Vist to Milton, WI
This Saturday May 24, 2008 we had the chance to head down to visit the Breitbach family in Milton, WI. We had some good sandwiches and headed out to visit Tim’s new work and ended with a fun trip to the park. Here are a few of the pics taken by Tim.
George (14 months) and Peyton Breitbach (2 1/2 yrs)
George and Peyton playing a little 1 on 1
Momma, George, Peyton & Christen Breitbac
Now thats a smile 🙂
The boys
I smell trouble…
Our Big Boy
George turned 1 on March 15th…we celebrated with a small party featuring our own little Curious George. The past month has been a busy one…G has had lots of firsts. He had his first plane ride (he did really well) to Vermont to visit the Grant Family, his first trip to the Emergency Room (while in Vermont to check out for a virus similar to Hand Foot & Mouth Disease), first taste of cake (he loved his chocolate b-day cake; he ate the whole piece), first play outside on his own (so curious!), first pair of real shoes (he wears the huge size of 7 double extra wide), and first taste of real milk (starting to phase off formula, Yippee!).
As parents we are amazed on his physical abilities. He is very strong, he likes to pick up laundry baskets & half full boxes of diapers….crawl on everything and reach high for things we didn’t think he could actually reach. We have also realized how clever he is….the blank stare that he gives us is not to be mistaken for him not thinking because within seconds he will be off to action. He has started to realize that toys and things like the bibs, bottles, books, etc have specific places where they go. Martin was right when he mentioned that G is part retriever, he does this very well & this new skill is wonderful to have around the house.
We thank each of you that has supported us in many ways the past year. No book or personal story could prepare us for what we experienced…and we look forward to all the things to come (hopefully sleeping through the night is one of them that comes more often, though he is improving). Our ‘little’ guy has never been little, last measured he was 32 3/4″ tall, weighed 24 lbs and sitting over the 100% for his age. We enjoy it when he brings us books to read, comes up and gives us hugs or big smiles, and when that curious twinkle in his eye gets to the rest of his body & explores. The months ahead will indeed be exciting!
Thank you for the birthday wishes and gifts. We appreciate your generosity & support.
Mmmm…cake!
Mom & me on my B-day!
You want me to do what with the candle?
It’s PaRtY TiMe!
I now declare today, George’s B-Day… ok bring on the gifts.
Why always the paper? Can’t I just get the gift?
…and I got a scooter and wagon… I’m soooo excited!!!
I don’t know what it does, but I LOVE IT and it’s MINE!
It’s like a George size TV for my play fort… or long car/plane rides!
King George in his chariot… Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for coming!
My First Haircut!
The matter of should we cut George’s hair or not before his birthday was answered not by either of us, but by a breakfast at a restaurant. This topic had been an ongoing “should we or shouldn’t we” do it for about two months before this.
So as the story goes, Sara and I went out to eat at Perkins for breakfast one Saturday. While we were waiting for our food to come a nice couple next to use kept making faces at George and saying “Hi,” “Your such a cutie” and then finally Sara gave the customary “George can you turn around and let those nice people eat their food.”
Well they must not have heard us call him George or noticed he was wearing a rather blue, little boy outfit. Because the next thing that came out of his mouth was “they grow up fast and next thing you know she’ll be serving you breakfast.”
At this point Sara shook her head and said “I know, I know. We’ll make an appointment on Monday.”
As we watched we noticed that their waitress was in fact a young girl about high school age who didn’t even have to ask them what they wanted because she knew already knew what they were going to order. It was very warming to see the young girl interact with her parents at a place where she works, and your could just see the pride oozing from the couple as she served them.
The before picture.
During.
After.
Overall, he did very well and did not even cry. He only fidgeted a few times, but it was a pleasant experience.
Coming Soon!
This week George will turn 1 year old 🙂
As a special treat we will be posting a montage of items from his first year… Stay tuned for more fun.
“They grow up fast”
Time and time again I continue to hear the saying “they grow up fast.” It wasn’t until we had George that we began to see this happening to us. There are times now that we look a newborn and think that it was only 10 months ago that George did nothing but sleep, cry and eat.
Now he’s such a dynamic character… When asked to get his Nuk he knows what it is and can go to a pile of objects and pull it out. He let’s us know when he’s hungry by pouting and making a “mmmmm,” “mmmmm” sound while looking at us with those sad eyes.
But the biggest changes are the fact that he can now toddle around like he’s been doing it his whole life. He still stumble and falls, but now has the balance to carry objects around with him. The cutest thing is when he finds a book that he wants to hear and brings it over to us and then hold his hands out to be picked up.
It’s now that we begin to understand just how fast kids do grow up. Month to month we see leaps and bounds of changes and enjoy the new challenges that we are presented with.
Updates:
– George now can sit-up and eat dinner with us. Usually the same thing, but his staples are peas, bread, cheese, grapes, and apples. He can now eat “big people” food.
– He has no problems walking and at times seems capable of running down the hall
– He is now beginning to babble more and seems to be finding his words
Here are some recent pics:
George trying to help clean-up the apartment!
Come here often?
Mom and George (at Garfield Park Conservatory)
Dad and George 🙂
Smile…
I think I lost my pants…
Till we meet again!
Happy New Year!
George had a wonderful 1st Christmas. Thank you to all the friends & family that made it so memorable. Our family started our Christmas adventure with the Kratzke Christmas at the La Quinta Hotel in Appleton. George did great in a room filled to the brim with family…and also had his first swim in a big pool. He did well but was a bit cold, so it was a short swim with mom & dad. It is always nice to spend time with extended family and catch up on what keeps their days filled.
We headed (slowly through the snow) to Chicago on Sunday. We had Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa Suwalski, Aunt Laura & Uncle John. It was nice to spend the day with them and George had some good time to play with his family. He giggled like crazy with the pugs, loved to pull ornaments off the bottom of the tree and had a George size Santa to stand by. George showed off his walking skills and showed them how good he was at eating! We spent Sunday at Tim & Linda’s home then headed to the Suwalski Christmas at Antoinette & Jeff’s home on Christmas Eve. Again, it was nice to see so many extended family members. Everyone is always surprised how big George really is….we are happy to report that he didn’t take any tumbles down the stairs and loved to play in their playroom. Thank for sharing your toys!
On Christmas morning we packed up and headed north to New Holstein. George woke up early so we went with his schedule and arrived a bit sooner than expected. We were greeted warmly and settled in for Christmas with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Martin, Aunt Kari, Aidan, Aunt Heidi, James, Uncle Eric, and Patti. George was exploring the house and was introduced to Ike…the George sized-elf. He wasn’t scared – mostly intrigued by the lights around his neck. This says a lot about George – he is always interested in what things are & what they feel like….and sometimes taste like. While at Grandma & Grandpa’s home he helped by pulling paper out of the recycling and putting his face on the patio door looking at Grandpa shovel the deck.
Thursday we all met up in Appleton at the Building for Kids. It is a building full of kids activities and rooms (grocery store, doll nursery/hospital, gas station, airplane, fire truck, construction site). Both Aidan & George had a good time, but I think the adults (especially Grandpa Kleinhans) had the most fun. It is neat that kids allow you to have complete awe and joy about learning….too bad it takes having kids to do that again. George climbed around & played on a ton of things….and enjoyed looking at papa & others from the tree house. If that wasn’t enough stimulation, we went to Chuck E. Cheese afterward! He took a bit of a nap but then woke up to play in the tunnels and ride a couple of rides. It was a day full of memories.
As parents we are glad he is so comfortable with people. He typically needs a few minutes to warm up, but then is happy to giggle with adults who are willing to entertain & play with him. He has a great laugh – sometimes it is so deep that it is a true belly laugh – it cracks us up. Christmas was wonderful. Thank you to everyone for the love & attention you give to George as well as the generous gifts…he has started to play with some of them already.
Since then, George & Mom have gotten sick….but are on the road to recovery. It is tough when he doesn’t sleep more than 20 minutes at time! Instead of going out on New Year’s Eve, we stayed home….played a bit, watched a little Planet Earth (thanks John), and enjoyed some family time. 2007 has been good to us, we have been blessed with George and the continued love & support of our family & friends. Watch out 2008 (and mom/dad), George is mobile & ready for you!
Some random holiday pics:
Holidays traveling is rough, I need a drink!
Maybe when I get older we can date?
So this is what I’m not supposed to touch
Last night was rough, I think I need some coffee…
Yeah, more things to bang. When I grow up I want the rest of these drums!
Ok. Who let the mouse in the car?
Call me an ELF one more time…
Yeah, this is mommy.
AND… I’m out. Wake me when we get home.
A little seasons greetings…
Here is George and his first Santa photo from UWGB’s ’tis the season…
…call me an elf one more time…
More pics to come in the next few weeks…