26 weeks!

So here we are at 26 wks pregnant - showing quite a bit compared to baby Drew but I guess when you have no stomach muscles left......that's the way it goes :). Feeling okay - have my moments (like crawling around on the floor to wrestle Drew) but other than that, not too bad.

January 2011

Drew got a Texas onesie pajama for Christmas from his Aunt Erin (eenie weenie) which he loves and wears as often as possible. Note he is wearing the pj's here while he is working on escaping the house :).

This month started off with a few playdates. Drew went to the aquarium with Jorja - she is of course dressed to the top with a bow that matches (as always). The weather is still a bit off so Drew also takes trips to the mall play area as well to blow off some steam in addition to mall walking with is Auntie Lala.

Drew & LaLa also headed to Totter Otterville with Jorja for another playdate. They aren't too sure of each other at this point but were happy to play with all the toys and specifically the train table.

Not alot of words right now but alot of imitations of animal noises (cows, owls, ducks, etc). Of course he just points and screams until we, adults, figure out what he wants - drinks, food, etc. He uses the 'more' sign language gesture for just about everything, even 'please'. Cute but a bit frustrating. :)

It's a GIRL!!

We returned from Iowa with a visit to the doctor - we went for our 20 wk check-up and this bit of a baby inside me looks very healthy - all measurements and organs look good -here is her first photo debut (the left of her face straight on and the right her profile with her hand at her mouth) - she wouldn't stop moving and putting her hands in front of her face - I don't really feel her move that much but it looks like that's because the placenta is between her and I right now. Drew still has no idea this is headed his way......should be interesting. John's mom is ECSTATIC - her first grand daughter - she said she was going for a "PINK" shopping trip this weekend.

John has determined we will not have a pink room in his house - little does he know he will and it's not just his house :). So now we work on names and room decors - Looks like Lala is moving to an apartment soon so we will move Drew to a bigger room with some of his many toys and take over his room for the new arrival (since it is smaller). Now we just wait for her arrival and keep our fingers crossed with prayers of everything to go well.

Christmas in Iowa!!

We headed to Boone, IA for the Christmas holiday. We had a great time playing in Aunt Jenny's and Uncle Chris' (Bones) giant shed/garage - sledding in the snow and opening presents.

Here is Drew posing for one of several dozen photos for his Aunt Jenny - he was modeling with different poses - hysterical.

Drew also got to 'sled' behind the four wheeler - the snow was so thick we were safe that the sled couldn't slide into the 4 wheeler - :) - mother of the year - he had a blast playing but once up and able to run and play - not so much, a little too deep of snow and he was packaged up like a snausage.

We headed to church and tried to grab a photo quickly :) - Drew had all of a 15 minute nap that day - nice -

While opening of presents, Drew was much more into paper than presents or puzzles - he and

the boys ripped up all the paper (along with Baba's help) and then kept throwing it up in the air like it was snow - nice - very messy but fun. Baba got all three of her grandsons to sit still in the same pj's for pictures.

Ho Ho Ho - The end of a year......

So here we are, caught up for the calendar year - I think the New Year's Resolution will support regular updates of the blog - they will be short but often (I hope). We got the house decorated the last weekend of the month, lights all over the outside like the Griswold's Christmas Movie. We finally moved to a 'fake' tree to allow for dogs and small children's hands. After the next several years will move back to a real tree.

This month has come and gone - with traveling to a lull - we had some company the first weekend of the month from New Orleans. Scott McCoy, Michael (Scott's partner), Scott Jr. and Jen all came for a visit and to watch the Saints vs. Bengals game. This was also the weekend we got lots of snow. The football game was so FRICKIN cold - I am bundled up and only my eyes can be seen.

We spent the next few weekends shopping for Christmas gifts, attending Holiday parties and spending time with friends. The Herrington's went in on adopting a family for Christmas with us. We had a family of 6 to shop for and were able to budget to buy three of the children bikes (the 4th was a newborn - not needed :)). We are headed to Iowa for part of Christmas while Laura heads to Dallas - we have a friend staying at the house and watching over the dogs.

The snow came in thick last week - John bought a sled for Drew and ran around in the COLD with him - we are now nursing a runny nose but he had SUCH a good time. He looks like the kid off of A Christmas Story that is so bundled up he can't walk - LOL.

Laura and Drew have been helping run errands and we finally got the garage so emptied out we could fit all three SUV's inside away from the snow. Drew is still bundled up though for errands while the car warms up.

We got the Christmas shopping and wrapping done quickly so we could celebrate Christmas before we all leave on vacation. Lots of gifts for such a small family. When Drew got up from his nap yesterday we opened presents - he got lots of music items and a big yellow tonka truck. I think he got the hang of unwrapping presents which made it so much fun to watch.

I will post more pic from Iowa where I am sure I have no idea how snowy it can get.

Genetic Testing & Florida!

Pls try and read all the recent posts - I am making up for lost time - so this month we had quite a few things going on - we had the genetic testing for Baby #2, when you get as old as me, you are entitled to this testing :). Everything came out great and we have some pictures from the ultrasound. We got to see a 3D view this time as well - a bit weird to see but we could see him or her dancing around in there non-stop.

While waiting for our results on the testing - we headed off to Florida (Laura and I got 3 seats to share with Drew while J sat in another row - Laura took this photo) - Mom rented a condo for the month and all of us, children, headed down - a bit nutso but very good times. Drew got extremely acclimated to the water and the weather for that matter. John and I stayed down for a week and after coming home enjoyed about 5 days with just the two of us as Laura and Drew stayed down with Mom for another couple of days. Jeff, Angela and cousin, Madeline, were all in town and Erin was even able to join for a weekend - Madeline helped take care of Drew and Drew was very fond of her rented 'toddler bed' and her Barney movies. We got to see Aunt Sarah and Aunt Gail while we were there - they tolerated the craziness for longer than expected, they are real troopers - once kids went down, we played dominos and cards most nights. Mom, Laura, Drew, Angela and Madeline went to the zoo after the rest of the adults left and got a great pic of Mom, Lala and Drewster.

Drew wore floaties for the first time and took to the water like a fish. He was quick to go right past the area where he could stand and use his strong shoulder muscles to keep himself a float with no issues. Here he is in almost 6' of water by himself. It certainly made the trips to the pool more enjoyable (and a bit less dangerous).

We went to the beach and let the kids play in the park - this is a great picture of Drew in his IA jersey swinging on the swing.

Upon returning home, the ragrat needed his haircut bad - Lala and I just couldn't keep up with trying to do at home anymore. So when John's mom, Barb (aka Baba) came in the wknd before Turkey Day, they headed up to the Cookie Cutters for an eventful haircut.

After Barb left (only a quick visit), Dad and Suzette came in town to visit with Mr. Drew - it had been since March since they saw him but he took to them with no problems (they brought books and a small tractor - they know a way to a kid's heart). We went to the aquarium while they were here - lots of fish to see, reindeer and jellyfish. I was unfortunately exhausted from all the excitement from the month - oh, and being pregnant so they allowed me to rest for a bit and after Turkey Day - they headed back to Texas.

We finished up the month decorating for Christmas - pictures coming in December.

October - Happy Halloween - times 2?

Again - if just joining - lots of posts today that I back dated - hope you have time to catch up! So this month started off with John and I attending a wedding in Nashville for some friends here in OH. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time out on 2nd street. John had never been there so it was great to get away for a weekend and enjoy time together while Laura and a few others split time with Drew. While it was great, I was unable to have some drinks because we found out we are expecting again :). The doctors told me my body would take a bit of time to get pregnant again.....not so much.... :) Needless to say, we are expecting around the middle of May. Drew and the little one will be 23 months apart - we are really excited and pictures coming over the next few months - the 6 wk picture is not even really readable so I will spare you.

Mom came in town for a weekend so we could go to the IA vs. Michigan game up in Ann Arbor. What a good time - we drove up to Finley OH to stay with the Haiglers and then got up at 6 am Saturday to drive up and tailgate all day long - game was at 3:30pm and IA did a wonderful job coming from behind to beat Michigan. It was Laura's first tailgating experience - I don't think she will ever forget it (or is it remember it? :) ).

I had to go to NY on business for the launch of one of the initiatives I was leading and decided to take Drew and Laura. Needless to say, interesting with a child.....Drew came down with his first ear infection prior to the trip and was placed on amoxicillin - well, only after 7 days on this, we found that he had a reaction - a very strange reaction. Drew was like a holy terror - I had never had this experience with him and hoped I never would again but word of advice to other mom's - if something isn't right, most likely something isn't right. Upon returning home, I called the doc - explained that I know it was weird and to please not laugh but I really did have an angel son and the devil had taken him over....was there anyway it was connected to the medicine? - she quickly told me I hadn't lost my mind and there had been other incidents with other children where this has happened - they would switch the medicine and we should be good. If only we had known that before we 'rained down on Abby's family' :(.

We got to visit with a college friend of mine, Abby, and her two girls - Drew is definitely all boy and very used a much larger living spaces with walls that don't reverberate the sound quite like those of NYC.

Abby lives in NJ a few blocks from the Cake Boss (for those that watch the show). There is a park kitty corner from her place and Drew found good times playing there.

After working, Laura and I took a stroll with Drew around NYC - of course to get there we rode the train, the subway and walked a ton. We were in Times Square where we saw Cookie Monster and Elmo, Drew was so excited but then what was very weird, every place we turned we say more of them...almost spooky :). We visited the Toys R Us Store on Times Square and rode the ferris wheel inside and Drew is pictured here with the King from Candyland.

Upon returning from our wild trip to NYC, Drew had another play date with his friend, Sophia. They went to a place called TotterOtterville - played dress up, played with trains and ran off some steam.

Drew is still very content with inexpensive toys and likes to try and destroy everything he can get his hands on - he is very strong for his age, lifting up large toys to move them in the house. Here he is playing with a large cardboard box - ahhhh, good times. Best part, when he climbs in and thinks it is just fun to sit there - ahhh, contained child.

We finished up this month with Drew's 1st big Halloween. Mom and Drew picked out a 'bear' costume and Drew looked adorable. He really didn't get the jist of trick or treating but John took him around to a few houses anyways. The ladies in the neighborhood and I (with Laura's leadership) - took on planning the neighborhood Halloween Party and we had a fire engine and ambulance come for all the kids to see - Drew climbed up in the Fire Truck (after about 4 determined tries) and once in, did NOT want to get out. He also had his first piece of pizza - again, with the mother of the year award - but he ate it right up.
My favorite video in a while - Drew dancing during a playdate at our house - he definitely got the Julie Jollay and Ronald Fowler musicality gene. Try and not laugh too hard. Headed to FL in November.