Trick or Treat

We took Andrew trick or treating for his first time tonight (last year, he was kind of young and under the weather, so we skipped) with Max, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Ryan over in their neighborhood in West University. The boys were too adorable in their costumes. Aunt Linda made Max's costume, which was Max from Where the Wild Things Are. She did such a great job on it.

We brought the wagon for the boys in case they got tired. They loved sitting in it and getting in and out when we got to houses. We did make them walk some though! We had to tire them out, right? But there were times where we said they could walk, but they would rather sit back in the wagon. They know how to go trick or treating in style!! Ha ha!

At first, Andrew wasn't sure what to do or what to make out of it, but thankfully, he followed Max's lead. They would go up to the door and wait patiently. Max would say "trick or treat" while Andrew would say "boo." Like at the museum, I also had Andrew sign "please" and "thank you." Max was good about saying "thank you" too. At some of the houses, the people offered to let the boys grab their own candy, but both boys were timid to reach into the bowls and would just wait for the person to put their candy in the treat buckets. But there were a few times where they did grab a piece on their own--they learn fast, I tell you!

We had such a great time! The neighborhood was a perfect place to go trick or treating. There were a lot of other trick or treaters out and about. So many houses were decorated so festively; and most importantly, the people were so nice and friendly. One of the Armstrongs' neighbors was having a block party with an amazing spread, which so helped to rejuvenate the trick or treaters and their parents.

We ended up going around four blocks or so. The boys didn't seem to be getting tired (physically or of trick or treating). We asked the boys if they wanted to go trick or treating some more; and they would say "yes" (or "yeah" according to Andrew). But we finally called it quits and headed back to the Armstrong residence. The boys wanted to play so we let them while we watched a little bit of the UT vs. Oklahoma game. We finally headed home around 9:30pm because Andrew didn't want to go home! Thank you so much, Armstrongs!!

We recorded the game and watched it after Andrew went to bed. Thankfully, the Horns did a little trick or treating of their own and won very convincingly! Yeah, Texas Fight!! What a great way to end an awesome day!

There are lots of pictures from tonight so I have just included some below, but the rest are at shutterfly.

Monster Mash Bash

This morning, we attended the McDonald's Monster Mash Bash at the Children's Museum. The museum was all decked out in Halloween decor--it was so awesome. In the midst of all the playing, they had a little scavenger hunt where you find eight different stations located all around the museum where you get candy. Since Andrew can't say "trick or treat" we taught him to say "boo" instead. Of course, we had him sign "please" and "thank you" as well.

Evan and Aunt Belinda joined us later so the boys got to play a little bit before we had to head home to put Andrew down for his nap. On our way to our last candy station, we saw the new Dragons & Fairies exhibit, which showcases the culture and traditions of Vietnam. We had missed the exhibit's opening, which was the same weekend that we went to Day Out with Thomas in Austin. We didn't say very long, but we will definitely have to check it out more another day. But I did manage to take a picture of Andrew and Daddy with the Asian style brooms that Andrew loves!

**Note: Andrew has gotten much better about wearing his costume, but Mommy thought the tiger outfit might get too hot in the museum. So, Andrew wore his UT gear again.

Happy Halloween!

Our little tiger wishes you all a roaring good time this Halloween!

Jack-O-Lantern

Daddy and his little "helper" Andrew started carving our pumpkin last night. Andrew was really into it at first trying to color his pumpkins. Funny how he didn't want to do that at the zoo two weeks ago. He even helped to scoop the seeds out, which was more like stirring the seeds around. But eventually, he lost interest as the process to clean it out took too long. It was getting late so we stopped for the night so we could take Andrew a bath and put him down to bed. Afterwards, Daddy finished carving the pumpkin and then toasted the seeds. Delicious!

So tonight, we lit up our Jack-O-Lantern. Andrew liked it all lit up. He kept wanting to touch it, but would say "hot" because he saw the flame.

Below are pictures from both nights. Daddy did a great job considering he did it all by himself (no template) with a knife (no pumpkin carving kit) and hadn't carved a pumpkin in who knows how many years! We will have to get fancier next year--like a Longhorn pumpkin!!

Speech Pathologist

As I have mentioned in the 20 month birthday post, Daddy and Mommy have been working on Andrew's speech especially combining words and have been a tad concerned about his speech development specifically his ability to understand a great deal, but not communciate nearly as much and his pronounciation. As a precautionary measure, we made an appointment with a speech language pathologist at the Speech, Language, and Learning Clinic at Texas Children's Hosptial for Andrew to receive a speech evaluation.

Their appointments were booked all the way into December, but luckily, there was a cancellation and our appointment was set for today (they called to offer us the appointment last Thurday). So lucky! In the beginning of our appointment, the speech language pathologist, Anna, questioned me about Andrew's development and speech. Then, she started with the evaluation. The first part of the evaluation was to assess how Andrew spoke, such as vocabulary and pronounciation. Anna showed Andrew some pictures and asked him to identify them. The second part was to assess Andrew's comprehension, such as how Andrew understands words and directions.

Daddy came from the office and joined us a little while after the first part of the testing. Anna told us that Andrew speaks on the level of a normal 19-20 month old, but comprehends on a 26-27 month old. Anna said that she is only really concerned with how large the gap is between his speech and comprehension. After we discussed with Anna our options and her thoughts, we have concluded that we will come back in four months (when Andrew turns two) for another assessment to see if Andrew's speech has improved and/or if the gap has narrowed. Anna also gave us some tips and ideas for working on Andrew's speech. Hopefully, we will be able to use them with some success.

But Andrew did so well during our appointment. He was really cooperative during the testing. I wasn't sure how he would react towards Anna seeing how he just met her, but he was good about answering her questions. There were some parts of the appointment where he was too busy playing with the toys that she had laid out (she used them as props during the testing). But for the most part, Mommy was impressed with how cooperative he was. My sweet boy!

I am posting pictures taken today of my dapper little man. Thanks to Ngoai for the sweatshirt and shirt. Thanks to Uncle Rick and Aunt Anh Thu (and Brennan) for the pants. And thanks to Uncle John and Aunt Sharon for the Robeez. They matched perfectly; and I didn't even plan it!

Happy 20th Month Birthday!

Andrew is twenty months today! I can't believe he is four months from being two years old!! He has been learning lots and growing up to such a little boy.

Some of the new words/sounds that Andrew has learned include:

• ah for ant/aunt;
• wah wah for waddle for penguins;
• duh duh for sharks;
• bi for bird;
• mao for mouse;
• wah for walrus;
• wha for whale;
• uhh for octopus;
• muh for milk;
• mea for meal (e.g., oatmeal);
• baby;
• boo boo;
• eye;
• rah for rock;
• ro for row;
• mah for money (when we throw coins into the fountain);
• mih for cement mixers;
• dome (train part);
• boah for board (e.g., all aboard);
• ba for bridge;
• Bo for Bevo and Gymbo;
• Mo for Elmo;
• Mas for Thomas;
• Heh for Henry;
• My for Mike; abd
• Gee for Geotrak.

We are still working on sentences, but Andrew isn't progressing as we would like. There are still a lot of grunting and frustration (on all sides) when Andrew tries to communicate, but we can't understand. His comprehension is still amazing. He follows directions very well sometimes (when he wants to, that is). One of my favorite things is when I tell him to get a diaper out of the drawer where we keep them in the living room. He will get it and bring it to me. Sometimes, he will lay down immediately. Gidget!

We do joke that Andrew will just say "yeah" to whatever question you ask him. But we will test him upon occasion. One time, we asked him a bunch of questions that he replied yes to, but when we asked him if he wanted to go night night, he wagged his finger. I also ask him if he wants Mama to go back to work to which he wags his finger. Ha! Such a smarty pants!

The thing that I love most that Andrew has learned to say is "la la" for love you. I know it's not that close, but it is close enough for Mommy!! I will take it any way I can get it. And I know it's just a matter of time that he will pronounce it better. I have been asking him "do you love" so and so and usually, he says "yeah." I don't know if he gets what "love" means, but that's just technicalities.

Andrew loves all kinds of vehicles and lately it has been all about garbage trucks (like his cousin Brennan), cement mixers (that's for you, Uncle Mike), and cranes. He loves to play with all this trains and trucks--every day never fail. He still loves books, which Daddy and Mommy are very happy about. But Andrew loves his shows a lot now too! He has been really into this Geotrak DVD and will ask to watch it at least once a day. That's why he has learned "gee" and "board." He still loves his books, especially his Little People book and learns a great deal from them. For example, they are helping him to learn his basic shapes, which James and I have been working with him on. Drew is getting much better with the puzzles. With the numbers puzzle we have, the numbers are surrounded by that many number of varous animals. If Andrew can't figure out the number by the shape of the puzzle piece, he will pick up a number and we will tell him which animal corresponds to that number. He will then look for that animal. The alphabet puzzle isn't go as smooth since there are a lot more letters and Andrew doesn't know all of the pictures used on the puzzle.

Andrew also has learned the art of throwing temper tantrums. When he doesn't get his way (typically when he wants to watch TV or a show), he will cry. Sometimes, for added effect, he will fling his arms on the couch or lay on the floor. Thankfully, it doesn't last too long. But I know that this is just the beginning. Sometimes, Daddy and Mommy just try to ignore it until he stops, which works sometimes. If it isn't too big a deal and we will let him have whatever it is, I try to make him calm down before we give in. One of my things is that I try to make him put him his index finger on his mouth and make the "shh" noise so he stops crying and quiets down. Not sure how effective this will be later on.

Unfortunately, Andrew is back to pulling hair. Thankfully, no hitting like before, but on certain occasions, he will try to swat Ngoai, Daddy, or me. Sometimes, the hair pulling is a defense mechanism like if a kid is coming too close to Andrew or closing in on a toy he is playing with. But more the most part, it is still the random acts of violence. We don't know why he will pull one kid's hair, but hug the next or kiss the next. It's so frustrating!!

Occassionally, we still put Andrew in timeout like for pulling hair, but it's not that often. He still tries to get up and come to me so I have to set him back down and tell him to sit down. After a few times, he gets it and will sit down. He still sometimes thinks it's a game and it's funny though. I just try to keep a stern face and voice and tell him he is in trouble for doing whatever he did wrong.

Mommy is happy to report that Andrew is drinking more milk lately. Sometimes we even get through our half gallon of milk! Drew is even improving with the Pediasure too. I think his favorite is chocolate over the vanilla and then the strawberry, but he will drink all three. Mommy is hoping this helps Andrew to continue to pack on the pounds!

Andrew pretty much still eats all the same foods. For breakfast, Andrew has been eating a lot more oatmeal. I usually offer him a few choices, but more often than not, he says oatmeal; and he can typically finish the whole packet. The last few times we have made grilled cheese sandwiches for Drew, he has totally scarfed them down! He has been in a grape kick lately, but that could be because we have been buying them recently because they have been really sweet. He's also been digging pizza more than usual too. Andrew has also been eating alfredo with noodles really well. That must be the Italian in him!

Drew's nighttime sleeping has almost improved. We have fluctuated between good periods of sleep to not-so-good periods. And then when we seem to have reached a nice spot, something happens like illness or travel and that throws us off again. Usually, Andrew goes down anywhere between 8:30-9pm and will sleep to around 4-6am in the morning. Then, he will sleep the rest of the night in our bed. As for naps, he had been sleeping 1.5-2 hrs for naps, but now we are averaging more like 1-1.5 hrs.

Some other things our little boy likes to do is walk down the stairs using the rails instead of going backwards on his tummy. He also wants to take off his shoes downstairs like us and leave his shoes in the entryway. Also, Andrew still wags the finger for "no", but now will sometimes shake his head--sometimes in conjunction with the wag of the finger, but then again, sometimes it's just the shaking of the head.

Well, I am beat. I need to go get some shut eye so I can have some energy to keep up with the little man tomorrow! Happy 20th Birthday, Drew! And here's to four more until the big 0-2!! Thanks for another great month!

Here are some pictures of Andrew from today--my favorite from the pumpkin patch and from being at home this evening during gametime.

UT vs. Missouri

After a last minute change to our plans, we decided to return back to Zoo Boo this morning since it was so nice outside and Andrew had a nice time last time (when we asked if he wanted to go to the zoo, he enthusiacally replied "yeah"). Mommy loves autumn and loves cool sunny days! It was lots more crowded today so we didn't stay too long. We saw all the usual suspects and went to pick out a pumpkin, which Andrew seemed to enjoy. He put one in his bucket and then tried to put another one in. He was so adorable sitting on a hay stack posing for pictures (too bad he didn't do that last week with Max). Oh well, Mommy will take what she can get. It was funny though because he seemed to like his tattoo from last week, but didn't want one when we got the booth. But I did ask the volunteer if I could take one home in case he was scared for whatever reason--sometimes I think he just gets shy around strangers.

After we left the zoo, Andrew said he wanted to ride the train. Since I have gone lots of times before, I opted to let just the boys go. Andrew was fine without Mommy while waiting for the train to depart, but then he saw me as they were pulling out of the station. And that's when he started to cry. But Daddy said he was okay right afterwards. Daddy did say that Andrew would only ask for me everytime they made a stop along the way. Too funny!

After our nap, we did a little shopping at Target for some bins to store away Andrew's clothes that he has outgrown and a few other needed and not-so-needed items. Of course, while we are there, we have to go to the toy section so Andrew can check out some of cars, trucks, Thomas trains, etc.

Then, we went home to watch the Longhorns play the Tigers. Andrew was good about playing while we watched the game and asked to watch a video on TV, but luckily was persuaded to watch it on Daddy's laptop instead. We did high fives when the Horns first scored; and Andrew did the one-arm touchdown sign! It was finally a good showing by Texas; and we are very happy about that! It was a great way to end a great day!

Pumpkin Patch

Just wanted to share a few pictures and one video of my little pumpkin taken at a pumpkin patch at a nearby church this evening. We decided to stop by and let Andrew pick out a big pumpkin for him and Daddy to carve. Andrew was giddy when he saw at the pumpkins! We have showed him some in his books and of course, he had seen some at the pumpkin patch at Zoo Boo yesterday. But I guess he really dug that there were so many and so many big ones. He did keep calling them balls and trying to pick them up!

Texas Renaissance Festival

We drove up to Plantersville this morning for the Texas Renaissance Festival with Aunt Monica. Daddy really wanted to go this year; and Mommy had never been all these years living in Houston (neither had Aunt Monica)! We couldn't ask for better weather--it was cool and sunny. Andrew enjoyed looking around at all the things going on and all the people who were dressed up. We walked around the grounds eating and drinking various things (so yummy!). Andrew even got to see two elephants and two camels up close, but didn't want to ride them. We also watched a parade of people who were working at the festival. Andrew watched very closely and even got scared at one of the costumes (a giant ogre). After the parade, we saw one of the parade participants with her horse. Andrew liked the horse and even petted it.

Later, we came up to a pony ride. I asked Andrew if he wanted to ride the horse several times and he kept saying "yeah". But when I tried to put him on the saddle, he cried. After we walked out, he kept pointing to go back in. Who knows? But by that time, the Jousting Show was about to start so we made our way to the arena. Andrew liked seeing the horses, but the show didn't keep his interests too long. I think he was more interested in some of the kids that were around us. After a while, we left the show and started walking back to the car. Poor Andrew started to fall asleep on Daddy's shoulder. Too sweet. He slept for most of the ride home. He did such a great job and behaved wonderfully! It was a great day with great weather and great entertainment..and can't forget, great food!! We are glad we tried it out.

Zoo Boo and Texas-OU

This morning, we went to the Houston Zoo where they were hosting their Halloween celebration, Zoo Boo. The zoo was decked out in Halloween decor. It was so cool. They had stations where the kids could trick or treat, but of course, Andrew didn't really get that part. He did like the candy he got though! Later on, Aunt Linda and Max joined us. We let the boys get temporary tattoos--Drew wasn't too sold on it though. He wiggled when the woman was putting it on him, but didn't cry. Afterwards, he was fine and liked to look at it on his arm. Then, we headed to the pumpkin patch where the kids could get a small pumpkin and decorate it. Andrew liked touching the pumpkins and grabbing them. However, he wasn't keen on decorating it.

Afterwards, we returned home to get ready for the Texas-OU game. Aunt Monica came over bearing all kinds of delicious food. Aunt Linda and Max came over after they finished at the zoo. Uncle David also joined us. Andrew and Max played with Andrew's toys. Andrew did snatch some of his toys that Max was playing with unfortunately. But after reprimand, he did give it back to Max. Later though, Andrew ended up having a meltdown--he was so tired, but didn't want to go down for a nap. I am sure he wanted to play with Max more. But then, he would say he wanted to go night night, but didn't want to go upstairs. Well, I finally got him to fall asleep. By then, Aunt Linda and Max had to leave so that Max could take a nap too.

Later, Uncle Steven, Aunt Belinda, and Evan came over at the second half. So, after Andrew woke from his nap, him and Evan played. Andrew did well sharing--guess he was just too tired earlier. Also, Aunt Brenda came over later with her cute pregnant belly (they are having a boy). I should mention that Aunt Linda is expecting a boy too!

Luckily, the Horns managed to win the game against the Sooners. It was an ugly game, but a win no less! Go Horns!

I should explain Andrew's costume (or lack of one). We didn't have his actual costume yet (it's in the mail). I did have the monkey costume that we had from his birthday invitations, but when I tried to put it on this morning, he didn't want to wear it. I didn't want to fight with him so I put him in our usual Saturday attire--burnt orange. And I just figured he could go as a Longhorn fan or better yet, Colt McCoy and I then would be Vince Young. ;)