Puppy Cut

One good looking family-taken in 2006. See how pretty Bailey looks? Well...

So, Bailey, our dog, is a golden retriever. I know I'm biased, but really, she is GORGEOUS. Everyone talks about how beautiful she is - and that's mainly because of her amazing coat. Well, all of that changed Monday; thankfully the change is not permanent. I took Bailey to the groomers and asked them to cut her hair a "little shorter than last time" and showed them a picture of a golden who'd just won a competition and said that I liked the way that looked. I pleaded with them not to use clippers on her, rather to scissor cut her hair. I also begged them not to shave her hair too short, because it damages the undercoat of a golden when you shave them... Well, I should have known that Petco doesn't groom show dogs, and it's much faster to use a shaver than scissors. When I picked her up, I didn't know what to say, I mean after all it is just hair and it will grow back. When Chad came home, he asked her what happened, then told her she looked ridiculous. Later, he looked at her and in his best daddy voice he said, "You poor thing, your mommy had you neutered today." We both laughed, and of course I had to share this horrible hair cut with all of you! Honestly, the pictures aren't showing the reality of the bad haircut. Nonetheless, here it is...


We call it her puppy cut because as puppies, goldens don't have the long locks of hair on their chest, the backs of their legs, on their "bloomers", and around their necks. Here's a picture of Bailey as a puppy - see the resemblance?

Well, in no time, she'll look like this again...

But for now, we'll just have to enjoy our golden with a puppy cut!

Our "Rockstar" Baby

Well, today was just one of those days. Nathan and I are both sick - thankfully he feels much better than me and is giddy! So, to add some interest to our day, I gave Nathan a new hairdo!

What do you think?

Chad called him "rockstar baby" and Nathan just laughed. What do you think?


Along with being a rockstar baby, he's also learning to pull up on things. He managed to stand himself up with minimal help on the side of the chair today. He's also able to balance himself in a kneeling position. The crawling days are quickly approaching! Hello outlet plugs!



Such a big boy! We went to the doctor today and he's 18 pounds 3 ounces and 25.75 inches long!

22 weeks old...

The bond between Nathan and Bailey is really starting to get stronger. He loves to watch her play with her toys, roll on the floor, and play with Chad. Nathan watches her intently and reaches out to her any time she walks by. She is beginning to understand that he's eager to see her and she is more intentional about laying near him. SO PRECIOUS!


Nathan ready to be on the move. He's starting to rock forward when sitting up. He's beginning to learn that he needs to put his hands down in front of him when he rocks too far forward.

New uses for the lion! Well, since Nathan loves to talk to big furry animals (ie Bailey) I put his giant lion in the crib one day while I was switching out his 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes. He talked to the lion for 45 minutes! Such great entertainment!


Nathan loves to make silly noises these days. He's discovered that squealing is fun and elicits a great response!

I highly recommend the buggy bag! Here's the pic I promised. This is the greatest cart/highchair cover on the planet! It's thick and quilted so it's comfie, it has a pillow in it, toy loops, and it's washable!


This past weekend, Nathan and his daddy had a guys weekend. I headed to the beach with about 200 women from my church and left Nathan and Chad behind. They had an awesome weekend! Other than Nathan not wanting to go to bed easily Friday night, everything went perfect. He even started rolling over just for the sake of rolling over, instead of rolling because he was mad. Check out this video - he rolls toward the end of it.


He slept well during the day and at night, played well, and ate well... see?

They had a great time together. When I got home, Chad cooked amazing fillet, chicken, and shrimp on the grill, along with sweet potatoes and grilled corn on the cob! Such a sweet husband!

22 week photos with the lion

Here are Nathan's 22 week pictures from this past Friday. He's getting so big and you can see in these pictures how he loves to sit up. He will no longer lay against the lion, he wants to sit up! :) Such a big boy! We're going to start taking his picture with the lion every 2 weeks now since he's not growing as fast.




This was his 15 week photo with the lion - oh my how he has grown!

5 months old today!

I can't believe that Nathan is 5 months old today! That just blows my mind! In the last month, he's started solid food, begun to roll over more, has learned to scoot forward, now enjoys tummy time, he talks constantly, he's not waking up in the middle of the night for his paci, he's become more opinionated and can let us know what he wants, he can stand bearing all of his weight on his legs, he can sit unsupported for a few seconds, he smiles all the time and even flirts with people, and he's even been on his first shoulder ride. I didn't get pictures, but my dad took him for a ride on his shoulders, like he did with me when I was little, and Nathan loved it just as much as I did! Nathan's shirt is really true... he's probably the best baby in the world... at least in our opinion!

Fun this week

Nathan LOVES tummy time now!


He looks so grown up in these pjs!

Would anyone like a kiss?

On Tuesday of this week, I realized that not only do Nathan's feet touch the floor in his jumperoo, his knees are bent when he stands. He's growing like a weed! The picture is horrible, and no he's not making me a present, but look at his feet firmly on the floor!

Now that his feet touch, he enjoys playing in it, which is great, because as a friend reminded me, in this he can stand without support and see the world in the way he loves it, not on his back, but standing up!



This is Nathan playing a very difficult piece on the piano! :)


He finally discovered his furry elephant yesterday! When you pull it's tail, it plays a lullaby. My mom got this for Nathan before he was born and in the last two days it's become one of his favorites! He grabs it and talks to it, and then smashes his face into the soft fabric! Thank you Grannie ShaSha!

First pair of Overalls and First pair of big boy pjs

Well, Nathan has outgrown most of his 3-6 month clothes. He can still wear a few onesies, and even fewer pairs of pants in the 3-6 size. He can't fit into any one piece outfits that are 3-6 months and my dad got on to me this weekend about keeping Nathan in socks that are too small... so out with the old and in with the new. We've moved up to 6-9 months in most everything and here are a few firsts...

First pair of overalls...




First pair of big boy PJ's... meaning it's a long sleeve t-shirt and pants, but no snaps in the crotch and it's not connected!

Nathan discovers the baby in the mirror

Tuesday was such a fun and fascinating day. I got a great idea from a friend - and I'm not sure why I didn't do this sooner, but it was a huge hit. I put a giant mirror (the one from our bathroom) in front of Nathan and laid him on the floor in front of it! Oh my goodness. You'd have thought he'd never looked in a mirror before, even though he has many times. He talked to the baby in the mirror for almost 45 minutes. He talked about his toes, his desire to crawl, sit up, and stand; he talked about so many things I heard all kinds of new sounds come out of his mouth. He laid beside the mirror on his back, in front of it on his tummy, and he sat in front of it as well. These pictures are precious! Some of them are taken just of his reflection in the mirror, and other are taken from behind him so you can see Nathan looking at himself. Check out all of the different facial expressions...











A new skill... Nathan is starting to scoot - you can see him doing it in this picture. He started this over the weekend. He just has to figure out that he has to move his arms as well and then he'll be quite a bit more mobile!

And for those of you who don't believe me when I say that the camera often lies, Nathan's hair really is blond... here you go, natural light, no flash, and blond hair!