It's Been A While:)

Drew boy is growing up so fast. He has obviously kept us pretty busy, so busy that we couldn't update our blog:) We are excited now that winter is finally over. Drew was getting anxious to explore outside and get out of the house. Today we went with the Cooks on their new boat to Utah Lake. It was our first time on the water this year and the water was FREEZING but it was a blast. Drew was born for the water, he loves the boating life. This is going to be an awesome summer trying to keep our eye on the little guy. He is a professional crawler and is pretty quick. We are working on walking but he prefers all fours:) When he crawls in the grass, he wont let his knees touch the ground. He crawls around on the grass with his hands and feet just like a little puppy. It is so cute to watch the way he interprets the world. Drew is interested in every little thing that he sees. He is also getting pretty good at copying a lot of what we do! This spring has been extremely busy for our family. Eric's brother Mitch came home from his LDS mission and he got to see Drew for the first time! Eric's two brothers, Brandon and Jason each got married in March. Drew now has two new wonderful Aunts(Christi Anne and Kenzie). Drew is beginning to make a lot of sounds and he has even learned a few tricks:) He has graduated from a one trick pony to understanding quite a few commands. We made sure to teach him some basic sign language. Eric's favorite is the sign for "milk". It is pretty funny to watch Drew's serious face stare at his hands while he squeezes and relaxes his chubby fists. As you can tell, Drew has provided us with a lot of entertainment and it just keeps getting more fun every day.

Happy Birthday, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wow we cannot believe that Drew is already 1 year old! Last month on November 16th, we celebrated Drew's first Birthday. It was an awesome day, but also a little emotional for us. With the busy days that we have had since Drew came home in March, we had not really had a chance to truly reflect and talk about the day that our son was born. On his birthday we read some of the things that we wrote when Drew was born and looked at the first pictures that we took of him. The emotions of that day filled our hearts and it was an experience that is difficult to describe. We were extremely happy, and grateful yet there was a solemn feeling. One of our good friends told us this past week that nobody is immune to adversity and that it is a part of this life to strengthen us and at the same time humble us. We hope that the feelings and emotions of Drew's birth will never fade and will continue to carry us. Here are a few words from something Eric wrote on the day that Drew was born, "today I became a Father. today I came closer to Jenn than ever & together we took a giant step closer to our Heavenly Father. Weighing only one pound four ounces and measuring almost 13 inches, Drew James Towner has touched so many hearts & forever changed our lives. Drew is a very powerful and sweet boy, we love our son." Drew now weighs around 19 pounds and he is doing really well. His laughter seems to make time stand still and we couldn't imagine life without him. As you can tell from his pictures, Drew insists on NOT wearing his glasses:) We are trying to keep them on more, but he is very determined to win the battle. Thanksgiving was another kind of emotional day, as we could remember exactly what was going on during the hard stages of Drew's life a little after he was born. It is really weird to think that this time last year Drew was in the isolette (incubator) and on a ventilator. We will always be thankful for our little miracle. Time flew in December and Drew enjoyed every minute of the Christmas season. He crawled all over the house pulling down decorations and tried to eat the pine needles off of the tree:) He is at a very fun stage right now and it is a lot of fun to teach him new things, such as turning on and off the light switch. It was fun to watch Drew play the "baby Jesus" part in our traditional Nativity Scene. Eric was one of the sheep! Drew went sledding for the first time and of course Eric wanted to take him down the hill and over a little jump. So they went down and instead of ramping off of the jump they plowed through it and snow flew up all over Eric and Drew:) Drew got a little scared and started to cry but he got over it quickly. We all joked about how Drew looked like the little brother from the movie "The Christmas Story" all bundled up in three snow coats! On Christmas day Drew was spoiled by his Grandparents and Aunts & Uncles with more toys and clothes than he knows what to do with. We had a wonderful Christmas with our little guy, he can always put a smile on our face. This was an extraordinary year filled with a lot adversity, tears, laughter and joy. Every time we see our little Drew boy we are reminded to put things into a grander perspective. He reminds us to think of what really matters in this life. He inspires us to strive to be a little better.