Category: Updates about Andrew

July 16: Yesterday, Andrew had his first dentist appointment.  We’d been practicing at home to get him ready.  I’d be the dentist, and he’d be the patient.  I’d call his name and then lead him back to a chair which I’d pretend made lots of noise and lifted him up and down and back.  Then I put some baby spoons on a plate and use them to count his teeth.  Then I took out my power toothbrush and used it to polish his teeth.
Andrew was pretty jazzed about his first big dentist appointment, and he did a marvelous job.  They even actually scraped his teeth and flossed.  He looked so little sitting in the big dentist’s chair with his feet coming down to the middle of the chair!  The hygienist has a three-year-old, and she was really nice.  It was one of those heart-fluttering experiences, watching Andrew follow their instructions, talking to the dentist, and doing just what they asked.  I’m so very proud of that little man.

July 10: We had four friends over yesterday morning, and we had a great time! We made flowers out of coffee filters, the kids ran about and had a blast, and we all enjoyed each other’s company.   Pictures of the morning are in the gallery.

July 5: About a week before his third birthday, Andrew dove into the world of “why?”  I’d been awaiting the “why” stage with some degree of excitement and anticipation.  I had been thinking of creative answers for an inquiring mind.  However, I was a bit surprised to find that about 6 hours into the land of “why” that I was tired out and feeling kind of done.  It’s exhausting!
Here’s an example:

Andrew: Where are we, Mommy?
Me: We’re driving on the highway.
Andrew: What? What did you say?
Me: We are driving on Highway 51.
Andrew: What?
Me: HIGHWAY 51
Andrew: Why?
Me: Because it’s how we get home.
Andrew: Why?
Me: Because we need to go home so we can play with your toys.
Andrew: What are we going to be on next?
Me: Well, in a little bit, we’re going to turn onto Cottage Grove Road.
Andrew: WHAT?  What did you say?  I didn’t hear you.  What did you say.
Me: Cottage Grove Road.  That’s the name of the road.  Can you say that?
Andrew: Cottage Gwrove Woad.  Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?
Me: You’ll know where turning onto Cottage Grove Road when we go around a big circle.
Andrew: Are we there yet?
Me: It’ll be in a few minutes. It’s about a mile up the road.
Andrew: What?  What did you say?
Me: Almost
Andrew: The Big Circle!!!  Where are we now.  Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.  Where are we?
Me: The exit ramp.  We’re about to get onto Cottage Grove Road.
Andrew: What?  Why?  Why Mommy, why?

Wow.  Makes me kind of tired to recall!  How do kids have so much energy?  Inquiring minds want to know:)

June 29: Yesterday evening, we had a great time at the beach with all our “baby friends.”  Come to think of it, they aren’t really babies any more.  In fact, they aren’t even toddlers any more.  We now have a wild pack of preschoolers on our hands!
We all met when our first-borns were only weeks old, and now here they are…three years old!  I haven’t seen many of the other families in months, so it was a lot of fun to get together for a blustery evening at Vilas Park Beach.  Kids in attendance included Jaya (and new baby Turner), Cora, Vianne (and one-year-old baby Shae), Anika, Eli, Isabelle (with a baby sister nearly here) and as we were leaving, Max and Miles.
Andrew had a blast at the party.  It was his first time this summer in the water, and he really enjoyed getting his feet wet.  It got me excited about spending lots more time at the beach as the weeks go by.
Pictures from the party are in the gallery.  For a fun comparison, see pictures from their one-year and two-year birthday parties.

June 24: We sent Granny Lu home today after a really nice visit here the last several days.  She and Grandad arrived on Thursday night, and we had a fun time together celebrating Andrew’s third birthday.  On his actual birthday on Sunday, we had a great time at Wingra Park with my family and Sarah and Wes and Bryan’s parents.  Andrew is officially three now!  Pictures are in the gallery.
A couple good recent comments by the young man:

Breakfast conversation with his dad:
Bryan: Andrew, please eat the crusts of your bread, not just the middle
Andrew: I don’t want to eat my crusts.
Bryan: Well, you know, you need to learn to eat your crusts because grown-ups eat their crusts.
Andrew: Am I a grown-up?
Bryan: No, not yet.
Andrew: Then I don’t need to eat my crusts yet.
*gotcha!*

On our way to a party, Andrew is in his carseat talking to himself:
“This party is going to be a yiddle bit fun. (pause) Not a LOT of fun.  A yiddle bit fun.”

Andrew’s word of the week is (unfortunately) “boring.”  He’s decided that many things are boring.  We’re part way through a book, and he wants to stop because it is boring.  We’re watching a DVD, and he informs us that it is boring.  Since when did he become so worldly?  Maybe since he’s three!

May 27: While Sylvie is reaching out to touch the world in new ways, Andrew seems to be diving deep into a pool and coming out with some fascinating treasures.  The things this kid says just amaze me.  He’s so sweet and loving and opinionated and reticent and agreeable and single-minded and charming and tenacious.  He’ll be three on June 22, and he already seems like he’s stepping out of the two’s of babyhood and into the three’s of a preschooler.
So here’s a few things that come to mind to summarize little Andrew at this precious stage of life.

• Occasionally I try counting to encourage Andrew to do what I want. (For example, “OK, hon, I’ll count to three, and then we’ll both jump up and bounce out the door like kangaroos.”)  It doesn’t work.  But Andrew seemed to note the technique, and the other day he said to me, “OK, Mommy, I’ll count to four, and then you’ll either blow bubbles or we’ll watch a show.”
• Since early March, we’ve been working on potty training.  He figured out how to use the potty by late March, and by late April, he didn’t want to use either a little potty seat or the little donut you put on a big toilet to make it easier for kids to use.  Until May, I had to remind him (read Make Him) use the toilet every two hours or else an accident ensued, but for the last several weeks, he seems to have it figured out.  He’s even been wearing underpants at night for the last couple weeks.  And (knock on wood) he has yet to have an accident.  However, I know I’m tempting fate and need to buy a water-proof mattress pad STAT.  It’s all gone pretty smoothly (other than the “NOOO I DON’T WANT TO USE THE POTTY” followed by very wet pants episode that occured in the library), and I feel good that it’s really all be led by him.   He still wants me to dress and undress him, but he’s listening to his body, and I think we can put him firmly in the big boy camp now.
• Every morning, he crawls into bed to hug and kiss and snuggle Sylvie.  I never knew that a little boy could loving doat on his baby sister so much.
• Sylvia’s crying (which at times has been frequent) seems to sedate Andrew.  While she’s crying as we drive all the way across town, he falls asleep.  Otherwise, he’s just half-lidded and kind of limp.  I’m so glad that it doesn’t seem to agrevate him!
• We’ve been reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  He throws himself around the room while I read, but he remembers parts, and he asks for more and more.  It makes me so happy to read a book that I really enjoy to him before bed at night!
• As the weather has warmed this spring, we’ve discovered that Andrew is quite a monkey.  He’s amazingly physically aware and able when playing on the jungle gym.  And he goes high and slides down poles and reaches out to step across big gaps.  My philosophy is that if a kid feels comfortable, can do it themselves, and is using the equipment appropriately, then they’re probably alright.  But it’s pretty nerve-wracking to watch him climb well over my head.  He acts like he’s in his element.
• Many days, Andrew asks for a whole banana, un-peels it, has one bite, and wants nothing more to do with it.
• Andrew’s favorite foods are oatmeal, cottage cheese, grapes, blueberries, chicken (without anything funky or green on it), pretzels, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apple sauce, soybeans, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, popcorn, and oh, the list goes on.  But nothing with fishy green things like parsley on it.  Although he does love to help pick parsley from the garden as long as it doesn’t go on his food.
• Andrew loves to make up stories, and the imaginary world is very closely entwined with the real world.  The best way I have of making him go along with something I want him to do is to tell him a story (jumping straight into the climax…”Suddenly a tiger jumped out of the bushes at little Andy…”) or asking him like he is a baby animal and I am the mommy animal.
• Andrew’s 2T clothes fit him, but 3T is fitting better, and I’m thinking I may jump ahead to 4Ts as I get him some summer PJs and t-shirts.  He has a very long torso.  Just like his daddy.
• In the evenings when we watch a “showie,” Andrew’s favorite these days is the David Attenborough Mammals documentaries.  A boy after my own heart.
• Andrew has the alphabet mastered (lower case too now), and we’re starting to work on words.  Just simple ones.  He likes to try to make words out of his letters in the tub.  “No,” I’ll say, “JKQZ is not a word.”  He sometimes knows CAT, DOG, BOY, GIRL, and BOOK.
• He loves poems, and he often recites them at appropriate times.  Like the other day when we came to the door, he said, “If you are a dreamer, come in.”  That’s from Invitation from Shel Silverstein.  Or he’ll mix up the starting letters and say, “Ittle Aaack Orner, At in a Orner, Eating is Ismas Eye.”  snicker,snicker.
• And he’s sometimes still taking naps.  Like today!  Which allowed me to write these posts:)

So that’s my little guy in brief.  He’s pretty fun these days!

Yesterday at breakfast, Andrew shocked me by reciting one of Shel Silverstein’s poems from start to finish. Then he did it again so I could video it…a small miracle! This is one cute kid:)

Joey Joey took a stone
And knocked
Down
The
Sun!
And Whoosh! It swizzled
Down so hard.
And bloomp! It bounced
In his backyard.
And glunk! It landed
On his toe!
And the world was dark,
And the corn wouldn’t grow!
And the wind wouldn’t blow!
And the cock wouldn’t crow!
And it always was Night,
Night,
Night.

All because
Of a stone
And Joe.

~Shel Silverstein

May 4: April 30 was Bryan’s mom’s birthday, and to celebrate, we decided to pull up the art easel that they had gotten Andrew for Christmas.  Andrew saw the box at Christmas time, but he’d forgotten all about it, so a few days ago, Michael put it together for him.  Andrew has really been enjoying having open access to drawing supplies.  The video below and some photos in the gallery show him having a fun time.

April 28: Alivia and Andrew are currently lying on the mattress we have temporarily stored in the sun room.  They are all wrapped up in the mattress pad.  Each has a baby doll.  And for the last ten minutes (which is a long time for little kids), they have been staring at the clock, whispering and waiting for it to be 1:00.  It’s currently 12:54.  I’m impressed.
PS.  They did wait until 1pm.  Then they put on a dolphin show…leaping and cavorting around like dolphins.  The dolls were baby dolphins.  SO cute!
Pictures of these two clowns are in the gallery.

April 23: We’re having a glorious day today. It’s about 1:30, and already we’ve had a full day’s worth of activities. We took the van in to get serviced, dropped Bryan off at work, went to the bakery so Andrew and I could enjoy cupcakes together, stopped in at the library and got some books, met friends at the zoo, and had a beautiful picnic lunch with same friends as boys romped about in the green green grass.
And at the moment (and when I say moment, I mean this one minute time period), both children are either asleep or at least resting quietly. Ahhh.
As I was trying to get Andrew in his car seat after our picnic, he wouldn’t go and Sylvia was screaming in my arms, making it difficult to just hoist the little guy into his seat. But a woman in the next car over noticed my predicament and offered her help. So she put Andrew in his seat (and he was so surprised he didn’t protest at all) while I buckled in Sylvia. And yesterday it was pouring rain and one of the volunteers at Olbrich offered to watch the kids while I drove the car around to the front so I wasn’t trying to get them both in the car in the rain. My initial response to such offers is, “No, that’s alright, I’ve got it.” But these past days, it’s felt really liberating to sort of acknowledge that sometimes the two kids is a bit bigger of a job than one adult with only two hands can manage. I’ve been feeling pretty good about accepting help from strangers. Makes life feel more manageable!
Pictures from the last several days are in the gallery.