Adventures in Rice Cereal

Thomas had his 4-month check-up yesterday. He's up to 18 lb. 5 oz. and 26.5" long; still on track to be big like Ed! The doctor also gave us the go-ahead for rice cereal. I was excited to try a food source that wasn't me, so I bought some at the store last night and we tried it out. 

He liked the bib and kept trying to get it in his mouth. At first, he wasn't real excited about the cereal, and most of it kept sliding back out. Then I turned the spoon sideways instead of coming in from the front and something clicked...he was a fan. Whether he actually likes the cereal or just likes something else headed toward his mouth (the destination for everything lately), I don't know. 
He gobbled down everything I offered him and insisted on helping guide the spoon near his mouth. 

Toward the end, he just wanted to hold the spoon himself. After I took the spoon away, he went back to sucking on the bib. Considering how much cereal was spilled on the bib, he was actually still eating! 

The feeding process sure was messy--and I know it only gets worse from here...he didn't even get any in his hair yet! Maybe we can put him in a straightjacket while we feed him so he can't wipe his cereal-sticky hands all over himself and his seat! We'll see if he likes cereal as much on day two.

Thomas is 4 months old

Thomas turned 4 months old last week...hard to believe! He's also caught on to what cameras are and stops smiling or doing whatever cute thing he was doing when he sees the camera.

I call this picture "surprise!" And no, his hair hasn't started laying down too much yet. It's getting thicker but still tends to stick straight up.

Thomas poses with the stuffed lion, which he has definitely outgrown. 

Look closely--he's got his bib on backwards. It started facing the right way, catching the never-ending river of drool from his mouth. Somehow, as he spun himself around in the exersaucer, he also spun his bib around and is wearing it like a cape. Notice the non-smile, too. He actually is having fun; just not for the camera!

 

Triathlon success!

Ed, Tucker, Kathy and I completed our first triathlon Saturday morning! We'd all trained over the last few months but weren't sure how we'd do. Kathy and I both had a simple goal...besides not drowning during the swim, we simply wanted to finish. It may have taken me a medley of strokes to finish the swim (front crawl, breast stroke, back crawl) as I'm not a strong swimmer, but who cares! Special thanks to Thomas, who napped during, I mean endured, many runs in the jogging stroller as we trained over the past two months!

Here we are...ready for the race! It included a .25 mile swim, 14 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run. Our times: Tucker - 1 hr. 28 min. Ed - 1 hr. 32 min. Lisa - 1 hr. 40 min. Kathy - 1 hr. 42 min. We celebrated with a nap, some time on the boat, and a steak dinner. If you're really into triathlons and want to see our exact times for each part of the race, here's the link:  http://www.mattoonmultisport.com/images/stories/results/mattoonbeachttri/2009/OVERALL.HTM

And one more thing...Ed decided to make the event a little more exciting by forgetting his running shoes. After trying on Dustin's size 9s (no go), he asked the tri announcer to see if anyone in the crowd had brought extra shoes. Fortunately, someone had, so Ed was able to compete. You can bet that he'll never forget his shoes for a race again!

Relaxing in the water post-race. 

Kathy enjoyed some Thomas time...including giving him a bottle and changing diapers!

First Photoshoot

We had a woman I know come over to take some 3-month-old pictures of Thomas. Here are our favorite three:

Hanging with Thomas

In between ski runs, everyone got plenty of Thomas time. I've got some great video of Patrick "tossing" Thomas up in the air...someday I'll figure out how to upload videos!

Weekend Celebrations

This weekend we celebrated Father's Day and Mom's birthday.

Thomas holds a St. Louis tradition--gooey butter cake--in a father's day box.

Thomas and Ed on Ed's first father's day. Notice the onesie!

We celebrated Mom's birthday with poppyseed torte, an old family favorite that Jenn made. The cake only has six candles...we didn't want to have to call the fire department by putting on the correct amount!  

The Swensons visit Lake Mattoon

Dad, Jenn and Patrick drove down to Lake Mattoon this past weekend, meeting the three of us and Mom, who spent the week in St. Louis. It rained as we put the boat in and took it out, but otherwise the weather was beautiful and the skiing was great! Everyone but Mom tried the boom for some barefooting fun, and everyone skied. What a fantastic lake weekend!

Not discouraged by last week's pouty lip, we dunked Thomas' feet into the lake again. He seemed to like it better. 
Jenn and Patrick enjoy some sun out by the sand bar.

Jenn barefooting...she pops right up every time! Clearly, it's like riding a bike; she didn't forget what she learned last year.

Patrick barefooting...last year he looked like he was running on the water's surface. This year, his form is even better. Ed yells "meathook!" which reminds him to stick his chest out (as if a meathook were pulling him forward) and he's in prime barefooting position.

Dad barefooting...after years of doing it behind the boat on a long rope, this is a piece of cake for him. He starts on the short rope (harder than straight off the bar) and even performs a tumble turn.

Yep...this is as close as I've gotten this year. I got up once last year (the weekend before I found out I was pregnant). I just can't quite get my body swiveled around this year. Oh well...I've got the entire summer to get stronger and practice!

Thomas takes a nap in the shade under the steering wheel while we're anchored at the sandbar. Poor hot baby!

After a sweaty day, Grandpa and Aunt Jenn give Thomas a bath in the sink. More pictures from the weekend to come tomorrow!

Trying out new toys

Now that Thomas is bigger and can hold himself up better, we've brought out some toys that have been living in the basement. 

He loves the Johnny Jump-Up! It fits well in our kitchen doorway, and he's content to hang out in there, standing and bouncing a bit, while we're working in the kitchen.

The exersaucer is a huge hit as well! We have him standing on a pillow because otherwise only one foot can touch the ground at a time. The seat rotates, and he swivels himself a bit, but otherwise is content playing with whatever toy we put in front of him. I think he'd happily stay in here for hours if we'd let him. He can even push the buttons to play music, but probably not on purpose yet. Last night he started banging his head on the little plastic book (on the right). He thought this was extremely funny. 

Thomas spent some quality time with Grammy Lindy last week while I was in NY and then working. She read him lots of stories and took him for walks in the park. 

In New York

I'm in New York for meetings at the office for three days. I haven't been here since December, so it's fun to be in the city again. My coworkers threw me a surprise baby shower today, complete with some cute gifts for Thomas, which was great! I had no clue--I thought I was walking into a meeting and instead it was a party! Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery...yum! Thanks to Ed, Mom, and our babysitter Courtney for taking such good care of Thomas while I'm gone.

Tonight I popped out to get Thomas an "I love NY" onesie, something every kid whose parents once lived near the city should have. If you do live in NY, you don't dress your kid in this--it's only for tourists! :)

Last night I met Dena, Debbie, and Angie for dinner. I hadn't seen them since December, either, back when Angie and I were both pregnant, so it was good to catch up. She brought her son, Liam, along, and after dinner her husband Neil took Liam home so Angie could hang out with the girls. I forgot to take a picture of Liam, but he looks just like his dad. What a cutie! This picture of us girls is horribly blurry, but it's from my phone. Great to see you, girls! 

Dipping the toes

We had another beautiful weekend at the lake, and Kelly didn't have to study, which made it even better! Saturday afternoon we hung out at the public "beach." I put the word beach in quotes because there is sand, but beyond that detail, it's not great. But we're not too picky, and it was great to relax outside next to the lake (the house we rent is on the lake, but doesn't have a nice area to sit outside along the water). I used the opportunity to introduce Thomas to the lake. I figured since he likes bathtime, he'd like this too. See what you think in the pictures below...

I doubt he realized I was lowering his toes into the water, but some natural instinct made his legs raise higher toward his butt as I lowered him closer to the water. I did eventually get his feet in. 
I didn't realize until I saw these pictures that he really didn't care for the toe dipping...check out the pouty lip!

Greasy/sweaty baby mohawk! Dustin wanted to put product in to make a better mohawk but he wasn't sure when we were next bathing Thomas. 

A few other weekend notes: I decided to try barefooting (first time post-baby) this weekend, and silly me, skipped the padded wetsuit. It didn't take long to remember why this is such a bad idea. I won't post the picture here because the world doesn't need to see it, but let's just say that my right cheek and thigh are a beautiful shade of purple. Oops! 

Tucker and his friend Kristen came up, and we taught her to ski. Tucker, Ed and I also continued training for the triathalon we're doing (in 2 weeks!). Kelly swam and ran with me and Dustin joined the guys for a run after they swam and biked. Not much training time left...hope we'll be ready!

Random cute pics

Love the doggy on Thomas' butt!

His favorite chew toy...a small stuffed giraffe. One of four things is always in his mouth: this giraffe, his fist, anyone else's fingers, or the pacifier.

Blast from the past! When we were in NC, Mary Beth shared some of Jakin and Corban's baby clothes with me. I bought this outfit for Jakin when he was born 8 years ago. Looks pretty cute on Thomas as well!

Naptime pictures

Thomas fell asleep while nursing at the lake. I slipped out of the way and left him to sleep. His position reminds me of how I used to sleep with my giant snoogle pillow while I was pregnant. Don't you love our beautiful couch? It goes well with our lake-style decor: garage sale meets frat house. 

Thomas naps fairly well, but sometimes we need a nap and he's not willing to cooperate. In these two pictures, Ed was trying to nap on the futon at the lake. Thomas wasn't having it, so Ed kept trying to find different positions that would satisfy Thomas and allow him (Ed) to sleep. The end result: no nap for daddy! 

Ed and Thomas hang out in the swing in our backyard. Nap, anyone? 

Check out the lush grass below that Ed grew! 

Here's Thomas napping in my office after the babysitter left this afternoon. He almost always sleeps with his left arm up in the air. This was originally because we swaddled him while he slept and left that arm free. Now, even when he's not swaddled, he sleeps with the left arm up. So cute! 

Weekend at the Lake

We spent another gorgeous weekend at Lake Mattoon with Kelly and Dustin and friends Craig and Heather from Cincinnati. Lots of beautiful sunshine, skiing, and good food!

Thomas models his rash guard bathing suit/wet suit. No need to worry about suntan lotion when he's wearing this! 

Playing "airplane" on Dustin's knees. He loves this and also grins in delight when Ed zooms him through the air like an airplane. 

Thomas surveys our gourmet dinner from his bumbo seat at the head of the table. Thanks to Kelly's Gourmet Cookbook (edited by Ruth Reichl, the author of Garlic and Sapphires, a great book about being a food critic that is sure to make you drool), we've been eating extremely well. This week's menu: watermelon gazpacho, whipped chipotle sweet potatoes, and pork with sweet-and-sour chile cilantro sauce, with key lime pie for dessert. Yum!

Craig tried on Thomas' sunglasses. They fit, but not well. 

Summer has arrived at Mattoon!

After traveling Memorial Day weekend, we returned to Mattoon last week to a truly summery weekend. The water temp had changed from take-your-breath-away cold to bracingly refreshing, and the air temperatures were in the 80s. Fantastic! We pulled out the boom for barefooting and the wakeboard and spent some quality time in the boat!

Thomas napped on Kelly's lap.

Thomas napped inside in his sunglasses and hat.

I got out on the wakeboard for the first time in almost 2 years. I was happy that even though I was rusty, I could still get a little air!

Ed and Dustin both barefooted for the first time this summer, proving that it is a skill similar to riding a bike...you don't forget how.