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Andrea's 2nd Birthday Party!

We celebrated Andrea's second birthday on Sunday. Her actual birthday is not until the 23rd, but we wanted to do it early in case her baby brother decided to arrive early.

It was a beautiful day, and everyone had a good time. Of course, the birthday girl was so excited about her party that I didn't get her to nap until 1:30, and everyone arrived at 2:00, so they had to wait to see the star of the show!

I've decided the best way to chronicle the events of the day is to put up the pictures I took throughout her party:

Guests

Silliness

Presents

Pinata

Cupcake-Cake

"MESSY!"

Beat the Heat!

The heat has been miserable around here the past two days. It is in the mid-90s, and very humid. Thankfully, Aunt Claire has been very generous in allowing everyone to congregate at her new house, and use her pool as much as we want. We were there again last night, to get a little relief from the heat, and have some more fun visiting with everyone.

Grandma Marty lent Andrea a helping hand in the water so Mommy could relax and enjoy the pool, too.
Aunt Claire joined us soon after. Did you notice that all three of them are wearing water wings?!

We managed to coax Andrea out of the water for a bit at dinner time. Jordan was teaching her how to surf!

When Daddy joined us, after work, Andrea couldn't wait to get back in with him. So, we suited her up again.

This is "Echo the Dolphin," the new pool mascot. Andrea got a big kick out of going for a ride on him.

Look, no hands!

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I also managed to video Andrea doing a solo-swim with her water wings on. Like I said a few days ago, she just started wearing floaties this week, and she's already getting surprisingly independent with them.
http://media.putfile.com/Andrea-Solo-Swim

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By the way, Daddy had his turn trying to ride Echo, too. Unfortunately, he was not as successful!

More Family Fun

On Friday evening, we went back to Aunt Claire's house for another swim and another visit. We also had a great dinner of BBQ ribs, rice, and corn on the cob. This was Andrea's first official attempt at corn on the cob--she held it all by herself, and with help from Daddy and Joanna, had soon caught on that she needed to spin it, and move her mouth across the cob, as she ate. Of course, we all paid the price the next day . . . you know what happens with corn!

Another point of note: Andrea was swimming on her own with water wings this time! She would sit on the pool steps, then slide/jump in; then she would swim a little circle around on her own, climb back up the stairs, and start over. We were amazed at her rapid progress with the water wings!

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On Saturday afternoon, we took Andrea to my uncle's wedding ceremony. She was the only little one there, and she behaved pretty well, except for the occasional well-placed comment, and sudden outbursts of applause. For example, after they finished their vows, she yelled, "OKAY!" and "YES!"

Since everyone was all dressed up, I took the opportunity to get a nice picture of Andrea with Grandma Marty and Grandpa Rick, from Montana.

Visiting Family :))

Grandma Marty and Grandpa Rick are here from Montana, for a 2-week visit, which means we are having lots of impromptu family get-togethers, and lots of great photo opportunities!
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On Tuesday evening, Grandma Marty and Mommy picked up Andrea after daycare and brought her out to Essex, to visit, and see Aunt Claire's new house. Daddy was at a Tiger's game with some people from work, so we got to visit out there until the wee hours of the morning. Andrea was amazingly good, considering the long day she had!

Aunt Claire's new house has a nice pool, so Andrea wanted to go right in, even though it was a bit cold. It also happened to be the first time Andrea has ever worn water wings. She was a bit nervous when Mommy let go, and she was floating on her own, but she did pretty well.


After dinner, Andrea wanted to go in the pool AGAIN, so we put her on a raft and let her cousin Jordan escort her around the pool. She loved it--she was splashing, and laughing, and playing at passing the beach ball with him.



When Jordan got cold, she STILL wanted to go back in, so Grandma Marty rolled up her dress and dipped Andrea in from the pool stairs.Was she done yet? No way! When cousin Joanna got home from work, she wanted to go in the pool with her, too!
Finally, we managed to get her out of the pool and into some warm pajamas (she was shivering). She spent the rest of the evening eating a mountain of watermelon, and eventually fell asleep on Aunt Claire's bed.
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Yesterday was July 4, so in the evening, we all piled into Aunt Claire's van and crossed the border to go to Aunt Donna and Uncle Greg's. Their house is on a quiet cul-de-sac, and they and the neighbours have been having a July 4th fireworks party on their street for the past few years.

It was another long day for Andrea, but she held up great. After all, there were plenty of people to fuss over her (she was by far the littlest one there), lots of treats to eat, and a large bucket of ice to get into (she loves ice).

I was surprised by how well she handled the fireworks, especially since they lasted well past her bedtime. She only got scared at the loud, screaming kind of ones; and she kept running between Daddy and I, giggling nervously, and pointing to the sky. (By the way, I think they all broke the bank on those fireworks. They were great! And they had so many, they just stopped letting them off, because they got tired of it!)

We had to bring her U.S.A. hat Grandma Marty and Grandpa Rick got her when we visited them last year--it suited the occasion.

Andrea's cousin Caitlin was her special buddy last night.

Here's Andrea enjoying the fireworks from the comfort of Daddy's lap--they weren't too scary, then.

If Daddy and Mommy weren't close enough, Grandma was always nearby.
Sparklers are always a nice way to finish the evening.
The fireworks didn't finish until late, so we popped Andrea into her pajamas and headed home as soon as they were done. She dozed off in the van, before we even crossed the bridge. She's had two busy days!

It's VERY Relaxing!

Andrea still loves going on her swings. Lately, we've noticed that she has a tendency to zone out, and get a little sleepy-looking after being on the swing for a while. Today, I noticed her nodding off, and I said, "Someone's getting sleepy. . . you can't fall asleep yet!" and she would giggle. We went through this little game for about 15 minutes, and then she dozed right off!

Talk about relaxing! That must be the life . . . settling into a comfy swing, in the warm morning sun, with someone to give you push every now and then, and then you just drift off to sleep . . . :))

Just Some Cute Pictures

Here are some cute pictures I've snapped of Andrea over the past few days. :))

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She's a busy little Mommy--between caring for Dora, going shopping, and talking on her cell--and not to mention, looking good!

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But, like any Mommy, she has to stop and put the little ones in line when they get rambunctious!

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Who doesn't enjoy slipping into something more comfortable after a long day?!

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Egg Roll loves to play with Andrea, and all of her toys. He leaps out at her; he sits on her plush chair; and he likes to hitch a ride on her shopping cart, when he can get away with it!

Andrea--you have a stow-away!
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Aiden came to visit today, and he read Andrea a story!

Is she flirting?!

Introducing "Egg Roll": A New Playmate for Andrea!

This is Egg Roll. He (we think it's a he) is our new kitten. A long time ago, Mommy promised Daddy he could name our next cat Egg Roll (thinking it would be years before we'd get another cat, since we already had Buster). After Buster died suddenly last year, we knew that we'd get another kitty, but we didn't know when. A few weeks ago, Aunt Kathy told us she had a cat that had kittens, and the Humane Society couldn't take them. So, we decided to adopt one. He was born May 1st, and was just ready to leave his momma now.

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Andrea was intrigued by him right away. She wanted to watch (and copy!) everything he did, right away. We're glad she's excited about her new friend, but we've got to keep her out of his food and litter! So, he's going to stay downstairs for now.

Andrea saw him trying to climb the cage he came in, and up the furniture. So, she decided to try and climb our wall! I love how Egg Roll was watching her as much as she was watching him!

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Andrea needed a few reminders to be gentle, but overall, she was really good with the new kitty. It's funny how Andrea is imitating the new kitten, right down to his tiny "Mew!" We keep reminding her that he's a baby, and we need to be gentle and not scare him. I think this is great practice for when Bud arrives next month. I also see it's good because the kitten is getting so much attention, and I can sense Andrea is adjusting to this.

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I set up a bed for him downstairs tonight, nearby his food and litter. It took a couple of tries, but I think he likes it now.

Nighty-night, Egg Roll!