A Day with Meme

Nathan spent the day with his two favorite girls this past Saturday... Mommy & Meme. It was a day filled with food & shopping. How much better can it get? (OK, Daddy could have been there, and then it would have been perfect, but this is a post about a day with Meme. Anyway...)

Mom picked us up around 9:30 and we headed to breakfast at Thumb's Up. I love that place. As we were walking down the street we joined Joe & Joan as they walked to Thumb's Up, and so we decided to share a booth. As always, we enjoyed the food & conversation.

A local yard sale seemed promising (Mom's in the market for an activity mat for Peanut), so we headed down the street to the sale. While it might have advertised what we were looking for, it did not deliver goods worth buying. Oh well.

After a quick pit stop at home to feed Nathan, we headed to Phipps Plaza. We shopped at the cutest (& expensive) children's clothing store (Jaine & Jack), and Mom bought Nathan the most adorable overall outfit. It has pirates & parrots on it. Adorable! We picked up a few more things for Nathan... daycare outfits & stuff for when he's older. The boy's closet & drawers have more clothes than mine & Todd's combined!!

Mom & I enjoyed pizza & a salad at the mall, and then we continued with our shopping. I picked up Nikki's birthday gift (which she LOVED) and Jennifer's birthday gift (which she is going to love), I got a few bras & panties, & Mom got a gift from Peanut for spending the day with us. He's thoughtful like that.

After leaving Phipps, we headed across the street to Lenox Mall. I had some returns to make and a gift card to spend. I found a cute pair of Robeez shoes for Peanut at Baby Gap, so I just had to spend that gift card. I'll have to show Ms. Mona what her gift card bought the sweet boy. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of seeing him in the puppy shoes!

We finished our day with dinner at a fundraiser for Nathan's school. Several of the local restaurants and eateries offered tastes of their dishes with the proceeds benefitting his school. I think the school raised $18,000.00; not bad for a first annual event. There was music, which Nathan loved, and lots of balloons, which Nathan loved even more.

Our long day ended with a "bottle, book & bed" for Nathan and a slice of carrot cake for Mom & me.

Sniffles

Nathan's sick. Mommy's sick. Daddy was sick. What a week it has been!

It all started last Tuesday. Nathan woke up with the sniffles. Poor baby! He was all congested. Just hearing him breath made me want to hold him even closer. Later that day Todd & I both noticed that our throats were feeling a little sore. Our heads & noses were fine, but not our throats.

Since then, Nathan has woken up each morning all stuffy. He's in a happy mood, he doesn't have a fever, and he's eating well, so he just has the common cold. Welcome to daycare!!!

So a week has passed since Nathan started with the sniffles, so I called the doctor's office this morning. They confirmed what I suspected... it's just a common cold, and suggested I let him sleep with a humidifier (been doing that for 5 or 6 days now) & to give him some Little Noses saline nose spray & clean out his nose with the aspirator. Easy enough. Hopefully he'll be sniffle-free by the weekend!

Sous Chef

We have a chef in the making!

Nathan joined me in the kitchen tonight! We made burgers Rachel Ray style (ground beef, grated onion, & Montreal steak seasoning), tossed salad & potatoes gratin (recipe compliments of the newest Food Network star, Melissa d'Arabian).

Wonder what he'll want to cook next?!?!

(And in case you're wondering... yes, I always wear pearls when I cook. Don't you?)

Such truth in these words

From Trace Adkins's You're Gonna Miss This...

You're gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These Are Some Good Times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this

Believe me, I sing these words to myself several times a week. I know there is truth in these words. I'm not wishing any of my time with my son away. I know better than that!

Having said that though, I cannot stop the inevitable. Nathan is growing up so (too) fast. Baby boy, you better stop. Now. Mommy likes you as a baby.

I'm sure I'm going to love you as a toddler and a little boy, but for right now, Mommy loves holding you, rocking you, feeding you, singing & reading to you, watching you as you play with your hands, ears & knees (your feet are next!). I love that you are starting to hold my finger and give me a baby hug as I hold you close at night. I love the smiles & giggles that greet me each morning & each evening when I get home from work. I love watching you play in the tub as Daddy & I bathe you. You love to float like a lily pad and you especially love the "waterfall" that Mommy pours on your belly.

Nathan, I love EVERYTHING about you.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Just before the rains came, Nathan & I enjoyed some time on the lawn. I taught him about clouds & blue skies & the breeze. He seemed to listen well. He also seemed to enjoy himself on the lawn. He's definitely a boy who loves the outdoors. Wish we had a tree for him to climb or swing from. Maybe some day.

Yummy for My Tummy

BEFORE: Nathan enjoying his "Yummy for My Tummy" bottle

We listened to Nathan's pediatrician & we read the literature, but in the end we decided to listen to our moms. That's right. Mom knows best!

Nathan is enjoying a little bit of rice cereal in his evening bottle. It all started a week and a half ago, Thursday, August 6, to be exact.

We had been going back & forth with the idea of adding rice cereal to his formula for quite some time, but just couldn't bring ourselves to do it so early. (We actually asked his doctor about it at his one month appointment, but decided to wait a little bit.) The earliest rice cereal should be introduced is four months of age; he's only two & a half months old. And like I said above, we read the books & listened to his doctor... we knew what was recommended. (We also know that tummy sleeping is a big no-no in today's parenting world, but we do it anyway. That's another story for another day, but at least now you know that we don't follow the rules.) But since our mothers put a little something-something in our evening bottles to help us get a good night's sleep, and since we're both alive & well thankyouverymuch, we thought we'd go ahead and give it a try.

And let me tell you what... Nathan is sooooo happy that we did. Can't you tell by the expression on his face?

AFTER: Nathan saying, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Please don't tell me

Nathan will be crawling soon. Very soon. In a matter of weeks, or so it seems. That's what Miss Ashley at daycare tells me. I know it will probably happen when I'm not watching.

I know someone else (probably Miss Ashley) will see his many firsts... first time crawling, first time sitting up on his own, first steps. All those firsts that neither Todd nor I will witness for ourselves. And since I have to be OK with that, all I ask is that Miss Ashley please not tell me.

Right Place & People

Nathan started daycare earlier this week. He attends The Learning Academy in College Park. This facility (it is also a school) is part of our church. That was part of the reason we decided that it was the best place for him.

Another reason was that our very good friend Lorrie works there. She is a very special person to me, and I know that Nathan is special to her. And not that she watches him during the day (she hangs out with the 2 year olds), but she encouraged us to place Nathan in their care. She knows that he is my heart.

It also doesn't hurt that we know several of the families that entrust TLA with the care of their children. Knowing that Nathan would be socializing with these families outside of daycare was another wonderful thing that lead us to choose TLA.

Monday wasn't that hard for me. I'm thinking that maybe it should have been. Everyone has been asking me how I am doing. My response is "I'm fine. He's happy, loves his teachers, & loves the other kids." In my heart I am happy, too. I know we chose the right place & people to care for him.

A Love Letter from Nathan

Dear MeMe,

Thank you for loving me. & thank you for...

• buying me the cutest clothes & letting me wear my Rock Star sunglasses.
• taking me shopping with you.
• taking me to have lunch with Mommy & meet her co-workers & work friends.
• spending your last days of summer vacation with me.
• letting me nap on you because you know I love to cuddle.
• cuddling with me whenever & wherever because you know that's what I want & need.

I'm so glad you're my MeMe.

Love, Nathan aka Peanut