George tried a quick dip in the kiddie pool today. He wasn't a big fan. I think we'll warm up the water some for his next swim.

George got a BIG kick out of Baby Beethoven today.

George is having a good day today.

He got to play outside for a while with Wendy and Mason.

Then he watched a little TV.

Cute little man!

Here's the new car seat we ordered for George. It will be here on Wednesday. It is narrower than the monstrosity we have now. Hopefully we'll fit through door frames better and it'll fit in a flipped over high chair. However, we selected this smaller model mostly so we could better fit in an airplane seat! Yeah!! George's first plane ride is just a few short days away!! He cannot wait to meet all his aunts and uncles and the rest of his cousins!!

My boys love each other. They're so cute!

I am a very lucky lady. I have three great guys - Jeff, Otto, and now George. After everyone was awake and George had his breakfast, we headed to the Farmer's Market for the first time this year. We didn't buy anything, but just enjoyed being outside and walking around. We applied liberal amounts of sunscreen to George for the first time. So after we got home and had a nap, we headed to Honey's for a bath. George was due anyway. Honey cleaned him good while I made us a chopped salad for lunch.

George played on a blanket on the floor while Honey and I sat next to him and had our picnic salads. After lunch we came home. George napped again while Jeff cut the grass. We lounged a little and just enjoyed a quiet day at home.

We did order a new car seat for George. Seems a little late in the process, but we can use it again if we have another kid. And it's good up to 30ish pounds, so we have a ways to go. Our car seat is just TOO HUGE!! We had been reading up on the recommended size for one to take on an airplane, so we went with something smaller to meet that requirement (since we're flying outta here very soon). The new seat will arrive here on Wednesday. I hope we all like it and Jeff can get it to fit in a stroller.

We made a healthy chicken stir fry for dinner. Now we're enjoying some quiet time again before it's time to start the bedtime routine. I hope everyone has a great week!

XOX

Mom

We had a great day yesterday. We woke up at the usual time and got George fed and dressed. Then we loaded up the Pathfinder, stopped to get Judi, and hit the road! We headed up to Frisco to cheer on Kristine. She was participating in the Avon 2-day walk for breast cancer. We had generously donated to the cause, but it was more important to me for us to BE THERE!

I remember when I "ran" the Denver half marathon in the FREEZING rain. She schlepped her entire family out in the cold rain to cheer me on along the way. It wasn't too far from the house and she didn't stay too long - I was running - but she was there and it meant the world to me. I wanted to do the same for her. So - off we went!

It was a gorgeous day. George napped on and off along the drive. Judi enjoyed the scenery. The temperature was perfect. It was fun. We got up there around 10:30 and walked around Frisco for a while - we got a snack, we shopped, we hung out with Scott and the kids. It was fun. We saw Kristine and her friend Rae Ann. They stopped and hung out with us for a while. We chatted about the walk and how they were feeling. Cole wanted to walk with mommy . . . oh - and he wanted mommy to be a horsey! Poor Kristine. No horsey after mommy has walked 15 miles. ;)

Kristine and Rae Ann kept on walking. We loaded up the car and headed down the mountain. We stopped in Idaho Springs for lunch and afterwards we decided to head up Mount Evans Road. It's the highest paved road in North America and we thought it would be a pretty drive. Judi had never been up there and we were going to show her the mountain goats.

We got about ten miles up the long, windy road (full of bikers in training - road bikes, not motorcycles) only to be stopped and turned around by a ranger. They had closed the road due to a major accident. They needed to get a helicopter in there so that they could med-evac someone out of there. Sad. I hope everyone is OK.

On the way back down, Judi got a little car sick - ICK! I don't blame her. I know I would have. So Jeff and Judi switched seats and we headed back into Denver. We spent the evening next door hanging with our friends. Pot luck dinner, drinks, cards, jalapenos that appeared to do permanent damage. ;) It was fun!

George was exhausted! I suppose it was because he didn't get to take great naps yesterday. We were in and out of places, moving around, etc. He got to snooze a lot here and there, but no solid time asleep really. We'll make up for that today.

XOX

Mom

Jeff feeding GV in Idaho Springs.

George is waiting to cheer for Kristine!

George is heading out the door to spend the day with Honey. Check out his super cute Polo jumper. Maybe Honey will take some better pictures of him in it today.

I taped a little video of George playing last night. He's trying to do a repeat of his super fancy roll maneuver. Enjoy!

George rolled over! It happened last night. Jeff and I were sitting at the dining room table, signing all the closing docs to refinance our mortgage. GV was on a play mat in the living room. We would hear him chatting and hitting the music toy he's got. So all was well. Our financial planner walked in the front door and said, "Oh look at him. You've got a roller." We just brushed it off, telling our friend that he likes to roll to his side. "No," he says. "He's over." Jeff and I looked at each other and then went in the living room. We should've taken a picture, but we just scooped him up. What a big boy.

Again, he likes to be different. George rolled from him back to his tummy. He hates being on his tummy, so he was fussy pretty quickly. It was cute though. A major milestone and we were sorta there to see it.

I posted some new, super cute pics of my boys to the June album. Click on the link on the right to see them all. Here's my favorite . . .

George gives the exersaucer a whirl today!

Wendy put together George's new exersaucer and George took it out for a spin. Enjoy this 1 minute clip of his curiosity about the whole thing.

After a bath at Honey's. Look at him trying to sit up like a big boy!

Always smiling for Daddy!

George's First Camping Trip

This weekend, for Father's Day, we made plans to go camping with Honey and two other couples. We were all very excited. There were seven adults, 2 4-month olds, 1 7-month old, 1 3-year old and two dogs. We all did GREAT! One issue - it was COLD and it rained so bad on Saturday we finally packed it up and headed home early. We had a lot of fun though. Here are a few pics.

We'll try our luck again for another trip in late July. To see a few more pics, click on the June 2009 pictures link from the right menu bar.

XOX

Mom

Camping Anyone??

So, Jeff and I are taking the little bugger camping soon. After a few recommendations from other moms in the neighborhood, we picked up a tent for George. It's soooo funny. It's the Kidco Peapod Plus, a travel bed for infants and children. We got the bigger size since it's good for the first 6 years. Hopefully he'll love it now and can be in it for years to come.

Why is this soooo cool?? It comes with an inflatable air mattress that slides into its own compartment (for safety reasons). It's walls are all UV protected, so it's great for hanging out at the park or ON THE BEACH this summer. It folds up super small and lightweight and will fit INSIDE George's suitcase when we travel to NC or OH, so we won't have to lug the pack-n-play with us. WoooHoooooo!! It even came with a sleeping bag that we can use with it after GV turns 1. Another score!!

I am taking it to GV at his daycare spot today so he can nap in it. Hopefully he does OK and then we can leave the pack-n-play at home from now on!!

Here are a few pics of George's new travel bed:


I'll let you know how he likes it!

XOX
Mom

High resolution pics are here!! Click on the link for June Photos and you can see ALL the pics (130+) we had taken on June 6th. They'll print poster-size now if you want it. That's just what all of you need, I know - a poster sized picture of Liz, Jeff and George. ;)

Fun in the sun today with Wendy.

NEW VIDEO
Wendy took a little video of George while he was at the Klebba house last week. In this two minute clip George tries to crawl, shares with us a juicy burp and gets licked by one of their two dogs. Good times at the Klebba house. CLICK HERE to see the video.

Don't order online yet, but the new family pics have been posted to Kodak Gallery. These are LOW resolution pics for now. Higher res images are coming within the week - and a LOT more of them. So WAIT, but . . .

The new pics are GORGEOUS!! LOVE EM! Here's a few of my favs . . .

On the right side, click on the link to June 2009 pics to see them all! Enjoy (but don't order yet)!

Liz

George tried hard to roll over today. As usual for George, he likes to do things a little differently - his OWN way. So, why should rolling be any different? The "average" baby rolls from his tummy to his back first. George tried to roll from his back to his tummy. Here are two videos of his efforts. There's a cute laugh at the end of one of the second video, so be sure to watch the whole thing!

Take One . . .

Take Two . . .

I snagged a good video today of Mason laughing. Enjoy!

And here's one of the boys playing together:

George can feed himself now.

Life with George is really good.  This weekend has been busy and fun.  I got a BIG laugh this morning.  Here's a recap of the weekend . .  .

Friday night we went to the Klebba house for dinner and hanging out.  Jeff made a really good roast beef from eye of round.  Yummy.  And he made his horseradish sauce to go with it.  That stuff would make some really good sandwiches for camping.  Maybe I'll have to remind him of that.  He's thinking of making that roast as his beach dinner.  It's tasty, not too expensive, feeds a ton of people really well, and most people eat beef.  The Klebbas made a tasty broccoli cheese dish and baked potatoes.  They also served up strawberries, pound cake, whipped cream and chocolate sauce for dessert.  Ahhh - good stuff.  

Saturday morning Reagan Geddes came over to take some family photos.  You can check out her work here: http://www.reagangeddesphotography.com.  George spit up a LOT, so we had to do several outfit changes.  Hopefully we still got a few good ones.  We took some shots on the playground equipment across the street, some pics of George in his crib, some of us all on the front porch, etc.  They'll be posted to Reagan's site later this week and then she'll mail me a disc with all the pics a few days later.  So stay tuned for links & your chance to buy some prints as well.  

As far as the spit up goes . . . We're trying to switch George to this new formula - Enfamil AR.  The doc suggested it as it's thicker & maybe he won't spit up as much.  So far it's hit or miss.  Sometimes he still spits up a ton and other times, like this morning, there's nothing.  

Anyway, Saturday afternoon was a day of "work" around the house.  We ran some errands.  Jeff successfully mounted a used (free) Yakima storage box to the top of the Pathfinder.  Now we'll have TONS more room to take stuff camping.  I wonder if Otto would ride up there . . . KIDDING!  Saturday evening Mom and I ordered sushi and watched a chick flick here at the house while Jeff headed to Boulder to hang out with some friends.  He stayed up there.

This morning was good cause I got a BIG laugh out of George.  It was cute.  He was on his changing table in the living room.  He hadn't spit up, but we were just playing.  I took his bib and blotted the corners of his mouth with it.  He just LAUGHED!  It was super cute.  He did it twice.  That's all I got, but it was wonderful.  

Today . . . Jeff is going with Matt to look at a basement.  Matt is getting his basement finished & he wants Jeff's opinion looking at a contractor's work.  Otherwise it should be a fairly slow day around here.  We might do some yard work.  We might just lounge on the sofa.  Who knows.  Not even sure yet what's for dinner.  What are you having?

XOX

Mom

George Loves his Apple

George wasn't too happy yesterday.  We hope it's just some discomfort from the immunizations.  He didn't nap too well and was generally fussy.  Last night, back at home, he really needed to be held.  He was so much happier just being in someone's arms.  That's not typical for him but I was happy to oblige.  Sweet boy.  

We did snap a few short videos of George getting ready for his day yesterday.  I am getting better with the Mac.  I blended the clips together, added a title, transitions, music.  Woa!  Watch out George - there may be a LOT more home movies in your future.  Enjoy!

XOX

Mom

Today George had his 4 month doctor's check-up!  Our appointment went good.  He was 14 pounds and 15 ounces = 50%.  He was 25 inches = 50%.  His head was 16 3/4 = 60% = lots of brains!!  ;)

We talked with Noah about the sleeping & eating stuff.  Sleeping is going GREAT.  George sleeps for 12 hours at night.  WooooHoooo.  Our question was . . . do we have to wake him to eat now.  The answer was no - let him go as long as he wants.  George can dictate the length of his naps now.  

The new development for GV is in the feeding department.  He's decided to take about 11 ounces per feeding.  We were having SERIOUS trouble with the mid-day bottles, so we combined them into one larger feeding.  Sooooo . . . now GV only takes 3 bottles a day.  I know that's WAY unusual for his age, but it's what he's happier with.  He doesn't fight the mid-day bottles as much, he still eats the same amount, etc.  So, the doc, while not THRILLED with the idea, agreed it was fine as long as he was gaining good weight, eating good, etc.  And he is!

We told the doc he has been spitting up a TON lately, so he suggested we try the Enfamil AR formula.  We bought a little after the appt and have tried mixing it 50/50 with the old kind for the last two bottles of the day and the spit up is WAY improved!!  I think the theory here is the thicker formula stays down better.  We needed #4 nipples though to get it to go through.  Tomorrow we may also try the Gerber Nuk bottles/nipples as well.  Anyway, the thickness comes from rice starch they mix in there - so that's why it's harder to get through the holes.  So since he's getting the rice starch from that, the doc says we probably can wait a little longer to do rice cereal in a bowl.

What else?  We talked about his dry skin.  Noah told us to try a different kind of lotion.  We confirmed sunscreen is OK for my WHITE baby.  We told the doc he still hasn't rolled over yet, but he wasn't worried.  He expects we'll see that in the next 4 - 6 weeks.  Noah gave GV the once over and said all looks great.  He's happy and healthy and growing good.  

Keep it up GV!  Happy 4 month birthday!

XOX

Mom