A beatin'

Well, we are all taking a beatin' this week! After overcoming the typical winter cold earlier this month, we were hit with the stomach virus this weekend. Yuck. There is nothing sadder than a little toddler who won't eat...can't sleep...and is found immersed in his own vomit. Poor baby! To top it all off, I had surgery on my leg last Thursday (melanoma, again!) and have been stumbling around in serious pain. Being pregnant, I opted not to have any sedatives during the surgery and have not taken any pain meds since. No, tylenol is definitely NOT a pain medicine, but it is permitted. Needless to say, it is nice to live near "grandma" (my own mommy!) during times like these. Ironically, she was supposed to be in Florida this past week; however, due to my dad's cold they cancelled their trip. Everything happens for a reason I guess. Still trying to figure out why we got this virus....?!?

The Latest

Drew is finally repeating words and making great strides in his language development. He has quite a vocabulary now: socks, dada, touchdown, sky, sues (for shoes), night-night, hi, bye, wawa (for water), hot, (out)side, doggy, woof, meow, baaa, vroom. Not bad. Please note, there is one very important word missing: Mama! He used to say mama, but it has escaped his tongue. I'm convinced he thinks I'm dada too. Not that he doesn't adore his dad, but he is always saying "dada" even if someone says, "Where's Mommy?" Ok, maybe I use this explanation to console myself, but considering the time we spend together...it doesn't make sense. I'm thrilled that he is making an effort to repeat more. He is really trying! And even more exciting is that he actually understands and uses these words appropriately. Just yesterday when we upstairs for a nap, he entered his room, grabbed the bars of the crib, and said "Night, night." So cute. And he MUST say hi and bye to every random person everywhere we go. He'll repeat it until he has their attention - quite the little ham.

Drew is also taking swim classes with Daddy and progress is being made! He no longer gets upset when his face is immersed in water (or if it's poured over his head). This makes swim lessons more fun as well as bathtime. Daddy is patient with Drew and handles all the water experiences. I hope he'll be ready for the ocean this summer!

With baby # 2 on the way, I'm trying to get Drew to be more "independent." Now he has his own lunch box, which HE carries, that we bring to our lunch dates. He is seldom carried, but walks next to me while holding my hand. He even does the stairs (up AND down) on his own. He's trying to master the art of the spoon, but we've got some work to do there. All-in-all he is making serious strides...which will be helpful come June when mommy has to divide her attention among two!

The next Beckham-Jordan-Brady(Go Pats!)

Ok, who doesn't want to see their little boy succeed in sports? Drew, at the ripe age of 17 months, is an athlete in training. He has recently learned to throw down a football, raise his arms, and shout "touchdown!" This is most adorable! Now, with his little tikes basketball net, he can even slam-dunk a basketball! He's had a soccer ball for quite sometime and inconsistantly grasps the concept of kicking the ball - rather than throwing it. Not bad for a toddler, eh? I'm sure if daddy has his way, Drew will be the next Tiger Woods. I'm still convinced he'll be a musician or an artist (got his daddy's genes), but as long as it's not a dangerous sport I'll be ok. I just want him to have fun and be happy!

Holidaze....

Christmas and New Year's have come and gone...and a big blur is left behind. It was definitely a fun holiday! I love being with our family, watching Drew follow older cousins, and seeing him enjoy all his presents. Our living room looks like a tornado hit a toy shop, but he loves it.




We hosted our second parent-babe new year's eve party. There were a few toddlers - three slept here til midnight. Drew loved the playtime!






And of course, the adults enjoyed hanging out, playing games, and watching the ball drop in NYC! A little champagne...sparkling cider for some of us...closed the party.