Valentine's Day

Ryan and I celebrated V-day early by spending the Saturday before at the Waldorf Astoria spa for a couples massage and then dining at the Bull and Bear restaurant. It was divine! We definitely needed the time away and had such a fabulous day reconnecting.

Since we have a new Valentine to celebrate with this year, we spent the actual holiday at home with takeout and a family dinner. It was a different kind of divine and I loved being with my two sweeties.

Earlier in the day, Nathan and I got to attend a very sweet party with our breakfast club friends at Fallon and Brinkley's house. Nathan made "Bear Hugs" for his buddies (little bags of Teddy Grahams) and got a whole treat bag to take home.

It was organized chaos with ten little babies and their parents scattered around Fallon's living room. We haven't played with so many babies at once and it was a lot of fun!

Nathan surrounded himself with all the ladies. Smart boy!

He was incredibly interested in getting a hold of Brinkley's hair bow so he could taste it.

We managed to get all of the babies sitting and general looking for a group photo. I'm not sure how we did it but I am sure if there was a camera pointing the opposite direction the grownups would have looked pretty ridiculous trying to get all of their attention!

Nine Month Well Visit

How were we already back at the doctor's for Nathan's nine month check up?! He is growing too fast!

Ryan got there a little late so I missed snapping shots of all the measuring and weighing but I did manage to capture this sweet, silly boy as we were waiting for the doctor. He was intrigued by the paper sheet and proceeded to rip it all up as he explored.

The solids and finger foods have been agreeing with our bubs and he has shot up in height to 29" (between 50-75%) and weighs 20 pounds (between 25-50%). I am honestly surprised he doesn't weigh more - one, because he seems so much heavier lately! and two, because this boy LOVES to eat! His head was 18" round (50%) so I guess he's on track with that one.

Look at that belly!

He only needed a small toe prick to check his blood and his iron came back low after two different tests. The doctor thought he could be coming down with something and I initially agreed because N had a runny nose but now I'm thinking that was from new teeth. Some of the top ones are starting to show themselves and the doctor said they aren't too far away. No other cold symptoms yet. We go back in a month to check on the iron levels and hopefully by then they'll be where they need to.

Runny nose aside, we have a healthy, growing boy on our hands and I am so thankful that he is thriving!

Nine Months

Nathan, you are nine months old!

You continue to be such a happy boy and so goofy. I often hear you cracking yourself up! You talk up a storm and always share a smile or giggle with Jax, your best bud. It melts my heart when you put your head on my shoulder and give me a hug, whether it's from sheer exhaustion or just being sweet. You're practicing "kissing", too (open mouth and all). We always get comments on how attentive and alert you are. I'm loving all of this personality shining through!

You are mastering finger foods and would prefer to feed yourself than eat any of my purees. You love shredded chicken, cubed cheese, pasta and yogurt melts. We're still exploring this new world and I am sure you will continue to be an eating champ! You still get four bottles a day but we're going to start tapering the quantity down a bit as we build up to more solids. In the meantime, you reach for any cup, straw or mug you see, always wanting a sip of what we're drinking.

You love to swing, whether it's at home or at the park, and you light up when we are outside. We go on lots of walks and you are so chill in your stroller. You also love your blocks - to eat and throw. All of your other toys make pretty equal rotations. We try to read but you are more interested in tasting the books than looking at the pictures. You're a speed demon in your walker and we have to watch our ankles because you'll run right into us!

Separation anxiety has hit you hard and it breaks my heart that you get so upset if I'm not within view. It makes it really tough to leave you with your Lolly when Daddy and I have date night! Hopefully this is a quick phase and you'll be more comfortable without me so close soon (although I say it and I'm sure I'll be sad when you don't need me as much, too).

You've slowly started showing a breakthrough in crawling and can wiggle and twist backwards. No forward movement and no real getting on all fours but you'll do a mean push up or plank. You have excellent posture when you sit and you're getting much better at standing while holding onto things, too. Occasionally you may cruise a bit but not too much yet.

Most nights you sleep pretty well, going to bed between 7:30 and 8 and waking up between 7:15 and 8 in the morning. If you do wake in the middle of the night, you are usually able to get yourself back to sleep, which is so nice! Your naps have gotten a lot shorter in the last month, some lasting only 30-45 minutes, but you're still taking two a day and for that I am very thankful.

I feel like we've hit a groove and we are quite the pair spending our days together. I love watching you grow and am so thankful to be with you for every milestone and memory. I love you so much, Bubba! (another of the many nicknames you've acquired)

xoxo

Month Nine Stats:

Weight - 20 pounds (I could have sworn it was more from how heavy you are to carry!)

Diapers - size 3 during the day, size 4 at night

Clothes - some 9 months, some 12 months, some 6-12 months

Super Bowl XLVI

Our new house is perfect for hosting parties! We invited a whole crew over for Super Bowl Sunday and ended up with about 20 adults and 7 kiddos to watch the big game. It was a full house but so much fun!

The night before (a little last minute) I made festive pennant banners to hang around the house. Some footballs and some team colors, which conveniently are also handy for Memorial Day and the 4th of July. We set up a buffet table in the dining room and had both TVs going so people could mingle between rooms.

Nathan had lots of buddies come to play. Unfortunately, I was trying to be fancy and had my camera on manual without realizing it, so the first few pics I took of him and Parker were super dark but I had to include these cuties anyway!

The family room was a bit chaotic with all the little ones throwing toys and playing but they all did so well together and everyone seemed to have fun.

We attempted a group photo (minus Baby Annie, who was having a bottle) but as with most baby shots, it was a challenge to get everyone happy and looking. Nathan wasn't very happy with his friends getting into his personal space and cried for the whole shoot.

Look at that sad little pouty face!

I was too distracted to take any more photos but I swear adults attended the party, too! We had lots of fun seeing friends we hadn't seen in a while and catching up with everyone. I honestly didn't even watch the game or the great commercials because of all the hostess duties but I'm glad we had such a great turnout and  I'm excited for future parties in this great house!

Lately

I feel like the whole month of January just flew by and I was so bad about posting that I figured one good catch up post could suffice for now. It was one of our slower months compared to the hustle and bustle of travel and holidays, but we still managed to stay busy!

Nathan has been practicing the art of crawling. He can pull himself up into a plank and he'll shimmy and scoot backwards but he hasn't quite figured out the mechanics to move forward. It frustrates him to no end when he's trying to get to something in front of him.

He's been practicing other new skills, too, like standing and feeding himself. He is getting really good at standing while holding (or leaning) onto things and he is becoming better with finger foods. Most of it even makes it into his mouth now!

 

We've seen a lot of friends and had lots of playdates. When we're not at breakfast club or Gymboree, we like going on walks, playing at our house and meeting our buddies at the park to swing.

And we love getting together with our breakfast club friends! Most of our time together is spent at the park but we also love going to each other's houses to hang out.

Of course, one of our favorites right now is spending time with Jax. We take her on walks, play with her in the backyard and play fetch with her through the halls. Nathan gets such a kick out of her and I love watching the two of them become best buds. It's the cutest!

Nathan's Baptism

We had the pleasure of celebrating Nathan's baptism at our church at the beginning of January. My whole family flew down for a long weekend and hung out at our new house while we prepped for the big day. Ryan's immediate family and aunt, uncle and grandmother also came to be with the monkey, so it was quite the crew at church!

The service was at 11 am so I was nervous how the bubs would behave since we had to interrupt his nap but he was so good the entire time! The church made it so special - we went up to the baptismal font with Kelly and Lincoln, Nathan's godparents, and after the pastors baptized him and prayed for him they walked him around the entire sanctuary while we sang a song just for Nathan. It was all very sweet and Nathan loved seeing the congregation.

After a round of photos (of course) we headed back to our house for lunch and cake. Nathan didn't last too long once we got back and slept for most of the afternoon but we enjoyed celebrating him anyway.

My mom sewed Nathan's christening gown and did such an amazing job putting it together. He looked so angelic! It was such a special day and so nice to be surrounded by so much family to celebrate our little one and the start of his relationship with God. I only hope we can continue to foster that bond so that he sees God in our house every day!

Eight Months

Nathan, you are eight months old!

Oh, monkey, how you get cuter by the day! You have such a sweet disposition and I love how easy it is to make you smile! We were worried about stranger anxiety for a little while but you seem to be comfortable around anyone and will crack a toothy grin to anyone that greets you.

You are still quite the chatterbox and "sing" or "talk" to me most of the day. I've hear lots of blabbering but no real words yet (although it really does sound like "mama" when you cry). You get pretty quiet around others, though - especially babies - maybe a bit of a shy boy? I think you are just content to sit back and listen, constantly observing the world around you. We always get comments on how alert you are!

You still have just the two bottom teeth but I just know you are going to get more soon. You teethe like crazy and welcome every toy (or anything, for that matter) with an open mouth, ready to chomp on it. You've battled your second cold this month but otherwise you are a healthy, growing boy. The cold has interfered a bit with your sleeping but for the most part you sleep through the night and take two good naps a day. It's wonderful!

Solids are still agreeing with you and we've tried all sorts of fruits and veggies. You are not a fan of anything beyond a puree, though, and make hilarious faces when we try to sneak in something with more texture like a puff or a Cheerio. Anything I try immediately gets spit out in a pool of drool. I guess you're just not ready yet!

We've found your ticklish spots and your Daddy just loves to breathe on the back of your neck to make you giggle. Your back is so sensitive I often find I can't rub it if I'm trying to put you down for a nap because it makes you squirm too much! You love it, though, and seem to be quite the little daredevil. I'm in trouble! You love to be tossed in the air, to swing, and to hang upside down. You're going to be a hand full!

You are sitting up really well but don't really show any signs of crawling. You are just not a rolly-polly baby and still hate tummy time, which makes it tough to roll. You've practiced standing on your own a few times and can do it for a second or two but are still really wobbly and not ready to be without support. When you start walking I just know you'll be running soon after - your feet never stop moving and you are constantly kicking your legs. You scoot around in the walker no problem and I can't take my eyes off you or you're in a completely different side of the house. You seem to love it!

It's been a really fun month filled with celebrations and all the wonder of Christmas. I can't believe how big you are getting but I absolutely love seeing the little boy you're becoming and all that personality that shines through. You are such a light in my life and I am so proud to be your mama!

Love you, buddy!
xoxo

Eight Month Stats:

Weight - 19 pounds

Diapers - size 3

Clothes - mostly 9 months, or 6-12 (depending on brand)