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??????? 

Adventures with Cousin Kelby!

This post is all about our COUSIN KELBY!  Recently, Aunt Melissa (my brother Andrew's wife) and Drew's cousin Kelby made a break for the warm weather and came down to Tampa to visit.  As soon as the tickets were booked I started planning and plotting what we were going to do for a few days... an 8 mo. old and a 14 mo. old can be tough to entertain and exhausting for the mommies.  Ronnie was scouting in Jupiter, FL for the weekend and Andrew was in the farm.  So it was just and the little boys!

They got in on Thursday afternoon and and our first stop was for some FOOD for Mr. Kelby!  This little tyke likes to eat and one of the most memorable things for me on this trip is that he showed Drew how easy it was to eat big boy food -- Drew had never tried anything other then baby food before this trip... but by the end he was crushing mashed potatoes, macaroni and slamming Puffs by the handful!  Thanks Kelby for showing me how it's done!

This ham is pretty good... but when do I get to see Drew????

 Once we got back to the house and settled it was obvious that Mr. Kelby wasn't gonna last long in our non-baby proofed house (also learned that we have lots of baby proffing to do!).  He LOOOOVED the stairs and it made me tired just watching him climb.  So we decided to toss the boys in the storllers and head to the park!

Hey Kelby -- do they have sand at the parks in Iowa? 

Back to the house  - it was dinner time.  Drew decided he would treat Kelby to some spaghetti (notice the spaghetti spots on Kelby's shirt.  I think he liked it!

 The next day we had lots of fun adventures planned! Since the SandPearl is such a great place to camp out for the day (and brings back such great memories) we hit the beach there, then the pool and had lunch poolside. 

'This stuff feels funny between my toes, mommy!'

Beautiful Clearwater Beach -- good times with some very cute little boys!

 Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of when we were in the pool - but it was quite entertaining.  Melissa brought a blow up float for Kelby which was like a little race car, and Drew had his float..  It was more like a sail boat compared to Kelby's fast car!  They had a blast and it was so relaxing just hanging out at the pool.

On the way home we decided to take a pit stop at the Pumpkin Patch!  It was halfway home and a good break from the Friday afternoon traffic so it worked out perfectly.

However, me and Melissa got a good laugh when we pulled up.  This was more of a 'Pumpkin Photo Opp'  than a Pumpkin Patch!  It was about 10 feet x 10 feet and had about 20 pumpkins.. not like the pumpkin patches you find in Iowa!  HAHA.  Regardless... we had a great time and of course came home with a Pumpkin!

'Hey Kelby -- do they have Pumpkins in Iowa?'

'This sure is a weird looking pumpkin!'

BOO, MOM!  Do you see me???

WHOA MOM -- can we take this one home????!!!!

'No, Drew... we'll find a smaller one :-)"

Our Saturday plan was to go to the zoo for a few hours in the morning, then try to get lunch and catch the second half of the ISU v OKS game somewhere. 

Getting ready to head to the ZOO and being silly with Aunt Melissa!

 I had never been to the Lowry Park Zoo before, so wasn't sure what to expect... but it was AWESOME.  It was the perfect size for spending a few hours walking around to see things and they had tons of fun stuff to do for the little guys.  Our first stop was the petting zoo...

"That sure is a funny looking horse, mom... "

'I'll touch it if you touch it first, Kelby...'

Riding the little choo-choo train, he loved it!

 Our highlight of the zoo was definitely the carousel.  Drew rode the cheetah (very fitting for his pace) and Kelby the gorilla (since he marches around like one!)  Drew absolutely loved the ride and I have to admit that these things go much faster and higher then I ever remembered!  Mommy was getting very dizzy........

A good time was had by all at the zoo... not off to lunch and cheer on our Cyclones!  Wish I could say that lunch was relaxing and fun... however that would be stretching the truth.  These boys had their own plans for this restaraunt.  Kelby got in trouble and had to get back in his stroller and Drew got cranky and had to eat.  I love this picture though...Kelby is sporting Drew's hat (before he pulled it off and threw it on the floor about 10 times) and you can see Drew eating in the background.

Even though these little troopers were getting tired and didn't want to sit -- that didn't mean they weren't hungry!  I ordered a sandwitch and subbed out the fries for the garlic matched potatoes... Drew was still a little fussy so I though 'hey - let's see if he likes mashed potatoes'... UHHH  --- that would be YES!  He couldn't get enough of them.  At  more of them than I did.  It was hilarious!

Sunday was a relaxing day -- the mommies were tired and ready for a break!  So in the afternoon, Ron, Cathy, Stephanie, Raquel and her kids came over to see the babies.  It was a nice break for the mommies and the boys loved all the new attention :-)  

If Kelby can eat eggs - so can I!

Look at these two little guys - what a pair!  Thanks Cousin Kelby for coming to visit me and teaching me all kinds of cool new things!