Drew's on the move!

We've had a busy couple of weeks in the LaGrone household. Drew is growing like crazy (check out the belly in that picture!) and having all kinds of new experiences.














Last Monday we went to the doctor for his 2 month check-up. He weighed 12 lb 15 oz and was 23.75 inches. That's over 4 pounds and almost 3 inches gained since birth! He also got his first round of shots. He was a real trooper and screamed for just a minute until I picked him up. Then he was like: "OK, what's next?"

Here's a picture of Drew sporting the sticker the nurse gave him for being such a big boy. His first sticker! I know he was proud.

And here he's pointing (I swear I didn't pose him) to the Bugs Bunny band-aids he got when he was given his first shots.

Since Drew is now 2 months old, it was time for my maternity leave to end and for me to return to work. Jim once (only once) called it my "little vacation." It certainly was no vacation! Being back at work is almost less work than staying home full time for the last two months. I've loved being with Drew 24 hours a day, but I was also glad to return to my vocation as a pastor. I've always wanted to be a working mom, and being a pastor and a mom at the same time is like my two greatest dreams come true.

People kept asking if I was anxious about returning to work, and while it was a lot of work to get us ready for the new schedule, the answer is: no. I've felt extremely at peace about the whole thing. The secret to that is that I'm so happy with Drew's childcare arrangements. One day a week my mom (Grammy) stays home with him. One day he's home with Jim and another day I'm home with him on my day off. On two mornings a week he comes with me to the church nursery where they love him and take amazing care of him.

Here's the sign for his room in the nursery. "Bunny Hollow." How cute is that?

This is what the room looks like. Drew's not in the picture because Miss Gladys is changing him off to the side. Most days when I pick him up there are about 5 babies and 3 adults caring for them. They let me know exactly how much he slept and ate and how many diapers he had, and tell me if he was in a good mood (he always is!) I can tell they love him, and when I go to get him they're always holding him and rocking him. And soon I hope he'll notice the other babies and begin making friends!

Here's a photo of the two of us on our way to his first day at the nursery. The first of many "first day of school" photos he'll have to pose for in his lifetime.

And here's Drew at Starbucks while I worked on my sermon for that Sunday. Looking down at my laptop open to my sermon (I love to preach), my baby asleep in his carseat (I love my baby) and my Chai Frappucino (well, you can see where that's going)... I really had the sense of having it all, all at once.

And then he woke up. So I've decided, ladies, you CAN have it all! But maybe for just an hour at a time. :)

Mommy Group

When Drew was 3 weeks old he and I began attending a Mommy's Group on Monday mornings at Memorial Hermann Hospital. The group is for first time moms (with a few seasoned moms) of infants. It was the first outing we went on by ourselves, and it's funny to think how intimidating that was for me for the first time: loading him up in the car, driving 10 minutes without being able to see him behind me, figuring out how to put him in the stroller and getting him into the hospital for the group. We were 7 minutes late and I was the first one there. I soon found out most of the moms arrive 15-30 minutes after the official start time! It was a great place to make friends, to talk about poop and breastfeeding and sleep (or lack of it) and all the things that we were all dealing with on a daily basis, but didn't dare bore anyone else with. It was also a really non-threatening place to practice nursing a baby away from home, changing them on a blanket on the floor, and showing up without having showered or slept in a while. Everyone else just understood.

Drew was the youngest and only boy among the regulars. We made quite a few good friends. The picture above is of baby Hadley (by far the most social) checking Drew out. By the last week he was cooing and smiling back at her.


Kate and I became good friends and went to lunch a few times. We also met up with husbands and babies for dinner one night at Berry Hill. Kate is a biology teacher and will go back to teaching for a few weeks when her maternity leave ends, and then get a summer break. Her little girl, Kalie, is just a couple of weeks older than Drew, but I think he weighs more. He's a chunk! Kalie led the way in smiling and holding up her head, and Drew was trying to catch up. I'm so grateful for Kate's friendship and the chance to talk babies, biology, and lots of other things while on break from my regular community at church.


One week four of us went to lunch together at Freebirds after the group. We got some interesting looks when we put four infant carriers up on the same table! All the babies were really good.


Here's Kalie, Madalyn, Hadley and Drew all in a row. This Monday was my last week at the Mommy group, but I'm hoping the friendships will continue and that our babies will play together again soon!

News from the Nursery

Our sleeping beauty:


Drew started sleeping in his own room in the "big boy crib" (instead of the bassinet in our room) this past week and is doing really well. Although it feels a bit far away for mommy, it's nice that his little squeaks and small cries in his sleep aren't keeping us awake anymore. After his first couple of nights in his own room he slept from 10:45 PM Thursday night to 7:15 AM Friday morning! That's 8 1/2 hours, people! Jim and I began waking up at 5 and going to check on him every 30 minutes or so, we were so worried something was wrong with him. :) Let's hope this wasn't just a fluke and that he begins sleeping this well every night.

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but this is also the week I finally finished putting decorations on the walls in the nursery. I have a feeling he's sleeping so well because he's in such a beautiful environment designed just for him. :)

Here are some pictures from the beginning, with Jim transforming and painting his messy office until it became the nursery it is today. I really wish I had taken a true "before" picture of the messy office to give you a real appreciation of the true transformation process. I also wish I had a picture of the 6 different swatches of shades of green Jim painted on the wall for me as I kept going back to Home Depot for more since it wasn't quite right. I have a very patient husband! The tree on the wall is actually a decal, not a mural. It's from dalidecals.com (a website that I love) and can peel off without damaging the paint. Let's hope Drew doesn't discover that.

Here's the journey to finished nursery in pictures:


Jim beginning the painting process. He swears this is the last room in the house he's ever painting. Keep telling yourself that, sweetie!


One green accent wall and 3 neutral walls. Now we're ready for furniture!


The furniture and bedding have arrived!


The elephants are trying out the crib.


Here's the first decal, a bird perched on the wall over the crib to watch over Drew as he sleeps.


There are several birds posted around the room in unexpected places.

Here's the big picture - the tree that arches over the crib. I love it!

And last but not least a close-up. His name hanging from the branches.

Sweet Dreams, Sweet Drew!

Photo of the day - Monday

12 pounder!

Somebody's not happy about tax day...

I'm a WHAT?

Picture of the day - April 15

Picture of the day - Tuesday

Will someone PLEASE get me some hair gel!

Tex Mex Baby

We've been getting out with Drew more this week and so far he's been great as we introduce him to the world. Last night we went to a church office staff party where many of the people who have been wanting to meet him were so glad to finally see him in person. The night before we went to our "family restaurant" just around the corner from our house, Mama Juanita's. Jim and I went there a couple of nights before Drew was born for our last night out, and then had our first date out (without baby) there when he was a week old for our anniversary, so it felt right that this was the first place we would take him as a family.

He fell asleep in the car on the way and slept through the whole experience, bad lounge singer performing 70's songs and all. Of course, the margarita might have helped. (Just kidding! That was for us, not him!) We've tried to get him to promise this is how he'll behave at every restaurant for the rest of his childhood, but so far he's not negotiating.

Here are some pictures to record the occasion:

Drew's first Easter

Baby's first Easter basket

We really wanted to attend a church service Easter morning, since we haven't been since Drew was born. Showing up at TWUMC for the first time seemed like it might be a bit overwhelming since Drew is destined to be a rock star welcomed by many of the 8,000 members who already love him, so we had tentatively planned to go undercover to Easter at the Pavilion with (gasp!) the Baptists.

However, Drew must be really serious about his Wesleyan theology and have objections to the idea that he was predestined to worship with Calvinists on his first Easter, since he did everything in his power to prevent us from going out Easter morning. He cried inconsolably almost the entire night before, and by inconsolably, I mean that Jim and I were both up with him at all hours. That's saying something, since we've been pretty good at taking the nights in shifts, and I usually feel very confident to just walk him around during an extreme crying fit and let Jim sleep. But there was no sleeping for anyone in the house (or the neighborhood for that matter) during this one, so we were both up taking turns all night. At about 6:30 AM we decided that we didn't want to get up (notice I didn't say wake up!) and begin the long process of getting the family ready to attend church, so we rolled over and got a little bit of sleep. It gave the notion of an "Easter vigil" a whole new meaning.

When we finally did get up and begin slowly moving around, Jim was greeting the day of our Lord's Resurrection by changing a poopy diaper. I was in the bathroom when I heard him cry out: "Whoa! Code Brown! Code Brown! We need some help here!" Drew had apparently decided not to wait for a new diaper to fill with poop and instead initiated Jim (and the changing pad, and the dresser, and the carpet) into the world of "projectile poop" between diapers. Our friend Jonathan Breazeale, father of two boys, had warned us this would happen at some point, but it was amazing to see it in action. If there's an equivalent event to the "long jump" in the baby Olympics, Drew has a real future as a competitor. We're fielding calls from sponsors this week.

On a more serious note, we did have a lovely Easter afternoon at my grandmother's house in Houston. Ever since I can remember I've spent Easter afternoon in her backyard hunting eggs after church, and it was wonderful to bring my son to her house for the first time and show him around and tell him about all the egg-hunting adventures he has to look forward to there. Jim's sister Ann and brother-in-law Daniel joined us too, as did my mom, the soon-to-be-retired-librarian formerly known as Kay (now Grammy.) We had a great lunch, Easter treats, and a beautiful afternoon in the backyard before heading back to The Woodlands again. Here are some of the highlights:

Jim, Jes, Drew, Grammy (Kay), Uncle Daniel, Aunt Ann, and Mum mum

Grammy playing "piggies" with Drew


Four generations


Hunting eggs is SO exhausting!


Mommy and Daddy with Drew in front of some beautiful azaleas


Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Easter Everyone!

(as always click to see larger image)

First few weeks at home

Here are some of our favorite pictures from Drew's first few weeks at home


Drew is a master of escaping the swaddle... see the little Houdini hand?
He spent a lot of nights sleeping in the bouncy seat

At the end of our first walk around the neighborhood

First bath at home...

Fast asleep in his swing

Typical sleep pose



Got the mail on our walk




Mocha guarding the baby. Or is the baby guarding Mocha?

Full of milk and happy!

Going home!

Saturday, March 6 we went home from the hospital!