Merry Christmas to Me!

I got my Christmas present from Matt today. I know it's early, but we thought it made a lot more sense to get it early so I could use it at all the Christmas festivities. It's a brand-new camera that should take much better pictures, hopefully compensating for some of my own downfalls as an amateur photographer. Here are two pretty good ones from my first few trial pictures:

So what do you think? They may look pretty typical, but I can tell they look clearer, and the lighting turned out much better. Normally the one of Nathan in particular would be completely washed out by the camera's flash. I'm impressed, and I can't wait to see how it handles natural lighting and hyper toddlers. And once I learn how to use some of these nifty options it also offers, I might just end up with some pretty impressive pictures.

Grins and Giggles

Despite his shots yesterday, Nathan has kept his generally happy disposition. There were a few fussy moments this morning when he was particularly gassy, but otherwise he's been in a great mood.

That great mood turned into something even better a little while ago, too, just after Matt got home for lunch. Nathan kept smiling at me from his bouncer chair, and rather than grab the camera, I just smiled back at him. I was certainly rewarded. For the first time ever, he started giggling at me. (For the record, he giggled once last week, but it wasn't at me, although I did get to witness it.) I've got to tell you, that's the best sound in the entire world. I felt so special to be the recipient of those sweet and rare laughs. I do believe those fleeting moments have made my whole day. And even better, Matt got to witness it as well.

Two-Month Check-Up

We went to the doctor today for Nathan's two-month check-up. I'm proud to say that he is perfectly normal and healthy. He now weighs 12 lbs, 2 oz, which is up 4 lbs from birth. He's basically gained half his birth weight in two months. He falls somewhere between the 50th and 75th percentile. It's the same for his height, at 23 inches tall. His head circumference is more solidly in the 75th percentile. It seems that we make kids with big heads.

The big deal with the two-month appointment is the vaccinations. Nathan got four of them today. He took them about as you'd expect. He cried through all four but was easily comforted when they were over. Now he's sleeping happily on my chest. I'm guessing the sleepiness will continue through the day. Maybe it will mean another good night of many hours of sleep.

And now we don't have to go back for another two months, at the end of January. It's so wonderful getting a normal baby experience this time around!

The Best Milestone EVER

I have Thanksgiving pictures coming, I promise. I just have so many I want to post that the task seems kind of overwhelming at the moment. Maybe I'll do the first post tonight, if I can find the motivation.

At least Nathan finally hit the absolutely best milestone last night: he slept through the night. He ate at 7:00 and didn't wake up again to eat until 5:00 in the morning. It would have been nice if I'd taken advantage of those ten straight hours to sleep, but I couldn't quite go to sleep at 7:00. Still, five hours straight is pretty good, especially when he'd regressed to eating every three to four hours all night over the past few days. It's even better when you add that he slept another five hours without eating after the ten. For the first morning in months, I feel rested. I'm just hoping last night wasn't a fluke. If so, at least I'll be more prepared to handle the next few days until he can pull it off again.

Two Months

Dear Nathan,

Today you turn two months old, conveniently on Thanksgiving, for we have much to be thankful for this year, most of all you.
I am thankful for your easygoing personality, evident most in your huge smiles. Your little dimples can light up a room. When I catch your eyes during a big grin, I feel like you're sharing a private joke with me. Even your eyes light up. I love working to coax a smile out of you, and you seem to love it just as much.

I am thankful that you are a champion sleeper. Right now you're sleeping through a very rowdy traditional Thanksgiving Cowboys game. You have also started sleeping longer at night, something I cannot begin to describe how grateful I am. Unfortunately, your nights usually start about as early as Patrick's nights, and you still get hungry after about six or seven hours, but it's a huge step in the right direction.

Nathan, Abby, and Anna

I am thankful that in the past few days you have gotten to meet the rest of your extended family. All of your aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are around this week. You have two brand-new cousins, and this is the first time any two of you have met. You seem pretty enthralled with your two girl cousins and even more so with your aunts and uncles. They all have shoulders worthy of sleeping on and faces worth smiling at. And don't get me started about your grandparents, whom you seem to love as much as they love you. You've managed to charm all your relatives quite easily.

I am thankful most of all that you are such a happy and healthy baby boy and that I get to be your lucky mommy. I never dreamed when I learned Patrick was going to have a baby brother or sister that there could be another kid out there half as sweet or cute as him. Yet you are everything I never dared dream for and more.

I love you always and forever.

Mommy

Photo Editing Fun

Matt had fun yesterday playing around more with the one photo I'd posted. He used some slightly more sophisticated software than I'd used and came up with this:
Pretty cool, huh? It looks like we fished this photo out of an old attic instead of just having it taken yesterday morning.

Hi, I'm Kathy...

and I'm addicted to taking pictures of my baby. Yes, I have more. Just be glad I narrowed it down to three today. He's such a good model that I can't help myself!

And this last one because the outfit looked like it belonged in another era...

I wonder if I could pass this off as a picture of a great-great-grandfather or something.

Posting On Demand

I promise I already had in mind to do pictures like these before getting yesterday's comments. You may have just moved up the timeline a bit. Besides, yesterday was a rough day for me (can we say terrible two's?), and I needed the pick-me-up. Oh, and you can thank Lauren for the idea for the pictures. I remember seeing some of her with her son that looked kind of like these.

A Few New Pictures

This is a much better picture of the three boys. If you can't tell, Patrick really likes sharing our laps when Nathan is there. This is one of the few ways he demonstrates any jealousy anymore.

Patrick is entertaining his brother, possibly even intentionally this time.

I got a few good pictures the other day with some interesting lighting on his face. He cooperated with some great facial expressions. Here's a yawn.

And a grin.

And a look of either curiosity or surprise. I can't decide which of these three is my favorite--which is why you get to see all three.

And Still More Milestones

It sure is fun when they both start hitting milestones all at the same time! Nathan first this time:

Last night he slept his first six-hour stretch. It's wonderful but would be much more so if he would do so later at night, instead of starting the sleep at six in the evening. I was still up every three hours all night. At least I know it's possible. Now to work on getting him to sleep those six hours at the same time I do.

He also was so happy for that long because he found a way to comfort himself. I found him sucking his thumb when I snuck into our room to go to bed. He often gets his hand close enough to his mouth to suck on, but this was the first time I found him with his thumb in his mouth, as though it was deliberate. I hope this lasts longer for him than it did for Patrick.

Now for Patrick...he's going through a language explosion apparently. He is finally attempting to repeat certain words we say. Yesterday afternoon, it was "ta-ta" as his version of "naptime," now yet another way to indicate he's ready to sleep. This morning it was "awful" for "waffle," which he repeated again after waking up from his nap. I think we know what he wanted for a snack. Tonight it was "ickin" for "chicken," what we were having for dinner. I knew he would finally start saying more individual words in his own time.

I wonder if part of the language explosion is coming from his interest in letters. To capitalize on the interest, we bought him a letter puzzle yesterday, and he loves playing with it. He can now identify and place the letters O, Q, and X (that's my kid, starting with the useful ones), and he acts like he is saying the letters of the alphabet while he plays with it, even though the sounds aren't identifiable as specific letters yet. All in time. He'll get there before we know it.

Last Weekend, Part 2

Oops, I got so caught up in the excitement of the week that I nearly forgot to finish the rundown of last weekend! We went to Dallas to be there when Mom got home from the hospital after having her hip surgery. (She's doing great, by the way.) Because she'd just had surgery, she was kind of tired most of the time we were there and was unable to be up and around much. That didn't keep her from helping out with taking care of the kids, though.

Mom and Nathan

Mom and Patrick

Grandma also came to help Mom around the house until she's back on her feet (happy birthday, Grandma!), so she got to meet her newest grandson as well.

Mom, Grandma, and the boys

I had a lot of fun watching Grandpa with the boys this visit. Patrick was his loyal follower all weekend, curious to see everything his grandpa was doing. I think Grandpa loved it too.


It's hard to see, but they're smiling at each other in this picture.

Nathan and his daddy...I don't care how many pictures I have of them; I always need one more. Nathan's really looking at his daddy here, holding up his head like a pro.

One Day, Two Milestones

I went to Patrick's closet (that he shares with Nathan) to find a clean outfit for Nathan to wear today. Of course, he followed me. Just before I closed the closet door, he leaned down and picked up a wooden letter off the floor. It was an extra letter from when I was painting Patrick's and Nathan's names for their rooms that I had stowed in the closet, just in case. I don't even know when it fell to the floor.

Anyway, Patrick saw it and picked it up. I heard him say as he looked at it, "Aaaay," in that cute singsong voice. I turned around with an odd look on my face. "That's right, Patrick. That's an A."

He repeated, "Aaay," again and handed the letter back to me.

Of course I was shocked. To test whether what I'd heard was right, I found the letter C on the top shelf of the closet and handed it to him. He muttered something I couldn't catch and then said, "Seee," followed by more jabbering I couldn't understand.

It appears as though Patrick knows at least some of his letters. I know he'd been paying attention to letters and numbers for a long time, but I had no idea how much he'd been picking up along the way. It seems that all those Sesame Streets I've DVR-ed are paying off!

From this craziness, I went straight to put Nathan in his clean clothes. The outfit I chose for him to wear has buttons up his back, so I rolled him onto his belly to take care of those. It turns out that I had a tough time getting the buttons done, though, because as soon as he was on his belly, he was trying to roll back onto his back. And he did, several times. I ended up having to hold him to get the buttons done.

I'd noticed Nathan was getting much stronger, but I thought it was limited mostly to holding his head up. He'd never shown much interest in rolling over, especially because of how much he loves to be on his belly. I was nearly as shocked to watch him roll himself over repeatedly as I was to hear Patrick identify letters. What a morning!

Twenty-Five Months

Dear Patrick,

I have been drastically affected by "mommy brain" in the last week, and this milestone caught me off guard. I feel unprepared to properly celebrate your twenty-fifth month. Wasn't I just writing your two-year letter?
Not much has changed in the last month. You seem taller to me, but that could be a result of how accustomed I have grown to Nathan's height; you tower over him, regardless of how you compare to other two-year-olds. You jabber more than ever--if that's even possible--but I still don't understand most of what you're saying. Still, I love to hear you read one of your books to me. You sound so knowledgeable about what those letters are saying that I'm ready to assume my sixteen years of schooling have failed to teach me to read properly.

Along with all the jabbering, you're understanding Daddy and me much better--or at least obeying better. I like this development, as I suddenly feel like I'm no longer talking to a brick wall. Daddy and I just need to make sure more than ever that our words are fit for innocent little ears.

You're starting to interact more with your little brother, although you deny it anytime someone asks you what you think about Nathan. You look at the questioner with a blank look on your face, like you want to say, "What do you mean, little brother? I'm the only cute thing around here!" But secretly, I think you like him. You view it as a challenge to help him stop crying. I think that's why you figured out the pacifier trick so quickly. And already Nathan often calms down merely by having you near. You're his hero already, and you're proving to be living up to that label so far.

Best of all, I love your developing personality. You are so silly. I tell you this a billion times a day, and you seem intent on living up to the statement. You try so hard to make us laugh, and your efforts rarely fall short. You have even taught yourself a hilarious fake laugh to use anytime you don't understand what Daddy and I are laughing at--and it never fails to make us laugh even harder, suddenly including you in the joke. Pretty clever, I must say.

But to balance that crazy sense of humor, you're also working on developing your sweet side. You now give occasional running hugs, as though you simply can't wait another second to embrace us. You ask to sit on one of our laps, instead of just putting up with it. And you've even snuggled up next to me once or twice when we've both been on the floor playing. It means the world to me that you will put aside your ever-important play long enough to remind me that you truly do love me.

And I love you in the same way, more and more as each day passes and I am able to see what a wonderful little boy you are growing into. I am truly blessed to have you in my life.

Love,

Mommy

Weekend Pictures, Part I

I have enough pictures from this past weekend that it will easily take two posts. I hope I can remember to tell some of the more important stories from the weekend as well, but bear with me if I have to write a quickie post later because I forgot something. Blame the mommy brain for that one.

Probably the biggest milestone of the weekend was that Nathan finally got to meet his Papa and Gigi, who up until Thursday only knew him through pictures. He seemed impressed by them because this visit started the cascade of smiles that lasted all weekend. Before then I'd seen the odd smile here and there, but ever since these pictures he has been a smiley kid almost any time he was awake.

Papa and Gigi with both boys

Papa with Nathan--Notice that although Papa is talking with someone else, Nathan looks like he's trying to talk right back.

Gigi and Nathan--They both look so happy.

One-Month Check-Up

Last Thursday, Nathan had his one-month check-up. We left for Dallas from the doctor, so I haven't had a chance to write anything about it yet. Of course, he's perfectly healthy. He's also growing like a weed. He's up to 10 lbs, 12 oz already, which is up over 2 and a half pounds from birth--in just over five weeks. He's also up to 22 inches now, a gain of three inches (although we suspect his birth length was inaccurate). Both fall within the 70th percentile. How weird is that? Nathan actually falls on the chart! And above average even! What a change from what we got used to with Patrick.

The only issue is a nasty diaper rash that we haven't been able to get rid of with normal diaper rash cream. The doctor explained to us what might cause it, but I don't remember exactly what it was anymore, just that it was kind of gross--and painful sounding. He prescribed something different to try, which we were just able to get filled tonight. Hopefully that will start working soon. Other than that, Nathan is perfectly healthy. Next month we start his vaccinations. That should be fun.

Two Patrick Stories

First, the bad:

Patrick was doing his thing where he spins in a circle, trying to make himself dizzy. He was also trying to make me laugh, I think. He succeeded at both. Unfortunately, when he got dizzy he lost his balance and fell. Of course, he couldn't fall any one of the many directions that would have been safe. He fell right into the corner of the coffee table, face first. Immediately he started screaming. That's how I knew it really hurt. Most of the time he will just stand up, rub the sore part of his head, and bravely tell me, "It's okay!" That didn't happen this time, so I leapt to comfort him. It took some time, but he finally calmed down enough that I could see what exactly he hurt. Amazingly enough, he doesn't have anything to show for his rough encounter with the table. He bloodied his nose a little--a first for him--but even that wasn't as much as I would have expected. What a tough kid!

And the good:

A little while after the accident, Patrick was still anxious for my attention and comfort so he climbed into my lap while I was holding Nathan. Nathan was a bit upset, squirming a lot and fussing some too. With one hand around each boy, I wasn't able to do anything to calm Nathan. Patrick decided it was time to be a good big brother and take care of Nathan when I couldn't. He found the pacifier and worked hard to work the pacifier into Nathan's mouth. He knew exactly where it went, getting it into his mouth each try and most of the time even got the right end in. The funniest moment was when he left it in just long enough for Nathan to start sucking on it--and then immediately pulled it back out of his mouth anyway. At least he's trying to be a good big brother, even if he's still working out the details.

By the way, I have plenty to write about this weekend and pictures to post, so expect that over the next few days.