6 Months!

 

Happy *half* Birthday Nathan!!

 

Weight: 16lbs 11.5oz (33%)

Height: 27.75 inches (93%)

Head Circumference: 43.70cm (60%)

 

Eating: This month we started oatmeal!! Nathan loves it! He eats about 2 TBSP for dinner each night. The only bad thing is he has now decided to drink less formula...basically he skips a bottle in exchange for oatmeal, which puts him at about 20oz of Elecare a day. His weight gain did go down in percentile this month, but the pediatrician isn't concerned as long as he is still having regular diapers. Previcid is the miracle pill...Nathan rarely spits up any more...YAY!! We got the okay to start solids, but have to be extra cautious due to his sensitive tummy...sweet potatoes here we come :-)



 

Sleeping: Night time is great...Nathan still sleeps a good 11hrs without waking!! Naps on the other hand are a challenge some days. Now that he has learned to roll over he does it in his crib then gets mad that he is on his tummy. So we end up having to go in and flip him back over several times before he falls asleep. It is not uncommon for him to "play" around in his crib for an hour before falling asleep, but if I try to keep him up that extra hour...oh my, grumpy baby!

 

Playing: This kid is a mover...no, he is not crawling yet, but he never stays still! He started sitting on his own New Year's day and loves it! He reaches for everything in sight then puts it in his mouth :-) For Christmas he received lots of interactive toys and it is fun to watch him explore and learn how to make them work. We finally put batteries in his exercauser (3 months after setting it up), but he is still perfectly content without turning them on. He devours Sophie the giraffe and any other teether you hand him. We read books every day and he is starting to want to "hold" the book. We are loving this stage of exploration!!

Sitting for the 1st time!!



 

6 Month Memories:

- Tries to sit up from laying position, but ends up just doing a really long crunch...abs of steel!

- Met Santa Claus and sat on his lap with no fuss...more curiosity than anything.

- Learned to blow spit bubbles.

- Teething like crazy, but no teeth...ugh!

- Celebrated his 1st Christmas and was NOT a fan of wrapping paper being torn!

- Rang in the new year by waking up twice due to teething pain (ironically once was at 11:58pm...so I got to snuggle him as 2014 started!!)

- Loves to mimic noises and sometimes he talks in such a high pitch that no sound comes out!

- Sat in the shopping cart seat for the 1st time and was mesmerized.

 

Out takes...our monthly photo shoots will no longer be quick and easy!

 

Nathan's 1st Christmas

Awe, how different the holidays are when you have little ones of your own to share them with!! This Christmas was Nathan's first and we started so many traditions that we hope to continue in the years to come!

Every night in December we read a Christmas story and on Christmas Eve finished with "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

 

On Christmas Eve we attended the Children's mass at our new parish, St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Nathan did great during the extra long and crowded mass. Since we forgot to take family photos before hand we set up the self timer afterwards and took some Christmas photos and then had a fun photo session with little man.

 

 

Christmas morning was hard to get into the spirit, but knowing that it was Nathan's 1st visit from Santa made it a bit easier. Nathan was not a fan of wrapping paper being torn (surprisingly since he liked it a few months back). We opened presents that morning and then went to Brighton to spend the day with my Grandpa and other families members that stopped by his house.

Look at that face!

 

We did family Christmas at our house a couple days later with my brother and his family and my parents. Unfortunately my dad wasn't feeling well and Brighton was getting over the flu :-(

Check out the hand crafted crocodile Grandpa made me!
It is a pull toy and when in motion the legs move,
the tail wags and the mouth chomps...impressive!!

Too cold to golf outside so we let Brighton try out
her new golf clubs in the basement.




Our Family Photo

On the 28th we went to Denver and took a carriage ride around downtown to see all the Christmas lights. It was chilly, but so fun!

 

What a fun time of year the holidays are with a kiddo! Merry Christmas dear family and friends!!

**Enjoy...this blog is my Christmas card for the year :-) Unfortunately with the move I can't find my address book and cards just never got sent out, sorry!

My inspiration...

I inspire to be just like this lady, my Grandmother. I look up to her in so many ways...she is an amazing wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, friend, cook, decorator and so much more. She dedicated her life to being the best that she could be by putting others first and loving with her whole heart. Her faith is outstanding...no matter what the circumstances are she always keeps the faith strong!

On Christmas morning she went to be with Jesus for his birthday. We miss her dearly, but will always remember the love and faith she instilled in us. I feel so thankful that she was able to meet Nathan and hangout with him on many occasions, now she is in heaven hanging out with our other babies! She is our Christmas angel!

 

 

We love you very much Grandma Mary Jo Bernard!!

5 Months Old

 

Our little man is 5 months old!!

 

No stats for this month, but I have high hopes that he is

putting on weight and getting big...Previcid is a blessing!!

 

 

Eating: We had a breakthrough in eating this month...Nathan switched to the dissolvable tablet form of Previcid, plus he went on a higher dosage. It has worked wonders!! He is able to keep a lot more food in his tummy and the spitting up has dropped drastically (don't get me wrong, I still wash bibs regularly!). We are still averaging 20-25oz of Elecare formula a day.

 

Sleeping: Yay, Nathan has continued on with his great sleep habits amongst all the craziness!! His nap times have changed a bit...10:30-1:00 and 3:30-5:30 seems to be the common times now a days.

 

Playing: What a little explorer Nathan is becoming...he is curious about everything he sees, touches and hears! He rolled over on Thanksgiving, but has only done it a handful since. We call him "Sqirmy Wirmy" since he is so active in your lap or on the changing table. On the floor he wiggles around and ends up in a completely different position than he was laid down in.

 

5 Month Memories:

- started talking with his mouth closed.

- attended his 1st wedding (Caroline & Dominic DeGorge)...I cried during the mother/son dance!

- took his 1st airplane ride...fell asleep before take off and slept through landing!

- had his 1st cold...runny nose, cough, troubles sleeping :-( And of course it was on Thanksgiving day in Texas.

- rolled from his back to his tummy with the coaxing of Aunt Shanna! (November 30th)

- experienced a 100* temp change from Austin (82*) to Cheyenne (-21*) in less than 24 hours.

- went through a phase of short screaming bouts where nothing worked to calm him.

- cradle cap is so bad that his head is bleeding.

- nuzzles into my neck when he is tired or shy...melts my heart!!

 

 

 



**So, I am WAY late in posting his 5 month update...he is currently doing so much more than this right now...I will blog about it next week for his 6 month update - I promise!!

 



Goodbye Cheyenne...hello Ft. Collins

Last December (2012) we moved from Hampton, VA to Cheyenne, WY because James got a job with the Wyoming National Guard. We were so excited to be closer to family and friends...Cheyenne seemed like the perfect place! Well, after living there for a few months we realized that there was nothing to do in Cheyenne, plus we weren't too fond of our neighborhood. So, we started house hunting...in Colorado! We found an up and coming neighborhood on the north side of Ft. Collins and bought what I hope to be our family home for many years to come!! James still works in Cheyenne, the commute is about 35 minutes each way. After returning from Texas I got busy packing and we moved 5 days later...in the subzero weather :-( I don't have many pictures since it is hard to do with a 5 month old, but the overall process went smoothly! James' dad came to stay for a long weekend 5 days after moving in, so I made it my mission to have the house unpacked and somewhat decorated before he got in...surprisingly mission accomplished. James and Jack went to the Broncos game the first night he was here so it was a great time to decorate for Christmas while Nathan was sleeping and nobody was in my way ;-) This is the 1st Christmas that I have decorated for since James and I have been married...so fun to put ornaments on the tree from both our childhood's and now events from our life together!!




These 2 had so much fun together :-)

A Texas Thanksgiving

Lucky for James and I our brothers live about 45 minutes apart from each other which makes for a great vacation destination. So for Thanksgiving we traveled to Austin to spend 9 days with them. It was Nathan's 1st plane ride and he did great...he is a wonderful traveler and adapts to any sleeping arrangements! Here is a picture walkthrough of our time in Texas:

Katelynn was my "mini mama" always making sure Nathan well fed, changed and entertained!

John LOVED having a little boy to watch over and entertain!

 

Brighton wasn't exactly sure what to think of Nathan.

 

...Family Fun...

Our beautiful nieces bonded so well together!

Aunt Ashley got great smiles from Nathan.

Uncle Jeffrey giving Nathan the ins and outs of football.



Best looking cousins I ever saw!

Uncle James playing Puppy Pageant :-)

Babysitting and board games!

Uncle James playing Barbies.

Aunt Shanna helping Nathan sit (and later got him to roll
over for the 1st time!!)

Uncle Jackie and Nathan bonding time.

...Bounce House Fun...

Not the shot I was going for, but a very cool picture of John playing dodge ball!

Nathan got in on the trampoline action.

...Thanksgiving Day...

Watching the Macy's Day parade.

The Lyle clan :-)

The Bernard/Lyle clan :-)