New Things

Hi there! There have been a few new things developing in my life and I thought I would update you all. First, I love phones. I love to play with Mommy's cell phone. I say "Hewo?" into it. (If you look closely I am doing this in this picture.) When the phone rings I sometimes run to find it or point to it. Maybe someday I will talk to you on it. Wouldn't that be neat?!?

Second, I have really become attached to Baby (who I call Babies) and DogDog. They go everywhere with me - to eat, to sleep, in the car. I became so terrified the day I saw Mommy stick Babies in the washing machine. I kept looking for her and calling for her. So now Mommy said she has to sneak in while I am sleeping and take them to give them baths. They aren't dirty, but she she says they are. I also have adopted a kinship with a bear who has joined Babies and DogDog in the crib. We will see where this relationship goes.

Also, Mommy and Daddy went against the advice of my doctor and fed me seafood early. As some of you know, my family eats seafood for Christmas so they wanted to see what I thought of it before then. Well, I am happy to report that I liked it with no allergic reactions! It was good with ketchup, but everything is good with ketchup or "dips" (ranch).

AS you all can see, I am really growing hair. Mommy compared her baby pictures to mine and I have about 5 more strands than she did at this age. Mommy did put a bow in my hair to see if it would stay. It did but I didn't care for it hanging on to what little hair I do have so I took it out. But it does look nice, right?!?

Lastly, (don't read if you don't watch TV!) Mommy had been a single mom for a few days and said she needed a break to cook dinner so she put in a Baby Einstein video. She has done this before to see if I would look at it and they have never interested me. But did you know that they have "Moo" and "Neigh" on these videos? I stood right next to the screen for a while and then laid on the floor on a pillow. I told Mommy all about the farm and the corn and the pigs. Dinner was yummy that night by the way.


Have a great day!
Carlisle Drew

Outdoor Fun

I have been spending a lot of time outside these days. I have been swimming lots and lots. I love my new float because I can kick in the water and I love to throw my splash balls and then chew on them. Daddy does "1..2..3..Whee!" with me and that is so much fun. Sometimes if I am careful I get to play on the steps of the pool with my bucket.



I also have been collecting rocks aound my neighborhood. I have been picking them up from yards and this week I put them down the drain. Daddy and Mommy helped me. They think I got most of the rocks in my yard and my neighbor's yard.



More tales to come...
Carlisle Drew

Pillows

Hey! I wanted to share on of my favorite things that I am doing now. Ever since I was little, Mommy and Daddy have run and jumped on the bed, and I would sit on the bed and laugh and laugh. Well, little did they know that one day I would catch on and be able to jump on the bed myself. This also turned into jumping on the couch or chairs. Evidently this is not a good thing to do because they said I could hurt myself and it is not nice to do on other people's couches (which I was doing). So Daddy taught me how to pile the pillows on the floor and throw jump into them. It is so fun and you should try it if you haven't.


First I get all the pillows off the bed and throw the on the floor. And then I fall into them face first or fall backwards into the pile.





It has to be the best thing to do with your time! Find some pillows.
Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

I am now on the web

Mommy has uploaded a few goofy videos that she has taken since I was little on You Tube. You can watch them if you would like. Copy and past this link into your browser and see if that works. If not, you can search for me under "Carlisle" but it may take awhile. Have fun and enjoy the old days of when I was a wee little thing.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=keeleykirk

Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

Happy June

Hello All!
I hope you have all had a fantastic June. I certainly have! I figured out how to walk! Mommy and Daddy say that I am a very cautious walker and think about my steps before I take them. Mommy has tried to get a picture of me walking and all she could get was my back as I walked away. I also have conquered climbing UP and DOWN the stairs. We have 14 wooden stairs, and I can get up and down them all by myself. I know what to do when Mommy says go "Up" or "Down".



Since I can go up and down the stairs by myself, we have been playing upstairs a lot more. I have a little play room off of my room that I like to play in. It has all sorts of fun things in it, but the most fun are my beads. I like to put them all on and walk around with them. Daddy says I look like I am ready for a hiphop video or Mardi Gras.



I have been working on learning parts of my body and like to poke Mommy and Daddy's eyes, ears, and stick my finger up their noses. My favorite body part though is my Beebo (Belly Button for those of you not familiar with The Belly Button Book). I touch it all the time and look for it to make sure it is still there. If you let me I will look for yours sometime too!



Daddy spent Father's Day weekend doing his second favortie thing - playing golf - so we don't have any picture because I didn't go with him. But we did spend Father's Day with friends Jim and Kelly at their farm. I got to see the horses and dogs and deer. Ms. Kelly let me lick the beaters which Mommy has never let me do! I need to start going over there more often.



June has also been a big month for visiting with friends. The first of June, baby Perry Mabel came on June 4th. I got to go see Abby, Jim and my new friend baby Perry at the hospital. I think she's sweet, and I say "Baby" a lot when I see her. I also went to Kentucky to visit Mr. Jamie and Ms. Emily with Mommy and Daddy and stayed at Ms. Emily's house where she grew up. We celebrated Emily's baby shower (she's having a girl too!) and played all weekend long. Then Mommy's friend Ms. Amy and her daughter Piper and her grandmother Oma came to visit baby Perry so I got to play with Piper.



Stay sweet wherever you are!
Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

The Incredible Shrinking Dog

For those of you who have been asking where the dog has gone, he is still here. I pick him up once a week and carry him somewhere. Here is the most recent picture of me with most of him!

Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

New way of sleeping

Daddy and Mommy are so puzzled by my new sleeping habits that they thought I needed to share them. For those who know my history of sleeping, I have always been known to sleep on my back, hands behind my head, elbows out and never move. Now when I am put in my crib, I immediately flip over and get into the position seen below. Mommy wonders how I don't have a crick in my neck each morning.

When Mommy lays me down for a nap, I play this game where I giggle and grab Baby, DogDog and the glowworm and try to stand up and play, no matter how tired I am. Mommies lets me do this for awhile hoping I go to sleep which I do most of the time. One day she forgot to turn the monitor on and after and hour checked on me and heard clicking noises over the monitor - noises she associated with me shaking the crib. She checked on me and this is how she found me. The noises we me trying to keep my head up against the crib.


Happy sleeping!
Carlisle Drew

Happy Mother's Day!

Friends

Hi everyone! I wanted to show you some friends I have made recently and captured on film. The first is Ms. Kelly and Mr. Jim's horses. They are very new to their farm. There is a mommy and a baby horse. The mommy let us near her but I wasn't quite sure what to think of her. Ms. Kelly said one day I can come help her with them when I am older. The horses aren't named yet so I will let you know when they have names.

My next friend is a box that came in the mail for Ms. Abby. Mommy had a shower at her house for Ms. Abby and her baby girl who is coming very soon. This box had gifts in it for her, but I got to play in it before the shower and had so much fun! Mommy would push me around the room in it like it was my own car. That was the best box!

My next friends I have become pretty attached to - baby and dogdog or doggie. They sleep with me and I wake up playing with them. I normally have to leave my bed with one of them in hand. I also have added the glowworm to this company and have learned how to push his tummy to make him sing and glow, but I don't have a picture of him.

My last friend has been around awhile, Bear. I think he finally likes me. I have learned how to feed him snacks so he comes near me more often. Sometimes I tease him with a snack and then stick it in my mouth, but Mommy said this is not nice.


So those are my new friends for the week. Hug your friends today!
Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

Bumps and Bruises

Hello everyone! I have been playing. What have you been doing?

I have been trying to scoot and walk so much that I have taken a beating doing it. I have fallen pretty hard on the asphalt and aggregate and hit our coffee table too. One of the falls even resulted in a scraped nose with blood. In these pictures I have a fat lip, goose egg on my forehead and a black eye. Mommy had a hard time getting over all of these so we are just now showing everyone.

I can now scoot so fast and have taken some independent steps on my own but won't let go of Mommy or Daddy's one finger. They say I will do it when I am ready. I also am increasing my vocabulary daily. I love to watch the airplanes that fly over our house and say "Pane" each time. I even point out the birds overhead and say "Bur". Mommy's favorite new word is "Abby" which comes out like this "AAHH BEE". I have added expressions to my list - yea and woo - which come out in a scream of some sort. Whenever I do something good, Mommy and Daddy say "yea" so now I say it all the time because I think I deserve it. Don't you?

This week I have been working on a few new teeth - one on the bottom right with no mate on the other side and two top molars - for a grand total of 7! However, my bottom is sore from the rash all this teething is causing.



Enjoy the day!
Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

Yummy!

As you can see I have been given control over the spoon! How about that?!? I am allowed to scoop yogart or applesauce into my mouth and I think I am something when I do it!

Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

Easter...Where is the warm weather?

Mommy had to get back out the winter coat and hat. What happened? Whatever it is I don't like it because I can't go outside and I got used to playing without all those clothes on!

I went to several egg hunts - one in my neighborhood when it was still warm and one with Mommy and Daddy's friends. As you can see I warm an dress with bunnies on it but since it was 44 degrees I had to wear a thick coat over it. I only picked up 4 eggs because my hands got so cold. I had a little trouble holding Daddy's hand, the basket and trying to pick up eggs. It was hard work, but I had fun!

I did get to wear my Easter dress on Easter. Mommy added a sweater and stockings so I would stay warm. We even took a family picture outside really quick. We ate Easter lunch at Ms. Abby and Mr. Jim's house and everything was so yummy. Their dogs Conrad and Falco love me and show me by licking my head when I am there.

The Easter bunny even came to see me and brought me bubbles and books. I now have my own bubble bucket to carry around. He also brought me some chocolate peanut butter eggs which I shared with Mommy and Daddy. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

Eggs, Baskets, and Bunnies

I am not sure if I have told you, but I love books! I love flipping through them, listening to them, looking at the pictures, but the best thing about my books is taking them out of their bin and putting them on the floor. After I get dressed in the morning, Mommy lets me do this and I have gotten so used to it that I can hardly sit still to get my clothes on. My library has really expanded lately and I have enjoyed all my new books. Mommy and Daddy have too because they have been reading to me since before I was born so they were ready for a change!

I also have figured out how a few of my toys work. For instance, my baby see -n- say that Aunt Michelle gave me, I only thought the middle button was all that worked, but now I know that all the buttons and dials push or turn. I also figured out that the xylophone actually makes music if you use the stick. I thought it was just for sucking on. So many new things to learn!
A few little funny things that Mommy and Daddy would want me to share: I have started smacking. They can't tell if I am trying to kiss or imitate an eating sound, but I suck my lips in my mouth like a person without teeth and suck real hard. I also am a chatterbox. Mommy says she is predicting an "N" in "Works Quietly" in school. Mommy has recently discovered that when we are in public, I am trying to get someone to notice me. I stare people down until they look at me and I can smile at them. I am just trying to be friendly! I also love to point at things and wave a lot these days. I have been working on sating bowl too. Lastly, I found the car light and am fascinated with lights.

Mommy said I have to share this picture with everyone. These are bunny ears that were my Memie's when she was little and then my Mommy wore them and now I get to play with them. I have been playing with all the plastic eggs around our house and taking them out of baskets and hiding them. It has become my favorite thing.

More to come....Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

The Zoo

Aunt Michelle, we went to the zoo! Daddy said you know so much more than he and Mommy do about animals. I thought dogs and cats were the only animals.

Daddy and I made monkey sounds at the monkeys swinging in the trees. After the monkeys, we stopped and I got out of the stroller, went up to the glass wall and yelled "dog" at the animall looking at me. Mommy said it was a mere cat. There were lots of them all sitting like this. Mommy said these are some of Papa Nick's favorite animals. They were just my size.










We saw some many animals, and if they were moving, I could see them. Mommy and Daddy were both trying to be brave in the snake house but I could tell they had the "willies". The best animals at the zoo were the elephants and giraffes. They were so big! Bigger than Bear! After we looked at all the animals, Daddy took me in this area just for kids my size and we jump around, well I mainly watched the big kids. It was so fun. The ground was squooshy and soft so it I fell, I didn't hurt myself. This older boy kept following me which I thought was great, but Daddy didn't like it at all. He said I was too young for dating.

Yeah for the zoo!

Carlisle Drew

Moving is my game

** Technically its still March Madness in my blog, and we are all still watching college basketball. ** I have been playing with my pink basketball that Daddy got when I was born and wearing my Memphis Tiger shirt as much as I can. Daddy and I got to wear our shirts together one day. Mommy even tried to put a Tiger bow in my hair but the three hairs couldn't hold it! Mommy and I are glad the season is over now so Daddy will quit yelling at the TV but we are sad that the Tigers won't be on for another 8 months. I will need another shirt by then because this one is too tight.

So I guess you have heard that I never crawled and don't plan on it. But I do scoot and I can scoot faster than you can walk. I put one hand between my legs and the other hand on the outside of my leg and lean to one side and go. Daddy came home one day and thought my britches were dirty from you-know-what, but it was because I was a scootin' machine that day and my bottom got dirty. When I am not scooting, I am scaling the walls and furniture and anything that will stand still. I can get around pretty good. Memie says I am cautious just like Mommy was when she was little.

The other way I still get around is by my car. I am now allowed to go down the driveway on it, but only if and adult is right in front of me. I go really fast and hold my feet up. Daddy says I will love roller coasters. I have already scuffed up my first pair of shoes by riding my car outside, but I don't care. Mommy and I have also been racing in the foyer - she runs and I push my car. I get so tickled sometimes that I can't finish.

Mommy and I have started having our afternoon snacks out on the veranda (the back deck) because it had been so nice and shady. We would take a blanket and some toys with us. It was lovely! Mommy even introduced me to bubbles. Those are so fun! I of course call them "ball" and try to eat them.

The most awful thing happened shortly after my birthday. My pacifier disappeared and I didn't know where it went. I think I heard Mommy and Daddy say that they weren't giving it back, but I was too upset to listen. I let them them know (for about 10 days) that I was not happy with their decision and was protesting it by not napping. I got too tired though and found that taking a nap was a much better decision. (For those keeping up with my sleeping habits, I finally figured out that I can reach back for something and flip over. This keeps me from sleeping sometimes, but I do like to do it and will sometimes sleep this way.)

That's all for now! Much Love,
Carlisle Drew

Travels and Friends

Hello all! Ahhh, it feels good to finally get back at talking to you guys!
Right after my birthday, Mommy and Daddy surprised me by turning me seat around. The world looks so different from this angle. We traveled to Arkansas to see their friends, Jamie and Emily and their dog Winston for Emily's birthday. We surprised her! Mommy and Daddy said I did good on the 8-hour drive, but I think they got sick of singing my music. While we were in Arkansas we traveled to Hot Springs because Ms. Abby was there. I got to play with the chair in her hotel room. It spun in circles which was big fun!













When we got home from Arkansas, I shared a new sound with Mommy and Daddy. I call it my "B-D" sound. It sounds like this "Bah, Duh" only it is really fast and is said with your lips almost closed. Mommy said I sounded like a cartoon character.

I have started eating so many new things. I am a real Southern because I like casseroles, but I think Mommy is hiding something in them like peas or other green things because sometimes I find them and throw them on the floor. I also have started eating a snack in the afternoon. How fun is that?!? Sometimes its peanut butter crackers and sometimes its yogart!

We did take one last monthly picture of me with my dog and my going home outfit for my twelve month picture. Can you believe I can still fit in that gown?!?

I did go to the doctor and got my twelve month shots. Mommy said I was a champ and only cried for a minute.


Stay tuned! Much Love,
Carlisle Drew