First Time To The Park

We have a little park down the street from us and today was the perfect day to take a our first trip there.  We loaded up Drew in his wagon and headed towards the park.  First up were the swings.  Drew loved them.  He was kicking his feet and smiling the whole time. 

Then we headed over to the play set. Drew climbed up to the swings slowly and with some much needed help. There were a few stops along, trying to eat all the wood chips on the steps. 




I will have to say the park was a hit and we will have to return soon. 

State Champs!

*I had typed this out a long time ago, just never added the pictures. 

Well if you haven't heard already, Southlake Carroll won state! This was my first Varsity game to go to since Jason started coaching. Last year I was sick (pregnant) the whole time and this year Drew's shedule wouldn't allow me to go to a game. His last nap falls during game time. We asked my sister to watch Drew so I could go. I am so glad that they won. They said the attendance was a little over 42,000. That's close to the number of fans at the World Series game Jason and I went to last year. Most of the fans were Dragon fans too. This town LOVES football. I know it's big anywhere in Texas but you have no idea how BIG it is here in Southlake. Jason has put a lot of hours into this program (along with all the other coaches) and it's a great pay off in the end! He was so excited. They all go a medal, and yes it's hanging from our fireplace over the stockings. We tried putting it on the tree but it was to heavy. After not having a husband since August but for one night a week, this is a great ending! Congratulatoins to all the Dragons for your hard work! Here are some pictures from the game.

Letters to a Soilder

When I was eight years old, I wrote to a solider in Desert Storm.  I was given his information from my teacher and we became pen pals.  He was from my hometown but I didn't know him personally.  I remember sending him pictures of me and him writing back.  I enjoyed getting his letters.  I couldn't tell you what I wrote in there but I thought I was keeping the guy company. 

On my way to school Wednesday morning, I heard a commercial and they said Desert Storm.  For some reason the guy popped in my head and I remembered his name.  I looked him up to see if he was on facebook.  Sure enough he was.  I didn't know how to question him to find out if it was really him or not.  Well after a few messages back and forth, it was!  What's even crazier is he remembered me and kept all the letters I wrote him.  He said he had a box of all the letters he received and was going to find one from me.  He sent me a picture of an envelope I sent him. 

I have to say that my handwriting has improved!  I thought this was so cool.  I told my students about what had just happened that morning and they all thought that was so cool.  I am going to look for the letters he sent me (hopefully I kept them).  I am so excited we have reconnected.  This is something you don't come across to often.  So, I encourage you.  If you have ever had a pen pal, look them up.  No telling what you might discover.

8 months

 Drew is officially 8 months old and growing so fast.  He is a mover.  I have to say that these past few weeks have been a lot of fun and exploring.  I think he's pulled up on everything in the house and when he does he just laughs and hits his hand on the flat surface smiling. 

What's New - He started riding in shopping carts last month but this month we have made more shopping trips and get out more frequently.  This makes getting out a lot easier and Drew enjoys sitting and looking around.  He's a people watcher :).  He is really good at pulling up and grabbing things.  He enjoys being able to stand with support on his own.  He's also a talker.  He says mamamama and babababa and then other random sounds.  He loves to make a happy scream for you to look over at him and then he just smiles.  He is also taking baths sitting and playing in the water which he loves.  He was recently sick and putting him in the bathtub was one of the only times I would see him smile and play when he felt so bad.  I love watching him just playing by himself and being so content and happy. 

Interests - He's still exploring everything!  He loves the bathtub and making the water splash.  He loves crawling around the house.  He has found leaves and thinks they are fun.  I have to say he has tasted a few which did not turn out to well.  You would think after three attempts he would learn.  Maybe one day.  He loves tags on anything.  He will go to a stuffed animal and find it's tag to try to chew on.  We have noticed his interest in dogs.  He loves Sadie and Sutton but any stuffed animal or picture he loves too.  He was given a touch and feel book for Valentine's Day from my sweet co-worker and he loves it.  I bought him another one of just dogs and of course it's another favorite.  He still loves remotes and has changed the channels a few times and put the TV on settings that I have no idea how he got there.

Food - He has added squash and kiwi to his list of foods.  I also made him apples and pears combined and he liked them as well.  He has little snacks that he eats during snack time.  Yes, we sit together on the floor and we both have a snack together in the afternoon!  He loves them and gets upset when I put the lid on them and put them up.  He likes feeding himself, always has. 

Sleep - Sleep is still good!  He did go back to three naps a day when he was sick and he needed the rest.  He usually takes one nap in the morning and then one in the late afternoon.  He wakes up between 7:30 - 8:30 but usually around 7:30.  He wakes up happy and pulls up on his crib waiting looking at the door for us to come in.  I love walking in and seeing his big smile.

Sizes - He is wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.  He still can fit into some 3-6 month tops. 

What I Love - I love how this past month he's been exploring and enjoying the new adventures.  I love how he lays his head down on my shoulder, so sweet.  I think he's going to like to cuddle.  I love how content he is going to other people.  This was a fear I had, that he would only want Jason or I.  I know he will possibly go through a time when that does happen but at the moment he's still content going to anybody.  I love how he holds his arms out when I go to pick him up.  I love how he waits at the end of his crib, standing up, when he wakes up, smiling, waiting on us to come get him.  I love how happy he is most of the time.  I love how when you are holding him and he gets happy, he moves his legs up and down.  I love how he's my sweet little boy, even though he's growing so fast, I'm trying to take each day in and make memories that last.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feeling "a little" better

Poor Drew has felt awful since Monday evening.  I took him to the doctor and of course there is nothing we can do for him.  We wanted to take him just in case something else was wrong or there was something else we could do to ease him misery.  He still has an awful cough and bad cold but is feeling more himself.  You can tell in his eyes, how red they are.  The kid loves pillows so I made him some pillow tunnels to crawl under.  As soon as it was set up, he looked over at me and lit up with a big smile.  It took some time getting him comfortable to actually crawl through it because it was something different.  Once he did it, he liked it.  Here are a few pictures I was able to get. 

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Pulling Up

For a couple of weeks now, Drew has been consistently pulling up on EVERYTHING! As soon as he learned how to crawl, he moved to trying to pull up. I can say now he has conquered this.

This was his first time to pull up on the fire place.  Notice our cute barrier from him hitting the brick (my leopard body pillow from high school).  I put that there when he was not sitting up so steady because I was afraid he would hit his head. 

This was the first time he stood up in his crib.  He thought it was funny.  He now stands up at the end of his crib (the end facing his door) and waits for us to come get him when he's up.  The first night that he had learned to stand up, Jason put him down to go to sleep and he crawled over to the end and stood up and starting laughing. 

 He got a toy for Christmas that you can take off the legs and he can play on the floor and when he was ready to stand you could add the legs and he could stand and play.  I added the legs yesterday and he thought it was the coolest thing.  This is he current favorite toy. 

He enjoys pulling up on the bathtub and hitting the side of it laughing.  Anything that he can pull up on and stand is fun to him.  We can't keep our eye off of him anymore!

Valentine's Playdate

We have a few friends over for our monthly play date that we are starting this year. I had signed up for February and made it a small Valentine's party too. Everybody had the option of bringing a Valentine to share with their friends. We had 9 kids show up and boy was our house crowded. There were kids everywhere. Some of the kids are a little older then Drew and I worried that they wouldn't have enough toys and things to do to entertain them. I think they had fun because everything is different from what they have at home.

This is Drew excited that his friends are coming over to play!  I didn't get many pictures once everybody showed up.  I wanted to get a group picture but totally forgot once everybody showed up.

This is Drew and Calvin (they are 13 days apart) playing.  Calvin was the first one to arrive so I did get one picture!  Drew got some cute Valentine gifts from his friends (which he has no clue what they are)!  Drew gave away bubbles with a little note that says "You Blow Me Away".  It's kind of hard to come up with gifts for little ones. 

Happy Early Valentines!