Andrew & Leah

The family is doing well. We are busy every weekend attending NDSU sporting events and it seems like the evenings go so quickly now, especially with it getting darker soon after work now.

Andrew is doing well. He is a big kid now in the 4 year old room at his preschool. They do an amazing job with the kids. He’s getting to be buddies with quite a few of the kids, and it’s so fun to see his friendships develop. The majority of the class is boys, so it’s fun for him to be around.

Andrew has loved this fall full of football games, tailgating and volleyball games. He is still so attentive at the games. Now basketball starts, too so we will add those into the mix. Those are a little bit later nights, so it’s a bit harder to have little sister out so late, but we will manage.

Andrew was a blue monster for Halloween and really got into trick-or-treating this year. Last year he was shy and wouldn’t say much after ringing the doorbell. This year he was yelling trick or treat right out and he was on to the next house in a hurry. Leah was a cupcake. She DID NOT like her costume at first. Once we got outside and started with the trick-or-treating and she got to ride in the wagon, she liked that. Then she got to go up to a few houses and choose something out of the treat bowl…boy, did she like that. Then the wagon didn’t seem so fun anymore… she walked the rest of the way. The weather was perfect and the kids didn’t have to wear coats. There were so many kids out and about. It was just so much fun. Andrew’s favorite part was coming up to the house where his teacher Shawn lives. We didn’t know she lived there, so it was a nice surprise to see someone we knew behind the door.

Another thing that is fun with Andrew is that he is really starting to get what is funny now and I like his sense of humor. For instance, Andrew and I watched the Sound of Music…on comes the part where Captain VonTrapp whistles all the children to march down…he just loves that part. It’s so funny to watch his giggles. He also is into movies that aren’t cartoons now, too and really follows the story.

One of the challenges with Andrew is that he gets a little too rowdy sometimes and it’s hard to get him to tone it down especially around Leah. It’s typical boy type behavior where he just won’t leave his little sister alone. Leah is a spitfire, too so she won’t back down either. She pushes him away when he invades her space and eggs him on, too.

Leah is doing well. She moved into the older infant room at daycare. She is doing well and learning how to eat using a spoon, which makes much less mess at the dinner table. Her favorite food is yogurt, but other favorites include blueberry muffins, waffles, and pasta of any kind. She also likes cheese and crackers. He favorite treats include fruit snacks, plain m&m’s and chocolate chip cookies.

Leah continues to be very vocal and adds new words to her vocabulary every day. Although she can say “daddy” she prefers to call Ryan, Andrew and I all “mommy.” She also likes to call pretty much all animals “puppy.” She does know what everything is though if we ask her. She can point to everything. She loves Mickey Mouse. It’s good to have a few episodes on the DVR for those really crabby times, it seems that can put her into a better mood.

She LOVES her little doll. Along with her blanket, it’s her comfort toy. She loves to wrap her up in a blanket and rock her. She has also been asking to go to bed lately. She loves to rock a bit before bedtime and really snuggle in. We’re still working on getting her to sleep through the night. It seems like she will have a good night, but then Andrew will wake up instead of her. Now if we can just get them to both sleep well on the same nights.

No snow here yet in Fargo. It’s snowed a few times, but not enough to stick around. We might start December without snow. I’m sure it will come.