Hello...

Just About 5 Months Old

Is this supposed to be fun?

Man, these fingers are tasty. (This is why parents don't like people grabbing their baby's hands!)

What the heck is this? Yuck!

Fletcher is still discovering his feet. Daddy's trying to help out...

Pureed fruits and vegetables have been added to Fletcher’s diet. He didn’t know what to think about the peas when he first tasted them. His facial expression said it all and the expression brought tears of laughter to Mommy and Daddy -- day two and three were a lot better and set the tone for the green beans we introduced… So far, he’s adapted pretty well. Although a bit messy, feeding Fletcher is pretty quick business unless Daddy’s doing it and trying to throw in the flying spoon bit.

Now that our pool is open, Fletcher gets in his tummy time poolside (until he's able to roll over, that is) while Mommy steals the time to care for the pool – multitasking at its best. The tummy time is making Fletcher stronger. He is able to push himself up from his waist up now and his legs are more and more in he bent position or up in the air when he’s on his tummy.

If you are ever around Mommy and Fletcher, you will know that Mommy says “hello” to Fletcher about 50 times a day. He’s now making the “ooooo” sound – very clearly, I might add. Mommy is convinced he’s “working” on articulating his first word -- “hello” rather than dada like most babies.

Because of the teething, we are going through at least three bibs a day. We have a ton of teething rings / toys, but Fletcher will not chew on these darn things no matter how appetizing we think they should be to him. He prefers his fingers / fist, blankets, his stuffed animals or any part of Mommy’s body he can get his mouth on (usually the forearm while she changes his diaper).

Daddy, using his sophisicated weighing method, determined that Fletcher now weighs 22lbs and is 30 inches long. Believe it or not, his growth has slowed down -- finally!

As we approach five months with Fletcher, we cannot imagine our lives without him. While we love each other every much, our love for this little boy is like no other. We are enjoying every moment of bonding with him, watching him grow and develop.

Fletcher

Easter

Fletcher and his cousins Julia and Maggie.

Fletcher loves all the attention from his cousins Maggie and Julia and his Aunt Hope.

Fletcher and the Westphal women.:-)

Fletcher is a little distracted by his cousin Paul's hair.

Mommy & Fletcher

Mommy watching over Fletcher while he sleeps -- her favorite past time.

Fletcher enjoying his bananas.

Mommy kissing her little man as she preps him for his bath.

Babysitter Call & Baby Poo

The bibs keep getting bigger and bigger to soak up all the drool...

Daddy exploring Fletcher's toes...

Fletcher doesn't watch just any TV -- only home improvement shows for our boy.:-)

Learning the finer points of home improvement...


Fletcher is definitely in the teething phase – where drool and bibs darn each outfit.

Although not all that often, he does cry, but it must be something he does specially for us. In fact, when we were out with friends on Saturday night and Fletcher was being watched by Frances and he started to cry, she called us because in the 15 weeks she’s been watching him this was unusual to her. Of course, “that” call, was our very first about Fletcher while being out, and it freaked us out. What freaked us out even more was that Frances was not answering the phone when we called back. Well, you see, it is difficult to answer a phone you don’t know is ringing… Mommy’s got all the ringers turned off except for one phone and with her bionic hearing, she doesn’t have a problem hearing the ringing – the average ear doesn’t… After 7 very long minutes, we talked with Frances and by then the gas had passed and Fletcher was sound asleep.

Fletcher graced us with his first major oozing, blow out that caused both he and Daddy to be stripped him down and required a pre-wash bath, then a full bath and then a load of laundry. Phew… Even with the foul stench and baby poo everywhere, we all were still smiling – it must be love. We had JUST gotten home – that’s why we were smiling – thank God Fletcher waited until we got home to deliver this load instead of while we were out in streets. We wouldn’t have been ready or smiling about it!

As new parents we are experiencing new things everyday…with lots more to come – we are certain.

We Survived 12 Days Without Daddy...

Father and son -- back together again!

Fletcher helping Mommy hold the book -- while she reads to him.

I'm so cute...

Fletcher and I welcomed Daddy back home after being out of the country in South Africa for 12 days – seemed like an eternity. Mommy learned that she's no longer the apple of Daddy's eye -- it is Fletcher. During the drive from airport, Daddy sat in the back seat with his son rather then taking the front seat with his wife. Oh, well...

Fletcher got to “talk” to and see Daddy via a web cam while he was in South Africa. It disturbed Fletcher to see Daddy stuck in the computer – it may have been too soon for that.

Fletcher is teething and molting his mane -- teeth are a comin' and so is more hair! He is also perfecting arching his back to get out of positions he doesn’t want to be in – he can go from sitting up straight to lying flat on his back in about 10 seconds flat. We are starting to eliminate his twilight feedings. Hooray – looks like more sleep is in store for Mommy! Fletcher is like a mad scientist at work when he’s in his exersaucer. He absolutely loves it.

Now that Daddy has returned, Fletcher is happy to get all the extra attention and to resume his rocket ship adventures. Mommy is happy to have her family back together and to have another set of hands to care for Fletcher. Mommy is also thankful for Frances, our sitter, and for the fact that Fletcher is a good, happy baby. Otherwise, these past two weeks would have been H.E.L.L. Rather, they were fun and a growing experience -- I think.