Washing Hands

Andrew seems to be learning a lot these days - especially, from watching aspects of mommy and daddy's routine.  For example, he tries to put on his own socks.  He can't quite figure out how to get the sock hole open so he basically just ends up placing them on top of his feet.  His latest trick is washing his hands.  We keep sanitizer on the changing table and noticed that he starting rubbing his hands together at the same time we were.  Here's a video of him practicing his hand washing.

Andrew is 11 Months (+9 Days)

We were a little behind in taking Andrew's 11 month picture since we were out of town and he was under the weather. However, here is the link to the Watch Andrew Grow album where we've uploaded his recent shots.

We can't believe that the little man is going to be 1 year old in 3 weeks. We'll be sure to post some updated pictures from the holidays and from his birthday celebrations later this month. Happy Holidays!

Andrew's New Playroom

Grandma and Grandpa Martin recently visited and did a makeover of our bonus room. Grandma Martin has been planning this makeover for months and her idea of the horizontal stripes turned out great. She worked so hard and late for nights and the room turned out great. You can see from the pictures here that Andrew is already enjoying his new room and waiting for new things to put in the cabinets and magnetic wall.

Thank you to Grandma Martin for her ideas and hard work. Andrew made a sign for one of the pictures but then he attacked his own sign. Thank you also to Grandpa Martin for his constant trips to Lowe's and painting efforts.

Happy Halloween?

So I just looked at several friends' blogs and all of their kids looked like they enjoyed or at least tolerated Halloween costumes. This was not the case in our house as you will be able to tell via the pictures and video in this post. We tried two different costumes and both caused an Andrew riot. It was actually pretty hilarious, but I simultaneously felt guilty for putting him through the discomfort of the costume.

Andrew is 10 Months Old?!

I can't believe my baby is already 10 months old. I know that people say all the time that they can't believe how fast time flies by, but I just can't believe that it's been 10 months since Andrew was born. He has changed so much and continues to bring me so much joy.

In terms of what he's been up to, you name it - he's getting into it.
* He pulls up to stand on everything - dressers, open dishwashers, cabinets, walls, his crib, my legs, etc.
* He started crawling on his knees (vs. army crawling) on his official 10 month birthday
* He can walk around when holding on to pieces of furniture
* He's been saying dada and mama for awhile, but he doesn't differentiate between the two (the mamama comes out more when he's tired or sick and the dadada comes out when he's excited)
* He made his first trip to the dentist earlier this month (8 teeth in, 3 on the way)
* His favorite toys right now are anything that makes noise
* He has started 'dancing' to his toddler tunes (more like a head bop and wiggle while sitting on his tush)

We are in the process of fixing up his playroom so that he will have more space to roam and burn off some energy. We'll post pictures of the finished product soon. In the meantime, here is a link to a few shots from his 10 month photo shoot - there weren't too many good shots this month since he was a bit cranky from 4 hours in the car.

Our Not-So-Little Pumpkin

Thought we would share pictures from Andrew's first pumpkin patch trip. We went to a nice farm down the street and Andrew helped us pick out some pumpkins for the front door. Happy fall!

Click here for the pictures.

Random October Life and Martin Family Visit

It's been a rainy September and October in Charlotte, which is good for the Martin family.  We recently planted a set of trees and shrubs in our backyard.  Here are some pictures of the old and new backyard.

We had a special visit by Grandma Martin, who came for a week to take care of Andrew.  Grandpa Martin later joined her to give us a night away as a belated birthday present for Jason.  I think the grandparents enjoy teaching Andrew new tricks.  For example, Grandma Dawn taught Andrew how to "climb" stairs and Grandpa Fred put him in a bucket.  Not sure what putting him in a bucket would teach him but he seemed to enjoy it.  Find pictures of a few of our random October adventures, including some playtime with friends Grady Nettles and Jack Rook, here.

We have Andrew's first Halloween coming up and he's excited to dress up and stay at home (don't think he is ready to walk from house to house yet).  We also have a trip to Rocky Mount planned to see Grandma and Grandpa Martin.