"Cheese!"

I realize Valentine's Day is now a distant memory and I am just now getting around to blogging about our weekend.  But hey, it's for journaling purposes, so I wanted to get it written in the "books!"

This picture above is now one of my new favorites (I have about a million, but this one just cracks me up!)  I remember wishing for the day where Andrew would sit still and smile for a picture- and I must say, lately if the mood strikes him, he'll do it!  And he'll even throw in a big "CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!!"  And I am loving it! :)  When I was showing my blog to my students the other day, one of them said, "Mrs. Huegel, your camera must be tired!"  I almost had to pick myself up from the floor I was laughing so hard.  He wasn't too far from the truth on that one!  Ha!

 

The Saturday before Valentine's Day we went to the Home Show in Des Moines with Ga Ga and Papa.  I thought it might be a long day for Andrew, since he hadn't napped, but he did great!

  

He loved riding on all the big tractors!

  

And on Papa's shoulders!

  

He liked this better than the stroller, so we went with it!

 

 He signed up to win a car!  Ha!

 

Enjoyed a popcorn sample...

  

And crashed with Papa on the couch when we got home!  What a long day!  (And "Cheese!" again!) 

 

On Sunday we got out our Valentine sacks.  Yes, as in more than one!  Andrew had 2 (since he is going to a new preschool now, which I promise I'll blog about soon!  I have pictures!)  And we had the sack from my class, which I let Andrew help me open. 

  

He loved going through all the sacks and opening the cards.  He especially loved the Buzz and Woody ones, and the Lighting McQueen ones!

  

This was so precious.  This was Andrew giving Daddy his Valentine card.  He was in such a cute and smiley mood (Andrew, not Craig! Ha!)

 

My two Valentines :)

 

Then Andrew opened the card from Ga Ga and Papa.  He went crazy over it!

  

Do you see why he loved it so much??

  

Besides the fact that it had all his favorite Toy Story characters on it...

  

It had money in it!!!!!

  

This little guy loves money!

  

As you can tell!  Ha!

  

Thank you Ga Ga and Papa!!!  CHEESE!!!!!!

So, since Andrew turned three a few weeks ago, he's been going through some changes.  The first literally started on the night of his birthday.  He insisted I lay with him as he fell asleep.  I saw no harm in this (at the time!)  After all, he is the cuddliest kid I know, and I love nothing more than snuggling and lovin on him!  

However, this started a spiral of out of control sleeping patterns, which we are currently trying to break!  He got so every single night he expected us to lay with him.  He'd pat the pillow next to his and say "Mama way wip me?" (Lay with me) in the sweetest little voice.  How could I resist?

Until night after night, it took him longer and longer to fall asleep.  And I'd be in his bed for up to an hour and a half, waiting for him to go to sleep as he played, and I fell asleep myself!  Ha!  Craig and I were missing out on our time together, and our DVR needed some use!  As much as we love being together as a family, we really need our alone time together.  To regroup, talk about the day, and just hang out.  

So... how do you break this habit??  People (our pediatrician included), told me it wasn't going to be easy.  It was going to take a while.  I dreaded it.  I decided to set the stage early in the evening, and I just kept telling him mama wasn't going to lay with him anymore.  That he was a big boy, and he needed to go to sleep all by himself.  At the time it didn't seem like he was listening to me.  But I just kept telling him.  I told him during dinner, during his bath, as we brushed his teeth, after his story...

And it worked like a charm. 

That night, he asked me once, but when I reminded him, he was okay with it.  I couldn't believe it.  How could that have been so easy?  Well, it wasn't as easy as I thought.  Ahem.

 

See Exhibit A.

 He has now started getting out of bed, opening his door and falling asleep on the floor!  I have decided this is his way of making me feel guilty for not laying with him!  Ha!  I figure, it's okay, I just put him back into bed once I make sure he's asleep so he's not there for very long.

So, there's more.  He's also been waking up in the middle of the night.  And not just waking up, but staying awake for hours.  We're exhausted!  He insists on coming in our bed.  And quite frankly, at that time of night, I have no desire to try to break that habit.  A few nights ago, he woke up at 2:30am and wiggled around until almost 6:00.  He got up and down and up and down.  Went from our bed, to the pillows on the floor, back and forth.  And finally ended up like this.

Yep, that's our clean laundry in two baskets at the foot of our bed that I haven't had the energy to put away.  And hey, now it's Andrew's bed!

Needless to say, the start of age 3 is wearing on us!  He's also been naughty at school (gasp!) and has learned to say "NO!" to his teachers (and mommy and daddy too!)  Apparently he and the other kids at day care are getting into wrestling matches.  We are hoping this is just a phase.  And that it passes quickly!

Oh, and there's more!  You know Andrew has pretty much had a permanent cold since he started day care last fall, right?  We've been on so many different antibiotics around here it is getting out of control.  Lately, he's had fluid behind his ears that won't seem to go away.  Even after a variety of antibiotics.  Our pediatrician referred us to an ENT.  They did a hearing test, and apparently he isn't hearing as well (due to the fluid, in addition to his already moderate loss).  

So he suggested Andrew get tubes, and hey, while they are at it, they want to take his adenoids out too.

Gulp.

So, now I need advice.  From all of you experienced mommies who have been through this.  Do we just wait it out, let spring come and hopefully it will get better?  Or do we worry about his hearing not being the best right now and get it taken care of so he can learn all he can at school?  Do we do the tubes and not adenoids?  We just don't know what to do.  Now, this is small peanuts compared to what the poor kid has been through.  It's not like we're skiddish about the surgery.  We just want to know what is best for him.  We need guidance.  Will you please pray for this decision?  And any advice on the topic would be greatly appreciated!

Andrew says thank you!  And CHEEEEESE!!!!!