Newest family member

Say "Hello!" to our family's newest member.  On July 16, 2011, we purchased a new 2011 Toyota 4Runner equipped with navigation, heated seats and windshield wipers, 3rd row seating, 15 speakers, and I think they even threw in a free cheesecake!  :)  This vehicle has everything I want knowing that we plan to expand our family in the near future.  Next stop - camping! ... and then possibly another baby.  :)

Little Drummer Boy

Andrew has recently learned how to reuse his toys in another way, thus relieving mommy and daddy from buying him more toys. 

This once was a drum, but turned upside down and placed upon the cranium becomes a very nice hat.  He does this multiple times a day and laughs every time he puts it on his head.

At least we know his noggin will be somewhat protected if we ever experience an earthquake here.

Static cling

We have yet to cut Andrew's hair because we think it's just too darn cute, but the truth is that his hair is starting to creep down into his eyes.  When his hair used to stick up like he had put his finger in an electrical outlet, now it is so long that is usually lays flat. 

Well, when Andrew woke up from his nap, he must have slept in a way that gave his hair much volume.  :)  This still doesn't excuse the fact that he still needs a haircut.  It's almost to the point where I can tie the back of his hair into a tiny ponytail. 

All in a week's work

While Aunt Khanh was visiting over Memorial Day Weekend, I would like to say we spent our time shopping, soaking up rays, and enjoying a few well-deserved mojitos (that last one did happen), she was so great to volunteer her time and vacation to help us beautify our home.  During many windless, sunny days (and while Andrew was taking a nap), we bleached our very aged deck and then proceeded to stain and waterproof it to improve not only its looks, but also to extend its life.

This is our finished product!  If you look at the beam in the background, that piece we did not get around to staining, so you can see what color the deck was before we made it look gorgeous!  :)

We also got a new dining set and seating area to bring together the deck.  We're hoping that this minor act of staining and waterproofing the deck will be a huge selling point on this house when we are ready to move.  So, thank you to my sister, Khanh, for all of the hard work and time she gave up to help us with our house.  Believe me, it would have taken much more than a week to do it if she wasn't around.

Tea time!

Lately, Andrew has been wanting to skip a few steps in his development and go from baby/toddler straight to big boy!  Instead of using his straw sippy cup, he sees us drinking out of glasses and feels left out and wants to do the same.  So, Aunt Khanh decided to let him drink a little bit of her iced tea from her glass...I think he liked it a bit too much.

After about 30 seconds of Andrew gulping down tea, Aunt Khanh tried to get him to stop - either because he was drinking too much or back-washing...I'm not sure which.

He was very adamant about NOT releasing his death grip on the glass.  You can see the determination on his face to keep drinking.  Eventually, we were able to get him to release his kung fu grip, but he was not a happy camper. 

Indy Zoo

Aunt Khanh is visiting for the week and what better way to enjoy a beautiful day than to take her to the zoo!  (Ok, well, I guess it was more for Andrew and us than Aunt Khanh...)  Anyway, we did a very poor job in taking any pictures while we were out - it must have been the heat.  :)  In any case, the pictures that Dustin did take were the following...

And then this...

Our visit to the zoo was so close to Andrew's normal nap time, that he didn't quite make it through the last quarter of the zoo.  At the end, he was pretty greasy (from the sunscreen) and sweaty (well, from his sweat).  Oh, well...another time...

The pool is open!

It finally warmed up enough outside to buy our little Buddha his first pool!  With as much as he enjoys splashing around in the tub during bath time, we thought he would love playing in his pool in the sun shine.

For the first 4-5 minutes, Andrew just squatted in the water.  In his defense, the water may still have been a tad cold.  :)

Still squatting, but Daddy splashed him with some water to get him used to the temperature.

Attempted to get out of the pool so that Daddy could save him, but we decided that he could stand to play a bit more.  :)  I know...we're heartless.

Andrew finally sat down in his pool and then discovered all of his new pool toys that Mommy bought him.

The bucket was a favorite along with his yellow shovel.

And this is what happens when you splash yourself with cold water.  Happy Summertime everyone!