Teddy Goes to NY

Teddy took his first plane ride over the weekend. We went to upstate New York to attend a memorial service for Lisette's cousin Kenneth. Though we traveled for a very sad reason, we did get a chance to visit with many family members that Shae and Teddy had not yet met, and that Lisette had not seen in years.

I was very nervous about Teddy's first plane ride. You can tell how nervous he is here in the parking lot of the airport: Can you see the fear in my eyes????

Teddy actually did really well on the plane trip there. Once we arrived in Rochester, NY we rented a minivan along with uncle Hal and his family. Teddy got to bond with his cousin Violet on the drive to Dewitt:They are in serious training together for Synchronized Sleeping. We are hoping it will become an official Olympic Sport by the year 2014.
Once we got to Fabius, NY we were able to visit with my Aunt Judy. Here is Teddy meeting one of her 12 cats:

Teddy spots another cat as he sits with his great Aunt Marita:Teddy found one very familiar face in this new place:

I was really excited to take Shae and Teddy to the farm where my grandparents, father, aunts, and uncle all lived. You can see how excited Teddy is once again:

Uncle Hal feeding Violet by the pond:

Shae and me on the pond:We also had some time for sight seeing at the falls:

Finally, someone traveling with my dad who enjoys and appreciates dams as much as he does!!!Those crazy engineers!

The hotel we stayed in had a really nice indoor pool. Teddy and his cousins really enjoyed it:

Teddy even went out to eat at a fancy restaurant:

On Saturday June 5, we attended the Memorial Service for my cousin Kenneth. He was a very smart, brave, and good hearted man who will be dearly missed. After the service we all went to my Aunt Judy's house.

below (L-R): Jamie, Uncle Dale, Aunt Marita, Aunt Judy, Paul, and Eileen:

Aunt Marita and Aunt Judy:

Teddy watches the big kids make bubbles:

I bought this onsie for Caroline years ago when I visited my friend Melanie in NYC. Now it's Teddy's turn to wear it:

The weekend went by way too fast and before we knew it, we were back at the airport. Our flight was delayed so we had some time to play at the Rochester airport:

Our pilot:

Uncle Hal changed Violet before getting on the plane:

Here is Teddy, sleeping peacefully on the plane. I look more relaxed, right?

I actually was more relaxed on the return flight. All was going well. Until Teddy started to get a little fussy. As I was trying to comfort him, I accidentally bumped his head, which led to very loud crying!!! Yikes! Note to self- don't "smoke" your son's head on the airplane, especially when he is hungry! Once he ate, he was much happier. We got home late Sunday night and are going to spend this week doing laundry and getting ready for our next big trip. We are excited to spend some time with Shae's side of the family next!

Some Firsts for our Smiley Little Man

I am a little behind on posting some of our pictures and videos, because we have been out of town. Meanwhile, Teddy has been very busy having lots of "firsts." His first tooth is on it's way, although we didn't realize it until this weekend when Aunt Miriam pointed it out us. The very next day, it broke through the gums! Little Teddy didn't even act grumpy!!! He is growing and changing so quickly, before we know it he will no longer have this adorable toothless grin:
Teddy shows off his smile along with his Hugh Hefner look:

Recently, Teddy enjoyed swinging for the first time at one of the playgrounds in our neighborhood. Though he initially appeared serious, he seemed to have fun in the swing.

Teddy went to Stone Mountain for the first time a couple of weekends ago. Shae's work had their company picnic there to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. Teddy also sat in the front of the cart at the grocery store for the first time. He seemed very excited about the new view! I took this picture on my cell phone:

Though this is not a "first" or a "Teddy smiling" picture, you can see where Teddy gets his smile from as Shae rides his bike in our driveway for the first time:

Here is a short video of Teddy in the swing for the first time:

I was also very excited when Teddy finally jumped in his bouncer for the first time. Of course I grabbed our camera to catch it on tape. Now all I have to do is remember you can't rotate videos once they are shot! Sorry about the sideways view:

Teddy also had his first flight on an airplane on his first trip to upstate New York. I will add another blog entry soon with pictures from his trip.

Teddy is five months old!

We can't believe another month has already passed and Teddy is FIVE months old! Our little man is growing so quickly! When we visited Travis and Jacquelyn, we had to laugh when Travis said to Teddy, "Now I know who you remind me of.... Linus! My cabbage patch kid!" I think he's on to something. Compare the next three pictures, and decide for yourself:

A closer look

Now that he is five months old, Teddy is doing all kinds of new things. Like sitting in a new chair at the table: dressing like an older man: practicing his golf swing: eating solid food (he LOVES giraffe): and even rolling over!

Before: after: Best of all, Teddy can sit up by himself. Though he is still a little wobbly, he can sit unassisted.
This really allows him to play with his toys.

And yes, you might be a redneck if your baby plays in just his diaper!

One more thing that keeps Teddy busy these days- working on his six pack:
You don't get these rolls with out a lot of hard work and commitment!

Summer Time!

We're excited at our house for several reasons. We are hoping to enroll Teddy in Baby Sumo Wrestling classes now that he has the perfect uniform:

Really though we are excited because we have been using cloth diapers now for a couple of days and it is going well (knock on wood). Shae is happy we are doing something less harmful for the environment, and I am very excited that they make diaper covers in so many cute patterns and colors! One more accessory for Teddy!!! Warm weather also brings the farmer's market and we took Teddy to his first one on Sat. I was most excited though because our pool opened last weekend. Of course, going to the pool with a baby adds a few steps during preparation time. First you need a swim diaper:

a bathing suit and swim shirt to block the sun:

and of course, some shades: Although he was very quiet and focused, Teddy seemed to enjoy the pool. To our surprise, he stayed in the water for almost an an hour. He enjoyed kicking his legs and splashing his hands in the water. Shae stole Teddy's hat!

Teddy also enjoyed relaxing by the pool:
But a day at the pool is very tiring:

Here's one more random picture that I had to share with everyone. Have a good week!

Picture time

I took Teddy for professional pictures on Wednesday. Our little man is growing SO quickly!! It's funny because at the store, looking at the pictures, I kept thinking how much Teddy looks like Shae. But Shae's first comment to me about this first picture was "I see so much of you in him." Anyway, regardless of who he looks like, we are really grateful to have this little guy!!!!

LOVE those rolls!!

And those cheeks!

"Get me away from these giant bears!!!"