Nathan Laughing

Daddy can get Nathan to laugh pretty good by kissing and tickling him.  It's so fun to hear him laugh.

(Don't you like the saliva dripping out of Nathan's mouth at the end!)

Friday night fun

First, we read books on our belly and then we moved over to our backs to play.  Nathan loves to shake his keys around - he'll switch hands and sometimes put them in his mouth.

 Then, we switched and Nathan played with his monkey (that also is a rattle) and I shook the keys.

Finally, we had a jam session.  I was singing a silly song, Nathan shook the keys, and I shook monkey.  Fun was had by all!  (Daddy made it home at the very end and shook Lovey around!)

Teething

This week has been a little unusual for Nathan - sleeping a lot, more bowel movements than normal (I know you wanted to know that information!), and being a bit fussy.  Someone suggested he could be teething and sure enough, there are the beginnings of two bottom teeth.  He hasn't seemed too bothered by it, but we've given him Tylenol a couple times in the evening as it seems to be worse then.

Yummy fingers!  He's been sucking on his fingers for quite a while now without any reason, but now we know he's looking for some relief!

Our evenings

This is how we spend the most of our evenings... Either Barry or I have Nathan sleeping on us from 7pm on and then we get ready for bed and move him to the bedroom.

We are continually amazed on how much he is growing and becoming more aware of his surroundings.  He'll move his arm trying to reach something that he can see, but isn't yet quite adept at reaching it.  He loves to shake his keys and chew on the ring that they're on.  He's started kicking his legs at bath time and splashing everywhere.  These days may not last very much longer, but we're trying to enjoy them and him as much as we can.

Eating Cereal

We waited for Nana to come to help give Nathan his first bites of cereal.  He did pretty good!

He ate about 5-10 bites and then decided that was enough!

Nana & Papa come for a visit!

 Nathan talking to Papa.

Nathan hanging out with Nana!

Paci #1 gone

The top paci hasn't been with us since day 1 (thank goodness, we still have the hospital one!), but this has been with us since March 26 (see here).  We've had it attached to the car seat all this time.  Well, last night it got a hole in it and every time Nathan sucked, it would wheeze.  So, we had to open the last new paci from our stash. I think he's getting too big for these, but we'll see how long they'll last!

Me & Nathan

We've been suffering together with a cold/cough combination of funness.  YUCK!  It doesn't keep Nathan down... he just keeps smiling and doing such a good job, enjoying life.

I had the opportunity to go to a breastfeeding support group on Monday during lunch and meet some ladies who are preparing to go back to work, but keep on nursing.  Since I don't know anyone who is nursing (at this time), I was excited to go and commiserate with these ladies.  As I was sitting there, listening to these ladies talk and seeing the little ones (the youngest was 2 weeks old!), I realized something.  I was happy to be at the stage we're at.  A teeny baby was filled with so much uncertainty and sleeplessness.  Now, I feel more confident that I know my baby and he knows me.  Sure, we still have struggles, but at 4 1/2 months, we're doing well.  God has been so good to us!

Monday night into Tuesday, Nathan slept through the whole night without waking!  This was the first time that he did it.  He didn't make it Tuesday night, but we were just happy for one night!  We're still learning --yet as I make mistakes, people have been gracious.  We'll  get this figured out soon!

Variety of Cards

There's been lots happening so here's some more cards that I've made.

 This is a birthday card for my brother-in-law.  I used 5 different papers and a candle sticker.  I wrote happy birthday in brown.

 This is for our niece turning 11!  I used 4 papers and a piece of ribbon.  I wrote her name in blue.

 This is a simple card that I made up with 3 papers and some cream organdy ribbon.  I wrote Praying for you all fancy-like.

This is for some friends who just got married.  I used 5 papers and then wrote their initials in calligraphy.

Some Cards

This is the first of two days of cards that I've been working on the past few days.  I still have a big project to work on for work and I hope to get it done soon.

 For a co-worker... 5 types of paper, pink organdy ribbon, a button, and 4 sequins.

 For my dad... 4 types of papers and I wrote everything on the card.  I added the piece with the defined words with 3d tape.

For my brother... 5 types of paper, a candle sticker, and a die cut J.

Happy Father's Day!

There was just something too exciting that Nathan wanted to look at... Barry's such a proud daddy!

Johnny Jumper

We've been looking for something that Nathan can go in to move his legs around some as he already likes to stand in your lap.  We found the Johnny Jumper at a yard sale for $10.  We got it right out and he enjoyed it.

 It sort of throws him off a bit to have the cats come walking by him!

I'm blowing bubbles, walking in circles, and having a grand ole time!

The Game

We decided to have Nathan try sitting in the carrier frontways today (for the first time) so that he could see what was going on.  He was pretty nervous about it though and held my hand the whole time he was in it.

We got to the stadium and went right to get in line for food.  We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and bar-b-que along with chips, beans, and cookies.  The temperature had dropped some already so it wasn't too bad in the shade with the slight breeze.

 We had to take a picture by the guitar scoreboard in order to get the night off to a great start! :)

 Omaha was the opposing team and they were looking great.  They ended up winning 4-2.

 Nathan crashed around his normal bedtime - 7pm.

It was short-lived though as the cow bells were ringing.  We only stayed till the end of the 3rd inning.  Maybe next time we'll be able to catch more of the game!

Take me out to the...

BALLGAME!

Nathan is ready to go!  He's got his baseball onesy on and his ball cap.

We're going to the Nashville Sounds game tonight with Barry's work.  They did this last year and it poured which made it not so fun.  Today is supposed to be HOT so I'm hoping we can find some shade.  They're playing against Omaha - wish Katie, Andrew, & Aaron would be able to see them with us!

"For it's one, two, three strikes you're out..."

Finally, 4 month pic!

Sorry for the delay (7 days after the fact), but we finally have a 4 month picture!  We were brave and went outside to do this one.
Nathan actually rolled over 2x on Saturday -- it took a long while for him to do it, but he did!  He still struggles with his one shoulder, but he finally pushed himself over.  We were cheering for him and he sort of looked at us like "What?!"
He seems to enjoy me reading to him and we've done it several times in the last couple of days.  We'll have to visit the library and get some more books!

Monkey Boy

I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures of Nathan after his bath last night.  His towel has a monkey on the part for his head and it is a reminder that Nathan is a monkey boy!

He's been struggling again with some congestion, but this morning has been doing better.  Cutey pie! :)

Napping with Momma

Nathan had been out of sorts this weekend... Actually, I think it's residual from his shots on Thursday.  Daycare said he slept a lot on Friday which is unusual for him.  He slept a bunch on Saturday & Sunday too.  He's congested again which I think has to do with the difference in temperature at daycare and at home.  Hopefully he'll get over this pretty quick.  But, I did love having him sleep with me (and Barry enjoyed having him sleep on him as well).  We all had good naps on Sunday too!

Maybe that'll help us to start the week better!

Running

Ummm, so you'll have to crane your neck a bit, but here's a video of Nathan running!  He just moves his legs with so much momentum that you have to think that he's going to shoot out of his chair and start running!  We noticed him doing this in his carseat and then when you put him in his chair. 

Previous to this, he was talking and carrying on, but of course, when I started recording, he just sat there quietly.  (Afterwards, I found out that he was working on a doosy of a diaper and it leaked into the chair!)

Lovey & Monkey

Lovey is the puppy blanket that we got for Nathan before he was born.  We were inspired by our nephew Micah when he came to visit at Christmas.  I don't recall what animal his lovey was, but that's what he had and what they called it.  Nathan hasn't been too impressed with his lovey, but we're getting there!

The monkey rattle was a find from Wal-Mart.  Nathan had his eye on that for a few weeks now!  It's a good size for him to hold onto and he can shake it pretty well.

 Nathan sat quite contentedly here in his chair with Lovey & Monkey while Daddy & Momma did some chores.  He would talk, suck on his fingers, and just be adorably cute while we worked.

What a great start to a Saturday!

4 Months Old

Today, Nathan is four months old!  When we got to daycare today, Jenny Lee asked if we'd be willing to let him try the exersaucer since he's got better control of his upper body now.  So, here he is bouncing along and loving it!

We've been thinking of getting one but they're extra expensive brand new.  We'll just have to start looking at yard sales.

A family pic

After several weeks of trying to get a picture of us together, we finally got one.  Seems like each time we come home during the week, Nathan's desperate to eat and while he's eating Barry's showering.  So, this time, when Nathan got done from a nap, we took a picture.

Nathan's transitioned himself to eating every 4 hours now.  He's struggled some at daycare in the late afternoon, but he's getting better.  It's not as if we forced him to do it, but I hate for the workers to feed him a partial bottle a half hour or 45 minutes before we get there.  We're hopeful that some extra attention by the workers to get him to nap during the day will help him (they lost a couple kids for the summer as they're teacher's kids).

Looking too sweet...

Believe it or not, Nathan is wearing a 6 month outfit.  This is the 4th one so far - mostly just because his torso is so long.  The blue really helps his eyes stand out!

 Lifting his foot - he's so much more aware of his legs and arms now!

He either holds his hands or they're in his mouth!

He's on his side....

Nathan just started rolling to his side - on Friday morning.  When I laid him down to nap today, he rolled over and slept on his side for the rest of the nap.  Now, it's a bit of a challenge to change his diaper as he's trying to get away!

Saturday's Activities

Saturday was our New Years celebration as work just started the new fiscal year on June 1st.  We went to a place that had a big barn, fields, and lots of fun things for kids to do.  Of course, Uncle Rick had to scoop up Nathan right from the start, but others got to hold him too.

 Here Nathan is napping with Laurie!

 Hanging out with Dad and chewing some fingers!

Sitting on a pig (or hog - the 2nd one in his life - 1st a Harley...)

Within minutes of leaving...

Trying new shoes

 So, Barry decided to have Nathan wear these shoes that we got from his brother's family.  They were significantly big, but that didn't stop him.  So, we're at Chili's and one kick later the shoe is on the floor!

We'll have to save them for later!