More Pics with the New Camera

I have the horrible task of experimenting with the new camera to explore all its options and learn how best to use it to take the best pictures. I have to admit that despite my ignorance, I'm still taking better pictures. It's been ages since I've gotten pictures like these of Patrick, especially more than one in a day. I wonder how they'll turn out when I have a clue what I'm doing!

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.