Indiana Trip

Chad started a new job today! After he accepted the offer, he had a week until his start date, so we took a quick trip to Indiana. We figured with the baby on the way, and limited vacation time with his new job, we wouldn't be traveling for awhile. We were a little nervous about the weather, but it ended up not being a problem.



The day after we got there, the crew that's building my parents' new kitchen started digging the big hole for the room. Julie had to bring Parker and Will over to see the back hoe and bulldozer at work. The boys loved watching the action! It was amazing how close the machines got to the back door!

Then on Friday, it snowed and sleeted and left the trees looking beautiful!

Despite the crazy weather, Marc, Sarah, Tim and Lyndsey were still able to come over for a little birthday party for Drew and to play some Famiy Feud. Here's Drew getting ready to blow out the candles on his cake. My mom made an egg- and milk-free cake just for Drew...and he was terrified of it! It was worth a try though! He did enjoy everyone singing to him (he now sings, "Haaaaaaaaaappy, Dreeeeeeew!" all the time) and blowing out the candles.

Later, Drew got to hang out with Lyndsey, who he LOVES! They played Hide n' Seek, read books, played with all the toys that were around - they were busy! Here they are reading together.

And he got to color with his Aunt Sarah.

He has had a few masterpieces on his doodle pros. I think they are usually by accident, but I can't tell. He was busy on this one, and then held it up for everyone and said, "hellicopter!" Not too bad!!

Drew is amazing in the car on our 9 hour trips to and from Indiana. He seriously did not cry or whine once either way! He gets a little panicky when he has to go to the bathroom (doesn't want to go while sitting in his carseat), but he was easily distracted. He slept about 30 minutes on our way to Indiana and maybe one hour on our way back home. Here he is on our way home in his Colts gear. We got home just in time to watch the Super Bowl!

Our trip home was very pretty - the ground was covered in snow just about the whole way! But the roads were just fine.

Here's one of the three tunnels that we go through - of course those are Drew's favorites!

SNOW!! And lots of it!

Drew finally got to play in snow that lasted more than a couple hours!! It started snowing yesterday afternoon around 5pm or so while Drew and I were at the Y. He squealed with excitement as we walked out to the car in the parking lot when we were leaving. It was coming down so hard you could hardly see in front of you - and he, of course, thought that was so cool! We got home safe and had a nice warm chili dinner (well, Drew didn't care to try it...he stuck with his usual dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and smiley faces). We had at least 3 inches before we headed to bed! By the time we got up in the morning, it had been sleeting for awhile and packed our snow down a little, but I think we got 5-6 inches. Here's Drew checking it out in his jammies. "Snow!"

But then he didn't want to come inside... So, we had to get bundled up and head out once we ate some breakfast. I had been scheduled to work both Saturday and Sunday, but luckily both things were cancelled so we got to all hang out together. Here's Drew heading out. Notice his little navy homemade scarf - Judy, the lady that works the front desk at the Y (and LOVES Drew) made it for him! She's one of his best friends!

And a video of the excitement! He was too excited for words - he just squeals!

We went for a walk and delivered Drew's birthday party invitations to some of his neighborhood friends. It was still sleeting a little, so we couldn't really make any snowmen.

Here he is stomping in the snow after Chad rescued him. He'd stepped off the sidewalk and toppled over in the snow!

He's on his way back up to the house. Sleet can make playing in the snow not so much fun after awhile.

One more picture! But I don't think he's in the mood to say "cheese!" But his rosey cheeks are pretty cute!

We got a kick out of the perfect little "cake" on the table out back. We wish we had some candles so we could tell Drew that's his birthday cake! I thought I'd found a bakery that could make an egg and milk free cake, but they only do egg free. I'm on a mission to find a treat that he can share with his friends on his birthday. I refuse to serve everyone but him birthday cake - he definitely understands what dessert is, so that would be cruel!

Go Colts!

Yay Colts! Drew wore his Peyton Manning jersey today and cheered them on. Well, he was busy playing during the game, but he looked good anyways! We look forward to watching them in the Super Bowl.

I got a used bassinet from another mom in the Lake Norman Mommies Network that I'm a member of. It is so pretty and will be wonderful for those long nights of short intervals of sleep! Drew likes to rock it, and he sings, "Rock a baby...in treetop." His job has been to keep Simon out of there, "Get out, Simon!"

And here's a glider and ottoman that I got from another mom in the LKNM network. We're playing around with paint colors (as you can see in the background). And there's Emma's first baby doll in the chair. (I think Charlie is hissing at it! What a weirdo.)


The other night when Chad was carrying Drew up to put him in bed, they were playing their usual game where they tell everything "night, night." "Night, night lightswitch. Night, night stairs." And then Drew yelled, "Love you, Emma!" So cute!! I hope he still feels that way in a few months! Whenever I pick him up from childwatch at the Y, he tells me, "Babies...cry...naughty." I guess they've had some noisey babies in the room next to him and he thinks they're being naughty. Uh oh! Both Friday and Saturday Drew, out of the blue, said to me, "Grandma...Grandpa...miss 'em! See 'em??" He's getting so good at expressing himself in broken sentences - I love knowing his little thoughts! And this one is just too sweet!

Enjoying the weather

So, this weekend we tried out potty training... It started out good - Drew liked the fact that his potty was in the living room! And he really enjoyed running around in his undies. (I'm not sure what it is about little kids liking to wear little to no clothing! Drew's new thing is when we strip him down for a bath he takes off running and dancing all over!) But after "trying" to potty on the potty over and over, it just got stressful for him. He really wanted the treats we were giving him for trying (Valentine's Day conversation hearts - he loves them!) and kept whining for them and freaking out when we tried to get him to sit on the potty first. And he was holding it and not going...until he relaxed and started playing with his toys. It was a learning experience for all of us and I think we've got some good ideas for next time when we try again - but we declared him not quite ready at the moment. Here he is playing with his new basketball goal that one of Chad's friends gave us.

After a day centered around the potty, we had to get out of the house. We headed to the park and let Drew run around. Here he is on the teeter totter, one of his favorites.

Here he is on the slide...which he wanted to do over and over!



We also brought his big wheel, so he could finally try it out. It was a Christmas present from Drew's Grandmom and Granddad, but it has been so cold we hadn't gotten it out yet. He loves it - and he can almost reach the pedals. It won't be long - hopefully by summer, and he'll be driving it all over!



Today it got up to 65 degrees, so we headed outside again. Drew mowed our barely-there grass and went for a walk around the neighborhood with me.

Cheese!

Fun Week

Drew's been having all kinds of fun this past week. Last Friday he went to Parents Night Out at the Y while Chad and I got to go out to eat (early Anniversary celebration) and run a few errands. They said he had a blast and was running wild the whole night! He was so wound up and excited when we picked him up around 9:30pm, he took off running down the hall in his jammies! Then over the weekend we finished getting our living room organized - and Drew really likes the new tv. But he'd turn his hands up and say, "other one? tv?" On Sunday Chad's parents came to visit, and Drew always enjoys that!

Lately Drew likes to point at us and say our names, "Mommy, Daddy, Drew." And then I pointed at my belly and asked him who that was. He thought about it for a full minute and then said "Emma!" I was impressed - I was expecting him to say "baby."

Here's Drew playing with one of his favorite toys (he got 5 of them for Christmas - all different sizes!). Please notice the robe and slippers! With temperatures down in the teens, our downstairs is cold so we have to bundle up!

On Wednesday morning we met some friends at the mall play area, and Drew had a great time! I let him loose as we entered the play area and he ran off as I walked over to meet my friends. A couple minutes later he came up to me...and was already barefoot! So, I had to go on a sock hunt! He's never been a big climber, but he's getting better. My friends' kids kept taking little snack breaks and hanging out with the moms, but Drew ran around the whole time! He loved it.

Then this morning it was finally a little warmer (high 40s), so we met some friends at the park. I wish I'd gotten a picture of him and his friend Madison on the teeter totter (which they played on most of the time!) - it was very cute! I just snapped a quick picture as he took a quick break for his fruit snacks (favorite treat of his!!).

This weekend we're gonna do a potty experiment! We're going to ATTEMPT to potty train Drew, but we're definitely open to the idea that he may not be ready and he may end up back in diapers. But I'm hoping that he kind of gets it and we can spend the next three months helping him perfect it (by the time Emma gets here). We'll see though...

Not a lot going on lately

Not a whole lot is going on in the life of Drew right now. This past month he has given us a glimpse of the Terrible Twos, so we've all been learning together about how we're going to handle defiance, tantrums, and boundary testing. When he doesn't listen to us, we give him a warning that if he's not going to listen, then he will need to sit in the corner. He seems to understand that (especially after sitting in the corner a couple times), and things have been going smoother. His mood swings could also be caused by his recent cold and the fact that we can see some of his two year molars breaking through. But about 95% of the time he's the same sweet Drew we know! He now brings me my camera and says "cheese? picture?" and then steps back and poses! Here's his cheesy grin!

We got a new flat screen tv as a Christmas gift from my parents. We finally installed it above our mantel and have turned our living room into a work in progress! We're rearranging furniture, wall hangings, and eventually our dining room and space between the kitchen and living room. I'm very excited to have several "new" rooms! So far, we're really loving the new setup. We got a new bookcase for more storage - here's Drew using his hammer and tools while helping his daddy.


Drew's enjoying a blue sucker from his stocking! He LOVES suckers!

And here's a random picture from before Christmas. Drew, Charlie and I were reading books while bundled up in the Christmas quilt that my grandma made.

We have a new game with Drew where we try to take his blankie (and this kid is absolutely in love with his blankie, by the way). He thinks it is the funniest thing ever and even dangles it in front of us so we'll try to steal it. Here's a silly video.

And speaking of his blankie, Drew has amazed us by all of a sudden announcing when he's ready to go to bed. He'll be in the middle of playing and get up, go find his blankie, and say "night, night" and head for the stairs! It's been wonderful - especially since he's been sleeping really well. We're thinking it may be a growth spurt.

And as for baby news, here's the scary 25 week picture from Friday! Can I really continue to get bigger for 14 more weeks?? Yikes!! The good news is that I am the same weight that I was with Drew at 25 weeks - but I look like I did at about 32 weeks with Drew. Other moms (and my doctor) promise me that this is normal and I've just got a healthy baby in there! Everything was good at my last appointment at 24 weeks, and I go back again at 28 weeks. Overall, I feel great!

Here's a picture of the bedding we bought for Emma. We are working on training the cats to go through our new cat door to the garage (where their food and litter box is). Once they are trained (and the litter box and cat things are moved out of our spare bedroom), then we will be doing some major cleaning and painting for Emma's bedroom! So excited!

And here are two of the beautiful afghans that my grandmother made for Emma. The first one she started and then finished the trim as soon as she found out we were having a girl. Then she completed the other one in record time right after that! They are made with special baby yarn and are so soft.

We've also got quite a growing wardrobe for this little girl! Thank you to everyone that has contributed - the clothes are adorable and I can't wait to dress her!

Christmas Vacation

We had a wonderful (and busy!) Christmas vacation! We flew to Indiana on Saturday the 19th and had dinner with my Grandma Plopper and the rest of the family that evening. The next day we all got together and the children decorated cookies. Here's Will and Drew waiting for the fun to begin!

And here's all the boys (yes, even Tim, with his silly apron!) busy decorating.

And here's Drew concentrating pretty hard on icing his (vegan!) sugar cookie. It took him about 30 minutes to ice about 2 cookies - it was very intense, serious stuff!

Here's a video of his work.

And here he is enjoying his piece of art - my mom made vegan cookies so he could have them! (his shirt sleeves were covered in icing so that's why he's shirtless.)

Here's our attempt at a "cousins" picture. Will, Parker, Tim, Lyndsey and Drew.

Drew's first experience (this year) at opening presents was at my parents' house. He wasn't quite sure how it worked. He'd open one (slowly and with help) and be completely satisfied. He'd start playing with it and not care at all about the stack of presents beside him! Luckily he got the hang of it later on.

Drew's Uncle Ben let him try out his new nerf gun - it scared Drew at first, and then he stepped behind it and started really getting into it!

Lyndsey read the fire engine book to Drew and Parker - they both got one for Christmas!

And here's Grandpa reading the same book to Drew later on. I think he liked his book and kept asking other people to read it to him!

Drew did a good job on the flight home. We flew home on Christmas Eve so that we could have some down time at home and Santa could visit us for Christmas morning. Here's Drew and Daddy on the plane.

We went to Lenoir to visit Chad's family on Christmas evening. We had dinner and then let the kids tear into their presents. Drew was so excited every time he pulled out a new toy. He'd run to Granddad and say "have it" (because he wanted to have it right then!) or "open it." And toys nowadays are strapped in to their packages, you about have to get the tool box out to get to it!

Here's a quick family shot of the Nelsons. back row: Grant, Alan, Drew, Chad and front row: Sherry, Susan, Olivia, and Becca...and Emma. Yes, Emma is our front runner in the name list right now for our baby girl!

And a picture of our family of 3!

Then on the 26th we went to another family gathering with Susan's side of the family. Here's Drew posing (and saying Cheese) with his Grandmom.

Before we ate at this gathering, we had a prayer. And I will never forget hearing Drew (from across the room!) yell, "wake up!" during the prayer because everyone had their eyes shut or were looking down! Too funny!

So, our busy and fun vacation came to an end and we spent Sunday the 27th at home, cleaning and being lazy. Drew and I had bad colds during all our travels, but I think we are both finally getting better! Merry Christmas everyone - it was great to share the holidays with so many people!! Thanks for everything!