The countdown

We leave in 12 days for our Caribbean Cruise.....

Christmas 2008

Drew had a wonderful Christmas! It was also very busy. In the afternoon of Christmas Eve we went to Uncle John and Aunt Lori's house for Christmas with the Thonanders. After a couple hours of trying to suck people (mostly Uncle John) in to Drew's new "Bug Vacuum" we headed out the Great Grandma Haekenkamp's farm. There we enjoyed Christmas with Papa's side of the family. Lots of people and lots of fun. Drew was so exhausted he didn't wake up to leave Santa cookies. But it was OK. Mom and Dad took care of it. Santa left Drew a nice thank you note for the cookies and the carrot for the reindeer (which it looks like Rudolph didn't share).

Christmas morning Drew got up and started playing with all his new toys from the night before. He didn't wake up Mom and Dad and he didn't seem to notice there were more gifts for him. After opening another round of gifts we headed out to Papa and Mimi's house. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with REAL potatoes. Our car was so full, we weren't able to bring everything home in one trip!

Today we are headed over to Grandma Luna and Grandpa Ron's house for our last round of celebrating. After adding all our new paper products to our stash, we now have 25 rolls of paper towel and 204 rolls of toilet paper. I guess we probably won't need more for our birthdays!!!!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Santa

Last night Drew saw Santa again. this was only his third time. Of course today he thought of something he wanted to tell Santa he wanted, so he wants to go again!

Drew was also working off some holiday treats. We are scheduled to get the carpet put into our new play room next week. We are all excited!

Daddy was sick for 2 days and mommy was sick today. Hopefully this junk will leave our house now!!

Another weekend over

Well Friday didn't end up going as well as we hoped. After hanging out at home all day, Drew seemed better. He wasn't. We went to Applebee's for dinner. Drew took two bites of food and vomited again. We boxed up our untouched food and got out of there.

Saturday Drew and Mommy hung out at home while Daddy washed trucks. After an uneventful day and a long nap, we decided to go to the Hollidazzle parade. Drew loved the lights. The weather was perfect, not too cold. We attempted to see the Macy's 8th floor display, but that was not happening. It was too busy. Maybe sometime during the week.

Today we went to Papa and Mimi's house. Drew was needing lots of attention since he was the only kid there. We also went into Loretto to see the holiday train. Drew loved that too, but he wanted to ride on it. It was way too cold to stay out there too long. By the time we walked to the train we pretty much turned around and went back to the car. The wind was terrible. Drew is bugging to take a bath. Better let him before he decides he really doesn't want to take baths!

Drew went with Joey Anna, Daddy and Grandma Luna to Disney on Ice last night. He really enjoyed it. He has been talking about a green alligator all morning. Thank you to Uncle Glen for giving them the tickets to the show.

Drew got kicked out of school for the day today. He was playing with the train table when all of the sudden he started vomiting. The good news was that Mommy didn't have to clean it up, the janitor did! Drew was not acting unusual this morning. Mommy was really surprised that he was sick. Since he has been home he has been acting normal too. He has been eating like he is starving since we have been home. Hopefully he will be OK the rest of the day too!

Monster Jam...

Drew (and Mommy) went to his first monster Jam! Friday night Daddy, Mommy and Drew braved the snow to go to Monticello to see Maximum Destruction and meet the driver Tom Meents. Drew was more excited to meet the driver than to see the truck. On Saturday night Drew took his Mommy and Daddy to the metrodome for the show.

The best part was watching how excited Drew was when the monster trucks started the show. He loved it. He didn't make it for the whole show. It started at 7:30pm which is a little late for us. We left the show around 10:30pm. Drew fell asleep in the car on the way home. Well worth the money to watch Drew have a good time.

Drew was also in awe just driving downtown. He was asking about all the tall buildings and lights. He thought it was neat to drive through "tunnels". He hadn't been downtown since last year going to the Holidazzle parade. So much we take for granted and forget what it is like in the eyes of a babe.

He's growing up fast...

Drew is such a character. The other night Scott turned the light on in the living room. Drew told him to turn it off so he could "enjoy the Christmas lights". Drew has become a fan of having the Christmas tree lights as the only lights on in the house. He also says,"Let's go to Hom furniture for a free cookie!"

Potty training is still going well. He now likes to stand by the big toilet instead of the potty chair. After he pees he wipes off the toilet and flushes. He wants to do whatever he sees Mom and Dad doing. However being somewhat of a germ-o-phobe, this really grosses Mom out!

Drew finally filled his marble jar. Drew, Mommy, Joey, Dylan and Papa went to lunch at Chuck E. Cheese yesterday. The marbles are kind of losing their power with him. He is back to not staying in bed at bedtime which means not earning a marble, but he doesn't seem to care.

Drew is starting swimming lessons again in January. He is now in the level where he goes in the pool with out Mom or Dad. Joey is taking lessons with him. Should be fun!

We are in the count down for our cruise. We leave January 9th for Miami!!!!!

It's not Christmas yet...

Drew was convinced it was Christmas today. He said since he saw Santa (Sunday) and it snowed (Saturday) it must be winter. Then today is Christmas! He wanted to get out of bed to get the toy Santa was bringing him. It is going to be a long couple of weeks if we have to have that conversation every day! Last night Drew saw a bag with a gift for him in it. He has been talking about it since. He wants to play with it. He keeps saying, "Can I have that Leap Frog game now?" Little turkey!

Last Thursday Drew had his 3 year check up. He weighed 31.6 (50%) and is 37 inches tall (50%). He got his flu shot too. He didn't cry, but the band aid caused issues for the next 2 days. He wouldn't take a bath. He didn't want his diaper or clothes changed. He slept in his clothes the first night. He was afraid we would touch his ouchie.

counting the days

We saw Santa today. Drew told him he wanted a big red truck. After visiting with Santa, the kids made some crafts and ate cookies, popcorn and marshmallow snowmen. They also went on a wagon ride pulled by horses. Now we can use the "Santa is watching" card!

Slumber party

Drew and Joey had their first slumber party!

It was Joey's idea.

She insisted that she wanted to sleep over in Drew's bed. They did pretty good, but did need a little help staying in bed. Drew fell asleep about 30 minutes before Joey. They both got up around 7:30. Unfortunately they didn't fall asleep until after 10pm. So they were both a little crabby the next day. How can you say no when such cute little beings ask to have a slumber party?! Next one is at Joey's house!!!!! :-)

Drew turned 3!!!

The "banilla" cake with "banilla" frosting

Drew loved all his gifts!

The pinata

Drew, Dylan, Joey Anna & Zackory

The Birthday Boy

Today our little Drew bear turned 3!

It is hard to believe. Drew had his 3rd birthday party at Mimi and Papa's house. Drew had a great time. When asked what his favorite part was he said the ice cream. He got so many neat things. Most of the trucks he received are bigger than he is! He wanted to take some of them to bed! He would be up all night playing.

On the way home from his party Daddy stopped at McDonald's to get him a treat. By the time they got home Drew had fallen asleep in the car with a french fry hanging out of his mouth! The poor guy was exhausted from his big day. However, the 5-10 minutes he slept must have been just what he needed because he has been in his bed for almost an hour and he is still talking!

Drew has already decided that he wants a combine on a brown cake for his 5th birthday. Not sure what happened to number 4!

Thanks to everyone who attended Drew's party and helped make turning three so much fun!!!

Wednesday

Joey took this photo of Drew

Drew took this photo of Joey

Drew's marble jar is half full, so Mommy took Drew and Joey to Edinborough Park.

A great time was had by all. Mommy was surprised that Drew didn't take a nap after all the exercise he got! He had a hard time going to bed last night too. He didn't earn a marble for going to bed, but he did earn one for keeping his pj's on. When the jar is full we are going to Chuck E Cheese!

It's all in a name

Drew informed us yesterday that he has changed his name. He is now going by the name "Diego". He also changed one of his "friends" names from froggy to Alicia. Alicia happens to be the friend, Sister or Cousin (not sure which) of the cartoon character Diego. Wonder if that is a coincidence....

Brave Daddy

Today Daddy had the day off. His great idea was to take Drew to a movie. Joey was over and wanted to go too. Daddy didn't think he could handle it. He changed his mind and decided to take Drew and Joey to their first movie in a theater to see Madagascar 2. He loaded up a bag with water and treats and headed out the door. The kids did get a little restless, but there weren't many people in the theater so no one seemed bothered. They stayed for the whole movie. Daddy even took both kids to use the bathroom, which by the way Drew is doing really well at. Daddy definitely earned a gold star today!

Another new adventure

We went to the Mall of America on Saturday night. First we went to Bubba Gumps for Drew's birthday dinner. Drew and Daddy rode "Swiper's Sweeper" while we waited for our turn at the restaurant. The mall was very busy. After dinner we played mini golf. Drew had so much fun he wanted to go again on Sunday. He asked about 20 times if we could go again. We decided maybe that would be a good incentive for filling his marble jar.

Speaking of the marble jar. It is working really well for getting Drew to stay in bed at bedtimes and keeping his jammies on at night. Most days he earns 3 marbles. Until yesterday! He didn't take a nap so he missed that marble(not his fault), but bedtime was a disaster. Daddy read to him and put him in bed shortly after 8pm. At 10 pm Drew was still bouncing off the walls and talking in his room. He came out of his room multiple times and already had his jammies off the first time he came out! Needless to say no marbles were earned. The past week or so we have been more in the "Terrible twos". Good thing he turns 3 on Sunday!!!!

Again?!?

Drew woke up Sunday morning with a pretty bad head cold. He can't breath out of his nose. He is coughing and barking. We should buy stock in a tissue company! Poor little dude.

We are trying something new to keep Drew in his bed at nap time and bedtime. He now earns a marble to put in a jar when he stays in bed. He sleeps fine, but has a hard time staying in bed before he falls asleep. Yesterday was the first day with the marbles. He did pretty good at nap so he earned a marble. Well, he wasn't happy with just one marble. For an hour after he woke up from his nap he wanted to "earn more marbles". He earned another one at bedtime. He didn't come out at all and stayed in his room all night too(Monday night he woke up 3 times--he was sick though). When the jar is full he wants to go to Chuck E Cheese.

We are taking advantage of the nice weather and spending lots of time outside!

Halloween 2008

Our three little pumpkins

Drew and his loot

Waiting for more trick-or-treaters

A little nap before heading out to Trick-or-Treat.

Drew, dressed as a mouse, had a wonderful Halloween. He actually started the day as a race car driver at school. In the afternoon Drew and Mommy went to visit Grandma Luna and Auntie Lisa. After dinner Mommy and Drew hit the neighborhood. Drew was afraid of a few houses that had scary decorations or people that came to the door in scary masks. He got way too much candy! Daddy had to call and ask if Mommy and Drew got lost because they were gone for so long. Once Drew was back home he really enjoyed handing out candy to the kids that came to our door. Even though he didn't eat too much candy, he had a hard time settling down for the night. Drew's third Halloween was a good time had by all.

The past week

We were very busy again last week. On Monday Drew got his haircut.

Tuesday we went to Toddler Tuesday at the Mall of America with Dylan and Auntie Lis.

Thursday we went to Joey's graduation from play school. They did a slide show and Drew asked "who's that?" "what's that?" to EVERY picture. They normally do the play school in the spring too, but with changing graduation requirements they didn't have enough high school students to have the class. What a bummer! Drew will have to wait until fall the go to the play school with Joey. After graduation Papa treated us to lunch at McDonald's with a play land.

Friday Daddy went to school with Drew and Mommy. Drew was excited to have him see his classroom. Friday night we went to Edinborough park with the Fritz's and the Lindstrom's for a Halloween party. We had never been to the park before. Drew loved it! We couldn't get him out of there!

Saturday we went to the Halloween party at the American Legion in Hopkins with Grandpa Ron and Grandma Luna. Then Drew went with Papa and Mimi to a cancer benefit for a 2 year old. Drew spent the night at Papa and Mimi's house. He did awesome. Joey spent the night too. Good thing they have a king size bed. Two adults, 2 preschool bed hogs and 2 cats can sleep comfortably(?!?).

Drew had his 3 year old photos taken yesterday with Freddy Teddy and blankie. As soon as we talked about getting his pictures taken he said, "and blankie and Freddy Teddy too?". He knows blankie was in his 2 year old photos!

Back to regular Auntie Daycare this week. And working harder at potty training. No accidents yet today! We are headed in the right direction!

For Sale....cheap

Drew has a fine Italian vehicle for sale. Low miles. No warranty.

Will take best offer. We may have to get the title from Uncle John.

The Pumpkin Patch

Just clowning around!

Drew, Joey Anna & Zackory

I have been trying all week to upload pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch last Sunday. I'm not sure if it is my computer or the website, but it either won't let me log in or won't upload pictures. Drew had to check out the far reaches of the patch. They had a petting zoo too. It was a beautiful day.

After the pumpkin patch we played in the leaves at Mimi and Papa's. Then we went through some costumes that Mimi had. Have you ever seen such a cute clown?!

Little Costume Ball

Last Friday night we attended the "Little Costume Ball" with cousins Joey Anna, Dylan, Zackory and their families. Drew dressed as a mouse (rat), Joey was a pink poodle, Dylan was a chicken and Zackory was spiderman. The kids were running around and dancing like crazy people. And rolling on the floor. In the middle picture, Drew was watching the Limbo. It is crazy how many Halloween parties there are!

Where did we get this kid?

So tonight we are reading books at bedtime. The last book in our pile is "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Suess. We turned to the first page and Drew read it out loud. So we turned the pages and let him read as much as he could. He read 98% of the book! There was only one or two pages that he didn't know or needed help getting started! We don't read the same books everyday. I'm not sure when exactly we might have read that book, but as you can imagine Mommy and Daddy were pretty surprised to hear Drew read them a bedtime story! He even knew the page that says, "Constantinople and Timbuktu". This kid amazes us everyday. Tomorrow we will have to get out the video camera and have him read it again.

"Tobbler Tuesday" with Daddy

Yesterday we went to the Mall of America. Daddy took the day off because

he had some days to "use or lose". The event was story time with Spot. Drew was not too excited because the flier said it was supposed to be Clifford.

We love Clifford. After wandering around, Drew got a 3 hour ride wristband. The big rigs are always a favorite. On the drive to the mall Drew said he wanted to go in the black number 5 truck. The kid forgets nothing!
Daddy squeezed in to "Swipers sweeper" with Drew.
The "Fly boat" is a ride Drew hated the last time he was on it. But Drew was very brave this time. He went on the ride and enjoyed it!

Then we stopped for a lunch break. Mommy had been wandering around the mall spending Daddy's money (Drew said she could). When we all met up Daddy said Drew wanted to go on the log ride. Like I said, Drew was very brave. He also wanted to go on the big orange roller coaster (he's too short). We told him if he wanted to go on the log ride after lunch he could. He surprisingly is tall enough to ride with a chaperon.

Well, Drew didn't forget that we said he could go. So Drew and Daddy rode the log ride!

Drew's heart was beating so fast! He didn't enjoy it as much as he thought he would! He does not want to go on it again. The picture they took on the ride is priceless. We will post it when we get it scanned into the computer.

Drew was exhausted from having a big day at the Mall. He fell asleep in the car, but when we tried to move him into the house it didn't go well. So he only had a short nap. It was OK, we all had a great time!

Fire Station Open House

Today we went to the fire station for their open house. Drew loved it! He has been saying lately that he wants to be a fireman when he gets big.

Drew went in a ladder truck and a pumper truck. He also checked out the ambulance.

This is inside the cockpit of the rescue helicopter from North Memorial Hospital.

Drew was able to practice his skills in fighting fires.

And of course you have to have a little fun at the bouncy house slide!

We started out the day in Hopkins. While Daddy got a haircut, Mommy and Drew walked around town and went to the Farmer's Market. Next Daddy and Drew met Grandpa Ed for breakfast. Then we met the Lindstrom's at the Plymouth fire station. They had every emergency vehicle, a K9 demo, area businesses with treats and goodies, the bouncy house, etc... While we were there 2 bald eagles flew over. The helicopter flew in too. It was very windy and blew a lot of leaves off the trees when the helicopter came down.

Drew passed out on the way home and slept for a couple hours when we got home. Drew and Daddy did some yard work and then Dylan came over to play.

Drew told us today that when he gets big he is going to drive his loader and knock down his school so he can build a "gymnastics". Then he is going to drive his excavator and dig a hole for the building site. When he gets big on Wednesday he is going to drive a Bobcat (skid steer). Drew did take gymnastics last winter at the same school where he goes to school now. The kid remembers everything and has a VERY active imagination!

Tomorrow is Simon's 11th birthday. Happy Birthday Sam!

Our Weekend

On Sunday we celebrated Auntie Jen turning 33!

What a little ham.

On Saturday we went to Plymouth on Parade. After the parade Drew had his hair colored green and blue. Drew "drove" a loader, SWAT van, zamboni, monster lawn mower and a rescue truck. We watched the rubber duck race too. Daddy and Drew went on a horse pulled wagon ride. After Mommy walked away, Drew somehow got some cotton candy. It was a beautiful day to hang out outside!