Look how much I've grown!

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8 month photos with Leo

8 months old

Today, Nathan turned 8 months old. I cannot believe that my baby will be a year old in 4 short months. Thankfully, when he's sleepy, he is still a great snuggler and I LOVE that.

So, what's he been up to? Well, the blog posts keep you pretty up to date, but I'll try to fill in some details.

Food: Nathan loves to eat, although he's getting to a point where he'd rather get down and play. He'll eat just about anything (except zucchini and squash) and I'm working on getting him used to home made baby food. He's really funny about finger foods. He loves to chew them but often forgets to swallow, so he'll end up with his cheeks packed tight like a chipmunk. We have to inspect them every so often while he's eating. He's recently tried yogurt, egg yolk, and toast. In the upcoming weeks, we hope to introduce cottage cheese, regular cheese, tofu (soaked in chicken broth- recommends my doc), fish, real chicken and real turkey (no more pureed chicken and turkey hopefully), grits, and cantaloupe! Nathan drinks between 12-18 ounces of formula a day and it's always first thing in the morning, right before bed, and sometime during the day. He'll only drink it during the day when he's sleepy - weird. He's eating 2 meats, 2-3 veggies, and 1-2 fruits per day, along with yogurt or egg. He's tried a few stage 3 foods although we encounter the chipmunk thing, so for now we're experimenting with stage 3 and using stage 2 for nutritional value! He has learned to use a pincer grasp (thumb and first finger) although he usually prefers to grab food with his whole fist and put his whole fist in his mouth. Too cute! He's also drinking out of a sippy cup much more these days. Yesterday he drank 2.5 ounces of carrot juice without stopping!

Growth: Nathan was weighed yesterday and he is 21 pounds and 9 ounces (about the 70%). I tried to measure him today and according to my tape measure, he's 27.5 inches long (almost the 50th%), but it's hard to measure a wiggly baby by yourself. He's wearing 12 month onesies and some 12 month shorts, although 18 month shorts fit him better in the waist, 18 month rompers (those one piece snap in the crotch deals), and 12 or 18 month pants.

Talking: Nathan continues to try and mimic our sounds and he studies our mouths when we talk to him. He tries to make the sound. He's making these sounds... da, ma, pa, ba, wa, mo, ahh, eee, and a few others. He'll look for Bailey if you ask him where she is! He's saying "ba" for Bailey, ball, and bottle... so I guess we can't officially say he's said his first word. But make no mistake about it - in my mind, I'm the proud mommy of a little guy who says dada, mama, ball/bailey/bottle, and more! :) Today, Nathan discovered he could make a clicking/smacking sound with his tongue.

Movement: The little man can get to most things within reach from a seated position. He does this combination sitting, rolling, army crawl, roll, sit back up maneuver to get places. Kinda weird, but hey, it gets the job done. He doesn't like to be on his knees, but we're working on this. He is able to "crawl" on his belly by pushing off the floor with his feet and propelling himself forward. He's also very fast when he wants to be. He's sitting with no support and can easily sit up from a lying position. He catches himself when he starts to fall back, or just rolls back and to the side. He's also reaching forward and ending up in a crawling position fairly often. He has discovered the fun of sitting up in his crib and of course, when he wants to fight sleep, he sits up in his crib and plays with his paci by clinking it on the crib rails or dropping it through the slats. Today, he discovered the ties to his bumpers and when I came in to get him up from a nap, he had untied 4 of them! Also today, he discovered that he can reach the top rail of his crib while he's sitting down... we're in for some pulling up in days to come I do believe.

Temperament: Nathan is still a very happy and laid back baby, and in general will go with the flow. Lately, he has begun to protest when he wants something he can't have and he's been a little whiny with all this teething. He also loves to yell at us when he wants something - I'm a little stuck trying to figure out how to applaud the attempt at communication, yet stifle the yelling and replace it with words or signs. Nathan will still let just about anyone hold him as long as mom and dad are in eye sight. That said, he goes into the church nursery just fine. He's very friendly and is quite a flirt. He loves to smile and laugh and get people's attention. My mom's been begging for another clip of him laughing, so here's the best I could do on my own...


Swimming: Nathan's swimming skills continue to improve. He can go under water for about 4 seconds now and is doing great with remembering to hold his breath. Occasionally when he's not prompted, he'll drink a mouth full of water when he goes after a toy. We're working on letting him sit on a step in the pool and teaching him what happens if he leans too far forward. So far about 50% of the time he will hold his breath when he goes under. We're a little behind when it comes to him holding on to us in the water. You could let go of him and he wouldn't care. We're trying to teach him to hold on to our shirts (yes we try to swim with shirts on) but this is difficult to teach. We're working on it out of the pool as well. I love watching his little face when he comes up from underwater. He's not at all startled and actually looks a little proud. He LOVES the pool and the bath and splashes and kicks constantly when he's in either. He's beginning to create a name for himself around the apartments. A couple days ago, one of the maintenance guys stopped Nathan and me in the office... the dialogue went something like this:

MM(Maintenance Man): hey there
K(Katie): hello
MM: that's the baby that goes under the water isn't it
K: it sure is
MM: I was watching him the other day
K: you were
MM: yep, he looks like he even likes the water
K: he loves the water
MM: can't believe that baby can go under the water

Such a funny conversation due to the accent (deep southern) and the mind boggledness (yes I made that word up) of the guy. Too funny.

Pics from this morning..








You'd never know it but he was very ornery and refused to lay down on the changing table or in his crib for my usual pics of him at each month mark. Independence is a good thing though and although it makes my life a bit more challenging, I'm proud that he's enjoying a little independence.

To get him to sit still for his pics with Leo, I gave in and gave him the DVD remote. This is a big no no in our house but I admit, I was desperate and running out of happy time. He was ready for a nap and I was on a mission to get those pics while the light was still good. We tried a new spot and I liked it. Nathan liked it as long as he could hold the remote... and then he discovered what a great teether it was... but he was too tired to sit up and chew on it. Very amusing.



no he's not asleep, but wouldn't it be funny if he was?

oh yeah, he found the dvd player today too...

More sweet baby pics




while chewing on this block, he somehow got his lip stuck in part of it and it pinched him, and he screamed while the block hung from his lip. It bled a little, but he was okay. Kinda funny after the fact, but not funny then!

He loves to scoot across the room after Bailey. She hasn't gotten smart enough to anticipate the hair pulling and eye gouging and get up and move, so I'm working with Nathan on being gentle... meanwhile praising Bailey for her steadfast patience!

Okay, so, the last three days have been absolutely insane... we found out we're closing on our house way earlier than expected and there are a million things to do to get ready, chad's been out of town since the crack of dawn on Monday (but he'll be home by the time I post this), and I was doing some fill in work for my old job... needless to say, by this evening, Nathan and I were both in need of some down time. Thank you Jesus for Praise Baby DVD's. Nathan laid still as a painting for 30 minutes and watched this video. I did the dishes and then curled up on the sofa behind him. What a crazy week... oh yeah, it's only Wednesday.

Homemade baby food take 2

Today, my friend Kendra, tried her hand at making Nathan homemade baby food. You know it's simple... cook the veges and then puree the mess out of them! Well, Nathan is by no means a picky eater, as long as gerber or beechnut make it. Here's what he thought of homemade baby food... a similar reaction to our first try 3 months ago.



It's kinda funny and it made me laugh. I ended up mixing it with peaches and he finally ate about half of it! Apparently there's something that Kendra and I don't do that the commercial baby food folks do... but I wonder what it is? Any suggestions? Feeding this little guy is getting expensive!

Folks we have an inchworm

Click the play button to see what the little man is up to!

Watermelon!

I think these pictures speak for themselves...
















Sorry, I couldn't chose a favorite...
Nathan ate watermelon for about 25 minutes while the rest of our small group ate a delicious dinner of ribs, Israeli couscous salad, corn on the cob, yeast rolls, and Kendra's 7 layer cookie bars. We were all in a food coma by the end (Nathan included). What a great night to be in our small group!

House update #10 closing and cabinets

I went by the house today and to my absolute delight, they were putting in our kitchen cabinets! They are beautiful, yet I was saddened because my camera battery was dead. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow though!

Also, we found out Saturday night that we are closing 5 weeks earlier than expected! Yeah and oh my goodness all at the same time! We've got a lot to do before then!

House update #9 stone and sheet rock

We went to the house the other night and we found the stone on the front and the sheet rock finished on the inside. The stone fireplace is also complete!!!!

Sorry for the darkness... it was almost 10pm.



Here's what the kitchen looks like today.

Thank you Lord!

I don't post as much as I should about how blessed we are as parents, but let me take a brief moment to share just one way the Lord has taken care of us new parents... Nathan loves sleep, and he sleeps well. It's Saturday at 12:20pm... Nathan slept all night as usual, and slept in until 9am, had a bottle, was awake for 30 minutes, and then went back to sleep... and he still is. Chad and I slept in and we've spent the morning watching HGTV in our pjs just the way we did pre-baby. Not a day goes by when I don't realize the blessing of our sleep loving little guy! My friend Emily encourages me to find holy moments in the midst of the mundane and that's what I'm doing this morning... and I just wanted to share.

Playdate Thursday

Thursday the 17th, Nathan had a day filled with playdates.

Colton is Nathan's first real playmate. He sees him almost once a week (sometimes once every other week) and they are beginning to actually play together. They are so easy to take care of together as well because both boys are laid back and enjoy just watching each other and since they are so close in age, it's easy for us mommies to know how to help out the other. It's great to get to have these playdates because the boys get to socialize and Kristin and I get to have adult conversation! Nathan has other friends too, and I enjoy being with them and their mommies and daddies as well... but Colton and Kristin happen to be a regular part of our week and we love that! We're up for more "regular" playdates if anyone's interested!!!

Anyway, Colton came over in the morning and we started the fun by going for a swim! The mommies and Nathan enjoyed it more than little Colton. He got cold quickly. So we came inside for a warm bath, a little play time, and naps! After the naps came some fun pictures so that you guys can continue to see how much they are growing...



Wait Nathan, don't leave me here!

Kristin asked the boys a scholarly question and Colton confidently raised his hand and shouted, "I know, I know"... okay, not really but that's what it looks like!


who know what they were looking at, but it must have been quite interesting


As usual, things got a little physical in the end... but hey, their boys and that's what boys do!

Nathan, you're too young to know how to "fish hook" someone yet! Did you learn that from your daddy wrestling with Bailey? Wait, does your daddy "fish hook" Bailey?

we're still friends

Then, we got the boys in their strollers and walked to lunch! Of course it was nearly 2pm and we were starving, but hey, it was worth the wait.

After a long lunch and a hot walk, the boys were again tired, so more napping followed. Then Colt and Kristin said good bye.

Nathan continued to nap and I got us ready for playdate number two! Nathan's first pool party at a friend's house (well a friend's grandpa's house)... The three of us hopped into the car and drove over to meet Evan, Jenn, and Wayne at Evan's grandpa's house for a dip in their pool and some quality hang out time. Evan is almost exactly a month younger than Nathan, but you'd never know it. Evan is more than 28 inches tall and weighs close to 22 pounds. He's going to be a giant! Nathan and Evan said hello and chatted for a bit while we compared their height, weight, and skin tone. Of course this meant that we traded babies for a bit and it was so funny, but both boys felt lighter to the other parent. Evan felt light to Chad and I because he holds on and he is VERY still, unlike our wiggle worm!


are they about to hug or fight?


After saying hello, we headed down to the pool. Jenn is not a swimmer, so she was the designated photographer. Here's some shots from the fun evening in a BEAUTIFUL pool!

Me and Nathan, Evan and Wayne


Splash Splash


Nathan was so excited about this orange squeaky fish. He loved to "chase" it in the water...


and underwater! (I promise I'm not drowning him even though the look on my face might suggest otherwise)



When he finally "caught" it, he realized it was much more fun to chew on!

Here's the chill baby, just relaxing in the pool.

Nathan doesn't like to float on his back anymore because he'd rather sit up or be on his tummy... so we created a little diversion and got him to practice floating on this raft!

Evan tried it too and was much more still!

Nathan preferred to sit in the raft! Thanks for the idea Dave and Nic!

Swimming with daddy

Kisses for daddy

Evan's big smile!

We were sneaking up on Nathan and tickling him and he loved it. He was laughing so loud!

After a long swim, it was time for the adults to eat pizza and brownies... a winning combo. The boys were pretty tired, but they sat together for a few photos.


in typical boy fashion, things had to get a little physical

Nathan grabbed Evan's foot, and we all joked about how funny it would be if Nathan put Evan's toes in his mouth... as if he knew what we were talking about...

apparently he did!

Dear Jesus, thank you for the fun play date we had today. Amen.