Swimming in the lake

We took Thomas "swimming" in the lake. He wasn't overly thrilled with it, but the temperature wasn't quite as warm as his baths! Dad had bought a blow-up fish inner tube, so we tried that out as well. 

Toes in the water.

He's not so sure about floating in the fish.

By the end, Thomas was okay with (I won't go so far as liked) the floaty fish. Grandpa caught him some minnows to look at while he floated. The water will be warmer at Lake Mattoon, and also when we're back up at Pearl Lake in August!

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the holiday weekend up at Pearl Lake with my family. Beautiful weather, great company, delicious food, and of course, tons of pictures!

Thomas and Uncle Sam wish everyone a happy 4th of July. Uncle Sam's "cousin," who lives with Matt and Diane Knoepke, recently went on a road trip to Pittsburgh with her family. Maybe he'll come to Lake Mattoon this weekend?

Driving the pontoon boat with Grandpa. Lifejacket disclaimer: when the boat is on the water and moving, Thomas wears his life jacket. When it's parked on shore, he doesn't have to. When he gets mobile, the rules will change and he'll have to wear the life jacket on the dock and parked boat as well. 

Enjoying the day with Aunt Jenn (who made him giggle and squeal by singing a certain song about beans while making bean dip).

The perfect place for a nap: on Grammy's lap.

Standing tall on Patrick's stomach.

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!