Andrew is ONE!

*blink blink*
I'm not quite sure how that happened.  But somehow, this precious little nugget:

has turned into this:

Yeah, I don't get it either.

So, he was properly celebrated for having survived to his first birthday!

It is very hard getting a non-blurry shot of him.  Especially when he's holding balloons.

He got away with murder, since he was prince of the day:

And he had help opening his presents.

Lots and lots and lots of help.

 It was actually hard finding a gift for him.  We have so much little boy stuff already, and I didn't want to just get something for the sake of getting something.  (I'm determined not to clutter up our pristine new house with unnecessary stuff!) (Ha.)

Finally, the kids and I found it: a puzzle that makes vehicle noises!

His grandparents also got him a great little musical drum, which has been a huge hit with everyone.

As soon as I figure out how to edit video on the new schmancy Movie Maker I'll post a video of him "dancing."  And then Grandma and Grandpa will be instructed to put the video on loop and listen to it for 2 straight hours so they can share the joy.

Since Andy has a fall birthday,  I made him a fall-themed birthday cake: pumpkin chocolate-chip with cream cheese frosting.

Wow, this is good!  I can't believe it's gluten-free!

om nom nom

umm... I didn't realize it would do THAT to my hands...

 After the festivities he got to finish off with a Birthday Bath.

Note his left leg.

 A great end to a great day!

My personal goal is to get Daddy wetter than me!

Also, on his birthday he decided that walking was his new preferred method of locomotion!  He had been practicing for a couple weeks leading up to it, and then just all of a sudden took the plunge.  He is now walking everywhere, all day long, and so excited by his new skill!  Again, I have video to post, but need to figure out how to shrink it to an appropriate file size.  Any tips, ye-who-be-more-computer-savvy-than-I?

Sorry for such a long postcation -- there really wasn't much happening to write about for a while, unless you like posts about juggling school and laundry.  And then the last couple weeks have been full of activity that's kept us all busy.  The day after Andy's birthday we had our home blessed.  And NATURALLY, we didn't get a single picture.  We were too busy having fun!  A bunch of friends came over and filled the house.  The priest who blessed our home is wonderful with families -- he made a point of blessing allllll the kids, multiple times. :)  He even checked all the closets for monsters.  The kids loved him, even when he tried quick to turn off the bathroom lights and shut them all in the dark.  He missed a light, but they all shrieked appreciatively.

One friend said that was the loudest house blessing she had ever been to. :)  It was great.

A few days later was Halloween, which merits its own post!