Growing Up

*VIDEO*
Ford is changing so much from week to week. I just love watching him learn and develop. His newest tricks include:

grabbing his feet.....

and laughing (although his laugh sounds more like a hiccup than a giggle). Check it out!

He and Chase are also becoming big buds. I often find Chase sitting outside Ford's room in the morning or at bedtime. And when I come home with Ford, the first thing Chase does is check out the car seat to make sure that's his little brother in there and not some other baby. When Ford's on the floor, Chase is right there next to him. When Ford is in his exersaucer, Chase is right there beside (or under!) him. There's no keeping these two apart!

Playing in my Bumbo seat....

"Oh, hey Chase!"

  Tummy time with Chase.....

  until we all fall asleep.

Like I said, there's no keeping these two apart. They just have too much fun together. :)

My First Mother's Day

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day! All the Stelsels were here for the weekend, which made it even more special. Gigi and Boppa flew in from Florida to meet their great-grandson for the first time. Ford is their fifth great-grandchild! I think they had a good time (wink wink). We certainly enjoyed having them visit us in Indy.

Gigi holding Ford for the first time

Gigi and Boppa giving David his favorite picture from their house back home: "Chancellor"

Connie and her boys on Mother's Day

Now that's a lot of Stelsel! 4 generations of handsome men

(My favorite picture from the weekend!) Grandpa and his little buddy

The Kassenbrocks were in town for the weekend, too. So everyone came over to our house for a cookout on Saturday night. We all enjoyed sitting outside in the warm weather for a change. And everyone got a turn at talking to Ford. ;)

Kirk and Ford hanging out at the cookout

Debbie and Ford telling stories

Emily and Ford having a serious conversation

Just chillin'

One big family

Parties wear a fella out!

Connie opening her Mother's Day gift from her boys (and daughters-in-law)

Gigi opening her Mother's Day gift with some help from you-know-who ;)

Debbie and her girls

The Stelsel women (minus Laura) + the little Stelsel man on Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, Ford got me a beautiful bouquet of pink tulips (my favorite!) and yummy caramel coffee (I've turned into a coffee drinker since having the baby). Isn't he thoughtful? The best part of my gift, however, was the card. It made me cry! I'm going to start my own little "Ford box" with all his keepsakes in it. This will be my first item in the box:

My first Mother's Day card (with Ford and David's handprints). Awwwwwww....

I want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother, mother-in-law, sisters, grandmother, grandmother-in-law, and friends! I love you all!

4 Months Old

Ford is 4 months old today! He weighs in at 14 lbs. 12 oz. (45th percentile) and 27.25 inches (95th percentile!), which means, so far, he's taking after his Daddy and is on track to be a lean machine.

Ford is thriving at school (aka daycare). Unfortunately, his immune system is not. He's had a cold for about three weeks with fluctuating symptoms, and we found out at the doctor today that he has a mild ear infection. Booo! Luckily, he hasn't shown any signs of discomfort and continues to act like his normal, happy self.

Likes at 4 Months:

• The exersaucer! He's new to the exersaucer, but he seems to really like it. He likes to push off the ground with his feet and bounce, and he likes to hold onto the toys in front of him. I think this will be a favorite as he gets older.

• Holding his bottle and pacifier. Ford has learned he can do things with his hands other than suck on them and watch them move. He likes to hold his bottle but he lacks control, so he usually ends up pushing it out of his mouth. Last night he was making me laugh because he had both hands on his pacifier and he would take it out, look at it, then put it back in. Repeat. I just love to watch him learn!

Dislikes at 4 Months:

• The Bumbo. He can't hold his torso up yet, so when he's in the Bumbo he slumps to the side, and then he gets cranky. From the very beginning I knew he would be an active child, so it's no surprise that he's not crazy about sitting in the Bumbo. He'd rather be in a position where he can kick and move. Even when I hold him sitting up, he always has those legs moving. I'm not giving up on the Bumbo just yet, but it may take some time for him to come around to it.

New Discoveries:

• Wiggling! He recently started rolling onto his side. He's soooooo close to rolling over, but hasn't quite made it all the way yet. What he can do, though, is throw those hips and kick those legs enough to scoot sideways. Every morning we find him in his crib having turned 90 to 180 degrees. He's our little wiggle worm.

4 Month Pictures:

3-Month Pictures

We had Ford's 3-month pictures taken last month. He's kind of at an awkward stage for photos, but there are some cute ones. Here are a few of our favorites. You can see all of them on our Shutterfly site: http://stelsel.shutterfly.com. Enjoy!

There's Nothing "Mini" About It

David had a great achievement over the weekend: he completed his first Mini-Marathon! The 500 Festival Mini-Marathon is the largest half-marathon in the country, having sold out with 35,000 participants for the past 11 years. This year marked the 36th running of the race, and David was right there in the mix. We're so proud of him for sticking to his committment to do the race despite some setbacks with a sore knee, and for crossing that finish line after a muggy, long, and exhausting 13.1 miles. Way to go, David!!

In other news, I renewed my committment to my health by starting a new running regimen. We bought a treadmill for the basement so I can work out while watching Ford, if necessary. As a way to motivate myself and stick to the program, I signed up for my very first 5K. Eeeeek! Day 1 of my program started yesterday, and it felt pretty good to be working out again after a loooooong hiatus. I'm hoping to get back to my pre-Ford body, but more than anything I just want to be healthier and more fit. After all, I need to be fit enough to chase around a toddler soon! :)