It seemed like just yesterday I was posting Drew’s nine month post. Maybe because it was yesterday…actually more like a week ago. 😉

Our big boy hit the double digits this month turning 10 months. The biggest highlight or change for him (and us) is that he started full-time at La Escuelita, a bilingual daycare a couple blocks away from our house. His nanny, Daniela, had to give immediate notice due to health reasons so we had to enroll him a month early. This meant that we had to wrap up with my aunt and mom early as well, which is probably the saddest part for me (more about this topic in another post).

Overall, he’s handled the transition pretty well. He had two transition days (1/2 days) which seemed to go good, along with his first full-day. No tears for Drew or me which I consider a success. However, on his second full-day, he did shed some tears when we left him with the teachers. I think he finally understood we were leaving him there all day and he’s also been under the weather so that didn’t help. The teachers have said that Drew is adjusting well, eating great and exploring a lot. They say his favorite part of the day is when they go outside or go on walks. Towards the end of the day though, he does ask to be held which Angie (another teacher for a different room) does not mind at all. Apparently, she loves him so much she initiates the holding! Haha.

Highlights:
– Learned how to wave goodbye and blow kisses/besos
– Loves to climb up the stairs…now he just needs to learn how to go down them
– Sits in a chair at a table with his fellow classmates for snacks and meals – it’s the cutest thing ever
– Is constantly on the move
– Enjoys drinking out of his sippy cup with a straw
– Loves Pearl so much, he’s started feeding her his food

Maddie and Brian hosted a BBQ at their house over Labor Day weekend. As always, it was a blast getting together with our PEPS friends! The babies all had a great time in the fun play pen that Maddie set up.

Not Pictured:
– Brian teaching the guys how to brew beer – it reminded me of chemistry class or an episode of Breaking Bad! Complicated process but very cool!
– Pearl and Stella who were having too much fun chasing each other around the yard!

This past summer, we enrolled Drew in swim lessons with his PEPS friends. He loves bath time so we knew he would love being in the pool. He had a blast each week with his buddies  and it was a great way for all the families to catch up!

Below are some moments we were able to capture throughout the 10 week session. We tried getting a group shot of the babies on their last day of class but as you can tell, it’s hard to get a photo of them all looking at the camera.

P.S. We really lucked out with our PEPS group! ❤

Well…Drew has officially entered the last quarter of his first year. Can you believe it?!?

At nine months, he continues to be the sweetest and happiest boy around. But don’t be fooled by his charming smile, he’s definitely a mischievous little one. Along with his new fun tricks like clapping, giving high-fives and shaking hands, he’s now learned how to pull himself up out of his walker and Mama & Papa’s floor seat. There’s really no other contraption we can keep him in other than his crib and high-chair. Guess we’ll need to do another round of baby proofing!

As for his nine month stats, he’s pretty much below average on weight (10%) and height (25%) but continues to be well above average with his head circumference at 95%! Perhaps he’ll be the next Ken Jennings and win big on Jeopardy so that Keith and I can retire early! 🙂

Nine month stats:
– Weight:  17 lbs 14.5 ounces
– Height:  27.75 inches

Highlights:
– Learned how to clap, high-five and shake hands!
– Has his top two and bottom two teeth, as well as one other top one coming
– Loves making his “scary face” for Ong but has started to make that face for smiles too (as evident in some of the photos below)
– Sits in his high chair with one leg up (he’s so cool!)
– Loves to crawl around and get into things (he’s a boy alright)
– Took a trip to LA to visit family and loved it!

It’s true…eight really is great! The last month has been a big one for Drew – he’s full on crawling now and we finally see his two bottom teeth coming in!

As much as I want to pause time (or as Zach Morris would say “Time Out”) and savor these moments, it has been so much fun seeing our little guy grow up. He is such a happy fella and a real ham in front of the camera (as evident in his eight month photos below).

And now that he’s more mobile, Drew is quite the handful. It’s almost impossible to change his diaper on the changing table. Sometimes both Keith and I have to tag team it – Keith holds him down while I change his diaper. Drew may be eight months old but he is one strong kiddo. I don’t even know how my mom and aunt can manage him when they’re smaller than me – maybe he goes easier on them. 🙂 Anyway, we hope this strength stays with him as he gets older so that Keith’s dream of Drew becoming a major league baseball player will come true!

Highlights:
– We’ve got a full on crawler!
– Bottom two teeth are finally showing
– For the most part, hasn’t really shown signs of stranger danger – we’ll see if this changes when he’s enrolled in daycare
– Is fascinated by the following: daddy’s beard, the washing machine, the air conditioner and fans, Pearl’s tail, the keyboard at Ong and Ba’s house
– Talks up a storm  – we know this doesn’t count but he kind of says da-da (for daddy) and ba (for my mom)
– His nick name at swim lessons is Mr. Splashy since he loves to splash around

We’ve got a full on crawler on our hands! Looks like it’s time to baby proof!

Here’s a video that shows how proud Drew is once he got to his toy car. 🙂

The other day when Drew and I were playing, I tried to teach him to clean up after we were done. I know, I know…he’s too young but I thought I would start teaching him this early.

Based on the video below, I have a feeling I’ll be cleaning up after him until he’s off to college and maybe even well beyond that, probably after he gets himself a wife. 😉

It’s official…I suck at updating the blog!

Although I’m only a week and a half behind on Drew’s seven month blog post, I’m several months behind on the 20+ blog posts that I’ve had lined up. Perhaps I’ll get my act together this month…or maybe not. I blame summer for my tardiness with keeping this updated. 😉

On to the seven month post… It’s hard to believe that Drew has passed the halfway point to a year old. He’s really grown a lot in the last month – sits on his own, army crawls all over the place (you really can’t leave him for a second or he’ll be half way across the room), eats solids twice a day and even added an extra bottle to his feedings (not sure I can keep up with the milk production at this rate) and talks up a storm!

In terms of sleep, we had a bit of blip the other week. One day he was sleeping through the night with one feeding and the next, he was up three to ten times! It was driving me nuts and with Keith out-of-town for work, I didn’t know what to do so I ordered a sleep training book. If you know me, it’s rare that I finish a book unless I’m really into it and the sleep training book wasn’t any different – I just couldn’t finish it. Once Keith got back home, we decided to start sleep training. We did a combination of CIO and if needed, Keith was the one to go in to console Drew. It only took a few days and now Drew is back to sleeping through the night AND doesn’t require a night-time feeding! We had a rough couple weeks but I’m glad to be back on our normal sleep schedule…at least until the next sleep regression hits.

Highlights:
– Had a couple of weeks of sleep regression but back on track and sleeping through the night. No more night feedings either!
– Continues to love food like his mama and papa. He’s fascinated by people eating.
– Is a pro army crawler and uses his huge noggin to move himself forward
– Favorite part of his bedtime routine is when daddy reads to him, especially all the voices daddy makes
– Finds it hilarious when Pearl’s tail fans over his face
– Loves swim lessons with his best buds from PEPS

Before Drew came along, I was obsessed with taking photos of Pearl. Well my obsession went from taking photos of Pearl (which I still do) to taking photos of Drew. Between the two of them, they make up about 99.9% of the photos on my phone and camera. That said, we don’t have a ton of family photos so we used Drew’s six month photo session as an opportunity to get some as well.

We had a great time at the shoot, minus Drew tipping over on his face when we tried to get a photo of him with the stuffed bears (oops!). Thanks to Sahara Coleman Photography for another fun session.

Here’s a slide show of our favorite photos from the shoot:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.