It is here...

Nick's mountain ride has arrived! He is now the proud owner of a 2008 Toyota 4 Runner. Hopefully it will not suffer the fate of his last two cars (major accidents for those who do not know). His 4 wishes when he left Denver in high school have been completed: get married, buy a home in Denver, purchase new skis and buy a mountain ride. In an era where many people are off-loading their gas guzzling SUV's in favor of a more fuel efficient vehicle, Nick decided to combat others efforts in reducing their carbon footprint by buying an SUV. This, in a large part due to the simple fact that a 4 door sedan just does not fit a family of 3 any more, at least not on a trip to the mountains.

Roll on over...

For the first time today while talking to Deanna on the phone Luke rolled over from his stomach to his back. This was after telling Deanna that he hated being on his tummy and I thought that he would never get there. I think that Luke's success was more luck then anything after being propped up on his arms and leaning over and letting gravity do the rest.

Fake him out...

On the solid food front, Luke is still in love with sweet potatos but gave me a funny face when I introduced him to green beans. Last night I faked him out by feeding him sweet potatos first and then a bite of green beans. It worked for a few bites... then the funny face again. I guess I will have to keep on trying.

Luke meets Lani!

This weekend Luke met Lani Nerbonne in Vail. I thought that it would be interesting to see what they did when put next to eachother. Luke being a typical boy, grabbed her dress and Lani put her hand in Luke's mouth. On Sunday morning Luke was drooling and Nick told him that the ladies don't find that too atractive. The new Dad's also enjoyed hanging out with their little ones and comparing notes of fatherhood.

On to butternut squash

"Yummy!" Luke said to his dinner of butternut squash. He ate so much so quickly that I could hear him swallow! As for now we do not have a picky eater on our hands. Next food in a few days... green beans!

Sweet Potato Round 2

An update for all who are interested... not knowing how much Luke ate yesterday I decided to measure out 2 tablespoons of sweet potatos to see how much he ate. After some spilling on his bib (I remembered today!) and a little on his highchair, he ate all of it and seemed to want some more. Nick and I decided to stop because we were not sure how much he should eat. He washed it down with some of mommy's milk, played for awhile and then went to sleep. I think his new nickname is the Chubby Eater!

Sweet Potato Bliss!

Today was a big day in the life of Luke. Today, Luke ate his first solid food....sweet potatos. His doc said that since he is so big and was grabbing at my dinner plate it was time to start. I decided that it would be fun to make his first meal myself. Here are the steps in which I made the yummy meal followed by pictures of Luke eating.

First I pealed, cut and boiled the sweet potatos.



Then I strained them...


Now onto the baby food mill which made it look like little worms coming out of the top.

Finally, using the water that they were cooked in, I mixed it all up... yummy! :)

The bowl was given to Luke by his Great Grandmother (Gramci) and has his initals LNB on it. The baby spoon matches my sterling silver and was given to Luke by his Grandy.

Here is Luke eating his first solid food! I did not know when to stop because he kept eating so much. I thought that he would spit it out but he swallowed it!

and Dad cleaning him up. I forgot to put a bib on him... a rookie mistake.

The Duffeyroll and Dad

Ah... the famous Duffeyroll that Dad has been talking about. Though a mere cinnamon roll by all outward appearances, the Duffyroll experience sets the eater in a downward spiral of increasing needs. The first roll, I have heard, tastes like any other gooey, sugary bun. The second reminds you of how good gooey, sugariness can be at any time of the day. The third feels like welcoming an old friend back home. After that, the cravings start, and soon Duffyroll patrons who once came in for a sandwich and a mini-roll at lunch find themselves ordering a dozen full size rolls on their way to work. And so, like the victims of Starbucks, Duffyroll patrons are caught in a web of warm, melting bread, cinnamon, and sugar that is both deliciously sinful and impossible to ignore. Here, Dad tries to keep me from starting down the same path he now treads...

Pounder

A week ago our friend Grant was checking Luke out and noticing that he is so big. Thinking about his initials, lb, he gave him the nickname pounder which has stuck.

The little pounder now has a cold and a cough which made it a rough night for the entire Belitz clan. Hopefully the little guy will recover quickly. Although, as soon as he feels better we have to go back in to get his 4 month shots. :(

Movin on up!

Luke is now 4 months old and is even a bigger boy! He now weighs 15lbs 15 1/2 oz which is 16 pounds if you ask me. He is 25 1/4 inches long which means he grew 2 inches in 2 months! Because he is such a big boy, Luke's doc said he is ready for solid foods. Let the adventures begin. Here Luke is trying to sit up. Luke's doc said it is called a tripod which makes sense.


On Luke's 4 month birthday we celebrated by going on a hike in Morrison with Katy and Charlie Ray.


After we got back Luke decided that he was going to try to roll over on his side. Not quite there yet but at least he is trying. :)

Generational Progress

No matter what the current situation, every parent hopes the young child will exceed his or her forbears in knowledge, wealth, and societal influence. Parents spend years working toward just this goal and, while sometimes disappointed, find enough advancement to keep the fires of hope kindled for a little longer. In our case, little Luke, who has already demonstrated a penchant for burping far beyond the capacity of his old man, surpassed his father in another way at the tender age of 4 months. As we can see here, Luke sites atop his a leather-bound throne, astride in a lap of luxury he won't fully appreciate until well after he outgrows the cushion upon which his chubby self now sits. A family friend of Kim's sent this leather chair, refinished and redone, to us for the benefit of the little guy and the little guy alone. This is all well and good, except that Dad, supposed master of the house, doesn't have leather involved in anything he owns, much less a chushy chair from which to view the latest ball game. Dad has a comfy leather chair on his list of items to buy, but since it's far below other mundane items like "pay off school debt" and "spring for central air conditioning," there is little expectation of a leather chair for Dad until the year 2035.