Andy is ONE!

On Friday, my sweet little nugget turned ONE.  How can he possibly be ONE already?  It seems like I was just pregnant with him...and that I was just in the hospital having him...and that we were just thinking we couldn't take another day of his incessant screaming....and that we were just watching him sit up for the first time...and I can go on and on.

This first year has FLOWN by.  I love this little boy more than words can explain.  He has such a huge place in my heart.  When I was pregnant with Andy, I was secretly worried that I wouldn't have enough room in my heart to love another child the way I love Cal.  Well, God works in some crazy ways because either my heart grew, or my ability to love grew, or something!

Andy lights up my world every day and he makes each day that much sweeter.  He loves to snuggle and smile and clap his chubby little hands.  He loves to eat-- especially strawberries-- and he loves to watch his big brother.  He is becoming fond of Hank and likes to "pat pat pat" his tummy.  He thinks it is hysterical to throw his food-- especially at Hank-- which I am not too fond of... but when you see how happy it makes him, you almost want to just let him do it.

When I put Andy in his crib for nap time, he smile up at me, grabs his softest blanket and rubs his face all over it.  He grabs his sippy cup of water and lays right down on that blanket.  He wakes up from sleeping happy as can be.  You know he is awake because you can hear his laughter throughout the house.  He is normally jumping up and down waiting for me to come in a get him and snuggle with him.

Andy continues to suck his two left fingers-- just those two...on the left hand... He does this when he is unsure of a situation, when he is tired and working himself to sleep, or when he is upset.  He doesn't take a paci at all-- no need when there are 2 fingers attached to that hand!

Much like Cal, Andy is redefining the word BUSY.  He is a speed crawler and can get anywhere fast.  He is into everything and everything and never stops the wiggling.  He loves the cabinet under the sink (you know, the one with all of the chemical cleaning supplies??), the china cabinet, and the dishwasher.  Those are literally his favorite places to go in our house.  We have baby proofed under the sink since I was helping Cal in the bathroom and turned around to see Andy sucking on a bottle of Dawn like it was a booby filled with the last milk on the planet.

Also much like Cal, Andy has a temper on him! When we tell him No to something, he is quick to let us know he is not thrilled with that answer.  When Cal takes something away from him or won't share, he lets out a squeal that would make a deaf person wince.  But then when you look back at him, he is grinning ear to ear, almost to say "haha, suckahs-- got your attention!"  and then he starts cracking up. 

We all just adore this little nugget and I thank God for blessing me with this sweet sweet child.  There is nothing sweeter than Andy crawling over to me and putting his fat little hand on my leg and pulling himself to the standing position so that he can get into my arms.  That right there, my friends, makes my life so dang great.  Well, that and a wonderful husband and a special little 2 year old who makes my heart swell even more.  (not to mention a dog who is a saint, and a family who loves me unconditionally, even when I am stressed and snippy-- you know who you are....!)

Feeling blessed tonight.  As I was pulling the pictures for this post, I am once again blown away by all that has happened in one year.  I am excited to see what the next year brings to us-- but I am not excited to see how fast these boys are growing up!

Andy, if you read this when you are grown up, I hope you know how much we love and adore you.  I can not imagine a life without your sweet little self in it.  Thanks for showing me that I was wrong-- I could be even happier than I was before...something I didn't think possible!

Welcome to the world, Steven Andrew!

how in the world did I get so blessed?

he had grandpa wrapped around his finger early on

unfortunately, we got a lot of this in the first few months

not a whole lot of this....

...unless he was like this...on me

he just had a tummy ache...! how were we to know??

then he got happier

cal was an immediate fan

the screaming didn't bother him

he loves his role as big brother

birth announcement pic

I remember when I took this picture, I was thrilled he wasn't screaming. I sent it to my mom and said something about him turning a corner- hahaha

his first trip to the beach.  you can almost tell his tummy hurts

annnnd, this is after I dropped dairy-- alllll better!

first smile captured on camera

big blues

I remember taking this picture and feeling incredibly HAPPY

how cute is this stinker?

bored at his mom and uncle's birthday party in September

once the smiling started, there was no turning back...

getting baptized

we discovered his love of food early on

halloween

chritmas card pic

attempting to crawl

who IS this guy? and why is cal freaking out?

first christmas

trouble

first trip out of the USA-- Mexico!

pulling up on everything

one of my current favorites

busy busy busy busy busy busy

fingers were just removed from the mouth

happy little nugget!

This was a photo-heavy post, but I had to do it... I can't believe how much he has changed in a year! I can't wait to watch him grow and develop over the next one.