Growing Big, Photoshoots, and Father's Day

How quickly the months can pass! Here is a quick recap of Alexandria Moreira life in week five and six of Troy's life:

Troy outgrows his newborn diapers and Mama is quite sad her little boy is growing so much. On 8 June Troy had his 4 week appointment and he weighed 11.11 lbs and was 23.5 inches long, putting him in the 95% for both. His head, which looks small on his body, is 75%.

The Taylors had their baby, Xander Scott Taylor, one of Troy's buddies. Xander's hobbies include crying, boobs, and sleep (per Amanda).
Troy and Dad were watching the NBA Finals. At the time, the Celtics looked like they had a shot. Oh well.
More visits from Abuelo.

Troy's other good buddy, Harrison. Touchdown! Cristy and Tristen both think the boys look like little Daddy's boys.

And even more in this picture. Troy says, "Take that right in your ear Harrison!" BAM!

Troy says, "Thanks Mama and Tristen for this photoshoot."

Slowly but surely, Troy has taken over Papa's space. See Troy, here, all over Papa's pillow while he dresses for work in the morning. Also notice how he looks around, seemingly ambivalent to his megalomania.

Another photoshoot from Mama.

Troy says, "Are you my brother?!?"

Troy says, "Thanks Aunt Elaine for all my cool presents!"

Troy says, "Thanks Mississippi Campbells for my truck overalls!"

It doesn't look it, but Troy does love his sling-thing.

Tuesday, 15 June Grandma Sue came to visit for two weeks. Yay for grandparents!

Saturday, 18 June, Nathaniel, Nate, and Drew traveled to Warm Spring to compete in a Triathlon. The 750 meter swim had a current that left the three swimmers exhausted before the race had ever really begun. (Note: Drew's number is #12 because he accidentally signed up as a girl. Oops.)

BUT Drew also shaved a "W" into his goatee for "Win," which more than makes up enough man points for the above clerical error.

All three placed low on the finishers list, but raced well and were proud of their hard work in training for the event. Nate actually raced extremely well for the bike that he owns; his bike split put him in the middle of the pack (racing against people with bikes three and four times more expensive than his own).

20 June marked Nathaniel's first Father's Day.

And he got exactly what he asked for, "Hint of Jalapeno Tostitos."

Later in the day we went to a historic Fire Department in Old Town Alexandria for free pictures.

Troy needed a diaper change on the antique furniture. Unfortunately, a large group of people from a group home soon came into the building and went upstairs to check out the museum. Oh well.

Later at the Burke Moreiras home for a Daddy BBQ.

3/4 Moreira men.

[Background Music] "They see me rollin'....they hatin'...patrollin'...they tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty...tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty..."

Aunt Carly and her nephew exchange a heartfelt moment.

Troy says, "I love my Abuela."

Winners

Grant, Liz, and Hallie Campbell are our favorite family members. The End.

PS: They are the contest winners from Thanksgiving. They brought their entire family here to see us before anyone else. (Note: Sue and Matt did NOT win because they did not bring all of their kids.)

Honorable Mention: Mandy and Gibson Poteet.

Troy's Fourth Week Home

OK, so after this month, we aren't going to keep track of his "weeks" home anymore and we're going to switch to months. We will still post often though :)

We all know how advanced Troy is for his infant age. (Look at his tummy, for example.) What we didn't know (until Sunday evening) was how perceptive he naturally is. Troy has literally never met another "girl" before. Upon meeting first girl (see fascinated look on face) Troy remembers his distant parent Adam and immediately latches onto said girl (Eve/Elena). What a smart kid! We'll work on the "getting them while they're awake" thing later. For right now he's got the girl.

Elena's parents (the Clemens) brought over a dowry: Tigger socks. Troy has accepted the offer and they are to wed (at their own discretion) in no sooner than 21 years. Good job son. Nathaniel hopes this is worth it because Mama is not going to look favorably on this decision and will probably take it out on Dad.

Monday, 31 May: Happy Memorial day! Thanks to all those military families and citizen soldiers for keeping our country safe!

And thanks to Cristy for being such a good Mom! Touchdown Troy!

Troy's first real bath (in a bathtub, not on a changing pad). He screamed a lot.

Crazy-hair McGhee here doesn't know what just hit him. But he's glad it's over and hopes to have straight-looking hair soon.

Today we spent a lot of time traveling. We ventured to a wholesale market (BJs) to pick up some food, then arrived at the Burke Moreiras for good BBQ food and company. Troy slept most of the time, cried a little, but most of the time was a little angel. Mommy and Daddy were very proud of him for being a good boy/little man in the car.

We don't have any pictures from the BBQ, but we all had a lot of fun. Troy got time snug time from each family member and was very happy to see familiar faces. The food was delicious.

Tuesday, 1 June: Today we took our friends the Taylors to dinner. Nathan is the only reason that Nathaniel passed his Java class and remains a Masters student at GMU, so they thought this was the least they could do. Nothing beats Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory! As always, Troy traveled well. No jinxing us!

Troy also SMILED for the first time today (that is, a non-gas smile). He has a beautiful smile, and it has been the most heart-warming moment for Dad so far. Mom smiles at Troy so much that the milestone belongs to her (though the smile was directed at Dad when he came home from work).

Wednesday, 2 June: Troy had a rough day and Dad slept on the coach because Troy wouldn't go to bed unless someone was holding him. Mama is so patient with him!

PS Nathaniel slept on the futon all through High School with no problems. Nathaniel slept on the futon for one night and has a sore back. Is it possible he is "getting old" at 27? Oh the shame.

Friday-Saturday, June 3-4: Nathaniel was the groomsmen for his friend Tom Mazzuchi's wedding in Lewes, Deleware. It was a three hour drive, and a good sea-worthiness test for little Troy.

Our hotel was great and really close to the wedding (a winery) and the hotel where most of the other guests were staying. Nathaniel needed to be at a lot of bridal party events, so Cristy and Troy spend a lot of quality time together. They went shopping and had several changing parties.

Frumpy over here looked more like he was in the Junior Surf Champ than anything else, but he had a tough, warm day.
The bride and groom.
The minister's daughter, who apparently is a Sears magazine model. She was so sweet and mature and wanted to hold Troy all the time.
Papa (proud) and son (quizzical).

Nathaniel and his elementary school/high school friends all-grown up (minus one).
We were trying to mimic Troy's "O" face, but he wasn't doing it this time.

Yay for marriage and babies!
Chris was a little shy with the baby-holding at first, but he got over it, even requesting a special picture with just him and Troy.

Sunday, June 6: Alas, the party had to end and the journey home was long (though with a very cooperative Troy).

And then came Sunday, a very sad day for Mama. Her little boy, her little precious son, wore his last "newborn" (N) diaper. Troy says, "It's OK Mama. I just grew out of my diaper to impress Elena, that's all. You're still the bestest!."