Photo of the day - Friday

Who needs toys when you have feet?

One Year Ago Today

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today we got the news that Drew was on his way.  It was the day after Father's Day, a Monday morning. Jim was sitting in his chair having his morning devotional/prayer time and I came downstairs with this stick in my hand and held it out and said: "Happy Father's Day???"  We both just kind of stared at it for a while.  I'm so glad that one little moment has evolved into the intense love we have for our little Drew.

It's been a really amazing year - filled with all kinds of anxiety, anticipation, prayers, blessings, and the purest joy I've ever experienced.  We've been surrounded by so many friends who have encouraged and prayed for us.  I feel so much closer to my family and my church community because you have really entered this journey with us and loved our little boy alongside us.  I'm in awe of how my life has changed in just one year.

First Father's Day

Helping Daddy hold the bottle

Today was Jim's first Father's Day, and we tried to help him celebrate in style.  Drew left him a package all wrapped up in his diaper before they left for church this morning.  The kind of surprise you really don't want to open, but just have to!  Sunday mornings are "Daddy time" since Mommy has to leave for work super early.  I realized recently that I'll never get to dress Drew for church... but I do make sure to leave his outfit laid out for Jim.  You just can't be sure what these daddies will pick out for them to wear... 

 

A Tribute to Daddy's Alma Mater

Jim is a wonderful dad. Better than I could have ever dreamed of when I was growing up dreaming of what my own family would be like someday. He is so in love with little Drew, and the feelings are totally mutual. Sometimes when it's time to go get Drew out of bed for a feeding Jim will look all giddy and ask: "Can I go get him?" We occasionally race each other upstairs to see who will get to smile down at the cutest baby in his crib.

Naptime

Coming home from our first walk around the neighborhood

Drew loves his Daddy.  From the day he was born he would turn his head towards Jim when he talked.  Now if Jim is in the room while I'm feeding Drew I have to ask him not to talk, because Drew will stop eating and turn to look for his Daddy!  When Jim whistles around the house Drew cranes his neck trying to find where Jim is. He knows whistling means Daddy is close by, and he loves to smile and coo for him.

Proud Papa videoing his baby's first moments

3 generations of LaGrone men. Those genes, they are strong!

Not hard to see what Drew will look like when he grows up.  Handsome!

I surprised Jim with this picture of Drew that I had taken with Jim's childhood Dallas Cowboys helmet.

He'll just have to hold it in his lap until he's old enough to wear it.

I predict many a Cowboys game will be watched by my guys together!

All swaddled up on the couch

Daddy time

On Thursdays Drew stays home with Jim while he works from his home computer.  Jim calls it "take your Daddy to work day."  I'm so grateful in these early months Drew has lots of time with his dad to absorb his sweet temperament and personality.  I fully expect Drew's first word to be "iPhone" or "I'm a Mac."

Thanks for being such a great Daddy, Jim!

I look forward to celebrating you for many Father's Days to come!

Meet the Boxes

Drew laughing at Super-fun Uncle Jonathan

Drew has had a chance to meet most of our immediate family on my dad's side in the last couple of months, and he still hasn't packed his bags and tried to hitchhike off to Alaska with a sign that says "get me out of here before Thanksgiving!"  Seriously, my dad's family is wonderful.  My Granddaddy loved babies and little kids and I wish he'd had a chance to meet Drew - but the neat thing is that love of little ones lives on in his 4 sons!  My grandmother had 4 boys in a row. That's FOUR. Boys.  And my Granddaddy loved babies so much he would come home from work and if they were napping he'd wake them up to play with them.  As a mom I now understand why that made her so steaming mad!

My Dad and his 3 brothers are, in order: Jimmy, Jerry (my dad), Jack and Jay.  Yes, we're THAT family. The next generation includes a James (who goes by David), Jessica, Jason and Jonathan.  And Steven. We're not sure where that came from, but we love him anyway. :)   Here's the Boxes in 2004 at Thanksgiving.  I think Jim (LaGrone) was taking the picture, since we weren't quite sure if we were keeping him yet. ;) (we were engaged at the time).

Front: Jay, Jack, Marlain, Jason, Jonathan

(look at that cute little 11 year old! He's 17 now and will hate me for posting this. Love ya, little bro!)

Back: Gayle, Jessica, Jim, Kathy, Jerry (Dad)

This is just to introduce you to the super-fantastic Boxes as you get to see Drew meeting each of them...

 

My dad and stepmom (Kathy) were of course at the hospital the day Drew was born.  Here they are when they came to The Woodlands to see Drew again a couple of weeks later.  He's grown so much since then - he probably wouldn't fit in my dad's lap like that now!

 

Uncle Jack and Aunt Marlain were in Hawaii when Drew was born!  But they got home as fast as they could and got to meet him back in March when he was still a bitty baby.

 

Marlain knows how to charm dogs and babies.  My dog Pacey goes NUTS and jumps up and down when she sees Marlain's car pull up in the drive. I fully expect Drew to do the same very soon.

 

Jay and Gayle live in Kentucky now, and thier son Jason is a tennis coach in Maine, but they were all in Austin for Memorial Day weekend.  Here are the amazing Rock Band trio of Jason, Jay and Jonathan. 

U2, look out... here come the Boxes!

 

Drew with Uncle Jay

 

Drew with Cousin Jason - later I think they went out and worked on his forehand.

 

Drew with Aunt Gayle. She loves babies and was so good with him!

 

Jason and Drew are watching Uncle Jonathan rehearse his performance for National History Day.

He won 3rd place in the whole country! We're so proud of him!

 

Here's Uncle Jonathan himself. History champion. Drew's pretty impressed with him.

 

Just a couple of weeks later we got a rare treat: Cousin David came to visit from Ohio!

 

And the last Box brother to meet Drew was Uncle Jim.

It gets confusing sometimes having 2 Jims in one family. 

We can't even say, "You know which Jim I mean, Jim the big Dallas Cowboys fan!"

Because that doesn't help at all.

A Happy 3 Month Old!

Happy Baby in the bouncy seat

Drew is 3 months old!  May was an exciting month for him.  He's gone through so many changes it's hard to believe he's the same baby.  One of our favorite changes is how smiley and talkative he is.  Jim and I love to listen to him chatter and coo at us.  He also experienced his first Annual Conference (gathering of Methodist pastors and lay-people) and caught his first little cold that week.  He was sick for about a day with a cough and some congestion, but bounced right back the next day. His mommy, on the other hand, was in bed for 3 days with the same illness!  He had a great visit from his Granma and Papaw LaGrone, met his Box relatives from Kentucky and Maine, and spent many days entertaining his Grammy Kay. 

Here are some of our favorite pictures from Month 2:

Peaceful and pensive

Dreamy

Big laugh!

Uncontrollably big laugh!

Not my best side. (practicing the comb-over for when I'm an old man!)

REALLY not my best side, but one that happens frequently and needed to be documented...

SuperBaby! Cuddlier than a speeding bullet! Able to blow spit bubbles with a single bound!

Helping Daddy hold the bottle.

Watching TV - if it's on he won't take his eyes off it. Bad sign of things to come!

Tummy time with Mickey, our closest friend this month.

Couch time with Pacey, who is still not amused.

Peek a boo in the car on the way to Austin

I have LOTS of stuffed friends

Can I get this Sleep Sheep in my mouth?

I KNEW I could do it!

Mommy's big boy - likes to be held facing outward so he can survey all that is in his domain.

Bedtime!? You CAN'T be serious!

All thumbs

Drew is starting to figure out that those hands waving around... Hey!  They're attached to ME! Along with that has come the discovery of his thumb. He seems to think it's pretty tasty, and we like it because he uses it to comfort himself and cries out less for us when he wakes during the night. And unlike the pacifier... It never gets lost!

Mother's Day Week Adventures

For Mother's Day Weekend, Drew took his first roadtrip to Austin to Granddad's house.

Here's my dad trying to feed Drew a bottle of ketchup.

My college roommate Alaina and her husband were in town from Denver.  They stopped by my dad's house and our boys got to meet for the first time.  Alaina and I have celebrated lots of milestones in our lives together, and it's fun to finally be mommies together.

Here's Alaina with Maximus and me with Drew. Yes, my baby looks like he just stuck his finger in a light socket!

Here we switched babies. Drew wasn't very excited about that. 

 

That weekend we had more family adventures at a Mother's Day brunch with my mom, my grandmother, my and my Aunt Donna and her friend Lynne who were in town from Massachusetts.  I had always wanted to go to Sunday brunch at the Marriott and sit outside by the Waterway.  We had great weather and even though no one else was sitting outside - we got to!  As a Mother's Day gift, Drew slept all the way through brunch. :)

The big news later in the week was Grammy Kay's retirement party after 35 years teaching and librarianing in Texas public schools.  She still has a few weeks left at school, but they celebrated her retirement in style.

 

Her school gave the retirees each a rocking chair to use in retirement - and she put hers to immediate good use:

Drew is going to enjoy being her new boss.  He wore a special shirt just for the occasion.