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!