HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!! ~

Nathan turned 1 yesterday! Wow, I can't believe it. Where did the time go? And for those who were worried, I held it together just fine. I think Nathan might have been a little overwhelmed by all of the people, but someday he will understand what it's all about.

He had a Thomas the Train theme with a Thomas candle on top of his cake. He wasn't sure about the cake at first, but as you can see he finally got in to it. He almost shoved it on the floor, but Daddy caught it. We then had a big cookie instead of cake for everyone else.

Thank you to everyone for coming and the gifts you brought. Nathan has enjoyed all of them. He went to bed at 8 last night and decided at 10 that he just wasn't go back to sleep (not sure if he might have had a tummy ache from the frosting), so he played with some things last night and went back to bed at 11.

I think he is about 27lbs. and 31-32 in. He goes for his 1-year checkup tomorrow, so I will update after that.

11 Months Old ~

Nathan is now around 27 lbs and 31 in tall. He is ready to walk (or really close). He cruises around couches and tables and is getting pretty good at standing by himself.

Tooth #10 came in a couple of weeks ago. It's a dangerous place to go when we try and see if there are any new ones. He went to the dentist during Daddy's appointment this month. Dr. Benoit looked in his mouth and said everything looked good and to prepare for a lot of drooling and chewing on things with his molars coming in. He had to lay on his back and the dentist tickled him to get him to open his mouth. They said to come back in a year.

We made our first trip to the zoo this month too. We went with our friend and her son and nephew (who is 2 days older than Nathan). It was really cute when they both started to make noises and looked at each other like, "you do that too"?

He isn't sure about table foods very much. He does like toast, little bites of chicken, cheese and all of the Gerber bite size foods. He thinks the yogurt bites are funny. Not sure why. He doesn't want much to do with pieces of fruit, they are a little slimy.

He has become more vocal, we just don't know what he is saying. He is working on Bye-Bye (he has the wave down), Hi and Ozzy (one of our kittys).

We did dress him up last night for Halloween. We took him to a few houses of people we know, but didn't get any candy. He doesn't need to know what that is yet. He was Winnie the Pooh dressed as a bee.

10 Months Old ~

Nathan is quite the "mover" these days. He has discovered there are other rooms on the main floor other than the family room. As you can see by the picture, he likes to be in the kitchen. He has magnets that he plays with and can put in his little refrigerator and it will talk to him. Although his favorite thing to do is just open and close the door on it. He is pulling himself up everywhere and walking along things, also working on standing by himself.


He is a chatter box too. Ma-Ma was his first word, his doctor was surprised because she said that is harder than Da-Da. We worked on Da-Da last weekend and surprised Daddy when he came home from the Iowa Football game. He said Da-Da. Now we are just working on other words. Sometimes he will say, "Uh-Oh" and "Out".
Nathan is no longer the baby of the family (on my side anyway). He has a new little cousin, Muireann, who was born 09/07. He wasn't too sure about her yet because she doesn't do much. But she is a cutie. It's hard to believe that he was once her size.

9 Months Old ~

Nathan is crawling and pulling himself up now. Just about every time we go in to get him out of bed he is already standing in his bed. Jared moved his mattress to the lowest level today. Nathan is having so much fun, he is keeping Mommy and Daddy very busy trying to keep him out of trouble. Two weeks ago tonight he had his first big boo-boo. He was trying to stand up at the end table and lost his balance with the hand he was leaning and hit his head on the shelf of the end table. I grabbed him really quick to comfort him and didn't realize right away he had actually cut the skin open. We were lucky, it was right above his eyebrow. Jared and I were very nervous about it being so close to his eye and it didn't seem to stop bleeding, so we went to convenient care and they put some derma-bond on it. He was a really big boy while we were there, he didn't cry once. He will have a little scar, but nothing too bad. Everyone reminds me it will be the first of many.

He hasn't tried too many new foods lately. We have tried to give him bread/toast, but he doesn't want anything to do with it. We did give him some of a Kraft cheese slice and he seemed to like it. Cottage cheese he does not like, I think it's the texture.

He weighed in at home at 25 lbs. and measured 31 in. We'll see what the Doctor says in a week at his check-up.

**Doctor update 09/08/08**

Nathan weighed 25.6 lbs. and 29 1/2 in. long. His doctor said he is developing ahead of schedule and is starting to get his molars.

8 Months Old ~

Nathan is growing so fast. He still just has 7 teeth, but two more are on the way. He has gotten really good at sitting up by himself and can even sit himself up from his belly. Jared said the he thinks Nathan had his first unofficial crawl tonight. I tried to get him to do it, but of course he wouldn't. He likes to get in the "Downward Dog" position and then pull his knees under him. He moves a little when he does that. He has some strong legs though.

We started giving him meats this month. He has had chicken, turkey, beef and ham. He likes them all so far, even by themselves. As we all know, they don't look that appealing. The only things he doesn't like are peaches and spinach. He will eat spinach in a garden vegetable that he eats, it has peas and carrots with it.

He weighs about 24 lbs and is around 29 1/2 to 30 in.

We got a new kitten over 4th of July. His name is Indy and is Nathan's new kitty. I think he will be used to Nathan by the time Nathan can really move.

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7 Months Old ~

Nathan is one busy boy. Over the past month he as gotten another tooth (#7), rolls everywhere and is sitting up by himself. He still gets a little wobbly, but he's getting there. He is very ready to crawl too. I know it will happen before we know it.
He loves his Elmo walker that "Aunt" Mindy & "Uncle" Bill gave to him to use. Their kids are done with it now. He has gotten pretty good at going forward in it. He loves to play with his letter magnets on the fridge and chase Ozzy kitty around the kitchen.
He is about 24lbs. and 29ins. now. One solid little guy. He is very happy and has been so much fun. The new teeth have been a little bothersome, but he's a trooper.
Once a week now he stays with Grandma S. while she is off for the summer. I know she really enjoyed their first day together last week.
We have a break in going to the doctor for an extra month and no shots next time either. He will enjoy that and so will I.

6 Months Old ~

I can't believe our little boy is half way to his first birthday.

He has a total of 6 teeth now, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. He loves to chew on EVERYTHING!! Just ask his Grandma B.

He has started to get the idea of flipping from his tummy to his back. I know it won't be long now and he will be rolling everywhere. He acts like he wants to crawl though, but can't get things coordinated. He'll push up with his feet, but his face ends up in the floor and with his arms pushed up he can't get his legs under him.

We are working our way through solid foods. So far the count is, Carrots, Peas, Sweet Potatoes and Applesauce - yummy and Peaches - yucky and Bananas and Pears - so so (as long as they are mixed in the cereal). We have Green Beans, Squash and Prunes to go.

He is enjoying being outside more now. We still have to put him in his swing on the swing set to see how he likes it. That should be fun.

Hope all is well with everyone.

He has a doctor's appointment Friday, so we will update then.

**06/06/08**
Nathan had his check-up today and weighed in at 22lbs 12oz and 28in long. His doctor said everything looks good.

5 Months Old ~

Wow, what a month this has been.

Nathan started rice cereal about 3 weeks ago, he's getting better at eating it. He hasn't really liked the taste of it. We might be starting a vegetable within a week or so. I haven't decided yet if it is going to be a green one or a yellow one.

On the 19th he flipped from his back to his belly. No one actually witnessed it, but when I went into the kitchen he was on his back. When I came back he was on his belly. He hasn't done it since. He keeps trying though. He likes to put his toe in his mouth, YUCK! Although I'm sure we all did it.

AND TODAY, HE CUT HIS FIRST TOOTH! That explains the very grumpy baby we've had the past couple of days.

He likes to make raspberry noises now and laughs a lot more. He has also started to grab things and has noticed our kittys more. They catch his eye and then he is done. He hasn't shown much interest in touching them if they get too close. We take his hand every once in a while if they are sleeping on the bed or the couch and tell him to be gentle and that the kitty's are soft just to get him (and them) used to it.

He is weighing in at about 21lbs and is about 27 inches long. We got his new car seats today too. He has about out grown the infant car seat.

4 Months Old ~

Nathan is doing great. He has become more vocal and enjoys making new sounds. He has really started laughing a lot too. It's also great how he turns to look at us when we walk into a room and instantly smiles. It makes the perfect ending to a long day at work.

He slept through the night for the first time last week. Over 3 nights he slept longer and longer. Thursday night he slept for 12 hours. Now he has a cold, so I don't think he will be sleeping through the night for a while. He is working on trying to roll over from his back to his belly, he gets his legs up and turned, but then comes back. He had a play date with his friend Travis, who is 7 1/2 months old, and we told him to take notes. Travis is rolling everywhere.

We go to the doctor on Friday for his check-up, so we will get to see how our little guy has grown. We might be starting cereal too. That will be fun! Everyone take care and we will keep you posted.

**04/04/08**
We went to the doctor today. He weighed in at 18 lbs. 15 oz. and is 26 in. long. He grew 3 inches in two months. The nurse had to measured him twice just to make sure that was right. Everything else looked good and we can start cereal when he shows signs of wanting to eat more, then fruits and veggies. Yeah!

3 Months Old ~

Nathan is 3 months old now and around 16 pounds. He is a good baby. We are still working on him sleeping through the night, but it will all come in time. We might have to start cereal at bedtime next month, we will see what his doctor says. He is holding his head up really well and is handling tummy time a lot better now that he can hold his head up. I don't think it will be too long and he will be rolling over. He has started to laugh now too. It is so cute when he does that. It's that deep baby giggle that just gets you laughing too. He is starting to interact with toys now and really likes the lights and music on his activity mat. Just the other day he started to try and sit up if he is reclined a little. He wants to be upright more. We can't wait for winter to be over so we don't have to keep bundling up when we go out. He gets a little irritated with that. We will keep you posted on anything new. Everyone take care.

2 Months Old~

Nathan is 2 months old. He weighed 13lbs. 9oz. at his checkup and the doctor says he is doing well. He holds his head up really well and recognizes our voices. He has found his own voice too and likes to copy. He smiles all the time too. That helps in the middle of the night when you are so tired. We are still trying to get him to sleep longer at night. The doctor gave us some tips on how to help that. Hope things are good with everyone.