Who Needs TV When There's Andy?!

My son is hilarious.  I mean it.  He makes me laugh. And laugh. And laugh. 

But, also, he does things that are so stinking touching.

Basically, anything that he does elicits an emotional response that is exponentially greater than it would be if anyone else were to do the same thing.

Here are some of the things Andy's been doing lately:

1. He screams "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU" at the top of his lungs.  Most recently, he did this at Marshall's while we were on the hunt for new shoes.

2. We have been working on the words to "Jesus Loves Me", which is fun.  He seems to have a firm grasp on about 2/3 of the lyrics, though he says "He has a strong" instead of "He is strong."  Not unlike the above note, he likes to scream this at the top of his lungs, too.  You know, in the middle of the produce section at Giant Eagle.  We have a missionary on our hands, I guess.  The other day, Joe, Andy and I were in the car together, and Andy said, very matter-of-factly, "Jesus loves me, Mommy.  Jesus loves me, Daddy."  I have to be honest: we both got a bit blurry-eyed.  Though Andy will (and ought) to take time when he's older to sort out for himself exactly what he believes, and why, it was amazing to hear him articulate something that Joe and I believe to be so important and true.

3. My kid is obsessed with the Pirates and the Steelers and the Browns and the Mountaineers.  I'm on board with 75% of that.  He loves sports.  He knows he needs a glove to play "baseball" and, thus, he runs around the house wearing one (or both) of Joe's winter gloves.  He usually demands that one of us wear one of the 4 or 5 hats that are floating around the house, and tells us where to sit or stand so that we can play ball with him.

4. Andy loves to read.  I mean, he loves it.  This is a wonderful thing.  Joe and I are both avid readers, too, so we're thrilled to see that our boy, too, has grown to love this activity.  One of his favorite books at the moment is The Napping House.  He likes it so much, in fact, that it has earned a spot in his bed at night, next to the stuffed animals.  Often, when he wakes in the morning, before I get him from his bed, I will hear him reciting various parts of this, and other, books.  It is amazing.

5. Lately, Andy has been fond of taking off his socks and shoes in the car.  Sometimes, he follows this by putting his shoes on to his hands and saying, "Look, Mommy! Shoes on hands!"  Other times (most times, in fact), he puts his socks on his hands, tells me that he has puppets, then proceeds to allow his "puppets" to engage in wildly entertaining conversation.  I love that his imagination is alive in such a way that he sees the potential in things--a sock is not just a sock; it's a puppet.  A pot holder is also a hat.  A paper towel tube is a megaphone. 

I feel very privileged to have this little tot in my life.  I can't believe he's almost two!!!!!