He just keeps growing and growing and growing....

Well, baby food was a success! Nathan loves pretty much anything and everything he can put in his mouth. Including his socks. So far he has had butternut squash and pears and this weekend we get to try something new. Hard to believe that on Monday he'll be six months old! He has also recently started to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. He knows how to scoot backwards and turn in circles but hasn't quite figured out moving forward. I know it will be soon!

Grandma Geri was here last weekend and we enjoyed playing "show and tell" with Nathan. She was amazed at how much he had grown and changed since July. Nathan was on his best behavior and full of smiles and laughs for Grandma. It was a great weekend. She also brought up some clothes so Nathan could continue in the style to which he has become accustomed.

Nathan's latest is animal sounds and hands and feet. He loves to stare at hands and feet (not just his own) more than his toys and will try to eat them if you let him. And animal sounds of all kinds make him laugh - cows, dogs, etc. It is very cute. As usual, he does not sit still unless he is sleeping. He fidgets and is endlessly curious about the world around him, checking everything and everyone out. We are excited to see what is going to happen next! A tooth perhaps? Crawling? Who knows?! Go Ohio State! The hat doesn't quite fit, but he still has school spirit.

Nathan and his obsession....WATER. He drinks from the bottle (not neatly) and we pretty much have to hide water bottles from him so he won't scream for them or get jealous when we drink. What a big boy.

Five Months Old!

Well, he is almost six months old, but who's counting...

Nathan is growing so fast we are having trouble keeping up! Scott and I can barely remember the days of him being a little helpless baby. Nowadays he is asserting his independence more and more. The latest is that he wants to hold his own bottle, wants to drink water (from a cup, glass, water bottle, etc.), hold a spoon, take part in every meal, and just overall grow up too fast! He also certainly tells us when we are not doing things the way he prefers. It is entertaining now, but I am sure later on will not be as funny. This weekend Nathan's Uncle David and Aunt Lauren are here visiting and we have enjoyed spending time with them. Today Nathan sat in a highchair for the first time at lunch and LOVED it. He has recently been frustrated not having a place at the table, so he was thrilled to partake in the meal....time to clear the table from little hands! We have to keep an eye on the kid at all times.

Nathan, unfortunately, also has caught his first cold this week. I guess it is a blessing that he has been well for five months, but it is still sad to see the little guy suffer with a stuffy nose and cough. It has interrupted our sleep training (just when I was getting used to more sleep), but I am sure we will resume normal once he feels better. He just needs a little more cuddling right now.

Tomorrow we are starting SOLIDS with Nathan. I can hardly believe it. We are going to try some butternut squash puree to accompany his rice cereal. He has been staring longingly at mealtime, watching us eat and mimicking with his mouth open, that I am hoping he enjoys the experience.

Things are changing quickly around here and I am sure that soon his scooting is going to turn into a real crawl. I don't know how we'll keep up, but I am sure it will continue to be fun. We are really enjoying the ride. Nathan holding his own bottle of juice.
Nathan's first highchair experience...he is thrilled!
Uncle David and Nathan
Aunt Lauren and Nathan
Five months old and sporting Navy colors in honor of his grandpa (the Army-Navy game is coming up in December so we are getting him ready - Go Navy!)

Bouncing Baby Boy (literally)

Another week flying by and Nathan continues to grow! Everyone has said how quickly kids change and they were right! Day to day, Nathan is doing something different. Lately he has found his feet and toes and loves to chew on them while lying on the floor. He hardly lies still - he is constantly rolling around or scooting across the floor, checking out the latest toy or furniture, or anything that is in his line of sight. His favorite activity is his jumpy seat (see photos below) - each day he learns how to make it go higher and yesterday was even laughing while jumping around. It was very cute!

After many trials and tribulations with his stomach, I finally decided to stop the madness and trying to "fix" Nathan and just let him be, with the exception of the Zantac which was the only thing that actually worked. Traditional medicine has let me down once again and I am tired of getting the brush off from the doctors so that they can move on to the next patient. Just goes to show how you have to be your own doctor these days. Very disappointing. However, the good news is that with a new regimen of rice cereal, pear juice, and breast milk, Nathan seems to be doing much better - I keep my fingers crossed that this will continue. In a couple of weeks we will be starting on that yummy mushy baby food and I just can't wait to see his face! He always loves to try new things.

In order to get more sleep we have also started some sleep training with Nathan. I think the one or two nights when Scott got no sleep made him realize that we needed to do something (funny how he can't handle a couple of nights and I have been sleepless for almost three months). SO, we are trying to let Nathan soothe himself back to sleep at night and only reassuring him rather than jiggling him for hours until he goes to sleep. So far we are inspired by the success we've had (waking up only once a night) and hope it continues. I am not getting my hopes up though...I don't want to get excited about more sleep and then have it backfire.

Things have changed for me too as I am back at work four days a week. I really miss the little man, but it makes my mornings and evenings more precious. I will also look forward to Fridays when we can have our "play dates" with friends and quality time all day together. Another life change, but we'll handle it in stride like everything else.
Jumpy chair! And his favorite "chew toy" in hand....
Action shot - jumping, jumping, jumping...this thing is the best invention!
Quality time with Nikolas (with his dad Erik)

Tiger Up! A young Wittenberg fan (shirt compliments of the Nelsons)