I finally took the kids to the Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey. Jack had a blast while Drew was being unlike himself and clingy that day, only wanting to stay next to Mommy.

Jack is inside the blue tunnel

View from the park

Jack loved pushing his brother and Drew seemed to really like it too. I had to shrink this video down for some reason so the quality isn't so good but cute nonetheless

Letter to Drew on His First Birthday

Drew,
From the day you were born, you were such an easy baby. Though I had a planned c-section with you, you decided you wanted to come out just a bit earlier. Mommy was terrified that I'd have to go into surgery without your Daddy there but you held on until your Grandma C. got here to watch your big brother. You were a whopping 10 lbs. 11 oz. of baby boy. Your brother bestowed the nickname "Baby Drew" on you the day you were born when he came to visit you in the hospital. Though we had a tough few weeks of going back and forth to the hospital for your jaundice, you took it all in stride. Mommy hated to watch them poke your feet so many times but you mostly slept through it and hardly ever fussed.
You started smiling early and haven't stopped. Your cheesy "camera smiles" have been well documented by your Mommy and so have your laughs. I think your brother is the one that makes you laugh the hardest. You have always been a baby with something to say and to make sure you are heard you say it with the volume turned all the way up.
You have also always been very determined. If you set your mind to do something you won't stop until you have accomplished it. This determination has led you to crawl and walk at an early age and no matter how many times you fall, you get right back up and try again. You even tolerate your brother's constant attacks and never seem to be jaded by the many times he has caused you physical pain. You still look at him as if he is the greatest brother that ever lived.
It has been so fun to watch you grow from a chubby (and I do mean chubby) baby to a full-blown toddler in what seems like record time. You are the best little sleeper on the planet, minus the 3 a.m. wake-up calls your Mommy receives on a regular basis. You are also a great eater, eating everything on your plate before Mommy can even sit down to eat herself.
It seems that every day you are learning to say a new word or accomplish the next milestone. You are the best snuggler and give the best (and most disgusting) wet kisses on the planet. You already have a great sense of humor. You make Mommy laugh when you know you are doing something you aren't supposed to be doing ( like eating something off the ground) and you try to run or crawl away as fast as you can from me with that devilish look on your face.
You are completely independent at times, such as when you fall asleep on your own in your crib, or escape out the doggie-door to play by yourself in the dark on the patio. Other times the only thing you want is your Mommy and you cry and reach out to me so that I have no choice but to drop what I'm doing and hold you in my arms.
You have been a joy to this family this past year and will provide joy to those around you for the rest of your life. Even though you will grow-up faster than we could ever imagine, you will always be our little "Baby Drew."

Drew the climber

This video shows just how much a one-year-old understands. It also sums up my day. I'm constantly pulling him off furniture, stairs and toy boxes. He gets up on the toy box in Jack's room so that he can look out the window. This little venture usually ends with him managing to change the outgoing message on our answering machine.

Drew's first words

Last night as Drew was devouring his Lasagna, (and I do mean devouring-he had a bigger portion than I did) he was making gestures for more the second I put a helping into his mouth. Of course he wasn't using the sign that we have been working on, he was just shaking his hands at the wrist in desperation for me to load the fork again. He had learned to say "thank you" after receiving things but it comes out as "e-choo" instead of thank you so I wasn't really counting it as his first word. After dinner I held up my hand and said, "Great dinner, give me a high-five little dude." The first word out of his mouth was "Dude." Which he proceeded to repeat over and over again throughout the night. I am now counting "E-Choo/Thank you" as his first word because no Mom wants her child's first word to be "Dude."

To Jack on His Third Birthday

Jack,
You are my first born child that your father and I tried so hard to have. It took us a frustrating 2 years from when we first decided we were ready to have a baby to actually have you. Mommy was so happy when she saw the word "pregnant" on her pregnancy test that she couldn't wait to tell your father (who was out of town at the time) the good news. The night that you were born, they whisked you away to the NICU and Mommy had to go to the Maternity ICU, but on the way they wheeled me by to see you and you were so big and so beautiful. Mommy was so frustrated because they wouldn't let me hold you until the next day when I was finally released from the ICU. Even though they kept you so far away, Mommy shuffled her way down to see you every chance she got. I was devastated when they told me that I was going home but you had to stay one more night in the hospital. It was so hard to go home without you, but Mommy and Daddy got up bright and early the next day to come and take you home. When you finally arrived home Mommy and Daddy had set up a bassinet for you to sleep in our room. I'll admit that I didn't sleep much because I was always getting up to check to make sure that you were breathing and OK.
You were the best baby. You slept when you were supposed to sleep, you ate when you were su pposed to eat, you hardly ever fussed and you always knew how to make us laugh. You have grown so quickly from a baby, to a quiet, cautious toddler, to a preschooler that could give the Supernanny a run for her money.
You have so many good qualities that even when you are at your worst we still love you so much it brings tears to our eyes. On your second birthday I remember putting you to bed, rocking you back and forth and singing your bedtime song and tears sprung to my eyes as I thought, " This is one of the last nights that we have to ourselves like this, with you as my only baby." Soon a new brother would be arriving and you would have to share us with him. I didn't want to leave your room that night. I just wanted to watch you sleep and enjoy alone time with my first born as long as I could. Five days later Drew was born and you took it in stride, visiting Mommy in the hospital and not once fussing about having to go home without Mommy. Then we came home and you showered your baby brother with love and always wanted to hold him in your lap.
Not to say that you didn't have trouble adjusting, there was the biting stage and you became an expert on how to serve a "time out" on the steps. You learned the word "No" and used it every chance you got. You pushed your limits everyday until Mommy wanted to pull her hair out and scream, but all of the cute things you did outweighed these trying times in your Mommy and Daddy's hearts. We loved listening to you begin to speak sentences and learn the alphabet in record time, count to 20, and play sports in the backyard. We can't believe how much you have learned this past year and how much you have grown. We've watched our baby grow into a little boy who is most times polite, has a great sense of humor, and has a great love of the outdoors and trucks. Oh the trucks. If you could have a million trucks you would and you would know exactly which ones were missing and which ones were broken. You carry your trucks around in your Lightning McQueen backpack so that you can get them up and down the stairs all at once. You love to lay on the kitchen and bathroom floors and play and sometimes you even let your brother join in.
You are kind to others and seem to genuinely worry about your friends well-being and you love to share your toys with them. On your third birthday, you weren't as excited about the presents you were sure to receive as you were the cake. All you talked about was the cake and how it would have three candles on it. You blew out all three candles on the first try and I'm sure you got your wish. Your Daddy and I got ours too :)

Drew's animal sounds

Drew has learned to "Moo" like a cow and say "Ba Ba" like a sheep. Both of which he thinks are hilarious. He is loving showing off his walking skills these days too. He likes to take a stroll from room to room upstairs visiting all of them and then ending in the bathroom where he shuts the door from the inside. Jack used to do this in the laundry room in Albuquerque. Every time I open it, he shuts it again and squeals with delight.

More Jack talk

Jack was spinning in circles in the living room today and said to me, "Mom look, I'm gettin busy" He then tried to walk forward and crumpled to the floor. I'm pretty sure he meant dizzy :)

Drew has had a pretty bad cold for the last week but is finally getting over it. I have to be vigilant about sippy cup swapping because the boys will just pick up the closest one and start drinking. Today Jack picked up Drew's cup and said, "Is this Jack's?" I said, "No that's Drew's." Jack then says, "Oh, I don't drink Drew's cup, I don't want to get worms." I'm hoping he meant germs.

Last night we went to the Thanksgiving story time at the library. I haven't had any time to grocery shop this weekend because Nick was taking his comps and I'm not taking two kids to the store. So after story time we went to McDonald's to pick up dinner. ( I know, again , no mother of the year awards here :) Jack got into his Cozy Coupe today and told me that he was going to lunch. He then wheeled himself behind the grill where I couldn't see him. I hear his little voice say, "Hi Welcome to McDonald's." He was using the space underneath the grill as his drive through window and he proceeded to order chickens, fries and chocolate milk. At least what Jack lacks in a proper diet, he makes up for with pretty good entertainment for his Mommy.

Drew Rocking, well almost

Here's Drew trying out the rocker in the backyard. I'm just impressed that he can even stay on it by himself. He gets a little rocking in too.

I wanna be like big brother

This video is from about a month or two ago. I forgot I even had it but love it because it shows how much Drew wants to be like his big brother already. Jack is actually potty trained now :) Though I don't consider them fully potty trained until they stop wearing pull ups at night and can undo and do their pants by themselves. Ahhh, someday......

Drew and the cheese/Jack and the street cleaner

Anytime Drew wants something these days he points to it and then points to himself and then gives us a big cheezy grin (you know the one you see in just about every photo he is in). He goes crazy for cheese. The minute I get it out he starts pointing to the cheese and himself while saying, "Dah". We've figured out this means Drew. He always says it when he points to himself.

Jack saw a street cleaner for the first time today and was mesmerized by it. He watched it from his window until it was finished on our street. He then asked if he could have a cleaner truck for his birthday. At night before bed he asked if we would be seeing the cleaner truck in the dark. I said, "No, he had to go home and spend time with his family," to which Jack replied, "Oh yeah, he has a baby cleaner truck, just like Baby Drew." Seems perfectly logical to me.

More Jack talk

This morning I was busy getting the house ready to show to some possible new renters, so I got up early, showered, dressed, the whole deal. I then went to get the kids and got them dressed as well so I could get to some last min. cleaning. I was in Drew's room getting Drew dressed first while Jack played with his trucks in his room. Jack then says to me, "Mommy, why are you dressed? You're not normally dress this early." I did a double take and asked him what he said and he repeated it again. It seemed like such a grown-up sentence from such a little boy. How does he know what "normally" means? I had to laugh because he also totally called me out for not usually being dressed. I usually take my showers and get dressed during Drew's morning nap so I can sleep longer. Funny how they pay attention to the little things.

When the potential renters showed this morning, they brought their four-year-old with them. they introduced him saying, "This is Andrew." Jack then went right up to the little boy, grabbed his hand and said, "Hi Andrew, It's nice to meet you." They were then instant friends and took off to the backyard to play while Mommy and Daddy looked at the house. Later, when Jack's new friend was upstairs looking around, he turned to me and said, "Mommy, where's my little boy? I want to play trucks with him." That little boy is one year older than Jack.

Spider Web

We have what I would consider to be a spider problem in this house. We have to kill about 5 spiders a week. Here is Jack admiring the work of a spider outside. He is so used to killing spiders inside, that we had to work really hard to get him not to kill them outside. He knows that they live outside and eat bugs and now he lets them go about their business. He is in charge of flushing the ones that dare come inside.

Drew walking

Drew is quite the accomplished walker these days. Notice the white ball in his hand. Nick and I talked about how cute it was that he liked that ball and carried it around with him everywhere today. He even took it to bed with him and wouldn't let go of it. When he woke up from his nap, he was still playing with it. When I sat him down to eat dinner, I tried to take it away from him and he screamed. I then realized why, it was stuck on his thumb! I'm not sure when it got stuck but it appears to be stuck on his thumb in this video and that was about 4 hours before dinner. I could not get it off. His little thumb had swollen up so much that it was impossible to get off. I had to get a stick of butter and rub it on his thumb and twist the ball off. It eventually came off and Nick and I are pretty sure we won't be nominated for "Parents of the Year" anytime soon.

Drew having fun with the hose

This was our last pool day of the year. It was almost 80 degrees the other day so I got out the pool one last time. Drew had a blast drinking water from the hose.

Water Balloon Day!

I bought some water balloons and the boys had fun on an unseasonably warm day in November.

Jack was great at throwing the balloons but didn't really want to catch them. Here he is running for his life from mean old Mom. Don't worry he out ran it :)

Jack Talk

Last night at the dinner table, Nick asked Jack, "Can you tell us a story?" to which Jack replied, "No, Jack's really busy!"

When we tell Jack our little made up stories about him at night before bed, at the end of the story he says, "Mommy/Daddy that's a great story! I love it!" Then he gives us a round of applause. He can then retell the story back to us. They all begin with, "Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Jack".... and end with..." The End.

Every time we leave the house, Jack has to run through who is actually going out the door and into the car. "Mommy's coming, Jackie's coming, Baby Drew is coming, Daddy's coming, and Moxie is coming?" Mom says, "No, just Mommy and Jack are going today." He then revises his list and says. "Oh, just you and me! Jackie's coming, Mommy's coming and Moxie and Baby Drew have to stay home with Daddy. We have to get Moxie her treats! You almost forgot Mommy!"

Anytime I do something the least bit slowly, like getting Jack his milk at lunch he says, "You almost forgot Mommy."

Who's Drew

Drew was crabby because he wanted to get out of his high chair, but apparently likes himself so much that he would stop to play a game of Who's Drew for Mommy. Drew can now get himself to standing in the middle of the room without holding on to anything, then off he goes!

Things the first child never had to worry about as a baby

1. Big brother tackling him.
2. Big brother throwing a metal truck at him giving him a black eye.
3. Watching too many cartoons that big brother likes
4. Choking on food that big brother has dropped on the floor.
5. Fighting over whose snack is whose.
6. Choking on small parts from big brothers' big boy toys.
7. When learning to walk, getting the hip bump as big brother passes by, just to show him who is still number one around here.
8. Sharing
9. Being crushed in his own crib by his toddler brother who wants to sleep with him
10. Getting attacked while nursing.

Two is sooooo much more work than one!!!!!!!

Drew 11 months old

Drew is now very much a walker. He can stay upright for lengths of time and walks anywhere he wants to go. He loves playing outdoors however he likes to put mulch in his mouth every chance he gets so I have to watch him like a hawk. When you ask him "Who's Drew?" he points to himself. He likes to "high five" and do the "sooooo big" move with his hands above his head. He's not much for saying words but can sign the words "milk" and "eat" and loves to say DADA and MAMA. He loves his big brother but Jack is still too rough with him. He's an excellent napper and sleeps 10-11 hours at night.

Trick or Treat Night

Jack and Drew got to go Trick or Treating on Sat. night. Jack was a very active participant filling his entire bucket with candy. Our neighborhood turned out to be a great place to trick or treat. Drew was more of an observer but had lots of fun as usual. Drew refused to look at the camera for the obligatory costume mug shot. He was way more interested in the pumpkins and their lids.

Following Daddy back to the sidewalk.

When we were done trick or treating we returned home and sat on the front porch to pass out candy.

Again, Drew was way more interested in the pumpkins.



Every time someone would come up, Jack would say Trick or Treat! and give the kid a piece or two of candy.

He will choose a lollipop over chocolate every time

Drew didn't want to sit on Mommy's lap at all. He wanted to play on the stairs or with the pumpkins. I managed to get a cute pic with him though.