Bailey's bad day

Drew spots Bailey sunning herself on the steps...
...and pokes her right in the eye!

Bailey had a terrible, no good, very bad day! I think I've read Alexanders Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day one too many times! It's a funny little book though :) Back to the point, Bailey didn't have a good day today. George took her to the Vet this morning as a follow up to her back issues and got bad news after bad news. First off, she's overweight. The Vet said she needs to loose 2-3 pounds. That is a lot of weight for a miniature dachshund! It was clear she would gain weight being confined for so many weeks while she healed but it still stunk to hear she would have to lose so much weight. She also got news that one of her molars is infected and needs to be pulled. To top it all off she had to have a few vaccinations and get her nails clipped. Poor Bailey was very depressed, especially at hearing her figure needs work. She tried to cheer up by soaking up some Vitamin D in her favorite spot but Drew ruined that when he poked her in the eye. Poor sweet Bailey!

George and I are going on a ski trip Saturday and leaving Drew with both of his grandmothers. I know he'll have a great time, I'm just hoping I can have a great time without him. 7 nights! Ahhhh!!!! Wish me luck.

Back from the beach

We were short on room in the car so couldn't take many toys to Myrtle Beach. My Mom put a little basket together of kitchen junk for Drew to play with and it worked just fine!

Getting wild with Day Day!

Drew looks at CC's brag book. He loves to look at pictures of himself and his cousin Whitley.

Drew playing with a clothes hamper - another great toy!

__________________________________________________

We're back from Myrtle Beach although we didn't actually go to the beach. It was colder than we hoped but we still had a great time! Mom and Dad have a place there so they like to go and check on it when they visit us. It's a nice townhouse on a golf course and George's Mom lives right down the street so it's a great place to visit. Drew successfully slept in his pack-n-play all three nights which is a rarity! When traveling he usually wakes up around 1am and wants to get in bed with me. Then he falls right back to sleep and I don't get another wink. Why? Because he takes up the whole bed and flails his arms and legs. Can babies have restless leg syndrome? Anyway, I was so thankful he slept well because I got to sleep well too!




I think Drew is almost recovered from his ear infections but I'm taking him back Friday morning to have the Doctor check him out. I'm hoping all is well because I can't bear to give him antibiotics another day! It is so terrible! The last time he was sick he didn't mind the meds at all. Now he runs the other way as soon as he sees me get the supplies. The Pharmacist gave me a spoon thinking he would like that better than the syringe. It worked once and then he got too smart for that disguise. It takes two people to give it to him and yet more runs down his neck than he swallows. My parents almost refused to help in Myrtle Beach because they couldn't stand how upset he got. Daddy said he wasn't having any part of it again after helping me twice. I am wondering when they will come up with something better for kids medications. If Bailey can have a yummy treat as her heart worm pill and women get a chocolate bite for calcium supplements, why can't Drew's antibiotics look and taste like an animal cracker? I don't get it.

Weekend fun

Drew kisses his cousin Whitley. Sweet babies!

Drew hogs the balls at a bowling alley birthday party. The boy in the brown shirt

wants to know why Drew gets three.

Drew's obsession with bowling balls continues! I was barely supporting

it from the bottom. He is so strong!

Drew spots a baby at the party and wants to touch him.

___________________________________________


I feel like I have tons to catch up on. It's been a busy few days. After finally realizing Drew wasn't getting any better after 7 days I decided to take him to the Doctor Thursday morning. He was cranky all week but he's getting a tooth and had a little cold so I kind of ignored it. To my surprise he had two ear infections. I felt like the worst Mom! I starting perking back up when the Doctor said it was easy to let it go so long when Drew was such a happy boy. He and the nurse couldn't believe Drew was so sweet when he must have been feeling so bad. That made me feel a tad less guilty :)

Friday we went to the mall with some of the Moms and kids from the Cary Mom's club. All of the kids played at the indoor playground while we tried to chat. It's so hard to hold a conversation when you constantly have to look around and make sure your kid is still there and unharmed. It's not too bad for me though because Drew checks in with me every 60 seconds or so and hugs my leg. Guess he wants to make sure I'm still there and unharmed as well. I did have to break ugly on another kid though. A girl around 3 wanted to play baby with Drew meaning she wanted to act like he was a doll and pull him by his arm until his shirt and jacket came off. No kidding! At first I was nice and simply moved Drew as far away from her as possible. She kept finding him and continued to treat him like her baby doll. The final straw was when I spotted her pulling Drew across the floor by the hood of his jacket!!! He was clearly scared and on the verge of choking so I told her to get lost. The whole time I was wondering where in the world the Mother of this girl was hiding. I finally spotted the Mom a few minutes later when she picked the girl up by her pants and swung her around horizontally to keep her from hurting another kid. It looked to me like the Mom cared even less for the little girl than I did. Anyway, they packed their crap and left and I decided not to give the evil eye to the Mom when I saw her juggle three toddlers into strollers and head out. She obviously had her hands full. One more thing about our mall trip, I looked down at Drew at one point and noticed he was missing a shoe. We had to retrace all of our steps (we had been there quite awhile too!) looking for it. That included going back to the shoe store where I had returned the overpriced toddler shoes bought out of guilt last week. It wasn't in there but I could see the smerk on the girls' face when I asked. She was probaby thinking, "Bet you wish you had a back-up pair now?" That's what I get I guess.

Friday night we picked my Daddy up at the airport and headed to my sister's house. Drew loves seeing his cousin and always wants to kiss her. We had a great night playing with the babies and eating a delicious dinner.

Today we went to another bowling alley birthday party. Drew loved it just as much as the first time! He watched the older kids bowl and played with the balls when they came back up to ball return thingymajig. No fingers were smashed. Pretty good!

We're looking forward to hanging out with my family tomorrow and then Drew and I are headed to Myrtle Beach with my folks Monday.

Lastly, yes I got my hair chopped off! I know all of my Capital One friends will appreciate it since we used to laugh when I got my hair cut and took off about a quarter of an inch!

Sugar high

This is Drew everytime I open the fridge. He reaches for skim

and whole milk, obviously willing to take any kind!

Drew sings along to American Idol.

Drew climbs on one toy to get to another.

It was the school bus he wanted!

_________________________________________________


Drew hasn't been feeling well the last few days but has still been really fun and sweet. My Mom arrived in town Saturday evening so she, my sister and her family came over for dinner. Then my Aunt Mary and her family came by so we had a large time. Drew went to bed late but still woke up at his usual time Sunday morning. Why do babies do that?

Monday was spent hanging out with my Aunt Betty from Virginia. The weather was beautiful so we spent all day outside and then started happy hour on the porch when Drew took a nap. Now that is the life! I wish I could start happy hour at 2:30pm everyday! I need it by then that's for sure. As much as I adore staying home with my sweetie, it is exhausting. Like my Aunt Betty said, at least when you go to an office you have the opportunity to sit down. All I do is chase Drew around all day, never sitting for a second. On a non-happy hour day I spend his nap time catching up on laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.

We went to lunch with George today and Drew had a healthy meal consisting of french fries and hush puppies. Mmmm! It was a Carolina barbeque place and he didn't care for the vinegar-based pork or butter smoothered cabbage so we let him have what he was willing to eat. I took a sippy cup filled with water for him but the waitress brought him a sugar-packed pink lemonade that I couldn't hide quick enough. In order to allow everyone else to enjoy their meals, we let him have it. He loved it and we all paid the price! We went to a winter sports store after lunch to get some last minute things for our upcoming ski trip and he was wild! My Daddy's friend owns the store so I was kind of embarrased. He and his wife swore Drew was precious and just being a typical one year old but I think they were just being nice. I blame it all on Millie at Coopers BBQ.

Heavy load

Bailey and I ride on Drew's truck!

George's turn! Drew would much rather push us than ride on it himself.

The view from my eyes!

________________________________________________

The picture of Drew hanging on my leg is a perfect image of how we spend our day. He's either there or on my hip. In all honesty, I love every second of it! I would rather carry him around than do anything else in the world. However, it's not getting any easier as he creeps to almost 29 pounds! It surprised George and I how quickly Drew became a Mama's boy. I'm not sure if it's his age or the fact that I stay home with him but it's a new obsession. He's not attached to me when we're out or when people are over, it's just when we're home not doing anything that he wants me to not only be with him but hold him tight. Like I already mentioned, I LOVE it!

Our weekend has gotten off to a great start! Drew and I had a date at the mall last night because George went out with some friends. Drew got three new pairs of shoes but one pair is going back. They were waaaayyyy too expensive! I felt bad not getting something after the sales lady spent so much time with him. Sizing his foot (he's a 7 wide!) and trying on multiple pairs of shoes wasn't an easy task for her, especially while smelling his stinky britches! Seriously, I had no idea he had a nasty diaper until she gave him back to me and I about passed out. I apologized but she said she had smelled worse. Poor her! Anyway, I ended up buying shoes because I felt guilty but George and I both agreed $50 for toddler shoes is ridiculous. After all, he will outgrow them in 2 1/2 - 3 months, the sales lady even admitted that. How does she sleep at night? Back to the mall we go!

We spent all morning outside playing with Drew's dumptruck and then taking a long walk while Drew caught some z's and some cute stares from the neighbors. Everyone loves to see a sleeping baby in a stroller. It is pretty cute!

Where did this week go?

Drew sets up a racetrack on the couch for his cars.

George and Drew read Elmo's Fuzzy Valentine.
Bailey licks her new purse.

This week has flown by! We had a really nice Valentine's Day. We hung around here and grilled steaks. It was great to be home with all of my valentines. We watched VH1's Best Break Up Songs and got lots of laughs from Journey's Separate Ways video! If you don't remember it, check out YouTube, it's hilarious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxxOyGK1pMk

The Little Gym was a big success this week because Drew returned the balls and bells to their baskets when instructed! Until now he always pulled more out when asked to put them back. This was a major milestone in my book! He was especially thrilled with class because they were kicking the balls this week. It's still not as good as throwing the balls but at least not near as lame as rolling the ball.

As I'm typing Drew is taking (well, throwing is a better description) all of the toys out of his playyard. This is much different than yesterday when he stacked them all up and used them to climb out. Luckily, I walked back in the room as one leg was over the side and he was swinging the other one over. It could have gotten ugly!

Fun Drew pictures

Drew moves the DVD's from their slots to the top of the tower, one of his favorite past-times.
Drew and his Grandma.
Drew plays with his Bee Bop Band, one of my favorite toys. I totally recommend it! The drum is filled with really cute instruments, all bug themed. So fun!
Drew gets wild playing with Daddy. I wish you could hear him, that's the best part! His laugh is contagious :)

We had a really nice weekend. George's Mom, Judy, is visiting and we've just been hanging out. Drew was invited to a birthday party for the first time and had a blast! It was at a bowling alley. The birthday girl turned 3 so most of the kids were older but Drew fit in just fine. His favorite thing was carrying the bowling balls around! He is ridiculously strong! We tried to keep him from carrying them around of course in fear of him dropping one on his toes. We weren't too successful though because there were balls everywhere, Drew's dream! He had cake, got party favors, the whole nine yards. He crashed as soon as we got in the car. I didn't have my camera at the party, big mistake. We could have gotten some really cute pictures!

A couple of cute things Drew has started doing....

- He smells flowers! And he doesn't just smell flowers, he sniffs, snorts, puckers his lips and really gets into it. It's pretty hilarious. He loves to smell the flowers in Pat the Bunny too. He starts sniffing as soon as he sees the book!
- He says "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" after drinking water like you would do after satisfying a deep thirst. Judy and I did that after we watched him take a big swig and he started doing it immediately. He kept taking small sips after that just so he could do it again!

Snip-It's!

Before
Mid-cut
After


Drew got his first haircut today and let me tell you, it was desperately needed. When my Mom told me Drew needed some cream rinse I realized things were getting out of hand! I noticed his hair was tangly and dry in the back but I didn't want to cut those precious little curls. I love his new do though! He was so good during the cut and his "stylist" didn't want to see him go. I guess not - it was the easiest $15.95 she ever made and he even sweeped up his own hair afterward. No kidding! Drew loves brooms.

One more thing - before you ask why we never bath Drew, I want to point out that those are bruises on his face, not dirt. I only witnessed one bruise which occurred when he opened a bathroom drawer, sneezed, and hit his forehead on the handle. The others must have happened under George's care.

Back in town

Drew layers his coats and checks out the snow!

Day Day, Drew and CC waddle out of the buffet.

Drew tries on his new snow boots.
Drew and Day Day in the middle of some serious rough-housing!


I've been tardy on my blogging because Drewby and I went to visit my folks in Minnesota for a few days. We had the best time despite the frigid temps! Our trip started out with a memorable plane ride. I'm too cheap to buy Drew his own seat so we do the infant in a lap thing although Drew is waaaaayyyy past infant size. I'm usually lucky and end up with an empty middle seat next to us so we can spread out (which Drew does anyway whether we have the extra room or not). I got online the night before our trip to see how full the plane was going to be and was irritated to discover it was maxed out. I asked myself a million times, "who goes from RDU to MSP on a Saturday morning at 8am????" I felt so bad when I got to the aiport and realized the flight was filled with troops returning from Afghanistan. I have never felt so selfish in all my life. Here I was whining about not getting a seat that I hadn't even paid for and these honorable men and women had been away from their families for over 12 months. It ended up being the best flight and a very memorable 3 hours. Drew and I sat next to Ed, a gentleman returning from his 5th time defending our country. What an amazing man! He was so sweet to Drew the entire flight. They played, laughed and shared tons of goldfish while I watched in awe and wiped away tears. Ed had more tricks in his pocket than I had in a huge diaper bag and purse. I kept telling Ed that he didn't have to entertain Drew but he said it was a pleasure to do so. He said it was a wonderful distraction from the butterflies he had in his stomach. He was nervous to see his family after such a long time. Ed started crying on the descent into Minneapolis and all of the troops clapped when the plane landed - they were finally home. When we exited the plane, the terminal was filled with family and friends of these brave soldiers. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. As we waited for our bags, Ed walked up to us because he wanted his wife to meet Drew. He kept thanking me for the wonderful time he had on the flight and for Drew's company. I couldn't believe he was thanking me! We are the ones that should be thankful. Ed made such a positive impression on Drew and I and we are thankful for his service. God Bless the USA!


On to less serious things... Drew had a large time with his grandparents! They let him do whatever he wants and he knows it. Instead of telling Drew to stop when he's up to no good, my Dad tells me to stop telling Drew what to do! This is coming from the man who used to walk into restaurants and tell the hostess he didn't want to sit near any kids. Boy how things change when you become a Grandpa! Daddy even took Drew to his office to show him off :) Mom and I took Drew to the Mall of America and did all kinds of fun activites. We went to the Underground Aquarium, Leggo Land, we saw the Bernstein Bears (Drew didn't like them, probably since they haven't updated their costumes since I was a kid) and rode a carousel. Drew was a hit at the Super Bowl party we went to. He saw a cat for the first time and spent lots of time trying to get it to come out from behind the couch. I also learned that Drew is a big fan of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers! He danced and twirled in front of the TV like I have never seen! Guess I'll have to run out and buy the CD if they even still sell it. Seriously, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers? I like Free Fallin' as much as the next gal but they must have had a last-minute cancelation from the real act. Other trip highlights include Drew and CC playing ring around the rosy over and over in the living room. It never got old! We also did lots and lots of eating! Drew had his first buffet at Dad's casino where we realized Drew digs chicken pot pie and corn pudding and beer-cheese soup and brownies and anything else he could reach off our plates.


We went to The Little Gym class today since we couldn't make it Wednesday. The teacher said it was very quiet without Drew yesterday. What does that mean?