Christmas!

We had a WONDERFUL first Christmas with our boy! We started celebrating the week before Christmas with our annual party with the Rice and Eskew families, then we got to see Shay's dad's side of the family at his parents' house where Shay took part in a 5 hour long game of Hearts...and he and his dad won the second game! Trust me, this is a big deal in the Koch family :)

On Christmas Eve, Shay and I had my parents and Jon and Whitney over for dinner. Shay made an amazing shrimp and grits dinner and we had some good wine and opened presents. Some highlights: Jon got a USC snuggie and Shay got an adult size onesie (it's a long story...)

On Christmas morning, Rivers saw that Santa brought lots of Elmo things, some winter clothes, and he got to see his presents from Uncle Jon and Aunt Whit from the night before. Then we had lunch with my mom's side of the family at her house, and let's just say Rivers was not starving for attention!

I think Rivers' favorite gift came a few days after Christmas from Aunt Katie - she gave him a new cousin to play with! Baby Jack was born Dec. 28 and is such a cutie pie. I know they will grow up being the best of friends! I will post some pics of him when I get some that are not on my phone. Happy New Year everyone!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Rivers was so excited that his boring grocery shopping trip was interrupted by a surprise visit from Santa! I think he told Santa that he wanted some extra hands to suck on for Christmas :)

Happy Birthday Shay!

Shay is 30 today! Happy Birthday to the most incredible husband I could have ever asked for. Rivers loves his daddy and so do I!

My Favorite Sound

Rivers' Baptism

Have you ever had a day so perfect that you wish you could just relive it over and over again? Today was one of those days for me. Rivers was Baptised this morning at Fourth Presbyterian Church and the whole day from start to finish was filled with so much love and joy. It meant so much to us to have all of our immediate families together, including William and Gradmomma Hutchinson from out of town. Rivers was an angel during the service, and got all the kisses, hugs and attention he deserved at the luncheon. Even the weather cooperated and we were blessed with a crystal clear, warm fall day. It was just so wonderful to have all of our family in the same place celebrating such a truly special occasion!

The lunch was at my mom's house, and I have to give her a HUGE thank you! She was certainly the hostess with the mostest and everything was just sweet and perfect.

After everyone parted ways to nap (or was that just me?) Rivers tasted his first bite of non-rice-cereal food! He had organic pureed peas, and he actually seemed to like them! I'll try to post a video on a separate post.

I hope you all had as lovely a weekend as we did!

It's Tough Being a Clemson Fan

We Are So Thankful!

Rivers' First Thanksgiving!

The McMeekin Fam

Shay with Stardust, the Pony

Rivers and his Poppie

I'm Four Months Old!

It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize in advance if I end up posting a book!

1. And #1 on the importance list - RIVERS IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! And I'm not talking about a 5 hour stretch--I'm talking from 7 pm - 6:30 am!! It has seriously changed our lives! It's much easier to enjoy your sweet baby when you are not significantly sleep deprived :) I have no idea how it happened. After all the books and online articles I've read and advice from other mommies I've tried, he finally just decided to do it on his own. Yay Rivers!

2. At his 4 month check up last week, Rivers weighed in at almost 17 pounds (84%) and was almost 27 inches long (95%). He has now discovered his arms, and his new favorite thing to do is bang his bottle with his arm while we are feeding him. Makes for quite an entertaining meal! He also got the green light to start solid foods. So far he's just had rice cereal and a tiny bit of pureed squash at Thanksgiving. He is also in the hair and jewelry grabbing stage, so don't be surprised if you see me unadorned and in a pony tail for a while!

3. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families. We are so blessed to be so close to our parents and most of our brothers and sisters. Yesterday morning we headed to my cousin Heather's house for Thanksgiving lunch and it was SO GOOD! I look forward to that exact meal all year... After lunch, we had fun visiting Harlie's new pony, throwing the football and enjoying the sunshine. After a nice nap, we headed over to the Kochs for a delicious steak dinner with the family. It was so fun to see Rivers and Amelia together! Amelia is so cute with him and she is going to be a great big sister in just a few weeks!

More than anything this year, we are thankful for our new family. Four months ago we could have never imagined that that tiny baby would bring so much joy into our lives. It makes us appreciate our own parents in a whole new way.

4. Rivers is getting Baptised this Sunday! We are looking forward to this special day and mom and I have been busy getting everything ready this past week. We are having a small lunch for our families after chuch, and we are so glad that William and Grandmomma Hutchinson will be in town for the celebration. I'll be sure to post pictures next week.

Like Father Like Son

We spent this beautiful fall afternoon in Spartanburg cheering on the Terriers in the SoCon Tournament Championship game. Wofford won! It was a great day and we had fun showing Rivers where daddy went to school. Notice he was dressed for the occasion in Adidas soccer wear :)

Look Mom, No Teeth!

Happy Halloween! (a week late)

He spit up on his costume the second I took out my camera :)

Mommy and Her Pumpkin

Rivers LOVES jack-o-lanterns!




But he does NOT love witches!

Rivers and his cousin Amelia the ladybug!

Rivers had a wonderful first Halloween! He got to go to a Halloween party with his cousin Amelia a week before Halloween, and he dressed up as a pumpkin for the big day. In the video below, you'll see his new best friend - a silly monster on a card that Aunt Whitney and Uncle Jon gave to him. He just laughs and laughs when he sees that card. He also made his mommy and daddy a Halloween gift - a ghost made out of his footprint. It was a great first holiday for our boy!

We started him on a little bit of rice cereal about two weeks ago, and he has slept much better since then. We've had one night of "sleeping through the night," and lots of nights with a five or six hour stretch. MUCH better than from before! And the rice cereal is causing his rolls and double chins to grow. He is quite a cute little roly poly! Hope you all are enjoying the fall!

Three Month Birth-versary!

Our baby Rivers is three months old today! We've come a long way in three months: Rivers is sleeping a bit better, has moved into the 3-6 month size of clothes, and has discovered that his hands are the most fascinating things ever created. If you can believe it, he has gotten even more adorable over the past few weeks. I love this age so far! He doesn't cry nearly as much and loves to smile and laugh. He is also getting more coordinated and stronger. He bats at his toys, practices grabbing things with his hands and is holding his head up really well. We think that he's going to be a lefty like his daddy and MacDaddy!

Things Rivers likes: baths, his hands, kicking his legs, "standing" up on our laps, his jungle swing with mobile, the songs "Do Your Ears Hang Low," "The Wheels on the Bus", games of peek-a-boo, being outside, and mornings in general.

Since we don't have another pediatrician visit until four months, we did a little unofficial measuring today. We think he is about 14 1/2 pounds and about 24 inches long. He is definitely a big boy. I saw two of my good friends' daughters today who are about his age and they seem so tiny next to him!

Two things to check out: the video above of Rivers doing some tummy time, and the blog to the right called "Rockin' Rivers." My sweet mom adds a post every day so I can see what they are up to while I'm at work. Feel free to check in from time to time to see what adventures he is having day-to-day!

We Love October!

Our little pumpkin head!

"This carrier tastes gooood!"

Laughing at daddy at the wedding

What a sweet boy!

The Koch Fam

What a great fall it's been so far. Rivers has been to his first wedding and his first Fall for Greenville! Last weekend we went to Shay's cousin Rob's wedding at Lake Greenwood. It was a gorgeous outdoor wedding with absolutely perfect weather. Rivers did a great job drinking his bottle during the ceremony and met lots of family at the reception. Last night, we went to Fall for Greenville to see some friends and eat some yummy food. Rivers hung out in the baby carrier with Shay and was all the rage in his little pumpkin hat :) Next weekend we hope to go to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and of course, get some more pictures!

Shay is working at the Shriner's Hospital from October through the end of December, and it has been the most normal schedule he's had since he started residency! We actually feel like a semi-normal family! :) He works from about 6:30 am - 6 pm with NO weeknight call and minimal weekend call. Hallelujah! It is wonderful having him around more.

On another note, I started back to work full time on October 1 and it has definitely been an adjustment. I am the luckiest mom in the world to have MY wonderful mom watch Rivers full time, so I can't complain too much. I know he is well taken care of, but I miss him terribly at work. I've started going to see him at lunch time and that helps... I guess all the working moms in the world have the same feelings.

Other random facts: we are thisclose to closing on our condo in Charleston! Yay!!! It has been on the market for 15 months and we are thrilled to finally have it sold! Also, Shay has begun applying to Sports Medicine fellowship programs across the country. He will go to interviews this winter and we will know by March where we will be going for fellowship year. Stay tuned!

More Pics!

Here are some more pictures from the photos we had taken with Kacy Mehlem. Hope you enjoy!