Nathan's Baptismal

We had Nathan’s baptismal on the 19th before I returned to work. It was held at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, our family’s parish and where Katie was baptized. The ceremony was held after the noon mass and was so special. Meghan made breakfast for our family, my parents and brother prior to mass. Paul’s dad met up with us at our house so that we could car pool to the church. It was a beautiful day, and we were so glad that our families could join us. Those in attendance were: Katie, Mawmaw and Pawpaw, Uncle Jon, Aunt Tara and Uncle Kevin, Aunt Meghan, Grandma and Grandpa Gauna, Grandpa Paul, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Jason, and Charlize.

Nathan was napping at the start of the service, however, he quickly woke up when Deacon Joe started the blessings. There were several children being baptized during the ceremony, and fortunately we were first. Nathan did not like the anointing with oil or the holy water being poured over his head. He did like looking around to see what everyone was doing, though, and chewing on his hand. There was a blessing of the mothers and the fathers during the baptismal which I really enjoyed.

After mass, everyone went with us to eat at Paloma Blanca! What a fun tradition it has become. We are so blessed that the Lord has given us Nathan and Kaitlyn! Praise be to God!



Blessing of the fathers




Jonathan and Meghan lighting the candle

 


Paul's side of the family





My side of the family





Nathan and Momma



Paul and I with Jonathan and Meghan, Nathan's godparents

Blessing Nathan



Baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Our Family



Annointing of Nathan

Blessing of the Mother

Meghan and Jon with Nathan



Blessing of the Bible and Rosary





Uncle Kevin and Aunt Tara with Nathan


 

Nathan: Two Months

Our sweet little Nathan,

Breakfast at Jim's on January 3rd

I can't believe that you are already two months old! I know that I should have learned by now how quickly time passes, but I am amazed every month when I sit down to do these updates. You are the most handsome little baby we have ever seen. We just love you so much and you are constantly spoiled with hugs, kisses and attention.

Nap time with Uncle Jon, January 19th

Minnie and Micky PJ's with Mommy, January 14th

Lily's Birthday Party with Daddy, January 21st

Snuggles with Papaw, January 7th

Hanging out with Grandma Irma, January 7th

Meeting Tamara, January 23rd

You have settled right in and have been doing so well this past month. You and Katie seem to be off to a great start. She loves to give you kisses and pat your back (to help you burp) and stroke your face while telling us "gentle." Sometimes she gets a little too excited and carried away with her "love," and we have to step in and rescue you. You are such a laid back little dude; you don't seem to mind...too much.

At Grandma's House, January 5th

"CHEESE", January 21st

Looking at something more interesting than mommy, January 23rd

"CUTE!" says sister, January 26th

Hanging out at home, January 27th

Our visitors have slowly left this month, and during the day now it is just me, you and the doodle bug. Gam Gam and Great Grandpa went home on the 9th of January, Papaw went back to San Angelo on the 13th, and Grandma went back to her house at night on the 22nd. We were so lucky to have our family here with us! Grandma stayed for eight weeks to help us take care of you at night, and mommy misses her so much. I think you must miss her, too, because your sleeping habits sure did change when she left. You had been sleeping from 10:00pm to 5am (first time on January 2nd) or 6am every night, and suddenly you started sleeping from 11-3am and back up at 6am. Sometimes you have even smaller stretches of sleep. Those are the days I pray you and Katie nap at the same time so I can sleep, too!

Beautiful eyes, January 11th

Sleeping Prince, January 12th

You have grown so much this month! It's no wonder because you are a really good eater! You take 4 oz in your bottle when you have one, sometimes nursing afterwards and sometimes not eating the whole thing. You nurse for most of your meals, though, and eat anywhere from 8-10 times a day. You are still wearing size 0-3 month clothing, but I have a feeling that is going to change very soon. Your legs have gotten so long, you barely fit in your pajamas with feet! And your tummy is expanding so that your onesies fit you just right. You are still wearing size 1 diapers, but I got the next box in a size 2 since you are starting to fill your diapers all the way up to the top in the back. I am a little concerned we might have some blow outs! lol.

All tuckered out, January 21st

Precious siblings, January 13th

Don't be fooled, he has attitude like his sister, January 13th

We have continued to be on the go, and this past month we have taken you to:
*The New Braunfels Children's Museum on December 29th
*Sea World on the 30th of December for Brunch with the Sesame Street Characters
*Dr. H's office for a check-up with Katie on the 30th of December and the 12th of January
*Urgent Care with Mommy when she was sick January 17th
*Liliana's First Birthday Party on the 21st of January
*Lots of restaurant dates, shopping trips, car rides, Grandma's house, and Aunt Nomi's house

First Wagon Ride to the Mailbox, January 19th

Latest Developments:
-Vocalizing more. You often like to talk after you eat and we are holding you, or during the beginning of tummy time. (Before you get too mad)
-Notice your hands. I don't know what date you started noticing your hands exactly, but you love to put them in your mouth, swing them around and try to grab things with them (grabbed a rattle on Jan 25th @ 8 weeks). You have even started swatting at your toys on your play mat every once in awhile. You are kicking your feet like crazy, but they haven't found their way to your mouth yet.
-Bearing weight on your legs. You love to stand up with help and look around. You like to see what is going on. I have a feeling you are going to love your jumper when you are a little bit bigger.
-Holding up your head (first time on January 12th @ 6 weeks). You are doing so well with holding up your head!! Everyone is constantly amazed at how well you can do this.
-Smiling! You randomly smiled for the first time at daddy on the 4th of January (@ 5 weeks). This past week, though, you have been smiling more and more and when we talk to you, you reward us with a huge gummy smile. It melts my heart!

Early morning smiles, January 26th

Tummy Time, January 13th

Playing at Chick-fil-A with Grandma, Mommy and Sister, January 28th

We love you so much, Nathan, and are so proud of all that you have learned to do! We can't wait to watch you grow and learn this next month. You are such a sweet baby boy!!!

Love,
Mommy

First Cold

The Friday before I am to start back work, Katie gets sick. And while she is just fine now, I think she scared the pee out of me.

This morning, I was getting ready to go to SeaWorld with Mom and Papa; we were taking Katie to see "Big Bird's Beach Party." Around 10am, she was still asleep, so I went into the other room to pump and wash some bottles. I forgot the bottle she had earlier, and I went into our bedroom to pick it up. Before walking back out, I just happened to remember needing something off my dresser on the other side of the room.

Katie has had a bit of a cough for a couple of weeks now, but she hadn't coughed anything up, wasn't snotty, and her lungs were clear when I listened to her. She started coughing this morning, so I turned around from the dresser to go and get her as I figured she had woken up. However, the bassinet started to shake violently, and I had no idea what Kaitlyn was doing.

When I picked her up, she was covered in mucus. She had coughed it up her mouth and nose and could not breathe!! She was flailing around trying to kick and hit and get some air. She could barely even cry. She was going about 10 to 15 seconds before she would give a weak cry.

Long story short, mom and papa called about this time to see if I wanted any tacos for breakfast and when they heard me in a panicked state, they decided they should just come over and forget about those tacos. After about five minutes, I was able to suction Kaitlyn enough where she was crying loudly, but she still was having labored breathing. We took her into the pediatrician's office for Dr. H to check her out and Paul came home to go with me.

(I love Dr. H, by the way! She is sooo good with Katie.) When we got to the clinic, Kaitlyn decided she was just fine and smiled and coo'd at Dr. H while she was doing her exam. Silly baby. The doctor said that Kaitlyn's lungs were clear, but she had nasal congestion so we gave her two breathing treatments. Katie wasn't too sure about the treatments, but she did pretty well.

We were sent home with our own penguin neubulizer machine and some albuterol treatments to give her if she starts having difficulty again. This evening she is back to her old self. You wouldn't even know that she had such a rough morning except for the occasional cough. Me on the other hand, I think I just grew 20 gray hairs and took 5 years off my life....

Kaitlyn: Month Two

Katie (Our beautiful baby girl),


Mommy is so late in writing this letter. I am actually writing this a month late and back posting it. Whoops. Life is so hectic and chaotic at times. Your great-grandma left to go back to Oklahoma at the beginning of the month, and mommy has been having fun learning how to do things by myself all day. We are doing much better, and you are such a good girl for mommy. That makes it a lot easier.

I love to get out and about with you, but it takes SO LONG sometimes. The first time I went with just me and you, it took me 2 hours. LOL! You are sleeping less than as a newborn, but you are finally starting to clump times together. You have been going to sleep around 10:30, after your last bottle, and sleeping until 2-3am. Most of the time you go right back to sleep, but sometimes you stay awake for a bit and mommy has to find some toothpicks to hold her eyelids open. LOL! You usually stay asleep until 8am, and then you are up for the day. I have to get up extra early to get ready before you wake if we have early morning doctor's appointments.

Speaking of doctor's appointments, your two month check-up is on March 3rd. I am so excited to see how much you weigh now. At your 5 week check-up, you were 8 lbs and 2 oz. You have gotten so much bigger that I have put away all your newborn clothes and you are wearing your size one diapers. You are also eating 8-10 bottles a day for around 20 oz. You are getting to be a big girl! :)

I am not looking forward to you getting your two month shots. It makes mommy sad to think of you hurting or being in pain. I wish that we could skip over that part of the visit.

You celebrated your first holiday this month, your first Valentine's Day. Grandma stayed overnight with us and watched you so that mommy could sleep. We spent the day with her and Uncle Jon as a family. You even got a Teddy Bear from Grandma that tells you "I Love You More!" when you tell him you love him. Mommy also had a birthday and turned 27. We went to eat at Silo's, mommy's favorite restaurant, with Daddy, Grandma, Uncle Jon and Aunt Tara. You did soooo well at the restaurant and did not even cry.



You are awake for 9-11 hours a day, and are developing quite the personality. You make so many cute faces and are trying so hard to hold your head and shoulders up by yourself. Everyone loves to comment on how cute you are! We are pretty proud parents, too.


Things you love:

-Going for car rides or shopping

-Being outside

-Baths in Mommy's big bath tub

-Snuggling

-Sleeping

-Being Held

-Milk

-Lunch with Grandma

-Sticking your tongue out at Uncle Jon

-Releasing air, one way or another

You are so precious, Kaitlyn. We are thankful that we have been so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter. We love you more than anything.

Love,
Mommy

Breastmilk Strong!

Kaitlyn had a weight check up today. Dr. H wanted to make sure that Katie is continuing to gain weight and grow as she should after her bout with jaundice and having such a drop in weight. And...she did so well! She is 8 lbs and 2 oz, which is almost two pounds up from three weeks ago!!! :)

Dr. H walked in the exam room with a huge smile and asked me what I had been feeding her to have her doing so well. I told Dr. H how much she had been eating and that I had been continuing to express breast milk for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn hasn't had anything but breast milk for over a week. Recently, I have managed to take breast milk with us fresh when I leave the house so that she doesn't have formula at those times either. Even after everything that we have been through, she has only had 28 ounces of formula out of the 510 ounces she has drank. That's less than 6%!!

I really feel so proud; I feel like I finally got something right because she is thriving off of her Mother's Milk. I wanted to breastfeed Kaitlyn so bad and it was a very difficult and emotional decision for me to stop breastfeeding and exclusively pump. I almost didn't continue to pump, but with my friends and family (and my daddy) encouraging and supporting me, I have been able to do so. I have only set small goals, for example "I will pump until she is two weeks old." Then I went to 6 weeks old. I think my next goal will be until I return to work, but really, as long as I can continue to do this, I will.

She is her Father's Child

Last night, Katie woke up after her bath and we discovered that she has poofy hair like her daddy. Poor baby....