18 Months

First tricycle, from the Anchor Center charity event.

Monday mornings are rough.

Chilly morning camping.

Chilling in the hammock

The 17-month-old lumberjack has his first smore!

Eating about half of the watermelon brought for the whole group!

Camping with my church friends...all 18 of them and their 14 parents!

Independence Pass, on the way to meet 1-day-old Jack Haynie in Aspen.

4th of July in Banner Elk, NC.

Where'd everyone go?

Elk Park, NC waterfall.

Hiking's tough - quiet ride home.

Loveland Pass.

Hiking Loveland Pass @ 16 months.

Just another day at the park.

15 months, with my best friend, Molly:)

Dining al fresco at Grandma's.

Clearly not a care in the world:)

18 Months and I am into:

Saying and waving goodbye to anyone, everyone, and everything. I like blowing kisses, too (sounds and all!).

Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh....all the time, and always the right context.

Hugs, hugs, hugs, and more hugs!!!

I discovered my belly button on the tarmac in Rapid City, South Dakota and have enjoyed an intense obsession with it ever since. (I'm still not sure why I was in SD, but M&D were extremely thankful for my discovery, which entertained me the unexpected 4 hours on the plane.)

I know my body parts and am pleased to pieces to give you a "high-five" after I have correctly demonstrated to you where they all are.

When Mommy holds me (only with her right arm, of course), I immediately grin & bend back, asking to be "swung" like a monkey upside down. What could possibly be more fun?!?

Molly still rocks my world, especially when she kisses me - we even kiss through the screen door! Daisy still naps - all the time.

My cousins absolutely crack me up!!!

The "Tonga Dance" is my favorite move when I'm excited. I stomp, stomp, stomp my right foot, do two squats, then twirl a few circles:)-

The trumpet introduction on CBS' "Sunday Morning" makes me go wild! Thank goodness for Tivo so I can hear it over and over again:)

The sofas are fun to climb, slides (head first) are super, and the ottoman is the best thing I've found to propel myself off of. I carefully use my hands at home, but at school when I land staight on my head, I get"time-out" so that I don't break my neck!

Vocabulary:
Bye, Bye
Uh-oh
Football

Water

Duck

Woof woof (what does a dog say?)
Tractor
Daisy
Dog
Ma-ma (finally!)
Da-da
Baby
Nay-nay (Nate, best friend at school)

Cracker

Truck

Yellow

Lego

Grover

March 12 - First Birthday!

March was a BIG month!

• I turned ONE and I started walking!!!


• I went to Mommy's cousin's wedding in Asheville.


• I got croup (again!) while Grandma was hanging out with me so Mom & Dad could go away (thank you, Grandma!)


• I went to the U.S. Olympic Trails for curling - have YOU ever seen curling?!? (Long story - don't ask - M&D won't even tell me how we ended up there!).


• I learned to climb the stairs!
  
  

Curling is actually kind of interesting once you learn what's really going on.

But the best part was dancing during timeouts...

In Asheville for Will & Kristi's wedding, I got to hang out with some of Mommy's cousins again.

I (a.k.a Kyle Singler) had a stare off with Gene for a while, but Mommy was too slow with the camera. I put my sock in my mouth and had places to go!

My cousin Sarah had this really awesome Duke Chearleading outfit on....but the bottle she gave me was even MORE cool:)

Sarah and Abby ran up and down the hall of the hotel SOOO much (and I crawled after them just as fast as I could!) that I just crashed!

And then it FINALLY snowed in Denver! Mom and Dad have been talking about this sledding thing ALL winter, but then they finally got to show me what it was all about!

It was fun, but really, really bright outside.

My first birthday party at school! Nate and Hailey have March birthdays, too. We're the very oldest kids in the class now!

It was good to celebrate our birthdays, but sad that our favorite teacher, Corri, moved away:(

And then Hailey made fun of me for being an old man! "Just wait a week, Hailey!"

It looks like I was salivating for my birthday cake, but I was actually crying because all I wanted was a nap!

But then I finally dove in!

"Is this what you guys wanted to see?"

"Now may I just PLEEEEZE take a nap????"

Let's try again at home, with our own cake, no audience, no pressure...

Mommy blew the candle out in my face - who likes smoke up their nose?!?! Mommy says we'll try again next year:)

"Ooh, what's this??" Mommy and Daddy tell me that this is supposed to be my favorite present and that I'll learn why very soon:)

I experimented with just the first step one day, looked for permissin to try more, then promptly figured out how to climb the whole staircase! Now I want to climb back down.

11 Months

At 11 months old I am now:

• Pulling up on everything in sight so I can stand nice and tall. I'm not so much humping things anymore...it's more fun to let go and see how long I can stand by myself!
• "Walking down" the sofa to get those darn remotes that are always out of reach!
• "Monkey crawling" around the house with incredible speed (crawling on my feet instead of my knees). One of these days, I'm just going to lift my hands off the floor and start walking...and I think Mom and Dad might just pass out that day!
• "Taking it with me" - I pull off my socks so I can have something to stroke in my left hand while I suck my right thumb. Then I put the sock in my mouth and crawl along my way. I think I am one of the dogs. Like Daisy walks around with her dish, I crawl around with my socks and go sit by the back door.
• Trying desperately to tear down the baby gate at the top of the stairs just because that seems like it would be fun...and it might make a really cool loud noise!
• Getting ready for Daddy's first lacrosse game of the season - I'm practicing how to be a good mascot with Daisy and Molly:)

I think I'm looking a little frat-boyish right now. Daddy thinks I need a haircut - I can't imagine why!
My latest break-dancing move!

The world is so simple, and so interesting! (We won't talk about the fact that I was banging my head against the window relentlessly when Mommy snapped this quiet still shot instead of a movie!)

Legos are SO cool, especially at cousin Alex's house (what a difference a year makes!) with Anne, & Tomba (and Baby T on the way!).

Limp as a dishrag for Kate (MLK weekend '09 in Richmond & DC)

Look, Uncle Steve! VT beat #1 Wake 1-21-09:)

10 Months - January 2009

I am 10 months old now and quite proud of that! Crawling is a skill that I mastered in late November-early December. By mid-January, though, I am zipping around to anything that I can use to pull up to standing. Once standing, I will look around for 20 minutes. I am really working on my leg muscles so that I can walk soon. A few times now, I have pulled up onto the ottoman and stepped around it so that I could transition to holding onto the sofa instead. I guess I've technically taken my first steps!

The two things that are still worth crawling to are the dog dish---there's just something about splashing around in that water!---and the dog bed. Daisy and Molly's bed is the only acceptable place to do my yoga. I don't know why, but Daisy takes off every time I come over - she should join me instead!

Oh, and I picked up nickname #27 or so from Mom & Dad this month...."Bobby K" (they're always laughing when they call me that), because life is just beyond grand when I'm in my Bobby Bouncer (or is it Johnny Jumper? hmmmm...).

Bobby K in the Bobby Bouncer/Johnny Jumper

The performance is always better when the camera is not around, but that's how it goes, of course!

10 Months

I am 10 months old now and quite proud of that! Crawling is a skill that mastered in late November-early December. By mid-January, I am zipping around to anything that I can use to pull up to standing. Once standing, I will stand and look around for 20 minutes. I am really working on my leg muscles so that I can walk soon.

A few times now, I have pulled up onto the ottoman and stepped around it so that I could transition to holding onto the sofa instead. I guess I've technically taken my first steps!

Andrew's 12 Days of Christmas

1 – My first sitting with Santa: in 20 degree weather, my 20 second visit was not long enough to warm up to the strange, fat, funny laughing me, but I didn’t object, so the moment was captured!

2 - I am "over" crawling (why bother when you can stand?) but it does get me to fun things that I can pull up on so I can see around better. The ottoman on the carpet is great. Small tables on hardwood floors are not. I will learn, likely the hard way.

3 - The Johnny Jumper (aka "Bobby Bouncer") is suddenly the greatest entertainment in the house. M&D fear for the door frame, but they don't care b/c my smile is SOOOO big and my cackle is SOOOO infectious!

4 - Lips are so neat!!! They move when Mom and Dad talk! I must get them now, preferably with my own lips!

5 - My hands can fold and wave---whoa!---and my tongue is busy. The sounds I make are really my own words....you just don't understand them yet....I even try to get lots of air in so I can talk in sentences like you do.

6 – Every time I woke up from a nap, there were new people there to meet me or greet me again. I really concentrated on who they were so I will remember them the next time I see them.

7 - Eating real pears is hard with only 6 teeth.....but I do work on it like I should.

8 - I like Dad's 3rd grade teacher, Stella! She MAY just think I am better than my Dad!!

9 - A plastic water bottle makes a great toy....it crackles...it is smooth and bumpy....and if there is water in it it is "wobbly".

10 – On Harry’s cue of the “the angels proclaimed…”, I shouted out in joy for the whole church to hear!

11 - The next time I am at Grandma's for Christmas I want to see the lights on 34th street.....I was just too tired to enjoy it this year.

12 - My legs have not stopped moving in, well, since about November or so...pick me up and I "swim" them like a frog. Otherwise, I'm off! (But I will stop to cuddle, especially if you talk in my ear and give me neck kisses.)

I have no idea that I am only 9 months old...I play with legos with my 4-12-yr-old cousins like I am their age. I am really maturing faster than M&D like. Dad left the room the other day and warned me not to turn 5 while he was gone!

Christmas 2008

Grandaddy is the best person to show you about trucks!

I really do love Dody, but all this Christmas stuff is SO exhausting!

I wasn't kidding - It really just wiped me out!

At least I had a comfy place to fall asleep:)

What's this? A present during breakfast? How neat!

Another hat knitted by my aunt Clare - this one is so colorful and fun!

And my first Virgina Tech hat from Grandma - thank you!!!

My very own Raggedy Andy from Grandma - my Mom's favorite doll. Dad says this doll is okay since my name is Andrew:)

Yippee! It's Christmas time!

I screamed in bed for AGES until they retrieved me - I didn't care it was 10:00pm, I was NOT ready for Christmas to be over!
I need some time to chill with Daddy.


But now I think I may be ready for Christmas to be over...

My Daddy's best friend, Aaron, and his family---Erin and baby Keyes---are pretty cool people.

Even from Alexandria, VA, Keyes and I are best friends already.

Cousins Christmas at Grandma's in Baltimore - We are cousins by the dozen...4 months to 12 years! Ellie, Jacob, Maddie w/ Emily, David w/ Andrew, Sami w/ Molly, Daria, Alexandria, Caroline, and Jesse.
...and then there are those repsonsible for the dozen above....

Tom & Michelle, Clare & Steve, Jen, Kevin & Beth, Michael & Elizabeth, Yvie & Jim