DOCTOR VISIT
Lewis saw Dr. Fraser today. At six months he is 17 lbs., 5 oz. and 26" long. Apparently he is average for weight and slightly below average for length, while his head is above average (most likely to house his massive brain!). He got some vaccinations and a flu shot. Everything seemed to be okay and we are glad that his next appointment will not involve shots. In other news, our friends Cort and Laurie Basham produced a baby boy this week. You can see his picture on their BLOG. Welcome to the world, Simon! You squeaked in at the end of '06!

SIX MONTHS OLD!!
Lewis is six months old today. His little life is going by so fast! We go to the doctor tomorrow to see how he is doing and to get some more vaccinations. It should be a good time. Lewis has had rice cereal for 3 mornings in a row. Check out his second attempt on this VIDEO.

FIRST SUPPER
Lewis had his first solid food yesterday. Though it was still mostly liquid, his first attempt at eating rice cereal went extremely well. Lewis ate a whole serving (about 4 tablespoons of milk mixed with a tablespoon of rice cereal) and had relatively little running down his bib when it was all over. He was left wearing a nice cereal mustache/gotee afterward, but we can live with that! He adapted so quickly to eating from a spoon that he certainly did not miss a beat. We are so proud. :)

HOLIDAY FUN
Lewis survived his first Christmas, despite some issues with his tummy and teeth wearing him down a little bit. He received a lot of wonderful gifts from his grandparents and aunts. We were really lucky this year to host everyone here in Bowling Green. Justin's family came on Christmas Eve and my family came on Christmas day. We ate a lot of food and opened a lot of gifts. Lewis got a whole wardrobe of clothes for the next few months which he really needed! He also got several toys and books to keep his interest for quite a while.

The first pic is Lewis and his aunt Beth enjoying his new glo-worm. The second is Santa Lewis with his Grandma and Aunt Monica. She got him some stacking cups that he is sure to enjoy. Thanks to the fam for good times and thoughtful presents. Lewis is sure to enjoy things more next year which will be nice for us all! :)

HO HO HO!
Lewis says,

"It's my first Christmas and here's wishing you the best one yet!!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! We have been enjoying the festivities this year as we look through the eyes of our sweet baby Lewis. It certainly makes it much more fun to try and figure out what he is thinking about all this holiday activity. Granted he has no idea what is going on, but he likes the tree and even the stocking I made him. Check it out in the photo. Being that I am not a crafty, creative type, it's a true miracle that it turned out so well! Next year it might get some use other than just hanging on the mantle.

We had a few unexpected guests the other day too. Derek Holt, in from Austria, was the first. He was followed by Mai Hoang, in from Washington state, and Zacchaeus Compson who is living in Arizona. Thanks for coming by! To those of those of you we will not get to see, have a wonderful (and safe) time with your families. We are so blessed to have a new member of our family this year. It is so amazing to imagine what the coming years will be like.

BABY'S FIRST CHRISTMAS
This weekend we began celebrating Christmas at a couple different parties. The main one being the annual Shepherd family gathering which happened to be at Justin's parents' house this year. Lewis got to meet a lot of relatives for the first time. He spent some quality time with his aunts and his Grandpa especially. Here are some pictures with his Aunt Jeanne outside, and his Aunt Monica, who seems to have the special touch of getting him to sleep even in the midst of celebratory chaos.

Lewis does the Elfin' dance!
CLICK HERE to see the smooth moves for yourself!

--Justin

SLEEP: A STUDY
We just thought you'd like to the see the contrast between Lewis sleeping this week (at 23 weeks), and Lewis sleeping at around 10 days old. Still the same basic position and look, though he is growing!! He can't wear that Pooh hat anymore. His head had to expand to fit his growing brain (or so we hope). Here's wishing you some good rest and sweet dreams this Christmas season. :)

A couple of pics of Grandma and Grandpa (Shepherd) the last time they were in town. Lewis' tooth is still working on coming in. It could be a long road. We are hoping it happens pretty soon because when Lewis gets upset about it, he gets really upset. He is mostly still happy which is great. He is getting much bigger and heavier. We have his six month check-up after Christmas when he will get his official weight.

Speaking of Christmas--Shelley and maybe Justin will be performing this Friday night during "A Very Redfoot Christmas" at Westminster Bible Church (824 Lehman Ave in Bowling Green). Redfoot is a local band and good friends of ours. The show is free and starts at 7 p.m. We will be the opening act and will be performing mostly traditional Christmas songs. Rumor has it that homemade ice cream might be served. Regardless, it will be a fun night. Feel free to join us if you are around!

Here's a video with Lewis and his Sesame Street Walker. He loves his Cookie Monster! Click HERE to watch.

CONGRATULATIONS GRANDPA NORM!
Last week marked the end of an era. Metereologist (and grandpa to Lewis) Norm Reitmeyer retired after a long, happy career working for the National Weather Service. After weathering numerous storms and working a variety of shifts, he has moved on to the next stage of his life. We are proud of him and all of his accomplishments, and wish him a long and fun retirement!

Lewis got to meet some more friends last weekend. Yura (another Belarussian transplant) and Lauren Metelski are expecting their first baby any day now. We hope little Ella arrives soon and with relatively little pain and effort. They'll be great parents.

Currently Lewis is focusing on getting his first tooth. We are not sure if he is getting one or two, but he is drooling like crazy and in quite a bit of discomfort. By chewing on his hand, his pacifier and getting some baby Orajel here and there he is managing okay. We will be glad when he gets through this phase!

WELCOME WINTER
It got so cold today that we had to get Lewis all bundled up to run a few errands. When we got home he kept sleeping for quite a while and we had to take some pictures because he looked so cute!!

We also took a short video this morning. He has so many girls around that it seems like he is learning to project his voice in a deep, manly way. Click HERE to watch. He is watching daddy running around at the end.