Christmas

We had a very nice Christmas...it was as wild and hectic as we expected it to be, but fun! My family was in town for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so we had a few days to spend together. The best part was having the babies together for the holiday. They had their picture taken with Santa, shared toys, and we even gave them their first baths together. I thought the whole experience would be lost on Nate, and granted for the most part it was, but he really loved tearing the paper off the packages and chewing on the ribbons...and he loved all of his gifts. He went straight to playing and has only stopped to eat and sleep.

The day after Christmas, we drove to Knoxville and celebrated again with The Cox's. Nate loved having more attention showered upon him - and more gifts (and paper and ribbons)!

We took a ridiculous amount of pictures this week but I pulled out a few pics for an small album (see right).

So, all in all, Nate's first Christmas was wonderful. I know that what I will remember won't be the stress of the mall and the cooking and cleaning, but rather the time we got to spend together with our families and the adorable smiles I saw on Nate's face this week.

Six Month Updates...

I am really behind on the updates...so here is what has been going on...

First of all, Nate turned 6 months old last week! We would have celebrated but instead he came down with another ear infection. He didn't eat well (or hardly at all) for a few days and we went back to the Dr and sure enough we are back on the antibiotics. He is doing better now and has most of his appetite back - and thankfully he is sleeping well again. We had a few rough nights of him waking up at 3:00 am screaming so it must have been a doozie. But all is well now! I guess it is a good thing that he was sick before the holidays and not during. (Yes, we take pictures of him when he is upset...sometimes it is really cute.)

Nate learned a wonderful new skill for his half bday...he can officially sit on his own! And he did it while sick...what a trooper! He was doing it for short periods and then slowly falling over, but then, out of no where, he just started balancing perfectly on his bday. I still keep pillows around him because he likes to throw his hands up when he gets excited and sometimes that makes him lose his balance, but he has it down for the most part! Yeah Nate! I can't believe what a big boy he is becoming...he is growing up before our very eyes!

We are so excited to be having most of our family coming to us for Christmas this year and even more excited that his cousin Keagan will get to spend it with us. The babies haven't been together since Nate was a few weeks old so I am sure it will be a fun time! We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy Nate's most recent piece of art...

Santa Baby

I admit it, I had been dreading taking Nate to see Santa...the line is always very long and I was nervous about timing it perfectly between naps and feedings so that he would be happy by the time it was his turn with the Big Guy. But luckily, there was a Santa at an outdoor mall near our house with NO line...and the best part is they let you use your own camera and take all the time you need! So, you don't have to just wish and hope that the one shot they take is the perfect one. And to top it off, the Santa was great (i.e. very patient). I was also very interested to see how Nate reacted to Santa...he was very curious and calm...he loved the beard (I had to pry his hands off) and the soft furry cuffs on his suit.

Paula and Jack joined us while we were finishing up our shots, so we got some more with both babies (Santa and the elves were very patient and kind!). So, needless to say, we will probably be going to visit that Santa for Christmases to come!

Our Son The Artist

I completely forgot to include Nate's first piece of artwork in my last post...his hand turkey! He did it at school and when they handed it to me I almost cried...it was the most adorable thing I had ever seen! And made me forget all about the new white shirt that came home covered in paint...

We drove to AL the day after Thanksgiving to visit with my mom's side of the family and stuff ourselves some more. It was the first time Nate got to meet his 2nd Cousin Corbin who is 8 months. The boys pretty much just stared at each other, but it was fun to have them together.

On Sat, Nate got all dressed up in his FSU track suit and said a little prayer that we might possibly upset the Gators...no such luck, but he looked cute cheering them on.

Turkey Day!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving week...Aunt Abby came in Monday night and Grandpa Dale came in on Tuesday. Nate and I took Abby wedding dress shopping on Tuesday and had a great time...Nate was a great sport, he loved watching his aunt model dresses. Luckily we didn't see the "no children allowed" sign (and the lady didn't say anything to us) until we were on our way out...because Abby found a couple of very good choices! After our first store, we took him back home to play with his daddy and grandpa who were working on some projects around the house.

We celebrated Thanksgiving Day at our house which was very nice. Both of our mom's helped with the cooking and Uncle Stephen and Aunt Faith came and helped us eat it all (or at least most of it). Nate looked like a little boy in his khaki's and button down...and his turkey bib was almost as big as him! He slept right through lunch then woke up to play in his exersaucer...or as MC calls it "Baby Vegas". That night I tried to give him a little bit of mashed potatoes to eat/play with and it did not go over well (as you can see in picture below)...he literally started gagging and was very upset that I would give him something so gross. I hope I don't have a picky eater on my hands!

Nate at 5 Months

Nate turned 5 months this week...hard to believe (I am sure I will say that every month)! He has ventured in to the world of vegetables and he loves peas and carrots. He is even mastering the art of spoon feeding...he even keeps most of it in his mouth. His little personality is definitely blossoming...he is learning to express himself. Sometimes it is just babbling, but I love listening. He also tried out his Johnny Jump-Up this week and he is pretty interested...he doesn't get the "Jump-Up" part but he likes to sit in it and turn in circles...he'll get there!

Roller Baby

I forgot to mention last week that I missed Nate rolling over while I was in FL...I guess if I didn't see it, it didn't happen. But MC said when he went to get him out of bed Sat morning that he was on his tummy! Figures he would do it while I was away...but luckily I got to witness it myself this past Saturday. I discovered the toy that he is willing to roll for...the baby beach ball. I brought it out while we were playing on the floor and he loved rolling around with it...so whenever it would roll away from him, he would go after it. He was breaking the rules at first and trying to flip from his back to tummy to get the ball (apparently most babies start off tummy to back) but he just couldn't figure out what to do with that bottom arm - then out of no where he just flipped himself from his tummy to his back. And he acted like it was no big deal! (I broke in to applause of course - he thinks I am nuts.) He isn't exactly doing it on command yet, but at least I saw it with my own eyes so it really happened!

Goodbye Lu Lu

We had a sad weekend...our little Lucy passed away. I knew she was sick but I wasn't expecting her to go yesterday. I took her to the vet on Friday, they did some bloodwork and we went back on Sat to get the results. Her kidneys were failing and the vet wanted to keep her for a few days to get her back stable. The vet called back that afternoon and started talking about our options so, we decided to go back up there on Sat afternoon to see her just in case she didn't make it through the night. When we got there she had already gone. It was very sad to lose my little kitty that I have had for almost 10 years but I was very thankful that I didn't have to make any decisions for her...her little body was just ready to go.

Nate's First Halloween

Sorry this week's posting is a little late...I actually went to the beach this past weekend with three of my high school girlfriends so Michael and Nate got to spend some quality time together. I had a great time but of course missed my boys (this was my first time away overnight) and I think the boys had a ball as well.

Luckily there was still a fun event this week to post about! I debated for weeks about whether to dress him in a costume or not and finally landed on the decision not to. We don't really get that many trick-or-treaters and he starts getting ready for bed around 7 so it just didn't seem worth it to make him cranky in an uncomfortable outfit for a couple of hours. Turns out it was the right decision. But I did get him a little Halloween outfit to wear so he was still festive! Next year we will torture him with the costume and take him around getting candy for ourselves. (Note - you can tell from the pics that he is doing a lot of finger chewing and drooling...so we are assuming he has some teeth that could be making an appearance soon.)

After the Halloween fun, we put him in the bath for his nightly scrub down...he must have gotten a sugar rush from smelling all of the candy because he turned in to a splashing machine tonight! So, we kept taking pics of course! He was getting water everywhere, so Cameron decided to join in the fun. We may need to think about putting him in the tub for baths now.

So, needless to say, after the evenings festivities he was ready for bed...I don't think he made a peep after we laid him down...

Pumpkins & Cereal

Sunday was a big day for Nate...after church we had lunch with his Neena and his Alie and then we went to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our pumpkins. He had a great time...he enjoyed the pumpkins but he also enjoyed watching the cars on the nearby street (as you can tell from the pics - he is looking toward the street in most of them).

After that outing, he came home and rested a bit and then had his first cereal feeding. He wasn't sure about it at first (probably because he had cameras in his face the whole time) but he got the hang of it pretty quickly. But, of course, that didn't stop him from making a huge mess. I know feedings won't always be funny but it was pretty entertaining this first time around. Speaking of funny...Nate has started laughing and it is the funniest thing I have ever heard. He gets tickled and it sounds like he has the hiccups. He has been cooing and smiling for a while now, but this new laugh is hysterical!

Trip to Knoxville and Sick Baby Update

We had a nice visit with CC and Grandpa Steve last weekend in Knoxville. The Cox family met for dinner Saturday night and Nate got to meet some of his cousins - the girls were adorable with him, they just wanted to touch and pet him. Nate did great at dinner and enjoyed being the center of attention.

What a hectic week...the good news is that Nate is doing much better. We are at the end of our antibiotics (which he has taken like a champ) and no more breathing treatments. He has been back at "school" this week so I am sure our next illness is right around the corner! Tomorrow we get our 4 month shots (they didn't give them to him earlier because he was sick) so hopefully that goes well! I will post more soon...here are a few pics from this week in the mean time...

Sick Baby

We have had a rough start to this week. I kept Nathan home with me yesterday while I worked from home because he had some symptoms that I wanted to keep an eye on. We woke up this morning to projectile vomiting and thought it might be best to take him to the dr. Luckily they fit us in right away and we found out that he has a respiratory infection and an ear infection. They gave him a breathing treatment (I don't know who it upset more - him or us) which seemed to help and now we are giving him albutirol and an antibiotic - and he gets a week out of school! The poor little guy has been a trooper...he is clearly sick but he has managed to stay a smiley baby and really hasn't been that fussy despite any discomfort he has had. (I hope I don't eat those words.) We go back Friday morning for a follow up...we are hoping he is all better so that we can have a fun visit with his grandparents in Knoxville this weekend!

If you look at this picture close up you can tell that Nate looks like he got in to a wrestling match with a kitten. Apparently 1) I am not a very good baby manicurist and 2) baby nails grow at warp speed. I am getting better but it is really hard to cut and file the nails of a flailing infant! I even do it when he sleeps and he hates it. I am open to tips from the experienced...

The trouble with being a parent in this day and age is that there is too much information and too many hazards that you are made aware of on a daily basis. Everything poses a risk to your baby...right down to the bottles they drink out of. You can either turn in to a paranoid freak or try to tune it out and make your own choices about what is safe. Case in point...we just pulled out these cute blocks for him to play with and he was pretty interested in them. It wasn't 6 hours after this picture was taken that we hear that they were recalled. See that innocent looking blue block with the happy little turtle on it? It contains lead and is dangerous for him to play with. What's a parent to do??

Nate's 15th Weekend

Wow, has time flown...Nate is 16 weeks old today! His "birth day" feels like yesterday, but at the same time it's hard to imagine life before him! He is such a sweet and happy baby...and he is sleeping 11 hours at night so life is good for everyone! I know thumbsucking isn't a very good habit, but it is just so cute! I guess that's how it starts...


This weekend wasn't particularly eventful, but we did get out and about some to enjoy the beautiful, mild weather. Friday evening was so nice out, so Paula and I took the boys to walk at the park. It is supposed to be exercise for us, but normally it turns in to a baby photo shoot about half way through.



Tummy time is an important daily event in our house. Nate likes to get a little lazy on his tummy and just lay his head down after only playing a short time, so I bought him a new toy this weekend in an attempt to keep him interested. I think it is working...



On Sunday we went to visit Davis. We try to get there every season to put new flowers out and clean his marker...sadly, it had been since his birthday that we had been there. But miraculously, the little dinosaurs that we took to him for his birthday were still there. I have thought a lot in the last year and a half about how we will talk to our children about Davis, and I don't know that I have those answers yet. But we took Nate with us this weekend and I hope by going there it helps to open up the door for that conversation as the years go by.

And, on a much lighter note, here are some goofy pics of Nate...

Nate Meets the Odom's

Nate got to meet his Great-Grandparents and Great-Aunts and Uncles on the Odom side this weekend. My dad was in town so Nate and I drove over to Springville to have lunch with everyone and we had a very nice visit. I think he was a little overwhelmed at all of the smiling faces when we got there (and hungry) but once he got to meet everyone he had a great time! He slept the whole way home...