My How Summer Flies By!

I can hardly believe it is August already! Summer is just flying by! We have been having lots of fun, and since work has been a little slower, Jordan has been able to take time off for us to have some fun days. Recently we have been to the Postal museum, which was really interesting, we participated in a tour with a really great docent.

Last weekend we went to Jordan's college roommate, Dan's wedding. It was great to celebrate with him and his bride, Kay, who we met for the first time.


The wedding day was the longest we had been away from Andrew. My mom graciously watched him all day long and the biggest delight was that Andrew took three feedings from a cup (he boycotted the bottle months ago)! What an answer to prayer! Not only that the wedding day went smoothly, but it also means that we can leave him with my mom when we go to Florida next weekend to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary a bit belatedly. It wouldn't have been quite the same if Andrew needed to come along. Today, Jordan joined us for our weekly trip to the farm. We picked peaches, blackberries and green beans, and had a lot of fun with his sister Sarah, and her kiddos. Joining the farm was a great decision, it really has caused us to eat at ton more produce and eat at home--good for the wallet and the waist-line.

Fourth Full of Family

We had a great 4th of July weekend. All of Jordan's family came to visit and we had a wonderful time. Jordan's aunt Olivia met Andrew for the first time and several other family members saw him for the first time in months. We spent the 4th out at Jordan's uncle Jay's house, we had a cookout and despite the on-again off-again rain we all got in the pool. The evening culminated with a midwestern style family ignited fireworks display. Saturday evening we regrouped and had dinner at Red Rock Canyon Grill (a family favorite) and today we celebrated our niece's baptism. It was a busy a weekend, but fun was had by all.

Our Trip to the Zoo

Friday, Jordan was able to take the day off of work and we decided to take Andrew to the zoo for the first time. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time. Although Andrew will not remember this trip, he did enjoy watching the animals and all the people even more. We concluded the day with dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We enjoyed crab (and perhaps a pomegranate margarita even more) and Andrew enjoyed his current favorite food, mango mixed in yogurt.

Our trip to the museum

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Friday, we took Andrew and his cousin Mark to the air and space museum. Mark had a great time looking at all the airplanes. As soon as we walked in all he could do was start pointing and saying "airplane...airplane." His favorite part was going up into the observation tower to watch planes take off and land. Andrew was content to ride around in the stroller. He really enjoys being turned around so that he can see everything, instead of just the person pushing the stroller.

A Whirlwind Holiday

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Whew…we have finally returned from our northeastern tour! Jordan and I loaded up Andrew and the dogs and headed off to PA (video) to spend Christmas with my family and some old friends. We went caroling, out to dinner with friends and spent lots of time with family. On the 26th we trekked across PA to New York to celebrate “Christmas part deux” with Jordan’s family. Although our stay was short, it was sweet and so wonderful to have everyone together. I really enjoyed watching our two-year old nephew Mark begin to understand Christmas and take pleasure in his gifts and family traditions. Much to Mark’s delight, the Thomas boys revived the train board (an old Christmas tradition) after a more than ten year hiatus. Mark loved watching the trains, but I think Jordan and his brother enjoyed the revival even more. Jordan will be devastated if Andrew doesn’t develop the same passion for trains. Then, as if we hadn’t done enough driving, we went back to PA for New Years, Andrew’s first photo shoot (thanks Andrew we have so many great pictures of our little boy), and the Missouri bowl game—Go Tigers! Finally, on the 2nd we came home. Andrew was such a trooper during all of the many car rides; it won’t be so easy next year, since Andrew will be much more active. Flickr is loaded with pictures and Google has some videos from our adventures, we couldn’t resist recording nearly every moment of Andrew’s first road trip and Christmas.

Tis the season

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

I love the Christmas season! Every year I enjoy decorating the house and going to find the perfect tree. This year is even more special. Saturday the three of us headed out to Gaver Tree Farm to pick out this year's tree. We had a really nice time, and thankfully the weather was beautiful. Jordan cut down and hauled off our Canaan Fir, which now graces our front window. Now I need to find the time to shop for presents. Check out the pictures of our adventure on Flickr.

Monday was Jordan's birthday and marked a month since Andrew's birth. We celebrated with a dinner filled with Jordan's favorites. Andrew is doing well and seems to have night and day figured out. He is becoming quite a good night-time sleeper, lately he has been sleeping for 5-6 hours in a row! He is alert much more during the day and is working on gaining control of that head of his, I think he'll have it soon.

Submarines, Baths and Starbucks...

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Originally uploaded by jthomas2798

Life is well in the Thomas home. Andrew has been sleeping very well, so well in fact that he requires quiet a production to wake up for feedings. We have to strip him down to his diaper and then rub a cold damp washcloth on his skin (would the UN agree to these conditions?). Once he is awake he does like to eat though, feedings are going pretty well. Justi is doing a great job, but the boy sometimes likes to play what we are calling “Reindeer Games” where he bounces his head around while trying to feed, or he latches on and then just looks at Justi and won’t suck. Once the games are over he eats his fill and it’s off to bed. His visit with the doctor yesterday went well, she said he looks good is very alert when awake, and already has some head control (a major feat bowling ball for a head). Her only concern was making sure he had plenty to eat, which we are working on. He weighted in at 8lbs, 8oz at the visit so he lost a few ounces since birth, which is normal. We are going back in tomorrow (Friday) for another weight check to make sure he is starting to put it back on. We also took the boy out for another outing yesterday to Buy Buy Baby (unbelievably we need more stuff) and a treat. As Thomas’s after a doctors appointment it is essential to have a milkshake or in our case Ice Cream and Starbucks. Since the boy is only allowed to have breast milk Debbie, Justi and I decided we would take care of the treat. Today I finally got the mobile of Sailboats and Submarines that Justi and I made hung in the nursery. It’s a little on the big side, but I like it. We gave the little boy his first bath this evening and all went well, we found his hair gets curly when it is wet (the videos reveal Justi and I have few words to say about the whole event as we keep repeating the same thing) . A bunch of pictures from all the events of the last couple of days are posted on Flickr and if Google cooperates we’ll have some videos up as well. You can see all the videos we post by searching Google Video for jordman.com , the pane to the left also has links to them. Also wanted to thank the Kat and Hector for a delicious Chicken & Cheese casserole last night. Justi’s Mom has also been a great help and we are so thankful for her being here this first week. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, God has been and continues to be very kind to us.