Andrew's F-15 Fini Flight

Today was Andrew's last flight in the F-15 Eagle and he had a great day and I think enjoyed it.  I overheard him say that he only cried for the first 10 minutes and then decided just to have some fun while it lasted!  Okay, maybe I made that up, but I do think that Andrew will miss the jet (his other wife, maybe even his first one if I am honest with myself as he did "meet" her first) and we will both miss the wonderful community.  We do know, though, that the F-22 community will be just as wonderful and we are looking forward to what lies ahead of us.  We are happy to be staying here in Vegas for another 3 years and watching Weston grow as Andrew learns his 3rd wife--finally, I came before this jet--the F-22!  :)  Here are some photos (thanks to our photographer, Hope):

Weston and I waiting for Andrew to taxi in...notice the ear protectors that are sticking up from W's head.

Here comes Andrew.

Last time we will be seeing him sitting in that spot.

Dutiful wife and baby wait patiently.

The traditional spray down--was a little difficult to join in this time with a baby attached to me.

Andrew will take that...

Some of the 422 fellows--oh and Ripper, too!  :)

Andrew's flying buddies for the day--Schlem and Hoss.

Drowning his sorrows?!?

Scott "Schlem" Prom is also leaving the Eagle community and heading to the Duluth Guard to fly F-16s, kind of nice that two Minnesota boys got to enjoy their last Eagle ride together!

Weston very proud of his dad--he's even sporting a onesie that says "Daddy's Little Wingman" and has an image from Top Gun (yes, I realize Top Gun was about the Navy...)

Family shot--it was a bit windy.

Squished face all the way--check out that triple chin!

Weston is 3 Months Old!

It's crazy to think that a quarter of a year has passed and that Weston has been part of our lives that long.  Our groundhog day of going back and forth to the hospital for 25 days seems like forever ago and yet it also seems not that long ago either!
We are so proud of our little man and the growth that he is making:
He is almost 11 lbs (per our Friday weigh ins).
He is outgrowing some 3 month clothes in length.
He is knocking things with his hands and sometimes feet.
He smiles and loves to hang out naked on the changing the table.
He can sleep for 6-7 hour stretches at night (hallelujah).
He is happiest in the morning and right after he eats.
His spit ups are becoming less and less.
He's a great snuggler and even hugs our necks with his little arms (at least we tell ourselves that's what he's doing)!  :)

Here's some photos of our little guy marking his 3 month birthday!

Weston was smiling at GG off to the side--he's got a cute little crooked smile.

One of the recent discoveries--his hands!  

Still working on the sitting thing, but he sure is sticking that belly out!  

Weston was showing off his guns here, even in his sleep!

Weston's First Easter AND GG's Visit

Even though my mom, GG, had technically met Weston the weekend after he was born, this visit felt much more real as we were home and Weston wasn't hooked up to machines and/or stuck under lights for any part of her visit; this time GG got to hug and love on Weston as much as she wanted.  And, very exciting for all of us was that Weston sort of began to come into his little personality and really smiling and interacting with us!  We know he has smiled before but we weren't convinced it wasn't due to gas! :)

Weston also had his first experience of being tortured by GG and me as we forced him to shop most of Friday with us but he didn't do too bad and even posed on a leopard print couch (photo below)!

Easter was very low key for us this year as our original plans fell through due to an illness (not ours), so we just made the best of it and enjoyed a delicious meal of Cafe Rio and some hot tub time!  Weston even enjoyed a little hot tub prior to it getting really heated.  We think he will be very ready for the Gulf of Mexico as it heats up to bath water temperature!  

Beyond the activities, Weston decided to throw us for a loop with his eating but in the end the switch has benefited us all.  About three weeks ago we decided to see if Weston would take breast milk from the actual breast (I had been pumping and he was getting breast milk but it was all from bottles as he was too "weak" to take to the breast while in NICU) and surprisingly he did, or so we thought.  He was seemingly eating from the breast and even when we offered him a bottle the first few days after each feed, he didn't want it so we thought he was satiating himself.  Guess not, as I started to lose the wonderful supply that my body had built up with my dear friend the breast pump and thus we turned to formula (I could have rebuilt up my supply but mentally I thought I might lose my mind having to go back to the pump for 4-6 hours a day).  We switched him to formula at the rate of about a new feeding every two days.  Well, after the first formula bottle, we had this VERY happy kid who was content to play by himself and actually laugh/giggle at us--it was amazing and as we introduced more feeds of formula, it just continued.  We were shocked and pleasantly surprised.  It was a difficult process for me mentally but now that I have had this happy baby, it feels right in a lot of ways (I would still rather have a happy, breast fed baby over a formula baby but I guess I can't get EVERYTHING I want).  I hope to upload a video (hint, hint Andrew) of Weston smiling and cooing so that all of you out there in Blogland can see but at any rate, this baby is melting our hearts even more with his happiness!

Enjoy the pictures from the past weekend!

Who says boys can't love shopping and look stylin?  (Andrew is probably cringing as he reads this.)

Going for the Easter photo shoot- we were attempting to catch him happy--uh, we missed the mark on this one.  He was a bit hungry, but he sure did look cute even with an angry face!

Ahh, much happier with his plug!

Post food, satisfaction!  He does pretty good in the Bumbo--needs help with the forward head motion.

Giving that serious, mature look.

Snuggling with dad.

Posing with mom--can't you see him saying "Ahh, Mom..."

Hanging out in the hot tub with mom and GG.

Enjoying a good Summer Shandy in honor of Mr. Tim!  Cheers!

Dad and Weston relaxing.

Family photo.

Ohh Dad, not a zerbit.

GG and her grandson--she fell a bit in love with him on this visit!

Weston hopes everyone had a great Easter and "Rock On!"

April is here!

For most people, April 1st signals a day for practical jokes but in our household it is a day of glory for me as Andrew shaves that nasty thing he grows on his upper lip the entire month of March!  So here goes the beauty of the shave.

All that Andrew worked on the entire month--can you see the pride in his eyes?

Playing with the shave off!  You may not be able to see, but he has purposely shaved off the hair in the center of the 'stache--it's a wonderful ode to Axe and his creepstache!

Pencil thin--even creepier, I think.

Poor Andrew, his lip is so naked.  But, I like it much better this way!  

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.