18 months...WOW!

Drew and I are having such a great summer together! Last year at this time I remember wondering what he would be like this summer. What would he be interested in? What would we be doing? What kind of personality would he have?

Oh, BOY! Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of joy I feel in being able to have a job where I get to spend the summer with my child. Drew is my little buddy and I am already dreading going back to work in a little over a month. I just have to keep counting my blessings and looking on the bright side. :)

So, what is Drew like these days? He is a full-blown, rambunctious, into-everything, curious, helpful, funny, personality-plus toddler!

Barefoot in the grass 7/18/12

I am lucky enough to be able to send Drew to daycare two days each week this summer, just so he can still be around other kids and have some structure in his days. Recently, he was moved up to the 2 year old toddler room, where he will mostly likely stay until he is about 2 1/2. Two of his little friends from his previous room moved with him, all because the teachers felt they were developmentally ready to take on the "big kids". Drew is definitely the size (or bigger) than the kids in his new class. It's amazing to see how far along these kids are with their language and development. I can't wait to see Drew be able to do the things these kids are doing! It's only a short matter of time before he will be stringing words together with meaning, feeding himself efficiently, and improving his coordination. Such fun things to come!

One thing all of Drew's teachers have said is that he is very helpful, which we see at home as well. He always helps pick up his toys and even helps mommy put the laundry into the dryer.

Helping mommy "clean" the windows

Since I'm a special ed teacher, I think I may be a little more neurotic about developmental milestones. At Drew's 15 month appointment, I spoke to his pediatrician because I was concerned about Drew's language development. It didn't seem like Drew was speaking with meaning a whole lot. He basically said "ball" and "dog" consisitently, but still wasn't saying "mama" or "dada" discriminately. After speaking with the doctor, he reassured me that Drew is doing just fine developmentally with his language. I realized that he is using the sign language they are teaching him in daycare and that his receptive language (how he receives language) is VERY strong, which will in turn help to develop his expressive language (how his language comes out).

Since his 15 month appointment, I still feel like his language development is maybe a little slow, but I'm not as worried.  One of his little "friends" at daycare who is a few days younger than him was saying "vacuum" the other day. I was like, "Seriously?!?" Vacuum?!? We're still working on "dog" and "mama"!!!".

Words Drew can say consistently:

"ba"- which means ball or bye-bye
"da"- which can mean dog, done, there (when he points to an object he wants)
"mama" and "dada"- he is more consistent with saying dada
"nak"- snack
"ish"- fish
"mmmm-baa"- means I want to get up on something

Words Drew can sign: more, eat, bye-bye, milk, all-done, and blow kisses :)

Signing that he wants "more" iPad :)

My best friend pointed out the other day that while Drew may not be able to say many words right now, he is totally understanding what we are asking him or what he is being told. I think that's why I'm not as worried anymore, because he is so smart when you ask him to get something or if you tell him to do something. He is definitely comprehending language, which is a relief to this slightly neurotic mama!

Maybe he's not saying so much because he's getting all these new teeth, too! Drew's molars came in around 16 months, which added to his top 4 front teeth and his bottom 2 front teeth. In the last week, it seems like all the other "filler" teeth have started erupting through his gums. Right now he has 6 teeth coming through, but he is taking it like a champ. Besides excessive drooling, he seems unaffected. I'm pretty sure this is why God gives us all our teeth when we are babies. Adults would not be able to stand the pain and babies don't remember it!

Fun with yogurt. Look at all those chompers!

In other areas of development, Drew is doing just fine. He's walking and running around, picking up and throwing balls, stacking blocks, starting to use a spoon to eat (very messy!) and is almost exclusively on the sippy. He wipes his face after eating and helps me brush his teeth. He's become interested in the potty all of a sudden, too. He wants to flush the toilet every time we go in the bathroom. I decided it was time to buy Drew his own potty, just to get used to for the moment. We're not starting any potty training yet, but I want him to associate the potty with what's going on in his diaper. :)

He would play with this all day if I let him :)

I just can't get over how BIG he is. At his last doctor visit, he was almost 30 pounds and 34 inches long. He is going to be a big boy! He's comfortably wearing 2T clothes and will probably be wearing 3T by the fall. His current sandals are a size 6, but he'll probably need a 7 for the fall. It's insane how fast he's growing!!!


Drew has definitely become a "mama's boy" this summer and has been my little buddy. We've had so much fun playing with his water table outside, hanging out with friends, going to the zoo, and visiting family. I'm just so glad we have a little summer left, because there is still so much fun to be had with my boy! :)

Fun with the water table

Coloring a picture for daddy

At the zoo with his friends Justin & Jonah

7/27/12- 18 months old today!

How can you resist this face?!?

Can't keep up!

Oh my gosh, I just can't keep up! I've been meaning to blog for WEEKS and it just keeps getting pushed to the side. I keep saying, "I'll do it tomorrow... I'll blog this weekend..." No more excuses! It's time for some major updates on the little big guy in my life!!!

Where do I even start?!? Drew has turned into such a big kid since his first birthday at the end of January. The last (almost) 3 months have brought so many firsts. First haircut, first steps, first pair of "real" shoes, first meaningful words, and the first stages of true independence, signalling that we really do have a toddler on our hands. I just can't say it enough... he's getting SO big SO fast!

Playing at the park (3-17-12)

Drew is now in the "walker" room at daycare. For awhile, I would pick him up and ask the teachers if he was trying to walk. They kept replying, "Nope. He just likes to sit and watch the other babies walk. He's soaking it all in." Now, I'm not one to compare Drew to other babies, but I started noticing that when I picked him up, ALL the other babies were walking. Every last one of them. I knew there wasn't anything wrong with Drew, but I kept wondering, "When is this kid going to walk?!?" Drew had taken a couple steps on his own with hubs and I, but that's all it had amounted to. The child did not have an interest in walking on his own, without the aid of a push toy. Finally, one night my parents were over to visit. All of a sudden, Drew pulled himself up to stand and proudly took about 6 steps across the room to get to where I was sitting on the floor. We all cheered and there was the beginning of his walking days. It only took him about 14 months, but better late than never! Now, all he wants to do is walk, walk, walk and it's all we can do to keep up with him.

Starting to walk! (3-27-12)

Wearing big-boy shoes to show off his mad walking skills (4-18-12)

We took Drew for his first haircut a few weeks ago and he did so well! We went to this fun place called Snip-its in Northville. It was bright and cheerful and really inviting for kids. They have a special package for baby's first haircut where they take a picture and give a certificate for bravery with a lock of his hair attached. Drew did so well. He didn't cry at all. He kept trying to swat the hairdresser's hands away, so mommy distracted him with what he loves the best.... snack puffs!

Pre-haircut (4-7-12)

He's not so sure about all this

Commemorative photo 

Drew loves food. I mean, this kid can chow down! Some foods he loves right now: bananas (he has one every morning), peaches, pears, strawberries, kiwi (he LOVES fruit!!!), pasta (especially mac and cheese), cheese and crackers, chicken nuggets dipped in ketchup, Chex cereal, toddler cereal bars, and of course milk. He used to love carrots and sweet potatoes, but recently started refusing veggies altogether. I'm going to have to get sneaky and get him his veggies somehow. Anyone who has tips, please let me know!

He's still drinking from a bottle, and it has been really difficult to transition Drew to a cup for drinking. I tried switching cold turkey in February, but he wasn't having it. It's made it really hard for him to accept the sippy and he just recently started drinking juice out of it. I've tried practically every sippy they have on the market and finally found a few that he'll drink out of. If I put milk in a cup he'll bat it away and won't touch it. I'm thinking I'll just wait until summer to get him transitioned. The bottle has become a security object for him and he's not ready to give it up yet.

Would you like some nuggets with that ketchup?

Drew's first official word was "ball". One day he just pointed to his Winnie the Pooh ball and said, "ba". Just to make sure that's what he was saying, I told him to go get the ball and he did! It's so amazing to see their little brains working and to know that he is comprehending what I am saying to him. Now, everything is "da". He'll point to the dogs and say "da". He points to his daddy and says "da". He points to the tv and says "da". It'll be interesting to see what words come next.

"da"= dog

Drew is all about his mommy these days. Separation anxiety has kicked in and he has realized he does not like for mommy to be out of his sight. When I drop him off at daycare, it breaks my heart. His little lip starts quivering, he begins to pout, and then as he senses mommy is about to leave him, he just starts wailing. Talk about starting your day off on a bad note. I have to hear my little guy sobbing for me all the way out the door of the daycare building. It's so sad.

On a brighter note, the sweetest thing happened the other night that melted my heart. It was just Drew and I, and we were playing on the floor. He was all ready for bed and we were watching his favorite tv show, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (I know all the songs by heart and even sing them in my head at work during the day... I am SO a mom, now). All of a sudden, Drew got up, turned around to face me, and snuggled into my neck. He then looked up, right into my face and said "mama"...for the first time with meaning. I was so taken by surprise that I looked at him and said, "Did you just say mama?!?", to which he snuggled into me again and with his sweet little baby voice, said "mama" again.

He has me wrapped around his finger forever.

He loves to choose books to "read" before bed

Tigers pitcher in training... watch out Verlander! 

Cute Easter boy

Building a tall tower for the first time (4-15-12)

He melts my heart <3

Drew's Winter ONE-derland

I had so much fun planning Drew's Winter ONE-derland party! I found the idea when I was looking at winter birthday party themes online one day. We had this party at our house, the day after Drew's birthday, on January 28th,with my side of the family. Everything turned out great and Drew loved seeing his house transformed into a red and aqua snowflake scene.

Happy Birthday, big boy! 

My homemade banner turned out better than I imagined!

The invitation (thank goodness for Etsy!)

All ready for our guests!

Ready to party! 

Photo banner that I made myself :)

My Aunt Jan made the sheet cake and Drew's smash cake

Entertaining Sito & Gramps

Giving Auntie Desi some loving

Showing off his mad crawling skills

Party peeps!

Opening his first gift

Family pic

Smash that cake!

Done smashing. Over it! 

Cake with Gramps makes it all better!

Drew's "Go Mongo" Party

We had Drew's first birthday party (part one) with hubs' family at BD's Mongolian Grill on January 21st. Since we knew we would have to hold two parties for all our family, it made sense to have one party where we didn't have to clean up!

It was so nice to see everyone and Drew had a great time.

Posing with his cake and cousin Emily

Daddy and Uncle T look a lot alike!

Taking it all in with Grandma

Being silly with Grandpa

Drew and his 3rd cousin, Domynic (6 months)

Party people!

Mommy's favorite 

Not a fan of cake

Uncle T makes it all better! 

The art of saying "NO"

Drew is one smart little cookie. He is also very curious. Hubs and I are beginning to notice that when you combine smart + curious, as parents you start saying "NO" a lot. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it backfires. 

Exhibit A, for instance, when Drew crosses the line from the carpeted living room to the tiled kitchen, we say "Andrew, NO!" in our sternest voices. Many times he will stop, look at us to acknowledge that he heard our command, and 7 times out of 10, he will turn back around and crawl back onto the carpet. Carpet to tile would be an instance where we feel successful that "NO" is working. 

And then comes Exhibit B. We have a laundry basket of Drew's clean, folded clothes that we keep in the living room. It's nice to have some clothes there in case we need a quick change or a burp cloth. Lately, our little man of the house has taken a great interest in the contents of the laundry basket. In days past, he would crawl right by it, barely paying it any notice. Now, he is drawn to it like a magnet. He crawls over, sits next to the laundry basket, and makes eye contact with the adult. Usually, he will keep eye contact as his hand reaches into the basket, pulling out whatever clothes he can find. Hubs and I, in the sternest voices we can muster, say "NO, Andrew. We don't play with clean clothes." We take the clothes out of his hand and put them back in the basket, at which point Drew laughs and reaches in again for whatever he can grab. Unless we are physically laying our arms or legs across the basket, Drew will continue to try to get those clothes out of the basket, as if we are playing the most fun game with him. 

Tonight was one of those nights. Hubs was on the couch and I was on the floor playing with the little rascal. He crawled right over to that basket, looked me square in the eye, reached in and grabbed to his hearts content. In my "mom voice", I looked at him and said, "NO Andrew. NO touching!". Drew laughed and tried it again. I then looked up at my loving, supportive husband...sitting there trying his hardest not to burst out laughing at the entire situation. Of course, I couldn't hold it in either. I started laughing, too. 

I obviously haven't mastered the art of saying "NO" yet. Drew is just too cute and does the funniest things sometimes. 

Caught red handed!

You might think he looks remorseful, but he thinks this is a game!