What?! Knees?!

So here's the first sign that Drew may at some point learn to crawl on his hands and knees instead of just on his belly. Not quite so coordinated, in fact, pretty funny - enjoy!

Hot & Humid in Houston

Drew & Mommy spent a week in Houston visiting/taking care of Grandpa & Nana after Nana had a foot surgery that left her in bed for 2 days & on crutches for a month! Drew was great at 'entertaining' Nana while Mommy was trying to be helpful keeping up with Drew AND Nana!
We certainly had fun exploring a completely new environment. It didn't take Drew long to find the electric cords & bookcase; but thankfully he also was easily entertained & distracted by the pots & pans in the kitchen! He also loved playing with a bell Nana used to call Mommy as well as lifting & banging Nana's crutches!

Drew had some fun times with Grandpa too - going on walks in the evening, playing in the splash pool & swinging in the neighbor's swing - Thanks Grandpa! :)

We certainly missed Daddy while we were gone, and were happy to be back home with him after a week, bringing Nana back with us with Grandpa soon to follow!
It was a fun 2 1/2 weeks with extra family around. Drew especially loved being spoiled by his Nana & Mommy loved being able to spend so much quality time with her parents too!

Carry the Torch!

So, Drew's getting more & more comfortable with his crawling on his belly, so much so that he's learned to do it one-handed now. So while in Houston, he got a hold of the bottle brush & loved it - taking it with him all over the place. We think it's like he's carrying a torch, or sword. But either way, I thought it was pretty funny and thought someone else might like it too, so thought I'd share...

10 Months

So here we are again, another month passed, another month of changes, surprises & fun!

I think it's always been this way, but even more so every day as Drew gets bigger & stronger - the kid loves to be on the move & so incredibly curious & wants to take it all in! He's always wide-eyed, mouth open & ready to explore the world! It has come to our attention that Drew rarely closes his mouth - he's either smiling, or just letting it hang open as he is in amazement of the fun he is having! He does love his electronics - he's fascinated with remotes & our cell phones, as you can see from the pictures. So, we bought him his own, which he does love. What a silly boy!



He is super squirmy, never wanting to stay in one spot for long, making all sorts of things more of an adventure for us - diaper changes where he often ends up pulling himself onto his stomach & crawling to the edge, nursing where he is constantly eating & then playing, back & forth, I guess because he knows Mommy isn't going anywhere, going through our nap & bedtime routine where he frequently pushes himself away from us with his legs or flops himself all over the place, & church is getting to be a bit more of a challenge where by the last part of the service, he's certainly had enough of being kept in one spot! But we love that he is on the move & wanting to explore. He is 'crawling' all over the place now, going for anything & everything he sees & wants. He's figured out where all his toys are stored in the upstairs nursery & gameroom, & makes a bee-line for which ever one he wants - we simply just follow his lead! Now, by 'crawling', I mean modified combat crawl, using both arms, right knee & left toes to push himself along. The funny thing is the left arm is always crossed in front & the right arm is always to his side, so he's going to have a huge right pec & left tricep! (There's the PT in me I guess!) We are still working on getting up on hands & knees, but he's seems pretty happy with just moving along on his belly...I think we should just attach a dust cloth to the belly of his shirt & let him clean as he goes! He is discovering more & more of the house, with one of the favorites being the kitchen of course - which has led us to do the finishing touches for baby proofing, for now at least! Like so many others, he loves opening the cabinet doors & drawers, pulling out whatver he finds & making as much noise as possible - it's absolutely wonderful! He is pulling himself up on anything that seems the right height for him, and once he gets up, he loves banging on whatever he's conquered! He gets such a thrill out of getting up on his feet. Initially he would just lean his body toward whatever he wanted once he was up, but in the last 2 weeks or so, he's started to figure out he can actually pick up his feet to get there instead of just falling (with help from us of course)!



He's such a fun & smart boy, of course I'm not bias, but it really is a sight to see him grow through every little stage & watch how he learns! He's becoming even more animated as he 'flaps' his arms up & down when he's excited about something or wants attention; sometimes he even adds in his legs if he's on his back, making for a really difficult ab work-out if you ask me! He has started to 'wave' at people & things he's excited about, like going down the stairs & his pictures on the wall, going outside & seeing the mirror. His wave is kind of silly; it started out simply as him raising his hand up above his head, palm facing himself; it has now progressed to curling of the fingers down into the palm. He doesn't do it on cue just yet, but he's getting there. He is responding more & more to our playing & gestures with him - laughing when tickled & reaching up with both arms when we reach out toward him. He also seems to love opening & closing books & turning the pages, which is wonderful that he loves books, but hard to read at his pace to keep up!



His first tooth arrived this month - bottom left. And so far, he's proved to be a pretty good teether (fingers crossed that continues!). He's a bit clingy, but otherwise, still sleeping well, hallelujah! More are certainly on their way, so we'll see what fun that brings!

Hopefully it brings enjoying even more & more foods - though he has proven himself to be a great eater as well! He seems to want to be very independent about it, not really wanting to be fed by us anymore at times - so 'helping' with the spoon & loves finger foods. His favorites by far are macaroni & cheese, green beans, cheese & yogurt melts - oh so yummy! These are the things we must be careful with or he'll stuff his mouth full to the brim before chewing or swallowing - maybe he thinks we're going to make him share! :) He is pretty smart about his foods as well - he knows the difference between the ones he'll eat & the ones he loves, so we have had to get a bit clever at times - either hiding his favorites away from the table until he eats the others, giving him a variety to choose from because he gets tired of eating the same thing all at once, or even rolling up or 'hiding' the other food in his favorites! We've also noticed that he almost always eats with his left hand, sometimes the right hand even moves the food closer to the middle or left, so he can pick it up with his left hand. We've heard conflicting opinions on if this means he'll be a lefty or righty, but regardless, for now, he's a lefty for sure!

Our doctor has warned us that stranger anxiety is just around the corner & to be prepared. Well, so far, Drew's continued to be incredibly social with family, friends & anyone else he sees. Every now & then he's had a few moments of anxiousness when passed on to someone a bit unfamiliar, but this soon passes for the most part. And it's obvious that we as his parents are his favorites of course, still favoring Mommy, but we have yet to have a huge scene. So, as it is now, we don't think Drew's going to have any problems making friends, as everyone seems to be a potential playmate these days! We love that he is so comfortable & confident!

Some sweet moments that have had with Drew lately is that every now & then we get a 'hug' from him - he squeezes his arms around our necks, pulling us in ever so tightly. He also will lie next to us or on top of us while we are lying on the floor, rest his head down, suck on his left thumb, and reach out toward us, usually our face or neck, with his right hand. In addition, he has started giving us his huge, slobbery, open mouth kisses not just on our chins, but also on the mouth & our nose now - maybe awkward, but we love it! It's absolutely so sweet, in addition to a nice moment's rest every now & then!



Now for growth...I'm a bit perplexed this month, as it seems that according to our measurements, Drew hasn't grown this month, staying the same across the board. I guess this is what his pediatrician was warning me about. I'm sure it's fine, I just have no idea where all that food is going! Oh well, he seems awfully happy & healthy, so we'll be happy with that! Weight: 20 lb. (25%) Length: 29 1/2 in. (75%)Head Circ: 45 cm. (37%)