Found My Tongue & Hands!

We've been so busy since our last posting, that I thought I'd give you a new August slideshow to see, and report that this past weekend (at 11 1/2 weeks of age), Fischer "found" his tongue and hands.
He's been sticking his tongue out quite a bit in addition to his other expressions of happiness--shrugging, dimples, and coos. Poor guy spent most of the weekend with the camera in his face with me trying to catch his tongue out!


Our little guy can grab and hold onto things with his hands. He occupies himself quite well on carrides to and from daycare by hanging onto his blanket or burp rag and bringing them up to his mouth, or chewing on his fists or fingers. It makes for a very slimey handshake, but it's ever so cute!

This week, Fischer's been receiving eyedrops as his goopy eyes have become red and irritated underneath and at the outside corners...He doesn't mind the drops--especially if I keep them in my pocket so they're warm when he gets them. Fischer's a really good sport in general!

First Comes Marriage...Then Comes Love?!

This weekend, Fischer attended his first wedding. Our friends Brenda and Troy tied the knot on Saturday. Before we left the house, we tried to get our first family photo (daycare actually requested it for their "family tree").

Wherever we posed, the sun seemed to be in Fischer's face, so he started getting kind of annoyed. So when we gave up and neighbor Chris picked him up, then he was all smiles for Mama behind the camera!

Then we were off to the wedding. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony--what a gorgeous day they had! Fischer slept through the ceremony, and decided he was hungry right at the end when they were reading a poem and releasing doves. After eating, he was up for socializing with anyone who wanted to see his little smiles. We heard lots of "he looks just like Joe" and even a couple people said he looks like Joe in the eyes and like me in the nose and mouth. I guess we'll have to keep comparing. I'm trying to find the time to put some baby pics of me and Joe on here for you to see!

Between the ceremony and reception, the 3 of us went to visit Joe's friend Mikey and his family in Kellnersville. They have a 9-yr-old Tristan, a 7-yr-old Lexie, a 2 1/2-yr-old Casey, and a little 3-week-old boy, Zander. What a difference 7 weeks makes! It was a nice visit with them, and then we were on our way to Eddie Whipp's for Brenda and Troy's reception. Joe was really looking forward to the food :)

When we got there, it was a little tricky maneuvering the stroller through everyone, but once we were settled, we had a very nice meal. Fischer slept through lots of hoots and hollers and applause as the glass-klinking began, and the bride and groom were kissing. They put a quick stop to that, though, and asked instead that people who wanted the bride and groom to kiss should swallow one of the goldfish from the bowls in the middle of the tables! Although it was really meant as a joke (the groom later said), they had a lot of people swallowing fish! The crowd was really revved up and Fischer slept through it all. At least I got a chance to eat before it was his turn :) Joe, however, continued to eat, and paid for it later with a tummy ache and painful hiccups! We didn't stay too long into the reception, as we all wanted to get home and relax.

On Sunday, Fischer went with Joe to the church picnic for St. Peter & Paul church. He got to see his cousins April and Charlie, and April's twin girls who are three years old. Joe said it was a good time, and the Booyah was yummy, too.

Fischer seems to think he's too cool for naps anymore! He'll have a little snooze here or there for about 45 minutes to an hour, but for the most part, he does all of his sleeping at night. That's how he's been the last couple of weekends. Even at daycare, it's rare for him to sleep longer than an hour a few times throughout the day. I wouldn't say he's "sleeping through the night" yet, but it is nice that he seems to know that night time is for sleeping and daytime is for socializing and playing.

While he was playing today at daycare, his teachers had him sharing the most popular toy in the room with his little friend Hailey. They shared so nicely! Now it seems those older boys in his room have some competition...Fischer, you're too young for girlfriends! It's okay to have girl friends, though. Hailey is 2 months older than Fischer. They had a ball with the play gym.

Family Night at the N.E.W. Zoo!

On Monday, August 11th, our friend George invited me to the first Packers preseason football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. It was the team's first game without that legendary quarterback guy who moved to New York. I'm sure you've heard enough about him in the news! We got to see the game from one of the sky boxes. It was pretty nice to have food and drink and restrooms right there, but it wasn't the same as being crunched together with fellow green-and-gold fans on cold aluminum bleachers clutching your cup of Miller when "the wave" comes around. The Bengals won by 3 points, but it was still a good game. It was heartwarming to see the crowd rise to their feet when Aaron Rodgers, GB's new starting QB took the field. I think we can move forward into this season riding on that feeling.

On Wednesday, when we had our coffee night--yep, back to nights now that I'm back to work--Fischer and I met Kristy, Flora, their Pakistani exchange student Salima, Kristy's sister Robyn, and her son Shawn at the N.E.W. Zoo. Wednesdays from 4-8 it's family night, and admission is free.

We began with a picnic just inside because we met up when we were all hungry. Kristy had put together an impromptu meal of PB & J's, cuke salad, chips and grapes. When we were all done and cleaning up, one of the zoo personnel came up to our table and asked that we refrain from bringing outside food in the future. She explained that if we were to drop something and it was eaten by one of the animals, they wouldn't know if it would cause any of them harm. It seemed like a pretty weak point she was making, as we were eating cucumbers (potential danger), and their zoo concessions included chili dogs (ahhh, now that sounds safer). I guess we were too excited to read ALL of the different signs and info they have at the zoo entrance. Sorry.
Fischer was awake for the whole time we were at the zoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to see all kinds of cute animals--the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot or cool, all of the animals were out, but the skeeters weren't, yet :) We checked out the penguins, who didn't feel like going for a swim.
The lions were super. The male was pacing back and forth along the back of their habitat, which happens to be not-so-far-away-from the giraffes' habitat. The lion was making little roars of what we guessed to be frustration--too much fence between him and that delicious-looking giraffe. The lioness was grooming herself and relaxing. It's been a dramatic several weeks for the zoo. Please read about it in the link--it's really quite a bittersweet story.
We made our way past the reindeer who was hungry and only wanted to get close to people who had food for him. His antlers were huge and all velvety.

At one point, we went from the fairly bright outdoors, inside a little barn where the goats, alpaca, etc. could hang out and eat. Well, when we entered the barn, I wasn't sure if it was the strong manure odor or the fact that it was a little darker in there, but Fischer became straight-faced and opened his eyes up WIDE for the whole time we were in there! It was as though he were thinking, "Whoa, that's SMELLY!"

We checked out the albino aligator--apparently there are about 30 in existence. He was behind some glass, so it was tough to get a good pic. He's about a meter or meter-and-a-half long now, but he could get as big as three-and-a-half meters.We saw a pair of exotic-looking cranes. They have an impressive wingspan. One of them had a bum wing, though, and looked like he was waving with his one wing stretched out.

This little prairie dog dude seemed all alone in his little colony. He was just as curious about us as we were toward him!

Ahh haa! Finally :) We got to see the giraffes. They were still far away from us while we were in the little observation deck. They sure are gorgeous. Giraffes are my favorite animal, and that's what Fischer's room theme is.I took Fischer out of his stroller often so he could get a chance to see the animals, too. Can you see the giraffes waaaay in the background off of my right shoulder? It may be hard to see it with his "Elvis" suit bunched up under his chin, but he's smiling at Kristy behind the camera!
We came across a cute porcupine who was just ambling along around his little area.
The moose seemed sad, or tired, or maybe just indifferent as he hung out next to his food pail.
Finally, it was hard to get a good pic of this, too, but we saw a red panda. It seemed as cuddly as a teddy bear! It looks like a cross between a raccoon and a fox.
By the time we were done at the zoo, Fischer had seen lots of animals, experienced some different smells, and had eaten twice. Nevertheless, he didn't want to miss a thing by snoozing :) It wasn't until almost 10 pm last night that he finally fell asleep. He didn't wake until 4:15 am! What a good boy. He needed lots of sleep to process all of the cool stuff he experienced yesterday.

Almost 10 Weeks--So Much To Say!

Fischer sure has had a lot to say lately! This morning he woke up talking and was still making conversation when we dropped him off mid-day at Grandma D and Grandpa Mike's so Joe and I could go to a Stampin' Up! picnic at my friend Mary Polcin's house in Shawano. When we returned late in the afternoon, Grandma said he talked their ears off and was a very good boy. He even got to meet Grandma's cousin and her aunt and uncle!
Since we've been home this evening, I've been waiting for him to fall asleep, because he just got a couple hours while we were gone. Now that he's freshly changed, fed and relaxed, he's finally fallen asleep in his swing. We can tell that he is going to be very outgoing like his parents--look out ladies!

We've been sure to give him some tummy time every day, and his neck, back and shoulder muscles are getting so strong :) Oh yeah, and while I was getting these shots, he was talking the whole time!
The cats have become more comfortable with Fischer and all of his stuff, too. Not that they were uneasy before, but by now I think they know he's not going anywhere, and they've accepted him as part of our family. Today, Noel napped for a short time with Daddy and Fischer. And since the bed was already crowded, Schmooze warmed up Fischer's carseat for his trip to Grandma's later.
We're ready to begin another week of daycare tomorrow. Our first whole week was a success. It was a relief, also, that he didn't have any troubles with his shots. After daycare tomorrow, Daddy and Fischer are having a bachelor evening, because Mommy gets to go to the Packer game!

Ouch! Fischer's Two Month Check-Up

Fischer had his 2 month well-baby check-up yesterday. He is now 24 inches long (75-90th percentile, 4 inches since birth), he weighs 12 lbs. 7 oz. (50-75th percentile, a gain of 4 lbs. 6 oz. since birth), and his head circumference is 40.5 cm (50-75th percentile, an increase of 6 cm since birth). Dr. Hoyer said he's absolutely perfectly healthy. She went over all of the immunizations he was about to receive in detail with us and answered a list of questions I had, as well. We continue to be a great breastfeeding "team", and I've gotten the hang of fitting pumping into my work day, too.

The shots he had to get were combined into 3 pokes. He was laying on the exam table with his legs bent at the knee over the side while the nurse held his legs against the table with her tummy. When she first got started, he was laughing and smiling at her. Then, the first poke kind of startled him at first--he looked like "hey, wait a minute, what was that?" and then he turned dark red, opened his mouth wide, took a deeeeep breath, and SCREAMED through the other 2 pokes! Daddy calmed him down after a short time, and he was talking and laughing again in no time.

We've kept him dosed on Tylenol since right before his shots, and we'll keep him on it for 24 hours to help with any soreness and to ward off any fever. He's at home with Joe today to take it easy and to watch for any issues. So far, after my lunchtime call to check on them, my boys are having a great day. It's funny the things we talk about now, as parents. After our initial conversation, Joe called me back to let me know "he pooped" because it had been more than a day since his last dirty diaper. All is well in the Spiering household!

Sorry there's no photo this time--just wanted to be sure you had his latest stats! We're so proud :)

8 Weeks...and Back to Bright Beginnings!

Fischer and I started full time at Bright Beginnings this week. We had a bit of a hectic start on Wednesday (our 1st day), even though I allowed PLENTY of time for us to be on our way. I think Fischer sensed that I was feeling anxious, so neither of us were very relaxed that morning. We arrived well-prepared, though, because I had packed our bags ahead of time. Thursday we were off to a smoother start and were both more relaxed. The hardest part for me is having to be aware of the clock again--I've been watching the clock to see the times he eats and sleeps and is changed, but now we have to be ON TIME...that's the main challenge.

We had a great couple of days at daycare! Today, BB is closed for staff inservice and fall preparations. Fischer took his bottles like a little champ for his teachers. Both days I nursed him for one of his feedings and pumped two other times both days. It was a good thing we started back mid-week, because I'm going to have to get used to giving up my mid-day nap. Also, Mondays are always super-busy for us--so starting back on a Wednesday made for a much calmer start.

We've determined that both of us will survive my return to work. Even though he's just on the other side of the wall from my office, I still miss our little guy! We have surveillance cameras and I can check on him anytime, and I truly know and trust all of his teachers...but the fact that Fischer is breastfed means that he and I were that much physically and emotionally closer since his birth. That is what makes me miss him during the day! It makes the times that I can nurse him that much more special, though. I nurse him when he wakes for the day, and as far as when he's at BB, we're trying to work it so that he gets a bottle for his first feeding, his teachers call me the next time he's hungry so I can nurse him, and then he gets another bottle or 2 for afternoon feeding/s. Hopefully this will continue to work as well as it has these past couple of days. I am so lucky that I have understanding and supportive women all around me at work--especially my co-director Holly. I can't imagine leaving Fischer with people I don't know as well and going someplace else to work where they may not be as accommodating when it comes to pumping or me leaving to nurse. I really consider myself lucky to have the job and co-workers that I do!

Today, Joe and Fischer had a bachelor day together. From what they both told me, it was a good day :)

Here are some pics of Fischer when we were talking the other day:
And here's the little face that gazes back at me while he's eating: