A Big Day!

This morning we got to spend time at the McGarry's with both the grandparents and the greats. In the afternoon, we went to the Heidt's and William got to meet all of his aunts, uncles and cousins. He took a long nap with Aunt Tien and his soon to be cousins. She sure is talented to hold 3 babies at one time! We enjoyed a fun dinner with everyone, visiting and showing off our little guy. We have to try and get some more pictures tomorrow - we didn't get a picture of everyone!

After dinner, we went back to the McGarry's and William got to meet his great Grandparents Wennersten and Aunt Megan. Both William and the great grandparents were DELIGHTED to meet each other! Great grandpa Budd had some very special presents for William - a package of M & Ms and his farm set from when he was growing up. They are very special!

Uncle Mike and Aunt Tien (and cousins)


Aunt Kendra


Great Grandma and Grandpa Wennersten


William and Grandpa play with the farm toys


Aunt Megan and William

9 Week Old Sleepwonder!

Well, I think it is finally time to tell you that William is sleeping through the night more nights than he is up. This morning I had to wake him at 8:30 am to feed him and get our day started! He went down last night around 11:30am and slept all the way through! YEAH William! He has been sleeping well for longer and longer periods of time, but this is the longest yet!

Today, we got up late and went over to Grandpa Heidt's to visit and have some lunch. After lunch, we went to St Mary's Hospital to visit Grandma Kim and see all her coworkers - William LOVED all the women (and men) talking to him and was all smiles. After dragging Grandma Kim away from her desk, we went to the McGarry's to hang out and play. Grandma Kim reports that William is starting to use his hands purposefully to do things. He is hitting toys on his jungle gym and starting to reach for things he wants. We are excited about his new tricks, although I'm sure there is much hair pulling and TV remote grabbing in his future.

The Great Grandparents McGarry arrived this afternoon safely from North Dakota. Auntie Kaye and Grandpa Heidt will be joining us for dinner tonight! It will be nice to see everyone together tonight!

Smiley guys!

Update: Here are the rest of the pictures from tonight with everyone!

William with Great Grandma and Grandpa McGarry

William with his Great Grandpa Tom


William with his Great Grandma Gerry

Grandpas and Grandma!

We had a nice day here is Rochester. Grandma Kim got William up this morning for a quick visit before going to work. Grandpa Kevin visited for a few minutes before he got ready for work. The three of us went together to church to meet with the pastor about William's baptism before going out to lunch with Grandpa Heidt at Subway. We had a nice visit with Grandpa Heidt before going back to the McGarry's to meet great aunt (godmother) Kaye and going out to Olive Garden with everyone. I'll come back and post pictures tomorrow from tonight - I need to go to bed!

All smiles with Grandpa Heidt


Talking and playing with Grandpa Heidt


Playing with aunt Kaye (godmother, too)

We made it!

We made it into Rochester about 10:30 last night. William was great in the car - he slept most of the time and was awake and happy for the in between times. It was a LONG trip, but we're glad we came. We stayed up and visited with Grandma and Grandpa last night and Grandma gave William a bath. We put William down about 1 am (later than normal, but he slept a lot in the car) and he slept through until 7:30 this morning. GO WILLIAM! I was worried we would be up all night with all of the sleeping in the car...not this time anyways.

On the schedule for today: meet with the pastor about the baptism and then spend some time with Grandpa Heidt this afternoon! I'm sure we'll take pictures and maybe post them later!

Heading out!

Well, the packing continues...what will we actually need? I don't know - but I bet we have it with us somewhere...if we can find it in the piles of other stuff we are trying to bring. Good thing we are taking the big car! See you soon!

2 Months Old!

Today, William is 2 months old! What a big boy! He has grown so much! We stuck around home getting things done today and playing. We got TWO big walks in today because the weather was so nice out! He started (that I noticed) scooting a different direction today. We took a couple of pictures - he is pretty proud of himself!

We called Valentino's today and were able to reserve the room there for lunch after William's baptism. Another thing to cross off the list of things to do before we leave to go home on Wednesday!

William's head was ON the white burp cloth when he started playing on his mat...he scooted himself the rest of the way!

goodnight,

the heidts
PS Thanks for the Girl Scout cookies mom and dad...

Take a Hike!

Today we got up and met a few people from work for a nice morning hike. It is a little on the warm side (88 degrees) for it to be a great experience, but it was nice to be outside and with friends. We stopped on the trail to eat our lunch at a very nice scenic outlook. This afternoon we got some more baptism details worked out. William is a lucky duck! He is going to have 2 godmothers! Kaye, Jessica and Chris are going to be William's godparents!

A mountain? goat along the trail...in Missouri? Jeff call the DNR to report the goat and they said he (the goat) showed up along the trail 3 years ago and has been in the area ever since...hmmm

John tried out our baby carrier on his back this time...made it easier to see his feet!

John took William for his first swing!

The lake along the trail

Roll Over!

What happened to spring? Today is was almost 90 degrees! We took a walk outside and did some yard work. When we came in, William was so warm we decided to try out some shorts. They are a little long...but I still thought they looked cute!

Later on during some tummy time, William started tipping himself over and I was so surprised I caught him. When I realized he was starting to roll over, I let go and he rolled over by himself. He was so excited! John heard me talking to him and came up from working on the basement to watch William roll over from his tummy to his back several more times! Only after the fifth or sixth time were we smart enough to go and get the video camera...we managed to get him rolling over once by himself and then once assisted by me.

Tonight we got to eat at Chilli's (can't get enough fajitas...) and then we watched a movie. All in all, it was a very nice Saturday!

William in his summer shorts!

8 Weeks...

I still can't believe he ever fit inside me! He is getting so big! I tried to measure how long he was today because he just felt taller, but he was not cooperating at all - maybe tomorrow. I uploaded a bunch of pictures to snapfish today and will be sending the email out to everyone tonight sometime. If you don't get the e mail, let us know and I'll send it to you. Today I got us ready to walk twice and just as it began to rain -blech. Finally, when John got home we did get out to walk a little bit.

This weekends big plans? Starting to pull together/pack the entire house up so we are ready for the trip home. So hard to know what we will need...

Playing with my rings

Snoozing with mom on the couch...

What are you calling him?

"What are you calling him?" is one of the biggest questions people ask us after they find out William's name. William has lots of potential to be shortened and changed for different nicknames. As we will be coming home soon, I think this is a topic we should cover so everyone knows the answer to this question.

For right now, we really aren't calling him anything except William. Most of the time, I say "Your son pooped his pants...again" and John will say "The baby is crying...again". He is just starting to show personality and I think (hope) we will have a better idea about what nickname fits him best. We don't really have strong feelings about any of the possibilities. I happen to be a fan of Will and Liam. However, Bill, Billly, Billy Bob, Will or Liam are all okay...Willy is NOT. After teaching eighth graders for so long, Willy brings to mind something that is inappropriate for my little boy. So, Will, Liam, Bill, Billy, Billy Bob, or William are all okay with us. Willy...is NOT!

In other news, we have been having some pretty good nights. I'll write more about them if they continue this weekend. Today we ran some errands around town in the rain and then walked when John came home from work and the weather cleared up. For dinner, we started making a dent in the sloppy joe dinners I made before William was born. We haven't even started the taco dinners or the lasagna dinners I made. I think I though we needed dinners for a year...our freezer is still fuller than it has ever been before!

Videos!

We finally got the video thing figured out to have them online! The link on the left side called "William Videos" should take you there. Warning: If you have dial up internet, these might take a long time to load up! We had a great day today hanging around and walking outside - the high today was around 80 degrees! John had to mow the yard today for the first time...time for me to figure out how to get some yard work done with William around. We have some major weeding to do and it is probably time to put some seeds in...

Rainy Day

Today was a rainy, cold day so we hung out inside until the afternoon. Four of my coworkers are due to have babies in April and there was a baby shower for two of them at work today. William and I went to visit with everyone. One of the biggest challenges is getting William in as many of the baby gifts I received as shower gifts. Today he wore his fuzzy puppy hoodie, He-Man Heidt onesie, his Oshkosh jeans and blue bowling shoes - all gifts from coworkers.

Bath time with John aka "Daddy"


In his carseat ready to go...


Another carseat shot


With "Auntie Laura" - originator of the "He-Man Heidt" nickname

PS Stay tuned for possible sleeping news tomorrow...

Cover it Up!

What to do with a bald noggin? Find something cute to cover it up with! Here is our first attempt at a real hat (not the hospital hats!). I think it is a little big - that is a good thing because his head is growing like crazy!

I might be biased, but I think he is cuter today than yesterday!

...and more blankets

William & I didn't have the patience or time to get all his blankets photographed in one "shoot". So, here are some more!

The blanket made by my quilting friends

A blanket from Great (grand?) aunt Susie Heidt.


A blanket made by great grandma Gerry

Scooter!

I'm not sure how William has managed this, but he is starting to scoot around in his crib! He was VERY tightly swaddled last night when I put him down and withh his head touching the top of the crib. This morning, I came in to this:

So without being able to move his arms or legs very much, he has managed to scoot around! This morning, William let us sleep in a little. He was up at 5:30 (6.5 hours) and then slept again until 9am. Nice! On top of getting enough sleep, the timing also allowed us to try out a new church. Why haven't we gone before? It is a long and not very interesting story, but the point is we made it there today. William was great through the whole service! He slept most of the time until the pastor blessed him during communion. At this point, he woke up and smiled his way through the service - which the people around us enjoyed VERY much (lots of giggling in response). John and I both enjoyed the service and found there were a few people I know who are members of the church.


After church, we went to Chillis (mmm...fajitas) and then to Once Upon a Child to look for some cute clothes for Easter. William did a great (GREAT) job for us. This afternoon, we finished up our taxes, went for a walk outside and John got some time in working on the basement. Overall, we had a great weekend!

P.S. Oh NO! Happy belated birthday to aunt Cathy!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day! We all celebrated this morning with a HUGE green poo! It was EVERYWHERE! All over the bouncy chair, up William's back, on his pajamas, on his socks, on my arm and best of all - dripping on the floor! Warning: Too much information (TMI) ahead... It appears that the vitamins William's pediatrician recommended giving to him every day have turned his poops from a yellow color to a dark green when given every day. Lovely!

Once we were cleaned up and changed into our "green" outfit with turtles on it, we decided to venture out into the snow (yes, snow! It was 80 degrees on Thursday and Saturday it snows!) to do some shopping. We went to the outlet mall in Warrenton, Missouri to look for a cute Easter outfit/3 month picture outfit for William to wear and to get John some new shoes. We didn't have any luck on the Easter outfit, but did score some shoes for John and some summery clothes for William. We also got him his first pair of sunglasses!

Then, we went out for pizza at a new place.. it is always a little dangerous to do that in St Louis. Sometimes you end up with saltines and cheez whiz. This place was pretty good - we would go back. So, for anyone who wants pizza the next time you are here - we have the place.

The rest of the day we are planning on laying low and hanging out together. Oh yes, the Sanford boys are coming over to play when we are in Rochester on Thursday, April 5th! Fun times!

Our green turtle outfit from Robyn! We were going to put him back in his shamrock shirt, but he pretty well hosed it down yesterday with spit up...


New sunglasses- so cool!


Sucking on his fingers! William has been doing this a LOT lately! Today, I heard a funny noise coming from the mat during tummy time - William is trying to eat his whole hand!



This time he has his thumb!

7 Weeks!

NEW FEATURE: Listen to William "talking" by clicking on the "Audio Sounds" tabs of the left side of the page! (go down grandma, you can't see 'em yet...)

Today William is 7 weeks old! Just to prove it, he slept for 7 1/2 hours! He went down at 10:30 and slept until 6! I am SO proud of our boy! He then went right back down and slept until John woke him at 9am! I was starting to get discouraged because he had been sleeping for shorter periods of time the last 3 days...hopefully tonight will be another long sleep night!

I went back to work today (just for the day) and enjoyed seeing everyone at work and getting a few things done. John and William stayed home together and had the basement inspected - WE PASSED! (who wants to sheetrock?) Then they came up to school and we had lunch together. The boys did very well on their own and had a great day.

Bulbs I planted last year are starting to come up!


Rub my tummy for good luck says the 7 week old boy!

We call him the wiz kid (and it's not cause he's smart...)

Well, all the parts definitely work...William keeps proving it over and over. Not once, twice, but three times so far today. Today we have been busy cleaning the house a little bit, doing laundry and running errands. Our big first for the day is that I took William to the mall and walk after yesterday's walk in the rain. There were two stores I needed to hit and we got that done and then walked around for another 40 minutes or so. William had a great time watching the lights and filling his pants in his car seat/stroller combination.

Next to the kangaroo in the kids area of the mall.


Just waking up in his pack n play.


Smiling...and the beginning of new hair coming in on top...

The big news is that I will be working tomorrow! Tomorrow is a professional development day and if I work, then my maternity leave is extended 1 day. The boys will be home together tomorrow hanging out - fun times!

I want THAT baby back!

William only slept until 3:30am again this morning...what happened to the baby that slept until 5:30am? I want THAT baby back. My hope is that this might be the 6-7 week growth spurt I have been reading about and in another day or so we will be back to where we were. Otherwise...it could be a long week!

In other news, we have picked some tentative dates for traveling. We think we are going to try and leave St Louis either March 28 or 29th depending on John's work schedule. We will all stay through the weekend and have William's baptism on Sunday, April 1st. John will leave on Sunday afternoon sometime and I will stay with William in town. John will come back the following Thursday or Friday and stay through the weekend. We will all leave for St Louis on April 8 (Sunday). There are LOTS of people we want to see! So, if you will be in town, let us know so we can start making plans! We are pretty excited! As we move forward with planning, I'll try to post details. Right now, we will be at the McGarry's house. We plan on baptizing William at noon on April 1st at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rochester. That is all of our plans!

William has been doing a lot of "talking" - we're still working on getting some of it uploaded somehow! He also has been doing a lot of watching his hands and this weekend started blowing bubbles!

The big job today was to get out and buy William some bigger diapers! He is stretching the limits of his size 1/2 diapers and needed to bump up to the size 2's. Our baby is growing so fast! We got out to walk tonight as a family to enjoy the beautiful weather (75 degrees) and get some exercise. William also enjoyed (honest, enjoyed!) a bath tonight!

Blowing bubbles!

goodnight,

the heidts

Photo Studio Pictures (Kelly's)

William's Blankets

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William has received many MANY blankets from a lot of special people! Today, I thought we should start getting pictures while he is still sort of small with these special blankets...here are the pictures!

William with the blanket knitted by Great Great Grandma Myrtle (made for me when I was a baby)

Super soft blanket from Great Grandma Nona (look at those blue eyes!)

The quilt made by Mommy (me!)

Last night wasn't a great night, William only slept until 4 am...still not bad for his age, but I've been spoiled the last couple of nights. Unfortunately, then I couldn't go back to sleep - here I thought sleep deprivation was due to the BABY being awake, not just me not being able to fall asleep. Although we were tired, we did get some things done around the house and get out for a walk on a beautiful day - it was 75 degrees! Later in the day, we played photo studio with a sheet in the living room. I'll post the photo studio pictures in a separate post...

The first outfit I put William in today seemed a little small. I thought maybe I shrunk it the last time I washed and dried it. Then, the next two outfits also were too small...I am starting to think we maybe have outgrown the 3-6 month outfits. Is that possible? We have only been wearing the 3-6 stuff for about 2 1/2 weeks. In addition, I am also crabby because we have 2 more bags of diapers that I think are just about too small....