Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Hello!

Lance had so much fun last Friday at his "Thanksgiving Dinner" with his friends in the Young Toddler room at Primrose. He is having so much fun with all his new friends and learning so much everyday!

Lance had his first trip to the Houston Zoo this month with his friends from my clinic at MDACC. We met up on Saturday morning and spent about three hours exploring the zoo - he loved the goats in the petting zoo the best! When we came home to see Daddy it was so cute- Lance saw Heath and just clapped.

We are heading to Atlanta on Thanksgiving morning - it should be fun to see how well Lance does on the airplane now that he so active!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Judith

Being a Toddler is exhausting!

Hello!

As I mentioned in our last blog, Lance has just moved up to the Young Toddler room at Primrose and it has been so much stimulation he is little tired.....this was cute shot they found Lance last week sound asleep in the mats tunnel...you can see he had crawled in there with a toy - found it was little darker and quieter and just went to sleep!

Also, he is now down to one nap a day which in the Toddler room they sleep on cots....14 months and sleeping on cot.....can't believe it.....well I had his teacher take a picture to see how cute he looks sleeping on his big boy cot!

Hope all is well with you!

Cheers, Judith

Happy Halloween

Hello!

We hope everyone has had a great month of October! Lance has had a big month - he moved up to the Toddler I room at Primrose and was reunited with his good buddies Drew, Ella, Cassidy, and Kate plus has made many new friends! In his new room Lance eats lunch at table in the tiniest chairs and sleeps on cot. Heath and I found it hard to believe our baby Lance could be such a big boy but he has adjusted well! Friday they had Halloween parade and party which he really enjoyed!

Lance is a huge fan of the "Biscut" series of books - we started with one and now have so many since he would always sit up and listen when we read Biscut. I think Heath can recite it without even looking the pages b/c we read it so often. So, we picked a dog costume out for Halloween so Lance could be "Biscut"- he really enjoyed the part! Over past month Lance has also developed a attraction to pumpkins - he finds them wherever we are and just loves the pumpkins!

I had few trips this past month for work so Lance and Heath had some good "bonding time" in which Daddy has introduced him to lots of football and Starbucks too! Lance had a blast with Dad on his boys only weekends!!!! Lance is also enjoying being out of the "baby tub" and having real "playtime" in the bath tub. We are so lucky to live next door to Gailey's that have been passing down the coolest toys for Lance!!! We put their workbanch at top of the stairs which works like a charm to get Lance to chase Daddy up the stairs to get ready for bathtime!

We are very exicted to be heading to Atlanta for Thanksgiving to see great-grandma Mimi, Uncle Robert & Aunt Cindy and lots of cousins!!! We are hoping Grandma Stefani will come to Atlanta too!

Cheers!

The Jehliks

Studbaby is one step closer to being Studboy!

Hello! The past two weeks have been so hectic but filled with lots of fun! Lance turned the big "1 year old" on August 22nd. We had family and few friends over for a small celebration. Lance really enjoyed all the party decorations but balloons were by far his favorite....the balloons were Mufasa's favorite too! I guess it was the few other "first b-day parties" that Lance attended over past few months but he immediately dived into the cake. He enjoyed the cake....almost too much - ate about half the cake before giving up. I hope this video clip works so you can check out the big "first cake" experience.

Today Lance went to his "1 year old" visit with Dr Leonhardt. She told us Lance is doing great!!! Lance never enjoys all the poking or proding but it seemed like he understood her when she said he could have a bottle for couple more months. We will continue to try to ween off of his last two bottles. Lance has been growing fast....he is now 33 inches (> 97% ) and 24 lbs (75%). Dr. Leonhardt felt he is growing well and on target for his age. Four shots were no fun but Lance did great and I let him pick out new book at Target afterwards for being so brave.

Today was "cool front" here, so it was only ~ 90 this afternoon so all the neighborhood kids were outside and "Lizzy" an adorable beagle that lives across the street was visiting with everyone. Lance just loved Lizzy and just being outside with all the activity. The new nerf toy guns were the highlight - Heath woud like one "for Lance" (ha,ha).

Hope all is well with you!

Judith

Four days to go until the big 1st b-day

The excitement is growing day by day here in the Jehlik house! Can't believe just a few more days until the big day! Lance is learning so much so fast these days. This past weekend we gave Lance his birthday present from us, a new toy box! He enjoyed it so much on Sunday just examining all the toys and holding each one up to show us.

The cats were not as excited to see the gate go up downstairs. The one upstairs never bothered them, but I guess downstairs was too disturbing. Lance actually thinks its a new toy to bang on.

We are looking forward to seeing celebrating Safari style this weekend!!

Cheers,

Judith

12 Days to Lance's B-day

Hello,

It has been a busy week! Last Monday Lance was diagnosed with his first "ear infection" - well at least Pediatrician was worried it was an infection.....he has also been getting two molars -one on each side on the bottom and a front tooth on top and one on bottom too. Yes four teeth coming in all at once! Tough guy has been doing pretty good - just lots of congestion with all of it. The molar on the bottom right and front tooth on the bottom left have broken through, but two more to go....he will be ready to destroy his b-day cake!

This past weekend we went to Dallas for the Advocare Success School training weekend. Everyone just loved seeing Lance....many remember how "pregnant" I was this time last year at Success School. Lance had great time visiting with Addison, Jeff and Laura too! Well Lance is resting up for the big day and visiting with all the family and friends!!! 12 days to go!!!

Cheers,

Judith

19 days to Lance's b-day!

Just a quick hello! Lance is "ready to Rock"!

Can't believe less than 3 weeks until Lance is one!!

Cheers,

Judith

25 days to Lance's 1st Birthday

Hello!

Well many of you might be in the habit to counting down the 25 days to Christmas, this year at the Jehlik house we are counting down the 25 days to Lance's First Birthday!!! It's amazing to think Lance will soon be one, he is growing up so fast these days.

In the last blog Lance was just getting introduced to "finger foods" well now he is 100% eating all finger foods. Some meals are more "fun" for him to feed himself than others. He really enjoys peas because the roll around the tray and fun to pick up one at a time. He is also a big fan of mac and cheese and just about any "pasta". Actually Lance has like pretty much everything we have given him, not a picky eater at all. (Definitely gets that from Daddy)

Lance is "cruzing" around now, not quite walking on his own but gaining ground on that everyday. He loves to chase the cats around the first floor almost as much as chasing Daddy around the "track" between living room, kitchen and dining room. It is so funny when Heath "scares" Lance - he laughs and laughs then next lap around completely suspects Heath is about to jump out at every turn!

This past weekend I traveled to Japan and it was "boys weekend + Nala" at the Jehlik house. It's amazing how much it seems he changed in a short 5 days! I missed Lance, Heath and the cats soooo much, but they had a good bonding weekend. Lance just loves being silly with Daddy! Mimics so much of whatever Daddy does, just to get a laugh!

At daycare, Ms. Kay (his first teacher there) is definitely Lance's favorite and she helps with the "goodbyes" as Lance has hit the "stranger anxiety stage" and cries quite a bit with every goodbye now. However, he calms down quickly, I stayed around and peeked in windows to make sure! He is the "chatterbox" of his Older Infant class. Whenever Lance eats he truly enjoys the meal with lots to say....every once in awhile we think he is saying words admist all the babble, he is definitely saying "Dad" now....just need to work on Mama now. (:->)

Any skype users out there let us know....you can catch Lance in action. He is so amused with the computer....we have visited with Grandpa Art and Grandma Nancy and he is so interested in getting his face right up on top of the webcam! Can't wait to see how he responds when he sees them in person in a few weeks on the big birthday weekend!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

Cheers,

Judith

Weekend Update on Studbaby Jehlik

Hello,

Amazing the month of May is already coming to an end. Lance turned 9 months old on the 22nd and had his 9 month check up this past week. He is 30 inches tall - which is 90-95% for his age and 22 pounds and 3 ounces which is in the 75% for his age. Dr. Leonhardt said he is very healthy and everything is great! He is quite the studbaby!

Lance is eating more and more table food - Saturday morning we decided to give him all finger foods so he could feed himself breakfast....he was squealing with joy he was so excited to feed himself! I think our days of jar baby food are numbered.

Today we took Lance in the pool for the first time. We knew he would either love it or hate it.....well we have a waterbaby! He had so much fun in the pool - just loved the waterfall and splashing around! He just was a little mad when it was time to get out and go back inside.

All the excitement wiped him out - he was asleep within five minutes after he was in his crib! Hope all is well with you all!

Love Judith, Heath and Lance

A future wildcat in the making

Hello,

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend. Lance attended his first (of many I am sure) Sprint for Life races (fund raiser for ovarian cancer research) this past weekend. He just loved the balloons and fun people he met.

Mother's day he was so excited that he woke up at 6 AM to see Mommy but then took an awesome 2.5 hour morning nap! We had a great day and Lance has begun to show off his moves.....he's a future wildcat point guard in the making!!! Lance is getting so tall now we had to move his crib down to the bottom notch so he cannot reach out! He was not too happy with us at bedtime tonight with no more bumper and now he cannot reach the music night light toy anymore but he eventually feel asleep. (After lots of rolling around and talking!)

Cheers! Judith

Master Lance's May Update 2009

Hello Everyone! Lance has had an exciting month! Easter weekend the Jehlik family ventured up to Albany, NY to visit the Smith side of the family! Lance did so well on the plane - he liked to wave to everyone and play peek-a-boo with anyone that made eye contact with him on the plane. It was cute how mad he'd get if they looked away from him before he was ready to move on. All weekend Lance had fun playing with his cousins. When we came home from Albany Lance "moved up" from the Infant I to the Infant II room at his nursery school/daycare. His new teachers are Ms. Amy and Ms. Kristi. There are six girls and two boys in the class right now. In the Infant II room Lance now makes art projects which is quite proud of himself. Primrose had their annual Spring Fling and Lance won a "book basket" (thanks to Mom & Dad bidding on it) that has his favorite "Og" character. Lance is the "awesome reader" in his class. His teachers are just so amazed how much and how well he listens to stories. He loves to read but he loves his toys too!!! Over past month Lance has learned to clap and wave but only on his terms (not when we ask him to do it) and he starting solid foods - so far just cheerios, puffs and pears but doing great. Although not crawling Lance is scooting on his bottom but mostly wants to stand up and figure out the walking thing - but literally just taking small steps. Lance discovered the "volume" control on his voice this month too - which was kind of funny to hear him whisper then scream while talking himself to sleep. Lance has discovered he likes to go for rides in his laundry basket- he thinks it's pretty cool. Lance has two new favorite seats - the Pottery Barn arm chair and his brand new car seat! We upgraded to the full size car seat this week because Lance is getting so tall he was nearing the height limits. He was little confused this morning but is enjoying the new seat!!! This coming weekend Lance will go to his first "Sprint for Life" event and catching up with all friends from MDACC family! At the end of May Lance will go for his 9 month visit with Dr Leonhardt. We cannot wait to see where he is now on the growth charts! Cheers, Judith, Heath and Lance

Happy Spring

Hello, Well March just flew by....what a busy month. Lance has changed so much in the past month! He is now sitting up very confidently and "lunges" after toys and bounces right back up again. He is finally enjoying playing on his tummy more so we anticipate him crawling soon. He still has four teeth on top trying to break through - one of the four is peaking through just a bit. Over the past month, Lance has really started "playing hard" - he just loves all his toys and talking up a storm while playing too! It is quite funny!!! Lance celebrated his first St. Patrick's Day and just loved all the decorations and teachers that dressed up at Primrose. They thought he looked pretty cute too all dressed up in green too!!! In March Lance made made his first plane trip to Topeka to celebrate his cousin's first b-day! He did so well, we were so proud of him!!! He slept on trip up and on flight back he woke up but was just so curious and looked around checking everything out. While in Topeka Lance met many of Grandma Stefani's friends at the "Sip and See" she hosted for him. Even one of Daddy's good friends, Kris stopped by to say hello to "studbaby". See how happy Lance was to meet Kris.....ha,ha,ha just kidding - Lance loved Kris -it was just time for a bottle. In the afternoon we went over to celebrate Berkeley's first b-day. It was Lance's second "first b-day party" in a week so he was little impatient about wanting to try the cake so we had to go outside for some fresh air. Lance enjoyed meeting his cousin Berkeley and Aunt Tarah and Uncle JB for the first time. The weather in Houston has been "Spring-like" this past weekend so Lance went outside to play on the lawn for the first time. He was fascinated with all the noises from the birds, wind, and cars. His good friend from next door, Ainsley, & her parents came over for few minutes to play which Lance - both Ainsley and Lance were upset when the neighbor's dog that was on a walk only stopped for a minute - the second he left both kids had a melt-down moment. Then Lance tried to "attack" Ainsley's very cool bright polk-a-dot pants! Lance just loved being outside - we can't wait to show him the pool in the next couple of months. Next weekend Lance will be jet-setting again - flying off to Albany to meet more family and celebrate his first Easter! Happy Spring, Judith

Lance Robert Jehlik 6.5

Hello,

It has been a busy couple of weeks and I missed sending out Lance's 6 month update so here is his 6.5 month update!

Lance celebrated his half b-day on Feb 22nd at the Adovcare Success School meeting in Fort Worth Texas. It was a fun weekend, he met so many new faces and of course everyone just loved his cute little smile and it he really liked them - he would show them his tongue! (ha,ha)

At his Six Month Check Up appointment Lance weighed in at 18 lb 10 oz and is up to 28 inches now. He is in the 75 percentile for weight and still in 90 percentile for height. He had a bunch more shots to complete his vaccine series. We had good news, no shots at the 9 month check up. Doctor said if he is still in "90%" for height at his next visit it will be "declaring" he will be a tall boy as he grows up!!! Plus with weight in 75% - a solid one too!! So we are starting to dream of him being a starting linebacker for KSU someday. (full scholarship too)

Last weekend his first two front teeth (on bottom) broke threw and luckily was "uneventful" for us. I think he has a high pain threshold like his Mom! He is rolling over both ways now, and can sit up for short periods of time on his own but still loses balance from time to time. He is getting more and more active everydy with his toys. He loves the new game "throw toys off his highchair and see mommy get it!".

Today he tried his first cheerios. At first he played with it, spit it out, but after watching me eat a few, he decided pretty good and ate one too. The Sauciers came over to visit and I think watching a four year old play was the best entertainment ever for Lance. He was very content watching a very active Rescie play!

Lance is bursting out of his 9 month PJs -lengthwise - his toes are cramped, so I am off to buy the next size - it is amazing how fast he is growing. He is so talkative and laughing so much these days especially at Daddy - his favorite toy of all!!!!

Hope all is well with you!

Judith

Happy Belated Valentine's Day

Hello, Just a quick shout out to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! It was a fun weekend. I think Lance received more Valentine's then Heath or I combined! He's a very loved little guy! Lance made his Primrose Newsletter last week - "Lance discovered his tongue and likes to show it to all of us" Too funny! He has been having fun playing with his tongue and EVERYTHING must go in his mouth these days!!! Heath and I celebrated Valentine's on Friday night and Lance met a new babysitter, Monica. He only said a quick hello before crashing for the night, so an easy "first night" for Monica- she did great. It was fun to get out too!!! Lance found it very amusing this weekend that I had no voice or least a very raspy one - he laughed all day at me! He continues to love playing all his toys and very talkative! Cheers, Judith

Lance's Baptism

Hello,

This past weekend was an exciting weekend for Lance. On Saturday he met Joel and Jo Rotert passing through Houston on their way home from Mexico to Portland. It worked out well because they were able to spend the day and the Ruediger's arrived around 1 PM and we all had lunch!

On Sunday, Lance was baptized at the Christ the Reedemer Catholic Church. There were 22 children baptized during the ceremony! Lance did well - he cried a little bit when he was blessed with the freezing water (it was really cold) but fell asleep for the rest of the ceremony. Ginger and Jeff stood in as "proxy" godparents for us since Lance's godparent's (Aunt MaryBeth and Uncle Paul) could not travel here on such short notice. We will celebrate again with them on Easter weekend when we visit Albany!

Last week we had check up at Dr Leonhardt's to follow up on his cough, Lance is about 17lbs now. He is eating all his fruits,veggies, and both rice and oatmeal cereal. He really enjoys eating now. His teachers at Primrose have been so impressed with how well Lance will pay attention to books and seems to have so much to say- so much that today they described his "mood" as "talkative". He's definitely getting a great sense of humor too - he laughs so much! He really enjoys playing with all his toys! He just loves his "tool bag" from Uncle Steve, Aunt Julie, Carly and Lanie.

Hope all is going well with you!

Judith

Yeah Steelers win the Superbowl

Hello, It has been a busy weekend here for Lance! On Saturday he figured out how to "jump" in his jumper activity center. I officially switched over his clothes to the 6-9 month size - the waist is a little loose but length fits much better than the 3-6 month. He is growing so fast!!!! Tonight he was sleeping quietly for about an hour before kick-off and woke up just in time to watch the opening events and kick-off prior to getting ready for bed. Our friends Brad & Lindsey came over and Lance taught Brad why babies cannot jump around shortly after eating! (ha,ha) But he was good sport about it. Then Lance was off to sleep while we watched the exciting game - Go Steelers!!! Cheers, Judith

Lance is a super travelin' man

Hello again, This past weekend we went to Dallas to visit Addison for her FIRST birthday. It's about a four hour drive door to door. On Friday, Lance was asleep as we pulled out of the driveway and slept all the way there until we pulled off the highway onto the Ruediger's street. We were so impressed. He was pretty good baby all weekend - just loved watching Addison and her cousin Henry running around. Today on the drive home he was asleep before we pulled away and slept all the way home, let us unpack car and then he woke up. We thought he'd be up late, but he was so tired from travelin' he was in bed by 6:15 PM!!!! He missed "Lance's Room" and "Lance's Bed" just couldn't wait to crash tonight. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Judith

Time to catch up!

Hello everyone,

Wow, I am so sorry it has been so long since we have posted an update on Lance! So much to tell you! I will try to give all the highlights from the past two months.

In November, Lance celebrated his first Thanksgiving with Great-grandma "Mimi" and Grandma Stefani. We had a great weekend visiting with them. See the family "Four Generations" (Mimi, Grandma, Daddy and Lance).

The first weekend of December was first time I had to "leave" Lance overnight to go to the ASHP meeting to recruit for a new fellow for the translational research fellowship in my lab. WOW - I knew it would be hard, but how no idea how hard. Leaving - I was crying, Heath was teary, and Lance was smiling and laughing - not knowing what was wrong with us. Heath did awesome on Daddy duty for the weekend. I felt the need to keep calling but Heath and Lance did just great. Then Landra watched him the rest of the week while I went back to work.

The second week of December, Lance started his first week (well actual partial week- four days) at Primrose. His teachers are very sweet and just love him- I know I am bias but I think he's one of their favorites. At the end of the week, we took our first family road trip to Dallas. Lance did great on the road - he is such a good traveler! In Dallas we visited Jeff, Laura and Addison. Lance was very impressed with all the cool things Addison can do like walking, eating and singing!

The third week of December (second week in daycare) Lance got his first "cold" which we already had appointment for 4 month check-up at pediatrican so it worked out to get him in ASAP. We delayed his round of vaccines for a week to let him get better. Then the following week, both Heath and I were able to go to his 4 month checkup together. Watching baby get shots was sooooo hard. Poor thing, he did so well.

Lance's first Christmas was great! He just loved all the Christmas lights. Every night he would be "amazed" when the lights automatically turned on all around the house. Mufasa and Nala also just loved the Christmas Tree - practically took it down when climbing up in it non-stop! Christmas morning Lance checked out the presents (see picture) - Heath helped open a few, then Lance needed a little nap, then we opened the rest. He really enjoyed all the new toys especially the new monkey toy from Aunt MaryBeth and Uncle Paul and the triplets (see pictures) He had a great day - especially with all of us home for the long weekend.

Lance kicked of the New Year 2009 with his first taste of rice cereal. He wasn't a big fan but couple weeks later when we added in bananas - now he loves the fruit and cereal. Slowly we are adding in new foods each week. Last week, Lance got his highchair. He looks so cute sitting in his highchair (see picture). So now he has cereal and fruit twice a day and a jar of fruit at lunchtime. This weekend we add in a veggie! He is backing off on bottles, but still a fan of the bottles too.

Last weekend, Lance met Arie, Kim & Craig's son, who is just about one month older than him. It was really cute watching them check each other out. (see picture) We hope they will be good playmates in the years to come! Well, I think that catches you up on little Lance.

Lance will be baptized on February 8th at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church. Aunt MaryBeth and Uncle Paul will be his Godparents. Since we had to plan his baptism with such short notice (had to be prior to Lent or we would have to wait until after Easter), Ginger Langley will be standing in as a catholic proxy and Jeff Ruediger with be "Christian Witness" proxy for Paul. Oh, which reminds me when we took the baptism classes last week, Heath and I learned WOW is part of church too. Unfortuantely Heath quickly found out it was not the same WOW he loves to play. Yes he is already trying to recruit Lance to play. (see picture)

Happy new year to all of you. We hope 2009 is off to a good start. I promise to do better about keeping blog updated.

Cheers,

Judith