Believe it or not there were also a few boys at his party. Although that would be hard to tell from most of these photos.

Andrew has wasted no time getting settled into his new school life. And there are no shortage of little and big girls who think he is too cute. We have already had many discussions about kissing in school. Needless to say he has made short work of his first official school year!

Andrew finished off the summer with a roar just before heading into Junior Infants at St. Raphaela's Primary School. Even before his first day he had made a new friend and many of his classmates were from his Montessorri school last year.

Originally we planned to have Andrew's birthday at the local playland, then I got some big ideas. Said big ideas would take more than a month to put together and cost much more than anticipated. They would include a papier mache wagon wheel, windmill, cowboy hats (delivered from the US) and one over fed pony.

Our friends Marie (Margaret's mom) and Caroline (Conor's mom and Andrew's sitter from Midleton) came early to help. We had a great time. I can now say it has been done. I am seeking counseling for my addiction to over doing. I was told by some parents I had raised the bar on birthday parties, a few weren't too happy about it.

2003 came to a close with lots of holiday fun. During the Christmas break, the kids had a pretend wedding ( Erin's idea.) And earlier in the season we loaded up on pumpkins and all tried carving one. Andrew craped the guts out of his. He let Daddy carve it before taking some spooky pictures.

Wow, its hard to believe Andrew is three now. He had a great time sharing his birthday with his friends on the last day of the school year. He really enjoyed his first term of Montesorri. His teacher, Claire was a lovely woman. Andrew woke every morning wondering if he would see her. He has become quite the little character. He loves to let his sister dress him up so they can dance around the house.

In January we joined one of Andrew's friends at the oldest fire station in Dublin to celebrate his birthday. James'uncle is a fireman and let all the kids play with the big boys toys. They all got a go at the truck ladder, the high pressure house and a few rounds inside the engine with lights, sirens and all. It was a big day of fun for both kids, okay, parents too.