Trip to Destin, Florida

We spent this past week in Destin, FL with Nat's family, and we had an awesome trip! We weren't sure what Andrew would think about the beach, but he loved it!

Covered in sand and loving it..



I think his mouth is full of goldfish.

Going for a swim with Pop.



Andrew loved to walk all over the beach.

The family


Mom and Dad

Carrie and Nick

Playing under the tent

Gary and I had a lot of fun playing paddle ball.

Andrew actually took his nap on the beach 3 of the days. I was shocked, but I think the sound of the waves helped him sleep for a while under the tent.


Aunt Carrie and Andrew playing with his pool.


Finishing up a game of Bocce Ball

Last night at the beach

Congratulations Nick and Carrie!!

My brother, Nick, proposed to his girlfriend, Carrie, while we were in Destin, FL. We were so glad to be there to celebrate with them. Nick had my dad put "Will you marry me?" in the sand with seashells. Nick and Carrie went on a walk, he showed her the message, and he asked her on the beach. We were all watching in the distance from our condo. It was perfect. Also, Carrie's parents came to the beach to surprise her on that day. We are so excited for them! The big day will be next summer.

Auburn Football

Gary and I went to the 1st Auburn football game of the season last weekend. We had a lot of fun!!

Here we are sporting our new Auburn t-shirts!

Here's a picture of the "Tiger Walk." It was SO crowded with people.

Halftime Show

Playing, Reading Books, and Walking

Here are a few recent pictures of Andrew playing and laughing.

He wants mommy to see him standing by himself, and I'm so proud :)

I just love this expression.

Andrew loves flipping through books by himself.

Andrew still prefers to crawl most of time, but he decided to stand up and walk around the living room tonight. I was so excited to get it on the camera, especially for the grandparents.

16 months old!

On Friday morning (August 7th for me to remember), Andrew decided to walk on his own. He stood up in the middle of the living room and walked about 8 steps. You'll never guess what he was going for?!? A SOCK!! Andrew learned to crawl for a sock and walk for a sock. He still loves to play with socks. He's very proud of himself when he stands by himself or takes a few steps, and it is so cute. Since Friday, he's only taken a few steps here and there. He still prefers to crawl, and that's probably because he can crawl pretty fast. Plus, we've tried to encourage him to try to keep walking, and we think he's going to do better if he just does it on his own. I'll try to get a video or picture in the next few weeks.

Besides walking, Andrew is learning more and more words and it's neat to see him learn how to communicate with us better. He loves making animal noises and has learned how to wink with both eyes. He also tried cheese eggs and a PBJ sandwich for the 1st time this week. I held off on both for a while because I was scared of allergies, but he just loved both things!

His favorite toys are probably his big dump truck and his train, and he loves Elmo! We ran into a live Elmo at the mall in Birmingham, and he just laughed and got so excited.

I need to take more pictures soon, but here's a sweet picture of Andrew and his daddy watching something on the computer together.

New Used Car

Starting last Thursday, we started having car trouble with the Saturn, and the air wasn't working. Andrew and I were running errands, and we were both sweating from head to toe in the August heat. The Saturn was getting older and had a lot of miles on it, but we hoped to wait at least another year before we got a new car. Car payments are no fun! Gary and I decided that instead of spending a lot of money to fix the Saturn, we were going to bite the bullet and get a different car. We found a 2006 Chevy Equinox through CarMax, and we love our new car! There's so much more space for all of us.

Letter from Mamaw and Papaw

Gary's parents bought Andrew a toy mailbox when they visited us a few weeks ago, and Andrew received a special letter and Elmo PJ's in his mailbox today from them. Andrew says thanks Mamaw and Papaw!!

Mimi's Visit, Chipper, and Trip to Atlanta

This is an older post from June because I lost the computer cord to my old camera. Gary and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary on July 1st, and he surprised me with a new camera.

My mom came down to visit us for a week in June and brought our dog, Chipper. He'd been staying with my grandfather for the past month until she came down to Auburn. Chipper has been a great addition to our family, and Andrew is getting more and more comfortable with him. Chipper just gets so excited when he's around us, and we are trying to teach him not to jump and nibble, which is tough at the puppy stage.

Not sure....

I think I like him....





While Mimi was in town, Gary and I went to an Atlanta Braves game while they were playing the Yankees. The Braves lost, but we still had a lot of fun. We stayed overnight in downtown Atlanta and had a great time just the 2 of us.

Bye Bye Paci

Andrew has gone almost a week without his paci! When he was about 9 months old, we tried to start limiting his paci just for bedtime, and lately, he's been occasionally throwing his paci out of his crib during naptime. Gary and I thought this would be the best time since he doesn't seem too attached to it other than at bedtime, and this seemed like a great opportunity instead of battling with him about it when he gets older. So far, he's done really well without it. Sometimes he'll cry a few minutes longer at naptime, but overall, it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought it would be. In the past few weeks, Andrew's gotten his first big boy hair cut, and he doesn't need his paci anymore. He's growing up way too fast :(

First Hair Cut

Gary and I finally decided that it was time to take Andrew for his 1st hair cut. It was tough because we love his precious curls, but thankfully, some of them are still there.

Also, I took Andrew for his 15 month check-up today with Dr. Greer, and he's 29.5 inches long (10th percentile) and 24 pounds and 15 ounces (50th percentile). He's a little short for his age, but Gary was the same way and now he's 6'3". I'm curious to see if Andrew will end up as tall as his daddy. Overall, he had a great appointment and is right on track with everything developmentally.

Before.....




Hair Cut at Great Clips

After.....

July 4th Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend in Auburn. Thursday night, we took Chipper to the park, and Andrew loved being on the swing. Friday, we spent a few hours at the City Pool. We soaked up some sun, saw some friends, and spent time as a family. It was a blast! Saturday, we spent most of the day around the house, had dinner with the Burns family, and Gary and I enjoyed the Auburn fireworks from our backyard. Andrew was a little too tired to make it until the fireworks show. Sunday morning, Gary preached both services at Parkway. He did a great job, and I'm very proud of him! Gary also has Monday off work for the holiday weekend, so we are looking forward to some more family time.

4th of July

Playing in the pool

Andrew is always watching the planes and birds.

Andrew is trying to stand up on his own occasionally. This is the best picture that I've been able to get so far....

Chipper is just hanging out while Andrew is swimming.

I thought this picture was precious, so I had to add it.

City Pool

Hickory Dickory Park

Almost 15 months old...

Andrew is still getting closer and closer to walking, but he doesn't want to completely let go of us or his little push train. I can get him to walk with 1 finger, but if I let go, he'll stoop down. We know that he'll do it when he's ready. He can crawl really fast all over the house, so he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to walk. About a month ago, Gary taught him how to do the tomahawk chop for the Atlanta Braves, and it's the cutest thing. He's also become a momma's boy and has a hard time when I leave him at preschool or at church. I know it's just a stage, but it breaks my heart. We certainly love our little guy!!

Bath time

Andrew's been teething this week and now has 12 teeth.

Andrew loves to play in the bath tub. He'll go into the bathroom and pull the shower curtain back because he wants to get in. He could stay in there for hours.