First Swimming Lessons!

My parents chose to put my brother and me in swimming lessons from a very early age and because of that, we have always had an exceptional fondness for water and are excellent swimmers. I spent many summers working at pools, mostly life guarding but occasionally working a concession stand in the early years. I knew I wanted to raise a little fish myself and so we are starting Drew in swim lessons at a young age. This first class is more about kicking and getting used to the water, but I hope it will help Drew to love water like we do and have no fear around pools.

We are very proud to say that he did absolutely wonderful! He blew bubbles (well he watched me do that at least), he reached for ducks, he "jumped" off the side and floated in a life jacket and on his tummy on a kickboard. He really quite enjoyed the entire experience we think, but I am a bit worried about next week when we he gets dunked. Fingers crossed that doesn't scare the poop out of him!

You can see below that he was a bit apprehensive before we got in, but then was all smiles by the time class was over! Also, if you look closely on the lower left picture, he was kicking so much that we couldn't get a clear shot!

(Sorry, again, for the horrible pictures. Had to use the 'ole trusty point and shoot digital camera because our DLSR is getting it's annual professional cleaning.)

This is a quick video of him going up and down into the water -

And the teacher kept getting in the way, but he enjoyed relaxing on his back in the life jacket -

Here's to our fish in the making!

 

 

Wanted: An Extra Large Bumbo

It's not joke when we say that Drew will have larger thighs. It's also not a bad thing. It's just a hereditary factor that he couldn't escape being born into our family. You see, Derek, along with most of our family on his father's side have slightly larger-than-average thighs. I'm not talking "fat", I just mean there is a bit more to that area in general!

A couple months back we realized that his thighs were getting a bit too big for his Bumbo. I chuckle as I see pictures online of 7, 8, even 10 months old still sitting in their bumbo's and my baby outgrew it around 5 months old. To the right is generally what happens when we sit him in it and then pick him up after a bit. Yep.... he is stuck. Actually, the thighs are stuck.

Sure we could spend money on some lubricant in order to squeeze those rolls in the leg holes, but who wants to do that? Sorry Bumbo, we've had a good run, but it's time for your retirement.

Drew Giggles

Just because I think baby laughs are the cutest thing ever....

(oh and don't mind his band aid in the first one.. it was one of three from his 6 month shots!)

Humidity is NO fun.

Last week we had to postpone Drew's 6 month pictures due to the rash that had taken over his body and last night was the photo shoot. If I had measured the amount of sweat that I produced last night, it would probably be near a half gallon. With the humidity creeping over 75% and the storms heading our way, the air was unbearable. It was only about 85 degrees, but I was sweating as if it was 105. At one point I looked down and there was literally 8 streams of sweat running down from my knees. YUCK.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get them but for now, here's a sneak peak of our little handsome man!

Also this weekend I snapped a picture of Drew in the 'big boy' part of the shopping cart at Lowe's. It was his first time and while he was still a bit wobbly, he did great!

These pics were snapped with Instagram and edited with fun filters. If you have an iphone, download this free app! It's super fun!

Dock Dogs and Rainy Races

Yesterday we went to see the Buckeye Dock Dogs at Crocker Park. It was a bit cloudy, but that didn't stop the four-legged fluff-balls from running and jumping off the dock with all of the determination in the world. I was surprised to see even some smaller dogs and breeds like Dalmatians soaring through the air to get to their favorite toy in the water. And while one of the experienced chocolate labs jumped 25 feet before touching water, there were some beginner pups merely stepping off the end of the dock after creeping up to it.

Later that evening, we went to the Lakewood Streetwalk to wander around for a bit before running in the 5K. This race was at 7pm, as opposed to the normal 7am, and was going to be our first race with Drew as our 'driver'. About 30 min or so before the starting gun was to go off, the ugliest, darkest clouds I've ever seen crept over the skyline threatening our fun. We all patiently stood, either waiting for an announcement about a delayed start, and/or making decisions about running or not. When the most torrential downpour began about 4 minutes before the race, we pulled the plug not wanting to be out in the bad weather (and tons of lightening) with Drew. A bowl of soup and coffee was enjoyed as we dried off at Panera before heading home for the evening.

Solids Update

We've been on solids for about 5 weeks now and so far he has had avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans, pears and squash. I think he loved the bananas and pears the most making him a boy after my own heart. I can eat fruit all day every day. Vegetables are ok, but just don't excite me as much. 
 

The plan to continue making his baby food has been 100% successful thus far. Whether it's steaming or baking the item, my food processor then purees it up for me in about 30 seconds. It's been incredibly easy and I even have quite a few 'meals' stored in the fridge for future use! I really enjoy knowing that he is getting 100% that item with no other foreign ingredients.

As we increase solids, however, I'm sure we'll end up in a pinch from time to time needing to utilize canned food, but for now it's going great and I'd recommend it to other moms starting out with solids. What's better than organic, home made food for your little one!

Baby Jayhawk

So we played dress up a couple weeks ago when my parents were in town, putting Drew in his second cousin's jayhawk outfit! We knew he would be too big in it at Halloween so we took advantage of a quick photo shoot in the adorable piece. We hope that someday our little man will chose to consider the University of Kansas for his alma mater, but will support him in wherever he decides to go. (Except maybe Mizzou!).

So how did it go you ask? Drew was NOT having it. Period.

He immediately cried, maybe because it was super hot or maybe because he was just sad that there weren't any games to watch yet. Either way, we barely got a couple non-crying shots! Isn't it just the most adorable outfit though?

Hopefully this will be in the KU Alumni magazine in 18 years when he starts there, unless of course he is attending Stanford or Harvard.

 

Heat Rash... is actually NOT heat rash!!!

Old post: We had our first case of this over the weekend. It started Friday evening and was a bit worse on Saturday when thousands of tiny red dots covered his entire body. And I mean every inch. His toes to his cheeks. Poor boy. We've been keeping him cool and giving him baths constantly as well as letting him sleep in very light clothing and giving him diaper time as much as possible. It was a bit better this morning and we're hopeful it will go away in another day or two!

UPDATE: I took him in this morning and it's not heat rash. The doc was worried about his blood platelets so he went to the lab for a blood prick. She's pretty much confident that it's not heat rash and he received his strep results indicating it was not that as well. We heard back this afternoon and everything with his bloodwork was 100% perfect ruling out any problems there. They said babies can just get rashes sometimes and we need to keep an eye on it. I HATE not knowing what it is, how to treat it and when it will be gone!

Fingers crossed it goes away quickly!

Family from Afar

Drew had relatives from Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky all in town this past weekend to visit! Yep, all of those states at once. Here's how it went down....
- Derek's uncle from Texas drove up to Oklahoma to meet Derek's grandma
- Then the two of them hopped on a plane over to Kentucky
- There, they met Derek's aunt and uncle from Lexington and began the drive to Cleveland

We met them Friday night for dinner and then they came over on Saturday to hang out with the little man before heading to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We ended the night meeting them for dinner again and to, of course, snap a few more pictures.

It was very bittersweet to see Drew meet his only living great-grandparent and I really wished his other great-grandparents could have been there. They would have all loved his sweet little face and we missed them dearly.

It was so good to see you all and thanks again for coming to visit!

Saturday Snapshots

Just a few random pictures I came across in my camera last night. Getting tired of this blog being 98.7% pictures of Drew now? Too bad! He is our life now and therefore mommy's #1 picture subject.

Did you see those sumo wrestler legs? Irresistible rolls right there. 



Last Day with My Parents

If you remember, last June Derek and I drove South a while to get to Martin Blueberries to pick some yummy goodness. This past weekend we took my parents there to enjoy some fresh pickin' of these plump blueberries on their last day in town. Comparable to the size of large grapes, Martin Blueberries does a wonderful job maintaining and growing their crop. The bushes are full of color and the netting over the plants provide shelter from hungry birds above.

We sent a huge bag home with my parents and still have a couple weeks worth of blueberries still in our fridge! If anyone is every in the area, I'd highly recommend this place. The key, however, is to get there EARLY before the rest of the city ventures out to do the same!

For our last meal together, we grilled shish kabobs with items found at the market earlier that day! It was scrumptious and just right to end a great week with my family.

Cleveland Zoo

Anyone that knows me (at all) realizes that our family will be visitors at the zoo quite often. I get giddy when I think about all of the animals and have been wanting so badly to take Drew. I realize that he's young and can really only see movement from larger mammals, but he took to the zoo quite well and seemed to enjoy watching various exhibits!

My favorite? Why koala's of course!

Drew's favorite? Reindeer! Random.. yes, but he LOVED watching them walk back and forth!

Thanks for coming to my first zoo trip EVER Grandma and Papa!

6 Month Stats

6 Months ago, I was lying in a hospital bed scared out of my mind of the upcoming hours. I was full of emotions to all extremes, but mostly just excited to meet my little man.

This has been my favorite month by far (as I'm sure I'll say every month). His personality and expressions are priceless and he steals my heart daily with his smiles and giggles. Happy 6 months to my little angel.

Stats:
- Weight: 22 lbs, 2 oz
- Length: 27 inches (ish)

Changes:
- We sprouted THREE more teeth for a total of 5 now!
- Drew found his toes and when he is lying down he tries to get his big toe in his mouth.
- He is still sleeping 11-12 hours every night (going to be around 8-8:30) and we are loving every minute of it! He also doesn't really need to be rocked to sleep anymore, rather we can lay him down, pat his chest and leave the room. He likes to talk for a couple minutes and then generally passes right out.
- As for naps, he generally naps 2-3 times throughout the day. They vary quite a bit and can be 20 minute cat naps to near 2 hour long naps.
- Drew has also now tried 5 different solid foods in this order; avocado, bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans and pears. He loved the bananas and pears the most and does well sitting in his highchair to eat them while we eat dinner.
- The 'toy of the month' was his jumperoo in which he would jump for hours if we let him.
- Everything is still going straight into his mouth first!
- He is still in the infant car seat in the car but most likely will outgrow that here in a month or two.
- He still needs to suck a pacifier to help him fall asleep but doesn't want one at any other time.
- Drew has also been standing on the couch with his arms slung over the back. He can linger there for a bit before falling down.
- He has also found his squealing voice. Although it's not that loud, it's very high pitched and he loves to utilize it when frustrated or if you take his bottle away before it's finished.  

 

As a "mini celebration", we purchased a lima bean kids sports plate in dark blue personalized with his name. I know he won't use it for a while, but I thought it was cute!!

And just in case anyone would like to see monthly comparisons, here you go.

I had to include a few pictures from very early on, but the second set of 6 pictures are the monthly ones.

What I would give to slow down time right about now.

Miss you Papa and Grandma!

Your favorite grandchild misses you and hopes you make it back to KC safely today.

Can't wait to see you again in September!

Giggles from Mr. Drew

I know I've said this many times, but giggles from our baby is my favorite noise in the world.

Caught a few with my phone this week at the Botanical Gardens.

Enjoy!

Cleveland Botanical Gardens

Although the Botanical Gardens here in Cleveland have nothing on those in Missouri, we still enjoyed traipsing through the colors and smells this week with Grandma and Papa in tow. There were TONS of butterflies in the 'Costa Rica' display and Drew enjoyed touching some of the plants as well.

Solids

We are on our 4th food item..... green beans! Drew took to them quite well, but he did have some major constipation and tummy pain when he got backed up a bit. So far now we have introduced avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes and green beans. Next up I'm thinking maybe peas?!

Although I'm sure some foods get more time-consuming, I've found it very easy and fast to steam my foods and then puree them using my Cuisinart so far. I've just been freezing remaining portions to use on future nights with a BPA-free, food safe ice cube tray sealed with Press 'n Seal.

I'd like to continue to not purchase any baby food and make my own, but practicality comes into play and I just might not have time to prepare meals every night.

July 4th Weekend with Family!

My parents drove in from Kansas last Friday and arrived on Saturday afternoon to spend the week here in Cleveland. We are so excited to have them in town to see some sights and spend time with their grandson!

First up - a day at the beach! The weather was perfect, the sand was warm, and the air smelled of hot dogs and burgs.

Then Monday we ventured down to Crocker Park to see the antique car show. As expected, my father was in heaven. Although Drew slept a lot of the time, we enjoyed walking (in the shade of course) and checking out the various makes, models and sizes of these old cars!

Then, off to the fireworks show down by Lake Erie! Once the sun went behind the trees, the weather was beautiful and the sunset over the lake was gorgeous. Drew fell asleep on the walk to the park and we had hoped he would remain that way for the rest of the evening seeing as how we were worried about his reaction. He did end up waking up about 30 min before the fireworks went off, but once Derek's shooting range 'ears' were put on, he relaxed and enjoyed the show on daddy's lap!

 

Picnic in the Park

Last Friday I got off work early and enjoyed laying in my sun with Miss Bailey for a while before getting Drew. She thought the ground was too hot and preferred to snuggle with my on the lawn chair...

Once Derek got home, we headed off to a picnic in the park. We enjoyed some dinner, breathed in the fresh air and watched the ducks swim by. It was bliss.

It was gorgeous weather and Drew loved being outside looking at nature. Needless to say, we'll be back to 'our tree' in the park soon.

Hope you have a safe and happy 4th of July!