Fixing the Deck

Last week Micah and our friend Steve worked on fixing our deck. A couple of months ago we noticed that some of the parts were rotted or rusted and needed to be replaced. They spent three days taking out the old crossbeams under the deck and replacing them, as well as replacing the concrete footings that held up the posts. Andrew had lots of fun watching the action. He also liked the power tools and enjoyed touching them (when they were off, of course). It is nice to know our deck is safe, and not have to worry it is going to fall to pieces. Micah and Steve did a fabulous job!

Fun in the Sun

Last week when it was so hot I wanted to let Andrew go for a little swim to cool off. He loves the bath, so I figured he would love to go for a dip. But we don't have a kiddie pool, so I had to improvise. I store the clothes he has grown out of in plastic storage tubs, and thought that one of them would be a perfect pool. Andrew had fun splashing around and playing with his beach toys. It was a great way to cool off on those sweltering days.

When You Give a Baby a Cookie...

Yesterday I made some cookies, and Andrew was in a bad mood after he woke up early from his nap, so I thought I would give him a little piece of a cookie. He LOVED it, of course. And he had fun getting his face all messy from the melting chocolate.

Our Garden

We got some tomato starts and they have already grown so much. I can't wait to taste tomatoes straight from the vine.
Here are some more pictures of our garden. Things have really started growing. I took these pictures almost a week ago, and already I can see that our garden has really taken off since I took these. The lettuce has gotten a lot bigger, as well as the carrots, butternut squash and green beans. Our corn has not fared so well, we only have one lone stalk coming up. Thankfully Micah's uncle is thinning out his garden and offered us his corn that he needs to take out, so we will plant those in our garden. Our cucumbers didn't come up the first go around, so a few days ago I planted some more and they have already started to come up. We have had unusually hot weather here lately, so I think that has helped things grow. Last week we hit the 90s on a couple of the days. I am looking forward to when we can start harvesting and eating our veggies!

A Day at the Beach

The weather has been so nice lately, so some of my friends and I met at the beach for some fun in the sun. Andrew didn't like the sand at first, but once he warmed up to the idea he had fun wiggling his toes in it. We had a nice time of chatting with friends, eating a picnic lunch and watching the kids play. Towards the end of our time Andy and Jack had some fun playing together. They were kind of "throwing" a golf ball back and forth. It was so much fun to watch them together.Andrew munching on his banana. Lyndsay and Jack. Becky, Maddie and Ben. Andrew and Jack playing together.

Bathing in the Sink

For a while now I have been wanting to give Andrew a bath in the sink. It is getting harder and harder to give him a bath in the tub. He likes to turn onto his tummy and squirm around. The other night I noticed the sink was empty, and thought it was a perfect opportunity for a bath in the sink. And I have no idea why I thought it would be easier to give him a bath in the sink, but boy was I wrong. He wanted to climb out of the sink and get the plants that are in our garden window. He also tried to grab everything in his reach that was on the counter. He had a fun time, but I think we will stick to baths in the tub.

Woodland Park Zoo

One of the days we were watching Zach we decided to go to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. We have been wanting to take Andrew and figured it would be fun to go while we were watching Zach. My mom came with us and helped out with the two boys. It was a beautiful day to be at the zoo. We saw lots of animals, and had fun watching them. The otters were a lot of fun to watch. They kept swimming down to try to get a fish they saw at the bottom. And we saw the penguins, which are new to the zoo. Andrew was not too interested in the animals. Sometimes he would look and watch them, but he was more interested in all the people. I can't wait to take him when he gets older and can enjoy the animals.

Babysitting Zach

For the last three days we have been watching Zach, Micah's cousin's son. She is out of town, and we got to watch him during the day. It was kind of fun seeing how it would be having two kids. It actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Zach was really good at playing by himself, and even entertaining Andrew at times.
We did find out that it is a tight squeeze to fit 2 kids, 2 car seats, 2 adults, 2 diaper bags and 2 strollers in our car. I ended up having to sit in the back between the car seats, and it was not comfy. We will need to buy a minivan or a bigger car before our second one comes along.

Video of Andrew Walking

As promised, here is a video of Andrew walking. Micah just set him down a few paces away, and Andrew was able to walk to him. My mom's voice is in the background.

Hiding Out

Andrew likes getting under things and hiding. He also likes it when we act like we are going to "get him". We tickle him, and he giggles. It is a game we both like to play.He crawled under the dining room table and used the chairs to pull himself up. An added bonus was he found our kitty, Leo. He now likes to pull out Leo's hair and eat it. This is not a habit I like, and Leo really does not like it.

Ready for Kindergarten?

On Sunday during church I took Andrew to be with the kids so we wouldn't disturb the teaching time. During the story time I put Andrew in a chair to listen. I was surprised that he actually sat and listened for a few minutes before he wanted to get down. Hopefully in a few years he will be ready for Kindergarten, and ready to sit and have a good attention span.

Funny Faces

Andrew has so much fun with our coffee table. It is one that we got from our good friends Michael and Lyndsay. It has a glass top. Andrew sometimes tries to stand up under it, or grab things from underneath. He doesn't realize how glass works, he just thinks he can see through it so he should be able to go through it too. The other day Micah was putting his face up against the glass so Andrew could see him. Then Andrew started pushing his face up against the glass, and he was making the best faces, it was too funny.

Family Bike Ride

It was a beautiful day last Friday so we decided to go for our first ever family bike ride. We went down to the Green River trail down at the bottom of our hill. Andrew had fun riding in his little bike trailer.

Our Little Garden

Last week we worked on putting in a garden. Micah rototilled the garden to get the soil ready. Then he put in the pathways. Later in the week while Andrew took his morning nap we started planting. We are growing carrots, lettuce, broccoli, green beans, butternut squash, pumpkin, corn, zucchini, cucumber and acorn squash.
Andrew had fun getting in the dirt. He even tasted it, and enjoyed putting rocks in his mouth.
We are so excited to grow our own vegetables, and can't wait until they start growing. The other night we went to check on the garden since we have been getting LOTS of rain. Everything looked okay, and the romaine lettuce was even starting to sprout up.

Andrew is Walking...well, almost

Yesterday Andrew took his first steps on his own. He is still a bit unsteady, and has fallen many times. Thankfully he has learned how to fall without hurting himself. He can catch himself with his arms and he rolls to the side. It is too funny. His first step on his own was when he was holding onto the coffee table and let go to walk toward Micah who was sitting on the couch. Then later Micah and I sat on the floor and took turns having Andrew walk to us. He was able to take up to four steps on his own without us touching him.
Later in the evening my mom and dad came over to drop off their van for us to use. Of course we had to show Grandma and Grandpa our new skill. And Andrew was able to take a few steps and walk to Grandma.
No pictures yet, I kept trying to get some video, but every time I tried was when he would fall or he would try to get the camera. I will keep trying. I'm sure he will be getting better each day, which makes me excited and nervous at the same time. When he gets more mobile he will be able to get into more trouble, and be more active. I'm not looking forward to that.

Little Friends

This last week we got to spend some time with other babies who are close to Andrew's age. Jack is only three weeks older than Andy, and Hannah is exactly a week younger. It is always fun to see Andrew with Jack and Hannah since they are so close in age. They are doing a lot of the same things, and yet they are each so different and have their own individual personalities. They are all so adorable!

Mommy's Food

Andrew is getting to the stage where he wants to eat what we are eating, and refusing to eat his pureed baby food. The other morning I had torn up some little pieces of toast and put them on his high chair. I had the other half of the toast on a paper towel on the kitchen table. While I was getting my breakfast ready Andrew had snatched the paper towel and pulled it onto the high chair. He was eating the half of the piece of toast just like he sees mommy eat her toast. It was too funny!
Then this morning I was eating a muffin, and I gave him little pieces. I put the other half on his tray to see what he would do. Of course he picked it right up and started taking bites.

Saturday in Leavenworth

This weekend Micah was in a relay race in Wenatchee, so on our way there we stopped in Leavenworth for lunch. We went there for our honeymoon and haven't had a chance to go back since then. It was fun walking around the streets lined with cute Bavarian style buildings. And Micah was excited about having sausage and sauerkraut for lunch. Then we ended our time there with some gingerbread from the Gingerbread Factory.

Caged In

Our friend Becky gave us their baby gate. We got it at the perfect time because Andrew is starting to explore more and more. And he is so interested in the stairs and wants to go down them. Now we can feel okay about the stairs.

Little Paper Eater

Andrew loves to eat paper. I don't know why, but whenever he sees paper he wants to eat it and chew on it. So I wasn't too surprised this morning when I got out of the shower and found him like this.

Tea Party

Last week we went to tea at the Queen Mary with my mom and aunt Lynette. We had so much fun. Even Andrew had fun, he loved trying the tea too. It was a nice time for us to just chat and enjoy all of the goodies.

Going to the Park

When the weather was nice last weekend we went to the little park that is by my mom and dad's house. Andrew and Grandma had fun exploring and playing.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!!!

We had a wonderful Easter. In the morning we gave Andrew his Easter basket and then headed off to church. The rest of the day was spent over at my parents' house where we had a fabulous meal with my dad's side of the family. It was a great day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and to spend time with family.

Trip to North Dakota

A couple of weeks ago we flew out to Fargo, ND to spend some time with Micah's family. We had a nice, long weekend together. This was the first time we got to see our new niece, Violet. She is now 5 months old. It was fun to try and get Andrew and Violet to play together. I think they will have more fun together when everyone comes to Seattle in July.
It was also neat to be able to spend some time with Micah's grandpa. He is so good with Andrew, and Andrew loves watching him play his harmonica.