We have a new place to eat in town that features Chicago favorite plates and sandwiches. I ordered a Reuben and Andrew ordered grilled cheese. He actually preferred my reuben to his cheese sandwich!
He's getting pretty good at getting dressed and undressed all by himself! Sometimes he has a hard time getting his arms out of his sleeves. Sometimes too he gets his arms out the head hole and pulls the shirt down over his body rather than just take it off over his head.
He is also starting to have opinions about what he wears. I tried to put a hawaiian shirt on him the other day. He said, "mommy, I don't like this shirt. I don't want to wear it." He's done the same thing a few other times. He loves it when I ask him if he'd like to pick out what to wear and I hold him up to choose his shirt from his closet. Of course, he usually picks one, and as I get it off the hanger he changes his mind to another one.
Tuesday evening I had a ticket to get into the consignment presale. I didn't need any clothes for him, just a better pair of shoes for right now. I walked past the game table and ended up buying a bunch of new games for him. Two large canvas bags full! I did find a size 9.5 shoe for him to wear right now, and a narrower size 10 to have in a few months. When I was in line to check out, I was next to the toys and saw a bag of nice and big dinosaurs. He loves dinosaurs so I grabbed them. He was in bed when I got home.
Wednesday morning Andrew woke me up as usual. I told him to go look on his little table (I had set out just one of the dinosaurs for him to find.) He came running back to me, "It's a DINOSAUR!" Then I gave him the rest of them. He lined them all up on his little table. He pretty much talked to them non-stop while he was eating his yogurt. He was even offering them bites, "do you want a bite? do you want a pretend bite? nom nom nom" as he held the spoon close to the dinosaur's mouth. So cute.
Friday I had a rough day so Ted took me out to dinner at Olive Garden. Andrew ordered the Shrimp Mezzaluna (moon shaped ravioli) and a bowl of Chicken Gnocchi soup. Then he kept asking, "Is he going to bring us some bread?" When he brought our food, Andrew was served last. Before offering him the plate, though, Andrew asked "where's my shrimp?" The waiter responded "oh no! I forgot your shrimp!" Andrew looked puzzled and disappointed and was at a complete loss as to what to say or how to react. Even after the waiter said he was kidding, Andrew was confused by it all. There is no kidding around with Andrew. He ate all of his shrimp, a few bites of the ravioli, and almost the entire bowl of soup and a whole breadstick that evening. When I gave him some of it again on Saturday, he looked at his ravioli and asked, "where is the shrimp?!"
Saturday out in the ministry, they were visiting with an old friend who has major health problems and doesn't get out much anymore. Andrew didn't listen to daddy and wandered off into the tall grass and fell over a concrete block and rocks hiding in the grass. He scraped up the inside of his thigh and apparently was inconsolable. They went to Target and Ted bought some spray on neosporin and a bandage and cleaned him up in the Target bathroom. Ted told me that Andrew was crying so hard that he was surprised no one thought he was kidnapping Andrew. They called it a day at that point and went home. It took Andrew a while to walk normally with the huge bandage on his leg.
He's been stopping us in conversation more lately asking us to talk to him instead.
Sunday we had some friends over for dinner. Right after we sat down to eat something made everyone laugh really loud and of course Andrew chimed in. Then Fred Arnold pretended to cry and Ann says, "look, you made Fred cry." Andrew immediately stopped laughing and had a very concerned look on his face and looking at Fred solemnly says, "I'm sorry." Then Fred stopped pretending to cry and Andrew asks, "Fred, are you all done crying? Are you all better?" His kindness and sincerity were so touching, I nearly cried myself for real. It melted everyone's heart to witness it.
Andrew really struggles to fall asleep at night.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Slip Sliding Away... to the Emergency Room
I'm always impressed with what Andrew remembers. I hardly ever wear makeup, wear lipstick maybe once or twice a year, and hardly ever even put on lip gloss. Tuesday morning, Andrew comes in my room carrying what is actually parts to a broken castor wheel from a light stand. There is a little black metal tube and then a knob. He put the knob on top of the tube and then pulled it out and dabbed it on his lips and said, "Mommy, I have stick on my lips." (lipstick) I'm intrigued too with how his mind can take what he's seen and heard - and break it up. He didn't repeat what I would have told him "I'm wearing lipstick or lipgloss" ... he broke it down himself into stick that goes on lips, therefore, he's wearing stick on his lips.
I was writing a message to Annelise and I asked Andrew if he wanted to add anything. "Yes. Hmmm. I like Chicken. Tell her about Chicken." LOL I love how random that was.
Friday after school, we made a run through Lowe's to pick up some parts daddy needed. As we were walking through the store, somehow Andrew slipped or tripped and fell on his face. Even more puzzling, is that he split his chin open. As he walked toward me, arms out and wailing, I noticed the underside of his chin gaping open. I sat on the floor, in the middle of the store and just held him and rocked him. I lifted the bottom of my shirt and tried to hold it to his chin but it made him cry harder. Daddy had dropped everything and run to the bathroom to get toilet paper, but he wouldn't let us hold that to him either. So, we let him bleed. We left everything with an employee standing by and headed straight to the hospital. He screamed all the way there and kept saying, "I don't want to go to the hospital!" He finally calmed down as we approached the hospital. We don't see an emergency entrance anywhere, so we had to go in and ask where to go. We just had to go a little farther around the hospital. We got him checked in and went to find a seat. They all looked filthy dirty. He announced he was hungry (it's after 5 by now) and we had no food or snacks on hand. He picked out a package of fruit snacks from the vending machine and ate those, quite content and happy. He got called into Triage to get checked out - he was scared to sit in the chair for them until we said it was like playing doctor. They took his temperature and everything like that, then sent us back into the waiting room since no hospital beds were ready. It was an entire hour from when we got there and when they got a room ready for him. About 15 minutes before we got called into a room, I sent Ted to find food. He brought back Hardees chicken wraps, a hotdog, and a burger. The nurse and doctor were GREAT with him. They put a numbing gel on some gauze and taped it to his chin. Ted applied a little pressure to it while we fed him a hotdog and some fries and some chicken wrap. They gave us a choice of using stitches or a lot of glue. We opted for the glue just so we wouldn't have to come back and have the stitches removed and traumatize Andrew all over again. I explained to Andrew what was going to happen and that he was safe, and that it was okay to be scared. He was trying really hard to be brave. I left the room when they were ready to work on him, I knew they'd have to hold him down and still and I was certain he would cry and stare right at me looking for a rescue. He was a CHAMP. He calmed right down and talked with the nurse and doctor the entire procedure. He still had to be still and lying down for ten minutes after they were done to allow the glue to set. He did not like that, but I talked to him about the glue and explained how it worked and that it was different from the "white glue" he uses at home. Boy was he ready to leave when it was all done.. we were there for three full hours. We promised him ice cream when we got home.
Earlier on Friday, Ann Arnold had brought over a wooden train table. I hid all the wooden tracks and trains and just set his plastic thomas train sets on the table. When we got home from the hospital it was 9pm and it was the first time he was seeing it. He came around the couch, stopped, and said, "oh! Wow!" Very pleased!
I had also purchased several toddler board games that arrived on Friday and I put them in a game cabinet that Andrew can reach. Saturday he had slept in until 9am (unheard of!) and thus went down for an afternoon nap late. I wasn't sure he'd even go down, but I told him if he goes to sleep, I'd show him a new game when he woke up. Boy was he excited! I played a couple of the new games with him, and then when my next photoshoot arrived, Daddy had a turn playing all the new games. He's very pleased to have new things to do.
Andrew sings nearly all day when he's home. Whatever he is doing, he is singing as well. Usually it's "where is Thumbkin" that Papa taught him, and the "Listen, Obey, and Be Blessed" song. He knows the entire chorus and parts of some of the verses. One line he starts off singing correctly and then it changes as he gets involved in an activity. "If you'd be happy and enter his rest.." becomes "If you'd be happy and enter his friends..." I know I've done that before. I'll have a song stuck in my head and later realize my brain has changed the words to something similar.
Sunday after the meeting, he took a couple of new friends and daddy into the back school and gave three talks at the podium! In one of them he asked his audience to "open to Matthew 24"
He also explained to me twice this week that girls are "sisters" and boys are "brothers" and would name off people in the congregation and tell me if they were a brother or a sister. I'm guessing they discussed family relationships in school - but since he hears 'brother' and 'sister' at Kingdom Hall, he has made the connection outside of the family unit as well.
I was writing a message to Annelise and I asked Andrew if he wanted to add anything. "Yes. Hmmm. I like Chicken. Tell her about Chicken." LOL I love how random that was.
Friday after school, we made a run through Lowe's to pick up some parts daddy needed. As we were walking through the store, somehow Andrew slipped or tripped and fell on his face. Even more puzzling, is that he split his chin open. As he walked toward me, arms out and wailing, I noticed the underside of his chin gaping open. I sat on the floor, in the middle of the store and just held him and rocked him. I lifted the bottom of my shirt and tried to hold it to his chin but it made him cry harder. Daddy had dropped everything and run to the bathroom to get toilet paper, but he wouldn't let us hold that to him either. So, we let him bleed. We left everything with an employee standing by and headed straight to the hospital. He screamed all the way there and kept saying, "I don't want to go to the hospital!" He finally calmed down as we approached the hospital. We don't see an emergency entrance anywhere, so we had to go in and ask where to go. We just had to go a little farther around the hospital. We got him checked in and went to find a seat. They all looked filthy dirty. He announced he was hungry (it's after 5 by now) and we had no food or snacks on hand. He picked out a package of fruit snacks from the vending machine and ate those, quite content and happy. He got called into Triage to get checked out - he was scared to sit in the chair for them until we said it was like playing doctor. They took his temperature and everything like that, then sent us back into the waiting room since no hospital beds were ready. It was an entire hour from when we got there and when they got a room ready for him. About 15 minutes before we got called into a room, I sent Ted to find food. He brought back Hardees chicken wraps, a hotdog, and a burger. The nurse and doctor were GREAT with him. They put a numbing gel on some gauze and taped it to his chin. Ted applied a little pressure to it while we fed him a hotdog and some fries and some chicken wrap. They gave us a choice of using stitches or a lot of glue. We opted for the glue just so we wouldn't have to come back and have the stitches removed and traumatize Andrew all over again. I explained to Andrew what was going to happen and that he was safe, and that it was okay to be scared. He was trying really hard to be brave. I left the room when they were ready to work on him, I knew they'd have to hold him down and still and I was certain he would cry and stare right at me looking for a rescue. He was a CHAMP. He calmed right down and talked with the nurse and doctor the entire procedure. He still had to be still and lying down for ten minutes after they were done to allow the glue to set. He did not like that, but I talked to him about the glue and explained how it worked and that it was different from the "white glue" he uses at home. Boy was he ready to leave when it was all done.. we were there for three full hours. We promised him ice cream when we got home.
Earlier on Friday, Ann Arnold had brought over a wooden train table. I hid all the wooden tracks and trains and just set his plastic thomas train sets on the table. When we got home from the hospital it was 9pm and it was the first time he was seeing it. He came around the couch, stopped, and said, "oh! Wow!" Very pleased!
I had also purchased several toddler board games that arrived on Friday and I put them in a game cabinet that Andrew can reach. Saturday he had slept in until 9am (unheard of!) and thus went down for an afternoon nap late. I wasn't sure he'd even go down, but I told him if he goes to sleep, I'd show him a new game when he woke up. Boy was he excited! I played a couple of the new games with him, and then when my next photoshoot arrived, Daddy had a turn playing all the new games. He's very pleased to have new things to do.
Andrew sings nearly all day when he's home. Whatever he is doing, he is singing as well. Usually it's "where is Thumbkin" that Papa taught him, and the "Listen, Obey, and Be Blessed" song. He knows the entire chorus and parts of some of the verses. One line he starts off singing correctly and then it changes as he gets involved in an activity. "If you'd be happy and enter his rest.." becomes "If you'd be happy and enter his friends..." I know I've done that before. I'll have a song stuck in my head and later realize my brain has changed the words to something similar.
Sunday after the meeting, he took a couple of new friends and daddy into the back school and gave three talks at the podium! In one of them he asked his audience to "open to Matthew 24"
He also explained to me twice this week that girls are "sisters" and boys are "brothers" and would name off people in the congregation and tell me if they were a brother or a sister. I'm guessing they discussed family relationships in school - but since he hears 'brother' and 'sister' at Kingdom Hall, he has made the connection outside of the family unit as well.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Playing in the Rain
I forgot to mention that while we were at the zoo, Andrew asked what the elephant's name was. We told him we didn't know, but asked him what name he would give the elephant. He thought for a minute and then announced, "Novat." (or Novato or something similar.)
When he is cold, he says, "Mommy, I'm cold. I'm sugaring." (shivering)
He's also being a punk lately. We are apparently not giving him enough attention, so he deliberately does something he knows he's not supposed to do or that irritates us - just to illicit a reaction out of us. Sunday morning he was mad at me because I wouldn't let him watch a video. I pulled out the Great Teacher book so we could read a little together and when he got upset about something he looked right in my face and started singing "Magic Magic" and "Happy Birday" because he knows we've told him not to sing those anymore. He knows exactly what he's doing. He'll even recite to you that he's not supposed to throw the ball in the house, that you can roll it - but he'll throw it up anyway. Or kick the cat. Or break the crayons. Or be a really loud train. Or just yell and scream when you ask him nicely to pick up the blocks that he's done playing with and correct him when he says 'no' instead. Or when he's in time out on the couch for doing one of the above, and you come sit in front of him to talk about whatever just happened two minutes ago - he will just make a humming noise and open and close his eyes without ever looking at you (pretending to be Momo the clock.)
*sigh* I am failing miserably. I know why he is doing all these things. People say it's just a normal part of being two... I disagree. It's because he wants (and needs) some attention and we've been too busy and focused on other chores around the house, that he is getting pushed to the side too much. He's a wonderful little boy when we get down on the floor and play for a while, or run around outside, or read books he picks out. I know he needs more of that, and it's just been crazy around here lately. I've been so chemically sick that I have no energy. So it's not often that I can play basketball with him in his room, or chase him down the hallway, or practice bowling in the hallway, or even just have a tickle fest rolling around on the floor like we used to just a few months ago. I've been forcing myself to just try and keep up with laundry and dishes and cleaning up... that sitting down to play isn't the habit right now. And I know that is why he is acting out. I think kids act out when things are feeling unsettled around them.. I dont think it's ALL just about the age and hormones and testing boundaries.
And when Daddy is around, Andrew wants nothing to do with me half the time anyway. At the hall, he got in trouble for something and when he got back to his seat, I just gently rubbed his arm and smiled at him. He pulled it away and slugged me. Later his pant leg was partially up so I just gave it a gentle tug so that it'd fall back down over his sock. He looked at me and said, "Stop it mommy." and then yanked his other pant leg up over his knee and stared at me as if he dared me to try it with that leg.
Tuesday was a good day. I wanted to devote the entire day to Andrew, and thankfully I woke up with enough energy to do that. I let him watch a Leap Frog video in the early morning, and then he typed on the computer to Nana and Daddy with me. He tried to have one meltdown and I just looked at him and asked, "do you need a hug?" He smiled, said 'yes' and threw himself into my lap for a hug. After that he was fine.
There was a music class at Shipwrecked at 10:30, so we showered and got ready. We were there at 10 which gave him some time to play first. Only 12 kids were allowed in the class which was nice since the place was packed. Andrew really enjoyed the interactive class that taught rhythms through vocals and movements. It was fun. We met daddy for lunch afterward and I told him we'd go play somewhere after lunch too. I stopped at a consignment store to buy him a new pair of shoes (size 10!) before heading to a new play place called The Monkey's Treehouse. We stayed there for a couple of hours. That particular place was toxic to me - smelled like an overuse of chemicals. He enjoyed it for the most part and he certainly enjoyed having mommy to play with all day too. When we got home at 4, I let him ride his tricycle around a bit. Then he found a deflated tube for the pool and wanted to take it to his little pool. So we did. He tried really hard to be patient while I blew the tube up. It's a little floaty that looks kind of like a jetski except that you sit in it instead of on it. He called it his boat and his ark. He had a blast making waves with it in his pool. And he was so sweet and kind. He'd come out of the pool to come say hello and give me a hug and ask how I'm doing. When daddy got home, he'd come up the step and say, "Good morning daddy." and give him a hug and a kiss too. Just as sweet as could be. (obviously, a day of undivided attention did him well.)
When we came in, it was with the offer of playing some games. First up was Operation. He did not like the buzzing so he would read all the cards and tell daddy which piece to get out, daddy would get the piece out and set it on the side. Then Andrew would use the tool to pick it up and set it on the rug. He'd even "buzzz" daddy when he was trying to concentrate on getting a piece out! Silly boy. Next up was a game of connect four. He didnt understand that he should try and block daddy from getting 4 in a row - so they just had fun filling all the circles up over and over. I gave him a plate of shrimp and cup of veggie chocolate milk to eat while they played. Then it was on to Don't Wake Daddy. It seemed like Andrew got sent back to start the most, and Daddy won 2 out of 3 games. Mommy won once. Andrew didn't care though - he had fun playing.
We tried to practice reading afterward and he really didn't want to. He tried being silly by shouting the words like a military commander or something, or just skipping lines or repeating lines on purpose just to annoy daddy. So.. we quit and got him ready for bed. He did really well all day for it being full of activity and only a 10 minute nap in the car on the way home.
Wednesday, all the way to school, Andrew kept asking me how to say different things in Spanish. Guess I need to find my Spanish dictionary! I can't remember most of the words he asked me, but the last two were "bank" and "everyone" .. I knew bank, but wasn't sure about everyone.
Thursday it was pouring rain in the morning. When it tapered down to a drizzle, Andrew really wanted to go outside and couldn't believe it when I said, "okay.. go ahead." Without a word, he stood up and looked at me like he didn't believe me, then quietly but swiftly walked toward the door still watching my face to see if I was serious or was going to stop him. He paused at the door like he was waiting for me to tell him I was kidding and I told him "go ahead!" He went out the door and a few seconds later I hear a squeal of sheer delight. He was stark naked and having a grand old time. A few minutes later he comes back "sugaring" cold. So he puts on underwear, a long t-shirt, a rain coat, socks and boots. Evidently, the raincoat really was just a light jacket because he came back soaked. So I took the jacket off and went hunting in the closet for a real raincoat. I finally found one - in kids size 5. I rolled the sleeves under and sent him back out in the rain. He looked so cute. He played at the sand and water table for a while, and then he noticed the sump pump shooting water out by the edge of the house. He screamed with delight and told me there was "another wave coming!" and he had his tiny toy bucket in hand ready for it. He was so excited when "the waves" spit out again! He sure loved being outside in the rain. I guess the raincoat had never been washed before, because when I took it off of him, the shoulder of his yellow shirt was now dyed pink, as was part of his hair, and his knees from the red plain in the lining of the coat.
Andrew went fishing through the box of plastic to be recycled and found an empty smartwater bottle. He asked me if he could have it and I consented. He started to move his step stool to the bathroom sink. I knew it wouldn't fit so I had him come to the refrigerator (we just replaced the water filter so the water would be good now). I showed him the "straw" that comes out of the fridge door and showed him how to put the straw in the bottle and then use his other hand to press the lever to get water out. I knew he wasn't paying attention as he was trying to grab the bottle and tell me he wanted to do it himself. And sure enough, when he tried, he got water everywhere because the straw wasn't in the bottle. So I told him he has to follow the directions, and showed him again. Now there was probably a quarter cup of water in it. I told him he could drink it. He frowned and said, "no, this is old water." and went and poured it out in the sink. He did successfully get some water the second time and said, "see! I followed directions!" I'm guessing he learned about "old water" when he'd reached for a sippy cup or a cup of water on the counter and I stopped him and told him it's old water and that I'd get him fresh water.
"Good morning mommy!!" Andrew says coming out of the bathroom and giving my legs a hug. "good afternoon sweetheart." "Good afternoon. Do you know what is 'good afternoon' in Spanish?" "Uhm.. I think it's Buenas Dias, can you say Buenas Dias?" "Buenas Dias!!" he says with a big smile.
Andrew has a little train station that doesn't actually go with any of his train tracks. The roof opens up as a storage place. He put two trains in there and asked, "are the trains in the oven?" I got all excited about having train cupcakes to eat. Then he did too! He took out two train cupcakes and brought them over for me to taste... "delicious!"
I downloaded all the vocal songs from the "Sing to Jehovah" book. I opened one on the computer and when Andrew heard it he smiled and excitedly said, "It's the assembly!!" Ted thinks its noteworthy to mention that Andrew sings "in tone, not monotone" though I don't particularly remember him being monotone.
Thursday evening, Andrew decided he was done being nice. We'd been reading books and playing in his room. All of a sudden he started throwing toys across the room. First his train track. I asked him if we are supposed to throw toys. He told me no. I suggested that he forgot. Then he threw the tunnel to his track and looked at my face. I told him that we need to be nice to our toys, please to stop throwing them and take care of them, and that if he can't, I would take the toys away. He picked up something else, something small, and threw it. So I got up and collected the train track and tunnel. He asked if it was broken and I said no. He asked, "are you taking it away?" I said yes and reminded him of my warning. As I was walking down the hallway away from his room, he stood in his doorway and screamed once at me. I turned around and firmly stated, "No!" and he stopped. As I was turning my back to him again I saw him start reaching for his door like he was going to slam it shut. I heard something get in the way that slowed down the slam. Then I heard a cry - a cry of pain. Sure enough, his big toe got in the way and he busted the toe nail. He hobbled to me, big toe bleeding. And now in an effort to keep him calm and off his toe (as I just experienced this same pain just a couple of weeks ago!) he is getting a video marathon. Oh well.
Friday Andrew came home from school wearing a shirt that he had tie dyed - he did a good job! Its neon yellow and green. Friday evening, Andrew got to try T-ball for the first time. I bought him a flexible and adjustable t-stand and it's perfect for him. He can hit the ball pretty far! And he loves it!
Ted was brushing Andrew's teeth and asked him "What's your most favorite thing?" Andrew answered, "Sports!" Ted was so proud! He is pretty good at everything he does. His uncle Adam was that way too as I remember. Andrew is good at basketball, soccer, t-ball....
Andrew had his mega-bloks all over the floor after having us build things with him. When it was time to clean up, he went and got his plastic rake and shovel. Raked the blocks a little bit and then used the shovel to put the bloks back in the container.
When he is cold, he says, "Mommy, I'm cold. I'm sugaring." (shivering)
He's also being a punk lately. We are apparently not giving him enough attention, so he deliberately does something he knows he's not supposed to do or that irritates us - just to illicit a reaction out of us. Sunday morning he was mad at me because I wouldn't let him watch a video. I pulled out the Great Teacher book so we could read a little together and when he got upset about something he looked right in my face and started singing "Magic Magic" and "Happy Birday" because he knows we've told him not to sing those anymore. He knows exactly what he's doing. He'll even recite to you that he's not supposed to throw the ball in the house, that you can roll it - but he'll throw it up anyway. Or kick the cat. Or break the crayons. Or be a really loud train. Or just yell and scream when you ask him nicely to pick up the blocks that he's done playing with and correct him when he says 'no' instead. Or when he's in time out on the couch for doing one of the above, and you come sit in front of him to talk about whatever just happened two minutes ago - he will just make a humming noise and open and close his eyes without ever looking at you (pretending to be Momo the clock.)
*sigh* I am failing miserably. I know why he is doing all these things. People say it's just a normal part of being two... I disagree. It's because he wants (and needs) some attention and we've been too busy and focused on other chores around the house, that he is getting pushed to the side too much. He's a wonderful little boy when we get down on the floor and play for a while, or run around outside, or read books he picks out. I know he needs more of that, and it's just been crazy around here lately. I've been so chemically sick that I have no energy. So it's not often that I can play basketball with him in his room, or chase him down the hallway, or practice bowling in the hallway, or even just have a tickle fest rolling around on the floor like we used to just a few months ago. I've been forcing myself to just try and keep up with laundry and dishes and cleaning up... that sitting down to play isn't the habit right now. And I know that is why he is acting out. I think kids act out when things are feeling unsettled around them.. I dont think it's ALL just about the age and hormones and testing boundaries.
And when Daddy is around, Andrew wants nothing to do with me half the time anyway. At the hall, he got in trouble for something and when he got back to his seat, I just gently rubbed his arm and smiled at him. He pulled it away and slugged me. Later his pant leg was partially up so I just gave it a gentle tug so that it'd fall back down over his sock. He looked at me and said, "Stop it mommy." and then yanked his other pant leg up over his knee and stared at me as if he dared me to try it with that leg.
Tuesday was a good day. I wanted to devote the entire day to Andrew, and thankfully I woke up with enough energy to do that. I let him watch a Leap Frog video in the early morning, and then he typed on the computer to Nana and Daddy with me. He tried to have one meltdown and I just looked at him and asked, "do you need a hug?" He smiled, said 'yes' and threw himself into my lap for a hug. After that he was fine.
There was a music class at Shipwrecked at 10:30, so we showered and got ready. We were there at 10 which gave him some time to play first. Only 12 kids were allowed in the class which was nice since the place was packed. Andrew really enjoyed the interactive class that taught rhythms through vocals and movements. It was fun. We met daddy for lunch afterward and I told him we'd go play somewhere after lunch too. I stopped at a consignment store to buy him a new pair of shoes (size 10!) before heading to a new play place called The Monkey's Treehouse. We stayed there for a couple of hours. That particular place was toxic to me - smelled like an overuse of chemicals. He enjoyed it for the most part and he certainly enjoyed having mommy to play with all day too. When we got home at 4, I let him ride his tricycle around a bit. Then he found a deflated tube for the pool and wanted to take it to his little pool. So we did. He tried really hard to be patient while I blew the tube up. It's a little floaty that looks kind of like a jetski except that you sit in it instead of on it. He called it his boat and his ark. He had a blast making waves with it in his pool. And he was so sweet and kind. He'd come out of the pool to come say hello and give me a hug and ask how I'm doing. When daddy got home, he'd come up the step and say, "Good morning daddy." and give him a hug and a kiss too. Just as sweet as could be. (obviously, a day of undivided attention did him well.)
When we came in, it was with the offer of playing some games. First up was Operation. He did not like the buzzing so he would read all the cards and tell daddy which piece to get out, daddy would get the piece out and set it on the side. Then Andrew would use the tool to pick it up and set it on the rug. He'd even "buzzz" daddy when he was trying to concentrate on getting a piece out! Silly boy. Next up was a game of connect four. He didnt understand that he should try and block daddy from getting 4 in a row - so they just had fun filling all the circles up over and over. I gave him a plate of shrimp and cup of veggie chocolate milk to eat while they played. Then it was on to Don't Wake Daddy. It seemed like Andrew got sent back to start the most, and Daddy won 2 out of 3 games. Mommy won once. Andrew didn't care though - he had fun playing.
We tried to practice reading afterward and he really didn't want to. He tried being silly by shouting the words like a military commander or something, or just skipping lines or repeating lines on purpose just to annoy daddy. So.. we quit and got him ready for bed. He did really well all day for it being full of activity and only a 10 minute nap in the car on the way home.
Wednesday, all the way to school, Andrew kept asking me how to say different things in Spanish. Guess I need to find my Spanish dictionary! I can't remember most of the words he asked me, but the last two were "bank" and "everyone" .. I knew bank, but wasn't sure about everyone.
Thursday it was pouring rain in the morning. When it tapered down to a drizzle, Andrew really wanted to go outside and couldn't believe it when I said, "okay.. go ahead." Without a word, he stood up and looked at me like he didn't believe me, then quietly but swiftly walked toward the door still watching my face to see if I was serious or was going to stop him. He paused at the door like he was waiting for me to tell him I was kidding and I told him "go ahead!" He went out the door and a few seconds later I hear a squeal of sheer delight. He was stark naked and having a grand old time. A few minutes later he comes back "sugaring" cold. So he puts on underwear, a long t-shirt, a rain coat, socks and boots. Evidently, the raincoat really was just a light jacket because he came back soaked. So I took the jacket off and went hunting in the closet for a real raincoat. I finally found one - in kids size 5. I rolled the sleeves under and sent him back out in the rain. He looked so cute. He played at the sand and water table for a while, and then he noticed the sump pump shooting water out by the edge of the house. He screamed with delight and told me there was "another wave coming!" and he had his tiny toy bucket in hand ready for it. He was so excited when "the waves" spit out again! He sure loved being outside in the rain. I guess the raincoat had never been washed before, because when I took it off of him, the shoulder of his yellow shirt was now dyed pink, as was part of his hair, and his knees from the red plain in the lining of the coat.
Andrew went fishing through the box of plastic to be recycled and found an empty smartwater bottle. He asked me if he could have it and I consented. He started to move his step stool to the bathroom sink. I knew it wouldn't fit so I had him come to the refrigerator (we just replaced the water filter so the water would be good now). I showed him the "straw" that comes out of the fridge door and showed him how to put the straw in the bottle and then use his other hand to press the lever to get water out. I knew he wasn't paying attention as he was trying to grab the bottle and tell me he wanted to do it himself. And sure enough, when he tried, he got water everywhere because the straw wasn't in the bottle. So I told him he has to follow the directions, and showed him again. Now there was probably a quarter cup of water in it. I told him he could drink it. He frowned and said, "no, this is old water." and went and poured it out in the sink. He did successfully get some water the second time and said, "see! I followed directions!" I'm guessing he learned about "old water" when he'd reached for a sippy cup or a cup of water on the counter and I stopped him and told him it's old water and that I'd get him fresh water.
"Good morning mommy!!" Andrew says coming out of the bathroom and giving my legs a hug. "good afternoon sweetheart." "Good afternoon. Do you know what is 'good afternoon' in Spanish?" "Uhm.. I think it's Buenas Dias, can you say Buenas Dias?" "Buenas Dias!!" he says with a big smile.
Andrew has a little train station that doesn't actually go with any of his train tracks. The roof opens up as a storage place. He put two trains in there and asked, "are the trains in the oven?" I got all excited about having train cupcakes to eat. Then he did too! He took out two train cupcakes and brought them over for me to taste... "delicious!"
I downloaded all the vocal songs from the "Sing to Jehovah" book. I opened one on the computer and when Andrew heard it he smiled and excitedly said, "It's the assembly!!" Ted thinks its noteworthy to mention that Andrew sings "in tone, not monotone" though I don't particularly remember him being monotone.
Thursday evening, Andrew decided he was done being nice. We'd been reading books and playing in his room. All of a sudden he started throwing toys across the room. First his train track. I asked him if we are supposed to throw toys. He told me no. I suggested that he forgot. Then he threw the tunnel to his track and looked at my face. I told him that we need to be nice to our toys, please to stop throwing them and take care of them, and that if he can't, I would take the toys away. He picked up something else, something small, and threw it. So I got up and collected the train track and tunnel. He asked if it was broken and I said no. He asked, "are you taking it away?" I said yes and reminded him of my warning. As I was walking down the hallway away from his room, he stood in his doorway and screamed once at me. I turned around and firmly stated, "No!" and he stopped. As I was turning my back to him again I saw him start reaching for his door like he was going to slam it shut. I heard something get in the way that slowed down the slam. Then I heard a cry - a cry of pain. Sure enough, his big toe got in the way and he busted the toe nail. He hobbled to me, big toe bleeding. And now in an effort to keep him calm and off his toe (as I just experienced this same pain just a couple of weeks ago!) he is getting a video marathon. Oh well.
Friday Andrew came home from school wearing a shirt that he had tie dyed - he did a good job! Its neon yellow and green. Friday evening, Andrew got to try T-ball for the first time. I bought him a flexible and adjustable t-stand and it's perfect for him. He can hit the ball pretty far! And he loves it!
Ted was brushing Andrew's teeth and asked him "What's your most favorite thing?" Andrew answered, "Sports!" Ted was so proud! He is pretty good at everything he does. His uncle Adam was that way too as I remember. Andrew is good at basketball, soccer, t-ball....
Andrew had his mega-bloks all over the floor after having us build things with him. When it was time to clean up, he went and got his plastic rake and shovel. Raked the blocks a little bit and then used the shovel to put the bloks back in the container.
Friday, July 6, 2012
A trip to the Zoo
One thing that Andrew does that I think is funny. Out of the blue, he'll say to someone, "hey, watch this!" and then jump and spin in the air.
He's also getting good at somersaults.
He also likes to tell you all about something he's figured out lately and then ask, "did you know that?"
Sunday we were off to Alabama for the convention. About half an hour into the drive, I asked Andrew if he could remember the Bible Book song starting with Genesis. Not only did he get to Deuteronomy - he continued with, "Joshua, Judges, and the book about Ruth" which blew me away because we had only practiced that line a couple of times the day before. (its 'the book of ruth' but he says about.) Andrew did really well I think. He had a meltdown after lunch, no doubt overtired and hot. Ted got it under control and then he slept for an hour or so on my lap, sweat dripping down my arm from his head. I unbuttoned his shirt so at least most of his body could breathe. One of the first things he said when he woke up, "I need some candy." I'm not sure how he knew daddy had candy in his bookbag, but I told Andrew he couldn't have candy unless he went to sleep. He obviously remembered I said that! So I gave him a couple of dye-free jelly beans, and the rest of his organic chocolate bunny cookies and that got us to the end of the day.
We watched the new "Listen, Obey, and Be Blessed" video that is a little animated video for children. Andrew loves it! It's been a good teaching tool for us too, teaching him what obey means, and that he can make mommy and daddy and Jehovah happy by his choosing to listen and obey. At the end, it tells you to get your song book and sing along as other children are singing the titled song - and he LOVES that. He is learning it quickly.
I'm still trying to teach him that magic is bad - and that video touches on it. I think Andrew saw an episode of Caillou where there was a magic show. Some days he'll walk around singing, "magic magic, what do you do?" although I have not heard any songs related to magic, I think it started before going to preschool. I didn't say anything to him, hoping that it'd go away - but it has resurfaced again lately. So now I'm telling him not to sing about magic, that magic is bad. The video teaches that Satan loves magic.. so I've also been having to try and teach him who that is and why we don't want to please him. Not conversations I anticipated having with a two year old at all.
Monday morning, he locked me out of the bathroom so he could use it. I knocked on the door to ask if he was okay. He hops off the toilet and says, "Oh, Sorry." and unlocks the door to see what I need. He says he's fine and I say, "Okay, carry on." And he closes the door and goes back to business. When he comes out, though, there is a 1/4 of a roll of toilet paper unraveled on the floor, and 1/2 of another roll unraveled. He looks up at me, "Toilet paper is white. And it can go in the toilet and goes down the hole like this (makes flushing noise while demonstrating something swimming down a hole)... did you know that?" He looked a little lost for words when I said, "Yes I did know that."
On the way to school he kept asking about our neighbor Tracy and if he was at ____ (enter every place we passed.) I finally told him to forget Tracy, that I didn't know where he works and to think of someone else, or find something else to talk about. So he starts telling me the other buildings we're passing. Then he's quiet for a minute as we get closer to school. We drive by a Starbucks building and he says, "Mom! There is a place to drink coffee like this (acts like he's holding a tea cup and making the motion and sound of sipping out of a cup), did you know that?!" I said yes and then we turn the corner... " (gasp!) There's aNOTHer Starbuck coffee!" "Yes, there is another Starbuck's Coffee place, it's inside the Kroger Marketplace." "It's inside the Kroger!" he says with wonderment.
Wednesday was July 4th and daddy was off work and there was no school, so we planned a trip to the zoo. Andrew wasn't as interested as we thought he'd be. We let him climb all over the playground first, and then he got thirsty. (It was 90 degrees before 9am) They gave us two options for drinks with unlimited refills - frozen drinks that were no doubt full of sugar and food coloring, or sodas. You couldn't choose both, just one or the other. Ted opted for frozen. Of course, Andrew got a hold of it and was chugging away at it. He didn't want to go look for animals, he just wanted to drink that sugary drink! We kept walking and went to the dinosaur exhibit. He wasn't scared of any of it, but a couple of them made him nervous. They were pretty realistic. Once we were done with that, we headed for the elephants. Along the way was a carousel that he desperately wanted to ride on. We didn't feel like paying a dollar for the ride and Andrew had quite a meltdown about it. Then we went into a bird sanctuary and paid a dollar for a tiny amount of nectar to feed the birds. Another lady had two birds on her and she kindly passed them off onto Andrew and Ted so they could feed them. Andrew liked it, but he was nervous at the same time. Andrew was still bent on riding the carousel and I finally had to tell him, we could either look for animals, or go home. We continued on to the animals. Eventually, though, it started all over again but with a train. It's just silly to me to have to pay extra for the rides (and the dinosaur exhibit) when we're there to see the animals. Andrew fought us, and fought hard. But we pressed on. It was 102 degrees, and I was not feeling well at all, and having Andrew drag his feet and whine about not riding the carousel and train made it all the more exhausting. He liked the elephants, the leopard cubs, the flamingos and the meerkats the most. However, if you ask him what his favorite part of the zoo was - he'd say the dinosaurs.
Thursday he was rather defiant and mean - no doubt from the sugar and food coloring the day before. Food coloring makes him evil. In the afternoon, Ted was washing his truck and Andrew kept being disobedient. I dont know what all happened but he kept spraying Ted and doing things Ted told him not to, and then went and got Ted's gnome and smashed it to the ground more than once just to spite Ted. Before I know it I have a very upset daddy sending a very upset little boy inside who is then yelling and screaming and crying and kicking everything and then slamming his door over and over. I was able to diffuse him pretty quickly thank goodness and we talked about what was going on and what he was feeling. I'm sure it was from the junk he had at the zoo.
Friday he was off to school again. On the way in, all of a sudden he says, "hot bam!" We have no idea where that came from! And the first time he said it, it did not sound like bam! The second time it did. We didn't bring any attention to it - just looked puzzled at each other as our happy little boy skipped along the sidewalk. (This is the second time we've heard him say a profanity) Then we went inside to have breakfast together even though he'd eaten at home already. We had an easy drop off as he enjoys going to school now. We went to get him around 4:20 in the afternoon. The minute we walk in the door we hear from behind the front desk, "was that your little boy who was reading to me today?!" and all of a sudden there were a bunch of people telling us how impressed they were with Andrew and his reading abilities. Then we get to his classroom and hear it all again. They told us, "I know you told us he could read, but we thought you meant just some usual sight words... we had no idea!" They were so impressed with his level of reading that they actually took him from class to class today to show him off. She said they were having him read all the signs and stuff in every classroom so that the other teachers and students could see him read. They are very excited to have him to work with. One of his teachers has been teaching for 20 years and she said she's only had three as smart as him. She told me that he's probably going to be bored when he gets to kindergarten.. but here, when they start their curriculum in August - she is going to be putting him to work having him read to other students with her, and bring in workbooks just for him. She is really excited about it. I told her it's all been of his own initiative - he is always asking what things are. She said that he asks questions to them all day long too. They also said that in circle time they were counting and Andrew jumped up and yelled, "I can count to thirty!" all excited. He can actually count to forty without help.. but obviously was pretty pleased with himself counting with his classmates today.
On the way home from school, we stopped by Lowes and bought him a little baby pool. At first he didn't realize what we were doing. Ted picked up one of the baby pools out front and walked inside. I told Andrew that it was for him. He paused for a moment and then took off running. There was an elderly lady standing inside the entrance and Andrew leaped in front of her and yelled, "I'm getting a new pool!!" and then kept on running. She got a big grin on her face (having absolutely no idea what just happened) and looked at me all puzzled. Then he caught up to another gentleman and yelled "that pool is for me!" and then kept on running to catch up to daddy at the cash register. His old baby pool had cracked on the bottom, so we put the new one inside the old one for added stability and filled it up. Andrew could hardly get his swimsuit and swim shoes on fast enough to go play in it. He had a blast splashing, kicking, blowing bubbles, and jumping in the water.
Also on the way home from school he started singing,"happy bird-ay" which we are assuming is birthday. I know two girls in his class recently had birthdays - so I'm guessing they sang the song in class or something.
He is going to bed pretty easily for us.. brushing his teeth, getting his "pajammies" on and crawling into bed on his own. But he's not staying asleep all night. He wakes up a few times almost every night. It's been going on for several weeks now.. I really hope he grows out of that. Sometimes when he wakes up crying and one of us goes in to tuck him back in - his pillow is wet with sweat. So I'm guessing his wild imagination is producing bad dreams?
Andrew thinks about other people, a lot. Every day he asks about someone and where are they and what are they doing. He is definitely a people person.
He's also getting good at somersaults.
He also likes to tell you all about something he's figured out lately and then ask, "did you know that?"
Sunday we were off to Alabama for the convention. About half an hour into the drive, I asked Andrew if he could remember the Bible Book song starting with Genesis. Not only did he get to Deuteronomy - he continued with, "Joshua, Judges, and the book about Ruth" which blew me away because we had only practiced that line a couple of times the day before. (its 'the book of ruth' but he says about.) Andrew did really well I think. He had a meltdown after lunch, no doubt overtired and hot. Ted got it under control and then he slept for an hour or so on my lap, sweat dripping down my arm from his head. I unbuttoned his shirt so at least most of his body could breathe. One of the first things he said when he woke up, "I need some candy." I'm not sure how he knew daddy had candy in his bookbag, but I told Andrew he couldn't have candy unless he went to sleep. He obviously remembered I said that! So I gave him a couple of dye-free jelly beans, and the rest of his organic chocolate bunny cookies and that got us to the end of the day.
We watched the new "Listen, Obey, and Be Blessed" video that is a little animated video for children. Andrew loves it! It's been a good teaching tool for us too, teaching him what obey means, and that he can make mommy and daddy and Jehovah happy by his choosing to listen and obey. At the end, it tells you to get your song book and sing along as other children are singing the titled song - and he LOVES that. He is learning it quickly.
I'm still trying to teach him that magic is bad - and that video touches on it. I think Andrew saw an episode of Caillou where there was a magic show. Some days he'll walk around singing, "magic magic, what do you do?" although I have not heard any songs related to magic, I think it started before going to preschool. I didn't say anything to him, hoping that it'd go away - but it has resurfaced again lately. So now I'm telling him not to sing about magic, that magic is bad. The video teaches that Satan loves magic.. so I've also been having to try and teach him who that is and why we don't want to please him. Not conversations I anticipated having with a two year old at all.
Monday morning, he locked me out of the bathroom so he could use it. I knocked on the door to ask if he was okay. He hops off the toilet and says, "Oh, Sorry." and unlocks the door to see what I need. He says he's fine and I say, "Okay, carry on." And he closes the door and goes back to business. When he comes out, though, there is a 1/4 of a roll of toilet paper unraveled on the floor, and 1/2 of another roll unraveled. He looks up at me, "Toilet paper is white. And it can go in the toilet and goes down the hole like this (makes flushing noise while demonstrating something swimming down a hole)... did you know that?" He looked a little lost for words when I said, "Yes I did know that."
On the way to school he kept asking about our neighbor Tracy and if he was at ____ (enter every place we passed.) I finally told him to forget Tracy, that I didn't know where he works and to think of someone else, or find something else to talk about. So he starts telling me the other buildings we're passing. Then he's quiet for a minute as we get closer to school. We drive by a Starbucks building and he says, "Mom! There is a place to drink coffee like this (acts like he's holding a tea cup and making the motion and sound of sipping out of a cup), did you know that?!" I said yes and then we turn the corner... " (gasp!) There's aNOTHer Starbuck coffee!" "Yes, there is another Starbuck's Coffee place, it's inside the Kroger Marketplace." "It's inside the Kroger!" he says with wonderment.
Wednesday was July 4th and daddy was off work and there was no school, so we planned a trip to the zoo. Andrew wasn't as interested as we thought he'd be. We let him climb all over the playground first, and then he got thirsty. (It was 90 degrees before 9am) They gave us two options for drinks with unlimited refills - frozen drinks that were no doubt full of sugar and food coloring, or sodas. You couldn't choose both, just one or the other. Ted opted for frozen. Of course, Andrew got a hold of it and was chugging away at it. He didn't want to go look for animals, he just wanted to drink that sugary drink! We kept walking and went to the dinosaur exhibit. He wasn't scared of any of it, but a couple of them made him nervous. They were pretty realistic. Once we were done with that, we headed for the elephants. Along the way was a carousel that he desperately wanted to ride on. We didn't feel like paying a dollar for the ride and Andrew had quite a meltdown about it. Then we went into a bird sanctuary and paid a dollar for a tiny amount of nectar to feed the birds. Another lady had two birds on her and she kindly passed them off onto Andrew and Ted so they could feed them. Andrew liked it, but he was nervous at the same time. Andrew was still bent on riding the carousel and I finally had to tell him, we could either look for animals, or go home. We continued on to the animals. Eventually, though, it started all over again but with a train. It's just silly to me to have to pay extra for the rides (and the dinosaur exhibit) when we're there to see the animals. Andrew fought us, and fought hard. But we pressed on. It was 102 degrees, and I was not feeling well at all, and having Andrew drag his feet and whine about not riding the carousel and train made it all the more exhausting. He liked the elephants, the leopard cubs, the flamingos and the meerkats the most. However, if you ask him what his favorite part of the zoo was - he'd say the dinosaurs.
Thursday he was rather defiant and mean - no doubt from the sugar and food coloring the day before. Food coloring makes him evil. In the afternoon, Ted was washing his truck and Andrew kept being disobedient. I dont know what all happened but he kept spraying Ted and doing things Ted told him not to, and then went and got Ted's gnome and smashed it to the ground more than once just to spite Ted. Before I know it I have a very upset daddy sending a very upset little boy inside who is then yelling and screaming and crying and kicking everything and then slamming his door over and over. I was able to diffuse him pretty quickly thank goodness and we talked about what was going on and what he was feeling. I'm sure it was from the junk he had at the zoo.
Friday he was off to school again. On the way in, all of a sudden he says, "hot bam!" We have no idea where that came from! And the first time he said it, it did not sound like bam! The second time it did. We didn't bring any attention to it - just looked puzzled at each other as our happy little boy skipped along the sidewalk. (This is the second time we've heard him say a profanity) Then we went inside to have breakfast together even though he'd eaten at home already. We had an easy drop off as he enjoys going to school now. We went to get him around 4:20 in the afternoon. The minute we walk in the door we hear from behind the front desk, "was that your little boy who was reading to me today?!" and all of a sudden there were a bunch of people telling us how impressed they were with Andrew and his reading abilities. Then we get to his classroom and hear it all again. They told us, "I know you told us he could read, but we thought you meant just some usual sight words... we had no idea!" They were so impressed with his level of reading that they actually took him from class to class today to show him off. She said they were having him read all the signs and stuff in every classroom so that the other teachers and students could see him read. They are very excited to have him to work with. One of his teachers has been teaching for 20 years and she said she's only had three as smart as him. She told me that he's probably going to be bored when he gets to kindergarten.. but here, when they start their curriculum in August - she is going to be putting him to work having him read to other students with her, and bring in workbooks just for him. She is really excited about it. I told her it's all been of his own initiative - he is always asking what things are. She said that he asks questions to them all day long too. They also said that in circle time they were counting and Andrew jumped up and yelled, "I can count to thirty!" all excited. He can actually count to forty without help.. but obviously was pretty pleased with himself counting with his classmates today.
On the way home from school, we stopped by Lowes and bought him a little baby pool. At first he didn't realize what we were doing. Ted picked up one of the baby pools out front and walked inside. I told Andrew that it was for him. He paused for a moment and then took off running. There was an elderly lady standing inside the entrance and Andrew leaped in front of her and yelled, "I'm getting a new pool!!" and then kept on running. She got a big grin on her face (having absolutely no idea what just happened) and looked at me all puzzled. Then he caught up to another gentleman and yelled "that pool is for me!" and then kept on running to catch up to daddy at the cash register. His old baby pool had cracked on the bottom, so we put the new one inside the old one for added stability and filled it up. Andrew could hardly get his swimsuit and swim shoes on fast enough to go play in it. He had a blast splashing, kicking, blowing bubbles, and jumping in the water.
Also on the way home from school he started singing,"happy bird-ay" which we are assuming is birthday. I know two girls in his class recently had birthdays - so I'm guessing they sang the song in class or something.
He is going to bed pretty easily for us.. brushing his teeth, getting his "pajammies" on and crawling into bed on his own. But he's not staying asleep all night. He wakes up a few times almost every night. It's been going on for several weeks now.. I really hope he grows out of that. Sometimes when he wakes up crying and one of us goes in to tuck him back in - his pillow is wet with sweat. So I'm guessing his wild imagination is producing bad dreams?
Andrew thinks about other people, a lot. Every day he asks about someone and where are they and what are they doing. He is definitely a people person.
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