Bottle Time

READY.....

SET......

GO!!!!!!

Who's A Big Boy??

First Cereal Feeding

Yet another exciting summer weekend for us! For me it started on Thursday when my friend Tana and I went to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. It was cute & I really enjoyed it… though I wish I had thought to pack a tissue or two!

On Friday, we took Tommy to the doctors for his four-month check up. He now weighs in at a healthy 15 ½ lbs. Which the doctor told us is between the 50 and 75%. She assured us that this is a good weight for him – and that he is not overweight by any means. I had been concerned about this because people have been comparing his weight to their own children’s weight, etc. The comments have been messing with my head. I greatly appreciated the assurance from Tommy’s doctor. Tommy is also 24 inches long, which is again in the 50%. I think that’s the last time I’m going to mention percentiles. Honestly, I’m just not into comparing my child with others. I could honestly care less if he weighs a little bit more, or is just a tad shorter than another child – I just care if he’s healthy and happy, which I know that he is. (Except for his grouchiness this weekend from getting another 5 vaccinations [4 through needles] at his check up! Poor baby!)

On Friday we also started Tommy on Rice Cereal. He wasn’t thrilled about how thin the liquid cereal was during that first feeding, but he enjoyed sitting in his high chair and trying something different. I know it’ll take some time for him to get the swallowing motion down, but since I’ve thickened it up he’s already enjoying eating his cereal more. I’m getting a kick out of feeding him too. It’s funny when he laughs while eating, makes little “mmm” sounds, and gets the cereal all over his face. I’m not too concerned over him making a big mess, I’m more hopeful that he’ll be excited about eating now and in the future. Saturday we went to the grocery store, and in the evening had our good friends Mike & Julie over for a wonderful Surf & Turf dinner, which included grilled shrimp wrapped in bacon, mahi mahi & tuna fillets, and a marinated London broil. We had my favorite grilled veggie Zucchini on the side, and some cheesecake & chocolate cake for dessert. Great company, great food – doesn’t get much better than that on a Saturday night!

We spent most of Sunday watching the Scooby doo marathon on cartoon network & doing some things around the house. In the evening we celebrated with the Scalf newlyweds at a bbq in their honor. It was great to see Mark and his new bride Jessica before they drove back home to Wisconsin. It looks like they’ve found a perfect match in each other and we wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Tommy’s getting much better at trying to hold his bottle. In addition to starting his cereal this weekend, he also started drinking juice. We’ve started giving him watered down white grape juice and he loves it. I give him his juice in a smaller bottle and he practiced holding it each time. It’s crazy… I feel like every moment of the day my child now has either a spoon or a bottle in his mouth, hahaha. Along with the new feedings and drinking his juice like a big boy, he also spent most of the weekend rolling over non stop. He prefers to sleep on his side now, so I’ve watched him roll from side to side all over his crib. He generally doesn’t wake up during the night except when his foot is stuck through the bars… he’s not to fond of that. He’s getting so much more active now, and growing up so quickly. I can’t quite get over it! Here are a few more pictures of his first feedings this weekend (I love the ducky-face in the last one - such a character!).

Little Duck Face

Tommy is cracking us up. Our little four-month-old loves to bounce, and lately he's been making this "duck" face whenever he is trying to figure things out. We'll be playing with him and you'll see him stop and stare at something, then all of a sudden the duck face comes out.

Here's a video Tony took yesterday of him bouncing - while making the duck face. It's too cute.

Blessed

Our little boy has been blessed. On Sunday we, along with our families and close friends welcomed Tommy into the Lutheran faith through baptism at the Lutheran Church of Our Savior (the church I belong too, which we were married in). It was a wonderful day in every meaning of the world. The christening ceremony was moving & I felt my heart flutter. I cannot even fully put my happiness into words.

Tommy was really funny. When we were standing up at the baptismal font beginning the Christening ceremony, he turned himself in Tony's arms so that he could watch the people. He was looking over at his family and friends sitting in the first couple of pews. I think if he would have waved he could have. It was adorable. Also, not only did Tommy not cry when the holy water was being poured onto him, but he immediately fell asleep in Pastor Wayne's arms afterwards. It was cute. The luncheon after church was lovely. Aside from a slight mishap with our sink deciding to clog up for the day, it was everything I could have hoped for. Everyone ate well & we had a ton of food left over! (Gotta love leftovers) Even the weather was nice – which was a surprise – August weather can be quite “sticky.” All-in-all it was a great day, and I would not have changed a thing.

We took a lot of pictures... so I picked just a few to share with you. We weren’t suppose to take any pictures during the church service (including the christening ceremony), but a friend quickly snapped one photo for us. It’s a little fuzzy unfortunately, but I thought I’d share it anyway.

Sorry it took me so long to put these pictures up. I know a few people have been waiting to see them. I’ve been very tired the last couple of days…borderline exhausted which I am attributing to all the excitement over the weekend & to a mild cold I seem to have. Anyway… here they are. Enjoy!!!

A picture we took of Tommy after he was christened. Isn't he cute! :)

Lori dressing Tommy in his Christening outfit. It's a tradition for the Godmother to dress her future godchild before the ceremony.

The ceremony.

Pastor Wayne giving a warm welcome to Tommy as he introduces him to the congregation. (You can see Tommy yawning.)

The Steltz/Gonzalez Family

Us with Tommy's Godparents - Lori & Steve

The cross Tommy is wearing is the same one Tony wore. It was a gift from Tony's grandmother who was also his godmother. The chain is from a necklace Antonio (Tony's dad) made for me.

Tommy and Amelia

On Our Car Ride Home From Church - His Auntie Carrie was making Tommy laugh so much.

Where did the week go??

I'm having major issues with my email account. I think its because when I send a message the name reads "Bob Big" instead of "Bobbi G" and it sends me right to spam. So if you have sent me an email and never received a reply back... please don't think I ignored you... I really did email you back - my emails just won't go through. I'm hoping to change my email address some time next week.

Does anyone else realize it's August? Seriously... its August! When did that happen??? This morning I was thinking about how fast this week has gone by, then I realized the date and was flabbergasted that the summer has almost ended. Ugh… that means it’ll be cold again before long. I really don’t like cold weather.

Anyway… one of the reasons I think this week has flown by is because I’ve spent the last half of the week in preparation for Tommy’s Christening this Sunday. Originally, we wanted to have a big celebration, inviting all of our family and friends over to party-it-up after the Christening takes place…but with our funds a little tighter while I remain home with our little one, it just was not to be. So we’re having a small bbq luncheon with just a few close friends after we attend the ceremony. I’ve been cleaning, and party-prepping mostly while Tommy naps. (My house smells so nice and clean!!) It means so much to me that Tommy is joining the Lutheran faith. I want for him, what my mother encouraged us to do & be with our church and our community – and this is the first step. I feel so honored that Steve and Lori are to become Tommy’s Godparents. They (and their families) have been such an essential part of our lives, and we are glad they will be an important part of Tommy’s life too. As my mom has reminded me, this is a once in a lifetime event and I’m excited to throw Tommy his first party.

Here are a couple pictures from this week. I propped Tommy up on the couch & watched him play with two of his favorite stuffed animals. It was so adorable. Like a typical baby...everything goes right to the mouth. I wish I knew what goes through his mind.

My Best Friend’s Wedding

Lauren is officially Mrs. Neuber! Tomorrow morning she and Bryan will head down to Disneyworld for a fun filled honeymoon. I hope they have a wonderful time.

The entire day was wonderful. I had my hair done in the morning and I absolutely loved the back of it. It was unique, and that’s exactly what I hoped for. I met up with Lauren and the girls in the afternoon… and the rest of the day seemed to fly by. The entire wedding party did nothing but laugh and enjoy themselves all day while we celebrated our friends’ nuptials. After a lovely ceremony, we danced (and drank) the night away. I have many fond memories from yesterday.

This one's from the rehearsal. Tommy held his bottle for the first time!!
My hair...isn't it fantastic! I loved the back of it!Best of luck L & B – love you guys!!!!

Happiness

It amazes me how babies are amused by the simplest things. Last night Tommy was crying his little heart out. We just could not figure out what was wrong. So finally we laid him on our bed so he could watch our ceiling fan. It's funny - you have all of these gagets and games and toys to amuse them, and what works best - lights & the ceiling fan! Within minutes of us laying him down on our bed he relaxed, then rolled over onto his belly. He proceeded to laugh at Tony and I, so Tony grabbed the camera & took this shot.

Isn't he adorable?? We love him so much. I guess the same principle works for us. We have adult "toys" (ie tv, computer, etc.) to entertain us - and what amuses us the best - our child.

What Baseball Game?

This blog entry is dedicated to Kimmie – she knows why!

The last few days have been fantastic. We had a pizza and stromboli night with our good friends Lori & Dano on Thursday, and my MIL graciously offered to babysit Tommy on Friday night. Tony and I went to The Cheesecake Factory. It was our first time there – and it was fantastic!! The wasabi crusted tuna and petite filet minon were excellent. We shared our delicious cheesecake desserts & coffee with Josefa (& Tommy!) to complete our night out. It was great to be spontaneous & we loved having the opportunity to go out on a date! Saturday night I joined up with my best friends to celebrate Lauren’s Bachelorette Party. She opted for something different than the typical night out at the bar, so we went to The Riversharks Baseball Game & had a blast! I don’t think we even watched a second of the game. I can’t even begin to express just how much fun I had, and how much I needed that time with my girlfriends.

But…I can make a top ten list of favorite things! So… Here it is. My top ten list for Lauren’s Bachelorette Party:

10. What Baseball Game? PS. Ladies- The Rivershark’s Lost.
9. “When Are You Thinking About Having A Baby?” “March!”
8. Singing At The Top Of Our Lungs On The Drive Home.
7. Lauren After Four Beers.
6. Fireworks right above our heads.
5. Those Nutty Republicans.
4. Girl Talk: The Rabbit or The Pearl?
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Covert Operation.
2. Paparazzi.
1. Getting together with my friends anytime…especially when celebrating ones’ future happiness. We love you Laur and can’t wait for your big day on Friday!!