Hurricane Gustav is coming

With Hurricane Gustav in the gulf I'm sure there are several of you wondering where we are and what we're doing. After looking at the models and much thoughtful consideration we have decided to stay at home and ride the storm out. We have plenty of water, food, batteries, gas, etc. and the house is secure. The current models have the eye of the storm coming onshore to the west of the New Orleans area and while we are certain to get plenty of wind and rain we feel confident staying where we are. If, after the storm, we feel we need to move to "safer" ground we will certainly do so. Please keep the entire area in your prayers - we'll keep you posted on any needs that may arise post-storm.

Pictures from last week

Thank you for your patience in waiting for the new pictures to be posted. Last week was a busy and kind of crazy week for me and I'm just now getting to it! Russell was out of town for a good portion of the week doing work stuff and then helping his sister move from Boston, MA to New Haven, CT (where she'll soon be starting at Yale's business school!). So, needless to say, there was a lot of "mommy time," which was great, but certainly makes me appreciate Russell and the little things he does around here even more (I love you).


Drew continues to amaze me with the new things he's learning and the way he's developing. It's so fun to watch! We spent time outside playing in the sandbox, swinging on the swing, drawing with sidewalk chalk, laughing at the dog, "smelling" the flowers, going for walks, playing in puddles and just having a grand old time. We also just bought a climber for Drew (with a door at the back - his favorite!) and a small slide. I put it together this week and he loves it! If he had a little bit longer legs he'd be climbing all over it (and everything else in the house). I'm sure he'll figure it out in no time. It hasn't made it outside yet, it's still in the front hallway. I wanted to give him some time to explore it before we put it in the grass (which he's not so sure about).


Also, he's finally learned how to go DOWN the stairs by himself. I'll try to post a short video at the end of the blog so you can see his technique. I think that's about it for now. We're looking forward to the arrival of my sister (Aunt Becca) on Thursday and will certainly have new pictures and adventures to post about next week.

Building with his new blocks (he's really good at making towers, even some with 5 or 6+ blocks!)
"Smelling" the flowers Playing in the puddles in the driveway after a summer storm
Peek-a-boo

"Come on in"
Drawing with sidewalk chalk (yes, with his left hand)
"There's stuff on my hands - get it off!"
The masterpiece (Yes, he did it all himself. No, he didn't line up the chalk)

Video of Drew going DOWN the stairs (hopefully it works now!)

Not much excitement, just regular stuff

So, I don't really have any exciting things to share this time. We've settled back into "normal" life and are enjoying exploring and learning new things. Drew had a bit of a fever last weekend/beginning of last week - so we headed to the doctor's office last Tuesday. Turns out he had some sort of bacterial infection (NOT an ear infection, thank goodness!), so we're on antibiotics again. (Good thing he's had so much practice and doesn't give me too much trouble taking his medicine. In fact, if you fill up the syringe and hand it to him he'll put it in his own mouth and wait for you to squirt it in!!) We'll go back this Friday to make sure that his white blood cell counts are back where they should be (meaning that the infection is cleared up). Here's some pictures that I took over the last few weeks since we've been home. He's growing up so quickly and doing so many new and fun things and I don't want to forget any of them. (Speaking of which, we're officially down to only one afternoon nap - which lasts about 3 hours. We still have some grumpy moments in the mornings every now and then, but it's getting better.) It's such an amazing journey watching him grow and change. I LOVE being Drew's mommy!! Enjoy the pics!

Drew decided that the basket for his Fisher Price ark was the perfect size for him to sit in too. He loves to climb in and thinks he's so funny when he does it (which of course, he is!)

A special pic, just for Auntie Randi
Drew found our old yellow pitcher in the cabinet and has thoroughly enjoyed pushing it all around the house.
He finally has long enough legs to be able to sit on his "lion," now he's just got to figure out how to make it move.
Drew LOVES to eat with a fork (or two), especially macaroni and cheese!!
This week we started letting him eat whole bites off of the banana - no more cutting it up into smaller pieces - he wants nothing to do with small pieces anymore
Train them while they're young! Our new favorite past time is mopping! I even went and bought him his own little mop and he loves to push it all over!!
Daddy is so silly!
Playing in the splash pool in the backyard (he's very good at pouring)
Bubbles (our first real time to try them out). Drew loved putting the wand in and out of the bottle, he didn't really care much about the actual bubbles.

Travel pictures (finally!)

Okay, I've finally found some time to get pictures from our travels uploaded to the computer. Bear with me - there's a lot to cover!! (If you just want to see pictures scroll down.) We started our travels the first weekend of July. We drove to Houston (we're getting very good at that drive!) on Thursday and headed to Gigi and Grandpa Randy's house. We got everything unpacked and settled in for some good visiting. Friday (the 4th) was spent hanging out with family and watching the fireworks (on TV, maybe next year we'll actually make it out to see some in person). Saturday morning we went to visit my Aunt Carole, Uncle Ron, cousin Lisa, and Uncle Scott. We hadn't seen each other since Christmas, so it was great to get a little time to visit. Then Saturday afternoon/evening was spent getting last minute stuff ready to leave for JAMAICA!! Because we would need to leave before Drew got up on Sunday morning, we told him goodbye and left him with Gigi and Grandpa Randy while we went to run some more errands and see a movie (Wall-E which was pretty cute). (I felt better having told him goodbye and having them put him to bed and be there when he woke up, rather than us putting him to bed and then just not being there for several days.) Drew and Gigi and crew had a wonderful time while we were gone. They played at the fountains in The Woodlands, visited friends and family, went swimming in the pool (Drew's first time!), got a haircut, ate guacamole (it's a good thing he visits Gigi - cause Mommy and Daddy would never expose him to that, but supposedly he LOVED it), and lots more fun and exciting things!! I'm sure he barely had time to miss us - but he sure was glad when we were back = big smiles and hugs!!! Then the second weekend was full with more family visits. Friday morning we went to visit my Grandma and Gramps and then Saturday morning Russell's sister, Auntie Randi, got into town after a 3 week trip to India!! We got to spend time with her and their grandparents for most of the day. Sunday was church and then load up the car and make our trek back to Louisiana. We love our visits back to Texas, but it sure is nice to sleep in your own bed again!!

Looking at birds with Papaw Dave

Eating at the table (sitting on books)
3 Wiggins boys Drew watching fireworks
Dancing to the music
Check out the shirt - so appropriate (Thanks Gigi!)
Cool dudes with their sunglasses

Playing with Gramps
Cuties in the pool!!

Now, for the Jamaica story. We had a really nice time and were super appreciative that Gigi and Grandpa were willing to keep Drew while we were gone (we really had to twist their arm, haha!). It's so nice to know that he is completely taken care of and not have to worry about that while we were gone. Jamaica is a wonderful place to visit (if you've never been I highly recommend it). We went to Jamaica for the first time on our honeymoon (6 years ago!). This time we stayed on the opposite side of the island, in Ocho Rios (we were in Negril before). While it was a nice trip, and certainly refreshing, I must admit that I was a little disappointed. Maybe it was my high expectations or the picture in my head, but this time the resort/trip just didn't blow me away. Now, don't get me wrong, we had a good time and were able to reconnect and relax, it just wasn't as great as I had hoped. One of the big things that we missed was watching the sunset over the ocean. With the way this resort was situated we not only couldn't see the sunset (it was on the wrong side), but you couldn't see the sunrise either (if you were up and wanted to). There were much more mountains and landscape to see, but the beach left something to be desired (at least for us). It as nice, but small and a little crowded. Overall this resort seemed to have a much more "Spring Break" feel than our last one. Don't know if it's the brand, the location, or simply that we've gotten a little older. So, all in all, it was a good vacation - but not what I would call amazing. There was one thing that we did that was pretty awesome though (and it was a major factor in us choosing to come to Ocho Rios this time). We were able to hike Dunn's River Falls. It's a huge waterfall that they take groups up and it was awesome - much more physically demanding than I anticipated - but so much fun. We had to wear these special water climbing shoes and made a huge "human chain" to make it up. Our guides were great and took pictures for us at certain points, but those pictures are on our waterproof camera, so I'll have to see if I can scan some of them to post.

The view from our room

The beach and beautiful water
Waterfall in the pool
Russell by the Bob Marley tree stump on the pitch-and-putt golf course
Us at dinner one night (the desserts were wonderful!)
Relaxing at it's finest

Return of the Travelers

Well, we made it back safe and sound from our trip. I'll write more about our adventures later, but wanted everyone to know that we were back!! It sure is great to sleep in our own beds again.

Signs that my baby is getting older

It's hard to believe that Drew's already 16 months old!!! Where has the time gone? It's been such a joy to watch him grow and develop and discover new things. You can't deny that he's growing up and turning into a little boy (but he'll always be my baby). He can do so many things that amaze me and remind me that this season of our lives is fleeting. We need to stop and enjoy the little things before they're all gone.

Signs that my baby is growing up:

• He can use a fork and spoon with increasing success (=less mess)
  


• He can follow one-step directions (and sometimes even 2 or more step directions)
  


• He knows where things go to put away out of the dishwasher and will put them away for me when asked. (Tupperware dishes, plastic grill drip pans, pie and cake pans, etc.)
  


• He can amuse himself for longer periods (though still not very long) at a time looking at books or playing by himself
  


• He's starting to recognize when he needs a new diaper and will respond when asked
  


• He can get his own cup out of the refrigerator (after we open the door) and knows how to put it away
  


• He will pick up toys and books and put them where they go
  


• He loves to help with laundry and can put clothes into the basket
  


• He's getting better at throwing a ball
  


• He can step up and down small steps when holding onto someone or something (we're still working on the big stairs - he can go up, but not down)
  


• He claps and smiles when I say "Daddy's home" and goes looking out the front door
  


• He can recognize people in pictures and can identify them with alarming accuracy
  


• He can lead you by the finger to get you where he wants to go
  


• Plus a thousand more things that I can't think of right now...the list goes on and on

I'm attaching some of our most recent pictures for your enjoyment! There probably won't be many posts for the next week or two. We're heading to Houston on Thursday and will be back a week from Sunday. (In between, Drew is getting to spend time with Gigi and Grandpa Randy and Mommy and Daddy are getting to spend time together in Jamaica!!! I'll post all about it when we get back!) Enjoy the pics.

Drew's Safari (with video clips)

Okay, for those of you that are dying to see Drew's newest tricks (you know who you are) here are my attempts at getting video clips of him showing off "elephant" and "giraffe."

Background information for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about...
Drew loves animals (which is great since that's what his room is decorated in and one of his mommy's favorite things too) and we've been working on identifying some of the more common ones. There's a book that he likes to look at that has pictures of zoo animals. His favorites are the giraffe and the elephant.
Giraffe Back Story: One of the pictures of the giraffe in the book is a giraffe sticking it's long tongue out to get some leaves. Russell and Drew were looking at the book together one evening and Russell pointed it out to Drew. Now, knowing how much Drew loves to play with his tongue he started imitating it. Russell didn't really think anything of it until the next day when I was looking at the book with Drew and when we turned to that page he immediately stuck his tongue out and pointed to the pictures. So, now whenever we talk about giraffes, or ask what a giraffe does (since they don't really make much noise) he will stick out his tongue.
Elephant Back Story: When Papaw Dave (Russell's dad) was here a few weeks ago they were looking at the book and Dave decided to teach him what sound an elephant makes. He would raise up his arm and make a "trumpeting" sound each time they got to the page about the elephants. A day or two later we noticed that every time Drew got to that page, or saw his elephants in his room he would raise up his arm and start to make a funny sound. He's not as consistent with that one, but he definitely knows.

The moral of the story: You never know what he's going to learn next - so watch what you're doing and saying!!

Giraffe Video:

Elephant Video (the sound he makes is really hard to hear on the video because of where the microphone on the camera is and the volume of the sound - it's kind of like a grunt/growl that he makes in the back of his throat - but you can see him raise up his arm - and you can tell that he's a little embarrassed):