Not a morning person

I finally found the software to upload our videos to my computer and forgot about all the videos I had taken over the past few years.  We have film on Matthew crawling for the first time, his first steps as well as Drew crawling and the boys goofing off together.  I'm so happy that we took it when we did, because half of the footage I completely forgot about.  I came across this one and wanted to share how our mornings are at home sometimes.  I know I have felt like this before and Matthew is like this all the time.  He is definitely not a morning person.  Anyway, this is from Christmas 2009 (about 3 weeks before Drew was born) and Matthew was just waking up for Christmas morning.  Enjoy :)

Drew walking

Here is some video of Drew walking just for you, Daddy.  He has been taking some steps here and there, but once Ryan left he really started taking off.  I will be posting more and more video for Ryan to see the boys.  Enjoy

And we're off...

This has been a whirlwind of a week and I will be glad when it's over.  Ryan found out on Tuesday morning that he was going to be going back to work...in Southern Illinois!  He starts on Monday and had to move today.  We are relieved that he is back to work (he's been off since the end of September and has been off for more than two years of the past three), but it's going to be very, very hard not having him here.  Ryan and I have been together for 16 years and we have never been apart for longer than a week.  We both know that this is what is best for our family at this point and this time away will be for the best in the future.  We are guessing he will be there for about a year unless something miraculous happens in Michigan and the economy picks up again.  I don't see that happening.  So for now he will live in Belleville, IL and work in Wood River, IL, just outside of St. Louis. 

His first trip home will most likely be in April for our birthdays and then again at the end of May for his annual fishing trip and Matthew's birthday.  We plan on meeting a few times this summer in Chicago and possibly Indianapolis with the kids for an extended weekend.  I'd love to visit St. Louis and I might take a trip down there with the kids too, but don't know how they will do on the 7 hour car ride...maybe a night drive is in store?

Matthew doesn't quite understand; he just knows that Daddy is at work and he can talk and see him on the computer and talk to him on the phone.  Drew will also notice his absence, but won't really know it.  Luckily he is staying with our friend Gary and we can Skype until we can get Ryan his own laptop.  It's going to be hard, but I know that we can do it.  We have a wonderful family and a great circle of friends that will help us out, I just need to know when to ask for help.

I know my job will consume a lot of my time and keep my mind focused on other things.  Hopefully the next two months will fly by so we can see Ryan again.  Thank you to everyone who is helping and supporting us in this journey. 

Drew

Drew recently went to the doctor for his one year checkup.  He is doing great and staying on is growth curve.  Here are his stats:

             Weight: 23.8 pounds

              Height: 29 inches 

He got four shots this time around and handled them like a champ.  I think he is used to getting beat up by Matthew that a little poke in the leg is really nothing for him.  We also had his follow-up at the eye doctor and everything looks good from his probing.  We don't have to go back until he is six years old unless we notice the build up again.  We will see some of the discharge and watery eyes when he has a cold because his nasal passages on that side are much narrower that the other side.  In an odd way it is kind of nice because it happens before the actual cold surfaces, so we have a little bit of a heads-up.

Drew is well on his way to walking and at this point will walk when he wants to walk.  The most he has taken is about 10-15 steps across the room.  The more attention we draw to it, the quicker he will go down and prefer to crawl, which he is incredibly fast at.  So, we try to "ignore" him when he does let go and walks on his own.  He transitioned to whole milk in mid-December and is doing great without a bottle.  His sleep patterns at night have gotten much better.  A few months back, the day we came back from Great Wolf Lodge to be exact, he started having troubles sleeping through the night.  He would wake up two to three times in a night just screaming and nothing could get him calmed down.  Then all of the sudden, on the night of his 1st birthday party, he snapped out of it and has been sleeping 12 hours a night without getting up.  My mom bought him the "twilight turtle" and that seems to help him calm down.  It worked so great that Matthew wanted one and now asks to go to bed to see his turtle.  I love that invention :)

Matthew continues to grow and is getting bigger by the day.  He recently had a growth spurt and is about the same height or taller than most of his friends.  He loves to get himself ready for Deah's or bedtime.  We have to allow for extra time to let him do it himself.  He can completely get undressed and dressed on his own, including his underwear, socks, shoes, jacket and hat.  He needs help with the initial zipper on his jacket, but he needs to finish it all on his own.  He normally "picks" out his clothes, those that he can reach in his dresser and then tells me what shirt to get from the closet.  

Speech continues to go great and he will have his one year evaluation in a few weeks.  It's amazing how far he has come in one year.  We go back to the ENT in early April for a recheck on his ears and another hearing test.