Foster's First Frost (not a fan)

Foster celebrated his first Thanksgiving with tour-de-Kansas, so that he could visit most of his family for the holiday.  He clearly suffered from tryptophan, which resulted in a 4-hour nap that lasted from Scott City, all the way back to Wichita.  He must have been expecting to go back for seconds, however, since he made sure to stay up late to wait for us to warm up leftovers.  Silly turkey.

We enjoyed our day home together (that we'd been counting down to since I went back to work…those 66 days took way too long, if you ask us):

Finally, we're getting ready for the next big holiday around here -- this includes staring at the tree lights, and falling asleep in trap-door-pj's (He will kill me in about 12 years.  Do I care?  Nope.)

That being said, if you need us, we'll be hiding from the 4 degree mornings in the warmest way possible -- onesies with HOODS (mom is a bigger fan than dad), and contemplating wether or not we'll let this first tooth come in.

Fall!

Foster is learning that fall around here is pretty awesome - minus the 50 mph gusts of wind that leave him looking out the window, instead of actually sitting outside (his 4 month appointment confirmed that he was no match for the wind -- 12 lb, 12 oz and 24" long).

Over the past month or so, Foster has been pretty busy:

He got baptized!

Realized that he does not like sitting on pumpkins…

But he DOES like trick-or-treating.

Walked for dad in the annual Hydrocephalus Walk:

And just goes around being cute every day.

Hard job, but somebody's got to do it.

"You're going WHERE??!"

Me too, Foster.  Me too.

This week marks the dreaded 'back to work' week (which has managed to overshadow the big 3-0).  My general attitude is being reflected in the flattering picture of Foster shown above.  As hard as we tried, Jonas and I didn't end up hitting the jackpot in Power Ball or Mega Millions, so it's back to the grindstone on Monday morning.

We did have a pretty eventful last week together though:

 We saved a turtle from certain death on Vassar Street (and then discussed the dangers of E. coli and reptiles.  Seriously.)

We caught a cold.  And saw Dr. Kumar (of course).  Good news -- 11.5 pounds, and healthy...minus feeling a little crappy.

Foster and Jonas kept the big surprise BBQ a secret long enough to (finally) surprise me.

 And we played.  A LOT.

And counted.

66 days until Thanksgiving Break.

Double Whammy

Foster's 8 week appointment left us seeing double -- double shots:

...and double digits, as we found out he's hit the big 10 pound mark!  And, 22 inches long...growing a little too fast for me, but it all turned out ok, because it turns out double shots make for a good amount of snuggle time.

Foster has turned in to quite the entertainer, smiling, laughing, and getting our attention whenever he wants. (Laughing at 2 am?  Sure.  We'll stay up.)

He still loves being outside, and has started staring at Addison whenever she lays next to him.  We can't tell if she likes it, or if it makes her nervous for whatever he might be planning...

Already?

Foster's one-month check-up yesterday seemed to sneak up on us, and worry me that by this time next week, he'll actually be starting kindergarten (surely it doesn't happen that fast...right?).  He's hovering around the 8 lb mark, and grown to an impressive 20 1/2 inches over the last few weeks.  Also impressive was the deep shade of red that he turned when he got his Hep B shot at the end of the visit.

Foster has been pretty busy, especially for a 4-week-old.  He's visited Dr. Kumar 3 or 4 times (thanks, mom), Immediate Care twice (again...mom...), Wesley twice (NOT so bad mom is paranoid...and can I say, he passed all of the tests given with flying colors), and has had about 80% of his activity tracked in "Baby 411," or "Your Baby: Week-by-Week."  He's doing his best to help me relax (apparently it's embarrassing for your mom to cry in public?) by giving us TONS of photo opps to keep us preoccupied.

Here's to a less-eventful second month.  We hope.

Regardless, I have a feeling we're going to need to start buying stock in the below:

If you're not early, you're late.

July 3, 2013
5:35 pm
6lb 8oz
19 1/2" long

Foster started things off on the right foot by showing up 6 days early, just in time to get ready for 4th of July celebrations (which he spent in the most patriotic way...sleeping at Wesley's Birthcare Center).  He surprised mom and dad, who didn't think he would be making an appearance for another week or two -- but no one here is complaining.

He waited to make sure both sets of grandparents were here before heading out, and completely changing everything for Jonas and I.  Included in some of the changes are:

• I have been re-introduced to 10pm (which I hadn't seen in a good number of years).
• Also returning are 12am, 2am 3:30am, 4am, and anything in between.
• I have cried in public.  More than once.  Ok, more than 5 times.
• I get to retire the maternity running belt (as attractive as it sounds, I assure you).  It is officially up for grabs, and can doubly be used for lifting any heavy boxes as well.
• New friends at the Via Christi Immediate Care Clinic (mom-of-the-year accidentally ripped off the umbilical cord and felt it was necessary to continue public crying in the waiting room).  Below is a picture of Foster holding MY hand, because I was the scared one:

AT&T might be noticing Foster's presence, as someone is going to have to figure out how to allow an iPhone to store close to 1 million photos, because I am rapidly approaching that number.  Here's a short recap of our first week with Foster!

Almost there...

After weeks (...months) of analyzing ultrasound pictures, taking pictures of each other's noses and holding them up to his profile (really), and going through the archives of our own old baby pictures, we're finally in the homestretch of meeting Foster!  Both Jonas and I are excited to see who Foster looks like, acts like, or if he'll end up being way more normal than someone coming from us deserves to be.

(And don't tell Jonas...he totally looks like me.)