Yard Sale Success!

Well, our yard sale was a huge hit! Out of all of Drew's clothes, I only had about 15 things left and I am going to take those items to the resale shop. Now I am ready to buy Drew a new winter wardrobe!!

Tomorrow is Drew's follow appointment with his plastic surgeon. I thought his appointment was at 1:00pm, but when I looked today, I found out that it is at 10:00am! We live about 2.5 hours away, so we will have to leave the house around 7am, which means I will have to get up extra early so me and Drew will both be ready to go...blah...I hate getting up early! My mom is going to go with us (and maybe my sister). We'll probably head to one of the malls after his appointment. The St. Louis malls have a lot more to offer than any of the malls near us!!

This morning, Drew got to color for the first time. I bought him some little Crayon Beginnings crayons, which are for 12 month olds, so they are easy to hold. Here he is watching Daddy:

I didn't get any 'action' shots, but he did make most of the scribbles you see on the right of the paper. That's going on the fridge!!

Then, this afternoon, Drew rode his four-wheeler for a bit in the backyard and swung on his swing. He's not really a big fan of that swing though!

BUSY Week!

Monday night, we went to Whitney's softball game. It was the first game of their tournament and they won! They are suppose to be playing tonight for either first or second place, but it is storming really bad here so I'd say it got canceled.

Last night, I took a CPR class through work. I learned how to do adult, child, and infant CPR and also how to use an AED. Then we learned how to help infants, children, and adults that are choking, which is what I was most interested in since Drew seems to choke really easy on food! (I actually took the infant CPR and choking class at the hospital after I had Drew.) Next week is the first aid section and then I will officially be a "heart saver!" It's something good to know, but I really hope I never have to use my new skills.

Today I had training for work about an hour and half from where I live. I learned about Fidiciary income tax returns. Really intersting stuff :) After class, my co-worker Dana and I did a little shopping. I am excited because I got a new dress for a wedding we are going to in September and I got Drew a shirt, pair of pants, and socks from Gymboree. It is part of the football collection and is SO CUTE! I definitley want to get him more of that collection when it goes on sale...

The other thing that has kept me busy this week is me, my mom, and grandma are having a yard sale on Friday evening and Saturday morning. I am getting rid of most of Drew's clothes from last winter. I'm keeping some of the stuff for sentimental reasons and for if we end up having another baby...

Well, just thought I would give an update of what we have been up to. Oh, and here is a glipse of part of Drew's clothes that are for sale. He was in two different sizes last winter (started out in 3-6 months then went into 6-12 months), so I think that is why he had so much stuff!!!

Fun Outside

Drew really likes being outside. Today we played outside with the walking toy that our friends Chris, Daysha, and Ava got him for his birthday. Then he took a little swim in one of his birthday presents from his Uncle Chester, Aunt Penny, and cousins Carly, Dena, and Aiden!

2 Weeks Post-Palate Surgery / 13 Months Old!

Yesterday marked the two-week date since Drew's palate surgery. Just to give everyone an update, he has been sleeping all night since Saturday night and he is eating really well, although I'm mainly still feeding him stage 2 and 3 baby food, and of course that baby oatmeal that he loves! He had his last dose of Tylenol on Tuesday (he was down to just one or two doses a day) and has been in good spirits! As for the arm restrainsts, he only wore them during his nap and at night, but only for about a week. It was like he just knew not to put anything in his mouth! I got a pretty good look at his palate the other night and there are still a lot of stitches. I don't know how long it takes for them to dissolve. Overall, Drew has done much better with this surgery than I ever, ever thought possible!

Also, today Drew is 13 months old! He is not walking yet, but getting a little braver about letting go of stuff and kind of "falling" into our arms. He walks all around the furniture and pushes those little walking toys around, so hopefully not much longer. I am anxious for him to start walking!!!

Below is the only picture I got of him today. Jon and I went to pick him up at my mom and stepdad's after work and then we went to visits some friends. We went ahead and put him in his jammies before we left their house and he was pretty much out of it by the time we got home as you can see from this picture...

Drew's First Trip to the Fair!

Last night, Jon, Drew, and I went to the county fair -- it was Drew's first time going to a fair! There wasn't a lot for him to do, but we did get to ride the carousel. Then, we watched part of the four wheeler races, which Drew really liked!!

Her really liked Ely's portable fan!

Pictures from Sears

Drew slept through the night again last night, so I think we are back on track! And just in time for me to go back to work (today was my first day back).

My mom and I took Drew to Sear's on his birthday (6-25-08) to get his picture taken. I forgot that I had the images on a CD, so here are some of them...

My fav!

This was the best shot they could get of him with the "number 1" as he didn't want to sit beside it or stand up holding on to it.

Speech Therapy

First of all, I have to mention that Drew slept through the night last night and didn't wake up once! I am hoping this means he is getting back on track with his sleep schedule!

This morning, Drew's speech therapist came by for a visit. She worked with him a few times before his palate surgery, but now that his palate has been repaired, she will probably be coming to work with him more often.

Right before his palate surgery I noticed that he was trying to say "ball," which are his favorite toys. But because his palate wasn't repaired, it sounded like "mall."

I'm no speech therapist, but what I have learned about speech during this process is that those of us without a cleft palate have a flap in the back of our throats that keeps air from coming out of our noses when it isn't suppose to. I think the only sounds that are suppose to come out of our noses are "m" and "n." Drew had no flap so every noise he made came out of his nose and basically sounded like an "m." So even if he was trying to say "da da" it would sound like "ma ma."

Part of the palate surgery was to reconstruct that flap. In some cases, the initial repair isn't enough to keep air from coming out of the nose and a second repair is necessary, but you typically won't know this until the child is old enough to speak really well (maybe around 3). I guess I wasn't sure what to expect after the palate surgery. A part of me thought (and hoped) that he would now be able to pronounce everything correctly. However, I think he has to learn how to use his new flap because "ball" still sounds like "mall." I also think he tries to say "bear" and "book," but again they all kind of have the same "m" sound.

If any parents whose child has already had their palate repaired can let me know how their child did/is doing with speech, I would appreciate it!!!

And now a few pics...

Watching Baby E at his new table!

Baby McDonald is funny!!

Almost Back to Normal!

Last night was the first time since his surgery that Drew has slept through the night. He actually woke up crying once, but Jon was on monitor duty and said that by the time he walked over to his room (which is just across the hallway from ours) he was back asleep. So he slept from 8:30pm until 7:30am. He use to sleep until 8:30am, but I'll take 7:30 if it means he'll sleep through the night! We are still giving him Tylenol, but just the regular kind and only about twice a day.

Saturday, we went to a family reunion. Here is a picture that Jon took of Drew and I on the way back home. He said that I had to post it... (I don't usually ride in the backseat with him, but I was afraid he'd get brave and try to put his fingers in his mouth!)

Back at home with my favorite little guy!


In his cute outfit from my friend Laurie's store - Babies & Buttercups!

Whitney's Softball Game

Tonight, we went to Whitney's softball game. My grandma's business is the team's sponsor, so we all have shirts! Drew had a good time. It was kind of hot, so Drew and Mama sat in her van with the AC going for part of the game and he ended up taking a short nap! He woke up in time to see the end of the game, which Whitney's team won!!

Swimming!

Today, Drew and I went to my mom's house. Then me, Drew, Mom, Whitney, and Mama Mary Kay went swimming!

Me and Drew...he wouldn't look at the camera!


Whitney belly flopping!


This is funny! Whitney found a frog and was showing it to Drew.


The next thing we new, it jumped on mom's nose!! (double click on picture to make it bigger to see the full effect!)


The swimming wore him out!