Andrew's First Steps

I been trying to catch this little monster walking by himself on video, so last weekend with Stephen home we finally did.
This kid is determined to walk!
He's still a bit wobbly, needs help with steering and can't always get the top half to coordinate with the bottom half. But nonetheless he's pretty proud that he can do it all by himself. We love seeing him become more and more of an independent little person! He also chose to show off a few of his dance moves for the camera too! LOVE this little guy!

My Little Super Hero

This fellow ...

Is my little super hero!!!

Let me telly you why.
He is amazing all of us at what he can do! We love him and he teaches us so much! So grateful he is apart of our family! After much therapy and hard work these are his latest tricks! 

He's now started to master his crawling skills on his hands and knees. He now crawls on his knees about 50% of the time which increases daily. He's so funny because if I catch him scooting around on his tummy...I just need to say. "Andrew, get up on your knees..." and he pulls himself up. It's funny and sometimes it doesn't last for very long, but he understands and I smile every time.

This may not look like much, but playing on his hands and knees and reaching with one hand while keeping his head up ......was hard work and has taken months for this guy to master. I never realized all that goes into coordinating everything, that most kids just "do". I'm learning so much as his mom!

Andrew has a pretty intense therapy schedule right now. We meet with one of his four therapist every day of the week except for Fridays. And that's when I try to schedule dr. appointments. It truly is my life. Even when we don't have therapists at our home, I try to spend a good chunk of time working with him and doing different exercises and stretches. As I look at it written out, it sounds like A LOT and don't get me wrong, it is. But somehow it doesn't feel like it. I mean really... I get to play, laugh, teach, and work one on one with my Andrew. I cherish this season in my life and am grateful I get to stay at home with him.

Doing his therapy exercise on the ball

Last week we got some new "feet" as I call them. We have waited for these braces to be made for over 3 months. I'm glad to finally have them, although they've kind of put a damper on the crawling, but hopefully once he's used to them he'll be right back to where he was.

These braces will help Andrew stabilize himself and give him support while he's learning to walk. Already he's making huge progress and it's amazing to see how much they are helping him.

He's learning, growing and getting stronger each day. I love seeing him figure things out and learn about the world around him. The best thing about this kiddo is that he's so happy and easy going. Seriously I took him shoe shopping to find shoes to fit those big and bulky braces and we spent over 3 hours trying on shoes. Not once, but TWICE! This almost-two year old toddler was happy and content the ENTIRE time.Yep! I'm so incredibly blessed.

Another Reason I Love Texas...

There are many reasons why I love Texas and the longer I live here that lists just keeps growing. Now don't get me wrong. I do miss my friends and family, but this is just another reason I love Texas...

It's January and we broke out the shorts this week. Yep. I seriously couldn't believe it. It almost seemed wrong. But after Andrew woke up sweating from his afternoon nap, it had really warmed up. We dug out the shorts and decided to go out for an afternoon run. It was beautiful and the birds were out. It felt like spring. Yes, spring... in January!!! I know it seems a little weird to myself, but we'll take it. We have decided we've traded our summer for our winter. We stay inside while it's blazing hot during the summer months and enjoy the outdoors during the winter. This week looks mighty nice although it has cooled off again this weekend. I love when I can pull out my flip flops and spring attire. Spring is one of my absolute favorite seasons and I might be jinxing myself, but it feels like it's right around the corner for us.

A New Tradition

Ringing in the New Year is always fun and exciting. This year...we were major party poopers...with good reason. We spent the entire day traveling home with a little boy who had no nap, by the time we pulled into our driveway it was almost 9:00 pm. We got a tired little boy into bed and then decided to turn a movie on in our bedroom. I think we made it until about 10:00...I think.

But we did ring in the new year with a new tradition. Stephen's Aunts taught us the southern tradition that if you eat black eyed peas and corn bread on New Years day, it will bring a year of good luck. So with that, we headed to lunch to where else? "Black-Eyed Pea"
It was good food and of course they came around handing out everyone a small cup of black eyed peas.

We're hoping to get an extra dose of good luck eating black eyed peas at "Black-Eyed Pea"

happy twenty-thirteen!

A White Christmas????

So thinking that going north for the holiday would ensure us a White Christmas....well, don't be deceived...

This view is of our front yard in TEXAS! That's right folks. North Texas woke up to a few inches of snow for Christmas this year.
We on the hand in Michigan did not.
Here's proof that it DOES snow in Texas.
It's pretty much melted by the afternoon...but it DOES snow in Texas.
(Thanks Aunt PJ for the great picture!)

Christmas with the Holden's

A few days before we left for Michigan we had our own little Christmas here at our home. It was nice to only have to take a few presents in the suitcases. Andrew was way into the paper and packages....we really didn't need to get him much else for Christmas this year.

We flew out on Christmas Eve and I thought It would be insanely crazy. Well, it must have been the early flight, but it actually wasn't bad at all. When we arrived, we jumped right into the festivities. 

First off we had a small gingerbread house decorating contest. It was so fun. Everybody got WAY into it and it became quite a serious competition between the adults. Everybody designing different floor plans, water slides and clock towers....serious business.   

Stephen and I had to run a quick errand (a.k.a last minute Christmas shopping)  so when we came back there weren't many supplies left. This is basically what we came up with. Our palm tree on the beach next to the ocean.  Not your typical gingerbread house, but we were pretty proud considering what we had to work with.

Christmas Morning was wonderful! Andrew was the first to rise at his usual 6:30 am and then we quietly waited for the older cousins to make an appearance at 7 am. We opened our Christmas stockings and then the gifts under the tree. Christmas morning always comes and goes so fast. Doesn't it?

Opening our Christmas Stockings

Cute Austin admiring all his presents! 

Andrew's first present he opened was by far his favorite! We tried to take it away so he could work on his pile of presents and he threw a major fit. Ah well, don't tell him that we let him enjoy his book while, mom & dad opened most of the others for him. 

Seriously...he loved looking at his new book!
Thank You Aunt Meghan! 

Then it was a day of serious rest and relaxation. It was soooo nice. Enjoying a wonderful time with family, it doesn't get any better than that!  We loved spending the entire week there. We played lots of games, watched some great movies and soaked in some great family time!

Andrew loved being chased by his cousins...

He also loved Grandma's piano...and her piano music. He knew right where to go to get into it. And if it was quiet, I knew right where to look.

One day we spent a chilly afternoon at the nature center. Living in Texas has sure made us wimps. It really was a warm 30 degrees, but I was really dying after a few minutes out in the cold.

Andrew wasn't quite sure what he thought about the cold either....

We also spent one day down in Detroit  Stephen's parents both work in the Temple on Saturday mornings. So his little brother James and the two of us went down with them and spent the day in the temple doing work. This was especially meaningful for us all, as we did sealings and work for Stephen's grandparents. I'm so grateful we got to be a part of it. What a wonderful day!

The week went way too fast and it was sad to leave and come home. Andrew went through withdrawals from all the love and attention he got. He sure loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa!