Andrew's obsession with trains still runs rampant. But now, he is more into connecting them. Even if trains aren't meant to have "backs" he will still ask to "connect" them. Thankfully, twisty ties work wonders for this! Sometimes, he is more interested in the train cars than the engines. Moroever, our little track master is getting much about being able to put tracks together and can even make it where they connect up. He loves to have the track "go all around", but there are days when he just likes "long track" and makes them go in one long direction.
He is still very much into playing with garbage trucks, buses, and emergency vehicles. Fire trucks are definitely his favorite with ambulances and police cars following them respectively. And lately, Andrew loves to sit on his trucks and ride them even though not meant to be ridden on in addition to pushing them around. Sometimes, he loses his balance and falls. But that boy can go pretty fast on those suckers.
Andrew is still very much into Max & Ruby on television and in books. He laughs all the time at the silly things Max does. And he will still bring up Ms. Wells when we read the books. Andrew still likes Team Umizoomi. Those two shows are his current favorites.
He still watches television more than we would want him to, but we are trying to decrease the amount. He will ask to watch "tv" sometimes especially after he wakes up.
His favorite songs to sing are still I've Been Working on the Railroad and Happy Birthday (and he will insert different names with most common ones being Andrew and Mommy. We will hear him singing in car seat and bathtub and sometimes, when he is playing by himself.
Andrew loves to jump and will jump on or over whatever. I don't really mind too much since it's part of growing up, but sometimes, I still get scared when he jumps from something that I think is too high. I just worry about if his legs can handle the impact. But then again, this is the guy who has had muscle definition in his calves since he was really little.
And he is definitely becoming more of a boy and being physical with friends. I think almost every play date at one point in time involves wrestling. And Andrew goes along with it and doesn't ever cry if it gets too rough, which I guess is good in a sense. I wonder if he does have a high threshold of pain or just thinks it's okay to hurt a little bit when playing (or maybe both). Another thing Andrew and his friends love to do is run and chase each other. Well, at least, they are burning off some energy!!
In the tub, Andrew will still make Jamba Juice smoothies with the colored water, but now also makes dip (and even spicy dip) following one night at dinner when we had fish sauce with our rice paper. He's pretty creative in the tub too when he made a duck pond out of the bottom of one of his boat's. He filled it up with water and put his rubber duckies in them to float. It was really funny.
I remember way back before Andrew was born, one of the things that Daddy hoped for was that our kid like being outside. Well, safe to say, we don't have to worry about that one. Andrew has always liked being outside, but lately, he wants to go play outside every day. If the weather is cooperating, we usually play in the courtyard and wait for Daddy to come home. He loves riding his tricycle and playing in the rocks. But we also go the parks a lot where Andrew is more adventurous. He loves to climb whatever he can. And now with his fascination of fire trucks and firefighters, he also likes to pretend to slide down the pole at the fire station. This entails Daddy and Mommy holding him up the pole and letting him slide down.
And thanks to the time outside, he is able to pedal, but doesn't do it all the time because he knows he can still go faster using the Fred Flintstone method. He is a lot better at steering especially his motorized bike that Uncle Anh Tuan got him for his birthday.
During our road trips, flights, and restaurant visits, Andrew will play with his Tag Reader and Tag books. He loves hearing the noise when he points to the items on the page.
Andrew's independence continues to grow, which I credit a great deal to school. We have been trying to get Andrew to do some things on his own, but since school, he has had more confidence to do them more. He is getting much better at dressing himself and undressing himself.
He is also getting into the car seat by stepping on the console and jumping backwards to get into this car seat. It's a little scary for me to watch this, but he's pretty good at it so we don't push him to climb in nicely. I think it's just him being a boy and trying to make everything more daring.
Andrew loves to say goodbye to Daddy in the morning and will see him off from the balcony. Daddy usually gets an onslaught of shout outs, kisses blown, and "I love you". He won't come inside until Daddy turns the corner and Andrew can't see him anymore. And he started to doing it for other people like Ngoai and Papa.
Our little student is really enjoying school now. I think his favorite part is going to the playground. He tells me that he usually goes on the slides. He also loves the little classes they go to, music and motor.
When we need Andrew to leave somewhere or stop something, we give him a two-minute warning. I started by just keeping time in my head and saying it's time whenever. It worked okay, but not great. But then I started using the microwave timer or my phone to count down the minutes, which has worked even better. So, when he hears the beeps, he knows his time is officially up. And majority of the time, it works like a charm. But there are times that Andrew does ask for another two minutes. It is rare that he asks for a third round.
Andrew can put his horns up now by moving up his own fingers instead of us helping him. He will say "Bevo" whenever he sees our logo. I love our little Longhorn in the making!
One of Andrew's new things is that he likes to get "new cups" which means he likes a new cup at every meal and/or a new cup for every beverage. Andrew sometimes has like three cups in front of him at the table. I used to have a sippy cup of water always available to him during the day, but that isn't satisfactory any more. He wants a new cup of water every time. It's a little bothersome at times, but hopefully, it's just a phase that will soon pass.
Andrew can change his mind at the drop of a hat. For example, if he wants to eat more or all done. He will say he is all done, but then change his mind and come back for more. Also, he will change his mind on who he wants to put him to bed. Though sometimes, I think this is a stall tactic. Another example is what he wants to eat. We will sometimes give him two choices like at restaurants and he will pick one and then change his mind soon thereafter. I know all kids can do this, but we want him to know that if he makes a decision, he needs to stick to it.
Also, Andrew's sense of direction still impresses us. One time, when we were driving to Kemah, we were at an intersection and Andrew says "Ngoai shop back there" and pointed behind us. And lo and behold, it is where her shop is. He had only been there a few times and we haven't ever pointed it out when we have driven by. He also will tell me which way certain places are like Gymboree, the Galleria, the library, Jamba Juice, and the fire station. There are times when he is wrong, but usually he's right. He can also spot out certain places quickly (usually from their signs) such as Chick Fil A, Shipley's, and Shell gas stations (he will say "Papa works there" as he doesn't understand that Papa works for Shell to help them make the gas that end up the gas stations).
All in all, Andrew's overall development continues to soar. He is talking better, sleeping better, and eating better.
Andrew eats very nicely at table due to in large part I believe to school. He will sit on his chair and eat most or all of his food. There are times where he doesn't seem to be very hungry and then want to leave the table, which is fine. But for the most part, his table etiquette has vastly improved!!
His favorite foods haven't changed much. He loves still noodles and pizza, but he probably likes alfredo the best...guess that's the Italian in him. He is starting to eat apples like in the Chick Fil A fruit cup. He doesn't love them, but at least he will eat a few bites. He still loves strawberries and grapes. Unfortunately, he doesn't get blueberries anymore since they aren't in season anymore. We have curbed the amount of chocolate milk that Andrew drinks trying only to allow him to have it in the morning or during the day occasionally.
Andrew still will go pee in the potty--probably once a day and usually right before bath. However, going poo in the potty is still something Andrew is not interested in. He will still talk about the ramp that will be his reward, but it's still not motivation enough.
We do have a little dictator on our hands. He loves to tell people to sit here or there or play with him. He loves to tell us who is driving and who is going to sit in the back with him. He will also tell us which trains are his and which trains he is allowing us to play with. Which reminds me, he started saying "mine" a while back even when the subject matter wasn't really his. But one way that I curb it is to tell Andrew that some of his toys are ours and not just his (we did pay for most of them, right!?) He gets the idea though.
As of late, Andrew has been really concerned about upsetting me. If I am reprimanding him and get angry, he will tell me that he wants "Mama happy" to which I tell him if he listens and behaves, I will be happy. He hasn't ever said "Daddy happy" when James is disciplining him and not sure why.
He is sleeping so much at nap and during the night. He typically sleeps at least an hour and a half for naps sometimes two hours. And during the night, he usually sleeps at least ten hours, but will get some nights of ten and a half or eleven hours. We think the medications prescribed by the allergist are really working and clearing him up. He is coughing less and vomiting less, which we are really happy about.
He can count to ten now and sometimes adds in eleven and twelve. He is still working on the alphabet, but is picking up more and more letters. And thanks to bath tablets, he knows that yellow and blue make green. He is starting to learn orange and purple, but he doesn't always get them right.
Andrew's speech continues to improve by leaps and bounds. He talks in sentences with a subject and verb and sometimes even a direct object. "I want Max Ruby please, Mama." "Mama, scoot over." He still needs to work on prepositions and more verbs, but he's getting there. We are still going to speech therapy every week where we have been focusing on Andrew pronouncing the last con
Speaking of speech, Andrew is already talking with a bit of a Southern draw (doesn't help that Mommy has a bit of one too). He says "right there" with some added twang that sounds like "riite tharr".
Daddy has taught Andrew to say "open sesame" when doors open and when Andrew opens the door such as the garage door.
When we tell him something like the reasoning behind something or just as a declarative statement, he will usually respond back with "oh" as if it's something enlightening. For example, if I tell him "there is no school today because it's Thursday", "we are going to Ngoai's house tomorrow", "we are eating spaghetti for dinner tonight", or something similar, he will reply "oh". It's pretty cute.
The best thing that Andrew says to date is "I love you too" and "I love you more" (and we didn't teach him that; he must have heard us say it). But it melts my heart not nothing else in the world.
To close, I am posting some of my favorites of Andrew from the scenic overlook that the Baluseks showed us. I am still in awe when I look at his pictures and see a little boy and not our little baby.
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