What is in a routine?

"Mommy, can I go to school today? I miss my friends." Andrew. At school, he reportedly asked his friends if they missed him last week because, "I missed you!""Mommy, I don't want to go to school. I want to stay home with you." Samantha (7am)
"I had the best day ever at school today. I cannot wait to go back tomorrow." Samantha (4pm)

Having a routine with out of town helpers and a newborn in the house and a hubby to sometimes has to travel is very difficult! What I realized last week was that the break from the routine to celebrate Thanksgiving and Matthew was awesome on so many levels. It was so nice not to have to take Samantha to school and for the kids to get to spend time with Matthew and their grandparents. Samantha was able to participate in the tea for the Presentation of the Theotokos and have a play date with a good friend from church and school. But it was difficult for them to spend time at home ALL week. They aren't used to it. And the weather was well, awful- most days! By the end of the week we seemed to have settled into a new 'laid back' routine to have to shift gears again to start back to a school routine. Its Wednesday now and I chose to have Andrew home with me. I didn't want to spend the time driving him to and from school today even though he wanted to go. I told him he can be my little helper with Matthew today. Samantha's riding the bus! I guess I should have taken a picture of that or something, but 30 degrees and rain/flurries don't encourage the amateur photographer in me.

Today was Matthew's due date! I feel so happy he joined us a couple weeks early. Its like stolen time...until I remember that I need to have a paper submitted for publication by Dec. 15th. I worked on it last night for about 1 hour- one interrupted hour while AJ and Samantha fought sleep and my mom held Matthew who was fussing and ready to eat for the last 10 minutes of that hour. I'll get it done, but will definitely have to be smart about finding a productive time, a new routine for me too!

Matthew Bradley Arrives!

Matthew Bradley Algood
Born: November 17th, 2011
1:45 am
6 pounds, 4 ounces
18 inches long
Baptist Hospital
Nashville, TN

David and I arrived at the hospital about 1am. It took about 10 minutes for someone to come to the front desk. After getting to a room, Matthew joined us only about 30 minutes later. It was a long labor, but I felt very blessed to have spent most of the labor at home! We are very grateful for a friend of mine from work whom came to the house to stay with Samantha and Andrew so their sleep was not disturbed.
Proud big brother and big sister met Matthew for the first time on Thursday afternoon. It was a big day!
Matthew's bassinet had a picture of Samantha and Andrew in it the whole time we were in the hospital. I was expecting Matthew to be very active based on his activity in the womb, but thus far he is pretty laid back and just wants to suck on everything except a pacifier :).


We are fascinated by how tiny he seems. His little feet and hands are so wrinkly. He has alot of skin to grow into! We keep going back and forth on who he looks like most. He definitely has more of Samantha's 'color' (since she was a toe head too), but seems his face shape might resemble Andrew more. Of course Andrew and Matthew were a similar size and Samantha was a WHOLE 2 pounds heavier at birth.
We left the hospital on the morning of November 19th and Matthew weighed about 6 pounds. Just 3 days later, he had a check up and was up to 6 pounds and 8 ounces! He has been doing great these first days at home. He now has day and night straight but definitely still sleeps most of the time. Matthew met his grandparents from BOTH sides of the family yesterday. We'll spend this Thanksgiving being especially grateful for the gift of Matthew in our lives!

Happy Name Day, Matthew!

Today is the day we commemorate St. Matthew. We are also celebrating our lil' guy's name day because he will be named Matthew Bradley.

Troparion:
You did hear the divine voice and received the light of faith, abandoning the office of publican. You proclaimed the Good News of the ineffable Kenosis of Christ, O Apostle Matthew and now you intercede that they who praise you be granted forgiveness of offenses and great mercy.





Many years, Matthew Bradley! I cannot wait to welcome you to this world!


PS I tried to write this from my iPad...not blogspot compatible!

In Thanksgiving (2)

One of the motivating factors for getting back to the blog was to express thankfulness during this holiday season. Since reading One Thousand Gifts, I find this task much easier than it used to!

11). I am thankful for our law enforcement and the military! Whether local police, secret service, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, I am thankful that these individuals work so hard to keep our local community and nation safe. I am thankful they protect our freedom! Last year on Facebook I thanked the Veteran's I was 'friends' with. This year I couldn't tag everyone if I tried. I am so blessed to have so many family and friends which serve/served our great country.
12). I am thankful for good friends who celebrate life! Life begins at conception. We should celebrate every life that God has given us.
13). I am thankful for wind. The power of the wind this weekend was amazing. It is a reminder that we are not in control. God is...maybe its my first Christmas card from God.
14). Thankful for silly songs. Last night at dinner we dug out the lyrics to "Albuquerque is a Turkey". We laughed. Then we laughed harder when they made up their own lyrics.
15). I am thankful for Advent. Today is the first day of Advent in the Orthodox Church. 40 days to prepare for Christmas. We have the Jesse Tree ready to go. We have activities, the advent calendar and readings ready. Each year has gotten easier preparing for this time. We tend to ask the kids each day, "what was the best part of your day today?" This season I am going to try to ask them (based on the homily that Fr. Stephen gave Sunday), "Did you get a Christmas card from God today?"

Please forgive me a sinner.

AJ, A....W, Andrew, but not Broccoli

Andrew has always been very particular about his name (and he sure has had an opinion about his baby brother's name). While he knows how to spell it, he has trouble writing all the letters. He as capital A down and he likes to write the W ('down, up, down, up', he says as he writes), but inbetween the A and the W, he asks me to hold his hand while he writes. This past weekend David was 'babysitting' the kids and a few friends during my baby shower and they were giving each other Native American Indian names. Samantha ended up something like Fluffy Snow Princess and AJ never got a name because he left the room upset Daddy was trying to call him Broccoli. (He does love broccoli.)

I feel blessed to have some one on one time with Andrew everyday in the car. He loves to sing and tell stories. Considering he was such a difficult infant and early toddler, I am often shocked when I think about how easy he is now...don't get me wrong he is 3 and exerts his desires for independence and can be rather defiant. He is very expressive. He speaks so well and really lets us know what is wrong or what he needs which makes life so much easier! We're still working on the tone he uses, but he is generally very good natured about it.

When Andrew is not straight forward about his emotions or dealing with all of the recent changes around our family, he lives through his friend turtle. Turtle's name is "Algood". He used to live in our bushes and tap on the window at night. Then he lived under AJ's bed. Then when we moved, he moved to, but to 'Nash-a-ville'. Turtle has had a baby; AJ has had a turtle in his belly. His turtle excuses him from the house rules at times and really gives him a wealth of knowledge ("Turtle says"). Most recently Turtle lives at the Aquarium in Chattanooga. I love that he knows we all know Turtle isn't real, but he still uses him...even Samantha plays along and they laugh about some of the things they come up with for Turtle to do.

Andrew plays really hard! He loves to play outside, but even with indoor activities he can play with his train, cars and Legos for hours! It is alot of fun to watch what he creates. One of my favorite times is listening to the kids play make believe together. Samantha usually runs the show, "now you say this..." but she is letting him free play a little more. Yesterday they played with Samantha's playmobil set for an hour- AJ played with the Prince and the horse and Samantha the Princess and the Unicorn- PERFECT.

He is excited to become a big brother and declares that the baby loves him so much. He's probably right. The baby knows his voice because AJ loves to snuggle with me and while he is snuggling he will sing to the baby and even rub my belly. I asked him if he is looking forward to holding the baby and he said "No, he's gonna cry and want his mommy." I was surprised. I expect that once he is here AJ will want his turn!

Happy 6th Birthday Samantha!

Okay, so her birthday was a month ago, but I am playing catch up, right?!

This has been an amazing year for Samantha. This summer required so much of her for a little one. She had to move 3 times as we transitioned into our new home. Half of that time, she only had mom to lean on because Daddy was in Austrialia! She left pre-school and began Kindergarden a few weeks after we settled into the new house. She loves her new school and her teacher, but the transition has been anything but stress-free. She misses her old friends and teachers. She misses her naps!

To give you a glimpse of her personality these days...

As Samantha has met so many new people over the last few months in her own circles (after school care, school, ect), I keep hearing, "Samantha is the sweetest little girl". She is sweet, sentitive and caring. She won't harm a fly and takes everything you say to her to heart.

Samantha has a BFF...she's actually known her since she was 3 months old. When they have a playdate everyone else might as well be in another world.

She was so excited to have us decorate her new room- pink walls, butterfly accents...but she won't sleep in her room. She is afraid to be anywhere in our new house by herself. So she sleeps on the top bunk in AJ's room. She also has learned to coerse her brother into going with her upstairs when she needs/wants something.

She loves to color and draw, and is learning so much in school. Her favorite 'thing' at school is library time. She gets in her fair share of trouble. Usually because she is being chatty at the wrong time (shocking).

She also has a new nickname. I guess she grew out of "Mantha-Moo" (Thank God). Her new nicknames include, Crash Algood. She tends to keep moving forward when looking backwards, and or just plain not paying attention...lots of bumps and bruises for my lil girl! This week we are calling her "Toothless" after she lost her tooth in a blanket battle with Andrew.

Samantha is excited to become a big sister to another baby brother, but she admits she is a little disappointed that we're not having a girl. For a long time she was upset that the girls will be 'outnumbered', but I hope I can ease her mind a little...she'll always be my only baby girl!

As an aside, when we were headed into the ultrasound, everyone asked, do you have a preference. I really didn't. How could I? We have a girl. We have a boy. I saw reasons why it would be fun to repeat either gender...Suddenly when we found out this baby is a boy, I was so grateful and cried thinking of Samantha and how truly blessed I was to have her, my girly girl.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still have no idea what to do with a girly, girl. This momma was a tomboy and I have a really hard time knowing how to relate to my daughter (who won't even wear pants)! But, hopefully over time we'll met somewhere in the middle.

Best intentions!

Wow, it really has been a busy 6 months! It was never my intention to let the blog go, so I am going to get back to it. Slowly.

I will begin with an update on each of the kids and then we'll welcome our new baby into the family. He is due in less than 3 weeks now. He has a name and the kids want him to come out!

We're enjoying our new home and the shorter commute (at least I am!). The house needs a little work, but nothing that demands our attention more than the kids and work right now. While I've been away from the blog and likely not keeping touch as well with everyone as I'd like, I do feel like balancing family life has been pretty good. David traveled ALOT over the Spring and Summer which made it very difficult to update blogs and social spaces which lack security. One area of our home which needs some major work is our office. Right now we are set up in the 'bonus room' above the garage. It was HOT in the summer and is now COLD in the fall. Its away from the kids which is good and bad, but it has left me using my iPAD alot to keep up. The iPAD is okay for checking email and/or facebook, for looking up recipes, for reading, and even for shopping, but its horrible for blogging. Today I have a laptop...so let the challenge begin.

Thanksgivings for the first 10 days of November:
1. My mom (November 1st is her birthday) its always fitting to start this month being thankful for her. Thankful for her example as a working mom who put faith and family first.
2. Thanksful for my doctor! Despite some 'concern' over how big my belly is (I measure about 3-4 weeks behind), my doctor has been very reassuring and supportive. I saw him on the 2nd and was reminded how blessed I've been to have him care for me for all 3 of my pregnancies!
3. Thankful for science and collaboration. On the 1st I put in a grant which was a collaborative effort between 5 'young' scientists. On Nov 3rd, I gave a seminar which I prepared little for but received great support and discussion from my colleagues! So nice to have their support!
4. Thankful for creative friends and new ideas. Just as I have been preparing the baby's nursery, I started having an itch to do something 'different'. On the 4th of November I got some great ideas and inspiration to just try a few things. I haven't 'tried' them yet, but the ideas started rolling and a few days later I had a plan.
5. Thankful for health and the good health we as a family have ALL had this year. Several friends or friends of friends have had some pretty serious health problems/issues. I pray they all heal quickly! I am so thankful for each day that I can get up pain-free and live.
6. Thankful for my Church. St. Ignatius is such a sacred place. I look forward to our new temple!
7. Thankful for my Church family. With the expansion coming, we have had our 'growing pains' but I won't have it any other way. The friends I have through Church are my most supportive, loving friends. They are amazing!
8. Thankful for my husband and my marriage. 8 years ago on the 8th David and I married. What a wonderful memory. To think 8 years- 3 kids, 4 houses!, technically 4 cities (3 in middle TN), 3 employers (but 8 titles between us)....I don't think life will ever slow down, but I am so grateful to be on this journey with such a supportive husband and father!
9. Thankful for my 'employees'. Since July, I have had 2 new people join my 'team' at work. I hired a technician and a post-doctoral fellow. They are both such wonderful people. They not only have good 'hands' in the lab, but they are caring, sweet people. It humbles me to be their 'boss'/mentor/supervisor.
10. (TODAY) Thankful for our godfamilies. I realize this is an extention of our church family, but they are even more than that. It is my children's godparents and my own godson's parents who I go to first when we need something- prayers or support.

Please forgive me, a sinner.

Some of the highlights (Its still officially Spring, right?)

Lucky Ladd Farms! This place is in Eagleville, TN. Its not open to the public year round, but wow! What fun! They are open from Good Friday-Late July Saturdays only. Then again mid- September for Pumpkin season. Our godson's family invited us. We have so many pictures of Simon and the kids from that day.

Our son loves his ties this summer.
A photo from my birthday. (Also the day we found out we were expecting our third, and that we had termites...God has a sense of humor apparently.)


Boy fun at the park and in the yard. The stomp rocket is awesome!


Samantha enjoying some time with Alexandra. Seeing them together again after Alexandra's struggle in the hospital was so emotional.
Pascha morning...we were so tired, the pictures I took at the feast were awful.

Girl fun at the park and at birthday parties. Samantha on her first ZIP line above! She loves to swing.

The sunset we will miss in our new home (most likely, wherever that might be).

We will close on the sale of our house July 8th. We are actively looking for a new home, but its still a tough market right now where we want to be. Hopefully we won't have to do temporary housing for too long because Samantha starts Kindergarten in MID-August. I haven't even downloaded pictures from our trip to Ohio yet...I will make that a post on its own. Maybe next week...until then. Love and prayers for you and yours always!

What happened?

Life I guess....

Many changes at once. Thank God for his blessings and challenges.

Baby ... Baby #3 is due in late November ... belly is growing and kids are enjoying weekly updates on how big is the baby now? (this week the size of a Lemon)

House ... on market ... has 'pending' contract ... need to deal with inspection repairs.

New house ... not yet, still looking ... only about 5 weeks in this one if everything goes smoothly.

My Work ... hiring ... moving lab (inspections) ... conference in San Francisco ... preparations for conference in Vancouver (service passport) ... new collaborations with Virginia Tech and Ohio State

Family ... my mom retiring ... my dad trying to 'wrap things up' ... sister moving to DC ... brother settled in Delaware, OH ... mini reunion for all of us over Memorial Day.

Kids... David's parents helped out with the kids over my S.F. trip (thanks!) ... more grandparent help planned the summer ... Samantha starts Kindergarten in mid-August (but where?) ... AJ will becoming a Leaping Frog soon (if this 3 year old ever learns to listen)

David's work... 1 more "Powertrip" to go ... then there's Sweden waiting for him ... then there is Australia ... new product is exceeding expectations!

I will blog again. I have been taking an enormous amount of photos this spring and I have so many to share of our 'Buddy' and 'Sweetheart'. My dear friends and family, please keep us in your prayers. We need them right now. This is a very challenging time.

Moving, moving, moving

Life is in constant motion, but we are so grateful when the kids actually slow us down! I am far from being a home body. I like to be in constant motion and while my kids often seem to be in constant motion, they are in need of down time. Its not always easy to find "down time" but in this season of Great Lent we really try to cut back on extra activities, but I realize we may have made a mistake this Lent...the house is for sale. This forces us to be constantly cleaning, straighting and staging. It was my hope that the combination of Great Lent and packing will result in us cutting back on 'stuff' and creating an atmosphere of simplicity.

We're half way through Great Lent and on this Sunday of the Adoration of the Cross, I am not sure we've been able to simplify or really have denied ourselves. The kids want to just stay home a play. Samantha even asked for a 'break from school'. (She's heard other older kids talking about Spring Break and she even spent a day with her Kindergarden friend during her Spring Break.) Andrew resists going anywhere on the weekend. The good thing is they have really been playing well together having pretend picnics, coloring, and doing puzzles. They're in the middle of playing and I am cleaning up behind them because we have a showing in several hours. Last weekend, I even rushed around to hold a garage sale to get rid of the 'stuff', but the rushing took away the simplicity of the season. I realize now that I was trying to busy myself to avoid worry about a loved one and her family. Not the right way to deal with worry! This weekend I committed to taking Samantha to a friends birthday party and while I know she enjoyed herself it took time away from our family time and the season of simplicity. We must be diligent with our time if we want to be moving forward in preparations for Pascha. So as we move beyond the mid-point of this Great Lent, we challenge ourselves to go back to child-like simplicity, prayer, and eucharisto (thankfulness).

When there is silence....

and darkness, Andrew is afraid of the shadows and has bad dreams (even with his eyes open).

Samantha must not be in the room. She fills silence with song or an occasional scripture. Tonight, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light".

My silence on the blog has not been intentional, but also not an indication that I don't have anything to share with you. I wonder if my posts are missed or if I am 'wasting' time writing them. I am not a writer. I don't write to synthesize my thoughts. More often I write to honor someone. Tonight I feel like I would like to honor David. I suppose so few of our family read our blog that it might not get back to him that I did this.

There have been some silent evenings in our home recently. David is working late or traveling. More recently its been working late at the office or getting ready for the big product launch. The kids and I got used to him being home late but over a recent road trip they didn't understand why he wasn't home in the morning too. Kids, its because your father is amazing! He has worked so hard for this recent product launch and the launch was the company's best yet. Already their projections were wrong, yes, but in a good way! They are selling more than they projected they would! Even while David's been working late, he has made efforts to talk to the kids at night, to really spend time with them before school in the morning.

I still remember Fr. John Abdalah from St. George in Pittsburgh telling David at our pre-martial counselling, "David, remember this FACT. The average woman needs 50 minutes of time to communicate with their spouse to feel 'connected'. The average man needs 3 minutes." David isn't a talker. I come from a family of talkers. I like to tell David about my day. I would have preferred to have >1 hour to talk with David each day. He'd prefer to have 2 minutes to talk with me. What I have learned from David is that in those 2 minutes (because honestly, we don't usually get even close to 15 minutes most days), he has shown me amazing support. He has said things to me, which at the time may have seemed abrupt or even insensitive, but it has been in the moments of silence, in the moments of trial, in the moments of contemplation that his words have popped in my head.

Last year at this time, I admit that I was tormenting myself. I had forgotten to be thankful. I knew I was blessed. I knew I had what I needed but I was also being impatient with God's plan and shying away from opportunities that might make me a failure.

I have been going back to several things David said (some not his own original words) .
1. When I feel overwhelmed at work I ask myself, "what is the next best thing I can do?""
2. So what if you fail, does that change what God thinks of you? you know, it would never change what I think of you. Just try.
3. Your job doesn't define you. You don't have to be happy all the time.
4. (with the loss of a loved one). I know you miss them but before you know it, you'll be together again.

I am so thankful for the strength God has given me this year. I sometimes think back about what lack of faith I had in God's plan. I am ashamed and humbled. I certainly don't know where we are headed, but I do know that God's given me a great partner who can communicate, effectively enough in just 2 minutes a day. I love my David, "my beloved". And I thank God for him.

Being thankful

We don't have 'free' time...but we have the time God's given us. I am trying to learn to use it for what it is.

I am trying to appreciate every moment, even the 'ugly beautiful'.

I had a photography lesson this weekend. It was a little overwhelming. I feel like I could learn so much if I had 'time' to practice, yet there is another pull on my other side. Is that what I want to use the time God gave me for?

The teacher/photographer and I also had a discussion about how when you are the picture taker, you are the observer. To be in that position is interesting. On one hand you observe the moment and can capture it (if your good) for memories. On the other hand, you aren't actually living it. Focusing on the art of photography takes alot of concentration and can be draining leaving you outside of the event.

Sunday afternoon after my lesson. I took some photos and then I just had to put the camera down. AJ had put that ball down .... soccer time! I couldn't resist. So fun for the four of us to be running around with a ball at our feet!

Bonding

Several months ago we moved the kids into the same room. We were hoping they would sleep better and as a result, that we would have more uninterrupted sleep. It sort of worked. So, several nights a week we don't have visitors. Progress.

They were on side by side bunks, but in preparation for putting the house up for sale (making the room look bigger) and to actually create room for them to play in the same room, we bunked the beds last month. I think AJ wakes now and forgets he has company so he still comes to snuggle with us. We put him back in bed (usually I do initially), but if he comes back again, I either kick David or we give in and we have a visitor for the rest of the night.

Tonight they are in separate rooms again! Ugh. They are having too much fun at bedtime. We cannot get them to settle down and go to sleep. Part of me loves it. Part of me despises that witching hour--I am the one turning into a bad witch!

Our evenings have been stressful lately. We've been spending a significant amount of our home time working after the kids go to bed. I told David tonight, "At least we are both working, so we don't feel guilty that we aren't spending time together." Its forcing us to be more organized and schedule time together. We have a date planned for Saturday with some friends we hardly get to see. A good thing!!

Some of this bonding is probably the kids' ages, but they are playing together very well. They make a mess, but they are having a blast. They move from Samantha's doll house to AJ's 'road' or trains. They spend alot of time in imaginative play- and we spend alot of time chuckling as we hear them pretend to be mommy or daddy. Samantha is loving riding her bike on these sunny days and AJ follows her around with his lawn mover! or even helps her if she gets stuck. Hilarious!

I am so glad to see their love for each other grow and develop.

Happy Valentines Day!

TRAFFIC!

Apparently on Mondays about 25% of Middle TN is either off or works from home. Traffic is light. I love it! I feel free as a bird; I love not having to leave at an exact time to get out before Franklin traffic is unleashed. Then Tuesday, Wed, Thursday nights are a nightmare unless I leave Nashville at 6pm or before 4. Friday isn't too bad as long as you don't try to leave work before 5:30! Sounds like I've got it figured out, right? Wrong. Leaving Nashville at 6 is too late for them for all of us...hunger sets in. Leaving before 4 is never an option because of work load. So how do we deal with this...

I try to control traffic. I can't. Surprised? Of course not. But, I still try. I am convinced my evening is wasting away in the car.

If I leave my lab at 4:15 and I get home between 5:15 and 6pm. Its 23 miles away. Yes, that involves walking to the car, picking up the kids, the actual 'drive' to Franklin, and then the CRAWL to my house.

'Whats this' you say? A blog post about some solution, a revelation. Absolutely NOT! This is an admission that I give up. I am going to stop complaining (after this post). I am going to sell my house, pick up my family and move. Some say make the most of the time, enjoy it?! I try. Somedays its not bad. Today I left the lab at 4:45 and we didn't get home until 6:10. That is over an hour in the car with the kids (when we are all tired and hungry). Today we laughed, we sang, and they told me stories about their days. I am going to focus on that and hope days like today continue because I cannot control traffic. I can only control how I respond to it and to the kids - cranky, wound up or happy. Some say, 'call your mother' or use the time to catch up with a friend. Ask my mom about our attempts to do that!? About once a week, halfway home I call my mom. It usually results in worse behavior in the back seat because my kids want my attention (and rightly so, we've been apart all day). Some say, spend time in prayer. I do. Not as I would like but as much as possible with the kids constantly talking to me and/or fighting with each other over who is talking to me. Most of the prayerful reflection is in response to listening to Christian music. But, I often wish we were on a couch snuggling during this 'how was your day time' rather than crawling along in traffic.

Here is the kicker...

Next year will be different. When Samantha starts kindergarden, I will be commuting with just Andrew. It will be sad. I will miss our car time together (and I think Andrew will miss his car buddy). I will miss this time when they cannot get away from me because I know as they grow up - every hour together will be more and more precious even if its IN TRAFFIC.

Homerun, Touchdown, Field Goal

Special moment(s) to remember.

On Andrew's 'official' birthday, he was nervous and uncomfortable. He exclaimed, "NO" when I said, "Happy Birthday" to him and wasn't interested in his special 3rd birthday breakfast (3 Silver dollar pancakes with 3 chocolate chips per pancake and hot chocolate with 3 holiday marshmellows). He came around to eating his breakfast, but cried when they sang to him at childcare. He never really settled into the attention. We did still special moments that day! Above he is struggling to get his fingers to bend correctly to make a "3", so below he tried a new way...(smart kid). His requested special treat for childcare on his birthday was donuts. Imagine that. He was in tears when I got to the room because he thought I had forgotten (even though I was early). He was settling in gradually, but it was when Samantha came to join us that he LIT up! Look at the grin on his face! She makes him comfortable.

We scheduled a 'small' party at home to celebrate with family and close friends. I was worried he might not do well with all of the attention, but he did great. He asked for a football theme. You can see some of the set up for the party below. There were only 5 kids there (2 were ours). They got personalized felt football placemats and we gave families who were able to join us Andrew's favorite snacks for a favor.

I put tape on a green table cloth to make it look like a field. Andrew was so excited!

"Football food"- bagel pizzas, perogies, ChickfilA nuggets, queso, fruit and fresh veggies... look at the plate of food this lil' guy fixed himself!

We played just one game (well, Andrew refused), but it was a knock-off of pin the tail on the donkey. "Fit the ball between the uprights".

Andrew's godfather tried to convince him to give it a shot, "But everyone is looking at me."

I had several discussions with Andrew about why we celebrate his birthday. I told him we like to celebrate because he is a gift from God. I knew he didn't want to be sung too, but I asked anyway and he said "No. No Happy Birthday song." I asked if we could sing him God grant you many years and he said YES! So that is what we did (while he buried his head in my shoulder).
Andrew had football ice cream cake for desert.

He loved the cake so much. He "MMMed" his whole way through it. Then he started to say "COLD" and pretend shiver with every bite (this is what he is doing above).

He got a little shy at present opening time. He asked for 'privacy' (I just snicker about this). When I told him that everyone would like to see him open his gifts, he told me to open them for him. I told him I wouldn't do that but maybe he could have Samantha help. She did.

After opening gifts, the grandparents started playing, reading and helping clean. Andrew went around and hugged every guest to say thank you. Below you can seem him hugging his godmother.