Happy Halloween!

For Halloween today, Drew went to the first half of the Wake/Miami football game. Luckily for all of us, we didn't get rained on and Wake outplayed and outscored Miami (however, unfortunately for Wake, in the second half it poured and Miami then outscored them for the "W"). Drew did excellent at the game. He loves football, the people and the band. We then came back home, put on Drew's costume and hit the streets for some trick-or-treating. Drew quickly became a pro at ringing doorbells and holding out his bucket for candy. While he still doesn't really eat candy, he knew that was *his* bucket and *his* stuff he was collecting - he was very protective of that bucket... he even carried it up to his room when he went to bed. We also answered the door for a while - he loved the babies and whimpered with the "Scream" masks which seemed really popular this year still. Can you blame him - they are scary! Happy Halloween to everyone!

Now, introducing... ELVIS! Meema and Drew wait for the trick-or-treaters to ring the doorbell Daddy and Elvis walk the neighborhood streets in search of chocolate He caught right on to the whole doorbell thing. In fact, I really think that was his favorite part of the evening! Don't even think about messing with my bucket!

Just some little updates

Drew has seemed to recently hit a language spurt and it is so much fun to hear what he is talking about. He really talks a lot now... continues to love to greet and say "bye-bye" to any and all objects - living or not. (For example "hey gas station, hey, hey, *then we drive by it* bye-bye gas, bye-bye" He does this with everything!). He has started talking more about colors and shapes (purple and yellow appear to be his favorite actually - a future Pirate perhaps?) Anywhere he goes he likes to name things and make sure we repeat them. Some of his favorite new characters are "Burp and Nonny" (Burt and Ernie). Also, anytime we drive by anywhere we have EVER eaten before he pronounces "I EAT! I EAT!" And of course, when we leave a restaurant he says - you guessed it "bye eat!".

Drew learned a wonderful new habit of sticking food up his nose at Meema's this week (half of a thin baby carrot that was way up there), and unfortunately got the reaction that he wanted from us for it. I mean, really, how can you not laugh at that no matter how hard you try? I'm sure it won't be funny if/when we end up at the doctor's office for something that is lodged up there, but what can you do? I called and warned his teacher at school to please keep an eye out on random raisins and such from his lunch box.

We had our first parent/teacher conference last week and it went well. Drew's teacher's said that he is the "spark" of the classroom - which we hope is a good thing. They say that he enjoys art activities the most and is "learning how to become a good friend". He seems to have adjusted well to his new school.

Last weekend, we went to the Lexington BBQ festival where Drew made his television debut. I'm not sure how long this link will work, but if you go here you can see Drew and Daddy being interviewed (and very observant eyes will notice Mama and Meema in the background).

http://news14.com/triad-news-94-content/616621/bbq-festival-refuses-to-give-in-to-rainy-weather

Drew also went to a birthday party of one of his classmates last weekend at Salem Gym. They do a medal ceremony at the end, and this is a picture of him recieving his gold medal.
And here is a quick video of Drew watching a train video online can you tell what his absolute #1 love in life is right now?!?!
A few weekends ago, Brad and I took a trip to Charlotte with some friends to see the Panthers finally win a game, and here were are:
We have quite a week coming up with Halloween and a big birthday - someone is turning 2! Look for updates! =)

Another transition

We are very sad to say that Drew has pretty much officially outgrown his clown suit. Let me explain. We have used zip-up "sacks" on Drew since he was itty-bitty - they are great because they act as a blanket but move with him so you don't have the risk of it being over his face at night. Ever since he has been able to stand/walk, we have been using Blankeaze - what we call his clown suit - which is the same idea (wearable blanket) with legs. He is so stinking cute in it when we zip him up in it - all clean after his bath. However, the people at Blankeaze need to realize there are BIG kids out there who need bigger sizes than 3Ts as Drew has finally outgrown his. So, it is very hard on us, but it is time for big boy PJs *sniff, sniff*. Brad bought him some Elmo PJs and he loves them though, so he has made the transition much better than we have.

In honor of the clown suit... Drew's first night in his new big boy Elmo PJs. Drew loved to keep pointing to his pants and shirt saying "Mo-Mo".

Thomas! Choo-choo!

Last Sunday, we headed down to the Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC for their Thomas the Train days. First of all, we had never been to the Transportation Museum - it really is a nice day trip and a really nice museum. I wish everyone who follows this blog could have seen Drew that day. Brad made the comment on the way home that he thought that was the most fun Drew had ever had and I know our child said "choo-choo" at least 1,0000 times throughout the course of the day. "Hey choo-choo", "bye-bye choo-choo", "CHOO-CHOO" over and over and over again. They had a great set up, with train rides, hands on model train sets throughout the grounds, a "Bob the Builder" show, inflatables, and all of the other exhibits that are normally there as well.

Hey Choo-choo! Drew and Daddy riding on the Thomas train Mama and Drew-Drew in front of Thomas Drew got to "drive" the model train on the table from behind the window "Choo-choo" Wheeeee!!!

Updates and new pictures...

Let's see - what is new? Drew has gotten to see quite a bit of his family lately. Nana, Aunt Sistah and Camden came to visit a few weekends ago, then Uncle Denny & Aunt Lynda game up 2 weekends ago to help Meema take care of Drew for us. That weekend, I had a CEU course in Knoxville and Brad drove up with me. On our way home, we spent one night in Asheville - our last little "get-away" before we are officially parents of TWO (ah!). We had a nice time doing little things like going to the movies, enjoying dining with each other, strolling the streets of Knoxville & Asheville, and even got in a game of putt-putt. It was nice just to do relaxing, little things without scheduling around naps, night-nights, flying food, occasional tantrums, etc, though of course it seemed like all of our conversations ended up centered around Drew and we were very happy to get back home to him. Thank you to everyone for your help taking such good care of Drew so we could take our trip. The only thing though is for some reason he really likes the phrase "Gooooooooooo Tigers" - wonder where that came from?!?! This past weekend we had a big trip to the Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC for the Thomas the Train days - but that will have to be featured in its own post soon to follow as that was quite a day for our little man.

Drew seems to be doing well at his new school. He has really started to talk a lot more now (actually usually non-stop) - and while a lot of it is still unintelligible, if you know a few key words you are well on your way (for example: "la boohl" = cow, "car", "choo-choo", "Momo" = Elmo, "daddy", "mama", "Ste" = Steve, "bir" = bird, "Ba-bird" = Big Bird, "tus" = bus, "cool" = Cool!, "cool" = school, "nana" = Nana, "nana" = banana, "MahMa" = Meema, "cockeye" = outside, "cackcack" = backpack, "gaga" = all done) We think that he has a huge crush on a little cutie in his class named Ella - he says her name quite a lot at home, too. He likes to label people - going around the table/car/etc pointing to each person and saying their name then pointing to himself and saying "Drew!".


Besides the big boo-boo, here is a cute picture of Drew: For those of you requesting "preggo" pictures, here is Brad and I last weekend (26 weeks pregnant) ...now add Drew and part of Steve's head: Night-night Drew Night-night Steve

Good thing we have a laid-back dog

God bless Steve...

Drew's first football game

Today we went to see Wake Forest take on Baylor for the season opener. This was Drew's first football game and it was a success! When we first got to the stadium, he was very still & serious - I think he wasn't quite sure what to make of everything. He quickly warmed up to everything though and he enjoyed some of that yummy stadium grub and we had a good time - just too bad the Deacs couldn't pull out a "W" today.

Our sweet family! Drew and Daddy in front of the new Deacon Tower Our little football player standing in line to get in - not quite knowing what to think of all of this commotion yet Go Deacs! Walking back to the car - what a little man!

Just a cute picture...

... of our little man and my big leg!

Move over Elmo!!

Elmo had a good, long ride as the favorite in the Davis household, but he has been overtaken by a mad love of... CHOO-CHOOs! He now loves to say "Choo-choo", and watch Thomas the Train incessantly (which parents of other little boys will know is the most BORING children's show EVER!!) To celebrate this, we took a family trip up to Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock a couple of weekends ago. Drew did great in the car, we ate at one of my favorite places for breakfast when I was a student up at Appalachian State, and then had a wonderful time at Tweetsie. He loved to wave at the trains and ride on them. Here are some pics:

Hi from Tweetsie! We swear he had fun... haha Daddy and Drew check out the caboose Bye, bye train!!

First day of school!

Drew started at his new Montessori school on Monday! He was *very* excited to wear his backpack, though it does tend to throw him off balance a little. =) We got a lot of "cool!"s when we were walking through the school to his classroom, but when we got to the door he got a little scared. His teachers led him into the room... still scared... then he saw the gerbil and quickly forgot about Mommy & Daddy and life was all good once again! We've all had a bit of adjusting - a new schedule, packing lunchboxes, new philosophies, etc, but we're all working on it together. Drew unfortunately didn't share the climber very well on his first day and bit one of his new friends (sigh - doesn't he know this school is all about peace and love!!), but hopefully that will not be an issue and we will be working on sharing and being kind to friends (no one was bit today thank goodness). We'll keep you posted!

Drew and Daddy
A little blurry, but he is so happy to be wearing that backpack! What a big boy *sniff, sniff* Besides going to school, it's also been a big week because Drew's cousins Nicholas & MiMi are in town staying with Meema as Sammy and Elena make the move from Boston to Richmond. We took another trip to Lazy 5 Ranch with them, and the weekend before we took a wonderful trip to Tweetsie Railroad. I'll try to get some of those pictures up soon.

Fun with balloons

Title says it all...

Steve's new "do"

Introducing Steve with his new summer cut (with some comparison pics):
BEFORE AFTER BEFORE AFTER Isn't he a pretty boy? It took them over 2 hours to shave him. He really seems to like it and it sure helps with the shed-factor that was beginning to drive us crazy!

10 things you may not know about Drew...

10. He has a southern accent (wonder where that came from?) - which comes out in the sweetest sounding "yay"s and "bye-bye"s in the whole world.

9. He has been off of thickened liquids since Friday and so far so good! Yay!

8. He is all boy. He loves trucks, trains, balls and - new this week - he looks at us, grins and giggles everytime he passes gas.

7. He starts his new Montessori school on August 24th. His assistant teacher's name is Hyacinth Muir.

6. He associates Meema's house with eating. The other day we were heading to her house and I asked, "Drew, do you want to go to Meema's" and he immediately did the "eat" sign and said "EAT"! As soon as we walk into her house these days he immediately goes to the table. Luckly, Meema has learned to be well-prepared.

5. We know that Drew is awake in the mornings when we hear a chorus of alternating "Hey!" and "Up!" coming from his room... Hey! Hey! Up! Hey! Up! Up! Up!

4. Some of his favorite things remain Elmo (especially the introduction song), fruit, Steve, Bob (what we call his stroller) and his "Softy" blanket.

3. While he can have his moments of tantrums and testing us, Drew has a very sweet and loving disposition. He loves to sit on our laps, give us hugs, lay his head on our laps or shoulders, have his hair or forehead stroked, and be patted.

2. If we whisper to Drew, he will whisper back in his own Drew-talk - very cute.

1. And the #1 thing you may not know about Drew is... he is going to be a big brother. His baby sister is due on New Years Day!!!!

Lazy 5 Ranch

A few weekends ago, we took a fun day trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch with Drew's Nana. Those of you around here with kids (or without kids) who don't know about the Lazy 5 Ranch - you've got to check it out. It is a large privately owned park in Mooresville that you can either drive through in your own car or take a horse-drawn wagon ride on a safari... the animals come right up to you and you can feed them - giraffes, zebras, antelopes, water buffalo, ostriches, and so many others! It is so much fun and Drew seemed to enjoy it. The main incident of the day came when Drew decided if the feed was good enough for the animals it was good enough for him and Mommy was just slow enough that he got a handful all the way into his mouth before being caught. He didn't think very much of the feed, haha! Here are some pics:

Drew and Daddy feed a water buffalo They don't make them much cuter than these two! Nana on the savannah An ostrich smiles for the camera