Goodbye Nuk - and thanks

My smiling boy

Dear JJ,

About a week after you were born your Grandpa Grosshans and I were up early with you one morning and you were crying like crazy.  Your mom was sleeping and I thought that you might be hungry. So I fed you some formula that the hospital sent home with us.  You stopped crying, and started smiling, and your grandfather and I felt a bit of pride (two guys figured it out) - and  a bit guilty that we didn't wake your mom.  A couple days later, our pediatrician assured us that you would be just fine with a combination of breast milk and formula.

With his blessing off I went to the store to pick up bottles- and was immediately overwhelmed. There are hundreds of baby bottles.  We had some ottles at home- but they seemed too messy for you (later discovering that infants in the first few months suck very hard and you need to work a bit for the formula).  So I found some bottles- they were from Nuk- they had a label that said these bottles were for the first few months.  So I bought four of them. For months we steamed them, traveled with them, used them.  But as you grew, you needed more formula, and hence, a new nipple.

Today, coming back from Alaska- we said goodbye to the last one.  I was trying to fill it for the descent of the airplane when the top went rolling off the seat and back to someone else's seat who was sleeping. As the flight went on- it kept going further back the down the plane.  You didn't need a bottle on the way down- you did just fine (unless you count that messy diaper - but it all comes out in the wash).

We have new bottles for you, and some new foods, and spoons.  But those Nuk bottles- and your mom, kept you going for these first six months. They were well used, and now we are starting to see how you like your sippy cup.

BTW - happy birthday son - six months old.

You provide us with a lot of smiles, son - never knew that I would feel sentimental about a baby bottle- or that I would look up words to Camptown Races (a song you like me to sing) - or Twinkle Twinkle - but I wouldn't change this for the world,

Love,

Dad

You are a great traveler - in this case back to Anchorage

Same room- same view- always showing you home

Your place in the hotel - you play and sleep here

But we have to go home- Anchorage Airport- showing you the snow and Alaska Airlines