Drew's 1!!!!

On July 1st, we celebrated Drew's first birthday in Forsyth (the "real" party to follow later in MS).  I truly cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by!  Though I try to savor each moment and not rush the time to pass, it inevitably flies by much faster than I am prepared for.  My sweet little baby is no longer very much "baby" and becoming more and more toddler.  Drew remains the happiest, go-with-the-flow, giggliest, snugly sweet boy.  He brings so much joy and laughter to our lives, and it has been so fun watching him and Mac together this year.  They are becoming such fun playmates.  Mac is a sweet, loving big brother, and Drew wants to do everything just like Mac.    

Exploring before we leave for church

Love the excited look on Drew's face

And loving this very serious, get to business look :)

I LOVE these boys (and Drew loves his new birthday cake toy!)

We had a smash cake for Drew that afternoon.  His emotions were all over the map...loved it, hated it, loved it again :)  He at first was very cautious and took only little swipes of icing.  It didn't take him long, however, to figure out that he could cram it in his mouth!  

 Mac really, really liked Drew's new toy...He loved all of the celebrations and very sweetly and politely kept asking when his birthday celebration was going to be :)

 Some of the many faces of Baby Drew

Remembering...

                                      Mac - 10 months                      Drew - 11 months

These chairs must be fun because both boys loved to play in, under and around them (and still do!).  When I saw the pic I took of Drew, I was immediately reminded of the picture I had of Mac.  It is still hard to believe that Mac isn't a baby anymore.  I mean, geez, Drew is hardly still a baby :(  Where does the time go??? 

Let the Celebrations Begin!

Sam's birthday was June 30, and Drew's was July 1.  Their birthdays were the first for me to institute "birthday week."  A new tradition we will do every year forever :)  I decorated the house a week before and all during their birthday week, they received little treats and gifts and special food.  It was so fun and makes the special day last longer, which as a child I insisted upon :)  

These were Drew's reactions to the streamers and balloons.  Mac also loved the "celebration."  Anything that is great and fun for Mac is deemed a celebration these days :)

Sam's birthday fell on a Saturday so we started our lazy day with yummy, sweet cake batter pancakes.  A big hit for us all!

The party then moved out to the front yard where, thanks to record heat and drought, we ALL (yes, I said all) got in our little kiddie pool!  Whatcha reckon the neighbors thought about that??? LOL

Our own little splash pad (see that brown, dead, crunchy grass?)

Mac tried to smile for the pic; Drew, not so much :)

Life is good at 33!!!

"This is Baby Drew. He's my best brudder in the whole world!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Much Deserved Train Ride

To help Mac stay in his bed at night, we instituted a bedtime reward chart.  For each night that he "goes right to sleep like a big boy with no crying and whining and no getting out of bed" he receives a sticker on the chart the next morning.  The chart has worked like a charm!  I usually let him choose his upcoming prize (something he wants causes him to work hard at going to sleep!), and for a prize this summer he chose to ride the train at The Landing.  Remember that Mac is obsessed with Thomas and ALL things train :)  When his chart was all filled up with eight stickers (amount varies from chart to chart), we headed down to claim his prize.

 Getting ready to ride the train!!!!!

This turned into a family affair (making this prize a bit more expensive than most, especially considering we went at lunch time LOL)

Drew in mid-wave.  He has had no choice but to also like trains :)

Seeing the world

Mr. Conductor

"Ooh"

He picked the caboose to ride in.

Sam couldn't say no to a very sweet plea to get a balloon from Ronzo the Clown.  Ronzo boasts being able to make anything you can think of.  What did Mac pick?  You guessed it...Thomas!

"Choo, choo"

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

 

Sam played on a church softball team and so began Mac's love for the game of baseball.  Most of the games were late at night, but we tried to attend those we could.  Mac liked for us to arrive early so he could have some playing time of his own.  He is so cute as he concentrates on hitting the ball...and for a two year old, he is pretty darn good.  No T-ball here, folks, just real deal baseball! haha  

The fields had a huge playground right by it, so, of course, we had to make a few trips to the swings to play.  And Mac's sweet friend, Jonah, was always there to watch his daddy play too.  Those two little boys are funny to watch!  I guess our baseball-playing days are just beginning!!  

Hello...anybody out there????

 No news is good news, unless you are referring to a blog.  And mine has gone silent for over a month!!!  The silence, however, is not for lack of things to blog about.  Quite the opposite.  We have been crazy busy, and with a move to a new house outside of city limits came the dry spell of no internet.  But, oh happy day, the internet has returned, and so I must now play catch up (so I can keep us up to date for our blog book!)