Man Time!

Finally, after all of the fun stuff Stacy has done with Drew lately while I worked, it was Dad and Drew time; even if just for a few moments in Myrtle Beach. Last time we were down at Broadway on the Beach we spied a cool store that our neighbor told us about called Ridemakerz. It is basically the same concept as the Build-a-Bear Workshops you see in every other mall these days. The big difference is this place caters to the dudes. It is wall-to-wall toy car, hotrod and monster truck stuff. You pick out a body, chassis and then select all kinds of accessories to personalize it right down to custom rims and vanity plates. Unless this is the first time you are reading Stacy's blog you know that Drew is kind of nuts over all things four-wheeled.

From the minute we walked in the store Drew's eyes lit up with his head on a swivel and started saying, "Caaarrrrrssss". Of course he picked out a purple and gold flame painted body to show his support of the LSU Tigers and ECU Pirates. Though, after this weekend we're all questioning our support for the later. Then we decided to make it a monster truck instead of a car. One of Drew's favorite cartoons is on A/E and is based off of the famous monster truck Bigfoot. He just points at the TV and says, "caaarrrr" and "cuck!". After picking out rims, tires and other accessories, we took everything over to an assembly area made to look like a garage. The attendant helped Drew and I put everything together. He got a big kick out of how much Drew was into it being that he's a good bit younger than their average customer. Even though they were crowded he was really patient and let Drew help with every stage of the assembly. Drew did a great job and would smirk and smile after each step as he watched his basket of pieces become his new favorite toy.

Once everything was assembled, we handed Drew the car and his face lit up with his trademark smile as he exclaimed for all to hear, "CAARRRRRRR!!!" CRZTIGER was born! Just in case anyone missed it he repeated himself when we got outside right as our neighbors walked up to meet us for dinner. Only this time he held it over his head like Simba in " The Lion King". Drew showed off his new toy to his big boy friends James and Blake. His little friends oohed and ahhhed which made Drew even more proud of his creation. His dad was pretty proud too! I wish I could bottle the feeling I got seeing how happy he was.

You mean there are other colors besides purple and gold?!!?

Drew helps with the assembly

Drew uses the air jack and gets a kick out of the fun noise it made

Drew snaps a wheel on with a little help from dad

Drew's truck is rolling on custom 24"s

CAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

Davis & Son Racing

Drew inspects the final product "CRZTIGER"

Weycroft Weekend!

As I've mentioned on the blog before, we just love our neighbors and feel fortunate to get along with everyone so well. This weekend we went to Myrtle Beach with four other families from our neighborhood, Weycroft, and had a great time! There were eight kids and they were all angels! We stayed busy going to the beach, aquarium, and Alligator Adventure and the guys squeezed in two rounds of golf. Drew was such a sweetie the whole trip, he was so thrilled to wake up with his friends and get to spend all day with them. One of the highlights of the trip was going to Ridemakerz but I am doing a separate post for that one. Thanks to my parents and Judy for letting us use their homes. We had a great time and amazingly nothing was damaged! Here's a few photos...

Drew and his pals check out some fish at the aquarium. I'm sure the staff loved our crew climbing all over the exhibits.

Andrea, Lauren and Drew
Andrea grabbed Drew's hand and they strolled along the boardwalk. You can imagine how many people smiled at them!
Drew and the girls again.
I got a kick out of this because when Lauren saw the backdrop she said "I want to be the one with the boobies!!!" and two elderly ladies standing nearby gasped in unison. It was hilarious.
Drew with a tiny alligator at Alligator Adventure. He wasn't up for touching any of the reptiles! He probably gets that from me. I barely touched the snake and then had the heebie geebies for an hour. Drew loved the rest of the park though. The lemurs and tigers were a hit and amphibian house was a must-see as well!

Monkeying around!

Another weekend comes to an end so as I wait for Entourage to start I wanted to post a few pictures from our zoo visit on Saturday. George went to the ECU/NC State game so Drew and I joined the Watson's for a day at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. What a wonderful zoo! I didn't expect it to be so nice, especially for only ten bucks. We had a great time and stayed much longer than we intended. I even set an alarm for 6:45am in order to get ready and get to Cristie's by 8:15 in hopes of being at the zoo when they open at 9am. I am happy to report that Drew and I do not get up anywhere near that early on a normal day but he welcomed my wake-up call as I sang "We're Going To The Zoo, Zoo, Zoo" when I entered his room. It's a cute little song that is on one of his Toddler Tunes Cd's. Drew is really into animals these days and always makes me laugh when showing off his animal sounds. You've heard his tiger impression on a blog video but his monkey is just as precious. (We need to visit a farm soon because his rooster, pig, cow and goat impressions are incredible!) As expected, his favorites at the zoo were the chimps, gorillas, lions (he didn't actually get a good look at the lions but a picture of some on a sign got him roaring), and the massive elephants. Drew was mesmerized by the elephants eating, swimming and playing. They were so very close and it was amazing to watch! The weather was absolutely perfect and we had a wonderful day! We were so exhausted when we got home so took a little evening nap around 5pm and then got up and ready for the LSU/Auburn game! Geaux Tigers - the LSU Tigers that is! Drew enjoyed watching a bit of the game before bedtime and kept George and I in hysterics as he yelled "Gooooooooooo Tigers" at the TV, paired with a jerky arm punch in the air. He watched me do it two or three time and picked it up immediately. It's like he knows exactly what will make George and I smile. Once he saw our reaction he kept on doing it and even did it a dozen times during the Ryder Cup today. There was a ball involved so I understand his confusion. By the way, go USA! We enjoyed watching them bring a victory home!

Big open mouth kiss for Whitley!
Whitley watches other kids watch the chimps :)
Monkey face
The Watson family
Drew's gorilla face.
More monkeying around!

Miiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee!!!!

Another week flies by! Judy visited for a couple of days and we had a little belated birthday celebration for her. We did some shopping, lots of playing and ate way too much strawberry cake (my Aunt Kim's delicious recipe!) I actually just finished the last piece and it was yummy if I do say so myself.

Drew's vocabulary has exploded recently! A lot of what he says still makes zero sense to us but a lot of it is crystal clear. He doesn't just say words, he says full sentences. For instance, he dropped a full bottle of water yesterday and said clear as day "I made a mess" and then followed me as I cleaned it up saying "there's more mess, that's my mess, I made a mess, there's a mess, my mess." I was really tickled by it so it took me forever to clean it up. Then today he looked at his pillow, pointed to a star and asked "What's that?" When I responded that it was "stars" he proceeded to point out every star and say "there's a star" or "that's a star" and then when we read Goodnight Moon tonight he said it over and over for every picture. So precious! Another big deal for us is that Drew let's us know when he goes #2. He says "stinky" and then points to his diaper. It's usually pretty obvious that he is going because he stands in the corner, bends over, and his face turns red but just in case we miss all of that, we know he'll tell us! It's not all peaches and cream though, he has started doing some less exciting things as well. One of them is his new obsession with the words "mine" and "no." Although I hate hearing it, it's not quite as horrible when we're in our own home and a friend picks up one of his toys. Although he should be sharing, at least it actually is his. That wasn't the case on Tuesday when we went to Harris Teeter and he wouldn't part with the "Customer in Training" cart. As the cashier rung up our groceries, another associate tried to move the cart out of the way. Whoa baby! Drew let out the loudest "miiiiiiiiiiinnnnnneeeeee" I've ever heard. I didn't even know he could scream that loud! My face turned bright red as the other customers looked our way immediately. Fortunately there were only about 5 other people nearby since it was 11am on a weekday. The Manager of the store came over and asked if he could carry my groceries to the car so I could handle Drew. I politely declined, being confident that I could handle the situation. Then I bent down to Drew's level and tried to explain that the cart actually wasn't his and that he needed to release the death grip he had on the handle and walk with me to the car. Forget it! What a waste of time that was. Luckily the Manager came back and offered his help one more time. This time I gladly accepted and he grabbed the bags while I attempted to coral the wild beast that took over my son's body. The Manager was so nice and tried to make conversation on the walk out. He told me he had a 3, 6, and 9 year old and that Drew didn't do anything he hadn't seen before. Talk about customer service! I told him Drew wasn't even two yet so I wasn't expecting that kind of behavior and then he dropped the bomb that age three is worse than two. What??? Surely he was mistaken so I asked my neighbor later that day since she has two kids, five and three. Her exact words were "He's correct. Three is the new two." Not possible! Overall, Drew is a good boy; he's funny, charming, sweet, adorable, smart, athletic (as far as a 21 month old goes!), and so darn lovable. So if he wants to embarrass me in public every once in a while, I'll have to live with that. Have a great weekend!

Drew and Logan riding in a play car at the mall.
Reunited with his tractor trailer from Day Day that we accidentally left in Myrtle Beach! He started playing with it as soon as Judy brought it in the house (notice the door to the garage). Bailey wants to know what the hype is about.
It's heavy!
Trying on a super cute hat at The Gap. I know he won't wear it so decided to spend my $16.50 elsewhere.
Sharing a banana with Grandma!

Dancing Drew!

Here's a couple of new videos of Drew! Watching College Gameday on ESPN is a Fall weekly tradition in our household. George and I love it and Drew has started to like it too! In the first video he is dancing to the opening song. When George went to get the camera I gave him specific instructions not to include me in the video. He either didn't hear me or thought I should have to suffer through my dancing from the eyes of a viewer. Good grief! I may never dance again! Not to mention the fact that I'm in my pj's. The 2nd video is of Drew doing his finger dance in the car again. I think he adds a little air guitar!

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

I took some really precious pictures of Drew in the tub tonight so thought I would post them. He has always loved bath time and I don't think that will change anytime soon! He likes to get on his belly and swim and he likes to play with his many, many bath toys. He is always a good sport when I dump water on his head. That has never bothered him which amazes my parents. They say my sister and I didn't like getting our hair washed so they laughed the first time they saw me pour a huge cup of water on Drew's head to get the shampoo out. Is there another way to do it? He just responds by squinting his eyes, opening his mouth real wide and saying "Aaaahhhhhh!" I'm pretty sure it means "Do it again Mom! Do it again!" He's so funny and excitable!

Do it again! Do it again!

Big Boy Bed!

Whoa! What a week we had! Last Monday I went to check on Drew before I went to bed like I do every night. I opened the door and much to my surprise I found him sound asleep in the rocking chair. Yep, that is right! I guess he came out of the crib and then couldn't get comfy anywhere else so figured the rocking chair was the best place. We are so fortunate he didn't injure himself! We put him back in the crib, busted out the video monitor that we haven't used since he was an infant and tried to fall asleep. No luck! George and I were both so worried and couldn't fall asleep for wondering how he got out? Why he got out? Would he do it again? Our questions were answered around 3:30am when he started crying and began to hoist himself onto the top. We jumped up immediately and got to him before he came out. We love our floor plan but were cursing the downstairs master as we skipped steps in the middle of the night. We ended up bringing Drew to our room but nobody got any rest. Sweet Drew is just not a good sleeping partner. He flails, sleeps sideways, and as soon as he opens his eyes in the morning he thinks it's playtime. I was awakened way too early by him jamming his finger in my eye socket screaming "Eye! eye! eye!" We attempted to put him in the crib for his nap Tuesday afternoon but that was a huge flop as well. I watched him pick out his biggest stuffed animal, place it at the front of the crib and step on it before trying to escape. Then I found myself annoyed at his intelligence! We were hoping it was all a phase or fluke and that he was still our baby that loved his crib. Nope! After two more nights of sleeplessness (for all of us), we were exhausted, frustrated and had to figure something else out. Seriously, we had not been that tired since Drew was a newborn. We didn't think he was ready to have free roam of his room (or were we not ready?) However, we couldn't take any more chances with him climbing out. Sooner or later he would get hurt. Friday afternoon I pulled his mattress out of the crib and he slept on the floor. It worked pretty well although he kept rolling off of it which would awaken him. So Saturday morning we got up and George converted his crib to a toddler bed and I went to Babies R Us and bought a bed rail and millions of baby proofing items. We had to get child proof door handle covers and such. For his nap Saturday afternoon we made a big deal about the new bed and explained to him that his older friends sleep in big boy beds and how cool it is! He seemed to understand and grinned from ear to ear. When we left the room he went to the door and cried for a bit but then turned around and got in the bed. He fell asleep within minutes! George and I were beaming while watching the monitor! Since then it's gotten even easier and easier. Last night he didn't even get out and he slept his normal 12 hours. We are so very proud of him for making the transition so easily! And George and I learned a big lesson as well...sometimes we just have to move on to the next stage even if we're not ready. We know there are many more changes in store for us as Drew grows up and we have to approach them with a positive attitude. He can't stay a baby forever. Well, that's party true... he will always be our baby!

Stories with Daddy before bedtime.
Drew in his big boy bed!

Big smile!
A picture of Drew one year ago today. Where does the time go?

New videos

I haven't posted any videos in a while so I took a couple today. One is of Drew and George playing ball. Drew has always loved to throw and kick balls but recently gained interest in trying to catch them. He does a pretty good job here!!! You'll notice I kicked him in the head with the ball. Whoops! It's not like he doesn't hurt himself enough, I have to go and contribute! He laughed it off though. The other video is of Drew doing his tiger impression - super cute! We're bummed the Tigers aren't playing this weekend (game postponed due to Gustav recovery) but luckily we have Drew to keep us entertained!!! Have a great weekend!

Destin with Friends!!!

We got back Sunday night (well, more like early Monday morning but I'll mention that in a bit) from a wonderful trip to Destin with our friends the Hubbells and Brawders from Louisiana. We left mid-week and stopped in Atlanta to see my fabulous friend Kelly and her family. We enjoyed watching Drew play with her boys, Clay (almost 4) and Austin (15 months). They are adorable and super sweet! We devoured two huge pizzas and some wine and had a blast talking and laughing all night. It was a great start to the vacation! Thanks Kel for your splendid hospitality! Can't wait to see you in Columbia for the LSU/South Carolina game in October!!!

When we left Atlanta we made a stop for George to check out some work stuff before heading to our destination, beautiful San Destin, FL. We were thrilled to see our friends and I was almost brought to tears by Cristina's beautiful pregnant belly!!! She is due in November and looks like a million bucks! We enjoyed a few days of perfect weather on the gorgeous beach. I forgot how much I love Destin. I have to say the water was every bit as beautiful as the Bahamas. We met a family that owns a place in Destin and said it was the most gorgeous conditions they've ever seen. Maybe it was the calm before the storm? Who knows but we are thankful we got so lucky! The water was perfectly still, a refreshing temperature and we never saw a cloud in the sky. Drew had the time of his life playing with Brendan, the Brawders two year old son. They became fast pals and played very nicely the entire visit. I recall only hearing a couple of "no's" and "mine" which were probably brought on by the watering can they both loved. Our days were spent getting to the beach early to build the "nest" of umbrellas, one tent, chairs, sand toys, and coolers. We took turns sitting in the condo while the boys napped and then we spent the afternoon and evenings back on the beach. We left Sunday morning just as the wind and rain was coming in from hurricane Gustav. Fortunately, all is well in Louisiana and our friends don't have to worry about returning to devastation. The ride home wasn't as relaxing as the ride there because we decided to drive straight through. We made a long stop in Alabama for George to do some more work so our drive home was over 15 hours. Ouch! Drew was an absolute angel until hour 12 and then he was miserable - who can blame him? He couldn't get comfortable in his car seat so never fell asleep. We stopped to get Bailey at my sister's house after 11pm and he was devastated to find out that wasn't our final destination. He was beside himself when we backed out of her driveway, we assume he hoped Cristie would save him! Poor guy! When we pulled in our garage after midnight, he got out of the car seat and gave me the biggest hug I've ever received. He was truly thrilled to be free and George and I felt terrible for putting him through such a long ride. After sleeping till 10:30am Monday morning and then taking a 5 hour nap Monday afternoon, Drew is back in action!!! What a trooper!

I've posted quite a few pictures below from our trip. They got out of order somehow...

Playing with the watering can. This provided endless moments of fun for the boys. They loved pouring the water on our feet. It was also a way to keep them busy so we could sit in a beach chair and enjoy a beer before it boiled.
"Booooaaaaat" as Drew says it! This was really fun for the boys and they loved being pushed and pulled through the water.
Enjoying the sandbar. It created a perfect little "pool" for the boys to play in.

Drew and Brendan planning their next move.
The dudes!
Drew loves wearing adult shoes, even at the beach!

Drew and I with Kelly and her darling boys Austin and Clay.
Brendan and Drew chillin' on the couch.
The boys are ready to pack the cooler and get to the beach!
Taking a break for a snack. It's the only way to keep Drew seated in the shade so we had plenty of snack breaks!
Drew takes his truck obsession to the beach.

One more thing to mention...We left Drew's lovey, a blue duck from Aunt Betty, in the condo. I have heard horror stories from others about leaving a lovey behind and now I've experienced the blow. The duck was on top of Drew's suitcase while George and I were taking trips to the car. We assume Drew grabbed it and then left it in the bedroom. We didn't notice until we were a couple of hours down the road and I leaned over the backseat to grab the duck. My heart sank when I didn't see it. We pulled over and searched the entire car. After a call to our friends, we learned it was left at the condo. Thankfully they are planning to Fed Ex it to us but nighttime and nap time haven't been easy without it.