"Andrew's Working"

I don't think I remembered to blog this earlier. Several days ago, Andrew started to gag a lot. I dont know how much of it is real and how much of it is for something to do.  One time I know it was real.. ha ha.. he had pooped in his diaper and when I took it off he got a whiff of it and immediately started to gag.

Several weeks ago, we mailed a box to Grandma and I had let Andrew color on the outside to decorate it. Now, anytime I put a box together, he asks if it's for Grandma and if he can color it. He even got a priority box out of my office closet and brought it to me saying, "grandma!" ... he wanted to mail more so he could color the box and take it to the post office.
We also hung out with Aunt Eese one day and did a run through the grocery store. There was a wall of Hot Wheels for 99 cents each. I know I've seen them cheaper elsewhere at times but I figured it didn't hurt and I let him pick one out.  Annelise ended up buying it for him so I told him in the car it was a present from Aunt Eese. He didn't let go of that concept! Not long after I got a box in the mail that had a toy for Andrew in it and I told him it was a present from mommy and daddy. Now, every time we get a box delivered to the door, Andrew picks it up... "present? present??"  And since we gave away nearly all of his toys not too long ago, we've been splurging a little bit to give him some new things to play with. (everything we buy is a super good deal, on sale, and sometimes with coupons on top of the sale.) But I think he's getting a bit spoiled this month!!

His second night in the toddler bed, he fell out at midnight. We heard the thud and Ted darted in there like a rocket and found Andrew sitting on the floor a little dazed as to what had happened. He comforted him a little bit and set him back in bed and he went back to sleep.

He's done really well staying in his bed. There has only been one day that I recall where he wouldnt. I think it was this past Sunday. I put him down for his nap, Ted went to bed, and I sat on the couch to study.  He's in there chattering away, and soon I hear toys clinking. So I go in there and he has the lights on and toys out. I gently remind him that its time to be in bed with no toys, and to go to sleep.  A few minutes go by and I can tell he's out playing. So I go in, lights are off this time. I tell him to get back in bed and go to sleep, that he can play with toys after nap.  A few minutes go by - he's not out playing on the floor - he's delightfully jumping in the bed.  So I go back in there with the realization that he's obviously not going to sleep so I just made him go potty and told him to go play in the living room.

Wednesday morning, we had to run some errands. One of them was going to Kroger and getting some groceries.  I discovered they have child-sized shopping carts! Perfect!! So Andrew pushed his little cart around as I filled it with milk and meat. He was SO GOOD! I'd tell him to turn left or turn right and he would. After getting milk, I pointed to the meat counter and told him we had to go over there to get daddy some lunch meat. He took off in that direction. I stopped for a second to read a label on a cereal box and he kept on going. I catch up to him as he stops in front of the meat counter. He ditched the cart for a moment to play with a pole that was standing there, but when we got our meat, he was back on duty! If I told him to stop and wait at any point, he just stood there with the cart waiting for me.  He was just so cute.. next time I'll have to be sure to take my camera with me.

It was actually really warm this Wednesday afternoon so once we got home, we played in the yard a bit. At one point he found a long stick in the yard. I heard him poke the ground a few times with it and saying, "Andrew is working."  He loves to work and be helpful. Even if its pushing the chair up to the sink to put your glass gently in the sink. Or to help you spread the peanut butter on his bread.
He pushes the chair back under the table every time he gets down from the chair after dinner. He usually turns the light off when he leaves his room. He loves to put laundry in the washer or carry it out from the dryer. He'll shut off toys when he's done with them. And of course, it's his job to let the kitty in and out.

He says, "excuse me" after sneezing.. he picked that up all on his own!

He wanted me to take some pictures of him. So I let him choose a chair for a couple, and then he got some pictures with his favorite invention: the vacuum cleaner.