I miss my boy!!!

Nathan is sleeping through the night now. Last night he slept from 8 pm to 7 am. That's 11 hours! That's too long!! I miss my boy!!! I am used to loving on and feeding him at 11 pm and again at 3 am. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind getting sleep; I just hate that I am not spending as much time with him these days (& nights).

Nathan had his two month doctor's visit today. We learned that he now weighs 10 lbs. 2 oz. and is 21 3/4 inches long. He's still perfect.

Dr. Griffith was very impressed that he is sleeping through the night, and she is amazed at how well he holds his head up. (As a side note, Nathan held his head up for 4 minutes earlier this week during tummy time!)

Oh, he also got his first set of immunization shots. The boy was a real trooper. He only screamed for 5 seconds (really), and then fell asleep in Todd's arms before we even made it out of the doctor's office! (Probably doesn't hurt that we gave him some baby Tylenol before the appointment... we knew what we were getting into!) He then spent the day with Meme, who continued to drug... I mean give him his medicine... every few hours.

Nathan's day ended at 8 p.m. following a bottle and me singing to him. When I went to check on him at 9, this is what I saw...

Drugged from his 7:30 dose

His Future's So Bright...

He's Gotta Wear Shades!

I found this adorable pair of sunglasses @ my favorite store... Target. Only $1.74 before tax.

Nathan loves them, and he especially loves the compliment he gets when he wears them. In fact, today he wore those stripped booties with the animal face rattles and these sunglasses to the doctor's office. Dr. Griffith and her nurse thought "Rock Star!" Only thing left to do is spike his hair into a mowhawk and he'll officially be the coolest baby ever. I'm seriously thinking about do it, so when I do, I'll be sure to take a photo or two and share them with you. Everyone is going to want to be this kid's friend because he's so cool.

Oh, and when he wears them, I call him "Stevie"... you know, Stevie Wonder. Too silly!

Hush Little Baby (Too)

Last week I posted the words to Nathan's favorite lullaby, Hush Little Baby. I sing him to sleep every night with these classic words. However, starting today I am going to lull him to sleep with these words instead...

Hush little baby, don't say a word,

Mama's going to show you a hummingbird.

If that hummingbird should fly,

Mama's going to show you the evening sky.

When the nighttime shadows fall,

Mama's going to hear the crickets call.

While their song drifts from afar,

Mama's going to search for a shooting star.

When that star has dropped from view,

Mama's going to read a book with you.

When that story has been read,

Mama's going to bring your warm bedspread.

If that quilt begins to wear,

Mama's going to find your teddy bear.

If that teddy bear won't hug,

Mama's going to catch you a lightning bug.

If that lightning bug won't glow,

Mama's going to play on her old banjo.

If that banjo's out of tune,

Mama's going to show you the harvest moon.

As that moon drifts through the sky,

Mama's going to sing you a lullaby.

Author Sylvia Long shares these words with us in the hopes that we teach our children to appreciate the beauty in nature and the genuine love between a mother and her child, and not to focus on buying our children things and teaching them to be materialistic. I share her sentiments, so I share her words with you. I hope you enjoy!

Mr. Mom

So while I'm out with the girls, Todd stayed home to play Mr. Mom with Nathan. They enjoyed some father & son bonding, Todd was able to watch a few movies, and Nathan was able to get in some tummy time and lots of TLC. I'd say it was a good day for them both!

My Day with the Girls

This past Saturday Todd played Mr. Mom while I spent the day with girlfriends. Here's how my day played out:

I met Toni for some consignment sale shopping. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I still found things to buy. (Imagine that!) I cannot wait for Nathan to enjoy this Little Tikes swing next Spring & Summer. I only paid $2.50 for it. I also only paid $2.50 for the cutest toy vacuum cleaner that is shaped like a puppy. Too stinkin' cute!

After my shopping spree with Toni, I visited with Dawn (& her soon to be ex-husband). I won't share the details of the visit, but I'm glad that I am able to help a friend in need. And there's a good chance that I'll be helping her out a little bit more as she helps us in return.

Later that afternoon I spent a few hours at a baby shower for my next-door neighbor. Kelley is expecting a little girl August 17, so we showered her with gifts galore.

Hush Little Baby

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.

If that mockingbird won't sing,
Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.

If that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.

If that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.

If that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.

If that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.

If that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.

If that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little boy in town.

So hush little baby, don't you cry,
Daddy loves you and so do I.

This is Nathan's favorite lullaby. I sing it to him every night. Sometimes more than once. Sometimes five times in a row. Lord knows I don't have a beautiful singing voice, by he loves to hear me sing, so I happily oblige.

Smile

What a precious smile this is. Nathan was "smiling" during his first month, but we consider June 26 as the official date of his first smile. It's easy to remember. It was his one month birthday.

This picture was taken tonight after I changed his diaper, lotioned him up, and dressed him for bed. He was one happy boy. I'm glad he let his Mommy know he was happy.

Our Boy is Funny Looking...

... when he wears these silly booties!

I LOVE these things! The little heads have noise-makers in them, so when he kicks his feet he rattles & jingles!

(FYI, Nathan is two weeks and six days old in this photo)

Living for the Weekend!

Now that I am officially a "working mom," I am living for the weekends. And what a weekend it was!

Our Friday evening began at the Brake Pad. We joined Nolan, Brandon & the girls (and Nolan's parents and sister) on the patio for dinner. Todd had the BLT and I had the fish tacos. Turns out Nolan had the same thing. We are like that. Great minds think alike. While at dinner we ran into several friends. Gerry from our once favorite Mexican restaurant, Beth (whose husband was our architect), and Paty from the old neighborhood. Everyone oohed and aahed over the Peanut. Beth even held him for 20 minutes, and even once threatened to not return him. That was a nice start to our weekend.

Nathan's Saturday started with a bottle and a bath. He LOVES the water. Hates to be naked, but LOVES the water. Todd and I grabbed a quick bowl of cereal before I headed upstairs for my shower. Yeah, Nathan wanted a shower as well, so he peed all over himself while Todd was changing him! (Did I mention that Nathan LOVES the water?) Following our family shower (I needed Todd's help with the wriggle worm), we headed north to Todd's parents' house. We ran an errand on our way to the house, but then spent the rest of the day there. Jennifer & Jeff spent the day with us as well. We enjoyed a nice meal. In fact, my MIL prepared these awesome muffins. I will definitely get her recipe and share. A definite keeper! We rounded off the visit with a walk on the nature trail behind their house. Oh, and Uncle Jeff was even late to the dinner table because he was loving on Nathan.

Nathan on our walk

At church Sunday morning the Vacation Bible School kids put on a show, and not wanting to be outdone, Nathan put on his own. During a prayer. Yeah, I had to leave the sanctuary. Following church, we returned home to enjoy Grandmother's famous chicken salad sandwiches. Since Nathan wouldn't take any sort of a nap, we decided that a trip to the GA Tech pool was in order. (I tell you the Peanut LOVES the water!) We did a few laps around the "Shoot the 'Hooche", did some tummy time on the floating mats, and practiced floating on our backs before we decided to call it a successful first visit. Dinner at Johnny's was a welcome treat. I love Johnny's pizza!

Nathan & Mommy "shooting the 'Hooche"

Slippery when wet

Tummy Time!

Look at that sweet boy! Aunt Jennifer has his outfit coordinated with the blanket. How stinkin' cute is that?!?!

Jinx

So I shouldn't have said anything about Nathan being punctual. In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, "Big mistake. Big. Huge"

Yea, so this morning he woke up at 12:30 and again at 4:05. What's up with that? I hope we don't have a repeat tonight (or anytime in the near future).

But then again, with a face like this...

how can a momma be mad?

***Photo taken by Aunt Jennifer. Thank you very much. It melts my heart!

Nathan joined Girlfriend Nikki, Aunt Jennifer & me (Mommy) for lunch at Brake Pad. He loves hanging with the girls.

Anyway, notice the cute outfit he's wearing. Girlfriend Nikki bought that for him. And so in honor of lunch with Girlfriend Nikki, he wore it just for her. What can I say? He's thoughtful like that.

The Kid is Punctual

So my friend Carl recommended the book Babywise. He promised that I wouldn't regret it. And so far I haven't. That's because Nathan is on a schedule. It works for us. He feeds at or about 6 am, 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, 6 pm, and 9 pm. You can set your watch to his hungry cries.

And while he's on a schedule, sometimes he veers off. No big deal though. I know he'll fix it soon enough. Like yesterday..

Yesterday he woke at 8 am and fed. Totally skipped the 6 am feeding. (Thank you, God. I needed the sleep!) Anyway, he ate at 8 am and I dropped him off at his Great Grandmother's at 8:45. I told her he was "off schedule" but that he would get himself back on track before I returned at 4:30. Sure enough, the boy wanted a bottle at 11:50 and again at 3:05. This kid is like me... on time!

And then today, Girlfriend Nikki watched him. Nikki & I talked on the phone during my afternoon commute so she could fill me in with the details of the day. (She had a date tonight, so she needed to leave as soon as I arrived home.) Based on our conversation and the clock, I knew that he would be eating soon. Wouldn't you know it... I walked in the door at 5:59, and at 6:00 Nathan started his hungry cry. Like I said, the kid is punctual!

Now we are anxiously awaiting the day that Nathan drops the 3 am feeding. Hopefully it will happen before he starts daycare on August 3rd. Keep your fingers crossed!

Justa Swingin'

We have a really nice swing that was a gift from my aunt. (Thank you, Stacey.) I mean really nice. So nice that Nathan doesn't want to swing in it. Lovely, huh? I am hoping that he will grow to love it.

Meanwhile, he loves the Fisher Price swing that Meme got as a hand-me-down from Kim, her neighbor. (Thank you, Kim.) He swings in it. He sleeps in it. He stares at you in it. The boy really loves this swing.

I have no idea what the difference is, but Nathan sure does. Maybe he'll tell me one of these days.

HOV

I have had a carpool buddy these past two days. His name is Nathan. I am his chauffeur.

This was what I saw in my rear view mirror today. Isn't he cute?

I'm going to miss my carpool buddy tomorrow... and the HOV lane.

9 to 5

Today was my first day back at work. It was bittersweet. I enjoy work, but I missed my sweet boy. I told Todd last night that I will take Nathan's picture every day and blog at least a little bit just so I always remember everything about him. I'm afraid I'll lose some of those sweet memories if I don't.

Anywho... Nathan stayed with Great Grandmother today. She said he was a perfect angel. But with a face like this, can he be anything else?

I am told that he ate on schedule, pooped on schedule, played on schedule, and slept on schedule. OK, so the pooping on schedule may or may not be true, but I thought it was funny.

He will spend tomorrow with her also, and then it's Girlfriend Nikki's turn on Wednesday! I don't know who's more excited, Nathan or Nikki.

Oh, the photo above was taken tonight. He'll be six weeks old tomorrow. Look how well he holds that sweet head up. Such a strong boy!

What are you looking at?

I just had to post this photo. Hope you laugh out loud!

(Double right click to see the photo a little bit bigger. Now smile!)

Wild Hair

Just a sweet photo of Nathan showing off his wild hair.

The adorable outfit was a gift from Grandma. Thanks to her, Nathan has some of the cutest "Sunday best" church clothes. I forgot to take a photo of last Sunday's precious outfit. If he still fits in it in the coming days (the boy is growing like a weed), I'll take a photo and post it. It really is a cute outfit.

4th of July

Us @ Maryalyce's

Nathan's 4th of July outfit... a gift from Meme

The guys @ the fireworks

We went here. We went there. We went everywhere!

Our 4th of July was a busy one. We started our celebrations at Lynn & Dave's with a cook-out, then returned to Happyville to visit with friends and neighbors at Maryalyce's. J.J. & Stephanie joined us for East Point's fireworks, which we watched from the East Point MART parking lot. (BTW, this was a lot easier & more enjoyable than watching them from the common ground lawn. A definite "must do" for future years.)

Roly Poly

YEAH!!! Nathan rolled over on his own! One month and 2 days old... what a big boy he's becoming.

Yesterday Todd and Nathan had some quality "daddy & me" time in the early hours (thank you). Just moments after Todd left for work, I walked into Nathan's nursery to find the Peanut on his back. As some of y'all may know, Nathan is a tummy sleeper. (Yes, I admit it, I don't listen to all the professionals, but that's another story for another blog entry.), My first thought (a/k/a mother's intuition) is that he had rolled over. I tell my mom the story and she's in disbelief. No way could he have done this amazing feat so soon. I called Todd to ask about belly v. back, and he confirms that he had placed the Peanut on his belly. YEAH!!! What an amazing little man we have.

Nathan, we are sooooo proud of you!