Family Time

We had some special visitors from Wisconsin visiting, so we trekked to Aunt Connie & Uncle Doug's house to visit with Jodi, Lauren and Lauren's college roommate. Of course I'm horrible and didn't get any pictures of Drew with Jodi or the girls, but snapped a few of him with cousin Kady.

We were hoping to get a nap in before making the trip to the far East Bay, but no luck. Drew wouldn't sit still long enough... so we strapped him into his car seat and headed to Aunt Connie's. He barely made it down the street, before he was out cold.

Of course he woke up as soon as we arrived - so after only a 45 minute nap, he was a little... shall we say moody... when we said our hellos. He did manage to warm up and was busy flirting with Lauren and her friend. Lucky for me they were extra patient with him and let him run through the backyard and ruin their sunbathing time. Sorry girls!

Of course the younger child always seems to steal the show - especially when she's as adorable as my niece Kady. I did manage to get a picture of Jodi with Kady - who was by the way doing her fake laugh for everyone. You'd think she was coughing by the way it sounds... but no, it's her fake laugh.

Let's hope she doesn't keep it as her permanent one ;)

Aunt Connie (and Uncle Doug) made the most spectacular BBQ turkey & port roast. It was phenomenal! We of course found out the "secret" recipe and hope to try it ourselves at some point this summer.

Just before we left, we of course had to capture one final shot of Drew with GrampC as he was "helping" play the piano.

It Runs in the Family

We haven't made any headway in the move to get Drew to fall asleep in his own bed. Right now it's still in our bed, and we transfer him to his own crib. On Wednesday night while Daddy was playing softball, Drew immediately stopped playing and walked into the hallway and said "bed".

I was catching up on some shows in our DVR and was so involved in one particular episode, I asked if Drew would lay down on the couch for a minute (great mom huh, putting my desires before his). No go. So we go into our room and he falls asleep.

The trick with Drew is you can't transfer him to his crib too soon, or the results are disastrous. So I left him in our room while I finished watching the show. I finally crawl into bed, and he looks so peaceful so I decided Daddy can do the transfer when he gets home from Softball.

I cuddle up to Drew, and he turns over and starts talking in his sleep. He mumbles something and then clear as day he says - "Stop Sign". I just laugh at my sleeping baby boy and his dreams of stop signs.

I believe he was dreaming about some flashcards Ms. Stephanie does with him that has shapes on it - one of which is an octagon which is of course then shown as a stop sign. My boy loves his flashcards!

The next morning I was telling Dave about the sleep talking episode, and he said Drew did the same thing earlier in the week. Said "stop sign" as well.

Yes, I talk in my sleep, and according to the Wikipedia article, this trait is hereditary. In fact 50% of kids will talk in their sleep before puberty. And only 4% of adults do - guess I am one of the lucky minority (or is Dave because I will wake him up talking, but be sound asleep when I do).

Swimming Season Begins

Memorial Day is the unofficial start to summer, and we celebrated after returning home from camping at our community pool. We had the pool practically to ourselves on the pleasantly warm day (there was one guy sunbathing, but I think Drew's excited squeals sent him packing).

While I stayed on the side catching a few rays, Dave & Drew went inside the pool and practiced kicking and dunking heads. After watching Daddy do it a few times, Drew found his courage to do the same thing. Even blew a few raspberries in the water - only swallowing the chlorinated water a few times. We were thrilled that the gagging didn't turn into puking in the pool (the simple things that make us happy - not swimming in vomit being one of them).

By the end of our pool time, Drew was ready to mimic Daddy's cannon balls. Well he was perfectly happy to jump into Daddy's arms anyway. Drew managed to jump in a few times and always said "again, again". Our little daredevil!

Our Hitchhiker

It seems we brought a hitchhiker home on our camping trip this past Memorial Day weekend.

While getting ready for bed on Tuesday night, I noticed something sitting beside our shower & the bath mat in our bathroom. So I pulled the rug away, to find this little guy.

Because Drew was sound asleep on my bed, I refrained from my instinct of screaming and running to Dave. Instead I calmly went to the front room where Dave was catching up on sports, and said - "Um, you need to perform your husbandly duties and remove this snake-worm looking thing from the bathroom."

Armed with a few napkins (what did he think he was going to do, kill a spider), he went to the bathroom, and said "Ew, it's a snake alright". I tried to prevent him from killing it, imagining the mess that it would leave.

The whole time Dave was trying to wrangle the snake, he kept saying "Ew, gross it stinks! Ugh, it just Sh*@ everywhere. I think I just scared the Sh*@ out of it - literally. Nasty, it stinks!" Meanwhile I'm laughing but keeping a safe distance from the bathroom. Needless to say, the poor little guy didn't survive the wrangling, despite our attempts to set it free outside.

So in my google searches the next morning I've determined our uninvited houseguest was a Blind Snake, which all the descriptions show it resembles an earthworm. Which is exactly what I did - mistook it at first for an unusual looking earthworm.

At first Dave and I kept asking ourselves how this little guy got into the house - having flashbacks of our Jerusalem Cricket that found it's way into our house a few years back. (That was a battle in itself to capture and kill that freak of nature). However in doing my google search it dawned on me we likely picked up the hitchiker in our weekend travels.

Hopefully this was the one and only escapee, I'd like to avoid being surprised again...

Camping Makes a Splash

It was the Grand Opening of the Splash Zone at the Gold Country Campground this past weekend. Here's part 2 of our weekend camping trip this last Memorial Day.

When we were up there camping 2 weeks ago, we saw them building this water park area, and on Saturday afternoon we heard the announcement - the Splash Zone was now open!

Dave woke me from my afternoon, post wine-tasting slumber, to go and check it out. So all three of us donned our swimsuits just so we could say we were one of the first people to see what it was all about.

Well they had the water brought in, and boy was it COLD! Poor Drew had blue lips and chattering teeth in a matter of minutes, but he was having a blast with all the water spouts, bucket dumping and shower trickles.

You can see the cold shock on Dave's face as he ran through the water spouts.



After about five minutes, the "fun" was now old for Drew and I took pity on him and his chattering teeth, and wrapped him in a nice warm towel.

We did try and warm him up in the heated swimming pool adjacent to the splash zone. Unfortunately the wind was starting to pick up just enough to foil our plans. At least we managed to clean off all the dirt for a few hours anyway. Of course he managed to find more later that evening. Needless to day, Drew got a much needed bath every night we were out there. Grammy wasn't so thrilled about the ring around the bathtub.

Who knew all the fresh air and days jam packed with activities could knock our kid out for hours! Drew slept so well up there, better than our last camping trip. Again, we had two air mattresses blown up, and Dave and I took turns sleeping with Drew. It's a big task making sure he stays on the mattress and doesn't inhale the side of the tent - which he does like to do. Here he is looking so peaceful cuddled up to "Baby".


And finally I leave you with one last picture of Drew with GrampC.

"Dirty" Campout

Can you say DIRTY? That was our little Drew this weekend as we returned to the same campground we were at earlier this month. This Memorial Weekend, we joined members from Grammy & GrampC's church in Pine Grove (the California foothills in the heart of "Gold Country").

Drew, Grammy & GrampC drove ahead of us, in the trailer and Dave and I met up about an hour later after we both got off work.

After a week away from Drew he was so excited to see us again! We got the "happy dance" and a few squeals of delight. He even "helped" set up our tent. Or rather he'd send the ball we gave him to keep him busy, down the hill... and say "ball where are you" - while Mommy & Daddy tried to set up the tent while playing fetch the ball at the same time.

Did you really think a 20-month old would help set up the tent? Needless to say, after about two trips down the hill, we put the ball "nigh-night".

Immediately after our weekend home was set up, Drew found his favorite part of camping - the dirt! In no time at all his nice white shirt turned a "lovely" shade of brown. I guess that's what you get for bringing a toddler camping!

Of course I took far too many pictures, so I'll spread them over another day or so. Here are a few from the first few days:

Daddy & Drew on day 1 at the Rec Center making a poster


"Guy" protects the beer from bugs during yet another ball-run


Drew intoxicated from one glass of wine too many... ok so he's just napping on our wine run.

Camping Trips Past - Part 2

OK, for another blast from the past here are more pictures from various camping trips. We'll have something new to share tomorrow.

Enjoy a look back...


Drew & Grammy - 5 Months


Drew and his Boom Stick - 5 Months


Drew in the jogger - 5 Months


Drew Chillin' in Grammy & GrampC's Trailer - 11 Months


Drew & Grammy taking a walk - 11 Months

Camping Trips Past - Part 1

Since we're enjoying the great outdoors this weekend - camping yet again - I thought it may be interesting to show pictures of Last Memorial Day weekend, Drew's second camping trip. For those that need help with the math... he was 8 months old. We're going back to the same campground this weekend.

Enjoy!


We barely remember him that little anymore. Be sure to check back on Monday evening for updates from our trip this weekend!

What you do when you're childless for a week...

We're looking forward to seeing Drew tonight at the campsite! But it has me thinking - what did we really do for the week without him?

Sure Grammy stepped in to help us out because I had to travel to Kansas City for work - which ended up being cut short a day due to an illness by my co-worker. And Daddy couldn't manage all the day care drop-offs and pick-ups due to a busy work schedule, and softball two nights this past week.

So while most parents jump at the opportunity at a week of no kids, here how we "celebrated".

• Sunday - after dropping Drew off we went to dinner & a movie
• Monday - I traveled, Dave worked & played softball
• Tuesday - I traveled home and Dave laid around the house, presumably watching sports
• Wednesday - After work I did some pleasure reading, Dave played softball
• Thursday - caught up on a few TV shows, did laundry, started packing and made a trip to the Library
• Friday - we're going camping
  

You'd think we'd have done something more exciting! Well now that I think about it, sleeping in every morning has been wonderful...

Um, Where's the Dodger Blue?

For current updates about what Drew's doing - be sure to visit Camp Grammy here.

Reason number one why Uncle Matt is not allowed to play with our son when we're not there....




Sorry Uncle Matt, but Daddy says Drew can't come over and play anymore.

Daddy & Drew Day - a.k.a Mommy Time

For current updates on Drew's adventures - visit Camp Grammy here.

Daddy & Drew played so hard together on Saturday they wiped out the poor guy - and his little friend "Guy". Mommy had the day "off" to go do some scrapbooking so Daddy and Drew tried to beat the heat and played in the inflatable pool in the backyard.

When the 90-degree temps started scorching the two of them, they came inside for lunch - which Drew started to fall asleep while eating - and then took naps.

After nap part 1, they had a cold beverage - milk that is - and continued onto nap part 2. Guess those hot temperatures take it's toll on little boys.

Finally when Mommy came home from scrapbooking - she walked into a sleepy Drew cuddling with his little animal - Guy. Yes, that's the name Drew named this particular stuffed animal.

Mommy on the other hand had a fabulous day of scrapbooking from Noon - 8pm (ok more like 8:30pm). I joined my friend Lisa, and her Mom & friend at her house. It was a fantastic day, and everyone really had those creative juices flowing.

I managed to finish about 6 pages in that time. Here's a sample:


This last picture is actually 2 separate pages - not a spread. One is for Drew's book, and one is for mine.

KC Momvention

For current updates at Camp Grammy, be sure to check out their web page here.

Greetings from Kansas City! One of the benefits of traveling for work, I'm able to meet some of my online Mommy friends. On Monday night I met Helen and Amy for dinner. Earlier that day I was able to enjoy the company of Helen's triplet boys.


I've mentioned this group of fabulous girls before, but we all chat online daily (or close to) about everything from our kids, husbands and everything else in between. About 90% of us have been posting to the same Weight Watchers group since we found out we were pregnant (or adopting), and the remaining members joined us after they had their little ones.

With all of us scattered around the country, I've been fortunate to meet a number of them in my work travels (most recently was another Mommy & Son last month at the SF Zoo, her travel not mine).

It's just a great gathering of girls from different background, parenting beliefs and practices - and they are all a wonderful sounding board. Since they forgot to give me the parenting manual at the hospital after having Drew, it's nice to talk to others who have kids exactly the same age (current kid ages range from about 21-18 months),and are going through almost the same exact experiences .

Now if only we could all live within driving distance to each other...

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho - to Camp Grammy's We Go

It's sleep away camp for Drew this week at "Camp Grammy's"! Mommy is traveling to Kansas City this week for work, and Daddy has a busy week filled with deadlines and softball. So it's Grammy to the rescue! We dropped him off at their house on Sunday afternoon.

Pushing 100-degrees at Grammy & GrampC's house, the festivities quickly moved outdoors where we could play in the waterpark - otherwise known as the backyard. Grammy had an awesome find at a garage sale, with a "pool" that had "built in" sprinklers. Ask Grammy about the broken pool - haha.

And next to the "sprinkler pool" was another more traditional pool with warmer water. The waterpark was so inviting even Mommy & Daddy dipped their toes into it. Of course the only reason we did, was to get Drew get out of the grass and into the water... not the fact it was scorching hot.

After about an hour or so we left Drew to his Grammy & GrampC's Adventures. Grammy is starting a blog of her own, so be sure to stay up to date with Drew here! But have no fear - I have plenty of blogs of my own ready to go this week as well!

For the record, this is the longest stretch Daddy has been away from Drew since he was born - unfortunately this is not mine.

Heyyyyy Drew-butt-sky

For several months, GrampC has called our little guy - Drewbutzky One family dinner in February GrampC kept yelling out "Heyyyyy Drew-butzky"!

Drew would in turn respond, "Heyyyyy butt-key!" Well GrampC, here's your Butzky for you, running bare bottomed down the hallway.

See it turns out diaper changes are becoming more and more challenging. Drew likes to wiggle his way out of it, and give you the funniest smirks. This particular night last week, I decided to let him run around for a few minutes with out a diaper.

He loved his new-found freedom. He raced up and down the hallway, giggling at everything bouncing and running free. After about 10 minutes of playing chase-Drew-up-and-down-the-hallway-with-the-camera, we managed to wrangle him up and fully cover him up.

We would afterall, like to avoid an indoor sprinkler.

Unusual Milestones

Trust me on this one... you don't want to see the photo of this first milestone! And even if you did - I'd probably get arrested for kiddie porn.

Since I was pregnant, I've received email updates from a number of websites - including BabyCenter. In the early days, it would be about Drew's development while he was all warm and cozy in my belly. Now I get weekly updates on different things he is likely to be doing for his specific age. From time to time there other emails with articles covering everything from discipline tips, to potty training tips and readiness signs.

This week I open an email about unusual milestones. The first part seemed innocent enough -

What: Sees in stereo
When: 2 to 4 months

2 What: First true laugh
When: 4 to 5 months

3 What: Knows her own name
When: 5 to 8 months

Then I come across number 4......

***
4 What: Plays with privates
When: 1 to 2 years
By this age, many children have discovered that it feels good to touch their privates. It's all sensation at this point. They won't be angry at you for barging into the room without knocking for a long time yet.
***

This is a straight copy & paste from their newsletter... and I couldn't stop laughing when I first read this!

Um, is Drew a genius because he started playing with his privates before he turned 1? Seriously he'd play with it during diaper changes, or mostly in the shower when he was only taking showers vs. baths.

Wow, who knew I should be measuring that as a milestone! Um, it's one I'll leave out of the babybook for sure!

Oh, and according to the same newsletter article - he won't start to show modesty until around 8 or 9 years old.... so be prepared until then for a peep show.

Brown Baggin' It

It's the classic infant toddler game with a twist - Where's Drew?


On Tuesday evening Drew discovered a brown paper bag we had lying around the house - well we haven't quite gotten organized after camping last weekend, so there's a lot to get into right now. Did you know how much fun a plain paper bag can be?

This game of throw the bag over Drew lasted a good 10 minutes - which in the world of a busy toddler, is a long time!
After the fascination of the brown bag wore off, Drew was off to something more exciting like trying to take apart his ball blowing toy. This is an extra exciting toy since it's "under construction" after the wrong sized ball went down the shoot.

Stuck Between a Tree & a Hard Place

You've heard the cliche, "Stuck between a rock and a hard place". Drew took that to a whole new level last weekend while camping...



That's right, while playing "chase GrampC" Drew thought it would be kind of fun to walk through a tree. Problem is, that tree tried to gobble him up!

After GrampC came to the rescue, Drew was ready to rock and roll some more. Notice how Mommy & Daddy kept the camera rolling and just laughed at him? Yes, yet another nomination for parents of the year! I mean we couldn't let a blog-worthy video like that get by us now could we?

It's Bacon!

Drew has a whole new take on the five basic food groups. You may think the groups include fruits & veggies, proteins, grains etc.

In reality it includes bacon, chicken nuggets, and more bacon!

For dinner last night Mommy & Daddy were having a grilled chicken salad (well half grilled, and half baked since the grill ran out of propane). Drew is in a no-chicken-without-breading funk right now. So I made a few slices of bacon. Several bites in and you can hear Drew say "mmm bacon".

Oh, he's even rebelling his booster seat too, needing to sit like a big boy on the chair like Mommy & Daddy (hey if it keeps him from whining to sit on my lap at dinner time...).

Drew managed to polish off about 2 strips of bacon for dinner. Hey, it beats the goldfish he ate for dinner the night before. We're quickly running out of meal ideas for this picky eater, who is boycotting the few foods he does eat.

The kicker of the day - Mommy went out for a few hours to go to a scrapbooking/stamping open house, to come home to a naked Daddy & Drew and a house wreaking of puke. Apparently in his attempt to get Drew down for the night, Dave heard the familiar sounds of a gagging kid. Seconds later they were both covered in the wretched stuff. NICE. Bacon - smells delicious going down - not so pleasant coming back up!

Carseat Catnap

I know, I know, the picture isn't the best quality - it's from my phone. But I don't often carry my camera in the front seat of my car, while I'm coming home from work.

Yesterday I went to pick Drew up from Day Care and he was sound asleep in his boppy - remember he's refusing to sleep in his Pack-n-Play during the day. Anyway, he woke up at Ms. Stephanie's long enough to say bye-bye to "Ms. Steffi" and one of the babies she watches.

I get to the car, put him in his seat and don't even make it down the block before I look in my review mirror and see this. (No I snapped the picture after we were safely in our garage - so no need to call CPS about how I'm taking pictures of my kid while driving).

Why is it that kids find it so comfortable to sleep in this position - without getting the world's stiffest neck?! For the record, this is how he looked the entire trip home from our camping trip this past weekend - almost 2 solid hours! Ouch - it hurts me to even think about it.

On a side note - Drew is 20 months old today! I'll have updated pictures hopefully later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Mother's Day Camping

What a perfect Mother's Day weekend! On Friday we headed out to Pine Grove for some camping in the Amador County foothills. Dave & I both took Friday off work so we could get a full weekend out of it.

This is a campground we went to last Memorial Weekend, when it was the inaugural Jellystone Park - well it's since changed names again (this is the 3rd time that I'm aware of). Lucky for us, they still honored the free passes we won that weekend. Now known as Gold Country Campground, they are doing some renovations that should be finished by the time we get there over Memorial Weekend - including a splash zone which will be perfect for Drew!! Oh, and because of the minor construction we're invited back for another free stay - LOVE that!

We still managed to find plenty to do including some sidewalk art projects at the campground rec center.

That night we just conked out early and prepped for a busy Saturday. Drew did marvelously in the tent with us all night long! This is the first time he stayed with us the entire night - without the pack-n-play in Grammy & GrampC's trailer. We did buy a twin inflatable mattress for Drew, but it deflated before anyone even got to sleep in it. So Daddy played the tough guy, and took one for "the team" by sleeping on the ground. I'm still not sure why he didn't sleep with us - but that's neither here nor there.

On Saturday, we went into Plymouth to do some wine tasting - while we hit about 6 wineries - we should've stopped at two. The first two were phenominal - Wilderotter Vineyard and our absolute favorite was CG D'Airie - the winemaker is known for inventing Captain Crunch & Hidden Valley Ranch! They have beautiful grounds and fabulous wines. The others didn't leave much of an impression.

After several hours we went back to camp and Drew napped while Daddy & GrampC went and played horseshoes & Mommy & Grammy played cribbage. About the time Drew woke up from his nap - all the adults were ready for theirs. So after a bath, a movie went on so we could all sleep - does that earn us parents of the year or what?

Sunday was just playing and packing up. It was a perfect weekend and we're pooped out now - so I'm sure it'll take us a few days to recover. Drew hasn't played so hard in a while!

I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the weekend.

BELOW: Daddy, Drew & GrampC coming back up to camp after crafts


BELOW: Drew is picking some Mother's Day Flowers

Happy Mother's Day!

I think this is turning into one of my new favorite Holidays - it's such a treat and a privledge to be Drew's Mommy! I am so excited to spend this Mother's Day Camping with my little guy and my own Mom!

I never understood just how precious those little gifts your kids make for you were until Drew started making some for me. It really is true, the best gifts are homemade!

Here's what Drew made for me this week at Day Care.

For the record, Drew was going to make all the Grandmas a Mother's Day gift... but that project backfired on me in a big way. Let's just say he FLIPPED OUT when I wanted him do get into the paint. I can't tell much more than that - because we're hoping to retry it for Christmas or perhaps Mother's Day next year.

Happy Mother's Day to every Mommy & Grandma!

Candid Camera - Conked Out

Daddy decided to take it upon himself to capture some oh so unflattering shots of Mommy & Drew sleeping the other night. As I've mentioned, Drew is having troubles going to sleep in his own bed - so much show he'll work himself up to the point of puking. To prevent the vomit-fest we've allowed him to either fall asleep on the couch or in our bed.

Well the other night while Daddy was at softball, Drew refused to fall asleep on the couch, and finally zonked out on our bed. I made 2 or 3 attempts to move him to his own room without any luck. Daddy got home around midnight to this sight....

Lovely pose right? Well after midnight, Daddy successfully managed to move Drew. Yay! Now if only we could talk to him about taking some more flattering shots.

The next day we were able to enjoy some outdoor time after work and day care. Drew had a few things up his sleeve... or should we say shirt.

The whole time he was saying "almost" as he was trying to pop out the little basketball. Be sure to check back early next week for updates from our weekend camping trip!

Go Dodgers!

I'm being brave in writing this latest blog in the heart of SF Giants territory... but for our loyal SoCal Fans....

Drew has grown up an LA Dodgers fan. So on Wednesday morning after the Dodgers tied an MLB record for the longest starting winning streak for home games, Drew had to throw it back into the SF Giant's faces. Oh, and for the record, they broke it later that night.

For those that are having a hard time making out what it says on his shirt... "It's not my diaper that stinks... it's the Giants!"

Take that one Uncle Matt! Haha

And yes I know all about the Manny drama. That all unfolded after I originally wrote this blog. No need to remind us :)

Our "Petite Syrah"

As I mentioned last week, Drew has had sleep issues - avoiding naps, and having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep at night.

This past Saturday, we were out running errands and Drew conked out in his carseat. Of course this had to be on one of our first few stops - Target. So I carried him throughout the entire store. He's heavy after a while.

Luckily after shopping he slept through the transfer back into the carseat - rain hitting him and all - and Dave and I just looked at each other, wondering what we should do. We knew if we would go home, he would instantly wake up and fight the much needed sleep. So we decided to keep driving, which eventually took us to Livermore to pick up our wine shipment at Bent Creek.

As we parked the car Drew finally woke up, after sleeping nearly 90 minutes - and he was able to enjoy tasting wines with us. OK so he was savoring the "White Zin" - a.k.a. Milk, while Mommy and Daddy tasted all the new releases.

Don't feel too bad for Drew not being able to taste the wines - he managed to find a lot to do. Whether it was playing with the dirt and rocks, running around or looking at the wildlife. Drew never complains about our dragging him from winery to winery. In fact he's usually happy talking to all the people behind the counter, and flirting with the ladies. Atta boy!

On a side note, Drew is starting to improve with his sleep habits. He's still falling asleep either in our bed, or on the couch. But we're successfully moving him into his crib - where he remains all night long. (Of course I'm probably jinxing myself by writing this down...). He's still not sleeping in his pack-n-play at day care, but he is napping on his boppy downstairs where all the kids are still playing. But he's sleeping.

Could we finally be experiencing a breakthrough?

Stylin' for Church

This past Sunday was our family's turn to greet at church. So that means everyone looks extra spiffy for the morning - including Mr. Drew who was showing off his corduroy sports coat this weekend.

This little jacket was a hand-me-down from a family at church, and while it's still a tab big on him, he definitely looked pretty doggone cute in it! Oh, his hair got a little messed up while he was playing with the "wind" - otherwise known as Mommy's hair dryer.

Of course we get within 3 minutes of church and Drew decided to take a very much needed nap! So I held him at the door while we said hello to everyone as they walked in, but after about 15 minutes or so, all 22+ pounds that he weighs finally took it's toll and I had to sit down. (For the record I'm not that weak. I had to carry the dead weight of a sleeping Drew through Target the day before - so my arms were a tad bit tired already... not to mention my aching back.)

Drew still got a few smiles and comments while sleeping about how spiffy he looked - oh, and at communion too! Of course he always manages to get a chuckle out of our Pastor (a Cubs fan) when Drew says - "Go Dodgers! Yay Manny!"

Is TV Really a Bad Thing?

So I'm wondering if this is another sign our son is watching too much TV? He's known all the letters of the alphabet for a few weeks, but now he can tell us what sound it makes!

Ms. Stephanie has this Leap Frog movie for her boys (ages 3 & 2) to teach the alphabet & phonics. Well Drew LOVES it!

As I've mentioned, we use flashcards, we were recently handed down some letter fridge magnets (well dishwasher magnets in our case), and I picked up some foam letters this weekend for the bathtub. Oh, I must say the bath letters were the best purchase we made - Drew finally loves our bathtub again - after playing favorites for Ms. Stephanie's tub....

Back to my point - if we let him he'll spend hours giving us letters, and telling us that it's an "A" or his favorite the "Y". Within the past week, we've added on to the game. It's now he'll grab a letter - say "B" - and tell us "B" and make the "Buh, Buh" sound for B. "E" or any vowels, he'll make the long and short vowel sound.

For some of the letters, he'll even tell you what word starts with that letter. So he'll hand you a "T"... and say "tah, tah, tah, T-for towel". And so-on.

Seriously - is he going to be reading before the age of two? He's just a sponge, and we can barely keep up with him! It's so much fun!

And who said TV was a bad thing?

Signing Time

When Drew was about 6 or 7 months old we introduced him to Baby Einstein's "Baby's First Signs". Then some friends raved about "Signing Time", so we rented some from the library and then were hooked as well. We now own the first three videos in series one - and regularly rent others from the Library.

I can't say enough about these videos! Not only have they taught Drew to sign, but I'm convinced this is where he picked up a majority of his vocabulary. He'd say the words before he learned to sign them. Sure it kind of defeats the purpose - but hey, he learned the signs after he could speak the word. Haha

So again - from Drew's sick day on Friday I was able to catch him on video showing off all his new signs:

Animal House

Puzzles, Crayons and flashcards can keep Drew occupied for hours! He will sit there and hand you every piece from any puzzle for as long as you will allow him - or something else grabs his attention.

We have about 1/2 a dozen puzzles - alphabet, numbers, School bus and a favorite.. Noah's Ark. I managed to get some clips of him showing off the animals on the ark:

Johnny - a.k.a "The Wiggles"

I'm sure I've mentioned it before - my kid has a fascination with "The Wiggles". I swear we watch the same movie at least 2-3 times a day. Drew has always called Yellow Wiggle - Johnny. I believe because in the previous Disney Channel line-up "The Wiggles" followed "Johnny and the Sprites". Thus - Johnny followed Johnny!

Well during Drew's sick day on Friday, I had the "fortunate" pleasure of watching Johnny about 4 times in a row. LOVELY. At one point Drew was singing and dancing with the music, and then decided to have a conversation with Johnny, who was hiding amid his dance troupe:



As of this morning Drew seems to be okay - the fever is about 99.4 - which is in the teething-as-the-culprit range. He has a runny/stuffy nose, and woke up last night at 12:30 am and ended up sleeping in our bed so he could elevate himself and eliminate the gagging. Oy.....

Sick Day

Drew came home early from day care today after puking all over Ms. Stephanie. There's no clear reason yet why she was showered in vomit, but ironically Ms. Stephanie had put some Swine Flu information into Drew's bag today. (for the record it was informative stuff that all the kids got - my kid was the only one to puke though).

So I get Drew home, while he's still sleeping. But the moment we walk through the door - it's like there were alarm bells only he could hear. He was now wide awake. Despite my continued efforts to get the kid back to sleep - so Mommy could work - Drew refused.

Instead he put on quite a show that we'll spread over a few days. Here he shows off his singing skills - Old McDonald:



Tonight I took Drew's temperature right before his bath - and it was up to 100. We'll keep an eye on it. Oh, and I managed to get that temp about 2 minutes before he peed all over me. NICE!