Last Days in Albertville

Well, Andrew and I get on a plane in the morning and instead of finishing my packing, I've decided to post a few more pictures. (Blogging is more fun than packing anyway!)

Tonight Granny, Grandaddy, Erin, and Maggie all came over for dinner and homemade chocolate ice cream. We had a good time. While we were eating our spaghetti dinner Andrew would go around the table "Hi Granna, hi Paw-Paw, hi Banny (Granny), Hi Dandad, Hi Maggie, Hi Enin." Andrew got to play with Granny and Grandaddy one last time. He cried when they left. It was really sad. We all said our goodbyes and now I'm just trying to get all the last minute stuff packed up while Granna reads "flying" to Andrew. We had a good visit and it was so nice to see you all. We'll see you again at Christmas.

Here's what we've been up to the past couple of days.
Andrew loves playing with the train set. Looks like I know what Santa is going to bring!
We rode the carousel at the new mall in Huntsville.
Andrew enjoys a ride in this antique pedal fire truck that Paw-Paw restored.
Hanging out with Paw -Paw.
This is Andrew's "house" as he calls it. It later turned into a tunnel.
Andrew riding a motorcycle that Granny and Grandaddy got him. (He's not quite big enough yet)
Again on the "Mo-mo-caca" as Andrew says.
Cheesin' in his new hat!
Look at those baby blues.
For those of you who know Hudson....doesn't he look like him in this picture?

Week 2 of our vacation

We made it back to Albertville last Thursday. Since we have been here Andrew has been going NON STOP! As soon as Paw-Paw gets home from work until it gets too dark to see, Andrew stays outside. We've been chasing grasshoppers, catching fireflies, and feeding the cows and chickens. You'll see more of Andrew's activities in the photos below.

He is getting so much more vocal. He knows how to express himself. One morning we were in Granna's room and Andrew starting asking for chocolate milk. Granna got up to get him some when Andrew said, "No Granna, down...Mama...up!" It was really funny.

Another funny story: The other night we were watch the show "wipeout" on TV. One of the contestants fell into the water and Andrew said "Oww dat hurt." He is so funny.

A sweet story: One night at Dinner I was telling a story and we started eating before we said our blessing. Well Andrew noticed that we starting eating before saying our prayer and he started saying "Paw-Paw...mmm hmm." For the longest I didn't know what he wanted, but then he grabbed my hand and said "mmm hmm." I knew then that he was telling us to say the blessing because when we say Amen, he always gives a very emphatic "mmm hmm." Out of the mouth of babes... He put things in perspective for us that night. What a little blessing he is!

Here are some of our latest pictures...
Picking apples on Paw-Paw's tree. He had to wrap the tulle around them to keep the squirrels away.
First bite.
Mmm it's good.
Now we're picking blueberries and boy does Andrew love blueberries!
He REALLY loves 'em!
Picking apples from Papa's tree now....we made a pie from these.
Sweet kisses for cousin Raegan. (That's a big step for him)
He is lovin' little Raegan! And she is such a cutie!!

Week 1 of our vacation

Ok, finally I'm sitting down to update the blog after a couple of hours of uploading pictures. It is now 1:12 a.m. (Good thing I have a few live-in babysitters right now) because it's high time to update the world on our happenings.

Andrew and I flew into Atlanta on a Wednesday, drove 3 hours back to Albertville, spent the afternoon with family, and flew to Mississippi first thing Thursday morning. When I say first thing, I mean that we left our house at 4:15 a.m. I was EXHAUSTED when we got there. We spent the first week of our trip with my in laws (that's Grammy and Grandad to some). We had a really good time. He spent the week learning how to share with cousin Alex, playing basketball with cousin Wesley, and trying to figure out his cousins Carly and Claire. He didn't really know what to think about girls since he mostly is around boys all the time. He was a little overwhelmed at times, but Uncle "Amum" (that's Adam for the rest of you) came to the rescue.

The other big event that week was the bridal shower that we threw for Amy. (She's marrying my brother-in-law, Alex.) It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I did a lot of baking. Amy even helped me decorate her own cake! It was all worth it to see Amy have such a good time. I can't wait to have a new sister-in-law, though she already feels like family.

It was a really good visit. I'm glad Andrew got to spend some time with Drew's family. He was still a bit shy at times and it usually took him a little while to warm up, but there was a LOT going on.... PLUS we were dealing with jet lag, so I was really proud of him.

Here are a few pics from the week...
Playing basketball with Grandad
Alex at bath time (Andrew didn't smile for a pic)
Cute pic taken by Uncle Adam
Trying to get a good pic of the two cousins....
It was a tough job!
Family photo of brother-in-law Alex, fiance Amy, and son Alex
Amy in front of her food table. Don't you love how the two Alexes are peeking' in the window?
The cake
I love that big smile and yes, I made her wear the veil that says "bride to be" :)

The newest cousin, Christian posing for me. He is such a cutie!

I'm still here...

So it has been a while....sorry. Andrew and I are on the mainland while Daddy is flying a helo from California to Maryland. After spending a week with Grammy and Grandad in MS, we're back in Alabama with my parents. We're here until the 30th.

I have lots of pictures to share, but can't seem to find the time to get them off of my camera and onto the computer. So, stay tuned...they are on their way I PROMISE!

HOT as BLAZES!!!

Ok, here's a picture of my air conditioner. Nice huh?

In case you can't read the thermostat, let me just zoom in a little....

That's right. It's 91 degrees INSIDE my house. Clearly the a/c is not working properly. It is, however, blowing cold air right now, but it doesn't seem to be doing any good whatsoever! The fact that we live in a single wall constructed home with ZERO insulation is also a factor.

Andrew's face is red and sweaty. Chiquita is panting like she just ran a race and I don't know why I bothered to take a shower! So we've escaped outside where it's cooler. (yes...cooler OUTSIDE)

I shouldn't complain. There are people all over the world in much worse shape that we are; who have nothing. So enough ranting (I'm sorry). I guess this little episode is conditioning us for that Southern humidity.

See most of you on Wednesday!

Bay Fest

Boy am I pooped! It's just after midnight and we've been home for about 45 minutes.

Bay Fest was a blast! The first thing we did when we got there was let Andrew ride the "helicopters." Drew rode with him of course because he wasn't tall enough to go solo. He LOVED it! He was so excited. Next, the 3 of us rode the Ferris wheel. We had a really good time.

Julie and I went to the concert while Drew and Andrew hung out in the hangar, waiting for the fireworks. We saw Little Big Town and Rodney Atkins. Rodney was really good! It was fun. I didn't have my zoom lens with me, so no close ups of him. (which is a shame, cause he's pretty cute)

The night ended with the fireworks spectacular. Andrew fell asleep DURING the show. He was so tired. But yet again, he slept through a really LOUD fireworks display. We took over 300 pictures of the fireworks alone. (it was on the tripod and I used my remote shutter release) I'll share a few of my favorites.

That's all for tonight. I'm so tired, but I knew if I didn't post now, I probably wouldn't for a few days.
In line to ride the helicopters.
He is LOVIN' it!
Holding his tickets to ride the Ferris wheel
View from the top
Totally asleep! (don't worry I plugged his ears)

Happy 4th of July!

Well I sit here at 2:59pm on Independence Day trying to catch up on the blog. Andrew is asleep in the bed and Drew is asleep on the couch. It's nap time in the Ladner house. (I had my nap this morning while Andrew and Daddy had some one-on-one play time!) I LOVE holidays!

First things first...the house. We drove over to check on the progress last weekend. They started the drywall, but weren't finished. It looks so different with interior walls! You can definitely tell by the pictures that when the 5 o'clock whistle blows, they drop what they're doing and call it a day. There were some pieces of drywall hanging by one screw. They didn't even make clean cuts in the doorways. Let's hope that it looks a little more "finished" when we drive over tomorrow. We're going to check on it one more time before we leave. It'll pretty much be finished when we get back!

Andrew is becoming more and more vocal everyday. He can pretty much say anything. He tries to help me read all of his favorite books by saying a few key phrases on each page. He names the fruits in "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," tells me what's coming up in "The Deep Blue Sea," and he adds sound effects in "Peter Rabbit." Peter Rabbit has become his favorite this week. He loves it when I do the voices of mother rabbit and Mr. McGregor. At one point, Peter sneezes, so Andrew always adds the "Achoo!" It's really cute. He LOVES to read. (which is awesome!) His attention span is getting better, as he sits still for longer stories now.

Andrew's favorite time of day, by far, is when Drew gets home from work. His truck is very loud so you can hear it coming from a mile away. Andrew knows when it's time for Daddy to come home b/c everyday from around 4pm until Drew gets home, anytime he hears a loud truck he'll gasp with big smile on his face, and say "Daddy home!" It's not until I say "yep, that's Daddy" does he run to the door and wait. Chiquita is always right behind him. They always love it when Drew gets home. (And you know Drew loves it too)

This afternoon we're going to Bay Fest, a fair that they set up on the flight line here on base. There are concerts and fireworks for 3 nights straight. It's a lot of fun. We're going to let Andrew ride some of the kiddie rides and the three of us are going on the Ferris Wheel. I can't wait! (I love the fair) I'm also hoping to get a fried Oreo this year. (I've never had one and they always sell out before I get there!) Tonight's concert is Rodney Atkins and Little Big Town. We only ever go to the country concerts, but if you're into alternative this year's line up is pretty good. Live, Everclear, and 3 Doors Down are here.

I'll be sure to post those pictures tomorrow. But for now, here are the most recent pictures of Andrew and the house.
He loves riding in his wagon
Such a silly goose! (with pizza on his face)
That's a LOT of joint compound!
View of kitchen from the dining room. That wall is the bar.
Living room standing in dining room
Upstairs hallway looking into master suite
(Didn't know we had an arched opening!) lol
Back patio