Andy Man

Just a little post about Andy and some big steps lately. 

Andy is still a wild one.  Both boys are, really.  But Andy can be....difficult...at best.  God love him, he just marches to his own little drummer!

He can be so so sweet and so so kind...when he wants to be.  

And that's what I have learned about Andy lately-- he will do whatever it is that he needs to do/you want him to do when HE is ready to do it.  There is no pushing this kid.  There is no encouraging this kid to try something new.  It has to be HIS idea and he has to decide to do it in HIS time.  

This can be extremely frustrating for his momma.  Like for example this summer when he decided he no longer knew how to swim.  He had been swimming just fine months before in Mexico, but all of a sudden he forgot how...?

He soooo wanted to play soccer this year.  Begged to play.  The first day of practice, he sobbed that he didn't want to go. SOBBED. I forced him to do it and he was pretty miserable (or I should say WE were all miserable watching him) the whole practice. 

Fast forward to now and he has decided he actually loves soccer-- and can't wait to play it.  He loves practices and plays in the games-- and actually does stuff like score and pass the ball to team mates! He is so fun to watch play because he really enjoys it and is out there smiling the whole time.  It just had to be HIS choice to want to play. 

Cal has tennis lessons every Thursday afternoon.  Andy usually watches and/or plays in the dirt while Cal plays.  He has had zero interest in wanting to play tennis so I, of course, wasn't going to even ask him if he wanted to play. This past week he told me while we were watching Cal that he really wanted to play tennis.  If I have learned anything about Andy, it's to act quickly while the willingness is there-- don't give him too much time to think about what he's doing.  I asked the instructor if they had room for one more, even though he was only 3 (the age requirement is 4...), and they agreed to let him give it a shot, just to see if he would be able to follow directions and do what they asked of him. 

 Well, he loved it! He has really good hand eye coordination and loved whacking the tar out of the ball! He and Cal shared a racquet for this lesson, but I have already gotten one for Andy because he asks every single day if he can play tennis. He LOVES it! He plays in the driveway everyday after school and wants to go to clinic every afternoon.  HE decided he wanted to try it and now he loves it!

This past weekend, Andy had a FIT when it was time to go into the UNC game.  He did not want to go! He thinks games are scary and loud and blah blah blah.  He was terrified and shaking.  When we finally talked him into going in...you guessed it: he loved it!

He had the best time sitting with his Gramma and eating all the fun treats in the Blue Zone.  Look at that smile... hard to believe he was screaming hysterically about 4 minutes prior.

This kid is going to cause me to go grey early, but I kinda like that he beats to his own drummer.  He is going to keep us on our toes, that's for sure, but he has more personality than he knows what to do with...and that's a great characteristic if you ask me.  

We were at Cal's swim practice this week and Andy looked up at me and said, "I am ready to take swim lessons, mommy." And that was that. I literally begged and pleaded with this brat little boy to learn to swim this summer (since he suddenly forgot....) and he refused.  Flat out refused.  Then on a random Sunday afternoon he decided he was ready.  In true Andy fashion, it has to be HIS idea on HIS time.  When will I learn that? So, just like with the tennis, I acted quickly, before he could change his mind, and talked to a woman about lessons.  We will see how those go...

One more bit about Andy... I have learned I can NOT compare brothers.  It isn't fair to either kid.  Just because Cal was doing _____ at this age doesn't mean that Andy will be too.  They are totally different in their personalities and that is something we have to remember daily.  Cal had his alphabet memorized (able to identify letters) at age two.  Andy has about half of the alphabet memorized now and doesn't care a thing about learning the rest.  Not a thing! But that is just part of what makes these two so different. And what makes life so fun. And frustrating at times...but fun most of the time!

And, just because I have to keep a sense of humor, this cracked me up... if you are on instagram, this is my favorite account: