Take me out to the ballgame!

Where else would Ronnie want to spend his first Father's Day other than the BALLPARK!

He gets tickets to each home game through his scouting job with the Rays - so we booked our seats, had a late breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa Merrill's and all piled into their SUV and took off for St Pete!

Here are some fun pics from the day!

Can we go yet, dad??

Every Sunday the Rays give away stuff for kids (Family Fun Day) - this week they gave away these headphones - of course we had to put them on Drew! 

"Dad - I've got it tuned in to 640 AM, listening to the pre-game radio show like you do..."

Wonder how he ended up on Grandma's lap....hmmmmmmmm.....

Such a fun day!

3 months... REALLY???!!!

Three Month Stats 'n' Stuff:

Weight: We think he weighs about 14 and a half pounds... Grandma and Grandma Merrill weighed and measured him at their house last week.  Our next doctor's appointment is in July at his 4 mo. check up.  So we are ball parking for now!

Height: 23 inches according to Grandma and Grandpa... if that is the case then this little guy has gained 3 lbs in one month but not gotten any taller.  He is officially a little CHUB-ROCK!

Eyes: Still blue!

Hair: Blonde fuzz!  He had cradle cap up until his baptism - that oil they put on his head cleared it all up!

Sleeping habits:  
 - Daytime  - he is quite the morning snoozer.  He likes to nap pretty much until about 11am everyday, but after that the naps are slim to none.  Maybe a little cat-nap here and there after he eats but not usually a big afternoon nap.
 - Nightime -  he has been going to bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and sleeping solid until 5-6am.  Every now and then he'll throw us a curve ball and wake up a little earlier, but it's always to eat then right back to sleep.  After his early morning feeding he snuggles up in his crib and goes right back to sleep for awhile.  This is when mommy sneaks in her exercise :-)

Favorite things to do: 
- COOING!  He is such a loud little munchkin these days!  He loves to lay on his play matt, pull on the toys that dangle down and just laugh and coo... and laugh and coo...  happy baby!
 -  He JUST started responding to peek-a-boo too.  He gets this big cheesy grin on his face when you pull your hands back.  LOVE IT!

- He has lost interest in his paci - but found interest in sucking on his hands.  He almost gets that little thumb in there!  He also likes to pull his blanket up and suck on that too.  This all reminds me of my little brother Ben.  He was a thumb sucker and had his "sucky-blanky" for a couple years.... 

Things he does NOT like to do: 
 - Well.. this list is pretty short now!  He gets congested at night and I've tried a couple times to put the saline drops in and suck the boogies out with the blue bulb thing.  NOT. HAPPY.  ... we just leave those little boogies in there now.  Hahah. 

Things he has learned
 - He has learned he can make noise other than crying!  Cooing and his little baby "ahh-gooo" is his new thing!
 - Now when he lays on his play mat he pulls on the rings and tries to move the toys, he also does the same with the toy on his carseat.   



Things mommy has learned:

Mommy is officially back to work and learned how to work must FASTER!  I hate being away from this little guy during the day so I try to cram and hustle as fast as I can so I can zoom home to see him!  

Here are a bunch of fun pics from month 3!

I just know I am going to miss this when he is too big to fall asleep on me...so  I let him do it whenever I  can :-)

Mother's Day Brunch with Grandma Merrill and Aunt Steph - what a fun day!

I"'m comin' to get you mom!"

"They say I'm getting chubby and have chipmunk cheeks.  I have no idea what they are talking about???"

DUCKY DREW!  QUACK QUACK!

MY BOYS.

Practicing sitting up...

Holding his head up like big boy!

Pouty face.  Is it weerd that I think he is adorable when he is mad??? :-)


  

We love you so much, Drew Robert!  Can't wait to see what month 4 brings!

Fun, fun, fun!

Not only did we celebrate Drew's baptism the weekend of June 1st, we also found some time for FUN with Aunt Wendy, Cousin Luke and Papa Butcher!  After spending most of the day at the house on Saturday, we decided to break out to enjoy the beach.  It's only a 60 min. drive - door to beach from our house....

"Hey Luke - wanna go to the beach today?"
"Sure Drew - do they have milk there?  If so - I''m in!"  :-) 

However, we had a bit of a dilemma when it came to transportation.  Ronnie and I drive a 5 seat SUV and with two car seats and 4 adults, we were short one spot.  Our options were to take two cars OR somehow fit.  Leave it to Papa Butcher to figure this one out and make it fun -- we all piled in like it was a clown car. 

When determining where to camp out when we got there, it was a no-brainer!  Of course we were going to head to Clearwater Beach and stop at the SandPearl Resort where Ronnie and I got married.  Such great memories from our wedding!  Dad and I even did a walk down the big stairs for old times sake :-)

 We ended up finding a shaded spot at Tate's Bar right on the beach.  Was great for the little boys because we had the big shade umbrellas and quick access to the bathroom for diaper changes.  It was great for us adults because we had quick access to drinks and live music :-)

Dad - I don't think I got your skin type...:-(

This picture is taken in front of the rock that Ronnie and I have in one of our FAVORITE wedding pics!  

Same rock!

Lovin' the sun and spending time with Papa - he is so silly!

Drew's first day at the beach!

Luke took 'relaxing at the beach' to a whole new level!  

+

Look at these two little beach bums! 

Aside from our fun adventure to the beach, Drew also had some fun with Papa Butcher showing him how he likes to look around.  We joke that he is going to be a basketball player at Iowa State one day and will be the star point guard because his head is on a swivel!  Well...  Papa thought he resembles a hawk, flying around looking for little mice.  Don't know where he gets these things but they are always so funny!

 

It was a WONDERFUL weekend and always such a treat when my family comes to visit.  I look forward to it SO much and each trip is so special.  Thank you Aunt Wendy and Papa Butcher for making the trip.  Drew and Luke are already best buddies just like their mommies are :-)  Love you guys so much!

June 1, 2013: A day to celebrate

 

On June 1, 2013 Drew Robert was baptized at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Tampa, FL.  It was such a special day as we celebrated Drew becoming a child of God and recieving the gifts of eternal life and forgiveness of sins.     


The ceremony was beautiful - it was held on Saturday morning (yes, it seemed very strange not having it on a Sunday), but our church conducts all infant baptisms on the first Saturday of every month.  There were 4 other babies baptized during the same ceremony - but Deacon Jose made the ceremony very personal and it felt like we were the only family there! 

Speaking of family, Wendy, Luke and Papa made the trip down to Tampa for Drew's special day!  Here is a shot of the boys before the ceremony... resting up to be good little boys during church!

Jesus loves you, Drew and so do we!

During the ceremony they also did a very special blessing for the parents.  Of course I teared up holding Ronnie's hand and thinking about all the amazing blessings I have received from God!

Wendy and Brad are the Godparents to Drew - what a lucky boy he is to have such wonderful Godparents to look after him! 

Brad stayed home with cousin Ethan, so Alex Rodriguez (no, not the baseball player :) Ronnie's best friend stood in Brad's place.  

 Also at the ceremony were Grandma and Grandpa Merrill, Aunt Steph, Papa and Cousin Luke.

We got some great family photos at the altar  - these were actually taken prior to the ceremony.  You can also see that Drew is wearing a long white sweater gown.  Ronnie's Grandma Merrill made this gown so we dressed Drew in it for the ceremony. 

 

After the ceremony we headed back home for brunch. It's starting to really heat up down here - but we managed to take advantage of Florida living and sat outside on the lanai to eat. 



It didn't take long until the little boys got roudy!  :-)

  .... then sleepy.... Drew's cuban "Titi" Raquel came over in the afternoon to celebrate too.

Thanks for putting me back to sleep, Aunt Steph!  This has been a BIG day!

It truly was a beautiful day - welcome to God's Kingdom Baby Drew!  We all love you so so much!