A weekend of small firsts

Thomas had his first dinner out, at an Italian restaurant called Favazza's with my aunt Karen and cousins Corey and Niki. Despite two diaper changes, he did really well!

Karen and Niki were in town from Wisconsin, visiting Corey at Wash U and meeting Thomas. We also took Thomas to Ted Drewe's, the local custard stand, and Target. Sunday morning, we woke up to a very light dusting of snow, so I put on Thomas' snow baby outfit. So cute!

The final first of the weekend: Ed got to feed Thomas with a bottle of breastmilk. I wonder if I can talk Ed into doing the 3 am feedings?!

  

New Car and spring is here!

With the arrival of Thomas, we had to trade the Jetta for something a little larger--with the car seat installed, I couldn't fit in the front seat, much less Ed. So now we have what my sister calls a "Mommy wagon," an Audi station wagon. It may be a station wagon but it's got some great zip and is really nice to drive! I will miss my little Jetta, though!

And...despite a brief snowfall yesterday, spring is here!

The Process of Waking Up

I didn't have the video camera nearby but caught Thomas' waking process in these photos. The facial expressions cracked me up. 

Thomas is 1 month old!

Thomas is now 1 month old! We can't believe how much he's changed already. Here are a few more recent pictures. Our little chunker had his 1-month doctor's appointment yesterday as well. He now weighs 11 lbs. 8 oz. Wow! 

Jenn and Patrick's Visit

Jenn and Patrick came to meet Thomas this past weekend. They were great baby holders, especially when Thomas was a little fussy! We're so glad that they could come visit. They also cooked for us, though the breakfast of champions shown here, bacon and donuts, was courtesy of Ed. Beer may have replaced orange juice for that breakfast as well! 

Tinkle, Tinkle Little Star

No...that's not a typo in the header. Pretty much anyone who has changed Thomas' diaper has experienced a pee fountain during the process. Yes, we were warned that little boys tend to pee when they're exposed to the air, and many times we've been able to deflect the stream with whatever was closest: a wet wipe, a clean diaper, a cloth diaper, and yesterday, my hand. He is sneaky though, and he's soaked the wall behind his changing table several times. (I figured after he'd peed, I was safe for the rest of that diaper change. Bad assumption!) 

Grandma Lindy mailed us a trendy solution: the wee-wee catcher! This soft cloth cup goes over the area to catch any streams. And yes, it does say "tinkle, tinkle lil' star" on it. :) Of course, like our other methods, it only works if you get it into place in time! 

A few other fun pictures: Thomas kneeling against Ed's side and me recreating Thomas' location for ten months. I know he's grown, but it's hard to believe he fit in my stomach! 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here's our little partially Irish baby in his green outfit and shamrock bib!

Our Third Weekend with Thomas

Dustin and Kelly were in town this weekend visiting family and came to meet Thomas. They're looking forward to water skiing with him this summer! We had a nice warm weekend, so Thomas got two walks in the park: one with the guys while Kelly and I did some retail therapy, and one with me on Sunday afternoon.  Also on Sunday, Matt and Mo came to visit with Cooper and Molly. Molly is almost exactly a year older than Thomas, so we took a picture of them together to see how much Thomas will grow in 12 months. The last picture is Thomas having some "tummy time" with his dad. 

More from the Weekend

After church on Sunday (Thomas' first public outing besides the doctor), we took some pictures. We got one nice picture of Ed, Thomas, and me before Thomas let one loose...you can see by Ed's reaction how it smelled! 

We also took a picture with the grandparents and a Tom-Ed-Thomas picture...three generations of Ruble men. 

Alli spent some more time bonding with Thomas, and we posed Thomas in Ed's baby-coming-home outfit...quite stylish for being 31 years old! 

Alice also contributed to the baby room project, staining the closet doors for Thomas' room. All they need is a coat of varnish and we can put them up! 

Second Weekend

Thomas got to meet Aunt Alli late Friday night and they spent some quality time together. Here he's wearing the "Mr. Fixit" sleeper she brought him--so cute! Because it was warm today (75+ degrees!), I put a "wifebeater" onesie under his sleeper today. Also very cute! He's a little muscle man. And finally, we caught this picture of Thomas with his hands clasped like he was praying. Today was also meat smoking day: two pork shoulders, lots of ribs, a turkey, and salmon. Meat, meat and more meat! 

Hi Grandma Alice and Grandpa Tom!

Tom and Alice arrived last night around dinner time and were thrilled to meet little Thomas! Today, it was 75 degrees, so we took a long walk in the park. Thomas enjoyed it so much that he slept the entire time. Grandma and Grandpa are soaking up their Thomas time before Aunt Alli arrives tonight and they have to share with her as well.

Who does Thomas look like?

I had big plans to put up mine and Ed's newborn pictures and figure out how to do a poll so people could vote on who Thomas looks like more. However, after seeing the pictures...I don't think it's too much of a contest! This little guy looks ALOT like his daddy. Maybe he'll keep mommy's blue eyes...

Since I'm no good at doing captions, Ed is the one wrapped in a blue blanket and I'm the one all in white (in case you couldn't tell).

Pictures from the week

Thomas gets to meet Grandpaw Tom and Grandma Alice tonight! We've had a good couple of days by ourselves but are looking forward to more family coming to visit. 

Thomas continues to be a very good baby, though he has two distinct personalities. We've named them: Senor Fussypants and Angel Baby. We're hoping that Angel Baby hangs around this weekend with the Rubles! 

Thomas had his first doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Apparently feeding is going well...he gained 1 lb. and grew 1 inch since leaving the hospital! 

Today he and I took our first walk outside, taking advantage of a 60 degree day. We walked about 15 minutes, which was enough for me. He slept the whole way. Can't wait until it's consistently warm so we can walk every day! 

We continue to crack up at all the funny things he does with his hands and the faces he makes, as you see in these pictures!