Belated "17 months" post & picture overload!

Hello to all - I am way behind on the posting... sorry for anyone waiting for updates! Drew is doing well now that we have overcome the most recent bout of double ear infections (grrrr)- come on spring weather!!! He now loooooves bubbles and "talks" about them constantly. He has really picked up on a lot of new signs lately, his comprehension of words has improved significantly and he has picked up a few new verbal words, too. Of course, you have to be around Drew to really know what he means with the words, so here is a quick cheat-sheet for anyone that hasn't been around him lately:
"Dees" = Steve
"Mama" = Mommy
"Mama" = Daddy
"Bah Bah Baaaaaaaa" = Yo Gabba Gabba
"Buhboh" = Bubbles
"Ya-Ya" = Bye-bye
"Ga ga" = jacket
"Na na" = banana
"ees" = fish

We enjoyed a very nice trip to the beach this past weekend. A big thank-you to Meema for lending us the beach condo for the weekend - the weather was beautiful and it was nice to get away for a few days. We are definitely learning the toddler-friendly places at the beach, and of course there are a lot of them. We found fun parks, playgrounds, multiple egg hunts, and nice loud restaurants that don't mind a toddler that loves to see just how loud he can yell for the fun of it. =) Here are bunches of new pictures to make up for my lack of posts recently. Enjoy!

We found that a good old phonebook comes in quite handy when you have forgotten the booster seat! Drew does not stand still for a SECOND anymore - he is constantly going and touching and climbing and pulling and... The beach!!! Drew shows Daddy a shell that he found on the beach. Drew's first Easter egg hunt was at a place in the mall called Kidz Inc. We had to show him the first egg, but he quickly caught on and became quite excited when he saw a new egg. Unfortunately, there were a lot of "big" kids at this hunt, so he only had time to find three eggs. Fortunately, he was young enough to not realize that I kept taking the eggs that he had found out of the basket when he wasn't looking, placed them back on the floor, and then pointed them out to him and he began waving his arms in excitement and put the eggs back in his basket. Pure joy! =) Drew enjoyed his first jelly bean ever from the egg before Mommy even realized he had gotten into one. I just love the look on his face in this one. I'd say he's pretty happy! Drew and Daddy share a good conversation at lunch time Best baby swing ever!!! Drew's next egg hung was at the Assembly of God church in Murrell's Inlet. It was a great program and mucho eggs were to be found by little toddlers on the hunt. Eggs! I need more eggs! This was the closest he would get to the Easter Bunny, and even here he was quite unsure and squirmy. We tried to get him to sit on the Bunny's lap at the mall - it was all fun and smiles and waves at the bunny until I tried to hand him over and Drew actually started shaking in fear. I guess that would be pretty creepy if I saw it from his eyes... Drew found the prize egg at the hunt! Hurricane Drew hit the beach while we were there. I'm one cool cat. See ya next time, beach. Ya-ya!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

"Kiss me, I'm cute"

I love the outside!

A big THANK YOU to Meema and Uncle Denny - they watched Drew a night last weekend so Brad & I could join friends in Virginia to see Phish once again. The weather was really nice last weekend, so Meema said they spent a lot of time outside and you can tell! Drew basically BEGS to go outside every day now - which was great the early part of last week, but when it got rainy and cold Drew still wanted to go outside and didn't want to take no for an answer! *sigh* Needless to say, our whole family is looking forward to the nice Spring weather to finally get here for good. Uncle Denny gives Drew his first lesson (of many, I'm sure) about trees. Drew was a bit unsteady walking on the grass, but strong, safe hands helped guide him. Here we are at Hampton once again - I would guess that this crew has seen around 300 Phish shows between us, but this was our first one all together! We had a great time! Finally, Drew now loves to push things - anything - around the house. Here he is having fun (and terrorizing Steve) with a laundry basket.

16 months!

Hello everyone! What is new in Drew's life: Drew has been dealing with a perforated eardrum this last week or so from an infection, but that seems to be healing now and it honestly hasn't seemed to bother him too much at all. We found out that he definitely has a slot in the Montessori School starting in the fall, so we are very excited about that opportunity for Drew... can't wait! His current loves: his "lawnmower" that Aunt Weegie & crew gave him for Christmas, dancing to Yo Gabba Gabba, dropping or throwing something and saying "Uh-Uh" for "Uh-oh", bubbles in his Little Gym class, and all the other usuals (his softy, waving, kisses, tickles, eating, Steve, high-5s...). He has enjoyed seeing his Nana *and* Meema in the last couple of weeks and is looking forward to Meema, Uncle Denny & Aunt Lynda visiting this weekend to give Mommy and Daddy a night away.

Drew enjoyed the final home Wake women's basketball game last weekend.
Go Deacs! And he does looooove that "lawn mower" - good job, Aunt Weegie!
He loves that Nana of his too - thanks for the haircut, Nana!

Happy Birthday Steve!

Steve is 5 today... and yesterday?! (His actual birthday is 2/29, so he gets 2 days of celebration on 3 of every 4 years). He had a good day which included hanging out with "his" baby, eating a hamburger and best of all - SNOW! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR PUP-PUP!!!!

It's coming down hard in NC tonight - and Steve loves it. You've heard of drug-sniffing dogs... we should market Steve as the "diapy"-sniffing dog - he'll never miss a dirty one. =)

15 months!

Drew went in for his 15-month check-up today and we got a great report. He remains well above the curve for growth - over the 99th percentile for height (34.5" tall), weight (32.5 pounds) and head diameter. Things Drew currently loves: Food!, doors of any type, The Wonder Pets and Yo Gabba Gabba, Steve (he is now into the terrorize Steve phase. He loves to chase Steve around, brush his hair and run up and just plop on him - good thing Steve is tolerant... or lazy!), his softy (little blanket), a couple of his "school" teachers, sitting on Mommy and Daddy's laps, taking (fill in the blank) out of (fill in the blank) and putting it back in over and over again, waving, blowing kisses, giving high 5s, riding on Mommy, being tickled, and he loves watching "big kids" play. He is a very sweet boy, still a mellow little kid, who likes to observe people and things. Now on to some pictures!

These are pictures from Drew's last day at Gymboree - we are so sad that they closed (the were "economy'd" unfortunately). He always had a good time there!
"There are 4 of me!" Drew and a friend share in the trampoline fun. "Who needs this spoon when I have HANDS for my yogurt!?!?"
Finally, here are some pictures from Brad's recent trip to Tampa for the Super Bowl.

A not-so-fun first

We got a call from day care today saying that Drew tripped over some mulch outside and busted open his lip on the sidewalk. Not really a first to celebrate but I'm pretty certain this won't be the only time to happen in his active years to come. By the way, they said he didn't even cry - just got right back up, so we've got a tough one! Here are the pictures of his poor little fat lip:

Poor Drew But don't worry everyone - I'm OK! Drew at play tonight Drew applauds his own ability to stuff the diapers back into the box This is where Steve camps as Drew eats dinner everynight - he is a smart dog and they are quite the team in their food sharing efforts Everything else is going fairly well in the Davis household. Drew likes to give high 5s and kiss his 'Ming Ming' stuffed animal. Drew is also now getting the hang of this walking thing and walks more than he crawls. Watch out everyone!

Holidays and a belated 14-month post

Hello everybody - it has been a while, but we made it through the holidays and are finally getting back into a routine again. Though trips to Henderson and Sumter were too brief, we really enjoyed Christmas with our families and also enjoyed bringing in 2009 with good friends in our home - so thank you to everyone!

Drew is doing well. He is starting to adjust better to the toddler room at day care (as are we). Last week we learned that 3 molars were all busting through at the same time - it was hard to go back to not sleeping again... our little boy who usually sleeps soundly for 12 hours a night reverted back to the demands of a 4-week-old again it seemed, and Mommy and Daddy weren't quite ready for that. But, we made it through one more hurdle and he is feeling much better now, which makes us feel much better. (10 teeth down, 10 more to go...) Drew had another swallowing test done yesterday - we still have to thicken his liquids, but they don't have to be thickened as much and we are slowing starting to safely wean him off of that stuff. We are ready to be done with the cursed thickener!!! Oh yeah, and Drew's newest "thing" is blowing kisses, and he does love to flirt when we are out. It is so cute!

Now on to some pictures from over the holidays:

Drew goes to his first Christmas parade in Lewisville with Mommy Drew models the Panthers jersey that "Uncle" Flave gave him for Christmas Look what Santa brought Drew! DAVIS FAMILY CHRISTMAS
He is such a Daddy's boy now: Drew chimes in for the first time for the "Happy Birthday Jesus" chorus. Uncle Hillman fills Drew in on the past 50 years of UNC sports history. BLACK FAMILY CHRISTMAS
Drew plays with Nicholas (Sammy & Elena's son) in Meema's camp: A comparison shot with Meema and cousin MiMi: Christmas '07 and Christmas '08 - they have grown so much! I love this one because he looks so mischevious!

Shhhhhhh!

Shhhh - don't tell Mommy, but I know where the pots & pans are! I'm going to quietly pull them out... *clang* *bang* Look how shiney! I love this noise, I just can't help myself! BUSTED by Mommy!!! How did she know?!? Mommy, I'll share! You make noise, too!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Always quite the undertaking...

Here were some close seconds as we tried to get "the" shot for this year:
Steve gets so serious when a flashy Christmas tree is put on his head and he gets to wear his "Elves Gone Wild" t-shirt! Drew and Mommy!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

13 months!

Sorry the updates have been scarse lately. Drew is sick now - double ear infections, respiratory infection, fever, eye infections - pretty much you name it, he has it. We've started him on some heavy antibiotics and breathing treatments though, so hopefully it will knock this thing out fast. Poor little fella! But besides that yucky stuff, we had a nice Thanksgiving and Drew got to see both sides of his family. His Nana even gave him his first haircut on Thanksgiving, so that was very special. It made him look like more of a little boy and less like a baby - but it is very cute. They tell us that Drew is walking a good bit at day care - they said even "down the hall"; however, carrying is Drew's primary choice (and he knows that we will do it!) so he walks a few steps at a time with us. Here are just some "catch-me-up" pics from the last few weeks. I will try to get some hair cut pics up as soon as we get them (taken on another camera), and be on the lookout for the 2008 Christmas cards - soon in mailboxes near you. =)

This one was taken at a Wake Forest basketball game when Drew was about 3 weeks old. This one was taken almost exactly one year later, again at a Wake game. Go Deacs! Daddy and Drew playing at "Leaps and Bounce" at the beach. It's been a rough night... Finally, here is video of Drew's first "ride" with Mommy. (Notice he holds his hands up in true roller coaster fashion!)