Tubes for Drew

On the 16th of August we took Drew to St. Francis to have tubes put in his ears.  His right ear has always looked great, but his left ear has been full of fluid for months now.  Funny thing about Drew is that he is a doctor's dream.  Seriously, he does what they say, he doesn't cry or fight the dr. at all!  Sam spent the night with his grandparents since we had to show up at the hospital at 6:30 am to register. After registration, they took us back to meet the nurses and the anesthesiologist that would be taking care of Drew.  Finally around 7:30, Dr. Gibbons arrived and the nurse held her arms out and Drew went right to her.  We waited for him about 30 min. or so and then the Dr. came out to let us know that everything went great and we just had to wait for him to wake up.  About 5 min. later, the nurse came to let us know we could go back and get our little guy.  Drew was snuggled up with a nurse and ready to see his mom!  They let us know that he did great and never cried.  We ended the morning with taking him to McDonalds to get pancakes.  The funny part about the day was that they told us he would be sleepy the rest of the morning, so just go home and let him rest.  Well, not Drew.  After breakfast, we went home and he was ready to go.  I made him sit on the couch for a little while, but he finally looked at me and said he wanted to ride his bike!  That's our Drew, always ready for fun!

Another week of swim lessons and both boys are still doing great.  Sam is learning freestyle, the backstroke and "pillow".  He has no fear of the water, never really has and is so obedient to his teacher.  Drew is also doing great.  He still hasn't shed the first tear and is willing to do whatever his teacher asks of him.  He is learning to float on his back, get to the wall and flip from his stomach to his back.

I can't believe that it's august 1st.  Soon we are going to be sending Sam off to pre-school for the first time.  I'm really excited for him and know that he is going to love it, but I have to say it's hard to see him growing up.  Just this week, he went to the movies with Lydia and it made me kind of sad to see him drive off.  He loves working on crafts, he is awesome at coloring and can still throw a ball with serious speed and accuracy!  If you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he will tell you a soccer player or a weather man.  He loves to look outside and predict if it's going to rain or not.

Drew is still the most active of the two boys.  He is always on the move.  I have quickly learned that he needs to get outside or go somewhere that he can run and burn energy.  He is going through a phase right now that he asks to be a baby and loves me to wrap him up in a blanket and hold him.  He really is a momma's boy, but I would never complain about that.  A lot of times, he will look at us and say, "i wanna tell you sumtim" When we say what, he says "om, om, om" and then makes up something.  He loves talking and has a great vocabulary.  His first prayer a few months ago was, "God, cake, amen!" He almost always volunteers to pray before each meal.  Another funny Drew story, one day he said to me that he wanted "sicken" (chicken) and then said "uh, achually, cake"  That boy loves his cake!  Drew is still napping once a day and some days will ask to go to bed.

Well, it's time to get ready for swim lessons!

I'm alive!

Nice, a year has almost passed without an entry!  I'm great at this.  ;)  I want to blog so badly.   I want to remember the funny, crazy things that happen during our day, but then I forget to do it and a year passes!  So, I'm going to try this again.  Who knows, maybe it will stick this time.

July is here, it's hot and humid!  Not really a surprise for a summer in Richmond.  Zac is in WV for Stony Point's yearly mission trip to help out the people of Fairmont.  I'm home with the little guys and trying to keep busy.  We actually started swim lessons yesterday.  This is Sam's third year doing lessons.  He did a great job.  He is really comfortable in the water and is learning different swim strokes this time around.  Yesterday, he jumped off the diving board and learned scooper arms.   Drew is doing lessons for the first time.  I wasn't sure how he would do with me dropping him off with a stranger yesterday, but he took his teacher's hand and never looked back.  He is really comfortable in the water (we go to the pool a lot) and learned to blow bubbles, humpty dumpty and was floating on his back.  When I went back after his 30 min. lesson, his teacher told me that he is the first 2 year old she has had that didn't cry!  I was so proud of him.  He is a little bit of a momma's boy these days and likes to keep me close by.  So, there we are, a little bit of an update.  I should be back!! :)

Yesterday Z took the youth group to VA Beach. He usually does this once a month during the summer and this year, Sam has been able to go along with him. He has the best time with the "youf group". Digging in the sand, playing in the waves with daddy and special treats make for a great day. Since Sam is with Zac all day, that gives me the chance to have some quality time with Drew. It's amazing how quiet it is when you are down a kid! :) Well, today it was back to normal, mom, sam and drew. After naptime, we headed to the grocery store. Not my favorite thing to do with both boys, but the carts that have the car in the front definately make it doable! After parking the van, I opened both doors and then went around to get Sam out first, then we walked back around to grab Drew. Well, in typical Drew fashion, one shoe was gone, and I couldn't find it anywhere. While I was searching IN the car, I heard Sam say, "mommy look" and he was pointing underneath the car next to us...guess what he found????? Drew's shoe. Someone he managed to take it off and throw it underneath the car beside us while I was getting Sam out of the car. I'm just glad that Sam was there to find it! Well, Z has taken the boys to Target and I am going to have some quiet time! :)

Drew - 18 months

I can't believe my baby is 18 months old. It's true that time flies by! There are so many things I could say about Drew. He is one determined (willful) sweet, lovable little boy. He is funny too. Today, I heard him laughing and I turned around to see him pointing at his toy Elmo. He was laughing because he had put his paci in Elmo's mouth and thought it was so funny...and it really was. He is still lacking in the teeth department. He has two upper molars and his 4 front teeth. Not sure what is taking them so long to come out. He does talk all the time though. He will carry on a whole conversation with me or pretend he is talking on the phone. It's so funny to listen to him. He also says lots of stuff that I can understand...thank you, bye bye, mama, dada, truck, love you, ball and really lots of other stuff. One of the things I love the most about Drew is how much he loves to love on people. He will gladly give me hugs and kisses and loves to be close to Sam and hug on him too. This past week, I picked up Drew from the nursery and the nursery worker told me that Drew gave him two unprompted hugs. He is also my daredevil...always looking for something to climb. He is not afraid of anything. The big slide at the park, the diving board at the pool, it just doesn't phase him. I'm looking forward to seeing more of his silly, fun, lovable personality develop but there are times I wish I could stop time and keep them my little babies forever! I love you Drew!

Making Money

Earlier this afternoon, Zac told Sam he would give him a quarter for every stick he picked up in the front yard. I looked at Z like he was crazy!!! I was thinking maybe a penny, but def. not a quarter!! Well, Sam worked hard and ended up with 100 sticks. Haha, I think I was right in this little matter, Z probably did too after he paid Sam $25.00. :)

Two Things

Today, while trying to get everything ready to go swimming, I overheard Sam tell Drew, "Drew, mommy can't do everything at once." I think he may have heard that a time or two! ;)

Later in the car, Sam told me that his dream was to fly. He said it out of the blue and so matter of factly...I love that little boy!

Drew

I wanted to do seperate posts on the boys, just so I could write down what they are doing at this point in their lives. I'm starting with Drew because he just turned 15 months old. He is such a happy, loving, energetic, strong willed boy. I think he is the one that I will say one day, it's a good thing I didn't have Drew first or I might not have had any other children. It's not that he is bad or mean spirited, he is just all boy. But no matter how busy he is, he is always willing to stop and give me hugs and kisses! He has a beautiful smile that literally lights up a room. At 15 months, he is:

walking/running all over the place, he has been walking since 12 months

He says, thank you, mama, dada, bye bye, barks when he sees dogs, uh oh, and i'm sure there are some words i am missing.

He signs, please, thank you, all done, eat, more

He is my climber!! On Monday, he climbed on our kitchen table. He can even climb up on our bed. He loves the park and the slides and swinging. He really has no fear. Drew loves his big brother. Every morning he is so excited to see him and hug on him. I have really enjoyed seeing his relationship with Sam grow. They have their moments, but the good one's definantly outweigh the bad ones.

He still just has 3 teeth, although, another top tooth poked through the other day. Seriously, where are his teeth? ;)

I can't believe how blessed I am to have this little guy in my life. I can't imagine a day without him!

I wanted to post a few pics of the special Mother's Day presents that I received this year.

Zac took Sam to Home Depot on Saturday morning and this is the project that they worked on. Sam chose Sweet Peas to plant for his mommy!

A special card and book mark

Me and my boys! This was taken after church and lunch. Needless to say, we had two tired boys that were not in the mood for pictures!

Mother's Day

Sunday was my third Mother's Day and as usual it was very special. I told Sam that the best Mother's Day gift is that I get to be his and Drew's mommy. I really am blessed in so many ways and so thankful for my little guys!! My morning started off great because Z didn't have to be at church for the early service. He took Drew and went to Hardee's to get me a biscuit. It doesn't take much to make me happy. When I came downstairs, Sam couldn't wait to give me his card. He told me Happy Mudder's day many times!!! :) After getting ready, we headed to church and then to eat with Z's family. Z let me rest most of the afternoon and we finished the day off with yogurt from Sweet Frog. Yum!

All in all, it was another wonderful Mother's Day and I am so thankful for the 2 little reasons I get to celebrate this day.

Cute!

Sam asks me all the time if I like snakes, bears, lions, tigers, etc... I tell him that I like those animals but I don't want to be close to one. They are okay to look at from a distance. Today after the same questions from Sam and the same answer from me, Sam told me this...

"Mommy if you don't like lions and bears, i will fight them before they get you."

Love that boy!!!!

Took the boys to Monkey Joe's today to bounce around for a little while. We met up with Sara and Laurie and their kids. They had such a good time and hopefully burned a lot of energy. Drew seemed a little off, just wanted me to hold him, I hope he is not getting sick!

We have had a good week. MOPS on monday and then I had a girl's night out that night at a friend's house. Then Tuesday and Wednesday, we hung around the house all day and of course church Wed. night. Hopefully Z will take tomorrow off and we can get in some family time!

Nice day, Z was off work, so he took Sam with him to run errands. I took Drew to the Dr. this morning to have his ears checked again. Thankfully everything looks great, so no tubes! We had a nice evening, dinner at Champ's and a little shopping. On the way home, Drew was crying (it was bedtime), the next thing we hear is Sam using his baby voice say to Drew, "it's okay, we are going to get a bunk bed one day." Oh my gosh, that child is so sweet!!

Another Thursday, another playdate. We went to Robious Landing park today. As usual, we were pretty much the only people there, which is why this park is so great. The girls can actually sit down and talk and the kids run around and play. It was a little on the cold side, so we ended the time together with lunch at Alyssa's.

Longing for Spring

Today was such a beautiful day, so we decided to spend a good portion of it outside. Sam has been asking to play baseball lately, so we did that for a little while. Drew sat in the wagon and watched. He actually sat still!!! Then we took a walk with the wagon. I also raked the leaves in our front yard. There weren't that many, but it looked so much better after a little clean up! After lunch and naps we decided to go back out to play. I let Sam run into the woods a little ways by himself. This was quite fun for the little guy. We also spent some time talking with our neighbors. Sam informed them that we saw "a huge hawk in the tree, a HUGE one". Here are few picture from our morning. Please excuse Sam's hair, he needs a haircut desperately!!!




Drew loves his dog!


Drew is constantly getting in trouble for going to our tv. This is the face I get when I tell him NO NO!!! Seriously, this child is going to be the end of me. :)



Rocking together!

Play Dates

Thursdays are always special days. For a while now, we have been meeting a couple of friends for a playdate every Thursday morning. We usually go to the park or someone's house. Every now and then if the weather is bad and everyone feels the need to get out of their house, we go to the mall. I have a hard time with the playground at the mall, but honestly some days you just have to grin and bear it. Today was a park day. The kids played and then we went on a nature walk. Sam kept asking me, "mommy, is that nature?" We walked down by the river and through the woods. We ended the morning by having a picnic lunch. Now both boys are down for a nap!!! Time for mommy to have a little rest! :)

Good Morning

Almost every morning, Sam wakes up between 7-7:30. I'm so thankful that he sleeps until that time, I hear some of my friends talk about the terribly early hour their children get out of bed in the mornings!
Ever since we changed Sam over to a "big boy" bed, he likes to get out of bed in the morning, throw his door open, shut it, and then run into our room and climb into bed. I don't mind this at all, it's nice to snuggle up with him for a few minutes. Lately, he has added to his morning routine. He still likes to throw open his door and close it back, but now he brings stuff with him. He brings his pillow, his bear and his doggy. It is quite cute to see him walk in with his hands full of his "stuff". I know I'm going to miss this one day, there is nothing quite like having your baby want to cuddle with you!

It's a new day...

I really need to start writing about my boys, Sam and Drew. They are fun, sweet, and loving. Oh ya, they are also whiny, selfish and always on the move. But I love every minute of my time with them. A little background. Sam was born on October 25, 2007. Zac and I had been married for a little over seven years at this point and were more than ready to add to our family. He has been such a sweet little guy and makes us laugh every day! Always a little cautious when he enters a new situation, but quick to warm up and talk your ears off. Every day Sam looks at me and says, "mommy, I love you, You're my girlfriend" Let's just say, that melts my heart!! After 2 1/2 years with just Sam to take all our attention, Drew was born. February 4, 2010 changed us from a family of 3 to a family of 4. It was a good change, but a hard one. Drew is a happy, busy boy...now! The first three months were a little rough, he would have a crying spell every evening, and nothing would help, but then at 3 months it just stopped. He still has his moments and seems to be our willful child, but his smile makes it all worth it. He is quick to snuggle and then be on his way. I could never have imagined how great life would be with my little guys. Every day is something different, something funny said, a new trick, a lesson learned. And now, I hope to keep a journal of it here.