This makes it all worth it.....

I have spent a lot of time scrapbooking and I mostly enjoy it, but there are those times when I think Andrew is too little to enjoy it so should I even be spending my time doing it? Then something like this happens and it makes every minute spent worth it. :) I was making dinner and noticed Andrew was being really quiet, so I went into the front room to check on him and this is what I found.....

Andrew had pulled out a scrapbook all by himself and started looking through it. He was loving looking at all the pictures with a "ba by" in them. (Himself, but I don't think he understands that yet.)
He wouldn't even break to look at the camera he was too excited about the pictures. I am so glad something I enjoy doing brings even more joy when it's done.

2 Years Old.......

Happy Birthday my sweet Andrew! I don't know what happiness would be without you. You have made my life so wonderful. Thank you for being my little buddy. The last two years have been the best of my whole life!

We were able to have a great big party for Andrew this year. It was really in the plans but it all worked out that way and we LOVED it! Grandpa Rowley, Uncle John, Aunt Jessi, her two boys Jeremiah and Jonas, Papa and Grandma Oldham, Uncle Jim and Aunt Megan, Kenna, Porter, Brooke, Aaron, Rylie, Mason, and Bracken were all able to come party with us. Andrew is obsessed with playing basketball so we thought we would have a little party at the church in the gym. All the kids had a lot of fun running around and shooting balls. Grandma and Papa surprised us with a whole breakfast of Einstein Bagels, cut up fruit, milk, juice, ice cream and creamies to go with the party. I made a fruit salad, a BTA cake and a basketball cake for Andrew. Thanks Mom and Dad for making it so much fun.
Andrew loves his tall Uncle Jim who was willing to grant his dreams and let him shoot the ball in the big basketball hoop.
Andrew is such a Daddy's boy. He has been from day one, but is getting even more everyday. I love to watch them play together. Andrew already wants to be just like his Dad someday.
Andrew loved opening presents. His eyes lit up with every gift. Even if it was just some jumbo crayons.
Grandma and Papa Oldham love to watch Andrew dance so they gave him a card that plays music when you open it. He got so excited when he heard the music and started to groove every time he opened it. Papa and Grandma said that one of their favorite memories of Andrew is when we go to visit them and as soon as Andrew walks in the door he runs to the mini trampolines in the great room jumps up and points to the music box for the music. He is entertained for hours just jumping and dancing to Grandma's exercise music. We gave him a little basketball hoop stand, so he could play basketball everyday at home. He is in high heaven with it. He loves it so much.
Andrew is so particular with how he does things. I think he got a lot of the perfectionism that runs in my family from Grandpa Smith. Both years we have given him his own cake to destroy and he just barely touches the frosting with one finger licks it off and does it again. We kept trying to tell him to pick up the ball but he wouldn't. This is what his cake looked like when he was finished eating it.

I know this is a little late. Andrew turned two on March 27th, but I didn't want to not post about his awesome party and the awesome family members that drove all the way up to Logan to celebrate with us. We love you family! Thank you for coming and making it a special day for Andrew.

What happens when we're not watching.....

Gilbert and I were trying to sleep in when we woke up to this......

He is a boy after my own heart. Nothing makes a better time than chocolate.

One Cool Dude!

Our fish Brutus....

Andrew is obsessed with an Elmo's World movie I borrowed from my mom. There is a section about fish in it and he loves watching it so much. So for Family Home Evening Gilbert wanted to go get Andrew a fish. This is the Beta we picked out and we decided to name him Brutus. It is so cute when Andrew tries to say his name. At first he called him boo boo and now he can say his name really well. One of Andrew's favorite things about Brutus is to watch him eat his food. He is a very active fish that likes to attack his food and dig into his rocks pushing them all around. He is a very people friendly fish. Whatever side of the room I am on he is on that side of the bowl just watching me. He is a fun fish to watch.

As you can see from this bottom picture he loves to talk to us.

When did you say your first prayer?

Andrew wanted to say his first prayer one night. We usually just said one and he folded his arms and listened but on January 17th 2010 he wanted to say it himself. We had asked him a million times if he wanted to say it and he always shook his head no but on this night he said with an enthusiastic smile "yah!" He said it so cute. The words he said the best through the prayer were: thank you, Da Da, Ma Ma, and Jesus. He just started to say amen this week. Until now every time he would say the prayer he would only say Jesus at the end and not Christ or amen. I was happy he got the most important part down, but now he is saying it all. :) I love moments like this in life when the whole world stops and my heart smiles. He was so proud he said the prayer that he cheered really loud afterwards and then when we went to church we were sitting in Sacrament meeting and after they said the opening prayer Andrew let out a big "Yay" and put his hands in the air and started clapping and cheering. We had to quiet him down, but it was cute to see he was so happy to talk to Heavenly Father. ;) If only we still had the innocence of a child.

The word I hoped he would NEVER say......"NO!"

Andrew said the word no yesterday for the first time. He has always just shaken his head no and never said it until yesterday. Gilbert and I were so happy that the word he said the most was "yeah." I hope no won't become a common word for Andrew to say now. I really enjoyed the first 23 months of Andrew's life with no no's in it. :)

Andrew learned how to do a somersault today. It was so funny to watch him stand on his head and find out what happens when you go too far over. SOMERSAULT! And as we always say...... "Ta da!" Just so that I record it; Andrew made me change his diaper upside down yesterday. Him upside down not me. :) It was so funny but he liked it.

I have had the most productive day I have had in a long time......

I woke up at 6:30 and went to the gym. (thanks Brooke for making me go)

I have done two complete loads of laundry,

all the dishes,

ate breakfast,

watched my nephew Ryan for three hours,

fed Andrew and Ryan breakfast,

got them dressed and changed,

made five loaves of bread,

read Andrew some books,

emailed the Bishop,

scheduled a hair color,

called my second counselor to organize getting some new tablecloths for our Ward,

and now made a blog post all before 11:00 am.

All I need now is to take a shower and go do price checks on material for tablecloths.

But it is now Andrew's nap time so I am going to go read some more books and take a nap with him. :) My favorite time of the day! Snuggles with my little boy.

I needed to record this productive day so when I am old and gray I will remember having some days that I got a lot done. I think it all started with remembering to say my morning prayers RIGHT when I woke up. It really makes a difference. I know Heavenly Father helps me do way more than I could ever do alone.