Wyatt's First Snowfall

Here are some pictures of Wyatt hanging out in the front yard. We tried to get a few photos while the snow was still on the ground.

First Snow Fall

Christmas at the Rockery

The village of Easton has an annual Christmas festival where Santa arrives in a firetruck and there are events for the kids and food for everyone. Here are a couple of pictures of Wyatt in front of the firetruck.

Rockery Photos

Christmas Tree Photos

We attempted (and eventually succeeded) in getting a classic Christmas photo of Wyatt in front of the Christmas tree. After 104 attempts we finaly got a series of useful photos and 1 finalist for the Christmas card. (Gotta love digital cameras)

Christmas Photos

Gym Class

James saw a commercial for a local gym for infants, toddlers, and younger kids. The whole premise is activity with mom/dad and physical activity in general. I decided to try a class out with a free session and took some videos of Wyatt having fun. The class is structured and the "teachers" lead the parents and kids through joint activities that help with coordination, flexibility and other development. The one activity I didn't get a video of was the trapeze. The teacher held Wyatt's arms under the wrist as Wyatt "held" the trapeze bar. I let go and he was then able (with her help) to swing freely back and forth. This sensation definitely brought a smile to his face :-D Needless to say, I signed up for the class and will be spending some fun time with Wyatt every Friday.

Laughing at Charlotte

Charlotte is a neighbor girl and we occasionally drop her off at the bus and/or get her from the bus after school. One such time occurred last week. Her mom had an appointment so Charlotte hung out at our place for a little while. As you can see from the videos, Wyatt had a fun time while she was here. She wasn't ever really doing anything purposefully funny, but Wyatt seemed to think she was hysterical!

Videos

Not much to say other than here's a medley of videos I keep meaning to share with everyone. They range from laughing with/at the pets to hanging out with dad to talking to himself while in the saucer.

Eating Cheerios (well, trying anyways).


Petting Tiger


Giggling


In his Saucer


In his Saucer again

Big man on the couch

It's very hard to believe that Wyatt is already 6 months old. Aside from the fact that he is now huge (the newborn next door is severely dwarfed by Wyatt), so many developmental changes amaze us everyday. From batting at toys to learning to reach out and grab them, from quiet to talkative and making various vowel and consonant sounds, from hating being on his belly to propping himself up to look around and then rolling over to his back. There are so many changes happening as the weeks go by. He's also found his feet and whenever he's on his back, Wyatt usually has one or both feet pulled up and in his hands. This also causes a very strange movement as he tends to roll to one side when both feet are raised. He then loses hold of his feet and ends up slightly turned from his original position. Without realizing it, you can lay him down facing one direction and look down later to see he's turned 180 degrees. And now there's also the hitting of toys and flapping of toys around in the air (sometimes hitting himself in the noggin). As you can see from the pictures in his the previous blog, there is also now a very serious look on his face as he plays with his toys and gnaws on them. It's a hilarious intensity that cracks us up!

As you can see from the photos, Wyatt is also sitting up fairly well. He still can't completely sit on his own, but when we sit with him, he does very well maintaining balance. There are face plants now and then as he reaches for a toy, but he's definitely improving. He hasn't mastered crawling yet either, but he manages to move backwards and turn sideways.

Sitting Up

Baths should following Feedings

Starting at about 4months, we decided to introduce cereals and baby food to young Master Wyatt. I do wish I'd taken a picture of his first cereal experience, but I can't seem to find it. Let's just say he made a serious "Yuck" face. After a lot of patient feedings (mostly by dad), he got the hang of the spoon. Bananas quickly became a favorite, as did peaches and apples and even sweet potatoes and butternut squash. We now slam a lot of cereal and jarred food twice a day and at 6 months, he's moved on the larger jars of food with more variety. Sadly, we will have to get the creepy pureed meats (like chicken) at some point and time, but the cheesy mac with veggies didn't sound too bad (although I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon).

A fun and splashy bath follows dinner. Fortunately, Wyatt is occupied with the fishie book while James and I clean between fingers and toes and all the other crevices that accumulate gunk.

Feeding and Bath

Wyatt Helps Mom and Dad Vote

James and I have always felt voting to be not only a duty, honor and a privilege, but also a responsibility. People who say that voting doesn't matter are apathetic idiots who should be voted off the continent. Now that we are parents, it has also really hit us that Wyatt will grow up with a Black president as a reality. 8 or even 4 years ago, I would not have imagined a Black president so early in my life. I mean, maybe in 10 or 12 years, but I didn't see the country as ready for such acceptance yet. And let's not forget Hillary. She was damn close to being the Democratic nominee and would have also ran hard against McCain. Just like the fact that Wyatt will grow up with crazy technology and always having the Internet at his fingertips (and literally fingertips as touchscreens will soon be the rage and available to all, my first email was DOS based at Michigan Tech). There's my spiel. We took some video from the polling place this morning. I need to work on my documentary abilities, but part of the bad shooting was due to my paranoia that someone would kick us out for taping our votes.

Wyatt as an Elephant

Here is this awesome outfit that Grandma Truax made for Wyatt. Its an elephant and everyone who has seen it loves it.

Pictures

Honk! Parade

Aunt Barb and Melinda (AB's niece) were saying in Boston over the weekend. We wanted to go into the city with Wyatt so went to this parade we found. It was summarized as "Octoberfest" but, in the end, there was no beer. The grand marshals were Click & Clack (the hosts of Car talk). Check out the pictures. Wyatt was dancing (kicking while Mom held) the entire parade.

Honk! Parade

Aunt Barb from California

Here are more pictures. The first link are pictures of Wyatt with Aunt Barb visiting from California. The second are a few pictures of trying to feed Wyatt cereal.

First Day With Aunt Barb

Feeding Wyatt

It's official, teething has started!

During his bedtime routine the other night, James, after what seemed like a long time, was finally able to figure out what was causing the fussiness. It seems that a gum rubbing made it all feel better. So, to the fridge I went for the collection of teething toys we'd put there a while back. Of course, looking back on that day, the way Wyatt gnawed at one toy with a teething end with all his might should really have been a tip off. A bit of baby tylenol and he was till simply unhappy. That is when mom decided to try and rub his gums. Well, Wyatt didn't want anything to do with that and thrashed his head away from me. This caused me to inadvertently scratch his gums with my fingernail. If he was unhappy and uncomfortable before, he was now in pain and pissed. There was that brief silence with his face as scrinched up just before the real screams began. James walked and soothed him a bit while I felt like a horrible mother before handing him back to me to try and rock him again. It seems that the crying helped to really tire Wyatt out as he soon fell asleep. Thankfully, he had a good night's sleep as well. Yesterday, we were more prepared when he had another bout with teething discomfort during the day. A lot of soothing and rocking led to a good nap. Let's just hope that it gets better with each tooth!

Meeting the cousins

When I called my paternal grandmother (Grandma Feighner) to tell her that I was pregnant, I found out that not only was my younger cousin Katie pregnant with her first, but another cousin's wife, Stacy, was also pregnant with her fourth child. As an added bonus, I was due first, with my younger cousin 2wks later and the cousin's wife 2wks after that. It was going to be a summer of babies. Shortly after the New Year, we also found out that yet another cousin's girlfriend was also due, this one at the end of summer. So, four babies in a span of 4 months. Our last trip to Michigan, we were able to meet up with Katie and meet her son Daniel. We've got a few pics in his 6wk album.

In Michigan in 6wks

This most recent trip, we had a very large gathering at Aunt Kathy's and Uncle Dan's with just about everyone. I didn't get a good photo of all four together, but I did get a few really good pics. Sophia, Stacy's little girl, is the only girl of the four. She is also Stacy's first girl, here other three kids are boys. The cousin I'm missing is Kellen. Uncle Dan is my dad's younger brother. He and his wife, Aunt Kathy, hosted the party at their home. They are also Katie's parents. The babies definitely got a kick out of each other.

Feighner Clan

Downstate pt. 1

Once downstate, our few days were full of family get activities. After arriving at my mom's very late, we got around Saturday and went to meet up with the Truax clan at the mall for lunch. As you can see from the pics, Wyatt is the only boy amongst a gaggle of girl cousins. There are 5 in total: Brianna, Shyann, Sierra, Sapphirah and Angel (Joel's stepdaughter). The mall was peaceful and we had a fabulous time catching up with everybody. Wyatt and Sapphirah are close in age (9months apart), so he will have a buddy to play with each time we visit. Well, he'll have a buddy as soon as he is able to sit up, crawl and walk. Until then, he's a cute bump to stare at :-) A very adorable bump!

Truaxes at the mall

After enjoying lunch, the girls went to the park while the rest of us went over to JoAnn Fabrics. Fortunately, Grandma Lynne is a fabulous seamstress and looking forward to making Wyatt's first Halloween costume. Surprisingly, there are very few infant costume patterns, but I think we've found a winner. You'll have to wait for Halloween and the pictures to see for yourselves.

Very behind...

Back from Michigan and very behind on our blog updates. On the first Friday of our trip, we rented a car and made the drive from Houghton to Webberville. It's a trip James and I had done many many times together, sometimes with the dog, but this was the first time we attempted it with an infant. To help ensure Wyatt was asleep for as much of the trek as possible, we left at 4pm. Good idea for Wyatt, tiring idea for James and I. We're not early-20s anymore, so driving until the late late night isn't as easy as it used to be! We did stop once, along the shores of Lake Superior to let Wyatt experience the beautiful view. James even let him feel the refreshing chill of the lake by dipping his feet into the water. I think Wyatt enjoyed himself! Sadly, it was dark and he was asleep when we crossed the Mackinaw Bridge, so Lake Superior shore was all we had. The first few pics of this album are obviously not of Lake Superior. They are of some of our Houghton friends holding Wyatt. We got to know Heather and Liz over the years we were there and were excited to get back up there so they could meet Wyatt.

Lake Superior +

A few scenes from Houghton

The trip to Houghton was a whirlwind of visits. We also got all the latest updates on friends still there and those who have moved on. Sadly, we had another night in which the card out of the camera left us without some great pictures. Friends Molly and Erik had 2 girls when we left and had a little boy shortly after we left. Shortly after arriving in Houghton we found out that they had added to the family... twins!!! They now have 5 kids, 3 girls and 2 boys. The twins are 2 months old and so precious. The house is crazy. Fortunately, Molly and Erik are great peoople and wonderful parents. Their 20 month old was enamored with Wyatt and Wyatt was with him as well. Wyatt being hugged was beyond adorable and we are really sad to not have had the camera for a picture or 2. Still, it was a great visit

Here are a few pictures from our stroll along the Portage to the lift bridge.
By the Portage Lift Bridge


Firday at 4 we loaded up the rental car and started off for the long road tirp downstate to Lansing. To make it easier on Wyatt, we left later so he would be asleep (hopefully) most of the time. He did pretty good, sleeping nicely and only getting fussy around final bedtime. Outside of Marquette but before Munising, we stopped at a roadside park to let Wyatt dip his toes in Lake Superior. Other than the cold, I think he enjoyed the experience :-)
With friends and along Lake Superior

No pictures

A camera without a memory card is a paperweight on a string. And we were sadly reminded of this tonight.

Mom and Dad's ol stompin grounds

Arrived safely in Houghton on Sunday. Both flights went pretty smoothly. Thankfully. Wyatt only fussed a bit on the way to Minneapolis, but that was a result of nap time growing closer. The guy in the window seat in our row was definitely unhappy to see us, hehehe

The small plan from Minn. to Houghton was an experience as usual. The overcast skies meant we'd most likely have a rather bumpy landing. I really hate the feeling of plummeting from the sky when the plane hits an air pocket! And I thought for sure that the pilot has misspoke when he announced the local temp to be 54 degrees. I mean, come one. I know it gets cold in Houghton, I used to live here, but usually not this early in the year. James was dressed in a tee and shorts and I had on a lightweight long sleeve top. One of our first stops was Shopko so I could pick up a sweater to tide me over till the sun came out again. Oh and the heat wasn't turned on in the apartment. lol The company president (Keith) finally had to come over at 8:30 when the handyman (Orlando) still hadn't been heard from. Seems he completely removed the thermostat from the front apartment, which we were staying in, and James didn't have a key to the back apartment. Turns out Keith didn't either, so he hot-wired the boiler to kick on and stay on till James turned it off. When Orlando did call later that night, we found out that the storage room has space heaters. Now we are toasty warm!

Not much on Monday. Wyatt paid a visit to daddy's office to say hello and we went for dinner at the Ambassador for a loverly jubberly tostada pizza. Odd to be back in Houghton after 2yrs away. A lot is the same, but there are new and different things as well. For example, never sure I ever would have imagined Houghton would have a family fun center complete with bowling alley, arcade, mini-golf and gocarts.

Meeting friends Thursday night and also having dinner with James' manager and his wife at some point this week.

Oh, immensely glad I packed Wyatt's jumper. No idea what I would do without that fun toy to keep him busy and tire him out!!

Doing our best to update the blog while away (Loreen), but wireless isn't working in the apartment we're staying in. I'm at the town library now, but had to sit for 20mins when the server went down. *sigh* Hope to add pics, but those might have to wait till we are home.

Me and Tigger

Just a few pics of Wyatt with his buddy Tigger. Wyatt is up on the couch for this shot, sitting propped in the corner on his own. He's doing way better at supporting himself upright, altho we still have a ways to go.

Wyatt and Tigger

4 months (updated)

Wyatt is now 4 months old and it is really hard to believe. You have to get beyond the sad fact that 4 months meant another round of vaccinations (and several cranky days) and see all the fabulous changes we see every day. First off, he weighed in at a whopping 18lbs and measures 25inches--still in a very high percentile for both. No matter how much I insist that we're going to get him into soccer, my neighbor insists that being a linebacker is in his blood and his size (you should see his hands and feet) only reiterates that fact. I'm still hoping for soccer!

Wyatt's tongue is usually out of his mouth, desperately waiting or looking for some object to suck on, well when he isn't gnawing on his hands that is. The early signs of teething are starting to make themselves known.

Turtle-faced smiles and lots of drool fill each day. As do lots of tummy raspberries and leg tickles.

His hand-eye coordination is amazing. When he reached for objects before, he would rarely actually make contact with his hands. Now, however, he looks at an object, reaches for it and makes contact. Again, with the purpose of covering it in drool. His legs are getting stronger and stronger as he bounces in his door jumper or stands upright and spins around in his exersaucer.

He hasn't started playing baseball yet (throwing every item he gets in his hands), but I know those days will come soon.

Just to show how much Wyatt has developed, here's a new video of him in the bouncer.

A variety of 3 month pics.

Here's a variety of pics from Wyatt at 3 months. Note Aunt Cindy's visit and Wyatt napping with Daddy. It's been a quick month and our picture taking has slowed a bit. Don't worry tho, Wyatt will soon be on the move and that will require a lot of documenting. Right now he's loving his exersaucer (daddy and he are playing in it right now). Note how the massive beast with all the toy attachments is 4 times his size. Yet, he sits in the middle and reigns over his toy minions like a fabulously happy little prince.

3 month pictures

Sweet dreams have disappeared.

We were spoiled with Wyatt's earlier sleep habits, 9:30-6 or 7 straight. We're now faced with a baby that can be up till 10:30 or 11 and wakes at least once a night for some food or just because he's unhappy. *sigh* How did this reversal happen? More importantly, how do we halt the change and make it do a 180??

Bouncy time

It's a few weeks too early (technically), but I couldn't resist giving Wyatt a go in his Jumper. His legs are always kicking and going as it is and he loves being upright. As you can see, he's taken to it quickly and loves bouncing and moving around. Steering isn't 100% yet, but I know it will be very soon. Look for a video of Wyatt playing in his monster behemoth of an Exersaucer in the next few days. It is a fabulous toy that really keeps his attention. Now that he can play in these toys, he has started to be content playing on his own for short periods of time. 15 or 20 minutes can go by with him playing before he gets frustrated and needs to be held or move on to something else. We love to cuddle and hold him, but it is also a huge relief to know that he can find happiness on his own.

I was looking at the floor...

Exciting footage of Wyatt playing on the floor. With Aunt Cindy helping with the toys, Wyatt has his first role from tummy to back. Note the confused look in his eyes when his view changes suddenly from the floor to the ceiling!

Wyatt vs the Elephant

Wyatt's favorite toy has become this plush elephant. The tags are easy to grasp and he's doing pretty good at actually bnringing the elephant to his mouth to gnaw on and suck on :-) As he enjoyed wrestling the defenseless animal while sitting in his Bumbo, I had to get pictures of the match. You can see by his face, that Wyatt was intensely into the duel.

Elephant Fight

Family Hats

Thanks to Aunt Ann, Wyatt has a few hats that belonged to Great Great Grandpa Davis. Altho Wyatt will not have the opportunity to meet his Great Great Grandfather, my memories of him last as do times spent as a child at their home on the lake. I'm honored to have these hats and for the day when Wyatt grows into them properly!

Wyatt in Hats

Little Big Changes

It's amazing how many seemingly small developmental changes occur in a baby's life. These developments are easy to miss, but once you notice them, it's really amazing to think about how their brains are developing. For example, Wyatt like to lie on the floor on his mat and play with his dangling toys. In the beginning, his hands were always closed in fists and his basically hit at the toys. Now, we've noticed that his hands are open more and he really reaches for the toys in an attempt to grab them and hold them. His success at this task is made easier by having open hands.

Wyatt is also more cognizant of his own hands. Babies do want to put everything in their mouths and the constant tongues going in and out is a clear indication of this need. Recently, Wyatt has developed the ability to actually bring an object to his mouth with his hands. Birb cloths, bibs, and any other type of fabric he can reach it pinched between his hands and lifted to his mouth for an oral examination. It is amazing how intrigued he is by this ability and how busy he's kept with a piece of fabric!

BBQ in Billerica

Wonderful weather held all day Saturday to provide a wonderful BBQ day. A friend from Houghton Mifflin invited James, Wyatt and I to her and her hubby's new home. Julia and Nick recently buildt a home and it was great to see it and catch-up with some other HM friends. Nick (Julia's husband) has a friend with some serious BBQ and smoking abilites. The smoked ribs and roast were fabulous!! The pictures include Wyatt being held by Daisuke, Amy and Lisa. I didn't et a chance to get a pic with him and Julia, but hopefully we'll have that chance again this summer :-)

BBQ

Captured the Elusive Conversation

After an obscene number of attempts, we finally managed to capture an elusive event: Wyatt talking. He talks and coos with us all the time, but as soon as the video camera rolls, he shuts up and freezes. Moving the camera in from the side, however, enabled the recording of some great video. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do!!!

A Bubble Bath

I'm not sure who enjoys bathtime more, Wyatt or James. Wyatt gets to splash in the bubbles, but James gets to make funny bubble faces on Wyatt.

Bubbles

Clothes whore

After neglecting Wyatt's nursery for a few weeks, the clean clothes started to form random piles in the crib (he still sleeps next to us in the bassinet). So, today I tackled that job. A lot of clothes are now too small and it was very clear that the time had come to move up his 3-6mos clothes from the lower dresser drawer to the top. I had completely forgotten how many clothes were in that drawer. And there are also some clothes in the closet and some recent gifts from people. Some outfits he has worn recently simply had to be retired so new ones could be worked into the rotation. Heaven forbid Wyatt isn't able to wear all of the outfits at least once!!! The amount of summer clothes Wyatt now has for 3-6mos is simply obscene.

Guess I should be happy about the amount of clothes, especially seeing as once he starts to get more mobile he will also start to get both himself and his clothes dirtier.

Its been a while since we uploaded pictures. Here are some pictures of Wyatt at 11 weeks.

Wyatt At 11 Weeks

Dear Mr. Sandman... (and other notes)

On Thursday the 24th, Wyatt will be 11wks old. Looking at him, however, it seems like he's older. Not that the time has passed in a bad way, it just seems like we've been enjoying him for so much longer than 11wks. At his 2month appointment on the 8th, and his first vaccination appointment, he weighed in at 12lbs 11oz and measured 23 inches. That means he's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight and is going to be a big kid!

for the last few weeks, Wyatt has also settled into a nice routine, of sorts. The best part of the routine is his night-time sleeping habits. After going to bed between 9 and 10pm, he'll sleep until at least 4:30am. Most mornings, he'll go until 5:30 or 6:30 and then he'll usually go back to sleep after eating for another hour or so. A good night's sleep is fabulous for mom and dad and really helps us both to keep up with Wyatt throughout the day.

And napping is finally going a bit smoother. The books kept saying that "your baby is ready for a nap after 2 hours," but Wyatt wasn't always tired after 2hrs of being awake. I thought the book was full of crap, but I now too enjoy some level of predictability in Wyatt's schedule. After 1.5 to 2.5hrs, he is ready for a nice nap. This predictability does fall apart a bit in the later afternoon and evening, but hey, I'm not complaining :-) Putting Wyatt down to nap upstairs in the pac n play has also helped the schedule. He just doesn't nap downstairs in the big pac n play anymore. Plus, he's got to be swaddled or he jerks himself awake. Figuring all this out has taken some time, but it is fun to learn as we go!

Wyatt Dancing

I know Wyatt is only 11 weeks old, but he loves to show off his dance moves in JCPenny's.

Warning, this video is shocking ... you have been warned.

All Smiles

Over the past few weeks, Wyatt's smiles have evolved from merely gas related to social smiles in response to us. He is particularly smiley in the morning after being changed. We have tried to the point of exaustion to document these fabulous smiles, but as soon as Wyatt sees the camera or video recorder, he freezes like a Thanksgiving turkey! James did manage to get a few good smile and face pics. Don't worry, we'll keep at it till we are able to share his precious smiles with all of you.

Smiles

Wyatt makes some new friends

After returning from Michigan, the visits did not stop. Here are some pics of Wyatt meeting Ellen and Steve (2 of our friends from Boston).

Ellen and Steve

Amazing Photo

Wyatt is on track to be the most documented baby ever. With the photos, blog, and videos its amazing to see how he changes.

But it is amazing when we can create photos like this:

Pictures From Our Trip to Michigan

Here are 4 groups of pictures from Wyatt's first trip to Michigan.

WyattS5thWeek

5thWeek

WyattAt6Week

WyattInMichigan6wks

A hello from one proud mother!

Hi all,

I have sadly been neglecting this blog for the past 6weeks. With Wyatt taking a morning nap in his swing, I'm taking a few minutes to post. The 6wks have flown by, but somehow he seems older than 6wks. Delivery also seems like it happened a lot more than 6 short wks ago.

Wyatt has grown so much already, finally out of the newborn sizes and able to wear some of the adorable clothes people gave to us as gifts. His face is fuller and rounder now and his limbs are putting on that layer of pudgy baby fat.

His alertness is obvious in pictures from day 1 and that has not changed at all. Aside from staring at faces, he has a penchant for ceiling fans :-) Also from day one, he really cranes his neck to look around and rotate from side to side while on his tummy. We enjoy tummy time and need to spend more time practicing so our neck can develop and become strong. Wyatt's legs are also getting stronger each day. He kicks and kicks and enjoys "standing" on dad's lap.

Ok, back to my little angel!

Videos During the Heat Wave

At the park (3 weeks old)

Out at the park

3 Generation Photo

3rd Week

Picture from Memorial Day Weekend

Here are some pictures from Memorial Day weekend, including pictures of Wyatt's first outing.

Pictures

Pictures from Jackie's First Week

Here are pictures from Grandma Jackie's first week with Wyatt.

Pictures

Just Hanging Out

Here's Wyatt hanging out after waking up and before feeding.

Wyatt Snoring Lastnight

Looks like Wyatt snores just like James. Make sure to turn up your speakers.

Videos on delivery day

More pictures

Since we we're able to upload many pictures while at the hospital, here are some more photos.

Wyatt's First Day

Wyatt's Second Day

Wyatt's Third Day

Here are a few pictures of neighbor girls who came to visit.

 
 
 

Here are some pictures of Wyatt in his first full day.

 
 
 
 

Here is a picture of Sarah at the hospital. Right now we've been there for a couple of hours and Sarah is feeling well.

 
 

Predictions

Here are our predictions for size/weight:

Sarah:
8.5-8.75 lbs
20.5 in

James:
8.3 lbs
19 in

Nursery Video

Here is a video showing the nursery. Its probably the cleanest it will ever be.

This is Sarah at 37 weeks.

Sarah at 31 weeks