Three Months Old!!

Goodness, where is the time going?! I can't believe Nate is already through a fourth of his first year! He is so much fun these days, and we can't help but just stare at him and watch him discover new things.

New things for Nate:

-He is sleeping 10-11 hours at night, without a peep!

-He is starting to roll over. He can roll on his side by himself and on his tummy with just a little encouragement.

-He is discovering what his hands can do. He is starting to open them and grab at his toys.

-He loves doing sit-ups and likes to use his legs to stand for short periods.

-He is laughing! He loves playing peek-a-boo and thinks it's the funniest thing.

-He is making all kinds of noises.

-He still only catnaps if he is in his crib but will take good long naps in his swing (we're working on breaking that habit!)

-He just graduated to size 2 diapers. We also had to take the sling out of his bathtub so now he is sitting down in it like a big boy.

-He has almost outgrown his 3-month clothes and can fit into some of his 6-month outfits.

He's getting really good at posing for pics.

 I'm sure this won't last long!

Lately...

Here are some cute pics I've taken lately that I wanted to share!

Nate's first time in his Bumbo. He wasn't too fond

of it because he is still a little wobble headed!

Nate loves Grandmom and Granddad Clapp!

Nate and his cousin Maggie Beth. Maggie is 5 weeks older

and smaller than Nate!

Camera shy!

I love play time with Daddy!

Nate's First Big Trip

We have been quite a busy family lately! My cousin, Meredith, married her high school sweetheart, Greg, in College Station, Texas last weekend, and we flew out to the wedding last Wednesday. Nate was such a great traveler and such a trooper. We sure did drag the little guy through a lot over the course of six days and he only complained a little! He has really become such a happy, laid back baby lately.
We flew into Houston last Wednesday, rented a car, and drove to The Woodlands to spend the night with my dad's brother, Uncle David, and my Aunt Kay. We had not seen them in a couple years and had a fun time catching up with them. And of course, they enjoyed meeting Nate for the first time. Nate actually slept 10 hours straight for the first time (and only time) that night! He also slept right through take-off and landing on the plane and never complained when I had to carry him through the airport strapped to my chest.

Thursday, we drove to College Station to introduce Nate to my mom's sister's family for the first time. We enjoyed hanging out with my aunt, cousins, sister and brother-in-law, Mimi, and my parents. I stayed busy with showers and parties for Meredith most of the time, so Nate got to spend a lot of time hanging out with the guys. Meredith and Greg's wedding was so beautiful and sweet, and we had a really great time. Nate slept until the organ piped up with the Trumpet Voluntary as Meredith walked down the aisle, so Ben and Nate watched from the lobby! By the time we got to the reception, he had had enough wedding fun for the weekend and was pretty cranky. We ended up leaving the reception a little early since Nate wasn't too fond of the DJ's music.

Sunday, we drove back to Houston in hopes of getting on a plane headed home. Ben's dad works for Delta airlines, and one of the perks is that we can fly cheap using Buddy Passes. The downside is that we have to fly standby, and getting on a plane on a weekend in the summer sometimes proves difficult. So after we had turned in our rental car and sat in the airport for a while, we realized we were not going to get home that day. So we had to rent a car for another day, drive back to The Woodlands, and spend another night with Aunt Kay and Uncle David. That was a very frustrating day just because I felt sorry that Nate had to be drug around and kept out of his routine for another day. All in all, we packed and unpacked four times in one week! We were so grateful though that we had wonderful family nearby who were very happy to see us for another night! So Monday morning, we put Nate back in the car at 3:45 a.m. and drove back to the airport to catch a 6:00 flight. We were back at our house by 8:30! Nate took a great two-hour nap (which he has never done) and allowed Ben and me to get some much needed rest as well. We had a great trip and loved being able to introduce Nate to both sides of my family. I am so proud of what a good boy he was during the trip!

Also, last Tuesday Nate and I got to have lunch with one of my favorite patients, Ava. Ava and her family were in town for the week, and Ava has been looking forward to meeting Nate for a long time. She had so much fun holding him, and it was nice catching up with her family. I only have one more month of maternity leave left and I am already sad about having to leave Nate. He is growing so fast, and we are having so much fun with him!

Ava and Nate

Nate enjoyed his first plane ride!

Pretty much his usual disposition now

Aunt Kay and Uncle David (now you see

where Nate will get his height from!)

Aunt Sue and cousin Katherine

Meredith and me

Nate's first place setting

Megan, Katherine, Meredith, and me

The happy couple

Meredith and Greg with Nate

Nate with his BB

Aunt Meg and Poppy trying to entertain one tired little boy

Two Months Old!!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I fully intended to do the official two month post last week, but with Ben being so busy with his online class, I have not had a chance to get on. And Ben is officially finished with his Bachelor of Nursing degree as of today!! We are so excited he will have seven months off to enjoy family time until he starts all over with his Masters (his fourth degree!)

I can't believe Nate is already 10 weeks old! He is growing so fast. I took him for his two-month checkup last Wednesday. He weighed in at a whopping 12 pounds, 10 ounces (75th percentile) and 25 INCHES LONG (97th percentile)!! He has grown 5 inches since birth! That's 1/3 Ben's height already!! That really puts it into perspective. He got all of his two month shots, which makes me really nervous. He only screamed for a couple minutes and stopped the moment I picked him up. He was only cranky that day and was his happy self the next day. Nate is getting too long for his three month clothes and can wear a lot of his six month clothes already.

Operation Crib has been quite a success so far! I can put him down around 8pm wide awake, and he will fall right to sleep. He sleeps eight hours now and usually wakes up around 5am to nurse and will go right back to sleep until 8:00. The first night we put him in his crib, I looked at his empty pack'n'play and just cried because my baby had reached a big milestone. Naptime is still a challenge, but I can at least put him down awake in his crib and he will sleep 10 minutes, cry 10 minutes, and so on until he finally falls asleep for about 30 minutes. So he is slowly making progress. At least he is self-soothing now so that I don't have to keep going in there.

As far as development goes, Nate is doing new things every day. It's so fun to watch him discover this new world. He absolutely loves ceiling fans and will lay back and stare at them. His favorite color is yellow. He lights up when we put his yellow bumblebee toy in front of him and he will pick it out of all the toys hanging on his playmat. He also stares and smiles at the page with the yellow border in his black and white book. He is really swatting at his toys now but has not relaxed his hands enough yet to grab them. He can hold onto a rattle for a few minutes but doesn't realize he's holding it! He is getting pretty good head control and his starting to lift his head up during tummy time.

We are flying to Texas next Wednesday for my cousin's wedding and are very excited about introducing Nate to my extended family. I am a little bit stressed about flying with a baby and all the stuff that entails, but it will better than a 12-13 hour drive! I will post again after our trip!

This outfit is a 9 month!!

The official monthly chair picture

Holding his rattle

Bathtime is my favorite time of day!

I just love those cheeks!