Andrew at One Year

It has been quite a while since I've written an Andrew update. The little pea-pie punkin' guy turned one this week. And to celebrate the occasion, he is walking! Over the last couple weeks, he had been taking a few tentative steps. Just between pieces of furniture and such. But the day before his birthday, he was walking with a "walker" toy and it got hung up on a rug. So he just continued on without it, half-way across the living room. He still crawls most of the time, but he loves practicing his new skill.

Other amazing things that Andrew is doing ...

Yesterday I was emptying the dish washer and putting the silverware away. Andrew grabbed a spoon and, instead of sticking it in his mouth like he usually does, he stuck it in the silverware drawer. Later I was sitting in a chair next to the dryer (a trick I discovered while I was pregnant) folding laundry and stacking it on the open dryer door. Andrew cruised over to the nearby shelf where we keep clean kitchen towels, grabbed one, and placed it on the dryer door. He did this about three times.

Andrew is using about three signs - the signs for "more" (which he does by pointing his index finger to his palm, just like his brothers did) and "all done" (well, mostly just waving his hands around) and pat-pat when he wants milk. He doesn't say much, although he clearly says "Da Da". He can clap his hands and wave "bye bye". He will follow me around from room to room (as the mother of three, I don't stay put for long) and is quite social. When I put on my sling, he gets very excited. This is not new; he's done this for several months. But he's not clingy at all and rarely asks to be held when we are at home. He is a busy boy and has things to do. He doesn't like strangers, though.

He weighs just over 21lbs. which is a bit below the old adage of "triple their birth weight by one year" but on track compared with his brothers' growth curves.

I am actually writing his birth story this week. And I promise photos coming soon.