The Owen Co. Fair.....

.......is really small. But better than Greene Co. in my opinion. Andrew loved seeing all the animals, especially the goats. While checking out the rabbits he noticed a couple of empty cages. So he went to each of them saying "Oops! He's gone." "He's not in there" and when he got to one that had a rabbit he'd squeel "Oh there he is!" It was really cute. We had a lot of fun with Gramma.




It was really humid, and this was the 3rd time looking at the goats lol (Thanks to me, I kept going back to see that cute baby) Needless to say, Andrew was pretty much over it by then.


We had cheese fries and hot dogs
The cutest 'kid' there, besides Andrew lol

Aunt Bickie's Car?

My Aunt Vicki called me yesterday and wanted to take Andrew to the park. She also bought Andrew some Spongebob big boy underwear! So she put the underwear on Andrew's spongebob stuffed toy and off we went. Spongebob even sat next to Andrew with a seatbelt on :) Andrew loved Vicki's car (it's a convertible) he had never been in one before and just kept looking around and pointing out the trees. We stopped at McDonald's and got some fries and then went to the playground at the school. Andrew has been there before,so he was eager to show off his skills by climbing the ladder and going down the slide all by himself. He also impressed Vicki with how much he talks for his age. =) He's so shy and sometimes won't talk to anyone until he warms up, which takes a bit.
Then we went to a second hand store and got him some play food and kitchen accessories. (Still looking for a kitchen set) We came home and after Vicki left he looked at me and asked "Can we go in Aunt (B)icki's car?" I'm always excited when he remembers someone by name.
When daddy got home from work he asked Andrew what he did today. Usually Andrew says "oh nothin" whether he did something or not. Well this time he actually told Kenny about the park, the store and who he went with. He's growing up so fast!

So this morning I put his big boy underwear on him and brought the potty chair into the living room. I had read somewhere to do this and tell them to use the potty when they need to. It worked!! He peed in the potty! Granted he didn't pull his pants down, but he still went in the potty. He was so excited and wanted to call Grandma. Before she even answered the phone he was yelling into the speaker "gramma! gramma!" When she picked up I told her Andrew has something he want to tell you. I put it on speaker phone so she could ask him. He ran over and said "gramma gramma! I'mabigboyIpeepeeinpotty! (all one word lol)
My baby won't be a baby much longer.
~

Videos from the Zoo. (including the swan biting mom!!)

Please read my zoo blog below to get the story of our day at the zoo =)




Meerkat playing with the ice mom threw to him lol



Swan biting mom






Orangutan looking through mom's purse

Pics from the Zoo

Baby Giraffe (born in Feb)

The elephants were so close!


This goat had the funniest teeth!

Pygmy Hippo

Jaguar, so beautiful!

They have a strange looking moose, don't they?

The coolest Orangutan ever!

Her name was Amanda =)

Louisville Zoo

Andrew took his first trip to the zoo ever. Last weekend Andrew, my mom and I in one car and my sister Katie, her boyfriend Justin, my brother Jesse and his girlfriend Julia in Katie's car, drove to Louisville,KY. VERY curvy road down through Indiana. The ride wasn't too bad other than the fact that
A. Mom hit a squirel

B. Andrew got carsick and threw up(chocolate milk and blueberry muffin... blegh)

C. Mom was paranoid because Katie had never driven on an interstate and we didn't exactly know how to get there lol.
We stopped at a gas station when we got to New Albany, just 15 mins from the zoo, and asked a random person for directions. He knew exactly how to get there and we wrote out our directions. Then it was on to the interstate, followed by another, and straight through downtown Louisville. I stayed on the phone with my brother so he could tell Katie when her exits were coming. This was most of our conversation

Mom "Did Katie see that sign?"

Me "Did Katie see that sign?"

Jesse" Yes she saw it"

Me "Yes mom"

Mom "Ask her what it said"

Me "Mom wants Katie to tell you what it said"

Katie (in the background) "Tell her I saw it, it said exit blah blah 1 mile"

Me "Mom! Your exit is right here!"

Mom changes lanes and so does Katie, while almost getting rear ended because she cut another car off. She's never had to merge into traffic before lol.

Mom "OMG, KATIE!, damn't, Amanda she almost hit that car!"

Me "No she didn't mom, she's fine. You watch the road and I'll watch her in the mirror." (I knew full well that she had almost hit that car)

and then there was more of mom saying..."Did she see the sign? Tell her to follow me closer..How about that sign? Tell her not to freak out and watch the road." All the while I'm still on the phone with Jesse and there is complete silence in their car. Katie wasn't freaking out at all. Oh it was a stressful ride lol.

So we finaly make it to the zoo. Andrew is all sunblocked up and has his new hat and Rhino shirt on and he's ready t0 go see animals.

This zoo is 20 times better than the Indianapolis zoo. Not only does it cost less...no parking fee, $12 for me and Andrew was free..where as Indy it's $5 parking and Andrew would have been $9 and I would have been $14. This zoo has more animals and way better exhibits. You can get pretty close to the animals, I don't think there were any animals we couldn't see. My experiences at Indy have been, "well we can't see the lion because he's asleep at the back of his exhibit." or "I wish the elephants would come closer."

The best parts of the day?
Mom threw an ice cube into the meerkat exhibit and it proceeded to bat it around like a kitten lol. It was so freaking cute!

Mom fed the geese and it lured a giant swan over. It was beautiful and then it bit mom's foot! lol.

The gorila's were cool. We saw them fight over a place to sit. But they were kind of boring, I think I expected more out of them.

The Orangutan was by far the best! He was so cool and smart! He looked like an old man. Mom opened her purse and started showing him the things inside. He was sitting right in front of her, looking down in the purse and motioned with his finger for her to show him more lol. It was really awesome!

We moved on...by the way Flamingo's stink! BAD!
The penguin exhibit left much to be desired, it was dirty, smelly and two of the flying birds(puffins?) were out of the water and in the room that we walk through. One flew right at mom which sent her screaming out the door =)

Andrew's face lit up when he saw the rhino's and realized that that is what he had on his shirt.
Every animal he saw he would say "Awww cuuute! Can I pet em?" as he reached his hand out. So needless to say, he loved the petting zoo part. I'm telling you, this kid is going to be a Veternarian or a Zoologist. He loves animals.

The ride home was the same while we were on the interstate. signs, cars, stress..lol
But once we got onto a familiar path it was good. Andrew passed out and mom and I talked all the way home. It was a good day. =) PICS/VIDS to come later...I don't have the patience at the moment lol. I tried and it failed so I'll do it later.
~Manda

My son screams like a girl lol

Today we were playing with his learning house. Since he already knows his ABC's and can count to ten, he doesn't really like to play with the buttons anymore. So we made a new game and he loved it. It cracks me up to see his reactions over my hand popping out of the window, especially when he KNOWS it's coming. He still screams this high pitched girly scream. Then we came into the computer room to load and watch his video and he called it a scary movie lol. Bare with me, it was hard to distract him from the running camera, he was very interested in it. ~

Poor Patrick

He only lasted for about an hour after I took those pictures....he will be missed.
On a happier note, we must find some sunshine in this tragic moment, now he can hang on the wall for all of us to remember. Here's a video of Patrick's last moment, and remember it's okay to cry.

Andrew and Patrick

Andrew was very good at the grocery store today. Actually he's been fantastic all day. So he got something special, a Patrick Star balloon (as tall as Andrew is)! And when we had it filled with air, the baker gave him a cookie. He was a pretty content child. Now he's walking around with it saying "Come along Patrick" and if the balloon doesn't obey, he tells him" Be good (some Andrew jabber mixed in there) or TIME OUT!" lol Even when I took these pics he was telling Patrick to stand still and smile.

Andrew

Andrew was cheesing it up today so I took some pics. He was making the faces that I told him to. In order.... Sad, Angry, scared, happy and silly. He loves to say "Oh! You're so silly!" I love it that he's getting to know the emotions, because it's easier for him to tell me what he wants lol. ~

Pics of Kenny's cake

Cinco de Mayo

Today was my husband Kenny's birthday....he's 29! I can't believe it. It didn't seem too bad until I thought about how he was 23 when we got together.

I baked him a carrot cake, his second favorite, I wasn't feeling the German Chocolate. The carrot cake was fun, I melted the icing and poured it on and it made it so smooth and pretty. I topped it off by drawing a carrot ( so professional lol) and then let Andrew help. First he wanted me to draw spongebob with a jellyfish net and then Patrick, for which I just drew a star, which in turn he squealed "Patrick Star!" Then he added his own little squiggles and the cake was complete. The only hard part was encouraging him to wait for Daddy until we could have a piece. I'm sure Kenny wouldn't have minded a bit, but we waited anyway.
~

Finally

I am buying a car...after almost 2 years of having a peice of junk car that would break down at the drop of a hat. I found a 93 Grand Am for 900 bucks, and it's nice and it runs lol. I am so excited and can't wait to be able to drive further than the edge of town.(My car has tranny problems) No longer will I have to miss out on those yard sales just outside of my driving distance. I live less than 5 mins away from a State Park and I couldn't even drive there! My stupid car wouldn't make it up the hill. So now we can go camping and swimming this summer. Oh! and the drive in! yay! :) I know my friends and family will be happy not having to come pick me up all the time. Well, it's late and I'm off to bed.
~

Oh what a couple of weeks!

Kenny started us all off by getting sick a couple of weeks ago. Then I got it (and it was horrible!) now Andrew has it. If he's feeling half as bad as I was, I feel sorry for him :( He's feverish, achy, no appetite...but he will get up and play in between sleeping. I hope he gets better soon!

Last weekend we went to my dad's house in Indy. Andrew had a lot of fun running around and getting into things. Dad has a huge backyard so we spent most of the time out there blowing bubbles. My cousins held their annual Easter egg hunt at their farm. Andrew wasn't into it at all! There were waaaay too many kids and as he was going to pick up his first egg one of the bigger kids(7 or 8 y/o) ran up and snatched it before he could. (I wanted to yell at that little brat!) So after that he was over it and wanted to play with toys instead. So my granny walked around and collected some eggs for him lol. I was a nervous wreck because they live right on the highway, and though it's guarded by an electric fence, I was so paranoid and felt that I was watching after other parent's children because they weren't. I couldn't lay back and chat and eat while my child wasn't even in my sight! ugh!! Ok that rant is over lol.

Andrew and I went and stayed the night at mom's house when we got back from my dad's. I was so sick and couldn't walk 3 feet without having to sit down for a breath. So we went to her house for some much needed help lol. Mom's cat had 4 kittens. Andrew is an animal nut, so he just loved them! I would sit him on the couch and let him hold one at a time. Now that's an unconditional love right there! He's so gentle and sweet to them. He runs his finger from the tip of their nose to the end of their tail and if not to miss any inch lol. You can see the love in his eyes for them, it's just precious.

Happy Easter!

Potty

I ordered a book off Ebay for Andrew, it's a potty time book for boys. He was pretty interested in looking at it last night and seemed like he understands what it's about. I know he knows what going potty means, because I tell him I'm going to the bathroom and he says things like "Are you going to pee?" and he'll follow me in there. But I can't get him to set on the potty for anything! He simply refuses and throws a fit. I managed to get him to set there with a book one day, but he was fully clothed. I think he's just being stubborn and he knows it. We are going to go buy some big boy underwear this weekend and maybe that will urge him to go potty. Any secrets on how to do it?
~

Quick note

I took Andrew to the bathroom to wash his hands and face. When we got done he ran out and said "Oh, I am so handsome!" and I said "Yes you are bubby, very handsome." Then he said, while patting his chest "I'm mommy's angel" I pretty much melted right onto the floor lol.
~

Oh this weather!

We went and had dinner at my Aunt Barb's last night. All together there was 27 people there! (All talking at once I might add lol) But, it was fun and nice to see everyone. Andrew had so much fun, he did nothing but run around and play. He counted in Spanish for everyone after some of the crowd left and also sang Twinkle Little Star. He can be a show-off when he wants to be lol. At one point he grabbed a teddy bear and laid down on the kitchen floor, trying to take a nap. So needless to say when we got in the car he was out before we left Terre Haute.
It stormed and rained all day yesterday. And when we left last night the sky was dark and mean looking. The clouds were low and moving fast, forming a giant wall of black scariness over Terre Haute. I was nervous driving home, trying to think of where we would go if we needed to take cover. I hate hate hate storms. So, today I wake up and watch the news and it's supposed to snow today. I hate Indiana weather.
~

Amazing

Ok I wanted to share this song and video. This little girl is amazing! She is 6 years old and can give me goosebumps everytime I hear her sing. This one is my favorite, but her other songs are so great too!

It's turning out to be a pretty good week. The weather has been decent, other than some rain. I can't wait until the trees bloom! I have some cherry blossoms on my tree outside but the snow that we got took care of those and they're gone. But, it was nice while it lasted.
Andrew was leaning on me last night, being all lovey, and he looked up at me and and said "Mom, I'm glad I'm home." LOL I said " I'm glad you're home too baby" and he just laid there and smiled. It was so cute and sweet, even though he had been home all day. Mom said that when he comes to her house he has been getting homesick. He usually asks for me or daddy come bedtime, but he calms down after a bit.
He's in the mocking stage big time! Repeating actions and words that he notices. Like I folded my arms at him last night and he did it right back. Then today I told Kenny to get me a hamburger with no pickles and Andrew said "yes, no pickles" lol.
~

I had to LOL

So today Andrew was in the computer room with me. He kept getting into stuff so I told him to go see daddy. He of course refused so I did something my grandma always used to do to the kids. I grabbed the back of his pants and gave him a little push and said get out of here. Then I pulled back and said get out of here. So here we are going back on forth "get out of here, get back here" and he was cracking up. I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. So, now I'm sitting here thinking of all the games that grandma played with us, the majority of them she made up herself. Some are a little advanced for Andrew, but she had great ideas for fun, never a dull moment at grandma's house. I miss her so much, Andrew would have loved her. But at least I have these fun little games that I can pass along.
~

It snowed yesterday

And today it's nice enough out for just a hoodie. Gotta love Indiana...
Andrew and I are going outside to play here in a little while. There's a cat outside that keeps coming to visit and he loves playing with Andrew. Then we are going to come inside and finger paint.
During his visit with Grandma, Andrew counted to 20 in english and 10 in spanish. Last I knew it was 10 in english and six in spanish :) I was impressed, but he refuses to do it for me lol. He says no way no way. So now I just have to keep my ears open and he'll do it when he thinks I'm not listening. That's how I found out about the spanish counting last time. I have a video of him counting, I just have to find it.
~

Weekend Off

So, my mom came and got Andrew today. She is keeping him until Monday. I never know what to do when he's not here. I cleaned a little and then went and visited a couple of friends, but pretty much called it an early night.
I'm so glad that the warmer weather is coming. Andrew loves playing in his pool, he loves anything that involves being outside. I love yard sale season, I already hit one today and there's another one tomorrow that I hope to go to. I'm a yard sale junkie. I need to have one of my own, because I keep buying things but I never get rid of anything. I have to learn to stop being such a pack rat.
~

Intro

I decided to start a new blog today. I don't really have much to say, but I'm sure I will as the days go by. The most I will ever talk about is my husband Kenny and our son Andrew. They are my life. Andrew never ceases to amaze me every day. He's always coming up with something new to say or do. Two is my absolute favorite age, minus the tantrums. All in all he's a pretty good boy though. Well, I'm off for now and will be back soon I'm sure.
~