Drew: 9 Months

Drew loves: Going on many months of "standing" being his favorite thing ever. He'll stand anywhere he can put his feet! Which is funny, because I spend all day thinking about any possible reason to sit down...

I think he's really starting to love his Lovie Lamb and his binky (both only for sleeping). He's getting consistent at going down to sleep anywhere I put him - as long as he has those two items. This has been great for me when taking him to the house where I nanny, and we can now put him to bed at community group on Tuesday evenings (and he tolerates the transfer back home to his own bed without a fuss). Using the Babywise Method has truly paid off for us!
He likes water from a sippy cup, which officially makes him the only member of our family who likes to drink plain water...probably because he's not yet tasted juice or soda. And we're going to keep it that way as long as we possibly can (or until Grandpa Pete gives him grape soda...can we really stand in the way of that?).
He also loves taking things out of a container, and then putting them back in. Please Jesus, let this be a sign that my kid likes to keep things tidy and organized. Can you picture it now...Mom and son dates to The Container Store?!

Drew hates: Well, obviously, he hates not standing. If it's a means-to-the-end-of standing, he'll tolerate it. That includes sitting while he takes a break from standing, or crawling to a new place to stand. We're happy to oblige, as frankly I think the sooner he can walk the happier we'll all be. Walking is the obvious next step from standing (pun not intended, but it fits so perfectly I'm tempted to say it was intended), so we try to help him stand as much as he wants. Which is every minute of every hour...important to know if you plan on taking him to a restaurant thinking he'll sit in a chair, because he will not. He will stand in a chair, for the entire two hours you are celebrating your grandma's birthday. But everything he does is ridiculously cut so it's impossible to even be mad!

Milestones: He got two more teeth on top, with two more making their way in. We used to call him "Drewdle Bug"; now we just call him "Drooldle"!
At swimming, I had my friend (who does swim lessons with her little girl) dunk Drew under water. He wasn't phased by it at all, and then I tried it on him just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. He seems to love the pool, and water, so I'm counting that as a milestone as some babies take a long time to warm up to the water (was that another pun? Warm up...water...warm water?)
Crawling is the biggest milestone right now. Although, it's been kind of anti-climatic as he's somewhat indifferent to it. He does it, but really he just crawls so he can get somewhere new to stand. And then he stands. He's getting more brave with the standing; he likes you to pull him up to standing, and then he bats your hands away so he can stand unassisted for a few seconds. He then falls forward into your lap and screams in delight. Repeat, repeat, repeat!

Ok, I think I've exhausted the topic of "standing"...so now: pictures!

More fun at the park on the swings!

He just laughs and laughs

Taking a break, just hanging out

He likes to stand at the top of the play structure and watch the other kids play down below

Too much fun at the park!

The weather has been nicer, so I try to get outside with Drew as much as possible.
This day we had a picnic lunch with Lynette and Samson down by the beach.

Drew got a walker from his cousins and he LOVES it.
He likes it when it's lined up next to his activity table, and then he pivots back and forth
between the two pushing all the buttons. Keeps him busy!

My guys!

Saturday mornings Kyle lets me sleep in, but one Saturday morning
I caught this reading time between Kyle and Drew...such a good daddy!

Another nice run of weather called for Saturday night dinner at the park!

Drew wishing he could walk over to the swings...

We finished off the weekend with another picnic dinner at Greenlake

Drew and dad eating dinner

Mom and Drew enjoying the sunshine

Caught Drew in the act of his new favorite activity: STAND and then fall forward
(and hope that mom catches him!). Somehow I snapped this pic and managed to
catch up as he basically jumped off the couch!

Snapped a pic of these gorgeous flowers on my
morning walk with the little boy I nanny

Drew and his buddy Miles on the way home from a quaint afternoon at the pocket park.
Tiny baseball caps and baby jeans...my heart rejoices!

My BFF Kaleigh was in town for a quick visit, so Drew got to see his girlfriend Neva again!

Drew got a little handsy...

Holding hands...

Just like the first time they met!

We happened to catch his first moments of crawling on camera. Catching a "first" on camera is like a parenting Super Bowl win (or something else really cool that doesn't happen very often, like 80 degrees in Seattle before July 5th):

And now, some Easter cuteness:

Giving it Grace:

My sister Brooke recently returned from a short-term mission trip to the Dominican Republic. The University Presbyterian Church in Seattle (where my sister interns) took a group of students to the DR through an organization called Children of the Nations. She spent a week there working on various projects, and had an amazing experience. When she got home, she was going on and on about a little boy who had latched onto her while she was there. Through some strained conversations with him (because of the language barrier), she was able to find out his name and a few details about his family. Listening to her talk about this little boy, it was clear God had really placed him on her heart. When she returned to the US, she made contact with one of the Children of the Nations employees located in the DR. Based on the information she provided, the employee was able to locate the little boy and determine that he is not currently sponsored. Brooke texted me a few days ago to tell me that she gets to sponsor him! She is so thrilled, and I am in awe of God's provision for this little boy - if even in a small way, for just a season - through my sister.

This series of events has been on my heart, as it's such a real reminder to me of who Drew's ultimate provider is. It's not me, it's not Kyle, it's Him. I know I've talked about this before, but I need to be reminded of this frequently. While we know that God certainly favors the family unit, He is not restricted to providing through it. Watching God use my sister to provide for a little boy in another country reminds me that God is not constrained by what constrains us. I find that so awesome! How big does that make our God? How small does that make us? The Bible says that we are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14); that's how small we are. I want to be small, and I want God to be big. When it's the other way around, when I'm big in my own eyes and God is small in my heart...that's a very bad day to be having.

Before I finish, it's Easter this Sunday! Woo! If you don't have plans or a church to attend, the invite it open to attend with our family~