Since the weather has been so cold, Andrew literally spends over an hour a day playing basketball inside. There is nothing he loves more. We set up his hoop in the entry way, so he is able to bounce the ball on the tile. He actually also enjoys watching basketball on TV. He has been watching the tournament, and he asks which team to root for (the team we don't want to win is the yucky team).
Last weekend, he also went to his first hockey game to see the Rockford IceHogs play. He did a really great job of sitting through the game.Believe it or not, there were no fights while we were there, so I didn't have to explain why the players were fighting.
He also went to the annual train show again this year with my dad and Myrna. He had a great time pushing the buttons on the train sets.
Here he is after a trip to NIU. He picked out Victor E. Huskie.
At Grandma and Grandpa's...
At the movies during spring break. He did NOT want to be in this picture (as you can see!):
Since I was laid off, I have still been bringing Andrew to daycare a couple of days a week to socialize him. While we have been so happy with the one he has been going to in the neighborhood for the past year and a half, things had changed over time, and it ended with him being the oldest kid over there. The other 4 kids were under 2 years old, and he had become unhappy when he had to go over there, and it defeated the purpose of socializing him. One of my neighbor friends recommended a home daycare her daughter goes to, and I found out she had openings on 2 days a week, which was perfect. During the mornings that Andrew is there, there are 3 other kids his age. When I dropped him of yesterday to try it out for an hour, he was happily shooting basketballs in the a basketball hoop with his new friends. It seemed like he did great, and the provider said he had a good time. However, he told me last night that I was gone too long. I told him that he would still get to spend 5 days a week with mom. He said, "No, I want 2 days with Miss Tina and 10 days with mom each week." I said okay. :) Guess we'll see how it all works out. It might be more enjoyable for him when they can start going outside.
This past weekend, we celebrated Mike's birthday. Andrew was more excited then he was! He jumped up in the morning and brought dad his presents. He was dancing and jumping in the air. He wanted to know where the balloons were and what type of party he was having. He had to settle for a lunch out with family. He had a good time, though. He absolutely loves seeing his cousins and playing Sega at Grandma and Grandpa's. He has become a little too tech-savvy for my liking lately, but I bought a kitchen timer, and so now he can only play for a limited time. He gets a certain number of marbles in a jar to play each day and each one is worth 15 minutes. It was worked out surprisingly well!
I have been trying to keep Andrew busy during these last few months, but it has been a long and awful winter! We are running out of ideas and getting a little bit stir crazy.
Valentine's Day was pretty fun this year, because Andrew had a better idea of what was going on. He opened all his cards from family in the morning, some which included money! Then when I opened my card from Mike, he said, "Hey, you didn't get any money!" After he opened his presents from Mike and me, he enjoyed heart-shaped pancakes with his new V-day Snoopy cup.
A few weeks earlier, he and Mike went over to Mike's parents' house to make V-day cookies and cupcakes with his cousins. He was so proud to bring his loot home. When he came through the door, he said, "Happy birthday!" and then giggled and giggled.
Two weeks before Valentine's Day, his Great Grandma Kay sent him 14 smiley face stickers-one for each day until Valentine's Day! So cute! Unfortunately, he went in for the kill right away and wore all 14 at once:
Anyway, back to Valentine's Day...I took him late to see his friends at daycare in the morning, and we made some V-day cookies bright and early. They didn't turn out so well (they looked more like circles than hearts). As we pulled them out of the oven, Andrew said, "Mommy, you're not good at that!" He didn't seem to mind the taste, though!
When I picked him up at daycare that afternoon, I was so touched to see the little picture that he made with this feet while I was there! It was one of the best gifts that I have ever received (you don't realize these things until your a mom). Andrea does such a great job with the kids.
After picking him up, we went to go pick up our heart-shaped pizza, and it was an absolute madhouse at the pizza place. I made a mental note to myself to never do that again, as we waited in line with 25 people, and Andrew had a tantrum, because I didn't let him run in the parking lot in the way in (I'm a terrible mother).
Last week, we headed over to Burpee Museum, which currently has a shark exhibit going on. Andrew was not as excited as I was about it.
We have also been going to the movies. He loves the kids pack popcorn and fruit gummies.
Last weekend, he went sledding with this old friends from daycare, Jayden and Elyssa. They no longer go there, so we needed to make sure we set up a play date, as Andrew loves them to death. The sledding went so well on Saturday, that we all met up and did it again on Sunday!
A few days ago, I took him to Monkey Joe's again. I could barely get him out of there!
Yesterday, my friend, Nicki, came over with her husband and daughter, Leah. It was so great to catch up and go out to lunch. Andrew and Leah had a blast on the trampoline.
Andrew has still been going to daycare a couple of days a week to socialize. It also gives me a chance to get things done around the house and run errands. I did receive 2 teaching contracts with the University of Phoenix, which feels really good . One is a three week course (I'm almost done with now) and the other one is a 9 week course that starts in April. I have also been taking a bunch of seminars that are offered through a job placement company that was provided through our benefits package from the layoff.I most likely won't apply for anything in the next couple of months, but it's good to be prepared!
We have still been struggling with getting Andrew down to sleep at night. He was on a streak last week where he would only sleep in the dog's bed. He would get so angry if the dog even got near her bed. However, I did find them like this one morning. :)
I was also able to get a zipline video of Andrew at gymnastics...
Well, on the 8th of this month was exactly 2 years since my mom passed. I really wanted to go out and visit her, but I knew from last year that the path there would not be an easy walk. They end up closing the park for the winter, so you have to park by the road and walk about half a mile with snow up to your knees. I can only imagine what the snow was like this year! Things are much better than they were last year at this time. The days seem easier some how. I knew I wanted to do something on the 8th, so I made a copy of a picture of Andrew and mom on Andrew's first Valentine's Day and glued it on a heart. I then had Andrew decorate the heart around the picture. He knows who Grandma Darla is and asks once and while where she is. I'm not sure what a good answer would be for a 3 year old, so I tell him that she is up in the clouds with the angels. He seems satisfied with that answer. We also sing "You are my Sunshine" all time, because my mom used to sing it to me when I was little. He usually brings her up when we sing that song. Anyway, here is the finished product!
Mom would have loved it! I'm sure she was looking down smiling. :)
