Birthday Boy - Andrew is 2 years old

Sorry - the pictures are from Easter b/c I never posted them and I haven't upload birthday pics yet.

Yesterday was Andrew's birthday, but between church and getting ready for my dissertation proposal prsentation, I was a little swamped. I have now finished my proposal (YES!) and am taking Andrew's off instead of working .... so I finally have time for this post.

Andrew's birthday yesterday was pretty low-key. Katsu is still out of town, so we didn't open any presents or anything. Besides, he got so many presents already from family and friends, I am thinking of taking them back. I only got arts kind of stuff, so maybe we'll keep it. Andrew is still very uninterested in coloring, but I am hoping something will eventually strike his fancy and he will like art. When Katsu gets back from Japan we will have to open presents and maybe we can celebrate Mother's Day late, too?

Back to Andrew. Well, so I was totally crazy last week. Not only was Katsu out of town all week and I was preparing a paper for submission (hopefully that gets done this week!) and I was preparing my 45 minute presentation for my proposal (2 hrs with questions!), but I decide to throw Andrew a last-minute party too. With this unexpected trip to Japan, we never got to planning a party and I was planning on doing it when Katsu came back until I realized that most of Andrew's little friends were moving away before then (36 families are moving out of our ward this summer!). So, I sent out an evite on Tuesday morning and we had the party Thursday afternoon. I worked in the morning, but while Andrew napped I got the food together and frosted the cupcakes and we ended up having a really nice party.

So, an update on Andrew. He is just getting more and more fun (except for the tantrums, the "No's" and the poor sleep, he really is a fun little kid all the time). He is always so cheerful and happy. He has also become a lot more cuddly and loving since Katsu has been out of town. He always wants to sit in my lap and cuddle now. It is pretty cute.

Andrew is still 100% obsessed with cars and trucks. He is a car magnet. He can find little matchbox cars anywhere ... when we are shopping at Old Navy, when he got his pictures taken, when we picked up free baby clothes from someone on Freecycle. His collection is growing and growing and he wants to take all the new ones everywhere! He fills up this shower caddy with toys until it is all full and he can barely carry it and brings it with him in the car. He puts them on his bookshelf right by his bed everynight when he goes to sleep. He likes other things too - books, puzzles, necklaces and purses, blocks, and other toys - but nothing compares to his true love of cars.

Andrew loves to count, but he always counts like "1 2 4 9 ..." and then will repeat from there. He is most definitely not a parrot and will not say anything just because you tell him to. I figure he will say "Thank you" in his own good time, right? Because he has had the "Please" down for a long time. The only way I could get him motivated to repeat what I said was when I was having him tell me what color M&M's were before eating them. But he is adding all kinds of words. He uses lots more verbs and is also calling people and animals by their names. In pictures, he calls himself "you" which is pretty funny (Mommy, Daddy, you). His favorite word to say lately (besides "no") is "what". He will come up to me or Katsu or the cat and say, "What, Mom? What?".

Andrew loves to play outside and go places. He especially likes playing with "kids" and going to "friend's" houses. He really loves his friend Jonas and is always pointing his picture out in the ward directory and asking to go play with him. But he loves playing with all kinds of kids everywhere. He loves the park and would love to go every day. He loves driving in the car and has a really good sense of direction - he always tries to get me to drive on the street that goes to the library and he protests when I take a different way to someone's house - especially when it goes by church "No church, Mom. Friends' house". He does not however like running errands and does not like shopping.

Andrew could still live on white rice. His other favorite foods are chips, strawberries, and blueberries. He increasingly loves cheese and milk, which I think is great. He does not drink juice or soda however. His babysitter always says he will eat anything. Not quite, but pretty close.

Andrew loves to hide. I am increasingly having a difficult time chasing him, so getting the mail or the laundry can be problematic because he likes to run off. He is usually pretty good, though. Thankfully, he is deathly afraid of moving vehicles and will practically jump into my arms if there is one within seeing distance. He also intensely resists diaper changes. He hates being dirty and wants a napkin and to clean his hands several times during a meal. He also hates markers for this reason. He, unlike other toddlers, hates being without clothes on, and will follow you around with the missing clothing article until you put it on. He is very helpful and likes to feed Joe and help with other chores. Andrew does hit occasionally when he gets really mad. If you express hurt or are just in general sick or hurting, Andrew will come and pat your check and say "Okay, okay". He tries to be gentle and has associated the phrase "Be nice" with petting. So, he likes to "be nice" to the cat or to the baby (patting my tummy).

Well, that's about all I can think of. Andrew is growing up and we are having a lot of fun.