Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Our big boy is 1 today! Here is a picture of Andrew at his party on Saturday. I'll post more pictures of the birthday boy and his party later.

Andrew's "Boogie Shoes"

Just to show you what a "mess" our little guy is - a cute mess at that!

(OK, this is Laura...I have to brag on Wilson - he made this video and posted it, but this is really just a clip of a longer video he made of Andrew's first year! I had asked him to do this months ago, and he did - it was SOOO GOOD!! I hope he'll post it, too.)

On being a mom...

As I was rocking Andrew to sleep a minute ago, I found myself feeling overwhelmed by such a deep sense of joy... How I love that precious boy and how blessed I feel that the Lord has given him to us! He'll be turning a year old next week, which I can hardly believe! Has it really been a year?

I loved those precious moments when he was first born....meeting the tiny one who I had come to know so well those months before. Holding him during those "itty-bitty" newborn days, studying every little stretch, listening to the coos, watching for the first smile...has it really been a year? All of the many stages of the past year have been new and fun; there really is such excitement in those little accomplishments liking rolling over and learning to sit up, etc. There have been those times....up at night, ear infections, days when he didn't take a nap, etc...and those are hard. But aside from (and looking back, even in) those brief moments, it truly has been a joy to be Andrew's mom. And it is so rewarding be at home with him. Today was a busy day for us....in fact, last night at this time, I was actually worried we might not make it thru today! Andrew woke up at 5:45 this morning, then we were off at 8:45 for Bible study (andrew doesn't nap in the nursery), back at home around 12 for a quick lunch, then off again about 1:00 for Andrew to see the ped. opthamologist (which went well), back home for a couple of hours before Wednesday night dinner & church, home at 8. So, they were all things we wanted (or needed) to do, but Andrew missed both naps and got in bed an hour past his bedtime. (Wednesday nights are always harder b/c of that.) But...in the midst of such an "off-schedule" day, Andrew was such a joy. He truly had a wonderful day... WE had a wonderful day! The smiles, the hugs, the fun we have... I love him so much! And he loves me! Who couldn't be in love with a baby who loves them so much?!! Thanks to our Father for babies...what miracles and blessings they are!

Trip to Yosemite National Park

Wanted to share with you some of our photos from our little get-away to Yosemite National Park in California. It was a blast! We can't wait to take our family back there some day.

A day in the life of Andrew...

Things are pretty busy at our house these days. Andrew is a curious boy and into EVERYTHING - which makes our life very exciting and fun! Check out what he's been getting into lately:

in the dishwasher...

under the table, squishing elmo...

discovering the toilet...

finding a hiding spot...

throwing a toy away.... (i got it back out, only for him to throw it away again!)

eating a popsicle...

what a crawler...he can get thru anything!

walking his highchair thru the house...

sitting in the dog's new kennel...

sharing a cracker with the puppies...

A family photo...

It's rare these days to get a family picture, so I thought this one was worthy of posting! The puppies are even in it!! I can't believe we snapped it before Andrew or the puppies had "escaped"!

YUM, YUM!!

Andrew has decided he loves a popsicle now....but only if he holds it himself!

Goodbye July...

Well, it's hard to believe July is over... and August is here...and September is just around the corner, which means my sweet baby is turning one! It makes me sad and happy all at the same time...how time flies...

Somehow I have neglected to write about Andrew's mobility. Towards the end of June (after those yucky ear infections), Andrew began really getting around well. He started crawling, and pulling up and cruising all about the same time. He is super fast and into everything!! What a big boy he has become! We're just waiting for those first steps...

A few pictures from July...

(All of these were taken at May-May and Buddy's house. They were sweet to let us hang out with them lots this summer while Wilson was away on his trips.)

Exploring May-May's cabinets....

Playing with the water hose was lots of fun!!!

Andrew wasn't so sure about his first popsicle...after a couple of more tries, he's decided that they're pretty good after-all. He just likes to hold it himself! (like i said, he's a big boy now)

A sweet picture of Andrew looking at Buddy. Andrew loves to go outside with Buddy.

I loved this one. Andrew's new thing is to scrunch up his nose when he smiles...of course, you may not can see this in the picture because of all the food on his face!

just having fun!

A Fun Fourth!!

Celebrating the 4th at Fort Morgan is a family tradition. Andrew joined in this year, and we had a great time!! May-May got all the boys American flag swimsuits (as well as t-shirts), and she decorated the downstairs.

Andrew loved to swing downstairs - especially with Buddy (or May-May).

We added something new to our 4th festivites...a parade!! It was lots of fun. Afterwards, we had our hot dog roast and made s'mores - yum!

Andrew loved the beach, but I think his favorite thing to do was play with his wagon - pulling up on it, cruising around it, lifting the handle up and down...he loved it. He also loved getting some fun hanging out time with his Aunt Sis!

Beach Baby

We had a fun trip to Fort Morgan for the 4th of July. I have several pictures to post, but here are a couple of Andrew on the beach...

Andrew is cooling off in the pool with his beach buddies Isabelle, Raif, and Edie.

Andrew loved the water! There were a couple of days that the water was perfect for him to float in his raft. This day was one of them and Andrew & Wilson are all smiles!!

Girls just wanna have fun....

....and we did!!!!

We took our 7th annual girls' beach trip (I think that's what we figured out...) and had a GREAT time!!! It was so much fun being together for a few days and relaxing on the beach....

No eating/napping schedules to work around, no diapers to change, no cooking/cleaning....i didn't know what to do with myself!!! I really missed my boys and was so glad to get back to them,...but it was a wonderful break! Many thanks to Wilson and May May and Buddy for keeping Andrew so that I could go!

Girls...it was tons of fun and i can't wait 'til next year!!

I hate i don't have a group pic of all of us!!

Visit to "the Shirley ranch"!

Now that Ricky Joe and Debbie have horses, we say that we're visiting the ranch when we go to Meridian! Andrew loved watching the horses...he even touched them! They are very sweet and gentle and I'm so excited he'll grow up seeing them. Wilson and I joke about how when Andrew is a little older he'll probably rather be at either Papaw and Ganny's house seeing the horses and hunting or at Buddy and May May's house fishing by the lake then at home with us!!

I love how Andrew and the horse are looking at the camera! It's like they are both thinking....Who/what is he???

ON THE WEB...

We have had some precious pictures taken of Andrew.... Allison Muirhead does a wonderful job! She has begun blogging and posted a couple of pictures of Andrew. One is from when he was just 7 weeks old and the other is a 9 month photo. Check them out, and if you need a photographer....she is great!!

Her blogsite is below, and Andrew is under "Watch Me Grow".
http://www.allimphoto.typepad.com/

Happy Father's Day!

We love you, Wilson! Andrew and I are blessed to have you in our lives, and we thank God for you each day.

9 months old!

Andrew is 9 months old!! The 9 months of his life have flown by... so much faster than the 9 months when I was pregnant with him!
What a joy he is everyday...

He really seems to be growing up....Sunday at church, a friend said to me, "Laura, you probably don't want to hear this, but Andrew doesn't even really look like a baby anymore...he's starting to look like a toddler." And, I know exactly what she means. He doesn't have those full cheeks anymore, and his weight seems to be more evenly distributed - not just a big tummy! :) And, then the way he moves in our arms!! He's definitely growing up...it makes me a little sad, but that's the way God intended it and that's the way it should be, and I know he'll continue to bring us lots and lots of joys as he grows.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of days.

Da-da (which Andrew is saying now) and Andrew with spiky hair!

On the deck of the cottage

in the big boy bath

sweet potato mustache!! and look at those teeth!!

Bratley Girl Beach Trip (+ Andrew)

The 3 Bratley girls and Andrew spent a weekend at the cottage together ...just like old times, as Rebecca kept saying. Elizabeth packed us some fun beach happies...Andrew even got a new beach towel!! (thanks, izzy!) And we enjoyed some good time together relaxing on the deck, eating some good food, and playing "Go Fish"! (We'll have to rematch soon...)

Andrew wasn't at his best, as he's been fighting yucky ear infections, but we still had a good trip and his aunts were so sweet to be patient with us. Since we weren't feeling so hot, we didn't get many good pictures... somehow we managed to get home without a single sister picture! We'll have to get one of those soon, girls!

Here are a couple from the weekend...

Andrew had lots of fun with Izzy's j crew magazine!

Andrew and Izzy - Andrew is so funny with anything that is a stick. He loves them! Wilson thinks that maybe that means he'll be a good golfer or baseball player one day....hmmm... Izzy is making Andrew happy by letting him hold the stick to the blinds.

"Are you taking a picture of me???"

Andrew's new favorite thing!

Wilson and I can't believe how in a matter of a couple of weeks our little man has become so mobile! Now we aren't walking or even doing the "real" crawl yet... but with ease, Andrew can roll, sit up, pull up, and do a great "army" crawl! (Wilson calls it this - he uses his arms to pull his body!) He's quite a little monkey. Here are some "pull-up" pictures!

In the past couple of days, Andrew has realized that kneeling at the piano is actually a better height for him than standing!...He makes me smile!

Orange Beach Trip in May

We had an amazing family trip to Orange Beach in May - a great week for the 3 of us before Wilson's busy summer got going. We usually go to Fort Morgan, AL, but we weren't able to work that out so we ended up staying at a friend's condo in Orange Beach. Although we love the quiet, laid-back setting of the "cottage" in Fort Morgan, it was great to introduce Andrew to the swimming pool! He loved it! I hope we'll be able to do some more swimming as the summer goes on. We did go to the beach one day and Andrew had fun grabbing the sand in his hands. When I was looking back at our pictures there were hardly any of him looking at the camera, because he was always looking at the sand or the water!

First time in the pool - all smiles!!

Splish-splash!

Picking the sand up, dropping it, and then doing it again!

Relaxing in the indoor pool - Andrew knows just what to do!

Pardon our progress...

We have resized the video of Andrew pulling up. So...if you tried to watch it before and it took too long to load, then try again. We think it will work now! we hope!!

First Time to Pull Up!

Today Andrew pulled up in his crib for the first time! I took a few pictures right when he got on his feet...as you can see, he was SOOOO proud of himself! We also took a video of him... The video is of 2 different times, and Wilson spliced them together. You'll see in the video that Andrew loses his balance at one time, but no worries, it was no big deal to him...he just rebalanced himself and kept right on standing and smiling! Check out the video below.