Happy Birthday Bapa!

We celebrated a belated birthday for Bapa as he was down in sunny Palm Desert for his actual birthday. We ventured to Red Robin with the Warmes and enjoyed a fun dinner with the birthday boy. Bapa - thanks for being such a wonderful dad and for loving Kyle, me, and Andy so much. We love you!

And, yes, Kyle, Andy, and I were there...I just forgot to take pictures of my family : ) It gets a little chaotic at Red Robin with a little guy who likes to throw his food everywhere!

Maggie got the prime spot next to the birthday boy - which means...

Ice Cream for Maggie!

Masin didn't want any ice cream - just the cherries on top. She'll learn : )

Betsy with Miller boy

And with an ice cream filled Maggie. Hmmm, I wonder where Maggie gets her pretty blue eyes?

Milestones

We decided that we needed at least a 6 month break from bottles. Maybe it was for selfish reasons, but Andy also is over-due for sippy-cups. The hardest struggle was trusting he was getting enough calories through other food...so we decided to go cold turkey. No more bottles - and if he didn't eat his meals, he would learn about being hungry and really want his next meal (and decide that a sippy cup wasn't so bad after all). Well, we did it! The bottles have been tucked away for six months and our counters are clear. Yippee! A fun thing to tackle while pregnant, working from home, and taking care of Andy full-time. Maybe my lack of patience has its advantages some days.

Lucky number 17?

Last week marked 17 weeks for baby g #2, and Andy being 17 months old - so you would think it would be a lucky week? Well, our nanny decided she would not be able to take care of Andy due to medical issues...so not so lucky. We are on the search for a nanny, and have found some great ones at SPU. Wish us luck! How do you find someone who is "good enough" to take care of your child? I interview people all the time, but this process has me stumped. Am I being too easy, am I being too judgmental? What I have discovered is I don't like NOT being in control - and this is one of those situations with both Andy and baby g #2. At 17 weeks of pregnancy, I haven't felt movement, so I just have to be positive and have faith that everything is okay. With a 17 month old - searching for someone else to watch him other than me or Kyle - another situation where I have to surrender my desire to control the situation. So 17 isn't my favorite number, but it's a fun age to be spending extra time with Andy : ) So all and all, I count my blessings.

Andy - 17 Months

Andy officially is a walker! It's crazy how much he's changed in our eyes now that he is upright. It's as if he went from a "baby" to a "big boy" over night. We are experiencing a few bruises on the forehead, discovering a whole new level of baby-proofing the house, and have one energetic and excited walker. Also new this month is Andy's obsession with Henry. It use to be a playful, snuggling relationship...but now that Andy can walk and stand over Henry - he likes to TACKLE. Poor Henry, when he sees Andy coming he just walks the other way. Andy also is getting pretty aggressive with Henry - he tugs his ears, nose, paws, eyes - so I don't blame Henry for wanting NOTHING to do with Andy. So, we also have a game of cat and mouse in our house. Andy still is quite the sleeper - sleeping from between 8 - 9PM to between 8 - 10AM. He never has really taken a morning nap, but still (luckily) takes his 2 - 3 hour afternoon nap. How do mom's deal with no more nap time? Andy also has entered a stage of biting - ugh. He only bites Kyle or me (or Henry), but he bites HARD. We're working on that one.

Andy eats in phases - meaning he'll either chow down on food or throw it across the room and want nothing to do with it. Lately, he likes to eat on the go - he'll walk up to a plate of food, take a bite or a cracker, and walk away, only to come back 5 minutes later for another snack. He still loves his milk - especially from the bottle. We're working on getting rid of the bottle - but it's been a challenge as he wants nothing to do with the sippy cup. Andy's favorite food is oatmeal, avocadoes, olives, peanut butter, apples, and pasta. He also has become very fond of ice cream (I think that's where my genes kick in).

Andy now has 10 teeth - his 4 top and 4 bottom, and then 2 molars. His vocabulary is growing by the day and he mimics almost everything and likes to jabber in his own language as if he's holding a perfectly normal conversation with you. His favorite words right now are "light" - he points at any light and says "light" or "light off". He also likes "gaga" for dog and "no" for anything associated with Henry. He uses "baba" for his milk or really any food for that matter. And loves airplanes. And here are few other words/sounds he likes to use: hi, bye bye (while waving...usually to himself), mama, dada, go (go huskies), up, duck, quack, woof, plane, sky, apple, baba, no, ka, bapa, light, off, monkey sounds (his favorite animal), dog, hot, night - night, uh-oh, ball, vroom...and that's all I can think of right now.

Andy will open any drawer, door, cupboard and will also close or knock down anything that is open or standing up (hence my reference to having a whole new level of baby proofing). He now gives big open mouth kisses, can blow kisses, and will say nigh-nigh when he is sleepy. Andy also will laugh at pretty much anything...sound like his dad? My favorite feature about Andy right now is his belly laugh. He is super ticklish, and his laughter is the best. It's crazy thinking we will have another in June - and it makes me want to hold on to all of these little moments with Andy even more.

baby g #2 - 3/12 months

I started off my blog with a picture of me pregnant with Andy at "4 months" - which really was around 16 weeks. The first picture was over Easter Weekend in March of 2008. I tried to duplicate the picture - just one week off at 15 weeks - January 2010.

Baby g #2 - 15 Weeks

Andy - 16 Weeks

The past decade...

So, the main reason I started a blog was to document the milestones as well as the every day moments of Andy. I try to create a book out of my blog every 6 months, so instead of a traditional "baby book" I can just document on here and create a blog book. When writing this blog, I try to include info that Andy would want to know, remember, and have documented. My preference is capturing through pictures -well, because I love photography.

As we rang in the New Year, I thought it would be a good idea to document some of the events that have happened in the last decade. It's crazy to think where we were celebrating in 1999...and how much has happened in the past 10 years. It also makes me excited to think about where we will be 10 years from now.

Since I was born in 1980 (Kyle, 1979) - each decade is in line with the decades of our life. This past decade were our 20s, and this next decade we will be celebrating our 30s!

So Andy, and baby g - here's a little recap on what your parents were doing in their 20s:

At the turn of the century:

In December of 1999 - your mom and dad had not met yet. We had just finished fall quarter of our sophomore year at the University of Washington. Your dad celebrated the New Year in downtown Seattle and your mom celebrated in Sun Valley at the Trail Creek Lodge. Little did we know what the next year would bring!

The year 2000:
Your mom and dad met the spring of 2000. We had seen each other at the IMA (Inter mural Athletics building) at UW - aka, the gym. Although we had seen each other many times, neither of us wanted to approach each other at the "gym". So, thanks to a sorority sister we knew in common (Erin Sawyer), we had an excuse to meet each other - April of 2009. That was a Tuesday, and we ventured to The Inn that night where we again crossed paths (thanks to Kristen Bushnell). Hard to believe that was almost 10 years ago. After our first date at Maggie Bluffs in Magnolia and about 10 casual dates later - we started officially dating - and the rest is history! In the remainder of 2000 we spent a lot of time on Whidbey during the summer. That was in between both taking summer school. We ended the summer by venturing to the Oregon Coast for the first of many trips before starting up the fall quarter of our junior year at UW. Your dad turned 21 in August of 2001. We celebrated the New Year in Palm Desert - Kyle's first trip with the Campbell Family!

The year 2001:
The year started off with Mollie and Ryan getting married in January! In 2001 your mom was thick in her intermediate series of accounting, quite focused on school (and your dad still wanted to stick around!). During March of 2001, your mom took off for a study abroad experience in Italy. It all started with a week in Spain, a couple of days touring Italy, and then 3+ months in Siena, Italy with weekend trips all over Italy. We talked over e-mail quite a bit - and survived the long-distance. Your mom came home one day before starting her first big job at Ernst & Young and your dad spent the summer working at Sellen Construction. Fall 2001 was our first quarter as seniors and we rang in the new year in Sun Valley, Idaho.

The year 2002:
Your mom and dad both graduated from college in 2002 - a fun milestone to experience together. Your mom graduated in Accounting and your dad graduated in Economics. Just after graduation, we ventured on a back-packing trip through Western Europe and visited about 15 cities over a month and a half. If I can remember correctly our trip generally went in this order: England (London), France (Paris), Germany (Munich), Czech Republic (Prague), Switzerland (Interlocken), Italy (Florence, Siena, Venice, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre), France (Cap d'Antibes), Paris - Seattle! After a fun and busy trip, we took an end of summer trip to Sun Valley before your mom moved into her Greenlake apartment (with Kristin (Platt) Rose and Erika Swick) and your dad moved home. Fall 2002 - your mom started her Masters Program at UW and your dad worked Camco Electric, waiting for his Shaw job to start in 2003. We celebrated the new year in Sun Valley!

The year 2003:
Your dad started his job at Shaw Industries in January of 2003. He spent 6 months in Dalton, Georgia - the Carpet capital of the World : ) Your mom experienced her first "busy season" at Ernst & Young and finished her MPAcc at UW. She spent her spring break visiting your dad...and he was having so much fun, she thought he would enjoy being a single guy upon his return...but we survived another long-distance stint! During the summer of 2003, your dad started his career as a Territory Manager at Shaw Industries and your mom studied for the CPA exam. In September, we bought our house on Queen Anne. During the fall - your mom started her career at Ernst & Young. Betsy and Brendon got married in October and just two weeks later - your dad proposed! He surprised me up on Whidbey Island (2 weeks before the CPA exam), while I was studying, and took me on a walk on the beach during a rainy, windy day. He had lined up roses in the sand with a box at the end of the line of roses - and we were engaged! Shortly after, I took the CPA exam, and threw myself into the thick of being an auditor while your dad plugged away at demolishing our new house and piecing it back together.

The year 2004:
This was a big year for us! Your mom moved home and planned a wedding, while your dad lived in a sleeping bag at our house and remodeled it, one room at a time. I became a CPA in 2004 and survived my 2nd busy season. Your dad spent his days driving along I-5, visiting accounts, and working away at Shaw, and his nights working on the house. We had a lot of fun parties and activities leading up to August 2004- our wedding! We got married on August 28th at the University Presbyterian Church and our reception was at Shilshole Bay Beach Club in Ballard. It was a special day - one we never will forget! We spent our honeymoon at Cannon Beach at the Stephanie Inn. The rest of 2004 was spent being newlyweds in our newly fixed-up house (the main floor). Your dad worked on fixing up the rest of the house while your mom spent long hours at Amazon.com - her main client. We rang in the New Year in Sun Valley!

The year 2005:
In 2005, we worked hard - at our jobs and our house. We celebrated our 1st Anniversary at the Stephanie Inn - a great place to be! On our way home from Oregon, we visited our new puppy, Henry, who we got from a litter in Tigard, Oregon. Henry was our first baby - he was quite a handful, but so much fun. It was exciting to expand our family and get a taste of what it was like to have sleepless nights and have to come home to a little pup. We rang in the New Year in Sun Valley - see a theme?

The year 2006:
In 2006, we continued at our jobs and our house. We celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on the Oregon Coast, but this time at a dog-friendly place next door the the Stephanie Inn. We couldn't leave our puppy at home! We had a blast running on the beaches with Henry - and making our annual trip to the Oregon Coast. We celebrated the New Year in Sun Valley.

The year 2007:
2007 was filled with highs and lows. We became pregnant with our first baby in 2007 - but learned that this baby was not meant to be and ended in a molar pregnancy. Just after losing our baby, we took an incredible trip to France - it was perfect timing, a perfect trip, and one we always will cherish. We started off in Southern France - Nice, Cannes, Monaco, and stayed in the Cap d'Antibes. We toured the coast and were there during the Grande Prix and the Cannes Film Festival - quite the scene! After a few days in Southern France, we joined up with a Backroads group and toured the Provence countryside by bike. We biked, drank wine, ate, and biked some more. I loved EVERY second. We came home and had to deal with the side effects of a molar pregnancy, which meant having to make sure your mom was cancer free and waiting to try for another baby. In November of 2007 we got pregnant with Andy - our little miracle : ) We rang in the New Year in Seattle this year as your dad had to renovate a house we purchased in West Seattle. Every minute he wasn't at work, he was fixing up the rental. We had planned to build a home to sell, but when the market began to turn, we decided to rent it out.

The year 2008:
This is the year of ANDY! Pregnancy wasn't easy, but the end result was worth every second. Andy, you were showered with love before you were even born. We found out you were a boy at around 18 weeks and named you Anderson (after your grandma's maiden name), Campbell (after your mom's maiden name), Graebner. At 33 weeks, I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, which resulted in bed-rest. You were induced at 37 weeks and you came into the world via c-section. I will never forget the sound of your first cry. It was a moment filled with absolute love and relief - and our love has only grown each day we have spent with you. You are 16 1/2 months now - it's amazing how time has flown by! After you were born is kind of a blur - as we were in survival mode learning how to be parents and live off little sleep. I was lucky to have 6 months off work to get to know you and try to navigate my way through mommy hood! Your dad was such a great help and I fell even more in love with him seeing him as a dad. We celebrated your first new year in Palm Desert!

The year 2009:
This year has been a big one. Toward the end of 2008, our economy decided to take a big down-turn, and many people lost their jobs and/or lost a lot of money in the market...worst recession since the great depression in the 1920's and 1930's. Barack Obama was elected President and sworn in in 2009. We have spent this year watching you grow by the day. There are so many milestones - all documented on this blog (luckily) - otherwise, I would be writing even more of a novel! Your mom went back to work part-time. It has been a fun adventure this year! We became pregnant in July and lost the baby in September. We are blessed to be pregnant with baby g #2 and have high hopes and prayers for a healthy pregnancy, now 15 weeks strong. We look forward to what 2010 brings and for our family to expand in June. We celebrated the new year in Palm Desert.

Cheers to a new decade! I look forward to what our 30s bring and what God has in store for us.