Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Everyone! We've had some exciting changes since the last post. David has found his hands and has learned that he can use them to play with toys. This has been especially exciting for me, as I had mistakenly expected this from the time he was born. :) He's learning new things everyday...he reaches for things with his hands and follows me with his eyes around the room. Of course I made sure he is up to date on his eye exams...they look wonderful.

We were able to go to Savannah on the weekend of the 18th for our friend, Olivia's wedding. Not only were we able to attend the event, but we were also able to visit with friends and family there. David did excellent on the plane rides, only fussing a little on the last flight since he was super tired.

Since then, Aunt Donna and cousin Rebekah have visited, as well as Ms. Emily, one of my dear friends from high school. David enjoyed watching High School Musical 3 with his cousin. We had a good Halloween...David dressed up a monkey and we went trick-or-treating with our neighbors. David also had his first trip to the Zoo, which he absolutely loved. I think his favorite part was seeing the buffalos!

David has been doing well with his baby sitter, Michelle. He loves his toys and loves being with the other boys at day care. He is almost ready to roll over on his own. We will go in for his 4 month check up on the 19th. I'm excited to see how much he weighs...he has definitely filled out. He quickly outgrew most of his 3mo's clothes and we have moved on the the 6mo items.

I am doing well...staying busy with work. I would love nothing more than to stay home with David, but I couldn't ask for a better job. I get to see patients in the clinic as well as get my flight hours and experience things from their point of view. The other day, I experienced 'motion sickness' first hand in a T-34 flight. :)

Ronnie is staying busy in Iraq, and we are now counting down the WEEKS until he comes home. We are expecting an arrival date sometime around 18 Dec!! It seems to have gone by so "fast", but when I think back to when he first left, it seems so long ago.

Until next time...

23 Sept 2008

David has grown so much since the last post. Every day brings a new discovery, and it's so exciting to see him learn about the world around him. Our newest discovery has been the kicking of the legs. Some of you may have seen our videos (if not, check out YouTube and search for 'drbustamante2020'), and in addition to kicking the parrot on the play mat, David now knows that he can kick the foot pads on his chair and make the music come on, and (even more fun), he found out he can kick his legs and make the water splash in the bathtub. In addition, bath-time is full of smiles these days. David has gone from the occasional random smile, to smiling back at you when you sing a song or smile at him. He loves to "talk" to his Papi on the phone, and often smiles when he hears Ronnie's voice. I've told him that we only have about 3 more months left until Papi comes home.

As if our boy wasn't cute enough as it is...he has now learned to suck his upper lip. I have no idea how he figured it out, but it's pretty hilarious...just check out the video...

Since I am back at work, David has been in Daycare with a wonderful girl named Michelle. She's a mother of 2, and has been watching children for 17 years. David is her only infant. She keeps telling me that he is such a good baby, and I can't disagree with her. Getting back into the swing of things at work has been a little difficult...only because I want to spend as much time with David as possible. Other than that, it's great. I'm hoping to fly in the FA-18's soon.

Ronnie's Unit recently suffered some tragic losses. They are coping well, but your prayers are appreciated. On a happy note, I am proud to report that Ronnie has recently received a great honor. General Petraeus (the former Commanding Officer in Iraq) sent Ronnie a coin, commending his outstanding performance while in Iraq. For those of you who aren't familiar with this military tradition, coins are sometimes given out by commanders as a sign of appreciation for a job well done. Rarely do you receive a coin from a 4-star General. Way to go, Ronnie!!

Thank you all for your love and support. Until the next post...

The past few weeks have been very exciting for us. On August 14th, we headed to Jacksonville to see Annie, Ryan, and Jackson. We enjoyed relaxing at their house, and got to meet Auntie Annie for lunch. We also drove to Savannah and stayed the night. David got to see the Tvrdy side of the family as well as meet Grandma, Pop Pop, and Alisa Jenkins. We had fun watching Uncle Joe play soccer and just hanging out with the family. We got back to Virginia Beach on the 19th, and Aunt Donna came to town to visit. Aunt Donna was such a great help, and even stayed up to do the night-time feedings 2 nights in a row. It's been so great having family around.

Since being home, we've had 2 baths where David has not cried at all. He's also smiling so much more, and responds to my voice and actions. He still loves to be held and cuddled, but is getting used to his chairs and swing and will often fall asleep in them. He loves our daily runs, but will immediately wake up when the stroller is not moving. His night-time "naps" are getting longer and he often sleeps for 5 hour stretches. I'm hoping he'll be sleeping through the night soon.

We are looking forward to Tutu coming tomorrow. She will be staying for a month and will help take care of David when I go back to work on the 2nd. Ronnie is doing well in Iraq, and is going over his future career options. We all can't wait for him to come home as soon as possible.

David and I are getting ready to go to Jacksonville. As you can see, he's super excited.

Another Week

This week, David was visted by my dear friends from high school, Maggie and Erin. We had his first official trip to the beach (where he actually made it out to the sand, however, did not go into the water). He also endured his first pedicure (well, Mom and friends had the pedicures), at which he cried for about 80% of the time. David loved being held by Aunts Maggie and Erin though.

David is starting to fill out nicely now. He has pretty much out-grown all the "premie" clothes he used to wear and has now moved onto "big boy" sizes (0-3mo's). He smiles all the time in his sleep and occasionally while awake as well., but I'm still waiting for him to actually "smile back" at me. He loves to snuggle and sleeps very well swaddled. I usually wake aboout 2-3 times during the night to feed him, but he goes back to bed very easily, which I appreciate.

"Papi" is doing ok in Iraq. He misses being home with his family. I think these times are very tough for him, so your prayers are very much appreciated. More updates to come.

Love, The Busti's

Back to the Sandbox

Well, Papi is back in Iraq. He left on a friday, and it took nearly 5 days to return to FOB Iskan and the comfortable 145 degrees of heat. It was hard to leave little David and Mommy. I wish that there could be more time to spend together and enjoy the new addition to the family. It was great having all the visitors from our family (ESPECIALLY TUTU AND KEPA!!) while Ronnie was home. We appreciate everyone being able to make the trip to spend some time with Ronnie and David, and you are all welcome to come anytime.

Ronnie is slowly adjusting to the time zone and the extreme heat. We get to email every day, but the phones haven't had a good connection. Sara has been sending pictures whenever she can. She was able to take a picture in front of the Neptune statue along the Virginia Beach boardwalk..... is it Neptune or Poseidon?? I don't know if we ever figured that one out..

We're just counting the days until we can be together again.

Check out my slideshow!

We've been taking nice walks in the morning. David enjoys riding in his stroller, while Mommy and Papi get to talk and catch up on things. It was a little rainy today, and we hope to go to the boardwalk at the beach. Here is a slideshow that my Papi made to show me off.