Christmas Morning

Techically this is Nathan's second Christmas but it was his first Christmas morning where he was able to partake in enjoying the wrapping paper and boxes. He loves his new toys! And I am having fun watching his big blue eyes light up with each one.

Turning 1 Means a Visit to the Doctor and Learning the Sippy Cup

Nathan had his 1 year check up this morning and everything turned out just fine. He is still on the rather small side but is growing in proportion and is very healthy. He weighed 18lbs, 3oz which put him below the 3 percentile. His height was 27 inches which put him right at the 3 percentile. His BMI is 50% so that is perfect... not too big, not too small. My little guy is just that... little. But he is perfectly healthy (except for that pesky cold). He got 3 shots too... MMR, chickenpox... which were combined into 1..., pneumonia, and HIB (I forget exactly what this is but has something to do with meningitis). His next visit to the doctor won't be until he is 18 months so he can take a break from shots, thank goodness.

A few positives about him being little is I can put off getting the forward facing carseat because he won't reach 20lbs for another 3-4 months. And I save on clothes because he has so much room in his 12 month outfits.

The doctor stressed the importance of teaching the sippy cup. I've tried and tried. Nathan enjoys the sippy cup but isn't the greatest at drinking from it. Doctor said that by 15 months if he isn't fully on the cup then the bottle will become like a security blanket and that is a no no.

I can't wait for Christmas with my baby :)

Kisses,

Toni

Nathan is 1!

My son is 1. It literally feels like just last night I was laying in bed with Sugar napping at my knees, and I felt the contractions begin. From that first contraction, my life changed forever. Nathan was saying HELLOOO world! I'm a coming.

Nathan is my best friend and I love him so much. It's funny to actually say now that I have a 1 year old. A 1 year old! Really?? Gosh. And I cannot imagine life without him.

His party was a lot of fun tonight. It probably wasn't the smartest thing though for me to plan it on a weeknight. I just thought that since he was turning 1, I did not want to do it over last weekend because he wasn't 1 yet and then I did not want to do it this weekend because it's Christmas. It's hard on the weeknights though because when I get him from daycare, he is usually exhausted and fussy, which turned out to happen tonight. My parents picked him up so I could get the cake. My mom fed him dinner and then when I arrived, we played for a little and then got the party started. Much of the time he dug through his cake, he was crying or at least whining. He was so exhausted, poor guy. After about 7-10 minutes, I got him in the tub and washed the icing off his hands and face. Then the sugar rush began and he was fine for a couple of hours. He opened presents and of course was more interested in the paper. When we came back home, he was trucking along beautifully and then BAM. The sugar crash. I put him in bed after brushing his teeth and went right to sleep.

Another piece of the excitement for the night was my re-introduction to coffee. I had decaf tonight because I was not in the mood for a caffeine buzz. Literally the drink was so tasty that my eyes welled up with tears. I plan on stopping by Starbucks on my way to work Wednesday so if any of you receive a nutty email from me, please blame the bean.

What a day this was. A great and wonderful first birthday :)

Kisses
Toni

Standing Now

I am so happy to finally have internet at home so I can continue with the Nathan updates. As of last week, Nathan is standing! I now have a coffee table in my living room, which was formerly Lindsay's, and on that fateful night, Nathan used it to help push himself up. He crawled over, unhooked his legs, put his right foot flat on the ground, then his left foot flat on the ground, and presto... with all the strength he could muster in those chubby thighs, he stood up! His hands were both on the top of the table for balance. I was on the phone with my mom at that moment. I gasped and she thought something horrible had happened. I told her that Nathan had just stood up!

The cutest part about this is sometimes he gets stuck standing and cannot figure out how to sit back down so he just looks at me and wimpers. Most of the time he slowly lowers his little body to the floor and continues about his business. So far what scares me the most about this standing thing is he likes to crawl into the bathroom and put his hands on the top of the toilet lid (not seat... no men live here so the lid is ALWAYS down when not in use) and then he'll push himself up. I worry because the linoleum below is slippery so I just watch him closely in case I need to prevent a forward fall.

Walking is coming... I'm not forcing the issue because I know it will mean even extra diligence from me. My mornings will get even crazier.

Kisses,
Toni

Clap Clap Clap your Hands!

Nathan has learned to patty cake and it is adorable! He doesn't exactly do it on queue all the time. Sometimes I'll catch him clapping his hands while he's playing. Other times he'll look at me and clap, wanting me to sing Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Baker's Man... It's still funny to me how babies love that song. Nathan has gentle claps; no noisy bursts but I know it's coming. That will be part of the fun in the toddler stage. I've attached a video of my mom getting him to clap on Thanksgiving. Most of this video is my mom's hands... Nathan doesn't get started until towards the end. Before the video started, of course he was clapping a lot. Kids are notorious for freezing on film.

Kisses,
Toni

11 Months Old Today

From Nathan...

30 days left until the big day! I will be a 1 year old. There are so many things in store for me this next month. I've been trying to stand on my own. Mommy does things to help me like prop me up next to the couch and place my hands on the cushions. She also walks with me, holding my hands. I've been hearing rumblings too about my birthday cake next month. Really! A birthday cake for my very own!! Yippee! Mommy hasn't let me eat sugar outside of fruit at all, except for the occasional taste of jello or pudding. Little does she know that I plan on making the biggest mess of my life with the icing. Today I heard mommy telling auntie that she can't wait for me to begin drinking cow's milk. I don't know if I am quite ready for that but according to my doctor, 1 year marks the time to switch from Nature's perfect food to cow's milk. It will be easier for mommy, that's for sure. No more pumping, whatever that means. I think the best part about me turning 1 will be that mommy can start back drinking coffee. It must be a love of hers because she is literally counting down the days until that first sip of Starbucks. Apparently she hasn't had it since April of 2009! That is quite a long time to give up something you love. Hopefully she will start out with decaf because otherwise, she'll be burning the midnight oil with Sugar and Scout. I guess I should sign off for now. I find that I am rambling. Mommy just gave me a bath and sang Happy Birthday to me again. 11 months... I'll only be 11 months one time. The build up to December 21st is so exciting!!

Kisses and coos,
Nathan

Pulling Tails

Yes, Nathan is at that age now where he pulls tails. He can crawl now like a speedy pro and the cats need to watch out. Scout is way more tolerable of Nathan's antics than Sugar. Sugar runs from Nathan once he gets within 5 feet of her personal space. That's just Sugar... she's a little snot. Scout on the other hand is great with Nate. I don't know if it's because he has an extremely gentle nature or if it's the 1 nice brain cell winning the battle against the 1 not so nice brain cell when they battle it out in that petite brain of his. Nathan is so cute because he will crawl as fast as he can to Scout and grab that tail and pull. Scout just makes a really low volume meeeoowwww. And turns and just looks at Nate... eventually walking away. Then Nate repeats the same until Scout leaps to the top of his cat tree as a last ditch effort to save himself. But there is never a hiss or a growl or a swipe with his claws. I am proud of my cats.

Kisses,

Toni