Get to Know Reid @ Seven Weeks

I have always heard about how babies change so much,  and I can say that our little guy is changing every week!  It seems like he is discovering more every day, and charming us with even bigger smiles.  The pictures show you how cute he is, but here’s a glimpse at the personality of Baby Reid. Likes:   being outside and looking at the trees; walks in the jogging stroller; being on his “jungle mat" and playing with all the dangling toys; his swing; bath time; being rocked to sleep; burping; and ceiling fans.

Dislikes:  being hungry; being cold; messy diapers; and being swaddled when he thinks it is not time for sleeping. 

Nicknames (and who calls him what): Mr. Wiggles (Jenny), The Fat Man (Jer), Little Buddy (Jer)

Sleep habits:  he is finally starting to sleep for longer stretches.  Last night he slept for seven hours straight!  (Let’s hope this is the start of something….knocking on wood…)  He is also sleeping in his crib now, rather than in the bassinette in our room.  I didn’t expect him to “graduate” so soon, but he seems to be sleeping much better.

Eating habits:  he is still a champion eater!  Jer gives him a bottle a few times a week to give me a break and to spend quality time with Reid.

Lessons learned:  Let Reid “ask” for a diaper change.  Otherwise, he’s likely to poo on the changing table.  And then again… Heard enough yet?!

Bragging rights:   He is really observant and holds his head up well.  He also has the biggest, best smile in the world.  Seriously. It’s the best.  Come and visit him and he’ll show off his best features!

Reid in a word (or maybe a couple words…):  Observant.  Happy. 

Shhhh…

We don’t want to jinx it, but Reid has been a VERY good sleeper this past week.  He’s been going down between 9 p.m. and midnight and sleeping for five to seven hours.  YAY!  Now if only we’d learn to go to bed when he does, we’d be in good shape.  Let’s hope this continues!! 

We also figured out that he sleeps much better in his own room rather than in the bassinette in our room.  We have a lot of light in the morning, not to mention that with the whole family snoozing in one room, we were all waking each other up!

Here are some pics of sleepy Reid…

In his crib… In the bassinette downstairs…On the blanket that Grandma made him…Is there anything better than a sleeping baby?! 

Sweet dreams, Little Man!

Off-Roading with Reid

I think Reid will eventually make a great little riding partner. He’s not quite ready for his first dirt bike, but I’m pretty sure a Yamaha PW50 will eventually be his first set of gas-powered wheels.

You’ve got to start somewhere. Luckily our wonderful friends The Hofers hooked us up with a lean and mean jogging stroller that comes equipped with some large tires and a nice set of shocks.

Until he’s ready for the next step, I think this stroller is going to be Reid’s off-road weapon of choice. A couple of weeks ago we took Reid out to one of our favorite local parks: St. Edwards Park. This place has varied terrain, lots of trees, rocks, and some great trails that are great for hiking and trail running. I’ve used this park to train for many of my backpacking excursions. One of the best things about St. Edwards Park is that it is only a few miles from our house, tucked right into the edge of the wonderful Texas Hill Country.

First Baby Yoga Class

Yesterday I took Reid to a postnatal yoga class for the first time.  It was really nice to see some of the Mommas that I took big belly classes with throughout my pregnancy, and to see their babies!

As usual, Reid was quiet and observant, then he was ready for a nap.  :-)

I didn’t get a chance to snap a photo while we were there – I kind of had my hands full!!  But here we are once we got home. 

It was a really nice way to spend the morning!

Six Weeks

Our sweet little guy is six weeks old today!

He had a really busy week this week!

On Sunday, his Grandma and Grandpa came down for an afternoon visit.  Reid had a very sleepy day and just woke up to eat and for diaper changes!  Not very social!!  :-)  We went out to Lake Travis for lunch and had a nice visit on our patio afterwards.

We also had visits with friends, Zanna & Sarah on Monday and Charlie & Stacey on Wednesday.  Unfortunately, I didn’t remember to pull out my camera for either of our visits! Bummer!  Next time…

Reid met Raquel who was just born last Sunday (May 3)!  Her momma, Amie, and I had close due dates (4 weeks) and were good buddies throughout our pregnancies.  They live in our neighborhood and we’d go on walks or to Big Belly Yoga together.  Here are Reid and Raquel:

On Friday, we went over to Gran Susan’s house so she could finally meet Reid!  (Susan is my good friend Kellie’s mom :-) )  Ethan is a little sweetie and showed lots of love to Reid and me, “AJ.”

Our good friend Brad also came by his mom’s house to meet Reid.We had a great visit!  Next time, hopefully Kellie can be there!!  :-) 

Fun Photo #2

Our next Fun Photo comes from a solo backpacking trip I took up to The Cabin. The photo was actually taken during my drive home to Cincinnati, which took me through the small town of Oil City, Pennsylvania along the Allegheny River.

This is a photo of the “Tri-City Monument Co.”. Notice the sense of humor in the sign on the side of the building (click photo for larger image)…

Photo Album: Cabin, Solo Trip, October 1997

First Play Date

I’m sure there are many, many more play dates in our future but this first one was a lot of fun! 

Reid has two new friends:  Cabo and Ava.  All three babies were born within days of each other!

Beautiful little Ava was born on March 26.

Reid’s birthday was March 28.

And sweet Cabo’s birthday was March 30.

My good friend Amie also stopped by during her lunch break.  Her due date was Friday so she was getting a taste of what’s to come for her!  Maybe the time with three babies was all she needed to encourage her little one!  Amie welcomed her daughter Raquel Eve early this morning!  Congrats, Amie!!