Drake's First Video

Absolutely adorable in his fireman outfit!

Look who can hold his head up, while doing tummy time on the boppy!
My big strong man.
How many chins can you count? My teeny boy from birth is no longer in existence. He's a chubba wubba now!
Another shot of those sweet chins and cheeks.
Drake and Reese, to be married in 30 years. Look at him reaching for his future wife.

Hanging with daddy. This is the sweater outfit that I LOVE; it was supposed to be his coming home outfit. He was way too small for it.
A shot of my two cuties.
My parents loved having us in town, but really it was just Drake they cared about having there. At night, my dad always wanted to rock Drake. He discovered that if he scooted over in the recliner, Drake fit perfectly beside him. Well, that was the golden ticket! Drake loved it, and would be asleep in five minutes or less.
The superbaby bib.....it says "This is not a bib... Mom put my cape on backwards." This is one of my favorite bibs.
Oh heavens the cheeks on this kid. They get bigger every day.
He finds his thumb from time to time, but the boob and binkie are still his favs!
Ou dogs love going to my parents in the country! The one in the middle is Dutchess, my parents boxer. The dragged out a blanket, and destroyed the dog bed it was on. Crazy pups.
It was raining our second day there. The dogs stay outside all day, mostly just running through the fields. Linus came to the door, wanting to come in. That didn't happen!

Home Sweet Home

Eric, Drake, and I finally got home Sunday. Eric drove down to Florence on Saturday so he could drive us back. We can't fit the three of us, our two huge dogs, and all the luggage in either of our vehicles, so we drove my Mom's van back. It confirmed for me that I refuse to be the soccer mom in the mini van. I want to be the soccer mom in the SUV. Drake and I had a great time spending 6 days in Florence- he got to meet alot of his extended family! I had the chance to visit with my friends Tarah and Chas, and their families. Tarah and her husband had a little girl named Reese a few weeks after we had Drake. They are going to be married in about 30 years! My granddad nicknames all of the greatgrandchildren.........Drake is now affectionately nicknamed "Duckie". Now for those of you who don't know (I sure didn't), a male duck is called a drake. Most of my family in SC likes to hunt, so they were in the know.

It was great for me to be home, because my Mom took night duty. I'd pump a couple of bottles during the day, and she would do the nighttime feedings. I actually got some sleep, and it was fabulous. Eric and I miss our night nurse!

This is a busy week for me, with alot of random things to get done. My main goal is to buy a car. My jeep is due to be turned in soon, and I'm either getting a Pilot or Highlander. I've waited til the last week of the month, b/c the salesmen are willing to deal. Another lofty goal of mine is to become proficient with my videocamera, and getting the footage onto my mac, and then online. Hopefully you can all see just how darn cute Drake is, very soon! My third big goal is to print photos and work on Drake's baby book.

Speaking of Drake, he is a big chunky monkey now. I weighed myself, and then weighed holding him, and there was a TEN POUND DIFFERENCE! Now granted, that was with clothes on. I cannot wait until his two month checkup, because I'm dying to see what his official weight is. He had about three chins, and his "chicken leg syndrome" had resolved. My big man officially has rolls!!! I hope to get photos posted at some point today.

A fun weekend!

Happy heart day from the Kirschs!

Drake loves his swing, and will sleep in there for hours on end.
Happy Valentines day!
Poker superstar
I'm always chasing Lucy off of Drake's play mat and boppy.

The water was just too cold for the Drakester to swim.

Tummy time is fun.....
Or not so much!
I love this face.
Drake smiled for the first time last Wednesday. This photo is from Thursday- I was trying everything I could to get him to smile again. This is the closest thing to a smile I captured on camera.

It was really nice to get out of the house last week, even if it was to sit in a hotel room. We stayed at a Comfort Inn Suites, which I have to admit was actually quite nice. Unfortunately the heated pool wasn't quite so heated. And the hottub was quite hot. So, poor little Drake didn't get to go swimming:-( It was fun to see where Eric works twice a week, and the staff there was very nice. I think Eric paid them off though- they spent lots of time telling me how fabulous Cary and Raleigh are, and how much we'd love living there. It wasn't quite enough, because I'm still refusing to move:-)

Valentines Day was quite nice! Eric sent me to our neighbors house, who is a massage therapist. I had an awesome massage- what a great present! We had a few friends over that night to grill out, and a poker game broke out. I am happy to announce that I took my husband out, then proceeded to WIN the game. It has been probably a good year or so since I've played, so I was thrilled to win. Eric hates it when I beat him, and I love it!

My SIL's Lindsay and Bridget are both due in about 6-8 weeks, and I'm getting SO excited!!! They are both having girls, and I just can't control buying pink. This saturday is Bridget's shower in Florence, and Eric and I were supposed to drive down on Friday. But it occurred to me a few days ago that I could head down early without Eric, since I certainly have nothing else to do this week. Plus, he's not even going to be here tues/wed. However, it got complicated trying to figure out how to get me, Drake, luggage, baby stuff, and two huge dogs down there in the little Kia. So, my Mom is going to drive up tomorrow so we can do some shopping, and then head back down to Florence. It's a long time to spend in Florence, but it will give me plenty of time to see family and friends. Most of them haven't met Drake, so I'm sure we'll be busy. I don't know if I'll have the chance to blog while I'm there.

So excited!

I'm really excited about quite a few things today. First, I'm going on a picnic this afternoon with Eric and Drake. I heard about another park with a lake, and it's closer to our house than the one we normally go to. I'm hoping the lake doesn't have a border around it, and that we can let the dogs go swimming. I'm excited to get some more sun!

Second, I'm excited to see my friend Emily tonight before she moves. I'm really sad she's moving, but I'm tickled to see her before she heads back to the west coast. Plus, I have a little sursie for her that I think she'll enjoy.

Third, I'm going to Cary with Eric tomorrow. He's invited me numerous times since I've been on maternity leave, and I finally feel like I can handle it. I'm going to his office with him the first half of the day, and then he'll take me to the hotel at lunch. I only agreed to go if the hotel has an indoor heated pool, and jacuzzi. We're taking Drake swimming!!! I can't wait to see if he'll like it. He's started enjoying his baths more lately. He only works a half day Thursday, and when he's done he'll pick us up at the hotel. We should be home Thursday evening.

Fourth, we have Valentines plans I'm actually excited about. We are staying at home, grilling out, and having friends over! I refuse to pay $150 for dinner at a restaurant. We always have more fun staying home with our friends anyway. Drake has a really cute outfit to wear on Valentines day! And a cute bib!

Okay, I think that's it. I just had so many things to be thrilled about, that I wanted to share!

Photos

This is part of our morning routine. After Drake is fed, is wearing a clean diaper, and is sporting a new outfit, he heads to his Boppy newborn lounger. He's the little speck in the middle of the pic, with Linus laying beside him. It gives me 10-15 minutes to pick up and clean the kitchen and den. I can't really do anything until it's clean......

Two of my favorite men out on the deck today. As you can see, Linus had a MAJOR haircut. The high was 70 degrees, and it was heavenly!
My Linus loves his tennis balls.
Drake is pondering the sunlight.
.Part of the view off our back deck. I swear we have the best lot in Charlotte! Right in the middle of the city, yet we back up to a park, so it's all wooded and private in our backyard.

I L-O-V-E it.

Our living room, which used to be modern and chic. Now it has a exersaucer, bouncy seat, bumbo, play mat, and baby einstein mat with toys. Oh yeah, and his little toy box. Do the books, CD player, and all the lullaby cd's count? Our home has been taken over by the seven pounder, haha.
How can you not fall in love with this face? I just want to give him sugarsmacks all day long.
Okay, this is one of my favorite onsies.....it's a little "tux", and it says "All Dressed Up:.
Playing on his baby einstein activity mat.
He likes to be propped up against the boppy, and stare at all the toys.
My Mom came last week for 3 days, after a call of desperation from me. Eric was going out of town for a night to work, and I wanted some back up:-) That's her little Yorkie named Rocky, who used to be my dog. She wouldn't give him back after I finished grad school.
When Drake isn't laying on the boppy newborn lounger, you can rest assured that Princess Lucy is resting there.

Another cute onsie!
My angel sleeping with his paci.....he usually spits it out as he's falling asleep.

What a gorgeous day

Geez the weather was gorgeous here today! I took Drake for a walk in Freedom Park, then we met Daddy (AKA Eric) at Big Daddy's burgers, and our friends Ryan and Michelle. It was so nice to spend the entire day outside. Even when we got home, we spent the whole afternoon on the deck. It's giving me horrible spring fever, and I'm not going to be a happy camper when it turns cold again.

I set up Drake's play area and he just loves it! Well, okay, he just stares around. But I swear the stares mean he loves it! It's fun to take him in there when he's so awake and alert, because he seems so into all the bright colors. Maybe I'll post some photos tomorrow of playtime. This entire week is supposed to be nice weather, so I'm hoping to go for alot of walks. And definitely spend alot of time on our deck. I love it out there!