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  • Oh Christmas Tree!

    Oh Christmas Tree!

    We took ‘going to get our Christmas tree’ to a whole new level this year! Instead of just picking out a pre-cut tree, we thought it would be fun to cut our own! [Note: the people who thought it would be fun, were NOT the people who actually cut down the tree.] We hitched up the trailer and headed to Cherryville Farms for the afternoon to find the perfect Christmas tree. The farm was great for Andrew and Austin and they loved watching the wagons and running through the field of Christmas trees.

    After some deliberation each family chose their tree and the Daddies got to work with nothing but a handsaw and determination. There was a lot of heavy breathing by the men and remembering that they aren’t in their 20’s anymore. But, success! They hauled two 8+ foot trees to the wagon and we rode back the farm for some hot chocolate and well deserved beer (for the parents of course)!

    Finding the perfect tree!

    Men at work

    Meanwhile the boys played and provided no support (moral or otherwise) to their fathers!

    Once home we got to decorating. Andrew mostly enjoyed climbing the ladder but did take pride in putting on his Thomas, train, truck, Polar Express and handmade ornaments.

    Final product! Merry Christmas 2017!

  • Life at the Frat House… According to Andrew & Teddy

    Life at the Frat House… According to Andrew & Teddy

    When we’re home sick from school we visit Mommy in her office. We don’t let her get anything done.

    We visit the library and pick out new books to read. Mommy tries to get us to read about animals, holidays, fairy tales and more. But we like to read about diggers and construction sites ALL THE TIME.

    Little brothers try to do whatever big brothers do.

    We get messy.

    We laugh.

    And we sing and dance to our favorite pop song!

  • TEDDY: 9 MONTHS!

    TEDDY: 9 MONTHS!

    Our little man is 9 months (Yes, I know that was really 2 weeks ago but we’ve been REALLY busy!)! He’s officially spent as much time on the ‘outside’ as he did in mommy’s belly.

    Teddy’s smiles and cheerful personality seem to have no bounds…except when he’s hungry! He LOVES to eat pretty much anything, following his brother around, banging on the step stool in the bathroom, destroying Andrew’s train table (think King Kong), splashing in the bath and surfing from various pieces of furniture. He also LOVES the remote controls. Teddy’s even started to push the walker around. Walking, er running, here we come!

    He officially weighs 20 lbs 6 oz (70%) and is 28 inches long (49%!). He’s wearing 12 month cloths and sleeps like a champ from 7-7:30 pm until 6:30-7am. Still no teeth for Teds. But….he IS saying ‘Ma ma ma ma’. That’s right- I’m claiming it! Teddy’s first word was Mama.

    We love you Teddy Bear! I almost don’t remember what life was like without your blond curls, big smiles and sweet giggles!

  • Turkeys & Alligators 2

    Turkeys & Alligators 2

    Florida continued….

    On actual Thanksgiving we started the day with a walk to the playground and some parade watching. Andrew was pretty into the Macy’s Day Parade and seeing some of his favorite characters. There was also ample hanging out time and preparing for the big feast. And then we got dressed up (the boys looked so adorable in their bow ties, suspenders and blazers) and headed over to the club house for Thanksgiving dinner. While it was definitely a departure from the big traditional dinner at home, the club was delicious and there were ZERO complaints about seemingly never-ending dessert table!

    Note: Andrew was grumpy after his nap and refused to take pictures. Teddy however was happy to pose with EVERYONE. Doesn’t everyone just wish they could unbutton their pants and take their shirts off after a big meal!?!Barefoot Beach- our version of Black Friday. I like this better….It came and went too quick! We had a wonderful time visiting Papa and Coco in their new home. Sadly thought all too soon we were headed home. On our way home our flights did NOT overlap nap so the boys were awake the whole time. Andrew was great and pretty entertained with the window and movies. Teddy however had some major ants in his pants! Happy Thanksgiving 2017!

  • Turkeys & Alligators

    Turkeys & Alligators

    We spent Thanksgiving, and the days surrounding it, in Florida. After nearly two years of construction, new babies and Zika, we were finally able to visit my parents new winter home in Estero, FL!

    But before we could enjoy the warm weather we had to make the journey down there…with two kids…on a plane…during the Thanksgiving. Needless to say I was a little nervous. But like any good mom I plied myself with enough snacks to feed a small army, a fully charged iPad loaded with Andrew’s faves and more diapers than conceivably necessary. Andrew did awesome and at one point we had both boys asleep! #winningOnce down there we quickly settled in and the boys made themselves at home in Papa and Coco’s bathtub! We spent our days going to walks, playing tennis and swimming in the pool. Andy, my Dad and I even squeezed in a round of golf. Yes, it was a real hardship!One afternoon we took the boys to the Everglades Wonder Garden so Andrew could see some alligators, turtles, snakes and other local animals. Andrew was able to get pretty close to the gators and even feed them. Don’t worry, he made sure to tell you that you can’t touch them! Teddy clearly loved the gators ? We had  to take Papa’s Porsche when the whole crew went somewhere. Daddy volunteered to drive and Andrew was allowed to sit in the back seat when we stayed in the neighborhood. Andrew called it Papa’s race car. Again, a real hardship holiday. 

  • Party of 3

    Party of 3

    By all accounts I think Andrew had a pretty great 3rd birthday. It started with presents and talking cards from Mommy, Daddy and Teddy over breakfast. Then I came to school to read a book to his class. We chose ‘Monsters LOVE Underpants’ to read with his school friends (PS- I LOVE that his teacher includes parents!). By Andrew’s choice I brought donuts to share with his friends for morning snack. Candles and singing occurred of course.

    After lunch and nap, Andrew’s best buds Austin and Abigail came over along with the families for playtime, french fries, pizza, cupcakes (and beer). Lots of laughter, toddler screams of joy and of course, candles and singing!

    Baking cupcakes with mommy the night before.
    Waiting for his buddies to arrive
    Teddy waiting too….because he follows Andrew 🙂

    Happy birthday Andrew! We love you!

  • Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew

    Happy 3rd Birthday Andrew

    On November 17, 2017 Andrew turned three! Three!! Our sweet baby is a now officially a little boy! A little boy with a huge personality, endless energy and a gigantic heart!

    As I sit down and try my best to encapsulate all that Andrew is at 3, I decided to reread his 2nd birthday post. I’m blown away by how much he’s grown, changed and seamlessly navigated all the big transitions this year held for him. For example, Andrew now sleeps in his own ‘big boy’ room, complete with his own bed, many books and a train set around the ceiling. He’s fully potty trained (both day and night) and almost never has accidents. Also, Andrew’s speech- along with his ability to sing songs, reason, story tell and hold a discussion- is eons beyond where he was a year ago. He’ll tell you what he did during the day, share his opinions (often strongly), tell jokes (why did the chicken cross the road?), prompt Alexa to turn on the lights, say grace before dinner and everything in between. Andy and I are often baffled by how much he just ‘gets it.’

    But the biggest change, Andrew became a big brother this year! Andrew is a truly wonderful big brother to Teddy. He greets his with a kiss in the morning, loves to make him laugh, splashes in the bath together at night, shares his toys (for the most part…) and generally adores sharing the scene with his younger brother. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome!

    However, somethings haven’t changed a whole lot. Andrew is still OBSESSED with all things trains, cars, trucks and buses. He knows way more than I do (low bar…) about diggers, backhoes, excavators, crane trucks, dump trucks and all things construction site. Andrew loves to take his dump trucks outside and just ‘dig’; dig rocks, dirt, leaves, sand, anything. Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Mickey Road Racer, Cars and Sesame Street are among his favorite shows. Andrew loves to go exploring in the woods and also still LOVES books. Andrew and I head to the library each week and check out a big stack of 15-20 books and read them throughout the week. It’s wonderful and still amazing that this energetic boy will easily sit for 30-45-60 minutes and listen to anything you’re up for reading to him.

    Andrew is still a pretty picky eater. I’d love to share that he’s open to trying new things but his diet unfortunately consists mostly of yogurt, applesauce, bunnies (similar to goldfish), peanut butter sandwiches, spinach bites, chicken nuggets, shredded cheese, toast, pizza and green juice. NOTHING HAS CHANGED! He has a soft spot for carbs and loves ice cream and cupcakes. Note: It’s important to know that if you give him a cupcake he’ll likely also ask for a candle and you to sing happy birthday.

    And his stats: Andrew weighs 33 lbs and is 39 inches tall. He’s in the 70% and 76% respectively as compared to other kiddos his age. He wears size 3T-4T clothes and still attends The Palmer School. He’s in the Toddler 2 class and his teachers are Miss Michelle, Miss Anna and Miss Amanda. His best buddies are still Austin and Abigail.

    Happy 3rd birthday Andrew William! Daddy and I are so proud of the little man you’re becoming. You light up our worlds and make everything better just by being there. I hope you never loose your playful nature, big smiles, sweet dimples….and desire to hold your mama’s hand and sit on Daddy’s lap!

  • Clearing His Dishes

    Clearing His Dishes

    The other night I asked Andrew to throw away the dinner he didn’t eat and take his dishes over the sink. So of course Andrew decided we needed heavy machinery to be involved. Raisin by raisin he loaded up his dump truck and took them to the trash can. 25 minutes later he was done. Thank you my sweet Andrew for always keeping it entertaining! ❤️?

  • Little people, big adventures!

    Little people, big adventures!

    Our busy and fun filled weekend started with a walk at Jockey Hollow on Friday night. Andrew usually indulges me for the first 40 minutes so I can get some exercise in but the he wants to walk…and climb on rocks, run on trails, splash in the creek, pick up sticks, and so on. He’s our very own explorer.  We also found and brought home wood for the fire pit while daddy was away. #strongmommy On Saturday we went to the Science Museum with the Hogan’s to celebrate Andrew and Austin’s 3rd birthday. Highlights were the big tubes and the Thomas table! Even though it was all about the ‘A team’, here’s proof that Charlie and Teddy were there. Don’t they look thrilled?! We rounded out Saturday with a family fire and some s’mores! And on Sunday we went to see ‘mutts gone nuts’; a dog show with Uncle Peter and Aunt Judy where the dogs do all sorts of fun tricks. Andrew did pretty good for the most part!

    Big adventures for our little family! Its truly an amazing gift to experience the world through the eyes of a child! ❤️

  • Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

    Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

    Happy Halloween 2017!

    Summary: Teddy was a bear and Andrew was a lion (so of course I was a tiger and Andy was ‘oh my!’). They looked one step shy of being tortured at the school parade. But Andrew rallied in time to go out with his best buddies Abigail and Austin. Three 3-year olds are AWESOME at running from house to house asking for candy. And trying to get 6 kids fed, in costumes and to stay together while we roam the neighborhood is truly chaotic!

    Parade:

    Trick or treating!