The End of 2009

So we wrap up December with a few great photos - I got to take Drew to a gymboree music class to try out and see if we want to sign up - he is mesmerized by the bubbles and we got to sing, dance and make all sorts of music....Drew really likes clapping. We got lots more pictures with his girlfriend, Jorga, but the pics are on Autumn's phone - one of these days I am going to get them. I think we might start classes after the month of February - we will try a few more types in January and then lock in on his favorite.

Unfortunately, during this month, we lost my uncle Neal (Dad's brother) to pneumonia. He had been quite ill and when he got sick it took over his body. We pray for him to watch over us - I was so sorry that I couldn't get a chance to say goodbye or spend time with his family at the funeral but Dad and Suzette were there and shared our love with them. It is amazing how you can't just jump on a plane these days with a little on in tow.

Just a few days before Christmas we were able to get a picture of Drew with Santa - he visited our Country Club at Kid's Craft Night and Santa brought his wife - I think Drew is quite the ladies man as he definitely preferred Mrs. Claus to Santa...

We have spent the holiday just hanging - we have found a new Nanny - Tiaira - she is great with Drew and we are looking forward to the new year starting off with new fun things to learn with her. Drew came to Christmas Eve service with us at church - he was great and silent eating his cheerios. When it was time for communion, John carried him and he hammed it up all the way to the altar smiling and laughing for everyone to point and smile at him....or it could have been his bib reading: "If you think I am cute, you should see my dad.".....we're not sure - either is fine for us.

Drew also got some gifts from a few folks - here are a couple of pics of Drew opening gifts. Thanks to those that sent 'noise' toys - you won't be forgotten....we will have to find out how to 'repay' you :)...We took a quick video of his excitement to open the gifts (see below)....or should I say....eat the paper :)

We are looking forward to Monday morning when we leave for Maui - we have a great dog sitter that stays with the Dogs so they don't take over the house. We will leave here before God turns on the lights :) and travel to Maui via Dallas where Auntie Lala (Laura), Auntie Eenie Weenie (Erin), GG (Grandpa Greg) and Nana join us for the 9 hour flight over - More pics to come of the great family time we will have when we meet up with Cousin Maddie, Uncle Jeffy and Auntie Angie - it will be Drew's first time to meet them - we can't wait! Merry Christmas to everyone and we will talk to you in the New Year when Iowa and Texas both win their bowls!!!!

6 months old!!! WOOHOO!!!

In preparation for Drew's big 6 month milestone - we had our first "REAL" playdate :). Jorja and Autumn came over - Autumn had Jorja about 3 wks after Drew was born. We had lunch and played, comparing toys and milestones.....Yes, Drew is about a billion more pounds than most kids his age....

Drew started sitting on his own around 5.5 months of age - he is trying hard to read his books and 'over achieve' the milestones expected for his age - He just started getting on all fours looking at us like, 'now what?' - we don't want him to crawl to early as we have a 9 hr trip to Hawaii in a few wks - I think just sitting will do just fine :). He is well into all of his vegetables now - even eating several yummy fruits and such at every meal. Pls note, no more mullet - the rest of his little reddish blonde hair is coming in full steam ahead....We are now in 12 month clothing and into wearing little pants and tops now - even some shoes - always fun to come home from work and see what little outfit he has on....John says boys don't wear outfits so instead, which clothes he has on....

So - Drew turned 6 months old this past Saturday - he is growing up so fast. We went to a friend's holiday open house and took some pics - he was all dressed up in his new Christmas clothes (you know, to pick up the girls).....after being quite the ladies man - he wanted to return to naked times and pj's - yes, he is very warm blooded - he prefers to be naked - or is that him just taking after his father???? Rob and Tracy's daughter, Lyla, played with Drew most of the night, helping feed him, play with him, change him - he even went to sleep in her bed (of course she thought this was the most special). Yes, Lyla is 3 in this picture and Drew is almost the size of her....We got some not so great news....Maggie is leaving us.....she found a job downtown that helps her move towards a career utilizing her business degree vs. a job - we knew she was just too good to be true - we will miss he dearly and will ask her to come visit often. So we are on the hunt for a new nanny......looking and looking and looking - this certainly not a great time to look versus the end of summer but we have faith that we will find another Angel to care for Drew!

So for our 6 month check up - as guessed....large and in charge. Drew topped out at 30 inches in length and now that he is more active - he is down a few pounds to 20.5 lbs. I know, that is still very tall and big but a little lighter than we had thought. His motor skills are still very advanced according to Dr. Thind and everything else looks good - he got some more vaccinations and his flu shot....

I never uploaded the pics we got taken at Target in Dallas in Sept - they are FANTASTIC!! Here are a few we got - I have the larger ones all digital to give to folks - hard to send since they are so big - will have to put on CD's or zip drives and mail for X-mas!! Notice his Texas football pic!!

Nov 2009 - New foods, new moods.....

So, we didn't update at the end of Oct - we skipped costumes all together....I think Drew will make it :). As we headed into November, Drew's teeth pain started up! No teeth yet but a WHOLE lot of slobber and gnawing. Drew's everyday attire starts with some sort of onesie (with out without a pair of pants to match) and a BIB - we go thru about 5-6 bibs a day.

The most exciting thing this month: exercise and healthy eating - not dieting - healthy eating. John and I invested in the 'biggest loser' armbands to keep track of our calories burned, sleep efficiency and levels of vigorous and moderate activity. Daddy and Mommy want to be around to see Drew in his old age so we are up in the mornings at 6 am for some exercise and John is cooking dinner in the evenings. John is down over 15 pounds and mommy has lost over 5" on my waist.....let's not talk about pounds yet :). Even Drew is exercising as seen here.....

Drew has started with some very good foods - he has moved from rice cereal into green beans and green peas (his favorite) as well as several other mixed vegetable medleys. We then tried squash (digestive system can't handle that yet :)) and carrots - just last night we tried pears...more fruits to come. Here is a picture and a great video below...

Daddy left the first week to go pheasant hunting in North Dakota - he loaded up with a few friends and 5 dogs - that's right - I didn't mis-type, 4 men and 5 dogs in an 18 passenger van for 17 hours to go hunting for 3 days........now I remember why I don't hunt :). They had a great time and brought home lots of birds.

Mom flew in the next week, Greg followed on Thursday the 12th and Bryan on Friday to join us in Columbus for the Iowa-Ohio State football game - we had some great tailgating as you can see in the pics - a couple rounds of flip cup and some good times. Although Iowa lost, it was a great time and good to be with friends and family in our on-going desire for football mayhem.

Soon after my side of the family left - soon came John's family for Thanksgiving - we had a great time with everyone. Gunnar (2) and Hunter (4) played with Drew while he was in his jumper in video below. Jen also read all the boys books together in the picture here.

John and Chris (brother in law) took charge of planning Thanksgiving dinner - lobster, walleye, crabcakes, smoked salmon spread, boiled shrimp, grilled bacon wrapped shrimp, steamers and raw oysters........needless to say, we ate a variety of this over 3 days - NOT 1 - I know I said healthy eating....well so we ate little bits across 3 days......so we cheated for a few days :) and worked out extra.

The girls on the other hand were in charge of activities. We headed to the Children's museum on Wednesday (Drew stayed home with Maggie), Coco-keys Indoor Waterpark on Thursday and The Aquarium on Saturday.

Drew loved the water at the park swimming with mommy, daddy and Baba. The boys ran wild and exuded some energy allowing for long naps that afternoon :).

We forgot the stroller at the aquarium so Drew got to get in his first umbrella stroller - ahhh, the germs on this borrowed thing......good times....

Everyone left Saturday and John and I returned to the basics - Drew and I got sick - his nose is running and some coughing - a slight fever....now, my turn......I am beginning to think this is just how I spend my Thanksgiving time of year.

December brings several Christmas parties, Drew's christmas pics, a 6 mos old celebration and preparations for the trip to Maui on the 28th. Take care and have a safe holiday season!

Oct 2009 - Four Months and more travels

We started off the first of the month with our 4 month check-up -at 16 wks old he is 18 lbs and 27.5 in. I know - you are probably thinking if you don't have kids, is this large? And if you do have kids, you might be thinking isn't that what my 1 yr old weighed? THIS SIZE IS OVER THE TOP.....this is 115% of the charts in height and 104% on weight.....Texas Offensive Lineman here we come. Nana says he could still be a dancer or an artist - well, he might be an artist but at this size I don't think he is getting off the ground to dance :). He still has his little mullet that gets ruffled when he sleeps :)...the hair on his head is getting longer but the back still takes over (pic to right).

The doctor was extremely impressed with his 'advanced' motor skills - rolling over, propping himself up, pulling forward like he wants to sit up.....he is becoming quite the little man. We had a few issues with his formula and gassiness so we switched......and then we switched back - I thought the devil had taken over my sweet angel with that last formula. I had to put him to sleep on his back with his legs in the air to help with his belly (see pic). Since we were getting ready to head to Dallas for the week, we switched back and things seemed to have gotten better.

I had a conference in Dallas to attend so I loaded up the Drewster and he and I headed on a plane to Texas - a bit easier this time although I will not pick the 4pm flight from now on - it's just not a great time for him to fly during the day. Nana and GG picked us up and helped take care of Drew for the week while I attended the conference downtown and worked from the house. We got to see Mimi, Papa and Uncle Mattie as well. We all went to lunch and hung out watching the Cowboys on Sunday. Wednesday was Jack's birthday (my godson), the entire family went out for burgers Wednesday night and we took pics of Tiffany's twins and Drew - they are all on the football progression charts - her son's just had their 9 mos. celebration.

With Drew's successful check-up we got to start rice cereal - so we let Nana take a stab at this first......hysterical with rice all over his face (takes after his father :0) Drew has also found his feet this month - he loves to try and put them in his mouth when his fat rolls aren't too big to prevent the stretch :). Mom and Laura took Drew to get pictures done at Target Studio - the CD should be here soon - they took his Texas jersey and naked pics - they are fabulous - look for updates in next blog.

John flew in to Dallas on Friday to go to the Texas-OU game and we had a night away from Drew at Krista's house. John and I went to the game and had a great day just the two of us. We rode rides, played games, drank beer and drank beer....it was a quick weekend but we were back to Cinci Sunday at noon to prepare for another long week of work.

Drew started off his time back in OH with lots of gas - he wasn't able to sleep during the night this week which made for a very long week. With a call to the pediatrician on Thursday, we found that making all the bottles early in the day and then heating them up before the feeding should take care of getting all the little gas bubbles out so they don't make their way into his belly.......well, I think I should send Dr. Thind flowers...it worked...we are back to normal sleeping...woohoo!!!

No Halloween costume yet but we are still undecided if he will even know he doesn't have one :)....a few more update for Oct coming your way in the next blog.

Flying, Football and Fun!! - Sept 2009

So it has been quite a while since we have written. We have had a busy month with travels, tricks, and sports! We started off September with a trip to Iowa for the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game. John and I flew with Mr. Drew to the great city of Boone, IA to see family and friends. It was a bit touch and go there getting ready for the travels as my week was very hectic at work and between work, weaning, and preparing to leave - it was a wonder I made it to the airport. It was quite the celebration in IA for not only the game but a great annual tradition Boone holds on it's fairgrounds, PufferBilly Days.

John treated mommy to a massage to help with the recent stresses of getting back to work - one thing is for sure - just don't get a lot of sleep, don't eat a lot, don't drink enough water, be highly stressed and weaning from nursing is easy :0.....anyways, needless to say, we successfully moved Drew to 100% formula right around 14 wks old. We got a few photos of us out with the family - Barb took us all to dinner when Chris got back in town from work. It was a great treat to all be together! We can't wait till they visit at Thanksgiving.

Drew got to meet his Aunt Jenny, Uncle "Bones" (aka Chris), and cousins, Hunter and Gunnar. Gunnar was so enamored with Drew he kept saying 'my baby, my baby' - I think we finally convinced him it was 'mimi's' baby - sooooo cute!! Gunnar on the left, Hunter on the right!!

We stayed with Baba (John's mom) and she was great to babysit Drew while we went to the game - with a 5am start of tailgating it was quite an entertaining day. We rode over with Jen and Chris for a Jen's first tailgating experience....let's just say she held her own :). John's good friends from high school and college were out and about and we had great seats on the 40 yd line 20 rows up.

So when it was time to leave IA, I headed to Panama City, Panama for a global P&G meeting with Latin America. John flew back with Drew by himself - he was a real pro - no problems for him. I got to Panama and had no service on my phone - thank goodness for skype - I got to see Drew every morning when Maggie and I skyped and got to say goodnight to both Drew and Daddy each night via computer. Thank goodness for technology! We didn't get to see much of Panama but we did get to eat some wonderful food and we visited the Panama Canal - I forgot my camera but had a friend take a pic - just haven't gotten it. Maggie and John held down the fort - Maggie by day, John by night.......John and Drew really bonded that week - he turns and quiets down when he hears John's voice now - so cute!

After returning from Panama, we prepared for our Octoberfest visitors. Brent and Heather came in town from Chicago to celebrate Octoberfest Ohioian style - so it's not Munich but it works...we went to the Hoffbrau house and had a fabulous time. In fact, probably too good of a time :). Heather is holding Drew after a great weekend of friends and beers. The Haiglers also made in town for Friday night to see Mr. Drew and stay over before their trip to Kings Island on Saturday. It was a full house but we loved every minute of it. Lexi (Gary and Amy's youngest) was insistent on holding Drew.....I think he weighs as much as her :).

As the weekend came to a close and the craziness started to wind down, Drew really came on strong with showing off his moves.....from rolling over one way.....propping himself up when on his tummy........talking up a storm........laughing (almost a full belly laugh).......using his legs for big strength in his exersaucer and johnny jumper.......and STILL SLEEPING THRU THE NIGHT - WOOHOO!!! He is on 4 feedings a day - 8, 12, 4, and 8 - with two naps, a short morning nap and a long afternoon nap.

We wrapped up the last weekend in Sept with a visit from Drew's Uncle Brian and Aunt Charity. John got us tickets to the Bengals-Steelers game and with a brother that not only has a license plate that says 'Steelers' but a tattoo on his arm - we had to call them up for a visit. They were able to get the time and babysitters to drop everything and head up to Ohio for the day - we loved having them here and they were even able to get a quick picture with Drew. Next time they will have to make the drive with the kids and spend the weekend.

We look forward to a great bunch of events in October - a long week in Dallas, Daddy's new employees starting work, Mommy's conferences and training for work, the Texas-OU football game in Dallas, dressing up for Drew's first Halloween and maybe even a trip to Vegas (that of course is what I want, but we will see :)). I added on some video here of his 'tricks' - enjoy!!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL??? Drew is...

So we had Drew's first football watching party yesterday - he had a blast (I guess he did, not like he can tell us:))....we had quite a few folks at our house - I think at one point there was about 25 adults and 11 children under the age of 6 in our basement. Thank the lord, Maggie came over for the afternoon and took the kids outside to play on the neighbors playset (made it easier for J to watch Iowa pull one out against Northern Iowa). After the 'family' crew left, we had the Texas Alumni to the house for the PPV Texas Game against Louisiana-Monroe - what a stomping and a great time by everyone. We floated a keg and grazed on food all day. Drew wore his Texas jersey, Iowa clothes will come as it gets colder, they are a little warm for now.

After a long day yesterday, we decided to hang close to home for my birthday. Drew and Daddy got me cards - and Mommy got to take a nap with Drew while Daddy drafted for Fantasy Football. I think we will head to dinner and call it a day - no Cincinnati fireworks for us tonight. We have a full week ahead of us - Tuesday is our anniversary (2 years already) and we leave Thursday for Iowa to watch some football :) and then I head to Panama for work for 3 days.

Drew is getting bigger by the day - last time we measured he was around 17 lbs and about 26 3/4 inches - he can finally sit in his Johnny Jumper - he loves it and so do the dogs with "Drive by Lickings" :). Here is a quick video of him - sideways but still cute :)....Promise not to make sideways next time....

Wk 10-12....The beginning of a beautiful relationship!

So this will be the last of the week updates I believe, I think we might move to 'moment' updates or perhaps month updates! Life is just passing too quickly and I can barely keep up :).

When we started Wk 10, Baba came to visit (J's mom) - she was here to help out while I got back started at work 3 days that week. They played, read books (lots and lots of books), went on walks and ate and ate and ate. His favorite board book is 'Freight Train' - he seems to really enjoy the colors although I think he just enjoys Baba reading to him the most. I don't have alot of pictures because Baba captured most of them on her camera and I have yet to get copies. Drew played so hard one day we couldn't keep him up for dinner :). He is still sleeping thru the night though about 11-12 hours - 8:30pm to about 8am....good times. What an angel! We are so spoiled!

We ran errands on the weekend and at Sam's club they had a 'mini shower' set up so John pretended he was showering in it.....he is so big he fits in his own shower :). Barb went antiquing while we hit a few other stores. It was back to work on Wk 11 and another exciting moment for Drew - OUR NANNY STARTED WORK - Maggie. She just loves Drew so much, they sing, dance and play at our house. She came over for the week during different parts of the day to learn about Drew's schedule.



While Maggie was here, Barb and I got a chance to run to the mall and do some shopping which was a nice change of pace since all Barb had seen in Cincinnati was the inside of our house :(. We went to the book store, with the expert Librarian I was sure to get the right books.

When Barb had finished making all of John's favorite dishes it was time for her to leave. Baba said goodbye but we will see her in a month when we go to Iowa for the Iowa/Iowa St. football game.

We are up and running on Skype now so we get on regularly to see family members (Nana, Auntie Lala, GG, Uncle Jeffy, Auntie Angie (I need to come up with names for them yet) and Cousin Madeline).

We started Drew on 1/3 formula in Wk 11 - I am starting to move him to the bottle and fazing out my pumps at work first. It really hasn't been bad trying to feed him and work but I would like some time to have my body back before we try for another kiddo and I am starting to travel more for work and family and we want a little bit of freedom. With the freezer stash we will keep him on some sort of formula mix for about another month we think and the pediatrician told us he will start solids by then as well.

We have now moved to 50/50 formula for Wk 12 - he hit his growth spurt this week and is eating us out of house and home - a couple of HUGE blowouts :) and staying awake more and more during the day. He has days were he sleeps all night and day and then days where he sleeps maybe 15 minutes :). I am back at work fulltime now - I decided to go for it with Maggie at home and this way I can save some vacation for the holidays. John traveled all week for work so it was just Maggie, Drew and I and my first full week at work.....a bit stressful......I made it, but barely :).

I had a friend over for wine by Thursday night and we sat out on the back porch with Drew - he enjoyed playing on his playmat - he is about to start rolling over - he goes but his arm gets stuck under him so a few more weeks and he will be there. Here is a cute video of him......he loves 'zurberts' on his belly.

This fall gets busy and we are on the move alot - stay tuned for the craziness!!!

Wk 9.....15 and counting...pounds not kids!!

So we started off his 9th week at our neighbors 30th wedding anniversary party across the street. We asked Maggie (potential nanny at the time) to babysit Drew and by the time she showed up Sat night, we were ready to offer her a full time job. We are so excited to have her be part of our family now, she will come over M-F in the morning and stay till we get home from work. We are still working out all the details but she and Drew will grow to be great friends. She might have thought we were a bit crazy with mommy and daddy's first night out, not driving, full night sleeping child.....we definitely had more than our fair share of fun.

Monday began with our 2 month doctor appt ----Drew is a whopping 15 lbs and 25 in long - yes, he is off the charts - I think it looks something like around 102% - carrying him around is getting harder and harder with my back.....this is just the beginning. He is still gaining almost a lb a week (vs. 1 lb per 2 wks on average) and gaining about 1/2 inch a week in length. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes due to his length but has plenty of room for growth horizontally (unlike his parents :)). Doc says we are doing great and making great progress.

This is the first week that John and I have had at home without company - it was a nice change of pace although I came close to climbing the walls by mid week. We had lunch with Drew's playdate, Jorja and her mom, Autumn (a couple we met in child birth class - Jorja was born 2 wks after Drew) - they started at the same weight but Drew is fastly passing Jorja in her dainty ways. We went to my office on Tuesday to check in before my 1st day back on Thursday. Shelly watched Drew for a bit while I sat in on a state of the business meeting and then we headed for our rounds....the Market Logistics Manager meeting, the office girls (Andrea, Sally and Tracy) and various others....we stopped by to see Sara as well - here is a pic - Drew was an angel all day - we wore him out because he slept from 8:30 to 8:30 - 12 hours!!!! WOO HOO!!!!



We managed to duplicate his sleeping pattern for the rest of the week - I think we have a winner......as I headed back to work, this was a much needed schedule enhancer. John took vacation on Thursday and Friday to watch Drew while I headed to work. He called me the first day to let me know that the 'boys' were out running errands and that Drew let John know that he was having a great time with his Dad and Mommy didn't need to worry. It was hard going back but I enjoyed being back in the swing of things - kind of nice to see all the systems I put in place working when I came back.

Between Thursday and Friday, John and Drew hit every man shop there was, Hhgregg (electronics), Bestbuy, Lowes, Home Depot, Microcenter and Walmart......good grief - just don't teach him how to spend money like you, Daddy!!! J did great and Drew is still breathing :). We finished up the week at a bbq for a Give Back Cincinnati peep. Whew!!! Here is a quick video of Drew talking....sorry for all the extra air time - for some reason he doesn't understand his cues yet :).

Wk 7 & 8 - The end of visits......for a while.....

Wow - we have had quite a busy time....let's see, since we last updated finished up our TX trip, flew back to OH and spent a week with our Pawpaw and Mimi (Dad and Suzette) at home.

We visited with GW and BB (Lamar (L) and Bobbie (R), Jeff's godparents) in Dallas, Tiffany and baby Chance (on left) came over to visit as well. We then went home to Mom's house and saw mom's good friends, Becky and Patti. Monday, Drew and I went to my mom's work to see 'the girls' and we visited with some of my highschool girlfriends and their kids in McKinney, Jennifer and Jenny.

Tuesday we started with dressing Drew for lunch at Texadelphia (my FAVORITE spot to eat in Dallas) - Tiff gave me back one of the onesies we had given the twins - it barely fit him but we made it work. After lunch, we took a quick swim in the pool and headed up to see a P&G retiree and friend from Jackson, TN (Merrel Miller) and his wife and got to visit about past memories and get caught up on P&G gibberish. We landed back at the house for my last round of nanny interviews via phone......whew, that is a whole other story within it's self........Uncle Dustin (Uncle Doody) came over for a bit to meet Mr. Drew and we got a cute pic of the two of them - he didn't want to put him down and was ready to take Drew home with him.

While we enjoyed our time in Dallas and all the help from Nana, GG, Auntie Eenie Weenie and auntie Lala (she finally figured out how to swaddle), I was anxious to get home and get settled again. We traveled back without many problems (I sat on the aisle this time, worked much better on the small planes). We were excited to see Daddy and show him all of our progress. We only had a few days to get settled before our Pawpaw and Mimi came to visit. I played Euchre with my monthly group of friends while Daddy babysat (bathed, walked, fed, no prob he said). Friday, our realtor (and friend), Maryann, offered to watch Drew while hit a Red's game - we were going to take him but opted out to take time just for us - her family loved it and took him to Hyde Park Country Club to show him off - he is such the socialite :).

Dad and Suzette arrived Saturday and we went with the Herringtons to Fuji Steakhouse for sushi and habachi. They watched Drew Sunday night late to allow us to get some time to ourselves on Sunday for a movie, Hangover - and yes, I told John if he EVER performed those tricks with our son as a baby........TROUBLE!!! LOL!

We spent the rest of the week learning how to smile and talk - he is quite a jibberjabber now and is not just smiling to let out some gas :). We went to the market on Wednesday and down to Newport for lunch on Thursday. Dad and John played golf on Friday and we topped off the week with Night Golf at the Country Club. A fellow Texas Alumni offered to watch Drew so the 4 of us could play glow in the dark golf. I never knew I could laugh so hard - Suzette had on the neon necklace and headband - I swear Olivia Newton John was there on the golf course.....we had a great time and got home in time for folks to get a good night's sleep before heading to the airport to say goodbye.

Drew really grew up this last week (he is already driving :)), his personality is starting to shine through and his smile is contagious....he is scooching on his back (you have to watch him or he will scooch right off the ottoman) and talking up a storm.