On the move...

It's been a while and so we have some major milestones on which to report-

Last week Cole started to show signs of crawling... slow and steady.
Now, he's faster than lightening and 100% of our waking time is spent chasing him around the house making sure he doesn't kill himself... or Darwin dog.

As he is getting stronger, mornings have become even more fun... as I enter his room he is already standing in his crib, usually dancing and 'singing' to himself with a big grin on his face (see the picture below)... it makes me smile every time.

Last, but definitely not least, and just in time for the holidays, Cole's two front top teeth have made their debut. I've been singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" over and over to Cole and each time he giggles (good audience)!

Who laid an egg?

Of all the toys this little guy now has, including Exersaucers, numerous touch and feel books, talking stuffed animals, toys that speak 3 different languages, and the list goes on and on...
his favorite source of entertainment, by far, seems to be a tiny plastic egg with colored beads inside that I bought at our local music store... go figure!

Shake it, baby!

Pumkins, lions, ninjas and cows... oh my!

Halloween brought us many laughs this year as we dressed Cole up for The Sprout House (his new daycare)...

All of his pals donned costumes as well and we, at least the adults, got a big kick out of it... enjoy!

Baby legend (from left to right):
Mikhala and Aaditya were both pumpkins, Isabelle was a fierce lion, Patton was a stealth ninja, Cole was a content cow and Jack was a "Jack O' Lantern"... too funny!

Boyne City

We headed home last weekend to Dad and Anna's in Boyne City, Michigan for a much desired fall break! Cole fared extremely well on his first plane trip(s) and was so excited to see all the amazing fall colors at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

Thanks to their generosity, we were off through the woods of northern michigan with Cole in his brand new hiking backpack. We all hiked up Avalanche Mountain and Cole enjoyed himself thoroughly! The pictures I've put in the slideshow are only a small portion of the ones I took- there were so many photo opportunities- I just couldn't resist. If you want to see the rest, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email!

We also watched the salmon swim upstream to spawn and made an incredible bonfire by which we enjoyed copious amounts of both wine and smores! Cole joined in on the fun for a while and then eased into a cozy snooze in his outdoor bed while the grown-ups talked and reminisced for many more hours!

On our last night, we cleaned ourselves up a bit and headed into Charlevoix for a beautiful dinner at the Weathervane... Dad and Anna's favorite restaurant perched high atop a hill along the channel that links Lake Michigan to Lake Charlevoix.

Our long weekend was, simply put... perfect!

Fall is here!

Last weekend we went to a Pumpkin Patch and Cole really seemed to enjoy himself!
He saw all the animals in the petting zoo and especially liked the peacock... then off to find pumpkins and eat ears of sweet corn. Halloween is around the corner and Iowa City is getting chilly!

Ouch!

Cole's first two teeth have popped through his bottom gums...
They are razor sharp and I now refer to him as the little piranha!

When in Rome

Cole tried on his costume the other day for his upcoming Halloween debut... I sure hope he likes Halloween as much as his mama!

Seeing as we ARE in Iowa, we thought it only fitting for Cole to dress as a cow and Darwin to dress as a chicken...

should be interesting!

Grandma and Grandpa come for a visit!

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa John came for a visit from Libertyville last weekend. Cole was so excited to see both of them and gave them plenty of hugs and big smiles!

We had a great weekend filled with lots of activities... we had lunch on the Sutliff bridge just north of Iowa City and then stopped by Wilson's Apple Orchard on the way home for some freshly picked apples and a piping hot apple turnover... yum!

We headed downtown to the Ped Mall for a lovely dinner outside at Atlas and then back to the homestead for a bonfire and some smores.

The next day, we headed up to the Brown Deer golf course for lunch outdoors right on the 9th hole and then Grandpa John took Cole out onto the putting green to teach him how to swing! What a lovely afternoon!

Bye-bye Birdie... I mean baby

Cole started his first day at Apple Tree Daycare yesterday (tear drop splash).

After preparing 5 bottles, getting his diaper bag packed, gathering a month's worth of diapers and wipes, extra blankies, extra outfits, bibs, pacifiers, favorite toys, etc... we all scrunched into the car and headed downtown.

Darwin had a peculiar look on his face and we couldn't tell if it read "oh no, everyone is leaving me" or "praise jesus that screaming baby is going somewhere else for the day"!

Cole did well for his first day without mom and dad (although we did come check in on him once to make sure all was going well). When we picked him up after his first long day... the staff told us that his favorite activity was looking at himself in the mirror for long stretches of time.

Go figure!

Our new weekend activity

We're on a never-ending quest to find interesting, 'baby-friendly' things to do on the weekend...

A few weeks ago, we stumbled upon a drive-in movie theater about 45 minutes south of Iowa City... one of only three drive-ins left in the entire state! A lost piece of Americana, they are not only super fun... but they allow us see movies while taking Cole along with us! This particular drive-in is in the middle of a corn field (it is Iowa, after all) and when the stars come out it is actually quite beautiful. Cole loves going and usually falls asleep about half way through... letting us lay back, dive into some popcorn and soda, and finally enjoy the big screen once again.

The past two times we've gone it's been pretty toasty outside, though, still around 85 degrees at 9:00 at night (gotta love the summer). I joked with Mark about how much our lives have changed since Cole's arrived... gives a whole new meaning to "going to the drive-in on Friday night with a hot babe"!

Cole eats his first solid food!

Mark was a good sport and let me put this on regardless of his, ummm, 'outbust'...

Hanging out on a lazy saturday

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All aboard!

Since we've been back from Chicago, our weekends have certainly been filled with lots of fun activities! Now that we've worked out Cole's allergy and I'm off the dairy... he's been the happiest (and most handome, might I add) little guy around!

Plus, we found a great place in town with the BEST no-milk-added pomegranate and lemon gelato... mmmm.

He has started showering us with big, gummy smiles and longer stretches of sleep at night... both very much welcomed by mom and dad! ; )

Last weekend we visited the Quad Cities Niambi Zoo...

This weekend we stopped by the Iowa City Airport open house to show Cole all the Cessnas and Pipers and then off to the Johnson County dog show... just like the movie "Best in Show", these little pooches were styled and buffed with their doggy hair blown dry to perfection. Cole was amused to say the least!

Sunday was Mark's birthday (happy birthday babe)... and we headed down the Mississippi River on a two hour paddle boat ride. The weather was perfect and Cole got his first taste of life on the water. What a great time!

Cole meets his uncle and surrogate aunties!

We took our first quick trip back to Chicago over the weekend so that Cole could finally meet his Uncle Jay and Aunties Colleen, Susie and Carol. Also, he was able to meet his 'girlfriend' Ava Kelly... Tom and Colleen's baby girl!

Cole cooperated... mostly... and enjoyed his first voyage to the big city!

Lots for him to see... we took him to the Old Town Art Fair and the Printer's Row Book Fair to let him experience some of Chicago's best summer festivals!

Then dad was put on babysitting duty so that I could enjoy a dinner out with my girlfriends followed by The Color Purple at the Cadillac Palace Theater. It was fantastic!

Hope to be home several more times this summer...

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Out for dinner with the family!

Our little science experiment

Well, the search continues!

We have taken Cole off of the Prevacid... two weeks without any dramatic results.

We began putting a little rice cereal in his milk and formula for a few reasons:

1. Thickening helps to prevent regurgitation

2. Excess liquid in his tummy may cause regurgitation and pain... by adding a wee bit of rice cereal, he can still get the calories he wants without having to give him too much milk or formula

BUT... at the same time I also went off dairy (not very scientific of me), thinking perhaps he might be lactose intolerant

As things started to get better, we praised the rice cereal and jumped for joy- then I started back on dairy.

OH BOY!

We had a very unhappy little guy on our hands! So, we are now going with the theory that this little boy may have a problem with mom eating dairy. I have now done a fair amount of reading in this area and it seems that newborns are not lactose intolerant... they can be allergic to cow milk protein that mom eats and drinks. Seems that this is somewhat common. So, yesterday, we started him on Alimentum, a hypoallergenic and milk protein free formula (thanks Scott and Kim), and he has been much better.

What does this mean for mom? NO MORE MILK PROTEIN! I will have to say good-bye to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, etc. while I still breastfeed. Hmmm. Welcome to the land of soy.

Babies sure are tricky... I can't wait until he can talk!

Tummy troubles

It has been far too long since I last posted... these past two weeks have really put our parenting skills to the test!

It seems that Cole is experiencing a mean case of reflux... he likes to spit up a good portion of each feeding and keeps mom and dad on thier toes with serious bouts of crying that can last hours each night. The poor little guy has been put on Prevacid by his pediatrician to try to get the reflux under control. It seems that a lot of newborns are born with this problem and it takes a few weeks (or months, as the pediatrician has delicately reminded us) to correct itself.

In the mean time, we're enjoying Cole between bouts of cries and have already shown him downtown Iowa City several times for lunches, dinners... and our favorite- ICE CREAM!

He and Darwin dog are getting along swimingly and Darwin has taken to laying at the foot of Cole's bassinet during daytime naps... some doggy/baby bonding time : )

Photos and more photos!

Hi all,

Many of you have seen Cole's first portfolio at the Kodak Gallery website... the link is now below and we will be adding more pictures every week!

We hope you enjoy Cole as much as we have... he's so much fun to watch! Although it doesn't seem possible, he's such a different little creature than the day he was born.

He's a big boy with a fierce grip and huge paws... sometimes I find myself struggling with him during his feedings and I think to myself "Is my 9 day old son strong-arming me already?"

Keep checking back, we will keep everyone posted!

Lots of love from the prairie...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=704982412110.882359322110.1178051419113&page=1

Babe finally arrives!

Name: Cole Alan McBride Pitzer

Date of Birth: April 20th, 2007

Weight: 8 lbs, 3 oz

Length: 21 inches


After a long night and day of labor, Cole finally arrived Friday night at 9:24 pm... we could not be more enamored (or sleep deprived)...

Mom, baby and dad are are doing well, we will post more pictures shortly!

Here's a link to the hospital's page:

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=3904121471

Still waiting...

Wow- when you're waiting for a baby to arrive, hours can seem like days...

We met with the OB yesterday and 'hatched' a plan to be induced if this little guy doesn't show up by Sunday.

We will keep you all posted...

Due date no show

Well, our official due date (April 14th) has just about come and gone without any signs of baby!

We had 3.5 solid hours of contractions this morning (5 am-8:30 am) and then more scattered throughout the day... we really thought today was going to be it, but then things settled down a bit.

I personally think he's holding out for nicer weather... it should be in the 60's in Iowa City tomorrow and early next week so keep your fingers crossed for us!

xoxo

Big belly profile

Amongst all of the well wishes and wonderful responses to the website, I have had many requests for pictures of the developing belly!

Hope this picture doesn't frighten too many of you...

Enjoy!

Come out, come out wherever you are!

Hi all,

Well, it's almost time for our little guy to make his grand entrance and we wanted to find a way to be able to share our experience with everyone...

We've created this website so that all of our friends and family can keep in touch with the impending new little babe... we will be able to post pics as soon as he arrives and then add more as time goes on.

Baby is due this week and boy are we ever ready!

The hospital bags are packed, the baby room is ready and we've been regaling Darwin dog with stories of the little one to prepare him for his new housemate.

This past week has been filled with many 'false contractions' that have us thinking we are ready to rock and roll... the most recent bout coming every 15-20 minutes or so (lasting ~ 1 minute each) with that pattern going on for about four hours at a stretch. At least we will have had some practice when the time truly comes to make the anticipated trek to the hospital. ;)

Many thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and support throughout this crazy journey- the best is yet to come...

Love from the prairie,

jodi, mark and babe