Singing in the rain

We made a poor choice in going to the park/beach on a rainy day, but Andy got the most out of it he could!

Cutie pies

Have you ever seen two CUTER CUTIES??? And the kids are pretty adorable too! : )

Kangaroo dancing

A typical evening at our house starts with some dancing to Shawn's piano playing with stuffed-animals-of-the-month Kangaroo and Bunny Rabbit.("Shawn plays piano?" you ask? Well enough for Andy to enjoy a dance!). Then things start to break down, which is usually a sign that Herbie is in for some humiliating Kangaroo riding.

Teaching our children

Here we are, watching the Oscars. Andy points to the car he loves riding around the house in and says "this my car, not Bryn." I said, yes, but can you say "this IS my car"? We went through this a couple of times with Andy still saying "this my car" or "this mine car". In my final attempt, I said, "Andy, 'this IS my car' can you say that?" He said: "say that."

Andy turns 2!

It's true, our little boy is two years old! We had a construction-themed party with 4 other toddlers: Bryn, Elisa, and neighbor twins Carter and Graham. It was a chaotic blast! Here are all the photos you could ever want, starting with the table settings and all the way through to playing with new toys: Elisa liked her hat -- I'm not sure anyone else would consent to wear one.

I love this picture because it shows exactly how a party like this goes -- the kids sit at the table and are surprisingly still, focusing on eating their lunch, while parents hover and run around supplying food, wiping up messes, and generally keeping the kids happy so they'll sit and enjoy their little party!

Carter and Graham (aka "the boys" or, as Andy calls them under Maria's influence, "Carlito and Ricky")

Andy spent a lot of time trying to feed Elisa, one of his sweet (?) doting habits, along with bringing Elisa or Bryn their toys or milk. Of course, that's only when he's not busy pushing them.

Bryn masters the noise blow thingy.

True to form, Andy's not sure he even WANTS any of his birthday cupcake! Is this child related to me? I honestly don't know how he could turn down the frosted chocolately goodness.

See what I mean? STILL not eating the cupcake... this just seems so odd.

Everyone at the table, enjoying the party!

Andy gives the noise maker thing a try.

Success!

Time for opening presents! Andy turned the corner into the living room to find his brand new tricycle and immediately hopped on and took a few turns around the room. He loved it!

With a long-haired, well-traveled Uncle Pete in the background! Andy last spent time with Uncle Pete when we were all in Spain for the wedding of his other uncle Pete (who we call "Tito" to avoid confusion). The next morning, Andy talked alot about his Uncle Pete.

With his new ukelele (he broke the arm off of his last guitar so it was time for something more manageable!). Andy immediately fell into song.

Playing to his audience.

Let's not forget the helmet! Andy was so excited to have a helmet just like his dad uses.

Helmet still on, opening presents.

Grandpa and Nonna got Andy a real fishing pole. Here, Grandpa and Andy practice casting on the front porch.

After the crowd goes home, Bryn stuck around for some quality time with Andy -- I mean Herbie! How adorable is she???

So there, that's all the photos you could ever want to see of Andy's birthday. And if I can figure out how to load videos to this site (I'm told it's doable) you'll be able to see him blowing out his candles!

Happy birthday Andy!