9 MONTHS

Stats 'n' Stuff:

Weight:  20lbs 12oz.

Height:  30 1/2 inches

Hair: Thin and very blonde.  A few straggly pieces flap over his right ear but I would rather tuck them behind then cut them just yet :-)

Sleeping habits:  
 - Daytime   I think I can safely say this little guy finally has a routine!  Morning nap happens between 9:30-11am.  Afternoon nap between 1:30-4.  - Nighttime   He is doing better!  He blessed us with a 10 hour night on his 9 mo birthday!  It was awesome -- 8pm-6am.  We need to keep that up!

new stuff:

He still isn't crawling... and we asked the doctor about it and she said it is perfectly normal.  He is very active and ROLLS everywhere - plus he does get up on his hands and knees so we shouldn't worry.  He is also very interested in pulling himself up by the couch, bookshelf, and anywhere he can roll to!

Patty Cake!  He learned how to clap his hands together and likes to applaud himself!  Usually he laughs when he does it...must think he is pretty funny ;-)

This month he really started jabbering too -- no idea what he is talking about but he usually has quite a bit to say!  Lots of bababababa and then some tatatatat and then his famous motorboatin' on his lips that he likes to do for attention :)

The bad 'new stuff' this month was that he really got sick for the first time.  He had RSV which was no fun at all.  Sneezing, stuffy and runny nose, very watery eyes, fever, caughing.  Nasty stuff.

Favorite things to do: 
Rolling around on the floor to find cords, pull things off of shelves and basically get into anything he shouldn't be!

Things he does NOT like to do: 
Well... he loves my phone and HATES when I take it away from him.  I'm trying to keep it away so I don't create a monster.  He gets MAD when I don't let him have it! 

Things he has learned

The big one this month was patty cake!


Things mommy has learned:

I love this age and he is getting SO big.  Our little boy is growing up so quick - I can't believe in 3 months we will be celebrating his first birthday.   

Sick babies are no fun.  Sick baby equals sick mommy.

I have also decided to hang up the breast pump and ween him off of me.  9 months was a good run - but my milk production really slowed down and I had to start supplementing with formula.   It might sound weird - but it has been a bit of an emotional thing.  It was nice to feel so needed for so long and as much as I hate the early morning feedings, having that bonding time with him has been well worth it. 
 

Here are some of our favorite pics from the month:

'Mom -- hurry up and take this picture because I'm gonna be outta this thing in a second!'

Can't think of a better way to start the month than with Grandma Lori at the beach!

GOBBLE GOBBLE -- this baby had his 1st Thanksgiving this month!

Sunday Football with daddy!....Give it 5 years and he will be playing Fantasy Football too (heaven help me...)

Family portrait makes us an 'official' family now ;-) 

It was a wonderful month and I couldn't feel more blessed as a mother.  Seeing him grow this year has been an amazing journey -- and the best part is that it has just started!

We love you, Drew Robert!  

Beyond Thankful

This Thanksgiving I couldn't be more thankful for all of the blessings in my life and being able to spend an entire day celebrating them was so much fun!  This has been such a wonderful year in so many ways -- we are just so thankful for all the gifts we have received from God!  A healthy, happy baby boy, a supportive and loving family, friends near and far, our health, a beautiful home, great jobs, the list goes on for miles.  We truly are beyond Thankful. 

This is the second year we have spent Thanksgiving here in Florida and Ronnie and I both agree that the nice long weekend at home is just what we both need after our hectic fall schedules.  With his travel schedule in the fall and my work conferences and end-of-year maddness each year, there is nothing better than some downtime with family to relax, reflect on all the wonderful blessings we have and start preparing for the Christmas season.

On Thanksgiving Day we went over to Ron and Cathy's for the day.  Ron's mom Dorris flew in a few days prior so Drew was able to spend some quality time with Great Grandma Merrill!  She is 95 and doing awesome - she is sharp as a tac!  Steph was there as well so Drew got spoiled all day by Aunt Stephy and the Grandparents!

And since Drew LOVES eating big people food -- we knew Thanksgiving was going to be a fun day for him!  Here are some pics of our little Turkey! 

GOBBLE GOBBLE!  This little turkey was ready for the day!

'Mom - did you say grandma is making sweet potatoes???'

Posing with mommy -- of course he won't look at the camera...

Sleeves back to get my little hands on some turkey and sweet potatoes!

'Grandpa...I finished everything else, now I just want to get that last little pea!'

Belly is full and time to relax on the floor with the guys watching football!

Looking a little sleeeeeeepy... Turkey Coma was on it's way!

Snuggling with Great Grandma :-)

Of course we only have one sock on!  This little guy loves to pull those things off!

I just realized that what we didn't get a picture of was him scarfing down some Pumpkin Pie!  I had to cut him off.... :-)

 Thanksgiving Day was a wonderful celebration of all the things we are thankful for, with this little guy at the top of the list!  We love you little pork-chop!

Our little charmer...

#doesntgetmuchcuterthanthis

I have been meaning to write this blog post for over a month now!  I had lunch plans with a couple girlsfriends (Lea Lametta and Amber Montero) to go to Datz and they asked me to bring Drew.   In fact they almost canceled on me when they thought he wasn't coming - HA!! Clearly this was a lunch date with DREW not me! :-) 

 

Miss Amber and Miss Lea had their hands full with this little guy!

Really?  If that is not a look that defines the word CHARM -- I'm not sure what does?!!

"Looking for the bacon...do you guys have that here?"

"FOUND IT!"  "I'll have that and so will both of my girlfriends"

'Mom - stop embarrassing me in front of my girlfriends!"

Love this little charmer so much!

Anniversary, birthday and.........

I know these are supposed to by the 'Mommy Tales'... but we would all be kidding ourselves if we didn't admit that part of being a mommy includes a few 'get aways' from the baby :-)

This will be a short post... but had to document our recent trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico for 3 reasons:

1. It marks me and Ronnie's 2nd Anniversary and Ronnie's 35th birthday!
 2. It marks my 1 year of blogging Anniversary!
3. We met and hung out with Jake Owen, his wife, band and crew for 3 days!

If you don't recall... last year I did my first post after we got back from this trip, right after Ronnie took the job with the Rays. 

One of the GREAT perks of being married to a baseball scout that is responsible for Puerto Rico is the annual trip to San Juan!  Each year he has to go down over our anniversary for a high school showcase put on by Perfect Game.  Fortunately,  there aren't a lot of Marriott hotel options in San Juan so we get to stay at an amazing resort (La Concha).

 Here is a little side-by-side comparing last year to this year!  It is hard to believe that 1 yr ago we were celebrating our 1 yr. anniversary and I was 6 mo. pregnant.  This year - we have an 8 mo. old baby!  It still seems absolutely crazy to me!

Ok.... now back to the details of the trip!  This year we flew down a day early to celebrate Ronnie's 35th birthday.  We have had a crazy busy fall with both of us traveling and on opposite schedules, so this mommy and daddy get away was much needed.

On our second day -- we went down to the pool and were just relaxing... enjoying the sun and about to take a walk on the beach when Ronnie had a celeb spotting (another perk about being married to a scout is that they notice EVERYTHING)!  It was Jake Owen, the country singer (if you aren't familiar with the name - he sings Barefoot Blue Jean Nights and had 4 #1 hits on the country charts this year!) Also - he played at Creek Fest in Cherokee, IA this past summer! 

So what else do you do when you spot a celeb but 'tweet at 'em', right?  Ronnie (after a little liquid courage and us confirming via Google images from our ipads poolside) sent Jake a tweet then went up later and talked to him at the hotel bar.  Before you know it we were invited to their private party at the pool on Saturday!  We met his wife, Lacey Buchanan, his entire crew and his band.  Feel like they are our new friends!  Jake and Lacey were so nice - they made a point of including us, it was awesome!

He went through all the songs on his new album and explained the meaning...so cool!

Sooo... if you are a country music fan, go out and buy his new albumn on Dec. 3rd called Days of Gold -- it's gonna be good!  Listen for the song 'Beachin'  -- it was one of our faves that he played! 

This really was an amazing trip.  Celebrating 2 yrs of marriage, a pretty big birthday and making new friends...lots to be thankful for! 

Love you Ronnie Merrill! 

Special times with Grandma Lori

I don't know where the time goes!  It's already been 10 days since Grandma Lori and Frank were here... Ronnie and I have celebrated his birthday, our anniversary and taken a trip to San Juan in those 10 days.  Serious whirlwind.

Nonetheless -- we sure do remember the visit from Grandma Lori and Frank just like it was yesterday!  Since I am so far away from my family -- these trips are very special and I cherish every moment.  It's so important to both Ronnie and I that Drew knows his family in Iowa and we are so thankful for visits like this! 

They flew in on Saturday the 9th (Drew's 8 mo. birthday) and Ronnie and Frank headed straight to the golf course.  Me, Drew and Grandma hung out at the house then met the guys up at the club for dinner and drinks and a firepit chat :-)

Snuggling with Grandma after his first time trying fish!  YUMMY -- thanks for sharing with me, Grandma!

Cozied up with Grandma.  Two very happy campers.

More, Grandma more!  I love my banana in the morning!

 On Sunday Ronnie, Ron and Frank golfed in the morning and me, Drew and Grandma hung out at the house.  Cathy and Steph came over to chat.. it was a nice relaxing morning at the house :-)

Then off to Wiregrass to watch some football!  It's a tradition that Ronnie and Frank get to go watch football, drink beer and eat bar food during this annual trip.  In fact -- this year they called it "Their Holiday"  Drew, me and mom joined them for lunch then did a little shopping...

 'No Drew, you can't have any hot wings just yet..'

 On Monday we packed up the car and headed to the beach!  We stayed at a hotel right on Treasure Island beach... it was so relaxing and Drew LOVES the sound of the waves and feeling the sand between his little toes.  Grandma and him have a lot in common!  They spent quite a bit of time together strolling the BOB up and down the beach :-)

Monday night Mom and Frank took us out to dinner at Salt Rock Grill -- an AWESOME restaraunt out by the beach...we had a great time!  Of course we had to splurge for the Pumpkin Cheesecake and the after dinner desert martini!

Drew spend lots of time on Mom and Frank's laps during dinner... the last night is always hard :(

We are so thankful for this visit from Grandma and already counting down the days to our trip to Iowa for Christmas! 

Let is snow, Grandma!

8 Months

Stats 'n' Stuff:

Weight:  20lbs

Height:  28 inches

Hair: Still got the old man whispy thing going...Ronnie and I have talked about cutting the little pieces that flap over his right ear.  He also has this darker patch that is in the mohawk position on the top of his head.  Reminds me of my little brother Ben's hair when he was a baby!  We called him the little skunk!

Sleeping habits:  
 - Daytime   Morning and afternoon nap. Never know how long they will be - but they both happen everyday!

 - Nighttime   - once his additional 4 teeth came in this month, we started to let him CRY IT OUT.  It's such a hard thing to do -  but he is finally sleeping pretty consistantly from 8-8:30 until 4:30, sometimes 5. 

new stuff:

EATING!  While he isn't crawling yet, he sure is eating!  The weekend Kelby was here it was like he decided he needed to be a big boy too and just started pounding anything and everything he could get his little pinchers on. 

I love to see him eat -- he is SO happy!  

Favorite things to do: 

Top of the list this month is his WALKER.  He speeds around the house in this thing!   Since we have hardwood and tile downstairs he basically has free reign to go wherever his little feetsies will take him.

Next up would be eating his PUFFS!  If all else fails - we get out the Puff container, shake it around for him and we will get an instant smile.  Those little rice treats sure do the trick! 

Things he does NOT like to do: 
 - He is starting to fight getting into his carseat.  He wants to sit up and see what is going on... I don't think it will be long and we'll have him in the next stage up just so he can be a little happier in the car!

Things he has learned

1.  How to zoom around in his walker!
2. How to get real food from his tray to his mouth... and 'score' more often then miss :-)

Things mommy has learned:

Crying it out stinks -- but the sleep for me is worth it!

Here are some of our favorite pics from the month: 

Playtime with our buddy Bennett... trouble. trouble. trouble.  They learn their tricks from their mommys ;-)

This smile just melts my heart.  Grandma Merrill sent me this photo when i was on a business trip in San Diego and I think I looked at it 100 times while I was there!

Just playin' with my baseball and chewing on my Number 1!

The big visit from cousin Kelby!

So....tell me what you think about these pumpkins, Kelby!

There is something about seeing how happy your baby is that makes you just smile bigger than you ever though possible.

EGGS -- I want to eat more EGGS!

Pure cuteness.

Look mom, it has my name on it! 

Priceless.  A piggie and a 'Ruff-eree'.  TWEET and OINK!

Family picture day -- just keep feeding me Puffs and I'll be good!

Charm defined.

Another great month in the books for Mr. Drew Robert.  We love you SO SO much!

BOO FROM DREW!

Well I can certainly say that Drew enjoyed his 1st Halloween!  It actually started on the 29th when he wore his new spooky PJs (compliments of Aunt Wendy) to bed and decided to stay up late waiting for daddy to get home from an 8 day trip! 

 His teeth were bothering him, so daddy had to show him how to use the teething ring!  It's funny because the only way he will chew on it is if daddy is sharing it with him.  HA!

On Halloween morning he woke up in a happy mood and we took some fun shots next to his pumpkin in his Glow in the Dark pj's that Grandma Lori sent!

OINK OINK!  This little piggy was ready to go, along with his favorite 'Ruff'-eree, Sammy! We decided that since we weren't able to see any of our cousins on the farm that we would bring the farm to Tampa....so this little piggy went Trick or Treating!

Mommy made some treats for the neighbors and off we went to deliver them.  We had to oink our way around the block to see everyone! ... and if you have seen Drew lately, you know that he has a GREAT squeal -- just like a real piggy!

Sleepy Piggy!

Too many flags thrown tonight - I'm exhausted!

Fun was had by all!  Wonder what fun farm animal we will be next year???????