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!

Christmas events

On Friday night our neighborhood had a Singing Santa. Santa rode around on a "sleigh" trailer with a speaker system pulled by a truck. They went around the neighborhood waving and shouting out to everyone. Unfortunately, Drew slept through this part b/c he skipped his nap and fell asleep on our way home from the Y. But we woke him up and went to where everyone was gathering in the back of the neighborhood. They had people singing and playing the guitar, hot chocolate and a bonfire, and Santa mingling with the kids. Drew loved the sleigh b/c it had blinking Christmas lights, and he was very interested in Santa.

Here's Chad and Drew looking at the bonfire. Drew said, "hot! careful!"
Santa posed with all the kids so parents could take pictures. When he asked Drew what he wanted for Christmas, he pointed at a bike that another kid had parked on the road.

Here's Drew and I listening to the Christmas music. They had one girl that was a really good singer - we almost though it wasn't her actually singing, but I think it was.

Then on Saturday night we went to the Huntersville Christmas event that our town puts on. They had all kinds of stuff that Drew really liked - a little train pulled by a tractor, a big slide, school choirs singing, fire trucks and ambulances, horses, lots of lights, a huge bonfire, etc. He loved the slide and after going down once, he said "come on!" and wanted to go again! Here's Chad and Drew on the slide.

We rode on a big trailer pulled by these two huge horses. Drew wasn't too sure about petting them though.

He actually "knows" a few of the letters

Drew always wants to color, and he does pretty good on his own as an independent activity. But as soon as one of us joins him, he turns to the front or back (blank page) and wants us to draw letters as he calls them out. After we did this, I went back through them and asked him to name them - and he actually remembered them! And sometimes he'll concentrate real hard and color real slow and try to draw an "L." He can also recognize a square, circle, triangle and sometims octagon. I think this little guy is gonna love preschool when we get him signed up! But in the meantime, at least I know he's not missing out on learning here at home!!

I'll post again later this weekend - we had a fun holiday event in our neighborhood last night and we have another event we hope to go to tonight. Drew loves seeing Santa at all these events! Last night he kept following him, and then just waving when he got close! He's in awe of the big guy! haha

Drew and I did some fun stuff last week. We met a friend at Bounce U, which is a facility with a bunch of bounce houses and blowup slides and climbing things (just like Monkey Joe's). And somehow, it was just my friend, her daughter and Drew and I! We had the place to ourselves and the kids had a blast! I definitely got a workout helping Drew climb up the ladders! The little girl that was with us is named Sofia, and I was impressed how well Drew can say it. Over Thanksgiving he also perfected saying Olivia, his cousin's name. Those aren't easy names!

Another day last week we went to storytime at the library - and Drew absolutely loves the Spanish storytime. They do dances and motions to songs - and he really concentrates on the instructor and does them all. He even waved and said, "hola!" to the instructor when she walked in at the beginning of the storytime (we'd practiced in the car). And when we were in the car on the way home, he kept saying something that I couldn't figure out (it sounded like "gaseous.") I finally figured out he was saying "gracias!"

Drew's new favorite hobby is coloring. He's starting to get a little better - he makes smaller scribbles now. It's really helped him with his color recognition - he can name most of the colors. He definitely knows red and green. When we approach a stoplight, he usually lets me know what color the light is. It's either, "Red. Stop!" or "Green! Goooo!" Here he is coloring away! It's usually a daily activity.

Drew is loving Christmas already! When we drive home from the Y after work, it's dark out and we see all the Christmas lights - and we "oohhh" and "aaahhh." We even drove him around all different neighborhoods on Saturday night and he was really into it. On Sunday we were excited to take him to Lenoir to see Chad's extended family (and cousins Drew's age) for a Christmas gathering, but we were very surprised to wake up a sick baby. Drew is never sick! But he had a 103 fever and was so out of it - he even fell asleep on the couch, which I don't think he's ever done since he was an infant! He was so pitiful, but looked so sweet, I had to take a quick picture. Luckily, he was fine by Monday morning!

Thanksgiving in Lenoir

We spent Thanksgiving with Grandmom and Granddad on Saturday. Drew had a great time playing with his cousin Olivia. They both liked coloring in their new coloring books from Grandmom and having races in the hallway. They each got a ride on Granddad's 4-wheeler too!

Every year Chad has to turn Alan's deer into reindeer with a few decorations - this year Drew got to help!

Here's the two little ones with their Granddad.

And here's a quick family shot outside.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We took Drew to the Charlotte Thanksgiving Day Parade this morning (supposed to be the 4th largest parade in the US with over 100,000 people watching!). There were lots of marching bands, horses, motorcycles, fire trucks, dancers, buses, and even a helicopter! Check out his dance moves as a marching band performed infront of us.

He did really well staying in one spot for the whole two hour event. He liked waving to everyone. We saw someone we know from the Y in the parade, and Drew got a balloon from her. And at the end of the parade he even got a little Teddy Bear from Santa! He hugged that little thing all the way home and even took him to bed with him for his nap!

Here's Drew waving at the police motorcycles. You can see that it was really foggy at the beginning of the parade.

Closeup of Drew watching intently.


Mommy gave Daddy's arms a break for a few minutes. We had good seats, but a man at least 6'8" decided to stand infront of us, so we had to stand in order to see.

Drew was very concerned about the balloons that people had let go of and were stuck in the tree above us. He kept saying "Stuck! Get it!"

There was one "actual" float in the parade - it was the grand finale just before Santa. They had to maneuver it around the traffic lights and trees.

Then we did some family housecleaning once we got home. Drew loves to take parts to the vacuum and "help."

While I write this we are patiently (for now) waiting for our turkey... I followed all the instructions for thawing it and cooking it, but it seems to still be a little frozen or something. Hopefully I'll have this meal mastered by the time we host a bunch of people down the road! If our turkey is bad, at least we'll have some good stuff at Chad's parents on Saturday!

It's a girl!

Drew is going to have a little sister!! We are so excited to have one of each! Now, I'm searching for nursery themes, making name lists, and getting VERY excited to go shopping on the other side of the store (the pink side!) - where there's TONS more little clothes to choose from! Here's the 18 week picture from today.

Weekend fun

Last Sunday, Drew got to meet Santa! Yeah, it was in the 70s outside, but Drew's been saying "Santa" and "ho, ho, ho!" for awhile, so we took advantage of the free photos at Bass Pro Shop. They had part of the store set up like a winter wonderland, with games, trains, Christmas trees, reindeer, snow, and of course - Santa! The whole time he sat on Santa's lap, he was saying, "train? choo choo! train?" The first time he learned about Santa was in a dvd about trains, so I think he'll forever connect the two! But at least he wasn't scared of the bearded stranger! And later in the store we walked by an old man w/ a white beard (and he was wearing a red vest!) and Drew waved at him a whole bunch so he started talking to Drew. Then, Drew pointed and said, "Santa!" I don't think the guy minded too much though.

The past two weekends Drew has enjoyed helping Chad pick up the leaves! If I come out to visit and see how things are progressing, Drew points at Chad and says "helping!" He drags out his wagon, lawn mower, golf clubs and shovels - and really thinks he's helping! Very cute! Here he is taking a break on the deck and watching Chad work.

And playing in the pile of leaves!

Today, Grandmom and Granddad came to visit with Drew. They brought some old Christmas books of Chad and Grant's for Drew to borrow. I'm glad Drew was in to this Rudolf book - Rudolf was my absolute favorite as a kid! I'm hoping he likes my Rudolf movie - we'll wait until Thanksgiving for that though.

Then we went outside to enjoy the 75 degree weather in November!

And Drew spotted an airplane! He always sees them before anyone else - especially when we're in the car! Maybe he'll be a pilot...

Then we headed to the front of the house, so Drew could show everyone where we'd seen the snake... and we saw another snake!! This one was tiny...but still...another snake! I will be watching my step from now on!

And on the baby news... I think I've been feeling the little one moving around this weekend. The movements are still so small, it's hard to tell! And after Wednesday morning IT will no longer be an IT - hopefully! We have our 18 week ultrasound and I can hardly wait!! I'm still thinking it's a girl, but I'd be thrilled with either! Earlier today, Granddad was teaching Drew how to call the squirrels with a "come here" motion with his hands - and tonight Drew was rubbing my belly and we were talking about the baby, and he started doing his hand like that and saying "come here!" So, I guess he's ready to meet this baby already...too bad we have a LONG time to wait for that!!

Drew knows MOST of his ABCs

We've been practicing the alphabet quite a bit - Drew has some books about the ABCs and an ABC puzzle. And, of course, he loves Wheel of Fortune! He likes to sing the alphabet with me (he repeats each letter after me, one at a time)...and then he all of a sudden started taking the lead! Here's a video of him rattling off some of the letters (he forgot a couple of them - but I was still impressed!).

Our porch steps have been bad luck for us the past couple of days! First, Drew accidentally let go of his balloon from the grocery store. I was ahead of him carrying all the groceries, and I hear him say (real sadly!) "Balloon!!" And he was pointing to the sky! So, now every time we walk out the door, he says "balloon" and points up. Then yesterday, as I was locking up the door and Drew headed down the steps by himself, holding onto the railings (which he always does), he slipped and fell head first down the brick stairs. So scary! But I scooped him up and we ran inside to calm down. I checked him all over for scrapes, bruises or injuries, but somehow he only got a scrape on his temple from his rough landing at the bottom! So, then when we walked out the door, he'd point at the stairs and say "fell...boom!" Then today, we walked down the stairs (a little more cautiously), and about stepped on this little creature at the bottom! Yuck!

Halloween!

We played out in the leaves for a bit the other day. Drew wore his Ben Chappell jersey and did his IU cheer a couple times. He likes to say "I-U" and then a couple seconds later "go pack!" We've confused him!

Then all playing had to stop so we could watch the garbage truck pick up our trash!

We went to a neighbor's house and met up with Drew's buddies for some Trick-or-treating. Here they are getting ready to head out (Meena the devil, Kayla the pumpkin and Drew the monkey).

Drew always had to carry a piece of candy in one hand and his pumpkin in the other. Here he is getting ready to head up to someone's house.

Here he is walking around the neighborhood like he's a pro at this trick-or-treating business now! He wouldn't say anything when people answered their door, but he always said "thank you" when they dropped stuff in his pumpkin.

It was pretty hot (around 70 degrees) and humid, and when we pulled Drew's hood off, his hair was soaked! But fortunately, it started to rain on us and felt great! We ran to our friend's garage b/c it started really coming down. We also took that opportunity to change Drew into his backup costume so he could cool off! Here he is taking a break in the wagon with a cold drink.

And then we braved the misty rain and headed out for some more candy! Our neighborhood was packed, despite the rain.

We got home around 8:30 and Drew had to bust into his candy! Luckily his favorite (and really the only candy he knows) is suckers! (I dug all the chocolate things out so he wouldn't even notice they were gone).

We only had one group of Trick-or-Treaters show up at our door, but luckily it was a large group so we were able to get rid of quite a bit of our candy. After that group left, the rain picked back up and I think everyone was done. I'm pretty sure Drew had a great time - and the hour and a half of Trick-or-Treating wore him out enough to keep him on schedule despite the time change!

Carving pumpkins!

We carved pumpkins tonight and Drew was very interested...in watching. He was not too sure about putting his hands down in all that goo! When he finally did touch it a little bit, he rubbed his hands together and said, "wash." So, I think Chad is planning on taking Drew to go play in dirt this weekend to toughen him up!! haha! Although, I've seen him outside, and he gets down and dirty...I think it was just the orange goo that threw him off!

You want me to do what??

But it's all gooey!

Then we enjoyed our real jack-o-lanterns along with the fakes before bedtime.


His new favorite thing to do is ring the doorbell! Trick-o-treating might be interesting...because, of course, he doesn't just ring it once...

When watching this video, others may be concerned or think Drew is weird...but my family will completely understand! :) This past month Drew has started rocking on the couch. He has already been rocking on all fours in his sleep (for about a year now), but this sitting up rocking is fairly new. And yes, I did this when I was little too!! Well today, I'd really worn him out and I saw his eyes getting heavy while he was rocking, so I grabbed the camera. And he did just what I thought he was gonna do - he fell asleep!! So funny!