie and Laura for the first time! This is where we learned that Andrew can say dog! I thought he was saying dog when he saw Minnie (our dog), but I did not say anything because I thought I was being the type of parent that thinks her child is a genius... Now I know he is! :) Ha!

That afternoon we headed to Brad's parents house. Andrew took a nap on the way! We unpacked a bit and headed to Casey and Dave's house for Thanksgiving dinner! Andrew had so much fun with his cousins: Jacob, Nathan, and Mary-Elizabeth. We got a lot of great ideas of things we can get Andrew for his birthday and Christmas!

On Friday Andrew got to see his Aunt Bevy and Uncle Dave. Andrew got to meet his cousins' Tim, Karen, and Gabby.

Saturday Cindy and Dave had a Andrew's first birthday party! He loved the cupcake. He was not too interested in the gifts, but I sure did enjoy opening his new presents!! Andrew also got to meet his new friend Carter! Carter's mom Nicki and I are only 3 weeks apart in age!

We had to leave Sunday morning, but we had a wonderful trip!

Standing on His Own

Andrew had a very busy weekend! Friday he was so exhausted from a very busy week that he went to bed early. Saturday Andrew was up bright and early to start the day! He really loves his sippy cup! We have successfully switched him to sippy cups during the day. He still has one bottle at night before bed. We are going to take him off his last bottle when he turns 11 months... VERY SOON! I will miss rocking him and holding him. Andrew is growing up so fast. This is a picture of Andrew with his morning bottle before school. He is still waking up. He is not too much of a morning baby!

Andrew does not sleep much at daycare. We recently found out that he enjoys trying to wake the other kids up while they are sleeping in the cribs. He pokes them while they are sleeping. Andrew sleeps really well at night, as you can see from the picture below! His little pants were coming off because he had his little bottom so high in the air.

One day after school, Andrew was playing with his walker. He loves to open the barn door and play peek-a-boo- with the chickens!

Saturday morning Andrew woke up a little early for him (7 a.m.). After a good breakfast and play time, we decided to go to the store. He loves to go shopping and entertain all of the other shoppers. He was so worn out from his grocery store visit that he fell asleep on the way home and went right to his crib for a nap. That NEVER happens! He usually takes a little cat nap in the car and then is ready to play again! He was so tired. His daddy got to cuddle with him for a few minutes... Andrew does not like to cuddle anymore because he is always on the go.

After nap time, Andrew was ready for lunch! I was making his lunch and he helped me by getting out the mixing bowls from his cabinet. Since we are starting regular food, it is much easier to feed him in his diaper. He gets very messy with food!

Since we are really working on eating regular food, Andrew spent a lot of time in the bathtub! He has a very sensitive gag reflex, so he spits up a lot! According to the doctor, this is normal. It seems normal to us since he has had reflux for so long too. We are so lucky that he loves the bath tub!! He is really into splashing. After bath time he has naked time. Andrew loves to throw himself on pillows after he has bath time. Sometimes we put him on our bed and other times we put pillows on the ground and let him bounce around. I think we are going to need to get him a bean bag for his birthday!

Andrew has 7 teeth now, so we decided to start him with his toothbrush instead of using the little brush thing I put on my finger. He loves his spider man toothbrush!

On Saturday Andrew started standing on his own. In the picture below you will see him holding onto the coffee table. He started standing up from the ground on Saturday afternoon! We were so proud of him and he was so proud too. He is also starting to walk a lot while holding onto my hand. He was walking while holding on to both of my hands and on Sunday he really started walking while holding onto one of my hands. He also has a new smile! He gets really excited, squints his eyes, and smiles really big!

Andrew loves it when you ask, "How big is Andrew?" He lifts his hands up and then you say, "So Big!"

Andrew really wore himself out this weekend! He is sleeping right now and gearing up for the next week! He never sleeps on his back, so he must be really tired! Good Night!

A Busy Few Weeks at the Willson's

Once again, I missed a week! So much goes on in the life of Andrew... I need to stay on top of his blog! Ha!

Well, let's go back to the week of Halloween! Andrew decided he wanted to be a Jack-O-Lantern. We found an adorable costume at Pottery Barn. It had the cutest hat for Andrew. When Andrew had his helmet, everyone told us that he would LOVE hats because he would be so used to the helmet... That is NOT the case. Our son hates anything on his head. We did get a few pictures of Andrew with his hat on.

On Friday night, his school had their Fall Festival where all the kids get dressed up in their costumes and get to trick-or-treat. I was able to go to his school for the Fall Festival. At first, Andrew wanted nothing to do with it, but he ended up loving it! You will see him with one of his teachers, Ms. Melissa and one of my students', Hannah! Andrew loved sitting on Hannah's lap. He was a bit crabby when I tried to put on his costume, so he does not have socks and shoes on. Sometimes, it isn't worth the battle!











Saturday Andrew carved his own pumpkin! I bet you did not think it was possible. You know, my child is very gifted and artistic! Who knew he would be carving at 10 months old! Ha! Andrew loved chewing on the side of the pumpkin too. He is quite advanced. Ha!!!


On Saturday night, Rick, my brother came over to see Andrew in his costume. Andrew really did not like getting dressed again, but he had no choice in the matter of the socks and shoes this time! We thought we were going to take Andrew out to our culdasac where everyone on our street comes to mingle. Usually they set up a bunch of tables and a stereo. The kids play in the culdasac and the parents bring their drinks and chairs to visit too. I called my next door neighbor that night because I wanted to make sure they were going to be outside so they could see Andrew... When I called her, she asked me if we were invited to the party in the culdasac. I told her I had no idea you had to be invited (It was NOT that way last year). Apparently one person on our street sent out an e-mail to some people telling them to bring a side dish and they were all going to have fajitas. Apparently the four houses in actual culdasac were not on the e-mail... us included. And to think, I thought we were pretty nice people Drama! Drama! Needless to say, we decided we were not going to be a part of this nonsense, so we did not go out to the culdasac to take part in the party we were not invited to. Instead, we took Andrew to a few of our neighbors houses and he had a good time! We did not hand out candy this Halloween because we were at home, but we had a lot of fun with our friendly neighbors and Andrew. As a school counselor, this situation really shows why our kids have so many social issues... They get it from their parents. Hopefully we will be better role models for Andrew. :)











I am moving off of my Halloween soapbox...

This week my mom came to visit us! She picked Andrew up from school on Wednesday and spent the day with him. He was really excited to see his Mimi when she picked him up from school. He went to her right away!

On Thursday, I took a half day off of work! YEAH! Mom, Andrew, and I spent the afternoon together. We went to the mall and Andrew experienced Mimi's power shopping and his first grilled cheese sandwich. Most of it landed up on the floor... Yes, I did pick it up! :) That night, Dad came over and I made a shrimp and vegetable pasta dish. Andrew had some noodles with butter and he liked them. We are really working hard introducing him to regular food. Some things he really likes and others, well, we'll keep trying!

We had a very busy weekend! On Friday we had Andrew's Thanksgiving Feast at his daycare. They have a silent auction too. We won Andrew's class mirror. Each class has a project they work on and then auction it off. There were many great items, but we decided to just go for the mirror. It is painted and has each child's foot print and name around it. It will look great in Andrew's play area.

Later on Friday, we went to a surprise 30th birthday party at the TOT. Andrew had a babysitter. He was asleep before we left, so he never even knew we were gone! The party was a lot of fun. It is hard to believe that many of my friends are turning 30! AHH!

Saturday we lounged around and played with Andrew. Andrew played a lot and wore his "My Auntie Loves Me" bib. Heather, my sister, sent it to him for Halloween! :) Saturday night, Brad and I went out again with some friends and Andrew had a babysitter again. Well, he had so much fun with Mimi and Grampy on Wednesday and Thursday that he was so exhausted by Saturday night, so he went to bed before we left! Busy weekend for mommy and daddy! We had a great time both nights!












On Saturday, I made cookies and Andrew tried his first chocolate chip cookie. He also ate turkey on Friday night and turkey minion tonight. We tried brown rice, but he did not like it too much. Andrew has tried avocado and other vegetables too. The meat is new for him!









Andrew runs through the house with his walker.... I really mean run. He also has started to let go of things when he is standing up and he is trying to climb on everything! He climbed the shelves at daycare this week and got a big bump on his head. I had to sign my second or third injury report form. I was just glad it was in the same spot as last time! Poor Andrew. He is rough and tough. One of his teacher's, Mae, calls him Tonka Tough!

I can't forget Minnie! She turned 12 on November 1, 2009. She still acts very young. Andrew really loves her and tries to get in her dog bed with her, but Minnie does not reciprocate the same feelings (except for when Andrew is throwing her food from his highchair). Check out this first picture, Minnie is licking her chops because Andrew just threw her some food from his highchair!











Well, as we begin another week, Andrew will have many more adventures! Hope y'all have a great week.