First Hair Cut

We finally went to get Andy his first "real" hair cut at Dooz on Mercer Island. I have cut it a couple of times, but in the process, I have created some nice chunks in his hair. Although his hair doesn't look much different after the haircut, it was nice to get his "mullet" cleaned up. Andy was NOT a happy camper. From the second we put him in the chair he was a very grumpy boy. Kyle and I just had to laugh - but Andy was not enjoying his first hair cut.

Kyle getting Andy settled into the chair...the lower lip is coming out

This looks like torture!

The chair didn't last long, Kyle had to hold Andy to get him to stop squirming

Trying to avoid the hair cut lady as much as possible by burrowing into Kyle

MOM! Stop taking pictures and SAVE ME

Almost done, one last chunk to cut...

Kyle having to lock him down to get that last piece....phew!

16 Months

Andy is now 16 months old! He is walking about 50% of the time, but is quite the efficient crawler, so I don't blame him for still using that mode of transportation. When he walks, he looks like he's had a few drinks as he stumbles forward and backwards...very entertaining to watch. Sometimes when he's walked across the room, he'll look back to check if we have been watching and will clap and laugh. I guess that shows that we have been encouraging him to walk - huh? Andy also is building on his own little language. He will have little conversations with us - most of the time in jibberish. He looks at you with the most sincere and serious look on his face as if he truly is talking to you - I look forward to the day when we will know what all the jumbled words really mean. He does have some favorite words right now - ba-ba is by far the most used...when he's hungry or wants his milk. Otherwise, he uses "no" quite a bit - usually when referring to Henry. I guess we say no to Henry a lot - especially around Andy. He also says 'dat' when pointing to things - and says "bawl" for ball. His vocabulary is mostly mimicking whatever we say - he points at airplanes and says - "pane" and when we say, I love you, he says "uv wu". He loves blowing kisses and waving bye and makes all sorts of clicking, buzzing noises with his mouth. He loves shoes and socks and gets very excited when we put them on. If he finds Kyle's or my shoes around the house, he tries to put those on as well. He still is quite the sleeper - going to bed around 8:30 and waking up between 8 and 10 AM. His temperament is still mellow - especially when he gets in large groups. He likes to sit back and observe and take everything in. Although he generally is mellow - he definitely has a stubborn, curious, determined side to him...not sure where he got that :) Andy will climb, bite, poke, grab, throw anything he can get his hands on. Poor Henry, the other night, Andy was doing his typical crawl over Henry routine and he leaned down and took a big bite out of Henry's side. Usually Henry puts up with Andy's pulling, tugging, poking - but he let out a big yelp when Andy took a bite out of him. I don't blame him! Our house is baby-proofed to the fullest with 6 gates and rubber bands keeping all of our drawers together. It's amazing how quickly a 16 month old can turn a perfectly clean kitchen into a disaster zone. Andy had his first major fever and cold this month, but otherwise he is a healthy and happy guy. He definitely keeps us on our toes...busier by the day.

Apple Cup

Kyle, Andy and I went to Apple Cup this year. It was a COLD one - but a great game! Sadly, Apple Cup was the ONLY game that I went to this year - which definitely makes the record books for me. It was fun having Andy there and he was a trooper - tailgating, napping during the game on our laps, and even lasting through dinner after the game with friends. Plus - Lindsey and Emily were up from SF for the weekend - and it was great to see them!

Below is a picture of some of the gamma phi girls: Ali, Bekah, Car, Esh, Cadera, Linds and me. Tailgating with Andy strapped to me was a little different than my college days...but we still had a great time.

Candy Cane Lane - 2009

We continued on with Thanksgiving weekend by heading out to Candy Cane Lane on Friday. I guess it hasn't actually been called "Candy Cane Lane" for awhile, but I continue to call it that since that is what I grew up knowing it as. We met the Lentz Family and both picked out the "perfect tree". Kyle makes fun of me because I always want to go for the 10-12 foot trees, and he has to remind me that they won't quite fit into our house. We settled on a good one and it's up and decorated and smells great. It was fun seeing Callie and Robbie with Santa and enjoying the tradition with the Lentz family!

In the back of the truck - getting ready for the search!

Nick all bundled up! Robbie inspecting the tree with great detail The Lentz tree! Timber!! The Graebner Tree Kyle chopping down the tree while Robbie approves Taking care of Andy Andy hanging out... Having some fun... Trees chopped down...now time for some cider and cookies

And Santa, of course! Callie intently telling Santa what she wants for Christmas.

Robbie, not so sure

The Lentz crew with Santa

Back to the car we go...

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving weekend flew by - but it was a fun long weekend! We started Thankgiving day by decorating for Christmas and then enjoyed the evening by celebrating with the Anderson Family. As usual, the food was great and it was fun to spend time with family. After dinner, Andy's buddy Ellis turned into a Turkey - which was adorable!

And he's off!

Walking, that is : ) Andy is officially walking (more than his typical 3 - 4 steps). He is very unsure on his feet, but he is walking across the room now. Kyle and I were both sitting on the basement floor - just watching Andy. He got a look on his face - and let go of the couch and just walked across the room to me. A fun milestone, although I have been warned that I am going to have my hands even more full now. It will be fun to see him explore this new mode of transportation.

Andy - 15 Months

Andy is 15 months now - such a fun age. He is absorbing so much, it's fun to watch. We can tell our "mellow" guy has a little mischievous side to him now. He wants to climb anything, open anything, bite anything (especially Henry), and has his own language. Speaking of Henry - Andy and Henry are buddies. Henry puts up with a LOT from Andy. Andy's favorite thing right now is to drive head first into Henry...then he'll grab an ear, some hair, his nose and just poke and grab away. Henry has been a patient dog - not exactly what we expected, but very cute to watch them interact. Andy is our little thumper. He thumps his head to help himself fall asleep and when he wants something (food, to get out of his high-chair, when he's bored). He still LOVES his bottle - a habit we are trying to break. He now points to the area we store his bottles and says "ba ba" pretty clearly. He also has lots of other "words" in his vocabulary - some of which we can't quite figure out : ) He says "ga" for dog, dada, mama, up, hi, baba, gu for "go", and still loves making monkey sounds. He'll mimic a lot of things - like animal sounds, but they aren't part of his every day vocabulary. Our favorite mimic is when he says "gu suskes" - aka Go Huskies! Andy still would rather play with his food than eat it (or throws it at Henry), although he eats pretty much anything. He's currently standing on his own and taking about 3 steps on his own, but prefers crawling as his mode of transportation. He loves to clap and yell, yay! He waves bye bye and gives high-fives. He also loves to point at everything and give kisses. I can't believe he is 15 months old and love our little guy. Each day brings something new - which is so fun to watch.

Typical morning these days...get up around 9AM and spend some time crawling around.

Uh-Oh (another favorite phrase these days) - can't go past the many gates around the house.

Playing with his toys - he especially likes trucks, cars, anything he can move along the floor or on his head. Climbing and banging on things - loves to make noise! This is Andy say "up" and climbing on my legs - come on mom, stop taking pictures of me! Ready to eat! Lower lip starting to come out... Okay - ENOUGH! Much better! I am ready to start the day now : )

Halloween 2009

So - Halloween finally arrived! We started off the afternoon by walking Queen Anne Ave with Ka and Bapa. It was similar to the Magnolia Village - but fun to be in our own neighborhood. There were so many creative costumes! After walking Queen Anne, we went over the the Lentz house with the cousins and had a yummy dinner and lots of candy : )

Bapa and silly monkey

Bapa and Ka

All the cousins minus Dino Miller. We had Dorothy holding the monkey, Spiderman, T-Rex, Nick the Lion, and Girly Dino Masin.

The Lentz Crew

Our lil Monkey

And - the best costumes of the night - the Pope and his Pregnant Nun

Halloween in Magnolia and Ballard

Like I mentioned, we definitely made the best of Halloween this year. We attend the Magnolia Village trick-or-treat on Friday. It was fun to see our friends from the co-op and to check out all of the costumes. After walking the streets of Magnolia - we visited Grandpa and Grandma in Ballard. We had one happy monkey and some happy grandparents!

Back into the costume...again

Excited to walk around Magnolia

Trick-or-Treat Grandpa and Grandma!