Andrew the Independent 22 Month Old

Someone just happened to "find" this computer! Booger! :)

Dearest Andrew,

Here we go again! You are another month older. Zoom! There goes that month! It's amazing! You are 22 months old, a.k.a. almost TWO! I am in pure procrastination mode here. This time last year I am pretty sure I had part of your party planned, or at least knew what I was doing. This year I am stuck. Should I do something cute like Fire Trucks, Choo-Choo Trains, or Boats? Or do something you will recognize like Yo Gabba Gabba!, Thomas the Train, Elmo, or Mickey Mouse? I keep asking you what you want and you are no help. Hehe, I guess you are just one after all (but not for long...SOB!).

Okay, so here we go with the monthly, "What has Andrew been up to?" review. Let me turn to my handy dandy gratitude journal. I heart that thing!

As always, you are talking, talking, TALKING!  I love this and never tire of hearing your sweet little voice!

You jumped for the first time. Ahhh, it was so cute! I was on my way to work and Daddy was showing you how to jump and you did it. You were so proud of yourself too! :)

You have been calling Daddy "Joe" lately (I mean it is his name after all). It's so cute! When you want Daddy sometimes you will say "Dada", but if that doesn't work you will yell "JOE!" We are trying to let you know his name is Daddy or Dada to you, and I have started calling him that as well to help you. Now I get why parents call each other Mom and Dad or whatever. I always thought that was so weird. Lesson learned.

Daddy and I have been working at the church some lately and taking you with us. You usually stay with me and we either color, sing, play drums, or preach. You LOVE to preach, but you don't realize how much you drool when you get excited. Mommy had to um...thoroughly clean the mics last time you preached. I guess we will hold off on preaching for awhile. At least with the real mics. :)

We finally got you your very own broom that is your size. You LOVE it! You love to sweep all the time! I think you play with that thing almost every day. Like father, like son. You definitely didn't get that from your mother. Hehe. :) Mommy likes things clean, but she doesn't get excited about housework.

This one is silly, but I made bacon so crisp you thought you were eating chips. You kept saying, "Mmmmm, chips." I tried it again thinking I had another source of protein to offer you and you did not fall for it. Sigh... You are one little picky eater!

I have started to let you walk some in the stores and although you are having the time of your life, I am a nervous wreck! Okay, it's not that bad, because I enjoy watching you having such a great time. However, you are a toddler. Toddlers are curious for Pete's sake! It's part of who you are. I am trying to teach you though, that you don't have to touch everything. :)

*CUTE ALERT* You have been singing your "ABC's" as best as you know how. I have video. It is precious. You also like to count, usually to four and then it kind of goes all over the place. You are really a smart cookie and I love hearing you sing!!!

You have started yelling. A lot! You do this when you want something or, I gather, when you think something isn't fair. Mommy is working with you on this, and even over the past couple of weeks, you haven't yelled near as much. I have seen a lot of behavior like that and I realize you are trying to assert yourself. You want some control, and while that is perfectly normal, you have to realize how to ask for it. Somewhere you have learned the word "Gimmee" for example. I have no idea how this came to be a word you know and use correctly, but you do. We are working on using "Please" instead. Once I remind you of that, you always say please instead. You are really trying! :)

You celebrated Easter number two and had your first egg hunt. You had one at the church and one here at the house. You caught on quickly. You loved hunting for eggs! Even more importantly, you loved being the center of attention when we were all gathered for dinner. You are quite the little entertainer! :)

You are really enjoying eating by yourself. Mommy has to get over the fact that messes will be made, but messes can be cleaned up. You get so much joy and satisfaction feeding yourself.

One night at dinner Daddy and I started copying everything you did. Every movement you made, every word you said. At first you were amazed and trying to figure out what was going on. You quickly figured it out though and thought it was hilarious. :)

You had your first Happy Meal. You were eating Mommy's hamburger and fries (from Whataburger), so we got you your own (from McDonald's). Of course you ate the fries, but you didn't care a thing for the hamburger. A week or so later, you stole Mommy's hamburger again and ate half of it. You have good taste like Mommy. You prefer Whataburger to that icky MickeyD's. Hehe. :)

You got to sit in a booster seat for (kind of) the first time. We tried it once before, but it was too early at the time. You did a great job this time!

You have started asking to "wash" all the time now. This means you want to wash your hands. We go to your bathroom and you pull your little stool up to the sink and climb up. You then ask for soap and Mommy (or Daddy) give you some while the water warms up. Daddy taught you how to "make bubbles" by rubbing your hands together and you love doing that. Then you play in the water (as long as we will let you), dry your hands, and the best part? You always put the stool back where it was. LOVE it!

*MAJOR CUTE ALERT!* Okay, I think this is one of my all-time favorite Andrew moments so far. I was singing, "You Are My Sunshine" to you and sang the first part, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..." and you sang (yes, SANG!), "You make me happy when skies are grey." (!!!!!!!!) Seriously??? Mommy was over the moon! I told Mimi we needed cameras on you 24/7. No, it wasn't perfect, but I could understand what you were singing no problem. I called Mimi and you sang some of it for her and then sang some for Daddy when he got home. This is how we sing it now. You sing what is in the parentheses and Mommy sings the rest.

You are my (sunshine), my only (sunshine). You make me (happy), when skies are (grey). You'll never know (dear), how much I (love you). Please don't (take my sunshine away).

When you hit those high notes...be still my heart!

We got you some big legos for your age and you love to play with them. You love to see how high you can stack them.  Right now you are into legos, playdough (or smoosh), vacuuming (this cracks me up!), sweeping, reading books with or without Mommy, playing with your toys, playing outside (that is probably your favorite) and of course coloring.  You love to color!

We celebrated with Uncle Keith and Aunt Amy as they dedicated Marcus to the Lord. They had a beautiful slideshow full of the cutest pictures of him along with scripture. Mommy held you during the dedication and you did such a great job. You sat still almost the entire time! It was also Daddy's first time to do a Baby Dedication. It was such a special day in so many ways.

Okay, here is the very best news. Drum roll please...MOMMY QUIT HER JOB! Woo-hoo! I am now home with my little man 24/7!!! I cannot thank God enough for giving me this opportunity! It is amazing and I am so thankful! Daddy has worked so hard to making it possible. We are surely blessed!

Well, that about sums it up, at least those are some of the highlights. I am thankful for my gratitude journal so I can always look back. My brain just isn't working right these days! :) I sure love you buddy! It's you and me now, all the time! I am so grateful for you! You are my greatest treasure!