Saturday, February 28, 2009

Big boy pillow


Andrew has been trying out his new big boy pillow. He likes to play with it but it is NOT allowed in his bed.
He has started asking for (demanding) his boppy pillow at night though. Now I need a cute cover for that to match his room. Oh Jilllllllll......






He's mad here because he wanted me to lay on the pillow with him.



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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

Andrew's great-grandmom


Andrew's great-grandmom Wilson died today. She had a severe stroke on February 2nd and never really woke up from it. She was 93 years old and lived on her own until the day of the stroke.







I'm not going to lie....my grandmother was not always sweetness and light. I don't know why she said and did some of the things she did. I do know though that my mom worked very hard to make sure that her children had a good relationship with all their grandparents. My memories of my grandmother while I was growing up were wonderful ones.

She and my grandfather loved to travel. She has been to every state in the US, lived in three countries and visited many more. They drove everywhere they could---most of the time with a small, grey poodle sitting between them on a towel on the console.
She baked wonderful birthday cakes. I have no memory of how they tasted--only how they looked. I especially remember a Cinderella cake that she made and the Barbies with skirts made of cake and icing.
She almost always had a crochet needle in her hand and made the most beautiful afghans. We all have one that was made by her. She could also knit. My favorite thing that she ever knitted was a red poncho that I loved.


My grandmother's maiden name was Smith and the Smith girls were well known for their love of anything sweet---especially candy and ice cream--and their ability to giggle. My grandmother's freezer always contained three things...batteries, important papers and enough candy to shut down Willy Wonka's factory. Even diabetes did not stop her sweet tooth.
Helen May Wilson (or Hel-May to friends and family) had an opinion about everything and had no problem telling them to you. She also always had a gift in her hand when she saw you.
Grandmom paid for my first airplane flight and met me on the other end of it ready to treat me to a fun-filled week in Florida. We went to Disney, Annie (the movie) and every senior citizen buffet in the Port Richey area. She took me to swim in my Aunt Hattie's pool while the women did water aerobics in their flowered hats---then we ate ice cream sundaes.

My grandparents lived in NJ until I was 10. We used to go spend the weekends with them and I have wonderful memories of being there. My grandfather would take me out on his boat to 'fish'. He fished....I made him row to the lilypads so I could pick the flowers. Grandmom taught me how to decorate cakes and to knit (I'm still horrible at that one). It seemed like she was always in the kitchen when I was there. I'm not sure what she was doing (although it does take a long time to cook meat to the point when she considered it done) but I always thought her kitchen was so interesting because it had carpet.

Grandmom Wilson lived a very long, full life. She mostly lived on her terms and died still being independent. I will forever cherish my childhood memories of her.

My grandmother...holding my mom.


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Somersaults and sneezes


Just for fun...here are some videos of Andrew doing somersaults (which I was told are no longer called somersaults but are now called forward rolls) and pretending to sneeze.







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Sunday, February 22, 2009

Stitches So Sweet


My friend, Jill, owns a wonderful company called Stitches So Sweet (
www.stitchessosweet.com). She does the most amazing embroidery work. Last week, she made a very special gift for a friend of mine. She had a picture of a worry doll digitized to use on a pillowcase (or anything else you can think of). It turned out beautiful.
The picture really doesn't do it justice---the skirt actually looks woven when you see it in real life.




She also made this amazing sheet set for Andrew (for when he gets his big boy bed). It's
gorgeous.







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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Moving Tent


When I bought this tent for Andrew, I had no idea it moved (or made noises).




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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hokey-Pokey


Changing Andrew's clothes has become difficult--it has been a battle every time I have tried to change him lately.

Until the hokey-pokey.
The hokey-pokey is funny...and fun...and it makes changing time easy. It's fun to put your right arm in and put your right arm out...and it's especially fun to shake it all about.



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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Big helper


Finally, Andrew is pulling his own weight around here. Time for me to sit in a chair with my feet up. :)












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Sunday, February 15, 2009

Water, water everywhere...


Two of Andrew's favorite things have now come together in one activity---water and the mirror.

He loves to squirt himself with the squirt bottle




and he loves to look at himself in the mirror.


Today he discovered that he can squirt the mirror! Good times. I gave him a paper towel and he happily wiped all the water off the mirror. When we got home from church, he wanted to do it all over again.










Next, I'm going to teach him to do windows. ;)



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I'm not Goldilocks


but there was someone sleeping in my bed this morning. He woke up at 10:30 last night---I think he was having a bad dream---and came into bed with me. He laid down on his boppy pillow and never moved the whole night.






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Saturday, February 14, 2009

Love


I love Valentine's Day. Not for all the expensive roses and candy and dinners out but for the chance to tell my friends and family that I love them in a special way.
Andrew and I had a great day together.
Our day started with Andrew's present to me...he slept until 9:30!! It was the best present he could have given me. Now I'm going to demand it every year.

Then we had a yummy breakfast of oatmeal heart-shaped pancakes with blueberry syrup. They were delish.

Heart shaped and heart healthy....YUM!




If you don't believe me about the pancakes...see what Andrew has to say about them:


We spent the day cleaning the house and doing laundry. Not fun but definitely necessary. I have found that while cleaning the house, toddler 'help' is not necessarily helpful. But it can be pretty funny. While I vacuumed, Andrew followed me with his little vacuum and copied every single thing I did. It cracked me up.

Our friends Jill and Tate came over for dinner. I made lasagna and I have to admit...it was delicious.


These were Andrew's presents. I've looked for a while to find teddy bears that would fit into the jerseys he had when he first came home. I never found bears but I did find these adorable stuffed animals.

This was our first attempt at a picture...poor lion.


SO cute!



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Happy Valentine's Day!




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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Last day

Today was our last day with Gramma and Grandad for this trip. We spent part of it visiting a potential nursing home for my grandmother. They kept my mom in the office for two hours filling out paperwork. Andrew hadn't had a nap and he was CRABBY. He did well entertaining himself and tried very hard to behave. It was hard though.



Not a great picture of Grandad, but it's cute of Andrew and isn't that what really matters?


Yep...he's licking the table. At that point, I didn't care. I just wanted him to stop screaming.


Creating a masterpiece at the restaurant:






Watching a little Diego before bed:



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