Sad News

Well, as much as we wanted to start off the New Year with a bang and only good things, it started off on a very sad note. Andrew's teacher at Roper Learning Center, Ms. Judy, became sick on December 18 due to a massive stroke. She had been in a coma since that time and on Monday, January 4, the family decided to withdraw support and on Wednesday, January 6 Ms. Judy passed away.

Ms. Judy was such an amazing woman and she ran her a class with a structured hand to ensure that all the children had all their needs met and learned new things every day. Although I am still not quite walking, I am saying quite a few words and am always very happy to be at school. Despite crying every time Mommy walked out of the room while on vacation, I never cry when Mommy takes me to school and I always love being there. It is because of my wonderful teachers that makes me feel so comfortable at school and not be upset while Mommy and Daddy are at work. Ms. Judy will be missed greatly and there will always be a missing part of the pre-toddler room because she is not there to add her smile every day.

Many wonderful remarks were passed back and forth through the parents after her death, but there is one poem that is so touching that makes me cry every time I read it and I think it is so fitting when describing Ms. Judy and trying to come to terms with her death.
God saw that she was getting tired and the cure was not to be.
So he put his arms around her and whispered, “Come with Me.”
With tearful eyes we watched her suffer and saw her fade away.
Although we loved her dearly, we could not make her stay.
A golden heart stopped beating; hard working hands to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us he only takes the best.

Ms. Judy you will be missed and this just reminds me that we need to thank everyone around us every day because we never know what tomorrow will bring. Ms. Sonya, Ms. Suzzette, and Ms. Lisa thank you for taking such good care of me and making sure I am safe everyday I am school.

Winter Vacation/Happy New Year

Over the holidays, Grandpa and Bubbe, and Aunt Rachel came to visit. It has been a long time since I have seen Aunt Rachel and we had a very good time playing. It was great to see her. We also went to the Pancake Breakfast at the JCC and had a great time playing.

The next week for New Years we took a trip to Jacksonville, FL and then onto Orlando. We went to Jacksonville for Stephanie's wedding. I wasn't invited to the wedding, but Jared and I stayed with the babysitter with our cousins- Rowan and Hayden. Harris, Elliott, and Maxwell also came to play one night. I got to see a lot of family including Gammy, Papa, Nana, Aunt Minnie and so much more. Once again, I was not a great traveler and cried a good bit of the way down, but I survived. Of course, I had a cold- it never fails that I get sick whenever we are going to travel which just makes for a great ride for everyone. The traffic going down was horrible and we had to detour on 17 just to make it down. Once there, it was great.

After our New Years in Jacksonville, we drove down to Gammy and Papa's house in Orlando and took a trip to Disney World. Disney was still a little overwhelming for me and I did not quite get what was going on, but I was very enthralled with the lights, the characters, and the rides, so all in all it was a good time. I behaved, took a nap in my stroller and just enjoyed watching everything that was going on.

On the last day we took pictures with Gammy and Papa. I was not very happy during these pictures, but I still love them and will always enjoy being with them. Thank you so much for our trip, I had a great time.

Here is looking forward to a prosperous, happy, and healthy 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Andrew

Happy Hannukah

Happy Hannukah! Mommy and Daddy worked very hard to sing to me and help me celebrate Hannukah this year. I helped to light the candles and then I opened presents. Towards the end of the week, I finally got the hang of it, when I opened one present I sat back down and sighed "ohh." It was very cute. I really enjoyed Hannukah and I thank everyone for their thoughtfulness. I got Clippo blocks. an airplane, V-Tech letter toys, and some cars. I had such a great time.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we travelled to Ellijay, GA to see Aunt Jenna, Uncle Tadd, Ms. Joanne and Mr. Drew, as well as Gammy, Papa, and Nana. A few days before Thanksgiving I was diagnosed with Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease, needless to say we were not looking forward to a safe peaceful travel to Georgia. I am not a good traveller to begin with, but now that I am sick- there is no telling what to expect.

I have to say it was probably the longest 6 hours. I could not get comfortable in my seat and I cried most of the way. I would fall asleep try to reposition and wake myself up. Nothing seemed to work and nothing seemed to make me happy. Jared on the other hand, can sleep through anything and slept most of the night unlike me. Once we finally made it there I did go to sleep and slept through the night and most of the next day as well, which was Thanksgiving. I did not really participate in many of the Thanksgiving festivities, but I took a good nap so that hopefully I will start to feel better and show everyone what a sweet boy I am.

On Friday, we went on a train ride and I got my first sight of Santa and my first and probably only picture. It was fun to go on the train, but I was only happy if I was with Mommy. If she left me I would start to scream. We had a great time the rest of the weekend, visiting with family and friends and travelling all over N. Georgia. I also went to the movies and saw Blind Side, for the most part I did ok and slept through the movies. Mommy might have second thoughts taking me again because she got quite a workout.

Waterfront Park and backyard park

Bubbe and Grandpa came to visit and we went to the park today to play with some friends and hang out. It was a beautiful park, I loved watching everyone play and going for a walk on the boardwalk. I am getting so big and look like a stud in my Jean Jacket.

I love being able to play outside. Not only do we go to the park a lot, I also have so much to do in my backyard as well. I had a great time climbing up and down my little play house and laughing as Jared played with me.

Finally check me out in my Leather bomber Jacket. My cuteness just keeps getting better and better.

(update- Mommy is going back to add some pictures we took at Sears, she does not remember exactly when we took them but they were about the same time as this, so she is going to include them in here. We have a picture of me and one of me and Jared. We did take a family picture, but we could not find a small enough one to scan here, so if you ever want to see it you will have to see the original.)

Happy Halloween

Although this was not my first Halloween, it was the first one I dressed up for. We had a party to celebrate no more contacts for Jared. This is going to become an annual party, so maybe next year I can invite some friends as well. I dressed up as Elmo- I did very well in my costume. I did not try to take it off and I was a trooper as we went Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. I watched all the people and enjoyed supportive everyone as they went to door to door to gather their Loot.