Andrew in July 2014

Ahh - there must be something about being 7 and being a tease and incorrigible.  Andrew is just driving me crazy half the time!  He is always trying to tease his brothers or rough house or cause little trouble - never anything big or serious, but just the little stuff all the time.  I think it's just been a long-ish summer and I am ready for school to start back!  He isn't and has been asking me to home school.  Yeah, right, buddy.  He will do almost anything to avoid having to do what I say, so I don't think that would work out too well.  He is much better with a teacher who is not his mother.

On the plus side, Andrew is a great reader and I can usually banish him to his room to read when he is driving the rest of us crazy.  He is still reading the Boxcar Children, though it is slow going getting the books on hold from the library ... and he insists on reading them in order.  He is also working his way through the Hardy Boys - I think he is on book #3.  He has been reading some books by Roald Dahl - he read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week and we were watching the movie tonight as a family.  He had to keep interrupting and telling exactly how it was different than the book.  He also is almost done with Little House in the Big Woods, which he really likes as well.  What a reader he is!  When is into a book, he can sit and read for hours!

Of course, the biggest news this month is his new baby brother Noah who as born on the 20th.  Andrew was very interested in how he would be born (but not at all interested in how he got there in the first place ...).  He learned all about dilation and cervixes and pushing and labor - he was very interested in it all.  He has really enjoyed helping take care of Noah, which mostly consists of holding him, talking to him while he does tummy time, and stuff like that.  He really likes babies and loves Noah.

Otherwise, a slow month - with me being pregnant and not wanting to do anything, and then the busyness/slowness of having a newborn in the house.  We went to the movies each week, and went to the pool and/or splashpark almost every day, which was fun, too.  Grandma and Grandpa were here for a week after the baby was born.  Grandpa took the boys on adventures - to Sonic, to see parks, and to go try and find all the bears in New Bern.  They found almost all of them and were gone almost the entire day.  They even saw some of them a couple times since Seth fell asleep, but then Andrew (in typical style) told Seth all the ones he missed.  We are still working on the "Is it helpful?  Is it kind?  Is it true" criteria for speaking, obviously.

Fun Things In July 2014
- Lots of movies.  We went to the movies every Tuesday before the baby was born and afterwards, Grandpa took them on Tuesday and Wednesday! 
- Going out to eat a couple times is always fun.  The boys are getting good with their chopstick skills.
- A couple adult birthday barbeques at the neighbors - always fun.
- Grandma and Grandpa in town.
- lots of pool time and soccer games outside with Dad.