Happy 38th Month Birthday

Wow, 38 months!! How fast this past month has gone by!

Andrew's speech continues to improve. In speech therapy, we have been continuing our work on final consonants. As for his language development, Andrew is really making crazy progress such as his sentence structure and grammar.

Some of the things he has been saying this past month include:

• "Whoo hoo!"
  
• "Yup" and "Nope"
  
• "All right" (which sounds more like "orite")
  
• "I do it. Me, me, me!" or "I do it myself."
  
• "I love parties!" and "I love soccer."
  
• "How 'bout that?" (sadly, this was learned from Mommy)
  
• "Why?"
  
• "Who them?"
  
• "Where they going?"

Drew will also tell us when food is "delicious" and that things are "so funny", "so silly", or "so cool". He loves saying "super" as in "super really fast", "super really tall", or "super really big". And he still talks about going "on airplanes to see Anh Thu in Vegas." He also told us a few times that Papa is his best friend. One time I asked him if he loves Papa and he replied in the affirmative. And then, I asked him why. He then says "because he's my best friend." So sweet! To add to the adoration, he told me that he wanted Papa to stay with him while Daddy and Mommy go to work. With all the anniversary and marriage talk, he said that he wanted to marry me too, but later changed it so where he wanted to marry Ngoai and Papa. Hmm, good luck with that one, kid! Andrew is still pretty inquisitive about his baby brother. He asks us when the baby will come out and when can he hold him. We talk about his needing to grow big and strong in my belly before he comes out; and he seems content with that. I love how Andrew will come up to my stomach and kiss it. And usually when he does it, he will also say "I love you, brother" or "good morning, brother". Makes me warm all over. Our little socialite constantly asks for his friends to come over to house to play or asks for us to go over there. Drew will also ask if his friends can go to places with us especially if he has been there with them before. It cracks me up how he remembers certain things. He asks all the time "will you play with me?" or tells me that "I want somebody play with me." When it's time to go to sleep, he asks to lay in our bed for five minutes after which he will go to his room or we lay with him for five minutes. But it never fails that he will ask for more minutes. Andrew is becoming more involved in the dressing process. He will tell him he wants to wear green that day or what shoes he wants to wear. He is also working on dressing and undressing himself and getting much better at it. He loves to wear anything green or anything with trains. And lately, Andrew has been very willing--even wanting--for us to go on dates. He says that he wants to sleep at Uncle Anh Tuan's house or at my folks' house. And of course, he will also tell us that he wants to go on a date with James or me. Our little man still loves to play with trains and fire trucks. He has been working in his letters and numbers. He really is into doing math workbooks lately learning more about counting, patterns, and shapes. Drew still loves to draw especially trains, fire trucks, and people with faces, bodies, arms and legs. He'll also draw bunny rabbits with ears and whiskers in the spirit of Easter. In terms of the television, he still loves Team Umizoomi and Max & Ruby the best, but also likes this new cartoon on Nick Jr. called Bubble Guppies. Drew still loves to play outside riding his trike and scooter. He's getting much more comfortable on the scooter; and I have to admit, he sometimes goes faster than I am comfortable with. And much to Daddy's delight, Andrew still loves soccer and seems to be getting the hang of it as the weeks go on. And he always asks when his next game will be. Our little chef loves to help to make Gatorade from powder by pouring water and stirring. He adds his own touch, but drinking out of the spoon and then go right back to stirring with the now germ-infested spoon. He still loves ice with his drinks. He will get his own ice from the fridge, but at times will get too much ice. So, I try to tell him he can have three cubes since he's three years old. So far, he's going along with that. Some of the things he's eating lately besides the usual pizza, nuggets, grilled cheese, and noodles include things like strawberries, blueberries, and grapes. He also loves Toaster Strudel and Eggo waffles for breakfast. He's back into popsicles again. Usually, he can't finish them fast enough before they start melting. Andrew so loves to sings his ABCs and can count to 20 when he wants to (he will get lazy a lot of times and try to rush through them). A new thing he loves is cutting paper with scissors ever since his teachers let him do at school--I so need to buy him a pair for here at home! He's been earning his TV and computer time by putting himself to bed. He is also been wanting to trade reading night night books for extra computer time. Our son is already getting sucked into technology! He earns these privileges by laying down nicely in his room, not making too much noise, and keeping the stalling to a minimum. We usually give him one or two times to come out, but it's usually to get something to drink or give hugs or tell us he loves us. Yes, we are such suckers!! Another new thing is that Andrew has been wanting to sleep on the floor instead of his bed. We don't know if it's because his bed is too small or uncomfortable or if he just wants a change of scenery. But I can't say anything since I loved sleeping on the floor for most of college. Andrew will also asks to lay in our bed for five minutes and then go back to his room to put himself to sleep. As for his allergies and asthma, Andrew started taking some medicine via a nebulizer this month. At first, he was very hesitant, but now does very well on it. He will now hold it on his own the whole time it's on. And where he used to ask for breaks when he first started using it, he can now go the ten minutes or so all in one stretch. I think most of his willingness to do the nebulizer is that we allow him to watch TV in the morning and the evenings when he does it. His coughing has subsided in both frequency and severity. He only coughs after waking up a couple of times a week and the cough is much less harsh. James and I have been so happy with our allergist, Dr. Collaco! We totally recommend to anyone! Potty training is going well thus far. Andrew is pretty good about telling us when he has to go pee and poo. We have even started to go without diapers and pull ups. Andrew, at first, loved wearing underwear, but the novelty quickly wore off. I don't know if it was because he was embarassed when he did have accidents and just wanted to wear diapers or pull ups to prevent that. One cute thing that Andrew does now is how he loves to see people off when they are leaving the house. He used to only do it for James when he left for work, but that's no longer the case. He will go onto the balcony and tell people "bye" and "I love you" as they walk away. Drew will also blow kisses and give shout outs too. It still amazes me how fast time is going by and how much he's growing up. I look at him and wonder where my little baby went and when did Andrew turn into a little boy. I really wish I could stop time sometimes so I can revel more in this time right now. I know I can't, but it would be nice.