Nathan: Eight Months

Bubba Dubba,

My handsome little boy, you are growing up too fast! Life as a family of four is fast paced, never with a dull moment, and more chaotic than I ever imagined. But I LOVE every minute of it. Even the stressful times make us nostalgic when we look back (much later, of course). I feel like you and your sister are learning and doing new things everyday; I am trying as hard as I can to hang on to every minute and take you both in. You will be grown before I know it, I am sure.

Having lunch at Hyatt Wild Oaks Ranch, July 4th

Katie and Nathan at Perico's, July 1st

Nathan's first Fourth of July

Your personality is just growing and exploding. You are such a happy and friendly baby! Even when Katie Bug is in your face screaming “HI BUBBBBBBAAAAA!” you always give her a happy smile. You love to talk, laugh, shriek and make new sounds. You say “ma-ma” all of the time now, and you look around the room for me when you want me to hold you. You even said “mommy” this past month! It melted my heart. On the flip side, when you are very upset, you do a exaggerated pout and say “mmmmaaaaaaaaawwwwmmmaaaaaa.” You are starting to say “ba-ba-ba” and more noises that sound like constants, but no “da-da,” yet. Daddy is hoping and waiting for it! You don’t seem to be experiencing a lot of stranger anxiety yet, although you know most of the people that you encounter that want to hold you. Sometimes when mommy or daddy is unloading the car at home, Uncle Kevin will help hold you and you fuss for him from time to time.  That may be more of you wanting one of us rather than “stranger anxiety,” though. Whenever we are out and about, you are always very generous with your smiles and love to flirt with anyone who gives you attention!

Nathan and Katie at Aunt Nonee's, July 5th

Isabella, Katie and Nathan, July 6th

You are constantly on the go and moving around like crazy, too! For the majority of this month, you had been doing an “army crawl” or as I like to call it “this worm flop thingy.” You would get on your hands and knees and sort of belly flop onto the ground to advance a little and then repeat the cycle until you got where you wanted to be. Then you started to half crawl, half sit to get around. Finally you started to crawl on your eight month birthday (July 28^th)! We are so proud of you!!! Today, while I was getting ready, you were moving all around our bedroom investigating the new things you can reach.  You are also pulling up on everything! For the most part, you have been pulling up on my shirt, daddy’s leg when he is laying down, Grandma’s arm, etc. We have always been right there to help you as your ankles have been a little weak and floppy. On the 25^th, though, I had already put you to bed in your room and I heard you making some noise. I went in to soothe you, and leaned over the crib to pat your back. Low and behold, you startled me as you were standing all by yourself in your crib!! You even let go of mommy while you were standing yesterday and stood for about 1 second by yourself before you grabbed back on. Mommy is going to have to baby proof some things around the house, I suppose.

First Time in a Big Boy Carseat (without his new cover), July 12th

Standing in his crib for the first time, July 25th

Shopping at Home Depot, July 28th

You sit up so well, and love to be with the bigger kids to play. We went to visit Aunt Melissa and Charlize on the 27^th and you wanted to be right in the action with the older boys. You are very well adept at getting objects you want near you. Especially if those objects are puffs. I have never seen a little baby shovel those things in their mouth as quickly as you do! Hahaha! Sometimes you use your pincher grasp and sometimes you just rake everything towards you with your whole hand and shove them both in your mouth. You are very good at banging things together, looking for objects that you want (even if they are a little bit hidden), and passing objects from one hand to the next.  You love to listen to loud music that has a good beat (Top 40s), look at things that light up, put everything in your mouth, “pet” the puppies (which is more like you grabbing their hair as they scream), jumping in your jumper, sitting in your walker, playing with your toys that make music (even better if they light up, too), and being outside. You still love the water and really enjoy going to the pool or taking a bath.

Swimming in the Backyard, July 20th

Pawpaw and Nathan at Peter Piper Pizza, July 13th

Nathan and Charlize, July 27th

GamGam and Great Grandpa were still here visiting at the beginning of your eight month. You Great-Great Aunt Rikki and third cousin, Chase were able to stay with us as well. As I mentioned last month, you were Aunt Rikki’s little buddy and spent most of the days I was working snuggling with her. We had a lot of fun while they were here in town and got to do some cool things. On the 30^th of June, you and Katie went with everyone to Natural Bridge Caverns while I had to work. I hear you guys had a great time, too!

Katie, Gam Gam and Nathan, July 1st

Nathan and Great-Great Aunt Rikki, July 1st

Perico's with Great Grandpa, July 1st

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Natural Bridge Caverns, June 30th
Hyatt Wild Oaks Ranch/Hyatt Hill Country Resort, July 4^th
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, July 8^th
Portland, Texas to help Aunt Tara and Uncle Kevin Pack, July 12^th
Peter Piper Pizza, July 13^th
Met Aunt Jill, July 19^th
Mamaw and Papaw's house
Aunt NoNee's House
Aunt Melissa’s House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
Restaurants
Shopping

Natural Bridge Caverns, June 30th

First Time to the Circus, July 8th

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months
Diapers: size 3 disposables and "small" or “medium” cloth diapers
Sleeping: Bedtime is around 8:30-9:30pm. You have been waking up so much this month. I think it is more because I am working a lot and you want to make sure you get to nurse enough. You have been waking up around 2am and 4am, and again at 6am if I am off work. You like to stay awake for a bit at 6am and then will fall back to sleep. You usually take a short morning nap, but when and how long really varies on where you are and how much you were up the night before. You still take a mid-morning nap for a couple of hours and a short nap in the evening around 6 or 7pm. Eating: Usually you nurse 6-7 times a day. You drink two bottles (sometimes) of about 5 oz while I am at work, and still manage to nurse 3-5 times that day when I am home. You LOVE puffs and yogurt melts! You are eating solids so well and you would also eat table food if I gave it to you. You had a little bit of a buttery blueberry muffin this past week and you really enjoyed it!  You generally have 2 jars of 4.5oz baby food, stage 2, a day.

Eating puffs, July 13th

Mama's Baby, July 1st

You are getting to be such a big boy, Nathan! While I can’t wait to see what you learn next month, I also wish that I could bottle up your cute little self now so I can always remember how you were as a baby.  You are such a momma’s boy, and as I learned with your sister, that will change in the blink of an eye. Always know that we love you very, very much and you make our family complete!

Love Always,
Mommy

Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July is my favorite time of year, second only to Christmas. I love the summer and being outside all day at the pool or the river is the best way to spend it for me. :) Unfortunately, Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday this year, and we all had to work the day before and the day after the 4th. We usually stay at the Hyatt for a few days, but this time would be a little different with limited days off.

We ended up making a reservation at the Hyatt Wild Oak the day before and swam over there all day on the 4th. We had so much fun! I didn’t even know this resort was over by the Hyatt, and it is really neat! They had an indoor/outdoor activity pool, two big waterslides, a lazy river and a couple of restaurants there.
Katie had a blast floating in the river! She took her floatie that we got her for Easter and insisted on floating all by herself. She didn’t even need a life jacket and did very, very well. She jumped off the side of the pool into the river and built a few sand castles. Nathan likes being outdoors as much as Katie did at that age and did very well while we were at the pool. He had his little sun shade floatie, and he floated the river with mommy for hours, snoozing off and on.

Katie and I took a quick nap, and we all changed before heading over to the Hyatt Hill Country. They had their annual wagon parade to kick off the festivities that evening. This year, they even had a marching band! Seems like it is getting bigger and bigger each year. The BBQ was held at the Luckenbach Pavilion instead of in the big tent, and there wasn’t any live music/dancing like there usually is. It was different, but still a great time! We were able to get a bunch of blankets and sat on the golf course to watch the fireworks. I don’t know which we enjoyed more: watching Katie watching the fireworks or the fireworks themselves. She was so excited and clapped and screamed for each one. She would occasionally jump up and yell “Catch ‘em!” as she reached up in the sky for the fireworks. LOL! I am loving this stage and seeing the world through her eyes. Nathan did well, too, and didn’t seem afraid at all. He smiled and watched the fireworks with amazement and “look Bubba!!!” as Katie instructed him to. Hahaha. It was a wonderful day!

Nathan and Papaw getting in the lazy river, Hyatt Hill Country Wild Oak Ranch

Happy Fourth of July from our family to yours!

Katie Bug

Mom and Papa

Having lunch at the Hyatt

Building sand castles

Waiting for the fireworks on the green!

Eating BBQ

Mom and Me

Watching the fireworks



Nathan



Nathan: Seven Months

Our Baby Bubba Dubba,

Floating in the Pool, June 1st

I can’t believe that my baby boy is already seven months old!! You are getting so big, and I love your little personality that is developing and blooming. It’s a big personality, though. Let me tell you, you know how to throw a good fit. When you get upset, you go from happy to angry in 0.2 seconds with screaming, arching of your back, kicking your legs, the works. But you are also very, very cuddly. You love to snuggle and play. You smile all the time and have the cutest baby laugh. You are such a special part of our family and I can’t imagine you not being here!

Heritage Duck Pond, May 30th

Six Month Check-up, May 31st

You have learned a lot this month! You pulled yourself up from a sitting position to standing on June 13, 2012. You were sitting in mommy’s lap and grabbed a hold of my shirt to pull up. You were a bit startled when we cheered and clapped for you and instantly sat back down. You have been sitting up VERY well by yourself the past two weeks, and you are doing all kinds of silly push-ups in an attempt to crawl. You get up on all fours, rock back and forth, lift you bottom in the air with your legs out, virtual planks…you get around!  You are able to handle objects with your hands very well, also. You mastered the pincher grasp on June 11, 2012. When you drop your pacifier, you are able to pick it back up, turn it around and put it in your mouth. When you are done eating, sometimes you unlatch and pick up your binky to put it in your mouth by yourself even! You are able to drag objects to you and bang them on other objects. You are becoming more vocal, too, with a heartier laugh and more “jabbering.” You are going to be as independent as your sister before I know it!

Watching the Spur's Game with Mawmaw, June 6th

Nathan says "Go Spurs GO!"

You started eating solids this past month, as well. We gave you rice cereal only for a day and quickly moved on to bananas, as you did not like the rice cereal with breast milk. The first day you had bananas was May 30, 2012, and you spit almost all of the food back out! However, when I reintroduced you to bananas this past week, you ate the entire 2.5 oz jar! We have introduced you to all of the “firsts” foods and you are doing very well with them. You had Sweet Potatoes on June 3rd (for these, you smacked your lips and reached for the spoon! You liked them!!), Apples on June 7th (you ate about half the jar and didn’t spit many out the first time), Peas on June 13th (not so sure about these….went from eating the whole jar of apples to half a jar of peas), Pears on Jun 19th (ate 2.5 oz jar), Carrots on June 22nd (ate them all!), Squash on June 26th (ate them all, too), and Apple Yogurt Oatmeal 2nd foods on June 29th (ate half a 4.5 oz jar). You like eating your puffs, too, although Katie likes to help you feed yourself and then you get too many. Lol! You do better with the puffs when you are feeding them to yourself without help.

Eating Bananas, June 1st

First Time Eating Peas, June 13th



Having some puffs with the boys, June 17th

So far, you are not showing any signs of stranger anxiety. While you prefer to be held by mommy most of the time, you easily go with other people. Gam Gam, Great Grandpa, Great Aunt Rikki and your 3rd cousin, Chase, came down to see us this week and you have done really well with them. In fact, you have been Aunt Rikki’s little buddy and have been snuggling with her while you are at Mamaw’s house. You like to be outside and you really enjoy running errands. You are very observant and look all around to see what is going on around you. You really enjoy the water and have happily played for hours when we have taken you to Aquatica and the pool this month.

First Trip to Aquatica, June 16th

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Duck Pond, May 30th
Monticello Ranch Community Pool, June 1st
Gold’s Gym, Bandera Pointe Daycare
Aquatica, June 16th and June 28th
River walk, rode the River Barge on June 24th
Mamaw and Papaw's house
Aunt NoNee's House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
Restaurants
Shopping

Grocery Shopping at H.E.B, June 18th

Nathan ready to hit the Riverwalk, June 24th

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 6-12 months
Diapers: size 2 disposables (I need to move you to a 3) and "small" cloth diapers
Sleeping: from 8:30-9;30pm to 6am “ish”. Sometimes you wake up during the night to eat once, and sometimes you sleep straight through. You usually take a short nap in the morning around 10am and the evening around 6-7pm for a half hour to an hour and a two hour nap around lunch time. Sometimes you just cat nap off and on all day.
Eating: Usually you nurse 7-8 times a day. When I work for 8 hours, you nurse about 4 times and take 3 bottles of 4-5 oz. When I work for 12 hours, you nurse 2-3 times and take 3-4 bottles of 4-5 oz. You are eating more and more, I am interested to see how much you weigh now! It is more difficult to carry you in your baby carrier, now.

Sitting up at Grandma's House, June 22nd

Katie and Nathan, June 27th

We love you so much and can’t wait to see what you learn next month! Mommy and Daddy are both taking vacation and it will be your first Fourth of July! I hope that we are able to get out and do more as a family next month as I am now working in PCU and am not as tired on my days off. The times that I spend with you and Katie are the brightest times of my day! You two are my whole world!

Love,
Mommy

Nathan: Six Months

My sweet little Bubba,

It is here, you are now half a year old! I have no idea where time went, but I am not ready. You are growing up right before our eyes, and I still picture you as a small newborn baby. While time moved quickly when Kaitlyn was small, time seems to be moving at lighting pace nowadays, and I struggle to remember and absorb everything. This month in particular has been especially challenging with my work schedule and having fewer days off, so bare with me for this monthly update.

Handsome Boy!, May



Playing with Katie at Aunt NoNee's, May

Your personality continues to bloom this month; you are interacting so much more with not only daddy and me but with Uncle Jon, Grandma, Grandpa and your other loved ones. You are such a happy and laid back baby… for the most part. I think I have it easier than everyone else because I am your food source and able to calm you down quickly in ways that others are not able to. When you are hungry, over stimulated/tired, or too hot you get so upset and worked up. You thrash your feet and arch your back and scream bloody murder. You have such a loud cry! I am blaming these fits on your father, who also becomes unpleasant when he is hot, tired or hungry. Ha-ha! But for the most part, you are very happy and pleasant. You smile at everyone and have the most beautiful eyes. You wake up in such a good mood every morning, albeit at 5 or 6am. You will still go with other people easily, even strangers, but this month you started reaching for me when I stand next to you. The first time you did that at Aunt Tara’s shower scared her as we were not expecting you to do that.

New Shades Daddy and Grandma found, May

First Time in a High Chair, May 12th

I have a feeling you are going to be on the go here very, very shortly! You learned to sit in the tripod position (a seven month skill) as of May 24th. You even tried to get your knees up underneath you to scoot in the last few days, and daddy says that you have been scooting backwards today! You are also becoming quite the problem solver. When we were at Aunt Tara and Uncle Kevin’s house, you tried to reach for your toy but couldn’t quite reach it. Instead of giving up or crying, you were able to pull the blanket you were lying on towards you to get the toy (also a 7 month skill)! It is so neat to see you learning new things!

First Bath with Katie Bug, May 16th

Having lunch with Mommy and Uncle Jon at Jim's, May 22nd

You said your first word on May 1st (8 month skill). Uncle Jon was having lunch with Katie and I at Jim’s and you were hungry and wanted to be held. He was trying to get you out of your car seat and his coffee spilled. He grabbed you quickly to rescue you from the coffee and while he was holding you, you said “Ma Ma!” You are a little bit of a mamma’s boy, if you haven’t deducted that, and it makes me so happy!

Nathan at HEB, May 23rd

Katie and Nathan grocery shopping

I started to work out at Gold’s this month, and you and Katie have been going to the daycare there for an hour at a time when I work out. While Katie has had a difficult time adjusting to having new care givers, you have done just fine. Most of the time, you sleep happily in the bouncer the entire time I am gone!

Katie pushing Nathan in the swing, May 23rd

Hanging out at Aunt NoNee's, May 24th

We went to SeaWorld this past weekend to see the fireworks for Memorial Day. I was so proud of you! Even though it was your first time seeing them, you were not scared of the fireworks at all! You just stared at the sky in amazement and played with Katie's light up dolphin necklace.

Watching the fireworks at Sea World, May 26th

Places we have visited/things we have done this month:
Duck Pond, May 2nd
Gold’s Gym, Bandera Pointe Daycare, May 7th
Portland, Texas for Aunt Tara’s Shower to Reveal Baby Lepler’s sex, May 12th
Raymon Rimkus Park, May 23rd
Uncle Jason and Aunt Melissa’s House for Charlie’s First Birthday Party, May 26th
Mamaw and Papaw's house
Aunt NoNee's House
Swim Classes for Katie
Mommy's work
SeaWorld
Restaurants
Shopping

Shoulder Ride from Pawpaw, May 26th

Your Clothing/Eating and Sleeping Habits:
Clothing: 3-6 months, just barely!
Diapers: size 2 disposables and "small" cloth diapers
Sleeping: from 9:30-10pm to 4:30-5:30am. You nurse back to sleep and wake back up shortly before 7am to play for the day. You usually take three naps a day of various lengths, usually an hour or two.
Eating: 6-8 times/day. You are still indecisive about bottles. I think you hold out for nursing some days! I have started making your bottles 5 oz, and you have two bottles when I work an 8 hour day and three when I work a 12 hour day. Very rarely will you take another 4 oz bottle in addition to the others. When I am home, you nurse 6 or 7 times a day. This past week, you have been nursing sometimes 9-10 times a day! I think you may be having another growth spurt.

Celebrating Charlize's First Birthday, May 26th

Weight: TBD at your appointment this week
Height: TBD at your appointment this week

We love you so much, Nathan! It is hard to remember life without you here; you make our family complete! You are such a blessing, and I am so grateful that Jesus gave you to us. Please know that no matter how crazy life gets or how busy we may seem, I will always love you to the moon and back and I am constantly thinking of you and wondering what you are doing.

Love,
Mommy