Bad Blogger

I have no excuses...I have just been slacking. Well, I guess I could blame it on the week of rain followed by ridiculous heat, but really I just haven't been taking that many photos to post.

The heat prompted me to finally get Drew a water table. Andy put it together today and he really enjoyed it.

Waiting for Dad to finish putting it together and fill with water

Earlier in the week, Drew discovered a new place to hang out in the kitchen:

He pulls out my crock pot which is normally housed at the bottom of this cabinet and climbs in and hangs out. Sometimes he likes to close the door and stand in the dark and talk to himself. I was worried he might get scared in there so I gave him a flashlight. He reminded me of that 1980 show "You Can't Do That On Television". I was just waiting for him to start telling jokes or have green slime dumped on his head...in case you don't know what I am talking about, here is a reminder:

Remember now?

Memorial Day Weekend and Then Some

Friday we painted outside...and maybe ate a little paint!

This is just a shot of a cute face

On Friday evening, we drove to the Cape to spend the weekend at Grannie and Poppy's house and visit with Andy's brother Scott and niece Hannah who were out from California. Jane, Luch and the kids were there too so Drew had lots of cousins to play with. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead, so we got no pics from the Cape. This is probably fine because I was too exhausted to take any because Drew woke up both nights at 1:00AM and wouldn't go back to sleep until around 4:00AM. He is getting his eye teeth (#14+15!). We came home Sunday and did some much needed yard work.

Monday morning, after loading up on Starbucks (mom and dad), we took Drew on a bike ride and then to a Memorial Day Parade.

Monday night I let Drew try out his spoon skills with some yogurt after dinner. This is what I got:

After making such a big mess, Daddy thought it would be a good idea to let him run through the sprinklers to clean off...this is what we got:

Today Drew and I went to the zoo. It was hot and muggy, but we had a blast!

He loved the goats in the petting zoo.

He also loved the pony ride!

What Happened to My Baby?

Drew is growing up so fast. He has been shocking me every day with the things he knows. We have been working on pointing out his body parts and he now knows where his nose, eyes, mouth, head, hair, knees, elbows, toes and teeth are. I didn't teach him teeth..but the other day when trying to get him to smile I said "show me your teeth" and he did and pointed to them. He must have picked it up while brushing his teeth.

I give him little "commands" like "go get the (insert something that I don't think he knows)" and he does - almost always figures it out. He has been working really hard on his puzzles - he is getting pretty good at the shapes and always looks to me after he gets one in for a big applause.

He has tons of new words, most of which only Andy and I can understand. "All Done" definetly is one of his favorites and he uses it in clever ways. One day when he was busy rooting through my pantry, I started asking him questions: "Drew, where is your nose?"..nothing "Drew, can you say elbow?"...nothing "Drew, where's mommy's nose?"..."ALL DONE". (i.e shut up mom).

His signing has been getting pretty good. He knows more, light, duck, bear, help (sort of, mainly this is just waving of the arms), bird, thank-you, diaper. Drew uses the sign for diaper in many ways. He will use the sign after pooping or if I ask him if he went. He also uses it for potty-if I tell him that mommy needs to use the potty, he signs and then runs to the bathroom (by the way this is one of the parts of motherhood that I am not that fond of - sometimes a little privacy is nice.)

Another thing that is showing me how much he is growing up, but is not something I am that happy about, is his love for TV - mainly Thomas. He has fallen hard for that train. He is constantly asking me to turn it on. He also spots that darn train everywhere we go - and if you go to Target, it is shocking how many things the put that thing on; toothpaste, greeting cards, underwear, bike helmets,toys, books, there is even a Thomas magazine. He has found them all! I am not quite strong enough to resist him yet and I am ashamed to say we left the store with a Thomas book and a ball.

I am sure by the next post, Drew will be reading...stay tuned!

"Teeth"

Here he is desperately trying to get the camera from me

Vermont Wedding

As I mentioned in the last post, Susan's wedding was on Saturday. She had such a perfect day. We were in Bolton, Vermont and the weather was beautiful the whole weekend. We left early Friday morning for the 4 hour drive. We really enjoyed the scenery on the way up. Drew enjoyed watching Thomas videos for most of the ride! We had a busy few days - being part of the wedding, I was pretty occupied with rehersal, hair, getting ready etc..and Andy was such a big help. He took Drew on walks and found playgrounds and a drive to Burlington.
The rehersal dinner was on Friday night and Drew joined us. He was a very good boy and we got lots of compliments on how good and quiet he was. Now, we know he is a good boy...but he is usually very squirmy and loud - especially at that time of night. Drew stayed up until 9:30 - way past his usual 7:30 bedtime - my wonderful husband took him back to the condo so he could go to bed and I could enjoy the rest of the party.
For the wedding, Drew had a nanny and according to her he was really good. He went to bed fairly easily which is all I could ask for since he was sleeping in a strange place and in a Pack-n-Play. The ceremony was beautiful at the historic Round Church in Richmond, VT http://www.oldroundchurch.com/ . The reception was at The Ponds at Bolton Valley Resort http://www.thepondsvt.com/ and was such a lovely setting. They made their entrance to Crazy Train by Black Sabbath! We had a wonderful dinner and lots and lots of dancing. Susan and Josh are such a lovely couple and we wish them nothing but the best!

I also want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my mom (Grandma), Andy's mom (Grannie) and all other moms out there! We love you!

Vermont; here we come!

We are headed to Vermont this weekend for my best friend Susan's wedding. I am so excited for her! She has such a nice day planned, and I know everything is going to be beautiful! I thought I would share some pictures of the events leading up to W-day!

The bride-to-be and her mom at her shower in April
Two weeks ago we all went to Mohegan Sun for the bachelorette party. We had a fun day filled with spa treatments, champagne, Kevin James comedy show, champagne, dinner at Todd English's Tuscany, champagne, and gambling!

Bridesmaids - Caitlyn, me, Susan (bride), Maryann (MOH)

Very relaxed after our spa treatments

We showered her with more gifts (most of the others are not for blog posting)

My Boys

How sweet are my boys? I was so surprised to see that sweet post that Andy wrote when I woke up on Saturday morning. We kept the weekend pretty low-key, just like I wanted. The three of us spent some quality time together - here are some photos of Drew's fun from the weekend.

Drew enjoyed a piece of my cake and then gave me a big sloppy kiss!

After cake, Drew played with his tub paints. The first time I let him use tub paints was a disaster. I was alone with him and decided he would have fun if I put the paint in the tub without any water. It got a little slick, so I quickly decided to fill up the tub...Drew is not fond of me filling up the tub while he is in it so he started screaming and trying to jump out, but he was covered in paint. Even after it was filled, he refused to sit down - both of us were covered in paint and I was desperately trying to scrub it off of him. I decided for the second time using tub paint, I would fill up the tub FIRST.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!! ***a post hijacked by Dad & Drew

This blog (along with daily life), hasn't had too much focus on Mom over the past year. For the past year +, I've been traveling an extensive amount, unfortunately even more so since Drew was born. This obviously has been tough on my loving and understanding wife..... so especially on her birthday it's time to take a moment to celebrate the woman that keeps this house and family together!
We might as well start from the beginning for those of you whom might be "blog stalking", as Sarah calls it (one of her favorite pastimes). Sarah and I grew up together, living about a mile away from each other our whole life. I can remember from the time we were in Fourth grade I had a crush on her. There was always something about her that had me, her eyes, that smile, and the fact that she always laughed at my jokes no matter how stupid they were. Well in middle school I finally decided to take the next step and ask her out, which at that age probably meant that we would go the McD's together on a half day. Well she said NO!!!!! Evidently that damn Susan Strong skewed her good judgment..... oh well..... skip forward to high school. Yup.... still had the crush, but more importantly we became better friends, not your average high school flirtation but the real thing. We talked all the time, joked, philosophized, argued, and at times cried, we went through a lot together! Before we knew it, we’re in college but now 300 miles apart and of course…. that’s when we start dating! She had me hooked at that point, it didn’t matter what I had to do but I had to be with her.

So long story short, just shy of six years later we were married, bought a house, had the most amazing son that I could ever imagine, and the dream goes on. It wasn’t storybook “high schools sweet hearts” all the way, it never is, but every difference, argument, or fight we’ve had brought us further together. It’s cliché’ but she is what keeps me grounded and balance despite my cynical outlook on most things.

But wait…. I haven’t started talking about her as a mother. To say it lightly Drew’s a pretty busy boy, add to that the fact that I’ve been traveling on business about 30 weeks since his birth, she’s a pretty tired Mom. But every morning she wakes up refreshed and attentive to him no matter what and doesn’t want to take a break. You’ve all watched him on this blog grow from a little peanut to a loving, smart, and handsome toddler and I’m proud to see what she’s done.

I’m not sure how Sarah does it, Drew runs me ragged even when she’s around. That said, I know that many mothers working or stay at home, single or not, have issues and challenges that they overcome daily, but she is my wife, the mother of our wonderful child, and I cannot thank her enough for who she is or what she does every day.

We love you

Gimme' a kiss Mommy!!!!

Antics

Remember how I said Drew isn't eating well lately...well, I guess that does not include pickles. It also does not include mulch, acorns, pinecones, etc. My sister suggested that I sprinkle broccoli around the yard and then he might eat it!

I have posted before how Drew can be very particular. Now, he will tear apart his toy boxes and throw things around the living room, but when he has a job to do he is very focused. His latest duty is to line up all of his trucks on the window sill (and my freshly painted windows are suffering because of it). They all have to face the same direction. He gets very mad when he can't lift the train up because it is so heavy. I made the mistake of trying to hide it once so it wouldn't fall on him, but he noticed it was missing. I hope he is this focused when it comes time for school!

This amazes me! Drew does this completely on his own. He sticks the people on his fingers and holds them up so proudly. I thought that Malorie (my mothers helper) taught him, but she said no. He just came up with it. If I ask him to "go put the people on your fingers" he does. Watching him put the second one on is quite hilarious.

We found a new playground today and Drew loved it. We took a berry break to re-fuel because it was pretty hot out today.

Dirt! Drew and I need nightly bathing. Today the bath came extra early because he was creating dusty footprints all over the house. In the last picture you can see how dirty his feet were. His shirt is also covered in strawberry juice. The dirt is coming from our sandbox. It has been here since we moved in. We plan on getting a new one (or at least new sand), but I really wanted to play in it, so I cleaned it out and it is not so bad...but obviously it has a lot more dirt than nice white sand.

This is going to be a fun summer. After the weather the past few weeks, it is hard to remember that it is only April. I hope these days last! Drew already took a run through the hose while I was watering some new Lilac shrubs. He first started grabbing, then got a little gutsier and stuck his head under, then he ran through laughing the whole way.

Feels Like Summer

Talk about nice weather! We have been enjoying 60-78 degree days all week. These pictures are from Friday, which was the warmest day of the week. We went out in the morning to get Drew some new shoes. I bought him some sandals and he got to test them out. We have been doing lots of playing in the yard and getting really dirty. He usually gets a bath every other day because his skin gets so sensitive and dry, but the past few days he needed one every night..especially tonight; he played outside most of the day and at one point took a digger in the dirt (he was fine) but got dirt all over his face and in his mouth. For dinner he had a Boca "chicken" patty with lots of sweet and sour sauce (our solution to get him to eat meat), then half of an ice cream sandwich...so he was pretty gooey by the time we got him in the tub. I hope this weather lasts!

In my last update I forgot to mention how snuggly Drew has been lately. He has been doing it for a while, but it is just getting better and better. He gives the most perfect hugs where he wraps his arms around my neck or shoulders and squeezes and pats my back while laying his head down. He gives out tons of kisses and sometimes when he is not even asked. He has been doing lots of leg-hugging lately. Sometimes this is just being snuggly, and sometimes this is because he wants something (like me to pick him up). He has also started saying I love you; it comes out as "I you", but I know what he means! I just love this stage and hope he never, ever grows out of it! But just in case, I am going to take all I can get now.

The Battle Continues...

I just had Verizon Fios installed (like he is literally pulling out of the driveway) and I couldn't wait to test out Blogger. Well, it wasn't as easy as I hoped. I still had trouble uploading pictures. I am not sure if the files are just too big? The internet is working much, much quicker, but it still failed 3 times on me while trying to post. Does anyone who uses Blogger have the same issue?

On the bright side, my phone lines are now crystal clear and my bills are going to be much less!

Attention Drew Fans..

We are getting Verizon Fios installed tomorrow and hopefully that will speed up the internet connection so I can post pictures easily. Sorry for the long time in between posts, if all goes well I promise lots and lots of pictures to come!
In other news, Drew still has a cold but it seems to be on the mend. Eating is getting harder and harder - this week I made him extra sweet roasted sweet potatoes and he wouldn't even taste it; instead he threw it AT me while yelling "ALL DONE". His diet is mainly cheese, yogurt, fruit, bread, pb&J, cheerios, cheerios, cheerios. He is talking quite a bit and coming up with some really smart remarks. When I ask him to sing he responds "EIEI" (as in old macdonald). When I ask him what a cow says, he says "MMMEU". He has pointed out our noses, eyes and mouth for a while when asked, but he has started to point at his own. I have been trying to correct him when he calls everything with wheels a "CAH", so we were talking about choo choo trains the other day and he was sitting and listening to me explain "choo choo" when he got up and walked to my feet and pointed to my shoes with a puzzeled look on his face as if to say "ok, choo/shoe what is the difference?" (Or maybe he is just really smart and knows what Jimmy Choo's are!)

As Promised