New Today....

We were playing a game of where's mommy's nose, where's Drew's nose this morning.  When I clapped for Drew finding my nose, he started clapping too. SO CUTE!  He's been practicing just for today...he said it was my birthday present.  :)

Standing

When Drew went to physical therapy this past week,  his therapist was quite impressed that he could stand for a few seconds on his own. This was my attempt of trying to capture this...not a great pic. We are so proud of all the ground Drew has covered the past few months. His PT sessions are quickly coming to an end because of his great progress. These sessions came out of the NICU where he was born. I sure wish we had these wonderful services for Sam as he came out of the NICU.

Craft Time

Sam and I hit Dollar General yesterday and picked up supplies for his arts and crafts room...aka the dining room. This is where his easel is set up and where he works on all sorts of masterpieces.  Sam has grown into quite a creative little guy.  We bought tubs and crates to help keep his chaos somewhat in order. He wanted a big tub to keep boxes, cardboard, and other recyclable treasures.  While at the store,  we found these really cool art kits. They each have 2 projects.  We had so much fun working on crafts yesterday.  We did mosaics, scratch art, and sequin kits. I even enjoyed completing these kits. We will definitely be picking up some more soon.

Big Boy

Does Drew look big or what! Nick and I have noticed that he is starting to take on a new look...not so baby, baby anymore. :( Thank goodness he's not too big to snuggle anymore. 

Shadow

These days, Sam has an "extra" shadow. His little bro is always right beside him. Drew wants to do what Sam is doing, be where Sam is, etc. For the most part, big brother likes this...there are times that we have to play referee.

Cute Pics from this Week

We got a bunch of hand me downs for Drew and he has enjoyed wearing them throughout the week. Thanks Uncle Steve and Aunt Laura! We've gotten almost a picture each day from Drew's school. His teacher said he is really blossoming and into everything.  Ha! He's an explorer for sure. Check out the last pic...Drew doing yoga with hus teacher...star pose.

MLK Break

We thoroughly enjoyed our MLK break today. Nick and I woke up to Drew playing with the video monitor. This is a new thing for him. We will be getting a cord cover and mounting it high on his wall asap. Big brother isn't the only one fascinated with electronics.  :) Sam was up shortly after Drew. We surprised Nick with cinnamon rolls.  Sam was quite proud of his icing skills. After a morning of conquering about 4 loads of laundry, we were off to take Drew to school for a few hours. Sam and I had a date at the ice skating rink. This was Sam's first time and he did great. It has been quite a while since I have been on skates, so I was a little nervous. Sam used a trainer which is much like a walker. It gave him the confidence he needed to make it across the ice. He did fall a few times but was able to catch himself from hitting the ice hard. All in all, we had a great time...great workout too. Sam wants to go back soon. We are contemplating having his birthday party there. We will see. After skating, Sam enjoyed some hot chocolate.  It really was a fun little outing with my sweet buddy. Sam wants to try roller skating next. With that suggestion,  we headed to a sports store and tried on skates. I want to take him roller skating before we buy skates just to make sure he likes to skate first.

Before putting Sam to bed, he read one of his new books. We bought him his first "Step 1" book. It's unbelievable how well he can sound words out and use the pictures to figure out the words. Smart boy!

Checking Out Valentines XOXOX

So Fast!

Snap Snap

Sam learned how to snap this week!

Play Dough

Drew enjoyed play dough today. Can't wait to pick some up so the boys can play together.  :)

Reflection

Check out Drew admiring his reflection in the mirror at school. :)

Cotton Ball Experiment

Drew got a chance to experiment with warm and frozen cotten balls last week. Looks like he's having fun! :)

Rub a Dub Dub

Story Time

I snapped this pic the other day when Sam was reading to Drew. It was SO precious!  By the time I grabbed my phone, Drew was getting ready to crawl away to something else.

I also caught a cute pic of Nick and Sam reading the other night. We are trying to devote even more time to reading and playing games with Sam each night. He loves reading and playing board games. 
There are so many benefits in taking the time to do this. Keeping up with reading minutes is now a part of Sam's weekly homework.  Yes, Sam has homework and he loves it!

9 Months Old

Drew is 9 months old! He weighs 19 pounds and 11 ounces. He enjoyed splashing in water at school today.  He visited the classroom next to the infant room this afternoon. Our sweet boy is about to transition to the next room. Drew is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything.  He is as brave as can be. Two little teeth are coming through on the bottom. Mr. Drew has been drooling buckets the past week and a half. He has also been waking up once or twice each night. He finally was back to his normal sleeping through the night last night. Thank goodness! :) Drew enjoys solid baby food 3 times per day. He also likes all of the Gerber baby snacks...yogurt melts, puffs, wagon wheels, and lil' crunchies. Drew is still drinking out of a baby bottle.  He knows how to drink out of a sippy cup...we just haven't been too consistent. We noticed Drew waving for the 1st time this morning...so cute! He continues to say dada and mama and other variations of the two. New this week...he tries to roll over and away during diaper changes and when we dress him. Drew also knows how to scream loudly and he's quite proud of all the noise he can make. As always, he is a super smiley sweet baby boy. It sure is hard to believe our little guy is 9 months old.

Gummy Rail

It's time to install the gummy rail on Drew's crib. He has starting pulling up in his bed and chewing (minus teeth) on the rail. Thank goodness he knows how to sit back down after standing up. Poor Sam would stand in the middle of the night and then cry because he didn't know how to lay back down.

Hand Me Downs

Both of our sweet boys wore this outfit. Time sure to fly!

Ready for the Game

Go Dawgs! The boys had a great time watching the Georgia football game.  Drew tuckered out before the end of the 1st quarter. Poor little guy is cutting a tooth.

Happy 2014!