Proud, Proud Mama!!

Okay, excuse me for a moment while I brag about my little guy :) Even though Drew has been sick for pretty much the past 12 months, it hasn't affected his ability or desire to learn. He continues to amaze me with his quest for knowledge! He is absolutely a little sponge and soaks up everything he hears and/or sees. He has been blessed with the ability to retain that information, I sure hope that never changes!

He's not quite two yet, but can identify at least 3/4 of the alphabet, can spell his name, knows all his colors & shapes, can pretty much make any animal noise imaginable and likes to describe what he sees or feels "it's sunny! it's windy!! it's cold... brrrrrr!" He's starting to put several words together at a time, "Drew's hiding, I found it! I fall down". He can say his last name better than a lot of grown-ups, he knows all of his baby sign language and uses it often. He's making progress on the please & thank you front, yesterday he said on his own "Pwease Mama?" sooooooo sweet!! He has the most incredible smile and an absolutely contagious belly laugh. He is all boy, wants to wrestle, run, jump & play at all times, but is also such a sweetheart, constantly requesting hugs & kisses (and eskimo kisses with Mama).

As sweet as he is, he also has an intense temper. When he's mad, he's MAD and he lets you know. He has been through a lot of stress and sickness in his short two years of life but given all he's been exposed to and the turmoil that has been present since his birth, I think he's turned out quite well. He is a child with a huge, loving heart, he has a wonderful sense of humor and is an absolute joy to be around. He is the love of my life and I'm proud of myself and the little man I have raised so far.

Other recent pictures

I've lost the USB cable to my digital camera, so I'm making do with my cell phone camera until I replace the cable. Here are a few random pictures of Drew over the last few weeks.

Drew got a chocolate chip cookie at Kroger, but didn't want to eat it, he held it all the way through the store, but wouldn't let me take it once we got back to the car. He eventually just put the cookie to his mouth, sucking on it and this is the result once we got to Grandma & Papa's house.
He fell asleep in his cool club chair while watching his favorite movie, The Bee Movie

Drew is a big time artist, he loves to color and loves his crayons. This particular night he didn't want to part with his lellow crayon, so he cuddled with it as he fell asleep.

Drew & his best bud, Baxter.

This is from Tuesday, April 22nd. Drew & Mommy went for a bike ride over to the playground. He had a great time but threw a nasty fit once it was time to leave. It's really hard to buckle a toddler into a bike seat & put a helmet on when throwing such a fit!

Surgery

Drew had his surgery on Friday, April 18th. His tonsils & adenoids were removed, and the tubes in both ears were replaced. The surgery went well, the Doctor said his tonsils & adenoids were very large and more embedded than they orginally thought, obviously a sign that this was a necessary procedure. Recovery at the hospital (medical center) was kinda tough, especially when Drew first started waking up. The poor little guy was obviously in pain, scared and wanted Mommy. It was a bit hectic for a while cause Mommy started feeling sick, but eventually that went away and we were moved to the Inpatient section where we spent the night.

For the first day Drew wasn't swallowing at all; he wouldn't drink, or eat anything at all, so he was kept on the IV until Saturday morning. He started drinking a little on Saturday and by late Saturday he was eating, although just a tiny bit.

He is doing well at the moment, he seems normal at times, but is still very clingy to Mama and it's obvious when the pain medicine is wearing off. It's hard to tell if he's in pain or if it's the terrible two's setting in! Still, he asks for lots of kisses, hugs, high fives, rock & shake (he likes for you to shake his foot like Baxter does). The medicine makes him pretty tired so we are getting lots of rest.

The first picture below is before surgery, he seemed to know what was coming. The second picture with the swollen face is after the surgery. It was such a sad sight, he was pretty zombie like.

Another Surgery for Drew

Drew has had continuous problems with his ears & sinuses since last April when he first had tubes put in both of his ears. One of the tubes has already fallen out & the other one is loose. I took Drew back to the EN&T Specialist yesterday to see what could be done to help the poor kid. Dr. Willbrand wants to replace both tubes, remove his tonsils & adenoids. He is scheduled for surgery on Friday, April 18th. They are keeping him over night just to make sure he doesn't have any problems and of course I get to stay with him. Please keep Drew in your thoughts and say a little prayer for a quick recovery.