Gymnastics

I took some video of Andrew at gymnastics today. He is coming along wonderfully. Daddy and I are so happy with and proud of his progress.

Judson Park Play Date

This afternoon, Andrew and I went over to Judson Park in West U to play with Sabrina, Liya, and Shalaan and Tanja, Tessa, and Oliver.

To be honest, I was worried how Andrew would do with the two older girls and two younger boys, but he played with the girls with no problem. And Liya and Tessa were both very sweet and included Andrew. They had fun going down the slide and going around and around on this circular thing that I don't know what to call it.

Anyways, the kids had a great time and so did I. I love any chance getting to talk with Sabrina and Tanja.

Bowling

Uncle John was taking his family bowling this afternoon and invited us along. We thought it would be a good time especially seeing how Andrew enjoyed it at Mac's party.

We have lots of fun and had some really good laughs watching the kids bowl. Kathryn and Andrew used to the little "walker" or whatever they are called, but Peter was really good about doing it on his own.

Sadly, Daddy and Mommy didn't do that great though! But it was more about spending time with family and having fun. Both were definitely accomplished!

San Antonio Birthday Celebration

Lucky Andrew got to celebrate his birthday yet again!! But can you ever have too much cake!!?? Nonna was kind enough and got Andrew a Cars cake for which Andrew was very excited. Andrew received presents from Nonna, Granddad, Uncle John and his family. Peter and Kathryn were especially very sweet to be so into Andrew's birthday singing to him.

Nonna's 70th Birthday Dinner

We drove to San Antonio after Daddy taught his class this morning. His class ran longer than anticipated so we were running later than planned. Upon arriving at Nonna's house, we immediately began to get ready for Nonna's 70th birthday dinner. Andrew was more interested in playing with Peter and Kathryn than getting ready of course.

We headed to Maggiano's and met up with Cousin Butch, his daughter Lisa, and Bert and Anita Vega. The food was wonderful as always. Andrew ate very well dining on calamari and pasta. The kids entertained themselves for the most part with drawing and their electronics.

We had a lovely time. It was great food and even better company. It was nice to spend the evening with friends and family celebrating Nonna's special birthday! Happy Birthday, Nonna! We love you very much!!

Happy 4th Birthday

I can't believe my little boy is FOUR!! I think about him when he was just that little baby in my arms that day in the hospital...the first time I held him and he was so small and so sweet. And now, he has grown up so much, but is still very, very sweet.

Our four year old is still into Cars and Cars 2. He loves Lightning McQueen the most, but also likes Mater, Finn McMissile, and Francesco quite a bit. He is getting more and more into superheroes. He has added the Flash and Hulk to his repertoire.

He has been watching episodes of Mister Rogers Neighborhood and Sid the Science Kid. We have also let him watch Mulan and The Incredibles more recently as well.

He also started playing Lego Island game on the computer with James. It's still a little hard for him, but he tries and just loves to see the LEGOs on the screen especially the train and helicopter.

Drew is still loving to ride his bike. He is still getting better with turning and pedaling. Daddy and I have been working with him on standing up on his pedal to push it down as well as turning the handlebar a little to give him more leverage. We talked about getting a light for his bike and he was excited about picking it out. When we took him to Academy, he also picked out a horn. He was tooting it so much that we told him he can only toot it a couple of times, but it is mainly to warn us against strangers.

Andrew is still eating lots of thit nuong. We took him to a Mongolian Hot Pot place and he loved it!! He ate the thinly sliced beef, broccoli, egg noodles, and fish cake. We also tried Greek yogurt and Andrew likes it especially the strawberry flavored one. He has also moved from Nabisco Nilla wafers and favors the HEB brand now (I disagree with his choice, but oh well).

As for sleeping, he is taking less and less naps, but he knows he has to go to bed early those nights to catch up on sleep. I was hoping that he would take naps forever, but we will definitely instill "rest time" so he can rest his body and mind at least for a while and I can get a break too.

He is dressing himself much more, but still needs help with pants or anything with buttons or snaps. He is pretty proficient at putting his socks on.

Andrew's speech and language continue to improve. At therapy now, he goes back with Ms. Gretchen and then I will join them with about five minutes left so that we can talk about the session. He was a little scared at first about my not going back with him, but that quickly passed. He has been working on his "s" and "k" sounds at the end of words and is doing great with them. I am so happy he is finally getting his "k" sound. It's been a long time coming, but he kept at it and did it!

In terms of learning to read, he is very good about telling us the sounds letters make. He can spell "map" thanks to WordWorld and has memorized the word "exit". He is able to write "Andrew" without any help from us.

We hear a lot of "I've got to tell you something!" or "I've got to show you something!" He asks when we will "go to Vegas" (Aunt Anh Thu, you would be so proud). He also talks about his birthday party and who he wants to invite, which is just about everyone!

There are still some pretty humorous stuff that comes out of Andrew's mouth. One day, he decided to break my heart and said that he loves "Papa the most because he's nice". He also said that Papa is nicer than me because I yell at him. :( Boo hoo!! And there was one day when James farted, he whipped out, "James!! It stinks!"

Andrew likes to eat on the couch so he can watch TV especially in the morning before school. He will tell me "I'll eat good!" which he normally does. But I don't let him eat anything too messy like yogurt.

When he is remorseful, he will say "I'm sorry. I'm sooo sorry!" And he still will say that he will behave correctly and "do it everyday!" And when he gets frustrated, he will say "I'm not talking about that!", "yes, I do!", or "no, I don't!" There was this one time when I started to reprimand him, he promptly told me, "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Dad!"

We have instilled a reward policy for Andrew. We reward him with a sticker for good deeds like staying dry at night, when his teachers said he was very good at school (but it has to be very good and not just good), or when he is exceptionally good for us. One day, Coach Cortney came up to me and told me that Andrew had done really well during class, so we said he had earned one then. I created a chart to keep track and for every five stickers he earns, he gets to pick out a prize. The prizes are small in nature like cars, tattoos, a treat like frozen yogurt, ice cream, or cupcakes.

Andrew has been so excited about his birthday party. He talks about it all the time. He keeps talking about who he wants to be there and his Cars cake. And when we go shopping anywhere, he will find something that he wants for his birthday telling me he doesn't have it yet.

He even got really involved in making the cars for his party. He tried to give Papa and me directions like do "glue and tape like this" and would use his hands to show us. He also gave us suggestions on how to make the eyes, sirens, and lights for the cars. Drew will tell us his birthday is "February 24". One time, he said it was "March 3rd" but that is the date of his party. He really does listen to me sometimes even when I am not talking to him. He even told me that "this is going to be the greatest birthday I ever had!"

And since we have been talking about so much about his birthday and party, I have said a few times that I am going to be sad when he turns four because he's growing up so fast. One afternoon, he asked me if "you be happy when I am grown up?" And he's already talking about when he is going to turn five and six. I keep telling him let's get through with birthday number four first.

He is still going to gymnastics every week and enjoying it. But recently, he told me he didn't like it because it was "too hard". But I explained to him that it has to be hard so it can make him better and stronger. I told him that he just needs to try his best and try to learn what he can and it will get easier. After that one time, he hasn't said anything but positive things about gymnastics. That is one thing I love about Coach Cortney--he pushes the kids and it shows on how much they progress. Andrew's balance, strength, and coordination have all improved vastly. I also mentioned that it helps if he takes nap so he can have lots of energy to do what Coach wants him to.

Andrew still asks lots of questions about Matthew; most of which, he knows the answer to. But I think he just likes to hear our answers for reassurance. He will still bring Matthew up and say things like "I love Matthew" or "I miss Matthew" or "Matthew up in Heaven". One day, when I was putting him down for a nap, he said he wanted to go "...up in a rocket ship up to the sky and see Matthew. That be nice."

Happy 4th Birthday, Andrew James! We love you so much and are so proud to be your parents! Here's to four amazing years and to many, many more!!

Here are my photos from today from my cell phone of Andrew riding the Metro Rail and playing with his birthday present from Aunt Anh Thu and her family followed by another video of Andrew with his cake.

Family Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Andrew's birthday from sun up to sun down today. Upon asking him, Andrew told James he wanted to eat donuts at Shipley's and then ride Metro in the morning before school. So, we had to get ready as quickly as possible to make sure that we had enough time to do both before school.

After school, we came home and Ngoai came up to celebrate with us. He opened a few presents from Ngoai and Aunt Anh Thu including some Cars 2 cars and played with them. Then, he wanted to ride his bike in the courtyard. He was adamant about taking Oso with him so we had to figure out a way to make Oso stay on. Emily came out to ride bikes as well.

For his birthday dinner, we were joined by Ngoai and Papa and Aunt Monica too. We had asked him what he wanted and he said he wanted none other than Nikos Nikos. Of course, we ordered him the pastichio or greek lasagna.

Then after dinner, it was time that Andrew was most excited about. I had asked Andrew if he wanted me to buy him a cake or make him one. He said he wanted me to bake him one. So, he picked out which cake mix he wanted as well as the icing. He picked "white cake and chocolate icing with sprinkles". So that is what we got.

We sang Happy Birthday and Andrew blew out his candles. But with a little mishap. He was having trouble blowing the candles and went in closer and ended up burning some of his eyelashes. Luckily, nothing too major. That would suck for his birthday!

Happy Birthday, Andrew! Hope you had a wonderful day!!

SLDS Birthday Snack

We celebrated Andrew's birthday at school with snacks. FYI, it was also Go Texan Day--thus, the ensemble. I would have dressed him better on his birthday, trust me!

The class sang to him and then it was time to eat. Andrew wanted green cookies again, but we couldn't find any. So, we decided on plain sugar cookies and the kids could decorate with vanilla icing and green and/or red sprinkles. They seemed to like that.

Andrew was also given Oso, which means "little bear". Andrew is supposed to take him on his birthday adventures and we will put together a log in the birthday book. Andrew was so excited!

SLDS Birthday Chapel

Andrew was even more excited to attend Chapel today because it was his birthday chapel. He was so anxious and kept asking me when he would get to go up once Ms. Winkie hit the Happy Birthday bells.

And his little buddy from his first soccer team, Winston, was also celebrating his birthday too.

Wii Bowling

Just wanted to share some video of Andrew playing Wii bowling today. He's getting better every time.

The Lalors

This evening, we had the Lalors over for dinner. Before Mike, Kathleen, and baby William came over, he helped me to find toys age appropriate for Liam to play with. And when they arrived, Andrew wanted to show Liam all the toys he had picked out and played them with him. He was very doting to William hugging on him and petting him.

It was such a treat to see Mike, Kathleen, and William. We don't see them near enough, but Kathleen and I have plans for a play date soon.

Happy Valentine's Day

This is the photo that we sent out via email to our Valentines around the world.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

SLDS Valentine's Day Party

Today, Andrew had his Valentine's Day party at school. He was very excited about it this year as compared to last year. He was so stoked about getting to give out his Valentine's.

At the party, the kids decorated paper hearts with stickers. And then, they enjoyed Valentine cookies and other snacks.

When we got home, he couldn't wait to open his valentines from his friends especially those with candy!