Drew is Walking!

So in the past two weeks, Drew has started to take a few steps here & there on his own, but this Thursday night he just took off! For the first time he stood up from the floor all by himself & then started walking. He gets a little frustrated when he can't get up fast enough or keeps falling, but he's loving it & doing great! It's so fun to see him get excited about it & advance so quickly!

1 Year Pictures

So, we couldn't help but share some of our favorite pictures/portraits taken for Drew's 1st Birthday. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

1 YEAR!!!

Wow, we are here...already! It's hard, almost impossible, to remember what life was like over a year ago before Drew came along - my somewhat hazy memory remembers a life a bit more self-absorbed, less complicated, more predictable & much less fulfilling! Drew is absolute delight, there's no doubt about that. He has brought more love, smiles, laughs & joy to our lives than we could have ever imagined!



Drew is certainly more & more on the move & is quite the little daredevil with little signs of any kind of fear of being hurt - already showing his 'all boy' nature. I posted earlier how he climbs the stairs - he's just getting faster & more proficient with that; he climbs on & off the coffee table we have for him in the game room without any hesitation - we must stay VERY close now. He does crawl on hands & knees now (thank you Tyler!) & sometimes (lots of times on the tile or concrete floors) on hands & feet! His standing balance is getting much better, standing for moments on his own every now & then. He still loves to bounce & jump & even a bit of dancing, but now he can do it while he holds on to furniture, etc. One time he even jumped, getting both feet off the ground while bouncing at the rocking chair! Our kid's got UPS! (Don't roll your eyes Uncle Kevin!) He LOVES to walk with help now too - this is the one thing he does seem to realize he needs help for - gesturing for us to give him our hands to hold onto or takes off with one of his walker toys...or a big box...or anything that looks about the right height that will slide along the floor - he just loves it!



A favorite 'game' for Drew has been for quite awhile now is to pull all of his books off his bookshelf. Well, this 'game' has been extended to all sorts of things now - he essentially loves to just pull anything out of whatever it's being contained & throws it back behind him - sitting behind him can be a dangerous spot to be these days! Some of his throws are pretty fast & long, now if we could just get him to throw forward! Drew is discovering light rays these days as the sun shines through the windows - he is fascinated by the light spots on the floor, furniture or wherever it hits. He wants to pick it up & examine it so badly - he just keeps trying to get it in his hands!



Socially he's been more & more of a blast this month as well - our favorite is the frequency of his laugh. He simply laughs randomly now at times - it's so fun to hear! He is clapping his hands now, some with encouragement, and sometimes on his own. He has been seen 'reading' his books - turning the pages & babbling on & on, telling his version of the story - so cute! A cool thing is he is picking up on 'folding' hands for prayer before meals - he'll sometimes put his hands together when Mommy & Daddy fold their hands & say the prayer - love it! He is imitating us more & more with all sorts of things really...he copies us when we put toys on our heads (we know we look & act silly!), he'll put his cell phone to his ear, well, the back of his head behind his ear, but you get the idea, and sometimes he even starts to jabber. He also loves his hairbrush & will 'brush' his hair after bathtime, running from back behind his ear & forward; he has brushed Mommy's hair some too, but he doesn't really see the point to brush Daddy's! :) Now, those of you that have been around Drew have seen it's pretty clear that he's a pretty big Mommy's Boy so far, but, he has started to say "Da" this month, and Mommy is convinced he is talking about his Daddy most of the time because alot of times he'll end up going to the study when he says it - which is where Daddy spends alot of this time! So, don't worry, Drew has LOTS of love for his Daddy!



Drew is working on getting the other 2 front teeth, but they haven't quite poked through just yet. In the meantime, a rare event has happened - Drew is closing his mouth! Yes, he still mostly lets it hang open, but he is trying to figure out what is going on under those gums, and we guess that closing the mouth helps with that some. He also is playing with/sticking out his tongue more & more - again, we think trying to figure out those teeth - makes for some silly faces!



Growth stats for the month: Height: 30 1/2 in. (75%), Weight: 21 lb. 14 oz. (37%), Head circumference: 46 cm. (50%).

Well, 1 year of parenthood under our belt...only forever to go! What a blessing Drew is to us - thank you Lord for your amazing gift to us, we are so undeserving, but we'll keep him! We love him so much!

Hoppy Birthday Drew!

We celebrated Drew's 1st Birthday one day early - we just couldn't wait any longer, the anticipation was just too much! :)

We (well, Mommy) ran with a frog theme (thanks for the help with the idea Aunt Katrina) since Drew LOVES to jump! It was so fun to plan & decorate - I was just so excited!



We had a great time with family & friends - thanks to all who were able to celebrate with us! Cousin Matthew made some awesome balloon animals for the kids, Luke helped bring presents to Drew, even announcing what he brought & that he LOOOOVES cupcakes, and Harrison danced & played so well! It was so fun to watch the boys play together & with all the awesome new toys! (Though Drew obviously knew that they were HIS toys!)



Drew didn't want much to do with his cake...the day before the party we had 1 year pics taken & he did great initially with the cake smash. So maybe he smashed it all out already, that & later on that evening he ran a fever of 102.9, so he just wasn't top-notch, or he crumbled under pressure! Who knows! We had fun decorating the cakes none the less & here's the video for anyone who wasn't there & wants to watch an anti-climactic cake smash!

Fun with balloons!

With the birthday party planning revving up, we had balloons all over the house - Drew had a blast playing with them....



(By the way, that's Nana & Grandpa in the background - Grandpa had the drill out for hanging something on the wall - just so you know!)

Food Face!

So, here's an example of what I think of when someone mentions a child's messy dinner...Drew was in a mood to refuse just about anything I offered him this night, so the food went everywhere! His 'sign language' for NO to food is to wipe his hands back & forth on his tray, swiping all of the food all over the tray & onto the floor - here are the results of dinner...!

Fun in Florida

We took our first big adventure with Drew this month - we flew to Miami to visit the Glienke family for a week! Drew did great on the plane rides, both there & back, having fun meeting all the people sitting around us, playing with the seat belt & lap tray. He did thankfully take a nap on the way back, but on the way there I guess he was just too excited as was awake from 4:30AM until 2:30PM when he absolutely konked out on the car trip to the Keys.


Drew & Tyler had fun together - as much as 1 year olds can have fun & play together I suppose. The adults probably enjoyed watching them play & interact even more. Tyler is absolutely adorable & so much fun - he makes the BEST noises & sounds - they say he's just like a parrot already! Tyler also does the best 360 turn in sitting ever! Drew picked up on this & some of the sounds by the time we got back home...funny how they learn from each other when they can't even talk to one another! It was funny to see them take toys back & forth from one another - Drew had an upper hand at being the bully from the beginning, taking what he wanted, but Tyler quickly learned to get right back at him!


They both enjoyed the pool & even took a boat trip out to the Playita for the full ocean experience. When Mommy showed Drew the sand, he immediately put it in his mouth...MMMM! The Glienke family really enjoyed seeing Drew's unique crawl in person, even earning himself the nickname "Scooter"! Drew thoroughly enjoyed the Cuban bread - he probably wishes we had it here in Texas like his parents do!


We were able to have a mini-birthday celebration for the 2 boys while we were there since their birthday are only 1 month apart. They both enjoyed their personal smash cake (wonderfully supplied & decorated by cousin Cari-THANK YOU!) as well as some fun gifts. Again, it was mostly for the adults, well, mainly the Moms! :)


It was a wonderful trip seeing everyone & especially meeting Tyler. There are only 2 things we wished could have been different - it would have lasted longer & Drew not having a case of the "Mamitas" (he was a big Momma's Boy almost the whole time we were there!). We look forward to another chance to visit & hope some, if not all the family, will return the favor some day soon & come visit us in the great state of Texas!