It's almost vacation!

I think we're way overdue for a vacation. Other than a weekend trip to Amarillo, we've had our noses to the grindstone since Christmas. So, rather than taking one trip, we're taking three! Hooray! This weekend, we're heading to Fort Smith, Arkansas to celebrate John's Grandmother's 90th birthday party. There is a barbecue tonight for the family, then a big dinner and party tomorrow night. In between, I know John's parents have lots of activities planned for us (ok, maybe more for Drew than for us). I hear there may be swimming in the pool and riding the train at the park.

Then, my parents are coming to pick up Drew to take him to Amarillo for the next couple of weeks. Why? John and I are taking a parents-only vacation next week. Yay! I haven't been away from sweet Drew for even one night since he was born (not because I'm afraid of it, but because we don't have any family nearby to keep him). I'm sure it will be difficult to be away from him, but we are really looking forward to having some time to rest and relax. John is taking a medical board exam in Philadelphia next Thursday (so say a prayer for him). We'll be in Philly for a couple of days, then we're taking the train to New York City for a few days. Neither of us have ever been there before, so we are excited! Of course as soon as we get home, we'll hit the road for Amarillo. We'll spend a couple of days there visiting before we head back home with Drew.

Once all of our travels are over (yes, that's 5 states in 2 weeks), I will have some major blogging to do. Until then, wish us safe travels!

It's a Tooth!

Drew is now going on 10 months old. Since he was 4 months, we've thought he was teething several times, either because he was waking up in the night more often or drooling like Niagra Falls. Each time, nothing materialized in the tooth department. However, on Monday night Drew was up many times. He's a great sleeper and usually doesn't make a peep between bedtime at 9:30 and between 7 and 7:30. He was up Monday night several times and was wailing rather than just fussing. My mommy intuition knew something was up. My guesses were a tooth or another ear infection. Sure enough, I checked in his mouth on Tuesday morning and there's a little white bump coming through the gum. It took a couple of days to completely break the skin, but my little man has officially started teething. Hopefully the rest will come in smoothly and without major upset, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Recent Pictures

Things are good here. Below are some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks.

Our day lily finally bloomed and is gorgeous!

Drew playing under the coffee table.

Memorial Day

Over Memorial Day, Drew and I went to Amarillo to visit my parents and grandparents. John had a board exam on Friday and had to work Monday so he didn't get to come along. Here are some memories from our trip.

Drew with his Great Grandmom. She was singing him songs and he was just studying her face, as he does when he sees new people.

We went to visit Grandmom and Pop at The Cottages and got to see their new room. Pop was taking a nap, but Drew loved playing with Grandmom. She'd tap her fingers on the chair and Drew would just bust out giggling. It was so wonderful! Drew was a big hit at The Cottages -- all the residents loved seeing the baby. I think the're something so life-affirming about seeing a baby. You could see their eyes just light up when they saw him.

Now that Drew is pulling up, he realized that he could pull himself up and stand at the back window. Usually Gracie plants herself here for hours, looking out for squirrels. Drew had a great time leaving his little fingerprints all over the glass.

Granny and Papa drove in from Oklahoma to see Drew. Granny gave Drew a bottle, and he took a long nap in her lap.

It took Drew about 10 minutes to find every piece of furniture that he could use to pull up and cruise.

Drew with his Granddad, Great Papa, Great Granny, and Mom.

I love this picture! Drew was so content to just sit on Papa's lap and chill.

We had a great weekend, and I'm reminded how lucky we are to have such a close, loving family. I still have all four living grandparents, and I am delighted to see how excited they all are to see Drew. I'm thankful to have these great memories and the pictures so that Drew will be able to see how much they love him.

Standing Tall

Drew is now standing and "cruising," which is where he walks along holding on to something. He's been pulling himself up to standing for a few weeks now, but the pictures were living on my memory card. So, here is the photographic evidence:


He starts out on his knees, holding onto the coffee table and straightens his knees. He kind of rolls up onto his toes, then immediately looks over to make sure we are watching his great accomplishments.

Love that tongue!

Mommy and Drew time

Drew loves feeding himself. Every night he has cheerios or puffs with some yogurt drops and maybe banana or boiled carrot pieces. I love this picture -- he smiles all the time, and I'm so glad to capture my sweet little man in this picture.

I've rescued my other pictures from my memory card, so I'll post more later.