19 months...

Well, as I'm sitting down starting to compose your 19 month update you are waking from your nap.  So, this might be short, who am I kidding it's never short!  You are doing tons these days, you love being active and we don't mind it one bit becaues it keeps us active.  You are trying out many words and it seems like everyday we realize a new word coming from you.  Words like, "down, dak da (thank you), aaa (apple), poon (spoon), four (fork), on, off, pane (plane), maa (monkey), the list goes on!!  As far as food goes, it's hit and miss.  I'm starting to think lunch is your favorite meal and breakfast is not.  You're a very happy boy and you're starting to enjoy meeting new people.  You love watching older children, and sometimes when we're at the park you'll try and get in on the action.  You do melt down here and there when you don't get your way, but we expect that and do our best to find a redirection..."most" of the time it works!  Daddy and I are so thrilled to watch you grow each and everyday, we are so proud you are ours. 

Pictures please!

Andrew dying his first Easter egg.

You loves your kitties!  You try to give them kisses but most of the time they run. Probably because when you're not trying to give them kisses you're throwing something at them or trying to sit on them.

You also love vegetables and using anything that looks like drum sticks to drum.  Thanks Grandpa Dennis!

The airport is close by so we see a lot of planes flying over.  We decided to take a trip up to the viewing site, you were in heaven!  On one side you had the planes landing and taking off, and on the other side you had big "trucks" driving by.  Now, you pretend to be a plane with your arms out, its real cute.

Just a cute shot of you and your great smile. 

And, another cute shot of you not so happy.

Ugh, I wish someone would make yogurt in the squeezable pouches, like the applesauce!!

We've got a 20 lb turkey in the crockpot Daddy!!

Just one of your many adventures around here.  You pulled the blankets and pillows in yourself!

Just thinking about your Daddy...

Mommy letting you have juice for the first time.  As you can see it was a real hit!  Oh, and you had decided that you were done sitting in your high chair.  So you were moved to the booster seat...thank you Grandma and Grandpa Moro!!

"Drew, say cheese."  "Deese."

"Hello Drew, where arrrrrre you?"

Just a quiet moment...of course with some of your favorites.  Monkey, blanket and your pacifier.

"I want to go out in the street and I don't understand why you and Dad won't let me!"

Easter egg hunt and dinner at Nana and Papa's! 

You and I anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Justin...tick tock tick tock!

And, finally the sweet little boy enters the world!  Congrats Lorissa and Big Justin!

As you can see the booster seat is really helping us work on manners around here.

Tricked ya didn't I?  This is Archer Talia, Drew's cousin.  Do you think they're related?!

My sweet little bunny.

And our VERY imaginative little boy!  We love you so much!

18 months! 1 1/2, I can't believe it...

I just realized that I haven't blogged Drew's 16 and 17 month milestones. To be honest, his big milestones kind of slowed down after he started walking.  Don't get me wrong, we're REAL busy with our walker, talker, climber, winer, thrower, runner, etc. 

Hair: Real curly and long.  We were set on cutting it, but now we love it and don't feel now is the time to cut it.

Words: No, more, Dada, Maaa, dag (dog), ball, ya (in a whisper), pear (see bear sound below), hotdog, blues (for blueberries)

Noises: cat, dog, elephant, bear,  snake, monkey, bee, bird, duck, horse, cow, rooster, pig (sort of), bunny...

Weight/Height: Not sure, we have an appointment this coming Tuesday.  He's wearing 18 month clothes though.

Food:  Pretty much everything but protein. 

Favorites: His "lovey" (Monkey), pacifier, any fruit, play time with Daddy, getting on and in to everything, climbing, his train set, Elmo, Baby Einstien videos (preferably Baby Noah), watching neighbor dogs, chasing Harper and Norman, bubbles (in the bath) and visitors!

We are amazed all the time at how fast Andrew is growing, and what a little person he is becoming.  He's so loving and silly.  Sometimes on the weekends when he is napping Mike and I will be sitting on the couch and I'll say "I love him so much," and Mike will say "I know, me too."  A love for your child is unexplainable, there is nothing like it and I'm so lucky to get to have it.

And now the cameras roll:

 Climbing UP on EVERYTHING! And he's quick too so it happens before you know it!

 His good friend Nettie's 1st birthday.  "Hey, check out my shoes."

 Trying on a Griz helmet.  I think I better find a Coug one for him to try too!

 Norman and Drew have an understanding now.  I think you see what I mean.

 Taking Abby for a Saturday spin.

 Trying on the Sambas, they don't fit quite yet.  "My ADIDAS!" -Run DMC

 "No Dada I'm going to administer my own medicine!"  (Notice whose hands the medicine squirter is in?)

 Watching Baby Einstien with Clifford.

 Our blue eyed babe.

Our sweet 18 month old!  1 1/2 years old...we love you!

The Holidays

Well, it's January 23rd (this post has been a work in progress) and we just took our tree down this past Saturday.  My parents and brother Stephen were out for Thanksgiving and we were all eager to get a tree and see how the little boy (Drew) would do!  Mike and I decided to go with a littler tree this year since we would be in Olympia for Christmas day.  Our little tree was perfect and lasted forever!  Maybe we'll try out littler trees from here on out?  Andrew did wonderfully with the tree.  We kept fragile ornaments higer up and the safe ones on the bottom.  Most days the tree was bare on the bottom, but we didn't mind one bit!  And, our cats were in heaven with drinking the tree's water!

Drew loved the season!  The most fun he had was opening gifts and getting to eat a few Christmas cookies!  

This Christmas was so fun watching Andrew get older and interact with his aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousin Peyton.  While, Billings continues to grow on me, I do miss home so much everyday.

A few pictures to boot:

 Christmas Eve.

 Christmas Day dinner with cousin Peyton!  These two had so much fun together.

 Grandma and Grandpa Moro's tree always shining so beautifully!

 Off to Nana and Papa's!  He got this cool "bike" from Bob and Marilee, one of Drew's great aunt and uncle.

 Auntie Kendra and Uncle Jamie!  I am thrilled to say they are moving to Billings this summer!!  I can't wait to have more family around.  And, Drew LOVES his Auntie Kendra.

 Well, I had to get a picture of the fuzzy mop!  But, we love it and it's staying.  We just can't part with the curls.

Look at my sweet niece Peyton.  She is the spitting image of my brother Val!  Her personality is so dang cute too, we miss her terribly!  She turned 1 on January 19th!  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

15 months!

15 months...and I have writers block because of how much you do and change daily.  You amaze me with how much you take in and know. 

Food: You eat just about everything we do but you prefer veggies and fruit!  However, goldfish are a HUGE hit right now. 

Voice: You are screaming like crazy and singing like a song bird.  Animal noises are your favorite thing to do with your mouth right now and it cracks us up! You love daddy so much and say his name (da)  all the time, mommy feels envious about this.

Growth: Your hair is CRAZY and we love it.  But, you're starting to get tangles and so we know we'll probably have to get it cut soon.   You have tons of teeth, there are four coming in right now!  You're doing pretty good but sometimes I have to give you a little something to take the edge off.  You're walking like crazy and running is becoming your second favorite.  Especially when mommy or daddy are chasing you. 

Favorite things: You love being outside, even when it freezing out!  When we are in daddy's car you have to be holding the adult size football and smile the whole time.  You love books!!  "Farm Babies" is your most favorite right now.  Helping mommy clean around the house is always fun, even though it becomes more of a mess sometimes.  AND, we can't forget your continued love for "Monkey."  He makes you so happy. 

I could go on and on forever about what a great learner you are and how much you amaze daddy and I.  We love seeing you grow daily and at least 100 times a day I catch my breathe thinking about how much I love you and how lucky daddy and I are to have you.  We always say "we've got a really good kid."  We're so blessed.

What a sweet boy!

My Great Friend Marries the Love of Her Life!

Mike and I were lucky enough to have my mom and dad come out earlier than they had planned, for Thanksgiving. They stayed with Andrew while we were able to fly out to Seattle for Lorissa's wedding. It was the first time we had been away, since our little angel was born.  While we missed him like crazy, we had a blast!  In fact, I kept telling people we needed to do it more often because "I  don't really know how to to act any more in public!" I kind of think from an outsiders perspective I might have looked like a 14 1/2 month old!  Ha ha!  Thanks mom and dad!!

And so the wedding day...

The gals at breakfast.

The dress.

The soon-to-be bride getting ready.

The ceremony room.

Picture time!  I'm sure the photographer didn't get a shot that looks like she has the wheat coming out of her head.  Sorry Lurr!

The hadsome groom waiting for his beautiful lady.

The vows! 

The kiss!

Mr. and Mrs. von Wolffradt!!

Father of the bride!

The reception location.

The yummy cake.  Notice the wheat?  Wheat was a suttle theme throughout the day.

Mother and brother of the bride!  Being silly of course.

Just a fun detail.

Mrs. von Wolffradt and Mrs. Yasenak, AKA "L & L!"

The happy couple!  Congraulations Justin and Lorissa.

Thank you for sharing your day with us!  It was perfect.

"May your life be filled with many baskets of corks!"

Love you both, Leah

14 Months

I guess it's 14 months and 3 weeks now.  As usual life is full of exciment and a lot of exploring!  Andrew is a full time walker now and we are very busy following him around.  A few of his favorite things to do right now are vacuum, sweep, run around with out a diaper on, be outside, exploring every thing, trying to understand "how things work"and talk... a lot.  He is saying words like dog, cat, meow, bowl, that and I'm sure so much more in his head that he thinks he's saying.  He's so much fun and we are having such a great time watching him grow!

Drew's 14 month birthday was our first snow day of the year, November 2nd.  As you can see he was very happy to be out enjoying the white wonder!