21 months

Andi can really say anything and only speaks in complete sentences. She is very easy to understand. She speaks very clearly and enunciates well. Sometimes she will say words that I was not even aware that she knew or had ever heard. She is a little sponge. Daves says she is a parrot because she will repeat what you say or say it later when you least expect it. Just shows that she is always listening, watching, and learning. She likes to say, “Did you hear that sound?” anytime she hears something. I will say, “Yes. I heard the sound. What was it?” Andi will reply with the correct answer. “That’s an airplane” or “I hear a dog barking.” Or “That’s a firetruck…weeooo-weeoo.”

Andi LOVES to sing. There are several songs she can sing. I am very impressed with her A-B-Cs. Yes, Andi can say all of her alphabet (every letter!). What a little smarty! Her new favorite song is “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” She will even say, “I want to sing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, has a very shiny nose.” She also likes “Frosty the Snowman” and will say, “Let’s sing Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul.” So funny! Andi can also sing “Jingle Bells” and likes to sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.” Sometimes she will just lay in her crib and sing herself to sleep (usually “Rock-a-Bye Baby) or will sing when she wakes up. I love to listen to that sweet, little voice.

Andi has a very creative imagination. She likes to pretend to be animals. She will crawl on the floor and hiss like a snake. Or stand tall and stretch her arms out and say, “ROAR! I’m a scary dinosaur!” Andi has started really liking to climb on things. She will climb on top of something and say, “Look at me! I’m tall.” Andi also likes to “Stand on a chair and help Mommy.” She will push a kitchen chair over to where I am preparing food and climb up so she can see and “help.” She is such a good helper.

Andi loves reading her books. I have started to stop randomly while reading books to her to see if she will complete the line or sentence and I am shock because she usually does. I will be in the middle of reading and pause and Andi will begin reading/reciting just where I left off. Amazes me every time!

Andi is still sleeping in her crib and we are so thankful that she is an excellent sleeper. Sometimes Andi will even say “Ready for bed.” Or “I want to go night-night.” We cannot argue with that! What child actually says they want to go to bed and go to sleep?! She still likes to have a pacifier or two and any stuffed animal and a pillow and blanket in bed with her. Bedtime is usually 8:00 and wakes by about 6:45.

Andi loves taking a shower. Of course she still enjoys her bath, but she has been wanting to take a shower lately and likes to splash in the water. So fun! She will beg to stay in for a long time. Dave said that he has a feeling that she is going to be a long shower taker when she gets older.

Andi is still a good eater. Usually eats what we put on her plate. She still does not like fruit. She will each “mash ups” which are pureed fruits and/or veggies, but she still not touch a fresh piece of fruit put on her plate. She likes most of her cooked veggies though. Lately I would say that Mooyah Burger is her favorite place to eat. Love a good cheeseburger and fries. She even wants a chocolate milkshake!—(but must be chocolate). Her favorite cereal is Honey Comb or maybe Multi-grain Cheerios. She is getting a little better at drinking milk, but usually asks for water or orange juice (that we but fortified with calcium).

Andi is now wearing size 24 months to 2T shirts and 18-24 months jeans and mostly 12 or 18 months dresses and skirts. Size 5 or 6 shoes. She is in a size 4 diaper.

What a beautiful, smart, talented girl! She makes my heart melt and brings a smile to all our faces.

Thanksgiving on the Farm

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with Dave's family at his cousin's house in Stanton.

Baby cousin Samuel
The whole gang...

Andi Lynn & Madi Jo

Dave and his cousin, Kris
Thanks, Kris and Misty, for hosting a wonderful family Thanksgiving!

20 months

Has another month already passed?!

Andi can now say just about anything! She is putting sentences together like a pro! She has even started to recognize when to say “this is mine” or “that is yours” instead of just saying “Andi’s” or Mommy’s.” I am really amazed at how she can put phrases together so well. She must really be listening and paying attention to everything we say. I think her new favorite phrase is, “Look at me, Daddy!” She likes to show off a little and is proud of all the things she is able to do. (And so are we.) She has always been very articulate with her words, but has even improved since last month. She can now pronounce “Gram” and “Grandavs” and will even ask for her “pac-i-fier” instead of just whining for her “pacimbo.” (Unless she is really sleepy, then she will say “pacimbo.” I am still in awe of all the words and phrases she knows.

Last month Nana had to go to Lubbock for a week to get Meemaw settled in her new home and Andi got to spend a few days with her Uncles and Aunts. She loved this. I am so thankful to have family close and family that enjoys loving on Andi. We sure do miss Nana when she is gone and are so thankful and blessed to have her enjoy keeping Andi each day. Shawn and Lynley took Andi to feed the ducks, which she loved and Shane and Anna Lee took Andi to the Heard Museum and they saw the dinosaur exhibit. Although she seemed a little afraid of the dinosaurs, that is all she has asked about lately…”Go see the dinosaurs…” I guess we need to take her back to see the dinosaurs!

Andi’s new favorite song is “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” She also still really likes “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” and I will hear her singing to herself in her bed before falling asleep. So sweet

Andi has a very creative imagination. She likes to pretend to be animals. She will crawl on the floor and hiss like a snake. Or stand tall and stretch her arms out and say, “ROAR! I’m a scary dinosaur!” Andi has started really liking to climb on things. She will climb on top of something and say, “Look at me! I’m tall.” Andi also likes to “Stand on a chair and help Mommy.” She will push a kitchen chair over to where I am preparing food and climb up so she can see and “help.” She is such a good helper.

Andi continues to love reading her books. She will try to read them to us sometimes. She knows the name of practically all of her favorite books. Maybe all of her books. She was flipping through her books one day and said, “No dinosaurs in there. No dinosaurs in this book.” So I checked out a few dinosaur books from the library. Another book that we checked out is called “The Big Red Tub” and this is Andi’s new favorite book, by far! The other day we were just sitting in the kitchen and she started saying lines from this book. Another night we were out eating pizza and she started reciting “Water buffalo, water buffalo, what do you see…I see a spider monkey…” Dave and I turned and looked at each other in shock! We had only read that book a couple times. Baby Genius, I think!

Andi is still sleeping in her crib and we are so thankful that she likes her “bed” and is an excellent sleeper. She still likes to have a pacifier or two and any stuffed animal and a pillow and blanket in bed with her. Bedtime is usually 8:30 and wakes by about 6:45. Before bed, Andi usually takes a bath. She likes bath time but especially likes getting out of the bath, putting on her hooded towel and running around upstairs saying, “All clean!” We usually read a few books before bed and then Daddy says a prayer. For naps, Andi is pretty much down to one nap a day. She will nap right after lunch (sometimes before) and naps for at least two, sometimes three hours. Some days she will still take two naps.

Andi got a “new car seat” according to her. We just decided to turn her car seat forward facing. This was prompted by long distance driving over the holidays and allowing her to stretch her legs, see Mom and Dad (and allow us to see her), and watch TV on the long road trips. She was excited and proud of her new car seat.

Andi has been asking for quesadillas, tortillas, and tacos lately. Does that show that we eat too much Mexican food? We were on our way out to eat one night and Andi said “Let’s go eat…Uncle Julio’s!” Ha!
Andi still wears size 18 months shirts and jeans and 12 or 18 months dresses and skirts. Size 5 shoes. She is in a size 3 diaper, but might need to move up to size 4 soon.

Andi‘s upper canine teeth erupted this month.

We have a growing girl! Her hair is now getting pretty long and I will soon be able to pull all of it back into a ponytail.

We are so thankful to have such an intelligent, fun-loving, spirited, admiring daughter. She is a true blessing! We have so much to be thankful for!

19 months

It is truly amazing how quickly time passes and how quickly my baby is becoming a little girl.

Andi's vocabulary amazes me. She is a little sponge, always listening, always paying attention. I do not think there are any words that she cannot say or does not know. Last night my checkbook just happened to be sitting on the coffee table and Uncle Shawn pointed to it and asked Andi what it was. She clearly said, “checkbook.” We thought we maybe heard her wrong so he asked again, “checkbook.” How does she know that?! Just shows that she is always paying attention, watching, listening, learning! Andi very rarely uses one word when talking. She puts everything she says into a sentence. She loves to say, “Everybody…(fill in the blank)clap your hands, put on shoes, kick a tree,” or whatever it is she wants everybody to do. So clever! She also says, “Hmmm…let me see.” She says this when you ask her a question that she has to think about before answering. Andi likes to tell me or Dave before leaving for work, “Have a good day!” Precious! She knows where we are going because she will say, “Mommy? Go to work?” I will reply, “Yes, Baby. Mommy is going to work and Andi gets to play with Nana or Andi gets to go to school today.” She understands every bit of what I tell her. Today instead of saying “bye-bye” she said “adios.” Nana said again, “Good-bye, Andi.” Andi closed the door and said, “Adios.” Wow! Maybe I need to use a few more Spanish phrases around my little sponge so she can be bilingual. Andi can clearly tell us what she wants or needs now. She loves being able to express herself with her words/sentences and I love not having to play the guessing game. Andi loves to talk. She will constantly narrate what she is doing. She is also very detailed oriented and descriptive. She is now using adjectives to describe things: "pretty shoes," silly Daddy," "big book," etc...the list could go on for miles.

We have been watching a lot of baseball lately because the Rangers are in the World Series! Andi will cheer, “Go Rangers!” and when asked what we are watching on T.V. she will respond, “Baseball.” She even has a couple of cute Texas Rangers onesies to wear in support of the team.

Andi is really good with familiar faces and names and has even learned to associate people together. She really knows the names of family and close friends. “Uncle Crazy” (Shane Spencer has that nickname b/c we already have an Uncle Shane) came over last week and when he walked in Andi said, “Hi, Uncle Crazy. Where’s Crystal?” I was shocked! She knows who to associate with whom and wondered why Crystal wasn’t with Uncle Crazy. Wow! I can show Andi a picture and she can tell me who each person is. Andi loves to look at pictures. (Especially pictures of herself.) I learned a couple weeks back that Andi is a little possessive of her Mommy and Daddy. I was holding her cousin Samuel and Andi did not like it one bit. She started crying. If Dave is holding another baby, she will say, “That’s my Daddy!” Dave absolutely loves this.

Andi loves to “make” pretend food for us to eat. She will say “what to make” and then say “make (fill in the blank) usually “cupcake,” sandwich,” “tacos,” “quesadilla” (YES, Andi can say “quesadilla!). Her vocabulary is incredible. She is brilliant and her diction is perfect. I love this girl and so proud of her! Andi then brings what she made over for us to eat. Little Cutie!

Andi loves to “giddy-up!” She will say this to Dave when she is riding on his shoulders. “Giddy-up Daddy.” Sometimes she will even say this to me, “Giddy-up, Mommy!” as I am carrying her so that I will run or gallop. Uncle Shawn will even let her ride on his back so she can say “giddy-up!” She also likes to “Ride the pony to town, better watch out go fall down.” (According to Andi). And don’t forget “this piggy went to market…this piggy weeeeeee” as she is wiggling her toes with her fingers.

Andi has learned a few new songs. Her new favorite is “Oh, How I Love Jesus. Oh, How I Love Jesus. Oh, How I Love Jesus. Because He First Loved Me.” She can sing the whole thing! She can also sing all of Baa, Baa Black Sheep and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. She also likes Jesus Loves Me, My God is so Big, and This Little Light of Mine. Andi likes to walk around saying “waddle, waddle, quack, quack” like she is a duck. Pretty funny.

Andi continues to love reading her books. She will now sit and listen to longer stories. Might be time to phase out the board books and move onto story books pretty soon. Andi can even read (recite) one or two of her books. Guess she has them memorized! Such a little smarty!

Now that the weather has cooled down we can enjoy going on walks again. We have started to venture around the new neighborhood and have liked looking at everyone’s Halloween decorations. On that note, we were “Boo-ed” earlier this week. Neighbors left a festive pail full of Halloween goodies on our front porch and we then repaid the favor and booed another neighbor. Fun idea. With Halloween comes the traditional Strickland decoration involving the Skeleton Bride. Andi is a little unsure what to think of her. We originally had her in the house at the bottom of the stairs, but Andi would know she was there and about three steps from the bottom she would say, “Mommy, hold you! Scary Skeleton!” So we have moved her outside and Andi will now say, “Scary Skeleton, Bye-Bye, Outside.” When asked what a skeleton says, Andi will go “Ooohhhh” with a quiver in her voice. We have been reading a book called “Biscuit’s Halloween” and Andi is getting the concept of Halloween and will say, “trick or treat. I like candy.” (even though Andi does not like candy). Andi will tell you if she doesn’t like a particular food or something else. She will make a say, Don’t like it. Yucky”

Andi used her potty for the first time yesterday. She woke from a nap and was asked if she wanted to use her potty. She nodded and said, “Yea.” She sat down on her small potty and did it! What?! She went pee-pee in her potty! What a big girl! Still can’t believe it! Dave said that she is too young for that. We are both a little sad that our baby is growing up so fast.

Andi is still sleeping in her crib. She still likes to have a pacifier or two and any stuffed animal and blanket in bed with her. And now likes to have a pillow in there too. Andi is an excellent sleeper, still sleeping through the night. Bedtime is usually 8:30 and wakes by 7:00 or is awoken by 6:45 during the week. She really likes being in her crib and usually giggles when we put her to bed. She is so excited to lay down and rest. We usually read a few books before bed, usually read by Daddy and then say a praer. Andi will always remind us about praying at bedtime and meals by saying, “Hold hands.” She is absolutely right. We need to hold hands and say a prayer. Love this! She will follow by chining in, “Amen” at the end of the prayer. For naps, Andi is pretty much down to one nap a day. She will nap right after lunch (sometimes before) and naps for at least two, sometimes three hours. I miss her having two naps but one three hour nap is just as good, if not better for her than two one and a half hour naps.

Andi is a good eater. I would not call her picky but she is particular about what she prefers to eat. And she will let us know what she wants. She is really liking cheese right now. A great source of calcium. Especially since the only milk she gets is typically in her morning bowl of cereal. She loves cereal. As a meal and for a snack. Andi is still not a fan of fruits but loves eating what we call “Mash Ups.” Mash ups are pouches of pureed fruits and/or vegetables that Andi can squirt into her mouth and eat all by herself without making a mess. Genius! Andi has become an independent eater. She likes to feed herself and does an excellent job.
Andi still wears size 18 months shirts and onesies and 12 or 18 months dresses, shirts, and shorts. Size 5 shoes. She is in a size 3 diaper. Andi has 12 teeth and two more are trying to make an appearance.

Andi is a true blessing to Dave and I. Our family and friends all love and adore Andi too and we are so thankful that so many people can be a part of her special life. Andi is a lucky girl and I am a lucky Momma to have been blessed with this precious Angel.

Pumpkin Patch

We got a lot of rain in the past couple of days, but that could not keep Andi and I indoors on my day off. We were planning on going to the Dallas Arboretum, but I thought it might be really muddy and did not want make the drive, so we just made a quick trip to the pumpkin patch. It was really muddy but we still managed to get a few cute pics.

"Mommy loves you"

Earlier this week, on Tuesday around 10:30 am, I get a phone call from Andi's school saying that Andi isn't her happy self today. I was told that she just wants to be held and is resting her head on one of her teacher's shoulders and she walks around holding her. What I didn't get through this phone conversation was what Andi was saying as her teacher held her...

I called my mom to see if she would be able to pick Andi up early since she doesn't feel well before I abandoned work. Nana said that she would go get her, that she would leave right away and pick her up from school.

I called a little later to check on Andi and my mom said that she was asleep. My mom said that she must have been exhausted. She fell asleep in the car and Nana put her in her crib where she was still resting over an hour and a half later. After telling me that Andi was sleepy peacefully, my mom then said that Andi's teacher told her that Andi kept repeating, "Mommy love you...Mommy loves you...Mommy loves you" while her teacher held her. Her teacher said it made her tear up hearing this sweet baby saying, "Mommy loves you" over and over.

My heart just melted. What a precious little girl I have. And she is exactly right...Mommy loves you, Andi!

18 months

18 month statistics:

weight: 23.2 pounds [15th percentile]

height:32.75 inches [50th percentile]

head circumference: 18.75 inches [80th percentile]

One and a half! Really?! How is my baby growing up so fast?!

Andi's vocabulary continues to expand. She is putting more and more words into sentences and saying phrases instead of just one word at a time. It is so neat to hear her speak so clearly and describe what she sees or wants. She narrates as she does things, and is telling exactly what she wants and how and when she wants it. :) She has also become very aware of possessions. Andi's toys, shoes, etc. Pearl's bone, food, etc. She will often say to Pearl, "No, Pearl! That is Andi's (fill in the blank) (usually shoe, tractor, car, cup). Andi will tell Pearl to "Watch out, Pearl Pearl!" especially when we are swinging on her playground in the backyard. Andi loves to pretend. Her pretend play most often involves pretend eating and she fixes food for Pearl (or Mommy) or her baby to try. Sounds like Pearl is her best friend...and I think she is. Andi loves that dog and Pearl loves her. Pearl is so good when Andi is hugging, kissing, trying to hold her, and even when she practically smothering her. Pearl will just lay there (most of the time). A dog that will absolutely let Andi get away with anything is Uncle Shawn's dog, Maverick (who lives at Nana and Papa's house). Andi will climb up on Maverick's back as if the ride him and she will say, "Giddy up, Maverick." So cute! Her vocabulary is incredible. I wonder how she knows so many words and phrases. She really amazes me each day; no longer with a a new word but now a new sentence or phrase. I am in awe at how smart she is. Really! Pretty neat when Andi says, "Mommy, I see something." or Shhhh, I hear something." One of Andi's cutest things is when something is cold, she will say, "That's cold! Burrrrr!" Another cute phrase is "Where is (blank). Hmmmm... I don't know.” (or "Look, Mommy. I found it!" or "There it is.") But the absolute most precious phase Andi says is, "I love you!" I melt when she says, "I love you, Mommy!" "I love you, Daddy!" And she is sure not leave Pearl out. "I love you, Pearl Pearl." Andi can now consistently count one through ten. She can count all the way to sixteen (that's how many steps we take to get upstairs at home). Andi loves to sing. Her favorite song right now is Itsy Bitsy Spider. She can also sing, Baa, Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Pat-a-Cake, Rock-a-Bye Baby. Andi continues to love reading her books. She now knows the titles of many more of her books, seems like all of them! Her new favorites, Baby Beluga, My New School, and Elmo's Bedtime Stories.

Andi loves her sandbox on her new playground (in our backyard). At first she didn't know what to think. (Andi does NOT like her hands to be dirty.). She would touch the sand and say, "something happened" and reach out her hands for me to brush them off. But once we got in the sandbox together and played with the shovel and bucket, she was hooked. Her favorite activities outside are swings, sandbox, playhouse, car, sidewalk chalk (in that order). This girl could stay outside all day! Nothing makes her happier than being outdoors (well except maybe snuggling with her Mommy). She always wants to know where her shoes are. Why? You ask. Because she loves being outside and shoes on your feet mean you can go outside. She often times will bring me "Mommy's shoes" and say "Put it on." So we can go outside together. Precious girl! (I would love to let her play in the backyard solo but she can climb the ladder to the fort but cannot get back down. She doesn't like the big slide yet...so she will climb up and then say "Andi down, Mommy help!" So glad she will ask Mommy to help her get down.)

Andi is still sleeping in her crib. She likes to have a pacifier or two and any stuffed animal and blanket in bed with her. (We are seriously contemplating saying bye-bye to pacifier but we have learned that WE are not ready for that yet.) We started putting a pillow in her crib this week because she has been very congested with allergies.

Andi is doing much better about drinking milk. Thank goodness because we now have said farewell to the bottle. Yes, you read that correctly, no more bottles. Doctor Burton said we really should be working to get her off the bottle (and pacifier—but we have learned that we can only tackle one obstacle at a time!). Not sure who is more upset about it: Mommy, Nana, or Andi. It has been hard on all of us! I wanted to give in a few nights ago when she wouldn't sleep due to a new tooth emerging, but I didn't (although I think it would have been very soothing and helped all of us get some sleep if she would have had a warm, comforting bottle). The funny thing about giving up the bottle is that Andi has been referring to herself a lot as “baby.” She will say, “Baby loves Mommy,” “Baby loves cereal,” “Baby Andi,” etc. She is a smart little girl. I think she has really associated us calling her a big girl with no longer getting a bottle and knows that babies drink bottles. Maybe she thinks that if she calls herself baby enough, she will get a bottle. J Funny girl. Makes me sad because she is still a baby and will always be My Baby!
Andi still LOVES cereal. No complaints here; it helps her get her milk requirements, plus I love cereal too and can eat it anytime of day. Andi girl would eat cereal for every meal if I allowed it.

Andi continues to be a good sleeper, sleeping through the night. (Unless she is getting a new tooth. She will burst out crying in her sleep and moan with her eyes closed. Or she will wake up crying out, "Mommy! Hold you!" So of course I go upstairs and hold her, rock her, or bring her to our bed to snuggle.) Lately it seems like she has wanted me to hold her and rock her more, must be the no bottle thing. Andi has been waking up or being woken up each morning around 6:30-6:45 Her bedtime is around 8:30 pm. Andi still takes two naps a day, most days. Might be going to one nap a day soon.

Andi wears size 18 months shirts and onesies and 12 or 18 months dresses, shirts, and shorts. Size 5 shoes. She is in a size 3 diaper. Overnight diapers for bedtime (although might not be necessary since no more bottles at bedtime). Oh, and I bought Andi her very own potty. We haven't tried using it yet, but maybe soon!

Andi now has 12 teeth and I think we are working on getting two more (poor, sweet baby!)

Andi loves “Bible Class.". We went this past Wednesday night and she went to the big kid class with two and three year olds and did great. The teacher told me she was excellent and sat in her chair and listened to the story. She said we need to bring her every week. Hearing things like that makes Momma so proud. :)

We love our beautiful Andi more than words can express! We are amazed at how smart she is and a little saddened by how quickly she is growing. What a blessing you are, Andi. We LOVE you!

feeding the ducks

We took Andi to the park near our new house early Saturday morning to feed the ducks and she loved it. She did not want to throw the bread to them, she expected them to come and take it out of her hand, like Pearl, but they didn't. So Dave had to throw the bread out to them so they would stay interested in hanging around us. There were tons of ducks! Probably 30! Andi really liked seeing the ducks and feeding them, so I imagine we will be venturing to the park frequently.

Andi's first day of 'school'

Andi’s first day of ‘school’ was this past Thursday, September 8^th, 2011. She did great! Of course she did! I wanted to be able to take her on her first day. We walked into her classroom and she walked over to the tables and quickly began working on a puzzle. She then interacted a little with some of the kids. I was unpacking her bag and putting items in separate bins in the room. She came running to me saying, “Momma!” Reaching out her arms she said, “Hold you.” So I picked her up and held her and gave her lots of kisses. It was soon time for me to go so I put her back down and told her I loved her. A couple of other kids were crying and I hoped that Andi would not cry; that would make it really hard to leave her. Andi looked at those other kids as if to think, “What’s wrong? Should I be upset?” But she did not cry, she just continued on exploring her new classroom. I gave her one more kiss and walked out. I so badly wanted to go back in and peek in the room to see if she was ok, but I knew that if I did, she might see me and want me to hold her or cry. So I held strong…that is until I started driving away. Then the tears began to flow. I think I cried all the way to work, a 30-minute drive! During the day, I wanted to call and check on her, but I did not want to be THAT mom. And I knew they would tell me that she was doing great. My dad picked her up that afternoon and the teachers said she did wonderfully. The only thing, they could not find her pacifier for naptime. (I put it in her bag in a little zipper pouch. Guess they did not look there. I will have to tell them exactly where it is for next week.) So I wonder how naptime went. Andi does fine without her pacifier during the day, but still prefers to have it to sleep. Especially sleeping somewhere new, on a nap mat, in a classroom, surrounded by other babies. All-in-all, her first day as a success! I already know she is the smartest in her class!

Speaking of Andi being so smart…J She has been speaking sentences and phrases all the time now. She doesn’t just say one word anymore. Andi will say, “Mommy/Daddy/Nana help,” “Pearl/Mommy/Daddy/Andi sleepy,” Pearl, Where are you?’” “Mommy/Daddy/Pearl/Maverick, Come!” “I’m coming,” “Watch Elmo’s World,” “Andi hungee” (hungry), Pearl/Mommy go upstairs/downstairs,” “Pearl, go outside.” She does not like things messy or out of place and she will say, “Put E Up” (put it up), and put the object where it belongs. Love this quality about her. Maybe she will help Mommy stay more organized and keep a tidier house. Andi’s vocabulary is outstanding and how she can put sentences together amazes me. The list could go on, and on, and on…

The best phrase, by far, is “I love you, Mommy!” “I love you, Daddy!”

Andi is excellent with her manners. She will always say “please” and “thank you.” She will ask for help if she cannot or does not want to do something on her own. If she does was to be independent and do it on her own, she will say, “Andi’s turn.”

I love how when she is asked something, and it is something she wants to do, Andi will say, "Yes!" and give give a very exaggerated head nod.

Andi loves to dance and sing. She can sing the entire song of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Really! I was singing it to her a couple of nights ago and then she began to sing it, so I stopped and Andi sang the entire song! Wow! Andi will also sing her “ABCs,” although she only gets as far as “A-B-C” and … “sing with ME!” Andi has started counting. She will count her steps as she goes up the stairs. She is pretty good with 1-5 and improving with 1-10. WE have 16 steps, so pretty soon I think she will be able to count from 1 to 16. What a little smarty!

Love, love, love this girl and she continues to impress and amaze me everyday!

17 months

Doesn't she look like such a big girl here? Look at all those teeth! Where has my little baby gone?!

We are officially into our new house! We decided that this week it actually feels like home. We still have a lot to do, but it is home. Andi loves to climb up and down the stairs…but will sometimes ask for “help” or “Mommy carry.” If she says, “walk” she means it and wants to walk on her own down the stairs (supervised of course). I will try to post some pictures of the house soon. Remember, it is still a work in progress. We love it! Plenty of room to grow and great school district for Andi.

Andi is now putting words into sentences. She narrates as she does things, which is so cute. If she is going to get a book to read, she will say, “pick a book.” If she is hungry, she will say, "Hungy! Andi’s hungry.” She likes to tell us when she sees someone sleeping; “baby sleeping,” Pearl sleepy.” She will also say to Dave, “Wake up, Daddy!” “Mommy help.” When she wants to do something, she will say, “Andi’s turn.” Her vocabulary is incredible. She amazes me each day with a new word or phrase. I am in awe at how smart she is. Really! Andi also likes to give ownership to objects. “Andi’s toy,” “Mommy’s shoes,” “Daddy’s hat.” Andi continues to love reading her books. She now knows the titles of many of her books. As she brings one to me to read, she will say the title of the book: “Animal Homes,” “Wake Up!” “How Do I Love You?” “Curious George,” Caillou,” Wow! And some books she gives her own titles.

Lately, Andi likes making sound effects. When we lock the car and it makes a beeping sound, she says, “beep.” When we turn on the car, she will say, “vroom.” When she drops coins into her piggy bank, she will say, “cink.” Etc. Pretty funny to hear her try to mimic sounds she hears.

Have I told you that Andi makes a pretty good pouty face? It is a face to say, "Really? Did I say I wanted to do that? Are you talking to me? Hmmm, let me think about this first...."Here are some prime examples.

Andi can now climb onto our ‘big man chair.’ She climbs onto its ottoman and then up onto the chair.

Andi has been trying to show us how strong she is. She will “flex her muscles.” She will put her hands out in front of her, make fists, and squeeze her hands closed as hard as she can while grunting. She will even try to pick up big things and say, "Heavy! Uh!" Pretty hilarious! She will even try to pick up big things and say, "Heavy! Uh!"

Andi is still sleeping in her crib. She likes to have a pacifier or two and any stuffed animal and blanket in bed with her. She giggles when I pull the blanket over her. She likes Rock-a-Bye-Baby best for her nighttime lullaby, and will remind me to sing it to her by saying, “Rock a baby.” She also enjoys having a couple of books read to her before bedtime.

Andi now LOVES water. Before these past couple of months she was not a fan of water. In fact, I would say she hated it. I think she actually was just not sue of it and needed time to check it out on her own and decide if she wanted to check it out. Now Andi loves the pool and splash park. We went to the splash park by our new house last weekend and she had a great time. Later that same afternoon, we went swimming at Nana and Pap’s house. What a fun day.

Andi had to deal with some sickness this month. Last week she had bad diarrhea and got a really awful diaper rash. Poor baby! We are still dealing with it. She does not want to get her diaper changed or sit down in the bath (she usually loves bath time). We have been giving her Pedialite and using Zinc Oxide cream for her little bottom.

Andi likes to jump on the bed. In the mornings when we go into her room, she will smile and say, “jump” while bouncing up and down in her crib. She will also try to jump on our bed if we let her. I think we have been reading, Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed as few hundred times and she gets the part about jumping on the bed, but not the part about falling off. J

Have I told you how much Andi likes Elmo’s World? She loves it. She will ask to watch “Elbo Bo.” I recently bought her a few new videos off of EBay (she had three that I got at a garage sale) but thought she had worn them out so I got her five more for cheap on EBay. Needless to say, she loves them too. When Andi was sick last Monday, she snuggled in our bed and watched her favorite, Elmo’s World. Sweet girl.

Andi did much better this past month about drinking milk. After reading Caillou (he drinks milk in one of the books), Andi actually asked for milk. So we went downstairs, got some milk, she drank it, and said “Nummy!” Yay! I have learned that I cannot trick her. If she asks for water, better give her water (not milk). She prefers milk from a straw (usually out of her Elmo cup) (better tell her it is milk before she drinks it or it will catch her off guard and might spit it out or vomit), wants water in a sippy cup, and juice is preferred in a juicebox. What a funny girl! I will occasionally give Andi a bottle just to make sure she is getting enough milk for the day. She does LOVE cereal. To Andi cereal cannot be dry, must be in a bowl with milk (which is great b/c it helps her get her milk requirements. If given dry cereal she will ask for milk and say “Cereal! Milk!” Dry cereal to Andi is a snack. We have eaten donuts a couple times and Andi is a fan…so much that she asked for them a couple times this week, but I had to tell her that was only for special days and she was happy with cereal. This girl would eat cereal (and milk) for every meal is I allowed it. Andi will also now blow on her food if she thinks it might be hot or if she sees me blowing on the food or telling her it is hot.

Andi continues to be an excellent sleeper, sleeping through the night about 11 hours straight. Andi has been waking up each morning around 6:30-6:45 (which is actually a good thing since we are going back to school-starts tomorrow!). Her bedtime is typically 8:30 pm. Andi still takes two naps a day, most days. This past week (on Thursday) Andi did not get a nap (I guess she was excited to spend the afternoon with Papa). Guess what…Andi fell asleep in her highchair at the dinner table at 7:00 pm. We put her in her crib and she was out for the night! Didn’t wake until the next morning around 6:30.

Since I started work this past week, Andi has been staying at Nana’s house. Andi loves it there, and I know that my mom loves Andi. I am so blessed (and so is Andi) to have Nana to care for Andi while I am away at work. Nana will read Andi book after book after book after book. Andi did not complain once when I dropped her off this week. She happily walked into Nana’s house and made herself at home; began playing with her toys and did not even give second thought to me leaving. This is great, made that transition a lot easier for me. I have been anxious about leaving her and going back to work, but I know she is in good hands.

Andi wears size 18 months shirts and onesies and 12 months dresses, shirts, and shorts. Size 4 shoes. She is in a size 3 diaper. Overnight diapers for bedtime.

Andi now has 12 teeth! Her bottom two molars just came in this past week.

Andi loves Bible class. She will excitedly exclaim “Bible Class” on Sunday mornings and want to take her Bible with her. She will say “Bible class” over and over in the car on our way there. Precious!

We love our sweet Andi more and more everyday. We are amazed as to how smart she is and how much joy and excitement she brings to our lives.

16 months

16 months

(This post is a little delayed. Wanted to get the Chattanooga posts in first and we have been busy packing boxes. We close on our house and begin moving tomorrow!)

Andi is at her most fun stage yet! (In my opinion.) She is constantly talking, mimicking, figuring out how things work, and exploring.

Andi is saying so many words now. Too many to list. I think she really knows what a lot of things are and what they are called. She will surprise me by pointing and saying something to identify it when I did not even know she knew what that thing is or how to say that particular word. She impresses me everyday with her brilliance! Andi is starting to put words together into sentences! She will consistently say, “Andi’s turn,” “baby/Daddy/Pearl sleeping,” “walk on grass,” milk in cere (cereal),” “hungry,” “Andi ni-night,” “Daddy kisses,” "hold" when she points of asks for something she likes and wants to hold it (like seeing a stuffed dog or a figurine of a frog, etc., “shoowee diaper,” “good-girl (she will say this to Pearl), “bless you,” “tank tu” (thank you), “rock a baby” (rock a bye baby), and “love Mommy.” Other new words are “TV,” “Barney,” “shark,” “raf” (giraffe), “aben,” (Amen), "moto" (motorcycle), "pick" (says this when she wants to "pick a book" or pick a crayon or pick out her clothes), "bike," “jump,” “color” (she got pretty familiar with kid’s menus and crayons while on vacation)“cap,” (clap), and the list could go on forever!

When I put Andi down in her crib when she is really tired and cover her up with her blanket, she giggles. Then she will say, “rock a baby” asking me to sing to her “rock a bye baby or any other song.

When we go into her room in the morning to get her out of her crib, she stands up and says, “jump” and then attempts to jump (bounce) up and down.

New Animal sounds: donkey “hee-haw,” baby “wah,” mouse "squeak," piggy "oink," chicken "brock," turkey “gobble-gobble-gobble.” This is by far her best sound. She says it so clearly and slowly. Too cute!

When ever we are on the phone and say "bye" before hanging up, Andi always yells out, "bye-bye."

Andi is really getting good at putting things away. If she gets something out, we will tell her to go put it back or put it away and most of the time she will. If she spills her snacks, I will ask her to pick them up and she will pick up each piece one-by-one and put it back in the cup (maybe eating a couple along the way). Andi will now also nod her head, shake her head, and turn around.

Andi enjoys rubbing lotion on herself (and anyone else) and will bring over the lotion bottle and pretend. She also likes to wash herself in the bathtub and brush her own teeth. I will start the brushing of her teeth, but she quickly says, “Andi’s turn” and reaches out her hand for the toothbrush.

Andi still struggles with wanting to drink milk out of a cup. I bought a couple of cups with Elmo on them to try to encourage her to drink her milk. It must be very watered down, but she tries because Elmo likes milk. :) So, Andi still is given a bottle before bedtime (just so she will get her milk. She never asks for a bottle, but I give her one just so she will get her milk.) Andi usually eats cereal with milk in the morning but is now a fan of scrambled eggs too. She still refuses to eat fruit. Won’t even look at it or let me put it on her plate. But she will eat mushrooms, green beans, NOT carrots, LOVES black beans, and green peppers. I think the bright colors throw her off. Maybe? She also will not even attempt to try ice cream or snowcones. She turns her head, makes a yucky face, and says, “no!” Such a funny girl. She loves Pizza. She woke up on day this week asking for pizza. She also will ask for tacos. Guess we eat those two foods a lot in this house. :) Andi will most likely eat what we are eating. When in doubt we come prepared with a Gerber Graduates pasta bowl. She will still eat her purreed fruits and veggies and meat sticks. She likes to feed herself (mainly finger foods) but also tries to use a spoon or fork (both new words she now says). She will still let me feed her though. She is a really good eater, just particular about what she likes and dislikes.

Andi continues to be an excellent sleeper, sleeping through the night about 11 hours straight. Andi has been waking up each morning around 7:15. Her bedtime is typically 8:30 pm. She lets us know by asking for her pacifier. Andi still takes two naps a day. Usually about 9:30 in the morning until 11:30 and then another nap around 3:00 pm until 4:30 or 5:00 pm.

Andi wears size 18 months shirts and onesies and 12 months dresses, shirts, and shorts. She is in a size 3 diaper (I decided that for the past several months, I have been buying diapers too big.) I recently bought size 3 because I got more diapers for the money and sure enough, they fit.

The day after we got home form Chattanooga, TN (July 21) Andi had a bad couple of days. Teething. But worse than before. This didn’t last just one night. This lasted two days and one night. Fever of 102 and lots of crying, moaning, and clinging to her momma. Poor baby. I was thankful that this was after vacation and not while we were there or on the 13 hour car ride home. Her first set of top molars. Andi now has a whopping 10 teeth. Top 4, bottom 4, and 2 molars!

Andi has started making a pouty face. She will furrow her brow and look at you like, really?! Pretty funny! She has also gotten a little shy. It takes her a few minutes to warm up to someone. This past Sunday was the first time she has ever cried when I drop her off for Bible class, even though she kept asking to go by saying, "Bible, Bible." It didn't last but a minute or two. Andi has become a little bit of a momma;s girl (and I am ok with that). :)

We love our precious angel and each day is more fun and we look forward to every moment of life with her.

More fun in Chattanooga

WE had lots of fun in Chattanooga and ate lots of good food. Our favorite places to eat included Sugar's Ribs, Three Rivers (or was it called Big River?), Mellow Mushroom Pizza, Sweet Peppers, and the Ice Cream Show. The Blue Plate was really the only breakfast place we ate it...why try anything else, if it that good?! We also went to the IMAX. We watched Born Free...a documentary of elephants and orangutans. Andi wore the 3D glasses and loved it! We also toured the Hunter Museum of Art. Part of the exhibits are in an old historic mansion. The most interesting thing I learned was that Hunter bought the bottling rights to Coca-Cola for $1 because the maker knew that it would be impossible to bottle a carbonated beverage. Wow!

Andi did great on our adventures, especially considering that we did not stop. We were on the go just about all day, everyday and night. She took her naps when she got sleepy, whether that be on my shoulder, in the hotel, in the stroller, in the car, at the baseball games, etc. I am so proud of her and thankful that she is able to do that. We had some late nights, games that lasted until midnight almost. She did great. We were all tired but we got to bed and were all able to sleep in. Slept til 9 or later most days.

The car ride to Kodak, TN was 14 hours, mush of it was overnight, so Andi did a lot of sleeping. On the way home it was all day time driving so she kept entertained by reading books with Lynley or watching Elmo or Madagascar. She did take a nap in the morning. What a good girl. By the time we got home, we were all ready to get out of the car. What a FUN trip. So good to see Shawn and give him some love and support. Watching him interact with Andi was precious.

Shane and Anna Lee bought Andi a little turtle stuffed animal at the aquarium. So sweet. Andi calls it "turden."

In between the hotel and aquarium (we waled everywhere downtown), were some fountains and splash pools. We walked past them everyday. At first Andi was uncertain of the water. After a couple days she wanted to check it out. She stuck just one finger in the water. the next day she put her whole hand in the water. And the day after that, she decided she was ready to splash. Boy, did she love it! What a great way to cool off.

Winding sidewalk. I called it "Lombard sidewalk."


This turtle, along with some other concrete animals were actually water fountains, creating a splash park. They were turned off while we were there, but Andi enjoyed riding them.
One day we walked across the longest pedestrian sidewalk in the world and found a beautiful park and carousel on the other side. Of course Andi had to ride the carousel. Fun!

Nana wanted to ride too.
We discovered that this girl loves corn-on-the-cob!

Running and playing frisbee in the park.