Oh my Andrew. What a year we’re having. You are such a cute little pal at home and then some kind of teacher tormenter at school. 
Let’s talk about Andrew at home first. Andrew at home is a pretty smart little guy who deals in a currency known as hugs, ie “if you make me do that, no hugs for you tomorrow”. I don’t know that there’s ever been a day he has gone through with those empty threats. He’s a master negotiator though, which we’ve learned to deal with a bit more firmly this past year. Being “the youngest” affords you some luxuries that the older brothers long outgrew: someone to pick out your clothes each day, someone to accompany you the the bathroom per your requests, an hour long bedtime routine with dad each night. Along with those things however Andrew has become more self assured and more independent. He has moved from a sometimes clingy toddler to a full blow little kid who isn’t afraid to play with the bigger kids. I would like to bottle up this version of Andrew and save it forever!
At school anyone who expected Mr. Andrew to be a pleasant rule follower like his older brothers has been proven severely wrong this year. Don’t get me wrong, he’s smart…maybe too smart. Think evil genius. He spent the first half of the year intently listening, but refusing to participate in anything he deemed “boring”–which honestly, was most things. Consequences mean nothing to this boy. We had him assessed by the pediatrician who found his survey results to be unusual, but nothing diagnosable other than being unusually stubborn. As the school psychiatrist put it, “I know exactly why every kid I see at the school is doing exactly what they do, EXCEPT for Andrew. Oh. Joy. (They sure did like each other though!) The second half of the year brought out a few more “bad” behaviors and acting out–think tipping chairs and desks. Much to the exasperation of his parents (especially me), nothing we tried–positive or negative–elicited much of a change for more than 2-3 days UNTIL they introduced Andrew to the movement room. The movement room is just a classroom repurposed to have obstacles and foam structures to play on and Andrew LOVED it! As I’m writing this blog a couple months late, I can happily report that the last month of school brought us a few weeks of calm and gave me some optimism for 2nd grade next year all thanks to 2- 7 minute breaks earned by good behavior throughout the day. Everyone honestly loves Andrew and assure me that this troublesome behavior will some day make him an excellent lawyer or businessman.
Seven year old Andrew loves “meat and cheeses sandwiches, no meat”, bike rides, jolly ranchers, watching YouTube Kids, building things, following us around in the yard, tormenting his older brothers–often for good reason. Seven year old Andrew dislikes when his older brothers leave him out. He is still afraid of dogs, doesn’t enjoy being told what to do, and prefers to have a companion at all times. He’s the only brother who still likes shopping trips with mom and had a blast picking out what to spend his birthday money on this year.
Seven year old Andrew has tested our patience over this past year but we love him heaps and wouldn’t give him up for the world. Happy Birthday Buddy!