Help from Space

I forgot to mention that on October 3rd, Andrew asked daddy if he could cut some rose buds off the bush and give them to me.  Such a sweetie.  I'm pretty sure it came from our playing our Paradise game. He's been much more thoughtful about saying kind things and doing kind things and being helpful since then.
And an update on the Fun Run - he raised $107!!  The school raised $39,000.

 Andrew is standing by his claim that he gets his super powers from a space grenade that has been protecting the planet for hundreds of years. And that he can control the dogs with his mind. 
He is dead serious. And when you tell him the reality, he looks blankly at you like you have lost your own mind and common sense. Oh, and to avoid conflict with a bully at Jumpstreet, he claims he just "activated his super powers" to spin, duck, and get away. Okay. I do believe I am raising a Calvin.

One evening, I was standing in front of the closet and said, "i dont know what I should wear this evening."  Andrew pointed to a long skirt and said in one breath, "You should wear this one. Know how I know? Because of the Space Grenade. It has a thing that comes down and x-rays your body and then I can overlay the shape of the skirt over your body and I can tell that it will look good on you. That's how I know. So you should wear it."   I did.  He's a hoot.  

He also pretends to talk to "Ru" in the space grenade when he has a question.  One day on the way to school I said, "It's such a gorgeous day! But I can't tell if the clouds are moving in, or moving out."  Andrew starts beeping and saying "communicating communicating. Communicating communicating. Come in Ru."  Then asks Ru about the conditions in space and if the clouds are moving in or out.  I was assured the clouds were moving out so that the sun would stay present and it'd be nice out.  Unfortunately, Ru was incorrect, the clouds were moving in and blocked the sun the rest of the day. Maybe next time. 

October 13th - we decided to have a Fire Drill at home to teach Andrew what to do.  Ted pretended to be the fire and would stand somewhere in the house and just yell "Fire, Fire, Fire" like an alarm.  Andrew and I would be in different places in the house and discuss what we needed to do - SEE the fire, see if there was a way to get past it safely and out to the mailbox.  We started off upstairs, and then started off downstairs.  The tricky one was when the Fire was coming out of the fire place at the top of the stairs - we HAD to go out a window.  So I showed Andrew how to climb up to the window, open it, and get out.  He literally was out the window within 20 seconds or less.  Then one of the times I told him to start downstairs by himself.  He waited by the window and was out the window in 5 seconds, but he came out panicked and crying because he was alone. The idea of fire was too realistic for him in his mind, and he thought fire could spread super fast like fuel on fire, and not having me there guiding him was too much for his emotions to contain.  He was awesome though... he ran to the mailbox and did everything he was supposed to every time.

October 14th - daddy made a big rope swing in the yard and tied a bunch of knots in it too so it can be climbed.  I know all the big 'kids' are going to have a blast on it too!

October 15th- This morning when we got up, Andrew was dressed as Spiderman outside on his brand new swing. Pretty sure he was out there when the sun came up.  In the afternoon, we drove to Littleton and picked up a new kid's desk with a matching dresser for Andrew to have a quiet, personal place to do his homework. It only takes him two minutes or less most of the time to finish his homework, but he'd get frustrated if anyone around him was talking while he did it. Our friend Joella donated a nice lamp for him to have on his desk too!
In the evening, he had the Bible Reading, again with some difficult names. He did a phenomenal job. After the other sisters gave their part, he blurted out, "Great job!" to them and got a high five from one of them.

October 21st - we had parent teacher conferences. Of course he is doing well. He has to be reminded some times to stop chatting, and to raise his hand before commenting - but so do a lot of the kids. The crazy thing was when she pulled out a graph showing his proficiency in Mathmatics and Reading/Writing. All students took a test that usually is only for 3rd graders and above, but the gifted students take it too in first grade. The test adapts to the answers a child gives, so if they consistently get answers right, the test asks harder questions.  On a scale of 100 to 200, all GT students in the district averaged a 167 in Math and 165 in Reading.  Andrew scored a 184 in Math and 187 in reading. Im so glad that both of those come to him so easily, but woah!!

October 24th - Andrew and Kevin started digging post holes and hauling dirt so daddy could start building a tree house!  While they were working, I raked a maze through all the leaves in the yard. We had fun chasing each other through it.

October 26th - He was up super early, as usual, and it was still dark. I found him in his room sitting in his bean bag, with the lamp on his stool next to him, with a bowl of dry cereal and a healthy cookie, reading books.
Later, I heard a thud in the bathroom followed by, "Mom! I tripped over this (bathroom rug) but I activated my magnetic rayation and lowered myself to the ground slowly so I wouldn't hurt my hands." He is a trip.

October 27th, he gave me a note that said, "Dear mom, please do not worry about me. I am staying out of trouble. We are always getting bathroom breaks. Please don't worry, ok."  I guess he needed to ease my mind because the day before he had said something about missing the bathroom break and I was concerned that he wasn't allowed to go to the bathroom when needed. But he had assured me he still got to go but I guess they have designated bathroom break times during the day too - I dont really know.  But he wrote this note to ease my mind - such a sweetheart. 

October 30th - I picked him up early from school to avoid the halloween parties and parade. I took him to get his hair cut, and he had the lady smiling the entire time about all the chatter he spilled. I couldn't hear most of it from where I was sitting, but I can only imagine.  Then we picked up daddy and took Andrew to his favorite sushi place which he loved. Then we went to the dollar store and told him he could spend $5 on whatever he wanted, even candy.  He wasn't interested in candy - only toys - but this store was pretty lame. So I told him we'd go somewhere with better toys. We needed to go to Restore and Costco for daddy, and I was pretty spent by then. So I told Ted and Andrew I'd be willing to spend more on a toy from Costco just so we didn't have to stop anywhere else.  So he actually ended up with a $20 toy I think that is an RC drone hovercraft helicoptor contraption.  It's pretty cool. It has a soft cage so it bounces off of the walls or trees rather than break.
We picked up some pizzas too and had Dwayne and Kevin come hang out too. They played Rock Band. 
I was sitting in bed when Andrew came in wearing Ted's hat and says, "Hi! I'm Ted Hagler!" then proceeded to do a very silly dance with his own music making, going in circles shaking his booty. I have no idea where it came from. lol  He was cracking himself up too.

October 31st - Dwayne had spent the night. It was driving Andrew crazy that Dwayne wasn't up as early as everyone else. So, he wrote a note and put it in the pantry next to the cereal for Dwayne to find later.  "Hey Dwayne, help yourself to a kind of cereal. To Dwayne only. Andrew and awesome."
Such a thoughtful boy.

Fun Run

Sunday September 27th, we went fishing at Georgetown Lake with Britt and Dwayne Waggoner and a friend Matt. It was gorgeous there. The fish weren't interested in our bait but Andrew enjoyed casting and waiting. Sometimes he cast, set his pole down, and wandered around for a while checking on everyone else, having a snack, etc.

Tuesday he came out of the school and immediately told me that it was a terrible day. He had shown one of his "cool creations" to his classmates and two of them told him it was stupid or ugly or something. It upset him and so he told one of them that theirs was really bad too. I suggested we go home and have pumpkin pie. I also told him that he had a brand new pair of shoes waiting for him. Once we got home, he was upset because he didn't like how the new shoes looked. He tried to do his homework but got frustrated and started stomping off to his room. I tried to hug him and hold him but he wouldn't let me. So, he went and tore up his room. Sheets off the bed, all clothes onto the floor.  Then he came back to the kitchen to tell me about it in a grumpy voice. I asked, "And do you feel better now?"  "Yes." He said in a disgruntled voice.  "Well, you don't sound like you feel better. But I suggest you go start cleaning it back up."   He left, but instead of clean, he made it worse. Even took the drawers out of the dresser and knocked things over.  Then he came back and said, "If you want to hear bad news, I am not being a man of my word. I did not go in there and clean up, I made it worse."    I turned and looked at him, then calmly replied,  "What is it you want from me Andrew? Do you want me to be upset, or tell you good job? What reaction are you looking for?"   He looked confused then replied, "That is not a question I am looking for."  I told him I didn't really know what to do because I tried to help him before it got so bad and he wouldn't let me. I told him I think it would be better to let someone hug you and talk through the problems instead of destroy everything, because that really doesn't fix anything - it makes things worse.  He went and sat on the couch and I told him he'd better get back to his room and clean. He just sat and stared at me. I repeated that he'd better listen and obey.  He returned to his room.  About a minute later he comes back even more upset, "It's going to take too long! It's going to take a hundred billion years to clean up that mess! I'm not going to have it done by the time I'm ten, or an adult, or even a dad!!"   I said, "Nope - not by sitting in the hallway anyway.  Are you ready for that hug yet?"  He nodded so I sat on my knees and opened my arms and he collapsed into me but was trying not to cry. I told him to go ahead and cry - let it all out. It's a been a tough day.  He started sobbing to the point even daddy came upstairs to find out what was going on. I asked if he'd like a hug from daddy too and he nodded, so daddy held him for a little bit and then went to his room and helped him get it straightened back up.  He was much more chipper then.  Even put his new shoes on to break them in.  Then he brought me a cat in the hat greeting card that said, "Dear Mom, I love you more than anyone else.  Love, mom"   lol  He didn't realize that he didn't sign it love, Andrew.  We had a good chuckle over that and I gave him lots of hugs and thanks for my gift, and told him that he is a wonderful boy and I will always love him.

Friday was the Fun Run. We decorated his shoes to look like rockets. He wore them proudly. Though they were held on by tape which didn't hold up well to running, so after a couple of laps the teacher removed them for him.  Each lap was 1/8th of a mile. He ran 13! With a smile on his face the whole time.  He liked the obstacles of jumping over hay bales then running under a rope two parents were holding, and having to run through bubbles. He seemed to have fun.

Saving the World - As a Six Year Old

Andrew drew a two-headed monster that appears to have bulldozer buckets as hands. He told me all about it but I don't remember anything he said other than calling it his "ultra eggo" and I think he meant 'alter ego'. Lol. I love him.

September 12 - I had told Andrew that when he smiles at me like he does, it just melts my heart. 
A few minutes later, he was starting at me with his strange posed smile. "Mom... I'm melting your heart right now." LOL he is a riot

He likes to come sneaking up the stairs with a big blanket covering his body. He slowly and deliberately waves his arms in and out - but he's absolutely silent. Until he realizes you've seen him and then he starts giggling.

One Sunday we were getting dressed for meeting. I had on a pretty blue dress that everyone compliments me on when I wear, and slipped on a blue sapphire ring. Andrew's response was, " "I don't know yet how beautiful you are mom. But I notice that ring on your finger and that helps."  Lil' stinker.

As I was tying his shoe he says "You are so well dressed, you outsmarted me." I don't even know what that means.

He is part of a Chess club now!  TONS of kids K-6th in it. I think they said it was one of the largest in the state. The first day was the 16th, it's for an hour before school starts on Wednesdays. The first day, all the newbies were taken to a different room and introduced to all the moves each piece can make.

Two cute moments:
The coach created a scenario with one black bishop and two white rooks and asked, "if I want to capture this dark bishop, which rook would I use?" Andrew replied, "the white one." The answer was either one, but technically Andrew was still correct. Lol

Later, he was talking about different levels and how a Grand Master usually is introduced and gets a solid idea of the game by age 5 or 6 and has those synapses developed. Andrew turned and flashed me a huge smile.

He asked to have a parfait for lunch, so I had packed it Tuesday night so I wouldn't have to make it in the morning before running out the door for chess club. Andrew was up before 5:50a.m. dressed and ready. He told me he didn't want to be late on the first day.  We didn't have to leave until 7:30! Anyway, I walked into the kitchen just in time for him to be trying to transfer the parfait into a bowl to eat for breakfast.  Thankfully, none of it came out but a few sprinkles of granola - so I didn't have to remake lunch! 

As of the 17th - he's officially a six year old! I came out of the bathroom, still kind of dark, and Andrew was standing outside the door. In a creepy soft voice he says, "Mom, I'm six." I gasped, "That's right!!! Good morning my big six year old!!" as I threw my arms around him. I think he was expecting to miraculously be taller and stronger overnight. I explained to him multiple times in the week that he grows a little bit every day - it's not going to be one big jump. But I guess I expected that too sometimes as a kid.
The next day he said, "This is my second day being six."  And the next day, "This is my third day being six."   I guess it's a big deal to him.  lol

One day after school let out, he asked if he could run around to get some extra energy out. I asked, "can't you do that at home?"  He said, "But it takes more energy to run uphill."  I can't argue with that. So I let him make a few laps around in the school yard going up and down the little hill.
The teacher said that he needs to work on being less chatty, and also raising his hand to give others a chance to answer. He replied, "but the answers come into my head so much faster."  She said she knew that, but that we still need to show respect to other people and give them a chance.  So far he breezes through his homework every night too, it's all so easy for him. Every once in a while, he makes a mistake that I point out to him, but usually he has it all right.

He needs more bookmarks. He reads so many books simultaneously, that he ends up using small toys or other books as bookmarks. I dont know how he can keep each story straight.  Another sister loaned him a big Calvin and Hobbes book and he was 90 pages into it by the next day. But then he's also reading books he brings home from school, and books he has off his own shelf. 
Joy and Barry sent him a box of gifts including four books that allow you to choose your own endings. I will be interested in seeing how he enjoys those since he can read them several different times with a different story line!

Andrew told me that when he gets older, he is going to build a shield like Captain America's and go out and save the world.  What a nice thought.  I'm afraid that it was a disappointment to him when I told him that if really were that easy, then other people would be doing it too. Jehovah and Jesus are the only hope for saving the world.

Wednesday September 23rd, Andrew was up super early again. This time, though, I found him still in a dark room, completely under the covers, with a stand of glow sticks lighting his little tent while he ate Leaping Lemurs cereal dry. He's so cute. 
On the way to school he told me I was driving like an old lady. I asked how and he said because I was driving really slow.  lol  I actually had to explain to him why I was approaching my red light slowly instead of slamming on the breaks once I got to it and risking choking us both with seatbelts. silly kid.
In the afternoon, he told me that he "ate hair today." He decided he wanted to know what his hair tasted like and pulled it off his head and ate it. And it was delicious.  ?? weird.
We drove up to Idaho Springs and met the Waggoners for pizza at BeauJo's. We walked around the cute little town. Andrew loved all the hand puppets at one store, as well as a "Buddha Board" which is a pressed bamboo paper board that you wet a paint brush with water to 'paint' on. Then it dries in a couple of minutes and you can reuse it. It was pretty neat!  At the pizza place, he enjoyed being able to go to the salad bar like everyone else and pick out what he wants.

Friday  was an early release from school. The high school held a parade and threw candy to them - that was very exciting to him. He'd been looking forward to that all week.

Saturday, the 26th - we were off to Aurora for our Circuit Assembly. We had the entire Waggoner family sitting with us and Andrew enjoyed having his friends so close. He also enjoyed the freedom of being able to walk around looking for other friends. He got to run around and play outside for a while before it started as well as during the lunch break. He got all hot and sweaty then though. He also liked being able to watch the Baptism on the big screen.
We had scheduled for friends to come over and eat chili and play our Paradise board game we made after the assembly, but it didn't work out. Andrew and I both were disappointed, but it was probably better that he got to go to bed earlier than 10 since we had a fishing trip planned for the next day!

Back to School

He loves telling jokes. He has a joke book that Annalise Rierson sent him a while back that he reads in the car every week and then repeats the same jokes to everyone he knows. His favorites are "What did one flea say to the other flea when leaving the movie theater? ... Should we go home by foot or by dog?"   He doesn't think it's as funny when I give answers like, "should we go home by foot or by Andrew?"   Another one he likes is "Why did the millipede get kicked off the soccer team? ... Because it took him too long to put on his shoes."   "What goes Zzub Zzub Zzub? ... a bee/fly flying backwards."  There are several others he keeps repeating. I guess I need to get him another joke book.

Tuesday August 18th - Andrew actually got up and made his bed without being asked. I only had to ask once for him to go get dressed for school. He was so cooperative all morning, even for first day of school photos.  He was ready early enough to enjoy some play time too.
Unfortunately, there were no parking spaces left by the time we got to school so I couldn't walk and wait with him. I did get out at the curb to hug him goodbye and remind him that he had to wait at the front main entrance since his classroom doesn't have an exterior door to wait by like before. He was so brave walking to the entrance by himself and having to wait surrounded by unfamiliar people (since all his previous classmates moved on to 2nd grade, he is will all new people, and this particular class is in the 3rd grade wing of the school.)  I could sense he felt uneasy but he said he was okay and handled it like a champion. I was so proud of him.
I waited by the side door where he'd exit school and he was so excited to see me. He said it was "awesome" and his favorite part of the day was getting to marble paper in art class. He described the whole process that included droppers and paints and water, and dipping paper and bookmarks.  He said he accidentally put an entire bookmark in at once but it still came out pretty. 
He said the new teacher is "tough, but not too tough for me to handle."  He said he only got in a "little bit of trouble for not listening a couple of times" but overall he was good all day.
He came home to the dining room decorated with streamers and balloons, a new lego set, and a couple of mini-cupcakes with candles in them.  He was very excited, and also hoping that the whole house had decorations and hidden presents. lol  He had the new lego set put together in about 2 hours - he made a scorpion first. It's a 3-in-1 set that can also make a snake and something else. 200 little pieces!

He has made a game for himself outside - throwing a ball on the roof and trying to catch it when it falls. He has also successfully climbed one of the trees in the backyard on his own.
Though one day, he came inside and said, "Sorry for the noise. If you heard the thumping on the roof, that was me. Sorry."   ???!  There is a ladder leaning against the side of the house. He just climbed right up and walked across the roof to get his ball out of the rain gutter!!  We calmly explained to him the reasons never to do that again without daddy.

After the first week of school, he said "I think I need to be in second grade. First is too easy, I already know everything."  I told him that they won't give him all the hard stuff the first week of school. Just give it time - it will get more challenging.  So now he tells that to other people too, that first grade is too easy, but he's waiting for it to get challenging.

At the end of last school year, he won a bunch of prizes with the race to read. One was a free game of bowling every day through the first week of September. We weren't able to get to the bowling ally until the end of summer!! So we have gone almost every day since school started. He is enjoying it. The lightest ball they have is a six, but he prefers the 7s and handles them fine. He definitely needs the bumpers most of the time. His average score is probably around 65. Though one day he actually bowled a 100! 
Every time we go bowling, he asks if he can play in the "Aye-kerade" before I correct him and say Arcade. Maybe someday, but not anytime soon. He sure is persistent and hopeful though.

He took the outdoor cushions and built a reading cave for himself against the banister overlooking the stairs inside. I draped a quilt over the railing to provide padding for his back as he sat there reading. He sat in it for hours reading the Calvin and Hobbs books and giggling.

Birthdays have very much been on his mind. He knows his is coming up and he already brought home an invitation to another one. He told me that they have been pressuring him to come to the party and he keeps telling them no. Wednesday (before even knowing these things yet)  I told Andrew that I wanted to start reading to him every night from the Learn from the Great Teacher book. He didn't have to do any reading, it'd just be something to give him things to think about as he falls asleep. He excitedly scoured the contents and chose the one about parties. He told me he wanted to read that one because of all the birthday parties coming up. So we read it and discussed it and he was very pleased.
Thursday morning, he and daddy got in a conversation about rejecting the party again. Andrew wanted to tell him that he didn't need to go to the party because he had another one to go (a congregation picnic). Daddy helped him realize that it might be misunderstood and hurt the boys feelings. So Andrew decided he'd take the great Teacher book to school and let the boy read the chapter on parties, but we didn't bookmark it and Andrew couldn't find the chapter in a hurry when he tried at school. I told him I was so proud of him for even wanting to and that it showed great courage to try.

Friday night the Waggoners came over and played Cranium with us. Andrew wanted to read every card and try to act out or draw or sculpt on every turn. He made great effort when we let him try an activitiy. My favorite was when he had to draw clues to get us to guess a word. "Button Fly" was the answer and he drew a button with wings. So cute and clever.

Saturday morning we learned the Fox's are moving an hour North. Andrew pushed his bottom lip out in sadness as I told him about it. I'm sure he will miss them greatly.

Another Move!

July 28th - I've been pretty sick for a while and trying hard to remember to take natural antibiotics.  Andrew kept bringing me watered down juice and some pills insisting I take them "two at a time". Lol  He even offered to make me breakfast!

I had printed out a paper that says, "A mom's treasure is her son, always and forever" and taped it to my bedroom door.  A couple of days later I saw a picture Andrew drew taped next to it that said, "A sons treasiur is his mom and dad."  He's such a gift.

There was one day over the last few couple of weeks that Andrew seemed emotional. I finally got him to sit and talk with me on the couch. He got teary eyed when he said he wanted to move back to Tennessee because he had "better friends there."  He especially missed Samantha Pingle. I told him I missed all of our friends too, but we have wonderful new friends. It's just our circumstances at the moment aren't allowing us to have a lot of play time with them.

Thursday July 30, 2015 - He finally had his first bible reading in the new congregation of 1 Kings 15:16-24. He read perfectly even with all sorts of crazy names like Tab•rim′mon, A′bel-beth-ma′a•cah, Chin′ne•reth, and Je•hosh′a•phat. He did an excellent job. 

On August 8th, we finally got to move into a new house! Andrew tried to convince me to let him have the master bedroom. He said it wasn't fair that we got a bathroom attached to the room and he didnt.  I did let him choose between the other two bedrooms. He picked the one that "isn't square."  It is bigger than his old bedroom which is nice. It is adjacent to our room and has two large windows and a decent sized closet.
The next day he tried to unpack his suitcase of clothes. He came to me and told me, "I put all the clothes I don't like up on that top shelf."  I came in to check the progress later and found almost all of his clothes thrown up on the top shelf. I got a chuckle out of that. I took did take it all down and reorganized his closet. I folded all the winter stuff on that top shelf, and then put his stacks of t-shirts and shorts on the reachable shelf, and hung his current-season dress clothes up.
We went to Ikea for a few things and Andrew picked out a houseplant for himself to have in his room. He's very excited to have one of his own to take care of. First he picked out a cactus, then a different cactus, then a plant with tiny pink flowers 'because I like pink' he said, but then settled on a tall bushy green plant that looks to him like a bunch of little trees of a forest.

We were riding in the car listening to music. Andrew was obviously paying attention to lyrics when he said, "This is a nonsense song! It doesn't make any sense."  One lyric asked 'why can't I speak when ever I talk about you' and he wanted to know how that was even possible. 

One evening we were invited to the Geiger's house for a water fight. It actually got cool in the evening, so when Andrew got wet, he started shivering but still had a blast running around shooting water in every direction.  Once everyone was done, we sat around in the kitchen and they were eating snacks and popsicles. I can't remember the full conversation that was happening with all these teenage boys in the room, but I mentioned how Andrew might find out you like a girl and ramp up his efforts to steal her attention. Andrew laughed so hard and pointed at me and said, "That woman right there is a liar!!" All of us were in stitches - and he knew I was right because he'd already done it before.

Right before we left for meeting on Sunday, he decided to make "mirror art" after (or perhaps instead of) brushing his teeth.  Streaks of toothpaste were all over the mirror. I told him it was very creative, but wasteful and messy, so I'd rather he not do that again.
The next day I he filled his sink up with water, threw wash rags into the water, then threw them at the mirror in an effort to try and clean it all up.  What a mess that was! But at least he tried.




Sunday Ted told Andrew he'd introduce him to the Star Wars movies. Andrew was super excited and was happy to have all the Waggoner boys come watch it with him. He had been reading Star Wars related books from the library, and since he was outgrowing his Spiderman costume, I let him choose a new one at Costco one day, and he chose Darth Vader. But I told him, any time he is in costume - he must be a nice character no matter how that character is portrayed in books or movies.
Apparently he built some Lego cities and aircraft based on some superheros, but made them be "good" versions of them.  (He has been fascinated with super heros and wanting to learn all their real names, and he actually remembers them all once you tell him!)

Monday August 17th - we were at the school bright and early so he could complete some testing. He talked to the teacher a LOT in between questions. I heard him tell her that he doesn't celebrate birthdays. He mentioned serving Jehovah, and that Jesus is his son and they are together in Heaven, and the best place to learn more about them is at the Kingdom Hall, and that going in service is really important work. He also advised not to go to the camping site they went to because it had a lot of mosquitos. He told her that he was a "skilled reader" and she commended him for using that word. I couldn't understand all that was said but she seemed patient while she listened and responded.   He was quite disappointed to discover she would not be teaching multiplication and division this year. She assured him she would still exercise his brain by teaching addition and subtraction with three-digit numbers.
Later in the day he wasn't sure if he wanted to come to the chiropractor or not. He thought he was bargaining with me when he offered, "I'll go with you if I get the adjustment first and you take me to Wasabi (sushi) after."  He stayed home and watched a movie Ted put on for him.
He and I both are a little excited for him to be starting school tomorrow. It's been a crazy summer, and I'm glad that he'll get to be around kids his own age and his own intellect being stimulated with education and play.  I just wish the school day wasn't so long!

Spiritual Activities

"Dad, I know a short cut - you only know a long cut."

At the convention Sunday, "Dad, can I have a piece of gum?... so I can sit next to Caley."  Caley is a 13 year old girl, the big sister of Jesse (the girl he has claimed to be a little sweet on), and also the girl Kevin is interested in. All of Sunday he decided to chase after Caley. I asked 'what happened to Jesse?' He said, "I want them both."
At lunch he asked Caley if he could sit with her. She said to ask parents. Then he asked if she could sit with him and she said she had a cleaning assignment later. So he asked if he could sit with her Thursday at the meeting and she replied, "you know what? why don't I sit with you Thursday."  So he has a date for the meeting. lol  *eyeroll*

Monday June 29th, in the evening Andrew came in from outside and asked if he could have a spray bottle of water to spray himself with because he was hot.  While I was making dinner I looked out the window and saw him drawing pictures with water on the fence. Such a neat idea! 

It's been a wild few weeks - I had kidney stones during the convention and then ill from the meds the next four weeks, cousin Colt was here for a month and wasn't the kindest person to Andrew but did make for us having three teenagers sleeping on our couch several days which Andrew liked, we were house hunting and also finishing the wall we'd built in this house and packing up to get it on the market. I'm sure Andrew did a lot of great things - but I sure haven't remembered it all.

Tuesday July 21st - we joined the Fox family (this time she had 7 kids with her) at the park for a couple of hours and then brought the most difficult one home with us to give the mom a break. He does best one on one with people and he did pretty well for me most of the time. He did argue with me a few times, have to get reprimanded for punching/kicking while dressed as Ironman, and was caught lying once - but we managed. I was definitely ready for him to go home, as was Andrew - but he told his mom that it was awesome!

Wednesday morning we were trying to get ourselves ready and out the door to go to Elitch Gardens since we hadn't done much fun in a while other than going to the park briefly here and there. I told Andrew to put on a short sleeved shirt that he doesn't care about. He came back with a long sleeved swim shirt.  I told him "even if you don't understand WHY I'm telling you - please listen to my words.." and repeated my request. He finally did but then came back and said, "But mom, I just don't understand why I have to pick a shirt I don't like!"  I was already running behind schedule and would have preferred to discuss it in the car, but oh well. I explained that he would be hot in the long sleeve shirt because he's not going to be getting wet all day. And the reason for a non-favorite shirt is so that it doesn't matter if it gets dirty, torn, or lost.  "Oooohhh" he said.   I love that he thinks about everything and I can even appreciate that he challenges what I say because he doesn't understand and is trying to - but it's frustrating when you're in a hurry or in the middle of your own things and have to stop and explain because he can't stand waiting for an explanation. It bothers him so much not knowing the answers.

Thursday July 24th - he had another part on the meeting. Reviewing the comics/teaching illustrations on JW.org, Andrew got to read the part of Pharoah not listening to Moses and Aaron when Jehovah wanted him to free the Israelites.  When it was Andrew's turn, he tried to make his voice big and deep but ended up with some strange accent. It was hilarious.  Then he and two other boys were invited to the stage to answer some review questions about the story. Before they could answer, the brother read the scriptures that gave hints to the answer. Andrew realized what the brother was doing and decided on his own he would whisper to the brother what scriptures needed to be read. The brother was very gracious and said, "Andrew's such a great helper, thank you!" and kept right on going which of course made Andrew feel pretty proud of himself. lol.
  Earlier in the evening, after I'd given my first talk in this congregation, we were listening to the next part talking about Fathers/Husbands and the role the have. At one point he talked about disciplining children mildly and Andrew leaned over to us and said, "did you hear that? MILD discipline!!" 

Friday morning I gave Andrew the choice of going out in service or not. At first he wasn't interested but then asked where we meet. I said Maria Lopez.  He scrambled to get ready.  He told me in the car he was coming because he's never seen her house and he wants to study people's houses because one day he is going to build houses for people and he needs to study their structure first.  Then once we arrived, he decided he wanted to be out in service because it is pleasing to Jehovah and a way to save people.   I had a presentation in mind but really wasn't excited about it, so I appreciated the brother sharing a much more simple one with us during the meeting. Andrew decided he wanted to do that presentation too but he condensed it a little bit, but still had trouble remembering so he covered his ears in the car so he could concentrate. He was able to get it out once, but forgot again by the first door. So I suggested he just introduce himself and offer to read a scripture and then I'd take care of the rest. So that is what we did. We placed three "Good News" brochures with nice people who let him read Matthew 24:14.  Andrew was very much confused by the ones who said they weren't interested.
   I let him pick a place for break and ended up treating him to a chocolate sprinkled donut and some juice, and bought the two older brothers a drink and chocolate muffin as a thanks for driving and helping us through the morning. It was a lovely morning and Andrew was great. He's been such a helpful sweetie pie lately.

Saturday morning we worked with three other older sisters, but they were doing calls all morning. Andrew went to the door with them a couple of times, and chimed right in to tell one householder who is on the computer a lot to check out jw.org and jw broadcasting to learn more. Near the end of the morning we tried out another donut place. He was so good all morning.

His First Interview

Sunday June 14th we took the puppies to the dog park for the first time. They had a blast!  Andrew had fun running around and playing on the dog training stuff too.  After the meeting, the Fox family came to our neighborhood park. Each of the kids got to take turns on Andrew's skateboard - he was SO good at sharing. Jesse, the girl his age, was very scared to stand up on the board, so Andrew gently held her and walked with her on the skateboard helping her along. He was being such a gentleman.

Monday June 15th we managed to make it to the library after our chiropractic appointments. He picked out some superhero books and comic books and sat for 2 hours reading.  He requested Aliens for Lunch, and Aliens for Dinner - but they didn't have them. I did let him bring three superhero books home and he's getting interested in Star Wars.  lovely.
After lunch I bribed him to take a nap. I offered him candy after nap if he would actually sleep. He suggested he get his ipad back three days early instead of candy if he takes a nap. I agreed.  He slept for nearly two hours.
When daddy got home, we learned that his cousin Dan was on a layover in Denver. So we headed out to meet him. Unfortunately, in an effort to find his hotel and parking near it amongst several one-way streets - we ended up in a fender bender. We moved the car into a covered ally to be out of the way of traffic. Andrew just sat by the car and read his new library books and asked Dan a lot of questions. Once all that fiasco was over, we walked to a burger place where they played several rounds of speed tic-tac-toe. We enjoyed meeting Dan and had a pleasant evening overall.

"I'm gonna have wisdom but not do what my dad said.... I'm gonna brush my teeth first instead of get in my pajamas."   He is often wanting to do something other than what we say, just to test the limits of his own power. 

Tuesday morning he came in my room all concerned, "mom! Colt's not here!!"  He didn't know that Murray picked him up from the airport Monday night. He wasn't supposed to be here! 
We got adjustments at the chiropractor because of the accident, and then went and picked Colt up from Murray's house. Andrew was so excited to meet him.  Kevin came over and they all played some video games and rockband. Colt spent the night in Andrew's room.

Wednesday morning they played together and then we got Tony Lopez and Kevin, both 15, and headed to Elitchs.  I told the teenagers we'd be in the kiddieland and they could go have fun but keep in touch. Andrew finally got to stay in the big tower with the air cannons and foam balls and not ride any rides. When his face was bright red and sweaty, I suggested we go to the water park to cool down. He enjoyed that, but was too nervous to go down the water slides without a life jacket on because he couldn't remember if he could touch the bottom. So we got one for him - and he could touch the bottom with his head and shoulders above water. So he ditched the lifevest and went down the slide more. That was exciting for him. Then he was cold. So we went back to the regular park, I let him try a caramel apple as a snack and we sat on a bench in the sun trying to warm him up. I finally suggested that running around in the ball place would help. So back there we went. When he got hot again, he was ready to go to water.  The boys joined us there, but a few minutes later lightning was nearby so it all shut down. perfect time to go home!  Two of the boys wanted Taco Bell so I took them there before dropping them all off at home one by one.  All in all - a good day for Andrew I think.

Thursday June 18th - I got up to find Andrew already making his favorite breakfast rather than waiting for me to make it.  He got a yogurt and had already stirred it. Then he had a cutting board where he'd sliced some frozen strawberries, and then had a toasted waffle on a plate he was cutting up.  He asked me to help him assemble it - but he did the work!
Thursday night he was chosen for a part where they interviewed three children about their favorite Bible character. He chose David. It took me all week to get Andrew comfortable to just talk about what he knew rather than try to memorize a script of what to say. Just talk from his mind instead.
And when he got dressed, he had a vest and jacket on too and he said, "I look like a little elder don't I?"  He helped the brothers set up the stage and plug in the microphones and then very anxiously waited for his part.
He mentioned how David killed a lion and a bear to protect his fathers sheep, but also killed Goliath who was taunting Jehovah's people. Then he went on to tell a detailed story of how David wanted to stop Goliath and knew Jehovah would be with him always, and went to a river and got five stones and put one in his sling and swung it around. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead and killed him. Then Goliath's army saw him lying on the ground and started to run away with the Israelites chasing after them and David won the battle.  And when he was asked why he'd like to be like David - he said he wanted to have strong faith in Jehovah.   He was so cute. 
After the meeting he said, "I didn't want to do that part. I wanted a longer part."  I told him he was the longest one up there! lol 

There was one day recently when I was trying to clean the house and do laundry, etc.  He came up and announced that he had helped me with the laundry so that I wouldn't have to do everything. So thoughtful.  I went downstairs later and he had taken everything out of the dryer (with ten minutes left on it) and put the slightly damp clothes on my massage table for folding.  Then he took everything from the washer and put it in the dryer and waited for me to push the button.  He's so cute.
He has been better the last week or so about cleaning up all of his toy mess downstairs. I know Daddy has been reminding him.

Friday morning he packed his own backpack with clothes and loveys while daddy packed up the car for camping. Andrew was very excited to be going camping and fishing (he tried to convince me that I didn't have to buy canned food for them because they'd be catching all the food they need to eat) but got a little emotional when the reality set in that I wasn't coming with them.  I sure hope they have fun!
Friday afternoon I got an email notifying me that Andrew was a winner in the Summer Reading week 3 from the library.  He won a family 5 pack of tickets to the Lakeside Amusement Park. That should be fun. A nice surprise for him to learn about when he comes home from camping.

Summer Activities

June 1st - Andrew spent most of the day in Kevin's care since I had appointments. Once I was done, I hung out with them too. We played a round of Mario Party 9, then walked to the park and played Frisbee, then played on the playground.  I held the frisbee up and let the boys try to throw a small football through it, they climbed, dug holes and buried the football to dig it back up. Andrew got frustrated a few times throughout the day when he felt things weren't fair, or turns were missed, or if he had higher expectations of his abilities that weren't being realized.

June 2nd - I picked up Dwayne and Kevin and we headed to Elitch's. They were very kind in choosing rides that Andrew could ride too rather than running off to all the adult rides. Andrew seemed to have the most fun standing on the bridge or by the log ride and getting soaked each time a boat came down. He also found a hole in the pavement and sat in the puddle that had formed and splashed. What we didn't know at the time, was that he was also getting covered in tar from that hole. That didn't come off until we could use coconut oil at home.
After lunch in the parking lot, we went to the water park. He didn't know what to think about the lazy river and decided by the end that he wanted his feet down (surprisingly he could touch and wanted to walk). He liked the wave pool while the waves lasted but was freezing otherwise.  Kevin spent about 20 minutes with him in the kiddie land watching him go down slides and in and out of the structures.

June 3rd - we were off to the chiropractor early. This time Andrew also got postural analysis and x-rays done. His weight was off balance and his head rotated just like mine was. And it turns out his entire pelvis is shifted to the right a bit. So that will need to get corrected.

June 6th he decided he wanted to take every door out in service. He only had one person tell him he wasnt interested. We walked a good 3 square blocks and he placed 28 invitations to the convention.

Monday June 8th we drove all over the place trying to find him new shoes. Dress shoes were hard to find. He got a new pair of tennis shoes at Ross... jumping from size 13 to size 3 in that particular shoe. A little on the bigger side but he's been complaining a lot of growing pains so maybe he'll stay in these longer. We had to go to the mall to get dress shoes. He loved checking out all the bunk beds and bed castles in a store we passed. Maybe someday we can have one for him. In dress shoes, we ended up getting him a 1.5 sized shoe. He may not be in it too long, but the 2-2.5 were too wide and too long.

Tuesday we went in service again. He has now adopted Jenny Geiger as his "aunt". He enjoyed working with her dad for part of the morning and then chose Jenny. He adjusted his presentation as the morning went on to say, "Hi, my name is Andrew. I have an invitation to a special event. All the information is inside. Here is your copy. Have a nice day."  He did wonderfully. It was crazy hot though and a lot of walking.
On one uphill hike, he was telling Jenny about his family. He has disowned one of his cousins in his head and didn't know what to think when we told him that family is family even if you don't like them. He still has decided to disown a cousin. He mentioned that one cousin "did a very bad thing. Two actually. They told me to keep it a secret but I told my mom anyway."  I assured him he did the right thing. "And they blamed me! But I'm not going to tell you what it was."   He mentions it somehow just about every single week. I'm proud of him for talking about it without revealing what happened. I think he has victim's guilt, but talking about it surely helps him process it.
We went to the portrait studio to see the Waggoners photo session. As soon as we sat on the couch he felt lost behind Britt and Kevin and said "wait! who can see me??"  thinking we were getting a photo taken. He was still confused after the viewing session when we were leaving wondering why we didn't have pictures taken.  Cutie.  We are going Saturday for our own.
On the way home we stopped and got his swimsuit and then went to the pool at their apartment. Kevin and Andrew swam for a good hour or longer before daddy showed up. Then it started lightning so we walked back to the apartment. Kevin came home with us and we made sushi bowls for dinner which Andrew protested at first (because he was upset that I wouldn't help him clean up a mess he made downstairs) but then said it was "awesome."   Then we helped daddy rearrange and clean the garage until after 9pm. Andrew thinks it's very unfair that he has to go to bed earlier than everyone else. I told him it will seem very unfair for a long time, but when he is older, he won't be growing as fast and won't need as much rest and can stay up. But it was already two hours past his usual bedtime anyway and I'd been very kind to let him stay up, to pull out more toys, etc. 

He is counting down the days until his cousin Colt comes in from Nevada. He is excited to meet him.

Wednesday morning we headed to the library only to discover it doesn't open until noon. So we took his bike to the park.  There was a 12 year old girl playing soccer by herself, so Andrew asked if he could play and kick the ball back to her.  They played for over an hour! It was really good for him.
We came home and I fed him lunch and then settled us both down for naps. I'm pretty sure he didn't stay in bed very long at all.  When I got up, he was surprised to see me and his cheeks were obviously full. I asked him if he was eating candy and he nodded his head. I asked him how many he had and he replied, "I don't want to tell you."  I reminded him that he doesn't get in trouble if he tells the truth and asked if it was more than two. He nodded again.  I just turned and walked away. I'm too tired today. I found Mamba candy which is basically a starburst without food coloring - and he helped himself to several apparently.

Thursday the 11th we met the Fox family (5 kids) at another park where they enjoyed playing ball and climbing trees. Jesse is a little girl from the hall that is the same age as him, he's a little sweet on her. It was so nice for Andrew to have several new friends to play with.

June 12th - he didn't believe me that the ground was wet from overnight rain and went outside to play barefoot. Soon he was begging to turn on the hose to wash his feet. So I carried him to the bathtub and told him to wash his feet there. Before I know it - he is IN the full tub of water fully dressed and playing.
In the afternoon, I was putting things away in his room. I picked up his meeting pants to put on a hanger. He asked for a hanger and said, "hurry! before dad gets home!!" I asked why the rush and he said, "because he told me to hang these up in the morning!!" He turns to his shirt and mumbles to himself, "I know how to do this."   Later I came back to find his shirt laying on his bed, with the top of the hanger coming through the arm hole. It might have been sideways - but hey, it was on the hanger, so technically, he had obeyed.

Saturday June 13th, we went to a photography studio for our free portrait session. Andrew was perfect. After that was done, we went to Play it Again Sports and Target and got him a youth football, soccer ball, baseball glove and balls, a small skateboard and knee/elbow pads, and a fishing pole. He just couldn't believe that we were getting all of that stuff for him. We also went to claim our $40 in free sushi at Wasabi which he was very excited to eat. He even got to have a natural Japanese soda where to open it you push the marble down through the top. That was interesting (and delicious!).

Last week of school!

May 22nd - the Waggoners came over again to play Rock Band. Andrew was frustrated, even in no-fail mode, that he couldn't get all the notes right on the guitar or drums. He loved singing though - especially Eye of the Tiger. And when all else fails - he dresses up as a super hero and runs around engaging anyone who will play.

May 25th we went to Elitch Gardens Amusement Park.  Andrew actually wanted to ride one called the sling shot.  He and daddy got strapped into a round cage of sorts and then cables are pulled taut and then they are shot waaaay high, it bounces and spins, and then when it settles they are lowered back down to the ground. Andrew never even screamed. He stayed calm and collected. Daddy yelled excitedly to him, "Are you having fun, bro?"  Andrew calmly replied, "Yes. I'm having fun." 
He rode all the kiddie rides by himself by choice. The main thing he wanted to do is go into the tower with all the foam balls (like at Fun City) but I told him we could do that another day when daddy wasn't along (thinking they'd like to ride rides together.)  They found a log ride they could do together. Ted actually had to hold Andrew down in his seat because the lap bar didn't come close to Andrew. They sat in the front. Andrew loved that.  They didn't make it back over the bridge in time and got soaked by the next boat coming down, but they loved it. It started to storm shortly after, and it was 4pm anyway so we headed out.

May 26th was Field Day at school. Because of the month of rain we'd had, they held it inside for the first time ever. It was chaotic - but Andrew and his partner ran around doing as many activities as they could and seemed to have some fun.

That night we had our circuit overseer. During his talk he mentioned how our worst day ever can only last 24 hours. It does come to an end.  Andrew was on my lap and said, "Mine never ends! Every day is bad!"  Poor kid. lol.  Last week he did get in trouble apparently for talking at school twice and had some of his recess taken away, he didn't get recess one day later in the week because he didn't turn in Math homework (which never came home with us and I had written a note to the teacher on Monday saying that), kids had been making fun of him at school calling him names and teasing him that he eats 'baby food' from those squeezy pouches (no different than apple sauce!) and someone had pushed him and made him get hurt. It had been a tough week.

On the 27th he got to go to the zoo with his school. He said he enjoyed it but he didn't tell me much about it.  We picked up Kevin after school and hung out at the park for a while. They played Frisbee, kicked a ball around, climbed the tree, and played on the playground until I was ready to go home and start dinner.

May 28th was finally the last day of school! He said the best thing about it was "getting out at 1:30 instead of 3:30" and that they got more recess.  I had a chiropractic visit right after school, and Wasabi's Sushi Bar was next door. So we surprised him and took him for sushi. I ordered a fried Philly for him.  "I don't like this ham," he said.  "It's not ham, it's salmon," I replied.   "Well I don't like this salmon."   I suggested he eat it with the cream cheese. He ate his entire roll and made sure the entire roll was his and he didn't have to share it.
We went to Sports Authority so daddy could ask about snow boards. They both have season passes to Winter Park this year and apparently for kids you can rent all their gear for $70 for the season.
Andrew found the skateboards and tried riding one around the department. He is begging for a skateboard.
We went to the park on our way home for a while. The boys kicked the ball around a bit, played frisbee. Got the ball stuck in a tree which daddy had to climb to get. He tried doing chin ups on a tree branch after climbing to the top of the tree twice and back down. He showed daddy what a pro he is at the monkey bars. He just zips right across them like they are nothing!
He did try to negotiate his bedtime. "You know, I should be able to stay up later because I dont have school anymore."  I told him that for this night, he still needed to go to bed and get proper rest and he'd be in trouble if we caught him up reading or playing. 

Winner winner!

As soon as the doors swung open at school Thursday afternoon, May 7th, I had all these little first graders surrounding me trying to speak over each other about Andrew. I had NO IDEA what they were trying to say. They were taking so long to spit their thoughts out that I was starting to wonder if Andrew was in big trouble because they were all so serious about it.
"Andrew got his name called over the loud speaker..."
"Andrew is gonna have his name on the BIG screen!... "
"Andrew beat everyone, even the second graders, even the Kindergarteners"

Andrew came running out, "I won the Race to Read!!"
This kid reads on the toilet, reads instead of getting dressed, will sneak a flashlight under his pillow so he can read after bedtime. Well - it finally paid off I guess. He has a free ticket to a race at the speedway where they apparently will put his name on the big screen and something else. I didn't quite catch it all. But he's pretty proud of himself!! He is an excellent reader and I'm glad he loves to read.

They had student led parent conferences at the school that we had to speed through so we wouldn't be late to meeting. Andrew wanted us to come so he could show us his artwork, show us the chapter books he is independently reading (about zombies), show us the rocks they studied in science, and even the powerpoint presentation about animals that he created. 

On the way to meeting, he was telling us all about Ancient Egypt and people buried in Tombs, and to be careful of false passages. He talked about tomb raiders. He couldn't remember the names of the characters, but he gave so many details about the story that we had to ask if it was a book they were discussing as a class, or if it was a movie he saw. Nope - just a book he was reading himself.  Ted and I were blown away that he could grasp so much from the book. So much detail he was spouting! 

They've had the book fair going on at school all week. I told him we really didn't have the funds for books right now. He made a wish list though. He wanted books that were good vs. evil battles relating to zombies, Lego characters, and Big Hero 6.  Nana kindly offered to reward him with some books for winning the Race to Read contest. So Friday morning we went to school early so we could browse the fair. The first several books he showed me, I refused to buy. I totally understand why he is drawn to them, but I just don't support it and I dont think Nana would either. And these would be a gift from her. He did get excited about a Skippyjon Jones book.  We brought home Racing The Waves: Tales of the Time Dragon; Dragon Masters: Rise of the Earth Dragon; Hot Rod Hamster and the Wacky Whatever Race; Skippyjon Jones: Cirque De Ole.  Wouldn't you know he nearly missed getting to go to the book fair this morning because... he was reading instead of getting dressed for school.


One day he was in line outside the school waiting for the doors to open. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with glow-in-the-dark skeleton bones on it. He turned to the girls in line behind him, "I have a super power. You know what I can do? I can make these bones glow in the dark!"  lol

May 13th we had to go buy Andrew a new booster seat. He outgrew his car seat for daddys car. I had a free $5 and a coupon for Kohls so we swung by there also to buy Andrew another book. He picked out one that is short stories about all the Marvel comics characters. It's a large 200 page book with plenty of reading and pictures.  That night I just sensed he was up after bedtime. Sure enough, I open the door and he is sitting in his bean bag reading that book by the light of a salt lamp. I tried to explain to him the need for sleep. He was already halfway through the book!  The next morning, daddy found him on the couch reading the book and almost to the end. "Have you read all of those pages??"  He said yes, so daddy took the book and quizzed him on a few of the characters. Sure enough, Andrew proved he not only read it, but retained it!  We can't believe he went through such a large book in only about 2-2.5 hours time!

May 15th I picked him up early from school to head to the Pediatrician. I was pretty sure the eye blinking (which has mostly stopped finally) and the throat clearing (which is better but still there) was all stress related. It started shortly after he told me about being 'taken advantage of' and all the emotions/stress that go with that, while daddy was already in Colorado and we were still in Tennessee, and in the midst of the stress of moving and knowing that we'd be changing schools and congregations soon, and a couple of kids at the hall bullying him a few times. Lots of stress for the little guy, especially after the ridiculous year we'd already been trying to recover from. BUT, he did claim a few times that it felt like a lump in his throat so I wanted to be sure there wasn't more to be concerned about that didn't show up with the FCT testing.  The doctor agreed it was 100% stress and I had nothing to worry about. It's possible it could go away on its own later, but it might be good to try and deal with it now rather than later by giving him resources to help with the stress.  So I have a list of therapists that the Dr. trusts that work with children regularly that I can consider.

Friday night, the Waggoner boys came over to hang out. They had a blast getting to wrestle, rough and tumble all evening. Andrew got his bean bag out and they used it as padding to run into each other and jump on each other. They were going til about 11:20pm! 

Saturday morning the boys slept in but met me later at the Kingdom Hall work day. We pulled weeds and the boys hauled rocks and moved rocks. We offered drinks to all the workers. It was a lovely morning. We barely got to eat lunch before the thunder and lightning started and managed to get home before the rain.
In the evening, the boys were off to Bandimere Speedway to watch the Night of Fire and Thunder that Andrew got them into for free thanks to his Race to Read.  His name was on the big screen all night too. He got a goodie bag full of candy, a wand that has multiple lights on it, a water bag, a pencil, shoe laces, etc and got to pick out a new book.  He and daddy had a blast.

Sunday morning the Waggoner boys jogged with daddy and then we walked the dogs around the park. A little later, Andrew hurt his elbow. Daddy scooped him up and I kissed his elbow. I said, "You're a bit stinky!" and he said, "That's my daddy!"  lol  They both needed to bathe.

Our latest 'battle' with Andrew is that he tries to be sneaky. He has tried to sneak his ipad into his room and hide it under his bed, he has hidden books under his bed. When we ask what he's doing he denies doing anything. He lost his ipad for a week for stealing it and hiding it and then lying about it.

One day recently he got a card from Nana. We were walking home from the mailbox and he was carrying it. I asked him who it was from and he said, "Asta"  and I said, "who is that?"  He looked up at me with a very special dear smile and said, "Do you know my Nana?"  Funny thing is that he and Nana picked out the same card to send each other! Andrew didn't even have it all the way open when he said 'it looks like the Hamster Dance card!" and when it was he laughed, "It is! This is hilarious!!"

Sneaky obsessions

Friday the 24th, we took a break from moving the Waggoners and the boys came over to relax. Andrew definitely enjoyed having the boys to play with. Saturday he got to have little Kennedy and Kaiya, both 3 year old little girls, to play with in an empty room at the Waggoners house while we were moving stuff that day. He enjoyed that. Before we left in the evening, we had to take Kaiya to the apartment. Andrew was acting like an adorable big brother and babying her, trying to help her unbuckle and help her out of her seat, help her to the sidewalk and walked her to the apartment door.

Since he got to play Clue a few times, he moved on to wanting to learn to play Monopoly.  I don't like the game but daddy was patient enough to teach him. He grasped it easily and kept his property and money organized, and he did the math on his own for the most part.  Ted said, " My favorite was what happened every time he landed on a property I own. Ted:'Okay, you owe $450 for rent." Andrew would reply, "I'm just going to give you $50."  Ted would say, "No, it's $450."  Andrew: "Okay, here is $450."  LOL    Near the end of the game, he didn't have enough to pay that rent and he knew it. But he was trying to count up everything he had. "Can't we just cheat in this game?" he asked, hoping to find some way to prolong the game.  I'm glad he enjoyed playing despite losing in the end. 

He used a bungee cord to tie both of his scooters together, hoping he'd be able to ride them at the same time.

He also rode his bike down the small hill in the front yard - straight for the road, but through the rocks. He got to the sidewalk and crashed. Skinned his hip and knees pretty well. Daddy and Kevin were working in the garage and came to make sure he was okay. We sat on the steps for a few minutes as Kevin and Daddy both related their crashing stories trying to make Andrew feel better. I finally leaned over and whispered in his ear, "you know what this tells me - so far you're smarter than them when it comes to riding a bicycle."  He got a big smile on his face, stood and marched to the top of the stairs... "you know what my story is gonna be??!..."  and he was all happy again.

Friday May 1st he was out of school so I invited friends to come have breakfast and play. He had 5 boys from ages 9-15 come to play with him. They loved climbing the trees, wearing superhero capes and masks, learning to do hand-stands from Kevin, and how to properly fall as they launched over the deck railing. Two car groups stopped by for break too. It was lovely.
I managed to get Andrew to take a nap before a 4 year old named Drake came over to play in the late afternoon. They enjoyed his toys and a little hide and seek outside.

He has been loving a "tornado tube" and "bottle fountain" he's been able to make with two plastic bottles and water. The tornado tube makes a water tornado as it empties from one bottle to the other.  The fountain has two straws that create a fountain in the top bottle as the water empties to the bottom. He loves the snap circuits and light up lego pegs and figuring out how things work.

One day recently he got off the toilet after pooping and told me, "it's science. Sometimes when you have some hard poo, it all sticks together and comes out as a family group."  Interesting way to describe it I guess.

One night he was saying his prayer and in the middle included, "and we wish you all to have a good time up in Heaven"  So sweet.

Andrew told me last week that he no longer likes yogurt covered raisins. "And I don't really like turkey."  He doesn't like peanut butter and jelly, bananas, mac n cheese, popcorn, or even chicken fingers really, and he wont eat hotdogs anymore since he got sick after eating them.  He wants taco salad, burritos, nachos, and sushi.  I'm having to give him turkey and cheese sandwiches for his school lunches for now - but if he ever starts refusing to eat them - I'm in trouble!

We were passing the greeting card aisle at the grocery. "I want to send a card to Nana!" I told him he could pick one and gave him an appropriate section to browse. He liked all the ones that make sounds. He finally picked a fun one to send to Nana and said he wanted to pick one for Papa too. He wanted to send Papa the same card - so I suggested we just address the same card to both of them. He was okay with that. 

He's been an absolute angel lately. I really do think it has to do with having the Bars therapy done a few times lately. whew! Such a sweetie.

One morning Ted came out to get ready for work and found an empty yogurt container and the limeade container was on it's side and opened (thankfully nearly empty).  We're guessing some little one in our house helped himself to a midnight snack. Another morning I came out and he was sitting in the hallway eating fruit snacks. I shook my head and he leaped up, "I only ate half! You can finish them!!"  I told him he could finish them but he was not to have fruit snacks for breakfast again. 

He is obsessed with his ipad. We don't let him play it much, but he's always begging to.  Saturday I had left him at the table eating a snack and went downstairs for just a couple of minutes. I return and he's nowhere to be found.  I call him and hear a faint voice from my room.  I go in and he quickly sits on his hands between his legs.  "Andrew, why are you holding your penis?"   "I'm not holding my penis."  "Why are you sitting that way?"  (pause)  Then in a defeated tone, "My ipad is in my shirt."
He told me that he was trying to move the charger for his ipad into his room so he can have his ipad under his bed and keep it in his room.  I told him (for the umpteenth time) that he can't keep his ipad in his room. 
That night we put him to bed at 7:30. We heard him get up a couple of times. At 9:30, Ted told me that Andrew was up again. I went and stood outside his bedroom door.  Andrew opened the door, surprised to see me.  I put him back in bed. He asked, "Why were you standing outside my door?" I told him it was because daddy told me he was up. "HOW did he know??!"  I giggled and said "I have no idea!" which made Andrew laugh but be so amazed at daddy's skills.  Daddy noticed a glow under the bed when I was leaving the room. Andrew had been in there playing his ipad all that time!! No wonder he wasn't falling asleep!

Monday May 4th I was making his usual breakfast of a waffle with yogurt, fresh fruit, coconut, chia seeds, hemp, and chocolate chips. He was riding the border of sounding rude most of the morning though I didn't think it was intentional. While sitting at the table working on homework, the pencil dropped. He demanded that I get the pencil and I told him I was working on his breakfast and couldn't come running to help him. He got irritated, "Why do I always have to get up to get it" so I left the chocolate off the breakfast and delivered it to him. A few bites in he asked if I put any chocolate chips or m&ms in it. I told him no; I had the package in hand ready to put on until he made the rude outburst about his pencil and expecting me to get it.  I reminded him that he never has to make his own breakfast, or lunch or dinner. Never has to wash his own clothes - because Mommy does it all. And even when his room gets out of control, I don't always make him clean it up - I take care of it even though I shouldn't have to.  I left off the chocolate because you don't seem to appreciate what I do for you.   He took a few more bites and then apologized. I thanked him and asked if he was saying sorry because he understood how much I do for him, or if it's because he hoped it'd fix the situation and I'd give him chocolate.  He said it's because he understood.   I gave him some chocolates then and he was very pleased with how many I put on and stopped being rude after that.

Losing More Teeth

Wednesday April 8th, we were sitting in the car waiting for school to open. He showed me his wiggly tooth again and it sure seemed ready to me! I got a paper towel and tried to pull it but it wouldn't come. So we wiggled it a little bit more. I was certain it should come out though. I finally got the idea to pull it forward (which it did easily) and then pull.... it came right out! It bled a lot so Andrew went to class with a bloody paper towel shoved in his mouth. But he was so happy to have the tooth out.  The adult tooth had already grown in behind it!

Thursday the 9th, Andrew had an epic meltdown. I wont relate it all, but it did involve throwing his school stuff in the driveway and kicking his thermos at the garage door, and *screaming* at me so violently that even the dogs cowered at my feet and under my computer desk retreating from him. I didn't even know how to react - I just let it run it's course. I asked him why he was so angry and he said it was because I didn't help him (carry his backpack and lunchbox) but his anger had started well before that.  We're kind of wondering if it wasn't blood sugar. He did start eating a snack as soon as he got in the car, and he was already getting angry then - its a 4-5 minute drive home, then another 5-10 minutes of tantrum and then it was over. He was fine. I was fighting a migraine because of the stress of the situation and daddy took over for the rest of the evening. 

We were at the grocery store together and Andrew was picking out yogurts and stacking them in my arms. I asked, "do we have enough?" and he said, "let me  count! 1-2-3.. wait. We have three key lime, and two ____, 3+2 is five.  Then we have two of ____ so that makes seven. We have two ____ which is nine - so we need one more."     I asked, "Why do we need one more."   He replied, "Because I like things in even numbers."   I thought it was neat that he didn't just count them, but did actual addition by flavor.

He is LOVING having a tree in the yard that is easy to climb. He can get pretty high in it too.

Sunday the 12th he came inside and said, "So, I was throwing the hula hoop in the air and it happened to get in the tree. I threw my ball to get the hula hoop."  I looked outside and saw a hula hoop way high in a neighbors tree by our fence, and a ball a couple of feet below it. I used a long stick to try and get the ball but it fell into the neighbors yard. I couldn't get the hula hoop myself though.

The 13th, he came home with a bill from the Library.  A couple of weeks ago, while we were having family worship, Charlie chewed the edges of the borrowed book. Andrew was very concerned that he had to pay for the book himself. They wanted $18 for it.  I found it on Amazon for 7.05 so we're just replacing it instead.  


He's been begging to play the game Clue.  Finally on the 14th, daddy taught him how to play. He did win one round, but I guess he decided it's not quite as fun as he anticipated.

The 15th, I had a client come with her boys, 9 and 12.  The 9 year old played a game of Chess with Andrew while I was working. He was very impressed that a 5 year old knew how to play.  Then Andrew was telling everyone to" make sure you don't let your hands touch during a bars session  because it creates a circuit, and a circuit is very bad because it keeps mommy from being able to do her job." lol   At dinner, he asked me to feel how loose another tooth was. I said, "that's ready to come out!" I got a paper towel, tilted the tooth out as far as it'd easily go, then gave a good tug. He was so surprised!  It made eating dinner easier though - we were eating pizza. So he has lost 4 front bottom teeth so far... two just a week apart!

Andrew has been really good since his meltdown. Polite, mostly obedient. What we would expect from him really. He got sick over the weekend though. He got sick the last time we had specific hotdogs (jumbo Hebrew Nationals) too. He was vomiting and had diarrhea. 
Aunt Sandi and Uncle Rudy came by on the 18th with a new Lego set. Andrew is very pleased with it.
Sunday morning he woke up with an itchy rash on his face and pain/itching inside his ears. He was very tired all day. I did some FCT testing on him and made some remedies. He is a mess!
He got sick again Monday morning so stayed home from school and played with his blocks and Legos and read some books. We went through ten FCT remedies. He has two to take daily and then we'll repeat all of them in a week. Hopefully something clears up.

Mad for Sushi

I think it was late Saturday afternoon that Andrew and I were playing 'Don't Break the Ice'. While we were setting it up he asked, "What does torture mean?"  I explained it and then asked where he heard that word. At Boondocks, when we were waiting in line for the go-karts that he ended up too short for, another kid in line kept saying that waiting in line so long was torture.  He'd been trying to figure it out for two days on his own! 

Sunday March 29th, we took the dogs to the park at 9am to meet up with some folks who are trying to get their dogs accustomed to others. Cara and Charlie were so excited to be out of the house - they just wanted to run. They were still really well behaved and sat when told. They never lunged at the other dogs nor growled when one sniffed them.  Andrew didn't like the lack of attention on himself. He was supposed to be riding his bike all around but spent half the time sitting in the grass in the middle of all of us sulking to some degree.
Andrew blew the congregation away with his reading skills at the meeting Sunday and last Thursday. His goal is to get to read one of the cited scriptures each meeting. Sunday he missed a shorter and easy one, but did get called on for one of the longer ones. He did great and was very pleased!
After meeting, the Waggoner boys came over to hang out. They brought their xbox and rock band, but when daddy tried to do a quick wiring to get the amp and the game hooked up - there was a spark and it took out the amp and the tv.  So no games on the tv.   We grilled hotdogs for dinner and then pulled out Boxers or Briefs and Imaginiff  and played games until almost 10pm. Andrew left in a fit a few times for no understandable reasons. Later in the evening, he kept coming out of his room with a different mask or costume on and trying to get attention that way.  Then he'd join the game for a little bit until he got mad about something else.  It was a roller coaster, but we all had fun anyway.

Monday was his last day off of school. I was not feeling well at all. He patiently waited for me to finish some work I had to get done. He wanted to make another handprint, so we mixed up the salt dough, rolled it out, imprinted his hand, and then baked it. Then he drew pictures for friends.

March 31st he came home with the phone number of a girl in his class that I'm pretty sure he's a little sweet on. She seems to be the most mature in his class from what I can tell too. He said her number was "in case we want to have a play date." 

His favorite thing to have for breakfast right now is two small waffles, spread with yogurt, and topped with frozen strawberries and blueberries. It's actually a lot of food!  Then again - he's been eating me out of the house lately. He'll finish his food and say he's still hungry!

April 1st, we went out to dinner and left Andrew with the Waggoners. He really didn't understand why we would want to go without him. I tried to explain that there are times when he will want to be with just mommy, or just daddy - and sometimes mommy and daddy just want some time together without having to take care of anyone else. I think it hurt his feelings. He held it together all evening but as soon as we pulled in the driveway at home he burst into tears, "Why did you have to go eat sushi without me!!"  He was sobbing and angry and hurt.  I gently reminded him that we love him dearly and we absolutely will go again with him but that we needed some time as adults. He wouldn't let it go though. He swore he was never going to go to that sushi place and never eat sushi again.

Friday evening was the Memorial. He was very pleased to get to pass the emblems but he still wanted to smell the wine.  We joined a group of friends for dinner afterward. Andrew was a roller coaster of emotions. One minute he's content and the next minute angry about something as simple as trying to speak to the seating hostess and her not hearing him and walking away. The entire evening ran long and he definitely was overtired.

Saturday I spent the morning with a friend.  The boys did some chores around the house and then went to Murrays house around noon. Andrew got to pet a snake that popped it's head out in the yard, and fly remote controlled helicopters, and meet a new friend a few months older than him. (and eat three cupcakes and a bowl of ice cream, with koolaid and a hotdog)
We ended up at the Waggoner's for spaghetti dinner. I did an oil treatment on Kevin and then Andrew asked for one. It was nice to have him agreeable to it. He enjoyed playing some racing games with William.  They served me some ice cream in a mug the shape of a toilet bowl... Andrew exclaimed "I want a toilet bowl!!" lol 

Sunday he was still upset that we went without him and he was craving sushi. We had a joint meeting with the other congregation in the morning. He eagerly introduced himself to the Bethelite speaker and they talked about visiting Bethel and the brother told him he had a brochure about Bethel to be sure and get before leaving. He was a roller coaster of emotion again.By the time we were ready to leave, Andrew refused to meet the wife or get the brochure. We got it for him.  He was angry that we were not going for sushi.  I told him we had to go to the grocery store after lunch so we can get him sushi there. He was not satisfied.  We ate at a Vietnamese place next to the grocery... where he went back and forth from defiant and depressed to cooperative and polite. It was exhausting. He did like all the food he tasted... and he enjoyed picking out sushi at the grocery, as well as vegetables and fruits to juice and snack on at home.
He and I both took a nap when we got home. Once daddy was done with some work - they went to the park for a while. We read a book after a bath. 
He came in my room around 8:30pm saying he had a bad dream about Transformers - so we chatted a little and I sent him back to bed with some ideas for good dreams.  He admitted to me Monday morning that he read two more books, one being a chapter book. I'm guessing he gets under the covers with his flashlight so that we don't notice.

Spring Break

Sunday March 22nd he helped daddy walk both dogs before we headed to the park to let him ride his bike for a while (and let daddy see how well he does!). He also got a lesson in trying to play catch since it's been so long since we've played ball with him.

Andrew has been a very disrespectful, unappreciative brat to me a lot lately again. It got better the first couple of weeks we were here in Colorado but it's settling back in. Sunday was no different. During the meeting he started acting up, deliberately not looking at what I'd show him, would stick his fingers in his ears to try and not hear, would turn his back to me with his feet in the seat. I took him in the back to talk to him and ask him what is going on. I was very sweet and gentle with him. I tried to ask leading questions to find out what is bothering him so much to act this way. I asked what makes him happy and he said, "nothing."  I gave him examples of things i KNOW make him happy - like riding his bike - and he just sharpened his tongue to say things he knows would be hurtful to hear.  So I left him sitting there and walked away to my seat.  He followed and daddy made him sit next to him instead. He started doing the same thing to daddy. I started wondering what on earth I am doing wrong and ended up sniffling and wiping tears away repeatedly, no longer getting anything out of the watchtower lesson about marriage.  Then daddy had enough and took him outside to talk.
We went to Murray and Monika's for dinner. Andrew enjoyed playing there and getting Murrays attention.  Seems like he got 'talked to' again after we got home for things he said to us in the car. I can't remember what order some of it happened.
Anyway.. Monday morning he came in and apologized to me for 'using my tongue as a sword' and trying to hurt me on purpose with it.  He had lost his ipad privileges for however long it takes for him to start showing respect again.
He checked throughout the day on Monday, "am I showing you respect?" ... "then can I have my ipad back?"  I told him it was going to take a few days.  He just gets upset anytime he hears that which does not help his case.
Tuesday I decided I'd take him to Fun City. He played outside for a little bit in the morning and we still ended up there half an hour too early. So we went across the street to Natural Grocer and browsed the organic grocery store. Every time an employee asked if we needed help finding anything he'd say, "You know how much money I have? I have _____ cents.  I could buy this!" He picked out a can of soup he wanted and kept telling me he could buy it with his own money. I told him he didn't need to buy food with his money - he needed to save it. He should go ahead and start saving for his first car because I'm not gonna buy that for him. So he started saying, "I can buy this ... but I don't have to. You're gonna buy it, right mom?"  We bought some lunch material and ate it in the car. Then I bought him an unlimited attractions package. He played for a long time in the foam balls tower, we did a round of mini-golf. He didn't believe me that the ball wont come back to him at the last hole. He asked the lady at the counter how all of that works and how often they get the balls out.  We did a round of laser tag which he loved. The 10lb vest about swallowed him, it was so cute to see him running all over the place in it. He did a laser maze a few times. The first time he got in there and I stood just inside the door. He couldn't remember what he was supposed to push. So I had to go ask. He had to hit both flashing yellow buttons. After he did, there was one flashing red one. He was scared to push it and insisted I go ask. I told him to just hit it anyway and thankfully he listened.. lol.  We did two rounds of bowling and then spent the rest of the time back in the foam tower and little kids city.   In the foam tower is a basin you can fill with foam balls. When you hit the button it sucks all the balls out and they erupt at the ceiling like a volcano so the balls rain down on you. He would scream with sheer delight every single time.  We also worked together to fill a huge crate at the ceiling level that when it got full would tip over. He got that dumped on him twice. He also loved tying a bag of balls to a rope and pulling the rope to lift the bag to the higher levels, and then using it to fill air cannons. He would engage anyone who would play with him but mostly targeting boys that were twice his age and size to play with.  Daddy joined us after work and we ate some dinner. Andrew was too short to ride the go-karts but he did love trying the rock climbing. The kids wall was broken so he had to try on the adult wall. He could hardly even reach the next grip most of the time. He tried the easy, medium, hard, and expert multiple times and did remarkably well trying without giving up easily.  He didn't want to wait and see daddy try so I let him go ahead to the foam towers by himself. I told him I'd come when dad was done, but I wouldn't be in there to watch him until then. I watched him walk to the place and stand in line. I waved to him to go ahead in. He came running back to ask what I wanted. I told him he didn't have to wait - he could go in. He said, "I was going to tell her that my mom couldn't watch me and ask if she'd take care of me." I told him she works the counter and wont be able to - just to go in, he'd be okay.
When we were about to leave, he wanted his wristband cut off. The lady tried and tried and the scissors were not cutting it. Finally he said, "Nevermind. I can just break it off." And then he yanked really hard on it and it came apart!  We spent 7.5 hours there and put him through a bath when we got home. He got upset trying to get jammies on and threw them in the bathwater. I finally dressed him myself and got him in bed.

Kevin's mom asked if I could get him out of the house so Thursday I took them to another Boondocks which is another adventure center. They started off riding bumper boats. Then poor Andrew waited patiently in line through two rounds of go-karts only to be told he was an inch and a half too short. So he drove the kiddie ones which were really slow, and then Kevin took him on one of the faster ones that holds two people.  Andrew decided not to play laser tag so we waited for Kevin to finish and then we had lunch. Andrew played inside in the climbing towers while Kevin did his own thing for a bit. They played some arcade games together and then we headed back outside for two rounds of mini-golf and bumper boats before heading home.  I think they had a good time together even with all the waiting in lines.

Friday night, Andrew opened our door at 10pm to say his tummy hurt and promptly threw up in the hallway. Daddy rushed him to the bathroom and we all struggled not to get sick during the process. I ended up putting peppermint oil on fan blades and setting a fan by the bathroom door to circulate.  He was at it again at 12pm, 5am, and 6am.  I had service plans so I left daddy sleeping and Andrew sitting on the couch. When I got home, we all went down for naps. Andrew had diarrhea the rest of the day, but at least he wasn't throwing up anymore.

Riding a Bike

Tuesday March 10th neither of us really wanted to go home. He asks every day if we can go someplace. He's also been asking how to get to the mountains.  So, I took him to Red Rock. He loved the ride up. We parked at the top and walked around. He wanted to see the museum but it was closed. The amphitheater was cool, but it was a million and two stairs down and I refused to go. From the top, you could see so far in every direction. "You can see all the way to Denver!!"

Wednesday morning, super early, the electricity kept blinking and waking us all up. It was very warm in the house too. Andrew gets hot when he sleeps anyway, but he felt exceptionally hot and complained of a headache. We took one of his blankets off the bed. When it was time to get up, he laid on the floor crying because of his headache, the lights made it worse. My kid had his first migraine! He'd start to feel better after laying down and sleeping, but as soon as he'd try to sit up, it all got worse. I think it was the altitude getting to him. I tried to rehydrate as long as I could get him to drink, but he mostly slept all day.
Thursday he was much better, but the teacher said that when he came back in from recess he was looking a little pale. They don't get to drink all day long, I dont know how they expect the kids to stay hydrated!!

Saturday was a nice morning for service. After service, a new young friend named Kevin came over to help daddy take down the handrail "wall" in the living room so we can build a real wall. Andrew was a big helper in cleaning up the debris on the ground as they took out some sheetrock to put up frames. We went out for burgers that night and Andrew could hardly stay awake he was so tired.

Sunday the 15th, we went to IKEA when it opened. The play area was full so Andrew had to stay with us. He started getting upset and cranky so we stopped at a table/chairs section and asked if he'd like to talk. He picked a place to sit and we chatted a bit to get an understanding of how he was feeling. Then about every 3 minutes he wanted to stop wherever we were to chat some more. I told him we were on a time limit and needed to get out of here, we couldn't keep stopping.  We got some great ideas for making the kitchen, baths, and closets functional. We were gonna get a quick bite and check out and buy Andrew a cute little snack box when Ted discovered he'd lost his wallet. Long story short - I found it in the car, it had fallen between the console and passenger seat. But by this point, we were too late to catch our KH meeting either. So we decided to stay, eat our food more leisurely, and browse a little more at IKEA and let Andrew play in the playplace for an hour. In the clearance section we found a cheap shelving unit that would fit all the games perfectly since we dont have a closet to store them in. So we loaded that in the car and headed home.
We were invited to join in feeding the speaker so met up with them at a mexican restaurant. Andrew enjoyed getting the attention from those around him.  In the bathroom the faucet handles were installed backwards so you had to bring them toward you to turn them off. I was drying my hands and Andrew had been washing his but when i look back there is steam coming from his. He scalded his hand trying to figure out what was wrong with the faucet and started screaming. I ran it under cold water for a bit and hugged him.

Monday when I picked him up from school he was very upset that he needed to wear green on Tuesday or everyone would have to pinch him. "Why do they have to pinch me??"  I tried to explain that it's a dumb tradition where people believed the leprechauns would come out and pinch people - but they'd be invisible to the leprechauns if they wore green. People who pinch are just being mean, and they don't "have" to, they choose to.  It's just become yet another holiday.
He slipped on some loose gravel in the parking lot and skinned his knee - which apparently rendered his arms useless and he no longer could buckle himself in, nor could he walk on his own. When we got home, I told him "wait til you see the downstairs!"  I had unpacked all of his toys and had everything nicely arranged and easy to access. "Well, I guess I could walk on my own."  But when we got inside, Cara had pulled all the fluff out of a boxing glove (that he doesn't even use) and he burst into tears and decided all his toys are ugly and he hates them.  So all my hard work went unappreciated.
Tuesday morning I didn't say anything about wearing green. Instead I got him excited that he was officially 5 and a half!  I had found more of his clothes the day before and put them in his closet. He was so excited to discover a new (hand-me-down) t-shirt with a Lego character on it and chose to wear it to school. Of course, it was green. Oh well.  When we got to school - green was everywhere. Right as we got to his classroom door is when he remembered. He unzipped his jacket a little and saw his green shirt and breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn't going to get pinched all day.
After school he asked if we could go to the park to ride his bike. I said sure. We had a quick snack and loaded up the car to head to the neighborhood park. When we moved, friends removed the training wheels to help the bike fit in the pod. We haven't put them back on yet. I noticed here in Colorado - no one uses them anyway. Kids just use their feet and stride. So he tip-toed and glided down to the vacant basketball court, then all of a sudden he just took off riding! I think he was as surprised as I was!!  He rode around with a huge smile on his face, stopping to check on me periodically. On one lap I heard him say, "Five and a half guys can do this! This is easy!" (he turned 5-1/2 today!) He rode for a little over half an hour gaining speed with each lap around. He tried going uphill on the sidewalk and that proved more challenging than he expected. He only fell three times and they were hardly anything. On the way back to the car I tried to give him a little boost since it was all uphill but then he rode off into the grass which didn't work out. I tried to pick up his bike and carry it and he yanked on it to try again. So I let him, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to really get going. He tried, failed, and then got angry at me that he didn't succeed. He said, "You're so hateful! You were supposed to hold me up!"  I picked up the bike and told him to get in the car. He threw his helmet in the car and hit it a few times and fussed at me. I reminded him that I don't even like going to the park - that I go for HIM to have fun. I don't sit and play games on my phone or ipad either - I watch him - the entire time. There isn't even a place to sit and rest my back there - the benches have no backs. The park is all about him because I love him and do things for him.  That is not being hateful.  He just stared up at the ceiling of the car when I spoke to him.  *sigh* 

Friday after school we went to a different neighborhood's park. It had taller slides with more twists, more to do, benches with backs. When we first got there, only a 3.5 year old girl and her daddy were there, and very happy to see us. They rode bikes together on the basketball court, we bounced on the seesaws, they rode the swings, and Andrew showed off his skills zipping through the monkey bars, and he tried to teach the little girl how to go down the firepole without help. At one point, Andrew said he could throw her ball through the hoop and she let him try. He missed completely the first time, but hit the backboard the others. So he decided he'd get a running start from the opposite goal and as the ball missed and rolled down the hill, the little girl was jumping up and down cheering him on at what a good job he was doing.  If only we all had a little cheerleader like her follow us around!
We got home shortly after daddy, ate some dinner, and dropped Andrew off at Kevin's house for the evening. We went to IKEA to buy some closets. We arrived around 9pm to pick him up. He was eating a sandwich on the couch and watching a movie. We stayed and finished the movie with them... leaving after 11pm!  He was up in no time saying he was having bad dreams about a character in the movie.

Saturday morning we were still offering memorial invitations. I asked Andrew if he'd like a turn at the door and he said no. But then the next door I went to he got mad and said I wasn't listening to him - that was supposed to be his door. I spent the next 45 minutes in service asking him at every single door if he was ready for a turn. We could tell he wanted to but he'd just sulk and shake his head. If I said it was such a pretty day for service, he disagreed. If I said the waterfall feature was nice, he said it was dirty and stinky. We pressed on. He finally told me that he wanted a turn but couldn't decide on what to say (I'd given him three choices.)  I told him he could at least knock and if he got flustered I promised I would step in and take over.  He knocked and ran from the door. No one was home so he tried folding the invitation and sticking it in the door.  We rehearsed options again between then and the next door. He refused to tell me what he wanted to say. He knocked and a lady came out greeting us kindly. He said, "My name is Andrew. Here is your gift." So I told her what the invitation was for and we left. He seemed relieved and opted to walk with daddy to move the car instead of continue with me and the group. He enjoyed discussing French and Spanish at break.
We had a nap at home and then he wanted to help daddy work on the living room wall - running electrical and drilling screws to hold the sheetrock in place. He had trouble changing out a battery and got all upset again. Took another hour or more to pull him out of that funk. He decided to ride his bike to the mailbox with me while I walked Charlie. We went again without Charlie so I could carry the mail home. He got upset that he couldn't really get going on his bike. Daddy moved the cars out of the driveway so he'd have space to ride his scooters and bike around freely. Still not as fun as riding at the park apparently.  He found a tree limb that was about the same height as himself - and banged up a thorn bush (roses I think) in the yard and messed with the tree, and twirled the limb around a bit. Then went back to his bike while I was studying the Watchtower lesson.  Then he played in the backyard for a while with more sticks and the dogs.
He discovered he does like Chicken Tortilla soup from Costco.