Andrea's 2nd Birthday

Andrea's birthday this year was so much fun! She was old enough to understand just about everything. When we were preparing her for the big day and would ask "how old are you going to be on your birthday?" she would reply "two candles". And when we asked what she wanted for her birthday she would say cake. Until about a week before, when she said she wanted a truck, and that remained her answer for quite a while. So Ryan and I had to go buy a last minute truck so she wouldn't be dissapointed.

Anyone who knows this little girl knows what kind of theme her party would be... Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. That was definately a no-brainer! So Ryan and I found some cute stuff from Zurchers: plates, cups, a banner, and a centerpiece. I ordered balloons from Macey's and told them I wanted Mickey Mouse birthday balloons, I guess they assumed it was for a boy because most of the balloons were blue, but she didn't care!

I had been wanting to attempt a fondant cake at some point after watching so many cake shows on TV, so I thought I would attempt Mickey's head. I must say I am very proud of this cake! Having never made fondant before and having the first batch of cakes fail, it's a miracle it turned out.

Andrea liked it so much she would keep asking to say hi to Mickey in the fridge and wanted to kiss the cake. We made sure to put her back on the floor before she witnessed the knife cutting through her most beloved friend.  

She was spoiled, as always, by all the people that love this little girl. She got so many fun new toys, a couple of vehicles (which she has been in need of, our little tom boy), a new spring wardrobe, and even a mother-daughter apron set.

Thank you so much for all of those who came and celebrated with us, and for those who make sure she knows she is loved from afar, we really are blessed with great friends and family! I am so excited that Andrea is two, not really sad at all, I love seeing her grow and explore the world around her.

Sleeping Beauty

I realized, as I was reading over past posts, that anyone reading this blog would assume that Andrea has been sleeping in her toddler bed like a champ for months now... you would be wrong. She does sleep through the night, and falls asleep on her own, but she sleeps on the love seat in the living room :)

 It all started a few months ago when she got a 7 day stomach flu and I knew she wouldn't get through the night without vomiting. So we let her sleep on the love seat and I slept on the couch so I could be there when she got sick. Well since the flu just wouldn't go away she got in a bad habit of sleeping in the front room. We tried to do the "cry it out" thing that worked so well last time, but after a week there was no progress. So Ryan and I decided to "pick our battles".

She takes a nap beautifully, and goes night night without a fuss. We just learned to turn the TV to something she isn't interested in. If we turn on Mickey or Yo Gabba Gabba she doesn't fall asleep, but if we watch one of our shows she is asleep in minutes. It's also a benefit that I have the couch available for me, when she does have a rough night. Last week she had an ear infection and sore throat so I stayed in the living room with her to get more medicine during the night.

Her bed is now used as a bench for her stuffed animals and it's also where she prefers to have her diaper changed, instead of on her changing table.

I'm hoping one day when she's older she'll get excited about a new twin bed and we can work out a reward system. But for now, we'll keep our lives simple by letting her sleep where she feels safe.

Christmas

Christmas was, well, interesting for me this year. It all began Christmas Eve when I was miserable everywhere. I had such a migraine that Ryan insisted I go lay in the bedroom til I could move again. I had such a bad sinus ache that my teeth hurt, and I felt a little nauseous. I didn't know whether to take pain medication, allergy medication, or pepto bismal. I thought all three might be a little to daring. So I started with Tylenol and got rid of the migraine in time to take our traditional Christmas lights drive around town. I sat in the third row of our car (because it's easiest for me to climb back there) so Ryan's parents could join us. My sinus' were so bad I couldn't stand it, and each turn was making my stomach a little more unpredictable. But I made it home without incident and we opened all of our Christmas Eve pajamas.

Christmas morning was a little better, no sinus pain, and no headache, just a little nauseous. Andrea woke up ornery but we finally talked her into opening some presents.

After she opened her lady bug tent and we put it up she wasn't interested in opening anything else. We had to put the tent in her bedroom to get the rest of the gifts unwrapped.

Besides the tent she received, a snow suit, an outfit, some DVDs, a coloring book, a rolling tigger, and some hippo bath toys.

Ryan received some Wii games, cologne, itunes card, and the annual Bob & Tom CD.

I received a jacket, a camera, slippers, and some DVDs.

After the first round of presents at our house the stomach flu hit in full force for me before we went to Ryan's parents. Andrea received even more spoils from Grandma and Grandpa and I think by that time she was just a little too overwhelmed with everything.

It took her a couple of days to truly appreciate everything and take the time to play with each new toy. I think we'll take it easy on her birthday, which is in a few weeks, good heavens!

Even with the stomach flu it was a fun day watching Andrea understand the idea of Santa a little better! I am so happy we have her in our lives, she makes everything so much fun!

Zoo Lights

I've noticed a lot of blogs with the same header lately, so I guess it's becoming more and more popular to visit the zoo during Christmas. Neither Ryan and I had ever been, neither had our friends who joined us. We decided to all take our kids to dinner (which was choatic) and then go to the zoo (which was even more choatic).

Three sets of families all making sure their kids are warm and happy can be quite the challenge. It seemed just when we all thought we were ready to get moving again another child would have some kind of trouble.

I still really enjoyed it, having never been and Andrea seemed to too. I was actually very impressed with the lights and although we expected to see more actual animails I thought it was a fun new experience. All the kids of went wild, of course, once the carousel was in sight and we just couldn't buy the tickets fast enough. Once the ride was over, the screams started again (or at least Andrea was screaming) but I guess that's all part of the memories.

We managed to get one group shot, with Andrea still crying about the carousel. It's always fun for me to spend time with my friends and get to know their kids. I hope they all enjoyed it too.

Halloween

This Fall has been full of fun activities for our Family. For the first time I thought I would go check out the Pumpkin Walk at the Benson Grist Mill. Ryan was sick that day so I was grateful that my friend Kristi was interested in joining Andrea and I. There were a lot of cute booths, one including a photo opportunity by Sundloff Photography, who did Andrea's newborn photos. Here is her cute picture with the pumpkins:

  We tried to grow our own pumpkins this year and had no luck. We've done it before, so we'll try again next year I guess. Instead we decided to go to a local pumpkin patch that is right by our house to get some pumpkins. We happened to go on the last day they were open, they had run out of good pumpkins, which meant each pumpkin was only $2. We never even got to carve them between Andrea's 7 day stomach flu and Ryan being out of town we just never got the chance, so I packed the candles and carving kits for next year. Andrea still enjoyed the pumpkin patch and watching the dog who would run along next to the tractor.

 

Our ward's Trunk or Treat was on Tuesday before Halloween. I wanted Andrea to participate since I didn't know how much actual trick or treating she would do this year. I was hoping that she was over her stomach flu by then and it had been over 24 hours since her last episode so I figured we were safe. Ryan couldn't join us because it was his turn with the flu so I thought I would give it a go alone. I made sure our candy bucket was always full and took her around to the different trunks. Our trunk won the "Brightest", we had a light up strand of garland as well as a plug in Jack O Lantern to accompany our trick or treat figurines. Andrea seemed to really enjoy the evening and I'm thankful for the ward members who helped me with my single parent struggles!

Now for actual Halloween, geez I'm already exhausted... Andrea was a Monkey as you may have already noticed. I found the costume on sale and I figure I might as well get a bargain before she starts deciding what her costume is going to be. I added the bows since she didn't look much like a girl without them. 

 Our friends Opee and Tara invited us over for some homemade stew (which was delicious) before we all took the kids trick or treating on Main Street. Once we arrived on Main and saw what a mess it was we changed our minds. Not only was it raining but there were just too many people for it to be enjoyable. So we stayed long enough to meet up with my brother's family and take a photo and then we left. My neice Brigitta dressed as Fufa from Yo Gabba Gabba and her brother Roland was was Plex the Robot to match. My sister-in-law always impresses me with her sewing ability!

 One last picture with Opee and Tara's children, Spencer the dragon and Abbie the princess. Andrea was over the idea of being a Monkey by this point! Ryan and Opee have decided that sometimes as parents Halloween just seems like too much of a hassle so they removed the "Happy" leaving you with... "Halloween Everyone!"

A Smaller To-do List

If you are familiar with our blog, you should know that there is always a project going on at the Lee home. This past week we finally finished a project from February. Ryan wanted to make Andrea a toy box for Andrea's 1st birthday and the deadline came a little close. We still gave it to her, but knew we would have to finish it later. You can see it here, unfinished on the right.

So Ryan painted it white, and lined the inside with cedar. He also found a toy box hinge which causes the lid to hold in place no matter how far it's opened, so Andrea can't slam her fingers. We found some material we like for the padded seat and based the colors off of that. We painted the spindles and then it was my job to do some painting on the outside.

 

I'm not too pleased with the result, but it will have to do. Maybe some more grass along the bottom...

Andrea seems to really love it though, she isn't quite tall enough to get on it herself yet, but it does hold a lot of toys which is it's main purpose.

Now for a little Halloween fun. We have two little trick-or-treater figurines in our house and for some reason Andrea thinks that the little bags they carry are gloves. 

So here she is trying to use these gloves to their full potential.

Lagoon

Every year Ryan's Dad gets invited to Lagoon for a company day, and they never go. This year I wanted to see how Andrea enjoyed it and talked everyone into going. There really was no discount but the company provided lunch and games for the kids. I was dissapointed that there weren't more rides that Andrea would enjoy and that we could ride with her. The small rides wouldn't allow parents on, and the others were too wild. So she did ride the Carousel with Daddy, Puff with Mommy, and the train with both of us. Other than that, there wasn't much choice.

The company pavilion was fun though, we had Andrea "fish" for a free toy. Try to get the flying frogs into the bucket and toss the ring on the flamingos. We also gave Bingo a shot, but didn't win anything. I can't wait to take Andrea when she is older. Since Ryan is too wimpy to go on any fun rides I hope Andrea will be a bit more daring.