Andy, 14 months

How in the world is my baby 14 months old?  I feel like he just turned one.  I seriously tear up just thinking about it.  I am loving this stage so much.  Andy is a complete joy.  At dinner tonight my friend Kasee said to me, "Wow, is he this good all the time now?"  Yes!  He is.  He is an absolute joy 99% of the time.  Of course there are the normal challenges associated with a toddler who can't sit still and wants to run around and explore all the time, but even those things make this stage even more fun.

He's taken steps for a month or two, but finally got around to walking (preferring to walk rather than crawl) on August 11.  He's so excited that he knows how to walk, it's all he wants to do.  (On our flight home from Utah he walked all the way from one terminal to the next.)  He falls about a million times a day so he has red marks all over his sweet little face.  Most of the time he gets right back up.  Sometimes he needs some loves (for about 8 seconds then he wants to explore again), and I savor those special times I can offer him some comfort.  He has a funny walk--he always walks with his left food leading.  Like a gallop.  I'm assuming he'll grow out of that soon and develop a more "straight" walk.  One cute thing he does is he stops to take breaks.  He runs around like a crazy person and then randomly drops to the ground and lays down for a few seconds.  Then runs around again.

I'm amazed at how much he understands.  I'll tell him to do things, and he does them.  His words are mama, dada, doggy (sounds like daddy), and uh oh.  He also has his favorite babbling noises: ee-oh (he says it alllllll day long) and myta. He is extremely talkative!  Since he's my first, I didn't realize how talkative he is, but lots of people comment on it lately.  He is so excited all of the time.  My friend Kristin pointed out the other day how excited he is to see every single person.  He gives people the biggest smile and waves.  He is super friendly.  (He even waves to pictures of himself on my computer screen.  How adorable is that.)

He's finally getting to the age when he really plays with other little kids.  It's pretty adorable.  I was watching him play with his friend Amelia the other day, and it was just so cool to see him really interact with her.  They were having so much fun together, laughing and chasing each other around.  He also gave his little friend Maya kisses today.  He just walked up to her and gave her a few kisses.  Melts my heart.  (He gives me kisses all the time and I love it.)  He will also randomly walk up to one of us, lay his head on our shoulder, and give us a hug.  So cute.

Andy loves his dad!  It's one of my favorite things to watch his reaction when dad gets home or when we pick him up from work.  I can tell the instant Andy spots him.  He starts beaming, saying dada over and over, and just giggles.  It is super cute.

He's turned into a fantastic eater.  I'm amazed by how much he eats.  About a month ago, he weighed in in the 75th percentile and is in the 95th for height.  I love his little pot belly and elbow dimples.  He's really thinned out quite a bit though.  Definitely turning into more of a little boy and less baby.

I sure love being a mom to this sweet little guy.  

Love those crossed ankles. 

Aug. 11, the day he started walking.

Left foot always forward

Pictures at this age can be tricky because as soon as he sees the Camera he wants it sooooo bad.  

Andy has loved our moving boxes everywhere. 

Family Pictures

While in Utah, we had our first family pictures taken!  They also doubled as Andy's 1-year-old pictures.  We love how they turned out!  We went to Fotofly Away at Thanksgiving Point--they always do such a good job.  Here are some favorites:

Utah Visit

We visited Utah from August 3-13 and had a blast!  We spent the first half of our time with my family up in Bountiful, the next half with Cam's family in Cedar Hills, and then a final day with my family up in Bear Lake. 

It was a busy time for my family, and Cam had to work a bunch, but we squeezed in some fun stuff.  We had a trip to the pool, a BBQ on the deck, a late night walk, a trip to the cabin, a visit to City Creek (Cam's first time), a trip to the zoo for my birthday, a visit to my grandparents, a birthday lunch (Cafe Rio), and a birthday dinner (Texas Roadhouse).  Andy and I also got to visit a splash pad with a dear friend, Katie, and her darling little guy Kaden.

The plane ride! Andy was a champ this trip.  

Andy and beautiful Aunt Sara.  We loved seeing her so much! 

Family in the cabin.

Andy and Uncle Dale

Cam and Andy with Grandma Bonnie. 

Hanging out with Katie and Kaden at the splash pad.  Andy loved it!  He was fearless. (Too fearless, in fact.) 

City Creek

Grandma and Grandpa Messick.  Love and miss them.

We love the zoo!  I think we've gone every single visit to Utah this year.  This was the first time Andy really loved it.  

Train ride!

Andy with Grandma & Grandpa Messick. 

Texas Roadhouse for our birthdays!

We had a super fun (and very busy) few days with Cam's family!  We started with a lunch at Kneaders, a big barbeque with Greg's side of the family, family pictures, a visit to the farm at Thanksgiving Point, a birthday dinner at Market Street Grill, lots of wedding events for Cam's sweet cousin Andrea, meeting Ward, Amy, and Garrett (new family members we absolutely love and had so much fun getting to know!), and a Baker family reunion. I also got to sneak in a few visits with friends--I got to get ice cream with Andrea  and Addy and got to visit Marsha and her little guy Ben.  (It made me wish we lived closer to them so Andy and Ben could be best buddies!) 

Andi and Andrea on their wedding day. Such a cute couple!

Kneaders 

Andrea and Addy.  Love and miss them! 

Andy's seat of choice.

First pony ride.  He loved it!

Breakfast with Ward, Amy, and Garrett.  It was so great to meet them! 

Ward and Greg, brothers reunited. They look so much alike!

Ben and Andy.  Have you ever seen cuter little boys?! 

Us with Marsha and Ben.  Sure wish we lived closer!

We headed up to Bear Lake for a Messick family reunion for our last day.  (We drove both ways in one day=crazy.)  We had so much fun seeing everyone!  We were especially excited to spend time with Rachel, who returned from Jerusalem a couple days before.

Me and Justin my cousin, my favorite little boy in the world.  (Besides Andy, of course.)  

Andy practicing walking, his favorite activity as of late.   

Sara and Rachel.  

People I Love: My Mom

My mom's birthday was June 30, so she's due for a belated post!  I have the hardest time trying to list what I love about her, because I could go on forever and her sacrifices for me have been endless.  I'll attempt a list, but there's no way I can possibly cover everything.

• As I've become a mother myself, I have a newfound appreciation for what she did for me as a baby.  I was not an easy child.  I didn't sleep through the night til I was two, got into everything, etc. Now that I've had to do it myself, I'm in awe of all she sacrificed when I was a baby--getting up with me all night, nursing me, cleaning my clothes, playing with me, teaching me how to do everything.  It takes so much work to have a baby, and I'm so grateful she did all that for me.
• She's always put her children first.  Any accomplishment any of us has had is in large part because of her support, encouragement, and work.  She taught us that only our best was acceptable.  Whether it was an A or a C--if it was our best, it was good enough.  If we put anything other than our best into something, she helped us realize we could do better.  What her children need has always been on the forefront of her mind--help with friends, cultivating a new talent, help with a class, help spiritually, etc.  
• She gave me (and my sisters) the gift of music, something I will be eternally grateful for.  I can't imagine how taxing it must have been to practice piano with me for so many years (2 hours a day with a 4-year-old?!), drive me to piano lessons in Provo, pay for expensive lessons when money was tight, deal with the world of competitive piano...all of it.  She's given me something that will be such a joy eternally, and I'm so grateful for her selfless service and sacrifices.  
• My mom has become one of my closest friends.  Whenever something happens, she's the first one I call.  She is the best listener in the world.  Seriously.  (Talk to her--you'll see what I mean.) She is so interested in others' lives and makes everyone feel so important and special.  
• This seems sort of trivial after the other things I listed, but she is a fantastic cook.  I call her all the time with cooking questions.  Everything she makes tastes amazing.  She always made us dinner.  (Something that I realize now is no small feat.)  She knows so much about nutrition.  She taught us how to eat healthy and how to take care of ourselves.
• She is an amazing athlete.  She takes such good care of herself.  I can't believe how much she plays tennis and bikes.  I still can't believe she did an Ironman!  She's taught me so much about health. And she's probably going to be around for forever, which I obviously am thrilled about!