Family Week

Last week, Gideon and I spent the week down at my parents' while Nick stayed home and worked - both at his job and on finishing some of his Master's work.  He joined us on the weekend as we spent time with family.  My brother and his girlfriend, Ericka, were in town for a wedding and we had loads of family time.  Gideon had a lot of firsts, including:

• Swimming in a swimming pool
• Meeting my long time friend and mentor, Nancy
• Meeting my sister from another mister, Dani
• Spending time outside - at the park and the Palisaides

Gideon continues to be a smiley, happy baby.  We've learned what things make him laugh and smile, and we totally capitalize on those things.  We're so happy to have spent so much time at Papa & Oma's house - they spoiled the both of us rotten!

Here we are going swimming - he was a little unsure at first, but warmed up to the water and splashing!

Making Papa & Oma laugh was his specialty!

Papa is the best storybook reader... ever!

Getting spoiled by all kinds of friends...

Hanging at the park with family - and making them laugh, too!

2 months old

Yesterday, Gideon had another big milestone: He turned 2 months old!

It's amazing how much can change in the course of 2 months.  Our little baby is already bigger - he's gained 3 lbs, 9 oz since he was born!  He's grown more than 3" in length.  Best of all, he's starting to be more expressive with us - smiling, pouting, cooing, gurgling, and making fun noises.  He's started to mimic us when we make noises or faces.  Everyone in the house is starting to enjoy awake time more and more.

We also had our shots yesterday and, honestly, I was feeling trepidatious.  Not because I wasn't sure if we wanted shots; we do.  But because I'd heard about babies and side effects from shots, and I had just celebrated that the peak of Gideon's fussiness had passed.  We're finally able for him to sleep in the evenings before 10pm at night.  Nick no longer has to walk laps in the house with him, strapped in to a carrier.  And then, shots?  I prayed and prayed for no fussing.

Other than the initial reaction from being poked 3 times,  my little boy handled the shots like a champ!  He slept a little extra in the afternoon when we got home yesterday, but other than that has been acting like his regular self.  We're so thankful for no major reactions!

A few pictures for you at this time in his life... (okay, I couldn't decide, so a few is more like 6.)

4th of July Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend!  Nick's last day of work was on Tuesday, so we were lucky to be able to drive down to my parents' on Wednesday and stay until Sunday afternoon.  On Wednesday night, my brother Jack and his girlfriend, Ericka, arrived and stayed until Friday morning.  They both got to meet Gideon for the first time.  

We felt like our first extended trip away from home was fairly successful! It helped that we went somewhere familiar and stayed with people who had stayed with us (including Gideon) before.  We met lots of new people and enjoyed some down time and extra adult help!

Meeting Uncle Jack.  Uncle Jack said it was his job to "sow seeds of rebellion."  I think Gideon can do that all on his own ;-)

Saying goodbye to Uncle Jack.  Uncle Jack dealing with Gideon, telling him if he grows a few inches, they'll cause chaos together the next time they see each other (we're glad it's only a few weeks until we see them again!)

Saying goodbye to Ericka!  We were so glad to meet her and are looking forward to seeing her again :)

We discovered our baby loves to be outside.  He just stares up and watches the moving leaves and is quite content.

Our last morning with Oma.  Oma gives the best cuddles!

Stare-down with the dog.  Holly isn't quite sure what to make of the baby.

Oma read Gideon the story of David and Goliath before we left.  

Birthday Weekend!

This past weekend was Nick's birthday.  We celebrated together as a family, a whole new experience for all of us!  Saturday was a day of celebration, filled with hourly cards, chocolate chip pancakes, time out to lunch, and a homemade dinner.

Gideon is such a smiley baby.  He gave daddy some good smiles on the morning of his birthday; who can complain about that?  

Grandma and Grandpa came to spend a good chunk of the day with us on Nick's birthday.  Grandma and Gideon love spending time together!

On Sunday, we went to go see Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Ehrenberg. They've been waiting weeks to meet Gideon and were so happy to see him!

We finished out the weekend with lots of Kittock family time at a baby shower, where Gideon was a popular boy, passed round and round!