13 months

Finally going down the stairs!

5 teeth (3 up, 2 down)
Says:
Dog (Dagh)
Dada
Mama
Ball (bah)
Outside (ow-sigh)
Night- Night! (nigh-nigh)
Light (height)
Banana (uh na na)

What does a ____ say?

Lion: hahhhhh
Cow: Boo
Dog: huh huh

Loves to wrestle with daddy by flopping onto him and crawling all over him.
Never stops walking
Chases the ball around everywhere
Totally addicted to Mom. Cries when she's gone.
Knows where he's not supposed to be and tries to get there (laundry room, fridge, behind the couch)
Where's Andrew? (Smacks chest)
Still a terrible teether. DRAMA KING

Body parts you know:
Nose, mouth, tongue, hand, head, foot

 I opened up the 12-18 month clothes and found one of Daddy's childhood outfits. You looked simply darling! Love you, Sweet beebee!

Andrew: 1 year!!

Your first year has flown by faster than your older siblings. I blinked and now here you are starting to toddle.

At the beginning of your 12th month you took a few quick, unsure steps. You naturally want to sit or crawl so it was tough convincing you to move your little legs. At end end of the month you had gained enough confidence to let go of chairs, couches, etc. and take a few steps before plopping onto your cute little bum.

We discovered that you LOVE slides. You're still a little unsure about swings.. but slides? Oh man, you laugh and immediately try to climb back up to slide again.

We went to the beach and it seems like you're slowly catching onto the fact that not everything should go in your mouth. When you tried to eat a rock I told you no. You looked at me than back to the rock.. and then you started shaking your head no. You looked at me again, the back to the rock, then ever so slowly you began to raise it to your mouth. Hahaha! It was darling to see this internal dilemma unfold. You shaking your head no but wanting so desperately to put it in your mouth. Otherwise, you loved kicking around in the sand and squeezing it in your fingers. You especially like trying to grab it when I let it pour from above you.

You're learning how to wrestle Dad. You crawl on top of him and bury your head into his chest. Your face is always full of joy and wonder. We love getting down on the ground to play with you because it instantly makes you happy.

You puked after having eggs again. We're going to take a bit of a break before trying them again.

Andrew, you're a thrill seeker! When I hold you chest to chest, you purposefully lean your head back until you go upside down. You laugh and laugh and then throw you head back again! It's hilarious!

You're currently in love with lights. When we turn on the light you reach your hands up and say tuh, tuh (light). You try turning pages of books, get super wiggling during church, you bang your hands on any surface you can find (windows, doors, table tops, the seat of the chair), you crawl up the stairs in a jiffy, you walk holding on to one hand, and you can pound half a PB&J in no time.

Dad and I love watching you on the baby monitor. You plant your head and walk forward until you practically do a somersault! Once you're really tired you cram your head into the corner and snuggle up before you snooze off. You perpetually toss out your pacis but then holler because you can't sleep without them.

You still kick your legs like a wild child. Whether it's a diaper change, the bathtub, or when I'm trying to put your shoes on. It's really quite dangerous for me and Dad!

Your hair is getting long and when it gets disheveled we call you Raggedy Andy. It got to the point where we decided you needed you first real hair cut. Daddy did an amazing job and you look SO big now. Stop growing up, Angel Boy!

Andrew: 11 months

Since you no longer spit up we've let you take a stab at crawling up the stairs. Things were a bit rocky at first but once it clicked you started giggling and breathing excitedly as you scurried upward.

You cruise along furniture like it's your day job. You gracefully lower yourself from standing nowdays. No more plopping down without control. Your ability to get down to the ground easily makes me wonder whether you'll feel the need to start walking anytime soon. You have crawled longer than your older siblings and are by far the fastest of the bunch.

Slowly you are learning to fend for yourself. When Kate steals from you it makes you fuss. And you totally start crying when Vince tries to lug you around the house. You aren't saying all the sounds like you used to. You never say buh buh buh anymore. And mommmm is rare... usually just when we're being a little too slow at dinner time. You babble dah dah dah dah at everything. It's cute to hear you add syllables though. When you see a banana you purposefully say dah, dah dah to mimic me saying BUH nana.

Still only 2 teeth. Your top two teeth are visible through your gums but they're being stubborn and haven't broken through the skin yet. I wish they would so you could stop fussing!

You're getting a bit more difficult at church. You usually refuse to nap in arms unless you're truly exhausted. On the days you won't nap at church you just take one giant nap afterward. I haven't been able to get to you nap like that during the week, but man I cannot wait for you to take one huge nap everyday!

You got sick and threw up for the first time. We wonder if you're allergic to eggs because that's primarily what you puked. It was sad and you took three baths in one night.

Love you so much, Little Dude!

Andrew: 10 months

You are crawling like a maniac! Cruising along furniture and occasionally letting go. Instead of plopping down to the ground you slowly squat down and place yourself on the ground. As you crawl you've begun a slight bear crawl to get your feet on the ground. With two big siblings you've got your work cut out for you! They constantly pull at your arms, shove you, and test your balance. It's clear you're noticing the pattern because your squawks of dismay sound faster than ever before. Occasionally you allow Vince to carry you around, but you, Mr. Andrew, are an independent little boy.

When you see the bathroom/laundry door open you BOOK it and try to explore the unchartered territory. As you crawl toward those rooms I can see a look of pure excitement spread across your face. The sweet face is accompanied by an excited panting as you push yourself a fast as you can muster.

We're letting you explore more food and it's obvious that you're loving it. PB&J, pasta salad, spaghetti, pancakes... oh how fun it is to see you slurp up a mango smoothie through a straw with hands clenched tightly on the cup.

I can't get enough of your social personality. During scripture study and prayer you laugh hysterically at Kate and Vince. It doesn't make for a reverent evening... but certainly a joyous one.

Dad is teaching you about your tongue. You stick it out and bunch it up to make the silliest of faces. Daddy can't get enough of smacking his lips at you either. You look at each other and talk back in forth through lip smacking.

My favorite trick you've learned is giving hugs. You lean your little head in and rest it on my chest. It only lasts but a few moments, but it is as sweet as can be.

When I thought about having a third child I was beyond scared of how hard it would be. You have put that fear to rest, Andrew. Instead of making life harder you have been a beacon of light. You are the peacemaker in our family. Everyone comes together to love you and the worries and troubles of the day fade away. You make our home a better place. I am so thankful you chose to come to our family.

Andrew: 9 Months

You cut your two bottom teeth this month. Andrew, you are the most ridiculous teether I have ever met. A few days before your first tooth cut through you woke up screaming. You wouldn't nurse, take a bottle, sit still, or calm down. You were pulling at your ears, spinning in circles, and you would randomly stop crying and go completely limp on my shoulder. I had a major freak out because of your erratic behavior. My mind was racing as I contemplated brain tumors, double ear infections, and the possibility of you not waking up after going limp. I raced to the doctor and Chelsea Boet saw us within seconds. She agreed that your behavior was atypical. Everything looked normal so we gave you motrin and monitored you as you finally drifted off to sleep in my arms. After your nap you woke up as happy as a clam. The verdict? You are a drama king when it comes to cutting teeth!

You pulled yourself up for the first time the day before you turned 9 months old. Why are you growing so fast?

Nursing seems to be coming to a close. You don't seem satisfied after nursing and I don't want to compromise your growth by underfeeding you. I've been dreaming of having freedom from our multiple nursing sessions, but now that it's actually here I feel I will miss that special time with you.

You learned that you can reach up and play the piano. Vince loves to jam with you.

Water is your favorite! We went to Millennium Beach and you had a blast splashing and kicking in the water. You even threw your body forward to get your face in the water a few times. It didn't take too long for you to get the shivers. I enjoyed wrapping you up and cuddling you in a towel just like I did with Vincent when he was a tyke.

In the morning you wake up goofy and giggly.

Thank you for all of the smiles, Drewbie Doobie!