Baby Exercise

Lately, Gus has been working on getting into shape.

Here are some pictures of his exercise routine.

Sit-ups:

Push-ups:

Finger exercises:

And finally, facial toning:

He should be ready for the Olympic trials any day now.

Traveling

We have successfully taken our first real trip as a family of 3!

We made the journey up to Annapolis over Easter weekend. I was honestly expecting the drive, overnight stay and flights to leave the little man looking a little like this:

Instead, we had a really great traveling experience!! Gus did such a wonderful job. On the flights, he ate and played and even took one nap stretched across our legs. We are so thankful that he's such an easy-going dude:)

Here are a few pictures from his adventures at Oma and Opa's.

Hanging out with Grandma K.

Playing on the rug--our Mr. Independent.

Taking a bath in Oma's bath tub.

Again....entertaining himself:)

P.S.

#1 Jim and Laura: your wedding was beautiful! We love you both and are so happy to see the family finally completed and full:)

#2 Happy Birthday Grace Olivia!! We love you too!

Avocados?

We were under the assumption, because Gus has been such a great eater, that he would eat anything. Today we decided to add the first vegetable (an avocado) to his diet in celebration of his 7 month birthday. Up until this point, he had only been eating rice cereal and oatmeal.

A picture is worth a thousand words. (OK, maybe a couple pictures....)

I'm sorry...avo-what?

Ummm, yeah....this doesn't taste like rice.

Ummm, yeah...I'm pretty sure I don't like this.

Can I be excused?

Vegetables stink!

Bradley Babies

A couple weekends ago we got together with the couples from our Bradley pregnancy/birth class and our instructor, Stephanie. It was great to catch up, meet the babies and hear everyone's birth stories! Here are the beautiful babies (forgive me if I get any spellings wrong!):

Darby

Isabelle

Ephraim

Gus

P.S. Norman, Angela and Troy, we missed you!!

All Grows Up

Our baby is 6 months old!!

So what is he up to?

Teething...

Squealing like a teradactyl....

Looking beautiful....

Exploring....

And eating rice cereal!!! Here's a recap:

Ooohh, a bib!

Ooohh, a spoon!

Ooohh, the cereal!

He's a complete natural when it comes to chowing down! He had it all mastered (hands out of the way, mouth open, swallowing instead of spitting out) by halfway through the first feeding! Now he gets excited when he sees the bib come out, and he has his own eating soundtrack. It goes something like, "Um num, Yum num."

Unfortunately, tonight the little man's feeling pretty under the weather, following his first round of shots...hopefully, tomorrow he'll be back to his happy self.

Wideload

For a few weeks now, our little man has been sporting a super-sized butt, thanks to his new cloth diapers. They are actually surprisingly easy to use, quick to wash and don't leak like the disposables did! They are made by bumGenius and you can check them out here.

We figure that we would have spent roughly $450 dollars for a year's worth of diapers. 18 of these cost $305 and they'll last as long as Gus is in diapers (obviously more than a year) and maybe even into the next child (the "next child" part is still under debate). In addition to the monetary savings, we're also keeping A LOT of nasty diapers out of the landfill. Yes, there is additional water and detergent useage, but we believe that is an easier problem for the environment to solve...especially because we have a front loader.

So, yahoo for being thifty and environmentally friendly:)

Just don't mention the size of his butt to Gus. He doesn't take it too well.

Cabin Weekend

This past weekend, I got together with the "Cabin Guys." These are the guys that I spent the most time with in college. The Cabin is where we spent our Junior and Senior years together, thus the nickname.

Back in 1999, we made a commitment to continue to stay involved in each other's lives. Part of the way that commitment is lived out involves us getting together at least once a year. We are a little less spread out geographically then we used to be, but it can still be a challenge to find the time and the location to make it all work. This year, we came from Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa and Virginia to meet for four days in St. Louis. It was a rich time of discussion (finances, marriage, parenting, spirituality, friendship, vocation, etc.) mixed in with guns, four wheelers, cards and plenty of food and drink.

To the "Cabin Wives:" thanks so much for being willing to ride solo for a few days so that we could be together. I know it's a sacrifice, especially with so many kids in the mix now. I am firmly convinced, however, that our lives and marriages are better for it. There is just something about "guy time" that is so beneficial...especially between guys that know and care for each other. Anyway, thanks again. I appreciate you.

It's been almost 9 years since we left Covenant. Here's to many more gatherings (with spouses and kids...and without).

From left: Stephen, Anthony, Andrew, Josh and Kurt

Frankly, I'm not sure which is Stephen and which is the dead bear.

Josh training in on a clay pigeon. I'm pretty sure he hit it. He's good.

Kurt taking aim with his elephant gun.

Andrew and Stephen

Anthony headed off-road.

Gus & Oma

Sorry

We haven't been good about posting lately. Sorry! Here are a few pictures to tide you over until we can take the time to update you on current happenings. Briefly, we had a good appointment with Gus's GI Doctor; he seems to be teething; and he and Amy have colds...thankfully it's not the flu! More later!

Gus has discovered his feet! His socks didn't stay on anyway and now they have even less of a chance.

Yes...we're brainwashing him. We even had the game on the day he was born. I do think he likes red, however, so that helps. I don't know, he kind of looks like he's arching his back and showing off his shirt in this picture. Maybe it IS genetic!

Everything is going straight to his mouth these days.

Everything!

NO, that's not a dog toy.