EIGHT IS GREAT!

 Andrew, you turn 8 tomorrow! I cannot believe you are such a big boy! This year has been such a big growing year--physically and emotionally.

You love school and enjoy going (although, when you have to miss a day, you lament the fact that you will have too much work to make-up).

Piano Recital

You started piano lessons with Danielle 2 months ago, and really enjoy it. You played at the recital 2 weeks ago with no nervousness or doubts--you just went right up there in front of 30 people and played your songs! I was so proud of you and your bravery.

You still want to learn how to play the accordion, so we will be looking into lessons this year.

You love to play with Lucy and Emmy and they LOVE to play with you.

You continue to take on more responsibility--you will help me out by doing everything I ask of you.

You feed Hachi everyday. You will get your sisters food (especially when Lucy is asking for a second dinner)!

You keep a running invoice of all the chores that you do so that you can get paid every week.

You earned close to $60 a few months ago and bought a toy you really wanted.

You fill out your own tithing slips and have started to understand what tithing is (even though it is very hard for you to part with your hard-earned dollars).

One of your Lincoln Log creations

You are getting baptized on Sunday and are super excited about it.

You were 1 of 4 kids in your class who got to move on to the finals in the spelling bee. You got 8th place (out of 12) out of all of the second grade! Our goal was for you not to get out first and you were super proud of the fact that you stayed in 4 rounds! Quite an accomplishment since you were in extra help for reading and math in 1st grade!

You still want to be a movie director when you grow up.

You really enjoy Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books and The Boxcar Children.

You love constructing buildings with Legos, Lincoln Logs and in Minecraft!

You really like watching YouTube videos about Minecraft and you can relate all of the finer points of them to anyone willing to listen.

At the Ashford Volunteer Fire Department

You love Scouts and received your Wolf badge in April. You will go to Scout camp in July and are excited to go.

You still love to clean and organize, but I think it is mainly the companionship you enjoy, since you don't really like to do it on your own (but you still do it, just with a little more teeth pulling).

Andrew, you are a joy to be around! You are very smart and have an inquisitive mind. You are such a great and loving big brother to your sisters--they are very lucky to have you! You are such a blessing to our family. We love you and hope this is your best birthday yet!!

Love,
Mom

Breakfast

My sweet boy this morning made me breakfast!

As I was getting the girls changed, he called up to me and asked, "Do you want toaster strudel for breakfast?"

I said yes and he got the box out of the freezer, dragged a chair over to the toaster and put the toaster strudel into the toaster for me.

Nothing warms my heart more than seeing Andrew learn how to take care of himself AND thinking about other's needs before his own!

No Parents Needed!

Yesterday, Andrew was such a big help!

I was running late and had to change Lucy and Emmy. Lucy could not decide on what she wanted to wear, so it took a little longer than usual. THEN, Emmy had a spectacular poop blowout, so I had to clean her up, rinse out her pajamas and throw everything into the washer.

On school days, Andrew will wake up, go to the bathroom, get dressed, go downstairs and get his snack packed and then wait for me to get him some breakfast.

On this day, I was running around trying to get poop cleaned up so I could get breakfast for him, Lucy and Emmy.

Andrew, with no prompting from me, got cereal for he and Lucy. This is no easy feat, as the cereal is on the top of the refrigerator and the bowls are on shelves that he cannot reach. Plus the milk is a whole gallon of milk (heavy). So he got one of the dining room chairs, brought it to the fridge, got the cereal. Dragged the chair to the cabinet, got the bowls. Poured the cereal, poured the milk. Got Lucy into her high chair and to top it all off, remembered to say a blessing on the food!

He is such a great big brother and always thinking of ways to help out.

Happy Birthday (7 years old)!

Happy birthday my sweet Andrew!

Oh, we are so happy you joined our family 7 years ago. You are such a joy to have around! You love your sisters so much and are such a good big brother!

This last year has brought lots of new skills learned! You have learned to read, do addition and subtraction. You make a mean plate of nachos. During the school year, you prepare your own snack and the last few weeks of school, you were even able to get your own breakfast by climbing on a chair and getting the cereal on the top of the fridge! You've lost many teeth (I've lost count). You are a great cleaner and organizer. There was a 2 week period where you were working like a fiend so you could earn money to buy some Hot Wheel cars--you loaded and unloaded the dishwasher, set the table and cleaned up toys.

You make your sisters laugh so hard. Lucy LOVES doing everything you do and will copy you all the time. Most of the time it doesn't bother you, but sometimes you will ask her why she is copying you so much.

You are a great help with Emmy. You will hold her and talk to her and stop her from crying. You have fed her and are really excited for her to start crawling. You can make her laugh so hard--you are the only one who can consistently get a giggle from her.

You finished your Bobcat and Tiger badges in Cub Scouts. We are now working towards your Wolf. You really like Cub Scouts and all the activities we get to do. You have a fun time especially with Danny and Tyler.

The other day, you told me that some of the boys call you "Andy" and that you liked it. You didn't like when they called you "And".

Julia, down the road, is one of your best friends. Luckily, you and she will be in the same 2nd grade class!

You want to be a movie director when you grow up and want to own your own movie theater that has a special golden decorating touch!

You have a very active imagination and are constantly voicing imaginary scenarios with your cars or stuffed animals. You love to play with Legos and have just started building things with your imagination as opposed to following the directions.

You are reading more and more everyday. I really enjoy when you read to me. You have a great inflection and make the stories exciting!

You usually say the prayer at bedtime and my favorite is when you pray that you, Lucy and Emmy will sleep the whole night and not wake up Mommy or Daddy.

You are a planner and always want to make sure that you have a plan for what will happen the next day.

You always check with me in the morning to see what the weather will be like and if you should where "short pants and short sleeves" or "long pants".

Everywhere you go, you win over adults. Adults love you and think that you are very well-behaved.

You are very nice to Lucy--even when she bosses you around. She will ask you to get her bunny, and you will without being asked twice. You have read to Lucy a few times and both you and she enjoy it.

We love you so much, Andrew! You came to our family at an absolutely perfect time. I could not imagine our lives without you! You bring such joy and wonderment wherever you go! You are always willing to help and are able to observe when others need help. You are loving and kind to everyone you meet and I know many will call you blessed because of that. We certainly are blessed to have you in our family! Happy, happy birthday my sweet, sweet boy!

Love,
Mom

Reading

Last night, Andrew read a whole book to me.

It was the Berenstain Bears Clean House. It was the first time he read a whole book to me and it flowed very well.

Counterfeiting

While we were waiting for the bus the other day, Andrew told me that he had seen something on Spongebob that he thought would be a great way to make more money.

He went on to explain that Mr. Krabs had a great idea and that he wanted to do it too. It seems that during this episode, Mr, Krabs copies some money on the Krabby Kronicle presses.

Andrew said, "Isn't that a great idea, Mom?"

For your viewing pleasure...

Andrew's Lost Tooth

Andrew lost his first tooth on Sunday, January 29th. I had been warning him that I would pull it if he didn't wiggle it out himself, so Sunday night rolls around and it is still in his mouth.

I looked at it and it was pretty wiggly and his adult tooth was growing in behind it so I decided that it HAD to come out. It was his bottom, middle right tooth.

So, I got some floss--had Backaw tie a slip know (I didn't know how to do that) and then put it around his tooth.

Then we went to the door between the toy room and the kitchen (that was the only door that would swing quickly and shut), tied the other end to the door knob and told Andrew to back up.

Lala was there to witness everything. I told Andrew that I was going to slam the door and hopefully the tooth would pop out.

I slammed the door and heard a little tinkle and we celebrated that the tooth came out. The tooth had come out and was still tied to the floss.

Andrew's mouth was bloody and he kept saying he could taste the blood. Cesar got him a glass of water and told him to swish with it.

He swished out the blood and was fine. I washed off the tooth and put it in a Ziploc baggie.

We put the tooth under his pillow and the next morning the Tooth Fairy had given him a dollar.

Andrew later told me he would be willing to do that 5 more times.

He has no more loose teeth, but I am ready for any future loose teeth that don't want to come out!