Washington DC

March 26-April 1

Drew's 5th month was marked by his first trip! We recently made a trip to visit the Williams family in Washington DC where Unlce Aaron and Aunt Pinky live. Being my first time to our great Capital we took a couple days to sightsee.

It was nice to be reminded of some of our country's history, and there isn't a better place to do this than DC. We saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials, toured the Capital, explored the Air & Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, the National Aquarium, and finally watched the 'changing of the guards' at the Arlington Cementary. Oh and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and absolutely beautiful.

We also made a drive into the mountains of Virginia to Massanutten Resort. Luke had so much fun playing with cousins Jaxon and Jaeci. Making crafts with Mamaw, and playing at the waterpark with Papaw.

We all took turns lazily floating around the lazy river as it was Lukes favorite thing to do, suprisingly avoiding the slides. Drew's first water play experience only lasted a few minutes and was proceeded by a nap in his stroller until it was time to go. But, he sure looked cute!!!

LUKE is THREE !

Our little Guy is a Big 3 year old now! We celebrated his Birthday with a few friends and a Cars party! I made a racetrack cake, stoplight snacks, and cardboard cars to run races in the sunny back yard.
With 3 comes lots of new things that 2 year olds can only Dream about. The top of Luke's Dream List: YLand! Since we have been going to the YMCA Luke has said "I can go to YLAND after my birthday!" its just an indoor play structure in a seperate section of the child watch area, but the kids have to be 3 to go while being watched, otherwise they have to have a parent. I am happy to say he got to go play at Yland the very day after his birthday, and although his excitement was priceless, it lasted pretty much just for that first day.

Another Big Kid activitiy limited to 3+yr olds is gymnastics. So actually on his BirthDay I signed him up for his first kids only (no mommies allowed) class. So far he loves it!

Other exciting 3 year old things:

• Potty Trained! WE finally nailed this one back in Febuary, and he is doing awesome. Of course there have been a few accidents, but he has it down!!
  


• Letter Sounds and Early Reading: Luke has moved on from learning to say new words to learning how to spell them. Full of interest he is in the habit of saying a word and then its first letter. Its really hard for me to believe it too, but often now he will actually read some words. He has always loved books, and this love has translated well into workbooks, you know fun picture ones where you match, color, count, continue patterns, write, etc. Lately, this one of his actvities of choice.



• He also is really getting into playing games, card games like memory, go fish, and a fun Thomas the Train game are among his current favorites.
  


• Along with games, books, cars, and cartoons, Luke still loves to play ball. Baseball, basketball, football, soccer. He has progressed from slamming the ball off the T to actually swinging and hitting pitches, and pretty much refuses to even use the T ( just in time for T-ball practice to start). His pitches are awesome too, for a 3 yr old I think anyway, awesome as in- protect your face mommy cause this will hurt!
  


• An active guy, you can see! So, we got him a bike and it took a day or two to get used to pedaling, but he is off and riding fast now.



• You'd think that as busy as he is we could keep the coveted Nap around just little while longer. but no, the Nap protests began a long time ago, and although I am not quite ready to let it go, Naps are now few and too far between.

There seems to be so much more to do as a 3 year old, and I thought the past few years were busy ones!! 3 year olds are busy! I can't say I can keep up, or love every minute of it. But, I look forward to all the new adventures this year will bring. Watching a child grow is an amazing thing.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little buddy.

Drew Month 4

Yes, my sweet itty bitty is becoming a handsome little boy, already a 4 month old! This month marked the start of a few new things:

Drooling: already putting things to your mouth to coat them in your drool, your favorites being your two fingers.

Rolling: you made your first attempts at rolling a few weeks ago, surprising us all with several tummy to back rolls over and over again. The last few days you have mastered back to tummy and after putting the two together you have quite literally been on a roll.

Sleeping: through the night that is, and the adult definition too- until morning. Although not something I am willing to bet on quite yet, you have made your moma happy more than a few nights by not waking till 6am for your wee morning snack (what had been more like a 3-5am waking) after which you happily drift back to baby lala land till closer to 8:00. Again, makes moma happy- keep it up kid!

Giggling: my attempts to hear that belly laugh of yours have been more and more successful, I have found the trick is repeating something fast and high like; so so so cute, or love love love you.

Oh the life of a baby, and the pleasures of a mom!

Happenings this Week

Drew laughs! a deep baby belly laugh, I love it, if only I could get the video uploaded you would too.

I am excited to introduce our new friend, BobBob. I had gone back and forth about whether or not to get double Bob, but I love single Bob so much, and although Luke is quite the big boy these days walks, with him trying to keep up on foot or via trike just are not are same. Now that Drew is just about big enough, we hope to hang out with Bob a lot more once the weather stays on the warmer side. Our goal is to run the 10k on Memorial Day weekend in support of Capt. Jeff Haney's family, so we better start running.

Its actually been quite chilly here in Texas, like the rest of the country. We even saw snow (only for half a day), but it was fun while it lasted. Luke's first snow day! My handsome Steelers fans watched their team in the Superbowl. It may have been a disapointing game, but they were cute while they watched and it was a good picture opportunity.

Sweet Big Brother

Tonight before going to bed Luke said he had to say goodnight to Drew first, so he walked into the darkened nursery, climbed up on the crib, and quietly whispered, "Goodnight baby Drew". My heart melted. It touches my heart all the ways Luke shows his love for his baby brother: kisses, songs, soft touches, and baby talking chatter. When Drew cries he will say, 'Hey Mom Drew needs you, or go help Drew". Sometimes he will even try soothing Drew himself softfly saying things like "Its okay Drewpy, don't be sad". I don't know which is cuter, the little guy trying to make 'his baby' feel better or the fact that he calls him Drewpy. I Love that he knows and accepts that Drew belongs with us, so much so that he claims Drew to be "his baby". He seems to understand that Drew will grow and be big enough to really play with him one day and I know he looks forward to that day. Now, he is happy to give Drew's baby fist 'nugs', rock is bouncy seat, or shake some rattles. and I am happy to see all the sweet sweet ways Luke is a wonderful big brother.

Drew Month 3

My baby boy is growing up! Today you are a 3 month old, a sweet, happy, fun little 3 month old!

Still full of smiles I couldn't imagine a happier, easier baby. Lucky me to also have the cutest one ever made.
3 months is a pretty significant turning point in a baby's short first year. It is a time when your awareness expands, personality brightens, and a consistent schedule begins to emerge. 3 months marks a time when more play, more laughs, and more fun is on its way.
Lets look back at what this last month has been:
We started going to the gym and the sweet ladies there just love and adore you, of course, and so far you have seemed to really enjoy them too. You will go to and give just about anyone your handsome smile. My little charmer.
You have really mastered head and neck control although you are still not fond of tummy time. You would much more prefer to be held sitting up or even standing with those big beautiful eyes taking in all your surroundings. You love to be sang too, especially by your big brother, who loves to sing and loves you too. You have a great time just sitting and watching your hands, I think you have figured out that you might actually be the one controlling them and prefer to suck on whatever part of that sweet little hand you can get to your mouth. At night you usually end up getting at least one arm up and out of your swaddle and I know you look forward to the day we no longer need the swaddle just as much as I do, don't worry its coming soon. You are a peaceful sleeper, down for the night between 7-8 you make mommy very happy by "sleeping thru the night" for weeks now only waking once between 3-5 for a quick nighttime snack before dozing again till Mommy wakes you after 7. I look forward to seeing you at your happiest every morning and watching you grow every day. I love you, love you, love you.

Game Night Date NIght

Luke has a new best friend since we've been in Texas. Evan and Luke really enjoy playing together and it is interesting to watch a little boy play the way a girl likes to and visa versa. They play everything from trains and chase to shopping and house. I think playing with Evan has really encouraged Luke's own imaginary play and its always facinating the things they pretend to do and what 'grown up' things they will say. Well, last night while the grownups were watching the football game Luke and Evan proclaimed they were going out for "Date Night"! We were all rather surprised as we watched them walk together downstairs to go on this date. They were too cute. But I have to question whether Luke even really knew what was going on, because I know the Williams haven't had a date night in a very long time!

Dear Drew, 2 months

You have been charming me with your sweet little smiles for a few weeks now. I just can't get enough of them, which is good becuase you are full of them. You smile at anything I say, really anything, and not just any smile either, a full chubbyface makes your heart ache gummy smile. You are such a handsome boy. Still a pretty easy baby, you have extended your awake time to about an hour between feeds and naps, spending most of it just smiling away. Your still a sleepy head and although you would probably rather snuggle close in my arms you also nap well in your swing or swaddled in your bed. A healthy eater, you've already gained 4 pounds since birth wieghing in at 11 lbs 14oz and stretched to 23in. You are a happy, healthy, growing baby, and everyday you grow our love for you grows too.

A Williams Christmas in Texas

This year we happily had a full house to Celebrate Christmas. All of Andy's family came down to Texas. We enjoyed our time together exploring some of San Antonio, shopping, hanging out at the house, and hearing the kids play like crazy. Luke loved having his cousins, Uncle A, Aunts, and Mamaw and Papaw to play with.

Luke especially enjoyed everything about Christmas. With a better understanding this year, his excitement was obvious and a joy to see. With lots of help from Jaxson, the kids were sure to leave Santa his cookies and all the reindeer their carrots.
Excitement peaked Christmas Day, when it took just about the whole day to open his presents. Luke took his time to unwrap, setup, and play with each and every gift before moving on to the next. I know spending the time to do so will decrease quickly each year once he gets the hang of it like big cousin Jaxson who easily opened all his gifts in 2 min flat! The kiddos enjoyed playing with eachother and eachother's toys all day and the days to follow. It was a merry family Christmas and I am happy we got to share it with them all.

Short Newborn Days

Drew's days were short his first few weeks of life. My sweet baby just wanted to sleep. Of course I let him, and took advantage of his deep sleepiness by getting some good newborn pics. I found myself holding my breath as I watched him sleep, I didn't want to wake him. I was afraid that it was just a short matter of time until he would start crying and crying and crying the way baby Luke did. The way I kinda thought all babies just did. I tried to think back to the sleepless days of Luke's new life and remember when all the crying began because surely it was just a matter of time Drew did the same. Right?

No, it never really happened, and I should have known that first night in the hospital when he just wanted to sleep, or even the next night at home, when again he just wanted to sleep. But it wasn't until about week 2 that it sunk in, oh, not all babies just cry. Lucky. Blessed. Sweet! Having lived thru those early weeks of Luke's life has made me appreciate that much more the realization that Baby Drew is one of those easy babies I had heard of but didn't really believe in. It is the first of the many ways my boys will show their differences, and I look forward to discovering other ways in which they are the same and not.