Dancin' the Night Away

That last post was the 100th post! Wow.

Ted and I both have noticed that at nearly every meeting, Andrew's eyes get very red. We're really hoping he doesn't have my chemical sensitivity issues, but he definitely has some sort of reaction at the hall. Perfume is toxic to everyone, but obviously not everyone notices that. Once, Andrew even got a rash on his face from being there when the perfumes were strong. This year we are the third congregation meeting so it is extremely toxic the second we walk in the door on Sundays. I'm not able to go every Sunday for that reason, but I'm trying to manage and go to every couple of them so that we can continue to keep a routine and training for Andrew. I don't always make it through and I certainly have repercussions despite the treatments I've been getting. I sincerely hope that Andrew doesn't have to deal with it like I do. :-\

He discovered by mistake that he can go down his slide headfirst. He had a cloth toy in his hand and was playing with it on the slide and found himself bent over because the toy slid his hands partway down the slide. He was worried for a minute but then I cheered him on and he decided to go ahead and try to go down. Then he realized it was fun! He did it over and over again for a few minutes. Seems like that is the preferred way to use the slide now.

Wednesday I took some flashcards that have colors and shapes on them. I took the eleven cards from the stack that have a paint swatch of color and then the name of the color below. I placed those cards in two rows in front of Andrew and randomly asked him where each color is. He nailed it! He got every one of them right... but I dont know if he knows the color by itself or not because I'm pretty sure he was reading the words to find the answer!

I dont remember which day it was, but I was finishing up some work on the computer. I heard Andrew come down the hallway. He stood in the door way of the office, with a very serious look on his face he hit his chest with his palm and then pointed down the hallway. I apologized to him that I didn't know what he was signing. He did it a couple of more times and then I got up and followed him so that he could show me. He did what he usually does.. walks over and points at the tv. He wanted to watch one of his videos. I told him he already knew the answer to that... he watches one video before each nap time and that is it.  It took me another day to realize that the hand on the chest was him saying please!! How sweet is that?! I'm having a difficult time remembering what all the correct
signs are - nevermind the ones Andrew has for them all!

I love how he studies some of his toys and books. 

He likes to drive his little fire engine push/ride toy around. He tries to drive it up onto things.. like the cat scratcher, or a suitcase, or anything that is a few inches high. Friday morning he brought it to me and asked me to chase him with it. He's so cute when he runs.

Andrew loves to be picked up by the arms and swung around. This week Ted taught him how to spin himself around in circles. 

He still loves to climb into the laundry basket and play in the laundry. The other day he laid down in it pretending to take a nap, then he tossed clothes out, then just sat in it and played.

Tonight (Saturday) there was a congregation get together and "no-talent" show. Andrew had a blast! When we first got there most people were outside playing on the playground (it was close to 60 degrees today!) Then after dinner it was the inside entertainment. There are a lot of young ones who play guitar and sing and even write songs. Then other young ones were singing along to recorded music and some choreographed dancing. Andrew danced his little heart away! He was quite a socialite too - sharing his food, sharing his sippy cup, pushing chairs and climbing on chairs, saying hi to everyone, even get a teenage girl to dance with him! Then he'd come running to hug Ted or me and then go back to playing. At one point he discovered his shirt had a small picture of a cement truck on it.  I saw him go running across the room pulling on the picture to show Jade and her uncle Andy. Then I see his arms going up and down as he's signing "car" so I could only assume he was telling them about the truck on his shirt. I also saw him signing 'mom' and 'dad' and 'please' to other people although I have no idea what the conversations were about.  He was so well behaved and fun. I didn't take very many pictures of him.. I wish I had. He's so adorable.