San Diego and Visiting GREATGrandpa and Boots

Andrew had a TDY to San Diego last week, and since he was driving, Weston and I tagged along.  Andrew was in a conference on Wednesday and Thursday so along with some new friends, Weston and I explored Coronado Island and Balboa Park.  On Friday, all three of us got to visit GREATGrandpa Stolee and Boots at their home in Alpine, right outside of San Diego.  We were also lucky enough to visit with some friends of ours who are stationed at Miramar.  Overall, it was a wonderful getaway and a trip we hope to repeat a few more times while we are stationed in Vegas--the activities will only get more fun as Weston grows!
Here are some photos from our adventure:

Weston and I enjoying the view from Coronado Island--his first glimpse of the Ocean--Pacific Ocean, check!

See the little smile on Weston's face?  (Kimber, thanks for the great photos!)

We met up with Megan and Jack at Del Mar on Wednesday night for dinner.  It was a great evening and we loved Del Mar so much that we all returned on Friday night! The last time we saw each other in Florida, neither one of us had little ones, we were just chasing after our husbands!  :)

On Friday we headed out to Alpine to see Boots and GREATGrandpa Stolee.  Here's Boots getting a good look at Weston!

GREATGrandpa Stolee got his time in too!

Weston's trying to get GGpa Stolee to keep looking at him--silly GGpa for looking at the camera!

We took a tour of GGpa's beautiful grounds and saw the numerous gardens that he has built.

3 of the 4 existing Stolee generations--looks like Weston is missing a bit of facial hair for this picture.  

Weston participating in his first fruit picking adventure in GGpa's yard.    We got to come home with oranges, tangerines, and lemons, all from GGpa's yard!

Weston snuggling up against his dad.  

Couldn't avoid another picture.

On Saturday we made our way to Mission Beach and just walked along the ocean--it was a bit gray and chilly (reminded me of the Oregon Coast).

Weston enjoying the view--really kept him awake!

Self-timer photo!  

Napping and Random Cuteness

Stolees of all breeds are excellent nappers in our living room.  I truly think that the co-napping between Weston and KJ is the start of a beautiful friendship.  I am imagining a lovely relationship where the two of them wear each other out and Mom and Dad just get to sit back and relax!  :)  Yes, I know that is dreaming!

Enjoy the stellar naps in our house from the last few weeks!

Technically this isn't a nap photo but you can see how we all enjoy hanging out on the ground--I am pretty sure that given the right circumstances, we could all nap in this position!  

Weston in his favorite nap place--on the couch in the middle of all/any action.

KJ even loves napping when Weston naps on the couch--yes, she really does sleep like this at times!

They even nap on the ground and sometimes face the same direction based on the sun's position--okay, it's more based on the phases of the moon. 

Sometimes the energy is too tense and KJ needs her space; eventually we are pretty sure that they will be spooning each other.

One of my favorite pictures to date--needed to include it.

And, well the following are just some random snapshots of Weston from the last few weeks--he's getting rather cheeky and we approve of that!  He actually hit double digits on the scale last week at his Friday weigh in (we decided to do Friday weigh ins for his Saturday night fights to make sure he's in regulation.)

Enjoy!

Check out my belly hanging over my diaper!  

Yea, I am cute and know it!

KJ is checking out his attire right here--she was making sure that his socks were correctly fitting his feet.  That, or she was doing a quick, discreet smell check.

Weston enjoying his reflection during playtime.

Visitors, visitors and more visitors!

Weston's arrival has brought lots of visitors to our house and we love it and have so enjoyed the extra attention for Weston and for us as new parents!

While Andrew was TDY, my dad and Brenda (aka Papa and Grammy, as they have decided) came out and I was so excited to see them 4 days into Andrew's absence!  I tried not to jump for joy at the extra set of hands but inside I was pretty giddy. To have two extra sets of hands with a 9 week old was a wonderful thing at that point.
I can't say that we did too much while they were here but I certainly tried to catch up on my sleep when I could and they were wonderful about hanging out with Weston and loving on him.  He seemed to really take to his Papa and there were times when I had to ask dad to let his grandson go so overall it was a wonderful first trip!
Here are some pictures from their stay with us.  I can't thank you both enough for your help around the house but mostly just loving on Weston!

Yawning contest--Weston won!

Papa and Weston--notice the cute AF outfit that Ms. Lisa sent!  :)

Weston's favorite place most of the time when Papa was here!  

Three generations of Haynes right here--we promise to work out the youngest's crossed eyes one day!  :)

Weston, Papa and Grammy

The next set of visitors also arrived during Andrew's absence (actually we just had a visitor exchange you could say as they arrived the same day and dad and Brenda left), Uncle Derrick and Aunt Katie came and also loved on Weston!  Actually, Weston was a first baby experience for his Uncle Derrick in the realms of holding a baby, changing a baby and just about everything else, I would assume.  Derrick and Katie were also wonderful guests as they cooked, wore out the dog, changed diapers, baked,  and let us heat the hot tub up for them!  :)
Here are some pictures from Uncle Derrick and Aunt Katie's visit:

KJ really took to Aunt Katie--hugs for playtime!

Uncle Derrick soothing Weston--he only dropped him once!

How many Stolee men does it take to change a diaper?  Only one more is needed in there to have a completed Evolved Stolee Moment--you know, one where the newest generation changes diapers!  :)

Uncle Derrick and Aunt Katie--again, we will work on the whole eye ball focus thing!  

Yep, most of us do cry when we think of scary 'staches, Weston--I understand!  Thank goodness for Aunt Katie that Uncle Derrick's was fake!  

And, thank goodness for Uncle Derrick that Aunt Katie's was fake!  :)

Finally, our last recent visitor was my wonderful friend Nikole from Colorado.  It just so happened that Nikole was in Vegas for a conference so we kidnapped her on her last day in town and got to spend the afternoon with her.

Nikole, Weston and I--Weston's not cross-eyed!  Thanks, Nikole, for helping him focus!  :)

Weston turned TWO months....a little while ago! :)

Yep, so Weston turned two months on the day that Andrew left for his first post-baby TDY and thus I was able to snap the photos but obviously didn't quite find the time to post the pictures!  Weston is doing wonderfully, the doctor was quite pleased with his progress at his two month appointment.  Although his growth is still on the slow side for an 11 week old, he is making progress and that's what is important!  He is not quite on the full term baby growth chart so he technically has 0% on that chart, but on the adjusted 33 week chart he is 50% for weight (9lbs, 3 oz), 55% for height (21 inches) and 33% for his head circumference (14.5 inches--the doc said that his head circumference will catch up as a lot of preemies have what she calls "toaster head" as their sides need to expand a little).
Along with his growing chart, he is surprising us each and everyday with new skills.  He has rolled over three times now, although all of them have been because he was fussing and just plopped himself from his tummy to his back.  He has begun to smile at us and that makes all those crying moments totally worth it.  We still think a lot of his smiling is due to gas but every now and then we know we are getting genuine smiles.  He can scoot all over his crib on his stomach when he's angry so we know he has some strength in that little body.  One evening, like a good mom, I even took out the bumpers (like they are recommending now) and he woke me up twice because his arm had gotten lodged in the railings so back the bumpers went!
Here are some two month photos:

Look!  My eyes are open and my diaper looks HUGE!

It's tiring being being this cute and 2 months old!

Somehow I don't look as comfortable as mom made me last time--can you tell dad had a hand in this?  

Yep!  Still slipping!

More to come because well, Weston will be 3 months soon!

Weston and I survived!!

Andrew had his first TDY (work trip for non-AF people) in Weston's life and Weston did just fine giving me a run for my money!  Andrew headed to Panama City, FL to do some training for 10 days and although Weston and I had help during most of it, we did spend the first four doing it just the two of us and keeping each other alive (and awake at night--thanks Weston!) 
We had our schedule down for the most part, but I have lots of credit to give to some dear friends of mine who have done this mere weeks have their little ones have arrived and continued for 5+ months as their husbands deployed (they also had other little ones running around).  In my book, albeit after I only survived 4 days solo, these women are saints!  They know who they are and should certainly give themselves a pat on the back along with a shopping spree, a vacation and whatever the heck else the want!  I am in awe and know that one day I may face that task and will certainly survive that one, but I am just happy to have survived the first TDY experience--it can only get easier from here, right?
And, as luck would have it for Andrew, the night he arrived home at midnight, Weston was up and ready for him and I gladly passed him off so that they could late night bond!  The little guy was ready to see his dad, I guess!  :)
More to come on our visitors during Andrew's absence as well as Weston's two month check up!  :)

Making changes...and I don't just mean the baby!

So, apparently in true Stolee style, when we go for change we go for some BIG changes!
(1) Due to Weston's early arrival, I have decided not to go back to work this spring.  Well, I did decide but Weston (once again) made the decision for me. :)  As the doctors recommended, it is going to be best for Weston if we keep him out of daycare for as long as possible in the first few months of life as preemies are much more susceptible to illnesses.  Weston could have gone to daycare but would have needed special shots and well, we just didn't want to risk anything putting him in danger and/or back in the hospital again.  I was a bit nervous about not going back to work because I love my job and what do I do with a baby--stare at it?  Okay, I have stared quite a bit and love my snuggle time and somehow the days truly are flying by.  The days also fly by because we pretty much do the same thing everyday: change diaper, feed Weston, pump, walk/play with KJ, REPEAT--it's amazing how quickly days will pass when the schedule is like that!  
Also, with all the visitors that are signed up to meet Weston, I didn't want to miss out on that excitement.  I am having to reapply to Clark County as a new hire once again which is fine and will be hopeful that good luck again finds me with a job next school year.
(2) Another blessing in me not going back to work (beyond extra time with Weston), is that Andrew has been given an opportunity to switch airframes.  He will be transitioning from an F-15 to an F-22:
From this:

 

To this:

 

What this means is that he needs to be trained on the F-22 and so Weston, KJ and I are going to be tagging along for the spring/summer.  Training is in Tyndall AFB in Panama City, Florida, right down the road from where Andrew and I met and married.  There truly isn't a better place for Weston, KJ and I to join Andrew for 2.5 months.  And, because it is a 2.5 month training course, that would have been a long time for Andrew to be away from us so why not join him if we can?  Andrew and I have spent two six month periods apart in our 3 years of marriage so we know that we should take advantage of the times when we can share in an experience.
Even though Andrew is switching airframes, we will still be staying in Las Vegas and that's a good thing.  It looks as though we will be here until 2015 which will be the longest assignment for Andrew in the Air Force.
On a purely selfish note, I cannot wait to spend 2.5 months in the Panhandle of Florida.  I have so many wonderful memories growing up down there and then as an adult that I feel like a kid at Christmas.  I don't know that any other place feels like home for me.  Along with my memories, Weston has so many wonderful people to meet and greet!  If you will be around, let us know because Weston and I will be spending lots of time hanging out!  :)

For now, those are the changes happening in our household--you know besides the diaper changes and trying to guess at how long Weston will sleep tonight!

Ugh! Mustache March

 The above picture details the start of the month that many of us DO NOT look forward to!  Andrew's 'stache is only 5 days here and sadly, it will only get worse.  I am trying to find humor in this month this year by using Weston as a prop!  :)
I guess another good thing about Weston arriving early is that his first introduction to his father isn't while Andrew is rockin' a lip sweater and that we did not have to document his first month with nothing but creepy mustache photos; much better to have Weston's 3rd month full of mustache photos.
I am sure that I will post more photos as the month goes on!  For now, Weston has beaten his dad's mustache in the beginning of the month!

The scale has tipped!!

Today marks the day that we have finally beaten the number of days that Weston was in the NICU!  We have enjoyed having Weston home now for 28 days and we know that we will just continue to stomp on the 27 day number that he spent in the NICU.
Weston is still thriving at home and continues to bring joy to our lives and has actually had a busy last week.  Not only did we see his due date come and go, but on that same day, February 29th, Weston got to welcome his grandparents from Minnesota.  Having Grandma and Grandpa Stolee just begins the grandparent and family love that is to take over this house in the next few weeks!  Weston is so lucky to have such adoring fans!  :)
Here are some pictures from the past few weeks and Grandma and Grandpa Stolee's visit:

 We continue to ensure that both of our babies get snuggle time!

Grandma Stolee seems to handle her duties with both of the newest additions quite well!  

Grandpa Stolee took a more formal approach when introducing himself to Weston.  Weston seemed to be quite relaxed with the introduction!

Along with just meeting his Grandpa, Weston helped celebrate Grandpa Stolee's birthday with a good ol' fashion bottle drinking contest!  Grandpa knocked back his root beers but Weston took the prize with the continuous number of bottles he knocked back while Grandpa was visiting!

As is customary for all parental visitors to our house, we put Grandma and Grandpa to work!  Here Andrew and Rand are putting down rocks in the backyard--in total, they put out 55 bags and made our yard look so much better.  Rand also became our visiting pool boy--probably not a very lucrative profession in Minnesota but we would write a glowing recommendation for him if needed!

Meanwhile, Becky tended to windows, hedge trimming, floor cleaning and much more!  We can now see all the hard work through the extra clean window at the kitchen table!

I can't resist sharing this amazing picture that Grandpa Stolee caught of his two grandbabies--his favorite grandson and his favorite white granddog!  (KJ really bonded with Grandpa Stolee, especially on the REALLY long walks he took her on!)

Another bonding adventure for KJ and Grandpa Stolee.  We had not really put KJ near the pool because it was "off-season" but Grandpa Stolee said that dogs don't know seasons and I guess he was right because she took to the wading area like a true Golden Retriever!  She hasn't missed a day of wading in the pool since.

Finally, Grandma and Grandpa Stolee were here to see Weston really take to tummy sleeping (it's helping his reflux) and just let the world pass him by!  

If you want to see more of Grandma and Grandpa adventures, see Grandpa Stolee's Blog.