Our mass-less inchworm

Let me explain...

Mass-less. A few people knew that after Drew's swallowing study, the Radiologist reported he may have a mass or lesion in his pyriform sinuses (pockets down in the bottom of his throat), and we were sent to an ENT last week. Of course, those words made us worry so we were very anxious about this appointment. Our big boy braved being scoped (and Mommy & Daddy braved watching him - actually Brad held him during it) and besides a little evidence of reflux, the doctor thankfully thought that everything looked OK. So, everyone is in agreement that they think Drew should outgrow this trouble swallowing by the time he is 18-24 months old. That may be a long time, but we can handle that in light of something that could have been much worse. So thank you for everyone's thoughts and prayers during all of this!

Now, for the inchworm part. Drew started crawling this week! But, he hasn't yet figured out the typical crawling method. Instead he puts both feet under him, pushes his bottom up in the air and then falls forward. It definitely gets him from point A to point B, and he is getting faster everyday. He already loves to get to things that he seems to know he shouldn't be getting into, so we have to keep an even closer watch on him now. Here he is getting into Daddy's stereo (out of all of the colorful toys that sing and move, he is just drawn to these black knobs!):

In other news, Drew's second tooth has come in down on the bottom beside his first. You can kind of see his new teeth in this picture:

Drew's "Aunt" Jenn came to visit him recently. He hopes she comes back soon!

Our computer has been down since last week, so I have a lot of catching up to do with pictures. Drew enjoyed going to the park last weekend - he loved the swing!

Our little engineer tries to figure out just how this swing works.

Weeeeeeeeeee!
One of my favorite things to do on the weekend (it is sad that he will soon be too big to take naps on me!):

Drew and his best friend:

And yes, baby, it does...

Sleepovers, drumming, honey and teeth

Whew, what a busy week. Let's start with what Drew is doing new... He pushes around in complete circles constantly on the floor (always counter-clockwise), but still no crawling. This morning, we noticed that a little bottom tooth is starting to break through! So those cute little gummy grins are soon going to be replaced with some pearly whites. =) Also, we had to go to Brenner Children's Hospital this week. Our pediatrician was concerned that Drew might be aspirating a bit when he is swallowing, so she wanted him to have a swallowing test there. (Ironically enough, yes, this kind of test *is* what I do for a living... but it is much different on babies instead of adults - and especially on your own baby!). It turns out that some of what Drew has been taking by bottle is, in fact, going into his lungs. So we now have to thicken all of his bottles to a honey consistency. All of these colds that I was blaming daycare for may have been caused by this, so hopefully now that we've figured out a cause they will be a thing of the past. He doesn't seem to mind it - still eating like a champ - and they say that he will likely soon outgrow it. Also, Drew has really started to enjoy "drumming" now, especially with our pots and spoons! He thinks it is so funny. Here are some drumming pics:

Last weekend Drew had his first sleepover with his girl, Miss Scarlett. Scarlett is the baby of a friend of mine from work, and she was born a week before Drew. She and Drew did so well together - they kept pretty much the same schedule and both slept very well (separate cribs, mind you!) Here are some pictures from his PJ party:

Drew and I taught Scarlett what the drums were all about.

They both slept so well all night - what little angels!

Mommies and babies

And, Drew decided today to type his own message to all of you as he was sitting on my lap at the computer:

rf v , bo y bvyhhhhhhb h gvb iu

Love, Drew

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! =)