Our Very Hungry Caterpillar Party

On Saturday, we had Andrew's First Birthday Bash. It was AWESOME! Just having so many people who love our son in one place was pretty great, and (thanks to my amazing family) the theme was pretty stinkin cute. :) Above is one of the pictures Josh took of him in his costume. Sara made him the vest for Christmas, and I made the hat. Ha!

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I love this woman.

He was pretty cautious with the cake. It took him a while to try and eat it.

He loves Grama.

Our friends Katie and Damon came with their adorable kids, Maddie and Hayden. Andrew was really sweet trying to help Maddie with toys and wrapping paper. Then he would turn right around and watch and mimic Hayden. He is smooshed right in the middle. Perfect.  

In this picture, he is showing her how to press a button so the book will sing.

Sweet friends.

How do I do that?

I got some Maddie-snuggles while she was there, but Andrew did get a little jealous.

The best part was seeing and hearing from so many of our friends and family who have supported us through this first year of parenthood.  It has been a joy to learn to be Andrew's parents, and it has been a joy to share it with you.

Birthday Boy

We had a wonderful birthday with our boy.  I'm having a tough time with my blog app this week, (perfect timing, right?), so the whole birthday event will be here in pieces.  

In the morning on Friday, we woke up and greeted our one year old.  He does look older.  We gave him a play kitchen, which has been a huge hit.

So far the biggest hit has been the spatula.  He isn't quite sure how to pretend to cook yet, so it's basically like play-food hockey.

We spent the rest of the day visiting grandparents and congratulating ourselves on making it through what seems to be the easiest year of parenting.  People laugh when I say this, but Andrew really is a pretty easy going baby, and I struggle way more with questions like "How do I teach this child to love Jesus?" "How to I help him understand that pinching me hurts me?"  and "Why does he insist on touching the trash can when he knows he's not supposed to?" than questions like "Is he sleepy or is he hungry?"  He gets more complicated every day.  Fortunately, he also gets cuter.  :)

We finished out the day at my parents, where we had yummy brownies and ice cream, one of Andrew's favorites.  

Then we went to bed and rested for the big Party Day on Saturday.  More pictures of that to follow!

Pancakes anyone? 

Interview with a One Year Old

More pictures and videos to follow. :)

Last day before 1...

We spent the day at Nana's getting ready for the party.

This week Marisa and I figured out how to text between my iPhone and her iPod. We have a daily chat appointment at 4:30. Marisa is always considerate and sends a video to Andrew so he won't be left out. He thinks this is way cool.

Thanks for helping him practice the birthday song, Marisa! I think he is getting the hang of it!

My husband is amazing

It is 70 degrees here today. No kidding. I've been sort of grumpy about it. I want one big snow. But when I came home from work the boys were waiting for me in the hammock outside, and then it was pretty nice. :) Of course, Josh took a regular day in the yard and turned it into one if his unforgettable photo shoots.

My little Curious man

I have been begging Josh to get this shot since we got this onsie a few weeks ago. We hardly had to pose it.




Cutest. Thing. Ever.



This is his new crazy face.



I love this kid.

Baby Pull Up

Those exercises with Daddy are rubbing off:

Three Little Fiddlers

More of our budding musician. He is trying to say "Papa" but his p's keep coming out as b's.

Sneak Peek

Any guesses as to the theme?

Countdown to party day: T-6 days!

How old does this kid look to you?

I just love that I always find him reading.

First Birthday Present

I know I already posted a video of him with a musical card, but that little dance is just so darn cute!

Silly boy

Monkey Face

A Visit From Uncle Adam

Adam came over and had dinner tonight. While he was here we took a chilly walk around our house.



Yes, his sleeper says "Life is good."



It is.

Baby Recliner

Andrew is already quite adept at finding creative uses for cardboard boxes. What a boy!

GrandNana's BBQ Chicken

We visit great-grandparents once a week, on Grandparent Day. Last time we went to my Nana's she made awesome BBQ chicken and sent it home for me to freeze. Andrew loves it.
Tip: The following video is best appreciated with the volume turned up. :)

Indiana Jones

A word to anyone shopping for a birthday card for Drew in the next few weeks: musical cards are a hit. :)

Daddy/Dude workout

The Sweaters

I needed to post a better picture of Andrew's adorable sweater vest that Sara made for him. She made it from the leftovers from a sweater she made for herself.

My first baby with my own baby...

Christmas, finally!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get these up. But here it is: our First Christmas as a family of 3.

The first place we opened presents was with Eric. He got Andrew a giant purple ball, which is easily his favorite gift from the whole event.

We opened stockings at our house before we left for Christmas rounds on Christmas Eve morning.

We spent the night at my parents on Christmas Eve. While I was packing, Josh called from the kitchen and said he was done. "Done already?" He said he had everything we needed:

What can I say? He was right. :)

Nana and Papa got a fish tank at their house. Andrew L-O-V-E-S it.

Christmas Morning!

Sweet baby face

We read the Christmas story before we open presents every year. This year we read it out of Andrew's Jesus Storybook Bible. I recommend it. It is my favorite children's Bible.

And then the presents! The biggest hit was the wrapping paper, but I didn't think you would want to watch 10 videos of that... :)

This present was actually Adam's:

"Mommy, I like your stationary. Can I have the box?"

Nana made an amazing scrapbook for me. It covers 3 months to 6 months. We take a lot of pictures.

These are actually blocking mats for my knitting, but Andrew thought they were for him. I guess I will share.

One of my favorite things that Andrew got was this adorable vest. Sara knitted it and it matches one she made for herself. So. Stinkin. Cute.

Christmas is sort of exhausting. 

After a nap and a car ride across town, we got started at Grandma and Grandpa's. The first thing he got was this wicked cape his Aunt Emily made for him. Super Andrew!

Oh yeah, and she made a matching one for Josh. :D

Andrew got a real drum from Grandpa. It's pretty exciting.

The conducting lessons are paying off.

Also a piano...

Ben made Scott an electric bass. Who is more excited about it?

Andrew paid close attention while Ben went over the details.

It was an amazing day. This guy makes our lives so much fun. Merry Christmas! And I promise, I'll update the blog more frequently. :) Countdown to the boy's first birthday begins!