Two Years Old!

I still can't believe it but Andrew turned 2 on Saturday! Nate and I had to make the day extra special for him...for his first birthday he didn't have a clue what was going on but this year he sure did. We both went into his room and sang him "Happy Birthday" when he woke up to start....

Then he opened a few gifts from us before breakfast.

We kept it simple...a Thomas the Train book, a Curious George book, and a Winnie the Pooh Book.

And of course a fire engine that makes sounds...Andrew never tires of trucks of any sort! When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday all he kept saying was "cupcakes" (for the past week or two at least). I made him cupcakes too, just for the record:)

Then, Omi and Opaw came to visit and arrived around lunchtime. He was thrilled to see them both of course!

We took a quick family picture on the lawn...

And then he wanted Omi to push him on the swing for awhile. We were having a family party/cookout that evening as well.

His second cousin, Erin, knew just how to entertain him with i-Phone apps...

While Nate grilled burgers, he played with his water table.

He looks so old to me in this picture...hard to believe it was just 2 years ago we brought home a tiny little baby from the hospital. I got way more sentimental this year about him growing up than last year for some reason!

Aunt Laura and Uncle Josh drove up from Lexington for the party...wish they could've stayed longer!

Opening presents (Laura got him a recycling truck to add to his growing collection).

And he had to show his Grand-Diddy just how it worked.

I held true to my promise of cupcakes...he LOVED the attention of everyone singing Happy Birthday and had fun blowing out his candle with a little help from Omi.

He is truly my child...loves sugar and ate the icing right off this cupcake!

Posing for a quick picture with Diddy

There are so many things I want to remember about this stage that if I don't write them down I'm sure I'll forget!

• The basic stuff: He weighs 27lbs and is 35 1/2 inches tall (25th percentile for weight and 75th for height...long, skinny boy!)
• Probably one of the reasons he is skinny is that at this age, meals are frequently a battle. He's not that picky of an eater but it's more just the act of sitting still for more than 5 minutes at the table. He's not a fan of being still:) It's all I can do just to get enough food in him to keep him going!
• Foods he loves: pizza (no surprise there), peanut butter sandwiches, fruit of all kinds, yogurt, oatmeal (for breakfast every single morning!), turkey, cheese, spaghetti (he calls it "s-bop-bop", no idea why!), burritos (yes, he loves Mexican food!), and of course, ice cream:)
• Still struggling with getting him to eat veggies. I've resorted to pureeing them and adding them to his meals. He knows if a whole pea sneaks into a meal...can't get it by him!
• He still sleeps pretty well at night. For a few weeks we went through a time of random wake-ups but I think he's gone back to his normal phase of sleeping (8-7:30). He's still in his crib, and I think I'll just keep him there until we are all settled in with his new sister. Then we'll transition to a new bed which scares me to death to think of all the trouble he can get into with that transition but that's for another post...
• He still is a good napper...he takes a 2.5 to 3 hour nap every afternoon.
• He loves to be outside. We do weekly trips to the zoo, park, hiking, spray ground, and spend our afternoons playing in the hose in the backyard. 
• He is still very much into trucks of all sorts (diggers, fire engines, tractors, etc.) and has one or more of each which he never tires of. We even have books about construction equipment and if we are driving in the car he can spot a digger from a mile away. (He says, "Oooo! Mommy, digger!"
• He's talking up a storm...he's finally at the age where he can communicate what he wants (and doesn't  want). He can put together whole sentences now (minus the prepositions of course:). Almost anything Nate or I say, he repeats it. Example: If Nate is outside and I open the door and say, "Nate!" he'll follow suit. It makes me laugh a lot and also makes me aware of what I must sound like all the time!
• He is social beyond belief! I almost worry about how he has no wariness of strangers and will pretty much go up to any kid or mom on the playground and say "Hi!" or try to hug them. This boy never meets a stranger and loves attention!
• He is entering into the "Drew do it himself" phase (a phrase which I hear frequently throughout the day). This includes but is not limited to putting shoes or clothes on, snapping himself in his booster seat or high chair (or carseat), climbing into the stroller, going up and down the stairs (which is good but takes an eternity!). If motherhood is anything, it is a lesson in patience. I spend a lot of time waiting for him to accomplish these tasks, that's for sure! 
• As for the anticipation of his baby sister in July, he doesn't quite grasp the concept yet but talks about the baby in my stomach frequently (he pats my stomach and hugs it a lot). Unfortunately he asked another lady on the playground if she had a baby in her stomach the other day and she was clearly not pregnant...oops! 
• He makes me and Nate laugh all the time! He'll randomly just look up from playing or eating or doing whatever and say, "Hi Daddy!" and go back to his activity. 
• He still loves to cuddle on the couch while we read and to give me or Nate hugs which I love:)
• Overall, age 2 is so fun (and has its challenges but I expected that). He loves to play and explore and this makes taking him places so fun. It's a joy to see the world through his eyes when he discovers something new. Nate and I are loving our time with our sweet boy!

Catching up on the last month

Riding his "truck" outside

Walk along the Ohio River one evening

I think we are entering the "wanting to be naked all the time" stage...uh oh. 

Our strawberries have finally produced...a LOT...more than I can keep up with, which is a good problem to have!

Bad picture but a fun night at Captain's Quarters for the Steamboat Race with friends

Stopped by for EmmyLou's birthday party with Mary and Amanda (and baby Luke)

The hose and the pool provide hours of entertainment

Nate and I had some friends over for Derby to cookout and watch the races. Mary brought Luke and Andrew was smitten and wanted to "hold Luke" all evening. Mary was, thankfully, patient and let both of them in her lap numerous times. I hope he still loves babies in 7 weeks!

Tom looks like he's saying "What are you talking about?" while Katie has an "I told you so" look on her face. But really, not sure what this is about, just one of a few I took that evening!

Mary insisted on taking a domestic picture of me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen with Nate:)

One of my favorite things to do...read on the couch with my sweet boy!

We headed to Forest Fest at Jefferson Memorial Forest to hear some live bluegrass  music. Andrew was a bit hard to contain but Nate managed to wrangle him in for a bit!

We had to establish some "boundaries" to where he was allowed to wander off to (as in, no more than 5 feet from us!) This boy is an explorer and would take off never to return if Nate or I didn't chase him down! This tree was one of the "limits" we set and he spent a good bit of time pushing that limit!

Watching the 23 String Band...every once in awhile he'd burst into a dancing frenzy and then abruptly stop....it was hilarious!

He loves being on Nate's shoulders!