AKA: Drew

Andrew is his given name. We call him Drew or Drew-Drew. It used to be when you asked him his name, he would reply "I Drew-Drew, I two."

These days he is Drew 5% of the time.

The following list is made up of names that Drew has given himself. Most of these names have "partners" to go with them. I am typically the recipient of these names if there is only one other partner. If there are numerous partners in crime then the pecking order is me, Izzy and finally Pete.

Current list:
Mr. Incredible (Molly is Violet, Izzy is Mrs. Incredible and Pete is Dash or Syndrome (not sure how to spell that name or really even pronounce it since I haven't sat through the entire movie)).

Buzz Lightyear (Molly and Izzy are either Woody or Jesse)

Handy Manny(Molly is Kelly, as is Izzy sometimes, Pete is Mr. Lopart)

Zoom-Zoom His superhero name

Baby Jesus(Molly is Mary) He often says "I Baby Jesus" when rolling himself up in a blanket.

Austin from the Backyardigans (Molly is Pablo, Izzy is Uniqua)

Rooney Doodle from the Doodlebops (Molly is Moe Doodle and Izzy is Dee-Dee Doodle) When in Doodlebop character you can count on him to be singing the theme song. Don't try to sing along with him though because you aren't allowed!

I am sure there are a couple more that I will need to add. I love that he has such a great imagination, but also realize that he may watch a bit too much tv. For those that see him on a regular basis you are aware that if you address him by his given name when he is in character you will get a tongue lashing.

A Fun Saturday Night

We decided to have a last minute pizza party on Saturday night. The day before Delaney, Jen, Mia, Stephanie and Rylie all came over to play. They did really well together - cause three is a tough number of kids to play together because someone usually feels/gets left out. I think all us moms are pleasantly surprised that they play together SO well. We didn't have one fight or argument to break up. In fact, since Drew was alseep and Mia was the only little one around we got to have a nice afternoon of chit-chat.

The girls playing dress up - an activity that has been getting lots of play around here lately.


So why not push our luck again the following evening and throw all the girls together again, and let the husbands tag along too? I am happy to report it went almost as smoothly. We only had one incident of door slamming which resulted in two girls crying. Delaney, rightfully so, because her fingers were slammed in a door. ...and Izzy, because she was the door slammer. When Izzy does something wrong, and knows it, she has a tendency to hide. Sure enough she was found upstairs under Drew's bed. I think she was crying because a) she knew what she did was wrong, and b) she hurt her friend.

After all tears were wiped away, it was onto cupcakes!

Look at Miss Mia's expression in this picture. It is like she knows that Drew should not operate a knife! ...or she is thinking, "you are doing it all wrong!"


And now look at Drew as Mia licks a knife


"Say cupcake!"


Stephanie and Jen enjoying a glass (or two or three)


Husbands just hangin


After cupcakes the kids moved onto some quiet play. How strange to have a house full of kids and for it to be so silent. When I peaked around the corner I saw this (Rylie was working on another puzzle).


After the quiet play had ended the girls decided to hold a tea party. This is one of Izzy's most favorite tea sets. Thanks Aunt Jaclyn!


Shortly after the tea party ended it was time for all party guests to go home. While I fetched some pj's for the kids, Pete read a couple books. It melts my heart every time I see Pete with both kids near him enjoying books. There is just somethin special about kids and their Daddy's!

Drew...

So Drew has had some AWFUL diapers for the last week or so. Today he had about 5-6 particularly bad ones. So, I am trying to figure out if he could be sick, or if it might be teething? It is hard to say because then end of last week he certainly wasn't eating well and he was whipped around with Pete in the hospital. So is he now sick? simply adjusting to the chaos of last week? or teething?

So tonight I notice that he is drooling quite a bit. I say to him, "Hey Drew, does your mouth hurt? Do you think you might be getting some new teeth in there Buddy? Can I put my finger in your mouth and see if you are getting any new teeth?"

He says, "Sure! (pause) ...and then I bite it!

The little booger. So of course I tell him that I don't want to put my finger in his mouth if he is going to bite it and he immediately tries to grab my hand and shove it in his mouth. The little stinker.

A Trace to An Inch

of snow that is.

We woke up this morning to find snow. Rumor had it that we would be getting some, so you can only imagine the kids excitement when they woke up this morning.





We literally came downstairs, opened the coat closet, put on boots (over footed sleepers), coats, hats and gloves. Out the door we went.



Checking out the snow


Catching snow flakes


15 minutes later we headed back in the house all the while listening to Drew protest our return indoors.

Later that afternoon we headed back out. This time we made some snow angels.





...and the kids had to sample the snow...


And see how some of the outdoor toys were weathering the storm


Running through the front yard


And down the side yard into the backyard


This is also the hill that I took the kids sledding on. As you can see there is not really enough snow for sledding, but we tried our darndest to make it work. Basically the kids sat in the sled and I ran down the hill pulling them, and then had to pull them back up. A couple times I flipped them out of the sled and told them to walk. I figured if I had to work so hard outside in the cold then I needed to tire them out so I could get a decent nap out of Drew!

...and it worked ;)

Pete's Home

The last few days have been crazy busy around here. Pete went to the hospital for internal bleeding on Thursday and then I spent the next couple of days shuttling the kids to playdates so that I could go spend time at the hospital.

After a scary 24 hours where Pete's blood levels continued to drop, I am happy to say that they FINALLY started to go back up and he was released last night. We are so happy to have him back at home where we can take care of him. He will spend the next few days just trying to recover from losing so much blood. With lots of rest, good food, and entertaining children we are sure he will be back to his feisty self in no time.

An Izzy funny for you...
So yesterday once Pete got home, Izzy asked Pete why he was gone so long. Pete said, "I really wasn't gone that long, did it seem like a long time?" Izzy said, "It wasn't a long time for Mommy or Drew, but it was for me!" As if to say she missed him the most and Drew and I could have cared less ;)

Izzy has also taken a new liking for going to play at friends houses. Her only stipulation is she will only go over to someone's house if there is a friend there for her to play with. So, as I type this (on a Sunday afternoon) Izzy is over at Delaney's house playing. Delaney wanted Izzy to come over just as badly as Izzy wanted to go over. In fact, Izzy told me she would like to do this everyday that she doesn't have school. Do you know how liberating this is? On one hand it makes me kind of sad, but really it excites me that she is finally secure enough to leave me and be okay. It is an added bonus that she is no requesting to go play. Woohoo!!!

With the small amount of time we did spend at home the last few days, the kids managed to occupy themselves with the help of a rubbermaid container...

The Good and The Bad

You can't have the ups without the downs...

So, Pete got sick last night and today we found out he is having some internal bleeding and needed to go to the hospital. What is the good side to that?

I dropped my kids off at my girlfriends house for the afternoon and they did GREAT! For many people this is probably no big deal. ...dropping kids off and all. Well, to me it is huge. My kids don't just go over and play at other peoples houses without me. They are attached to my hip at all times. It is only recently that I began thinking that I could possibly take them to the gym nursery and they *might* be okay. I figure with Izzy there, Drew may be fine.

Ironically tonight I was going to take the kids to the Y nursery while I had my dance class. I really like the lady who is in the childcare room on Thursday nights and thought it would be a good test run. Pete could work out and I would have dance...if the kids got upset or a parent was needed then Pete would be available. Well, with Pete getting sick I thought I still might try, but then all this happened.

So, back to the story. The kids and I dropped Pete off at the doctor and then ran to get doughnuts. When we returned to the doctor's office she called me back and said Pete was bleeding internally and needed to go to the hospital. Our choices: ambulance or me drive him. I quickly called a friend and asked if I could drop the kids off and of course she said yes :) I made a McDonalds run, and then dropped off the kids. I was worried not so much for Izzy, but for Drew. He LOVES his Mama...and not to mention he was about to miss his nap.

After getting Pete situated, I went back to pick up the kids. When I arrived, Drew was wearing a princess pull-up - I hadn't even left a diaper for him, and Izzy had her fingernails and toe nails painted. The house was loud - full of singing Doodlebops and shrieks of laughter. Thankfully my kids behaved. Stephanie appears to be no worse for the wear - certainly nothing a little wine couldn't help. She was kind enough to share a glass of wine with me, and feed me dinner and figure out what else I might need help with. The kids were having so much fun that they didn't even want to leave.

I am so proud of my kids. I am thankful for Izzy and her genuine love for her little brother knowing that she would make sure he was okay while I was gone. I am proud of the brave face Izzy put on even if she wasn't feeling it ...but truly I think she was FINE. I guess it is me who really needs to let go and realize that my kids are okay without their mama around. I need to give them more credit! They really are awesome.

I am so thankful for so many friends who offered to do so much these last few hours. Girlfriends are the BEST! Just knowing that I have friends whom I can call for help and they will drop anything really brings me so much peace and comfort.

Now that I have rambled long enough, I guess I should stop.

That Girl

As many moms know, some of the best conversations happen while driving. Today was one of those days. The conversation wasn't earth shattering in any way, just a conversation that I won't forget anytime soon. However, if I do then it is now documented via this blog.

Lately Izzy has been intrigued by male anatomy. More specifically the "peanut" as she calls it. I have told her repeatedly what the correct name is and so I am not sure if she forgets or just chooses to use the word peanut instead?

So today we were driving to dance class and Izzy and Drew were playing with Disney figurines in the back seat. Izzy had Princess Aurora? and Drew had Buzz Lightyear and they were making their characters carry on various conversations. I heard Izzy start to giggle, but for the way the character conversation was going her giggle didn't quite fit. Things got quiet for a minute and Izzy giggled again. So I kind of giggled and asked Izzy why she was giggling. She says to me, "Mom, do you think Buzz has a peanut?" I was kind of taken back and said, "Well, I don't know? He is a toy so I don't think so. ...and for the record it isn't called a peanut, it is called a _____".

Want to know what her response was..."Well, I think since he is a boy then he has a pen!s." She giggles again, then adds, "and I think it is purple." At that point I just laugh and tell her she is crazy. I think what I found funniest was that she thought she was so funny and just giggled out of nowhere.

Thankfully we were at dance and the conversation didn't go any further.

...okay, so I just reread what I wrote and it really was SO much funnier when it actually happened.

That Boy

Today I said to Drew, "I love you Drew."

...and he said, "I love you MORE Mama." Not only did he say more, but he really emphasized it. That little lovey just melts my heart.

On the flip side, he also randomly remarked, "I poop out of my tushy."

Great buddy.

A Day Out

Yesterday the kids and I took a short day trip. I had some things to return to the outlet mall about an hour away and we decided to make a day of it. ...or at least a half day. We met up with a friend and her kids and they all had a great time wrecking havoc on those around us. While there the kids were able to play in the play area and ride on the carousel.

I think it took Izzy a half dozen tries before she could climb up on top of this spider without any help. She kept sliding off and wanted me to take off her socks. I brought those socks specifically for her to wear in the play area (she was barefoot) and was not about to take them off in that germ infested area just so she could get more traction.


This cracked me up - both kids yelling at one another through this apparatus. Drew kept saying "I hear Izzy, I can hear her!" Well no kidding Einstein, she is standing inches from you.


Izzy named her horse Cinderella


Drew's horse was named Freckles, and then Buzz Lightyear. This was the first time Drew REALLY enjoyed a carousel ride. He kept saying "This is FUN. It is really FUUUUUNNNNNN!"


I think that all kids love Chuck E Cheese. ...and if not all, it doesn't really matter because mine sure do. Ever since the PA trip 6 weeks ago they have been asking to go back. I was amazed at all the game details Drew remembered. So, as any good mother would, I bribed my kids by telling them if they behaved at the mall we could go to Chuck E Cheese.

Well, Chuck E Cheese did not disappoint and the kids had a blast. Everytime a game was recognized as the "same as at the other Chuck E Cheese" both kids would clap and get giddy. So fun to be 2 and 3.

As if riding the carousel at the mall wasn't good enough.


Why not try out another horse? This one is cool because you can pull the reins and make the horse jump, turn, etc. on the screen in front of you.


This was a favorite with both kids. Hey, as long as they beat on these guys and not each other it is all good.




Finally, a little Skee Ball and Air Hockey to round out the visit




Finally, it was really cute as we were walking into Chuck E Cheese, Drew looked up above the front door and saw the picture of Chuck. He stopped, looked up at him, waved and said, "Hi Chuck. I gonna come in a pay (play) wiff you, k?" And then as we were leaving my polite young man said, "Bye Chuck. I see you next time. Tanks for letting me come over a-day. See ya later!"

A Boy and His Tools

Drew is a big fan of toy catalogs. Prior to Christmas he became fixated on a picture of Handy Manny tools in one of our catalogs and made those one of his requests from Santa. Once all his gifts were open he had every tool except for the blue flat head screwdriver Turner. Drew was so happy with all his tools, but also so sad that he was missing Turner. So, every time I would leave the house Drew would ask me, "Mama, you goin to buy me Turner? You go to the tore (store) and get me Turner?" EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

To say that Drew is obsessed with these tools would be an understatement. These tools go everywhere with him - much like his Buzz Lightyear Tupperware container hat (which he is still sporting). As a matter of fact the other day we dropped Izzy off at dance and I had accidentally put the tools in her dance bag, rather than my purse, when Drew gave them to me. I had to then interrupt her class to look in her bag for them once I realized I had not put them in my purse. At bedtime, every single tool, plus Batman figures, accompany Drew too bed. I am then usually called once or twice to fetch a tool or guy that has fallen out of the crib. You see, Drew will talk and play with those objects for nearly an hour before he falls asleep.

So, a couple days ago I was at Home Depot and Pete called me. He told me that Izzy needed to talk to me. Izzy gets on the phone and proceeds to tell me that Drew just got up from his nap and asked where I was. She told him I was at the store, and he immediately asked her if I was buying him Turner. The kid was relentless. He wasn't annoying about it, nor was he begging for it, but rather he was simply asking for Turner. He needed Turner. Simple as that.

I left Home Depot and went to Target for Turner. Turner was not sold in a two pack of tools like the other tools. Maybe he is sold that way, but if so he was not at my Target. What was at my Target was an entire tool box of the Handy Manny tools. So, I buy it. I buy it because I love that boy to pieces and he was so darn cute always asking if I was on my way to buy it. I bought it because I am a sucker mom. ...I also bought Izzy a really cool flashlight that you put images over the top to shine on the ceiling: princess themed. Drew's gift: $27. Izzy's "Mom had to buy you something because she can't show up empty handed after giving your brother a singing tool box" gift: $3. Izzy's flashlight is WAY cool for $3.



The best part...I have been thanked countless times in the last 72 hours for that Turner and toolbox. Numerous times a day I hear, "Tank you so much for buying me my Turner. I wuv my Turner and my toolbox Mama. Tank you so much for getting him for me. I wuv you Mama. I wuv my Turner too." It never gets old hearing his little voice being so appreciative.

He carries those darn screwdrivers everywhere. Heaven forbid we lose one...


Not only is he known as Buzz Lighyear and Mr. Incredible, he has also now become Handy Manny. I am the "Kelly" to his Handy Manny. In fact last night after I gave him his dinner he said, "Thanks Kelly." Pete asked if it bothered me that he often refers to me as Violet or Kelly and it doesn't. I find it cute.

Mr. Fix It working on his recorder. Aunt Jaclyn got these recorders for the kids for Christmas, per my suggestion, ...WHAT WAS I THINKING??? Do you know what dueling toddler recorder parades sound like?


Here he is putting his tools back in the box before heading off to another job...just a boy and his tools.

Christmas Party

So, way back on the Sunday before Christmas we had a fun Christmas party to attend. Rumor had it that Santa might even make an appearance. Ironically Santa arrived just as we did in his red Ford Explorer. I hustled my kids in through the garage before they were able to spot him.

He started out reading the kids some stories


Drew listened for a while, but then declared, "Bye Santa. BYE SANTA! I sink I ride dat bike now." Izzy, of course, was mesmerized.


The kids each took a turn sitting on Santa's lap to tell what was on their wish lists. Then he gave them a present (which I had given the hostess earlier).


Izzy got a Maggie Leigh magnet doll.


And Drew got the Joey magnet doll.


Izzy already has one of these dolls, and I can't say enough good things about them. Both kids love to play with them! We have spent countless hours trading costumes/clothing and making up stories to go along. If you don't have one of these dolls, and have a young child...and like to play pretend...then I highly recommend one.

Finally we all posed with good 'ole Saint Nick before he had to head out.