Lazy Weekend

My guys, asleep on the couch. What a wonderful weekend.

Sunday afternoon nap.

Yummy for My Tummy

While we have not introduced "solids" into Nathan 's diet just yet, we have been feeding him rice cereal in his evening bottle for almost 2 months now. It's just a little something to help him sleep a little bit longer at night. (And yes, I know rice cereal technically is a "solid," but I think of fruits & veggies when I think of solids.)

So a few weeks ago, September 3rd to be exact, we decided to see how Nathan liked rice cereal when it wasn't in his bottle. We think he liked it. What do you think?

"What is that white stuff? I hope you don't think I'm going to put that in my mouth."

"You are. Wait. That feels kinda good on my lips."

"Mmmm. I'm liking it. Thanks, Mom!"

"Do I look silly with this white stuff on my lips?"

"Good. I was hoping I would. You know how silly I am."

"I LOVE you Mommy! Thank you for feeding me this white stuff."

You're welcome, Peanut!

Roly Poly, Part 2

So Nathan rolled over from back to belly Saturday afternoon. 1:00 p.m. to be exact. He was hanging out on a blanket on the floor just kicking his "happy feet" when he did it. Todd & I both got to witness this amazing feat!

YAY, Nathan! We are so proud of you.

(PS... He was only 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days old.... this doesn't "normally" happen until sometime between the 5th & 6th month!)

(PSS... He rolled over from belly to back at 1 month, 2 days... again, this doesn't "normally" happen until the 2nd or 3rd month!!)

Lions, Tigers & Bears, Oh My! (& Puppies, Too!!)

Nathan loves playing in his exersaucer. This is where he hangs out most evenings while Todd & I cook dinner. The theme of this "saucer" is The Circus, so the sounds are playful, the colors are bright, and the toys are related to the circus... big top tent, lions, tigers & bears (oh my!), & of course monkeys. He really loves it. (Thanks for letting us borrow it, Toni.)

Anyway, the point of posting this photo is to show you just how silly he is. That's a puppy hat he's wearing, and those are the puppy's ears. There is a cute puppy face on top of the hat. Isn't that just silly & precious?

Baptism

Nathan was baptized this past Sunday in the church where I was baptized and where Todd & I were married. Rev. Beth did the honors, and he smiled for her the entire time.

Following the service, we celebrated the occasion with our congregation. I made a cake and bought lemonade for all. Nathan even blessed the cake by putting his foot in it! Isn't he adorable?!?!

After church, we hosted a luncheon at our home. Many family & friends joined us in celebration, and some even got to meet Nathan for the first time. He truly is a blessed little boy to be loved by so many!

PCB or Bust!!!

We took our first family vacation over Labor Day weekend. I was so excited to learn that we were going to Panama City Beach, Florida since that's where I spent literally hundreds of days frolicking in the waves & building sand castles as a young child. Now Nathan would be able to do the same.

We arrived Friday evening, and promptly put Nathan to bed. Despite our early start (we left Atlanta at 1:45 p.m.), we didn't arrive until 9:00 p.m.... along with thousands of other vacationers with the same idea. Our condo was beautiful, and right on the beach. We opened the sliding glass doors and welcomed the sound of the surf into our condo. What a wonderful start to a much-deserved & needed vacation!

Nathan woke at 6:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. EST), so we fed him his bottle while watching the waves meet the shore, and he got his first look of the beach. Wonder what he thought of it all!! We made our way to the sand around 7:45 a.m., and after setting up Nathan's sun shade, we walked down the beach with our faces to the sun. Thankfully Nathan was wearing his awesome sunglasses!

After our walk, Todd decided that it was time for Nathan's first dip into the ocean. Of course I captured the moment on camera, and I'm glad that I got to see his sweet face as the wave rose to meet his warm body. What an expression! He's definitely going to be a beach boy!! We ended our morning with Todd building sand castles, something he hasn't done in 20 years, and Nathan kicking them down with his "happy feet!" The boy loved the sand, and certainly didn't mind having a soaking wet diaper encrusted with the powdery stuff. (That's the thing about PCB sand, it's like powdered sugar.)

We returned to the condo, where Nathan got a bath in the kitchen sink. Hehe. The sink was the PERFECT size for him, and the spray hose was perfect for washing the sand off. After a quick wardrobe change, we were off to lunch.

This is where things go from awesome to horrible.

Going for the whole nostalgia thing, I already knew where I wanted to eat at every meal. Capt. Anderson's & Angelo's for our two dinners, and at Montego Bay for one of our lunches. We decided to dine at Montego Bay for lunch this day. Horrible mistake. Horrible.

Todd & both got food poisoning!!! Without going into details, this absolutely RUINED our trip. I was sick for 2 days, and Todd was sick for 1. I almost called the restaurant and told them to send an employee over to our condo because we couldn't care for Nathan. It was all we could do to feed him. I didn't eat for almost 48 hours, and Todd was not much better. Poor Nathan spent most of the day Sunday in his bouncer, and I spent almost the entire day in bed. We did manage to get showers and get to Target... we needed to buy formula (that's another story all together), but we never made it back to the beach. I never got my family photo that was going to be on our Christmas card.

As horrible as this trip was, at least Monday morning was somewhat of a saving grace. Nathan enjoyed his breakfast on the balcony with a dolphin swimming in front of the condo, and his morning snack was greeted with a school of stingrays. He loved sitting on the balcony listening to the waves.

And so while we have both good & bad memories of our first vacation, at least we will never forget it!!

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.