Big boy

Andrew has become quite the big boy in the last week. He talks ALL the time (no idea where he gets that), he's become a little more adventurous with food (now he'll eat 3 different brands of nuggets), and he's mastered some physical milestones, too.

1. Andrew loves swinging, and he always has. Now, Andrew will ask for and tell you all about his adventures going "more higher" while he's "weenging".

2. Along with the fun of the swing, Andrew has finally made it up the ladder to the "big boy slide". (You have to read that like Andrew saying it. When he does "big boy" things, he uses a deep, growling voice to say "big boy slide".)

3. Lastly, and the most sad for me, my baby has made the transition to a big boy bed. He's not a baby in a crib anymore. Two weeks ago, Andrew tossed himself over the crib railing to freedom, so we decided it was time for the toddler bed. I wasn't ready for a toddler bed with no railing, so he slept in the pack-n-play for a week. We finally converted his crib to a bed and let him try it out. He was asleep in 3 minutes. Now, he asks for his bed before we are even done singing at night. Yay for him, boo for me.

Here's Andrew his first night in his toddler bed, January 26. He had been asleep for about 15 minutes when we snuck in to check on him.

During that first night, he got out (or rolled out) of bed 3 times, and we rocked him and laid him back down each time. The second night, he woke up once... Now he sleeps the whole night.

I can't believe he's such a big boy.

:)

Anne

Four Christmases

I am totally stealing from the movie title, but it fits for our family, too! We are trying to teach Andrew about the true meaning of Christmas, and he absolutely loves Nativity scenes. He was a little confused at first because he thought the three main people were Baby Jebus (check), Gamma Mary (oops), and Uncle Te-te (double oops). After a few corrections, he now can tell you that they are Jejus, Mary, and Jofus. (Chris says that Jejus is closer because the 'j' is closer in the alphabet to 's' than 'b'... Sure, Babe, whatever.)

1st Christmas Eve at Grandpa Gesino's house: Every year we have a fabulous dinner and present exchange at my Grandpa's house (Andrew's Great Paw-Paw). From our Italian heritage, dinner consists of a delicious plate of anchovies and spaghetti (don't knock it- till you try it). Andrew decided to be adventurous... and eat two jumbo turkey dogs instead of the usual one hot dog. Anyway, the great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren opened their presents with youthful exuberance. My cousin Jill's family scored big time with some super cute sweaters for all the sweet babies. I will add pictures soon! (Like their mommy's and I used to as little ones.)

2nd Christmas morning at our house: Wow! Andrew totally gets presents and isn't afraid to unwrap them like he was last year. He got a new book shelf, a play kitchen, books, a ride-on giraffe, magnetic letters, and a new electric toothbrush. For all the planning, shopping, wrapping, and excitement... Andrew loved the electric toothbrush the best. We had to remove it from the room before any other presents even existed. Here's some of the excitement!

White Christmas! Since we had an amazing amount of snow for Christmas morning, we all got bundled up to go play. Andrew fell immediately and hated it. After the fall, we turned off the camera to help the screaming, freezing baby. Oh, well. There will be lots more snowy days to play.

3rd Christmas at Grandma Mary's: For the first time since 1968, Aunt Martha (Andrew's Great Aunt Martha) celebrated Christmas in Texas! We were all so glad to have her share in our joy for the season. We opened gifts and enjoyed a delicious brunch and mimosas together after opening our Shacklett family gifts. (Hopefully, my sister will send me more pictures from that morning because my camera battery died. Poo.) Here's what I captured!

4th Christmas at Grandma Sharon and Paw-paw's House: After taking a mid morning nap because of a fast moving migraine, I joined the family for some Christmas festivities. We opened gifts with Grandma Sharon, Grandpa, Aunt Lisa, and our crew. Everyone scored big time! Finally, we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner of prime rib. Yum!

On a side note, my camera died earlier that morning, so I have no other pictures to share... hint, hint people who have pictures I want. :)

:)

Anne

PS: Technically, I can't be considered late writing this Christmas blog since my Christmas lights are still hanging on my house. Right?

PPS: Thanks to everyone for sharing pictures!

I miss you.

After a fabulous afternoon shopping with my mom, I returned home to my sweet boys. When I entered the kitchen, Chris said hi, and gave me the rundown of the afternoon. I turned the corner to give Andrew a kiss, and he said, "I missed you". All three words were clear as a bell and sounded just as sweet.

Hello waterworks.

I instantly gushed and called my own mom to share...then I took a picture to remember his sweet, ketchup-soaked face in that wonderful moment.

:)

Anne

December fun and a surprise visitor....

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Andrew, Chris and I had prime seats for the Richardson Christmas Parade. It was super cold, so we were all bundled up. Surprisingly, Andrew kept the hat and over sized coat and gloves on the whole time! He got high fives from celebrities like Clifford and Blue! (Chris was pretty excited, too.)

Later that day, we went to Bounce U (the coolest place on earth) to celebrate the birthdays of Macy and Jackson! We all had loads of fun, but I stand by my thoughts from last year: Dads have just as much fun as the children (if not more) . The funniest part of the entire Bounce U process is the safety video they make the children "watch". The sweet teenaged employees get all the children together, "Here you go toddlers. Sit quietly and watch the safety video. Make sure you follow all these rules." The picture below miraculously captured the the 3 milliseconds that all children happened to glance at the screen.

Here are some candid shots from the awesomeness of Bounce U. (Hmmm... Can we have my 30th at Bounce U?)

Lastly, we had a surprise visitor yesterday. I bet you're thinking Santa, right? Wrong... It was Izzar! He/she is alive and well plotting his/her way back into our fireplace. Kristin was lucky enough to get a front row viewing of our lovely lizard! (She was being Santa's helper and delivering some cool presents! Thanks!)

I guess Izzar is officially a Shacklett. Welcome to the family!

:)

Anne

PS: Merry Christmas!

Fun, Yikes, and Double Yikes

Fun: Much to Andrew's chagrin, I decided to set Izzar free (the lizard who lived in our fireplace for the past several weeks). I had no idea what the lizard's long term plans were; however, I feared the following: 1- He was sluggish because he was hibernating and lighting a fire would kill him. 2- He is sluggish because he's dying and trying to find a comfy final last resting place. 3- He is actually a she, and she was sluggish because she was about to lay all kinds of gecko spawn in the fireplace. Either way, he/she had to go.
It was a tearful goodbye, but Andrew seemed to get over it soon enough. If you ask him wear the lizard is now, he simply points out the back door. God speed, Izzar.

Yikes: Last Saturday, we put on our coats and hats to meet Santa at Santa's Village. (Yay, Richardson for having such a fabulous holiday hot spot.) Andrew loved the sights and sounds and didn't even mind waiting in the cold. After over an hour of waiting in line to meet Anta (Santa), Andrew finally got his turn. He walked up to Santa chanting "Anta, Anta, Anta" with a big smile on his face. Then, we put Andrew on Santa's lap. Yikes. Andrew couldn't get down fast enough. To be honest, Santa's expression seems to say, "the feeling's mutual, kid". Double Yikes: Andrew begged and begged to give Lady a treat, but before I made my way to the pantry, he stopped begging. Over the past 22 months, I have learned a quiet baby usually means bad baby. Andrew grew tired of waiting for me to open the pantry, so he did some problem solving.

That's Andrew balancing on a 12 ounce cup to reach the handle of the pantry. You've got to him props for figuring it out. I'm glad it didn't lead to another black eye.

:)
Anne

Natural Consequences

In education, I love when children can experience the natural consequence of their actions because I think it is a better deterrent than me nagging. For example, if a student keeps rocking in his chair and falls, his natural consequence is a bump and the embarrassment of falling in front of the class. Ergo, he won't rock in his chair.

Apparently, natural consequences don't mean much to toddlers. Rule: Don't climb on furniture like it's a jungle gym. Andrew hasn't made the connection... although his face has connected with the floor several times. The picture quality isn't great, so you can't see the red and purple shiner (looks like late eighties eye shadow). You can definitely see the swelling.

Poor baby.

:)

Anne

PS: Still to come... Izzar moves out, Andrew meets Santa (yikes), and Andrew becomes a problem solver (double yikes).

Thanksgiving

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all! This year, Andrew had his second chance at eating the wonderful Thanksgiving spread put before him. The only difference was that this year he could actually say no to show his disgust and not just throw the food on the floor.

I was finally able to convince him that whip cream is delicious and avoiding it would be sinful to turn it down.
After a wonderful feast at my mom's house (with the beast turkey I have ever had), Walt, Chris, Andrew, and I packed into the truck to get Sharon. Once we picked her up, we headed to OKC to visit Aunt E and Uncle Ayne (Lisa and Wayne).

The drive went well, and the trip was lots of fun. The boys spent lots of time splashing in the hot tub.We got to see Wayne's daughter, Krista. The last time Andrew saw her, he was only 3 months old, so he didn't remember her... or how fabulously, gorgeous she is. He fell in love with her instantly.

Last but not least, Andrew decided that they only part of Thanksgiving feast he wanted was the arm that was feeding him. Oh yes, The Biter is back. Check the red mark on my arm i know it doesn't look like much, but I have several others on my belly, back and legs to match. If anyone has a solution, I would be willing to try it.

:)

Anne