Nathan: Two Years Old

My Rowdy Bubba Bubba

I can’t believe you are already two years old. You’re personality has definitely blossomed this year! You love to talk, and talk more than most three year olds that I know. You have even started to copy Katie and ask us “why?” all the time. This past month, you have also started copying mommy and Aunt Tara and answer yourself “said so…” because mommy and Aunt Tara said so. Lol! You are very good at asking “please” and almost always say “thank you.” You speak in short sentences most of the time and can say “shoulder ride please Johnan,” “I want my mommy,”  “water daddy please,” and your favorite “I want my ‘fier’ (pacifier).” You say so many words; I can’t keep track of them all but it has to be at least 150-200. Despite that, you are pretty stingy with your “love you” and say it most to Aunt “Tear-wah” (Tara).  You are learning your body parts and know your head, eyes, nose, mouth, tummy, arms, hands, legs, and feet. You like to grab noses as tell us “honk honk!” All of your teeth have come in as well, except for your two year molars. One or two of them are peeking through, but not quite out.

Swimming with Charlie at Aquatica, July 29th

Lunch with Abbey and Miss Jess @ BJ's La Cantera, August 2nd

You love to play and laugh all the time. You hop around the house and tell us “happy, happy, happy, happy!” Katie is your favorite playmate, followed closely by Emma, Abbey (Katie’s swim buddy),  Caleb, and Charlie.  Your Uncle “Johnan” is the coolest guy. You have followed suit with Katie and the two of you tag team him to play “Get You!” You love you grandparents, but of them all, you are Pawpaw’s buddy.  You are just like him, too. You have his temper, outgoing personality, pouty faces, and he is the only one that can get you to snuggle up and take a nap some days. A big change from last year is that you are a major Daddy’s Boy! You always want to be with him and ask for him as soon as you wake up or get home. You are such a happy boy and make friends easily.  At Thanksgiving at Gam Gam’s you made fast friends with your 3^rd cousin, Angela. She carried you around and played with you all day at the park. 

Katie and Nathan at Mass, August 2013

Trip to Oklahoma, August 16-19, 2013

Nathan's First Movie, Planes (Alva), August 17th

You climb like a monkey, and attempt to climb up the ropes and up the slide backwards at the playground. Somehow you can swing yourself onto my cabinets and try to reach things on the 2/3^rd shelves in the kitchen. You love to play with balls and toys that light up. You really enjoy being outside and will find all kinds of things to get into in the garage and backyard. While you like some TV characters and shows, you certainly are not interested in watching a whole cartoon show. Your favorite cartoon is Little Einsteins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  Most recently you have developed a love of putting on other people’s shoes - whether they are Katie’s light up shoes or Daddy’s sandals makes no difference to you.  In typical boy fashion, you are big time into pulling girl’s hair and get in trouble quite a bit for doing so. Time outs do not work very well with you; you usually throw yourself dramatically on the ground in a fit of tears whenever you go to time out. However, you know mommy’s look and you certainly don’t want to get a “pow pow.” Counting down from 5 usually gets you to rethink your behaviors.

Emma and Nathan grocery shopping, August 28th

Nathan with Mawmaw and Papaw at Landa Park, September 2013

Nathan at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, September 2013

You used to be such a good sleeper until a month ago or so. You usually sleep from 8:30pm to 7am. Sometimes you wake up at 5am, but you go back to sleep without much fuss. Recently though, you fight sleep, and end up falling asleep somewhere between 9-10pm. You wake up constantly and always want daddy to sleep with you on the couch. When he is getting ready for work, you are standing outside the bathroom door or shower asking for him.  I am hoping this has more to do with you possibly getting your molars or your allergies causing you to wake up more. Mommy is not a morning person, and your 5-6am wake ups are pretty rough! You are still eating okay, and continue to grow bigger each month. Your favorite foods are strawberries, waffles (pancakes, toast, mini waffles), chips, corn, peanuts, and fruit snacks.  You made it 23 months nursing (although much less frequently for the past two months) and nursed for the last time November 8th.  I am so proud of us for making it so long, and while I miss the special bond with you, I was ready to be done nursing! We have a follow-up with the Endocrinologist in December to check your growth, but I am positive you are making progress. You have moved up to size 18-24 month clothes and size 7 shoes, but are still in size 4 diapers.

Big Bubba brushing his teeth

Happy Halloween 2013!

I am so proud of the little boy that you are becoming. You have so much energy and are full of life. I can’t wait to see all the new things you are going to learn this year.  It won’t be long and you won’t be needing mommy as much to do things. You can already take off all your clothes yourself. If we aren’t paying close enough attention, you strip down to your birthday suit and try to get in the bathtub or shower with us. You love the water!! You are starting to want to “poopy in potty” and have asked to sit on the potty a few times. You don’t do anything yet, but you pull off the “paper” and flush all by yourself.  When anyone is doing laundry, you help pull out the step stool and climb on top of it. You also really like playing with the vacuum and broom and will pull them both from the closet when we are cleaning. My favorite was this past month when we were cleaning up and you chimed in singing “Clean up, clean up” with Katie! J You are so smart, Nathan, and a fast learner!

Nathan as "Jake" from the Neverland Pirates, Halloween 2013

Nathan and Paul snuggling on the couch

Angela and Nathan at Aline Park, November 3rd

I hope that you always know how much we love you! You are such a sweet, sweet boy and I cherish your hugs and kisses after a long day! Have a wonderful birthday (a Thanksgiving Birthday) and know that mommy loves you more than life itself.

Isabella (6), Nathan (23mo), Eveyln (7), Katie (3.5), Lily (2.5), Caleb (3)
 at Caleb's 3rd Birthday Party, November 24th

Katie and Nathan, Thanksgiving 2013

Love,

Mommy

Nathan: Month Eighteen (and 19! and almost 20!)

Nathan,

Blue Bonnet Pictures, April 4th

My sweet boy, life has been so busy this summer. That's partially why I am so behind on your update. We have been on the go non-stop since I last wrote about what you have been up to. In April, we sold and closed on the only home you and Katie know. It was bittersweet to sell our first home, but we quickly moved into a nice, new, bigger home at the end of May. We spent the in between time living with Mawmaw and Papaw, which you and Katie LOVED! There is nothing better to you than your grandparents-not even sweets. :) Mawmaw had a bout of diverticulitis and had to be hospitalized twice. Gam Gam and Great Gpa came down to help mommy take care of everyone, and you had a blast entertaining them. Aunt Meghan came to San Antonio three times in the past three months-it was nice to see how much you love and missed her. Also, Aunt Tamara came to see us from Germany, and you met Carmen for the first time. There has been a lot going on!

Riding "the horsies" at Sea World

You are a full blown toddler at this point. You run, climb, hurdle, and crawl into every little place that you can find. We can't turn around for one minute or you will be climbing onto the high counters and tables or digging into the medicine cabinet (like you did today when you broke into the Mucinex bottle)....You and your sister take great pride in climbing up and over the couch now that the furniture "floats" in the middle of the room rather than being up against a wall. You are even trying to dance and bounce up and down to music or spin in a circle.  You especially love to dance to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, which was also a favorite of your sisters, too.  You are even sleeping in your own big boy toddler bed as of March 30th.

Easter Sunday, March 31st

First "Big Boy" Haircut at Sharkey's

It is so much fun to see you learning and understanding more and more each day. You see us using the bathroom and you try to "help" by handing us toilet paper, occasionally helping us wipe, and flushing the toilet. When we were at mawmaw's house, you liked to sit on Katie's Dora Potty when someone else was going to the bathroom and you had such a big grin on your face! You can climb into and out of your highchair, and will get up there ready to eat when you are hungry. You like to help "mop" the house, try to "wipe" up messes and your hands with towels, love to "wash" your hands (which is more like you splashing water), try to "help" put new trash bags into the kitchen trash can, and "assist" with the laundry by opening and closing the washer and dryer doors and putting/pulling clothes out. You are able to get your shorts off by yourself and you help put your arms through when we put your shirts on. You pull your shoes out of the closet and try to get them on yourself, although you are not quite ready for that yet. You even started blowing us kisses on May 17th.

Lunch wtih the Ladies @ Z'Tejas, April

You are able to throw balls by yourself, drop objects into empty containers, stack objects together, and sometimes you like to color. I am starting to trust you with spoons and forks-I know, I know. You have been able to do this for awhile, but I knew you would slop your food all around and not just eat. Now you are using a fork or spoon to eat with when you *want* to. You like to hug and kiss baby dolls, and real babies too! When you want to give Emma a hug or a kiss, you take her pacifier out and plant a big one on her. You are such a sweet boy!


Sea World with Tamara and Carmen, April

Feeding the Dolphins @ Dolphin Cove is one of your favorite things to do!

You are saying more words everyday. I can't even keep up with all the new words that you say, so this is a rough list of words. I am sure there are more:
Mama
Mommy
Mom
Dada
Bubba
Uh Oh
Bella
Maw Maw
Jon-Kin (Uncle Jon)
Done
Tickle Tickle
More, "Moe"
PApaw
Bye Bye
Amy
Katie "Kay-Tee"
Baby
Tara
Mine
This
Get You
Chip, "Cheep"
Emma
Please
"Corn" for popcorn
Thank you
Go
Door
Love you (to Mawmaw when we were leaving the hospital)
Peek-a-boo
Water
"There you go!"
"Got it!"
Car
"Make it Dark" (You shut the bedroom door when you said this while we were getting ready for bed)
"Five" (while you were giving daddy high five)
Welcome
Pollo
Macy
Puppies
Ants
Milk
"Nana!" for Banana
"I'm clapping" (You told me while you were clapping)
"I Cold"
"I jumped!"
"Water Daddy Please"
"I see you"

That's over 50 words, which is more like the vocabulary of a two year old. I am so impressed with how well you are able to speak to us. You and Katie "talk" to each other all day, so I am sure that helps. I think if you didn't try to suck on your pacifier all the time, you would be saying more words.


Playing at Landa Park, May

Some places we have been the past few months:
Countless trips to Sea World and Aquatica
San Antonio Zoo
St. Luke's Episcopal Church for Easter Sunday
Out to Celebrate Daddy's 33rd and Mamaw's 50th Birthdays
Sharky's Cuts for Kids for your first big boy haircut (and two more)
Mi Tierra's for dinner with Aunt Tamara
Landa Park with Uncle Tj, Aunt Lindsay, Danica and Carissa
Charlie's 2nd Birthday Party
Pump It Up
Heritage Duck Pond
Hyatt Hill Country Resort for the 4th of July
Various Aunt's Houses: Aunt Tara, Aunt EJ, Aunt Nomi, Aunt Melissa
Of course Mawmaw's and Pawpaw's house
Dr. H's office
Mommy's work
Swim Lessons

Kisses for Emma, May

You are still my little snuggle monster, although you are becoming a lot more attached to your daddy and you ask for him frequently. You are still nursing, but mainly once a day either in the morning or at night. I am trying to wean you, but you are rather persistent, and I know that you use it as a comfort measure, too.  You take milk from a sippee cup rather well and have between 16-24 oz of milk a day. You drink a lot of water, and ask for it all the time. You haven't had too much juice at this point, but you have more than made up for it with the sweets you enjoy-cookies, ice cream and chips to name a few. You are hitting the terrible twos a bit early, and with that comes your pickiness with your food. It is hard to get you to eat somethings-for example, you won't eat hot dogs for Tara or chicken nuggets for me, but you will when we aren't around. You still take a two hour nap around 12-1p and you sleep from 8:30pm to 7am (ish). You wake up around 5am and come into my room to sleep with me most nights since we have moved to the new house.


Swimming at Aquatica, May

Hanging out with Grandpa Paul, June

We are still keeping a close eye on your weight. You are back on the charts now, but you are still under 5%, so you have a follow up with the endocrinologist around your 2nd birthday to check your bone age. We have come to the decision that you must be a "late bloomer" and that you will eventually hit your "genetic window" for your height and weight. They think you will be between 5'10" and 6'2". You are wearing small/medium cloth diapers, size 4 disposable diapers, 12-18 month clothes and size 5/6 shoes.

Heritage Duck Pond with Katie and Mommy, June

Playing at Dr. Hilger's Office, July 17th

I look forward to seeing how you continue to learn and grow over the rest of the year. You are growing so fast-you won't be my baby for much longer. Always know that mommy loves you more than words can express and  I will always be your biggest fan!

Love,
Mommy

Nathan: Month Fifteen

Bubba Dubba,

My precious baby boy, you are quite the little "toddler" nowadays! You walk so fast that you look like you are running. You are also becoming quite a little "monkey," too, climbing on stools, coffee tables, up and down stairs, onto the couch, up legs, onto chairs...If you can't get there on your own, you grab something to climb on to reach what you want! At the duck pond this past month, you climbed up the stairs to go down the slide and walked off the landing onto the slide and down the slide all by yourself! You smiled so big; you were extremely proud.  You definitely keep us on our toes!


Nathan learning new "skills", January 2013

You seem to be learning more and more everyday, especially with your words. You have been spitting out new words left and right. It is hard to keep up with all the words you say now. Of course you say the usual suspects (mommy, daddy, etc.) but here is a breakdown of all the words I have heard you say, or heard about...
Mama
Mommy
Mom
Dada
Bubba
Uh Oh
Bella
Maw Maw
Jon-Kin (Uncle Jon)
Done
Tickle Tickle
More, "Moe"
PApaw
Bye Bye
Amy
Katie "Kay-Tee"
Baby (while pointing at Emma)
Tara
Mine (you told Daddy while he was playing with your Elmo guitar)
This (at the doctor's office while showing me your crackers you wanted)\
Get You (I don't know the phonetics for this one, he was playing chase with Katie)
Chip, "Cheep" (reaching for a Dorito I was eating)
Emma


San Antonio Stock Show, Feb 17th

You point to things and are doing fairly well indicating what you want from us. Of course, you continue to be a bit dramatic and fling yourself on the floor crying when you don't get what you want. =) You definitely understand most of what we are trying to tell you, just sometimes you don't like the answers you get. You like to push the boundaries, too, and sometimes keep trying to get something when we tell you no. (That is a Ross trait if I knew one...stubborn). At Aunt Tara's house, when she tells you "no," when you go back to do it again, you stop, look at Aunt Tara and shake your head "no" at her! LOL! You are too cute for your own good.

Sneaking cake when no one was looking, Feb 4th

You and Katie love to play together, however, you both like to pick on each other and make each other cry. Ahh, brings back so many memories of Uncle Jon and I growing up. You guys play "well" together a little over half the time. You are a bit laid back compared to Katie. She likes to pull the things you are playing with out of your hands, and usually you stand there with a blank expression or you run off to find other toy. Sometimes you will fight her back for the toy, or she will keep taking your new toys away until you get too frustrated and cry. You love to chase each other around and play "get you!" all the time. You laugh and laugh as Katie chases after you. She loves to dote on you, too, and kisses you every night before bed. She hugs on you and kisses you quite frequently during the day. When you need help, she gives you food, hands you toys and finds your pacifier. You were going to go to time out at Aunt Tara's a couple of weeks ago and Katie told Aunt Tara, "It's okay, I've got him. He's a good boy. Nathan's a baby." LOL! It is fun to watch you both grow and learn together.

Sleeping with Uncle Jon, Feb 7th

Some other skills you are able to do:
-Bend over to pick up objects
-Holding out your legs to put on your socks and straightening out your arm to "help" put on your shirt
-Eating well with your fingers
-Attempting to feed yourself with a spoon/fork
-Empties containers of contents (VERY well)
-Imitates others
-Initiates games (usually peek-a-boo)
-Responds to instructions (you will give mommy kisses!)
-Pushs and Pulls toys when walking
-Attempting to scribble with a crayon (you like to pound it into the table repeatedly, making "dots")
-"Helping" around the house (You love to vaccum, sweep, and wipe off the surfaces with rags)
-Turning pages in the books (You don't reallly like to sit and listen to stories, though)
-Knows how to use common objects (like mommy's phone)
-Takes off one piece of clothing (your socks and shoes)
-"Gets finicky about food" - this makes feeding you HARD
-You give Katie's dolls Eskimo kisses

Playing on the playground, Feb 18th

We went to Idaho in January for Grandad Ross's funeral (January 24-26). It was your first plane ride and a sober occasion, but you did so well on the trip. You slept during most of the flights and didn't really fuss too much on the plane/at the airport. Your schedule was definitely off, though, and you didn't sleep very well while we were gone. You and Katie had a lot more melt downs, too. It was a pretty hectic few days, so it was expected/understandable. You got to meet a lot of your Ross second cousins, see where Papaw grew up, and you played in the snow for the first time! You and Katie loved the snow. =)

Playing in the snow for the first time, Jan 26th 

I also took my first "out of town trip" without you. First in February (9th-11th) to Vegas with Daddy for my 30th Birthday, and again at the end of last month (22nd-24th) to Kansas for your godmother's mother's funeral. It's been a hard couple of months for everyone and while we have cried a lot more, we are making it through. The joy you and Katie bring our family pulls us through the tough times and y'alls "not so good times." You love hard and you play hard. The sparkle in your eyes is so uplifting to me.


Spending the weekend with mamaw and papaw, Feb 22nd

Lastly, we continue to struggle with your weight....I have no idea what is going on, why you aren't growing as much as expected. You eat all of the time!!!  You are certainly becoming more picky about what you like to eat. You hardly want to eat chicken or sandwhichs, things you used to love. Hot Dogs seem to be hit or miss. For some reason you don't really like pasta, mac and cheese, bread....you know, all those awesome carbs that help you gain weight. You also aren't a fan of veggies but you LOVE your fruit! That is a sure fire win for you. =) You do seem to like junk food and sweets, which I try to limit you on. We continue to supplement with 4-8oz of Pediasure every day. You drink 8-12 oz of whole milk and continue to nurse on demand (probably 3-5 times a day depending on if I work). We saw an endocrinologist last week to check some of your growth hormones, your blood counts and your thyroid...haven't heard back on the results as of yet. I am sure that you are fine, you just have a really high metabolism and are very active. You are exceeding your developmental milestones, as well. No matter what, though, we love you so very much.


March 2 @ Danica's 2nd Birthday Party

You are such a light in our lives, Nathan. You make us laugh constantly, love deeper, test our patience and fulfill our family. We are so proud of all that you have learned and look forward to seeing you continue to grow.

At the Duck Pond, Feb 18th

Love,
Mommy






Nathan: One Year Old (and 13 months, too)

Nathan,

This time of year is CRAZY busy for our family. Not only was it your first birthday, but Thanksgiving, Holiday Parties, Christmas, and Katie’s birthday. That is too much for one mommy to keep up with!

I have tried to do my best, and hopefully I will be successful in the future, but your updates this month and last are a bit late. Oh well…

You are still as cute, lovable and ornery as you ever were.  You are learning so much and getting into everything. Since your last update, you have started Walking! Running! And climbing! You took 14 steps on October 31st and never looked back. Now that you are more mobile, you are into everything. You constantly open cabinets, pull things off the Christmas tree, climb on step stools and your latest - play in the toilet. Yuck! You are ALL boy! You have 6 teeth now! (2nd tooth on the right November 18th, Top Right on December 10th and Top Left on December 14th). I think you are actually working on your 2nd bottom right tooth, right now, as you were drooling up a storm last night.

You are speaking more, too! Your list of words include: Mama, Dada, “Bubba,” “uh oh” on November 12th, “Bella” on December 14th and you gave Isabella a hug when she got home from school, and “Mawmaw” January 1st while pointing at Grandma. You wave “Hi” (November 25th), “Bye” (December 3rd), and clapped your hands (November 25th). You are becoming so communicative. You are making sounds and gestures for your other wants and needs, and I am sure you will be talking more and more in the coming weeks and months. You seem to be growing taller and heavier, but the doctor tells us you are still under the 5th percentile for your height and weight. I am not quite sure why this is, but otherwise you are doing so well! Your hair doesn’t have any problems growing at an accelerated rate, however, as you got your FOURTH haircut right before your birthday.

You love to play “peek-a-boo” and “get you” with Katie and anyone else that wants to join. We took our first long distance road trip (to Aline) with you November 2-5th for an Early Thanksgiving with GamGam and my cousins, aunts and uncles. On the way home, you were playing peek-a-boo all on your own! It was darling. Speaking of our road trip, you did really well! I was a bit nervous to see how you would do as the farthest you have gone is the coast and back, but you slept well, played by yourself and didn’t scream for the majority of the trip (as I feared you would). This trip was when you really started eating people food well! You scarfed down Thanksgiving dinner and never looked back!

We have been all around the past two months; it is hard to keep track. I had vacation for a bit around your birthday, and I wanted to fit in as many holiday and fall activities as I could. We went to Devine Acres Farm for a hayride and to see a pumpkin patch with Tiffanie and Caleb October 30th. You had a blast being outside and taking everything in. We made several trips to the duck pond and SeaWorld, where you started taking part in feeding the dolphins like Katie. You even tried to eat one of the fish, but thankfully we caught your hand in time. We have had a slew of birthday parties, including Caleb’s November 17th, and Isabella’s December 9th at Amazing Jump. You love partaking in the birthday festivities and most importantly the cake! We have been spoiled by having Gam Gam with us twice in the past two months (once for your birthday and again for Christmas). You love to play with Gam Gam and G-Paw, and they seem to have enjoyed being here with you, as well. We went to the River walk on December 2nd while they were here with Aunt Rikki and you loved your first boat and carriage rides, as well as looking at all the Christmas decorations. We also made a quick day trip to Portland for Emma’s baptismal December 23rd with the family. You did so well in the car, but you were entirely over being at the baptism and fussed when Papaw held you instead of letting you run around everywhere.

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months, size 4 shoes

Diapers: size 3 disposables and “medium” cloth diapers

Sleeping: Bedtime is around 8:30pm. Sometimes you wake up around 5am, but you are awake for the day at 7:30. Your naps have been more erratic lately. Sometimes you take a morning or evening nap for 30-45 minutes, and sometimes you don’t. You always get that 2 hour nap in during the middle of the day, though.

Eating: You are eating so well! And big boy foods, too! You eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks in between. You are not even kind of interesting in baby food anymore. You LOVE fruit. You would eat it all day if we let you. You like corn and sweet potatoes, but fruit is definitely the winner in fruits vs. veggies. You enjoy chicken and some beef. And you LOVE sweets. You had cupcakes and cake/ice cream for your birthday, which you thoroughly enjoyed. You still nurse 3-4 times a day and do really well drinking whole milk out of a sippe cup.

Overall, you are becoming quite the little toddler and are extremely energetic and happy 99% of the time. You bring so much joy to our family, and we are so proud to call you our son! We love you and I look forward to updating again when you are 15 months old! I am sure you will have learned so much more by then.

Love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

Nathan: Month Eleven

Nathan,

My sweet little one, you are almost a year old! You are growing and learning so quickly and are such a joy to have around. I can’t believe how much you have changed in the past 11 months, it went by so quickly. Yet it is hard to remember life without you here; you complete our little family!

You are babbling up a storm this month. You are still saying “mama,” and you also started saying “dada” on October 9^th. You aren’t saying it specifically to daddy, but it is definitely fun to hear you talk more! You have little conversations with us and yourself that only make sense to you and it is pretty darn cute. You are becoming rather mischievous as well. You LOVE to explore and are constantly opening doors and lids to see what is inside. It’s been an adjustment for us because unlike doodle bug, you think being told no is funny and you smile at us while you try to do whatever we told you not to do. In typical boy fashion, you like yucky things like opening the toilet bowl lid and sticking your hand inside, swinging around the toilet bowl brush, and putting dog food in your mouth. Your latest obsession is chasing me while I vacuum, playing with extension cords/light sockets and unraveling the toilet paper. As you can tell, you have been keeping mommy fairly busy! Even Katie is getting in on the mothering and has been yelling at you “No Bubba! No Sir” while she shakes her finger at you. We are working on teaching her that you already have lots of “redirectors” and don’t need another.

You are so close to walking, too! You took your first step on October the 9th. I was walking with you and holding your hands. When I let go, you took a step before standing still on your own and then sitting down. Since then, you take lots of 2/3 steps, but haven’t quite taken off on your own. You would prefer to hold on to something with one hand while you walk rather than crawl, though. But you are getting close! You took four steps for Aunt Tara on the 25^th!! I know that you will be running around and “going fast,” as Katie would say, any day.  You have also taken to climbing onto things, so we really have to be on our toes with you!

This month has been a pretty busy one, and with the weather being a little bit nicer (read as 80-90s instead of 100+), we have been trying to stay outdoors more. You love to be outside and love to look around at everything. You are very observant…and becoming quite a flirt! You are constantly complimented on how handsome you are and you love to smile at anyone that gives you attention. To be fair, you are pretty darn cute with your two bottom teeth showing in your happy smile. We went to the Kiddie Park for our friend, Evelyn’s, 6^th birthday this past month.  You and Katie took some adorable pumpkin pictures, we went to the mock pumpkin patch at Northwest UMC for pictures, and Trick or Treating at SeaWorld with some of our friends.

You have had a couple of doctor’s appointments this past month too, because at your 9 month check-up, you weren’t quite where they hoped you would be for height and weight. Dr. H wanted to see you again when you were 10 months old, and while you had gained some, you weren’t quite where they were hoping you would be. You weighed 16 lbs and 13 oz on October 4^th, which is only the 2%. Since you were 4 months old, your weight has been dropping from the 20-30% and we aren’t really sure why. Dr. H ran a bunch of labs, and we tried to feed you as much as we could for a week to see how you would do. When we rechecked your  weight on the 10^th, you were upto 17 lbs 3oz, which was the 2% still, but at least you were gaining. I checked your weight on the 25^th and you were 18.2 lbs which is the 5%. Basically, you eat A LOT! For breakfast, you will eat a banana, a slice of toast, some baby food and a few puffs. Then you want to nurse, too! You eat like that all day long, except when someone else besides me is with you and then you refuse all milk. Little stinker! You are getting older though, and you nurse plenty when I am around, so Dr. H didn’t think that was a very big deal. You eat whatever we are eating, with a few exceptions. I don’t give you eggs, honey, peanut butter, or any of the “high allergen” foods that are not recommended. You do really like strawberries, too!

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Kiddie Park, September 30^th
SeaWorld, October 8^th
3^rd haircut with Janet, October 20^th
Northwest UMC Pumpkin Patch, October 20^th
Pump It Up, October 25^th
St. Anthony de Padua Church
Mamaw and Papaw's House
Grandma Gauna’s House
Aunt NoNee's House
Aunt Tara’s House
Aunt Melissa’s House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
Restaurants
Shopping

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months, size 3.5-4 shoes

Diapers: size 3 disposables and "small" or “medium” cloth diapers
Sleeping: Bedtime is around 9:30pm. You usually wake up once around 3ish or 5ish and are up for the day around 7-8am. However, some days you will sleep right through, although that is the exception. You are trying to drop one of your naps. On the days you take all three naps, you take very short morning/evening naps (11am/6-7pm) and a longer nap around 2-4 with Katie.

Eating: You have been nursing 6-7 times a day and typically take one 4oz bottle when I am gone (regardless of the time frame), sometimes two. You eat and eat and eat solids though. Normally you will eat 3-4 4 oz jars of baby food and lots of table food/snacks in between meals.  

We love you so much, Nathan, and we are looking forward to celebrating your very first birthday next month. You are our pride and joy, and we are so proud of how well you are doing!

Love,
Mommy


Trying to Play with the Big Kids at Pump it Up, October 25th



Playing at Aunt Melissa's house, October 15th



Going to SeaWorld, October 8th



My cutie having lunch with me, October 27th



Nathan and Daddy at Mass on the Grass, October 14th

Mamaw and Nathan, October 6th

Playing at Swim Class

My pumpkin, October 20th

Katie and Nathan having lunch with Me, October 7th



Hanging out with Aunt Nonee, October 1st



Nathan and Braeden at SeaWorld, October 8th

Weight Re-check, October 4th

Nathan: Month Ten

My little bubba dubba,

Or “Good Boy” as your sister likes to call you. :) This month, you have become so much more social. You like to smile at everyone, and we get so many compliments about what a happy baby you are. You are overall a very happy little one, but when you are upset… man, you know how to throw a fit. Full on with arching of the back, hysterical screaming and tears. It is quite a sight to behold. LOL!

You love to play whether it is crawling after Katie in a game of “get you!” being tickled by mommy, playing “airplane” with daddy, or swimming in the hot tub with Uncle Jon. You love to be outside and this month when we have gone to the park, you just sit and take it all in. Occasionally, you will get shy when other people are talking to you and put your head against my chest, or fuss to come back when others hold you, but not very often. We went to the Zoo for the first time this month and you loved looking around at all the animals and people. We even got to ride the train, but you took a nap through that.

I thought you might take your first steps this month, but you aren’t quite there yet. You are SO close though. You are a really good cruiser, and you prefer to be on your feet than all fours. You pull up on everything and move around the furniture to get where you want to go for as long as you can. You have stood in place by yourself for several seconds, too, without falling down. You can stoop down to pick up your toys while you are standing and holding on, and you pass objects back and forth between your hands well (especially puffs)! You are trying to figure out more ways to communicate with us this month. You bang your hands on your highchair tray when you are ready for more food, and you make a grabbing motion with your hands when you want to be picked up. You actually said your second word on September 21st which was repeating “Bubba” after mommy and daddy. This month, you also gave us both kisses on September 22nd and 23rd. You had your second hair cut on September 1st, and now, at the end of the month, it looks like you could use another one! Your hair grows so quickly.

The one thing that hasn’t been growing as quickly is your height and weight. On the 31st of August, I took you to see your doctor for your 9 month check-up. You had a flu vaccination and got a height and weight check. You were in the 2% for height, 3% for weight. I am not sure I believe those numbers though. You eat so well and are meeting all your milestones. Your little thighs and arms have fat rolls on them too. We have tried feeding you more this past month, though, and you go back to see Dr. H on October 4th for a weight check. Hopefully you have gained some and grown an inch or so. Either way, you are perfect to us!

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Heritage Duck Pond, October 31st, September 20th, September 24th
San Antonio Zoo, September 18th
Mamaw and Papaw's house
Aunt NoNee's House
Aunt Tara’s House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
Restaurants
Shopping

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months, size 3.5 shoes

Diapers: size 3 disposables and "small" or “medium” cloth diapers
Sleeping: Bedtime is around 9:00-9:30pm. You continue to wake up frequently during the night, more so this past week. Maybe you are having a growth spurt?? On the 26th you actually slept from 10pm to 5am! Mommy was so happy! Generally, you and Katie are both up at 8am. You are taking three naps still, but you seem to be trying to drop your morning nap. The mid-day nap is usually 1.5-2 hours.

Eating: You are still nursing very frequently. Usually 7 times a day, give or take, even if I work. This past week, you have actually nursed upwards of 11 times a day. Like I said…growth spurt? More teeth? You still have only two teeth. You have been eating three 4.5oz jars of baby food a day, plus puffs and other snacks like yogurt melts and pieces of table food as we let you. You feed yourself with your hands very well! You haven’t had a major dislike for anything we have given you yet, either.

We love you so much, Nathan, and are so proud of the little boy you are becoming. You are such a joy and delight to our family! I hope you always know how much we love you and how special you are to us.



Love,
Mommy



Meeting Emma for the first time, September



Nathan and Mommy at the Duck Pond, September 24th

Nathan and Mamaw at Swim Class

Big Guy standing at Mamaw's

Nathan's First trip to the Zoo, September 18th

Katie thought Nathan needed more toys, September 5th

Nathan's 2nd Haircut, September 1st

At Dr. H's for an appointment, August 31st

Riding the Train at the Zoo, September 18th

Playing at the Zoo