Nate's First Beach Trip!!

First of all, let's start with 6 month stats... Nate was 20 pounds (86th percentile) and 29 inches long (100th percentile!) We have a very big boy on our hands!! He is pretty much wearing 12 month clothes now and some of those are even too short. We can't afford to keep this kid in clothes!!

We went down to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Daphne, Alabama a couple weeks ago. We took Nate to the beach one afternoon and he LOVED it! He loved kicking the sand with his toes and was mesmerized by the waves. We couldn't get him to look at the camera because he was too busy playing in the water. We didn't stay very long because he realized he was hungry and started getting cranky. I can't wait to take him back next summer and watch him play in the sand and water.

Last weekend we took Nate and his cousins, Maggie Beth and Abby, to the pumpkin patch in their matching shirts to get pictures. We had so much fun watching the babies interact with each other. Nate was more interested in eating the hay than anything else! This will be the only time we will ever get them to sit still in one spot for pictures!

Nate sucking Maggie's thumb. He's not partial to his own thumb!

I could just eat him up!



Happy Half Birthday to Nate!!

Our boy is six months old!! Wow, I can't believe how quickly time is flying! Nate is growing up way too fast. Sorry I have been slacking on the blogging this month. Between my new sewing hobby and trying to get a house ready to sell, I haven't had much time. Yes, we are putting our house on the market! We have officially outgrown this house and need to upgrade before the next little one comes along. Since selling a house these days could take many months, we decided we'd better get started. My parents so graciously came up here this weekend to help us do some things around the house. My mom was more than thrilled to keep Nate occupied while we worked.

Nate is doing so many new things. He is in the stage now where each week he is so much more developed than the week before. New things:

-Still a great sleeper. Takes one good nap during the day.

- Sitting up now, unsupported!! He is still a little wobbly, so we have to sit close by, but he can sit by himself for a while before toppling over.

- He is always, always, always drooling!! We still don't see any teeth on the horizon, but surely they are coming soon!

- He loves attention. He will do anything for attention, even negative attention. We are starting to have to correct him with our tone of voice. I hope he is not as strong-willed as both of his parents!

- He is rolling all over the place. We can't put him down and leave him  now because he will be across the room in no time flat.

- He is wearing 6-9 months clothing. All of his 6 month footed pajamas are getting too small for him because he is so long.

- He is always smiling. Nate is the happiest little guy I have ever seen. He even still smiles at strangers and loves old people.

- He is trying out so many new sounds and has so many expressions. He makes us laugh just looking at him.

- He is now exclusively bottle feeding. I had to give up breastfeeding because I was not making enough for him since I went back to work. I went as long as I could though, and it was hard to start bottle feeding him, but at least I knew I didn't have a choice. It doesn't bother him one bit, though, just mommy!

We are going for his six months checkup on Wednesday, so I will have to update on his stats. We are also going to visit my sister and brother-in-law in Mobile this coming weekend, which is a seven-hour drive. I am sure it will certainly be interesting! Please say a prayer for us!!

Here is a month's worth of pictures to catch you up!

He no longer sits back and relaxes for his monthly chair pic.

Such a busy boy!

Sitting up all by myself.

Playing in my pack-n-play

Bathtime is still my favorite!

I love my bouncer!

Went to see my cousin Abby in Starkville last weekend.

We loved playing together, but aren't really good at sharing yet!

I love my johnny jump-up! Murphy is very protective of me.

I've Caught the Bug....

....The sewing bug!! Yes, I am learning how to sew and embroider/applique. I bought a sewing machine and an embroidery machine and have been taking sewing lessons on Monday nights. So far I have learned to make long and short johnnies for Nate and have made one of each! I also made a cute pair of corduroy pants for him last night that I am going to pair with a cute appliqued shirt for the fall. My fabulous sister-in-law, Candice (http://www.mysewsweetboutique.blogspot.com/) has been (very patiently) teaching me how to monogram and applique. She has helped me to make Nate's johnnies very cute along with some really cute bibs. I haven't used my own embroidery machine yet because I am still waiting on a part, but I can't wait to whip up some really cute creations!!

Nate proudly sporting his new outfit (which is pretty much too short!)

Five Months Old!!!

Our little doodlebug is five months old!!! Nate is growing before our very eyes into a very bright, curious little guy. It is amazing to watch how quickly he is developing each day. He is in such a fun stage and we are always laughing at the sounds and giggles he makes.

Fun things Nate is doing:

- He is rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back.

- Sleeping 12 hours consistently through the night!!

- He has tried sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, bananas, avocados, and sweet peas and loves them all. He hasn't met a food he doesn't like (and it shows!)

- He is somewhere between 17 1/2 - 18 pounds and I love every single pudgy little roll.

- He is very good at reaching and grabbing things and putting them in his mouth.

- He cackles so hard when Ben is playing with him and tickling his tummy.

(I've been trying to post videos but my computer won't let me.)

- He babbles, babbles, babbles all the time.

- He is tripod sitting and sitting unsupported for short periods.

- He is very snuggly and loves to hug and kiss (very slobbery kisses of course!)

- H still only takes catnaps during the day.

- He LOVES Murphy!! He loves to pet him and pull his ears and Murphy is very gentle with him.
I think they are going to be big buds!!

Five month chair pic

Does this guy love the camera or what?!

Busy, Busy Life!!

Life has just been flying by lately! Work is keeping me so busy that I don't have time to sit down and breathe at night. Nate is growing up so fast and doing so many new things. Nothing terribly exciting has happened lately. We are just enjoying being at home and spending time together on the weekends.

Nate has his first cold right now, so he has not slept well at night for the past week. Since my last post, we have started baby food!! I am making all of my own baby food and Nate has loved everything he has tried so far. I have made sweet potatoes, carrots, peaches, pears, squash, and sweet peas. He has tried oatmeal cereal (he is getting tired of that), bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, and sweet peas. I am so glad he does not seem to be a picky eater, and I hope this trend continues. I weighed him on my scale the other day and he was a whopping 17.8 pounds!!

He is rolling over well now, mainly from back to tummy, and sometimes from tummy to back. He pushes up very well on his hands and elbows and has good head control. He can even sit on his own for a few seconds, until he realizes he is doing it! Ben caught him sitting straight up in his bouncy seat today! I think he is going to be such a strong little boy. He is such a talker and loves to hear himself squeal like a girl. He tries to get his squeals so high-pitched sometimes that nothing but air comes out of his mouth! He only takes about two thirty-minute naps a day but never seems tired until about 7:00 in the evening. I don't know how the little guy does it! I've never known a baby who didn't take naps. A longer break every now and then sure would be nice!!

Exploring his new toy

My first time in my high chair and having fun!

BB says I look like my mom in this picture...

and this one...

and I agree :)  (this is me!)

Eating bananas for the first time - YUM!!!

Trying a little tripod sitting

I LOVE my toes!!!!

Impressive, huh?

Four Months Old!!!

Nate is going to be a whopping four months old tomorrow and is just the most fun little four-month-old! In just the last couple weeks, his little personality has really come to life. He is learning to do so many things, and we are amazed at how fast he is developing.

New things with Nate:

- At 3 1/2 months, he weighed 15 pounds, 10 ounces (75th percentile)

- He was 26 1/2 inches long (90th percentile)

- As of yesterday, he is rolling from back to tummy and does it every time we lay him on his back. Then he gets frustrated because he doesn't want to be on his tummy!

- His is propping up on his elbows and looking around during tummy time.

- His hand-eye coordination is very good. He is very good at reaching and grabbing toys.

- He babbles all the time and makes the cutest sounds. He has just recently started to squeal like a girl.

- He just cackles and cackles when Ben plays with him and tickles him.

- He is still sleeping about 12 hours a night!

I'm holding off on feeding him as long as I can, but he can suck down an 8-9 ounce bottle in no time flat, so it may not be too long! He definitely doesn't miss any meals!

I haven't blogged in a while because I started back to work full-time on the 15th. It has been very hard leaving Nate every day, but he has loved all of his babysitters so far. We have a babysitter that will be starting in August, but until then, he is here, there, and yonder with family members. Needless to say, he is so far off the schedule I had him on before I went back, but he is a happy baby, so whatever works for him right now is fine. Hopefully when our babysitter starts we can get him back on more of a routine. I hate not having any time to do anything anymore. By the time I get home, play with Nate, cook dinner, bathe Nate and get him to bed, wash bottles, and prepare for the next day, it's time to go to bed. I was hoping to go part-time, but the Lord has not worked that out for us yet so I am just trying to be patient and trust that He knows what is best for our family right now. I know that Nate won't remember any of this, and it's probably good that he's not looking at me 24/7!

Nate's first Sunday in the nursery.

He picked up some ladies in his sweater vest Aunt Meg gave him!

Lovin' me some Bumbo time!

Storytime with Dad

Nate's first time swimming

Four month chair pic

Such a big boy!!

Fun on the Fourth

This past weekend, Nate took his first trip to Ben's Uncle Marc's lake house at Pickwick to celebrate the fourth. We spent Saturday through Monday there and had a great time. We swam, tubed on the lake, cooked out, and ate till we popped! Nate's six-month-old cousin, Abby, was there, and it was so cute watching them "play" together. Nate is catching up to her quickly and is already longer than she is!

I tried my hand at tubing with Ben's cousin, Victoria, for the first time since high school. Marc managed to throw me off twice, which didn't feel too good! I realized I'm not as young as I used to be, but it was a lot of fun.

Nate decided this weekend would be the time to stop sleeping well at night. He had been sleeping 12 hours at night without a peep, but Sunday morning, he was up bright and early at 3:30 a.m. I managed to keep him quiet (we were sharing a room with Abby and her mom) until 5:00 when all of a sudden he started screaming like a banshee! I don't know what his problem was, but he has been up a couple times a night ever since. I hope this isn't the four month sleep regression I have been reading about, but it sounds like it could be. I figured this would happen about the time I get ready to go back to work.

I am going back to work one week from today, and I am soaking up every moment with my little guy. I figure everything else can be put on hold right now while I snuggle with him as much as I can. I'm going to miss this so much!

Abby and Nate with Granddad

Look how much longer Nate is!

In his red, white, and blue with his signature scowl

Ridin' the waves (I'm on the right.)

Whew! That was scary fun!

I ran across some baby pictures of Ben on the computer the other day. It is freaky how much Nate looks like him! There is no question who his father is!