Birthday Boy Pictures!

It feels like this little man has been two for a while now with how physically capable and intelligently verbal he is. The boy brings so much energy and a big heart for togetherness to our family, we can't imagine life without our Dre-boo! Smooches to my big toddler!

Aw, Ma, c'mon, be cool.

Just kiddin'! Smooches back!

Howdy people! It's Dre again here, with another awesome update. Guess what? I'm two now! Can you believe it?

I've learned a lot this year, being the smart guy that I am, and I'm fearlessly trying more new stuff every day! Ma actually would like me to slow down some, she says I'm going use up all the band-aids in the state of Virginia at the rate I'm going, but y'all know I can't slow down! Too much exciting world out there to take on!

My favorite things these days are running, jumping, and climbing - I'm unstoppable! At my two year old check-up the doctor said I was tall and strong for my age, as well as advanced in language and physical ability - no surprises there! Mama thinks I'll be a track and field lover since I like to run everywhere, and Daddy thinks I'd make a good receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We'll see!

My favorite foods are Mama's banana bread ("cake-cake"), smoothies, and broccoli, but I HATE peanut butter - it's nasty, y'all! If I think that there might be a bit of that awful stuff in something, I won't touch it - even cookies and ice cream! "Bee-nah-budder" is yuck.

The older I get, the more I love people. If I had it my way, I'd never be farther than 10 feet from my family all the time (unless I'm outside running like crazy of course!). One of my favorite things to do each night before bed is ask "Where See-See? (my sister) Where Dah-eee? (Dad) Where Mama? Where Ah-yin? (Uncle Alan) Where Branpa? (Grampa H.) Where Num-Num? (Yum-Yum Campbell)" Mama calls me her "little sheep dog" for good reason, I like to know where my people are.

Sissy and I are together as much as she'll let me, dunno why she likes this thing she calls "quiet" more than me sometimes. Girls.We are really good at exploring, having adventures at the grocery store, racing, yelling, being 'parents' to all her whiny children (she has 9 of 'em. Cra-zee.), and wrestling. She's pretty cool.

Besties, chillin'.

We're also super good at smiling for Ma's camera, calls us "Ham and Cheese!" Look at this one... we know how to bring the magic.

When Mama does "school" with me and Eva, I'm loving learning my colors and all about different kinds of animals. The other day I almost stepped on an itty bitty snake in our backyard, and Ma kinda flipped out, so ever since, I've been yelling, "NAKE!" whenever I see one (even if it's just a worm or caterpillar.) Gotta protect my Mama.

Yeah, the other girl in my life that I take care of is Ma, and boy does she need me! Who else but me is gonna pic all the flowers off the bushes, establish her kitchen floor rock collection, report to her all the bicycles we pass by, retrieve that lonely penny she might want in the middle of busy parking lot, make her laugh hourly and remind her of how often she needs grace from heaven? Honestly, I don't know how she got along without me before!

Pickin' her a frow-er. Gotta take care of the women in your life, folks.

The main dude in my life is of course my old man, Dad. He's not bad, in fact he's pretty awesome. He really appreciates that I can bring the heavy on the wrestling mat, and I try to make sure I throw him his daily punch in the stomach - gotta reputation to keep, don't ya know? 

My strong arm looks super scrawny here, but don't worry, it's still packin' the punch!

Yep, people are still my favorite "things" to play with, toys don't really matter (though I like cars a lot), I want someBODY to play with! Wouldn't you? Daddy is my favorite, also Sissy, but she steals my stuff. (Don't worry, I steal it back and then some.) I also like rocks, sticks, and my sword.

 So, as y'all can see, I'm still just as awesome as ever, and have got my hands full taking care of my family. Yup, life's good.

Happy birthday to our boy! Two years old!

Dre's First Birthday Continued!

That's right folks, your boy Dre here is one whole year old, and that means ....It's PARTY TIME! 

Ma made this green-lookin' thing called a "cake" and, get this...they lit it on fire, sang about it, and then presented it to me like I was supposed to be impressed or something. Everybody was all excited and watching, Sissy was cooing "Eeeeeat it, Dre," and I woulda hated to disappoint them, so like the southern gentleman that I am, I says, "Okay, I guess I'll try it."

"I'll just have a little bite..."

Yeah, my nose got filled with awesome.

Good job, parents, you guys can present cakes to me as often as you like from now on. And, sure you can light 'em on fire if that makes ya happy, but the singing I can live without.

I hear when Sissy got her birthday cupcake, she took an initially more delicate approach. Girls.

Now onto what I'm up to these days... which, of course, is nothing short of coolness.

12 Month Stats:

Height: 31.5 in. (70%)

Weight: 26.5lbs. (55%)

While doing The Worm was pretty rockin', it kinda slowed me down, so this month I've decided crawling is an option after all....okay, it's pretty sweet. Seriously, I can get from A to B in seconds flat! No surprise, I know. Oh yeah, and I am also the Stair Master.

I'm still working on my vocab - got a bunch more new words under my belt now, favorite being "PATCH!" Also acquired: "Cheese" "UmBA" (Eva) "Yesh"(Yes) "Ni-Ni" (Night) "Yay!" "Dutch" (No Touch) and "Boop" and "Butch!" (Book).

We've had a lotta different people here lately, Uncle Joe, Alan, Tay, Mimi and Grandpa, Yum-yum and Bumpa, those sweet Martino chicks, Patch....

and they were pretty cool, but I still mostest prefer Daddy. He's da man. 

Speaking of family, my auntie Eli is getting married next month, and I'm sure she's going to need me to help usher at the wedding, so I've been practicing my balancing. Today I showed Ma what I'm made of by standing straight up, no hands - she flipped. Just for fun, I did it again. Y'all shoulda seen the googoo-cooing and cheering! I got down pretty quickly though because, quite frankly, she was embarrassing herself. Look for me to be stridin' with my swagger on though in a month! I think I've almost got this walking thing about down.

Also to look forward to, if you're planning on seeing me soon, is my unmistakable sense of humor. You guys have already seen it in action, but, if you can imagine, there's more. My latest joke, when nobody is paying me any attention, is clapping then smacking myself in the eye. Hi-larious. Kinda hurts, but mostly funny. It gets Sissy, so that's all I really care about. "No, Dre! Ouch!" (Giggle) Yes, Sissy, ouch, but your laugh is worth it.

Oh big news! Ma finally got my memo about switchin' to whole milk! I may finally make my peewee football weight now - no more of that baby food and formula. (See me applauding the last jar of mush below) Now if I could just get her to feed me the breakfast of champions... 

Yup, I'm a big boy now. I dig high fives, ribs 'n steak fries, wrestling (watch out for my Russian Sickle), singing, growling, jumping, slamming doors, screaming at athletes on the TV, pointing at everything, and slurpin' juice boxes. Oh man is that stuff the nectar! World, you have been holding out on the Dre. 

Biggest news this month is.... NO MORE HELMET! Yup, Ma and Pa have decided my melon is the shape that it should be, and since that thing was getting a bit snug anyway, I'm done! This is good news as far as healthy physical development, sure, but also for mental development because Sissy won't be able to call me Skunkhead anymore. Now I can get to workin' on my Afro... 

Happy birthay, Dre! One year old!

to be continued...