Gage's First Flight

A couple of months ago Craig came home and out of the blue asked, "How would you like to go visit Johanna for a week?" I was shocked and thrilled! Johanna is my dear friend from college who lives in Puyallup, WA. I usually only see her once a year when she comes back to visit family in Pella. It has been years since I have actually spent more than an afternoon with her! Craig said he had some business meeting opportunities in Seattle so we could make it a business trip/vacation.

I was a little nervous about flying with a 4 1/2 month old, since I had never done it before. How would we get his car seat and stroller there, along with everything else we needed for him? Would he do okay in our arms during the 2+ hour flights? What will happen to our "daily routine" and how will that affect him? Well it turned out that I worried for nothing. We gate-checked his carrier/stroller, Johanna borrowed a bunch of baby things from a friend so we could pack light, he slept a lot on the flights and was generally a happy camper, and we were able to stick to a somewhat consistent schedule!

Waiting to board the plane in Des Moines.

Our first flight from Des Moines to Denver was great! Right away Gage caught the eye of the flight attendant in our section. She immediately gave us wings for him and arranged for him to check out the cockpit once we landed...as much as a baby can! Daddy was the most excited about it! Gage ended up falling asleep so didn't get to see much of it. Craig and I thought it was pretty cool! The pilot was a very nice middle-aged woman who gushed over Gage and his cute airplane outfit. She even took a picture of him with her phone! Our trip was off to a great start...

We're Back!

Our blog has been on hiatus for the past few weeks due to our big Seattle vacation! We had such a good time, and Gage was a wonderful little traveler! We got back late last night and we're catching up on laundry and errands today, but as soon as I get a chance I will write about our vacation and post some pics. We've got some good ones! :)

Gage's Bouncy Seat Game

I know I have posted many photos of Gage in his bouncy seat! (I am so grateful that it is still a great place for him to be!) I couldn't resist this...

For over a month now we have put the toy bar on while he is in it. He has liked batting at the hanging toys and the music when we pull the frog. At first we had to help him pull the toys off and play the music, but now it is a fun game for him to reach, grab, and pull himself. Just as soon as I hang them up he pulls them down again with no effort at all. We clap and praise him and then he smiles as if he just did something great. It is so entertaining!

A Happy Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day! It was so special for me to be honored today...not only because it is an extra day of pampering :), but because of what it means. I am a mother. I am a mother! The title I think I was born to have. I started babysitting at age 10 and became the neighborhood babysitter by age 13. I always took my babysitting jobs very seriously and dearly loved most of the kids in my care... I talked a lot about being a mom and couldn't wait to have that title.

My sweet hubby made my day extra special. He brought my sweet babe to me in the early morning hours and Gage and I snuggled until 8 am (That's sleeping in big time these days!). While I was getting ready Craig dressed Gage in the cutest little outfit ever. I was so impressed, he put it together all on his own!

Then we went to Olde Main for brunch. Craig doesn't even know this, but while he was in the buffet line I sat in that booth with tears in my eyes as I reflected on how blessed I am. When we were finished the waiter thanked us and turned to me and said, "Happy Mother's Day!" I can't explain how that made me feel. I was acknowledged as a mother! What a glorious thing! The rest of the day was sweet time spent together, just me and my boys.

Tulip Time!

It has been a very long time since I have been to Pella's Tulip Time! When I was a college student at Central, I went every year and have fond memories of the Dutch Dancers, yummy poffertjes (mini pancakes w/powdered sugar), walking through the crafts with my mom, and of course the beautiful varieties of tulips!

This year we missed the Dutch Dancers, it was too crowded to push the stroller through the crafts and we were too tired to spend much time looking at the tulips! But I did get my poffertjes. :) We still had fun with my mom, Holly, Craig, and Will! We ate, watched the parade with friends Greg, Emily and Landon, walked through Central's quiet campus (nice to find a refuge), and ate some more! Mom, Holly and I ate at George's Pizza, our favorite restaurant in Pella, while the Craigs took the boys to Dr. Salami's, only to find that it had closed, so they hiked to Pizza Ranch (suprisingly Craig H is not a fan of George's Pizza - crazy!). It was a treat to be "kid-free" and us girls had a great time catching up!

We found a place to park at Central and were walking through "Grand Central Station" when we heard a "Craig!" We looked over and saw our dear friend Mike Lubberden. What a God-ordained coincidence for us to be at the same place at the same time that busy Saturday!

Holly, Will, Craig on Central's campus - such an adorable family!

Mother and Daughters

All The Way Over!

Gage has amazed me once again! The sequence of events this morning as follows:

Fed him his bottle as usual. Burped him then laid him on his back on the floor. Took his bottle into the kitchen. Came back. This is what I found:

In the 2 seconds I was out of the room he had rolled completely over and was trying to get back again! I am not surprised because he has been rolling to his side pretty regularly now. I just can't believe the complete roll happened in that short amount of time and I missed it!! If you remember, he did this when I was out of the room too...

Now he was stuck a little and didn't quite know what to do. I wanted to help him so bad! But I am trying to let him learn things on his own, so after laughing, praising, and encouraging him to get back over, I gave him the slightest little nudge and finally:

Ahh! Such joy, and relief!

4 Months Old, A Letter From Mommy

5/4/09

Dear sweet baby Gage,

Today you are 4 months old! At 4 months you are our Squealer, our Sunshine, our Joy. I wonder if you know how much I love you. There is not one more ounce of love that could fill this heart of mine, not just because you are so cute, so sweet and so lovable, but because you are my boy, God's precious gift to me, and I am so privileged to be your mom.

You are constantly growing and changing! You are now wearing 6 month clothes! Just two weeks ago your 6 month outfits were too big! You recently went from eating 4 to 6 ounces, so I wonder if that has something to do with it... You saw Dr. Swanson today for your 4 month check up and he gave you an excellent report! You weighed 15lbs, 10oz and measured 26in long. You are in the 70th percentile for height and weight. Daddy and I thought it would be higher than that because you are so long!

In the past month you have found your tongue! You love to blow bubbles and make all sorts of other sounds with it. It is so fun to see that little tongue pop out and hear your sweet little voice that follows.

You have gotten very good at holding things this past month! You reach for your hanging toys and hold on to rattles and other toys, as well as Mommy's hair and clothes! You don't like teethers much yet, for some reason they frustrate you. I think you just can't quite fit them into your mouth, but you love to chew on your burp cloths and some small stuffed animals!

You have just started to roll to one side! Daddy and I witnessed your first time doing that together. I was so glad for that! You kick your feet up while you're holding onto your bear usually, and over you go, then back again! You can also go from your tummy to your side. I think you would rather be on your side than your tummy so you have gotten good at that.

Some of your favorites are... Mr. Bear (stuffed animal), "Peek-a-Boo I Love You" book, "SteveSongs" cd, Daddy's tickles and games, Mommy's kisses, and smiling big at us! Oh how we love those smiles!

Some other tidbits... We started putting you in your Exersaucer this past month. At first you loved it, but lately you are in it a short time and then start letting out your "frustrated squeals". We're hoping that over time you will like it again. You are still not a fan of taking a bath, but you are crying less and less each time! You are sleeping in your crib now. Some nights you sleep for eight hours or more, which makes your mama very happy! But you are still a short-napper - usually 40 minutes on the dot. You are so happy when you wake up in the morning. Daddy and I love to hear you talking and squealing with delight, then smile big at us when we come in to get you.

Oh my sweet baby boy, your mama loves you so. And I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much God loves you too. Thank you, Lord, for my precious boy.

Love,
Mommy

Our Little Squealer

Our little cutie pie has turned into, our Little Squealer. And more accurately as of late, our Little "Screamer"! He is waking up in the morning half squealing, half screaming but in a very happy way. It is too cute. I love it when he wakes up happy!

Today he even woke from his morning nap that way. It's nice that even though his room is downstairs, I can clearly hear his little voice when he awakes, even without a monitor (although rarely is the monitor not right next to me if he is sleeping! :). Sometimes the squealing is from frustration. Whether he is frustrated that his animals aren't talking back, or he doesn't like what they have to say, or he needs a change of scenery, we just don't know. But at least we have gotten pretty good at telling the difference.

And now as I am writing this he is happily squealing at his hanging toys. When it is a happy squeal, what a delightful sound! :)

Can't you just hear him?!