Just Us

Hey everyone! We have been doing well here. This Thursday it will be 8 weeks (yikes!) and I feel like I am finally figuring things out (with help from books that Erin let me borrow!). Hopefully I can continue to figure out what his cries sound like and what he needs. I have officially gotten some smiles out of him which make each day that much more worth it. We are still growing into our 0-3 month clothes. Some brands fit now, but we are glad to have such a large wardrobe.

Sleep is still the same where he goes from about 11 PM to 4 AM. Not too shabby, but I will be excited when we can get a few more hours straight. We'll see if we can make some changes this week.

I'm not sure if Art can see the TV, but he turns his head that way as if he is watching!

Quinn Visits

Art's new buddy, Quinn, visited last week. I enjoyed Erin's company for the afternoon as well. It is so exciting to see how fun he'll be next year! Quinn was born in June of 2008 so they will be perfect playmates once Art is able to walk around.

Art's Big Day Out

Dana scored us some free tickets to the aquarium so we took advantage. He had no clue where he was, but we enjoyed our visit. He slept most of the time. (I was able to view the big aquarium wall while feeding him. Since it was a dark room, it was perfect and entertaining!)

Art wore his shark outfit to scare the fish.

Brian and Art in front of the Cichlid tank.

Brian enjoying a frosty beverage.

Since we were downtown, we took Art to our favorite bbq joint, Fat Matt's Rib Shack. Once again, he slept through the whole thing (even when the band was warming up).



At dinner, we discussed hot krispy kreme doughnuts so we had to stop at the one on Ponce. They always have their hot doughnut sign on! Art did happen to wake up here and he was unhappy that he couldn't eat a doughnut.

Slideshow at 6 weeks

Here's a slideshow of the first 6 weeks for your enjoyment!

Morgan!

I know some people have been curious as to how the dog is with him. At first she wanted to lick him and jump on him, but has since calmed down. She now knows who is the boss of the house and ignores him. She is interested when he cries and actually wants to help out. She does her own thing during the day and doesn't even wake us up to go outside anymore. She still licks him when she gets the chance, but usually stays away. The pictures show pretty much how she acts around him. We are lucky to have such a great dog! (Don't worry- we never allow them to be alone together!)

(Art was about to get a bath so that is why we weren't worried about putting them so close!)

Art's Lunch Out

Art visited some of my coworkers today from my previous group with Environmental and Safety. This was the first time some of them met him. We were excited to get out of the house and catch up with everyone!

One Month Doctor Visit

Art is over a month old now so we had our next doctor visit. He now weighs 9 lbs 8 oz which is in the 45th percentile for his age. The doctor told us that we are doing wonderfully and he is eating well! I also learned what cluster feeding was (see no breaks for Mom from 6-10 PM).

He has grown a bit and is now 22.25 inches which is in the 75th percentile for length. He got some good genes from someone! The doctor also said he should have blue eyes as well. He'll be a heartbreaker with blue eyes and dimples (sounds like someone else I know)!

He also got his second hepatitis B shot at this visit and did ok with it. He cried for a moment once he figured out that something hurt, but stopped once the doctor put a band-aid on it. We have another appointment in a month so we'll give more updates then.

I don't have a picture yet, but I'll get one posted of us at the office.

Crying Baby

I read in a book that you should take a picture of your baby crying so you will at least remember the tough times of an infant. I still look at these at think of how cute he is! I thought I would share them to show how pitiful he is.

Maybe he is crying because he has a receeding hair line!

Fairy Godmother Visit

Art's Fairy Godmother visited this weekend. She was a huge help and great company (She wasn't excited about football all weekend, but was a good sport!). Art misses the cuddling already. Thanks for keeping us company. We miss you already! Luckily, we'll see her again in a few months. We will have to figure out how to get to Austin.

Art's Playtime

Art has been growing like crazy and is in his final days of wearing his newborn sized clothes. He can now fit into 0-3 month clothes. We are excited about the new wardrobe but he won't be able to wear his baby clothes that we brought him home from the hospital in! The sleeves in his t-shirts from the hospital are also too short now because his arms are so long. We have a one month doctor visit this week so we'll see how much he weighs now. He is also outgrowing the newborn napper in the pack and play so he may graduate to the full pack and play soon.


He gets more alert each day and is able to focus on things so interaction is more fun. Here's a picture of him playing on his mat. He hit a few of the toys repeatedly and enjoyed looking at his handsome face in the mirror. (Playtime didn't last long since he got a little bored and tired. Baby steps!) His neck is getting much stronger now and can almost support his head. We love how he is growing, but miss our little boy.




Here's a video of him learning how things make noise!

Aunt Reilly

Aunt Reilly rode down from Virginia Tech with some friends this weekend. She decided to bypass the exciting game at the Georgia Dome to hang out with us instead! She also thought it would be funny to give Art a Hokie puzzle.

There's already a family rival between the two Techs and everyone will be in town in a few weeks to cheer on their team. If you want somewhere to sleep, you better wear your white and gold! ;)

Football Saturday!

Brian went to watch the football game on Saturday and we hung out at Gigi and Papa Jim's house with everyone. Although Rowan was sporting her Tennessee gear, she still managed to be nice to Art who was supporting Tech today. She paid more attention to him than usual and even gave him hugs and kisses (as seen in the second picture). She also held him like one of her babies at one point and sympathy cried for him when he got his diaper changed.

Here's a great shot of the little guy with his dimples! He's gonna be cute just like daddy!

San Antonio Destinos

Uncle Alex and Aunt Kim from San Antonio came to visit last weekend. Art enjoyed their company and wished they lived closer so we could all visit more often!

Eating Time

Art is a growing boy and likes to eat all the time! He'll suck on anything including his Dad's nose. We think he's going through another growth spurt because he can't stop eating and is a little fussy. Luckily I have found two new best friends: the bjorn and the swaddle blanket. They are very helpful at calming him down!

He is now about 4 weeks old and is doing well. We still shy away from public places so it is a treat when I am able to head out. I didn't think a trip to the grocery store would ever be called a treat! His sleep schedule is random. We have had a few good 5 hour nights and one 7 hour night, but he usually lets me sleep for about 3 before waking me up. We are getting more used to it now, but look forward to sleeping through the night again.

Family

Here are a few more pictures with the Destino family. Papa Jim with cousin Rowan and Uncle Chris (they share the same hairdo!).

Redskins Game

Art watched the second Redskins game with his new gear on. He'll have to grow into it!