Photo Shoot

Andy had an expressive photo session this Saturday (12/19).

Click on the slide show below for the higher resolution picasa album for printing.

First Sleep Over Party

Tristan came over on Thursday night (12/3) as mom and dad were going to the Microsoft Christmas party. He was a bit home sick at first, getting tearing up every few minutes asking for mama. Andy became extra gentle trying to comfort him and wiping his tears. Tristan quickly warmed up and joined the cooking watching party and ate the stir fry heartly.

say cheers

They played the wooden puzzles and drew after dinner. It was interesting to observe kids having different ways of doing puzzles. Andy does one puzzle at a time while Tristan tries to fill all pieces of one shape first (i.e. works on multiple puzzles simultaneously). They also have different drawing styles. Andy likes to make outlines of molds (e.g. put his hand on the board and trace or ask me to trace) while Tristan likes to draw free styled.

Tristan usually goes to bed after 9 but he sure got on Andy's schedule tonight. The two read a bit and went down after 8 to everyone's surprise!

Tristan chose to sleep on the big bed (and Andy decided to join shortly after) so both slept side by side: "Never mind the crib mattress set up on the floor, we are babies no longer..."

Tristan had some good influence on Andy the next morning. Instead of calling for attention when he woke up, Andy saw Tristan and turned all cheerful.

It was a fun adventure for both kids and adults!

Halloween

Andy got his cousin's dinosaur outfit for the occassion and it fit him perfectly! Joe said the first time Andy had it on, it was a struggle to get it off of Andy because he really liked it!
Joe took Andy to the library story time in the morning (even the librarian was dressed up!).

In the afternoon, Andy came to the Google Halloween party. He played the games and painted pumpkin and a canvas bag. He danced around this other kid in a dog custom for quite a bit.

We went to Annie's house for dinner and trick&treat in their neighborhood. He loved all the decorations. This steam bath of glowing lights was his favorite.

More pictures here.

Indoor Playing

We got some new rainy day activities lately with the new birthday gifts. Andy got this UPS package on Friday night from my friends Chris and Juliana: a box of wooden puzzles! He got really into it right away: started working on them before dinner and more this morning (new rainy day activity).

He likes to stand in the puzzle's wooden box when doing the puzzles. One of them proves to be challenging: the kite, since it has 4 triangles that you have to oriented them all correctly.

We also got into Tiffany's play doh and one of the "Ni Hao MuLan" DVDs today. Andy loves playing with the doh and playing house using the things made from the doh. I made a little chair, a big baby, bowl of fruits, a duck, etc. He served "food" to the "baby", pretended to eat the "fruits", and made his own little figurines. I was amazed by how long Andy was completely captivated by the graphics and sounds (maybe partially due he hasn't watched any TV other than Yoga before): close to half an hour! I like the program not only teaches the language but also some ideas. For example, the "China trip" episode we watched today encourages to be open and try out new things.

He's also been walking around buzzing with the new Geo Track train head. Playing with the tracks and train has become a new part of the bed time routine.

Will have to shoot more pictures to update...

2nd Birthday Party

Bright early 10am (to avoid nap conflict) @North Rose Hill Woodlands Park right across from the condo. It was a bit chilly and cloudy in the morning, but we had lots of kids (I counted 13) and lots of fun! The decorating a hat or shirt idea got kids all working and feathers flying all over. Kids also liked the castle playground next to the picnic area.

Kids really enjoyed the sleeping party at the end (Ali and Carolyn's idea).

I was really impressed with how the girls really got into the "Get to know the most people" game I had last minute! We had 3 Caleb's and 2 Lily's at the party. The girls got every kid's name, favorite animal, favorite color and favorite word. Some facts might even be unknown to the parents :) Ashley had a creative idea of recording facts on the shirt.

The winner: Ashley

Winer of the most creative hat: Ali

Winner of the most beautiful shirt: Carolyn

The girls totally rock! They were also the awesome helpers for helping me making multiple food carrying trips to/from the condo.

Thanks all for coming. We had a great time. Andy is blessed to be among friends.

More pictures here:

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2nd Birthday (Updated)

It was a nice sunny day like 2 years ago. Andy went in for the 2 year checkup and found he now weighs 28.6 lb and is 43.25 in tall (50% in both). He is healthy and very much into the 2 year old phase (with no as his favorite word).

Didn't have much celebration on his birthday (saving it for the Saturday morning party) other than added a candle blowing surprise to the night time routine (he loved it :-) . I didn't get around to bake the banana muffin (Joe started the tradition for Andy's 1st birthday) before Friday so that'll for tomorrow.

Andy put the candles back and pleading for another round.

Update:
It turns out Joe made Andy a fancy birthday cake on his birthday: an apple tart! Andy sure loved it.

More pictures here:

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September Fall fun outings

9/7 Monday - Labor day
It was rainy in the morning, but the sun came out just in time for the neighborhood Houghton picnic. Joe took Andy there for a lot of kids fun.


9/18 Apple picking
Joe took Andy apple picking. Hmm, Andy loved it!

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9/20 Saturday - Farrel McWhirter Animal Farm
Animals! Need I say more?

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9/21 Monday - Idylwood Park
May be one of the last nice warm sunny days. See how Andy dug a sand hole for a mud spa:

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9/29 Tuesday
Andy and Joe hopped on a plane for Wisconsin. The last free ride before turning two...