6 months

Happy Half-year Birthday, Richard Tobias!!

Well, six months have come and gone...I still can't believe it!!  This past month has gone by really fast.  We have celebrated Thanksgiving and then it has been getting ready for CHRISTmas.  I can't believe you will be celebrating your first CHRISTmas! 

You continue to be such a happy baby...so smiley!  You have gotten to be very vocal...very loud...just like Kyrie!   You like to laugh...A LOT...when you are getting undressed for you bath.  Speaking of bath...you love your bath time.  You have outgrown your bath seat, so you are now laying in the bath tub on a towel.  Oh, you LOVE to splash away...and you laugh while you do it! You are also rolling from your stomach to your back.  While sitting in our lap, you pull yourself up into a sitting position.  We have been working on sitting up by putting you in your chair.  You are also jumping up and down while we hold you in a standing position.  After Christmas, we will be getting your jumperoo out.  You are sleeping much better at night.  A couple of weeks ago, we let you cry yourself back to sleep after sleeping about 4 hours.  You went back to sleep and slept until 3am.  Since then, you usually get up one time.  This has done wonders for Mommy and Daddy!!  You have also gotten your first hair cut...oh, how I regretted it after I snipped the first hairs!!  You look so grown up now.   I guess you have to grow up, but it still makes me sad to see you growing up so fast!!

Well, we are still very thankful to have you in our lives.  We love you very much, Richard Tobias, and we look forward to seeing how God is going to use you.

Here are some belated six-month pictures that were taken at home...better late than never! 

Such a happy boy

Those eyes...

You are doing some major army crawling

5 months

Well, another month has come and gone!!! Can you please stop growing!?!  You are moving, moving, moving...all.the.time!  You have mastered rolling from back to stomach and even have rolled stomach to back a couple of times.  Your legs are constantly moving.  Since last month, you have started eating rice cereal and now oatmeal.  You LOVE to eat!!  We also have started you on formula for one feeding...just before bed time.  We have done this to try to get you to sleep longer. It has helped some...5 hours is the most we get!  You just like to eat and let's be honest...you didn't get to be your size by sleeping through the night!! :)  You continue to be such a happy baby! You smile A LOT...and laugh, too.  Sophie really makes you smile.  I love it when you laugh when I get you undressed for bath...I don't know why it makes you laugh, but it does...and I.LOVE.IT!! We are so thankful you, Richard Tobias!!!  Mommy and Daddy love you very much and are honored to have been chosen to be your parents!

Happy 5 months, Tobias!

4 months

Well, another month has come and gone!!  I swear this time around time is really flying by!! 

You are growing into such a big boy.  We can't believe how long you are.  We were supposed to have a doctor appointment yesterday, but for some reason they scheduled you for today.  So that means, we will have to make another appointment.  It will be pretty interesting to see how long you really are.  You are wearing 6 to 9 months mostly because of your height.  It will also be interesting to see how much you weigh.  So far, you have only been eating milk from Mommy.  You were really liking your bottle...you could eat so much faster...and not wanting to nurse from Mommy, so we stopped giving you a bottle and now you are nursing better again.  We will be giving you some rice cereal soon...probably going to wait until Daddy's day off, so he can be here for your first time eating. :) 

On your actually 4 month birthday, you started rolling like crazy from your back to your stomach!!!  I guess you really wanted to celebrate.  You continue to sit up really well with some help...your neck is nice and strong.   You got your first cold...made Mommy really sad. :(  One night, Mommy only got 2 hours of sleep because every time you laid in your crib, you would cough and gag.  So Mommy sat up in bad and held you will you slept upright in my arms.  Even though I was really tired, Mommy would do it all again. 

We love you so much, Richard Tobias, and we are having so much fun learning about who God has created you to be. 

4 months

3 months

3 months old!?!?  Where has the time gone?  Can you stop growing so fast!?! 

Well, our family feels complete with you.  Mommy and Daddy are so thankful that you are a part of our family.  In the last month, you have learned so much.  You have started "talking" with us.  Smiling more regularly.  Laughing when Mommy tickles under your neck.  You rolled over from your back to your stomach.  You so badly want to sit up and even try to pull yourself up in a sitting position when you are sitting on our laps.  You have a new love for being outside...just like your brother! You were spoiling us by sleeping 8 to 10 hours at night and then sleeping 3 to 4 hours after that, but in the last couple of weeks that has changed....you go 6 to 8 hours and then every 3 hours after that...not bad for a 3 month old!!  You go about 3 to 4 hours between feeding during the day.  Day time naps are hit and miss.  Sometimes you sleep like a champ and other days, I feel blessed if you sleep longer than an hour.  But I am not going to complain because you do so well at night! In the next couple of weeks, we will start you on the "Your Baby Can Read" videos...just like your brother and sisters...we will get those synapses connecting!

Well, that is all for now.  We love you very much, Richard Tobias!!!  We are enjoying watching you grow and seeing who God has created you to be.

3 months

Love the hair that won't lay flat

There is that smile we LOVE so much

BABY FEET!!!

So serious

2 months

Well, it has been two months since you have made your arrival to our family.  I can't even imagine our family without you!!!  You continue to grow like a weed.  We did miss your two month appointment because you didn't nap much that day and were very fussy.  By the time you fell asleep, it was less than 20 minutes before we would have to get you up to go to the appointment.  Mommy and Daddy just thought it would be best to have you sleep instead of going to the doctor. 

You are doing so awesome sleeping at night.  Anywhere from 8 to 10 hours for your first stretch and then usually another 3 to 4 hours.  Mommy and Daddy are feeling a little human again!  :) 

We are so thankful that you are a part of our family.  We are enjoying getting to know you and already seeing some personality coming out and learning who God has created you to be.  We love you, Richard Tobias, and are so honored to be your parents!

2 months

One Month

Well, our little man is one month old!!  It is so much harder this time around...knowing that Tobias is our last one. We have already had to put up his newborn clothes...:( I know that he has to grow up, but it is definitely bittersweet. 

He has been gaining weight like a champ...way more than the other kids did!!!  They averaged 3 to 5 oz at their check-ups.  Tobias?  10 oz!!!!  He has been doing really well at night.  The last couple of days have been hard though.  He just cries when he is awake. Not during a certain time of day like with colic...ALL.THE.TIME. So we are trying to figure it out...trying some different things.  He gets so tired that I think it is hard for him to go to sleep.  It has been hard, so prayers are greatly appreciated.  It makes it hard for me because I feel like the other kiddos aren't getting much of my time.  I know we are transitioning and still figuring Tobias out and in time he will get used to sleeping during the day. 

He does like a nice warm bath...that is the only thing that really calms him down.  But his little body can't handle being in a bath tub all day...and besides our bathrooms are a little too small for all of us to camp out in! :) 

Well, that is all for now.  We love you, Tobias, and are so thankful that we are your parents.

1 month

He was done with pictures

All better now

Happy Birthday, Richard "Tobias"

Well, today you made your entrance into the world!  We are so thankful that you made it here safely..praising God for your safe arrival.

We got up this morning and spent some time with Josiah, Soph and Ky before we headed to the hospital.  When we got there, we found out they were behind schedule.  I was kind of expecting that since there were three other couples at pre-op on Friday.  When we were told they we were behind, we found out there were 6 c-sections scheduled for that day plus all the other normal deliveries...busy day for the doctors and nurses!!

We were finally brought back to the OR just before 11am and by 11:12am we heard your strong cries...still one of the sweetest sounds!  The doctors and nurses were absolutely wonderful.  Dr. Speyer was great just like with Kyrie.  Mommy had a little harder time with feeling nauseous and actually got sick.  Wasn't much fun, but knew it was worth it to have you here.  We spent a little over an hour in recovery before getting settled into our room.  It took the longest time to see you after taking you to the nursery to have you checked out.   It was so sweet to finally be able to hold you.

Mommy did have some issues with my oxygen levels being low and had to be on oxygen for a few hours.  They think when I got sick some junk got into my lungs.  So thankful that after much prayer and some breathing exercises along with the oxygen that things got better.

We are so glad that you are here and can't wait to see who God has created you to be.  We love you, Richard Tobias, and are so thankful God chose us to be your parents.  

Here are some pictures from our big day!

Mommy and Daddy getting ready to go to the OR

Richard "Tobias"--11:12am--8lbs 1oz--21 in

One proud daddy

Mommy seeing Tobias for the first time

We are FINALLY reunited back in our room

Darian meeting Tobias for the first time

It was a very tiring day

Bup-Bup and Mimi meeting Tobias for the first time

Hootie Hoos 1,2,3 meeting their baby brother

Richard Tobias

Well, it is official...we are having a boy!!   We will be naming him Richard Tobias and will be calling him Tobias.  Richard means "strong" and Tobias means "God is good." 

Many of you may not know, but on August 8, 1992, my brother, Richard, was killed in a private plane crash.  It was definitely a very difficult event in the life of my family.  I was only 13 at the time of his death.  I hadn't really had to deal with death before.  Sure, I had lost a great-grandparent or two, but they were old, so it just seemed right that their time was up.  My brother was so young...his death was so unexpected.  It totally rocked my world.  I had grown up going to church here and there, but didn't really have a saving faith.  I heard about God and believed that there was a God.  I knew Jesus was His Son, but had never surrendered my life to Him.  I can remember feeling so out of control...not only had my brother just died, but I was starting high school in a new town after living three years overseas in England.  There was many days that I plotted how to end my life.  The day had finally come when I was going to take my life down on the shore of Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, NY.  I was getting ready to take my life when I heard a voice say, "You will either follow Me or you will turn your back on Me."  I had no idea what this meant, but it was enough to shake me to the core and stop me from taking my life.  It wouldn't be until almost four years later that that comment made sense...when I surrendered my life to Jesus...it was God speaking to me. 

The meaning of Richard..."strong" has great significance to me.  When I was weak, God was strong for me.  There have been many other times in my life when God has been strong for me, but that day on the shore of Lake Champlain definitely stands out.  The meaning of Tobias..."God is good" is also an appropriate name for our son.  Almost twenty years later, I can stand back and see how God has used my brother's death in so many ways to minister to people.  God took a tragedy and has used it to bring Him glory...and to me that is goodness.  Even though there are times I don't understand why this had to happen to our family, I know God is in control and He sees the BIG picture. 

I know that the day that Richard Tobias is born will be a joyful day, but like with all of our children a part of me will wish that their uncle could be there to meet them.  But God will be my strength, and I will sit there in the labor and delivery room and know that I can honestly say that "God is good."