Andrew turned another month old!

I am a little late on this post because we spent all last week in Texas for my little sister's wedding. Boy - taking care of the kids all week by myself in a house not our own was exhausting!

Anyways, Andrew has really been talking up a storm the last month. The "why's" and other various questions have really descended on our home. He is talking almost non-stop. People on both our flights and in the airport commented on how much Andrew talks, how many questions he must ask, etc. etc. On the way to Dallas, we were waiting on the plane for awhile and Andrew said, "When are we going to leave" quite lot - there was a lot of affirmative queries as well. Andrew asks questions about everything. Sometimes you wonder where he gets them, like "Why can't we spoke at Grandma's house?" ... (I think he is fascinated by the no smoking sign on the airplane.

He also is pretty imaginative and this makes for all kind of interesting conversations. The most popular ones are about his potty training (like, Mom, my poop is afraid of you so you better leave so I can use the bathroom or Mom, my poop likes you now and is smiling on you, or today, Mom my pee says that it is very sorry because he is alive and knows your name). BTW, the accidents mostly feel by the wayside when his TV time was taken away when he had an accident. Andrew also likes talking about being naked. Or us being naked, etc. etc.

Andrew also tells great stories about the monsters in his life - Yamamba, the Japanese one who will eat(?) him if he isn't in bed, and the Gunny Monster, who will take his toys away if he doesn't pick them up. Not only does he believe they are real (despite my many protests), he makes up elaborate stories about them, tells me what they look like, and even wants to grow up to be big and strong like yamamba. They are very very real to him.

I think Andrew is really starting to process the idea of gender, although you would never guess from his solely masculine pronoun use. He is starting to identify more with his dad and wants to do "boy" things. He doesn't like me to play the piano - that is "girl" music, but wants to put it on a beat ("boy" music, I guess).

He also is starting to identify with being Japanese. We went to a Japanese picnic a few weeks ago and he told me I couldn't go because I am not Japanese. Then, at the picnic, he told me to go away and he followed around a Japanese woman and tried to get her to do things for him. Today, he was talking nonsense and was telling me it was Japanese. He usually refuses for me to read him Japanese books, too, even though I have been reading them to him since he was a baby.

Andrew is very bossy. He is always spending the whole time trying to command me and Seth what to do. At the wedding, he was ordering everyone around the dance floor so he could do his own moves. He likes Seth as long as Seth doesn't get in his way or play with his things. Andrew's form of sharing is either 1) you give him something of yours or 2) he had about 50 toys and he chooses the 1 you get to play with, even if all the toys were yours to begin with.

Andrew has been taking a swimming class this summer and seems to be mostly enjoying it. He always tells me that he can't do everything and seems a bit concerned about it. He still loves nursery, and makes us go, even if we are visiting a new ward. He is always concerned that he doesn't know everyone's name, but he must be learning some of their names, because I wore a skirt the other day and he told me I looked like Sister X, his nursery leader (I don't even know her name!). He is a little nervous about starting preschool next month, because he wants me and Seth to come with him. He says "What if I want you there?". But it's just 2 days a week and I think he will really like it. I am excited!

Andrew loved visiting Grandma and Grandpa. For the whole two days before, he didn't even want to play, but just went around saying "I'm so excited. I'm so excited to see Grandpa and Grandma". He kept telling them how excited he was when he got there, too. For as much as he talked about reading all their books, we didn't read that much there, but he did look playing with their little people and feeding the ducks. He also loved showing off his dance moves (which are actually looking pretty good, he does all this fancy footwork, lots of galloping, and likes to really shake his legs and everything starts off with him running around and saying, "I'm warming up"). He liked eating at all the restaurants, too. When he finally met his new uncle Danny, he kept protesting that "you're not the real Danny", which was pretty funny. He was completely enamored with his aunt Meghan, although he seemed to call both Michael and Meghan by that name, so its hard to tell which one he loved more.

Favorite things this month: Visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Playing with Sarah, Danny, Michael, and Meghan. Going to Chuck E. Cheese with the whole family. Going to the Dallas Aquarium with the whole family. Having tons of relatives to dote on him and give him treats. Visiting splash parks. Going to the Botanical Gardens and the zoo. Going on a roadtrip. Seeing the Nauvoo brass band. Seeing the Nauvoo pagaent. Seeing Carthage jail. Enacting Joseph's Smith death or mob scenes with Little People or plungers. Visiting friends in the wards' homes and playing in their yards. Doing his first zip line. Doing it again and again (though he wouldn't let go!). Visiting the children's play area in a local mall. Practicing his dance moves. Watching Berenstein bears. Pretending to be a penguin or other animal in Seth's crib while surrounded by futons and blankets and pillows. Fun story time things.