Bruce's first sick visit

No you're not crazy, I'm back posting, just got behind :)

Bruce had his first sick visit to the pediatrician today (8/27). He woke up Wednesday night around 11:30 PM. He had thrown up in his crib while sleeping and was shivering. It was so sad. We took his temperature and it was 101 degrees (which we later found out is considered just a low-grade temperature). As first-timers, we weren't quite sure what to do (Aunt Rhonda almost got a late night phone call). Luckily our pediatrician offers a 24-hour on-call Nurse who we spoke to and she told us to continue to watch him through the next day. He fell back asleep and the next day he was eating less and had digestive problems. Knowing that we had our big trip to Nebraska coming up that weekend, we took a trip to the pediatrician to make sure everything was okay. The doctor thought he might have rotavirus as she had seen a few cases that day. Not sure he really had that, but she said just to watch how he does over the next couple days and if his fever came back to give a call. He worked whatever it was out of his system and had no problems travelling or while in Nebraska. So we may have jumped the gun a bit, but wanted to check it out before leaving town. So we survived Bruce's first little fever/illness. We are blessed that he has been such a healthy little boy.

Will work on posting fun pics from our trip over the next couple weeks!

More August photos

Some fun photos to share from the rest of August. We celebrated Uncle's Rich's birthday and had a couple relaxing weekends at home. Next week we'll be taking Bruce's first trip out to Nebraska to meet and spend time with his Heier aunts, uncles, cousins and of course Grandma and Grandpa Heier and Pop Pop too!

Bruce and mousse, what a perfect birthday!

Bruce in his exersaucer (from Lena and Brett)

He can touch the floor now!

Another outing to DC, facing front in the Bjorn now.

(on our way to the American History museum with Pop Pop)

Bruce continues to love his mat and Mr. Giraffe

Now this is trouble

(Bruce in his high chair)

Cars, Metros, Bjorns and DUKWs

A DC take on Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...During the Heier family's visit we had a great adventure of a day in DC that took Bruce from the car, to the Metro, to Union Station in the Baby Bjorn and to the Potomac river on a DC DUKW (http://www.dcducks.com/history).

Riding in the car with Grandma Heier

On the Metro

Robb's a Bjorn guy

Bruce on a DC DUKW (Quack! Quack!)

first time on water

Heier Visit-July 2009

Soon after our trip to Florida we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Heier and Uncle Kevin, Aunt Rhonda, Lena, Brett and Boo. Bruce had a very nice time playing with his cousins and venturing into DC. Here are some fun pics from the weekend.

Bruce with Grandma and Grandpa Heier

Bruce with his cousins Lena and Brett

Lena and Bruce

Oh Brett, such a cutie

Look how he's grown!

Aunt Rhonda and Bruce

(4.5 mos old) (1 wk old)

Lena and Bruce

(4.5 mos old) (6 wks old)

Carrots, yum, yum

On July 12th Bruce had his first try at solid foods. First up was carrots! Boy, did he like them. At first bite he got a big smile on his face. Although at the start more came out then in, by the end of the session he was attacking the spoon wanting more and more!

He's really taken a liking to eating solids. He gets them once a day around dinner time. He eats about 1/2 the container each time, and has the same type of food for 4 days (to check for allergies/food issues). Carrots were first, then peas, then sweet potatoes, then green beans, then squash. We tried rice and oatmeal, but it upset his digestion, so we've put those on hold for now. He has also had his first fruit: pears! He wasn't sure about their tart taste and grainy texture at first, but he ate it all up. He's done a really great job learning to eat. Gets it all down for the most part, the trick is keeping his hands (and feet!) out of his mouth. We are finally gettng some good use out of his extensive bib collection. Enjoy the photos of his first taste!

Friends!

While in Florida we got to visit with a few of Mama's friends and Bruce got to meet lots of new friends.

One night we had dinner with Chris and Ryan Lloyd and their cutie son Collin. That night, Christine broke the news that she is pregnant with a baby girl! We are so happy for you guys and excited for Collin to become a big brother. I can't beleive what a big boy he is.

Collin, Bruce, and Christine

We also had a fun night with Mama's friends Maria and Nicole at Maria's house. That night, Bruce met Maria, Jim and their daughter Juliana (6 months old at the time) and Nicole, Rob, and their son Nicholas (about 6 weeks old at the time). Bruce and Nicholas hung out in the gym talking about the Canes and trying to impress Juliana, but she didn't pay them much attention (her daddy's the only boy she's got eyes for). Juliana blew the boys away with her rolling over and her awesome wheels. Thanks Juliana for sharing your playmat and Bumpo with us! It will be so much fun watching them all grow up together.

Boy how life has changed!

(pictured: Maria and Juliana, Nicole and Nicholas, and Deanna and Bruce)

Juliana with her Dada, look at that smile!

Bruce meets Juliana!

(pictured: Jim and Juliana, Bruce, and Pop Pop)

Bruce meets Nicholas!

(Sleeping boys are the best ;)

Bruce and Nicholas hanging out in the gym

Juliana's on the move!

Tete's 90th Birthday

While in Florida we celebrated Tete's 90th Birthday! Tete is Bruce's great-great Aunt (Mima's sister). The party was held at Deanna's godmother's house (Carola) and was a beautiful luau theme. We got to hang out some more with our cousins and got to meet lots of relatives (most of whom only spoke Spanish, so more practice for Bruce :) Bruce was also exposed to his first Mariachi group. We thought the horns might be too loud for him, but he really like it! And Mama (Deanna) liked having the chance to dance with her baby boy. We had such a nice time, and ate some very yummy Cuban food.

Unfortunately, we have no photos, but it was also nice to visit with Grandma Angel's cousin/Tete's son Miguel and Doris Nicolas, and their children and grandchildren: Doris and her husband Lester and their girls Sophia and Olivia, and new addition Jonathan (born Dec 31st!); Michael and his wife Jenny and their daughter Madison; and Susan and her husband Humberto and her daughter Katrina; along with Doris's family (also from Cuba). Also Tete's son Manolo and his wife Rita (recently immigrated to the US from Cuba).

Enjoy the photos, wish we had more!

Bruce ready to party in his Guayabera and Pipo hat

Bruce with Tete and Deanna

Bruce with Mima and Deanna

Bruce with Tete and Tia Carola

Bruce with Maria Ramos and Mima

(also in picture Nimia and Esther [Mima's caretaker] and Manolo on left-hand side)

Mima, Deanna, and Tete

Deanna and Dad

Enjoying some yummy boliche, arroz con pollo, plaintains and frijoles

(in picture Leo and Maria and Leo's cousins Andrea and Enrique)

And of course, tequila!

(in picture: Tio Lazaro and Todd [standing], Carola holding Luca, Dad/Pop Pop, and Enrique and Andrea)

A toast to corn! (no really, they toasted corn)
(in picture: Andrea, Robb with Bruce, Tio Lazaro and Esther)

Bruce and Dada had a great time!

Bruce is 5 months old!

Bruce is 5 months old today!

It's been a really fun month and Bruce has hit several developmental milestones. It seems like every day he is doing something new.

Bruce is on the move! He enjoys laying on his stomach now and can roll back to front and front to back. He is even starting to pre-crawl which basically involves him pushing off his legs and throwing the rest of his body (his arms haven't quite got it down yet). Within seconds he will be in a different position from where you saw him last, so we can't take our eyes off him. We put down some foam flooring to give him some space to roll around. Haven't needed the baby gates quite yet, but will be soon I think.

Sleep, glorious sleep! Happy to report that after 4.5 months Bruce is now sleeping through the night. We went with the cry it out method (while we watched on video cam of course). First night he "cried/whined" for 12 mintues; Second night he went for 6 minutes; Third night he had a couple 3 minute bouts and since the fourth night it's been smooth sailing. He still wakes up from time to time but is able to soothe himself back to sleep without us. So now he goes from about 9/9:30 PM to 7:30/8:00 AM. It's fantastic :)

Veggies! Another big milestone is that Bruce has started on solids. His stomach was not thrilled about rice cereal or oatmeal so we've stopped that for now, but this boy loves his vegetables. He's had everything from carrots to green beans to squash and sweet peas. He loved them all, but seems to favor the carrots. We did fruit for a couple days, started with pears, but he wasn't as into it (maybe too tart?). So he gets a veggie treat for "dinner" each day (we just do once a day, about half a container right now, to introduce the concept of eating and test out different foods). The rest of the day he is on formula and some stored breastmilk. He's done great with all the new foods, very adaptable.

Other new milestones. Bruce is also starting to reach for things; he reaches up when he wants to get out of his swing and reaches for his bottle or toy if he wants one of them. He also gets excited when his bottle comes into view. He also has a really great giggle, it's hillarious when you get him going (usually a raspberry to his tummy does the trick). And pretty much everything ends up in his mouth, including his feet from time to time. Bruce has also become more vocal and will join in on our conversations. Usually comes out as a loud sqwaking sound. Surprisingly, he seems to be a bit of a chatterbox, must be some recessive genes kicking in.

I think I caught the major milestones. He keeps growing and growing and we've really noticed that he's gotten longer (hardly fits in his swing and bouncy seat anymore). Next pediatrician visit will be at 6 months. Here's some fun photos to share, enjoy!

Bruce eating his carrots

YUM!!!

Bruce on his mat going after Freddie the Firefly

Dada and Bruce in his exersaucer

Tio David, Tia Ana, and Luca

We were lucky to be in Florida for Tio David's (Deanna's cousin; Lazaro's son) birthday! For David's birthday we got together at Mima's with Tio David, his wife Ana, his son Luca, Lazaro (Deanna's uncle) and Esther. We celebrated with some yummy Ropa Vieja that Mima "made" and, of course, cake! I can't believe what a big boy Luca has become. So cute :)

Bruce with his Tia Ana

Cousin Luca, Bruce and Mima

Cousin Luca and Tio David

Happy Birthday, say CHEESE!!

Tio Leo's crew

We got to stop by Tia Carola's (Deanna's aunt/godmother) house to visit with Tio Leo (Deanna's cousin; Lazaro's oldest son), Tia Maria, Leo's kids: Leo Jr, Alex, Victoria, and Leo's cousins: Enrique, Andrea, Sammy, and Andrew. I think that this was the most kids Bruce has ever been around. It was a lot of fun! He particularly liked the nursery where his babysitters Victoria, Sammy and Andrew watched over him while he slept. We miss you guys!

Bruce with Victoria, Sammy (in bkgd), Leo and Maria

Bruce with Tio Leo and Sammy

Bruce with Victoria and Andrew in the nursery

Bruce with his cousin Victoria

Bruce with his cousin Leo Jr and Pop Pop

Bruce with his cousin Alex

Bruce says: "I like your shirt, Tio Leo!"