Drew's First Christmas Tree!

Drew helped us put up his first Christmas tree and decorate it on Sunday!

Santa Baby!

We took Drew to get his 6 month and Christmas pictures this past weekend! Despite a cold and being VERY tired from two crummy nights of sleep, he was a champ! Here is one of the 6 incredibly cute poses we selected. Sadly, we can't use these for our Christmas cards as they are licensed and the cards offered through the studio were outrageous! We hope to take him to see Santa this week AND maybe even take Maggie to Petsmart and get both of them with that Santa. We shall see...

Some news...I am now staying at home with Drew. Very scary times in Michigan, so nothing to take lightly, but this is actually a good change for our family. I fully plan to rejoin the workforce come the spring...or if I can land a job in the schools, the fall. Just please keep Bill in your prayers. He supports the auto industry and they are having more cutbacks, it's going on right now actually, so needless to say we are very worried.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and will enjoy the holiday season with family and friends.

Much love!

It Won't Be Like This For Long...

This is a song by Darius Rucker that I have been overplaying since my friend, Andrea, introduced me to it. Also being overplayed in the Brown household is a song called "Watch Them Grow" by Zach Gill. I try to remember when Drew wakes up 5 times in one night that far too soon, he is going to be in college and I am going to be looking back fondly on the days when I got to snuggle with him in the night time...even if right now, all I want to do is sleep!

In my sentimental moments, I like to look at his first pictures...here is one for you to enjoy. This was taken in the NICU, barely one hour after his birth. He had to go there for a rapid breathing problem, but was out in no time. He looks so chubby in this picture...he enjoyed living in Mommy! I fed him well!

Drew's Accomplishments/Stats To Date ...

Drew is growing up so quickly, I thought I would blog about all of his amazing feats ...

Birth Stats ~ 8lbs and 20.5 in

4 Month Stats ~ 16lbs and 24.5 in

He ...

first smiled on 6/30/08

first cooed in 6/08

first grasped a toy (rattle) in 8/08 and shook it in 9/08

first mimicked a sound ("raspberries") in 9/08

first held his bottle in 9/08

first slept through the night 8/25-8/26/08

first laughed on 9/28/08

had his first solids on 9/23/05

rolled "side" to tummy on 10/14/08

rolled from tummy to back on 10/19/08 - one direction

rolled tummy to back the other direction on 10/23/08

Drew is starting to sit on his own, but still needs a bit of assistance to keep from toppling after a few moments! :)

We are going back for his 6 month well baby check up on 12/16/08. We will keep you updated on his stats. I think he's chunking out big time now, so I am curious to see how much he weighs!

Drew's a Big Boy!

Here is a picture of Drew from Sunday, in his "big boy" clothes. He's somewhat channeling Great Grandpap Cutruzzula in this one. :) I am still trying to figure out how to just upload pictures and not have to write a post for them...

First Post

Well, I am new to the world of blogging, but thought since everyone else seems to be doing it, so should I!

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that the majority of my blogging will be about Drew. It's been slightly over 5 months since he joined our family outside my womb. There have been many ups and downs, but always love. He is such a tremendous joy!! I truly cannot imagine my life without him, his Daddy and Maggie Mae. He brings a love into my heart I never knew existed. I guess that's because this is my first true experience, at least that I have in my conscious memory, of the love between mother and child. I now know how hard it must've been for my Mom to have to leave all of us and feel her sorrow, in a way. But, I also know she is Drew's special angel...and he is lucky to have so many angels...Grandma Angela, Christina and all his Great Grandparents. I know that they watch over him and protect him.

Speaking of his Great Grandparents, Drew will head back to the Cardiologist on December 29th, Great-Grandpap Calvano's birthday! We are all praying for good news. Please keep him in your prayers. He is a very strong little boy, but I would prefer he NOT have to endure surgery.

In the meantime, we are enjoying all of the new things Drew is doing. Watching him explore his world is a gift! He loves to laugh and smile...and eat. He enjoys playing and taking baths. Maggie is his favorite "toy," and he also loves looking at "the baby" in the mirror! He enjoys daycare and loves his teachers. He is very social. We are still working on his gross motor development, as the positional therapy/hatred of tummy time has put him at a slight delay due to lack of floor time, but it's very minor. He is just a joy to have in our lives. God has truly blessed us with him.