Playroom Changes

During all the massive changes we are making around the house, we decided to move around the furniture in the bonus room to open it up and give Drew a little more space to play while still giving the grownups their own area. Also, we broke down and got Drew a train table a little early (it was supposed to be for his birthday!) But I will admit that it was for me as much as him...I wanted my coffee table back and his toys out of "my" space! Here are a few pictures of Drew's new play areas and the prized trains and track!





As for the other rooms in the house, we are making progress...though not as quickly as I would like! We have put some finishing touches on Drew's room but we will have to wait for his dresser for about another month. The baby's room looks much better and I feel confident that I could bring him home at this point if necessary. (Then again, I hear you cannot leave the hospital without a name, so I guess that is not a true statement!) Our bedroom has new paint on the walls thanks to Patrick's hard work all day today. We're getting there...the to-do list is finally shrinking!

This upcoming weekend is our "annual" family campout and we are headed to Tellico Plains and into the Cherokee National Forest. I am definitely looking forward to the trip and the chance to spend the weekend with our extended family. I have a doctor visit and ultrasound on Thursday morning to make sure all looks well for me to be almost 2 hours away, but I'm sure all will be fine. Keep your fingers crossed!!

Big Boy Bed!

Drew got his new bed yesterday and was so excited about it. He talks a lot about his new "big boy bed" and thinks it is pretty great. We have had two naps and one full night in it so far...the night went great but the naps are going to take some getting used to. He seems to think that reading books and playing around in his room are more important than sleeping!


First look at his new bed...

Oh Boy! Climbing right in...

"This is my big boy bed!"
(and then he sat and pointed out each train on the bedding...)

School Days...School Days...

Today was Drew's first day back at preschool. He had a great morning and went happily into class without shedding a tear. This is a major accomplishment for us and I am looking forward to seeing if it lasts! Drew is in a big boy class this year with lunch at a table and napping on mats on the floor. I don't see how his teachers do it!

We did have one issue today - on the playground Drew fell and busted his lip open. If I am counting correctly, that makes 5 times we have had a busted lip in the past 3 months. I seriously laughed when his teacher met me at the door with an incident report for me to sign. I told her that she may want to watch him closely this year as he seems to have inherited my coordination!

Enjoy some photos from this morning - he was quite the big boy today!

Breakfast with Mickey and his "morning paper" (Thomas brochure)

An actual smile - hard to catch at this age...

(Gotta love Maddie in the background...so left out!)

Helping Daddy water the tree before school

I'll just stand here and hold this tree up for a while...

Fun with the Fleet

This morning we took Drew to the nearby Town Hall for an exciting adventure looking at dump truck, backhoes, tractors, fire engines and all sorts of the town's fleet vehicles. Drew had a great time looking and touching the "big trucks" and even got to sit in the driver's seat of a few! We ran into our friends Kelly and Andy and their boys and Drew had a good time running around with the big boys. It was a very hot but fun way to start our Saturday.

Driving one of the smaller tractors

Standing in the snow plow...not sure how often this baby sees action here!

The BIG tractor/mower...this was a hit!

Drew's first (and hopefully LAST) time in the backseat of a police car!

Drew loved the big fire engine

Such a big boy!

Playing around with "big" Drew, Kyle and Adam

More Cuteness

So I forgot another of my favorite "Drew-isms" when I posted yesterday. Drew has mastered saying goodbye, especially to Daddy in the mornings. His whole line is "Bye-bye Daddy! See you 'morrow!" (The time concept is lost on him at this point and he got the tomorrow part from saying goodnight to his trains.) Well, yesterday as I was trying to convince him to leave Nana's house and come home with me, I told him I was going to leave without him. He looked up from the train table and, with a completely straight face, said "Bye-bye Mommy. See you 'morrow! Ok!" You see where I stand in his life...I don't rank with Thomas or Nana!


Just a cute photo of Drew and Maddie from the other night!

Help 'ou

One of Drew's most adorable sayings is "Help 'ou Mommy" (or whoever). This can mean "I want to help you" or "I need your help." Either way, you can't turn him down - it's too cute! When Daddy was prepping the walls in the hallway for painting last week, Drew wanted to help him. So Daddy was smart and gave him a rag to wipe down the wall after he sanded it. Drew thought he was big stuff and had a great time!

That's up really high!


"I got it!" (another favorite saying)


Gordon helped too!

New Beds...

We are working towards the transition to a big-boy bed and hope to have his room ready over Labor Day weekend sometime. He has been very interested in the prospect since mommy and daddy got their new bed last weekend. However, I think he might be disappointed at the size difference when it comes down to it!

This is our new bed and bedding. Note the new wall color behind the bed - Daddy was smart and painted that wall before the big, heavy bed was delivered and in the way! (Ignore the curtain...leftovers from previous owner and I'm so far behind in decorating that I haven't replaced them!)

Drew enjoying cereal, milk and Saturday morning cartoons in "Daddy's Bed"

Updated - Photos and New Stories of Drew!

Lunch at Nana's


Playing trains at Nana's...always with the sunglasses...

Drew is currently asking questions and then answering them in the affirmative for himself. For example, I hear (daily) "Go to Nana's house? Ok!" The other day we pulled into a shopping center for Patrick to pick something up at a golf store (which happens to be next to a Hobby Town that Drew has visited once) and as soon as we pulled into a parking spot Drew said "Go see trains? Choo choo! Ok!" How do you deny a kid after that?

Thomas the Tank Engine has become firmly embedded in our lives, even though we had hopped it would be a while before it took hold. Drew will stand and play for hours - at Nana's he has a nice train table but at our house it's just on the coffee table in the playroom. He doesn't seem to mind! No matter how big you build the track and how intricate you make it, he will always ask for "mo' crack" - which luckily does mean "track"! His favorite train is Gordon, followed closely by Toby and he has to say goodnight to his trains at home every night before bed (currently that's just Gordon, Thomas and Percy...I don't know how long it will take when he has more!)

Baby Brother Update

Well...baby brother is still very big. We went for an ultrasound and check up today and he is measuring at 5 lb 11 oz (up from 4 lb 5 oz 2 weeks ago) and a little over 35 weeks. I am 32 weeks so we're still ahead of schedule. My doctor is hesitant to officially move my due date, but she has requested another ultrasound in 2 weeks to measure my fluid levels and 3 weeks to chart growth. Today my fluid was the same as last time so it did not increase which is positive. However, it did not decrease so we will continue to monitor and I get to continue being uncomfortable. Luckily I still have not swelled which is amazing in this heat! We got a couple of photos today but they aren't really good as his forehead was smashed against the placenta and he looks really odd!

I have some cute new photos of Drew I will get posted in the next day or so...check back!

Update on Grandaddy

Grandaddy had his heart cath today and all looks good for a 58-year old. He has two minor blockages along some branches but nothing in the main arteries or veins. He does need to lower his cholesterol to reduce the plaque buildup in the heart but the muscle itself looks great. They are going to work on controlling the missed beats with lifestyle changes (read: reduced stress, increased rest) and that along with the cholesterol reducing activities (diet, exercise, medication) should help matters. As for the bigger problem of the heart stopping on Saturday, they believe it is related to his propensity to pass out when needles are headed for him and that if he is not doing it at other times then a pacemaker is not needed. At this point he has had 4 different cardiologists look over his chart, including an electrophysiologist, so we think they are being thorough enough. He will stay in the hospital tonight and will hopefully be discharged tomorrow!