First Day of School!

Today was Drew's first first day of school! He is in the Early Childhood program, which is mostly for kids who are too old to receive services (speech, OT, PT) through Early Intervention (which ends when a child turns 3), but still need some extra help. He will go 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours a day and will have 25 minute speech sessions with one of the school speech therapists 3x's per week.

So Drew, things I want to remember about today:

...how CUTE you looked in your little shark shirt that you picked out.


...how you nodded your head "yes" and said "uh huh" when I showed you the big school from the truck window and asked if you wanted to go there.

...how happy you were walking in. The other EC teacher was standing outside and we know her from church, so you gave her a hug. Also, one of my best friends works there (Ms. Braci!) so you were happy to see another familiar face!

...how curious you were when we first got to your room. You wanted to check out all of the toys and everything on the walls, even though it was a little wild in there -- 6 kids (all boys), and lots of teacher, aides, and parents.

...how you cried when I told you I had to leave (not a good memory...and yes I cried too--good thing Daddy was there!), but after standing outside the class room for about a minute, how we no longer heard you crying. I knew you would be ok, but it was still very hard leaving you with a room full of people that you didn't know.

...how your teacher (knowing I was sad when I left) sent me a picture of you playing.


...how Braci (also knowing I was sad) went and visited with you and then called to tell me how great you were doing!

...how happy and cute you looked when I picked you up with your little backpack on! (Although you were a little unsure about the stamp the teacher put on your hand!!)


...hearing the teacher and aides tell me how great you did!


...being so very, very proud of my little 3-year old school boy :)

I love you so much Drew! Here's hoping to an even better day tomorrow!!

Wordless Wednesday -- Ice Cream!!!

It's Potty Time!!

At 3 years, 1 month, and 6 days old, something clicked and Drew started using the potty! We’d had the “peeing on a tree” event earlier that week and maybe that is what sparked it! All I know is it started Saturday night after a long shopping day with Mom and Whitney. Once we got home, I had Drew go to the bathroom when Jon did (which is nothing new). Then I asked him if he wanted to pee in the potty like Daddy so he stood there and tried but nothing happened. The next thing I know, he is in there with Jon…peeing! And it was hilarious!! He would pee just a little bit and then start laughing, then pee some more and start laughing! Luckily I thought to grab my camera (the pics had to be cropped for obvious reasons!).



He peed in the potty two more times that night before bed! Sunday morning we got ready for church so not much of an opportunity to use the potty. Then we went to the river so, again, didn’t really get to reinforce what had started the night before. He stayed with my mom Sunday night and she said he was peeing in the potty that night and when I talked to her at 11:00 on Monday morning, he had only had one accident and had been peeing in the potty all morning (#2 is a different story…).

He seems to do best, though, with no diaper or underwear on. When I picked him up from mom’s yesterday, she had underwear on him and when we got home, he had an accident. After that, I stripped him down to just a shirt and no more accidents the rest of the night. (The M&M's he got after peeing might have helped -- he definitely has that part figured out -- even if just a little drop comes out, he's looking for his treat!) He even woke up with a dry diaper and peed in the potty this morning before going to school! Not sure how he’ll do at school today since he has a Pull-up on, but I definitely think we are headed in the right direction!! Yay!!

Fun at the Fair and Some Firsts

It's the end of July and in our small town, that means it's time for the County Fair! Jon and I took Drew last night. When we first got there, Drew rode some rides and played some games.

Then we headed to the grandstand to watch the 4-wheeler races. It was hot but not unbearably so. It was, however, very humid which equals fuzzy hair for me and curly hair for Drew!


And what's a trip to the fair without some yummy food? Drew's fave was definitely the funnel cake, but who can blame him!

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Some others things before I forget...

On Monday, Drew peed for the first time ever...on a tree! Yep, not on his potty, but on a tree. We were outside in our backyard and Drew was running around with just a shirt on and I asked him if he wanted to pee on the tree. He came over there, pulled his shirt up and just stood there for a few seconds, but nothing happened so off he went to play. Then a couple of minutes later, he came running over to the tree and peed on it! So now I know that he knows when he needs to pee and how to control it...it's just making him care! If I can get a couple of free days, I'm just going to let him go pantless or put him in undies because that's the only time he realizes he's peeing and I think that's the key for him (it also means lots of messes to clean up though...). And with only a little over 2 months left before Baby B arrives, I really don't want to be buying diapers for two!

On Tuesday night, we finally converted Drew's crib into a toddler bed. It has been going great! The past three nights he's went to sleep like always and hasn't tested his new freedom of being able to get out of bed by himself. Because I'm kind of paranoid, though, we've been putting a gate up in his doorway at night because I'm afraid he might wake up in the middle of the night and just go roaming around the house! He hasn't been here to take a nap in it yet, so I hope it goes just as smooth!!

28 Week Ultrasound Pics

I had my 28 week doctor’s appointment yesterday and also an ultrasound so they could check my placenta (which looked good). I was so happy to get another look at Baby B! She was even able to get a few good 3d shots, which they didn’t do at my doctor’s office when I was pregnant with Drew. I thought they were pretty amazing…


I also asked my doctor about when she would schedule my C-section, and she said, “How about today!” So, assuming I don’t go into labor first, we now know when we’ll get to meet our new little baby!

Since I don’t work on Mondays, I took Drew with me and he was so good! After my appointment, we went to Toys-R-Us. Drew is so good in toy stores – all he wants to do is walk around and play with stuff! I kept asking him, “Do you want to take this home with you?” and he would just shake his head no! I finally got him to get a John Deere dump truck and fork lift set. I also got him a little backpack since he’ll be starting school next month!

(crappy camera phone pic)


After about an hour in Toys-R-Us, we headed to Steak ‘N Shake for lunch. Drew isn’t the best to take out to eat so I was kind of nervous going by myself, especially since they were really busy and really slow. Luckily, he was good, even though he wouldn’t eat anything. I guess the milk shake before the food arrived wasn’t a good idea! But hey, whatever keeps him happy!!

Jon is going to start painting Drew’s new room tonight so hopefully that will all come together soon, since there isn’t much time left!

Baby Boy #2 Update

I haven't written much about this pregnancy, probably because I haven't been able to find the time to blog about much of anything lately! So I thought today would be a good day to do an update, because as hard as it is to believe, I am 28 weeks pregnant today, which marks the official start to my third (and final!) trimester!!

Overall, this pregnancy has been going great! The nauseousness went away around 15-16 weeks and things have been good since then. At my 26 week doctor appointment, I was measuring right at 26 weeks and had gained almost 20 pounds. I've been having a bit of swelling in my feet and hands, but nothing to worry about. I just have to remind myself to get up and walk around at work because sitting at a desk all day is not good for the circulation! And of course I swell up when I'm outside in the heat. My sugar test came back good, but my iron was low, so I'm taking an iron supplement every day now (which I had to do with Drew too.) My next doctor's appointment is Monday and they are going to do another ultrasound so I'm hoping to get a good look at my new little one!

We don't have a name picked out, but I'm not worried...yet...

We are having a garage sale this weekend so getting ready for that has been keeping us busy, but the project for next week is Drew's new room and getting it painted. He is still sleeping in his crib, so I really need to bite the bullet and convert it to a toddler bed while he is still in his familiar room -- I'd hate to move him to a new room with a new bed all at once! Kind of a bummer...all of the bedding I bought is for when we convert his crib to a full size bed and I'm not sure when that will be!

Then we'll work on the nursery -- not much to do to it. We did buy a new crib and bedding, but we aren't changing any of the other furniture or paint.

And now for some pics!!!

17 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

22 weeks

23 weeks -- with my new hair-do!

25 weeks - w/my BFF who is 3 weeks further along than me, with little boy Max!

27 weeks (pretty sure I'm going to be HUGE by the time October gets here!!!)

And of course, one of me and my little buddy!

Celebrating the 4th of July!

What a fun and busy 4th of July we had this year! We started the celebration on Wednesday (June 30th) by attending InTOTALdependence Day, which our church sponsored. Drew loved the cotton candy, ice cream, bouncy houses, and checking out the firetruck!


Checking his reflection out!


On Saturday, we went boating with our friends Bric and Rachel. It was Drew's first time on the river and he loved it!




That night we enjoyed fireworks at Sand Ridge.

The next day was 4th of July. We spent the afternoon at Aunt Dar's enjoying good food, family, and swimming and then we watched fireworks at Nan and Pop's. I was so excited to get to see my best friend Daysha, who is also pregnant -- three weeks ahead of me with a baby boy too!


On Monday morning, we got up bright and early and headed to Cave City, KY with Gabe, Laurie, and Colten. Once we got there, our first stop was Dinosaur World!


Dino dig -- you can see who was doing all the work!


Dinosaurs say "Roar!!!!!!!!!!!!"


We let him climb the fence for this pic...




Later that night, we took a tour of Mammoth Cave. It was so cold in there that poor little Drew was shaking. When he finally got use to it, though, he really enjoyed it.




The next day we visited the Kentucky Railway in New Haven. The boys enjoyed the train ride.




On our way home.


It was back to the real world and work on Wednesday...

Drew's 3rd Birthday Party

Dear Drew ~ After celebrating your actual birthday on Friday, we had a family party for you on Saturday. It was a dinosaur theme because you love dinosaurs right now!




We had the party at 11:00am this year and first on the agenda was opening presents!




A very special gift...a handmade quilt by your late great-great-grandma Dodson:




Then it was time to eat lunch...


...and, of course, to have cupcakes for dessert!




Here is a picture I have been wanting to get for a while...it is you with all (but one) of your grandparents!!


And don't forget about a picture with mommy and daddy!


Can't believe that you're threeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!