Dear Andy:

Today you had two "firsts" and as such, so did I.

1) You got your first red wagon. It's pretty cool, I must say, I myself never having had a red wagon to call my own. Grandma and Grandaddy bought it for you. It has cup holders. My first car didn't have cup holders, and neither did my second. My first car was a Toyota Corolla and I carried the keys on a stuffed crab key chain (I never claimed I had good taste). Gas was a dollar a gallon then. I'm starting to sound old and I acknowledge this. My second car was a volvo 940 "sport." What made it a "sport" you ask? Well darling, I wish I knew, because sporty was just about the must inapplicable adjective for that particular automobile. Geriatric? Yes. It did have a sunroof, which I loved, and its lack of cup holders rendered me required to put my coffee and/or diet coke in the small center console between the two front seats. This is not a good idea. Please don't ever do it. You will either a) burn yourself severely or b) spill a dark colored beverage all over your clothing, more than likely on your way to work. Heed my warning.

Anyway, back to your wagon. At first you were a little scared of it but then you were climbing in and out of it and pulling it all over the living room and dining room. I think it will really come in handy on our daily trips to the pool this summer. Which brings me to our next "first."

2) Today, I gained a greater understanding of the true purpose of swim diapers. Last summer, I learned that they really don't keep pee inside - I put you in one, we walked to the pool, and you were soaked when we got there. "What is the point of the swim diapers?" I asked many a person. Aunt Evelyn explained that their true purpose is really to contain poop, as there are chemicals in the pool that will take care of the pee (um, ew). I didn't think much more about it until today, when, while playing in the pool, I thought to myself "gosh this pool really smells bad, I better move" and as I was carrying you to another spot I realized that it was not, in fact, the pool that smelled, it was you (and in turn, me, who now had poop running down my bathing suit). You were not happy that our swimming trip was cut short. I shall never go to the pool without wipes again. I am afraid I still smell like poop. I showered and I think I'm ok but you never know.

So we've had quite a day today. I thought we'd add these two firsts to your record book. I'm sure you'll be thrilled about the wagon story. The poop one, well, you might not want me to recount that one at your wedding.

Love, Mommy

You can understand me?

Dear Andy,

This morning, you were running around the living room and were heading into the dining room. Daddy and I were sitting on the couch and I said to you "Andy, can you find a truck?"

You turned around, looked pensive, and starting searching. You got on your tummy, shimmied underneath the coffee table (your new favorite jungle gym), and found a truck. You brought it to Daddy, and we both stared at you in amazement.

You're so darn smart. I know we're your parents and we're supposed to think that. But you really are. Today, trucks. Tomorrow: the world.

Weddings and Related Shennanigans

A,

This weekend we celebrated a very momentous family event: Aunt Sandy got married! A lot of preparation went into the big day, and Aunt Sandy did such a wonderful job of planning it all. Everything was so beautiful, and everyone had a wonderful time.

Now, one thing that is important to understand when it comes to these things called "weddings" is that they rarely, in our family, occur without some kind of drama. Trust me on this and plan accordingly. When Daddy and I got married, we had all kinds of...bloopers...for lack of a better word. Examples include (but are not limited to) a broken refrigerator that almost flooded Grandma and Grandaddy's kitchen, a ripped wedding gown, and some forest fires. So this kind of thing does happen. When Aunt Sandy got married, I thought we'd covered all our bases. We even had an emergency kit. Unfortunately, someone smashed our car window and stole my purse, my camera, and my cell phone. (And you know how much I love my cell phone). It was very upsetting, but very scary too, and we were very scared that they stole Aunt Sandy and Uncle Tommy's wedding rings, but they didn't.

Now, here is one important lesson in all of this. We have to try to focus on what's good in our lives. When we saw the broken glass and missing purse, we could have let it ruin our day but we didn't. Aunt Sandy is something called a "sympathy crier" which means she loves us all so much that if we cry, she cries too, so it was important that I didn't start crying because we paid a lot for our makeup and it would have been sad to mess it up. (as an aside, I am something called a "sympathy thrower-upper" which means that if someone else throws up, I throw up too. So if you need to be like me or Aunt Sandy, try to be like her, as it will likely be better for you in the long run).

We had our moment of panic and we moved on to the wedding. You were there and you loved it. You looked so handsome and mommy was so proud of you. These kinds of days are days that we picture in our minds for a long time and we wonder what they'll be like. Sometimes we picture them and the real thing doesn't live up to the image in our minds. In this case, the real thing was better than any of us could have even imagined. We laughed, cried, ate, drank, danced and celebrated two people who I love very mucch and I know you will always be close to.

I remember Daddy's and my wedding. I remember the music and the party and the good times, and I laugh at the "bloopers" that happened, even though maybe I didn't at the time. I know that May 23rd is going to go down in history as a great day in all of our lives, smashed car window and all. And hey, mommy got a new purse. Silver linings, buddy, silver linings. Let's wish Aunt Sandy and Uncle Tommy a long life of happiness and be thankful that we get to share it with them.

Vacation

Dear Andy,

I've been meaning to write this post for a week but things have been so busy with Aunt Sandy's wedding coming up in a few days. So here goes.

We got back from your second official vacation on Wednesday. You had such a good time. It was quite an improvement from last year, your first vacation, which was a class-A disaster. You hated it. We went to Asheville, NC and Folly Beach, SC and your poor little five month old self was teething and politically opposed to the car seat. It was not relaxing. You did find a few enjoyable moments here and there and really enjoyed the outdoor music at the Biltmore. Here you are on vacation last year, taking a nap on the beach with Daddy:





Fast forward to this year. We went to Key West, which is Daddy's and my favorite place. It's a very fun and special place, with beautiful sunsets, perfect aqua blue water, tropical breezes and really good mojitos (don't worry about what those are right now. You call them "mamma's juice" ). Grandma and Grandaddy came with us and we had SUCH a good time. You swam in the pool and in the ocean and you seriously think you are a fish. You don't like to be constrained by floatation devices or parents trying to keep you from drowning yourself. I will try to sign you up for a swimming class soon, I promise. You sampled the local fare, including tahitian vanilla ice cream, cuban cheese bread and key lime pie. You made friends with everyone at our small hotel, and by the end of the week had the other visitors around the pool (adults mostly) copying your new favorite term "oh-ee-oh-eee-yo yo!" It was quite funny to watch. You were so well behaved in restaurants. You stayed up late and jumped on the bed and snuggled with me every morning. Truly a great trip. I hope we get to spend lots more time there. Here you are on this year's vacation enjoying "mojito monday".

I know you long to waste away in margaritaville a lot more, as do I little man, as do I.

Walking for Babies

Dear Andy,

This past Sunday, we walked in the March of Dimes March for Babies for the second time. It was a great experience and the weather was perfect. Last year, you were 10 weeks old and slept through all 6.2 miles of it. This year, you were very excited but once you dozed off in your stroller, a large man playing the theme song to Sesame Street on the tuba woke you up. It was very hot out so you, Grandaddy, Jenny and I did the 3 mile walk while everyone else did the 6.2 miles.

Cousin Debbie came from Texas to join us and you got to meet her for the first time. It was pretty great. A lot of people say that she and I look alike. We kind of do. It's pretty funny. I'm so glad you got to spend time with her and I hope you get to again soon. She is a very special person and I love her a lot.

This was a very important day for all of us. We walked in memory of your big brother Luke, you aunt Marion, and Debbie's daughter Anna. Like Luke, Anna and Marion were stillborn. This means that they went to heaven as babies before they were born. It happens sometimes and doctors don't always know why. It's very important that they learn more about this so that all babies can someday be born healthy. So that is why we do things like this. You know, even when people die, we can honor them and remember them and continue to love them. They are with God in heaven and they watch over us. I think that Luke would have been very proud of us and I know he is very proud of you. Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Sleep is for the Weak

Dear Andy,
You don't really like to sleep. Well, I take that back. You don't like to sleep alone. I remember when you were a few weeks old, waking up every couple hours (or not sleeping at all at night), the pediatrician telling us "when he gets to be 13 pounds, he'll sleep through the night!" Well, not so much, partly because you are a big boy so you were 13 pounds when you were 2 months old or so. There have been times where you've slept well, mostly when Daddy was taking you to the pool during the summer and you were swimming the day away, and times when you haven't slept well. I have spent countless hours reading books and articles and websites about baby sleep. I've asked for advice and realized that asking for advice isn't always the best idea.

Last night, you went to sleep in your crib and woke up at 9:30pm quite upset. You were crying and shaking. You aren't a fan of your crib. I would love for you to love it, but I can't force that on you. I rocked you to sleep, and you snuggled up with one hand on the neckline of my shirt, and I could have sat there like that all night. But I have to sleep, too. So I put you back in your crib and you sensed that crib mattress coming, and woke back up. I'm not a good one for letting you cry (hence why I don't ask for much advice from people anymore) so I picked you up and brought you into our room.

You laid between Daddy and me, put one hand on each of us, let out a happy sigh, smiled and went to sleep. You woke up again at midnight at 3. And 5. And you know what? There is something very special about watching you sleep. You look so content there with us, knowing that you're secure and loved and ok. So maybe you don't "sleep through the night." But we get to hold you and snuggle you and feel your sleepy breath on our faces. Hopefully you'll sleep longer before the age of 20. In the meantime I'll just drink lots of coffee in the morning.

Walking & Talking

A,
I thought you'd like to see a video of yourself walking. The problem is that you are so interested in the camera that whenever I start to video you, you get excited, remember that crawling is (at the moment) more efficient than walking, and you zoom over try to get the camera from me. I think I got a decent video today though so let's see.

While I was grocery shopping today (and I bought what I need to make your new favorite cajun pasta - you have quite a well-developed palate already, I must say), you and Daddy were playing with your tropical ball-bopper, and you learned how to say "ball." Daddy is pretty excited. So overall, it's been quite a weekend for you!