7 months old!

It's a good day! Today Drew-Drew is 7 months old (and it's Aunt Lynda's birthday too - so Happy Birthday Aunt Lynda!). Drew is sitting on his own better and better and grabbing for EVERYTHING! He is really starting to love seeing Steve too. He often just squeals whenever he gets sight of his doggy - and whenever we are outside he keeps a close eye on Steve as he roams the yard and rolls around. Drew also loves to make NOISE - he loves to bang on everything (we'll try to get some drumming video up soon - we see a rock star in the making).

A new big thing this week was the start of swimming class! He's the youngest in his class but seems to enjoy it. The teacher said that she would like him to learn how to float by the end of the month - isn't that amazing?!? As you can imagine, we have *lots* of swimming pictures (but unfortunately a lot of them turned out a bit blurry), so bear with us...

Getting ready to hit the pool

Drew patiently waits on the side of the pool until the teacher says that it is time to get in the water.

Drew with his new swimming friends. Splish-splash with the teacher!

Weeeeeeeeeeeee! Drew is getting the hang of this floating thing. The teacher wants him to learn how to flip from his stomach to his back in the water.

"Look at me, Mommy!!!"

Another goal is for Drew to be able to find and reach for the edge of the pool. He's catching on fast, huh?"I love swimming... when is my next class?! "

After class, Drew decided to show off his "plumber" look.

Drew's first "vacation"

...away from Mommy and Daddy that is! Brad and I went to Asheville for 2 nights this weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. I think Drew handled it much better than we did. =) His Meema, Uncle Denny and Aunt Lynda (and puppy-cousin Ace) came and stayed with him and Steve while we were away. From the stories and pictures, I know that he had a great time being the center of attention all weekend. We had a great weekend away and anniversary too.

"Look at all of these grown-ups rolling around on the floor with me! Boy, I've got them trained already!"

This is Drew's favorite place these days. He will stay in the swing for over an hour just as happy as he can be. Uncle Paul made us this swing for Christmas - Uncle Paul... you've done well! =)

Drew went in for his 6-month check-up at the doctor's office last week. He braved his shots like a big boy. He weighed in at 23 pounds, 1 ounce and was 29 1/4 inches tall - which continues to put him above the 97th percentile in both areas for his age. He is now sitting up all alone - and can do it for about 30 seconds sometimes before he topples over.

Yeehaw!

Saddle up buckaroos - summer is almost here!

Happy boy

Hello everyone! Let's see what is new this week... Drew's Nana, Aunt Sistah and Camden came up last weekend but unfortunately Drew was sick with whatever keeps being passed back and forth between everyone in our family. In fact, my first Mother's Day involved a bright and early trip to the doctor's office with bloodwork being taken and everything. Thankfully, everything turned out OK and he is feeling much better now. Drew still enjoyed seeing everyone last weekend though and he said to tell yall to come back now that he feels more like playing! As promised, Drew did start eating meat this week though he is not too big a fan (I can't blame him - that stuff smells like cat food!). He loves all of his fruits the most, of course. Still trying to crawl without success and still no teeth. He has really started banging things to make noise - unfortunately sometimes banging himself in the process, but he takes that in stride. His smile just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and we literally fall more and more in love with him each day that passes. He is such a joy!

Here are some recent pictures:

Drew got some good love and attention from Aunt Sistah and Camden (and Nana!) last weekend

"You've got to check out this bunny guy, man is he funny!"

6 months old!

Drew is halfway through a year today - where has time gone?!?! He is now eating breakfast as well as dinner. He *loves* the new addition of bananas, and meat will probably be introduced this week. I know I will probably regret saying this, but he has been sleeping about 11 hours a night for the past couple of weeks (we're just getting ready for teeth to cut and throw that off - it's just too good to be true right now!). He wants to crawl very badly (especially when tempted with certain favorite toys as you will see in the video clips below), but can't quite get his knees up under himself yet. Now he looks like a fish out of water- flopping around. Of course, we get a kick out of that! He has started babbling a good bit, which the speech therapist in me loves to hear the little language areas kicking in to produce those sweet "ba-ba-ba-ba" and "ma-ma-ma-ma" sounds!

Drew helps Mommy vacuum:
Here is our other boy... looking all sweet with his bone.























And here are a couple of video clips of Drew trying his best to crawl to his bunny. He's getting so close! (Press the play button to see the videos)

Drew's first music festival

Merlefest was this weekend here in NC. Drew's Meema, Uncle Denny & Aunt Lynda came down for it and Drew went to the festival today with us. He loved looking at everything and everyone there (I have to say everyone loved looking at him too, but I *am* pretty biased!). I'd say that he really likes bluegrass - he kicked his feet a lot to the music! Not one tear was shed or fuss was made the whole time there, he loved it! Here are some pictures from the day:

Drew takes in the sights at the festival with Mommy.

Drew's first full "concert" was Shana Banana at the Little Pickers tent. I'm sure he will be embarrassed by this one day, but he enjoyed it today. =)

Of course, Drew had to wear his tie-dye!

Here are some of Drew's favorite people:

He even got to meet Jerry Douglas after his set!!! He said to Drew, "Good luck in life, little buddy."

Whew! Merlefest can sure wear a baby out!

And finally here is Mommy's new favorite picture of Drew:

YAY MERLEFEST! I'M READY FOR MY NEXT SHOW!

Tickle, tickle

Drew has had a good week. He is still extremely interested in his feet and rolling all the time. His newest thing is that he has become ticklish, and he just laughs and laughs at you. We really are so lucky to have such a happy baby! Also, he really seems to pay attention when I read to him now - a lot of times he just stares and smiles at me when I read. His favorite book now is one his cousin Ellen and family gave him - Barnyard Dance. =) He loves it!

And, of course, some new pictures:

Drew pleasing Daddy in his Tarheel gear.

And here is proof that Drew no longer needs us to give him his bottle (how sad!!!), though Mommy will continue to hold that little one in her arms as long as possible!

Our little giant

It's official. Drew now comfortably fits into *12 month clothes*!!! Yikes. He's only 7 months off there!

And he's going to keep getting bigger because he's eating his veggies (or at least sometimes he actually gets it in his mouth!). He is funny because he will take his thumb out of his mouth just long enough for you to put another spoonful in, then he "pushes" it in with his thumb - every bite is like that!

Sara took this picture of us last weekend - I love it!

Also, he has a new favorite "toy"...

His feet are the newest hit around here! =)

5 months old!

Time is going by so fast - our baby is already 5 months old!!! He is eating more and more solid food now. I've got to get a video of him eating squash for yall - he is definitely not a fan. Is it bad that I get such entertainment from his dislike of a vegetable?!? =) His expression is just priceless. Also, Brad walked into Drew giving himself a bottle at daycare this week. I can't believe our baby can feed himself now!

Party!

Drew is doing well - sleeping now so I have a chance to update his blog. He had a great weekend. We went down to his Meema's house to help celebrate Great-Grandpa Black's 94th birthday. He didn't get to ride the 4-wheeler with Great-Grandpa this time - but he definitely wants to the next time he is down there (he did wear his John Deere shirt for him though!)
Drew with Great-Grandma










Great-Grandpa and Drew










Four generations on the Black family tree

And here are some bonus pictures from this week that I thought were cute. Aunt Jenn sent Drew this Clemson outfit. Drew is so confused - he doesn't know if he is a Tiger, Demon Deacon, Blue Devil or Tarheel... either way - he looks ready to tailgate to me!

I think that his little hands in this picture are so sweet.

Happy Easter everybody!!!

Meema is funny

Drew has been battling a bit of a stomach bug this past week or so... but despite that he is just as happy as he can be (most of the time!). Drew has had a few "firsts" this week when he has been home with his Meema. On Monday, he laughed out loud several times at her and on Tuesday he figured out how to roll from his stomach to back! Also, a big change for him is that he now *loves* tummy time - he can hold his head up for so long now!!

Here are some new pictures:

Rock on!!!

This one is for Flave - Go Panthers!

Living the high life...

No pictures to share, but it was a fun night for Drew. We signed up for an infant massage class at the hospital; however, no one else signed up for this month's class so it was cancelled. So instead, the instructor called and said that she would be willing to come to our house to do a one-on-one session! It was such a nice offer and tonight was the night. Drew had a personal in-house masseuse tonight! He loved it - he talked and smiled the whole "class". Hopefully it will make for an even better night-night time and some good bonding time too! I love that little boy - yes, even during his 11, 1, 3 and 5am wake-up calls. =)

4 months!

Drew had his 4 month appointment today. He is now 28" long and 19 pounds, 5 ounces. He continues to fall in >97th percentile for height, weight and head diameter. In the words of Dr. Kribbs (yes, that is *really* the name of his pediatrician), "I think yall are going to have a tall boy on your hands".

This has been another big week for Drew, as you can see from the pictures below. First of all, he has all of a sudden mastered reaching and grabbing. He's really starting to build up some hand-eye coordination and it's so fun to watch. Of course, anything that he grabs goes straight to his mouth. Another first was he finally was given the OK to start cereal! Yay for solids! Drew make take a while to warm up to the concept, but hopefully it will keep that belly filled up for longer periods of time.

So, here are some new pics:

Mommy's handsome boys (Drew is in his outfit for his school pictures - soooo cute!)

First time in a high chair

Reaching for things

Drew got some good Meema Carolyn time this weekend while Daddy was out of town. Meema couldn't move in this picture

And finally... Drew's first go at solids. He wasn't quite sure what to think.

Raspberries and videos and such

Drew has really seemed to get some new skills this week. He now is actually *jumping* in his Jumperoo - and appears quite proud of himself when he does. He has really started reaching and grabbing for things now. And also, he has started blowing baby spit raspberries. A big week!

Also, I finally learned how to hook the video camera up to be able to put some videos on here! I have quite a few to share.

Here is one from bath time. He looooooooves his new tub - even though he will soon outgrow it!

And another (I love the bath ones):