Apple Orchard

Andrew had his first school field trip yesterday to the Sherwood Apple Orchards. He was so excited to go on the bus and pick apples. It was his first time on a school bus, something he's wanted to do since last year! I, along with all of the kids mom or dad, went on the field trip with him and we had a great time despite the rain.

I took Andrew to school that morning which he was not to thrilled about. Nate usually takes him to school and I think that Andrew really enjoys that time with just Daddy. They did a little show and tell and a few songs at school before we all headed onto the bus. All the kids were so excited. Andrew sat in the first row of the bus, both to the orchard and back. Here's a picture of his classmates, the parents and his teacher (in the red).

Andrew looked out of the window most of the time on the bus and talked about all of the things he saw outside.

When we got to the orchard all of the kids learned a little bit about what kinds of fruit they have their and about some of the different apples. The kids were really cute listening.

As soon as we got out to the orchard, Andrew went running. It was quite muddy that day and he got very dirty!

He was supposed to pick one apple for himself, one for me and one for his teacher. They are going to make applesauce with all of the kids apples next week. Andrew saw lots on the ground and started picking them up.

I told him that the ones on the ground were rotten and to pick them off the tree. He loved picking them.

Showing Mommy his apple that he picked.

Surprisingly he decided to take a bite of the apple. He normally won't even try fruit (or veggies) but I think since all of the other kids were eating them, he thought he would too.

He really didn't even get a good bite before he decided that he didn't like it and threw it on the ground.

We then moved on the the plum trees. Andrew wanted to pick some plums too. He bit into one of them, said "delicious" and then threw it to the ground! Funny little guy.

His favorite thing of the day, besides riding the school bus, was probably chasing this cat all around the orchards. All of the kids were pretty amused with it. That cat followed all of us all around and some of the kids, including Andrew, tried to go up to it and pet it or chase after it. One kid actually picked it up which was pretty funny.

Such a fun first field trip with my little guy. I'm already excited to go on the next field trip with him to the pumpkin patch in a month!

Ava at 4 months

Ava is now 4 months old! She is the sweetest little thing and absolutely loves any and all attention that she gets, which can be little at times with brother around. She lights up and smiles when you look at her, talk to her or just smile at her. She loves watching Andrew play. She will sit in her bumbo or on my lap and just watch him while he plays with all of her cars. As soon as she hears his voice she smiles. She has become quite the little mover and kicker. She can kick herself out of her bouncy seat and when I get her from her crib in the morning she is at the bottom of the crib instead of the top where I placed her at bedtime. She loves her bumbo chair and will kick like crazy and move her arms when she's in it and laugh. She puts any and everything in her mouth. All toys, hands, blankets, anything goes in her mouth. She loves chewing on her pacifier too. We think she's teething. She's still a great sleeper and eater. I've changed her schedule to eat every 3 to 3.5 hours so she takes about 3 shorter naps a day and a lot of times I end up waking her up to eat. I still end up waking her up at 8am to eat, she'll take a little 1 hr nap in the morning, eat again at 11 takes a long nap from 12/12:30-2ish and then eats and another nap at 4ish till 5:30ish and then eats again. She ends up taking a small nap between 8 & 9, eats and then is down for the night. She really is the sweetest little thing but does have a little temper when she is unhappy. She had her 4 month doctor check up on Tuesday and got 2 shots, 1 oral and screamed like crazy. Even the nurse noticed her little temper! She's still a gassy little girl, but seems to be doing better with it on a daily basis. She is also starting to reach for her toys all the time. Her 4 month stats are:

Weight: 13lb 6oz (35%)

Height: 25inches (70%)

Head: 41.2cm (50%)

9.14.2010- 4 months old

9.16.2010- first time in her Bumbo

Show & Tell

Andrew had show and tell at school yesterday. Because his name starts with an A he was one of the first kids to do show & tell. "His" day consisted of being the line leader all day, bringing a snack, holding the flag, praying, and show & tell. I came to watch during the show & tell part and he was adorable. He wanted to bring his monkeys to show his friends which is kind of funny because they stay in his bed, but he never really plays with them or mentions them. Nate and I were a little surprised when he said he wanted to bring them. He showed his classmates his mommy monkey and his teacher asked him questions like, "what's your mommy & daddy's name? do you have any pets?" She also asked, "does anyone else live at your house besides mommy & daddy?" His response, "Parker and Evan." I laughed a bit because these are his friends names, but I then stepped in and asked him what his sister's name was and he responded. He was a bit shy but you could tell he was excited too.

Andrew sitting on the rug during circle time.

He loved when they played the music ("I am a Promise") and danced the whole time!

Andrew getting to hold the flag while they recite a little bit of the Pledge of Alligiance.

Showing all of his classmates his monkey.

Telling everyone about his family.

The teacher is teaching the kids to recognize their written name. She holds up each kids name on a notecard and when they see their name they are supposed to raise their hand.

Andrew also got to pray for class that day. His teacher asked him if he wanted to pray and he said yes. He was very quiet and she asked him if he wanted help and he said yes so she started to pray and he was supposed to repeat her, but when someone whispers to him, his response is to repeat the words in a whisper. Kinda funny! Such a fun morning getting to visit him at school.

Preschool

We have now entered the world of school! Andrew started school today and he did great!

Last week Andrew had is first non-official day of school. It was orientation day where half of Andrew's class along with the parents came to school for an hour to meet his teacher and some of his classmates. He had tons of fun and after it was over we took him for a little treat to Starbucks to get some "warm hot chocolate milk," that's what he's calling it these days! It was a fun morning just the 3 of us (we left Ava with Grandma). We are trying to make going to school a big deal so we've been doing these things without Ava so he feels like he gets more attention.

On his way to class.

So excited to see all the trucks & cars.

Hot chocolate with Daddy. We even made a toast to the new school year and said cheers. Andrew thought that was really cool!

Andrew's 1st day of school was today. It was an early morning for all of us and when Nate went to wake Andrew at 7:45 (we had to leave at 8) he looked at Nate & said, "what are you doing in here?" He's obviously not used to waking up that early! He ate breakfast in the car as we drove to school. When we got to school Nate stayed in the car with Ava while I stayed with Andrew. At his school they have a car drop off area where all the kids are dropped off and stand in line until it is time to walk to class. Since it was the first day of school I wanted to walk him to class, so we waited with the rest of his classmates (and lots of other moms) and then all of us walked to class. It was pretty cute watching all of the kids hold onto the rope and walk in a line to their class. As soon as Andrew got to class he saw all the toys and dropped his backpack on a table and started playing. I quickly told him that he had to put his backpack away before he could play. He did, ran back to playing, I said goodbye and he was totally fine with me leaving. On our way to school he kept asking me if I was going to go to school, so I'm sure that where he thought I was going when I left. I picked him up after school and he was so excited to see me and informed me that he was wearing his backpack. Something he didn't want to do when he got to school. It's amazing how teachers can get them to do things that parents can't! He told me all about school, his teacher, his friends, that he played with cars, played outside, had grapes for snack and threw them in the garbage, and sang songs. We picked Daddy up for lunch and had a celebration lunch at Panera. Can't believe that my little guy is old enough to be in school!

Love this expression. I think he was like, "mom, enough with the picture taking!"

Posing with the school bus.

On his way to class.

Excited to play with all the toys.

The kids walking out to wait to wait to be picked up.

9.14.10-Andrew 3 years old

Uncle Moose

On Friday night Nate went on a ride along with one of his best friends, Brian Imus (aka Uncle Moose). We decided to take Andrew to the station so he could see Uncle Moose in his police uniform and police car. We thought he would be very excited, but instead he was a little nervous about the whole situation. He was interested in the car and wanted to drive it (of course we said no) but he was very worried that Daddy was not coming home with us. He didn't give Brian the time of day except for a few high fives. We left the station and he kept talking about Daddy not coming with us. I informed him that Daddy had to help Uncle Moose at work and that he'd be home in a bit. Daddy & Uncle Moose had a fun time driving fast, pulling over cars, and fighting crime!

No More Gymbo

Yesterday was our last Gymboree class. Kind of a sad day for me (I don't think Andrew understands that he won't be going back). We've met so many great friend through Gymboree and Andrew enjoys going every week. We started going right after he turned 1, have had a few different teachers throughout the years, but we've had teacher Laurie the longest and we will definitely miss her. With school starting, we decided to stop going to Gymboree, but we will be back when Ava is old enough to go.

Having so much fun...I love this face!

Andrew with Teacher Laurie & Gymbo.

Parachute time!

9.8.2010-Andrew 3 years old

Pacifier

On Tuesday night we said goodbye to the paci. We had been telling Andrew for awhile that when he turns 3 he is a big boy and has to give all of his paci's to the babies. I didn't want to take them away on his actual birthday and let him have them day after too, but that night (Tuesday) as we were going to bed we told him to get all of his paci's and put them in a baggie to give to the babies. He did it and was fine while he read a book and got ready for bed. As soon as we were telling him goodnight, he started asking for his paci. We reminded him that he gave them to the babies. He cried and then calmed down for a bit. As soon as we went downstairs he cried more. He cried for about a total of 45 minutes on and off. I went up there several times to console him. I felt so bad. He kept saying that he didn't want to give them to the babies and that he wanted to wake up. He eventually gave up and went to sleep and slept through the night. The next morning as we were getting in the car, he asked for his paci again (He was only allowed to have it in the car & in bed). I told him that he gave them to the babies and he was not thrilled and whined for a bit. Same thing happened at nap time yesterday and he took about 1.5 hours to actually take a nap, but then he did. Last night he mentioned it when going to sleep and whined for a bit. When we went in the car today he didn't bring it up and when I put him down for a nap, he didn't bring it up! So far so good!

This is the latest picture I could find of him with his pacifier. 6.19.2010

Birthday Boy

Andrew is 3. I can't believe it! These past 3 years have flown by. It's true that when you have kids time speeds up. Yesterday was his 3rd birthday and we had a birthday party with all of his little friends, 9 kids total! Carter, Hudson, Harrison, Parker, Evan, Elizabeth, Aidan & Conner (the neighbors as Andrew calls them) and of course Andrew. It was a houseful and I was so glad that the weather held out and it was a beautiful sunny morning. We decided to do a lunch this year and had sub sandwiches for the adults and I made pb&j and pj&honey for the kids cut into dump truck shapes. It was a construction themed party, with an amazing dirt pit that my husband made, a super cute cake, dirt cake cups, and lots of caution tape. Such a fun morning. The party was from 11-1 and by the time everyone left Andrew was exhausted but hyped up from the morning activity and all the sugar. I put him down for a nap, but he didn't sleep long if even at all. The rest of the day we spent just the 4 of us playing with his new toys, dinner at CPK and opening the last of the gifts. I adore my little 3 year old!

The morning of his birthday we came into his room singing Happy Birthday, brought him a little treat bag (like the one he gave his friends at his party), and a hot chocolate from Starbucks. When we came in singing, he was not thrilled and started yelling. As soon as he realized that we had gifts for him he calmed down. He was very excited about the M&M's that were in his goody bag and his hot chocolate that he's been asking for for days!

The boys playing in the dirt pit.

Andrew and his cousin Elizabeth dancing to the slideshow music. They are too cute together!

Singing Happy Birthday. The only thing he really cared about were the trucks on his cake. He wanted to take them off so he could play with them.

Opening gifts.

9.6.2010