Drew does cry sometimes

Drew continues to be a great little boy. He has been needing only one feeding a night, but he eats a LOT during the day. All that eating means a lot of work for Jana and a lot of dirty diapers. We're happy though that he's doing well and growing bigger. I love helping with Drew's baths. He's so much fun to hold when he's in only a diaper!
I don't know if you can see it here, but Drew's hair gets curly when it's wet. It's also starting to get a little lighter. Will we have a blond baby soon?
We both really enjoy watching Drew sleep. Here Jana is appreciating how Drew is cuddling in and resting comfortably on her chest. We know he won't stay this cuddly forever, so we're enjoying it while we can. Look at his little folded hands!

We've been taking Drew outside a lot on walks because the weather has been warmer. In order to protect his baby skin from the sun, we've been putting Drew in his hat. He wears it well. When Nate was in Lansing to play golf with me last week, he had to make sure to stop in for some Drew time. People are happy to see us, but they still need some time with Drew too :) We've been wondering for a while now if Drew might be left handed. He loves to get his little left hand up out of his bundle and he seems to favor his left hand (although it's pretty hard to tell at this point).
Drew has been getting more and more wiggly lately (and stronger). Jana couldn't resist getting a picture of his feet that had escaped the blanket.
In preparation for going out last Friday night, Drew and I coordinated in our khakis and polo shirts.
We started the evening off with dinner at Russ' with Dan and Sandra. Dan was proud to aid in Drew's first Russ' experience!
Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bill watched Drew for the evening while we went out with Dan and Sandra.
Doesn't Drew look like a big boy in his outfit? (try to ignore the pacifier :)
Sandra and Dan were impressed with how much bigger Drew has gotten since the last time they saw him, which was a week after his birth. They needed a little more time with him before we left him for the evening.



On Saturday, our friend Michelle stopped by to see Drew and came right at meal time, so she got to feed him. Michelle is pregnant, so she and Simon are going to have a baby too!
On Sunday afternoon we had some fun time on the floor with Drew. Drew enjoyed his first Easter service in the morning, and then he relaxed with me in the afternoon while Jana worked away in the kitchen doing some baking and cooking.

We had a photo session again with Drew, and he finally had enough of the flash and decided to raise a hand to ward off the camera lights. It's tough being photographed so often!
I did it! I finally captured Drew's pouty face! I've been trying to get this for a couple of weeks, and I finally managed to do it. We LOVE his pouty face, but he only does it for a brief time before moving on to a cry. He can really get his lower lip up there!

You might think that Drew is happy all the time, and usually he's very well behaved. However, Drew doesn't always look happy for us. Here he is in the beginning of crying. And here with his hat we caught Drew in a full wail. Even his crying is cute! (for a while)

our good little sleeper

Look at this, a post with no pictures! I have to take a brief moment to brag that Jana and I have cut back a little on the picture taking. Last Sunday, we went for a five mile hike in the late afternoon in a local park along the Grand River, and we didn't take any pictures of the event. A moment of Drew's life went uncaptured!

When I get the next batch of pictures posted, you will notice that Jana and I look a little more rested. That's because for the past four nights Drew has only woken up only once during the night! He has been doing much better during the night with sleeping for long stretches, and we think it may be attributed to him making the move to his own room. Apparently, my snoring wakes him up during the night :) We are so excited that he is letting us have long stretches of sleep and that he is doing much better at putting himself to sleep too, so his feedings don't take as long at night. Yeah!

Great-Grandma Gezon

This past week Jana and I were in Grand Rapids on Tuesday and Wednesday for the visitation and funeral for Jana's Grandma Gezon, who recently passed away. She lived 94 years, and by the end of her life she was suffering and ready to move on to heaven. We are very sad that she is no longer with us and we will miss her terribly, but we are also happy that she is finally at peace.

The week before she died and with the end of her life near, Jana went to Grand Rapids to say goodbye to her grandmother and to show her Drew one last time. Drew snuggled right in, grabbed his great-grandma's hand, and they both fell asleep! We are happy that Drew got the chance to meet his great-grandmother a couple times and we are thrilled that Drew was a source of joy for great-grandma Gezon during her final days. She told everyone who visited about her great-grandson Andrew.

Drew's helpers

I'm starting this update with a "thank you" to some people who have been a big help with taking care of Drew. First, Jana and I are continually grateful that Grandma Sue uses her day off from work to come to Lansing to care for Drew. Having Drew taken care of for a day makes Jana's online class and dissertation work much more manageable, and it gives here a "catch up" day during the week to get things done.

Second, we want to thank Alexis and Rob for their help babysitting Drew. Alexis and Rob have been taking care of Drew on some weekday evenings, so that Jana and I can go to the gym together to work out. Physical activity is great for our mental health, and getting the opportunity to work out together is a special treat!

Third, we would like to thank Nora for coming during the day to take care of Drew (Nora's pictured below). Nora has come several times and allowed Jana to get out of the house and do work, or go grocery shopping, or run errands, or to stay at home and catch up on sleep.

Drew was so happy after being with Nora, that Jana had to snap a picture of him.
Drew continues to enjoy his baths. He has a momentary look of panic on his face when first getting in, but once in the bath he splashes around and enjoys it until the water starts to cool off. He is very alert during his baths, and he does a great job of making eye contact. Giving him a bath is still one of our favorite things to do with Drew.
During some tummy time with me, the distinctive shape of his head (that he gets from me) was quite apparent.
After a little while, Drew got tired of craning his neck, so he just looked to the side at me.
While Jana was folding laundry during the day, she thought Drew's hands and feet looked so cute in his onesie, that she needed some pictures of him in the laundry basket (it's hidden beneath the towel).
Flying baby!
This past Saturday Drew and I went to Grand Rapids for the day, while Jana enjoyed a day-long break from her two boys. Jana got the chance to sleep in and dictate her schedule for an entire day!

When Grandpa Bill and Grandma Sue heard that Drew was coming, they made sure that Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Vryhof got the chance to see him too. Here Drew is being admired by Grandma Sue and Great-Grandma Vryhof. My Aunt Barb also came over for her first opportunity to see Drew. She happened to come right at meal time, so she gave Drew his bottle.

The reason I was in Grand Rapids was to help build an addition on my parents' deck. Here my grandpa is surveying the work that needs to be done.
Todd and I rented a two-man auger from the Home Depot, and we used it to dig new post holes for the addition. While Drew was inside spending time with Grandma Sue, I was outside working with Todd and Grandpa Bill.
We got a lot of work done on the deck, and you can start to see what the addition will look like. We still have to add a set of stairs on the side with no railing. We need to add stairs too so that Grandpa and Grandma can get down to the yard to play with Drew.
Drew was happy inside playing with Grandma Sue, and he even managed a couple of smiles for her. See if you can read his bib. We love this one! (it says "I love big hugs")
Uncle Todd took a break from working to hold Drew for a little while. (I did too :)
Here's one of Drew's smiles!
Here is another smile (I just caught the tail end of it).
During the day Jana has to figure out what to do with Drew while she takes a shower. I got to see her plan in action this weekend when she placed Drew in his carseat and then proceeded to narrate her shower and sing to him to keep him happy.
Apparently, it works quite well because when I went in to see how he was doing he was grinning away and cooing.
With this kind of audience response, I expect that Jana will be doing solos in no time :)

a lot to catch up on

I had a very busy week last week, and I fell a little behind on posting new pictures of Drew. This post is quite large and will catch me up on what's been happening for the past week.

Last Monday, Todd and Kelli came over for a visit. We all went out for dinner, and then Todd and Kelli helped out with the first night feeding, which ended up being quite early in the morning because Drew slept for a while. Jana was still getting over being sick, so she appreciated the rest. Jana slept for the longest stretch of time since Drew was born! As usual, Drew was the center of attention. By the way, Jana and I were in the room too :)

On Wednesday, I came home to Jana sporting a fresh haircut for the first time since Drew was born. Doesn't she look great?!
In preparation for a presentation on Friday, I decided to do a little baking on Wednesday night. As part of my presentation I had to provide food and beverages, so I make almond bars. I felt right at home in the kitchen with my oven mitt on and Drew strapped in the Baby Bjorn.
Drew and I were both in blue on Thursday. We planned our outfits to coordinate, of course.
When I got home on Friday, I had to tell Drew all about the presentation I gave on "Hormonal Regulation and Function of Progesterone Receptor Isoforms In Vivo." He thought it was fascinating stuff.

On Saturday Drew was dressed up in his khakis and button down shirt for a trip to Grand Rapids. He was so cute!!
We stopped by Grandma Sue's house first, so that she could see Drew in his outfit.

Then we moved on to Nate and Meg's house for the evening. Drew is continuing to practice the listening skills here with Nate.
Because Drew needed a bath and it is so entertaining, we all gave Drew a bath on Saturday night.
Meg cleaned Drew's hair for him.
Nate helped out with rinsing and keeping Drew warm with the washcloth. (I hovered and took pictures)
After his bath and a snack, Drew was happy to sit with us.
Although, all the action from the day eventually tired him out.
Sunday afternoon Drew enjoyed more time looking at himself in the mirror on the Gymini.
By later Sunday afternoon, Drew had moved on to a new outfit after dirtying his cute puppy outift. Jana needed a picture of him with his Winnie the Pooh booties.
Sunday night the whole family got outside for a walk. We enjoyed the extra hours of light thanks to daylight savings time, although we didn't enjoy the lost hour of sleep. Drew loves to go for walks in his stroller. He was awake and quiet for most of the walk, but did manage to catch some sleep after a while. We didn't hear a peep from him during the entire walk.
We got back from our walk, and I kept an eye on Drew while I was making supper. He was in a very good mood, so I decided to grab the camera to get some more pictures. As soon as I started snapping pictures, Drew surprised me with a smile! What a great way to end the weekend!