First Vaccine Appointment

Guess who is 9 lbs 2 1/2 oz? Will had his first vaccine appointment today and we were all shocked with how much he weighs. He has gained almost 4 lbs in the 8 weeks he has been around. We were guessing he would be around 8 lbs; boy were we wrong. That goes to show what a good eater he has become. He does like to spit up a lot but it is of no concern since he is gaining weight as well as he is and does not seem to get distressed when he spits up. He had a clean bill of health today and had to get 3 shots and a liquid vaccine.

The Tray Of Vaccines

He drank the liquid vaccine very well; apparently it is supposed to taste sweet and salty. He then got 2 shots in his right thigh and 1 shot in his left thigh. He screamed and turned bright red in the face for about 10 seconds. Then daddy picked him up and he calmed right down and was asleep by the time we put him in his car seat. We think he took his shots like a champ. He has had an exciting couple of days. He had to go and get some blood work done yesterday. He barely even cried while the technicians tried to hit his little vein. This morning he had his pediatrician appointment and this afternoon he has his 2 month eye checkup. Hopefully after today we will not have to go to see the doctor until his 4 month checkup on May 6.

Baptism Weekend

This past weekend was a very exciting weekend for all of us. Not only did Will get baptized yesterday, but he got to meet several more family members. His Uncle Tom, Aunt Meghan, and cousins Erin and Jeffrey drove up from VA for the special occasion. They were with us for Christmas but headed back to VA 5 days before Will's 6 week early arrival. His Uncle Jeff and cousin Rylie came from RI for the baptism. Sadly, his Aunt Robyn and cousin Avery had to stay behind in RI because cousin Avery has been sick with bronchitis. We missed having them here for Will's special day and they were certainly in our thoughts. Robyn's mom Diana also came along and got to meet out little man. Hopefully cousin Avery will be feeling better soon and then she can go to NJ next weekend and we can see them all again there. Prepare for picture overload...

Aunt Meghan Feeding Will

Erin Helping Jeffrey With Wii
Bowling- What A Nice Big Sister

Cousins Jeffrey, Rylie, and
Erin- We Missed You Avery

The Best Cousin Picture We Could
Get- Will, Erin, Rylie, and Jeffrey

Erin And Rylie Helping
Feed Baby Will

Uncle Tom, Aunt Meghan, And Will

Di Di With Will

Will's baptism was on Sunday at Katie's church. What made the event even more special was his outfit. The outfit he wore was the same outfit Bill wore when he was baptized 28 1/2 years ago. During the ceremony the minister took Will out into the congregation to introduce him to everyone. While he was walking with Will down the center aisle, Will decided it was the perfect time to spit up. The church carpet and the minister's sleeve got christened with Will's milk. After the church service the minister told us he has seen a lot of things over the years, but a baby spitting up during their baptism was a first. Will has made a good first impression at the church he will grow up at. After the baptism everyone came back to our house for a nice luncheon. Thanks to everyone who helped make this a special weekend for us!

Will Before His Baptism

At The Baptism

Four Generations- Great Grandpa Zink,
Grandpa Zink, Daddy, and Baby Will

Great Grandpa Zink And Will

Uncle Jeff and Will

Uncle Jeff, Will, and Rylie
(We Missed Aunt Robyn and Avery)

Will Enjoying His Rainforest Swing

Grandpa Zink and Will

Will After His Baptism Luncheon

Enjoying All The Visitors

We have all been really enjoying all the visitors that have been coming over to visit Will. Several of Katie's coworkers have come over on lunch to see the little guy. Our friends Matt and Rebecca come over often to visit. The numerous visits from the grandparents has been very enjoyable by all of us (except when Grandma Zink beats us all in Wii bowling). Last night Bill's coworker Brian and his wife Angie and 6 year old son Ryan came to visit. Today Aunt Donna and Uncle Bruce came over to spend some quality time with Will. We have enjoyed everyone's visits and visitors are always welcome. Tomorrow night Grandma Wallace is coming over for a sleepover so that mommy can have a night off of middle of the night feedings. Mommy is looking forward to that.

Aunt Donna and Uncle

Bruce with Will

Will Sound Asleep with Uncle Bruce

Will Doing His Famous Thinking Pose

Will Enjoying Aunt Donna's Company

Bath Time Fun

Will continues to enjoy his bath time. Yesterday we gave him a bath for the first time using baby body wash, since you are supposed to wait 6 weeks to try and decrease the chances of him getting a rash. He did really well with the body wash. I think bath time is going to be a time that he will look forward to, once he is a little older, and so will mommy and daddy.

Will Enjoying His Bath

During his bath he decided to provide us with some "floaters", so we had to empty the water, clean out the tub, and try again. While mommy was getting bath #2 ready, daddy taped this video clip.

Will Waiting Patiently For Bath #2

Will's Favorite Part of Bath Time

How Cute Am I in My Tigger Bathrobe?

Look How Big I Am

I am continuing to grow every day. I outgrew my first outfit last week. It was a preemie outfit that our friend Julie gave him; it was an Animal Parade outfit and very cute. He is now officially totally in his newborn clothes. He did not have many preemie clothes but he had a few preemie sleepers and the outfit Julie bought.

My 1st Outfit I Outgrew

My 1st Baby Gap Outfit

I Am So Mad

I Love My Dogs

Will Snuggling With Daddy

We have been so impressed with the way the dogs have taken to Will. Both Gracie and Brinley love to lick him and give him kisses, but otherwise they are great with him. They only jump when people other than mommy and daddy come to visit. Sam is still unsure of Will and usually runs away whenever he is crying. We hope Will grows up loving animals as much as we do.

Will and Brinley Snuggling

Will really enjoys spending time laying on his gym mat and looking at all the bright colored animals that hang down from it. He is starting to enjoy belly time more laying on his mat. He likes the music that plays as well. His neck is getting very strong and we think he will be able to hold his head up before we know it.

Will Playing on His Gym Mat

Will You Be My Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day! It is so hard to believe that Will's due date should have been yesterday, and instead we have a 44 day old baby celebrating his 1st Valentine's Day today. We hope that everyone has something fun and romantic planned for their Valentine's Day. We celebrated ours last night by having a romantic dinner and evening at home (in between feedings and diaper changes).
These Valentine's pictures were taken a few weeks ago so that we could use them for Valentine's Day Cards.

Will You Be My Valentine?

Cupid Is In The House

Will's 1st Super Bowl Sunday

Will got to experience his first Super Bowl today. Grandma and Grandpa Zink and "Uncle" Matt and "Aunt" Rebecca came over for the big event. He was awake for quite a bit of the game, although he had no idea what was going on. Daddy does not route for the Giants but told Will that he thought about routing for them because the last two times the Giants won the Super Bowl the Redskins won the Super Bowl the next year. That is an interesting way to look at it. But he did have to sport his Redskins gear along with his special Super Bowl onesie, which said "Shhhhhh... I am watchin the game with dad." Mommy found the onesie at Target and it was a must buy. Hopefully the Redskins will be able to make it to the big game next year.

Will Sporting his Baby Redskins Hat

Will Snoozing Before the Super Bowl

Will Meets His 2nd Cousin Claudia

Tonight Bill's cousin Brian and his wife Rebecca came over with their daughter Claudia (Will's second cousin) for an evening of pizza and Wii playing. Claudia was very interested in Will while he was in his swing. She took him a stuffed Elmo and even helped push him in his swing until she started pushing too hard and we had to ask her to stop. She even was giving him hugs while he slept. We all enjoyed their visit very much and look forward to watching Will grow up with Claudia, who will only be a year older than him. We can not wait for our next play date with them (and the Wii of course).

What is Cousin Will Doing?

Claudia with Bill and Will

Aren't I so Cute?

Helping Push Will in the Swing

Look How Far He Has Come

Bill and I finally sat down and figured out how to download our video clips onto our computer. We got a new video camera for Christmas and expected 6 more weeks to learn how to use it. Since our "bundle of joy" came 6 weeks early, it has taken us a little longer than anticipated to learn how to do this. These video clips are a little dated but we wanted to share them with everyone; look how far he has come (from the NICU to home).

Will 1 Day Old in NICU
1/2/08

Will 12 Days Old in Nursery
1/13/08

We celebrated Will's 2 week birthday by giving him his first sponge bath. He did not enjoy that very much.

Will's 1st Bath on 1/15/08

Guess Who is One Month Old Today

It is so hard to believe that Will is one month old today. Boy how time flies. What is even harder to believe is that my original due date is not for another 12 days. I feel like we almost cheated the system by getting to spend the last month with Will in the real world instead of him still being in the womb. Will continues to do great.

He went to the eye doctor yesterday for a recheck. With all premies they are concerned about a condition called retina of prematurity, which can lead to a whole bunch of eye problems. He did not care for the eye exam at all but got a clean bill of health. He is going to see a pediatric eye doctor for one more recheck in one month but it looks like his eyes are very healthy!

Will Waiting Patiently
for the Eye Doctor

The last two days he has been eating like crazy, which means he is probably going through a growth spurt. I can not imagine what he is going to weigh at his 8 week checkup. Pretty soon he is going to outgrow his newborn diapers and newborn clothes.