Andy, 3 years 8 months

It's time to give a quick update on Andy!  This age is the BEST.  There are so many facets to Andy now, it's hard to really do a summary post about what he's like.  But I'll try. Andy continues to be the most excited person on the planet.  He makes everything so fun.  The lows are very low, but the highs are high.  He's headstrong.  He's tender.  He's a wonderful friend. 

A picture of the cutie on his first day of primary.

• Andy loves to do so many things.  If I ask him what he wants to do, his ideas are usually "the musideum" (Discovery Gateway), "the hot dog store" (Costco...samples, and of course, hot dogs.  What more could you want?), the park, or going to Grandma's and Grandpa's house.  He also loves going on walks and pointing out all sorts of things as we walk.  He's obsessed with doing puzzles lately.  And he's so good at them! He loves to go to school.  And as always, he loves to, "watch something."  He loves to cook with me.  He will stop whatever he's doing (even watching TV!), to grab his stool and come help me.  
• He is fearlessly social.  He thinks he's an adult.  We walked into McDonald's the other day, he walked straight up to the counter and told the worker he wanted "a cheese han-ga-bur."  He does this kind of stuff all the time.  His newest thing is that he likes to direct traffic.  He motions to cars when they can go.  Even grocery cart traffic at the store--he tells people, "Okay, wait!  Okay, now your turn!" He also marches up to people (kids or adults) and says, "What is your name?!" He says it almost accusingly?  It's pretty funny.  What a big personality he has. :)
• One thing that I love about him is how brave he is.  In the rare occasion that something might seem a little scary, he looks at me just to make sure everything is okay, gathers his courage, and just goes for it.  And usually gives me a thumbs up. :) I've seen it with swimming lessons and soccer.  A few weeks ago, he did the scripture in primary.  It was the first article of faith.  He had it memorized by the time he was supposed to say it.  I could tell he was slightly nervous when it was his turn, but he marched up there and said it so clearly in the microphone.  I was so proud. :) 
• He continues to have a crazy appetite.  He eats SO much food.  He loves eggs, pizza, tortillas (quesadillas), hot dogs, apples, and bananas.  He tends to like all breakfast and lunch food.  Dinner is a battle of wills.  He usually tells me he doesn't like whatever it is I've made.  I tell him that's what we're eating, and he can't have any other food until he finishes his dinner.  And there are many nights he ends up not eating anything.  :) Don't worry--he's still huge.  39 lbs and 42 inches.  
• My goodness, he's smart.  It's been so fun to see him become so academically interested lately!  I guess I always thought I'd hold him back a year since he has a summer birthday, but now I'm thinking not.  He loves to write his name (first and last!).  He loves to do his "learning book" with me.  (It's a pre-school book that preps for kindergarten.) Lately he's into figuring out which letter everything starts with.  He'll sit and say the word a few times, figure out what sound it starts with, and tell me which letter he thinks it is.  And he's usually right!  He loves to practice writing all his letters. I've also started doing "music lessons" with him.  Basically, it's me teaching him solfege for a couple minutes until he gets bored.  But he's done so well with it! It's so cute to see him do the hand signals.  And he gets the intervals right most of the time! 

  

  He loves to write his name. He's recently started to add his last name.

• He's the cutest little singer.  He loves primary songs--especially Follow the Prophet.  And I Love to See the Temple.  He loves to listen to music too.  He loves Frozen.  And "Cinderella" (AKA Into The Woods, which makes me very happy).  
• He always says to me, "What's next?" He always wants to know what our plans are for the day and for the next day.  He is so my child.  He's also obsessed with holidays and is constantly talking about whichever one is coming up.
• He's said some funny things lately.  The other day in church he tapped the a boy on the shoulder and said, "I'm getting baptized next Wednesday!" ??? No idea where that came from.  Also, he's always talking about how he dreams about Jesus.  I think it happened once, and I think I gave a positive reaction so he always talks about dreaming about Jesus now.  I'm not sure where he picked this up, but he's always saying "in the nearby town."  It doesn't make any sense.  The other day he told Cameron, "I love you in the nearby town." He also has a fascination with his birthday, even though it's still a few months away.  "I want a reindeer for my birthday." "I want a girl for my birthday so I can squeeze her." ??? He's a crazy kid, but we sure love him. :)

Silly guy.

His favorite part of baking with me. :)

He LOVES the kid carts at Smith's. I must admit I'm not all that disappointed when there are none available. ;)

Puzzle genius!

Eating a hot dog at the Hot Dog Store.  Pretty much the best-case scenario in his little life.