a great weekend

This past week was one of the most stressful for me yet. Silly challenges of motherhood made me crazy until about Friday. Nathan was only napping 30-40 minutes and that was only after crying for just as long. I tried so hard to do everything I had read, but he would just grow more and more tired until he was a basket case by the end of the day. Thankfully he is sleeping well at night, but the days were just wearing me out! I felt like Nathan was looking at me saying, "why can't you just figure it out!" But I know he is more gracious than that.

One of the best things about babies is that when things are really tough you can be assured that in a few days, they will change! And it has. I don't know if he just remembered how to fall asleep or if I got better at soothing. Either way, I am grateful that we have passed another challenge without eating all the peanut butter in the pantry.

When Friday came, we were ready for some fun. To kickoff the weekend, we went on a lizard hunt. I don't know how he made it in the house, but Margot spotted a small lizard (gecko?) on the mantel. Nathan helped Daddy capture it in a cup so they could bring it back to the "wild." A great time was had by all!

he was quick and witty...he thought he outsmarted us by darting behind the bookshelf

but Nathan spotted him and Daddy came behind with the cup.

way to go, boys! (notice the lizard peering out over the rim)

Danny and I both had to work on Saturday, so Nathan spent his first day with a babysitter!!! I was so glad I did not have to be the one to drop him off...I could just pretend it wasn't happening.

We wrapped up the weekend with a wonderful morning at church and a walk in the 70 degree weather. Nathan looked so adorable for church that I had to post a picture (or two...or three). A friend gave us some of her old baby clothes, and deep inside was this itty-bitty tie. I couldn't resist!

three months old!

I remember sitting in the glider one August night at around 3am. Nathan was up for the second time that night and I was counting down the hours until sunrise. I knew I would probably not fall asleep again until around 5am--just in time for the next feeding. Nathan would take about an hour to soothe and then I would take another hour to soothe (thank you, Danny). Words I had read that day swam through my tired mind: everything changes by three months. They start sleeping through the night, their GI systems have worked out the kinks, you will know what different cries mean...the list goes on. Perhaps it was exhaustion or simply delusional thinking, but I did not want that day to come. I enjoyed those lonely hours, examining every crease and hair on my baby's body. I loved listening to his gentle hum as he ate his (second) midnight snack. I knew I would one day miss those sweet hours when it seemed we were the only ones alive.

I think that day has come. The infant that used to lie lightly on my shoulder now pulls back to look around. Only occasionally do we sit alone at night...he'd rather wait until dawn. With all my heart I miss holding his heavy head to get him to burp and all the other wonderful pleasures of those first few weeks. But life goes on.

Today my baby turned three months old. He mostly sleeps through the night (at least 6-8 hours), he rarely grunts or wines with gas anymore, and he has a terrific curiosity about the world. He is growing out of his clothes quickly and loves to stand on my lap. He coo's (more like gha's and ni's) with great intent. I cannot believe how he has changed in the past 13 weeks! Still I am far from understanding his cries...I stand there racking my brain for a possible reason. I cannot figure out when to put him down or how to help him through the afternoon hours. Soothing does not come naturally to me yet, and neither do outings. But I love him more than life and that is as natural as can be.

And every time he looks at me and his face lights up... that very moment is my favorite.

time with family

This past Sunday, Nathan was baptized. Both sets of grandparents came to town for this special day. Nathan wore a gown that was originally made for Danny's baptism. It was one of the most special days in my life. I was reminded of the Lord's faithfulness to generation after generation and His grace and mercy displayed in the blessings my covenant child will experience. Nathan was a real trooper--he had wake up early to be at church a little after eight. He seemed to enjoy being walked down the isle and being sprinkled by our pastor. It was all I could do to keep my composure. He then fell asleep in my arms for the remainder of the service until the organ sounded for the final hymn.

Nathan is excited the big day is finally here.

the font

Nathan being silly after the service.

We had a wonderful time visiting with the grandparents, though the visit was too short as usual. Nathan got more lovin' than he knew what to do with. We are still working on getting him to sleep in his crib again after all the arms that were eager to hold him.


Thank you to all who were with us this weekend--in person or in spirit. It is amazing to think about how many lives will touch Nathan's as he grows in the knowledge of his Savior.

BOO!

It's fun to nibble...
It's sweet...
It's miniature...
And a Halloween treat!

No, it's not a fun-size Snicker's bar. It's my little monster!!

Though he only stayed awake for about three trick-or-treaters, Nathan made the cutest little monster for Halloween.


Halloween day was casual.

After sundown, the monster came out!



Roar!


Grrr!

just nathan

No breaking news or updates today. Just some cute Nathan moments. My photo and video skills are rough, I know. But I don't know if anyone could truly capture his adorable-ness. Forgive me if this is just me being a doting mother.


just plain cute!


naked bottom time!


margot gets in on the action.


Nathan starts to roll over, but gets stuck half-way. Good work, little guy!



It's that little noise at the end that I was going for...he usually puts a lot of sounds like this together, but when I started filming he got shy.

It's crazy how, as a new mom, I am so excited by the littlest things. Perhaps I'll look back at these some day and wonder why I took so many videos of nothing...but I doubt it.

a new season

Nathan was nine weeks old when I returned to work. I guess I should qualify what I mean by "back to work." I was given a PRN position, meaning I only have to work as needed. Since they always need more nurses, I basically just tell them what days I want to work. While Danny is home doing research, I am trying to work two days a week. It has been an enormous blessing to be able to spend a day out of the house doing something I absolutely love while my baby bonds with his daddy. I feel like I have the best two jobs on earth. Labor and Delivery is an exciting and rewarding place to work and the women I work with are absolutely lovely! The best part about my day is coming home to a loving and talented husband (he even made dinner last Friday night after being Daddy all day!) and the last feeding of the day with Nathan.

Nathan has started the sweetest of nightly routines! On days that I work, 10:30pm is the first time he sees me all day. We rouse him from his sleep, Danny changes his diaper and then hands him to me. As he turns and recognizes it is me, his eyes widen and he gives me a goofy grin. He then proceeds to tell me all about his day with Daddy. I know this sounds silly, but he really does! He'll coo and coo with all sorts of sounds, sometimes waiting for a response before he continues. He tells me how they hunted Margots and flew bombers over the Arctic. I know this is not "supposed" to be a social time, but how can I resist such an exciting story? When he finally quiets for his night cap, I find myself staring at him as intently as I did the night after he was born. I so love those sweet still hours of the night.

Fall is finally falling in Augusta. It has been in the 60's a few times now and the leaves are starting to change. Danny and I agree that this is our favorite time of the year. We took advantage of the great weather on Sunday to take a few autumnal pictures of Nathan. I wish I was a better photographer, but this will have to do.


a bit blurry because i couldn't stop laughing.


chillin' with the guys

my favorites

making the rounds

It has been a while since I last posted, but I will try to keep it short and sweet. A lot has happened in the last two weeks, though!

Our little road trip was a success. Nathan basically slept the whole way. He ate when we stopped for gas, looked out the window for a little while then fell right back to sleep. What a trooper! In Memphis, Nathan met his Aunt Kelly, Uncle Sam and two Great grandparents for the first time. It was such a blessing to see Papa Howard and Nana Phyllis holding him.


We attended Danny's reunion events, ate some Memphis barbeque and got to watch Joey and Peter play football. Nathan was so proud of his uncles!


My Grandma also got to see Nathan. He was her 80th birthday present. It had been 3 years since we had seen the family, so we really enjoyed our brief visit.


On the way home we stopped in Birmingham to visit Wendy, one of my roommates from college. It is a great half-way point between Memphis and Augusta. We always have such a wonderful time eating at Taziki's, watching movies and sitting around talking. It is so relaxing and was a perfect end to our week away.


On Sunday, Nathan celebrated his 2 month-a-versary. I cannot believe how much he has grown. He seems enormous to me. Here are some of his accomplishments this month:

-Smiles upon smiles!
-Follows an object 180 degrees
-An ever-increasing fondness for his thumb.
-A record 7 consecutive hours of sleep. I happened only once, but now we know it is possible.
-Holds his head up and bears weight on his legs.
-Dirty diapers only every few days. A far cry from the previous 8x a day!

He loves to stare at the fan, windows and anything with light. He is such a happy baby, only getting fussy in the evening. He eats with gusto and is really packing on the pounds! At our doctor's appointment today he weighed 13lb 4oz and measured 22.25inches. I would like to mention that this is 90th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. I think he's just building a good foundation.



I cannot believe it has been two months. Nathan, each day I love you more! You have my heart, little buddy!

you're never fully dressed...

Two more days before we leave for Memphis. I am quite apprehensive about the nine hour drive (which will certainly end up being at least 11 due to feedings and such). Nathan does very well in his car seat and sleeps when we drive, but that has never been for more than thirty minutes. I'm considering leaving Augusta after the 2am feeding (since I have such a difficult time falling back to sleep anyway), and hopefully that would let Nathan sleep the longest.



We are going to Memphis for Danny's high school reunion . Two of Danny's [five] brothers play football for the school, so we will get to watch their games. I made a little onesie for Nathan to wear in the bleachers. We will also be going to a couple of events for the 1999 alumni. We will get to see some of Danny's classmates and their growing families. I know it will be fun, but I am struggling just a little with the fact that I don't look quite like I used to and thus have very few clothes that fit. I'm trying to remember that "it's what you wear from ear to ear and not from head to toe that matters." And I have an amazingly adorable seven-week old accessory to distract from my otherwise homely appearance.







It is such good timing to see family because Nathan's smile is shining brighter every day. I attempted to capture it this week, but as soon as his eyes start to squint and that little mouth opens I forget about everything else in the world just to revel in joy in its most purest form. The few shots I got are mostly at the end of the smile, but you get the idea.