Post-nap adorableness and I hate my blog template

One of my favorite parts of the day is when I hear a sweet voice talking to himself after a nice long nap. I seem to miss his little face soon after I put him down, so those soft coos are my cue to remind him how much I love him (in case he doesn't notice all the nibble marks on his soft neck and little piggies). As I enter his room, I have found Mr. Sandman, Feet and now, my personal favorite, the Zoo Animal.


On a completely technical note, I hate my blog template. Do have to spend hours searching through ugly ones to find a great one? One of my lesser goals while out of town is to find a more fitting template. Any suggestions on where to look?

39 weeks!

Nathan has officially lived outside of me longer than he lived inside of me! That is crazy! What an amazing 18 months it has been.

Nathan has changed so much this month. He is becoming more mobile and determined. It is exciting to see his tastes based on what he will move toward. I love the way he looks over my shoulder behind and then in front of me to see what is going on beyond me. I love the way he grins at me when he pulls up to standing or hears music play as if to say, "MOM! Isn't this awesome!?" He is the happiest baby I can imagine, and he has made me the happiest I have ever been.


Our nine month check up was scheduled for Friday. But on Tuesday, when I went in to wake Nathan before work, I heard the most awful sound from the doorway. The squeaking and wheezing caused everything else around me to disappear. I went over and scooped up my stridorous baby and grabbed my stethoscope while Danny called our pediatrician and friend (at 5:45 am...oops!). Nathan and I met our pediatrician at his office at 8:45. He diagnosed Nathan with croup and as an added bonus did our nine month check up at the same time. You'd never know he was sick other than the nasty cough and runny nose. He has been happy and sleeping well all week. Let's keep it that way!

So here are the details. At nine months Nathan...
*weighs 22lb 4oz, though I'm certain the scale was off by at least 10 lbs and I have the biceps to prove it.
* is 28inches tall. 50th percentile in both.
*sleeps 12 hours a night with two naps totaling about 4 hours.
*nurses 4 times a day in under 7 minutes. i just have to strap myself in.
*can say "mama" and mean it, "dadada," and make p, sh, t and a whole lot of other sounds while babbling.
*tries to sing with me by holding a long "ahhh."
*crawls on his belly, but not contralaterally.
*can pull up to standing if in the right position.
*can feed himself cheerios, apple, veggies, etc (mostly with the left hand)
*eats EVERTHING without complaining. From tuna to spinach to baked beans, the kid just loves to eat.
*takes my face in his hands and gives me kisses. He'll do it on command, too. heart-melting.
* still smiles all the time. even with a fever of 103 or a croupy cough, he is always smiling.
*knows where his junk is (it doesn't get better than that).

for you, mom.

*squash*

*pole beans*
*tomato in the back*
the same little guys as in the last post!

*sweet potatoes*
don't be too impressed.
i bought these as plants.

*carrots*
they did much better from seed
than from indoor sprouts.
but it takes surgical skill to get one seed in each hole.

*broccoli*
i love the two leaf shapes, don't you?
one of these will have to be cut out.
that makes me feel horrible.

I spy with my little eye...

something green.





I obviously have a long way to go. And there are certainly things I would do differently next time.

But I'm still pretty proud that we made it this far!

My Inchworm

Since we returned from Disney, Nathan has been much more mobile. He has been rolling for some time now, but only recently has he discovered forward motion. No army crawling yet, but he does this adorable inchworm thing where he sticks his butt way up in the air and then pushes off with his toes.

He loves to move, so I am kissing the little wrist rolls all I can because I am sure they will be melting away pretty soon.

Payback time... Mickey style

...by Danny

This one's for all of my embarrassing moments you so joyfully share with the world. And for the foolish antics I'm sure will one day grace the pages of this blog:

First a preface: Disney is big a part of the Macmanus family tradition. It holds so prominent a place Meghan's heart that she fought back tears as we pulled into the Old Key West resort greeted by the "Welcome Home" sign. Elsah, all her life convinced that she'd get married in Disney world, had to "settle" for a fairytale engagement proposal at Cinderella's castle. Mom Macmanus let her inner "Tink" out of her bottle and Dad Macmanus, the ever-in-control, left his cell phone at the condo (even though he had the coolest "fastpass/wait time checker" app ever on his iphone!)

For my part, I've bestowed the coveted "favorite Disney ride" title on one that's not the fastest, most exciting thrill ride. After all, nothing will change your tastes like an eight month old bundle of squealing joy soaking up every ounce of the kaleidoscope of sights and song that is It's a Small World!

Needless to say, Magic was in the air last week. Meghan was so enchanted she didn't even notice I was taping... until the end!!!




By the way, that was my future brother-in-law Jordan in the background: "king for the day" after miraculously withdrawing the sword from Authur's stone.

what happens when I go to work and leave Nathan in his Daddy's care?

simple:

t-shirts
underwear
jam session.

i love my boys.

warning: this post contains lots of pictures!

I was trying to pick a few of our favorites from Nathan's six month photo shoot. I went into the studio intending to get a bunch of sheets of one pose to send to the grandparents, etc, all for just $9.95! But he is just too darn cute! I'm hoping that the cash he wins after being named Most Adorable Baby Ever will help pay for all the portraits I will probably buy over the next few years.

7 months already!?

I don't know where the past month went. I don't even think I ever posted anything on Nathan's 6 month check-up. Usually, I would be grateful for February to fly by. But not this year. Finally, when I am savouring every minute of every day, every squeal and every diaper change (savouring the change, not the diaper) and every blessed grin, life is blowing past me before I can even sit and glory in it.

So here we are. My baby who is supposed to still be helpless and soggy in my arms is trying to stand on his own. Rather than snuggling close for me to feed him, he is "helping" me with the mashed peas, and when I can't do it fast enough he'll settle for a gnaw on his rubber bib. And tomorrow he has his first job interview.

OK. So he doesn't really.

But he is growing up way too fast. And I just want to sit down and enjoy it for a little while.

So here are some of the things I like to think about:

He likes making all sorts of squeals and vowel sounds. Not too many of the consonants yet but we are getting there. He discovered the "ppp" and "TTTthhh"s about a month ago and seems to be stuck there.

He loves to pet Margot and have his hands licked (followed by a quick rub-down with hand sanitizer--no offense Margot). They cuddle in the mornings, and if I leave him too long and he starts to whine, I'll find him surrounded by all of Margot's toys and a very forlorn big sister.

He is 19 1/2 lbs of pure hunk. He carries it mostly in his cheeks. And thighs. He does about 30 minutes a day in the doorway bouncer to get them trim but so far it isn't helping (thank goodness!).

He loves to eat and has not turned down a single meal. Peas, green beens, avocado, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, banana, peaches, pears, apples, oatmeal, rice, chicken, yogurt and lentils have all passed the test. So far, it has all been homemade and so far he approves.

He laughs and laughs with tickling and any sort of surprise game. I'll do pretty much anything for a laugh out of him. In fact, I am pretty sure I was being followed by security at Hobby Lobby yesterday.

And my personal favorite: He loves to snuggle into my neck when he starts to get tired. He'll rub his face with his fists, find his thumb and ram his forehead into my clavicle. He'll rest there while I sing to him and then look up at me with his sweet eyes as I lay him in his crib. He gives me one last smile before I leave and let him sing himself to sleep.

should I get permission to post this?

Last weekend we went to Braselton, GA for a urology conference. Danny presented his research while I sat in the hotel room with a sleeping baby. It was really very relaxing--nice to be away from all the responsibilities of home-maker-dom in a warm hotel room (with cable!). Nathan was a gem, going to all the dinners, staying out late and sleeping in a pack'n'play without so much as a wimper. We showed him a good time, too. Nathan got to go swimming for the first time and he loved it! I also took him outlet shopping for some summer clothes for our upcoming trip to Disney.

But my very favorite part of the whole weekend is summed up in this picture. This was not a set-up, I assure you. It's authenticity at it's best. I hope I didn't need to have the stars sign a release for me to post this for the world to see...

Rub-a-dub-dub...

...two men in a tub.