Drew at Two

We can finally say that Drew is now TWO!  Drew has been through so many changes this year and he has grown up a lot.

He had his 2-year doctor's appointment, and he is healthy, growing boy.  (Thanks to smoothies.)  He is in the 65th percentile for weight (29.5 lbs) and 85th percentile for height (35 3/4 in).

Drew in his birthday outfit from Nana & Papa.

Here's what you need to know about Drew at the age of 2:

• He loves balls, cars, bikes, trains, painting, and coloring. 
• His favorite animals are puppies and ducks.
• He has been slow to pick up on new words, but has been suddenly saying all sorts of new thing over  the past couple weeks.
• His favorite place to be is "OUTSIDE!"  He loves getting his shoes & socks on because he knows it means we're going "OUTSIDE!"  
• He has a long attention span for books.  He likes to hone in on a couple favorite pages that he flips between and points out the same things over and over. 
• He is the world's pickiest eater.  His favorite foods are berries, cheese, bread, juice, smoothies, mac & cheese, spaghetti, pretzels, crackers, popsicles, oranges, bananas, yogurt, craisins, and raisin toast.  If it's not on that list, he will not eat it.
• He loves making tents out of blankets.  He calls this game "top" and loves to hide out under a top with someone.  I love the excited look on his beaming face when he peeks out to let a little light in the "top."
• He is addicted to my iPod.  Any time he sees it, he starts yelling "POD! POD! POD!"  He can navigate it by himself with an almost unnerving dexterity.  His favorite games are "Nighty, Night" and "Preschool Monkey Lunch Box," which includes a matching game that he figured out on his own.  He tries to play "Angry Birds," but always fires the birds backwards, so the game never lasts too long.

• His favorite color:  "GEEN!"
• He is a terrible tease and loves to wrestle, climb on Mom's back, play chase and tickle monster.
• He loves baths.
• He's a brave kid when it comes to playgrounds and slides.  He likes to "swing" on the bar before he slides down a slide.
• If we're ever out at night, he's always first to point out the "MOON!"
• I love it when he bites his lower lip and makes his "tough boy" face.
• He adores his sister.  He often cries when drop her off at school and yells "Tess! Tess!" when we enter the parking lot to pick her up.

• He loves his dad and gets very excited when he hears the garage door opening when Ryan comes home.  "A-Daddy!  A-Daddy!"  He says "Daddy" whenever we pass the church and whenever he sees a newspaper.
• He's a bit of a momma's boy.  He likes to give me loves and big hugs.  He hates having me in nursery.  He's very clingy, possessive and does not like it when I hold other kids or leave the room.
• He can point out Mom, Dad or Papa's cars in a parking lot with startling accuracy.
• Ryan's nicknames for Drew are variants of his baby name, "Cooey Drewie."  Ry calls him "Cooey," "Coo-coo," "Coo-ky," and "Coo-ster."
• I call him "Puppy," "Drew-Drew," and "Drewie."
• Tess has one name for him: "Baby." As in: "There, there, Baby.  It's OK, Baby.  You know I love to call him 'Baby.'"  She's actually suggested that we misnamed him and should have called him "Baby Higginbotham."

For all posterity, here's our record of Drew's milestones in his 2nd year:

Drew can now push himself up to standing without holding onto anything. ~5-26-2012

Out of nowhere, Drew just started walking around tonight! He was giddy with excitement. ~5-21-200-12

Drew's latest words: book ("ba"), butterfly ("ba"), bowl ("ba"),bubble ("ba-ba"), and apple ("ap"). ~5-07-12

Drew now does the sign for signing whenever he hears the theme song to Baby Signing Time. ~5-07-12

Drew took 10 steps all by himself today! ~5-02-12

I know we've posted this before, but I'm going to say that Drew took his first stable steps today. Much more controlled, balanced and he wasn't just falling at the end. He was also trying to stand up from a sitting position today. ~5-01-12

I saw Drew wave "hi" and "bye" today. ~4-25-12

Drew is starting to climb up on chairs and couches now. ~4-9-12

In an Easter surprise, Drew took legitimate steps today! He managed to go about three steps several times in my parents' bedroom. ~4-8-12

Drew and I (Dad) spent most of the Sunday School hour walking the church halls. I held one of his hands and the other he popped in his mouth. ~4-8-12

Drew's perfected the HOPPING sitting crawl now. Up next: yogic flying. ~4-8-12

Drew sees "bahs" (balls) everywhere, including on clothing (polka dots). ~4-8-12

Drew can now walker unassisted with his walker. However, he still needs to learn how to steer. ~4-7-12

Drew just figured out how to open the back screen door by himself and is now out exploring the deck on his own. ~4-2-12

Drew is quite adept at moving from a sitting position to crawling (both army and traditional style) and back to sitting. ~4-1-12

Drew is saying "ball" ("bah") once again. (He said it some months ago and then quit.) ~3-28-12

A few new Drewie breakthroughs: he's brave enough to climb the full flight of stairs by himself (though he's very resistant to efforts to teach him how to go down the stairs); he's started making a few signs (baby, star, all done); he can now say "uh oh," which sounds more like "ah ooo." ~3-28-12

Drew's 2 new favorite foods: popsicles (he can hold one and eat the whole thing by himself, seated in his highchair, of course) and popcorn (I know you're not supposed to feed babies popcorn, but you just try and keep him away!) ~3-20-12

Drew loves playing with his toothpaste and pretending to brush his teeth. He screams bloody murder when I brush his teeth, though. ~3-18-12

After weeks of drilling, I finally got Drew to respond to the word "bird" with "tweet, tweet" while opening and closing his fingers like a bird's beak. ~3-18-12

Drew is beginning to walk while aided with a single hand. ~3-17-12

Drew has been saying "Hi Tess" more often. When I began watching a video on the blog of Tess reading, Drew scooted over, pointed to the screen, and said, "Hi Tess." He's also said "Hi Dip" on the telephone to Dipsy. ~3-17-12

Drew loves drinking water through a straw and has delightfully learned how to blow bubbles in his drink. ~3-13-12

Drew finally started saying Tess' name and he's been saying it over and over again all day. "Tess, Tess, Tess, Tess!" ~3-13-12

Drew pulled himself up to standing on the red bench today. He also walked along the bench to reach different toys. He's getting there! ~3-10-12

Drew is quite vocal with the car sounds when he plays with the Fisher Price garage: brrrrmmm brrrrmmm and ssssssssss (filling a car with gasoline). ~3-8-12

Drew throws a huge fit when you try to brush his teeth. He cries big tears, keeps his lips closed, wiggles and squirms, and spits out any toothpaste in his mouth. ~3-8-12

Ever since Drew learned to stand up in his crib, he has fought going to bed at his regular time (8:00 pm). He finally goes down now around 10:00 pm. ~3-8-12

With my (RKH) help, Drew managed to crawl/climb up all the stairs. ~3-6-12

Drew loves to walk with the assistance of your fingers; he will reach back for your hand if you try to get him to walk while holding only one of your hands. ~3-1-12

Drew is amused by my work photo ID; he lets out a giggle when he sees it. ~3-1-12

Drew finally figured out how to pull himself to standing in his crib last night. We spent the rest of the night trying to figure out how to get him to stay down. ~2-27-12

Drew now cries whenever we drop Tess off at preschool. ~1-25-12

Long time coming, but sometimes when I get Drew up from his nap, he'll actually be sitting up in bed, trying to pull up on the side of the crib. ~1-24-12

If you ask Drew for kisses now, he sucks his cheeks in, puckers up and makes kissing noises. Cutest face I've ever seen! ~1-18-12

Drew now cries every morning when Ryan leaves for work. It would be cute if it weren't so heartbreaking. ~1-18-12

After two rounds of antibiotics, Drew's ears were still a little pink at his follow-up visit at the doctor. The right ear still has a little fluid in it. It's been about 2 weeks since he finished the antibiotics and the doctor thinks it is still draining. I'm supposed to give him allergy medication to dry him up. I sure hope it does the trick! ~1-17-12

Instead of figuring out how to get down and crawl from a sitting position, Drew is perfecting his "sitting crawl." While sitting, he reaches his feet out and then pulls them back in, giving himself a tiny scoot forward. He'll do it very fast, exerting an enormous amount of energy for very little speed. At least he's not hard to catch that way. ~1-17-12

Drew still routinely wakes up at least once each night and will fuss until he gets a bottle. If you go into his room to check on him and then leave to make a bottle, he will begin to howl. (It's best to make him a bottle first and then enter his room.)~1-10-12

Drew still loves playing with a ball. He is learning to dunk the ball on his new basketball hoop. (Someone needs to help him stand up in order to do it.) ~1-7-12

Drew now cries when he senses that someone is leaving the room. He has a particularly dramatic pose when he is very upset: he spreads his legs apart and drops his forehead to the ground. ~1-1-12

Drew managed to transition from a sitting position to a crawling position this morning. ~12-24-11

Drew has discovered the fun of coloring on walls. Somehow we were able to teach Tess to color only on paper at an early age, so we never had this problem with her. I can't remember how we did it. ~12-07-11

Drew is something of a particular eater. He will survey the options on his tray and hone in on his favorite food (usually cheese), deliberately passing over everything else. Things he doesn't like get unceremoniously tossed on the floor. ~12-07-11

Drew also knows the word "tree" and will point to the Christmas tree in response. I love it when they start showing signs of understanding. ~12-07-11

Drew will point to or touch Miriam's nose when we ask, "Where's Mommy's nose?" ~12-06-11

Drew still routinely wakes up at least once each night and will fuss until he gets a bottle. ~12-06-11

Drew checked out great at his one-year check-up! He is one tall kid! He is 31 3/4 inches tall, putting him in the 95th%! He weighs 23 lbs 14 oz, which is in the 75th%. The doctor wasn't too concerned about his lack of walking progress, given our family history and the fact that he bears weight well on his legs. The doctor was also pleased with the degree to which the markings on his skin have lightened. ~12-01-11~