Splish Splash!

This morning I took Nathan to the splash pad at a local park with some friends. At first he was not too sure about it, but warmed up to it very quickly. He had a blast and we ended up staying for almost 2 1/2 hours, including lunch at the park.

toy bucket

The toy bucket was more fun than the toys today!

Hatchling

On a recent trip to the Reid Park Zoo our little hatchling was more fascinated with the plants than with the animals. He thought the animals were interesting, if they moved, but the plants he could touch. And as we all know, in the world of baby, touching is always better than seeing. The only animals he watched for any length of time were the monkeys. He loved the way the monkeys swung around on vines and the noises that they made.

(notice the outfit..."Mommy's little monkey")

Excuse me!

"Excuse me! Do I get a say in this?"

"What are you looking at?"

Nathan got his first haircut today...just a trim really. But his hair was growing unevenly and he had some wispies that hung over his ears and down on his neck. He tolerated the hair cut well, but the high light for him was the new set of keys Granddad gave him to replace some lost ones. He also was fascinated with the baby in the mirror. He babbled at it and even put his face up to the mirror and gave it kisses.

Busy Boy

Nathan has become a very busy boy lately. He plays hard and crashes hard. He is definitely mobile now even though he is not crawling yet. He rolls everywhere and pivots in a circle using his legs. Occasionally he gets up on his hands and knees, but winds up going backwards and gets frustrated.

We see glimpses of his emerging independence every day. Today he was going after a lamp cord when I told him "No, No Nathan" You could practically see the wheels turning as he looked at me and then back at the cord in his hand. He turned, looked at me with a sweet smile as if to say...."you don't mean that...I'm too cute to say no to!" I repeated myself and said " No, No Nathan" with a stern look. On this particular occasion he decided to obey and went rolling off to play with the vertical blinds on the sliding glass door.

Nathan is also the proud owner of 4 teeth now, but apparently that was not enough for him, and he is already working on some more. He went from fevers with the teething to a stuffy nose and cough from allergies a couple of days later.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! We made a weekend of it... Saturday with Abby, and Sunday with Mom. Nathan made me a Mother's Day card, and signed it himself (with a little help from Grandmom) He also decided to give me another gift today. He cut his first tooth! It is a little hard to see in the picture, but he wasn't exactly cooperating with the photo shoot. :) If you look extra close you might also be able to see where he is working on getting the tooth next to it too!

Kicking back

Nathan went swimming for the first time this week. The swim shirt was an adventure to put on. It took both Mom and I stretching it to get it over his head and his arms into it! Once it was on it fit, but DEFINITELY not baby friendly....maybe 3 sizes larger! LOL! After we finally got him dressed I think he was somewhat bewildered as to what was in store for him. But, the water was warm and he had a great time splashing and reclining in his float. I had to take him out of the float when he discovered that he could dip his head enough to drink the water!

County Fair

Yesterday we took Nathan out to the county fair. He rode in his stroller most of the time and stared with wide eyes at all the new sights. He was so enthralled that he struggled to say awake. By the end of the fair he was holding his eyes open as wide as saucers and flapping his arms and kicking his legs to keep himself awake! He immediately passed out when we got back to the car.

Bouncing Baby

Sorry about the sideways video everyone! I am just figuring all this out. I shot this short video with my new camcorder. It was a birthday/mother's day gift from my sweetie.

knees and toes

Nathan is now pushing up on his knees with this little bootie in the air. It is actually pretty comical! He can push is chest up off the ground with his arms or his bootie with his knees, but not at the same time...one end goes up, the other goes down like a teeter-totter with his stomach as the pivot point. The other problem is that no matter what he does his stomach remains firmly planted on the floor. We expect actual crawling to happen soon, but for now are content to be amused by his antics! Nathan has also become more interested in his feet. Who knew that feet could be such an interesting toy!

Cousins

Today Nathan met his cousin Aiden, who is about 2 months older. Aiden is my cousin Landra's son. We got together while she and Aiden are in town for a short visit from California. We also took advantage of the fact that Aiden's grandpa (my uncle Phil) was in town from Texas and got him in on the party! Nathan and Aiden had a great time playing on a blanket on the living room floor. Nathan was thrilled to see another baby and spent the whole morning talking and growling at Aiden! They posed for pictures (I will post one later), and shared toys. Nathan was so busy playing that he skipped his nap without even a hint of a melt down. He played so hard that he crashed and took a good nap within minutes of Landra and Aiden leaving.

Boy or Dog?

Did I give birth to a baby boy or a puppy? Judging by the sounds I heard issuing from the baby monitor this morning you might guess puppy! Nathan has learned how to growl and it has quickly become his favorite form of communication. The dogs are not quite sure what to think of it, but don't seem to be too upset by it. Nathan is also quickly learning to grasp and reach for toys (and dogs). The dogs stay mostly out of reach. He loves his activity seat and banging his keys on the table to make lots of noise. He has decided that solid food is much better than his bottle. Yesterday he rejected his bottle and continued to cry until he got his solid food. But as much as he loves his food, whatever the adults have ALWAYS looks better. He watches every bite and sip we take! I can already envision the huge grocery bill we will have once he is a teenager!

Playing and Napping

Last night we had dinner with friends. On the way there, Nathan was fussing in his car seat. As I was driving I told him that he would see Daddy once we got there. Nathan immediately stopped fussing and cooed in delight. After dinner I was holding Nathan while our friend's little girl was playing on the floor nearby. Nathan was fascinated by their little girl who is about 1 year older than him. He watched her every move and you could see him trying to figure her out. Another little person! But after playing yesterday and being up late, he slept 12 hours and has taken a nap for almost 3 hours this morning! In fact he has been sleeping so long I have been in his room 3 times to check on him so far. He even slept through the flash for this picture! I am sure he will be waking up any second as I type this.

Rice Cereal

Today Nathan had his first feeding of rice cereal. At first he looked uncertain when it was placed in his mouth, but after that first bite, he seemed to enjoy it. We will try a new food after 5 days.

Doctor Visit

Today Nathan had his 4 month old doctor appointment. The doctor was pleased with his progress and the new skills he has developed. Nathan is now 15lbs 3.5oz and 25.5 inches long. This puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. He also pronounced Nathan ready to try out some solid foods (rice cereal, and some baby foods). Nathan is beginning to be afraid of strangers and cried when the doctor talked to him at first but then he decided that it was ok and babbled away. He also got some more vaccinations today and has been a little cranky and very tired ever since.

4 months

Nathan will be 4 months old this wednesday. How the time flies. I never cease to be amazed a how much he has grown!Look mom! I can put my whole fist in my mouth!

Mom, Katie, and Me

The smiles that Dad taught us....

Smiles for mom....

Christmas pictures

Just some pictures from Christmas that I thought I would share.