Grandpa's Birthday Weekend!

This weekend, my dad came to Greenville to celebrate his 60th birthday with our family. Jamie, her boyfriend, Andrew, and their puppy, Mia, were here, as well as my Aunt Candy and Uncle Craig Richardson, who traveled to be a part of the birthday festivities. We had a great party on Saturday, filled with games, presents, food, and lots of fun. Even Baby Luke stayed up late to be a part of all of the action! Happy Birthday to our dear Dad and Grandpa- We love you!

BB Baby!

Our Luke is very lucky to have 5 BB Aunts who adore him. The BBs are my best friends from college, and Luke has the privilege of being spoiled as the first BB Baby. The BBs met and lived together during our freshman year at Wake Forest, and during the past 12 years have formed special and unique lifelong bonds as friends. When BB Aunt Cary met Luke last weekend, she specifically requested to be put on the blog, so here is a picture of their meeting! I am also posting a cute picture of Luke posing with our BB Alligator, Jabeza, which has been passed among all of the BBs and is very huggable. Here is our new little Nike Man, saying hello to his beloved BBs:

Grandpa's Boy

Here is our adorable Luke in the golf outfit and Baby Footjoys that his Grandpa gave him. Could there be anything cuter?!

Our 2-month old!

Luke is 2 months old today, and is becoming less of a newborn every day. Today we went to the pediatrician where we were shocked to discover that Luke already weighs 13 pounds, 15 ounces! This child keeps growing at an astronomical rate- He's outgrowing many of his 3-month clothes already, and today the pediatrician referred to Luke as a "porker"! I was reassured as a neurotic first-time mom that Luke's weight gain is a good sign that he is healthy and eating very well. Our big success for the week is that I survived Mark being out of town for 2 days. Although I only had Luke alone for one night and less than 48 hours total, I was dreading the entire experience and anticipating complete disaster. However, we did just fine, even though Luke cried for almost 5 hours the first morning after we dropped Daddy off at the airport! We were so happy to have Mark come home last night and now I have even more appreciation for single parents. Here are some recent pictures of our little chunk- What a cutie!

Luke's Baptism Weekend

We went to Williamsbug, VA this weekend for Luke's baptism, where Luke's grandfather baptized him in a very special church service on Father's Day. Many of our family members met Luke for the first time, and we had a wonderful time introducing our baby to everyone. We feel very blessed to have so many people in our lives who love and treasure our little boy, and we created many special memories this weekend. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Also, if you double click on the slideshow, or click on the "Our Photo Albums" link on the right side of this blog page, you will be able to view our pictures in a larger format on our Picasa Web Album page.

Date Night!

Last night, Mark and I went on our first date since becoming new parents. I have never been more excited to go out to dinner with my husband, and we went to a cute, fun restaurant downtown. My mom baby-sat Luke for us, and we had a great evening out. Below are some pictures from Week 7:

Week 6 update

Baby Luke is 7 weeks old today! Mark and I were so proud of ourselves for successfully surviving the first (and often hardest) 6 weeks of having a newborn, especially because Luke has been increasingly fussy lately and difficult to soothe. However, our pediatrician told us this week that we may have 5 more weeks of an adjustment period before Luke is calm and content since he was premature! We started Luke on some reflux medication this week which we hope calms his tummy and makes him happier. The good news is that our baby keeps eating VERY well. He is up to 11 pounds, 7 ounces, and has outgrown many of his newborn clothes already. My mom arrived yesterday and will be here to help this week. The timing could not be better, as we are still getting up 3+ times in the night to feed Luke and we are ready for some much appreciated rest! Here are a few pictures of our growing baby in his daily routine:

Bathtime is a family affair!


Luke is already outgrowing his infant bathtub...


Look at that cute baby in his slippers!


So sleepy...


Reading bedtime stories with Mommy and Daddy

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

The Winterhoff Family had an exciting outing last night. We went to a tailgating party and then to a Greenville Drive baseball game. Luke's outfit was a huge hit, and everyone loved our Lil' Slugger. Here are some photos from our fun event:

Here is Mommy getting Luke dressed. The baseball on his bottom is priceless!


The boys at the game...


Check out that baseball hat!


Luke was wiped out from cheering for his team!

First Smile?

After 6 weeks of oohing and aahing at our baby, talking in cute baby voices to him, and adoring him every waking minute of the day, we think that Luke may have rewarded us today with his first social smile. "Was it in response to Mommy or Daddy?" you may ask. Well, neither. Luke saw his own reflection in our bathroom mirror and happened to think that the "baby" was cute, and gave a little hint of a non-gassy smile... As parents, why do we even bother to make funny faces, sing silly songs, and embarrass ourselves completely when all we needed to do was give the baby a mirror?!

Here are some pictures from the past few days. Look how big Luke is getting for his bassinette! Also, I'm posting a photo of Luke in the cute outfit & hat that I had originally planned to bring him home from the hospital wearing (before we knew he'd have an "extended stay" in the NICU). You can see that he is very unhappy to be dressed up by the time we took the last picture!