Andrew’s big requests this year are (1) light-up dinosaur shoes and (2) a Paw Patrol Sea Patroller. Meanwhile, Teddy wants a loud, talking truck.
Our Elf, Mr. Stinky Fee, is back in the house. We search for him every morning since he’s always in a new hiding spot. Because as we all know, he goes the North Pole at night to report back to Santa! Are we nice or naughty!?!
Who do you think is nice and who do you think is naughty?!
We’re watching Christmas movies. The Polar Express is still our favorite!
And we’re getting our Christmas tree!
Another trip to Cherryville Farm to find and cut down that perfect tree!
Back at the car eating snacks while the Dads do the hard lifting…
Post-tree beers and lunch. The children are quiet and the parents are happy!
Not many pictures but a whole lot of fun in the sunshine state!
And we’re off! A fairly uneventful flight minus the fact that Mommy’s diamond fell out of her engagement ring and was (as far as we know) lost forever somewhere in Newark Airport. Queue the tears and drama!
Insert happier times teaching the boys to play golf. They did really well!
For a week we rode bikes, went to the playground, swam in the pool, golfed, played a little tennis, built forts with Aunt Kiki and ate delicious food! We even went to the Naples Zoo with Coco!
Before we headed home we also managed to bake some Christmas cookies; the traditional Kleinfelter Sandtart recipe!
And sadly (without even a family photo), we had to head home- and back to an ice storm no less! The boys did really well despite a nearly 4 hour delay! While there is often NOTHING positive that comes from multi-hour airline delays, our captain was amazing! He was out talking to passengers, showed all the kids the flight path, gave Teddy his 1st pair of wings and invited Andrew to take a peak into the cockpit. Very cool!
Back in New Jersey and full steam ahead towards Christmas!
It started with a sleepover with his cousins Then presents and a trip to the library with grandma. Followed by Chuck E. Cheese and pancakes for dinner- his choice!
Happy birthday little man! I hope you know how loved you are!
Andrew is five! F-I-V-E! How is that possible?!? Just 3
minutes ago we were bringing him home from the hospital- scared out of our
minds and questioning whether it was ‘ok’ to stop at Starbucks! And now he’s months
away from kindergarten!
Admittedly I’ve put off this post because I’m not sure how to summarize my little boy at 5 into a single post. It’s felt impossible. However, what I can say is that Andrew has really blossomed this past year. He’s transitioned beautifully into his new school. He’s made AMAZING strides in his pre-reading skills, math and counting, ability to write is name and sound out other words. While not his favorite thing to do, he’s absolutely learning more and more with each day and I’m so very proud of him. Also, he has an abundant and obvious curiosity for all things science and has really taken to dinosaurs and animals.
Andrew is still obsessed with all moving vehicles and can apparently be found building with blocks at school all day. Perhaps a future engineer on our hands?! He likes dressing up as a superhero, getting into mischief with his brother and would live on his iPad if I let him. Simply though, Andrew loves people. He truly enjoys his time with friends and is a social, fun loving guy- as evidenced by the 20+ kids at his birthday party.
He’s a string bean weighing in at 40.5 lbs (50th percentile) and toping off at 44 1/2 inches (82nd percentile). He’s still an INSANELY picky eater and getting him to try ANY fruit or vegetable is a battle. But with the proper bribe, he’ll at least try food. His favorites- no bribe required- are pizza, chicken nuggets, French fries, chips, apple sauce, waffles, yogurt and cookies.
I asked Andrew about himself at 5 and here’s what he had to say:
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: bacon
Favorite friend: Everett
Favorite thing to do: Visit Farmer Frank‘s farm
What do you want to be when you grown up?: Fireman
What makes you laugh? Jokes. Q: What did the cat get for Christmas? A: Diarrhea
Favorite book: Batman
Favorite TV show: Spiderman
What makes you scared?: Monsters
What is something you’re good at?: Cartwheels
What do you like to do with your family?: Go to the toy store
What is your favorite special treat?: iPad
Favorite restaurant: one that serves chicken nuggets and French fries
Favorite ice cream: chocolate
What are my favorite things about Andrew? I love that he still has his dimple. I love that he still loves to laugh, he adores his brother and will still cuddle with me on the couch. I love that he challenges me (I like that most days) and teaches me how to be a better, calmer and more patient person. I love that he comes into my room every morning at 6:30 am on the dot (when his clock turns green). And I LOVE that he gives me grizzly bear hugs and butterfly kisses each night.
Happy 5th birthday Andrew William Phillips! You are so very special and can’t wait to see all that you accomplish in your next year! Keep shining bright!
Welcome to the lab for Andrew’s 5th birthday party! We invited 20 (!) of Andrew’s closest friends and cousins for some science experiments, special treats and a lot of fun (and chaos)!
And Teddy, our little Batman! Teddy saw me, waved and yelled ‘so you going to the gym, Mommy?!’ I guess I’m a creature of habit…
Class pictures!
After the parade Andrew’s class went trick-or-treating in town. It was so cute and I love that the local businesses gave the kids a special experience…especially if we get rained out tomorrow! I’m also super happy I could sneak away from work to share this experience with Andrew. He held my hand the whole time. Love!
