Andrew & Leah

We had a very nice Christmas. We were up to Crookston on Christmas Eve and to Fisher on Christmas Day. Andrew sure was spoiled on his first Christmas by all of his Grandparents. What a lucky boy.

You know the song, "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth?" Well, I guess that wish came true for Andrew because he got the front right tooth on Christmas Day. Now he's got 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom.

He is up on hands and knees for crawling now. He pulls himself up on all of the furniture. He thinks he is pretty hot stuff when he does that. He pretty much stands still, but is getting a little bit more daring at letting go or turning around, so we have to be there to spot him.

We are trying new foods, too. He has tried bread, puffs, baked potatoes, Cheerios and graham crackers. He is putting things in his own mouth now. He also likes to drink water. He doesn't get the whole sippy cup thing yet, but we are working on that. He thinks it is a fun toy in the meantime.

We were called to get Andrew early from Daycare today. He had thrown up a few times after lunch. Guess he didn't like what they gave him for lunch or he really wanted to spend the afternoon with his daddy. He was perfectly fine after he got home and ate a full supper of oatmeal and bananas. Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas! It has come so fast this year. It doesn't help that the weekends have been terrible as far as weather goes. We have gotten so much snow and Ryan was gone during both blizzards. Luckily Grandpa Peter and the Shockmans (next door neighbors) have snow-blowed the driveway for us.

We are heading to Crookston for Christmas, so Ryan, Andrew and I celebrated our Christmas tonight. Andrew was pretty interested in eating the tissue paper, but did like the new toys, too.

Andrew is learning so many new things. He gives kisses now and been doing that for a while. Nice and sloppy. He also has learned how to pull himself up to the standing position next to the coffee table or ottoman. He will take a couple of steps if you hold his hands. He is finally discovering that the mirror is actually a reflection. He was amazed one day that I could be right in front of him and holding him at the same time. Then he really got his arms and legs moving and was really amused. He really hates getting into his carseat. He arches his back and cries while we get him buckled in. Once we are up and moving, he is usually fine. He doesn't like to sit still or be in the laying position to be changed. He even knows when we are on the way to his bedroom. He will crawl after a toy or after us if we leave the room. He has been sleeping well at night lately, so mama is happy to get her sleep, too! We have tried a few new foods besides the baby food. He really likes bread and banana puffs. We are working on drinking from a cup instead of the bottle, too. He thinks it is more of a toy and doesn’t quite get how to work the spout. If we take out the spillproof valve and pour some in his mouth he thinks it’s pretty good.

Andrew had his 9 month appointment yesterday. He weighs 19 lbs 10 oz and is 28 3/4 inches long. He got an A+ from the doctor. No shots this time! Horary!

Andrew will now go up on hands and knees to crawl. He will still do the army crawl when he needs to get somewhere fast. His favorite activity is still digging through a pile of toys. It's so funny to watch him. He finds his favorites buried in there. He’s working on tooth number six. It seems like this teething thing is constant once it starts. Hopefully we will get a little break after this one comes in. He is trying really hard to pull himself up on the ottoman. It’s just a little bit too tall for him yet. If I give him a little head start by sitting on my leg, he can do it.

Today, Andrew and I went to see Santa with my friend Emily and her 5 month old son Owen. We picked them up and headed to the mall. (I must say I love the van and all its room!) Andy wasn’t scared of Santa at all. He just sat nice with him and got his picture taken. Not super smiley, but had a pleasant look on his face.

They say there is a huge blizzard coming our way tonight. It’s already started snowing and blowing. Ryan is with the men's basketball team in Des Moines, so hopefully they make it back as scheduled on Sunday, but we will be okay if they can’t make it. Grandpa Peter and Grandma Teresa are going to come and dig us out if we need help.

We got our Christmas tree earlier this week. Just yesterday, I put the lights on after Andrew was sleeping. I'm going to try and tackle the ornaments tonight. Usually I have all this stuff on Thanksgiving weekend. I guess that’s the life with a child -- the evenings and weekends just fly by now.

We've had a busy week since Thanksgiving. Some exciting news is we got a minivan! It is so much easier with Andrew to get him in and out. I love the sliding doors and the ease to get into the back when we are traveling if he needs something. We broke it in with a return trip to Minneapolis. We were down to the U of M on Friday to see the NDSU volleyball game in the playoffs. Daddy was working and sitting courtside during the game so Auntie Allison and Cousin Isaac came to watch with Andrew and I. Cousin Reese stayed home with her daddy, but she did protest a little about not being about to come.

Andrew has another tooth. This one is the middle upper left. He's been working on it for a long time, so we are glad it finally popped through. The tooth next door is next, so the drooling probably continues for now. I'm sure that must hurt. He does get a little fussy at times, but not too bad.
Poor Andy has had a cold and has took some long naps today which is so unusual for him, so I know he isn't feeling the best. In fact, we are all under the weather. Nothing major -- just coughs, runny noses, sore throats and goopy eyes. Hopefully we can get over it soon and be healthy through the holidays.

Andrew's newest trick is sitting up from laying down. He's only done it in his crib, so he is sitting up when we come into the room. We haven't seen him actually do it yet. He can get around so fast now, too. We got gates for both sets of stairs in the house and some outlet plugs and cabinet locks to baby proof the house.

We still don't have the house all decked out for Christmas yet. Hopefully we will get the tree Tuesday night and get that decorated. Then the trick is to keep Andrew away from it. :) I'm sure he will be attracted to the pretty lights. We did go up to Ryan's office this afternoon and put up his tree and some garland. I love that tree. It's all green and gold with some different Bison and sports ornaments. So fun.