Snow Day!!!!!

We decided to take Drew outside to see what he thought of the snow and, well, he didn't really have an opinion of it but we had fun playing and taking photos anyway!

And my favorite pic of the day!!

11 Months Old!

On occasion, I have been known to worry about Drew's development because at 11 months, he is still not pulling himself up so when I went into Drew's room to get him after his nap, I see this:

So while it's not technically pulling himself up, it's definitely progress and we'll take it.  Even though he isn't pulling up, he is doing so many things, including:

• Walking assisted through the entire house.  It's all he wants to do.  Walk back and forth through the bedroom, into the bathroom, through the kitchen and family room and then again.  He loves it!!!
• He's eating a ton of new foods and he is doing really well.  He seems to really like breakfast foods just like his dad.  These include waffles, pancakes, toast, etc.  He also really likes pastas, mashed potatoes, chicken, bananas, blueberries, and oatmeal.  He also loves his puffs or little fishies as well. 
• He's still drinking about 24-26 oz of formula and he isnt doing so well with his sippy cups.  He would much rather drink right from a glass.
• He still really likes to kick his legs.  Whenever he gets bored with a toy, he'll crawl to a wall, put his butt up against the wall and kick.  We try to re-direct and it does work but it's a favorite past time for Drew and he does more often than I would like. 
• He says about four words now.  Momma, Dadda (his favorite), Nanna, and baba.  
• He's cruising pretty regularly between toys now.  He likes to go between his play table and his bouncer then back again.  He does pretty well!
• He still likes to jump in his bouncy as well.
• He's fascinated with remote controls and cords.  We have to make sure they are all picked up or hidden or he'll go directly for them.
• He loves to have his hair combed in the morning or after his baths.  He also loves to have his face washed after he's done eating.
• He knows how to high five and we are working on waving hello and goodbye!
• He loves, loves, loves music.  In church, he will sit contently on anyone's lap and listens to the praise band play.  I am sure it helps that Grandpa Todd and Uncle Jeff plays in the band as well.
• Although he still has off nights, he is doing great in the napping and sleeping department.  All we have to do is lay him down and say goodnight and he'll go to sleep.  He's sleeping about 10 hours at night and taking about 4 hours worth of naps during the day.  He's even sleeping in the pack n play at Nanna's house!!  That's big news!
• When you catch him in the right mood, he loves to give big, wet kisses.  I love em!!!
• He loves to have screaming contests and in most cases, he will win!  The boy is loud.
• We estimate him to be around 24 pounds and 31 inches but will find out for sure at his one year checkup in March.

This little man is our dream come true and we love spending every minute we can with him!!  Thank you LORD for this miracle!

Getting Ready for Drew's 1st Birthday!

Just so we are clear, I can't believe that Steve and I are making preparations for the little dude's 1st birthday party!  It feels like we just had him instead of getting ready to celebrate Drew's first year of life!  It's so crazy to me.

Anyway, we decided to do a train themed birthday party since dad is so into trains.  I found a very cute invite online that matched with the theme but it required a picture of Drew.  So i ordered him a conductor's hat and we began the oh so challenging task of getting a good picture.  :)

Here's what we got the first night we tried:

Daddy trying to make Drewsie feel better by wiping away the tears:

Annnnnddddd, not so much!:

So we decided to put the camera away for the night and try again the following evening!  Getting closer:

momma, I am getting tired!!!!:

But we persevered and got our shot!  What a gorgeous smirk!  Love this kid:

oh and just cause, what a ham:

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Daddy wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate his birthday and we had a grand ole time! Both grandmas and grandpas came, Auntie Theresa and Uncle Nick, Aunt Diana and Grandma Shaw.  Then we came back to our house for cake and ice cream.  It was a good day!!

Here is the birthday boy and his little dude (wearing grandpa Abela's hat)!

This picture cracks me up.  Both of my boys blink when a flash goes off from a camera.  Like father, like son, I guess!!

A Few Randoms...

Here's a few random pictures of Drew that I snapped through our days.  One thing I am realizing is that I am not taking enough pictures with our good camera so that's going to be a new objective for me.

Anyway, here he is being silly (another biggie boy picture):

Sleeping.  So cute!!

He was mesmerized by this little string on his socks for a good half hour.  I love the concentration on his face as he is trying to pull it out.  Oh, and i have I mentioned I love his cheeks??  Love my little chipmunk!

Still Loving Bath Time!

Drew is still loving bath time!  He kicks and plays so hard that by the time we are done with the bath, we are completely soaked.  Because he loves it so much, we decided to enroll him in swim lessons in March.  I think he'll love him.  Can't wait!!

Whaaaaaaa Mom?????

Shhhhhh, I am updating my facebook status!

My Two Dudes!

Love these two guys.  And again, my biggie boy!  Another one of my favorite pictures.  Haha, look at the hair!!  Nooooo, I am no where near wanting to cut it!

Momma's Big Helper!

Nanna, Auntie Theresa, Drew and I got together to make some cookies and well...Drew helped.  :)

Still Drew's BFF

I am shocked Sonny even likes Drew at this point with the amount of times he grabs and yanks really hard on her fur!  She's such a good sport about it.  When he pulls, she will look at him and then walk away.  She is still very affectionate with him as well.  She's always wanting to give him kisses and truly gets upset when he is upset as well.  Definitely BFF's for life!

How Handsome am I???

Do you like my bowtie???

How about me in my giraffe suit??  Momma is getting ready to take me outside and it's so cold here!

Drew Meets Cousin Joe!

Drew's cousin Joe (Steve's cousin Robyn's little dude) is just about a year older than Drew and we were excited for these two to finally meet.  They pretty much ignored each other but I have a feeling these two will be getting into trouble with each other in the years to come.  :)

Love this Kid!

He looks so old to me in this picture!  The day I took this picture (11, 2010), I realized my little baby boy was growing up and turning into what we like to refer to Drew as a biggie boy.  It made my heart so happy and so sad all at the same time!

Another Picture from Theresa and Nick's Wedding!

And I love, love, love it!!!!!

Christmas!!

We had a wonderful first Christmas with our little man!  He did really well for the most part was a little overwhelmed on Christmas Eve and Christmas day but it was so nice to see lots and lots of family.  Drew really got into opening his Christmas presents and boy, did he get a lot!  What a lucky little man.

As for me, Christmas has definitely taken on a new meaning.  I have always loved the holiday but since having Drew, it just makes it that much more fun.  I can't wait to have lots and lots of Christmases with him!

Onto the pictures!  Here we are at Frankenmuth celebrating grandma Shaw's birthday.  Drew's grandma Todd bought him a santa hat and he loved it!  And of course, he looked so cute!















For Christmas Eve, we always celebrate with Steve's family at Steve's mom and dad's and later with the whole family at Grandma and Granda Shaw's!  Of course, we had a lot of fun!  And Drew had lot's of fun with Uncle Chris.  He sure did give him a workout!

We spent Christmas morning together as a family before heading over to my mom's.  We loved giving Drew his presents!!!  I think he had fun too.  :)

Next, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Abela's house for more presents and good times.  I love this picture with Drew and my dad:

Next, posing with Nanna Farrugia:

One of Drew's favorite toys this Chirstmas was this light up toy Grandpa Abela picked especially for him.  He loved the lights and was mesmerized by it!!

I love the little dude's face in this one!

Spending some QT with Nanna Abela:

Finally, we were off to Uncle Reno's house for some time with my family.  By this time, I think Drew was ready to be done but he was a trooper!  He loved playing in his cousin Eric's ball pit.  Hmmmm, birthday present idea??

Drew (and Nanna) even got to see Santa Claus (thanks, uncle pete!!) one more time before Christmas 2010, came to an end!

Finally, some video of Drew opening his Christmas presents:

And of Drew hanging with Santa:

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday and I am so happy we got to spend it with Drew and all of our family!  We are so very blessed.  :)

First Visit With Santa Claus

We weren't sure how Drew would act when we took him to see Santa and I have to say, he did great...for the first 1/2 of the visit!  As he sat on Santa's lap, I could see he started to get uneasy and when we picked him up, he was very close to tears.

The tears finally came as we started to walk away and I have to say, he cried all the way home.  I think he was a little freaked out by the big guy but we at least managed to get one picture!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our little man!  We first went and visited grandma and grandpa Todd and great-grandma Shaw.  It was such a fun time!  Grandma even bought Drew his first drumset.

Here is my little stud in his Thanksgiving outfit.  My good friend Sarah let me borrow this ridiculously cute shirt and tie and Drew really wore it well.  He should be a model!

Drew and his momma:

Drew and Grandma Shaw.  One of my favorite pictures!

Love the look of love by both of them in this picture.

Drew with his grandma and grandpa Todd:

 

After visiting with grandma and grandpa Todd, we headed over to spend the rest of Thanksgiving with my side of the family.  We had to change Drew and put him in his second Thanksgiving outfit of the day.  The jeans were a little tight so we put him in something a tad more comfortable.

Posing with auntie mary:

And cousin Brian and Alexa:

Nanna always feeding Drew.  :)  Munching on one of his favorites...a loaf of bread!

Auntie Theresa and Uncle Nick posing with me:

My nanna and nannu Abela:

And finally a family picture.

What a great Thanksgiving it was. Drew did so well and I am so glad cause we had a lot to be thankful for...first and foremost, him!!!