Andrew's First Real Haircut

Today Andrew had his first real haircut at Sweet and Sassy.  It's really a girly place but I love Melissa who cuts Julia's hair so I took him there so she could cut Andrew's hair too!  Thomas cut it a few weeks ago but the top has gotten long and it was too hard to cut it and blend it with the back and sides so I decided it was time for a real haircut.  I can't believe he's not quite one and he's getting a haircut.

Not quite sure how Melissa cut his hair since he wiggled and moved around but she did a great job.  As she says...lots of practice.

The station he sat at is just for boys and the mirror is decorated with cars and trucks and all things boys love.  Super cute indeed!

His cape even said 'Cool Dude.'

He loved getting a green balloon too!  Great job Andrew.

Pulling Up to Stand

Andrew has recently learned how to pull himself up to standing and he does it all the time.  He crawls to something and then pulls himself up. He hasn't quite figured out how to get down yet.  He'll whine to get down and I'll help him but then he crawls to something else and pulls himself up again.  Our bed appears to be just the right height.   

The pantry is a fun place to pull up since there is lots to play with in there.

He's been having fun playing at Julia's kitchen too!

Today he found another table that he could pull up on.  What's next for our little guy?

Trip to the Pool

Over Memorial Weekend we made our first few trips to the pool.  On Saturday morning I took Julia to the pool for the first time this year.  She loved being in the water and just having a good time. Of course once we left she was asking about when she could go back to the pool again.  So on Sunday Thomas took her to the pool. Andrew and I went down there quickly to take a few shots of Julia and Daddy having fun.  Soon we'll get Andrew in but it was time for him to eat and soon after get to bed.

Julia has her floaties and she's ready.

Laughing and watching Daddy swim.  

Julia enjoyed being tossed up in the air and jumping in and having Daddy catch her too! I think we'll be at the pool a lot this summer...Julia loved it! 

Sweet Sweet Julia

Julia looked so cute yesterday when we went to church that I grabbed my camera as we were heading out the door and thought I would snap a few photos of our sweet Julia after mass.  She is such a sweet girl who is so observant about things we wear.  On Saturday I meet some girlfriends out for afternoon tea and before I left she told me she liked my dress and that my necklace looked nice with my dress.  When I got home she ran up to give me a hug...what a great feeling.  She is just the kindest little girl I know and is always doing things that are so sweet...it just makes me so proud.

Love this little girl!  Andrew has just started pulling up and she is so sweet and hugs him and says 'I'm so proud of you!'

On the move and ready to go.

Books, Books, Books

Lately Andrew has taken a liking to books...yeah!  He doesn't really want me to read them to him since he would prefer to read them himself but it's much better than trying to put them in his mouth which is what he use to do not long ago.  Now he turns the pages and shows you his book.  He loves to dump out the baskets in his room that are filled with books and read them.  It's so cute how he's imitating what we do with books.  Looks like he's reading one of my favorites...Guess How Much I Love You.

Reading another great book...Pajama Time.  Hopefully he'll love books as much as Julia.

Dinnertime

Dinnertime is always a busy time at our house. Andrew always seems to know what's going on and isn't interested in playing while we make dinner.  Instead he wants to be held and that's not always easy as we're trying to make dinner.  Then at times Julia wants to be held too so what's a Mommy to do.  Tonight I sat down and held Julia and Andrew while Thomas finished making dinner.  I must say I love having a little girl and a little boy.  I'm so lucky that I get to experience all the girly stuff with Julia like painting nails, shopping, princess things, fashion, and so on while getting to experience all the boy stuff with Andrew such as wrestling and any other boy things that he gets into as he gets older.  It really has been such fun and I look forward to all the fun experiences ahead.

Final Class - Ballet Recital

 Today was Julia's last ballet class for the year.  Ballet has been the first organized activity that Julia has participated in and she did such a great job.  She has worked hard all year being a great listener to her teacher Miss Julia and she's gotten stronger and of course she's had fun.  This is actually the 2 year old ballet class since that's how old she was when she started so they don't preform on stage this year but they will next year.  Instead they do an in class presentation for the parents.  We asked Julia what her favorite part of her ballet recital was today and she said that 'Mommy and Daddy got to go in the room and watch her.'  Isn't that so sweet?

 Our little ballerina giving us such a great smile.

 Look at how high her bottom is off the floor and how level her body is...such great form!  She has gotten so much stronger.

Showing off some of her dance moves.

 Andrew was such a good boy during the performance.  I'm sure he'll be sitting through many more ballet shows in the years to come.

 Class photo at the end of the performance.

 At the end of each class the girls get a stamp for working hard but today they got balloons instead.  Julia was very excited to get her balloons from Miss Julie...one pink one and one white one.

Of course every great dancer deserves some flowers. Pink flowers, of course.

Julia and her ballet teacher Miss Julie.  Ballet has been such a fun weekly activity for us that we'll miss it during the summer.  Looking forward to starting again in September with Miss Julie as her teacher. Julia, we're so proud of you!

Playing on the Stairs

Now that Andrew can pull himself up he loves playing at the bottom of the stairs. Looks like today he's playing with a spoon and a car. He definitely loves to have something in his hand and carry it around with him.  Before long I know he'll be trying to climb the stairs but for now he's content just playing on the bottom two steps.

Bike Riding

 Every night after dinner Julia goes outside to play.  Most often Thomas takes her since I'm putting Andrew to bed but this evening I went out right after Andrew went to sleep and got to spend some evening playtime with her.  She decided to ride her bike so we went to the circle for some bike riding.  There were some other people out in their front yards and Julia was busy watching them.  This picture cracks me up as she's peddling and not watching where she's going.  Hopefully she doesn't drive a car like this as she gets older.

Lately Julia's outfit of choice is her bathing suit along with her new PINK cover-up.  Once she gets home from being out she immediately walks in and changes her clothes.  We had to go to a few stores to find the pink cover-up in her size but we found it and she LOVES it.  We love the handle on the back to help push and steer if she needs help but lately all she says is 'I don't need help.' Her legs are getting stronger and she's been doing great at peddling. Yeah Julia!

Sunday morning...Mother's Day

Enjoying Sunday morning...Mother's Day with my kiddos.  We've been having Andrew stand more and more so his legs can get stronger.  Can you believe he is almost one?  He definitely loves to crawl around and explore and get into things.  He moves very quickly when you leave the bathroom door open or a cabinet open and verbalizes with a whine when you close it before he gets there.  Sorry little guy but those areas are not for playing.  He still gives such a great smile and loves to be tickled.

Of course Julia is in her favorite outfit....bathing suit and her cover-up.  I have a feeling there might be a lot of pictures of Julia in this outfit.  Lately Julia has been doing so many sweet, thoughtful and kind things it just makes me smile!  Of course she has her moments but she really is such a kind little girl.  I just bought her some new yogurts drinks and while she was enjoying one she came up and said, 'Thanks Mommy for buying this for me.'  Or the other night at dinner Thomas asked where Andrew's bib was and I said we didn't have one downstairs and before you knew it Julia was on her way upstairs and came back down with a bib for Andrew.  Or at therapy helping clean up the things she used without being asked.  Or getting a tissue for Andrew.  So lately the list goes on but I think you get the idea.  She's just been such a helper and really sweet lately and I just love it!    

I'm one lucky mom to have Julia and Andrew and everyday I think about that. I always tell Julia that I'm the luckiest Mommy and she asks why and I tell her because her and Andrew are my kids. They really are great!

Warbington Farms

On Saturday afternoon we went on our annual strawberry picking adventure.  This year we went to Warbington Farms which is right in Forsyth County.  They just opened last year and we tried it out but they didn't have much to pick.  However, Thomas insisted we try it out again this year and it was great.  They had plenty to pick and the strawberries were delicious.  The only downfall was I forgot to bring my camera so instead I took some photos of Julia and Andrew enjoying the strawberries at home on the deck.

We had to feed them to Andrew since he tried putting the whole strawberry in his mouth.  He loves strawberries and fruit in general so he's been happy to help us eat our gallon of strawberries.

How many would he eat if I let him?

Julia was a great help at picking and cleaning the strawberries this year. We all loved them that we may have to make another trip there soon! Nothing better than a fresh strawberry.  YUM!

Backyard Photos of Andrew

 On Friday when Julia was taking her nap I took Andrew on the back deck and snapped a few photos of our little cutie who is almost one year old.  He may not be the best napper or sleeper but he sure is one cute little guy who always makes me smile.  Lately his naps have been a bit more regular and taking a morning nap at 9 and another at 2 in the afternoon.  More often than not they are very short (30-45 minutes) but once in a while he'll sleep for 90 minutes.  He's still nursing about 5 times a day and eats pretty much whatever we eat but will also eat baby food if we're on the go.  He's a happy little guy who says 'mama' for about anything and everything.

Love this one...I wonder what he's thinking about???

Fireplace

Just in the last week I've been putting some toys up on the fireplace to encourage Andrew to pull himself up.  Well now he often plays by the fireplace and puts toys up there himself and pulls up to get them and uses the fireplace to help him sit up and even stand (holding on of course).  He's even gotten his whole body up there and crawled down. He's been having so much fun playing in his new spot!

Bath Time

We usually do Andrew and Julia's bath separate since Andrew goes to bed so early and Julia is still outside playing.  Thomas was working late and Julia wanted to take a bubble bath with Andrew so I said why not...get them both cleaned up at once.  Julia and Andrew both enjoyed splashing in the tub together and Andrew especially loved having Julia in the tub with him and just smiled and laughed. Actually Julia absolutely loved it too!

Gibbs Gardens

On Thursday we visited Gibbs Gardens which is only about 20 minutes away. We met my friend Katie there with her two kids, Liam and Lyla, and enjoyed the beautiful gardens along with the great weather. Julia was more in the mood for having her picture taken so it was nice.  Most of the day she carried around her tickets that she's been earning for good behavior or for not sucking her thumb.  Once she earns 10 tickets she gets a special treat.  So far she's been doing great and thanks to Jenny for the idea.

Andrew hung out in the stroller most of the time and was just as handsome as ever.

Julia had fun doing what the statues were doing. All of the children on the statues represent Mr. Gibbs' grandchildren.

Julia and her friend Liam sitting on a big rock surrounded by beautiful flowers and plants.

As we were on our way to have lunch we looked back and Julia and Liam were holding hands...super cute.

Some guy was talking to us and making Julia laugh and smile so it was the perfect opportunity to snap some photos.

Just some pretty purple flowers.

Julia and Andrew relaxing on a bench on one of the bridges.

I had to get a photo of Julia in her pink shirt in front of the pink roses.

Julia had fun walking across the rocks too!

Here's a few photos of the gardens...it was so beautiful and very peaceful.

Julia had fun playing in the grass too.  I tried putting Andrew in the grass to take a few photos of the both of them but he doesn't like the feel of the grass at all so he just cried. 

As we were leaving there's a waterfall along with great flowers and plants.  Thanks Katie for the invite...it was beautiful!