Cereal and so much more!!!!!!!!

It has been a while since I updated this blog and Shane has been a super busy guy so I suggest getting a cup of coffee and settling in - this is going to be a long post!! I usually like to chronicle the little man's adventures in order, but today I need to start in the middle with cereal! Yes, my baby is eating - sort of. He doesn't like cereal much yet, but we are getting there. His first cereal meal was on Sunday, July 19th. We fed him using Dan's baby spoon, which is not rubber-tipped like the doctors recommend, but was important for us to use for the first meal. Most of the cereal went in his mouth and then came right back out, as evidenced by the before picture here.

and the after picture here! What a face!!!

However, Dan did get a rhythm going and was able to get him to get some real swallows in as evidenced by this video! Make sure to hit play! As our friend Kristine often says, Dan is rocking the daddy thing!

I wish I could say that after this video was shot all of our cereal problems were over and Shane was eating it like a champ now, but I can't. He has good days, one where he ate the whole bowl! Then he has awful days where he screams bloody murder the second you put a spoonful in his mouth. We are using rubber-tipped spoons now in order to protect his gums and he sometimes likes to slurp the cereal off of the spoon and sometimes not. He finds my desire to get him to eat very funny. In fact, the other day I was saying that he was going to go to kindergarten with a bottle (after all Connor liked cereal the first time, so did Shane's friends Augie and Emily) and he started laughing! Then, I started saying "yum, yum, num, num" and he was squealing with delight - note the video below. However, the laughing and squealing do not make him eat any more.

Last Wednesday, July 15th, was our graduation. I was glad we went. The graduation was held at Navy Pier so it was beautiful and it made our Master's degrees feel more official. We loved having Shane there as well as both of our sets of parents and Jorie. Shane behaved himself and seemed to like being out and about.


The best part was that Wednesday nights at Navy Pier are firework nights! We didn't go out for the fireworks on the 4th so we decided to stay and watch them after the graduation. I was not sure how Shane would react, but he LOVED them! Look at the look in his eyes as he is watching them explode! While you are looking at his eyes - avoid looking at me because I hate this picture of me.

On Thursday, July 16th, Shane went for his 4 month pictures. It was safari day at Sears and they came out cute! I did not buy the cd so I do not own the rights to those so I can't put them up on the blog. Then Liam came over to stay for a few nights while Bill and Colleen were in a wedding. On Thursday night we went to a park for a picnic and then out for ice cream. Isn't Liam adorable!

On Friday we met Kristine and Connor at the zoo. Shane was not aware of the animals during his first trip to the zoo, but Liam and Connor loved them.


After the zoo we went home to relax for a bit. In fact, Liam fell asleep at the zoo! After the boys (and I mean all of them - Dan included) took a nap, we took some pictures and headed off to Plainfield fest for the evening. How cute do Liam and Shane look together! Liam was so great with Shane!

Plainfield fest was a lot of fun. Liam decided he wanted to go on some rides, but later realized he didn't like them. Here is a picture of him on the motorcycle ride BEFORE it started moving. Let's just say once it started, he stopped smiling. In fact, as the ride went around he started saying, "I can't ride this, I CAN'T RIDE THIS!!!!!" We had them stop the ride and then Liam asked to go on trucks. Dan went on with him and he still asked to get off, so we stopped riding rides and turned to bouncy rides which he loved.




Liam went home on Saturday, we started the cereal on Sunday, and we spent a lot of this week watching our nephew Joey play baseball. He was pitching on Monday so we went to watch and then learned his next tournament was 15 minutes from our house so we stopped by Tuesday and Thursday as well. We are so proud of Joey and Danny! They are awesome baseball players!

Whew! I think I got it all in! We are leaving for Florida to visit Dan's uncle Jack and his wife Tina on Monday so I am not sure if I will update before we leave!

Swimming!

Shane continues to enjoy his summer and experience new and exciting adventures! The latest first was swimming! We got the OK from his doctor to take him in the water and decided that Sarah and Megan's graduation party would be a great place to try him out in the water. I was not expecting him to like it since he did not enjoy the bathtub. We practiced in there by filling up the tub and having Shane get in with us. He was not too happy about it. However, he loved going in the pool with his daddy. He was especially intrigued by the splashing he learned how to do! We can't wait to get him in the water again! Check out the short video clip at the end of the blog!
In other news, Shane is starting to really notice Thunder and we have been using Thunder as a way to encourage Shane to spend more time on his tummy! Shane HATES tummy time! I am convinced he will never crawl if he can't stand being on his belly! We will see.
Tomorrow is our graduation from out Master's program and Thursday will bring Pictures! I am taking Shane for his 4 month pictures to Sears for Safari day! He even has a cute safari outfit to wear! We are picking up Liam on Thursday and he will be staying with us until Saturday! We are all going to the zoo, with Kristine and Connor, on Friday and I can't wait!

4 Months!!!!!

Shane is 4 months old today!!!! It seems like he has been 4 months forever to me, but Dan is always explaining that weeks and months are different. Shane will be 18 weeks on Tuesday, but he is 4 months today (7/10/09). I do understand the logic of it, but...
This is also the day - 1 year ago today - that I found out I was pregnant with Shane! I took the pregnancy test in the middle of the night and woke Dan up at 3 am screaming, "We have two lines!!!!!" Dan had no idea what that meant at 3 am, but I soon explained that it meant we were having a baby! I can hardly believe that baby is here and 4 months old!!!!
Shane had his doctor visit this morning and the doctor said he was doing great! He is a chunker weighing in at 17 pounds and 4 ounces! He is in the 90th percentile for weight. The doctor said this is great because he is getting plenty of nutrients to grow his brain! He also said they love to see "screw on hands!" That is exactly what Shane's look like! Dan and I often say they look like he has a rubber band held tight around his wrist! Shane is 24 and 3/4 inches long (close to the 50th percentile.) He can start rice cereal soon and stage 1 baby foods just prior to his 6 month check up. He had a great day after his visit and was not even cranky from his shots! Colleen had volunteered to babysit for Shane tonight so Dan and I dropped him off and went to dinner and a movie!!!! THANKS, Colleen!!!!!! We were so happy to have a break and know that Shane was in great hands! Liam even read stories to Shane before he went to bed! Liam is awesome with Shane and so adorable!!!! Liam and Colleen came over and spent the afternoon with us on Wednesday. I am including a picture of them with Shane.
Yesterday we took Shane to his first baseball game. It was a White Sox game - note the empty seats everywhere! I actually took a picture of Shane crying (he was hungry) when we got to our seats and was going to put it up and explain that he wished he was at Wrigley Field watching the Cubs, but I didn't because Shane really loved his first game! He was so good that we stayed until the 9th inning! The Sox even gave him a certificate noting his first game and the date! Dan's Assistant Principal, Robert, was at the game and hung out with Shane for a while (see pic.) You will see that I am including a picture of him in his cute Cubs overalls, just to be fair and balanced! There is another short video of Shane at the end of this post!
PS- look at the picture of Shane in his Bruce Springsteen onesie with his daddy! That was the first outfit we/I bought for Shane. I gave it to Dan for his birthday last year! I can't believe Shane is finally here and able to wear it!

Shane's first 4th of July

Shane's first 4th of July was not his happiest day. In fact, after hours of screaming interrupted only by a short nap, we were all wondering if Shane could be teething. I don't think so. He was back to his normal happy self today, but I plan on asking the doctor when Shane goes in for his 4 month check up on Friday. The weather really dampened (literally!) everyone's mood and our plans for an outdoor celebration. Some of our neighbors that were supposed to stop by didn't, Dan's plans for a bags tournament did not happen, and it just did not feel like the 4th of July with all of the rain and the cool air. I had to put a long-sleeved onesie under Shane's shirt and a long sleeved shirt under my T-shirt as well. The weather coupled with Shane's mood (did I mention how unhappy my sweet pea was???) made the 4th of July feel like the 4th of November. The nice part of the day was seeing some great friends and family. Both sets of Shane's grandparents made it out (see pictures), so did Kristine and Connor (note the cute picture of the boys - Connor gets more handsome every time I see him! The photo I took of Kristine and Shane shows a screaming Shane so I am not posting it.) We were also glad to see our good friends Dave and Maria (I am including a picture of Shane with them.) We also got a nice-ish family photo. I say nice-ish because while we are all looking at the camera, we are not all smiling---Shane! Dan also took some great pictures of Shane today that will have to wait for another post. My Shane is becoming a real Daddy's boy!

Summerfest & other adventures

Shane has been a busy guy lately! On Monday we met our good friend John downtown for lunch. John left the next day for a month in Seattle so it was great to see him! Shane behaved like a champ at lunch and posed for some pictures with John. On Tuesday our friend Jen came over to see Shane (no pictures.) Thursday had us packing the car for a trip to Milwaukee for Summerfest, a stay in a local hotel, and a return to Summerfest this morning. In between all of this excitement, Shane went in his Baby Einstein Stationary Entertainer for the first time! He loved it. There is a video of him playing in it at the end of this post. Just hit play to watch the excitement in Shane's eyes as he discovers how the toys work!
Summerfest was awesome! We walked around and ate way too much! It was cool out so Shane was in overalls, a long sleeved onesie and a jacket! He stayed in his car seat half of the time and was carried around by his Daddy in the Snugli carrier the rest of the time. He loved the carrier and loved people watching. We stayed away from loud music, but hung back and watched a Bon Jovi cover band. Shane loved the music and we danced the afternoon away with him! He is a doer and he seems to prefer being out and about to being at home. I am also attaching a video of Dan and Shane dancing away at Summerfest. This video is also at the end of the post. I know I don't usually post videos and this post has two, but they are really cute! Shane is a great traveller and sleeps better in hotel rooms than he does at home! Dan and I are already planning ways to darken his room! The hotel shades keep the room nice and dark and that keeps Shane sleeping until 8 or 8:30 in the morning! We love it!!!! Happy 4th of July everyone! We will have pictures of Shane's first by Sunday!