8 Weeks Old -- Bigger All The Time

Today Ledger is 8 weeks old. I can't believe it! He is so big already. The past few days he seems to be in a bit of a growth spurt and is eating every 1.5 or 2 hours... which makes for a long day. Hopefully that will stop soon so that we can get back to just enjoying him when he's awake. Next week he has his 2 month checkup at the doctor's office. I can't wait to see how much he weighs now.

He doesn't know it, but he has a big weekend coming up. His first 4th of July. Ledger didn't like the fireworks at the Royals game, so we'll have to wait and see how he responds to the big display this weekend. We will be celebrating Independence Day out at the lake with my family. I am looking forward to trying to wakeboard again! Emily and Josh will be here this weekend too. And we are all looking forward to seeing the Guy family next week. I am especially excited to introduce Ledger to his cousins! :)

Big Weekend

This was a big weekend for us. Not only was it my first weekend back at work, but we had a full schedule of events as well!

On Friday, Ann & Lee Buchanan visited us from Manhattan and they brought their 1-year-old son, Brody, with them. Ann and I were inseparable during veterinary school, but now we have families and live in different cities. We still talk on the phone very frequently... but I miss seeing her regularly -- especially now that I need her advice on raising a boy! This was a very special visit. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take a picture of Ledger and Brody together. Darn this Mommy brain!

On Saturday evening, we went to Maegan Sherwood's wedding. She is a 3rd grade teacher at Heusner and we have really enjoyed getting to know her over the last few years. Her wedding was beautiful and the church was packed with people! At the reception, we sat with some of Chris' co-teachers from Heusner -- Travis & Heather Sharpe, Brian & Beth Kinion, and Damon Boyer. It's always a good time when we get together with them!

On Sunday, we made plans to have a group of friends join us at the lake to celebrate Chris' birthday. The weather was perfect -- 90 degrees and clear! Chris was really looking forward to getting his friends out on the wakeboard. Even I was looking forward to making my wakeboard comeback since I got cleared by the doctor to resume normal activity. Unfortunately, after we crossed the lake, the boat wouldn't start! We made lemonade out of lemons and pulled the boat ashore while the boys threw around the football and goofed around with the camera. It took a few hours to tinker with the boat to get things running smoothly again... but everyone DID eventually get out on the boat. Chris and Damon both got right up on the board. I got up on my first try too, but didn't last long! Overall, everyone ended up with a good sunburn and (I think) smiles on their faces.

Click here to see more pictures from our weekend at the lake!

For Those About to Walk...

This is what happens when I leave Chris home alone with the baby! :)

Babysitter BoomMa

This was a busy week! Chris had meetings scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday mornings and our usual babysitters were unavailable. So BoomMa drove up to Salina from Oklahoma to stay with us this week and take care of Ledger and give Chris and I some "grown up" time. She really was a life saver and Ledger loved having her here. So thank you BoomMa! We miss you already!

We have a big weekend coming up -- friends in town on Friday, a wedding on Saturday, and Daddy's birthday party at the lake on Sunday. Phew! We'll make sure we post updates throughout the weekend. :)

Seven weeks old and we're all smiles!

Ledger is 7-weeks-old today and everyone agrees that he is finally smiling in response to people! His previous "incidental" smiles were usually gas or diaper related! Yesterday, Ledger smiled at BoomMa, Oma, Daddy, and even smiled at Mommy! :) This is a very exciting milestone and I'm looking forward to watching him develop even more. We will try to get a picture of him smiling tonight and post it!

The Best Daddy EVER!!!

Today is Father's Day. For us, it is particularly special because it is Chris' FIRST father's day. I know that if Ledger could talk, he would be able to tell you how wonderful his Daddy is. Since, he can't talk (yet), I have to take a moment to brag on my husband.

He has truly been a wonderful Dad! The first moments of Ledger's life, he was taken into the NICU -- his daddy stayed with him the whole time. During our first 8 days in the hospital, he stayed as close to Ledger as possible -- not to mention he supported me through that difficult time. He has changed more than his share of diapers -- this weekend he even admitted that he kinda likes "diaper time" because he gets to spend some quiet time with his son! Since I went back to work, he has been a "stay-at-home" daddy and done an absolutely wonderful job... even when Ledger is going through a growth spurt and is especially fussy.

I love you Chris. You have been an amazing husband, and an even more amazing Daddy!

Road Trip!!

The Michel family spent this weekend in Kansas City, visiting aunt Emily and BoomMa and BoomPa Powell. This was really our first time spending an extended amount of time away from home and the first time we've ever had Ledger in the car for so long. Mommy was a little anxious, but we all did great!

Ledger slept great on the road to KC with a little break in Topeka for feeding. We met the family at the Perkins' house and then went to the KC Royals game. The Royals lost... of course. See our last post for a photo slideshow of the game. Ledger was hot and exhausted by the time we got home. It was a long day for our little man.

On Saturday, we got up early and went to a few garage sales. We found a couple of great deals and really enjoyed ourselves! We had lunch at Panera and even managed to sneak in an afternoon nap. BoomMa and BoomPa took turns babysitting Ledger. This was their first visit together since Ledger was first born and they were amazed with how big Ledger has gotten! Saturday night we had a big dinner out at the Texas Roadhouse, where everyone had steaks to celebrate Father's Day weekend. :)

Sunday was Chris' first Father's Day. Emily made pancakes (Chris' favorite) for breakfast and we had Mi Ranchito (also Chris' favorite) for lunch! We also had a chance to do a little shopping... which always makes Daddy happy! Overall, I think Chris had a great first father's day and Ledger was great too. We took lots of great pictures of the weekend. You can find all of our pictures here.

Ledger's First KC Royals Game

Today Ledger went to his first major league baseball game... Kansas City Royals vs St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Royals got creamed 5-10. The fireworks display at the end of the game was the baseball highlight. However, we got to enjoy the new Kauffman Stadium and the very family friendly atmosphere. Aunt Emily bought Ledger his KC Royals outfit and took us to get his "First Game" certificate. BoomPa and BoomMa Powell came from Oklahoma to enjoy the game and hang out with Ledger. Despite the continual threat of rain, the weather stayed hot and muggy. By the end of the evening, Ledger was hot, exhausted, and very fussy.

6 Weeks Old

Yup... our baby boy is 6-weeks old today. It's hard to believe that one year ago, we weren't even pregnant and now we have our wonderful little son here. It's truly amazing to think of how time flies!

Ledger continues to feed well and gain weight. He has officially grown out of his "newborn" sized clothes and is fitting well into the 0-3 month size. I guess we'll just have to pack up the newborn stuff and wait for aunt Emily to have a baby so we can give her plenty of hand-me-downs! ;)

Mommy is back to work full-time this week. It is a daily challenge to leave Ledger at home; but there is no one I'd rather leave him with than his Daddy. They are getting along famously... most of the time. We are still working out the kinks in Ledger's feeding schedule. I'm sure we'll be working on that for a while.

This weekend should be another busy one. We'll be sure to post lots of pictures of our adventures!

Is it Football Season Yet?

As you can see, the entire Michel family, including Ledger, is ready for the fall football season to start! :)

Daddy loves to outfit Ledger in Kansas City Chiefs gear and Mommy puts him in purple every chance she gets.

Smoky Hill River Festival

This weekend, the Michel clan spent their time at the Smoky Hill River Festival. For us, this means family, music, arts.... and FOOD! :)

We kicked off the festival on Friday afternoon. Emily & Josh came for the festival and, of course, Emily scooped up her littlest nephew and carried him everywhere. He slept through most of the afternoon -- as you can see in this photo of him completely passed out. We listened to music and walked through the crafts display. Unfortunately, it was pretty warm and Ledger started to get fussy and hot -- so we only stayed out at the park for a few hours.

Saturday morning, most of our family participated in the Festival Fitness Five -- the street race of the River Fest. Chris, Ledger, and I walked in the 2-mile race. Oma and Papa Hensley, aunt Emily, Lynnda & Warren, and Tracy all walked the 2 mile race. Tracy placed 2nd and raced through the course with a time of 22 minutes!! The Michel clan walked at a slightly more relaxed pace. Uncle Josh, Olivia, and Ethan ran the 2-mile race. Ethan and Olivia both got 6th place in their age division! They also had little kids races where Faith, Grady, Isaac, and Ethan all ran and did great! I was very proud of our family.

We spent most of Saturday at the Festival. The weather was absolutely perfect -- 73 degrees, breezy but sunny... perfect! :) It was the perfect day to have Ledger out at the park. Lots of family, fun, and fried food! We all had a really great time!

We Love Blogging

Yup, we love blogging! We love sharing our day-to-day escapades... even if no one is reading. This also replaces our baby book -- making notes of all of the important little changes that we are all going through as a new family.

One more thing we love about blogging -- reading the Perkins' and Guy's blogs every day. They are the first sites that I check every time I pick up my laptop.

Yoda Ledger

This was just too funny! Ledger fell asleep with his hand on his temple... like he was sensing the force "Star Wars" style. Chris and I took turns doing different voices... but this Yoda voice was pretty funny. I thought we'd share.

Also, I have caught a little flack from some folks for never posting pictures with Ledger's eyes open. He actually does spend a fair bit of time awake now, so I'm including a picture of his eyes wide open!

This weekend is the Smoky Hill River Festival here in Salina. It will be Ledger's first river fest, and we are really looking forward to it. Fortunately, it's supposed to be overcast and a little rainy this weekend, so we won't have to worry about having him out in the heat! Ledger will also be participating in the 2-mile walk with Mommy and Daddy on Saturday morning. We will post lots of pictures from this weekend as well. :-)

Cyber Move

If you're reading this post, then you've found our new location -- the Michel Spot! :) Since we are using this site to keep our friends and family posted on all things Michel (not just the new baby) we have chosen a more central address. This will be our last move -- bookmark us now! PRESS CONTROL + D

Hope you enjoy our new digs. Our last blog was a little bland, so we decided to "fancy it up" this time around!! :)

Tiny Dancer

Yup, our Ledger is quite the little dancer. He loves to move his arms and legs all around. He may not be able to control his movements very well at this stage, but he sure can MOVE! :)

Mommy and Daddy are still working out Ledger's feeding schedule while Mommy is working. This morning went pretty well, but this afternoon was really rough on Daddy. Tomorrow we are going to try out a new strategy -- we'll keep you informed! :)

Back to Work

Well, Mommy went back to work today. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I had to go back eventually. As you can see from the picture on the left, my family is pretty adorable -- which makes it even harder to leave! :)

Everything went fine today. Daddy did great with Ledger this morning (of course), but Mommy got stuck a little late at work resulting in a minor meltdown until I could get home to feed the little man. Hopefully, our timing will be better tomorrow.

We are really looking forward to the River Festival this weekend. It will definitely be different taking Ledger out to enjoy the park -- we hope it's not too hot this weekend!

A long weekend for everyone

Mommy and Daddy had their first post-baby date. Oma volunteered to babysit on Friday afternoon so that we could go see Angels & Demons in the theater. Chris actually read the novel "Angels & Demons" before we had Ledger -- so we'd been wanting to see this movie for more than a month! We enjoyed the movie, but it was definitely a departure from the book!

We spent the majority of the weekend in Marquette, KS with Chris' family. His grandparents recently moved into a nursing home and his family has been preparing to sell their house. It's been an emotional time, since that was their family home for more than 50 years. His family decided to spend this week cleaning out the house, culminating in a huge garage sale on Saturday. Unfortunately, Ledger has been on a 2-hour feeding schedule, making it really difficult for either Mommy or Daddy to be of much help! The garage sale was a big success, but it took a physical and emotional toll on everyone. Even Ledger was worn out from being shuttled around in the car all weekend! (Here is a picture of our sleepy baby in his little night-time jump suit)

I will be starting back to work this coming week, so please keep us in your thoughts. Chris and I are both a little nervous about figuring out the best way to navigate around Ledger's erratic feeding schedule. Hopefully all will go well. :)

Cousin Connor

Ledger met some more members of his family today -- his cousins Kim, Curtis, and Connor Pogue from Colorado. Connor is 4-years-old and has been very excited to meet his cousin "baby Ledger". He also loves to play with Jayce and Barkley -- and they love to play with him too.

In other news, Mommy will be heading back to work part time next week. She is not looking forward to leaving little Ledger at home... but at least daddy will be home with him!

We also recieved our online proofing album from Stephanie Meier. She got some really great photos, which is especially difficult when taking pics of infants! We are really thrilled with the images she got and can't wait to order some prints. :) Unfortunately, I can't share them online... but if you want to check out the gallery online, feel free to email me for more information.

My 1st Bottle

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about introducing a bottle to a baby. It appears that the optimal time is between 3-6 weeks old and that some babies suffer from "nipple confusion" and are reluctant to return to the breast after the ease of feeding from the bottle. Apparently, some babies are reluctant to take the bottle at all once they're used to breast milk. I have been very nervous about introducing the bottle -- even when we're still feeding breast milk. I've been worried that Ledger wouldn't want to breast feed after getting a bottle, or that he wouldn't take a bottle at all -- it's very nerve wracking!

So today we gave Ledger his first bottle. Daddy was able to feed him. He sucked the bottle right down with no problems and was still hungry, so we put him on the breast and he breast fed for the rest of his meal! He did both feeding types and, of course, he did great! :) So he'll get 1 bottle per day until I go back to work and we'll breast feed for all of his other feedings... hopefully. So far, so good.

Yes, I am the cutest baby on the planet

Ledger is 4 weeks old today. He has grown and changed so much already... we can't wait to see what the next 4 weeks brings. :)