Drew Entertains

Drew's Great Aunt Francie and Great Uncle John are visiting with us for a few days, and then GranMama comes round the mountain for another visit too. It's fun to watch Drew be introduced to new people. It does take him a couple minutes to warm up to a new face now, but once he does, you're buds forever. Last night, he really enjoyed Francie and hanging out with her a little bit.

Today we plan to go for a walk in downtown Parkville. Should be lovely, if not too hot.

On his Seven Month mark, Drew has six teeth total. The two front ones up top are out completely now and the two on either side are coming in behind. He's not real fussy - he seems to be used to the feeling by now.

Off to play in the sunshine!

PS He's actually crawled about 3-4 feet a couple of times. He'll be a master by the time his Great Aunt and Uncle leave!

Drew's New Tricks

Drew is growing so quickly! His second tooth on the top has now pushed its way through and will most likely be visible to are visiting relatives in the weeks to come. So that makes four teeth total already which also means that the breast feeding is slowly dwindling. Although, I know it can continue simultaneously he's much more interested in looking around and being fed upright then the old school way.  And along with the teeth comes the responsibility of brushing them every night:

Drew's vocabulary continues to grow. He has added the mono-syllabic words of "da", which usually becomes "dadadadada" and ba, along with "momma". However, Mom and Dad agree that the association to those words hasn't quite been established yet. We do encourage it vigorously though, and accompany the nodding and prompting with the related signs for Mommy and Daddy.

Drew is also on the verge of crawling! When tempted by a fun toy he scooches his rear in the air, almost like the yoga position downward dog and smashes his little nose into the floor. He will wobble around when set in the position...well, here have a look for yourself.

Such a Happy Kid!

I had to add a couple of my favorite pictures from our day at the park as well. I only took about 400 so they were easy to sort through (sarcasm intended). Gotta love digital cameras.

It seems like only yesterday that Drew was not able to hold his head up without some help and now look at him. The old adage of "they grow up fast" is certainly playing out especially as I see Drew beginning to enjoy these kinds of activities. Before we know it he will be running around doing all the things that a little boy should be doing - until then I am trying to live in the moment each day to not miss anything. Drew is certainly a great subject for my camera.

He loves to swing!

Happy Boy

What's new with that baby in the picture? Drew had a swim class at the Y yesterday. We'll go back twice a week for a month or so. He dunked his head underwater - and survived quite well! He was a bit shocked, but recovered quickly and still enjoyed the water after that even though his little body and lips were blue by the time we got out. Infants at six months still have a tough time regulating their body heat, plus he's got no insulation ie. baby fat!

We visited the doctor today basically to ease my mind about his weight, or lack thereof. I was encouraged to see he had gained a half pound since the last appointment only six days ago. Keep that in mind when you go to add that cream to your coffee in the mornings - it DOES make a difference! And that little dab of butter? Doesn't take much to pack on the pounds with those devices. However, even with that success we may check out this Feeding Clinic the hospital puts on for tots with trouble eating properly. We've got to get him more interested in food!

We also previewed a Kindermusik class last night - which he is obviously going to love! He was all smiles when we were watching the kids sing and dance and it was clear he was itching to be able to walk so he could join in. We're going to attend with a friend we met in Gymboree - Jacob and Shelly. Jacob is about 2 months older than Drew and his good buddy - or on the way to being anyway.

Our sitter, Paula, says she thinks he's going to be crawling any day now the way he pushes his legs up under himself and scooches along. It's so exciting to see all these little milestones and progress yet, bittersweet at the same time.

Oh and one other milestone, a third tooth. Yep, tooth. Just one. Three is a good number...won't be long before it's a mouthful!

Speaking of mouthfuls: the introduction to solids is getting close to ending. He's had avocado, sweet potato, rice, barley and oatmeal, banana and yogurt. Just two more veggies and we're on to stage two foods. Stage two - anything that is mashed up real good. Yum.

6 Months Old and a World Traveler

What is it like to feel the sand in your toes for the first time? Or the swirl of cool water over your body out in the bright sunshine? Ask Drew, he knows. He experienced it all for the first time on our trip to Puerto Vallarta this past weekend. He was clearly focused and in the moment, absorbing the experience of swimming for the first time. He didn't get upset, but he was obviously trying to figure the whole thing out. Eventually, he was able to relax enough to let out a smile or two...here's a slide show of our trip. And a MOVIE.

In case you're wondering, we escaped Mexico without the Swine Flu. So don't worry about getting it from us, even though Drew does have a tendency to sneeze on you if you're not careful. But that's only when that pesky sunshine getting in his eyes.

The trip was wonderful overall, short and sweet. Can't wait to go back! I will post video of our time in PV shortly.

Meanwhile, yesterday was his 6 month old doctor appointment already. He is still quite low on the percentile range, actually lower now. So it's time to take action the doctor says: cream and butter! We can add that to his meals to try to fatten him up. It's not recommended, however, for the middle aged mom and dad.