The Goin Chronicles

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Sunday Ramblings by Andy

2009-01-18T12:36:00.000-08:00

Well well, another Sunday and today is a very nice one! The weather lately has been very cold but today it seems to have warmed up a bit to a balmy 65 or so. We're about to head to the square for a bit but I wanted to make a post talking about the past week and what we've found enjoyable in our lives.

Paul is really starting to roll around now, as a matter of fact I just now while typing this noticed him trying to roll under my chair. He seems surprised he pulled it off! :D He's so funny and he has this ring of hair around the back of his head that didn't get rubbed off or fell out with the rest and I tell Lea I can get the clippers to trim it to match the rest, but I don't think she's up for that.

Andrew is just as crazy as always but we're so proud of him for being potty trained for the most part nowadays. He's doing very well for a 2 year old, wearing but underwear and pants during the day and a diaper at night in case he wets the bed. He's doing very well in many aspects and we're working one on one with him on the places he could use assistance in his growth.

We got our van back out of the shop and it was something relatively minor. We also found a reputable mechanic we can trust here in Denton which is good. They did a great job at a very fair price over at Tommy's Auto Shop so if you're looking for someone good, check them out. The van runs like a champ now which is good as we find ourselves driving quite a bit with the kids. Thank you for all of your kind words and positive thoughts with that.

Business wise, we've updated our website for the business with some of our most recent clients and we have about 4 new ones to add now and we're working on wrapping up about 4 more. We're in a good place with our business as it's not only something we enjoy doing, but it keeps us close to each other and happens to pay well enough to allow us to live with a focus on each other. The recession in the current economy hasn't affected us that much really as we've had plenty of clients that have recently started their own small businesses which is great. We keep our pricing very affordable for our clients so if you ever need a small business website.. ;)

As far as family goes, we've had Lea's mother Sarah over this past week which was very nice. She brought food for us to enjoy with her and it was just a good, positive experience like always. She's very peaceful and continues to be a guiding light for us in many areas in life. Andrew also loves her very much so they get some good time together.

We also got to see our cousin Lori who came over with our other cousin Matt. We cooked a whole chicken and got to enjoy that and their company. We have a few things in common including tinkering with electronics and computers and we enjoyed watching a few videos on how to build antennas and such.

If you've seen the past post with videos from Lea, you'd also notice we got to spend time with my Dad recently which has been long overdue. He's someone that I never spent much time and energy being close to and it's good that we are getting the opportunity now. Our transportation was a hindrance before as he lives about 20 miles out on a gravel road, but our minivan can handle it now. We plan on going camping on his farm very soon as I think it's important for Andrew and Paul to get a taste of the outdoors and natural settings and Lea and I will enjoy the environments as well. I will also be helping my Dad with some farm hand areas if he'll have me like building fences, armadillo hunting, working cattle and more. I used to do this when I stayed with him in the past and it taught me alot about many subjects. Hunting armadillo may sound like something cruel, but the fact is they run wild in the fields and dig holes in them big enough for a horse or other livestock to get their hoofs stuck in. Which isn't a problem if they are just moseying around, but you can imagine the damage that can be inflicted on a 2000lb cow running through a field and suddenly gets his leg caught in such a hole. It can break it quite easily and you can also probably imagine what would happen if you're on a horse running through a field and this occurs. It's just dangerous all around to have those holes being dug and one thing you need to manage.

As for friends, we've recently seen our friends Ken and Angie, Samika and Patrick, and even met some new ones through our parenting groups. It's always great to be around them and enjoy their presence and we can't wait to meet more and spend time with them. We're also making new acquaintances through our new church we attend. We just got back from church a bit ago and today's "sermon" revolved around Martin Luther King and how he relates to our new President Obama who will be taking office in what.. 2 days? We live in exciting times for sure and it will be interesting to see how things go with fresh faces and outlooks in the White House.

Ok, I've probably rambled on long enough, I think I can hear the "wrap it up" music like they play at the award shows on TV so I will wish you all the best and if you've read this far, I give it to you. Much love always,

- Andy, Lea, Paul, and Andrew

Visit to the farm

2009-01-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

This is Lea but it will show up as Andy writing because I have to be logged in as him to do the videos now.

We went to visit Andy's dad, Paul, one day this past week. It has finally occurred to us that this will be a visit we need to make much more often for the sake of our son. He adores it out there. Andrew has so much safe space to run and play. He has dubbed Paul Pa Pa because he couldn't say Grandpa the last time we saw him and Pa Pa is very happy with this I think! Andrew does his usual, grabbing him by the hand to coax him to come play and calls for his Pa Pa from another room. Andrew also has a thing about going potty when he is with another family member where he prefers them to help him over me or Daddy so Pa Pa got the honors of helping get pants down and wiping a bottom when the time came! Poor Pa Pa! lol He handled it well, and we thought it was super cute. **Side story - Andrew did the same thing to cousin Lori when she came over for dinner a couple of nights ago! Poor Lori! :D

The visit was far too short for Andrew's tastes. He would have rather us stayed a week I think! Paul T did OK out there too. He was able to nap in his bouncy and in the wrap next to mommy. He can't always sleep well when we are out and about. i think he is sensitive to stress and distraction and though there was some distraction, there is a lot of peace on the farm. It made me long to live in the country! We'll have to see about that, I am not quite organized enough i think! lol

Pa Pa took Andrew out for a ride in the tractor. We have a few videos but you can't get a good enough look at Andrew's face. Let me assure you it was an ear to ear grin!

Here's one of general running around and playing outside. You can see Paul T asleep in the wrap, he missed most of the visit!

Here is Pa Pa helping Andrew to pet one of their horses. Andrew had much more confidence around the horse with Pa Pa holding him.

Lorna, Ner is what Andrew calls her, also took Andrew and I out to feed the horses later. i didn't get any video of that but Andrew wasn't as confident but thought it was very cool.

We think that next time we need to stay over night. Andrew did not want to leave when we left! He slept all the way home and then woke up when we got here and couldn't get to sleep for hours. he wasn't wound up and running around, he was relaxing and kind of processing it all. It was a lot to take in. We had gone for a ride around the farm in the big truck to see all the cows and crops and the shooting range. They have some fascinating old, super old cemeteries out there that when the weather is better I want to spend a few hours checking out. They have some great spots for camping and someday this spring we will take the boys and a tent and camp out! Maybe even get some of the other Goin cousins to join us, we've been talking about a family camp out for years!

Pa Pa and Ner were doing well also. They have lost some crops on the farm due to lack of rain and that is a major bummer but they are looking at getting some more cattle to make up the difference. Ner is a teacher and things are as usual for her. Pa Pa's railroad job is going OK but they are over working him - 11 days on and 4 days off instead of the usual 8 on 7 off. It will make timing visits difficult if they don't go back to the 8 and 7 that's for sure! He has a lot of work to do around their land, but Andy has volunteered to help with some things, like fence building when the time comes.

It was such a wonderful day! And like I said it really makes me want to consider getting a small plot of land and moving out of the city again! I lack the organization for that at this time. But I feel it is calling us. Andy feels it too. Andrew was totally in his element out there and if we don't go too far we can still be close to our new church and new friends we have here in town. This year a goal of ours is to start looking at what we need to do and get in line for a house situation and that is one of the options. So we shall see!

Hope this finds you all well and happy this beautiful Sunday. Get out there and enjoy some weather today people!!

Boring Day at Home

2009-01-14T07:57:00.001-08:00

OK, it's never a boring day around here! The van is officially fixed and well but in the interim we had to vehicle and were stuck here all day. It's so funny how staying home all day is fun until you HAVE to do it. We did get out and take a looong walk that wore Andrew out to the point he was asleep by 6pm that night. But I took a few videos of our ordinary day at home. Hope you enjoy!

Breakfast:

Daddy playing with Paul T, usually Paul gets to laughing so hard but of course he didn't for the camera! I'll catch it someday...

Just a small example of the fun we have around here!

Hope you have such wonderful 'boring' days as we do!

Sunday Ramblings by Andy

2009-01-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

Nothing major to discuss, but there are a few interesting things I wanted to talk about and thought maybe I could do this once a week. A sort of "Sunday Ramblings" type of thing!

First off, the church we attend. The church we attend is called a Unitarian Universalist church and is different than a non-denominational church in the sense that denominations refer to branches of Christianity and this church not only encompasses Christianity, but any religion out there. Pagans, Buddhists, Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Scientologists even, they are all welcome to join on Sundays and share with the learning experience within. It's less about preaching one way to live and more about embracing life itself and enjoying the variety life has to offer. Each week has a different "topic" of sorts and it's essentially what most have come to know as a "sermon". Last week, the 1st Sunday of 2009, they discussed what went right in 2008 for everyone and had each of the members that attended pondering their lives from 2008 and what they enjoyed. Everyone can come up with things that went wrong and to varying degrees, but nonetheless there still had to be *something* positive. Our 2008 was full of positive times ranging from becoming closer to family and friends to having a baby, moving, a successful year for our business, health, and much more.

This week (today) was a special event as we had a member of the Asian segment of the church give a talk about why there are so few non-whites that join the UU church. The majority of UU members at any given UU church in America are white by a ratio of 25 to 1. Our congregation has around 50-60 members attending each week and sure enough, there's not but around 5 or so non-white members. His conclusion to the question revolved around the fact that most white people follow a more mainstream line of thought and are members of a more mainstream church. In turn, given the fact that white people are the most prominent and most successful people in America, it only makes sense that that is what people would want to emulate down to the church they attend and beliefs they carry. This isn't meant to put white people on a pedestal at all, it's just based on the facts. Sure, we're about to have a black president, but after how many white ones? And how many Hispanic ones? Or Indian or Asian ones?

It was very interesting overall and this is the type of thing that is discussed or could be discussed. There's songs that we sing, there are times of reflection where we share the most positive or negative things that have happened to us in the past week, but there is no focus on preaching one way of thought or any strict belief system. Like I said earlier, it's just focused on enjoying life and knowing that while we may have our own thoughts on what we were before we were born and what happens to us when we pass and all of the in-between, we very well could be wrong. Not alot of folks like to entertain that idea, and especially not in most mainstream congregations. It's not about being righteous. It's about being grateful that we can live even one more day and respecting others while constantly learning from them with our open minds and souls.

Another thing that goes on (and this is the funny, less mundane part, I promise) is there is a time when the children are asked to come to the front and sit on a rug while they are told a story much like at other churches. This is tough for Andrew as he is used to having us around at all times, or at least within eye sight but for the past two times we've been, he's been a big boy and gone ahead on up there without us. Today, he hopped off mommies lap and went on up and sat by a friend of ours from the church and I could see just around a pole at him. I noticed he was looking back into the congregation as if he was looking for something. Then he'd look down at his book or at the speaker. Then back towards the rows of faces for a bit; eyes seeking. Then back down or forward. Then he twisted his body slightly and looked again into the unfamiliar. And more twisting. And more until his body was all the way around, facing the rows and searching for us with his eyes. No panic shown, just nonchalantly gazing, seeing if he could see us but I know inside he *was* panicking in his own way. I was waiting for him to call out "Mommy?" over the story being told, but just as this thought passed, his eyes caught mine. Then Lea's and we were already smiling so big at him and his discomfort of not being able to have us in his sight. It made us feel so special honestly in a way and he slowly started smiling back then turning to look at the reader. Then back at us, locking on this time, no searching. Then he starts to kinda.. Crawl on his knees, inching his way back around 10 rows to us. He was so brave for going up and he put up with his braveness for all he could stand. He had to be back on mommies lap now and he was back up not even 3 minutes after the story had begun. A couple of minutes later, it was over and then time for the children to head to the back for play time while the adults listened to the boring sermon (in their minds - I remember being a kid) and tithed and whatnot. He went back to play on his own and while Lea did check on him once or twice, he seemed VERY into his playing and she was able to enjoy the guest speaker. It was a great Sunday.

In a bid of sad news, our van has started acting up. It's nothing major, perhaps just normal wear and tear on a valve, or a filter, maybe a plug, who knows. No check engine light or anything, just some sputtering and sluggishness on takeoff which leads my unprofessional and uneducated mind to think it's probably out of window washer fluid. In all seriousness, we think it may be a clogged PCV valve which I've read could cause such things in our model of minivan. We're taking it in tomorrow to have it looked at.

Other minor goings ons:

- We got a new chair thanks to the ever wonderful Mema Tressie. Our old, beloved chair that has served us so well is on it's last legs and near unable to rock our children to sleep anymore and she immediately donated one of hers to us and it is even more comfortable than our old one. We LOVE it. Thank you so much Mema, you've saved our nights of lost sleep and we love you!

- PAUL T! He is *SO* funny! He's starting to giggle and laugh now and he and I have this thing we do, especially when I wake up and come say good morning to him where I lightly pat his chest and belly, then hold his arm and give him gootchies on his sides. He loves it and starts to just laugh and laugh at me and it's so funny to see. He's really starting to come into his own and recognize us. He's also started to begin rolling around so no doubt, he'll be asking for the car keys soon.

- Ken and Angie came over for hot dogs and wine tonight and we once again enjoyed their company. Their kids are too sweet and they had a blast playing the Wii while we had a blast listening to Ken talk about the great sci-fi shows we've missed out on. He's a really interesting guy that knows alot about many topics and I never get tired of listening to him no matter the subject. I don't know if I show it based on my repeated "Uh-huh!"'s or "Oh, wows!" but it's always so very interesting. Angie was also very entertaining for us and recommended a local mechanic for our minivan.

- I got in touch with an old friend in the past few days named Derek that I lived with for a couple of years. He's a good guy with a good heart and it's great to hear from him and hopefully we'll get to catch up with what's been going on since we last talked around 9 years ago since Lea and I met. It was happenstance that he and I parted ways when Lea and I met and it will be interesting to hear what he's been up to. I was in a VERY different place back then in life so it is also a shock for him to see me married with two (wonderful) children now.

- We may have a new client or two I'm trying to get an OK from as far as beginning work on websites for them and that will be great. It's sometimes scary owning your own business as there is that whole feast or famine thing you have to deal with. We're in no famine right now by any means, but it's always at the back of your mind. You'd think I'd be over it after being self-employed for almost 6 years, but eh. I don't know if that will ever go away.

Ok, I think that's about it, I hope I didn't put you to sleep. Either way, thank you for reading, and if it did bore you to sleep think of it this way: If you ever need a free, legal way of getting to sleep, you can always come back or check in next week. :D

Love you all and I wish you the best in your lives,

-Andy Goin

Dog Poop Happens

2009-01-09T07:11:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time at my mother's yesterday. Our day with Grandma started at Christina's for lunch, where she met us so we didn't have to get the boys in and out of the carseats. We sat there and ate and talked and played for almost an hour, it was a blast! Then Andrew was ready to go and play! So we headed to a park near Grandma's home. Andrew spent most of the time being pushed in a swing but he also climbed and jumped from very high ledges, and even went on a nature walk with Daddy through some woodsy areas. I really wanted to go but my back was sore from carrying Paul T! That child is getting so big! That reminds me I need to weigh him...

Anyway, after playing at the park for a good long time, we headed back to Grandma's. She needed Andy to take care of some things around the place for her, which he loves doing, and I wanted to get her mixer to borrow for bread making. And Andrew has special toys over there. One is a 3 car garage with keys for each garage shaped differently. it is so neat to see him get better and better at opening the doors to get the cars out every time we are there, this time he almost did it himself!

It was so beautiful outside that i took Andrew out to play on Grandma's ramp. She uses a walker and has a huge ramp taking up most of her yard that goes around. So we took out a big car and pushed it down the ramp. That is until I had to go and get Paul! Then Andy came out and took Andrew for a short walk to find stick guns. lol Well when he got back to Grandma's Andrew was in no way ready to come in. So Grandma came out and watched him while he played in her rock path and dried leaves that surround the ramp on the ground. Andrew is such a strong thrower and he was marveling his Grandma with his skills. He would throw rocks at her ramp and could throw from almost one end to the other!

While he was doing that I started packing up the van. My mom had several things for us and I was carrying around Paul, and Andy was finishing up changing some light bulbs. On about my 3rd trip with both hands and arms full, as I was coming out the door, Andrew starts whining for me. I headed out to see, asking if he was OK. He was holding up his hand and saying "hand" and it looked like he had a piece of pine needle sticking out of it! But he wasn't crying in pain. And then he started saying "yucky" and "wipe it." My hands were completely full but I walked closer to inspect him. I didn't have to get too close...

He had found a bit of fresh dog poop amongst the leaves! I smelled it before I even got to him! I was gagging and hollering for Andy to come quick. Andrew had it squished all around his fingers and smeared across the front of one shoe. I had Paul T in my arms along with many other miscellaneous things so I wasn't getting any closer. Andy came out and grabbed him up and carried him to the bathroom where they washed up in the tub.

It was quite funny actually, and quite a bit more stinky. He disturbed some dogs buried treasure and now my poor mom's whole front walkway stunk like it even from a distance! Ew.

Well, with all the commotion and all the trips I made to the van, I forgot to get the darned mixer! Ah well, like I said, dog poop happens. :D

Family, Friends, and the Importance of Them

2009-01-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Heyoooooo Andy here. How are ya? Long time no post, I know, but I normally leave the posting up to Lea as she's much more eloquent when it comes to making a point and sticking with it. Things have been going very well for us over the past few months since Paul's birth and really for a good long time, but I feel like I must start to share my view on things a bit and maybe talk a little about what I am grateful for in life and what I see as to be the meaning of it all. I must warn in advance this post may come off as preachy but I in no way insist you follow my path or words, but to instead take them as an explanation as to how we live our life and why we choose certain paths when easier ones could be chosen.

We've started to attend a local church, one that accepts all beliefs and less about preaching one singular system. It's more focused on the want to learn more and expand your horizons by respecting others' beliefs and while you in no way have to take them as your own, the same goes both ways and your own beliefs will be heard and respected. It's a great, positive thing for us so far and we look forward to visiting again.

Another thing we've been enjoying is our new friends we've met through our parenting groups including Ken and Angie who have invited us into their homes for dinner and great conversations. They also have two children around the same ages as our children and they themselves are more our age and thoroughly enjoyable to be around. There are others in the group we have come close to, but so with time being short for us in our lives, we've hardly been able to get close to any of them as we have with Ken and Angie and we're grateful to have them as friends.

Business for us is going well also. We've been working on our own small business web development services for almost 5 years now and we've not only made a good living doing it, but it's also afforded us things in life like time with each other. We enjoy material items to an extent but nothing in life can compare to the time I get to spend with my family and friends. It is something money cannot buy and I wouldn't trade for anything. I actually traded a very high paying job that was set to send us traveling all over for the opportunity to be home with my family at all times. I would like to quote Luke 12:15 from the bible here:

Luke 12:15 “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

This should be nothing new, but it is a timeless message that gets lost in today's society. It seems more and more people are trading their one time, their one chance at life for material items, sometimes losing focus on what is truly important in this existence. I'm not saying we do not have some fine items, we have a good TV, 2 computers, and other nice items we are blessed to have, but it's important not to sacrifice yourself or time with loved ones to an over extension that leads to the loss of what is truly important. Our widescreen TV won't be coming with us when we pass and we won't be judged on the size of our home. We will hopefully be judged by higher ones and loved ones for our ability to control our wants and greedy tendencies and keeping family and loved ones as the most important thing.

One more quote, this time from II Corinthians 4:18:

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Before passing away in 1603, Queen Elizabeth uttered her final words: “All my possessions for a moment of time.” She had reigned over England, but as death was knocking on her door, absolutely nothing from the temporal world had any relevance. We gnat strain over all of the dramas that the world holds in high esteem, but when it comes to the real issues, many of us are hardened.

I really don't mean to come off as preachy and in no way do I wish for anyone to take what I am saying as a way I wish them to live their lives. It would be nice, but I will love those that live in other ways just as much as if they lived with mine. I think life presents opportunities to not only learn from situations, but to also teach or maybe remind is a better word those that may be lost what might be important in life. You can easily dismiss any of my beliefs and continue on your path and I will love you the same. My words are less for debating and hopefully more for simple thought.

We love you all, and wish you all the best for 2009!

Told You I would!

2009-01-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

LOL! I know I haven't been good about the vids lately but hey I was a zombie for like 2 months with the new baby and move so cut me some slack. ;) I am sorry and there are a lot of videos you may never see until someday when the kids are grown enough to give me a few hours alone at the computer. So for now we pick up right here with today!

Today btw was Paul T's 3 month birthday. Can you believe it?

We went and picked up an old desk for Andrew. A friend of ours had one she was no longer using and it was just the right size to fit in a spot by Daddy's desk for Andrew to now have his own space for art and such. I get my dining room table back! So here he is enjoying it, learning puzzles:

And then after Andrew had gone to bed I was sitting on the floor talking with Paul T. He is so verbal! Andrew was too at this age but it was totally different. Andrew Baba'd and Mama'd a lot while Paul just coos and gurgles and blows raspberries with a cute dove like sound. I adore it! I figured I better try to catch it on cam while I could so here is my attempt:

We've really had a wonderful day. I am just so grateful to be able to enjoy these days with my kids. Time slips by so quickly. Flies by really! Especially being so busy. It is easy to get caught up thinking about the next thing we are going to, the the stuff I need to get done. But with these times I strive every day to just live in the moment. To enjoy right now, today, because I'll never get this day back. And every single day is precious.
These boys grow and change so much every day. Andrew is learning so quickly now he's like a sponge and he soaks up new and bigger skills and words daily. And of course Paul is in the middle of the biggest growth spurt he'll ever have in his whole life! So he's literally looking (and feeling) bigger every day.
I love it! I love being here to enjoy this to see this and experience it. I am so grateful to have my loving husband here with us and not have to tell him the stories of what his beautiful kids did at the end of every day. Heck, most days I couldn't do much without his help! We are so truly blessed!

Busy Week Ahead

2009-01-06T09:48:00.001-08:00

As usual our week is pretty booked. I like to keep things active now that we live in Denton and it isn't a long drive to come to fun activities. Today will be taking care of errands and groceries needed. Shouldn't be too much.

But tomorrow the fun begins with Story Time at the library. Then weather permitting we go to a park. We are in 2 parent groups both of which meet on Wednesday afternoons. Last week we met with one and this week we may visit the other. Again depending on weather, some parks are better when it's colder. It should be nice though.

Then Thursday we are going to visit my mom. She has another puzzle for Andrew and I. We have been quite enjoying puzzles together! It is one of my favorite activities and I am so grateful to be sharing it with him and that he enjoys it too. I am also going to borrow her Kitchenaide mixer and see if I can't get back to baking our bread. It's easier with the mixer because I won't have to try and find 10 minutes to knead the dough.

Then Friday I have a book club meeting. One of my mom's groups sprouted off to read a mommy book and we are going to meet once a month to discuss each chapter. It's a great book called The Tao of Poop about mommying a baby and all that comes with that. I'm bringing the kids to play with the other mom's children while we are there. Daddy should enjoy some time alone but chances are he'll just miss us!

We are reading some books from my mother that are about virtues and manners daily. There's a series of each and they are a perfect length. Paul even likes to look at the pictures while I read! I also read aloud to them the book I am enjoying, The Golden Compass.

No rolling over yet by Paul T but we aren't pushing anything. He'll do it when he's good and ready to!

As you can see we will be busy this week but if I have time in the evenings after Andrew is in bed I will try to sort out some videos to put up. It has been far too long! I also will try to take some pics of the kids while we are out at our events this week to put up as well.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

We have been so blessed int he last year with our family and friends. So much has happened! A baby, a move, some serious illness, some big wellness, several trips to the hospital for various people and things. Watching Andrew grow has been a joy a true joy. At times it is a tearful joy as I let go of him a little more with each new thing.

He is officially out of diapers during the day and able to wear underwear and pants with very rare accidents. At just over 2 years old as a first boy this is really amazing for this generation of plastic diapers and pullups. We are so proud. It was a partnership with him that got us here. We recognized his signs of readiness and decided we were up to the extra work of taking him to potties and of doing extra laundry. His Meeema Tressie was a big help too. The first time he ever was able to verbalize his need to potty while wearing pants was with her and that was our first giant step in the process.

I have a few resolutions for this year. Exercise is the main one. We are starting back on our push up routine that once got us both super in shape. I don't know that this will be what we do all day every day for the next year but as long as we are doing something all is well. I also have a resolution to wean Andrew completely by the end of the year. We have gone to 2 times a day and I am willing to do one more time in emergency situations. Yesterday he only nursed once because he fell asleep on the way home. Again I think he is ready. He does ask a lot during the day but I am still the first place he comes when hungry or thirsty or sleepy. We spend lots of other ways cuddling and connecting so now it is only a matter of letting him see that we can satisfy thirst and hunger in other ways that big boys do. Paul T has to nurse because he cannot eat anything else, but Andrew gets to have chocolate milk and smoothies! :D I am sure it will be fine. Just another part of letting go.

Our Christmas was wonderful this year, we got to see our whole family and we stayed home for Christmas morning beginning a tradition that Andy and I remember from childhood. There's not much more excited than waking up Christmas morning and running to see what is under the tree and in your stocking.

My final resolution for this year is to be better at updating this blog! I am sorry for falling off during a time when most readers are looking for info - when there's a new member! But the first 2 months of Paul T's life were quite sleepless for me. I was a zombie. But we have turned a major corner and he is now the sweetest cutest fat 3 month old! He coos and giggles and kicks and squirms. He is trying very hard to turn over from his back to him tummy but that darned arm gets in his way! He did turn from tummy to back yesterday though! We all missed it. All I know is I laid him in bed asleep on his belly and when he was calling for me I went in to find him on his back! Now being in the bed may have helped him roll but still at not even a full 3 months yet that's pretty good! I am actually a bit sad. Andrew progressed very quickly in his large motor skills also and I was hoping this one would take some more time. Though he is already getting very heavy in our carriers so by the time he's 10 months old I may be ready for him to walk too!

I hope all of you had a Happy New Year and a fun Christmas full of family and love. We have so much to be thankful for here it fills me up! Thank you to all of my family for a wonderful year together and we look forward to an even more wonderful and eventful year full of growth!

~~Be sure you heck the album for December for Xmas pics! HERE!

And I've already started January's so check back often!

New Pics

2008-12-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

From December 2008

We had some 'pro pics' done by a friend of my mom's in our home last night. I put up all the ones she sent us so far in our December folder so be sure to check it out. There's also some other new ones of the kids for this month. She took a ton of pics of the kids and we'll get them all eventually so there will be more!

Well...

2008-12-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

It sure has been a while. I swear when this baby was born I thought 6 weeks would take forever and it has already been almost 2 months! Things are finally starting to settle into a good routine with sleeping happening at night pretty consistently by all and naps during the day by Paul T being predictable. It has been nice to get to spend some time with my older son again!

Paul T has been a wonderful baby. He had his rough first 6 weeks that i think most babies have as their new bodies adjust to this contaminated world we live in! But he seems all adjusted now and is just sweet as can be.

I think he looks a lot like his brother but without the hair! He looks a lot more like his daddy though than Andrew did. We have some baby pics of Andy and Paul T looks almost exactly like them!

I don't have much time and no access to videos so this will be brief, just wanted to check in and say all is well! Please be sure to visit our online photo albums to see the latest pics of the kids. We are not as diligent about taking them as we were when Andrew was a baby but there are still some cute shots. And I'll be putting up more today hopefully but if not then very soon!

Have a Merry Christmas Season, Winter Holiday!

SO Much Going On!

2008-10-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

And I mean.. SO MUCH. Andy here this time and we've got a much more detailed update coming but we've been horrifically busy lately with a few things, namely A) Moving, B) Business, and oh yea, C) We had our baby!! Surprise! Paul Thomas Goin was born to this Earth on October 6, 2008 weighing in at a very healthy 8 lbs. It was an all natural birth with no pain meds and not in a hospital but in a birthing center with a midwife. Lea pushed with my coaching and support for 14 minutes and 1 hour after we arrived, Paul was born.

It was a magnificent experience for all of us and I encourage any man and woman planning on having a child to at least look into this opportunity. You only live once and with your children, we feel building a tight bond from the get-go is *very* important and it's something that you will never forget. Like everything in life, the pain and work you put into it only makes the overall result shine that much brighter and we most definitely feel close to Little Mister Paul already.

ANNNNYWAYYYSS.. I can ramble on about it all day. We've also moved about 20 miles south from where we used to live to Denton which is where I was born and raised. It's funny how hometowns will suck you back in like a strong magnet. I do love this town though. We live right in the smack dab of every shopping store, bank, mall, park, gas station, and things we used to drive 3-4 times a week here to enjoy. We had Paul on the 6th and moved on the 10th so as you might guess, we're EXHAUSTED.

Be sure to check out our October pictures in our Picasa album as we've updated it tonight.

October 2008

Still no Baby - Playing Catch up

2008-10-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

No baby yet. Officially due tomorrow. But we are hoping it will come tonight! Heck we hope that every night! I cannot wait to meet this little one. Last night we thought it was time again for the 3rd time but still no real action. I am glad for all the prelabor in hopes that it means the actual labor will be shorter! :D So keep sending on the labor vibes and hoping and wishing and praying with us that this baby is done baking real soon.

Also we move in less than a week! So yeah, we're busy

Today is Andrew's second birthday! We're taking him to the zoo in Gainseville. I can't wait - I'm about to go wake his little tush up! So to celebrate here are some old videos I haven't had the time to get uploaded until now:

Sorry about the sneezing

This is funny

I still have more to do to get totally caught up and of course there're pics on the cam right now. And then after teh big birthday today we'll have a ton too. But hey, at least I'mmaking some progress! ;)

So Much

2008-09-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

There's so much going on right now! I have hardly had a chance to take pics of our sweet son let alone get anything posted! We are preparing to move and preparing to have this baby right around the same time. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of working ahead. So though we aren't moving until October 13th, I've started packing now as much as possible. We need to have it all done by the time the baby comes. or mostly done. There is a chance the baby won't be born until then but I have a feeling it'll come before the move. Either way would be fine though.

I'm 36 weeks so any time after 2 weeks from now is all good for baby to make the appearance! It's getting very close. And I feel it everywhere right now. i am so tired and sore all the time. but it has been a beautiful experience. I weigh almost as much now as I did by the time Andrew was born but thankfully there isn't much time to gain left! I am really looking forward to this labor and delivery. It'll be so neat to have a different experience from the last one. And I am really looking forward to having a tiny baby again! And also getting my milk back so Andrew has something to drink again!

Speaking of our amazing son Andrew, he did the coolest thing today! He pee peed int he potty! I had a feeling that he didn't like his little potty chair. It's doubles as a step stool for one thing and he may just see it as that. But also we don't use it. he sees mommy and daddy on the big potty so i am sure he knows that is what he should be using. So today I put him on it several times. And the last time he seemed to really be trying to tell me he had to go so I put him on it, called Daddy in to see the big boy sitting on the big potty, and then he surprised us both by peepeeing! We did a happy dance and cheered and clapped and made the big production it deserved. I dont' expect this to mean potty training but we will follow his lead and try to do as much naked butt time as we can. We just follow his cues and try to stay tuned in to him.

Please bear with me as we move and have a baby while there are fewer pictures on the web album and fewer videos posted here. I have tons backing up and will try to get a few done here and there maybe even this week. but for now I spend every moment trying to prepare, or of course taking care of the continuous daily life duties. And then we have an almost 2 year old we must play with as well! He can't get enough of his books right now and if he asks to read one I cannot deny him!

Thanks so much. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that this move and baby come at just the right time for us all and everything goes as smoothly as possible. We love you!

More cuteness

2008-08-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Just too cute

2008-08-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Wrestling with Daddy

2008-08-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

And general playing around!

At Grandmother's

2008-08-06T15:50:00.000-07:00

Andrew loves playing at Grandmother's and Granddaddy's house!

With Grandmother

Swimming with Daddy

Smarty Pants

2008-07-30T21:19:00.001-07:00

Well we all knew that once he started talking there'd be no stopping him! And it has happened. He literally picks up at least one new word a day and rarely loses one but does occasionally. As of today we count 20 words or so that he says! We made a list for you. Also for those of you that don't see him often you will be very surprised by all he says the next time you talk to him. It seems to go so slowly here since we are with him all day every day and constantly trying to teach him new ones but looking back it really is going very fast. Most of these have come up in the past 2 or so weeks.
Dada
Cat
Uh oh
Mom mom
bubbles
baboo – nurse
pop
ew
ock – socks, chocolate, rock, chalk (this sound means all these things depending on the situation)
go – also means green because I say "green means go" when we read a certain book
hello
yellow
up
down
poop
bobop – powder, both baby powder and baking soda
out
juice
hot
op – water

Some of these "words" are hard to understand unless you know what he means like water, but we've figured out what he's saying by asking him to show us. We always say things the right way after he says them his way and I have complete faith he will figure it all out soon enough. For now his little baby words are about the cutest thing in the whole damn world! I absolutely love it!

And for those that have yet to hear him call me when he needs me, it is very funny. Sometimes he just says Momom. But sometimes he screams it with a very raspy scratchy sound to his voice Mom MOM! It is so funny! I giggle about every time.

And honestly that list is incomplete. I swear he says more than that but we can't think of them all and some of the things we hear him say he's only said maybe once. Tonight he was working on banana. He was asking me for a mananana and just kept making those sounds, but he'd been making them all day I wasn't sure if he was meaning something yet or not. I finally got him to point it out to me and then Andy and I tried to work with him on the right sounds for banana. But he's very close!

In addition to all of these verbal words he says he also has many animal noises he can make and he does sign language for many of the more simple things, please, eat, drink, more, to name just a few. He doesn't really try to say these words and we don't push it. Again, he'll get it when he gets it! As long as he says please in some way I think we're doing pretty well.

I know we may be a bit biased but I really think he is pretty smart. Even if he can't say all the words he knows most of what we are saying. And sometimes when I think he isn't understanding me, I realize later that he did, he just didn't agree with me! He totally has a mind of his own and is very independent for the most part. Unless he's sleepy!

He got a very high fever last week and scared us a ton but we got it under control easily and he didn't really seem to out of sorts for long. It did take him a little while to recover like get all caught back up on sleep but he is back to his usual self for sure now. I think whatever little bug he had, his system was strong enough to wipe it out quickly without him getting too terribly sick. It also forced me to do some more research on fevers and look in to things I haven't read about since he was a baby. I feel we handled it fine and did exactly what we needed to but next time I think we will have more trust in his body and feel more confident in his ability to fight off whatever is in him. He's a tough little guy!

As for me, eh, I'm big! I feel like I am farther along than I think I am and I can't imagine my belly getting any bigger than it already is. But as much as I think this I know deep down this baby will not appear until October and by then I will be truly enormous not just a little uncomfortable! Feeling the little one move is the best. The position he's (we say 'he' for the sake of convenience it could be either way!) in isn't the best. Oh he's head down but his legs or something sticks right into my right hip. Which is my sore hip from a high school injury and the place I had the most pain when I was in labor with Andrew. It almost feels as if this baby is laying on my hip at times. I have even considered chiropractic care but I'm not completely sold on it yet. For now I do stretches and we go for nightly walks even in this God-awful heat. The heat bwt is a whole other issue for me. The days that got up to 103 around here were killer. I could barely even move around the apartment even with the AC on. I was so exhausted and so hot. I wear nothing more than a giant Vneck men's Tshirt and still feel like I want to just lay under a fan with a mister. I am so grateful we don't have to leave the house every day! I would be miserable.

Those are really my only gripes though and I think that is pretty darned good! Pregnancy is tough on the body and mine seems to handle it well relatively speaking. It's different this time around because i have a toddler. Also because I feel more excited about the end game. With Andrew I had little idea of what to expect so I was just enjoying my pregnancy. This time I know what's coming. I know what it's like to have a sweet newborn baby to hold and nurse and care for and I can't wait! Oh sure I am still very much enjoying this pregnancy but I am also much more looking forward to labor, delivery and the baby than I did with the first one.

Speaking of the first born son! Here's a couple of pics I wanted to show you all that make me laugh!

One is from January 2007 (3 months old) and the other is from last night (almost 22 months old). Same chair. Tough to tell which is which! ;)

More videos are ready to go but I'll wait a day or so and let everyone get caught up!

The Wedding

2008-07-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

Andrew was honored to be the ring bearer for his aunt's wedding a few weeks ago. Rachel, Andy's sister on his dad's side married a great guy from the army and they took off a few days later to live in Korea for the next year!

We went to the rehearsal on Friday night and Andrew perfectly walked down the isle carrying two little rocks and handed them right to the best man. Andy sent him off from the back and I was at the front to greet him and help him see who to give his rocks too. He had much more fun playing in the huge back yard of the house the wedding took place at! But he did very well at practice.

Then the big event came. He was super cute in his tux but it was 100 degrees out there and he wouldn't stop running around. We waited until the last possible minute to put on his tie and jacket and such but he was still super hot. Then everyone lined up and waited for the bride. Daddy was with Andrew and I was at the front with the camera as planned. Andrew had other plans! He was hot, and hungry by this time so he was much more interested in throwing dirt at the dogs then staying in line with Daddy. He was crying and I went to get him to help Andy. We switched spots and I was going to send Andrew down the isle to Daddy. The flower girl was going at the same time. They had never met each other and so didn't have a good chance to buddy up or anything. The flower girl's mom and I both ended up pretty much carrying our little ones down the isle, they were both too afraid to go alone! It was still cute and I wish we had some pics or videos but it will live in our memories forever!

Once we got to the front, Andrew was very good about giving the pillow to the best man so it all ended well. The service was short and sweet so it wasn't too long Andrew had to sit still on my lap before we could run to the van for a snack.

There were a lot of pics taken by a pro photographer but I do not know if I'll be able to get copies of any of those. I need to call the bride's mother to see what the scoop is. Andrew was in several of them and he did really well posing for the pics!

We have 2 videos to share of the weekend. This first one is after the rehearsal dinner of Andrew wearing out his grandpa. They'd been playing this game for a while and though Andrew was far from done Grandpa didn't have anymore in him!

This is after the wedding at the reception. I guess after spending the evening in the heat in his suit, he had had it with being dressed! We left soon after this and took his shirt off in the van right away!

He was so tired by the time we left, and hungry! He wouldn't eat at the reception because there was just too much going on. He pigged out once we got home and slept very well that night! I think he overall had a good time and again, it was an experience we will never forget and I can't wait to tell him about when he is older. It was truly and honor to have our son in a family members wedding!

Water Fun

2008-07-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Hard to see him but he's in the middle with Daddy

Fun in the tub.

Fun Games

2008-07-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Balloons!

Hiding with Lucy

A chore for us (though a fun one) definitely a game for Andrew!

Just Some Fun Vids

2008-07-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Mommy's Big Helper!

At Rob and Tammy's Andrew just opened a part of furniture and found a treat!

This really was funny. Daddy thought it would go over better though!

OK, back to bubble fun!

Fireworks

2008-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here's few of the videos of the lighting of fireworks.

This one gets bright!

And a fun little oops that didn't hurt anything.

Fourth of July Vids

2008-07-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

All ready for the parade

He prefers the pool.

Bubbles

Snapper Poppers

I also have a ton of vids of the fireworks we set off but I may post only a few of those later.

More from June

2008-07-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

Camera obsessed

Kicking the ball

Bubble stomping

Lookout Andrew has the hose!

Painting with water

June Videos

2008-07-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

I'm playing catch up so here's a few videos left from June.

He's hiding in a new found hiding spot, he pulled all the shoes out to make it. And throwing the ball for the cat to chase.

Here we are coloring in the tub!

Just lounging and watching a movie (Cars) and 'reading' a card.

OK, now I will try and get more caught up with the ones that are a bit more recent!

So Much to Tell So Little Time

2008-07-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

I don't have our external hard drive hooked up right now so no videos just yet. But believe me there's a ton to get caught up on! If you haven't checked out the online photo albums, we have pics in the 20 month and started the 21 month and there's over 100 total that have been added. I was way behind!

There are several reasons for me to be so far behind. I'd like to get into detail but I of course have limited time right now. Andrew is very good at playing by himself when he's not overly tired or hungry so I caught a good moment!

To sum up...

We've had some major sleep issues with Andrew. It's our fault really. Not only because we've let him decide when he wants to go to sleep with some encouragement from us and we do set him up a sleepy time environment, but also because we had a few nights and early mornings where we had to get up and then slept all day. We went from a pretty consistent 12am bedtime to 3am to 6am! There were nights where he'd fall asleep at 9, wake at 1am and then be up until the sun came up. And he'd be so sleepy!

Part of the problem has been that nursing no longer puts him back to sleep. It can relax him for the initial sleep and naps but once he wakes he nurses to wake up not to relax again. These last 2 nights Andy has taken over the one night waking he has and gotten him back to sleep in minutes! With me, I'd rock and nurse him for 2 hours only to end up letting him get up and play. And we're talking like 3 or 4am here!

Then we'd take maybe a short morning nap and a good afternoon nap and try to get him back to sleep by 11. We tried a lot of things really, from shorter naps to earlier bed times and found nothing stopped him from waking fully at night until Andy took over. It hasn't been too much stress for him to do it because he is usually just starting to come to bed when Andrew has his first night waking. And after that if he wakes even slightly all it takes is a hand on his back or belly and he relaxes back to sleep. At least so far, it's only been 2 nights. And if there's one thing I've learned about Andrew, it's that he changes constantly. All part of growing up.

Speaking of growing up, he is such a chatter box! He has a lot of words now he says, his latest of which is Mom-mom! I am thrilled, he just started calling me that on July 4th and it makes my day. Sometimes I think he slips up and still calls me Dada but when I correct him he says Momom. Not quite Mama or Mommy but Mom-mom. I love it! He also says Hello which is too cute. There's a lot more too. of course none I could catch on video or anything just yet but we'll keep working on it.

he also recently mastered jumping. This is something he's been practicing at for a long time and finally gets both feet off the ground and can jump off of things to the ground.

We bought him a big plastic slide today and have been having an absolute blast playing with him on it. And watching him play on it and exploring his own balance and learning to work his own body better. He can climb up so many more things at all the parks we frequent and can get onto so many more toys at the mall. he's just growing up so great and we love it! It's a joy to watch him explore and learn.

If you've already seen the new pics you saw that Andrew and his Daddy were in the Sanger 4th of July parade. I painted his body with face paint as best one can paint a busy toddler to resemble the flag. And he wore a cloth diaper made of an army print that had flags on it. The plan was for them to walk together and me to stay along the side to take pics but it didn't work out that way so fortunately I got pics of them before the parade started. Andrew was very distracted by all the candy being thrown and wanted to pick it up and rethrow it! SO I had to stay with him and help him keep going. Andy was holding a big sign with business name and phone number on it so he couldn't hold his hand. I think he was the hit of the parade! But next year we'll borrow someone's truck. It was very hot6 to be walking!

Andrew will be the ring bearer in Andy's sister's wedding this weekend so look out for a ton of pics of that. We tried him out in his little tux tonight and it is too adorable for words!

Also, please keep Andy's mom in your thoughts and prayers. She had a heart attack a week or so ago. It gave us all quite a fright. She got 3 stents put in and is recovering well.

That's all I can do for now. Videos will be up as soon as I can!

Water Baby

2008-06-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

These first 3 are at Grandmother's. Andrew was going so nuts until I turned on the video camera it seemed!

Going a little nuttier in this one.

Shootins

These next two are when we were invited to Andy's Uncle Dan and Aunt Lisa's to swim with cousin Lori. Abraham is there swimming too, that's Lori's nephew.

Lots of squealing in this one!

We've been a lot more swimming than this but I try to enjoy it and not video and take pics every time. But rest assured we're swimming almost every other day somewhere if the weather permits! Even if it's just out front in the baby pool.

Andrew's First Fever

2008-06-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

It was actually kind of exciting! I've never even taken his temperature before! I tried once when he was tiny to get an idea of what his normal was back then, he was always such a hot baby normally, but he screamed like crazy so i stopped. Just the old armpit btw.

But a couple of nights ago he woke up in the middle of the night and came to cuddle and nurse and he was so hot to the touch. I almost woke him all the way to get his shirt off but we had to get up early to take me to the doc (my asthma gets real bad in pregnancy and I needed more meds) so I didn't want to wake him completely and risk him not getting back to sleep. And since he didn't seem bothered by it I figured all was well.

I go see a doc at a clinic for my allergies and asthma. And it seems every time we go there Andy gets sick and then he gets us all sick so I told him to drop me off and take Andrew to the mall. he needed new shoes anyway and they could shop ahead. Good thing! My visit was short and sweet for once and they came back to get me and never even had to step foot in the place.

We headed home and Andrew was still a hot bod. I took a nap with him and had him in shorts only and he still felt hot to the touch when we got up! And it wasn't everywhere so I was confused. Like his head wasn't super hot, and his arms and legs weren't, but his torso and hands and feet and neck were.

I decided to get a mommy opinion and posted about it on a mommy message board I frequent. All the replies said fever so I took his temperature and it was barely over 101. I had to ask them how to do it since I have not taken a baby's temp in years! We did the armpit style and he was so cute and well behaved.

This whole time btw, he was acting fine. Sleepy from getting up early maybe and nursing a tad more than usual but nothing that sent up any red flags of OK this kid is ill. SO we didn't worry. Just said, alright, he has his first temperature, let's let his body do what it is trying to do and we'll keep an eye on him.

We went to the store and got some Popsicles and ice cream for fun treats and to help him cool down. We let him eat his Popsicle outside on a walk and he made a complete mess but enjoyed it.

I took his temp again before bath time and it had gone down by a degree. We still went ahead and gave him Tylenol. Not for the fever since that was going down but just to make sure he wasn't in any discomfort so he could get some good sleep.

That didn't work out exactly, he woke up ready to play after sleeping for an hour. i think the cats woke him actually. But we let him get up and we played some cars and some colorings and some readings and some movie and game watchings and then he and I fell asleep in the chair together for an hour until Daddy woke us up and took him and I both to bed. By then Andrew felt his normal temp and this morning was completely normal. I checked it one last time to be sure.

So that was it! His first fever! Not his last I am sure but it was a good break in. I think he got something from all the swimming this week. We've gone swimming about 5 times in one week and it hasn't been super hot or anything. It's been kind of cold a few of the times we went and windy so he may have just been working something out of his system.

He was really a complete angel though. Such a good happy boy even when he feels like an oven to touch!

Here is is playing in his new baby pool! Well in and out o fit anyway!

Here's more stunt man action! He's getting too big for this rider too.

Right after this he went to the edge of the wall by our place and did jumping onto Daddy. I wanted a video of that big time but our stupid batteries died! That is one of his new favorite games. He holds my hands and 'jumps' down. And with Daddy he just 'jumps' and Andy catches him. He doesn't really jump just yet he kind of steps off but he is getting closer!

I am feeling good btw. Getting sleep around Andrew's schedule as I can! Trying to stay in some kind of shape with daily walks and occasional yoga. Feeling the baby move a lot. It kicks Andrew in the back when he sits on my lap sometimes but he doesn't seem to notice it yet. If you ask him where the baby is though he'll usually point to himself and then to my belly! He's a smarty pants, knows he'll always be my baby no matter what!

It's Out!

2008-06-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to throw up a quick update to let everyone know that Friday evening Andy passed his stone! We had a ton of fun checking it over and even looked on the internet to find out the type by pictures. We think that it is indeed a calcium oxalate as we had figured. Now of course he cannot cut calcium out of his diet but we can cut back on oxalate and I am currently researching high and low oxalate foods. I have a list that is not very complete but gives me a starting point.

Andy also knows the importance of continued water consumption. It is a struggle for him. he doesn't crave and enjoy water like I do. But he will work on it! He has goals set for himself that I think are attainable and if those become easy we can up the ante.

Andrew is doing wonderfully of course, still teetering on the brink of speaking our language. He speaks his own very well and often though and it is so super cute! I am doing well also.

I believe our little Peanut is sensitive to caffeine! Andrew never budged if I drank a soda when pregnant with him. But I very rarely did. With this one as soon as I left the first trimester I asked my midwife for the OK to have some caffeine and I have it every day. I remember with Andrew drinkning a Dr Pepper on the way to a sonogram and him not even budging when pushed by the tech! This little one seems to jump and play after my morning tea or coffee! hmmmm.... Does this mean it is a girl??? ;)

Seriously, I have been trying all the tests online and it is coming out about 50/50 so we truly won't know for sure until October. Andy is convinced it is a boy but says he'd be pleased with a girl. I think it's a girl because this pregnancy has had so many differences from the last but I would be so thrilled either way. i just can't wait to have a little baby again! And it'll be so neat to watch as my big boy learns and grows every day too! By then he'll be two and really starting to assert his independence even more than he does now.

Sorry no videos with this post but I am sure we will have some soon. We spent the day out at a friend's yesterday and I regretfully forgot the camera! There was another baby there too, less than a year old, that Andrew tried to play with some so I am kicking myself for forgetting it. But take my word for it, it was sweet!

What a week!

2008-05-26T22:57:00.001-07:00

Things have been a little beyond crazy around here this last week. Starting from last Wed. We ended up in the ER that night for Andy's newest kidney stone. We knew this was a stone he had several of his classic symptoms but no pain. Still we needed to be sure. Without health insurance it was a tough decision but the hospital worked out a deal with us and I think it'll be OK.

He has only one stone, thankfully, usually it has been 3, and it wasn't stuck anywhere like the last time when we had to have emergency surgery same day! This one is small and on the move out so hopefully he'll pass it on his own no problem.

It was a super late night however and Andrew was up until about 230am. Then the days that followed left him with little Daddy time. I should say Daddy's special play time that Andrew usually gets daily. Daddy is really the good rough houser, not Mommy, though I do my best! ;) Andrew and I have a lot of fun playing together too but Daddy is a much better wrestler. And Andy did what he could to keep up but it is more important for him to take care of his body so he can get that sucker out.

Daddy always does bath times. Most always, and tonight was the first night he's been able to give Andrew his bath since the attack. It has also been his first day symptom free. Which is good and bad. Mostly hard to read because the way we figure it if the stone is in the ureter moving, he can feel it, if it stops moving, it backs up his kidneys and causes severe flank pain and bleeding. He's had none of the above. This could be good because it could mean it is in the bladder and ready to come out! But we won't know until it either comes out or some sensations return.

Without Daddy doing bath times and our late night hospital visit left Andrew with quite a shaken up bed time routine. Like no routine! I would shower with him and we'd play but we do that during the day sometimes right now because I get so hot, so it wasn't like a definite, 'Oh it's bed time' trigger for him. One night he even stayed up until 530am! Last night we got him to sleep a little after 4am. But tonight with Daddy back in the tub and a very short nap today he was out a little after midnight! I am so glad we have a bedtime routine. But it is nice to lead the sort of lives that can be flexible too. If we had to get up early for anything this last week would have been miserable for us all. As it is, it's been nice!

We've stayed home for about 5 days straight now. We haven't done that since moving way out here! And with gas prices it's been extra nice. I have had time and energy to relax and read and play and watch movies with Andrew, AND clean up! Usually cleaning up was sacrificed to the Andrew time. And running all over the place driving here and there taking 30 minutes each way, really wears me and Andy out. It left little energy for anything else but playing with Andrew when we were home.

So for me it almost seems like this stone was a wake up call to us to slow it down a bit. We really don't need to be out of the house 5-6 days a week going to see this person or that person or this place or that place. 1-2 days a week is plenty. And there's plenty to do in Sanger that we don't need to go to Denton (or Aubry or Gainsville or Krum or wherever our day took us!) every time we want to do something.

I think it was a bit of an adjustment for Andrew too. He's used to all the going going going! And that may have made it harder for him to sleep too. We'll see.

We have plans to go to Denton on Wed this week, it will have been an entire week since we have last been. We need some more groceries from the old Walmart and we have a play group we're meeting up with. It should be fun. And as long as Andy isn't in pain we can go and enjoy ourselves. I still hold out hope that he'll have passed it by then!

Our new little peanut seems to be doing well in there. I feel it moving all the time now! I didn't feel Andrew this much this soon! It's so cool. And there's a lot of room still so it's like a big swimming pool with room to groove. It won't start getting too cramped for another month. Then the movements start to feel more like stretching motions. Now it feels like someone is playing in my belly! I love it!

Andy felt it the other night. I was sitting at my desk with my hand on my belly and I felt some movement. I thought it was worth a shot though you know how it is when as soon as you ask someone else to feel, the moving stops! At least that's how Andrew was, he was always so shy! :D Well that started to happen again and Andy persisted. he started talking to my belly. "Hey in there it's your daddy can you hear me." Stuff like that. And the fetus can hear external noises at this age. And it worked! It started going crazy! The most movement I had felt yet actually. Must like the sound of Daddy's voice, guess someone may be called upon to sing the old Hey Song again!

And speaking of growing, our first born is quite the big boy! His vocabulary is really growing though it isn't all easy to understand unless you are with him all the time. He says go, up... I know there's more that i can't remember right now - little sleep deprived! But a lot of them sound very similar so you have to pay attention to what he is doing. he also picks up the sign language after about one time being shown. I wish I knew more!

He is also getting the big motor skills more under control Sure he still bumps his head a lot and falls down sometimes (sometimes on purpose to be funny!) but he can now climb things he never could before. he did it a few weeks ago on a jungle gym at our local park and the other night he climbed straight up a chain ladder on the jungle gym at our apartments!
Here he is climbing and sliding a couple of weekends ago.

Here we are at Andy's Uncle Dan and Aunt Lisa's for their daughter's birthday. Lori loves to play with the kids and was probably happier to play with Andrew than us though she's my age! He shows off some sign language skills here.

Remember to scroll down and catch him doing monsters if you missed it from last night!

Time to Watch Monsters

2008-05-26T00:42:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of videos to show you but only a moment of time right now so here is one we just did tonight! His new favorite movie - move over Cars - is Monsters inc. here's how he asks for it.

The Halfway Point

2008-05-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

I just reread this week in my last pregnancy, for those of you interested, it's May of 06 and still in the archives. It was the week we had the fire in our neighbors kitchen and were awoken early by the firemen coming in. It was also the week before we moved to this little apartment in Sanger. My belly pictures make me laugh from back then too. I think I was that size like 6 weeks ago with this one!

Some of you know we've been thinking of moving again this summer. We'd really like to try out a house. We both think it is a good time in our lives to get out of the apartment life. However, upon some serious looking, we've found that we're better off just waiting.

House renters are really crappy the houses they live in and the landlords just don't seem to want to make repairs before rerenting. Then they also want essentially two months up front between first month and deposit. Once we paid all of that plus our last months rent here, we'd have no money left for repairs.

And our 60 day notice wouldn't be up until July, by which time we'll be in the icky heat of summer and super fat times of pregnancy. Not a good combo for a move. I'd be packing and unpacking and then we'd be having to try and fix up our home for the arrival of our new little one.

Sure we are already a bit cramped here. We haven't optimized our storage options perhaps and could get rid of some more things. But we both think that overall for right now, it'd just be best to stay put. We have a bit more debt than we like to carry at this time also. And we're still trying to rebuild savings from the van purchase. Andy is really working hard right now and making more money than he has since starting the business so we want to see where this goes before we blow our last dime on getting into a crappy house. In 6 months we may be able to move into a much nicer place.

And sure we'll have a tiny baby and a 2 year old, so it still won't be easy, but it won't be summer and I wont' be pregnant! Ah there's pros and cons all around. For now though after weighing it all out we have decided to go with staying for a bit and seeing how our money works out and just going to a month to month so we can get out when we are truly ready.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us out with looking for places! we're still keeping our eyes out on the market trying to see where it goes. Who knows, maybe by the time we're ready it'll be a really good time to actually buy a house and we can skip the rental game all together.

I knwo I said we'd get the sonogram pics scanned in and we still will. There are right by the scanner! But I'll need Andy's help with it because things have been moved since I last scanned and I am no longer sure what to do. And as I said he's been crazy busy. But I'll try to think of it at a good time very soon.

I am feeling fine btw. No major complaints except the heat is starting to bother me. I also am much bigger much sooner this time around. Today we had to go buy some sun dresses and boxers for me. That's about the only things I feel comfortable in. For Mother's Day I got some maternity shorts and nicer dresses from a second hand store, but the dresses are made of rayon and stuff and still very hot. The ones I got today are all cotton! A bit more expensive being brand new even from Walmart but they are cute and will be comfortable and for right now, that's about all I am concerned with. I am showering every afternoon to stay cool too. Andrew and get in there and play all kinds of games in the tub, it's been a fun activity for us before nap time. Which for the last few days has been in the blue chair! Both of us together! It's pretty comfy till my arm falls asleep. But I enjoy the closeness. And Daddy can nap on the couch right next to us!

I just uploaded a couple of videos but google is taking forever to process them so they will just have to wait until next time!

Some fun vids

2008-05-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

These are from last month.

Seeing the dogs in the park.

One mommy shoe one daddy shoe.

Little Update

2008-05-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

We had our sonogram today and from what the tech could see, everything looks perfect! She even says it looks like it has Daddy's toes - ah another one that will look like Daddy I am sure. I can't wait for the birth to find out the sex but I am enjoying the pregnancy so much at this stage. I feel our little Peanut moving every day, sometimes it's movement and sometimes it's just pushing, either way, it is comforting. It was wiggling all over the place in the sonogram. S/he had their hands all over their face too, even stuck one fist in his/her mouth and I think we got a picture. We got a lot of pictures so we will see if we can scan them in and show everyone.

Also, we had a friend stay with us for a couple of nights over the weekend. It was really neat and Andrew always enjoys a new person to impress! He is a photographer by hobby and had an excellent camera so he took a bunch of pics of us. We couldn't get them all because he has a copyright on his files but he did some without it for us. I posted them in the new moths folder on our web album. But i wanted to post one here that he really fancied up for us. Hope you like it!

Another Word

2008-05-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

Andrew, as you probably know, has had only 3 words for the last 6 months or so. Well, he has also been saying a fourth, and I just today figured it out. He tells the cat to shut-up! He just says "up" and throws his arm like he's doing his ball sign. He usually does it at night when I am trying to put him to sleep so I hadn't taken the time to notice what it was before because I was caught up in getting him to sleep. But today he did it to Raven sitting at he table. Very clearly, "Up!" I was like, OMG! He's telling him to shut up! Just like Mommy! lol I tell Raven to shut up several times a day and Andy tells Thunder to shut up a lot too. Hmmm, wonder where Andrew could have picked it up from... ;) It does make me a bit sad that he still calls me Dada but now says shut up, but oh well. I think it is funny. Since we now know that is what he is saying we can coach and guide him on it. Like only yell it when the cat is being loud inappropriately. Only say it to the cat. And let mommy and daddy handle the cats at night!

He's such a smart little cutie pie!

Here's some vids from last month:

He doesn't know what to think of this! It's his first time to see sand. We're at the Gainsville factory Outlets.

Our little Gardener

More to come!

Stunt Run

2008-04-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

We've always called Andrew our little stuntman because he is so accident prone. But this is too funny!

Doesn't even need a catch!

We have another one taken right aftert this of him falling too. He didn't get hurt or anything but I am not going to upload it because it is way too long. I just put the cam down running to grab him after he fell and then we held him and checked him over for signs of injury. One of the neighbor kids came running over to see if he was OK. Then daddy said, do you want to try again? And Andrew practically jumped out of my arms and got back ont he trike to go again! He's a little tough guy!

Just an update:
We got a new kitten. Couldn't help it. We've honestly wanted one since we lost Tyler over a year ago and managed to hold out for quite some time. We were down to 2 cats and thought since they are so old now, it'd be OK. And once the stray we tried adopting didn't work out, we really had the fever. This one is very tiny, think we got the runt. She's less than 6 weeks old even! But she's already adjusted very well to our home. And Andrew likes that it is easier to pick her up! Yikes! We tell him to be gentle, good thing she's tough and used to living with young kids. I'll put up pics and videos of her as soon as I can.

Andrew Collage Video

2008-04-23T18:55:00.001-07:00

Hey folks, Andy here and I wanted to show you something I whipped up. It may take some time to load and I'm not sure if it will even work but if so, there's some cute pics of Andrew in it!

Check it out here:

It should be playing above. It may still be loading if not or! It could be broken.. :/

First Dental Visit

2008-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

We finally took Andrew to his first dentist appointment! It took us a while to get the ball rolling, they say nowadays kids should start at 12 months old. But better late than never right!

It was early in the morning, especially for us, 9am! So he was sleepy and a little cranky from that. Plus we skipped breakfast. I didn't want to wake him any earlier than I had to so I just got him in time to get dressed and head out. For other trips we would have fruit in the car but I didn't want his teeth to be all dirty! So he was a bit hungry too. Considering those two major players in Andrew's personality, he was awesome! Even the dentist said he was very well behaved. He cried a bit and wanted mommy to hold him every time they let go. But he let the nice man look at all his teeth and then they put a fluoride brushing on him. I nursed him right after they were done for a few seconds and that did the trick to calm him back down. He was so good! All the nurses thought he was so cute, of course!

His teeth are perfectly healthy and he has all the ones he will get until he is two. One is still growing in but it's through the gums so the hard part is over. Then he has 2 year molars that come in and I hope they wait until well into his two year old year to start. Poor kid needs a break, he's been busting out teeth pretty much once a month ever since he was about 5 months old!

He also saw his doctor last week and he weighs about 27 pounds and is 34 inches tall. Almost a 3 footer! And of course he's perfectly healthy!

I am doing well also. I saw a doctor for my allergies and breathing issues per my midwife's request. They loaded me up with medications I'd never heard of so I did some research and found they are all safe. Still scary to have 3! One is an emergency inhaler so I don't need it often, the others are daily. And is my nose better you ask? Well... kinda. I am not a drippy faucet anymore and I don't get the sneezing attacks and the wheezing has almost subsided, so that is all a great relief. But, like all medicines that alter the natural course of your body, it has opened a whole new door of different issues that are at least easier to deal with and I hope will clear themselves up as my body adjusts to this. I have had the nose problems for over 4 years now so it will probably take a bit for my body to adjust.

I have my sonogram the second week of May. We do not want to know the sex! And since we're no experts, even if we think we see something we think might be something, we really have no way of knowing. We both have our guesses and we all still have 5-6 more months to speculate!

More fun Andrew videos to come soon, next.. stuntman!

18 Months Old

2008-04-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

For Andrew's big 18 month old birthday we took him to the mall to play. The weather wasn't nice enough for outside. It was a special day! I still can't believe our little man is 18 months old!

We have a few videos from the mall. Some of them are big so give it a second to load.

Long one:

Dancing:

Morning Cat Play

2008-04-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

We tried to keep the cat one more time. She is just too crazy. We even went so far as to make an appointment to have her spayed! Sadly she ran away a few too many times before we could get her fixed. We can't have her running out all the time. It's too hard to keep her in and then she'd cry at the door and window. Of course now that she's out and has been for a while, she wants back in! Too bad so sad! She will probably be in heat soon and we really can't have that in our apartment with an unneutered male living here.

But before she ran off, we had bought a couple of toys for her. Andrew was getting really good at playing with her. It is hard for him to understand completely the concept of the play, that she is trying to catch the bird and he needs to let her get it sometimes! But he had fun watching her chase it. She'd just get tired of him eventually and quit. Or she'd catch it and take off with it!

But here is a video of one morning when he'd woken especially early and couldn't get back to sleep. He had a bit of the sleepy crazies and was a little wild but he is giggling so much and having so much fun! Turn up your volume for this one!

I'm Pregnant!!

2008-03-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

As if you didn't know! I haven't blogged about it yet though so there may be someone out there who did not yet know that. The reason I haven't blogged about this is I wanted to hear the heartbeat and just feel more sure first. I still get a bit paranoid though I have never had any problem pregnancies in the past.

So today we had our second midwife appointment and we heard the sweet sound of a beat! Not as fast as Andrew's was the first time I heard it. And this little peanut was on the move. It wasn't a few seconds after we heard it that Peanut took off swimming away again! For all the movement going on in there, I can't feel a thing. I so wish I could! But soon enough I will.

We had a good safe birth with Andrew. But things didn't go the way I had always imagined. Partly due to my ignorance and laziness and fear. This time I feel stronger in my desires for what I want and more secure about my body's capabilities and definitely more aware of what is going to happen to me. And we have decided to try something different. We are going with a midwife and a birth center. I'd LOVE to do a home birth but not at this apartment. Maybe someday when we have a house that'd be a good option but I just don't think we have proper space here. So a birth center is about the next best thing. We saw the room today and it looks wonderful. I am so grateful that this place popped into our lives the way it did. Purely by happenstance like it was meant to be! They are super nice and supportive and we look forward to happy a pregnancy and blessed birth.

Andrew is getting to be such a big boy. I see him figuring out his coordination every day. We have been really enjoying our spring like days around here and going to our local park a lot. He can go down all kinds of slides by himself though most still require someone to catch him at the bottom. He does sometimes get a bit twisted, like a foot will get caught but he still makes it down. Today at the park he wanted to go down the slide with his soccer ball and then with a water cup. So it takes a lot of coordination to figure out how to maneuver ones body with full hands! We are very proud of our big boy!

His new favorite thing to do besides slides is coloring. He prefers a coloring book to blank papers right now and he of course prefers to have someone coloring with him. Though he will occupy himself with it for a while alone too. When I color with him, he likes to scribble over whatever I color on. So cute! And forget about me trying to write something on my own! I can't fill out forms or makes lists at all without him wanting to help me. He gets his own pens and writes right along side.

Andrew is also very into his Daddy these days. Wants Daddy around all the time. At Walmart recently Andrew was in the cart with me. They always go and play with the toys while I shop and then come meet me. This time Andy had some things to look at on his own after the play time. As soon as he walked away from the cart to go check something Andrew started screaming "DADA DADA!" Andy heard him wherever he went in the store. One time Andrew even started to cry and it took me a second to get him distracted and into something else. I love it so much seeing Andrew attaching to his Daddy like I always knew he would. It must have been a hard road for Andy as he worked to build those bonds and Andrew was still so attached to me. But now he can see that all his effort has paid off! One night even, when Andrew woke up with gas pains, he would not calm down for me and as soon as Andy took him and picked him up Andrew laid his head on Daddy's shoulder and relaxed. It really is an awesome sight!

I am trying to teach him about the baby in mommy's belly but it is hard right now when I don't look too different. Still haven't gained a pound! Though I have popped already. But I tell him every day he'll be a big brother and mommy is making a baby for us and point to my belly. He'll get it before Peanut is born I am sure.

Here is a video of sliding down a tunnel side at the play area in Lewisville's mall. I still get pretty nervous but he is doing really well! He can climb up it by himself too but Daddy was helping to make it go faster.

And here is Andrew with his newest little friend Dylan. She is actually the daughter of a lady I know from LLL. She is so cute and only about 4 months older than Andrew so it is good to see how they interact, which honestly for right now is not much at all! She is chasing him cause he has the ball and won't share it! He loves to share his food but doesn't yet see the fun in sharing his toys...

Afternoon at the Park

2008-03-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Snow Day

2008-03-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't get video of the snow after it got crazy but this is from the first trip out. You can really see the gigantic snow flakes falling all around him.

Andrew was fascinated by it all. After he took a nap and we went back out, the whole ground was covered in at least 6 inches! There's pics on the online album. It was a super fun day!

Pics and Video!

2008-03-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Check out the new 17 month old Andrew album on our web albums!

Also, check the 16 month for some pics I put in the wrong place!

Here is Andrew sitting at Mommy's desk. he likes sitting int eh chairs we sit in of course!

Excuse the disaster area, I'm pregnant. Andy did help me get it all cleaned up that night but it has since gotten messy again. Ah life with kids! We love it!!

Andrew + Kitten = Too Cute!

2008-03-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

We had this kitten for a few days. She followed us home one night and we kept her a few nights. her wild side got the best of her though and she always wanted back out. She ran out once and we couldn't get her back so we let her go. She was super sweet and Andrew loved playing with her so much we are now considering getting a kitten from a inside cat litter. We'll see. Kittens keep you up at night playing too so we may have to wait a while! But it was fun.

BTW - he waved as soon as Andy stopped the recording! lol

Fun Stuff

2008-02-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

Playing Race Cars

Cat Chasing

Playing Lazers

Old December Vids

2008-02-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Pushing Mommy

2008-02-11T20:46:00.001-08:00

Our Rock Star

2008-01-23T22:17:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Videos

2007-12-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

Andrew's Grandma is doing Andrew's favorite thing - reading to him!

Funny noises and apple pie.

What a Mess

2007-12-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

On cold mornings I like to have oatmeal and I of course share it with my little man. He is getting much better at using his utensils but still likes to grab with hands. But he prefers to at least have a spoon or fork in one hand! The good thing about oatmeal is it sticks to the spoon making it much easier to get to the mouth!

Andrew Poops!

2007-12-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

Don't worry this isn't gross! I just happened to be videoing some other happenstances and Andrew decided it was time to squeeze one out! lol This also stars Andy's amazing oci-cat Thunder!

Couple of vids for now more to come soon...

2007-12-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

He's doing this super cute thing wear he stomps his foot when he dances. Or if he gets excited. Like sometimes we let him have the remotes he isn't "supposed" to play with and he goes crazy and stomps all around turning circles. It is so fun to see him so happy! I cannot seem to catch him doing it on video of course however. But here he is NOT stomping but getting me a magazine to look at with him then noticing the camera!

He started this singing into the paper towel roll all on his own. daddy did teach him how to do it into the water bottles too now which is also funny. In the middle of this vid Andrew wants to see the other side of the camera a few times. Try not to get too dizzy watching! You definitely need your sound up to hear all his musical talent!

Sweet Babbling Baby

2007-11-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

The title speaks for itself, but I'll add this is my favorite video of Andrew so far this year. It makes me giggle every time I see it and hear it. He is such a joy!

Random Vids From Last Month

2007-11-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here he is after picking out his first "outside toy" to play with at home. He couldn't wait to get home to try it out! He would always try to get the toys off of our neighbors porch when we went outside. My theory was if he had his own outside toy, he'd have no need for theirs. I was wrong! lol He likes his but is still very interested in theirs!

As many of you know, we play at a park almost daily, probably 5 times a week. Here we are at the downtown Sanger park on a sunny afternoon.

Our good little boy loves to brush his teeth! Well, I think he likes to play in the water and drink it off of his toothbrush lol! This isn't the best representation because he stopped as soon as we got out the cam of course! But he does like to chew on the wrong end a lot too.

I made pumpkin pie for the first time and Andrew liked it! He also eats with a spoon but not once the cam is on! lol

Halloween Videos

2007-11-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Enjoy! We sure did!!

We arrive at Grandmother's house.

All dressed up and ready to go!

Hanging out at the neighbors before trick or treat time.

Getting going in the wagon!

Busy busy

2007-11-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

We got a new trash can for his cloth diapers and he had a good time playing with it before I got it set up.

Halloween videos to come soon!

Legos

2007-10-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

I thought he'd try to climb back up in that chair, still don't know how he did it the first time, but instead he plays some legos.

Birthday Party Cake

2007-10-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

First Birthday Day

2007-10-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's the video of the cake he got at home on his birthday. I baked him an eggless chocolate cake with banana glaze. Not sure if he liked it but he did actually eat some.

The pics of his party are up on the album (finally!) and we have a video of that day to post here as well. Someday... ;)

A Ride and an Uh-oh

2007-10-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Camera ran out of batteries or this would have been a longer one. But it should give you a giggle.

You're gonna love this one, turn up your speakers!

video time

2007-10-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

At Grandmother's

Partying at Sanger Sellebration

So Much to Tell!

2007-09-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a long time since I have written a blog. Hope the videos have kept you entertained! But we're getting to a point where Andrew is doing so many new things that I cannot possibly catch them all with the camera so I have to write them out! It has also been hard to type a blog entry until recently when Andy fixed a program issue on my computer. It is so awesome to be married to such a brilliant computer genius btw! ;)

To begin, Andrew is almost one year old. I cannot believe it is here already. He has changed so much over the last year, I try daily to hold on to the memories of each change.

Most recently he is working on being verbal. He's always been quite the chatter box as you know but he is now saying a very distinct word, Uh Oh! He doesn't always know when it is appropriate and will just say it but he also says it when he or I or Andy drops something or he will say it right before he throws something, which is super cute. I'm trying to work on Hi with him now too. The funny thing is once he picks up a new sound or word he leaves the others behind it seems. He said Mama first but hasn't said it since he started saying Dada. With Dada came all kinds of variations including Dad – du and Dad Dad. All of which meant Daddy but soon came to mean most anything. Now with Uh oh I haven't heard Dada in a few days and Uh oh is taking on many meanings as well. It is fascinating watching him work these things out!

As good of a walker as he is, he still falls a lot. His poor little shins have bruises and his knees are scraped from the outside. Not badly, no scabs just little boy bumps I guess. It used to upset me a bit but now I think it is cute that he is becoming such a little kid!

Still such a baby too though! He still stands and looks like a baby body. It will be fun to watch his body change over the next year. It will turn from baby body into kid body! His arched back will decrease, his bowlegs will straighten, he will thin out in his arms and legs, and his proportions will even out. And then I will have some serious baby fever! We do want another one pretty soon but not while Andrew is still such a baby.

Andrew loves 'tools!' I don't mean like hammers and screwdrivers (though I'm sure he'd love them if we gave him some!) but he likes to have a stick like object in his hand at all times. And he can carry two at once and often does, just yesterday he started with three too. A favorite of his is a plastic spoon but he also likes his plastic rake and shovels or straws. I hadn't thought of them as tools until we recently went to a dinner given by the local Order of the Eastern Star group for our local high school's homecoming, and as Andrew wandered around the room with his two spoons I told a few old ladies how he likes to carry spoons like that. One said of course he does, he has his tools! I thought that was so cute and such a perfect way to describe what he is doing! He even tests new things with his tools. He pokes at stuff, like other toys, the ground, the cats, things outside.

Speaking of outside, we have to take him out every day! He loves it! He will bring me my sandals to let me know he wants to go. He likes to explore. I have to carry around a trash bag with us because our neighbors are not as respectful of our environment as we are and Andrew likes to pick up every piece of trash he finds. If I forget a trash bag it is so hard to keep him away from stuff.

He is also very into his books right now. I don't let him have all of them because he still eats them and tears pagers so the nicer ones are kept up and brought down only for mommy to read to him. But he will sit and read his books on his own a lot too. He reads too! He babbles through the pages and will point at them. I like to point at pictures on the page for him when I read to him so I am sure he is mimicking this. When I tell him in the evening, let's go read some books, he gets excited! He loves to turn the pages for me. I have to be very careful with the library books, he has already torn a couple. But we still go to the library once a week or every other week to play and look for new books. They also have a local story time we will attend if we are free on Wednesdays.

Andrew is very much in a mimicking stage. He will take a plastic cup over to our water jug and hold it up when he is thirsty. He has seen us do this! I would love to get him to sit on his potty chair when we go to the bathroom but he is more interested in looking at it and pulling it apart than sitting on it.

One of my absolute favorite things he just started about 3 days ago is copying us talking on the phone. He will hold a phone (or remote control) to the side of his head, more behind his ear than actually to it, and say “ah” like he is trying to talk. He walks around like this any time he sees us on the phone and just goes “ah ah ah” the whole time. We stopped at the new Circuit City in Denton last Friday just to hang and check it out and the cell phone booth people were so nice. They gave him a dummy phone. It flips and has buttons he can push but no real parts but it looks exactly like the model they have. He is having a good time playing with it! Though the gentleman warned us he wouldn't like it for long once he realizes there's no noise coming out of it like ours! Lol

Andrew also shakes his remotes at the TV. I am so scared he's going to throw one one of these days. He does like to throw things. But so far he hasn't. I think he knows we point the remotes and push buttons to change channels and such but hasn't quite gotten it down. He does know how to turn the TV off and on by pushing the actual button on the TV.

He is such a quick learner right now. I try to work with him every day on little things around. Mostly we just play and let him play and explore. I trust he will learn what he needs to as he goes. Everyday is such a joy with him. He is so happy even though I think he is pushing his one year molars right now and a little extra cuddly, I don't mind. I like it really! Normally he is so independent that it is nice to get some extra hugs!

We are truly blessed to have him in our lives. We learn from him as he does from us. We are taking this parenting gig just one day at a time and following his cues and loving every second of it!!

Nap Time

2007-09-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

Just for fun

2007-09-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

This is an instructional video we made for metacafe.

But I thought I'd show you because Andrew is so cute in the beginning of it!

More Playing Around

2007-09-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

Playing can be serious business when you're such a busy boy!!

Where's Andrew?

Bubbles!

2007-09-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Video from Andrew's 11th month birthday

2007-09-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

In the Baby Pool

2007-09-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

This was from a little over a week ago at Andy's cousin Lori's house.

Today Andrew is 11 months old. I cannot believe it. Time has gone by so quickly. Our tiny baby is growing up so fast!

Playing and Drama Queening

2007-08-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

He is so cute playing by himself in his bedroom. Such a big boy!

And boy when he gets tired and/or hungry everything is a big ordeal!

10 Month Old Videos

2007-08-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

Not videos from ten months ago! lol Andrew since he's turned 10 months old! These are the newest ones I have so far. There are more on the camera to get off though!

Playing outside.

Watching TV and walking around.

This is a long one of him on his 10 month birthday day just walking around and crawling too.

10 Months Old

2007-08-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well our big boy is 10 months old now. And walking! He walks more than crawls at home now but is still crawling when he is in a big hurry! :D It's gosh darned cute let me tell you!

These videos are a few weeks old. But I wanted to get them up and shared before it was too too late. The first one is just him digging in the diaper bag. If I leave it open he goes through it. He loves to pull things out of boxes, bags, baskets, whatever! It's fun!

Sorry it is so dark.

This one is him playing in the kitchen cabinets. He is allowed in all but one of them and he like everything else, just empties them! lol He had been playing the pots like drums but stopped as soon as I started filming as usual. I also wish I could catch more of his new noises on video! He is getting the sweetest sounding voice!

I have started the new album for his 11th month and changed the names of all the others to reflect his age and not the month. I think it will be less confusing for us all. lol

Just Playin Around - long videos

2007-08-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Playing with shoes and walking around.

Walking with Daddy's hand, still his favorite way to walk though he walks more on his own each day!

Rocking Chair

2007-07-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

More Walking!

2007-07-31T10:42:00.001-07:00

He had been doing it for a long time before we got out the camera and he was getting tired of it by this time. But he still does a super job of walking. By now he is almost walking more than crawling. He still holds on a lot and loves to hold someone's finger while he just walks around the apartment. He lets go of things now and takes a few steps before getting down to crawl. He is making it completely across the room at times without getting down at all!

He finally got that 6th tooth through and today is already acting like his old self again. He was so sad and in pain big time for the last few days and slightly for the last few weeks. Last night he slept for 13 hours, pobrecito must have needed it big time!

He love love loves playing outside! He walks around in the grass without holding on sometimes even and picks up everything he finds. Then he examines it and throw it and picks it up again! He even takes a while before he tries to eat it and not everything goes into the mouth!

Well he is on me right now so it is hard to type!

So Close

2007-07-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

Andrew is so close to walking it will be any day and he will just take off before our very eyes! I am working on another video we got of him doing it today. It won't be in this post though. It does seem like by the time we get the camera after a walking practice session he is just so over it.

He just popped his 5th tooth recently and is working on the sixth which is about to break through any second it seems.

But today he was taking steps without coaching, from furniture to other furniture and before getting down to crawl. With our coaching and leading, he would take several good steps before either sitting or lunging into us. Tomorrow he will be even better! Any day now I tell ya any day now. Damn, now he'll have to wear shoes when we go out! ;) We're going shopping for some tomorrow.

I can't upload videos right now because Google isn't accepting any this second. I am sure it just temporary and I'll try again soon. I have 3 to show! In the meantime, new pics are up in the online album!

Eating

2007-07-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

That's spinach on his cheek!

The Goin Chronicles

Sunday Ramblings by Andy

Visit to the farm

Boring Day at Home

Sunday Ramblings by Andy

Dog Poop Happens

Family, Friends, and the Importance of Them

Told You I would!

Busy Week Ahead

Happy New Year!

New Pics

Well...

SO Much Going On!

Still no Baby - Playing Catch up

So Much

More cuteness

Just too cute

Wrestling with Daddy

At Grandmother's

Smarty Pants

The Wedding

Water Fun

Fun Games

Just Some Fun Vids

Fireworks

Fourth of July Vids

More from June

June Videos

So Much to Tell So Little Time

Water Baby

Andrew's First Fever

It's Out!

What a week!

Time to Watch Monsters

The Halfway Point

Some fun vids

Little Update

Another Word

Stunt Run

Andrew Collage Video

First Dental Visit

18 Months Old

Morning Cat Play

I'm Pregnant!!

Afternoon at the Park

Snow Day

Pics and Video!

Andrew + Kitten = Too Cute!

Fun Stuff

Old December Vids

Pushing Mommy

Our Rock Star

Thanksgiving Videos

What a Mess

Andrew Poops!

Couple of vids for now more to come soon...

Sweet Babbling Baby

Random Vids From Last Month

Halloween Videos

Busy busy

Legos

Birthday Party Cake

First Birthday Day

A Ride and an Uh-oh

video time

So Much to Tell!

Nap Time

Just for fun

More Playing Around

Bubbles!

Video from Andrew's 11th month birthday

In the Baby Pool

Playing and Drama Queening

10 Month Old Videos

More Videos

10 Months Old

Just Playin Around - long videos

Rocking Chair

More Walking!

So Close