> Yesterday ~ Today ~ Tomorrow <

It’s the year of the Dog, and of course, Mom and Dad are now having to *give* money instead of receiving it… pity! Andrew seems to really like getting the traditional red envelope – he seems to have a strange way of knowing when money is coming to him.

Andrew’s friend Michael had his first birthday party on Sunday, and we had the honor to join the celebration. Here’s Andrew playing with Michael and Michael’s birthday present.

Happy birthday, Michael!

Andrew is at once happy for Michael on his birthday, and really, really jealous of Michael’s new toy!

Andrew is finally moving forward! When Mom was cleaning the kitchen, Andrew was trying to play with his sister Mimi, and he moved forward! Mom was so impressed! According to Ms. Karen at daycare, Andrew he is exploring to every corner now, and he’s so proud of himself, too!

Andrew is 9-month old now. It’s been amazing, fun, tiring, busy, and sleepless.

Andrew: “You might get away with keeping me in this for now, but just you wait a couple more weeks… I’m planning my big escape!”

Andrew finally started to crawl, but backwards. Andrew is now happier than ever, because he can move around and make troubles. He almost got himself under the bed, touched all the outlets he could possibly find, playing with the bills, and chased his sisters. Mom and Dad got so tired that we had to take a hot steam bath with the “Bath and Body Works Stress Relieve Bath Salt” to relieve those muscle aches.

See Andrew crawl on a 12 second video clip (3,804K).

Andrew has been sleeping with Mom and Dad for almost six months. After multiple sleepless nights, Dad got mad and ordered Andrew to sleep in his own crib. Mom finally agree because she missed her beauty sleep. We anticipated a difficult start since it’s been so long, but Andrew did really well the first night. He slept from 9pm to 5:30am by himself!

Here’s Andrew playing in his crib while Mom was cleaning his room for the night. And it reminds us that we have to lower the crib pretty soon!

Andrew usually watches his Baby Eistein video in the morning, while mom and dad get ready for work. This morning Andrew did not get to watch TV, because mom said so. Instead of giving us a fuss, Andrew showed us how independent he could be. He was on his all-four position, moved toward the TV, and pushed the buttons tried to figure out how to turn on the TV.

Look how much Andrew enjoys his TV time.

Andrew really enjoys his Baby Mozart!

Couch potato in training.

For the fourth year running, we’ve spent New Year’s Eve at the Westin in downtown Denver. It’s a little tradition that we really like, since it allows us to get into the spirit of the season, watch fireworks, celebrate a little, and not have to worry about driving home at all hours of the night. This year, we introduced Andrew to the tradition. Of couse, he was already introduced to Westin’s Heavenly Bed earlier this year, so he felt right at home!

Getting a nap in before ringing in the new year.

No better way to prepare for the big night than with a little sparkling wine.

Baby fuel for the big night, and adult fuel for the big night.

The weather really cooperated with us. I think this was the warmest it’s been since we started braving the cold at midnight. Andrew was very warm in his new hat!

For the past few years, we’ve been among the crowds on the street at midnight. However, we took a different route this year. The Westin has an outdoor patio on the fourth floor, above the crowds, not so noisy, and a much easier time getting back to the hotel afterwards.

A little “gold” in the tummy for New Year, lit by glowsticks. Obviously the party has slowed down for us… at the end of the night, the bottle is still full!