Merry Christmas! December has brought lots more firsts for Theo! Between Christmas parties and Jay's travels, it's been another busy month! One of the highlights for me was the day Jay took the afternoon off from work and let me go Christmas shopping all by myself. It was perfectly timed and an awesome break for me. I think I'm going to try to make it an annual tradition! There are lots more fun times ahead with our families in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois!
Happy Holiday season! In the past few weeks, Theo enjoyed his first Thanksgiving and watched us decorate the house for Christmas! He was quite interested in the tree at first, and still occasionally pulls an ornament or two off the bottom of the tree, but now he ignores it for the most part. I think he was mostly excited to find some new things around the house to look at and play with. We almost attended Theo's first Christmas party, but we didn't quite make it... (explanation in photo caption). Jay and I are looking forward to the JCI BE party - a night away from home with food, drinks, and music!
taking lots of videos lately. Some of them may be longer than you care to watch, but we think they're cute! Click HERE to see them.
This past week, Theo tried rice cereal for the first time. He loved it! Click on the photo for more images and a video! Unfortunately, we're not so sure that it agreed with his tummy, so we stopped for a couple days and may try again later this week. Theo has also been sitting up like a pro this week. He can amuse himself with his toys for a long time. On Saturday we went to Chicago to meet up with my friend Helen and her baby Miles, who were visiting from Ohio. Today we spent the day at North Beach in Racine. It was a beautiful day and we both got to go sailing on our friend Casey's sailboat. What a fun weekend!
We had a few more adventures after Father's Day - most notably Theo's first Brewers game! He did pretty well, although I think he enjoyed the tailgating more than the game. Jay's softball games are a little more his speed! We also had a fun overnight visit with Heidi & Jay who drove in from Massachusetts. (That morning they had come from Toronto!) Today President Obama was in Racine, but we forgot to try to get tickets. Turns out the line was pretty long to get them, so we probably wouldn't have gotten any anyway. Those who have visited us have had a taste of O&H kringle - now you can say that you've eaten the same kringle as the President - he stopped at O&H on his way into town! Anyway, it's cool that he was in Racine again. (I had seen him when he was here campaigning a few years ago.) Next adventure is Theo's first trip to Buffalo Lake for the 4th of July!
vent was Jerome, Jerry, and John's visit to Racine for the annual Case tour and fishing trip. Jay got to go along on the tour and fishing trip, and Theo and I even got to join them for dinner at the Yardarm! Thanks, Case IH! (Click on the pic for more!)
This past weekend, we took Theo on his first trip up to the Twin Cities! The main event was the celebration of Alex's college graduation. It was Theo's first time meeting Uncle Alex and also his first time meeting Aunt Kari, Uncle John, and cousins Olivia, Kailey, Charlie, and Jade. He had no idea that he had such a big family! It was also our first time meeting little Jade. It was so much fun to see everyone. Hopefully Theo will always love Minnesota as much as we do!
Today Theo was baptized at St Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Racine. As a special treat, Grandma Nancy, Uncle Ben, Auntie Trisha, and cousin Claire came to stay for the weekend. For the baptism and party, we were also joined by Granny & Grandpa Thysell, the Rodgers family from Schaumburg, Steve and our godson Elliott from Naperville, and our Racine friends Frankie, Mike, Allison, Nathan, and Mandy. We are so thankful for all our friends and family, near and far, for helping us celebrate this special day. We love you!
Theo had another busy week visiting with friends and family. He got to meet a few of his great aunts and uncles, as well as more of our friends. He also attended his third Friday night fish fry during Lent. I guess we'll have to keep that tradition going for the next two Fridays! Theo has also started smiling a lot more - to me, Jay, and anyone else with a friendly face! It is very cute. His other milestone this past week was sleeping 7+ hours two nights in a row! It hasn't continued consistently yet, but at least we know he can do it!
It's been two weeks since my last post, and Theo has been a busy boy. Since Jay has been out of town a lot this month, we've been spending lots of time with my parents. We also had a fun weekend visit with Gary and Deb, who drove down from the Twin Cities. On Saturday, we had an Irish breakfast at Trinity in Milwaukee, then walked around a bit, and went to the Domes. That was Jay's first time at the Domes and probably my first time there since Senior Ball in high school! It's a nice place to go in the winter in Wisconsin. Last Thursday, Theo and I drove out to Cambridge to visit Amy, Nora, and Max. Sarah and Megan were visiting from the Twin Cities. We had a fun afternoon together. It was Theo's furthest trip from home - about an hour and a half away. He sleeps well in the car, so it was a nice trip for both of us! Then we spent the night at my parents' house - Theo's first overnight away from home! (Am I overdoing it with the "firsts"??) I had a hard time sleeping in the same room with him because he makes so much noise! Maybe next time, we'll get separate rooms. :)
Theo started smiling this past week. We can only get about one smile per day from him, but Jay managed to capture the moment on film one day. Although he's a little stingy with the smiles now, I know he'll be a friendly guy and heartbreaker just like his dad someday!
Highlights included:
Theo is 2 weeks old already! At his check up on Friday, he weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz - I guess he is eating well! He is still sleeping well, but is also having a little more awake time each day. He takes long naps during the day (~ 4 hrs), so we just need to figure out how to get him to do that at night! Other highlights of the week include:
Theodore Jerome was born 01-22-10 at 9:41 am at 7 lb 7 oz and 18 3/4". Baby Theo is very alert and curious about the world when he is not eating or sleeping. We are so grateful for his and mom's good health. Click on the picture for more photos.
