Holiday Weekend Outings

Last Friday (July 2nd) was supposed to be a day off for Daddy, but he ended up needing to go into the office to have his laptop re-imaged due to a computer virus. So… it was a Field Trip for Zander! Zander had a great time checking out General Mills Corporate Headquarters and playing with Jim’s work toys and product samples. He enjoyed meeting several of Jim’s co-workers, and even got a big red balloon to bring home! Here is Zander enjoying the view from 10th floor:

Saturday was a big day for Zander! He began the day with his second trip to the pool - he is still getting used to the experience. Here he is showing Daddy how to use the ladder:

…and warming up with Mommy afterward:

Then, it was off to the Twins Game! Our thoughtful friends Kim & Dave ended up with extra tickets and suspected that Zander might enjoy checking out Target Field – and they were absolutely right!  Zander loved taking in the sights and scenery. We arrived during the 2nd inning and were able to stay until the middle of the 8th inning - much longer than we expected!

As soon as we passed through the entrance gate, Jim Thome hit a homerun for the Twins - woo hoo!  Here we are heading in to find our seats.  Zander seems to be getting more used to his 'Ergo' carrier, but we still haven't mastered how to load him in without both of us present!

Kim and Dave welcomed us when we found the seats - right behind home plate, a great view!  (Yes - Dave, an East Coaster,  is wearing a Red Sox shirt...)

A glimpse of the Minneapolis skyline:

We saw lots of home runs, including Thome's second homer of the game with which he passed Harmon Killebrew for 10th on the all-time homerun leader board - very exciting!  And for the record, we left our seats before the Tampa Bay Rays hit their grand slam to take the lead.  Here is Joe Mauer getting a hit:

These are the first pictures of our new family of three since June 11th when we arrived home from Korea!

Zander didn't watch much of the game, but created several of his own games instead.  Here he is playing the "I'm going to share my Cheerios with you, well maybe not" game with Kim and Dave:

 Kim and Dave stopped by after the game for dinner. Jim grilled us all some tasty Korean barbecue ribs – delicious! And of course, spicy! (Yes, even despite the fact that we ran short on chili paste!)  It was a wonderful day and we thank Kim and Dave for including us in the game!

Happy Fourth of July!

Zander's first Fourth of July celebration was both fun and action-packed!  We started with a delicious big breakfast at Amy's brother's house - Heather made pancakes, sausage, hashbrowns, eggs, fruit, etc.  It was a fun way to start the day and get the cousins together.  Zander enjoyed wearing his special flag overalls with matching shirt which used to be Luke's.  (Most of Zander's wardrobe has come from his cousins - he appreciates them sharing with him, and of course their good taste!).  Here are Luke, Brady and Zander playing together before the meal. 

Next was a neighborhood Fourth of July parade.  Zander enjoyed meeting more of his neighbors and seeing everyone's Fourth of July dress and decorations.  What fun!  Here he is bringing up the rear in the parade (L to R: Julie & Dillion, Amy & Zander, Nana Pat, Brady & Heather).  We voted Heather as 'Most Spirited' with her sparkly flag hat and earrings - plus she spearheaded our decorations:

Zander didn't last too long in the parade as it overlapped with his morning naptime:

He finally woke up at the very end of the celebration and was quick to provide Daddy with direction on where he wanted to be carried:

In the afternoon, we attended a fun barbecue hosted by our friends Brian & Anna, as well as their new addition, beautiful Miss Clara:

We had another delicious meal and had a great time playing with friends - here is Zander playing with the ladies - Lucy and Clara:

We enjoyed sharing the holiday with family and friends!  We are a few days behind on our blog, so stay tuned for details on Zander's big field trip on Friday and his first Twins game on Saturday!

Back to Work

Jim returned to work this week – a big change for everyone! It was a sad transition for all of us because we have been having such a wonderful and special time together as a family. Amy is still adjusting to running the show on her own during the day – the biggest challenge being that Zander is accustomed to being held frequently, and at ~28 pounds is too heavy for Amy to carry for more than a few minutes at a time! Jim had been doing most of the carrying (ask him how his back is feeling), so Amy has some big (and strong) shoes to fill.

Tuesday marked another first for Zander – first time swimming!  Jodi and her girls (who first visited us a week ago Monday) returned for a play date. Here is the crew (including Aunt Heather and Cousins Luke and Brady) at our place before hitting the pool.

Jim recently picked up a ‘floatie suit’ for Zander – here he is hydrating in his new swim gear before testing the water:

Zander spent a while taking it all in - the size of the pool and the other kids swimming.  He was pretty mellow when we went in, but there were some moments where his love of the water came out and he squealed with excitement.  Thanks to Jodi for being our photographer!

Gabrielle and Zoe also had a fun time in the pool - they are both great swimmers!

Zander had a big day Wednesday with an appointment at the University of Minnesota’s International Adoption Clinic. He did really well and Mommy & Daddy received lots of helpful information and guidance from the experts. One short term focus will be to follow a more consistent schedule now that the jet lag is behind us in order to build Zander’s confidence in his new home/routine. The three-vial blood draw was brutal – the extent of Zander’s screaming and crying was similar to his recent haircut. He was exhausted afterward and fell asleep on the way home: mid-snack even (notice his hand still in the snack-catcher).

We are very thankful that Zander has become more comfortable in his carseat (compliments of Jim's Mom, Grandma Marie) since the projectile vomit incident ~10 days ago.  Woo Hoo!

Aunts & Uncles!

Following the traumatizing haircut on Saturday, the rest of the day was really fun. We played outside for a while in the afternoon:

That evening, we hosted dinner for Nana Pat and Amy’s Aunt Kathie and Uncle Randy. Zander loved meeting both ‘KK’ and Randy – he warmed up to them quickly and in no time was playing games climbing all over Randy:

Zander enjoyed playing with the wonderful new toys that KK and Randy brought him – a mini wooden wagon filled with colored blocks as well as a new Zander-sized ball featuring firetrucks, police cars etc. (a fitting gift from Randy who is a Volunteer Fire Fighter).  Amy also thoroughly enjoyed the special homemade batch of Party Mix that KK made - yummy!  Here is Zander handing one of his new blocks to Nana Pat with KK watching:

Zander also got to play with his new ‘Arctic Water Table’ that came from Babies R Us the day before. Since he loves playing in the water, we knew the table would be a hit (also another Coleman recommendation – thanks!).

On Sunday, Amy’s Uncle Tim, Aunt Connie, and Cousin Leah came over to visit. Zander had tons of fun meeting them - here he is hanging out with Leah (a June Wayzata High School Graduate - Congratulations!):

Here is Tim making Zander laugh:

Zander continues to play with the ‘Funtime Tractor’ that Tim, Connie and Leah brought him - it moves on its own and makes fun sounds when any of the animals (or farmer driving the tractor) are pressed down. A very fun toy pictured here with Connie:

Zander is so appreciative of the warm welcome he has received from all our family and friends - thank you all!

First Haircut

Zander had his first haircut on Saturday afternoon – and he HATED every minute of it!

Maybe we should have avoided such a stressful outing on the same day that Uruguay eliminated Korea from the World Cup (Jim was also a little bitter since he lost his wallet in Uruguay last December)! Nothing could comfort Zander during the trim – not even:
His best bud Dooly (pink Korean cartoon character):

His refreshing sippy cup:

A yummy strawberry lollipop:

A loving kiss from Daddy:

Finally, we found it!  A change of venue and a frozen yogurt with fruit!

Yikes - the first haircut may have even been worse than going to the pediatrician!

Zander Firsts

Last Thursday was a big day for us – we moved Zander from the Pack N Play in our room to the crib in his room. The bigger change we found, however, was transitioning from placing Zander into bed after he was already asleep to placing him in his crib awake – requiring him to soothe himself to sleep. Although it has been a difficult change (lots of crying!) we are confident that Zander was ready for this transition and that it will be much better for his ongoing sleep routine – he has since been sleeping for longer than the four-hour stretches that we experienced the first ~10 days.  He also is sleeping more total hours which we know is very good for him!  After one of his naps on Thursday, it became clear that Zander would soon need his first haircut:

Thursday was also Zander’s first visit to the large park/playground in our neighborhood – he loved it!  It took Zander a few minutes to adjust to walking in the sand (similar to when he first walked on grass):

Zander was also very hesitant on the swing at first, but once he got started, he was smiling and giggling in no time!

A new favorite pastime for Zander is playing Peek-A-Boo by hiding behind Mommy’s front door drapes - since this game started, the drape is no longer secured to the window, and Zander has kindly removed the curtain rod:

Friday we visited the pediatrician again to get Zander’s TB screening injection assessed (administered Wednesday) and to drop off some samples for additional testing. This was a much easier appointment than earlier in the week!  We also stopped by Babies R Us where Zander picked out his first lawnmower (a Bubble Mower, thanks for the recommendation Cole!) – he did a nice job evening out the deck for us.

Another new game that Daddy has introduced is "Super Zander" - where Zander gets to 'fly' around and see things from several feet higher a height than he is accustomed to.  Here's the technique:

...and here's how it looks when Super Zander is heading your way!  Crazy Wilson Boys!

Bonding with Zander

The week with Zander has really flown by – we can’t believe that tomorrow marks two weeks since we’ve been back from Korea! It has been a busy week focused on lots of bonding activities (playing, exploring inside/outside, walks, trying new foods, etc.), and working toward a more sustainable schedule. We have made great progress on the sleeping front… recall that we started with a 4am bedtime… tonight was 9pm – yippee!  Speaking of bonding,  here is Jim taking Zander out in the morning to fetch the paper:

Zander loves exploring outside - both on our deck and front porch/sidewalk:

Monday afternoon our dear friend Jodi (from Minneapolis, but now lives in Philadelphia) visited Zander along with her twin girls Zoe and Gabrielle... who are already seven years old! It was wonderful to see them all, and they brought Zander a huge box of their favorite books all the way from Philly! Jodi also brought a special treat for Jim – his favorite: a big batch of chocolate chip cookie dough – yummy!  Zander loved playing with the girls - it was fun to watch them all interact:

 

After all that fun play, Zander needed a nap... as did Daddy.  Here they are in their respective Philadelphia gear:

Monday evening, the three of us loaded into the car to attend cousin Luke’s tee ball game (uncle Bob is one of the team coaches). Zander quickly reminded us not to take transitions for granted (e.g. in/out of car seat, stroller, high chair, etc.) – he became extremely upset when placed in his car seat and cried so hard that he vomited… all over our ‘new’ car, his new Philly’s hat and T-shirt (from Jim’s Aunt Gail), and worst of all, on his best pal Dooly (the big pink dinosaur). Gross!! We cleaned up the car, the boy and the doll and gave it a second shot – success!! Although we missed the first part of  the game, we enjoyed seeing Cousin Luke bat and play the field, as well as Uncle Bob coach a team of 4 to 5-year-olds. Woo Hoo!

On Tuesday Zander watched South Korea defeat Nigeria in World Cup action, securing a spot in the next round of play. Go Korea!  If both Korea and the US win their next rounds, the two will play each other, which would pose a cheering challenge for our family!
Zander does tend to clap when he sees sports on TV which makes his Daddy very proud. That afternoon, Zander experienced his first big shopping trip... Super Target. Tomorrow we may even try Babies R Us depending how the morning goes...

Wednesday was a rough day… our first visit to our pediatrician. Zander did great the first half of the visit – he was measured/weighed and had a general assessment performed. Things got pretty stressful when the doctor removed some hardened earwax from both his ears using a long instrument – it looked very painful and there were lots and lots of tears!! He then needed a TB screening which involved a needle injection… twice since the first one didn’t take properly. Nurses also came in to draw several vials of blood, but had trouble finding a veins on both arms and decided that Zander had endured enough for the day, so we took a raincheck. Zander received a great examination report – we are so thankful!

Happy Father's Day!

What a wonderful Father's Day we had!  Back on Mother's Day in May, we mentioned on our post how we were hoping that Zander would be home to celebrate Father's Day with us - we are so thankful he is here! 

The highlight of our day was dinner at Amy's brother's home - Zander liked watching the big boys at play (Luke - 4, and Brady - 2.5 years).  Zander fell asleep right after dinner following his earliest morning start yet (6:45am following a Saturday 11:30pm bedtime).  Here are Bob and Jim - the Dads we celebrated, along with their boys.  (Cute Scooby PJ's!)

In honor of Father's Day, Amy 'interviewed' Jim on some of his key takeaways based on his first nine days of fatherhood:

What is your favorite thing about Zander?
Jim: Definitely his smile and his giggle.  (These two have been doing some serious playing as of late and it's hard sometimes to tell who is giggling more).

What has been your most memorable Zander moment?
Jim: The moment we met him - Monday, June 7th at the agency in Seoul.  Amy and I were waiting in the 'meeting' room and heard some noise in the hallway.  We looked, and around the corner walked Zander!  He was absolutely adorable wearing his little outfit with the tie.  He took a few steps into the room and gave us a big smile.  We didn't even know Zander was walking at that point - so the meeting was incredibly special and memorable. Also very memorable: any time Zander falls asleep in my arms.

What has been your biggest surprise about Zander?
Jim: His general easy-goingness - he is pretty low maintenance (all things considered!)... also - how much he loves to play!

What has been your most embarrassing Zander moment?
Jim: When I realized a few days in that when preparing Zander's formula, I was only giving him 40% of the recommended amount of powder.  He is supposed to take 5 scoops of formula in each bottle, but I was only giving him 2 scoops... it was a long plane trip and I think I got used with the fact that on the plane, I used 2 formula travel packets for each bottle, so I had "2" on my mind.  I felt so bad when I realized the error!

What experience with Zander do you look forward to most?
Jim: Having a catch with him - I can't wait! 

Here is Daddy in action - providing Zander with some expert guidance on brushing  (Zander is sporting the Buzz Lightyear PJ's he received as a gift from Luke & Brady in honor of the big Toy Story 3 premiere this weekend).