Happy 3rd Birthday!

Andrew's birthday was more than just a day of celebration, it was closer to a week! Grandma and Grandpa R. came into town on Wednesday and we had a mini-party on Thursday, with cup cakes and family presents. We took the day off work and preschool on Friday and went to the pumpkin patch. Andrew picks out his pumpkins similar to how a person would test the air in a tire. A good kick or two and you know it's good.
Last weekend we went to the open house at the Chaska Fire Station. Andrew had a blast! We all got to go for a ride on a fire truck. They even honked the horn at Andrew's request. Later in the afternoon a helicopter landed in the nearby field. I think the parents were more entertained by that than the kids.

Back to birthday week... On Saturday we had a birthday party for Mr. Andrew. Lots of friends and family came.

The theme of the party was "Dora" at Andrew's request. Thankfully they make an orange and green Dora cake.

Here's Melina, Andrew and Tyler enjoying the cake.

We had so much fun and Andrew was completely exhausted by the end of the day. He even told me "Mommy, my birthday is over" (and I sensed a little relief in his voice).

Andrew is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his new baby brother or sister. We are coming up on the 30 week mark of my pregnancy. Not too long now. Andrew's story is now "we have to get a Christmas tree and then the baby will come." He associates the baby with Christmas. I think he thinks the baby is going to come out of Mommy walking and talking and ready to play with him.

We are all looking forward to spending the holidays in Minnesota and having a quiet couple of months before baby. As always we welcome visitors!!!

State Fair

We went to the State Fair over Labor Day weekend. We were fortunate that the day we picked to go had highs in the 70's, so the weather was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately about 300,000 other people decided to go that day, so it was pretty crowded. One of the biggest draws is the Birthing Center with all the baby animals. Andrew got to pet a baby pig and a baby lamb. So cute. Mommy got scared out of the Birthing Center when they announced a pig was ready to deliver and the word "placenta" was thrown out. It's a little to early to hear words like that. ahhh! Daddy's favorite fair food was "Big Fat Bacon on a stick". Mommy loves the mini-donuts. And Andrew loves the "Potato Chip Mountain" (not sure if that's the official name, but that's definately what it looks like). It's in the bottom left corner of this picture.
We stopped to say Hi to a friend that was working at the fair and Andrew and Jacob got to run around and play on the trucks. They loved the snow plow the most. We spent a good 1/2 hour watching them run underneath it.

Silly boys!

Here's a picture from our trip to "Touch a Truck". Our city puts on an event every year where they bring out all the city vehicles and let the kids play on them. I couldn't tell you which one was Andrew's favorite. He seemed to love them all. Here he is in the police car, feet up on the wheel.

Enjoy!!

Tractors!

Yesterday, despite the heat and humidity we ventured out to the County Fair. Andrew absolutely loved the fair. He got to see cows, horses, pigs and many more animals. By far the best part was playing with the tractors.

We took a few days off in early August and headed up to Door County. We did all the traditional stops: Wilson's Restaurant, Al Johnson's (Andrew loved the goats on the roof), the Confectionary, Peninsula State Park.

On our way back to Green Bay we stopped at the Wildlife Sanctuary and fed the ducks. Of course Andrew broke out his famous phrase and told the geese "Hey gooses, go back to Canada!" Here in Minnesota the geese are a bit of a nusance, making a mess all over our streets and sidewalks, so we are not fans of them.

At Nicollet Beach - Peninsula State Park.

Unfortunately our trip to Green Bay was our last for a while, but we are looking forward to some extended time at home. As always, we love to have visitors!

We are still staying busy throughout this hot and humid summer. The heat has no bearing on Mr. Andrew. He still loves being outside every minute of the day. We recently entered the dreaded, but long awaited stage of potty training. Surprisingly Andrew is doing very well at it. Last Monday was his first days of wearing underpants to day care. We've had many accident free days. He enjoys walking around the house in only his underpants and reminding us every 5 minutes of who's on his underpants. Some days it's Lighning McQueen, Mater, Nemo, etc. We are glad to be moving away from diapers, but don't really enjoy having to go to the bathroom with Andrew every hour. Even though I'm pregnant, he still goes more than me.
Baby Update: We saw the doctor last week for our 17 week appointment. Baby is growing "perfectly" (the doctor's words, not mine). This baby is growing faster than Andrew did. We have our ultrasound on August 12. Andrew is still convinced we are having a girl.
Here's some pictures from our 4th of July weekend. The park in downtown Chaska hosts bands on Friday nights. Andrew marched right up on stage to dance along with the band. We had to tear him away at the end of the evening.
Still dancing, with Bella and Melina.

Our neighborhood association hosted a 4th of July event including a parade, petting zoo and family fun day. Andrew got an elephant hat. Cute huh?

They had a great little petting zoo. All of the animals were so friendly. We even got to pet a turkey. That was a first for Mom and Dad.

The cow seemed like a big puppy. She loved her back and ears scratched.

Enjoy your August and pray for cooler weather!

Busy Start to the Summer

We have had a busy start to our summer months. Inbetween Mommy's bouts of morning sickness we try to sneak out for some fun in the sun. We recently spent the afternoon at the Splash Pad. It was pretty crowded when we first arrived so Andrew was a little timid to go in the water. Mom and Dad had to walk him around in the water, until he saw Reesey. Reesey is a girl from Andrew's class. As soon as he spotted her, he walked straight through the pool to sit next to her. They played together the rest of the time we were there. Andrew's been practicing his baseball skills. After he got bored hitting baseballs, he tried to make the game a little more challenging. Mom and Dad got a good laugh when he tried this. We're not sure where his ideas come from.

Over Father's Day weekend we went to the Classic Car show in St. Paul. Andrew LOVED all the cars (Daddy too). This was Andrew's favorite car. (It was closer to purple in real life).

We spend a lot of time hanging out with our neighbors. Andrew recently moved to the preschool room at day care. Prior to moving he was in the toddler room with Melina (our neighbor), but now he shares the preschool room with Bella (Melina's sister). The 3 of them play together just about every weekend and week night. We think they're the reason why Andrew wants a sister. Here's Andrew and Melina sharing the chair. Melina and Bella just got back from vacation and while they were gone Andrew was responsible for turtle-sitting Zoey. Zoey lives under a tree in Melina's backyard. Andrew had to check on Zoey everyday and every 3 days he had to feed Zoey his worm, some lettuce and a strawberry.

We are heading out to our 4th of July festivities. Hopefully we'll have some more pictures to post soon. Happy 4th!!!