Last Days of Summer...

It is so sad for us that summer is ending. My baby is a water baby, like me. We love to swim and we will miss being able to when fall is upon us. I had to post this beautiful photo of Andrina waiting for more swimming fun.

Day Out with Thomas 2010

Andrina's newest obsession is Thomas and Friends. She is as much into them as 3 year old who loves them is. Tom and I indulged her and spent over $60 so the 3 of us could take a 20 minute train ride on Thomas himself this afternoon. It was a huge hit! Andrina loved it! Can you tell from the pictures?

Good Morning!

Here is how Andrina greeted me this morning:
"Good morning Mama, I'm happy to see you"
AWWWW! My child so has my heart! How sweet is that?

Art

This morning Andrina and I went to her Gymboree Art class as our usual Saturday morning activity. With one of the art projects, the children were supposed to trace large shapes on construction paper with creamy crayons. It sounds very simple but for all the kids who are 2 or 3 years old, it's not. Well, it took a few tries but Andrina was able to trace a square all by herself! She ran the crayon along each of the four sides and traced it. I know that was a big deal for following directions and improving her fine motor skills.

Another project involved drawing with a white crayon on white paper then covering it with very watered-down water color paint. The consistency of it was so thin that it was as thin as water. Andrina was able to paint the entire paper after coloring it. There literally were no white spaces left when she was done.

I just noticed so much improvement in her ability to follow directions today and in her development. It was exciting for me to be able to watch her develop right before my eyes!

3 Year-Old Stats

We just got back from Andrina's 3 year-old well visit. It went great! I just love well visits! Nothing makes my Mommy's pride swell in knowing that her pediatrician sees just how amazing my little love is doing. Because if one of the "experts" sees Andrina as great as I do, then it's not just me seeing it through my mommy perspective.

Andrina is 37.5 inches tall. She's at the 66th percentile for height, same percentile as last year, so she's on track for being at least 5'5" as an adult! Once again, I'm so happy my baby won't be stuck being short like me! And she's 32.4 lbs, which is at the 50th percentile for weight. And her height to weight ratio is perfect!

Now for the really good stuff: After hearing Andrina speak for only a little bit, her doctor said she has "advanced" verbal skills. Andrina was playing with a Thomas train toy and put it inside a cabinet. She then said, "where did Thomas go? Oh there he is, he's behind the door". The doctor was quite impressed with her speech! So, the doctor said she has "advanced" verbal skills (I already know that but I'm Mommy) and that she is "developing wonderfully" and is "perfectly healthy" and Andrina is, "a really beautiful child". Ahhh, my Mommy's pride swells!

Some Summer Fun

I just wanted to post some photos of us having fun in the summer weather. Andrina really likes the tee ball set Auntie Reenie got her for her birthday, as you can tell in the photos. And I added more photos of her enjoying carnival rides. This time it was at the county fair. Too bad its only around for 5 days a year...

Happy 3rd Birthday Andrina!

Today was Andrina's official 3rd birthday. Tom and I celebrated it by taking her to Brookfield Zoo, then having cake & giving her our presents back home. Here's some pictures from our day, in chronological order:

Us 3 at the dolphin show

Sitting on Dada's shoulders
This was the first time Andrina ever got to see real dolphins.
The look of joy on her face watching them was priceless.

Our most recent family photo, inside Tropic World.

Andrina & I being silly

Burning off some extra energy

This is the second time Andrina has had her picture taken with the kangaroo sculpture,

yet she hasn't seen any kangaroos yet!

Heading home. She just had such a happy look on her face from all the fun

that I had to take a picture.

Thomas the Train birthday cake. He's Andrina's newest favorite friend and she

is really into all things Thomas and trains lately.

Getting ready to blow out the candle.

And I'm such a sucker for my little girl that I had to get her the big

Thomas balloon too.

Being sneaking and thinking I didn't notice you trying to take the

toy off the cake when I told you to be patient!

Opening presents from Momma & Dada.

Dada picked out a bunch of Thomas DVDs

And Andrina gets to have her very own big Gymbo too!

Playing with a new present, a Thomas mega blocks set.

Three years ago today I was so blessed I got to meet the love of my life.

Happy Birthday my sweet baby daughter Andrina.

You are the best thing that ever happened to me and I love you with all my heart and soul.