A better day

Today Andrew felt the best he has since Friday. He is definitely on the upswing.

Nana and Papa brought over a sand turtle this morning for our yard.









While he was playing in it he kept saying "Dirt!"

Then we went to their house and Nana brought out the cash register.

He also got to play outside and play music with Papa. That always makes him feel better. We ended our time there with hide and seek.

When we got home he came up to me, hugged my legs, and pointed to his bed. Sweet baby.

Sick :/

Andrew has had a terrible cold. Sadly for us, he shares nicely with others. We have been practicing sneezing:

For those who are interested, our doctor said it is just a cold that has turned into a sinus infection. He is currently on antibiotics. Keep praying! :)

Dancing

Our picnic with Emily and Quinton

With Emily and Quinton in for the week, we wanted to do something really fun. Tuesday we went to Cataloochee for a picnic and a hike. Andrew looks sort of pale in all the pictures thanks to this wretched cold we are all still working through, but he did have a great time.

Exploring with Papa Robins


Talking with Ben about the world


Little boy, big world

My sweet family








Of course, there was a lot of dirt to wash away after all that adventure.


I see now that I came away without any pictures of Emily or Quinton, but there are some on Josh's blog if you are curious. They are super cute. :)

Girls' Weekend

Every year, all my mom's sisters get together for a weekend of talking, sitting, and Mom's cookies. This weekend they all came to Mom's house. My cousin Jess brought her daughter Leila who is only a few months older than Andrew. Rob's kids, Keira and Robbie, were there too.



Aunt Terri taught Andrew to collect rocks,



and Keira to play Tic Tac Toe.



Grandmas with their babies. :)

Terri also gave Andrew a car that goes when you pull it back. It took some training.

I read some books,



and Jess read some books.



Western Girls



We celebrated Lisa's birthday with herbs,



And Janet's with jewelry. Both were surprised.



Sweet cousins

All this fun wore Andrew out so thoroughly that he now has a cold or something. The only upside to him feeling so bad is that I get lots of cuddles. Also, today the only thing that makes him happy(ish) is being swaddled up in a knitted blanket, which means I get my teeny baby back. :)



(P.S. to my silly aunts who forgot to bring their cameras, if you would like these pictures, you should be able to click on it to make it large, then right click on it and choose "save as". Love you!)

Perfect Day

We had a picnic outside today.

Leela wanted to come in.






Sweet baby face



Then we went to see Nana and Grandma at the store.

We played with Papa.

We ate corn on the cob.



It was such a great day that towards the end, Andrew got a little goofy. He kept dancing and then laughing hysterically at himself.

Could there be a happier mother anywhere? :)

Discovery

After 13 months of parenting, what I have decided is that the experience is all about everything changing. Just as we get him figured out, he starts doing something that changes our lives forever. I don't think this will ever end. :)

I will always remember this week as the week Andrew discovered dirt. It started Wednesday, when I went out of town for a work conference. Andrew stayed with Grandma and learned about shovels:

Then on Friday we went to my Nana and Papa's house to help them with some gardening stuff.

Check out the color of that water!

Then, yesterday we went to my parents and Andrew helped Papa with gardening.










Somebody was missing, though.

Andrew practiced running with his silly Papa.

He has taken 8 baths in 5 days, and gone through I'm not sure how many outfits. My little babbler has mastered 4 words this weekend: "Down" "Go" "Out" and "Shoes."

I see a tan in my future. :)