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.   

Santa

I forgot to add this to our December post.  This was the first year that Matthew would actually sit on Santa's lap and ENJOY it!  He was so excited to see Santa this year and got to see him twice.  The first was at the Schonveld's annual Christmas party.  And of course the second was at the mall with Drew.  Drew didn't go to the party at the Schonveld's because he was sick at the time, but handled the mall Santa quite well.

Drew's first birthday!

Drew is officially one today (at 3:55 am to be exact) and it brings some mixed emotions for me.  I felt this way when Matthew turned one and still get mixed emotions when he has a birthday.  This year flew by and it is not that I want to be back to where I was 12 months ago with a brand new baby, but I wish the time went by at a slower pace.  I think knowing that he is my last baby and knowing that I won't be holding a new baby is kind of sad.  He is growing up and hitting all sorts of milestones and I am starting to forget the early days.  I love that he still like to cuddle and I love my time with him at night when I give him his bottle before bed.  Usually when he is done he is incredible sleepy and I take advantage of that quiet and sincere time with him.  I know that he won't want to cuddle like this forever and Matthew rarely wants to, so I am going to milk it as long as I can.  He has been such a great baby with a laid back personality.  He just goes with the flow of life and nothing seems to really bug him.  I look forward to the coming years and hope they do not fly by as fast as this one did.  Here's a monthly progression of his growth...enjoy

 Less than an hour old

 

one month old

two months old...pretty much slept all the time

 

three months old and starting to lose all his baby hair

 

four months old

 

five months old

 

six months old

 

seven months old

 

eight months old

 

nine months old and showing off those pearly whites

 

ten months old and eating...go figure

 

eleven months old and happy as can be

one year old!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet baby boy.  Thank you for a wonderful and eventful first year. 

A few months in review...

Drew's first Christmas!  He seemed to like the boxes and bows the most, so that is mainly what he got from us.  He got a few new toys, but other than that most of his "gifts" were Matthew's old things.

 Matthew finally understands the whole Santa thing and was really excited to make cookies for Santa and put them out along with a big glass of milk.  He talked about Santa for a good two weeks before Christmas.

 

Shortly after Christmas, Drew had a minor eye procedure to fix a blocked tear duct.  Drew did great for the doctor and it was over in about 10 minutes max.  The doctor said that there was quite a lot of buildup in there and we saw some of that filter out a couple of days after the procedure.  It is amazing what a difference the procedure has made for him.  His eye is no longer swollen or 'goopy' and the wetness level is normal.  I take him back for a follow up in a  week just to make sure everything is cleaned out.

 Matthew's new favorite thing to do with Drew is bring all his blankets and pillows into the crib and play with Drew.  They have a ball in there.  Drew is constantly laughing and so happy to play with Matthew.

 Chef Matthew

Matthew recently got an apron and chef's hat for helping me in the kitchen with cooking and baking.  We decided to make quick and easy pizzas and Matthew jumped right up to make one for himself and Drew to eat.  He was so proud and happy to make it, watch it bake and most of all eat it!

 The finished product...yum!

I know it has been a long time since my last post and a lot has happened since then.  Matthew's speech continues to improve and we are already coming up on his year 'anniversary' of starting with Ken.  He will have his formal evaluation at the end of February to check his progress.  He is also working hard on his letter sounds and probably has about half of them down.  He is also starting to show an interest in drawing and coloring, though not a huge one, yet.  As you can see above, Matthew is also starting to actually enjoy being a big brother now that Drew can play a little more with him.  We have seen on quite a few occasions him show Drew how to do something or bring Drew some toys to play with if he is crabby.  He is even trying to get Drew to say words, which is really cute to hear.

Drew is doing great and trying with everything he has to walk.  He took two steps on my mom's birthday in late December and since then has taken anywhere from one to four steps at a time before falling over.  He is babbling all the time and is quite the vocal little guy.  This is completely different than our experience with Matthew, so it is neat to see how they are going to develop at a different rate.  Drew still has eight teeth, but the others aren't far behind.  He has been chewing on just about everything and we can see five large bumps under his gums.  A few of his favorite things to do are to clap at everything, eat, play the "how big" game, eat, play in the dog water, eat, and talk!  Gosh, how I love these boys!

Update on us

Since out last post, Drew turned 9 months, we went to Great Wolf Lodge with Matthew and Drew started to pull himself onto things and walk while holding on and celebrated Halloween! So, here we go...

At Drew's last appointment (October 21st) he weighed 20 pounds, 14 ounces (50th percentile) and he was 27.5 inches long (25th percentile). He is much bigger than Matthew ever was at this age, heck he is bigger than Matthew was at a year old! It is weird to pull out the 12-18 month clothes for him considering Matthew was still in those clothes at age 2. Drew loves to stand up and walk around on the furniture or if we are holding his hands. He is saying a ton of sounds (mama, dada, baba) but not in context yet. Again, something we didn't experience with Matthew at this age due to his ears. He is happy all the time and loves to interact with Matthew, though Matthew is not always so enthusiastic about it. Drew is now working on more teeth. Even though none have cut the surface, he is chewing on everything. He looks so grown up with 8 teeth already!

We took Matthew up to Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City a few weeks ago and left Drew at home with Grandma and Grandpa Genisio for two nights. We had a blast! Matthew loved all the slides, the water, the "tree fort", the pools, the lazy river, trick or treating in the hotel and being with his friends. We went with our friends Lisa and Don and their boys Silas and Wes as well as Matt and Heidi and their son Jack. We look forward to making this an annual trip with the kids. I think Ryan and I had just as much fun as Matthew did. Even though there is something there for everyone, we were glad we kept Drew at home. We wouldn't have been able to experience it all if we had him with us. We look forward to taking him next year with us.

Halloween was a blast and Matthew and Jack loved trick or treating in the neighborhood together. Matthew was a tiger and Drew was a dinosaur. Drew came along for the ride and his favorite part of the night was when Matthew got tired and got in the wagon with him. Matthew has a ton of candy to eat over the next few months and boy does that kid LOVE chocolate...not sure where he got that from ;)

Matthew hit a growth spurt and is getting taller. We noticed that his 3T pants are now a little short in length, but the waist is still incredibly big. Not sure where he puts it all, but that boy can put away some food! He is completely potty trained and has been since August, including at night. During our entire potty training experience Matthew only had one nighttime accident and it was our fault. We weren't paying attention to the time and gave him a little too much to drink before bed. He is so proud of himself and we are too! It is so nice to only have one in diapers again. Matthew's speech is getting better by the week and he is saying full sentences now. He can express what he wants and what he wants his brother to do. I think his favorite saying of the week is "No Drew, that's MY train set. Get your own toys!". Yea, sharing with Drew is not high on his list at the moment.

Matthew has expressed that he wants to go to school. I think it is because he sees Silas getting on the bus every morning to go to Young 5's and he wants to go with him. Since we can't send him to preschool due to our work schedules, we are lucky he has school time at daycare. He works on his letters, letter sounds, numbers, coloring, cutting, shapes, colors, songs and most importantly socialization with other kids his own age. He loves to come home and sing his songs to us. Our art board is getting quite full of his artwork and he loves looking at it. Since he knows all his letter names and can identify his letters at random, we are working on his letter sounds at home with songs.

As usual, we have taken a bunch of pictures of the kids. You can see them at our picture site. Enjoy!