Cousins!

9 Months Already!

Sweet baby David is 9 months old already! Boo hoo! I took him in for his check-up on Monday and he was very popular! The receptionist hollered, "Lord, Jesus!" when we walked in and I turned around to see what in the world was going on. Then she said, "Look at those dimples!" and I realized she was smitten with my sweetie. David is doing great, mastering all of the little things a 9 month old should. He's definitely on the move and is pretty fast - especially when he sees an electrical outlet or any other dangerous object. I am in for it! He says Mama and Dada as well as lots of other sounds. He pulls up to his knees easily and can get to standing as well with a little more effort. He was standing in his crib after a nap the other day so we had to lower the crib again. George just took it down a notch a few weeks ago and we all know what a pain in the rear it is to lower those cribs so we went ahead and put it on the lowest setting. David is loving food and hasn't tasted anything yet that he didn't want more of! He is happy as can be in his high chair with a snack-filled tray. With all of that eating, it's surprising that he's such a little pip-squeak! His growth curve looks good, he's just on the smaller side. He's not even 20 pounds yet, weighing in at 19lb 12oz. He's 27 1/2" long. We're not used to a baby in the 35th percentile since Drew has always been off the charts. David is just as perfect as can be though and continues to bring us so much joy! Here's a couple of pics of my 9 month old sweetie...

Bailey loves to kiss David and David doesn't seem to mind.

Coming for the camera!

A Mother's Day to Remember!

First off, happy Mother's Day to all of the Mom's out there! A special Mother's Day thank you to my Mom, who continues to be the best there is! Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mother-in-law, aunts, sister and friends! My Mother's Day has been wonderful! It's actually been more of a Mother's Week since Drew's school celebrated on Thursday with a very special tea. All of us Mom's sat in the classroom with the kids in line at the front. I knew from conversations with Drew that the music teacher was working with them on a Mother's Day song. Much to my satisfaction, there were three darling songs! After each song, Drew ran to me with open arms and gave me a huge hug and kiss. I was beyond proud of him but the best part of the day was that he was so proud of me! I hope I never forget the look on his face when I walked in. He stared at me the entire program with a huge grin. Afterward, he sat in my lap and stroked my arm, giving me several kisses. The kids had decorated trays earlier in the week and then served us lunch on them. They also gave us flowers. Another highlight was the "Mom questionnaire" that the teachers did with the kids. Drew's teacher read aloud a list of questions and answers and we had to guess which answers belonged to our child. It was hysterical!!! Drew's were pretty darn accurate! I have brown eyes and black hair. I am 3 years old (okay, not accurate at all but it was sweet). My favorite food is salad. Drew knows I love him because I hug him :) I was pretty proud of Drew considering one of the Mom's had pink eyes and pink hair. Another Mom's favorite food is "Uhhhh, I don't know."

We had a very busy weekend! We all went to a birthday party Friday evening for Zoe who turned five. Drew was quite busy in the bounce house and has had endless fun with the water shooter party favor. I worked a little bit on Saturday and then went to the hospital to visit my Uncle Mark and also to meet Avery, my friend Sharon's new baby girl. Today has been a fantastic day! I opened my eyes this morning to see George and the boys smiling 6 inches from my face! They had presents for me which Drew had to immediately tell me about. It was torture for him to shop with Daddy and not be able to tell me what was purchased! We played outside for a bit in the morning before going on a long bike ride and picnic. Then we all took an afternoon nap, some of us longer than hours (two hours for me!) before going back out to fly Drew's new kite. Then as one last treat on Mother's Day, we had ice cream sundaes for dinner!!! Thank you to George and the boys for such a special day! I love you!

Drew and his classmates get ready to sing the first song.
Drew serving me lunch at the Mother's Day tea.

Burning up at Drew's swim lesson.

Baby Avery Lynn!!! So precious!

Picnic

May I have my snacks back? Drew said he was helping David but I could tell Drew "helped" by eating them himself because the tub was empty when we got home. Drew does do a great job of entertaining David in the bike trailer though and when David got fussy close to home Drew was very sweet and patient.

Drew is getting good at riding his bike!

David hanging out in the minivan while George and Drew flew a kite.

Drew was having a ball with his new shark kite. George got major points for this because the wind we were seeking stopped the minute we got ready to fly the kite. Drew still wanted to do it of course so George ran up and down the street with Drew in tow. It looked pretty exhausting.

Here's a couple of videos of Drew singing at the Mother's Day tea!!!

Family Time

The pictures from this post are a week old. I got behind on posting the Florida trip and then couldn't catch up. A couple of days after we returned from Florida, CC and Day Day came for a visit! We had some nice family time and they enjoyed having fun with the grandkids. My Uncle Mark is ill so Daddy tried to spend as much time with him as possible. Uncle Mark came over one day, along with some other family, for a cookout. We had a yummy lunch and also celebrated Cristie's birthday a little early while we were all together. The visit with CC and Dady Day went by very quickly, like always, but it was a good time! Here's a few photos...

David loves to destroy the magazine bin.
He knows he's up to trouble!

He found a favorite.

CC and two of the grands enjoying a warm afternoon at Cristie's house. Drew was playing on the swingset.

Day Day and David had some play time while Drew and Whitley watched The Princess and the Frog.

Drew got a kick out of the big birthday hat for Cristie's birthday. We celebrated T's birthday at our place on Sunday before Mom and Dad went home.

Day Day with his cousin and brother.

Tom on guard outside of our guest room where Whitley was taking a nap. Drew and Whitley were so wound up after cake and ice cream. Trying to put them down for a nap was a disaster! Tom and I had to stay upstairs and keep them from coming out. They were screaming! I got such a kick out of Tom reading his magazine, like he knew was in it for the long haul!

The Whitley fam.

Final Florida Post: The Wedding

The original reason for our trip to Florida was to attend a wedding. After a fun-filled week in Orlando and Ft Myers Beach, we headed to North Reddington Beach outside of Tampa for the wedding festivities. We took the boys to the rehearsal dinner since it was a casual beach barbecue. David was busy people-watching while Drew collected shells on the beach. After dinner, Drew had a blast enjoying the beach activities that the hotel hosts on weekends. He got to dance, limbo and pose with the "princesses," otherwise known as hula dancers. We spent the day at the hotel pool on Saturday before the wedding. A friend that lives in Tampa, Johnny, and his girlfriend agreed to watch the boys Saturday night for the wedding and reception. That was very nice of them and great news for us! The boys had a blast with Johnny and Robin and we had a nice time at the wedding. George was a very handsome groomsman! After sleeping in on Sunday and then having a delicious brunch at the hotel, we got on the road for a long trip home. The 10 1/2 hour drive took us over 12 but overall it wasn't bad at all. The boys were perfect angels the entire trip and we rolled in a little before 1am. Home sweet home!

Drew doing the limbo!
Drew loved the hula girls!

David was a perfect guest at the rehearsal dinner!

Drew shows Mike the shells he collected.

The wind was crazy so we spent the day at the pool instead of the beach.

Quick pic before the wedding.

Bride and groom.

Ahoy Matey!

One of the highlights of our Florida trip was a pirate sunset cruise! Judy knew about the attraction and really wanted to take Drew since he's such a huge pirate fan. The brochure advertised "Pirate fun for the whole family" and we weren't disappointed! Drew was in pirate heaven, David was in awe of all the activity and us adults were entertained as well. The pirates were witty and the rum punch drinks were tasty, what's not to love? It was a fun night for all!

Boarding the pirate ship. Let the fun begin!

Drew was so proud to look like a pirate!

Drew and the other swashbucklers listen to some pirate trivia.

Eye patch on and sword in hand! Drew means business!

David was a hit on the pirate ship! This pirate loved David; he snatched him from me numerous times to hold him, dance with him or just show him off! David was fascinated with the beard and hat!

Beach Cuties!

After a full day at Sea World we drove to Ft Myers Beach to spend a few days. We met Judy there and were also able to see Uncle Tommy, lots of Judy's friends and also the Orban's. We packed tons of fun into three days! We spent many hours at the beach and pool and also enjoyed good food, ice cream and nice walks. The boys really enjoyed the beach. It's funny how things change so dramatically from year to year. Drew didn't have any interest in the ocean last year and was content playing in a huge tub of water with toys under the umbrella. This year he loved the ocean, spending his beach time frolicking in the shallow water and searching for fish with a net. He also collected lots of shells and wanted to play in the sand. David really liked the sand too which proved to be a little hard to manage. He wasn't content on the blanket but would rather crawl off to get a fist full of sand. Then he would stick it in his mouth of course. We also had a blast at the pool. David floated around in his raft and had a ball splashing water. Drew really impressed us with his swimming skills and learned to tread water. We had such a great time with the boys!

Drew enjoying a beautiful day at the beach.
Barb with a very sleepy David. The Orban's spent a day with us at the beach. It was great to see them and catch up!

David fell asleep on Rog's shoulder. So sweet.

David was fascinated with the mirrored TV stand in the condo. He knows a handsome face when he sees one :)

David loved the feel of the sand.

Getting a closer look!

Lovin' the pool too!

George and Drew spent a lot of time in the pool. Drew's swimming really improved!

Me-Ma and David cool off in the water.

Me-Ma, George, Uncle Tommy and the boys at dinner.