The best park ever!!

We've been talking about going to Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury for awhile now, and this weekend we finally went! It was about a 50 minute drive...but SOOO worth it! It was the most amazing park I'd ever seen - and it was free to get in (just small fees for the activities)! It was super clean with tons of picnic areas (for large or small groups), a huge playground (I mean, like 10 times bigger than anything I'd ever seen - and stuff for all age groups!), 2 putt putt courses, and then you go through the woods and get to all the really cool stuff. In the middle there was a carousel, a train that rides through the woods, and a splash pad (fountains to play in). Then you can go off in every direction and do something different. One way led you to the lake where you can fish and ride paddle boats (we didn't do this this time). Another way was the Wildlife Adventure, which we did. There were bears, wolves, all kinds of birds (even a bald eagle), a deer, a bobcat, and other small animals. Drew really liked the Turtle Bay with all the turtles swimming around. Then in another direction there was a big barn with farm animals that you can pet - goats, a pig, a sheep, a donkey and a small cow. Drew reached in and pet the big goat!

First, we rode the train. Here's Drew looking around at everything during the ride - he was very serious on the train.

Then we went to the Wildlife Adventure section. There were two huge bears. One was hanging out in the middle and the other was banging on the wooden door - I'm guessing his food was stored on the othe side! Drew liked looking at them, but he wanted to tell us about the rocks and water in their home.

There were several wolves - I didn't realize wolves were so scrawny!

The bobcat seemed nervous - he was pacing back and forth in front of us. You can kind of see him in this picture. Drew was looking at him and saying "meow!"


Here's a better picture of the bobcat.

And here's the bald eagle.

The Wildlife area had a playground with equipment the perfect size for Drew - he could do the stairs and slides all on his own...and then he'd clap for himself! And here he is, clearly thinking, "This looks dumb, put me down!"

...then my camera batteries died. But we went to the petting zoo, played in the fountains for a few minutes and ate our packed dinner before heading out. We did all that for a grand total of...$7.50!! For the whole family!! We will definitely be coming back here!

Then today, we hung out at home and played outside some. It was hot, so Drew did some swimming - Stewart style! Here he is making waves.

And then playing some baseball in the pool.

Carowinds!!

Okay, so we knew Drew was pretty daring. I mean, he likes swimming and he has little fear at the playground...but Carowinds?? I had no idea he could handle an afternoon at an amusement park, but Chad's mom took us today and he loved it! He rode all the rides that he was allowed to, he got out of his stroller and ran around, he was patient and let us take turns on a couple of the big rides, and then he enjoyed some McDonalds on the way home! Here he is waiting patiently in line for a ride.

Then he got on the ride...and could barely see out! He looked so little on there!

Then it got moving and he had a big smile the whole time!

We rode the same ride later on, and I went this time. Here's an action shot that Chad got.

And here is a cheesy video on that same ride. You can see how Drew doesn't like it when the sun gets in his eyes.


Then he rode the carousel with Chad. He has a big smile!

We went up in the space needle so Drew could pick out the next ride he wanted to go on. Although he got bored up there and started pulling toys out of his bag.

We got to ride on a train!

Here he is on the train, looking like such a big boy!

Then he got to meet Dora and Diego and the monkey (I don't know his name). I figured he'd be afraid of them, but he started dancing around like them - and kept getting in the way of some other people trying to take their picture with them! haha I got a video, but he's still being a little shy in it.



And here's the "big boy" ride that he went on. We couldn't really see Drew - we could just see Chad making their little plane go higher than any of the others!! But he said that Drew was loving every minute of it. Here's a video - you can see Chad's red shirt.

It is SO much fun to see Drew have that much fun!! He was amazingly good - even when we missed his dinner time and then missed his bedtime. And that was after a full morning at the Y! Thank you so much, Susan, for such an awesome experience for all of us!

Drew at the pool and the playground

After our Saturday workout, we took Drew swimming at the Y. Since I had Chad with me, I brought the camera and took a quick picture of the little man eating his snack. We have a "pool routine" where he swims awhile and then he gets out and eats his snack while he dries off before we head out. So, now he lets me know when he wants his snack by climbing out of the pool and heading towards our chair. And he climbs up onto the chair and waits while I find him something to snack on! Usually he'll be saying "raisins!" b/c that's what I usually bring...and those are his favorites! I wanna get a video of him in the pool next time Chad is there with us.

Charlie is finally warming up to Drew! He is always close by when we're down on the floor playing with Drew, and he's not running away if Drew pets him. Although, he doesn't care for rough petting when he's trying to nap on the couch. Here's a video of grouchy Charlie. (But at least he's behaving! He's never attempted to attack Drew...and that's VERY good for Charlie - he likes to play rough!)

We took Drew to Concord Mills tonight to see the aquarium at Bass Pro Shop, take a lap around the mall, and possibly ride the train. Well, forget that other stuff - he had a blast at the little playground! It was just a month or so ago when we brought him to this same playground, and he had no interest at all. But now he's running at full speed, climbing, sliding, doing it all!

Drew's first baseball game

Not a whole lot going on this week. Drew and I have been spending a lot of time at the pool, which he LOVES! We will stay a good two hours before he shows any signs of being tired or ready to move on to something else. He's very social and immediately befriends whoever joins us in the pool. Although, I have to be right in there next to him - he jumps and does silly things and goes under occasionally. He isn't bothered by this one bit - as soon as I rush to him and get him back on his feet, he goes right on playing. I try to keep my gasp and panic to myself so I don't scare him...although he is pretty fearless, he probably wouldn't notice.

This past weekend we took him to a Kannapolis Intimidators baseball game. We met up with the Lake Norman Mommies group that I am a member of. They had food set out for us and then all our seats were together. I think Drew had a pretty good time. He really enjoyed the helicopter that flew over the stadium and dropped down Chick-Fil-A cows with parachutes! Chad took him down near the outfield and one of the players tossed them one of the cows that had landed out there. And any time the helicopter flew around during the game, Drew would be mesmerized by it and say "copter!" He also liked all the music they played and would dance...and then say "more, more!" whenever it stopped. There was a playground in the stadium too. We had to take a break from just sitting at our seats and check it out. Drew actually walked up the stairs to the slide (w/o kneeling or using his hands on the steps) - only after watching one of the older boys do it! The railing was the perfect height for little ones. We ate with the mom's group at 6pm and then the game started at 7pm... and by 8:30 Drew was ready to camp out on the ground by our seats with his blankie, so we headed out early.

He really liked all the clapping and yelling. Here he is watching a really loud lady sitting behind us. After staring at her awhile, he waved (with that same serious face). She tried to get him to hold her big foam finger, but he was a little afraid of it.

Then he got into it and started clapping too! There was a player named Drew that we'd all clap for.He wasn't too sure about their mascot, Crock. He liked him until he got close enough to touch.

Saturday morning, Chad and I worked out while Drew hung out in childwatch. And when we were signing him out, some other little boys were leaving with their parents. As they were leaving, they were saying, "bye, Drew!" And we watched as Drew hopped up from the table, put his snack down, and waved, "bye!" OMG, he's growing up so quick!! And then today, he asked to color! He was carrying around his coloring book and was saying, "color." I dumped his crayons out and he picked up the blue one, started coloring and then said, "blue." He definitely surprises me everyday!!

Some videos of Drew

Here's Drew and his buddies at this week's playgroup. They were playing in the sprinkler after a little fingerpainting! (although Drew wasn't too interested in sticking his hands in the paint - he was better with the markers - I was very surprised at that!) It's Reese, Drew, Sofia and Natalia in the picture. Yes...they all have full heads of hair and have all had haircuts! :)

Drew and I played outside yesterday afternoon and I got several videos and this silly picture.


He really likes his lei from Luke's Hawaiian party, so he had to wear it for awhile. Here he is playing a little baseball (with a golf club...not sure why he wouldn't pick up his bat).

Then he saw a bug (or "buck").

And this is what it's like to go on a walk with Drew. We move slow and we have to observe and study everything! You can see how he tries to repeat everything we say.

He's getting better at going up and down the stairs. He used to act like he'd just go right off the edge and tumble down...but now I think I trust him to know what to do on his own.

And here he is cracking up over the crinkling noise a plastic cup makes! Anything to entertain the little guy while I cook dinner!

couple more things

There's a couple things I meant to write in the last entry and forgot...

First of all, Drew has taken the first step towards POTTY TRAINING! I'm not saying this is going to happen any time in the near future, but I was REALLY EXCITED about this breakthrough. (Sorry if this is all TMI...) I have refused to buy him a potty until he at least shows us that he knows what is going on in his diaper (other than hiding in the corner when I pull out a fresh diaper!). Well, while we were with Chad's family yesterday, Drew got real still with a serious look on his face. I asked him what he was doing and he grabbed his diaper and said, "poo poo." Wow - I had no idea he even knew what that was!! And he wasn't kidding!! He did the same thing later that night and again today (yes, he still has frequent BMs). We're not going to push anything on him, but we went ahead and bought a potty today!! :) At least he can associate "poo poo" with "potty" and we'll see where that leads too...

Second, Drew is very in to tunnels and bridges! He has quite an imagination and wants to make tunnels out of everything. If you're sitting on the couch with your legs stretched out, he'll say "tunnel" and try to crawl under your legs! We've been draping blankets around the living room making tunnels for him and his cars and trains. He also points out all the overpasses on the highway and says "bridge" over and over until we acknowledge it. We'll never miss an exit again!

Happy 4th of July!

Drew's youngest cousin just turned ONE today!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!!

Drew was back at his favorite hangout (Birkdale fountains) this week - but this time he met some of his friends there. Natalia came in her car, and it was definitely a big attraction. Drew preferred to push whoever was in it. Here's Reese getting a ride (check out her beautiful curls!!). Here's Jayce and Drew filling buckets. I wish I'd gotten a picture from when Drew was in the car and Jayce pushed him to the middle of the fountain! They were both in tears b/c Jayce fell and Drew was getting soaked! After the tears were gone it was pretty funny!
It's hard work filling a bucket! We spent the Fourth of July with Chad's extended family. Drew loved playing with Chad's cousin's children (Drew's third cousins??). There are 7 girls and 3 boys (4 with Drew). Here he is swinging with Erin - she was his best buddy for the day.

And then Jarrod helped Drew hold the baby chicks. He was surprisingly gentle until he tried to pick it up. He kept saying "quack, quack."
Here's a video of Drew and the baby chicks with Jarrod and Anya.

For some reason, Drew likes to put things on his head. On our way to meet Chad's family on Saturday we looked in the backseat and Drew was sitting there with his blankie on his head...with no expression on his face. haha And then the day of this video, Chad and I were talking away at the dinner table and looked over and Drew had chicken on his head...so of course we tried to get him to do it again for the video. What a comedian!