Spaghetti Man

It was time. Time for this little man to enjoy one of our favorite foods. Time for me to deal with the fact that it would get ALL over. And time to let him just have some fun and play with food.

So I did it. I made my yummy crock pot spaghetti and let him go to town.

He studied noodles, played with them in between his fingers, twirled them around and loved every bite.

I must give him credit for cleanliness. There was not a single speck in his hair or on his shirt. The boy doesn't waste food.

My spaghetti man.

First Shiner

Drew got his first shiner on Friday. I've dreaded leaving the house this weekend in fear that others might think we slap around our child as it looks pretty bad. When I picked him up Friday it was just puffy and red, but by today it's black and blue all under his eye.

iPhone pics below...

You should have seen the other kid.

A Glimpse Into The Future

A few shots of our chatterbox and what I can just imagine him saying....

Any suggestions for a good caption for this picture?

Playing and Puzzles

We went to the mall last weekend to grab a few items and let Drew play in the new kids area. I didn't snap any pictures, but just imagine 25 sweaty, loud, crazy kids running around Drew and that's generally what it looked like. Our munchkin enjoyed it though so that's all that matters. We did join a "Baby and Me" library group (got the last of 15 spots!) that we attended last night. Drew and the other kids 9-24 months sang songs, played with bubbles and read books. The best part is the awesome play area that the library has. There is so much to do on every level starting like 6 inches from the ground. We will definitely take Drew back there to play!
Now back to the mall though. As we were heading out, we walked by this puzzle store and for some reason I really wanted to do one. I mean REALLY. I probably haven't done a real puzzle in 15 years and figured it would be a different challenge instead of just watching DVR'd shows every night when Drew goes down. I have no idea why, but I was SO excited to get the table set up to get started and we have worked on it every night since then.

Luckily we chose a 1000 piece puzzle as the 2000 piece would have been too much. We've already spent probably 15 hours on the puzzle and are only about half of the way done! I like to tell myself it's helping my eyes and mind stay young. :)

Randoms

So I downloaded pictures from my camera and realized that there was a few randoms that I wanted to throw on the blog.

This poor picture is the day my baby had his 12 month check up. He had multiple shots in his leg and then his routine blood draw. The lab technicians couldn't find his vein in his left arm despite several poking attempts and had to move on to the other side. It was the worst thing I've experienced thus far with my son. His excruciating and painful cries were almost too much for me to handle and I almost had them stop at one point.

Hopefully the long, warm bath and night time snuggles made him feel better.








I thought Lacy's expression in this next picture is priceless. Such a tolerant dog, even when Drew is poking her toes.

We've been building a lot with our play mat.

Derek and I have joined in the fun too. Drew is such a good sport.

And guess who is able to walk with only one hand attached to mommy or daddy? That's right. My stud.

Have a great week!

Small But Special

My good friend Michelle gave me this "look book" when Drew was born and I've neglected to actually complete it until last week. I don't feel so bad though as he's now cognitively to the point where it's useful. Basically it's a book that has a page for each grandparent and aunt and uncle. He can associate their names to their faces with a wonderful visual.

It's just another tool we will rely on living up here in Cleveland for Drew to stay connected with family. He will get to see their faces multiple times throughout the week and can learn their names too!

Thanks again Michelle... We LOVE it!

Wanted: A Good Home For 2 Annoying Dogs

It's come true. And as much as I hate to admit it, everyone that warned me that these feelings would come was right. I tried to tell myself this could never happen, but it was only a matter of time. {big sigh}

Our dogs are not our 'children' anymore. They are just dogs now.

For almost a decade Lacy has been by our side, and for the last 4 years, Bailey has been part of our family as well. These two girls were our world and our 'children' the entire time pre-Drew. I didn't believe my friends when they said things change when you have a child. How could they? These pups are were the best dogs ever and I couldn't have imagined them being anything other than that.

Let me stop now and say that it has nothing to do with Drew. They are absolutely wonderful with him. He climbs all over them, pokes them in the eyes, pulls their tails and they put up with it all. They shower him with kisses and love to be in whatever room he is in.

No, this blog has to do with Derek and my annoyance levels as of the past couple months. Whether it's in our head, or they really are getting more annoying, they really have lost their status within our household. Besides needing to go out more than they usually do, the amount of grass or mulch eaten and then thrown up in the house is getting out of hand. The level of dirt we have to wipe out of their feet each trip outside is frustrating. But what bugs me most is the barking, especially when Drew is napping. Although the stealing and eating pacifiers and small toys comes in a close second.

I love them both dearly, but we do mention how nice it would be to be able to send them to a farm to roam free for a year. The winter plays a part in their situation as they don't get to run with us or visit the park and therefore their energy levels are at all-time highs. I also know this phase will pass, but for now they are on Santa's naughty list and I don't see them transferring to the nice list anytime soon!

Just so that you don't think we are horrible dog parents, we did switch their food and it seems to be better in that they are eating less grass. We also are going to try and bundle up enough to let them run at the park more often, if even for just a few minutes.

External Flash

I took a one-on-one class a couple months back with a photographer in the area and learned so much about my camera. I have no plans of doing anything career-wise in photography, I just like exploring what I have and learning how to take better pictures. One thing I learned is that an external flash would really help my indoor pictures. You see, our house is very old and lighting is horrible. Sure, the daylight is great, but during the long winter when the majority of pictures are taken under cloudy skies and often in the evening, it's a struggle. Back in the 1920's when it was built, there wasn't a lot of overhead lighting as they relied on daylight and lamps more. I simply couldn't get good, clear shots with such a low shutter speed and high ISO settings for low light.

This is when it was suggested that I look into an external flash. I did my homework, put one on my Christmas wish list and got it from my parents! It's honestly one of my favorite gifts this year and I'm practicing as much as I can with it's different settings. It will be used weekly to increase the quality of the pictures that will be kept forever of Drew and this is why it's so great.

I won't bore anyone with the technical specifics on why an external flash is better than the camera's flash, just take a look at the pictures below.

See how the flash isn't as harsh on his skin and face? It's a softer look and the colors are more true to what they really are. I'm also able to turn the shutter speed back up more for my on-the-move little man and capture blocks falling quickly.

And even with a window behind the action, it looks as though there is almost full daylight in the room when Drew decided to throw himself on Lacy. You would never know that his nursery is very dimly lit and that it was cloudy this day causing minimal natural light.

Thanks again mom and dad for my wonderful gift!! I love it!

Children's Museum of Cleveland

Derek and I are excited for this little gem that we found here in Cleveland. It will really be a useful place to let Drew run free and encourage brain development, especially in the winter when it's hard to find activities. Although he could really only spend time in the "Barn Room" due to his age, the Children's Museum of Cleveland will be so much fun when he can walk and explore more.

The entire building is full of rooms encouraging exploration and sense stimulation. From the broadcast weather center, to the space center, to the entire community equipped with a school, hospital grocery store, bus station, bank, etc., there's so much to see and do. Probably the coolest room is the 'Galapagos Island' which is a huge room loaded with 70 tons of sand. What better way to spend a winter day than at an inside beach full of toys?!?

Sick Baby

Drew has had a few ear infections which caused some congestion in the past, but we're having our first bout of a true cold this week. After a rough end to the weekend, I decided a visit to the pediatrician's office Monday was necessary. Unfortunately it looks like I jumped the gun for the first time as Drew checked out 'ok'. His lungs, ears and throat were all clean and clear and he was diagnosed with a common cold only to be helped by Ibuprofen and major TLC.

I'm sure that his 14th tooth that popped through Friday as well as a couple molars that are aren't 100% in yet are also adding to the misery he's experiencing. His sleeping at night has been very rough as he can't lay down due to that increasing his coughing episodes. Derek and I have taken shifts on the couch, but he is wiggly when he's sick and the sleep we get is very limited. Thankfully the pediatrician recommended a tiny amount of benadryl to help him sleep and that's done the trick for the most part. Thank god because those two nights without benadryl were rough. Like... flashback to newborn rough. Ugh. Momma needs her sleep.

He was a bit less congested this morning and I'm hoping the weekend heals him up completely. For now, it's lots of snuggles and cuddles.
And in an effort to turn this mucus-filled post upside down, below are a few shots from Drew's daycare buddy, Jack's, first birthday party last weekend. He was simply adorable with his smash cake as he pounded it with both hands before throwing it on the ground. Happy Birthday Jack!

DREW IS ONE YEAR OLD!!

I have been thinking about this blog for weeks now. Do I want to write a letter to my baby? Do I want to just give his stats and pictures and leave it at that? Whenever I would sit down to start working on it, I was flooded with emotion. I simply can't write all my feelings down in a blog and feel some of them are quite personal anyway. So instead, Derek and I chose to write letters to Drew, tuck them away and do this again every year until later in life when we give all of them to him.

So to keep it short, I'll sum up this last year in one word; MAGNIFICENT. I could not have imagined how wonderful it would be to become a mother and love someone this much. From the moment I set my eyes on him, he stole my heart.

(5 minutes old)

I have loved getting to know him and watching his personality develop and have made a promise that I will do whatever it takes throughout life to make him happy. He is worth it.

(4 months old)

Drew is exactly what Derek and I waited for and we really feel extremely blessed to have this angel in our life. He has changed us both for the better and brings so much joy to our world.

(11.5 months old)

So Happy One Year Birthday to my little man! 

Stats:
- Weight: 24 lbs, 8 oz
- Height: 31 inches

Changes:
- Drew had the other two 1st molars break through (bottom set) this month as well as his two lower incisors. We had a couple nights of some painful crying, but other than that, he's been a great teether!
- Drew is cruising around on all furniture and loves to walk with his Fisher Price Walker to Wagon or his Stride to Ride Dino. He has become very confident, even letting go and standing on his own for a few seconds. We think we're about 6-8 weeks away from walking!
- Drew took his third round trip flight since birth to Kansas City for Christmas. This was the first flight where he did not get sick or develop and ear infection and we felt very blessed. If he is healthy, he is a GREAT traveler!
- At night he is still sleeping about 11-12 hours and generally only naps for a total of 1-2 hours a day. We're struggling with a new 'standing issue' lately where he just pops right up when we lay him down and stands there and cries. It's slowly getting better, but it's hard to hear him cry.
- He had his first haircut this month and did AWESOME with it.
- Drew has become obsessed with stairs. The gates are up, but we do let go up and down the basement stairs a lot to keep him moving. He LOVES climbing up them as fast as he can.
- Somehow, somewhere, Drew learned how to play talk on a phone. He has one in the basement and at about 11.5 months, he picked it up and put it to his ear several times. Maybe that means he sees us on our phones too much?!?  :)
- He also has been repeating words. He loves saying 'Bye' to his teachers at the end of the day and some other words he has repeated are: Dog, Hi, Good and Bottle (or 'Ba' as he says). He also says 'Uh Oh' when he knocks a toy over or hears a loud noise.
- Drew has become very picky with his eating and it's hard to get anything down. His teachers report that he is a good eater at school, but during dinner time he prefers to donate his bites to the girls. We're trying different foods all the time to figure out his likes and dislikes, but it's sure a learning process.

And what better way to end the year than reflect on the monthly pictures all together?

Brush With Greatness

Derek's brother got us hooked up with some AWESOME seats for the KU-Howard game a couple weeks ago. We sat RIGHT behind the KU bench and it was super fun.

On top of having great seats and being back in the Fieldhouse, we were literally sitting 8 people down from Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde! It's not often celebrities visit the midwest and I definitely was a bit starstruck.

Unfortunately, I didn't make any of the big websites or magazines since they zoomed in to just the two of them. Maybe next time.

And if anyone with an iPhone hasn't been on Instagram yet, I'd urge you to download this free app and start taking fun pictures. There are neat settings and filters and you can follow your friends pictures as well! Below are a few from our visit to KC.

Drew's Early Birthday Celebration

Because we won't be back home until May, we decided to celebrate Drew's birthday a few weeks early with our family in Kansas City while we were home. We would have invited all of our friends, but I wasn't feeling up to planning a huge bash since I hosted a big holiday party here just a couple weeks prior. We did have extended family drive in for the party and had a great time watching the little ones play and Drew eat his cake.

As every mother likes to think, I feel that I know my child better than anyone. I was right on, though, with how he would go about his birthday cake. Some kids choose to do face plants and others choose to grab handfuls. I knew Drew would point to it, then daintily stick his forefinger in the frosting to take a taste test first. I knew he would slowly take larger and larger bites until he was grabbing complete handfulls whilst looking at the frosting on his hand with disdain for it being all over his fingers.

My predictions came true. Exactly.

I was afraid he would be overwhelmed by everyone staring at him in his high chair, but he was a champ. He was as happy as a clam as he munched away on the sugary treat from 3 Women & An Oven.

Once everyone had their fill of cupcakes and treats, we ventured into the living room to open gifts. Drew was definitely spoiled for his first birthday. We appreciate all of the wonderful gifts and thanks again to Uncle Matt for snapping some of the pictures in this blog!

I can't believe I almost have a 1 year old. Wow. Just wow.




Time with Friends

While home, Derek and I were lucky to see quite a few of our friends. One of the most challenging aspects of living up here is the lack of social time with our friends. I miss it and need it. Luckily, one of my best friends from Dallas was in town for the Holiday and I was able to meet up with her and another one of my bests for lunch.

I love these girls. They make me happy and smile and are just good people.

And of course, Michelle and my adorable cheeseballs entertained us throughout our meal.

We also saw our friends who are expecting this spring as well as our friends who had a son in July. Little Carter is a mini linebacker much like Drew was. He is just adorable and I can't wait for these boys to become great friends when we move back!

Fortunately, I was able to see another one of my besties I've known since childhood while home. She came over for a bit with her 3 year old and Drew was in awe. Madeline is a beautiful firecracker who captures any audience with her endless energy. How adorable is she with her trendy skinny jeans and flats?

And lastly, congrats to one of my other bests, Melissa for bringing a gorgeous little girl into the world. Little Bailey Ann was born on December 21st weighing 9.8 lbs and was 22 inches long. Can't wait to see you guys in October and squish her little face!

"Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."

                                                      - G. Randolf