I'm A Big Kid Now

So over a week ago, Andrew did something quite strange at nap time.  He usually sleeps for about 2 hours, but on this particular day, I heard a ton of banging on the crib and then Andrew just started screaming and this all happened about 30 minutes into his nap.  It was quite odd so I ran upstairs and peaked in his room, and to my surprise he was on the other side of the room away from his crib and he was just standing there crying and very confused.  I asked him what he was doing and I got no response, just crying, so I asked him then if he wanted to go back to bed and he said yes.  Then he slept for another hour and half.  I really think Andrew was sleep walking and broke out of his bed.  Nothing else really would explain his behavior.  Later I asked him if he remembered getting out of his bed and he said no.  Later on that week it really started bothering me that he did that, and he could do it again and really get hurt.  The fact that he didn't seem to know why he was out of his bed was quite scary for me.  Luckily I have a child proof thing on his door so he can't get out of his room, but I did worry about him getting hurt.  So I decided it was time to break out the toddler bed.  I was sad because the week before I got rid of the high chair and Andrew graduated to the big table.  I officially feel like my baby is all grown up, and I just about lost it the first time I put him in his bed. 

So Andrew got to jump one last time in his crib before taking it down.

....and this is why we took down the crib!

So after putting up the new bed, Andrew took a moment to think what he should do first!

...and so he decided to jump off the bed.  So being the good mom I am, I took lots of pictures of him doing it, and then told him he wasn't aloud to jump off the bed.

So Andrew decided to try out the new bed!

However, Andrew wasn't ready for a nap at 11am!!!!  He has done very good though.  He stays in his bed when he wakes up and he says "mommy, daddy come save me".  It is to cute.  So I officially have a big kid now!!!!!!

We took Andrew's little table downstairs from his room for awhile, and I had to grab a picture of Megan eating with Andrew!  I was excited because I got this picture with no flash and it was at night!!!!!!  I just love my camera!!!!

Andrew vs. Winter

So we are going a little stir crazy here at the Stahnke house.  Or at least Andrew and I are going a little stir crazy!  So here is some pictures of what a day in Andrew's life in the middle of winter is like.  We do everything we can to get rid of energy!

Of course we have to go out and play in the snow! 

Nothing is more fun then throwing snow at mom with her camera!

Then its time to build a snow man, or at least a giant snow ball!

Why there were birds flying around was very puzzling to Andrew!

Of course Andrew loves spending time watching TV.  I have to limit what he watches these days or he would literally watch it all day long!  It is a nice break when I just need him to sit and be quiet so I can get some work done.

A trip to McDonalds to get rid of energy is in order at times.  Andrew has a ton of fun when Megan is with us.

Andrew loves this horse that I got for my photography.  He makes me bring it upstairs for him to ride sometimes.  He names him Neigh!!!

Andrew loves his new camera he got for Christmas.  He is always wearing down the batteries.  Maybe he is a photographer in the making.

Of course Andrew loves to act out everything I do, so he has down the grocery shopping quite well.

Andrew is even willing to play with dolls, if it means Megan will play with him.

Andrew will also work out with daddy.  My boy is going to be big and strong soon!

Other activities that we have been doing in the house but haven't been documented through pictures.

T-ball in the house with bases - Anything to get Andrew to run around and get rid of energy!

Nerf Basketball hanging from the window - Andrew loves this!  He misses most of them but he is getting quite a throw!

Nerf Soccer - We don't have goals yet, but maybe soon!  He will kick it around anyways!

My house is turning into a gym!!!!!

Andrew's Big Day!

So this year for Andrew's celebration of his adoption I decided that we would recognize some of the culture and traditions of Kyrgyzstan.  It was fun, and at times me and my husband really thought we were back there.  I cooked some traditional Kyrgyz foods for this event, and all I can say after about 10 hrs of preperation is that I have a whole new respect for the ladies in Kyrgyzstan, and what they have to do, to accomplish the foods that they eat.  Making all the food from scratch isn't something I'm use to.  Yes, I cook, but I never realized how quick it is compared to what I did for this meal. Of course I was feeding 13 people, but I don't think it is unusual for the people in Kyrgyzstan to do the same.  Some of the traditions we tried, was eating on the floor.  It wasn't very comfortable, but it did give us a good feel for what they experience daily.  We also did some fun things, like everyone had to wear their slippers after coming in the door.  It gave us a chance to wear our Kyrgyz slippers.  Then, when we eat we waited and said the grace at the end of the meal, and after you do that, everyone has to stop eating.  I actually liked doing that, because it made everyone stay at the table, until everyone was doing eating.  We took lots of pictures of our fun last week, so enjoy, our Kyrgystan evening in our home, and Andrew I'm so thrilled that you have been in our family for two years.  Everyone loves you!

For Andrew's big day, I got him a pair of slippers that were from Kyrgyzstan.  I lucked out and found them on line.  I felt he needed his own pair of Kyrgyz slippers for his Kyrgyz dinner.

Also notice are beautiful Kyrgyz pillow cases that are behind us!  I love these!

Our slippers from Kyrgyzstan.  Alisha and her boyfriend Josh also have some but I didn't get a picture of theirs.

Andrew is happy as could be with both his Grandma's!

The Menu!

In Kyrgyzstan they serve cucumbers and tomatoes as salad.  So that is what I did!

This is Borsok.  It was fun to make, and tasted great with some jam on it!

This is Nan.  Flat bread with onions in it.  It reminded me of a Pita. It was also good!

These were the potatoe vereniki I made.  They took forever, and I'm not sure if I would ever make them again.  They did taste okay, but Alisha said the smell of these reminded her the most of Kyrgyzstan.  I had to agree!

These were the Shashlik!  We had to make these because Cain had these when we went to the Twelve Fireplaces in Kyrgyzstan.  It was our favorite meal while visiting Kyrgyzstan, so in honor of the Twelve Fireplaces, Cain was going to go outside and cook them on the grill, because in the middle of winter they went out and cooked our food when we were at the Twelve Fireplaces, but unfortunately despite our best efforts the grill wasn't working, even though we checked it the day before.  So Cain cooked them inside. 

We have to yet, teach Andrew and Matthew some Kyrgyzstan table manners, or should I say floor manners!  It was a bit tough for them to sit on the floor and eat without getting distracted.

Andrew acting like a baby!

The Kyrgyz boys with their dads.