Broken hearts

I don't know if I've posted this already or not - but he can tie his own shoes!  He is very proud of it, even though he does a couple of steps a little bit backwards or harder than it needs to be. 

Daddy bought him a little RC car. His favorite thing to do with it so far is to make it spin in circles really fast. Early Monday morning we were both in the hallway and he walked into the back of me and it broke the antenna on the remote. "Look what you did!!" he yelled at me. *sigh* I told him he needs to watch where he is going and be more careful.

Monday I took Andrew to a doctor in Hermitage to experience the Field Control Therapy that is helping me. He was very polite and obedient, and did an excellent job sitting there for almost an hour being muscle tested. I read "Where the Sidewalk Ends" to him when he got bored watching. When we asked him what he thought about the whole experience, he said it was 'awesome.'
He apparently has a bacterial infection in his stomach, his frontal lobe, esophagus, and gums need support. (We are guessing the esophagus because of his coughing, and his gums because he has a loose tooth)  But there is also a field that was for 'amygdalum.'  I thought it was the amygdala at first, but an amygdalum is a kind of shellfish! So I dont know what that was about. But I guess if it's something he's allergic to, that allergy will be removed through the treatment.
They kindly gave him a penny and a dime at their office since he collects coins for his bank.

On the way home, we had to swing by daddy's work. Andrew gave his dime to daddy so that 'he can buy something at work if he needs to.'  I thought that was very thoughtful of him. 


Tuesday was terrible. I'm pretty sure all of us cried at some point. At the time of writing this, I can't recall everything that went on. He did draw me a picture of a broken heart. And later he was upset and acting depressed. He wrote, "I like everything except myself." and drew a heart "for mom and dad" and a broken heart "for Andrew."  I know that made me cry. I've struggled a lot physically this week and was feeling a bit depressed myself. Feeling like if I could just pull myself up and pretend to be excited and happy for Andrew and Ted both - that maybe they'd feel better and do better too. That if I'd never chosen to go to school - we wouldn't be on this roller coaster still.  
Putting him down for a nap, he told me he no longer wanted to go to heaven. I asked him what made him change his mind. He said, "I want to stay here on earth, and I want to die and not be resurrected."  He's so dramatic. Anyway.. while Andrew was napping, I drew arrows on post it notes and left a trail leading from his door, down the hallway, around the couch and up the leg of the dining table - all leading to a plate with a heart made of M&Ms and a note saying, 'because I love you more than I can ever say.' 
Andrew was super excited.  Then he tried to leave a trail for me. He made a plate of bunny cookies and chocolate covered dried fruit (and apparently by the ring around his mouth, he ate a bunch too). But when I got to the plate - the note he left simply said, "stupid."  That is apparently his word of the week. He did try to redeem himself by leaving a love note afterward.

Wednesday started off okay. We were going to take the Arnolds with us to Netts Country Store and have their breakfast and see if they had milk we could pick up. Andrew had a spell of his anger (over my trying to show him an easier step in his shoe tying and him being disrespectful to me, and then not getting his shoes tied) and drama before we left and said some pretty mean things (including that he didn't want Fred and Ann to come, which I knew wasn't true)  At the last minute, Ann remembered that her grandkids were coming and she didn't know what time, so they had to stay home.  Then Andrew got upset that they weren't coming.  But I did at least manage to get him to be more calm.
   At breakfast, he was charming. He ordered his own breakfast and engaged the owner. He started a discussion about Rudolph the reindeer and how he knows he's not real. But there was a mounted deer head on the wall dressed as Rudolph. He told the owner that he knew the deer had been real at one time, but had been shot dead, and that Rudolph isn't real. She went in the back and all of a sudden you see the deer head move and her voice saying, "Hi Andrew! You said I wasn't real!"  as it introduced itself as Buck.  Andrew laughed and kept looking around during some strange conversation with this deer head.  When the lady returned, he kept asking her where she went and what buttons she had to push to make it move and speak. She wouldn't give him any direct answers, not admitting or denying anything. You could tell he knew though.
I can't remember what else happened on Wednesday - but it was a rough day. I know he got mad about something, picked up his ipad and hurled it at the floor trying to bust it. So that got taken away.  (and another day later he got mad that he lost his ipad privileges and took scissors to his favorite hat he'd made at school, a little Indian hat with a feather. Daddy taped it back together for him. When he gets upset though, he always tries to destroy something he loves or that we love.)

We did some meeting preparations with him and he had some very good answers prepared for meeting. He also used his ipad to look up the scriptures and the songs.

Thursday we did a lot of painting around the house. After nap we went to the Arnolds to help move some heavy furniture. Then we all drove around together to find a place to eat dinner. Fulin's was packed, China Buffet didn't appeal to Ann - so we ended up at Asuka. Not good food, but we didn't have to wait to be seated and still enjoyed being with the Arnolds. We went back to their place and watched some of the JW.org videos and chatted. 
That night we never told Andrew to get ready for bed. We figured, he's on break - if he ever wants to stay up all night and be awful the next day - this night was the best one for that. And *maybe*, just maybe - he wouldn't get up at 5:30am. While he was watching the Cars movie, there is a scene where a mini-van passes McQueen on the interstate saying 'me-me-me-me-me' in a high pitched tone.  Andrew repeats, "A me-me van! .. me-me-me-me-me..."
It was around 11pm that we told Andrew we were going to bed. He hopped off the couch and announced he wanted to go to bed too. He didn't want to stay up by himself.
He did sleep in past 5:30 - but the dogs woke us up around then anyway. And Andrew was up at 6:30. Not really worth staying up til 11pm for.

Saturday morning he had a nice calm morning of service since Cairo Wright came with us just to be with him. 

Saturday night he thought his loose tooth might be ready to come out. He and daddy both tried pulling it, but it didn't work.

Heaven

A couple of weeks ago, Andrew had a rough day at school. There is a behavior stick at school. Gold is at the top - for exceptional behavior and help. Blue is where everyone starts the day and usually stays. White is down from blue and is a warning. Red is the bottom - you're in big trouble. You have to walk for several minutes at recess and could eat alone I think. He got 'moved down to red' after having been moved to white, and had a hard time coming back up. He was very upset that he didn't move back up by the end of the day.
I don't remember anymore what happened that evening, but he felt like he couldn't do anything right at home either.  When I was putting him to bed, I stayed with him for a few minutes and we chatted. He asked me if Jehovah and Jesus ever make mistakes. I told him no, they were perfect.  "It's not fair!!" he exclaimed in a grumpy voice. I turned it around and suggested it was a wonderful thing that they were perfect. Because then they could understand why it's so hard for us sometimes, they are forgiving when we do mess up, and they are always eager to help us. I can't recall what else I said, but it did soften the blow to his mind.

Another day he wanted to know all about heaven and what there is to do there compared to staying on earth. And if Satan started out as a perfect angel, why he chose to do bad things and was thrown out of heaven.

Another time he asked me about Jesus roll in our being offered life in Paradise. Did Jesus want to die to give us life? Why did he have to die for us to have life?

The Kindergarten teacher said that on Friday she'd like to offer a 'book exchange' among the students before they have their holiday party and are dismissed for winter break. I bought a book and wrapped it. When Andrew saw it he said it'd get put under a Christmas tree. I suggested he take the book and ask if the book exchange on Friday morning was holiday related. If so, he could keep the book since we don't celebrate xmas, and if it's not related, then I don't know how it all plays out.  We tried to explain what other people believe Christmas to be, but what the Bible says. And that we try to servce Jehovah with truth and what is right.  I asked him if he was comfortable asking the teacher about the book exchange and what to do/say based on her answer.. he said that was too much pressure on him. Daddy said not to bother sending the book in at all because Andrew still seems confused as to what Christmas even is and why others celebrate it and why we don't. 
I wrote to the teacher and her reply was, "
Im sure it is confusing and difficult for Andrew to understand Christmas versus religion. He processes things on a different and higher level.  Even as adults...we share the same feelings at times. I would continue to express to Andrew that everyone is different.... and that is one reason the world is such a wonderful place to live in.  Always address his concerns, but I wouldn't go into great detail...even though his vocabulary is vast for his age, the semantics of words is continuing to grow and develop...he can be confused at times.
We are having a book exchange before the Christmas party...even though the books are under the tree....my emphasis is about giving and sharing with others."
I told her we do remind him that everyone is different and sometimes we're going to be the odd one out. I've told him that we are all going to believe different things and that is okay. What is important is for him to focus on what is truthful and do what he feels is right at any given time.  Then, with regards to the book - it's up to Andrew.  Let him do whatever he is comfortable with. If it goes under the tree and it doesn't bother him, I'm not going to stress it.  I want him to develop his own conscience and learn to follow his intuition, not just do what mommy and daddy say.  All of this will get tuned as he ages and will not be held against him. 

Saturday December 20th we picked up Nana and headed to the Assembly in Cookeville.  Andrew did so well! He was very well behaved and obedient. He played hard at lunchtime and went into a coughing fit a few times (he's had a lot of drainage lately). Before the last talk, he went into another coughing fit so he and Ted went to the car where they fell asleep. We stopped at Kroger on the way home and picked up veggies to juice as well as some conventional medicine. It about killed me to buy it - but we needed something that would work fast to thin the mucus and slow the coughing so he could sleep.

Sunday he went to the farm with me to give therapy to Papa who is still recovering from Shingles. Much of the way there he was asking me about Heaven again. He is really set on going to heaven. He wanted to know how people *know* they are going, when they go, how they go, and if there is ground to stand on there.  I tried to answer all of those questions and also explained that it was unlikely that Jehovah would choose someone who is only 5 years old to be of the anointed. And I reminded him that someone who doesn't want to go in service, was complaining about having to sit at the assembly, didn't want to do his bible reading, and didn't like being obedient to parents is not a good candidate for heaven. He couldn't argue that point.  It was about that time we reached their driveway and he said, "Is this discussion finished now?"  lol  He was well behaved there. After a nice nap we headed to the Laffertys house for dinner where the Pingles joined us too. He enjoyed playing with all their toys. We did let him try out the neighbors sauna for just a couple of minutes at a time since Blake and Samantha kept going in too. He was excited to be included in that.  

"My Very Own Bed"

We've been so busy lately, I don't even know what I haven't blogged about.
Over the thanksgiving holiday break, we took him out to Nana's to stay while we went house hunting in Colorado. They made up "my very own bed!" with an air mattress in their room since we had to get up and go to the airport at 3am and didn't want to wake anyone. He apparently was still up at 4:45 in the morning.  He enjoyed getting to play games with Katara, Kaleb, and sometimes Dawson too.
That Friday they went to a chicken farm to buy more chickens and he enjoyed that.

Sunday November 30th, we went from the airport to a restaurant in Smyrna where we met Nana and Papa and Andrew for lunch. Andrew was hoping that we were picking him up to take him to Colorado to go snowboarding. Before letting him sink into a depression about that, I told him to check out the package hiding behind my coat. He discovered a brand new superhero Flash cape and matching eye mask, and I have to say it suits him well.  He had been wearing his black dollar store cape everywhere lately, and now he has a bright red one with a lightening bolt on it. He was wearing it when we walked out of the restaurant, and every table was smiling and chuckling about how cute he was with his cape and mask on.

Nana told us at lunch that Andrew got a deep concerned look and asked, "Do you know the real reason we're moving to Colorado?" ... "Because daddy wants to teach me how to snowboard!"

Wednesday December 3rd, during the bookstudy lesson Andrew asked if he could raise his hand and answer a question. I told him yes and tried to find an answer and he said he wanted it to be from the top of his heart.  Before I know it - he's getting called on. Apparently we both made surprise faces because the conductor said afterward "they didn't even know what he was going to say." However - Andrew gave an excellent answer!! He words things so interestingly.. he said something about needing to treat delicately anyone who is sick or hurting. What five year old uses the word "delicately?" 

Saturday the 6th the Chumleys came over for dinner. Andrew pulled out a snap circuit activity that Nana gave him. It has several layouts to create circuits that will turn on a light, a fan, or a soundboard. He LOVES it. Barry and daddy helped him with it before dinner, and Joy helped him after. I tried but I'm apparently not very good at it because I couldn't figure out the layout of the one that was next in the book. He has spent HOURS creating different circuits.

He also loves the game Pictureka. He doesn't like losing - but most of the time, it's a pretty close game.

Thursday the 11th, he successfully tied his own shoe. It took a few tries of showing him how, but he did it. Then he wanted to tie the second shoe on his own. He was starting to get his fingers tangled up so I stepped in trying to stop him and show him where it was going wrong and how to change his fingers to help. He got irritated with me so I quit trying to help.  Then he gets really mad when it didn't work and he started crying. I reassured him that shoe tying is hard and takes practice, but that is also why I was trying to help. I tied his shoe for him. He stood up, jumped, and fell on his knees. (that's one thing he does when he is frustrated and angry). I asked him why he did that and he said, "I just feel like hurting myself."  It kills me.  He does that - he'll smack himself on the head or face, or spank himself, or throw himself on the floor without 'catching' his fall.  Or he'll try to break something he loves. I know it's all internal turmoil and not knowing how to handle the emotions he feels - but it still kills me because I don't really know how to help. I could do exactly what he asks me to do for him and he could still find fault with me so it gets very frustrating for me too. I'm criticized no matter what I do, and never appreciated.  I know when/where it all started, but I dont know how to make that end. I so dearly miss my sweet, caring, loving, eager to help, little boy that I had before the fiasco of my going to school.  And add his starting Kindergarten and he's now also interested in shooting and killing and bad guys which doesn't help.

Saturday at 1 I had to meet someone in Cool Springs for them to buy an easel. I suggested Chuck E Cheese. We could use up the tokens we've had sitting around. We ate some Culver's in the car to avoid the pizza (Andrew's had a cough for a while that is worse at night and first thing in the morning so we are limiting dairy right now). He ended up earning 444 tickets to spend on prizes. 
Afterward, we went to spend a free $15 I got in the mail for Kohls. The toys were on sale and we picked out a big castle that is usually 99.99 and was 60% off, plus I had a coupon and the $15 so we got a great deal on it. It has sounds and lots of interesting things on it to keep him busy.

Later in the evening, we were moving it from the dining table to the office so the dogs wouldn't get the small pieces. He tried carrying the little pieces in his shirt but started dropping them. He started freaking out and yelling 'Help! Help! Help me!!"  I had my hands full and there was no real urgency anyway. The dogs were outside. I put the castle down in the office and came back to help him and explained to him that I had my hands full but everything is okay! As I start walking back to the office again with more pieces he says, "Mom, go to Hell."  I didn't get upset, didn't raise my voice or scold him. I told him that is not something okay to say and asked who taught him that. He smiled and decided I must be lying and that he doesn't know what I'm talking about. I let it go but told him again it's not acceptable speech.
After bath he was upset with daddy about something. I heard him mumbling, "I'm gonna kill daddy. I'm gonna kill him!"  I said, "you're gonna kill daddy, huh?"  In an angry frustrated voice he said, "I'm not gonna for real! It's just an expression!!!"  *sigh* 

Sunday morning he asked if it was bad to show his middle finger sticking up to someone. Kids at school taught him that too.

"Why are they eating cookies and I'm not?"

I really haven't felt like blogging lately and work has kept me busy during the day. So I'm not really sure of all the things that have been said or done since the last post. We suspected that he'd become addicted to sugar. So I started eliminating the bread in his lunches, wouldn't let him eat some of the larabars he liked (one has 22g of sugar!), and only let him have juice (albeit doctored with veggie powders and stuff) at lunchtime - not snack too.  He did get a lot more calm and less demanding and argumentative.
I'd been letting the neighbor kids come over and play in the yard after school a lot. The weather was gorgeous, we have the space, and it's open for all parents to watch their kids.  One day he came home asking if Ashleigh could come over and play and I had said not today.  He opens the front door for me and says, "Then I'm just going to yell!"  I very calmly said, "It won't do any good" and kept walking.  I think he was hoping for a challenge or something - but amazingly, that was the end of it. I was pleasantly surprised. Usually he goes on and on complaining about whatever I've said no to and claims he's just going to stay mad/sad/upset about it and nothing will make him happy.  Sometimes I reason with him and he does change his attitude and find other things to do for happiness and other times he wallows in his claimed sorrows and I let him have that choice. It can get exhausting though.

Friday Nov 14th, I had to take photos of a Decade's Dance at the school. He wanted to go dressed as Ironman.  I bought Andrew 15 tickets to use on games. He was disappointed that he couldn't pop a balloon with the darts (close! it bounced off instead), but he did great at the ring toss, tossing a ball into a glass fishbowl, eating a donut off a string without using his hands, blindly gold panning for a treasure in a bucket of rice, bowling with giant inflatable ball and pins, and picking up rubber ducks out of water to get a prize. He enjoyed dancing, which more or less was running and sliding across the floor on his knees and spinning around on the floor with other little boys doing the same thing. His favorite toys were a kazoo in the shape of oversized lips and a little parachute man. He couldn't believe we were letting him eat some of the candy he was winning too. He seemed to have lost interest after spending 10 tickets so the last 5 were hard to get done so we could leave.

Saturday morning he was all prepared with his own Watchtower presentation.  We ended up only doing calls and mine wasn't home for him to try it on. But he went to the door with the Beauchamps and they let him and said he did a wonderful job.  He introduced himself, said that many wonder if Satan is an evil inside of us or a real spirit creature. Reads Revelation 12:9,12. Then adds that the Watchtower tells us how we can protect ourselves from Satan and what will happen to him soon. We had to work a lot on eye contact when we were practicing but he was doing a great job.

In the afternoon I had an emergency appointment to help someone get well. Andrew wouldn't stay out and was most likely exposed to the flu.

Sunday was rainy and we let him sit and play games on his ipad in between helping daddy with projects. They were supposed to go to McD's to get apple pies to bring home but Ted was so hungry he brought burgers home and forgot the pies. So - Andrew got to experience McDonalds finally. At the meeting he started off sitting with Joy and then daddy got asked to be attendant. When Andrew realized daddy wasn't behind him, he got concerned, and ended up sitting with daddy in the back.  Ted said he fell asleep the last 30min of the meeting.  When they came home, Andrew was pretty lethargic. We had to spoon feed him his dinner. Daddy had gone by McD's to get the apple pies he forgot earlier and Andrew couldn't even finish one of those. He had a low grade fever and we put him to bed. He questioned why he felt so bad and I told him that's what happens when we eat McDonalds food. lol 

Monday morning his temperature was 101.1 and he complained of feeling dizzy and the outside of his neck hurt, and off and on he had a headache. He laid on the couch all day watching his videos and sometimes just listening to them. It was hard to get him to drink anything, nevermind eat much. He was completely lethargic and his temperature fluctuated between 100-103.  He asked to go to bed at 7.
He was watching a Pooh movie at one point and they were eating cookies. "Mom, I want to know why they are eating cookies and I'm not!" lol

Tuesday he woke up with more energy but crashed around noon with a high fever again.  Just before 3, he went potty and then asked to take his temperature. It was back in normal range. He asked if he pooped out the fever, and if fever is brown in color. But right around the same time, he started getting congested.

Wednesday he was still home. I had several clients and he enjoyed drawing pictures for them. He'd ask them what their favorite color is, choose that color paper, and then make his pictures.
At lunchtime, I gave him a small sandwich. He started wailing like he was hurt - but it turned out to be, "I took a bite out of the wrong side of the sandwich."  I was completely baffled. When did there become a right and wrong side of the sandwich? This particular sandwich looked identical all the way around!  He had to spit the bite out and start over. Ultimately, he decided he didn't like it anyway.


Thursday I sent him to school just so I could have a break. I knew it would set him back healthwise. He enjoyed his day at school. He told me they had a thanksgiving feast for lunch, but because he doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving - he opted for chicken nuggets.  (And I didn't send him a lunch because I thought he'd actually like the turkey lunch - I didn't even think about it being Thanksgiving! oops!)

Friday morning I had a chiropractors appointment. He was officially on "fall break."  He wanted to draw a picture to give to the receptionist but I told him he had to draw it there. On the paper, he drew a picture of three people in a teepee. Then drew the Native American symbol for 'Happy', and wrote "That is how they feel." 

Saturday was gorgeous weather. I asked him if he wanted to finish the last two bites of his McD's apple pie in the fridge from several days ago. He said, "No! I'm never eating McDonalds again! It will bring the fever back and I don't want that!"  I told him if food caused it - it was probably his cheeseburger, not the pie. (i still can't believe we succumbed to eating there! I love their apple pies, but not anything else!)
It was a workday for us - and right off the bat he was eager to help and asking what he could do. I started painting shelving and daddy started adding trim and fixing things in the house. Andrew begged for a screwdriver and screws so he could build something with scrap wood.  Disappointingly for him - the screws were shorter than the thickness of his wood so it didn't work.  But he enjoyed being outside.  We stopped with just enough time to get ready for service. He still knew his presentation but was no longer interested in service when he learned we were working as a family by ourselves.
After service, we went back to work. He took a nap while daddy went to Lowe's because he was afraid that he'd miss next week's house-sitter when she came by to meet the pups. I continued painting. In the afternoon, he used a spoon and knife to dig for treasures in his dirt mound. Later he said the wind was just right for his kite. He got it out all by himself, ran around in the backyard getting it to fly (with Cara running alongside him, and later Charlie too), and packed it all back up when he was done (without us asking him to!!)  He was actually pretty good most of the day at responding quickly to what we told him. 

Taking a break from violin :(

I forgot to mention something the teacher observed. When Andrew is writing, he recognizes when he has spelled a word incorrectly and will erase and keep trying; all the while getting more frustrated. She is encouraging him to just get his thoughts on paper rather than worry about correct spelling.

We were walking to the bus one morning recently and Andrew was telling me how when we breathe in the lungs get bigger and full of air, and when we breathe out, they get smaller. He told me something about how that helps the blood pump through the body or something. I told him the heart beating is what pumps the blood through the body. That evening I had him listen to our hearts beating so he could hear it.

Monday afternoon before violin, he helped me take several of his toys and some of my photography props to the kids consignment store in town to get cash for them. Then it was on to our last violin lesson. We are taking a break from that committment as we need the extra cash and time that is being used for it. I hated making that decision, but I think Andrew will enjoy the break too - though it felt like he was finally making some real headway this year.

Tuesday I pulled out a new game I got at the consignment store - Pictureka! It's like a 'where's Waldo' but a bunch of silly pictures on tiles that can be moved around. There are cards that tell you which image to look for. Andrew is really good at it! Our first time playing, there were several times where I didn't even get to look at the board in front of me before he found it.

While supposed to be eating.. "Mom, you know what I'm thinking about?"  No, what?  "Numbers! I'm always thinking about numbers!"  (what a surprise)

Friday, while he was at school, I returned the violin to the store from which we rented. It was sad. I really hope he will take it back up in another year or so. He did tell me recently that when he is an adult, he is going to have two jobs. On Tuesdays he is going to be a violin teacher, and all the rest of the days he will be a mail carrier.

Saturday morning daddy left super early to go on an overnight hiking trip with friends. Andrew woke me up just to show me something. I couldn't see clearly without glasses so I thought he just had some fake teeth thing on (which now that I think about - I threw away ages ago.)  When I did get up, he proudly informed me, "I ate all my halloween candy - but I saved you a piece."  I was horrified.  He had come home with a bag of candy yesterday but I wouldn't let him have it and just left it on the counter. He helped himself to it this morning, opening everything with scissors on his bed. There were just a few skittles and gobstoppers left and one tiny whopper - and the thing in his mouth was like a ring pop but it wasn't a ring. Oh and a fruit roll up that was literally just made of corn syrup and fruit and food coloring.  I couldn't bring myself to let him ever have any of the rest of the candy - its so horrible for you. And he'd certainly had plenty by the looks of the wrappers on his bed. 
It was just a matter of time before he was demanding and hyper. I made him some raw milk with protein powder, diatomaceous earth, greens and other healthy things in it to drink hoping it'd help balance out some of it.
At some point he was very angry and took scissors and cut a necklace he'd made a long time ago, making all the beads fall off. I didnt even react, just acknowledged that I heard him when he told me about it.  [at bedtime I asked if he was still glad he cut it and he said no. wants to make a new one.]

I tried to go back to bed after a short while. He started yelling to me from the living room. I didn't answer despite how much he yelled. Then I hear, "I'm going to start counting! You'd better come! 1! 2! I'm about to say 3 so you'd better come!! 3!" and then I hear him stomp down the hallway looking for me. He climbed in to the bed with me - of course fidgety. He tried to get under all the blankets but wouldn't stop moving or making sounds. I finally told him to leave and let me rest so I wouldn't get upset with him later.  Soon he was complaining that his stomach hurt and I told him it was because he ate so much candy and junk. He described the digestive pathway to me and told me he needed it to hurry up and go through.

He did some painting "to make my friends happy", did some building with trio blocks, and other toys before having some lunch and homemade healthy cookies. Then it was naptime. Over 2 hours!!
We played some games and threw the mini football around, tried to play fetch with Charlie and Cara inside and loved up on them plenty. He got hurt once while playing football so I put him on my massage table with the red lights and did bars on him also. He said the pain went away and we went back to playing. The dogs were thieves all day and chewed up his flipflops that he cherished from cousin Kaleb. He told me he wanted to email Kaleb to tell him. I told him Kaleb doesn't have email, he'd have to send it to his mom. He sat down at the computer and emailed daddy, "Ted gmail Kaleb." and then sent another one "dad, email Kaleb ..." and something about how the dogs "broke" his shoe. I didn't actually read it.
I let him watch Kipper while eating dinner. We played Flippity Frogs until bedtime  He cried after getting jammies on because "I miss daddy!"  I suggested we pick out a story to read since he was so cooperative in getting ready for bed. Then we snuggled after prayer.  He still got up twice - once for water, and once to check if he was bleeding on his ankle because it itched.

Sunday morning he did wake me up super early but was nice enough to stay quiet. When I got up we played a few rounds of magnetic darts. He made a cocoon on the floor until the dogs started licking him - then he moved to the couch. Jumped all over. Helped make some strawberry milk for him. He helped put all the color laundry in the washer for me and clear the dog toys so I could vacuum. Then he spent a while playing games on his computer before playing with play-doh and having an early lunch of grilled cheese w/ spinach and tomato soup. 
The rest of the day he wore his cape. He did a lot of running around, jumping from the couch, rolling in the dog beds, and even dancing with glow sticks and music in his room and yelling 'rock on!' occasionally. At one point he was looking out the back door and I scooped him up. He squealed and tried to kick me. Charlie immediately started nipping at my hands and legs and Cara went and stood by Andrew. I commended both dogs for 'protecting' Andrew even though we were being silly.

I let him watch one episode of Kipper while eating dinner and before the meeting started. He listened to the talk with me, but couldn't have sat still or been quiet if his life depended on it through the watchtower study. He and the dogs were very wound up. Charlie snapped at Andrew's hand once when Andrew was being wild and got too close to his chewy. I'm sure he just scared the dog and Charlie totally could have hurt Andrew had he tried. When Andrew was crying, Charlie did come and stand next to him. I gave Andrew the red light and he sat on the couch and calmed down.
Daddy got home while we were trying out the mango jello we made earlier (not sweet enough to satisfy Andrew) and Andrew was happy to have him help get him ready for bed. We read a story together and he actually went to sleep quickly.

Working Hard

His favorite hobby right now is writing. Previously in his notebook he wrote a book called Andrew Got Stung By a Bee. 'I was walking and I stept on a bee i ran inside the house i had cast on. the end.' During the meeting on the 15th he wrote" Book of Adam and Eve."  "Adam livd in the garden of eden. ev did to. ev pict (picked) from the chree of nolich (tree of knowledge) of gode (good) and bad. the end."  He turned the page and wrote "Next page.  Wut did Jesus do?" and made some drawings.
I have to admit .. when you read Chree out loud - it is hard to decipher between Chr and Tr for Tree.

Saturday afternoon, October 18th, we were insulating the dog houses. Daddy let Andrew use scrapwood and his drill to play with. Taught him how to change out the drill bit for the screwdriver bit. Showed him how to drill a hole first and then put the screw in. We both held a couple of boards for him while he did that - made an H shape I guess with the wood he screwed together. He enjoyed doing that until the drill bit broke.  "Mommy, is the drill trash?"  

From 3-4:30, he had a group violin lesson (make up for missing a private lesson.) He really enjoyed that. And he was the first to volunteer at the end to play a song for everyone in the group. The teachers said he was just delightful to have in the group.

Tuesday October 21 - Andrew was upset that I was having friends over for breakfast and he wasn't getting to visit with them all. I told him we'd try it again on a Sunday sometime so he and daddy can join too.  Later, I went to the school to take photos for the yearbook. He was sure surprised to see me when I popped into the computer lab. He was being so good and staying on task.  Later I met up with him during gym class and got to see him run.  I was still around school when it was time to go home, so he came with me rather than ride the bus.  On our way out, more than one teacher stopped, "Oh! You're Andrew's mom!! I just LOVE him, he is such a joy!" Telling me how one calls him "Smiley" and how happy and delightful he is in their classes. 
In the afternoon, Joy came by to pick up some things, and Andrew set up an obstacle course with scrapwood and showed off his ability to ride his bike over them. Later when he was told he needed to put on a sweater or come inside - he did nothing. (though I did catch him peeing by the fence) He got in trouble for being disobedient (no sweater)  and was told he had to come inside this time.  He screamed, yell, and threw things because he was angry about coming inside - screamed so much, I thought he'd gotten hurt at first.
I had to go back to the school to photograph a 2nd grade musical and didn't get home until after he was in bed. Ted said Andrew wanted me to say goodnight to him. He hadn't been asleep all that long. He opened his eyes when I touched him and you could barely make out the muffled words,"oh mom, it's you. I didn't see you and didn't know who you were. (pause) Can you stay with me for a few minutes?"   I crawled onto the bed next to him. He turned and leaned his head on my shoulder mumbling, "I love you. I'm gonna love you forever and ever..."

Thursday he went to the zoo with his class. His favorite things to see were the alligators. And he thought it was neat that they ate lunch there at the zoo.
We had his parent/teacher conference at 4:30. He asked why we had to talk to his teacher. I told him it was to find out how he is doing. I asked him if she was going to tell us he's been a good boy or a rotten boy. He said, "But I'm a real boy!"  Then he smiled and said, "I'm a rotten boy!"  He was slightly concerned about it though because he asked his teacher what she'd tell us.  He is doing really well. She is doing some reading comprehension with him that she hasn't even started with other kids. There are levels for it.. they hope by the end of Kindergarten that they can pass level A, maybe B.  Andrew started on level D and E! He is also doing a little more advanced Math than everyone else. They sometimes have to ask him not to answer so that others get a chance when the are doing group work.
Then we were off to take Charlie to canine obedience class. Andrew even got to practice making Charlie sit and wait at the door, and not cross the threshold until he was invited to.

Friday night I was lying beside him in bed as he talked. He brought up intruders and I re-defined it for him as someone who is not invited to come in. I asked if he knew what an invite or invitation is. He said it's when you ask someone to come in. Then he added, "and do you know what an outvite is? An outvite is when someone is not allowed to come in - they have to stay out." Then he said, "Naaa, I'm just making that up. There is no such thing as an outvite."

Saturday he was a wonderful help. Daddy was cleaning up the electrical wires and plumbing under the house. Andrew was asked to do clean up duty. He got his tractor and hauled out any junk he found and drove it to the garbage can. Once, when he opened the gate, Charlie got out. Andrew didn't scream and go crazy - he ran over to Charlie, grabbed him by the collar and walked him nicely into the back yard.  Then he came inside, got the dogs to follow, and turned off the doggie door and told me the dogs need to stay inside so he can open the gate safely.

At one point during the day, they set up a 6" jump for his bicycle in the backyard with an 8' piece of plywood. Andrew didn't go up it straight and went off the side. He hurt his head but he was proud of himself for having his helmet on and for trying the jump even though it didn't turn out the way he'd hoped. He has been getting better at balancing his bike so that the training wheels don't hit the ground (until he tries to turn).

He was exhausted by late afternoon. Daddy had to borrow a friend's truck to get some wood, and Andrew was playing in the studio. He came up and got some paper and drew train tracks and pieced them together until one ripped. He got upset and crumpled them all up and threw them away. Back in the studio he was trying to build something and apparently it kept falling over. He stormed out angry that nothing was going his way after he decided to tear down everything and make a huge mess. He was about to rip the tags off my massage bolsters when I finally kicked him out of the room. I suggested he sit on the couch or go to his room and read a book. "I CAN"T READ A BOOK!" he yelled. So I calmly suggested he just look at the pictures.  "NOTHING is going to make me happy!" I told him that was a choice he was making - and that if he didn't try to find something that could make him happy, he most certainly wouldn't be happy. I explained that sometimes I am not feeling happy or well and I don't really want to be around people, but I know that if I go to Kingdom Hall and get around friends, that I feel much better - so I go.  He decided he'd go to his room and find a book to look at and try. 

Sunday daddy was building shelving in his workshop and Andrew was pulling out lumber for him when he needed it, without even being asked for it. He even got to help screw in the shelving, though sitting on the second shelf working kind of freaked him out.

He has been really great this weekend.

St. Croix highlights

Saturday October 4th - the day was finally here! Andrew was very excited to get to fly on a plane at an age he could remember it.  He'd tell everyone about looking forward to flying on a plane and then say, "but I've been on a plane before." (he was 11 months then)  We were off to the airport very early and had first class seating which was very comfy. He was sitting next to Nana and watched out the window as the bags were loaded underneath. Then he got to go to the cockpit and meet the pilots and push a lever. When we finally started barreling down the runway, we studied Andrew's reaction. First he was just smiling because we were moving, then he went blank faced like he was trying to figure out how to take this in, then as we started lifting off his face just lit up in excitement and surprise and he clapped his hands. 
Once we were above the clouds, Andrew exclaimed, "Dad! I can see the whole world!!"  He took a little bit of everything I think when the stewardess came around with a breakfast basket. He ate quite a bit!  Then she gave us packages of cookies to take with us. She said they don't serve them at breakfast time, but she wanted us to have them for later.
He fell asleep in the rental car on the way to the resort and slept through check-in. They came to the car and snapped a purple bracelet on his wrist. He asked later, "when did this thing get on me?!"

Sunday morning Papa took us for a walk down the beach to an area he found not covered in seaweed. (big problem with uprooted seaweed in the ocean right now and it was all washing up on shore there.) Andrew had a blast going in and out of the water and laying in the sand as water washed over his little body.  We came upon a fallen palm tree that made a perfect little leafed cave for him to climb in and on.
We hustled to Kingdom Hall after an early lunch and were seated in the very front row. Andrew gave an excellent comment during the watchtower - his reading so young and with enthusiasm made several chuckle. He made friends right away with a sister who used to teach gradeschool and knew sign language.
After KH - we headed to the Country Club in Frederiksted to go swimming on a clean beach with pristine waters. Andrew was very eager to try snorkeling.

Monday morning we snuck out early to let daddy sleep longer. I was going to take him to the pool to swim, but he decided to check out the paddle boats on the beach first. Then we ended up playing chess together on the life sized chess board!  After breakfast the boys got in the pool to swim, but Andrew was begging to use the paddle boat.  He told Nana that only 4 fit in the paddle boat and there are 5 of us. So he wanted mom, dad, and papa in the boat and Nana had to stay out.  As it turns out - only daddy was willing to go on the paddle boat anyway, and he got quite a workout paddling in the ocean! Andrew kept trying to help but gave up and only wanted to control the rudder, wanting to take them farther out to sea.

At some point, Andrew saw Papa take off his shirt. He asked Papa if he was dirty with seaweed all stuck to his chest. lol  Nope.. just hair!


Tuesday Papa and Daddy went kayaking. Andrew practically danced along the patio trying to wave to them on their return. Then daddy and papa got in the pool for a while. Andrew got to put on his snorkel gear and learn how to use it. They reported that they knew he was still holding his breath even with the snorkel because he'd come up for air every 5 seconds. Once he got the hang of it though, he'd swim across the entire pool. He became a fish!
Later he challenged Papa to a race across the pool. I *barely* beat Papa but Andrew got left behind and burst into tears at losing. He tried not to complain and wanted to say it wasnt' fair, but deep down he knew not to say that.
Tuesday evening after a dinner we cooked ourselves on hot lava rocks - we got to see a show of fire dancers!  Andrew was mesmerized by them, but got a little nervous when they came close to him. A couple of times he jumped out of his chair to retreat, but with a big grin on his face still.  When they were taking a break - he went to introduce himself and ask them questions. Ted said that Andrew was coming his bangs to the side with his fingers the entire time talking to them - like he was nervous or something.

Wednesday we took daddy to a scuba diving excursion. There were very curvy roads to take and without any warning, Andrew got carsick. We had to pull over and use napkins and my towel to get it all cleaned up. I let him buy a little sand scoop hand-shovel from the dive shop. While daddy dived, we played/swam along a beach waiting for him. Andrew did not like having daddy disappear under the water and be gone so long. Everytime a scuba person appeared coming in, he wanted to know if it was his daddy - very eager to see him and know he was safe.
Later we headed to the Country Club to have lunch with Bob and Annalise Rierson. Andrew was excited to meet them and thank them for the books they've sent over the years. He enjoyed playing with their little dog Joejoe too. 
He also got to meet JaJa who has been a special part of that club for as long as I can remember.
After lunch, daddy took him out to snorkel. There were other members of the club there very impressed with this little boys skills. She said she used to teach swimming and she was impressed with how trusting and courageous he is, and how *good* he really was at snorkeling when he only learned how yesterday!  Adults even have trouble with it.  Daddy said at one point he'd snorkeled pretty far out (he thought) and felt a tug on his fin that freaked him out. He turned around to find Andrew there behind him with a big grin on his face.
We went to Fleming Circle/LaGrange after the club. The Rierson's gave him two matchbox cars and when we got out, he drove them all over some massive trees before I started chasing him around in the yard. We said our good-byes and hustled back to the resort in time to catch the crab races!
I wasn't willing to pay a $2 entry fee per crab just to participate - especially seeing so many others getting several crabs entered. I told him we'd just watch, but he was welcome to go look at the crabs. The man ended up letting him enter one for free, then later gave him an extra one to help increase his odds of winning.  He named the first one Von - and Von actually won a round! He got a free ice cream treat at a coffee shop by the pier. They also let him choose a prize out of the kids treasure box and he got a large purple frisbee.
We went to the pizza place by the resort Wednesday night. He ordered "pizza white, because it has combination on it."  He thought that was an ingredient rather than a description of the combo of 4 cheeses. While we were waiting for our food, Andrew and I pretended to play baseball and ran around in the grass.
Then we headed back to poolside for some karaoke! He was very excited about it and wanted to sing. He started with Keith Urban's 'Somebody Like You.' When he started singing - the entire place stopped, even the bar, to watch this little boy.  He later sang Eye of the Tiger (everyone thought it was cool he even knew that song)  and Soak Up the Sun. Andrew kept telling me he wanted to sing more songs but I didn't know what else he knew. He said, "I don't have to know it - I can read the words on the screen!"  I told him it helps to know the tune though.  He got all the people he'd made friends with at the resort to dance with him, and soon they were asking him for dances too - until he was about ready to keel over from exhaustion. We had the whole place hopping. Strangers were having me get up and sing with them, everyone was dancing and participating - it was a load of fun. But by the last 15 minutes of the night, Andrew decided to sit down. I literally had to carry him out of there he was so tired at 10:30.

We had to apologize to him at one point. We had stopped in to Kmart to look at rum, but neglected to tell Andrew we were trying to hurry. In an effort to get him to stop touching glass bottles, Nana and I took him to the toy section to see if we could find something he could have at the resort. He played with everything, but wouldn't pick one! He said no to everything I offered. I gave up and we had to go find daddy and Papa since they didn't know where we were. Daddy and I came back to the toys to try again. I finally just grabbed a small magnetic fishing game and said it's that or nothing since he'd said no to everything. He was upset, we were tired and frustrated.  I apologized to him later for us getting impatient and upset with him for acting so ungrateful, spoiled, and uncooperative - when we never actually explained the circumstances to him to start with.

Whenever he saw the friends he'd made there, he'd ask, "can I go say hi to my friends?" They would just light up when they saw him too. 

Thursday morning he slept until 6:45. When he got up he told us he was 'more tireder' than us. I told him he was a party animal the night before. He said, "Yeah. That made my legs hurt."  After breakfast, we went to shop in Christiansted. He and Papa got to see a plane land on the water.  He desperately wanted to buy a "two wheeled thing" that he saw at one of the scooter rental shops. He could not understand why I wouldn't even go in that store. He also felt like everyone else was getting to buy things in stores except him. Even when we were in a kids store, I asked him what things in his liked and was drawn to - but he couldn't pick anything. He was telling me to put the things back for him.  I did buy him a long sleeved dive shirt that he could wear with swim shorts and be protected from the sun. Hopefully it's big enough he can wear it next year too.
When we got home we played a few rounds of shuffleboard. He'd start playing by the rules, but then wanted to start making up his own rules to play by. I love that he will think outside the box for that sometimes.He told daddy 'good job' when he won.
Thursday night at dinner he asked, "what comes after dinner on Friday?"  We told him it was just music playing at the pizza place, no shows.  "It's just dinner!?"  He was very disappointed that there were no shows planned.
After dinner, we watched some Cruzan dancers, but I started not feeling well. He stayed with Nana and Papa to finish the show. All three of them got pulled up to dance. There were also some Moko Jumbie dancers (on stilts) that he was fascinated by. When he was telling me about them later, he said they were on skilts. he thought they were awesome!

I heard Andrew call Nana and Papa - "Nan" and "Pop" a few times during the trip.

He was walking with Papa one morning who suggested, "the first one to see Nana walking wins." Papa saw her first. Andrew said, "no, I think the one who *didn't* see her first should win. Papa said, "in that case, you won."   When we were on our way back from Christiansted, he was playing with his cars in the back seat. I heard, "first one to see the golf course wins! It should be coming up... yep, I see it. I'm the first one so I win." 

"Mom, what does d-i-n-g-i-t spell?  I said, "dingit."  He laughed thinking it was 'dang-it' that we're not supposed to say. He's always said 'ding-it' instead and I'd not corrected him.

One day we were at lunch on the patio. One of his lady friends told him something like how charming or awesome he was. He turned around and raised his eyebrows a few times quickly in a suggestive way.  That had us all in stitches.  He winks at people sometimes too.

Friday morning we started out our day with a round of mini-golf. He had the concept, but executing what he wanted to have happen proved a little harder.  He had a hard time waiting for his turn. He wanted to chase all the balls to stop them from rolling if they were passing the hole. He didn't like that he usually had to go last from his ball being farthest away from the hole after the initial putt. When we were done, Andrew asked Papa, "how did you get that elephant on your shirt?"  Papa had a sweat mark on his hsirt that was a perfect elephant head with ears and a trunk!
We went to the driveway of Nanny's old estate so Papa could go take photos of the coconut trees he planted. Then we headed to the country club. The waves were a bit rough that day.
Jaja greeted us with a fresh coconut to open and went on the hunt for his machete. Andrew got to taste fresh coconut water and fresh coconut - though he wasn't too impressed with that. I sure enjoyed it!  He enjoyed lots of swimming, running and throwing himself into the waves, snorkeling, and climbing on things like big ship anchors resting against the trees there.
For lunch, we walked to the bar next door and as soon as we stepped on the patio we hear, "Andrew!!"  One of the fire dancers worked there and remembered him. He ordered some chips and guacamole and then played in the sand and walked the beach with papa until it our food was ready.
We played more in the ocean. He and daddy buried my legs with sand, and he rolled in so much sand - daddy had to remove his swim shorts and wash them out separately!  We went to the pier afterward to try and redeem his free ice cream, but the shop had already closed an hour earlier.
We had pizza again Friday night and there was a DJ there playing music. Andrew and I got up and danced in the grass, and then one of the guys Andrew had made friends with karaoke night (a guy from Cosovo) got out and danced with him in the grass.  We fed pizza crust to a dog that appeared across the street looking hungry and scared. Other guests that had become fond of him over the week asked Andrew to dance and he wouldn't dance with them.  He told them, "I'm feeling shy."

Each time we were driving to and from the resort, we'd pass Cow Crossing signs. "When will the sign go away?" I didn't understand.  He said, "I don't want cows to cross in the road there."  I told him the cows can't read the sign - it's just to warn humans to watch for cows in the road.

Saturday morning we packed up the car and checked out. Then toured the Whim plantation to see the sugar mills and an old desk that used to belong to our family. We went to the coffee shop again to get some lunch and get his free ice cream before heading to the airport.
Getting through security, the officer gave Andrew a sticker badge that made him feel special and important. Daddy forgot to take out some bottles of water and food pouches for Andrew so we got to see his backpack get scanned on a special x-ray machine and picked apart.  Then we went to wait. Several of the friends he'd made at the resort were there too and excited to see him. His friend from Cosovo, Valentino, got so excited and asked to buy him a snack. He took Andrew to the snack bar and picked him up to see, and bought him a twix bar. He got a picture of Andrew, and got a picture with Andrew and said he'd miss the little guy. 

We had a couple of hours to sit at the Miami airport. We let him sit and play games on his ipad and other kids liked trying to help him with the states trivia game.  I found a pair of national geographic Chameleon goggles in a gift shop I couldn't resist. You can twist the eyes around to get different angles to see, and then there are mirrors on the sides to see behind you.  Andrew got a kick out of them for a little while. Definitely not long enough to truly have made them worth the price. lol

On the drive home from the airport, he was feeling carsick. So we pulled over and let him get some fresh air outside for a couple of minutes before getting back to the farm. Straight to bed and off toward home early in the morning.

It was the best vacation we have had. Very relaxing and rejuvenating.

Can't Think Without Reading?

For our family worship, we usually go over a bookstudy lesson, or read from one of the children story books. But Sunday we decided to study the first 6 paragraphs together of the Watchtower - having him read and help find answers, before letting him go play again. He did really well following along and participating. I am hoping that will encourage him to learn to follow along at meetings later. 

Monday morning he was so excited to ride the bus. He was up early and ready with a few minutes to spare and played games on his computer. We walked to the end of the street and another girl was waiting there. She was so excited to see him. Her name is Cadence and they are in the same class! So now they get to ride the bus together each day too. They are the only two who get on from our street in the morning, but others get off in the afternoon. 

Monday he impressed his violin teacher with how much he remembered even though we didn't even remotely try to do any practice with it the past week because of his bible reading.
On his way home from the lesson, I was lost in thought at the traffic light. I think he sensed my energy.  "I'm feeling sad." I asked him why and he said "I don't know."  So I said I was sad too. He asked me why so I told him that someone thought that I was angry and mean and saying things about them but I'm not. He asked who and I was honest with him.  He said, "well, when I see ____ again, I'm gonna have some words."  I chuckled and asked him what he'd say. "I don't know yet."  lol I told him that wasn't necessary. I asked him if I have ever said bad things or mean things about this person and he said no. I love his protective nature - just like his daddy.

Tuesday he invited one of those bus riding neighbors to come play in our driveway with him. He lives across the street and doesn't have a paved driveway so he usually tries to ride his little scooter next to the curb, but on the road. His grandma said it was okay - so the boys played with all the ride-on toys from the garage. Davy is his name - and he even got a scooter that's too small for him and gave it to Andrew.  That night when it was time for bed, I rubbed his legs and feet and hands. I started lightly and he said, "you can push harder. I'd like it if you did." lol I did and he said, "Yes! I like that!"

Wednesday Allison rode the bus home with Andrew and then they invited Davy to come back and play with them in the driveway.  He did really well at the meeting that night being quiet and mostly still. He wanted an answer so I gave him one - but it wasn't one to read. He did not like that!  Once he got the microphone he still tried to get me to let him read something instead so I said, "say the answer "show kindness to animals" or hand the microphone back.  He begrudgingly gave the answer. I took him outside so I could explain to him right then that he needs to start thinking, not always reading. The book said that the law said they had to show kindness to the 'beasts of burden'.  I told him that not everyone will know that a beast of burden is - so it's easier to say 'animals'. We discussed it further but he still doesn't like the idea of giving an answer without the words to read in front of him. We'll work on that.

Thursday morning he got dressed for school himself, but looked concernedly at his shorts. "Do these look like a skirt? Will people think I'm wearing a skirt?"  They were a little poofy on the sides compared to what he usually has on. They're elastic waist and no pockets and a light material. I patted them down and assured him that they do not look like a skirt.
He came home from school and helped try to walk Cara while I was training Charlie to walk next to me on the leash. Cara was yanking him all over the place or just sitting still. After we turned them loose, I told him I had a present for him inside. We went in and he pulled a black cape out of a bag. He excitedly put it on and ran out the door to run with the cape flying behind him.
Later he told me "I got moved to red today."  They have a yard stick in each class, and each painted section represents behavior. Red is the bottom.  He couldn't remember why though. A note from the teacher indicated that he didn't follow directions, talked over the teacher and just in general was not paying attention. He said he had to walk for 5 minutes at recess.
I had to deny him a couple of other privileges but let him ride bikes outside for a while. Later he wanted to put on work gloves and pull weeds from the garden and put them in his tractor's trailer. He put on some winter mittens and got to work. It was gorgeous weather to be doing that.

Friday after school we packed up the car and were off to the farm to spend the night. Early flights heading to St. Croix in the morning!  We brought an air mattress along so he could sleep comfortably on the floor.

more partying!

"I wish I were a girl"  Why? "Because they have really long hair and get to wear a pony tail, sometimes two!"

Monday morning he said, "Can I please take this sign off your door now? I got it.. I won't come in and wake you up anymore."  Over the weekend, daddy had put a sign on our door that told Andrew not to come in, not to knock, and that his ipad was on the couch. He was so pleased to take it off. 
At violin I noticed that his lips move a little like he is reciting to himself all the notes he needs to play. He doesn't say them outloud, but I guess he's saying them in his head. 

Tuesday morning I was reviewing the security camera footage from overnight.  After daddy left, and before I got up, Andrew got a bag of M&M's off the counter and sat on the couch eating them for nine minutes. He ate all but 5, and then put the bag back where he found it. He never said a word to me about it! 
He also went into the office and got the sign off of daddy's desk and posted it back on my door (the sign that reminds him not to wake us up.)
He opted for Peanut Butter and Jelly for lunch. I make it and ask if he wants it in half or in quarters. He said, "whole."  I hold it up and ask just to be sure. He didn't want it whole in a square - he wanted me to use a kitchen gadget to make it a round, sealed sandwich. I told him I need to know ahead of time that is what he'd want because I'll spread the PB J differently for that. So, asked again - half or quarters.  "I want one half and two quarters."  [it always has to be different from whatever option I offer]

Tuesday evening he pulled out every excuse and action he could come up with to not practice his bible reading (even more complaints than practicing violin!)  His hand hurts, his knees hurt, he can't stand up, he's cold, he's hungry again (when he was full 2 seconds ago), he can't remember how to read, he's scared.... seriously - I heard each of those multiple times. It's exhausting and doesn't really make it a pleasant experience for any of us.  He ended up going to bed early without practicing. 
Wednesday morning he practiced twice for me. He started his routine of excuses and I gave him a stern disappointed look, "seriously? Do I really have to spank you right off the bat? I don't want to! Just read it and be done!"  For some unknown reason, he actually complied - and it was the best he's read the entire time.
He helped me make his peanut butter jelly sandwich, and asked if he could listen to music in the car when it was time to go. His favorite song right now is Shania Twain's, "Man, I Feel Like A Woman."  lol  I have to admit - it's a pretty good energetic song to start the day.
Wednesday afternoon, he was upset that we took Alli straight home since her dad was there. He wanted to play outside and I told him he just had to read his bible reading first. I don't recall the conversation - but it ended up with me telling him to just go take a nap so he can cooperate later. I had to pick him up and carry him to his bed. I don't know if he actually fell asleep or not (kind of seemed like it) but about 45 minutes later he got up and came in my room and cuddled with me until daddy came home. I finally talked him into reading it. He tried a couple of stunts and I got my Rescue Remedy from the cabinet, and said, "here! this will give you courage." as I sprayed it on his tongue. He cooperated and read it wonderfully after that. 
We got to the hall early so he could practice on stage just to get any excitement and jitters of being on stage out. He did great; not even distracted when people came in talking. He was a little distracted by having Samantha sitting directly in front of him. They wanted to draw each other notes and pass them to each other.
I gave him another spray of Rescue Remedy, and a homeopathic for apprehension/stage fright before his talk. He started getting excited, his feet wouldn't stop moving. He went up on stage and stood against the back wall while daddy got the step stool out for him. He stepped up to the podium and did a phenomenal job staying focused and reading all of it clearly. We were all very proud of him. Samantha Pingle and Barry Chumley both stepped out of the back school to listen to his reading.  Paul Wright was the school overseer and said, "we all know that Andrew reads with great feeling" lol and cited an example from this reading. He was so FULL of energy after he got off the stage. I finally sent him outside with daddy to try and get some of that pent up energy out. It barely helped. He couldn't sit still if his life depended on it. He did tell me he could write a book by himself. He started off, "Andrew's Book" and then wrote a story about walking outside and getting stung by a bee. I was pretty impressed that he was writing that much on his own. And he was being quiet even though he wasn't still.
When we were leaving, he and Sam walked around the carport. I called them both over to the wall since a car was about to move. Andrew ran right back in front of the car! I spanked him and explained to him what could have happened. He didn't seem to care and told me "i didn't hear you." 
We took him to Dairy Queen where he had an oreo cheesecake blizzard. He enjoyed the new place and treat, but kept hoping any of his friends would come in too. We of course got home late. He didn't want to wake up Thursday morning. I had warm apple butter bars and chocolate milk ready to go. Got him changed, fed, and out the door in 20-25 minutes. Not bad for a sleepy head.

Friday he asked again if he could be a bus rider. So after dropping him off, I went in the school to fill out the paperwork. They said he could ride the bus that day. So I spent the entire day wondering if they actually did everything on their end and got him on the bus. The bus schedule says it stops at our street at 3:52.  I sat at the end of the street waiting for the bus. A few minutes after 3:52 is when I saw the bus. He was sitting by the window and waited for the bus to make a complete stop before following two of our neighbor kids off. He had the biggest smile on his face! "That was AWESOME!"  He wants to be a bus rider from now on. Our neighbor Mr. Brown said that it picks up early - 7:20am. So now Andrew wants to be ready at 7:20 so he can ride it to school too. (we usually leave at 7:50!) 
Daddy had an appointment that was over at 5:30, so when he got home, we loaded up and went to Nana's house. Andrew immediately went over to play with Kaleb and Katara. They all slept in a tent outside - we could still hear them giggling at 10:30.

Saturday morning, Nana went out to open the chicken coop at 6am and was greeted with a "Hi Nana!" from the tent next door. She fully expected him to come running right up to start the day with her. All three kids were told they were too noisy to come in next door..so were up at Nana's house at 6:30 pulling out the Legos and laughing away!
Later in the morning, Ted took Papa and the kids to tour the Nissan factory. When they got back, I traded places with Papa and we went to the Nissan Family Day as a 'family of five'.  It was the only way Andrew would go. If KandK couldn't come with him, he wanted to stay at Nana's and play. Thankfully no one questioned it.  The lines for rides were long, but they enjoyed bungee jumping, inflatables of all sorts, and several rides before we got some cotton candy and headed home. I raced him through one inflatable - he beat me by about 2 seconds! All three of them fell asleep in the car within minutes.
We dropped Kat and Kaleb off and zipped home, changed, and headed over to Ian Stockholm's graduation party. Andrew enjoyed playing on the playground, with balloons, and dancing. Most of the time the teenagers were just line dancing. Andrew got frustrated "I don't know how to dance!" I told him he could still do his own thing, but he wouldn't. He ran around with two balloons and pretended he was Mickey Mouse. Eventually he got to play Musical Chairs with a group of kids. Though he ended up getting bumped out earlier than he would have when a smaller kid decided to jump in in the middle of the game so Andrew and another kid didn't have a chair to sit in. He was a great sport though (unlike some) and went along with it.
They had a candy buffet at the party and we decided to go ahead and let him have some candy. He got to try skittles and starbursts, had one reeses peanut butter cup, and one bite of a twizzler.  Later he even had a cupcake with lots of blue frosting - and mainly only ate the frosting.
Wouldn't you know, that he woke up Sunday morning with some congestion and coughing. :-\
I gave him some vitamin C, zinc chewables, a healthy smoothie, some homeopathics for cold/flu, and red lighted his wellness points. Hopefully we can ward off getting full blown sick. But amazingly, he has been cooperative and well behaved despite all the sugar, food coloring, late nights, and activities!

Sunday night as I was brushing his teeth, he was obviously counting. So I asked about it. He was counting how many elephants there are while brushing teeth. (?) There were 29 apparently.
He's had some congestion today, so after prayer, I rubbed his legs, feet, hands, arms, and head. I started off really softly and he said, "you can squeeze it harder, please."  lol  At the end he asked if I'd stay a couple of minutes. I said, "I just did! and I gave you a massage!"  He replied, "Oh. Thank you so much, that will help my hiccups. (pause) and coughing."  He's had no hiccups. I told him to wake up healthy in the morning.

Party Animal!

He has his own passport now! It came in the mail recently.

Sunday he wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with pepper-jack cheese on it.  He said you couldn't really taste the spicy in the cheese.

He loves trying on our shoes, especially  my boots. He likes that my tall boots make him stand higher. He tried on my flat boots and said, "mommy, these boots fit me. Can I keep them in my room?" I told him they didn't fit him, they fit me. He said they couldn't fit me and stuck his foot next to mine and tried to convince me that the boots were not the same size as the shoes I was wearing.

We've been discussing ideas to improve his playhouse. We'd love to build more onto it to keep him interested. Right now, he loves hanging upside down on the trapeze, and also using a bungee cord to pull toys up the slide behind him.  I asked him if he could add anything he wanted to a playhouse - what would it be. "A cave!" What would be in the cave?  "Nothing but a lot of flashlights."  He also wants a fire pole. He loves sliding down the fire pole at the park. I suggested some monkey bars and a bridge too. He has enjoyed drawing some ideas of his castle but asks every day if we're building it today! I told him we don't have money right now, but when we do, we'll start adding some new features as we can.

Sunday afternoon, we had professional portraits taken at a farm in Franklin. Daddy told him if he is cooperative the entire time, then there would be something good for him later. (probably a new toy)  Andrew was an angel!  Very cooperative and pleasant for the first hour and a half. The last half hour he was having a harder time staying focused and was constantly talking, moving, or making tooting noises (that was how she made him laugh, but after an hour and a half it wasn't really making anyone laugh anymore, but Andrew was still trying.) And he was getting more goofy in an exaggerated way. Once he decided to kiss me on the cheek and then kept trying to kiss me on the mouth. I kept trying to tell him no, he only gets the cheek - but he finally snuck it in one time and was so proud of himself. We took along a wagon to carry our extra clothing and drinks. Andrew enjoyed getting a ride in it, and loved pulling it around as we moved around the farm.When we were done, he told the photographer, "it was sweet meeting you."
We hit up Mellow Mushroom pizza on the way home because it was close by. That took forever so we didn't have time to go to Target for a new toy yet. Andrew looked so tired we were certain he'd fall asleep in the car. Nope. He talked nonstop.  At one point I spoke to daddy and Andrew said, "hey! You interrupted. You didn't wait for me to finish."  I told him, "If I wait for you to be finished, I'll never get to say anything to daddy! You don't stop."  I apologized to him and explained that he did finish a sentence when I started talking, but he started talking again once I started - I didn't know he wasn't finished. But seriously - he doesn't stop talking sometimes so you don't get a chance to say something to someone else!

After brushing his teeth, he was finishing drinking some water. Daddy said no more water. "Okay Daddy. You won't have to tell me twice to do something ever again. I will listen and obey the first time. (pause) Except for meetings. You might have to remind me at meetings because it's hard to remember."

We hung out at the park for a bit after school Monday. He was great, kind, and obedient! When we first got there, Alli and Jamie were there. Then there were kids hollering out their car windows as they went by, "Hi Andrew!!"   At violin, not once did he complain about his legs or make a fuss trying to sit down. He played all the songs very well; he stayed focused and cooperative, never getting silly. He has been amazing all day!  After dinner we went to Target and let him pick out his reward toy for being so good for pictures. He picked a spiderman airplane that launches two plastic webs.
On the way home he asked, "Do you know who I am going to marry when I grow up? Natalie V. because she's always pretty and she's kind to me."  It's a girl in his class.

Andrew comes in holding two dark blue shirts that look identical.  "What shirt should I wear today, light blue, or dark blue?"  I suggest dark blue.
"Which dark blue? This one or this one? (alternating holding one higher than the other.) I point to one.  "Okay."  Then as he walks away, "I'm really sorry - I'm all out of light blue anyway. Sorry about that."

Tuesday I watched as Kindergarteners walked to their area to wait for cars to pick them up. Andrew is number 65, usually near the end of the line. Today... no Andrew. I was starting to panic when I finally see him and two other boys with a different teacher. The other teacher brought him to his spot and I saw his K teacher lean over him and check his head and face before having him sit down.  Apparently, Andrew wasn't watching where he was going and walked right into a pole and fell over. He said he was fine, didn't cry or anything. On the way home, though, he couldn't get his seat to buckle properly and burst into tears. I reached back and snapped it closed but he kept sobbing. I asked him if he was hurt and he said no. I told him he must need to cry so to just let it out. (I think it had to do with hitting his head.) He cried all the way home. I unbuckled him and kissed his leg. He gave a soft smile. I kissed his cheek and he smiled bigger and then told me to stop kissing him. He hopped out and was fine after that.  He told me ice cream would make him feel better, but I said not until after dinner.
I did show him that daddy set him up with his very own computer! He was excited when I showed him he could email, and there were bookmarks for pbskids and learningeggs on his desktop, as well as a notepad.  He read an email he already got from Nana. I asked him if he'd like to reply and he shook his head no and asked if there are any games to play on it. lol

Tuesday evening, cousins Charles and Marion came to visit. Andrew was very eager to show them his new computer. He enjoyed trying to engage in the conversations at dinner. Afterward he wanted to show them his trick outside. Marion told him he had to wait thirty minutes, and showed the hands on her watch. He came in to check after 15 minutes.  Once outside, he ran to his trapeze and held himself upside down with hands dangling below his head. Then he did it again with the trapeze swinging. He did a flip off of it. One of the times he flipped he landed on his bottom and hit his head on the ground.  Then he got in his swing and jumped out of it mid-swing. Then he lay his chest in the swing and spun around in circles until his toes couldn't touch anymore and then let it spin.  Then it was time to have a little ice cream and be off to bed.

Wednesday at meeting he was drawing sweet little pictures of us as a family. But he kept shoving it in my face to take a look. It was very distracting. And he kept talking to me during daddy's talk. I finally took him outside for a chat. Asking him why we come to the meeting? How can we learn if we don't listen? Do you think the brothers have worked hard on their talks? How do we show them respect? Although he is answering those questions - he's also fiddling with the bricks on the walls and watching other people coming and going, and trying to listen to their conversations instead of me. I finally gave up trying to keep his attention. We were all tired and he wasn't being bad at all - just distracting to me. I told him he can color all he wants - just stop talking and putting it in my face.

Thursday we hung out at the park again. He seemed overly sensitive today (not uncommon when he's hit his head, and that was two days ago)  He was bouncing on a one-person step when a much bigger kid got on it and bounced too hard for andrew to stay on. Andrew got off and yelled, "hey! Why did you step on there? I was already there!"  The kid just stared at him and Andrew turned his back and sat in the grass upset. I sat in the grass with him and told him, "some kids are just mean for no good reason. But it really means that they're not happy people. Something isn't right in their life. So you just keep being a kind, good person and don't worry about them."  He got up and continued to play with two girls his age.
He was back on the bouncing step and a girl called out to him, "Hurry! The ship is sinking!"  Andrew jumped down and said, "Don't worry! I'll save it!" and ran up the steps to the wheel. "There, I saved it!"  When she came up to the wheel he guarded it and shortly told her no she couldn't touch the wheel. I reminded him to share. He got upset and went to sit under a dome. I asked him if he was sad and he said, "you got me in trouble."  I told him, "You're not in trouble - I was just reminding you to share."  He was content with that and went back to playing with the girls.
Later one of the girls decided to play dead. Andrew and the second girl came running to her side. Andrew swiped his hand across hers and she got up saying he hurt her fingers. She was sad. Andrew defensively said, "I didn't mean to hurt you! I wasn't trying to hurt you! I wasn't trying to hurt you!" She got up and walked away.  I told Andrew he needs to say he is sorry and he again told me he didn't mean to hurt her. I said the kind and polite thing to do is still say 'i'm sorry' and ask if there is something he can do to make her feel better. Like a hug. He starts walking up the steps toward her and says, "no one hugs me!"  I reminded him that I do all the time!  He apologized and asked if there was anything he could do to make her feel better. She said she just wanted to be alone for a while.
He loves hanging on the bars, and going down the fire pole. He is working on trying to climb up the firepole. He likes sitting in the tire swing with his arms and legs hanging over the sides and being spun around. He has the biggest smile on his face as he is screaming with delight.  He also likes digging in the dried up creek.
When we got home, he screamed when the dogs came near him so he climbed to the top of the back of the couch by the window and opened some mail from Publix. He tried playing with playdough but got mad that it was hardened and Charlie kept sniffing him. So he went to his computer. He was delighted to open an animated punchbowl card from Nana (he gasped with delight when the card automatically opened to reveal the inside). I just happened to be walking past the office when that happened. Then later he came to ask me for help to spell "send".  He wrote this back to her all by himself: "Andrew I love nana you r so nise I wil send card"   He has apparently been emailing Nana and Aunt Sandi all on his own - no help from me! One message he got from Aunt Sandi had a smiley face emoticon in it. He figured out how to get the emoticons into an email and sent a heart, a lobster, and a broken heart in a message. Then he was worried that she wouldn't like the broken heart. lol 
I'm just dumbfounded that he JUST turned 5 and is already comprehending how to send messages by email!
After he was done on the computer he helped me make some pizza dough and "decorate the pizza" with minced veggies. Then I rolled it up to make pizza pinwheels. The boys watched Iron Giant with dinner, and I bribed Andrew to drink raw milk straight (without almond milk in it too) with dinner by offering ice cream later. The movie scared him from the beginning but he watched the whole thing. After he'd gone to bed, he came back out, "I hate what I'm thinking about... the Iron Giant. I hated that movie." I suggested he think about things that make him happy - like playing with Samantha or Allison. He cheered up and went back to bed.

Friday he was very emotional after school, so I had him take a nap when we got home. Then we went to a golf course to help set up for a wedding. We were there for a few hours. Andrew really wanted to roller blade with the other kids but we didn't have a helmet for him and I am most certain his emotions have been rampant because of hitting his head this week.  We had dinner with Ann and Fred at Cracker Barrel before getting to bed late.

All day Saturday he looked forward to "the party."  In the morning we walked over to a yard sale and they let him pick out a beanie baby. He picked a Moose and named him Moosie. He came home and made a thank you note and rode his bike to deliver it. We did practice his bible reading and violin, and he got to go swimming while I was over at the Arnold's taking pre-wedding photos.

At the wedding reception, they had glow sticks and smarties candy and little poppers on the kids table that were a huge hit. Andrew didn't want to stop to eat dinner. He did ask if he could have some chocolate covered strawberries - I told him to help himself and have all he wants. Their chocolate fountain wasn't cooperating so he got chocolate all over his hands but loved it. When another parent asked if he'd asked his parents first, he said, "They said I could have whatever I want!"
When the dancing got going, he asked if he could join, but then was nervous trying to break through the back line of people standing dancing in place for the band. I finally went through and encouraged him to follow.... he didn't stop dancing the rest of the night!  Late in the night he asked, "where did all my friends go?"  - the only two kids left there were passed out on chairs!  At the end, he helped break down Devon's music gear and load it into his truck. We got home at 11:48pm!  (and yet he was still up at 7am Sunday!)

Sunday he said we were going back to the party. We explained it was over. He said, "but there are presents they need to open!"  Later he asked, "Did you watch when Devon kissed her brain?"  (He meant kiss her head. At school the teacher says kiss your brain and they kiss their hand and touch the top of their heads.) 

He hung out at the neighbors house much of the afternoon. Amber had a friend there. I went over and played catch, "bolleyball", and dodge ball (they didn't explain to him how to play first so he was out right away) before bringing him in for dinner.

Counting Down the Days to Being FIVE

I don't know what Andrew, Grandma, and Aunt Sandi did the week we were gone, but I know there were lots of crafts and activities that Andrew enjoyed. We requested he take a nap on Saturday so that he could stay up later and see us when we got home.  I could hardly wait to hug him.
He wrote "welcome home! I love you mom and dad" with hearts and stars in chalk all on the sidewalk. Then they decorated the door with welcome home and i love you signs. I came in and he was hiding under the kid table by the door as the dogs went crazy with excitement.  Over and over again he kept telling me how happy he was to have me home.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel. All he asked for was grits. But he ate two full biscuits with apple butter and sausage gravy, two sausage patties, two strips of bacon, the grits, and half an orange juice. I don't know where he put it all!  He totally scored some new toys from the 80% off rack there too.

Later we gave him the presents we brought back from Mexico. He was not happy to get a set of maracas because he was hoping it was Legos, but he did think getting his very own Mayan stone chess set was pretty cool.

Sunday evening, daddy turned him loose on the lawn mower (gasp!). Many times Ted has had Andrew on his lap controlling the lawn mower. This day, daddy had him prove that he knew all the controls and then apparently ran along side him to make sure he wouldn't run over a fence or tree. Daddy reported that Andrew did perfectly and 'did just so' to all his instructions. (yes this still scares me as a mom.)

He did try to pull his uncooperative stunts to avoid practicing the violin, but once he finally did cooperate he totally rocked it. Which also paid off at his violin lesson on Monday. Though he did try to convince his teacher that his legs hurt and he needs to sit down several times. When I finally told him that if he keeps complaining we can't go to the park before lessons again and he just told me to shut up. I know he doesn't know that it's a rude thing to say so will have to talk to him about that later. He did get in trouble for deliberately being stubborn and disobedient in the parking lot. I told him he would get a spanking when we got home. Most of the way home, he was trying to convince me to not spank him (and definitely not let daddy spank) but to give him alternate disciplines, like a "thinking session" or just telling him "you will obey".  He was so worried the spanking would hurt.  I told him I dont want to hurt him - I just want him to remember that he can't get away with the stunts he pulls on me. We went to his room and talked for a while and then I gave him one swat to the hiney. "Oh good!" he signed with relief that it didn't really hurt. lol

I have noticed that he is always counting. Counting how many people are at the table, how many bites he has left on his plate, how many cars are in line.  I dont think his mind ever rests. This week he has been counting down the days to his birthdate. He'll be 5!  

Tuesday he was up early to say goodbye to Grandma and Aunt Sandi (and daddy), and watching How to Train your Dragon on daddy's ipad when I got up. He was very cooperative and good. I finally remembered to give him hugs BEFORE getting buckled into his seat since I don't get to hug him when I drop him off at school.

Tuesday afternoon we pulled onto our street and he asked if he could walk home from there. I told him that wasn't a great idea - but asked if he'd like to walk from the end of our driveway. He excitedly jumped out of the car and waved me onward. I suggested he get the mail while he was there. As he goes, the bus drops off a bunch of older kids. Then I see him struggling to hold each piece of mail in his arms as he collects another. Then as he hop jumps and starts walking back I hear, "Mom! I got a message! Someone messaged me! I got a message in the mail! It's in the middle."  He went to the couch and put it all down and eagerly opened his mail. It was to tell us that he'd received his last issue of the Little Kids National Geographic and wouldn't get any more unless we renewed. I dont think he minded that so much - but he was disappointed that it wasn't a real letter from someone he knew. Then he asked, "Can I open Ted Hagler's mail?"  and "You're Ceacy Amanda Hagler, aren't you? Can I open your mail?"  He's so cute! 

We had to go buy dog food after dinner. From home we saw it off in the distance, and when we got to TSC, it was literally overhead. He heard and saw the flames that make the balloon stay up, and was eager to see it again as we were leaving.
At Lowe's (for a new sink disposal) he enjoyed pretending to drive the lawn mowers, then tested out the shower displays. He was hoping to get to test out the vacuum cleaners but I said no - and that if he wanted to try one out, he could vacuum at home. I have to admit, I miss the days when we'd go there and he'd try out every vacuum cleaner and test drive every other lawn mower. And the days that he did want to vacuum at home too.  The days seemed slower back then.

Thursday morning he was telling me he doesn't really like the guidance class. He said they sometimes watch movies which is okay, but the rest of the time, "we only get to color."  

Thursday after school, the weather was gorgeous so we hung out at the park for a couple of hours. Andrew and three other boys positioned a log and started hauling rocks to build a dam in the dry creek. Once the other boys left, Andrew kept wanting to pile the big rocks higher and higher. I tried to explain that he had a nice big flat rock the same level as the log (they were using it as a bridge also), so the rest of the rocks just needed to go around it - and to fill in the gaps with small rocks and dirt.  He didn't quite grasp the reasoning.  He sure had fun hauling rocks and digging in the dirt though. Daddy joined us for a little bit on his way home which was nice.

Earlier this week he asked for a turkey cheese roll up with spinach and ranch in it. I was out of spinach. The next day he told me he didn't want a roll up - he wanted the turkey and cheese to be cut into shapes. I am assuming someone else had a lunchables. So I cut his cheese into squares and the turkey ended up in rounded triangles. He has been content with that so far. 

Saturday he was very set on wearing a particular pair of dress shoes out in service. It'd be the first time he would wear these lace up shoes. His velcro dress shoes finally were too small for him. I'd purchased some black sneakers for him to wear before finding the actual dress shoes. He refuses to wear them; he doesn't like the way they look.  He sat on the hallway floor asking me to show him how to tie shoes. Soon we were running short on time and I got one shoe on and tied, but couldn't for the life of me get the second one on. I finally told him that he was going to have to wear the velcro because we didn't have time to mess with them now, and those would be easier. You'd have thought I'd told him he couldn't have a new toy the rest of his life. Complete meltdown into sobbing.  He had to walk to the car in his socks and put his shoes on at the hall.
He was elated to have Samantha come with us, and then come home with us too. He was having a hard time sharing all of his toys, and letting her have long turns or even her going first with things. Amazingly, she still had fun. She kept tattling on him. Eventually I told her that he didn't have to let her go first all the time either, and there will be some toys that he really doesn't want others playing with and that is okay. There are still plenty of toys. But reminded him that he has to share because she doesn't have any of her stuff here.

Group Hugs!

On the way to school Monday, "When I have grandchildren, I'm going to let them buy as much as they want. Mostly toys."  I told him to plan on having a lot of money because that sounds expensive. He agreed. Then he told me that he's going to find that firetruck that he wanted ($12 toy at Kohls ages ago that he won't forget about) and he'll put it up way up high so they can look at it. And when he tells them not to touch it, they will disobey.  I asked him what he will do when they disobey. He said, "I'm going to smack them in the face."  I asked, "in the face, huh? That sounds awful."  He said, "Yeah, I'm just kidding. I'll put soap on their tongues. No wait, then their mouth will smell really bad."

I told Andrew he had a few more minutes to play before it was time to leave for violin lesson. He seemed agreeable. But when I told him it was time to go, he yelled, "I don't want to play the violin ever again!" and slammed the door. I didn't respond and just collected my purse and keys. I was heading back down to the studio when he opened the door and yelled again about something to do with wanting to stop playing the violin and not getting to I think. I told him I understood that he was tired and upset and wanted to play instead, and I wasn't really sure what to do about violin, but regardless we were leaving and he needed shoes.  Amazingly, despite his rage about something, he was still being cooperative and I never had to raise my voice or make any threats. He was fine once we got in the car, and he had an excellent practice.
While we were waiting for his session, the teacher's young daughters were trying to get snacks out of the vending machine. Andrew kept whispering how much he wished he could get a snack from the machine. Well, the youngest daughter ended up a quarter short and couldn't get it to work. So while she went running to find her mom, I gave Andrew a quarter and let him put it in, punch in the code she was trying to get to work, then get the snack out of the machine and deliver it to the little girl. He was very pleased, and I explained to him what kindness we just showed. Then he wanted to know if I had more money to buy another girl in the room a snack too. lol  I told him her mommy was there taking care of her. Andrew told the teacher that he gave her a quarter for the snack, and she reimbursed him at the end of his lesson.

Then we were off to Parent-Teacher conference. She said Andrew is doing great - all 18 kids are still learning the routine. Today he didn't stay on task and had to finish his classwork at home. He did enjoy showing us his illustrations in his journal he keeps at school. And when he was able to explain something the teacher said, "great job! Kiss your brain" and he kissed his hand and slapped his head. Lol.. it took me a second to realize what just happened, but that's pretty cute.

 We went to Olive Garden after the conference. On the way there he was telling me that he knew who Meemaw and Bebop were (Meemaw is the girl and Bebop is the boy) and that Bebop plays the fiddle. I told him Bebop can play the violin too (trying to keep him interested in the violin). He got excited and then said, "I wish everyone had two chins. Then we could play the violin and fiddle at the same time!"  Wouldn't that be interesting!

We came home to the floor covered in shreds of paper and debris left by two party-loving puppies. Several of Andrew's books had been in a bag on the couch - and they were not salvagable. He saw the mess and recognized the pages and burst into tears.

Tuesday morning I came out to bandaid wrappers on the floor. At some point Andrew had gotten up during the night to get one. Sure enough, when he got up (by the way, he's been sleeping past 7 this week!) he told me, "Mom, I can't go to school today because I have this (presents foot with bandaid on top). We need to send a note to my teacher to let her know I won't be in today."  lol  Such a cutie.
After school he was proud to tell me that even with a bandaid on, he could still run today. And he told me about gym where they "learned to run. Boys first and then girls."
He came home from school with a little book he illustrated. It was about how many letters were in his name. The first page was a drawing of himself. The second was him and someone else in "Gim" (gym). I think there was another page and then he had cut out each letter of his name and pasted it on the last page and wrote that he had 6 letters in his name.  It was cute and well done.
There was another book he put together that came with a popcicle stick decorated to be a worm. Each page had an apple and then words about the worm being above, below, between, or next to, and he could move the stick worm to demonstrate that. Pretty cute.

Wednesday morning I was up early. I happen to be at the computer with the security cameras on when Andrew got up at 6:40ish. He tied his two lovies around his neck so he had a double cape then did a face plant into his bed. Got up and came out to cheerily say, "Good morning mom!!"  I'm squatting in the hallway listening to him as he holds up a corner of a blanket. "Do you know what this button is for? It's a first one fire alarm and it's louder than any in the whole world. Wanna hear it?" I cover my ears as he's making siren noises. I join in and then say, "eeks! Put the fire out!" and pretend to spray him with water. We laugh and keep pretending to be sirens until he gets so loud it rattles your insides. Then he was off to play with his space station in the studio until he had to get ready for school. 
Daddy was working from home for a couple of hours before going in. He was standing talking to daddy and I was behind him brushing his hair with my fingers. Daddy told him he hopes he has a good day at school. Andrew replied, "that always makes my day so much better when you tell me to have a good day."  I kissed the top of his head and told him how much we love him and are proud of him and happy that he gets to go to school and do interesting things all day. He turned around and hugged me really tight. Daddy yelled, "group hug!" and Andrew begged to be picked up like we've always done for group hugs. Daddy scooped him up and we all squished together. Then Andrew, with arms around both our necks, told us, "I'm going to miss you guys" and he sounded all emotional. I told him we'd miss him too.. and then blurted out, "unique new york!"  and it all went back to giggles and smiles. He still can't say Unique New York three times in a row without saying Unique You Nork. He tried all the way to school - and he only gets it right if he pauses between the 2nd and 3rd attempt.
I asked him what he looked forward to most going to school today. He said he likes playing with the farm.  But today he is also very much looking forward to the arrival of Grandma Marlyn. Mommy and Daddy will leave Sunday to head to New Orleans for a cruise (mommy has classes on ship) and grandma is taking care of Andrew all week.

Thursday morning he wanted to just sit and watch the door waiting for Grandma to get up. It took some prodding to get him to get ready for school instead of just waiting. He was excited to have Grandma in the car when he got dropped off and picked up.  In the evening, he played in the sprinkler outside. Then he asked if he could make a waterslide with it. Daddy fixed it so it'd point down the slide. Andrew came zooming out the bottom of the slide making a lovely mud puddle at the bottom. Even the dogs were loving the splash of mud and water.

He wants to play with the dogs, but their teeth and nails are so sharp still that it's easy to get hurt and they're kind of scary to a small person. He holds toys out of their reach and then yells, "No Charlie! No Cara!" because he doesn't want them to jump.  He's learning to put his hand down on the back of their neck and speak calmly. He was so proud of himself for getting them to stop jumping.

Friday he spent the entire day playing with Grandma. She brought a Megablocks tractor that we all worked on building. We piled grass clippings into his trailer and he hauled it to his "secret place" at his playset and piled all the grass inside. They played ball, made sock bubbles, and splashed and swam in the pool. We observed a praying mantis eating a caterpillar too.