Party of 19!

George has college friends in town this weekend because a band they loved in college, Cravin' Melon, is playing in Raleigh Saturday night. We all went to dinner tonight - 10 adults, 9 kids! Thankfully we went to Red Robin, a very loud family restaurant. Drew got really excited (meaning loud) at one point but I wasn't the least bit embarrassed because he wasn't any louder than the other kids in the restaurant. I glanced around to see if anyone was looking at us and nobody was. Red Robin may be our new place! Drew was completely entertained by the older kids and they enjoyed making him laugh!

Nosy Drew checks out the table behind us.
Drew sound asleep on the way home. His pants, one

sock and a Crock didn't make it back on after a diaper change.

Video of Drew playing with Reagan. Notice he is imitating her -so cute!

Drew getting crazy! He's looking at Mason who was making funny faces and egging him on.

Cousins!

Drew and his cousin Lila.
I guess measuring cups are a hit with all babies.
It was too difficult to get everyone looking and smiling.

I'm into the video thing now! This is Drew hiking his football in the kitchen. We were so excited and obviously so was he! Do we have a future LSU center in training?

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My cousins Sydney and Ali and Ali's daughter Lila came to see us today from Virginia. They are my 3rd cousins so I guess that makes Lila my 4th cousin and Drew and Lila 5th cousins. Who knows! We had a great day playing outside and loving on the babies. Lila is almost 9 months old and tons of fun! She sat on a blanket and played so nicely. It made me miss the days when Drew sat still (or at least didn't run as fast as me). They really do grow so fast!

Celebrating George's birthday!

Pizza for birthday lunch, George's favorite!
Getting ready for the hockey game to start. Drew got a jersey!
Drew shares his popcorn with our friend Kevin.
Drew got a little bored after three periods, one overtime and a shootout.

He read a book to pass the time!

I included a video for the first time. Hopefully it works! It's of Drewby running through the concourse at the hockey game. He was eager to find our seats!

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George turned 33 yesterday so we had a busy day celebrating! We went to one of his favorite places to get pizza for lunch. The owner came by to say he couldn't believe how much pizza we ate. I tried to blame it on Drew but I don't think he fell for it. Then we picked up George's birthday cake from Goodberry's Frozen Custard, another George favorite. As you can tell, we did some serious eating yesterday! We went to the Carolina Hurricanes hockey game last night and had a blast. Drew was really into the game and hated when the loud mouth behind us kept screaming at the players and refs. Drew would turn around and give the guy a look like "Hey man, shut your trap!" The other people sitting around us laughed and laughed because they were thinking the same thing. The game went into overtime and a shoot-out and the Hurricanes lost but we still had a great time.

Mealtime fun!

Drew feeds himself yogurt.
Good job Drew!
He's a little confused!
Drew shares his dinner with Daddy.
He's all out of food so gives Daddy his car. So sweet!

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I'm trying to let Drew feed himself with utensils and it's going pretty well. He can only do it with things that stick to a spoon like yogurt but he wants to do it with other foods too. He really enjoys it which makes things a bit messy because he bangs the spoon on the tray when he gets excited. The bruise on his forehead is from a run-in at the mall playground today. He and another kid ran smack into each other at full speed. She stood up and cried her way into her Mom's arms while Drew looked at her like "what's the problem?" Other parents started giggling when they realized Drew wasn't hurt. They couldn't believe it didn't faze him at all. It looked pretty painful. We headed for the food court after that because the play area was way too crowded. It was a little cool and rainy today so I guess everyone else had the same agenda for the day.

Last but not least

Drew takes off.
George helps Drew take a stab at the pinata.
Drew takes a teether from Logan.
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We went to our 3rd and final Easter egg hunt today. I guess Drew had enough of that activity because he grabbed his basket and ran down the sidewalk (see 2nd photo). We got another taste of how fast Drew can run. It's unbelievable! We had a great time hanging out with friends and enjoyed a wonderful meal. There were lots of kids there including twins a couple of months older than Drew. We came home and had a nice family walk with Bailey. We met some new neighbors who have a 6 week old baby girl. They just moved here from Knoxville and we were excited to have some other SEC fans in the area. Then the husband said they moved here because he took a football coaching job at Duke. We're just glad to meet someone else that's a football fan; it seems to be all about basketball around here these days.

One more thing, I realize that Drew is wearing Christmas pajamas in the top picture. I'm a tad behind on laundry.

Dinner out with friends

Drew and Leia reach for the grapes. They both have big

appetites so it was a short lived snack.

Drew eats mushroom ravioli.

Leia eats mushroom ravioli.

Drew was bored after 2 hours at the restaurant so he was sucking on the wine cork.

Were we desperate or what?

Leia bored after 2 hours so she messed up her pretty hair do and played with my camera case.
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We went to dinner last night with some friends - it was 6 adults, two 15 month olds and a 7 month old. We went to Magianno's and did family style dining so it was quite a long evening. The babies were so good and only got restless at the very end. Heck, we were there over two hours so I was getting restless too. Leia is a couple of weeks younger than Drew so they had a great time together at the table. We couldn't believe how much they ate! Mushroom ravioli was the favorite and they each ate 3 or 4 of them. They also ate grapes and bananas from home, lots of bread and everything else we had at the table.
I've gotta run because Drew is upstairs saying "Daddy" over and over. He started saying that recently instead of Dada and it's so cute! I don't want him saying that more than Mama though so I've got to go intervene.

Happy Easter to you!

Easter egg hunt #2

At the petting zoo prior to the egg hunt. Drew loved the little chicks the most!
The hunt is on! Yep, Drew stuck to me like glue.
On the way home Drew read his football book saying "football, football, football!" It's his favorite word.

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We went to our 2nd Easter egg hunt yesterday and it wasn't a hit with Drewby. It was at a nearby country club and although there weren't as many kids as there were at Cary park, it was still a pretty large group. In order to keep the area as orderly as possible, the coordinator said no parents were allowed. We were a little worried about Drew running around by himself but the age group was just 1-2 year olds so we figured Drew would be okay with kids his own age. He was eager as can be when we were waiting for the hunt to start but when they said "go" and the kids started screaming and running, Drew turned around and grabbed me and didn't let go. George was stationed on the other end of the field with the video camera thinking we would get great footage of Drew. That didn't happen. Drew enjoyed the petting zoo and loved running around when the egg hunt was over so we were glad we went. Oh, and we went to Biscuitville on the way home so George thought the outing was a big success. We're going to the 3rd and final egg hunt this afternoon. We're beginning to wonder if it's Easter or Groundhog day!

Easter egg hunt #1

Waiting for things to get started.

Continuing to wait for things to get started.

It's almost time! Check out that crowd of people.

Hey, is that kid behind Drew getting a head start?

The hunt is on!

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We went to the Cary park Easter egg hunt today and it was organized chaos at best. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there, maybe thousands. We got there early because we heard parking was a nightmare. The bad thing was waiting for the hunt to get started. The eggs were laying on the baseball field right in front of our faces and the poor kids had to stand there and "not go across the pink line" until things got started. It was torture for them! Luckily Drew wasn't too concerned because he had a few eggs from home in his basket already (pretty smart thinking on my part if I do say so myself!) but we couldn't even let him walk around because the mean lady with the megaphone kept screaming to get behind the line. The hunt was over pretty much as soon as is started. We waited 30 minutes for 30 seconds of fun. We stopped for Drew to get an egg and when we stood up the field was full off people and no eggs were left in sight. It was crazy! Drew had a great time though because he loved running around the open field after the hunt. I should just start taking him to big grassy areas and let him run. He thought it was more fun than the park and I liked it because it was safe. Speaking of safe, the Easter egg hunt was far from it! I can't count how many kids got separated from their parents. The mean lady with the megaphone had to match Moms with their kids for half an hour after the hunt. I saw two Mom's crying and searching for their kids. I felt so bad for them. I can see how losing a kid would be easy if you had two of them. One goes one way and the other heads a different direction. It's impossible to locate them in that huge crowd. We played at the park after the hunt and then went to Chick-Fil-A for an early lunch. It was a fun morning and we're looking forward to a nice Easter weekend!

Family night!

My beautiful niece Whitley!

My brother-in-law Tom, the baby magnet!
Sisters and babies. Hey Drew, be gentle!

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My sister and her family left this morning for Florida so they stayed the night with us last night because we live close to the airport. We had the most fun drinking beer, eating pizza & homemade cookies and loving on the babies! Drew and Whitley love to look and laugh at each other. Each one thinks the other is silly! It's very cute! We stayed up way too late and got up way too early (5am to take them to the airport!) but it was a great time!

Easter egg hunt rehearsal

Eating celery at dinner last night.

Discovering plastic Easter eggs for the first time.
So excited!!!

Putting them in the Elmo Easter basket. Good job Drew!
Finding an Easter egg. Nice hiding spot George!

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We went to "family night out" with the Cary Mom's club last night. Not sure we'll be doing that again. It's hard enough to enjoy dinner out with your own kids but it is nearly impossible with ten other families and theirs. We actually enjoyed ourselves but I couldn't believe anyone else stayed to eat there once they saw our crew come in. The kids outnumbered the adults by far, we are the only ones with just one child. Drew was great the entire evening and even gnawed on celery from George's chicken wing basket while he waited for his meal. He really liked the celery - that's my boy!

We are taking Drew to the Cary Easter egg hunt tomorrow and going to another one at a friends' house Sunday. My Mom had the brilliant idea of getting some plastic eggs beforehand so Drew could get used to the idea. We had the most fun with that! Drew loved the eggs from the second I put them in the grocery cart. He held them all the way home and when I opened the package on the kitchen floor he just about lost it! He went wild for those silly eggs! I'm not sure what he'll do when there is stuff actually in them! The most fun was when George came out of his office for lunch and saw what we were up to. He started hiding the eggs (more like laying them in the center of the room) and getting Drew to find them. It was hysterical! I'm not sure what was funnier, George's hiding spots or watching Drew find the eggs. We were able to teach Drew to the put the eggs in his cute Elmo Easter basket from CC and Day Day and carry the basket around. I jumped for joy when he put two eggs in the basket and then picked it up! It was one of the cutest things I've seen him do. Then he started taking the eggs back out and putting them in and taking them out and putting them in. Oh well, at least he gets most of what is supposed to happen. I can't wait for the real hunt tomorrow!

Park: Take 2

Drew is almost completely healed from his spill at the park last week so I figured it was a good time to visit again. He enjoyed himself and left without any new scrapes or bruises! Just wanted to share a few pictures of him having fun. As you can see he takes part in everything the park has to offer. His favorite is the slide (going down and trying to climb up the slide like the bigger kids do) but I couldn't figure out a way to take a picture and still be ready to catch him if he took a tumble. Maybe next time.

We were running late for Little Gym today because Drew slept till 9. I of course slept till 9 too because he's my wake up call. It was so nice to get a little extra rest and we made it to Little Gym before anything exciting started.

Pinch us, we forgot!

We forgot to wear green on St. Patty's day so Drew carried his green balloon around. I didn't even notice that everyone was wearing green except for us. It took the cashier at Hallmark (festive in 8 different shades of green) to point it out. Oops!

Drew took a quick break from getting dressed to play with his basketball game.

Just woke up from a nap and not happy!

I forgot Monday was St. Patrick's Day because we celebrated Saturday night at my sister's party and then it slipped my mind. Plus, I hardly know what day of the week it is half the time much less the actual date. I went to Charlotte Saturday for my friend Jodi's baby shower and had a wonderful time! It's so nice to be driving distance from her after only seeing each other on special occasions since college. She's due in June and precious as can be! I drove back Saturday afternoon and went straight to my sister's house for their St. Patrick's Day party. We had a little bit too much fun and ended up staying the night! Drew and Bailey were both good and slept the entire party.

We were really lazy on Sunday and I actually hoped it would rain or be cold so I wouldn't feel guilty for laying on the couch all day. It ended up being a beautiful day and we enjoyed playing outside.

First big fall :(

Drew cools off with a yummy popsicle.

Drew shares his snacks with Bailey. He grabs two goldfish at a time, one for him and one for the diva. She takes them from his hand so gently, they are so sweet to each other!

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Drew got hurt pretty bad at the playground yesterday. The left side of his face and head are pretty torn up. He fell down a couple of steps and his face hit first. He was so tough and cried less than I did. He didn't even want to leave the park! I was standing right next to him when he fell but couldn't catch him fast enough. Guess it doesn't do much good to follow his every move. I didn't take any pictures of him that show the sores because I don't want his grandparents to see them. On a funny note, another person thought Drew was a girl at the park! He was wearing the same outfit that he wore last time it happened - blue pants and a shirt that is monogrammed Drew! This time he was wearing blue Crocks as well! Ha! I didn't correct the lady but after she said "She sure is tough, she got right up and starting running again." I said, "Yes he is, guess it looks worse than it feels." She picked up on the "he" and called him "he" about fifteen times after that. She must have felt bad. Like I've mentioned in the past, I don't mind at all that people think he's a girl. I just think it's strange that they think a girl would be dressed in all blue with the name Drew monogrammed across the chest. Sure, there is Drew Barrymore but that's the only female Drew I know of.

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The big fall hasn't kept Drewby from wanting to play outside. He heads for his wagon every time I open the door. He also likes watching the older boys in the neighborhood play outside. Today he watched them on a trampoline and did his usual "ooooooohhhhhh" when they did something cool. He ran around the yard picking up all of their soccer and wiffle balls screaming "ball, ball, ball, ball!

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Happy Friday to everyone!

Radio Flyer!

Start of walk.

End of walk.

I got a wagon at Target today and we didn't waste anytime breaking it in. Drew was so excited to get in it for the first time and "talked" about it the entire ride. He doesn't mind the stroller but we thought the wagon would be a nice alternative for short walks. They went on sale at Target and I got the last one! Whoo hoo! As you can see in the picture, Drew and Bailey did a little switcheroo during our stroll. I stopped to talk to some neighbors, Drew got bored and somehow got out (he was buckled up) and Bailey (who never misses a chance to be lazy) jumped in. So much for her losing 3 pounds! Anyway, the neighbors got a kick out of seeing Drew and I pull Bailey around.

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Drew may have had more fun at the Little Gym today than ever before. They used all of his favorite props including the parachute, balls, bells and bubbles. He likes when we run under the parachute and close the sides like a tent so he kept trying to do that before it was time. It was quite precious! I heard a lady tell one of the Dad's that "Drew is such a blast" and another Mom told me Drew is such a happy baby. It made me smile to know others notice his joy!

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I have to mention my torturous day yesterday. The registration on our car expired so I needed to get new plates in North Carolina. In order to do so I had to get a NC drivers license. To my surprise, I had to take the written driving test before getting one! What??? I haven't taken a driving test since getting my learners permit at 14 in Biloxi, MS. I passed but let's just say it was a close call. Being the sweet wife I am, I asked for study materials so George can refresh his memory before taking the test. After getting my hideous picture taken I was on my way to the license registration office (not sure why they weren't even remotely close to one another) for more fun! After waiting in line for 30 minutes I found out that George had to be there too because both of our names are on the Louisiana title. Are we having fun yet? I left Drew at home because it was nap time and I thought the outing may be a quick one. Who was I kidding, anything involving the DMV is never quick. So George and Drew headed out to meet me and I got back in line and let people cut until George arrived. Drew was bored while we filled out the paperwork so I let him have the pen that hangs on a string attached to the counter. Within 2 seconds he had marked all over George's shirt. The look I got from George wasn't pretty. When we finally wrapped up there I figured it was best to go ahead and get the car inspected so everything would be complete. That added another hour to my long outing. They actually inspect the car here, a full 30 minutes, not just a test of the horn and brakes like they do in Louisiana and Mississippi. Gosh I miss Baton Rouge sometimes!

Fun stuff with Drew

Drew's fashion show!

Drew and I in a fire truck.

Drew's much-loved fireman's hat! He was headed for the door stopper. All the fun things in the firehouse garage and he kept going for that. Well, that and the fire hoses.

We've been having so much fun with Drew! We had a little Spring fashion show Sunday with the new clothes we got him on our trip. If you have good eyes you will see that shirt is a 3T!!! It's a little too big but the smaller size wouldn't last him through May. He wasn't near as big of fan of the fashion show as I was so we only got pictures of the first outfit. He's such a little man! The hat and sandals crack me up! Drew and I went to Harris Teeter yesterday for some necessities and a balloon. He said "Ba Ba Ba Ba" all through the store so an associate grabbed one for him. Unfortunately he let go of the balloon in the parking lot and we had to watch it fly away. He didn't cry but the look on his face showed his devastation. He just watched it get smaller and smaller until he could no longer see it. He turned his head around and faced the same direction all the way home. I probably should have gone back in and gotten him another one but I was about to wet my pants and wanted to get home. It's such an issue going to the bathroom in a public place with a toddler because there isn't anywhere to put him. The cart won't fit in the stall so I have to take him out of it. I worry that he'll touch something dirty (which is anything in sight!) or heaven forbid fall down (yuk!) and so I have learned to hold him while I tinkle. It works best when wearing elastic waistband pants but I've succeed with jeans as well. I can even wash my hands and his with him on my hip. Anyway, I've totally switched gears and you're probably thinking, "geez Stacy, TMI!" When we got home we had a nice family afternoon watching Caddyshack. Drew laughed at all of the funny parts although I'm pretty sure he was laughing at us laughing and not at Spalding.

Today we joined the Cary Mom's Club at a local fire station for a tour. Drew was bored during the Fire Safety video so used that time to practice getting in and out of the chair. He only had one tumble and we snuck outside while he cried in order not to disturb the older kids practicing Stop, Drop and Roll. The tour itself was a big hit and Drew even got his own fireman's hat! We went to the park after that and he wore me out wanting to slide non-stop. I have to carry him up the steps because I can't trust him not to tumble down. Luckily another Mom was willing to catch him at the bottom so I didn't have to rush down to do so. We didn't stay too long because I saw him fish a cheese cracker out of the mulch and grab another kids' sippy cup. I figured he was ready for lunch so we headed out.