Happy Birthday Drew!

Drew woke up to tell me it is his birthday and he is three! Then went right into, cake? where is the cake? I had made cupcake last night so after breakfast we had birthday cupcakes! He was thrilled and so happy! Natalie, his speech therapist came for the last time today and it was kinda sad! You get so used to having these people come by and the become your friends...I am sure we will keep in touch with most of them! Drew will miss his friends....but glad to have it behind him!

Tonight we are having pizza and cupcakes for dinner to celebrate! I think we will wait and do presents on Sunday with the family...unless Drew asks for them today! It is so exciting to have Drew be three but at the same time it is so hard.....I think that it takes years to heal. Andy and I were talking about how in a sense you get robbed of knowing what it is like to have a baby....But we had Kail to experience it fully so it is amazing how God wove that experience back into our lives. I think we will always remember hearing the Doctor say Drew did not make it and then hearing the shouting of "we have a heartbeat" and the feelings that went along with it! For 3 days we expected the worse and God gave us the best, a spirited little man that fought tooth and nail to grace us all with his presence! Oh, what a difference he will make in the world with that spirit! Seeing him today makes the "horrible" experience so much easier to deal with. Sometimes it was almost like we never dealt with or grieved for the situation because of surgeries, birthdays and then being pregnant again. So now it is sometimes overwhelming!

I know Andy and never could have made it this far without our amazing families and friends to remind us to keep on going! God truly can work Miracles and we are so blessed to have seen one with our very own eyes! Our lives changed so much three years ago, our new baby, our love and our faith. Thank you for always being there to hold our hands, cry with us and then the best....to celebrate with us! So lets all raise our glasses tonight and wish Drew a very Happy Birthday and Thank God for miracles, friends and families! We love you all madly!

Tomorrow...

Drew will be three! I can't even believe it at all! I remember going to bed tonight (3 years ago) being so sad Andy had a meeting and was not coming to see me tomorrow. He remembers waking up to look at Pierce who was wide awake in my spot and saying to Pierce " the baby is coming today, I know it!" I wonder why he did not just call me and tell me that so I could be prepared for what was instore for the day! When I woke up I was running a fever (first sign of a infection) and called to tell Andy, he says"when is the baby coming?" I totally missed that and said I will call you later because I am sure it is nothing! I spent the day trying to decide to be happy because Andy was going to his meeting and I HATED being in that freaking hospital...funny because 5 days later I HATED leaving that freaking hospital without my baby! Funny how three years later you see things that should have screamed....THE BABY IS COMING TODAY but you totally miss them! Thank goodness our brains do that to help us deal with what is coming next. I them can remeber being so happy because Andy skipped the meeting and came to see me. We went out to Wendy's and he pushed me thru the hospital to see the "world"! At 8 I was asking him "why are you still here?" (our house is an hour away from UNC and so he usually left to get home and spend time with the dogs.) At about 8:30 I noticed something was happening and the doctors were paged...Andy sat patiently on the most UNCOMFORTABLE couch in the world and waited for the Doctors to come by. They pretty much said I was having a baby ASAP....and that was around 9:30 pm. I was trying so hard to be adult like and calm, so Andy called the fire dept to let them know he would not be there bc the baby was coming and I called his parents. I think his mom was able to say hi and I was hysterical! Needless to say he called everyone else.........

Drew had a hearing test today and he passed with flying colors! I knew he had no hearing issue but it was routine to check it! He is so excited to be 3 tomorrow that Andy has told him to go to bed about 6 times tonight! We are having a small family get together this weekend but tomorrow it will be cupcakes to practice for the big party on Sunday. I say a small family but my extended family includes so many friends it becomes like 20+ people. I know, I cant do anything small and normal! I gotta go all out and Andy gets to spend weeks doing "party" chores! Oh how lucky I am he loves me! I better getto bed and will finish my story tomorrow on the birthday!Love to all!

July

Drew will be 3 in 17 days....can you believe it? I sure can't believe he is so big! He has come so far...from 1 lb 8 ozs to over 30 pounds! 12 inches long to over 3 feet tall! Since he is three he no longer receives services from Early Intervention - it is a state program that helps kids who are at risk for delays. It is a wonderful program and we are sad to loose it but glad for it to be over. Drew received therapy 3 times a week from it and it got rather overwhelming at times for him and I. It is a big milestone to reach! Drew will still receive his Governor Morehead School for the Blind services and so we will have therapy just once a week. I think that will be a welcome change for us! I have also signed him up for Preschool, 2 days a week and I really think he will love it. It is a a great opportunity since a great friend of ours is going to be his teacher - that makes me willing to let him go and be a big boy! I know I will be a train wreck for the first few days but it will be great for him! I am hoping the peer pressure helps him get potty trained! He is not interested in it at all so I don't push it and know one day he will be interested!

With Drew in School, Kail and I will have some time together which I think will be really good. I tend to have time alone with Drew when Kail is napping but rarely time with Kail alone. So I can't wait to have that chance. Kail is a monster and an adorable monster! He is a very needy child and wants his mommy all day long. Most days it drives me crazy but I have learned to cook, clean and even shower with him connected to my leg. Andy tries to take him and play when he is home but Kail finds me somehow. I don't think Andy understands that I am so used to it that I don't expect to have time alone unless it is bedtime! Kail is so much fun and giggles at everything. He has this smile that lights up his whole face when he sees you and then this mean horrible crying when he is mad. Drew is always very even with his temperament and tends to be calmer....Kail is from one end of the spectrum to the other in minutes!

Andy and I love them both so much! We are finally into the groove of juggling the kid time and then our time. It is really nice to finally be at a place where we make time to have with each other. It is so important to still be us, a couple and then be parents too! I think it will be something that is a constant struggle and is probably with all parents. I had no idea how easy it was to neglect him and him neglect me. It is so nice that we are aware we have to have time off and alone but have family time too! So we are doing well and Andy is busy at work...as usual!

I don't know what else to say...I feel like I have gone on forever! Things are great and we are excited to celebrate the big three with Drew. We are having a small family party and just keeping it simple! I think Drew will enjoy it since he has actually picked most of the stuff out - so fun when they get to have an opinion! I wish everyone a great fourth of July and we send our love to all!

WOW....time flies past!

I must apologize for not updating in a million years. Things have become just overwhelming for me; Drew has therapy 3 times a week, appointments and then Kail cause me to be exhausted. SO much has been going on it is crazy! Drew had a hearing test which he failed because he had an ear infection in both ears and I had no idea! So far his little ears have been good and happy! We have all been sick EVERY month since my last post. I guess we just kept passing it around to each other and finally we have been doing much better, YEAH! Drew and Kail are able to play together for a little bit and coexist which is nice but the watch out because the fighting has already begun. Boys will be boys right? Kail is one and very very mischievous so I tend to stay busy checking his mouth for objects a looking or stolen objects that he has hidden! By stolen I mean things he took from the kitchen pantry or bathroom drawer! Drew is fast approaching three....wow! He will phase out of Early Intervention and the Public School System will begin giving him any services he needs. I believe at this point all that will continue is Vision Therapy which occurs once a week. That will be a change for me and Drew considering we were used to 3 a week! Drew is registered for Preschool in the fall and we are very excited. I think it will be great for him but I know I will be sad! Andy and I are busy running in different directions which is pretty normal! We are excited for the summer to have some fun outside with the boys!

Kail's Baptism

So we got home from London and jumped right into Party mode! Kail was baptized on Saturday so I had to cook and plan lunch for 30 people at our house after the ceremony! Needless to say I pulled it off and it was great! Kail was amazing and did not cry when they were dumping the water on his little head! He was so happy to be the center of attention for a day! We also kinda celebrated his birthday too since it is in 2 weeks...crazy how fast time flies! Kail will be one and Drew will be three!

Drew is doing great and got a tricycle as an early birthday present from Sue Sue! He rade it yesterday and actually even peddled a little bit! It was so adorable! He is getting so big and talking up a storm! I love his little voice...it is so sweet! He says "hi mom" all day and hugs me! It is so fun to talk to him and have him ramble on about stuff to me! He is doing great with his speech therapist and she really enjoys him. He actually finally said "open" today for her rather than his usual "Op". He is just amazing! So while he is getting therapy I am constantly trying to entertain Kail and keep him from distracting Drew plus listen and observe the therapy session. Kail is a very naughty and mischevious kid! Today he got so mad at Drew that he stared yelling and hitting - I was shoked to see his little temper and it is just like me! Drew is so subdued and calm, always sweet with very mild tantrums and then Kail is so so so loud! I think he is already into his terrible twos!

We are doing great and all is well! I think everything is back to normal after the trip, Andy's birthday and then he baptism at least until Kail's Birthday! We send all of our love to everyone!

London and Kail Walking....

Kail's first steps.....
A stop along the route to the pose for a picture!

Almost there.....

Kail wants to keep going!

Paris by sunset!

Andy and I return from London back to NC tomorrow and we are excited to get home! We have had a great time with a 2 day excursion to Paris - amazing! We have missed the kids and so so much has happened with them! Kail began to walk on Sunday - the second day we were away! It is funny since Drew also began to walk at my Parents house with them when we were living there! So it was fitting for Kail to walk for them too! Other than that things are great and we have had a wonderful time with Shannon, Brian, Brad, Ethan and Savannah!

Time Flies by!

Well we are all doing good....Andy is working and in his spare time still trying to finish the shed. It is near completion but time is hard to come by....I wonder why! Drew is in the terrible two's and it is a really trying time for me, since I am with him all the time. He has been throwing tantrum after tantrum....including hitting, kicking, head banging and even biting. So most days when Andy arrives home I am pushed to the limit and it becomes his turn to take care of Drew. I have tried everything, ignoring, talking, time out and even spanking with no luck. So I finally broke down and bought a book about dealing with the Terrible Terrible twos! Other than that he has been fine....and wonderful when not throwing a tantrum. He is talking more and more with the help of his new speech therapist, Natalie. He really likes her and enjoys his sessions with her which is great! He still has vision therapy and developmental therapy - those are going well and he still has good days with them and then some occasional bad days! He loves to watch Noggin and surprisingly learns alot from it....Drew did make the move into a Big boy bed, bunk beds, that Grandma and Grandpa Dudash got for him. He actually does really well with them and has been sleeping great on the bottom bunk. We have not yet explored the top bunk with him as I don't feel he needs to know about it!

So that allowed Kail to move into Drew's old Crib/Toddler bed and he has been fine with it. He had a crib we were borrowing and he was growing out of it! It needed to be lower and it would not go any lower so he was attempting to get out of it! Kail has a very loud voice and spends most of his time making sounds...mama, dada, baba, and loud screeching noises that will drive you mad! His newest sound is a grunt and he even flexes his arms with that noise...very funny! He changes everyday and it amazes me how fast he is becoming a toddler. He can stand by himself but if he realizes he is doing it then he falls down! He has taken about 2-3 steps by himself and is unsure about walking. He will push all the chairs and anything mobile around the house to walk with it...everything except his walker toy! Funny! He is huge...About 20 lbs and just built like Andy where Drew is built more similar to me!

We are coming to a very busy time...Andy and I leave for London to visit my sister next week. We are excited but overwhelmed! We did decide to plan a overnight trip to Paris and have a romantic getaway for a night! I am not sure if we are excited to go on a trip or if we are excited to be kid free for 10 days! Once we get home Kail is getting baptized the following weekend which means house cleaning, making food for the lunch after and cake making! I also decided to cram Kail's birthday into that event since it was only 2 weeks after his baptism.....Shocking he is almost a year old! Like I said time flies by!