Guess he won't be the next Steve Jobs!

Last night, we were eating dinner and talking. Andrew was having a tough time with dinner... we were torturing him with pizza - sausage pizza - his favorite! Andrew spent most of dinner saying things like "I don't like pizza" and "I don't like sausage" and so on.

We ignored it and moved on to our delicious pizza! Brandyn was telling me about this cool marketing class he took on how to market you school.

Brandyn: "They were talking a lot about key words that people type into Google...."
Andrew: "Google? I don't like Google."

Apparently we are NOT raising the next Steve Jobs.

Substitute Parenting

Last night Brandyn and I both had to work late. So we asked our friend Christi if she could pick up Andrew after day care. She and her 3-year-old Dane picked Andrew up and took him home for dinner. Christi fed my "mom curiosity" by texting me that the boys were having fun, sending me a picture of them eating dinner... and my favorite... an email entitled "Hope my parenting techniques are ok with you"... with the following picture attached!

Andrew and Dane playing in puppy Stella's cage. HILARIOUS! Thanks for taking good care of my kid Christi!!

What Andrew wants to be when he grows up

This morning as I was getting ready for work, Andrew was turning on and off the light in the bathroom (driving me crazy, but keeping himself occupied, so I let him!). He was starring at the lights so intensely, watching them, so I joked with him and asked if he was going to be an engineer when he grows up. He starred at me and said "Huh Mom?" So then I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. I asked if he wanted to be a teacher like Dada. He responded with...

"I want to be a big Man like Dada. I want to be a Man."

Andrew, age 2.5, wants to be a Man when he grows up. ;)

Andrew's Work

This morning on our car ride to school, I asked Andrew what was going on today.

A: Mama go to work. Dada no at work, Dada on a trip. Andrew go to work too.
Me: Oh, really? What are you going to do at work?
A: Play. Play with my people.
Me: Your "people"? Who are your people.
A: Sarah and Heidi. (Sisters who Andrew talks about, a lot). Sarah my best friend.
Me: Oh, Sarah is your best friend.
A: No, no Sarah. Heidi. Heidi my best friend.

That sounds like a fabulous day at work to me!

Time Outs

We recently took a fantastic family vacation with my parents and my brother and his family - including Andrew counsin Evey. Andrew loves Evey, but is not used to playing with an independant 5 year old who loves to direct playtime. A couple of times he got annoyed by Evey's instructions on how to move his animal, which ended in his hitting Evey out of frustration. We followed with appropriate time out and lots of words about how you don't hit, etc.

Last night, while Andrew was laying in bed talking himself to sleep, we hear "Huggy (his favorite Lovey/stuff animal), no hit Andrew. You time out."

Apparently... he got the message.

My Brandyn

Andrew recently learned our first names. While he still addresses us by Mama and Dada, he understand that we have other names too. This morning he was talking about "My Brandyn" (which really sounds like "My Bannen). So cute!!

Ride 'Em Cowboy!!

This weekend we drove to Fresno to spend time with Brandyn's family. Its was a jam packed visit with a trip to Storyland, nail painting party for my niece's birthday, lots of playtime with cousins, date night with my brother and sister in law (thanks to Grandma C), and finishing it off with Vintage Days at Fresno State.

The campus was packed with students food and game booths. The highlight of the day (besides the free cupcakes!), the pony rides! I'll admit, I did NOT think my shy guy would be into them. Not only did he like it, he was begging to ride!

Two Year "Stats"

In Andrew's birthday card, Grandma C provided "stats" from Brandyn's two year appointment.

At 2 years and two month old, Brandyn was:
37 1/2 inches
38 pounds

At 2 years old, Andrew is:
37 inches
31 pounds

Happy 2nd Birthday Andrew!!!

Hope that cupcake was as good as it looks!!!

Cousin-ly Love

Andrew is the youngest of his 4 cousins - 3 on Brandyn's side... 1 on mine. He can't get enough of his cousins - "Less-yee" (Leslie), "Ax" (Alex), "Yay-cob" (Jacob) and "E" (Evey). All four cousins came to visit to celebrate Andrew's birthday!

No cousin gathering would be complete without a "Dog Pile"!

Big Cousin Leslie pullin' the boys around the block!

And the quintessential group cousin pic!

Grandparents

These are old(er) pictures... but I like them a lot and wanted to share. The first is from the summer... the second from Christmas.

Family Adventure Day

Last weekend we ventured out to Tilden Park to explore all the fun kid activities they have there. We went specially to ride the train, but were excited to find lots of other fun at the Park.

The "Little Farm" was very entertaining for all of us! They had cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, pigs, etc. You could touch and feed all of them!

We also enjoyed the carousel.

Tractor Time!

A special message for Grandma and Grandpa!

From Andrew and his cousin Jacob.

Welcome to 2011!!

Dang - that was fast! 2010 is already over - and I didn't get to complete all my goals! Luckily... I did finally complete my 2009 goals... so I'm not holding over goals for two years!

2010 Goals Completed:

- Started a back yard garden.
- Participated in and raised money for the March for Babies.
- Exercise. I joined Jazzercise and have been aiming for two aerobics classes a week (sometimes even two times a week is hard to come by!).

- Be more "green" at home. We rid our house of paper towels and use mostly Method cleaning products. We also switched our pest control from Terminx to Eco First (saver for Andrew, the kitties and the rest of the environment!).


2010 Goals moved over to 2011:
- Date night *alone* (not with friends) with my husband once a month. We're "getting out there"... but usually when we have a babysitter (free or not!) we tend to go out with a group. We really could use some one-on-one time.
- Attend a community church. We have a list! Now we just need to pick a Sunday and GO! :)



New 2011 Goals:

- Family vacation. I really want to plan and go on a fun, LONG (more than a week) vacation this summer. Doesn't have to be far... its just has to be AWAY!

- Household upgrades. We've got a lot of "I want to do 'X'" things going on in our heads about upgrades to the house (garden area, garage makeover, paint the exterior, take down the wood paneling, retile the fireplace). I'd love to put the "I wants" into action!

- Plant fruit trees. I really want an Avocado tree... and maybe another apple tree (green this time).

Christmas is almost here!

And Andrew is ready!!

He gets this from Nana and Papa!

You know how they say certain things skip a generation? Well, that is true for me, with the artistic talents that run in my family. My parents are incredibly skilled artists. Both are fantastic sculptors and potters. My dad also creates beautiful pencil drawings. My mom... displays many of the creative talents with various crafts.

Me... eh... not so much.

So I often wonder... will Andrew inherit some of my family artistic abilities?

I sure hope so!!

The Mother-Child Connection

Last night I woke up at 4 am... not for any reason, just awake. I laid silently in bed... and about 30 seconds later... I heard Andrew coo-ing from the other room. Just a few grunts and he was back asleep. Did I wake up 'cause I heard him? Did he wake up 'cause he heard me?

I don't know... all I know is that it is not infrequent that Andrew and I wake up at the same time. Maybe we're sensing each other... maybe we feel a change in the air... maybe its just a coincidence.

But I prefer to think that the Mother-Child connection... is PROFOUND.

Buildin' a new table

A few weekends ago, we bought Andrew a kid-sized table for him to color, play and eat at. I think he was more interested in helping Brandyn put the table together than the table itself.

Sometimes... bedtime... can wait!