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.

Wk 5 & 6 - Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for the extreme delay in our posts - we have been busy, busy, busy. Baba spent the rest of the weekend with us and we had a great time - we took Drew to Newport on the Levee and the Findlay Market - we walked around and had a late lunch at Jax.

The big ONE MONTH check-up was Monday and Drew measured 23in. and a whopping 11lbs, 13 oz - basically 12 lbs. GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!! I knew he was bigger but for goodness sakes. He is now wearing 6-9 mos. outfits (yes, he was able to wear almost every outfit he got at least once....once I say before having to move on to the larger items like these red sweatpants at Wk 5- hysterical). I asked a billion questions about his little body but all looked good - a bit of reflux with this 'choking' thing he does but he manages to keep it down so I will take that and run....the picture on the right in yellow is at Wk 6 - he's growing and growing and growing.....

Baba left us on Monday afternoon (she'll be back in August) and shortly followed, Auntie Lala (Laura) - she arrived on Tuesday and helped me around the house, cooking, holding Drew, walks, etc....it was great, she even did the first middle of the night feeding for me. I think John is getting spoiled with all these helpers :). We visited my office on that Wednesday to show off the Drewster - he slept and was passed around to his buddies, Tracy and Andrea. This wore him out so much he slept from 9:30pm to 4:45 am - GIDDY UP!! Thursday, Drew's Auntie Eenie Weenie came in town (aka Erin pic on left - I gave her that nickname since Erin will be hard to say :)....I'm not sure she is keen on it but it is growing on her :))...LOL....Drew once again made it another night from 9:15 to 5am....could this be a trend?

Friday am we got up and moving early - we headed to John's office to show off the Drewster there as well - they gobbled him up - he awoke to flatter them with his long eyelashes and smiles. He is holding his head up on his own already and very alert and focused on things around him. We proceeded to run errands for the next 4 hours - needless to say, Drew had a very busy day (as well as his mother - but after a full nights sleep I felt like a rockstar). Laura and Erin offered to watch Drew for a bit so John and I could run to Happy Hour for a friends promotion (I think we were gone a whole 2.5 hrs :)). Good to be out with folks from the office again - feeling 'normal'. Could Drew really go down for a third night in a row for almost 8 hrs?????? YES - he did it ladies and gentlemen - I think we have a repeatable trend.......keep your fingers crossed.

We spent the rest of the weekend watching movies, running errands, going to the mall, Newport on the Levee and various other locations. Lots of moving and grooving......now, I am getting tired...A bit too much too fast for me - Drew on the other hand is a rockstar. We wrapped up Autie Lala's and Auntie Eenie Weenie's visit with getting our nails done and running last minute errands for Drew's FIRST AIRPLANE FLIGHT!!!!

That's right, Nana flew Drew and myself to Texas to visit for a week. From J's point of view....."Show him off to everyone so when we go in October for a weekend of football we don't have to try and visit 25 people in 48 hours :)." Well, that was a great idea because we haven't stopped since we set foot in the great state of TEXAS.

The flight was ok - I had it all planned out, upgrade to first class - check, window seat - check, feeding times to peg right when loaded on plane - check, extra time for check in - check, no extra carry-ons - check.......Ahhh, the best laid plans......flight delayed, aircraft downsized to no first class, new seating assignment at back of plane - loud, cramped small plane and another 45 minutes waiting on plane fully loaded before leaving......legs already falling asleep - check.....GOOD TIMES...of course, Drew never even flinched, slept, stretched out, he was good to go.

We met Uncle Matt (right) and my friend Krista and her son Klyde (left) - they came over for dinner on Wed. Followed that Thursday night for Mexican food with one of mom's good friends Becky and her daughter, Sarah, and their family friends.

Friday, we have visited our Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Frank and the three boys, Jack, Patrick, and Chance. Their twins (Patrick and Chance) were 12 lbs at 8wks and now weigh 24 lbs at 6 months (pic on left of BB and Tiff with them) - if this is a sign of what's to come with Drew - holy mary mother of goodness......Their children are sooooo big. Uncle Frank grabbed a quick pic with Drew in between the feedings, bathings, and bedtimes :).....

We had Gretchen (from college), her husband, Derek, daughter, Natalie, and friend Mitch over for swimming and dinner on Saturday. Drew and I both got in the pool for the first time since Drew was born. The first time we put him in, he fell asleep - hmmmm - maybe too much of a full belly.....he had to wear lots of clothes and a hat to protect him from the sun - good thing we put them on him - he won't fit in them again :(.....after a bit of a snooze he got back in the water in the shade and was digging it without his shirt - he was soothed and loving it - some cooing and kicking......

Stay tuned for the Wk 7 Update - flight home and the rest of our Texas adventures.....

Wk 4 - It's always darkest before the dawn!!

So here we are - we have made it 4 wks - Drew is officially one month old - yahoo!! Last Saturday Aunt Jen and Uncle Ed came over for a visit and we played some cards and hung out - Drew wasn't much for entertaining as he still sleeps all the time. Sunday we ran errands and just hung out - John cooked me steak for dinner - it was wonderful (I guess the usual cereal isn't a good dinner if you are trying to breastfeed:)).

Daddy headed out to PA for his manager retreat and left on Tuesday morning after my maternity meltdown (burp already and could you pls sleep without gas issues??? I was not drinking enough water not eating the right dinners.....needed some repairs....) - I was looking forward to Lisa coming over to help with Drew, she is great with babies. I made it till 3 when she got there and I handed Drew over and went for a well desired nap - I could have slept all night - yeah, right....Lisa cooked homemade mac n' cheese (comfort food), porkchops and bake potatoes - yes - a homecooked meal!!

I finally got around to reading my books on after the delivery and they were very helpful - first words of advice after sleep, sleep, sleep; get out of the house, call 'friends with child' to blow off steam, and go walking.....so Lisa came over earlier on Wed and we went out for lunchGOT MILK??

and shopping to find a few pairs of shorts and tops that fit me. I skipped my afternoon nap and well, I was exhausted - Drew was having some gas pains and was scarfing down food only to throw it all up and then go for some explosive diarrhea on his dear old mother - check out the photo of my 'mustard seed shirt' and the GOT MILK face :) - I couldn't stop laughing.

After Tuesday am I wasn't sure I could make it thru two nights and mornings by myself but it worked - we made it - AND I figured out Drew can't do orange juice - I think that was one of the things I have been missing - OJ, oranges, and cantalope (must not like the color orange :)). Now that this is figured out - we are doing much better with the gas - we have better days and nights - he is burping better, I have figured out how in the middle of the night to 'process' him thru the feeding (feed, burp, diaper, burp, feed, burp, burp, burp.....well you get the message).

So Thursday, our friends from Thailand came into the states and (the dad, Phillip) came over for dinner, John came home from PA and Baba (John's Mom Barbara) came in town. Baba is so excited to see Drew and would hold him morning, noon, and night god willing - fine by me, you can't spoil a baby this young and I get a break :). We enjoyed just relaxing on Friday while John went to a few work appts and then while Baba watched Drew, J and I went to the dog park with the four dogs - there was a Cincinnati Sports League happy hour there - it took us a while to get all their shot information, sign up, and get the temperment test but we made it in an hour later :). The dogs had a blast - we came home to Mr. Drew having once again eaten us out of house and home with downing over 5 oz of milk and then more when I got home - we took a quick bath and then to bed - for over 6.5 hrs ---- YEEHAW!!!

This next week Aunt Laura and Aunt Erin come in town to play with Drew and we have our 4 wk check-up at the doctor's office - more to come....Drew is already over 11 lbs :).........seriously.....