Jim is sick! His temperature is over 102 degrees, so the nurse at his doctor’s office told us that he can’t have any contact with JT until his temperature is normal for 24 hours. Bummer! Fortunately, we had very few weekend plans, and Jim can take a few days to rest, recover, and get back in Daddy-mode by Monday. We’re praying that JT doesn’t catch whatever he has.

At JT’s weigh-in today, he was 10 lbs 3 oz. The nurse said I must be giving him whipping cream! Meanwhile, we had a busy week: playing at the lake, walks in the park, eating s’mores, and more. Okay, so JT didn’t get any s’mores… but I did!

This last picture is one of the few times my son will be able to stick his tongue out at me without getting busted… he’s just too cute to spank! 🙂

This week was pretty busy for us. With my two-week recovery time over, we’ve been able to get out of the house more often. JT now weighs over 9 lbs and measures 21.5 inches long. He got to meet another great-grandma this week, and several aunts and uncles. We visited Jim’s work on Monday and my office on Wednesday. JT is starting to sleep a solid chunk of time at night; recently, he eats at 10 PM, between 2 and 3 AM, and again at 7 AM. That means a good amount of sleep time for us!

This week’s firsts:

• First bath – cried for about a minute, then calmly enjoyed the warm water
• First time to Costco
• First time grocery shopping with mom
• First time to church
• First playdate with his friend Cole (click here for details and pictures)
• First time to Gideon’s Posse with dad and his friend Asher (picture below)
• First time away from mom and dad – two hours with Adam and Sarah!
• First boat ride to watch dad ski (picture below)
• First walk out of the neighborhood, and it rained!
• First bottle with dad – more to come 🙂

I think JT will have lots of firsts for a long time… but these past few days have been pretty fun.

• First stroller ride – slept through it
• First walk in the Moby Wrap – slept through it
• First time on his play mat – loved it
• First time in his bouncer chair – slept through it
• First time looking in a mirror – loved it
• First doctor appointment – got a great report
• First shot – was very brave
• First emails just for him (from his cousins Ali and Madi)
• First time sleeping four whole hours at night

He also got to meet one of his three great-grandmothers and his Aunt Jennifer, who was out of the country when he was born. Next up this week: first trip to Costco, first bottle with Daddy, and who knows what else!

We’ve made it a week! I sang happy birthday to JT at exactly 1:13 am on Tuesday, since he was awake eating anyway. We are both doing well, and Jim continues to be an amazing father/husband. We have been so blessed with supportive family and friends, too.

JT is gaining about one ounce per day now. He fills his little tummy until he can’t possibly get any more, and then he lays there, limp and smiley. It is adorable! He is wide awake for an hour or so late at night, so Jim uses that time for “daddy and me.” They watch manly movies or look at motorcycle parts online until JT is sleepy again. So cute!

JT has spent today sleeping, eating, and being very snuggly. We’ve had several visitors: Grandma and Grandpa Keene, Grandma and Grandpa Cole, Adam, Sarah, Aly, and Cole Skagen, Brian, Jen, and Asher Shuck, and Petra Bergman.

Day two pictures…

7/23/08 – Adding this little piece of info – here is my last pregnant picture. I’m at a debutant party for one of my Young Life girls. It was taken Sunday, around 6 PM… when my contractions were about half an hour apart. I didn’t say anything to anyone at the party, and it was a great distraction!

Oh my goodness, the car seat is officially on its way to our house! (Okay, not yet, according to UPS tracking, but really soon.) We actually have one. It should be here in a week. This has been quite an ordeal, let me tell you. It sells out within hours of becoming available online, so the past two days I’ve been checking every few hours. The other frustrating thing is that the website will show that it’s available until you get to checkout, and then a little message pops up in cheerful red font: “this item is unavailable.” So I’ve learned not to get excited… but this morning I got all the way to a confirmation screen! Jim was sitting in the office to celebrate with me, which was fun. 🙂 Let’s not get too excited until it actually arrives, but this is good.

Update 7/11: UPS tracking has the car seat due to arrive on Wednesday, July 16th!

This week my check-up was completely normal. My midwife told me that there is only one other due date ahead of me on her July schedule… which made us a little nervous and excited all at the same time. I’ve been having some contractions here and there, which is normal and could go on for weeks, but it’s good to know progress is being made.

Yesterday and today I’ve been making some freezer meals so we have some easy, familiar food on hand. Jim is concerned that I’ll get too much done now and have nothing to do when I’m sitting around waiting for JT to arrive, but I’ve assured him there are endless projects to keep me busy. I’m still going to water aerobics two nights a week, and I’m the next due date in the class. Everyone will get excited if I don’t show up for class, so I can’t skip any until I have to! I’ve also started going on Saturdays to do water walking and some swimming. It is such good exercise and I feel like it’s helping me keep active. Slider and I have taken a walk every day but yesterday (rain, rain, rain) for the past month, and that helps too.

On a non-baby note, this morning I noticed that my tomato plants have little green tomatoes sprouting! I am thrilled.

I had a marvelous Independence Day. My parents came for dinner and we went to the lake to watch the big fireworks show. Here is a picture of me, my 38-week belly, flowers from my mom’s rose bushes, and “Becky’s Fourth of July Ice Cream Pie.” Until next week…

p.s. the video I posted last week didn’t work correctly… it’s reposted in the blog below and it works now!