Day at Out of Africa

We were in the process of coming off of a very busy birthday weekend when Aunt Jen suggested a trip to Out Of Africa. With a little arm twisting we were convinced this might be a fun outing. Christopher had a blast and was able to get a camel kiss. Elizabeth, wanting to be just like big bro, held her cookie out without any hesitation and gave it to the camel as well. This was followed by a puzzled look and a desire to have her cookie back. All in all it was a great day.

Look Who's Turning 1

Big Brother never needs much encouragement to help with presents.

Mmmmmmmm, lily pad cake. Oh so yummy.

A toad cake in honor of our little toadie

First Birthday Dress

Birthday morning hair, apparently there was a party in her crib the night before.

So It's been a full year since what I affectionately call the "gelatinous blob" days. She has learned to roll, learned to crawl, almost walked, grew some teeth and some hair. We have gone to the beach, eaten sand and spent many a day in the backpack visiting new sites. She has spent a year exploring her world through most of her senses and shows no sign of slowing down. Yes my little girl is 1!!!!!!!!! I am so blessed to even be making this post, and thank the Lord every day for both of my children. So here we go. Cake, presents and parties, oh my.

Happy Mother's Day

Ten things that make Lil a great Mom!!!!!!!

10. She can organize the hair on a gnat's butt.

9. Taught us everything we need to know about big hair, big shoulder pads and all the etiquette needed to not embarrass ourselves in public.

8. Explained the meaning of "he is a real character" after picking up a wounded daughter from camp.

7. Put up with taking two teenage girls clothes shopping every year.

6. Has always kept us informed of the comings and goings of our family that we don't see as much.

5. Learning how to lay down the law for a child who is opposed to all forms of discipline (spanking attempt anyone)

4. Always there for us with a word of encouragement, drop of a note and a long distance hug.

3. Kept our tummies full with some of the best southern cooking around.

2. Loves our Father like no other.

1. Still loves us after 31 years of dirt in the face, eye poking, "my daddy", hours of time spent in the bathroom and many loads of laundry.

We love you Lil, Happy Mother's day!!!!!!!!!!

The talking in the background is Aunt Jen not Mom. Just wanted that to be clear to all :)

I thought he did a great job although I am finding out that almost 10 year-old boys do not like there Moms to tell them how well they have done. Apparently this is almost as bad as using spit to wipe food off of faces :)

A few a-la-carte pictures. Elizabeth loves Aunt Jen's pillows, Mama misses the mouth, feeds the nose but gets the picture, Elizabeth begins early dental hygene (sort of), Christopher square dances in his spring concert and Christopher babysits in front of the TV.

While Elizabeth may not have understood the meaning of her first Easter all of us around her felt the specialness of the occasion. What better way to celebrate our Risen Lord than a baptism, day with family and of course too much food. Mandy was baptised at the Easter vigil mass. After seeing so many infant baptisms it was nice to see an adult choose to join the faith. While the long mass did pose a comfort problem for our expecting candidate she looked great and responded in all the right spots :) Christopher started off the morning with our tradition of a riddle guided Easter egg hunt. The hunt resulted in his Easter basket being found in the kitchen closet. A good time was had by all (even Mom who was hiding eggs at 11:30 at night). Elizabeth soaked up all the attention lavished on her by all at the family gatherings and looked extra special in her Easter dress.

The weekend before Easter was Christopher's latest Tae Kwon Do tournament. He competed in weapons(bo staff), open hand form and sparring. I would not want to run into him in a dark alley, I can tell you that. He did well and while no first or second places were acheived I was so proud of his participation, especially his sparring. He was able to score 2 points on his first opponent which was especially difficult because she was a girl. In true gentleman fashion Chris has a real problem sparring girls. The weekend was a complete success and I am so proud of my boy for trying something new.

The Beverly Hillbillies ride again, if only there was oil in "them thar hills".

If the diaper doesn't fit you must acquite.

I'm not so sure about today's new hair styles.

Week in review

Green Belt for Chris, laundry for Elizabeth (oh what a helper) and I'm a little concerned that my son may never be much help in the diaper department.

What can I say, every mother needs to have blackmail pictures. Look at the face, I think even at this age she knows to be offended that I would take this picture.

Belts, teeth and science, oh my

So Chris has passed his greenbelt test for Tae Kwon Do and will graduate this Friday the 6th. He did a great job, even though according to him he does not test well. Green belt takes him to the intermediate level so this means I'm going to have to get more involved in the training. The glint in his eye at the thought of sparring with Mom makes me a little nervous. Last week we also completed Chris' first ever science project. Upon comparison of his project to other projects Chris decided that his was "lame". I tried to tell him that this was not the case and was informed that Moms have to say things like that and that he was probably only going to get a participation ribbon. As you can see in the picture this was not the case. His "lame" experiment was worthy of second place. So what if we didn't build a hovercraft or make a battery out of lemons we celebrated the second place with the vigor of a nobel prize winner. Little bits first tooth has made its appearance and I'm a happy camper. For the last week this great sleeper has had a hard time of it. I've been a little spoiled by her but I don't need that to change to feel complete. She has been flipping from front to back but has yet to master the reverse so she is moving right along.So that's the scoop from the Andre house. Hope this upcoming week finds everyone healthy and happy.