What makes my kids unique: Andrew

I remember the wonderment that filled my curious mind when I found out I was pregnant with Andrew.  Would he have a full head of jet black hair like Katie did when she was born?  Would he act the same way?  Who would he look like, Pete or me?  I have learned that trying to compare my children to one another is like trying to find the similarities between eggnog and apple cider; it is virtually impossible.  Yes, they are both drinks associated with the holidays, but they have differing tastes and consistencies.  Likewise, my children have the same parents, but they are each unique and special.  Let me share with you what makes my dear, sweet Andrew (or Drew, as he likes to be called) one of a kind.

Drew at belt testing 12-4-10

Drew is a perfect middle child.  He goes with the flow and tries not to rock the boat.  When Katie and Nicholas are arguing over something like whose turn it is to sit in the front, Drew remains neutral and would even give up his turn for a little peace.  I know that he would follow the rules even when alone.  He is just like that.

Drew is also very competitive and extremely smart (in fact he is a genius).  He wants to be the best and is very hard on himself.  I can remember when Katie was in kindergarten and Drew was only three.  Katie would bring home little books for reading.  Drew would look over her shoulder and listen as we went over them.  He learned to read that way-- at the age of three, I kid you not.  When we would go have lunch with Katie and run into the principal, I would tell her what he was reading (Sherlock Holmes or something like that).  The principal would ask him to tell her about it, and he would summarize the book as if he were writing a review for Amazon.  He was reading Harry Potter books in kindergarten and first grade, and has read the entire series at least two times!  He had to go to upper level grades for reading because he was so bored.  Drew's birthday is August 29, so we could have waited a year to put him in kindergarten.  He is only three days shy of the cut-off date.  But we knew he was way too smart to do that, and even though he is one of the youngest (a girl shares his birthday), Drew is still one of the smartest in fourth grade.

Being intelligent and competitive is not always a good thing, though.  They say "Wednesday's child is full of woe," and that is true to some extent; especially when Drew views himself as a failure at something.  He plays sports but gets too upset when his team loses or if strikes out and doesn't score.  We have enrolled him in Taekwondo and that has helped boost his self-esteem tremendously.  He just made Green Belt, Level 2.  I am so proud of my precious Drew; I dearly love him, too.