More Birthday Celebrations

So, my camera cord has decided to take a vacation... once it returns, i will add more birthday fun. Until then, here's a little to wet the whistle.

On the left and right, Aunt Angie and Uncle Chuck are too of Andrew's favorite people, and here he is with them. Here he is opening an early birthday present. Below, he and Uncle Chuck are playing "catch".

Here is a video from Andrew's birthday party. (Thank you, Walt!) Andrew is enjoying birthday cake and having trouble deciding if he really is "all done".

Also, here's our snow day adventures in the record snowfall! Andrew and I made a tiny snowman with raisins for eyes, a nose, and mouth... About three seconds later, a bird ate them. Awesome.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to add the rest of the birthday pictures soon... like before Easter. :)

:)

Anne

PS: Congrats Angie and Charlie (Aunt Ang and Uncle Chuck)!

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Here's Andrew singing a little "happy Birthday" to himself...

Happy Birthday, Baby!

I love you!

:)

Anne

Beds are overrated

Chris sent me an email from his iPhone this morning at 7:55. The subject line read, "Beds are overrated."

Apparently, Lovey thinks beds are just fine.

:)

Anne

Isn't it ironic?

So, shortly after I posted that Andrew was such a big boy and sleeping in his bed. Chris went to wake Andrew up for daycare. When he walked into his room, the picture below shows what he found.

A little scary considering that where we left him the night before. Not to fear, as Chris turned to leave, here is what he found.

... Andrew... sound asleep... on the floor... behind the door. At least he slept through the night. (Even if it was sleep walking through the night.)

:)

Anne

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