Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Oh the crazy things boys do on their "bachelor weekend". While I was traveling to Baltimore this past weekend for work, it was up to the boys to manage all the daily duties. With a toddler this includes, meals, naps and tantrums of course.

On Saturday, Drew was resisting a nap, and Daddy wanted to get his afternoon fun started while he was down. After laying with him for a while Daddy, "snuck" away to go off and fill some water balloons. However, the little guy wasn't out and kept calling for Daddy.

After only a few moments, Dave went back into check on Drew and saw this:

It seems Drew wanted to keep dibs on Daddy while he was doing his "chores". Good news, he napped, and stayed in his room to do so.

I Wanna Be a Toys R Us Kid

This past weekend while I was working in Baltimore, Daddy and Drew were trying to come up with fun things to do. One idea, was to check out was Geoffrey's birthday at Toys R Us. Dave said it was kind of a bust, and as you can tell Drew wasn't too sure about Geoffrey.


I guess they weren't there very long. Oh well. Off to Plan B

Therapy Talking Points in 20 Years

Childhood can be traumatic, even those of us who were raised in a healthy secure home. However we all have our stories and reasons for seeing a therapist. I'm sure at least one of the following will be a reason for Drew to see a shrink in 20 years:

• Last week in an attempt to feed Drew scrambled eggs (which he doesn't like) we tried to bribe him with bacon. The bribe: He had to eat one bite of eggs to get the bacon. Eventually it came to force feeding, but just before that, Drew kept saying, "No thank you. I said no thank you". (As if manners get you what you want in our family....)
  
  
• Two days later while dropping Drew off at day care, Ms. Stephanie asked him how to spell Drew... Clear as day, he says D-R-E-W. Of course when Steph went to grab her camera (which can also record video) he refused to perform again. Just started hamming it up. saying "cheese". We forget he isn't a monkey who performs tricks on command.
  
  
• Food strike update, while we thought we were making headway, Drew basically eats one meal a day, usually breakfast. He refuses to eat lunch that Ms. Stephanie prepares, or any dinner I prepare. This went on throughout the weekend, until Daddy got mad at him and raised his voice to get him to eat chicken nuggets. I happened to call home (traveling in Baltimore for work this past weekend) and Dave's telling me how he was eating 3 nuggets. Drew wanted to talk to me, so Dave asked if he was all done - Drew proceeded to spit out nugget #3 he was chewing on - so he could talk to me. Guess he takes the "all done" status includes being finished with chewing.
  
  
• While Drew loves his wire bead maze toy, we often have to put the toy in "time out" because Drew gets frustrated and asks for "Mommy do it". When we make him do it (it's his toy after all), he throws a tantrum and commences the endless whining session.
  
  
• Car rides to anywhere consist of "ooh red hand" in such an excited voice you'd think he just won the lottery. What's the red hand you ask, it's the "don't walk" signs at stoplights. The excitement over red hands is a close tie to the excitement he had while seeing "purple fowers" (which are out of season again). Seriously what kid gets excited by red hands on the sides of the road?
  
  
• More than a month after burning his hands in the campfire, he will still tell you "be careful, fire hot". Oh this is what he says while he touches the oven door, which he knows he's not allowed to touch.
  
  
• In saying his bedtime prayers the other night, we were "God Blessing" everyone and he throws out "and Mollie" (Grammy and GrampC's dog). Guess even dogs go to heaven right?
  

"Strawberry" Throwing Contest

Rain on Drew's birthday prevented us from pulling out the water balloons during his part. It was perfect for the expected hot afternoon at the park.

Since we had all of them filled and ready to go, we decided to pull out the water balloons after everyone left.

Drew got one look at them, and began calling them Strawberries.

Huh?

That's right, we started throwing strawberries in our backyard. After a few lopped into the dirt that is our "would-be" garden, turning everything into a muddy mess, we had him chuck the strawberries against the fence.

Talk about some exciting business! Drew couldn't contain his excitement every time he managed to make one burst... these were some stubborn balloons.


We still have the "strawberry" remnants floating around our backyard. Every time he sees them he asks to throw more "Strawberries".

Look Out Tiger

Could there be hope my son will support our wanna-be lavish lifestyle with his golf game? I believe Tiger Wood's Dad got him started with golf around the age of two.....

So in our case, Drew's "gift" would be courtesy Uncle Matt, Rana and Adrina. Check out part of the cool birthday present they got him. We were able to test it out last week, and he was having a great time smacking the balls around the front yard.


OK so maybe he won't make the big bucks by holding his putter that way.... When you see Drew golfing, think "Happy Gilmore".

Future Sports Announcer?

Big surprise, we watch a lot of baseball in our house. It turns out Drew's taking after his Daddy and gets pretty excited when the Dodgers are on TV. He's happily showing off his announcing skills (or should I say his mimicking skills) at Grammy and GrampC's house over the weekend.

(the bad video is due to my phone, not your computer).

RenFaire Madness

As I mentioned last week, Drew was at Camp Grammy and GrampC's from Wednesday through Sunday. Of course the weekend festivities were so that we could go to the Annual Renaissance Faire near Gilroy.

It started out quite eventful when our friends Mel and Chris blew out one of their tires on their trailer. So while they worked to change the tire, Dave and I managed to get some shopping done at the outlets.

Friday night once we finally arrived we enjoyed each others company and a few adult beverages.

Saturday was the big faire day. As always we enjoyed strolling around and taking in the experience. Foods and of course the ale! Joust this year wasn't as good as years past, but we still had a fabulous time.

Saturday night we stayed in Mel and Chris' trailer and were able to have a few more adult beverages along with dinner. It's so nice to catch up with our friends we only see 1-2 times a year. Sunday it was off to pick up Drew at Grammy and GrampC's.

Unfortunately for our friends, their spare blew and after the purchase of 3 new tires for their trailer they made it home. If we had lived closer we would have loved to help out - even if it's to enjoy a few beers on the side of the road while we waited for tow trucks.

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.

Another Go-Round with Spinners

For an early birthday celebration we were in LA to visit Tata and Abuela, and the big Mouse (a.k.a Mickey Mouse).

Well that means another trek through the Altamont Pass - where they have the windmill farms. Or what Drew likes to call them "Spinner". Here's a better audio quality shot of his excited reaction....



Sorry about the jump cuts - I just threw it together, forget the fancy editing.

Naptime Battle

So as I hinted at yesterday, there wasn't much sleeping going on for Drew's first nap attempt on Monday with his crib mattress on the ground. After about 30 minutes this is what we were listening to in between the whining and crying.



After about an hour-and-a-half nap time battle, we gave up. It was a no-nap kind of day.

However I confess that after two nights in his own bed (he's at Camp Grammy & GrampC now) he did remarkably well. We started really working on a bedtime routine of a story or two, and then music CD, and lights out. We've had to lay there for a while while he falls asleep, but he stays in there all night!

The first night (Monday/Tuesday), he woke up around 4am for an hour, and Daddy had to lay down with him. He fell back to sleep at around 5:45, and slept until 8:45... I think a new record. (Daddy did move back into our bed around 6am). Then Tuesday/Wednesday, he slept until 5:30 am, and never went back to sleep. I wouldn't either if I wet through my jammies and onto the bed.

2 Year Well Check & Hands Update

Drew was busy showing his muscles at Monday's 2 year well check. Sorry for the grainy picture - it's from my cell phone.

Anyway, here are his stats:
Weight: 23 lbs 11 oz (6th %ile)
Length: 33 5/8" (28th %ile)
Head Circumference: 19 3/4" ( 83rd %ile)

The doctor was very impressed with his verbal skills, and was amazed when she asked about the butterflies on the wall and he was counting them.

Things that we could work on - getting him to eat healthy foods or anything besides chicken nuggets and fries, and sleeping in his own bed. We created a monster over the past few months when he's been sick - he sleeps in our bed most of the time.

So we have a few tips - switching to 2% milk and only giving it to him three times a day. Feeding him whatever we're eating, limiting the snacks, and while it'll be a few month process we should be able to get him to start eating fruits and veggies, and other meats.

Another step, moving his crib mattress to the floor. Since we're convinced he despises his crib (and pack n play at day care). So perhaps he'll sleep better while we look for a "big boy bed". We're actively watching Craigs List for Trundle beds.

Let's just say the first attempt at a nap on the floor didn't go very well.... I'll have a video of that tomorrow.

The doctor did look at his hands, and while they're discolored right now where the new skin is forming, she said we can expect that to remain for a few months. But we shouldn't see any scarring - even on his right hand which she was able to tell immediately was more severely burned.

All in all a fairly good visit. Drew ended up with the final Hepatitis A shot, and they don't want to see him back until his 3 year appointment. We will go back for a flu shot next month and then one month later for round 2. Other than that - we're hoping to avoid the doctor for a year... possible? There's always wishful thinking!

Food Strike Over?

Could the nearly year long food strike finally be nearing an end? On Thursday Drew amazed us by first requesting pizza for dinner - which was already in the plans. And then secondly by eating more than just the "peckeronis".

That's right, he decided to finally eat pizza! He hasn't touched a slice of pie in probably 6-8 months! Let alone anything with cheese. We're thrilled and of course cheered him on - I think all the books/articles say to make it a non-event, but we couldn't help ourselves.

This particular evening he polished off an entire slice. Oh, and he's requested pizza every night for dinner since. We caved on his birthday and made another pizza. How can you turn down a 2 year old on his birthday - if he's going to eat it, alrighty then!

Now if we can make some headway on noodles....

It's a Wiggly Party

Drew's Northern California Birthday Party was this past Saturday. It was supposed to be at the neighborhood park, but what was Hurricane Linda, caused thunderstorms that morning - forcing us to make a last minute decision to move it to our house.

Despite the unusual weather for September, it turned out to be a great party. Drew took a while to get used to everyone playing with his toys and so he was a little feisty early on, but managed to warm up once he ate some lunch.

This year's theme - The Wiggles a.k.a. Johnny. The big attraction this year... the birthday cake - which YES I made myself (OK the cake was a box mix), but the decorating and frosting was all me.


All the kids were excited for the singing and dessert! Just before this picture was taken, the boys were screaming and jumping up and down - of course Drew followed their lead.


Drew was mighty excited about everyone singing Happy Birthday to him, and then it was over the top when everyone clapped when he blew his candles out. That's exciting stuff!

It was a great afternoon despite the minor set-back early on due to the rain, but Drew had a wonderful time so that's all that matters. We want to thank everyone who came to the party, and those who were thinking of us!

It was such a big day for the birthday boy - look at what time he crashed. Notice the pizza from dinner is still on his face. At least he chewed his last bite before falling into the couch for a snooze.




















Now to find a home for all of the new fun toys, games, books and clothes!

Mommy's Birthday Letter to Drew

Drew,

What an exciting year it's been! I've watched you grow from a baby into a full-blown toddler right before my very eyes.

We've had our share of bumps and bruises, ups and downs, all while discovering the land of tantrums. I'm happy to report we're all in one piece - just a few time outs, doctor's visits, and hospital visits later.

It's amazing to see how much a little mimic you've become, trying to be just like your Daddy - say things he does, or imitate his mannerisms. You've learned your ABC's, your numbers, colors, shapes and so much more in the past 12 months. We LOVE to watch you learn, and love your enthusiasm for all things educational. I really hope you can continue to follow this your entire life!

You make my heart melt everyday when I pick you up from day care to see your big smile and excited dance as we "go home". If I'm talking to Ms. Stephanie about your day, you will even pull my face over to you so you know I'm listening to you say "I go home, see Daddy".

You just have an infectious smile, and those big brown eyes... you make it tough to discipline you sometimes. It's as if you can see right through me when you're being naughty and you know I'm trying not to laugh at you.

Keeping up with the tradition I started last year, here's what you've taught me over the past year:

• despite a painful injury, making your hands virtually unusable you are remarkably resilient.
• ER visits are not always necessary with a 105-degree fever
• How many childhood illnesses are really out there
• Sleep deprivation can lead to a bad habit of letting you sleep in our bed
• It is possible not to panic during a year long food strike
• Tylenol and Motrin don't work for those darn 2 year molars
  
• Those 2 year molars take forever to come in
• You can bang your head into any hard surface during a tantrum, and still come out conscious
• Taking in things like Disneyland, Santa Cruz rides through your eyes is so much more fun than doing that stuff myself as a kid
• I'm going to miss the days taking you on a flight was free
  
• You enjoy being a big boy - gone are the days of strollers, high chairs and anything resembling being a baby
• The world is really a beautiful place - especially when you are forced to stop and see/smell all the flowers, and pick up every rock on a short walk to the mailbox
• You can say "Mommy, Mommy" - over and over for 10 minutes straight, and have absolutely nothing to say
• You are quite a helper, and love to assist with putting dishes away, loading the dishwasher, washer and dryer. Oh, and you like to "help" fold clothes by throwing them off whatever surface I'm working on
  

Every age with you has been a true joy, but now that you're interacting with me more, and giving me that new cheesy grin of yours - it is truly exciting. I love your big hugs and delicate kisses. I love the smile you give me in the morning, your crazy sense of humor, and the silly dances you do.

Don't ever give up that wonderful side of you. Continue to grow and learn new things. Keep that sense of adventure and wonder, but never forget that we're here for you too.

I can't wait to see what new adventures the next year brings us! (But can we avoid a trip to the ER please?)


I love you baby boy, more than you'll ever know,
Mommy

Road Trip Detour

While leaving LA on Monday, we made a quick pit stop at my friend's house. Jenn is a friend from High School conveniently lives right off of I-5, and saw through Facebook that we were leaving in the morning to make the LONG drive home (typically about 6-7 hours).

So she invited us over to let Drew get a few wiggles out, and so we could finally meet each other's kids. If you stalk her from my blog, she just had twins a little over a month ago. Yes, she has a 2 year old (a few months older than Drew) and twins! I admire her sanity through the chaos - she had it together!

Despite working on getting into a routine with the new additions, redoing a bathroom, and having house guests she was kind enough to let us hop over for about an hour or so. The boys had a good time playing next to each other (not so much with each other), that is until right before we were leaving the boys decided to toss a balloon back and forth.

Sorry for all the blurry pictures - I didn't put the camera on the right setting - oops.

Here's a blurry shot of the two of us right before we left (I think Dylan was in the pouch - do I have that right Jenn? I knew I should've written this sooner.)

So is anyone else as jealous as I am that Jenn looks so good after having twins!? Dude girl! Thanks again for the spontaneous visit - hope it works out again sometime.

Free at Last, Free at Last..

Free at last, free at last. Drew's hands are free at last!

That's right, gloves are DONE! We changed the bandages for the last time Wednesday night - only his right hand remained at this point. When Dave took the gauze off it looked almost as good as his left hand did after we removed the bandages following our day at Disneyland.

We're so thrilled, although Drew cried asking for his "glove". We had to tell him he's all better. So he just cried to us - "All better, glove". I guess he grew attached to them. They sure made him "brave" - he no longer had a problem waving to total strangers and saying hi. Usually you only get a good-bye.

So 3 1/2 weeks after he first burned his hands, we are on the road to recovery. And the ER doctor said 10 days..... hah!

I'm Going to Disneyland!

OK so we already went to Disneyland, but that slogan doesn't sound the same if you don't shout "I'm going to Disneyland!"

Since Thursday, Drew was sooooo excited to go to LA and see Mickey. It came out of no where actually when I was reading him a Disney book - and he said he wanted to go see Mickey. He actually started throwing a tantrum in our living room because we wouldn't put our shoes on and get in the car!

Anyway, we went this past Sunday for GrampC's Birthday - he got in free! Dave had an agenda - no characters when we enter the park - go straight for the Nemo Submarine ride. Well That plan lasted about 30-seconds. Drew spotted Mickey shown here - and Goofy (we didn't pull our cameras out fast enough). After our obligatory pose with the star, we went on our merry way. Heck, I'll do anything to avoid the long wait we would have had in Toon Town for another up-close and personal meeting.

We then went to the Submarine ride which features Nemo - or as Drew called him "Memo". He had a great time, and loved all the starfish and bubbles on the ride. (This was the first time we'd all been on it since they redid it a few years back).

After that it was a marathon of rides - including Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, Jungle Cruise, Toon Town and the Tomorrowland Rockets.


All in all we managed to fit in 5 rides before lunch - some at opposite ends of the park!

While it was beautiful - even overcast in the morning - it really heated up, and boy was it muggy! Courtesy of the hurricane that went through Mexico. We were doing all we could to stay cool - and keep Drew from overheating and getting cranky - including splashing in the fountains!


We only managed to hit up 2 rides in Fantasyland - the carousel and Pinocchio. Here's a group shot of us on the horses (oh and the rug burn under Drew's nose is from when he fell off our bed Thursday night).

We also managed to get a few more character visits accomplished. I mean how can you resist when your little guy literally screams (at the top of his lungs) in excitement that he sees Tigger?


While waiting in line for Tigger, at random times Drew would seriously start screaming in short consecutive intervals. We kept trying to shush him, and he'd just say "I excited! I excited"! Dave and I just looked at each other and laughed, wondering how he comes up with this stuff!

So from 8:30am - 9:45pm we were at the park, and despite his only taking a 20-minute stroller nap, he was in a FANTASTIC mood! I'm so glad we took him. It was night and day different than our trip last year after Thanksgiving. He really enjoyed everything so much more! It was as Drew would say "Perkfect".

2nd Birthdays - LA Style

Hiding from the paparazzi (they heard we have family in Antioch), we went to Tata and Abuela's house in Southern California for the first of two 2nd birthday parties for this little star.

That's right - he's turning TWO!

We got to Tata and Abuela's house a little early to try and help out with the family luncheon. It ended up the guys did more work than the ladies, but that's how it should be right?

It was a fantastic afternoon - despite the scorching heat and over the top humidity (courtesy the Hurricane/Tropical Storm that hit Mexico). The theme for this party was perfect - Cars! Drew's favorite thing right now.

See, here's Drew playing with the cars Tata played with when he was a kid.... a VERY long time ago ;)


Tata and Abuela sure know how to throw a party, we all ate until we had to unbuckle our pants, and the kids hit the pinata.


OK so Drew wouldn't use the big stick to hit the pinata. Instead he was using a small little toy sticks. He was afraid of the "bat" for some unknown reason (I'm suspicious of the "gloved" hands). Drew really enjoyed the lollipops that came out of the pinata though!


Then it was on to the birthday cake! Look at the cake he had all to himself....


It was a perfect afternoon with family! Thank you again Tata and Abuela - and also to all of our family for making the day so special!!

Healing Hands

I'll warn you - these pictures may be slightly graphic or not what you want to see while eating. While they look a million times better than they did 3 weeks ago today when Drew burned them in the hot embers of our campfire, they're still pretty gnarly.

But these pictures I took last night shortly after the dressing change. We decided to leave both hands open to the air overnight. For the past two days we had the left hand completely exposed - here's that hand...


Not too bad, but the lighter pink areas are where the blisters once were. As you can sort of see from this shot, they covered a good chunk of his hand (fingertips too, but you'll have to take my word for it). Drew wasn't cooperating for this photo shoot as you can see.

And then the right hand was more severely burned - and slower to heal. I managed to capture this shot during a diaper change.


You can see the darker "scabby" looking areas on his palm. The top one under his ring finger was the first spot I saw prompting me to call the Dr. last Thursday for a re-check. Well, that "infection" looking area appears to be getting better, leaving only a scab-like thing on his hands. The finger tips on this hand are still really raw, as is his palm. The fingertips, we've had out of the "gloves" for the past two days, and we've noticed that he's babying them a little. However he has no problem going after and grabbing what he wants when he wants.

All in all, we're on the road to recovery. I just thought I'd share a less gruesome look at his hands. We're headed to Disneyland this weekend, and planning to recover his hands to prevent any germs from attacking this new skin. And we'll see later this morning whether we'll cover the right palm back up. We just wanted it to breathe overnight.

Thank you again for everyone's healthy wishes, prayers, candle lighting, and all. They're working!

Our Super Freak

Drew has found a new favorite commercial. Previously it was the Throwback Pepsi commercial, and now he's moved onto Visa Debit. You may remember it because it's voiced over by Morgan Freeman, and plays the Rick James song "Super Freak".

Well Drew was obsessed with this commercial and we had to play it over and over - or pay the consequences. Thank goodness for DVR.



That's right, my kid has learned how to say "freak". I did stop the video before you hear all the people he called a freak.... and well... let's say it ended with GrampC. I'll protect others who may be offended by it hehe.

Don't you love his moves? Think he's ready for "Dancing with the Stars"?

Hard Sleeping Conditions

This past weekend while Daddy was in St. Louis, Drew and I stayed at Grammy and GrampC's. I managed to get some scrapping done, and well Drew got to play with GrampC and Mollie (their dog).

On Sunday I ran a few errands with my mom, and came home to see Drew like this! Asleep on their hallway floor. GrampC said he was upset after realizing I disappeared, and just conked out on the floor. (I tried to say good-bye before we left, but he was too busy watching "Johnny" aka - the Wiggles).

When I first walked in the door I though maybe he knocked himself out. In his tantrum throwing, he bangs his head on the floor (or the furniture, or the wall, or the chair....), so I could easily see him knocking himself out cold.

Well this nap only lasted until he tried to turn on his side and realized where he was. Grammy came to his rescue at this point.

If You're Happy & You Know It...

Since Drew got his "gloves" when they sang "If You're Happy and You Know It..." they couldn't do "clap your hands". So Ms Stephanie came up with an alternative verse - "Give me a Smile". Here we demonstrated for Grammy and GrampC this weekend, and GrampC caught it on his camera phone.




This cheesy smile is also seen in some recently posted pictures here - like in the blog about his he was looking sharp at church. Yes that's my boy... or rather his Daddy's boy hehe.