This 4th of July weekend we made our 3rd annual trip to Aunt Monique's in VT. We hadn't been back to VT since last 4th of July so we were very excited to be back, and of course excited to see Aunt Monique, Auntie Ro-Ro, Auntie Brenda, and Jessie. Monique had a busy weekend planned for us, and had even sent us an itinerary ahead of time. This was appreciated, especially by Sharon.

Happy Birthday Mommy/Sharon!!! Today was Sharon's 30th birthday! Mommies both had to work today, but Jacqui snuck out a little early to get home and celebrate the big day. Before going out for dinner Jacqui gave Sharon her first present, which was a replacement for our hammock that broke last year. With some difficulty we got it set up and Sharon and Nate gave it a test swing. After that, we all went out for dinner at Outback Steakhouse, one of Sharon's favorites. We had a delicious dinner despite the fact that Nate was not on his best behavior. He threw a lot of stuff on the floor, but it could have been worse, and we still had a nice dinner. Afterwards, we went home for birthday cake and presents. Jacqui made Sharon one of her home made birthday cakes, and Nate helped blow out the candles. This year's creation was a Mickey Mouse Ears cake, in honor of the vacation we are all anxiously awaiting. Jacqui put 30 small Mickey heads on the side the cake. It was a low-key birthday, but still nice to spend it as a family.

Nate had a very good visit.  He loved seeing so much of Mimi & Grandpa who have been staying at Grammy & Grampy's house.  Auntie "Ro-Ro" kept Nate laughing the whole trip bopping him around the house.  Nate played outside in the yard, got soaking wet playing with the hose and washing the cars, and even squeezed in a trip to the playground with Auntie Lori & Grampy.

It was hard to say good-bye Saturday morning, but knowing we'll be heading back next weekend helped a lot.

Thanks to Aunt Merry Nate got to experience his first (and possibly not last) Antique Tractor Show out in Hadley, MA today.  The local event showcased over 100 tractors, a petting zoo with baby farm animals, horse drawn wagon rides, and a trackless train ride featuring cow-cars pulled by a tractor.  Needless to say, this was quite a fun day for Nate.

Nate got to try a little bit of everything.  The petting zoo was a big hit, and although there were no sheep Nate still enjoyed petting the baby goats and bunnies.  We also got to see some adorable piglets, chicks, and a calf.  He checked out lots of the tractors, examining them up close and even sitting on a few (although he never lasted long).  He took a wagon ride with Mommy, Nana, Merry & Evan and got to see some cows in the neighboring fields.  Then he faced off against Auntie Merry & Uncle Evan in a duck race.  But the true highlight of the trip had to be his cow ride with Auntie Merry.  

We had a nice Mother's Day with Nate today. Nate learned to say "waffles" today, when he and Jacqui served waffles in bed to Sharon for breakfast. In the afternoon we went to the park, and we finished our day with a trip to Friendly's for dinner and ice cream. Thanks for a Happy Mother's Day Nate!!!!

Nate is finally not afraid of play-doh. He and Sharon spent a nice afternoon rolling out dough, making snakes, and using all the accessories. Nate really liked getting to use the spaghetti maker and the scissors. We're hoping that he is getting over the sensory issues a little. Maybe we'll have to try Jell-O again soon....

Nate has a new morning ritual. Every morning when he is in our bedroom while we are getting ready, he goes into the closet and hides. We have 4 sliding mirror doors, and Nate will get in the closet and slide the doors all around. You never know where he is going to pop out. He loves that it cracks us up, and each time he pops out he lets out the cutest little boo!

One of Nate's current obsessions is picking up sticks and rocks in the yard. He has a little green bucket that he collects rocks in. He loves to put them, in and take them out, and line them up, and then do it all over again. He also loves collecting all the sticks from in the grass and put them on our wood pile. He is collecting the kindling for our fire pit one stick at a time. We are really enjoying watching our boy explore his yard. He is so curious about everything out there from the trees, to the grass and rocks, and the birds (teet-teets) he hears in the trees.

Sharon was at work today so Jacqui took Nate to Diane and Annette's house. Deb, Trish and Ethan were there, and we hadn't seen them in a long time. Ethan got so much bigger, and has started to crawl. The boys were extra cute together today. Nate had a great time visiting with some of his favorite people. We missed Sharon, but it was a great way to spend our day.

Sharon had been anxiously awaiting delivery of Nate's new climbing structure, and didn't even wait for Jacqui to get home to help assemble it. Nate was again very cooperative, and took a long nap. Sharon was able to get the climber together while he slept, and they went out for a first climb when he woke up. He ran right over to check it out, and was able to climb up the ladder with very little help. He was most excited about the steering wheel at the top (also one of his favorite things at the park), and put himself down the slide. It seems like it is perfect for him, and with spring right around the corner we are looking forward to a lot of time spent climbing and sliding in the backyard.

We have been planning on taking Nate to our favorite place on Earth (Walt Disney World, of course) some time in the fall before he turns 2. A little while ago, he found a Disney World advertisment featuring the Muppets in one of our parenting magazines. Sharon ripped it out for him to look at and he has been looking at it everyday. Today he was especially into it and spent a long time lounging on the couch researching his first Disney vacation.

Whenever we see Jacqui's Aunt Donna, she jokes that Nate never wants anything to do with her. It is true that he doesn't usually want to go to her. He tends to be a little slow to warm up to people, especially when he is in an unfamiliar place. Today we visited Great Nana Bixby at her apartment. Nate was shy at first, but he finally did a good job of sitting with Great Nana and Great Aunt Donna. Even if it took bribing with oyster crackers. In the end he had fun with Aunt Donna because she rough housed a little with him, and flipped him over a couple of times. Hopefully the next time he sees her, he will warm up a little faster.

Jacqui has been giving Nate little trims here and there, and it had been looking good. But she really has no idea how to cut hair, and now that Nate has so much of it he was starting to get a little too shaggy. We decided that it was time to bite the bullet and take him for his first real haircut. We love his long, whispy hair and were a little afraid that it would end up too short, but somthing had to be done.

We decided to take him to Snip-Its in Millbury, on the recommendations of many moms at the Y. We walked in and they said they could take Nate right away. Unfortunately, we got a very unfriendly hairdresser, and Nate started screaming as soon as he was put in the chair. Although she wasn't friendly, she did work quick, and Nate's hair was done in just a few minutes. He looked so handsome with his new cut, and we were proud of him even though he cried. It doesn't look much different, it is just neater and layered a bit. He got a package of crayons as a prize, and a certificate for his first haircut with some of the trimmings on it.

We are so proud of our big boy. We all decided to go out to dinner at Red Robin to celebrate Nate's first haircut, and Nate even got to order off the kids' menu for the first time. He ordered Mac 'n' Cheese with cantaloupe, and did a really good job of eating. He even did a good job of not dropping too much.

Congratulations, Nate! We promise not to take you for another haircut too soon.

Nate and Sharon have been taking many trips into outer space lately courtesy of the rocketship that Santa brought for Nate. He loves when we shake it like it is blasting off. He also likes just hiding in it. Here is a photo of Sharon and Nate preparing for take-off!

We have been anxious for Nate to try the sled that he got for Christmas from Mimi and Grandpa. We got more snow again today, so Momma Bee decided to put Nate's sled together so that Mommy could take Nate sledding. It took awhile to assemble, but it looked great all put together.

As soon as Nate saw it assembled he got excited. He climbed right in even before we had taken it outside. Somehow he knew he was supposed to sit in it. Once we all got suited up and went outside we got Nate right in the sled to try it out. Sharon pulled Nate all over the yard. He was so happy. Everytime she stopped he would sign "more," so we knew he was having fun. He really wanted to go fast, and insisted on Sharon running around the yard pulling the sled. He got even more excited when she pulled him down the hill in the front yard.

Our boy definitely has a need for speed!

Nate has been very busy in the kitchen. He helped us bake some cookies the other day, and he has been more than willing to taste test our cookie creations. Today we had another job for him. Sharon had made up a few bags of cookies for our neighbors, and she enlisted our little elf to to deliver them next door and across the street.

We had grand plans of teaching Nate some baby sign language early on, but we hadn't been good about it. Sharon decided recently that Nate really needed to learn how to sign "more" because he has been getting so frustrated, particularly at mealtimes. She has been working on "more" with Nate the last few days, and today he has it down. He's being pretty demanding, but signing "more" is a lot better than screaming.

Tonight while Jacqui was giving Nate a bath they were playing with some of Nate's fish toys. Jacqui of course was making Nate do his fish face, by asking him what a fish says. She said, "What does a fish say?" Nate made his fish face. Then she asked, "What does a Nate say?" Without hesitation Nate said, "CAT!" Jacqui called Sharon into the bathroom to see if she could get him to do it again. He did, and then he laughed because we were laughing. He's too much fun right now. We love you Nate!

P.S. - Happy 13 Month Birthday!!

Nate's really seemed to be having a lot of trouble with his routine lately.  We really seemed to have had a good thing going, but once we started introducing Nate to solid foods, things seemed to come apart at the seams.  Nate hasn't been going to sleep easily, or sleeping well overnight.  His naps that were already few and far between have become non-existant.  He's been refusing his solid foods (with last night as an exception), and not nursing particularly well either.  Worst of all, he just hasn't seemed to be his usual happy self.  We haven't been seeing nearly as many smiles or hearing as much laughter.  It's just been tough.

Well today, things finally seemed to turn around.  For starters, he slept through then night allowing everyone some much needed rest and recouperation.  He was back on his typical nursing schedule and really seemed to enjoy our outing to the YMCA.  We even managed to sneak in a nap this afternoon.  He sat well in his high chair through our dinner, and even if he didn't eat much of his carrots and rice, he didn't have a meltdown over it either.  He was in a great mood all day and it was contagious.  He even got to bed on time tonight.  Now that's the Nate we know and love.  Good day buddy!

Nate has been given the honor of serving in Aunt Lori & Aunt Brenda's summer wedding as their official ring bearer.  We're not exactly sure just yet how a barely 9 month old Nate is going to perform his duties, but we do know he has to look good doing it. 

Today Sharon and Nate went shopping for his wedding clothes and totally lucked out.  We found the perfect little outfit.  He's going to look great!  We can't wait until August 15th for his ring bearer debut.

We've been spending a lot of time outside with Nate and with the sun being so strong lately we decided it was time to pick up some cool shades to protect his eyes.  We loved these sunglasses from Carter's with a little blue whale on each lense.  Nate's not too sure how he feels about them yet.  He hates them on his face, but loves chewing on the ear piece.

 

Since Nate seems to have no interest in his apple sauce, pears, or anything else he's been eating, we're moving on.  Today's new food.....bananas.  Unfortunately Nate didn't like them much either.  Oh well, we'll try again tomorrow.

While Sharon and Grampy spent most of the day cleaning up the basement after a plumbing leak, Nate spent most of the day hanging out with Grammy.  They enjoyed his playroom together, sat outside in the sun, and curled up on the couch.  Grammy even got the chance to try to feed Nate his newest food - oatmeal.  Nate liked the oatmeal after his first timid spoonfuls, and happily smeared it all over his face, hands, and high chair.  Yummy!

We have been going to White Plains to visit Grammy & Grampy every month, but this month Grammy & Grampy came to visit us.  They arrived this afternoon on the train, and were greeted by Sharon and Nate at the train station.  We are looking forward to a nice visit here at home and can't wait to see Nate show off his tricks and toys on his own turf.  It should be fun

So, we spent the whole weekend expecting Nate to explode a diaper at the most inopportune moment.  Luckily, it never happened and we didn't have to deal with any leaking diapers while we were away.  However, there is a bit of a problem.  Nate hasn't pooped since Thursday, and that's a bit long even for a breastfed baby.  

Sharon called the doctor's office to see what they thought of Nate's little situation and what we should do.  They didn't seem too concerned, but suggested Nate lay off the rice cereal for a bit and maybe try some peaches, pears or prunes to help things along.  I guess we'll give it a try. 

When we got home from Provincetown Jacqui had a package waiting for her on the doorstep.  It was the second part of her Mother's Day present from Nate - a stone marker for the garden.  We went out right away to find a good spot for it amid the flowers.

Nate was eager to get back in his playroom.  He was so excited to be surrounded by all his toys that he almost started crawling to reach some on the floor.  He was able to get his belly up off the ground and onto his hands and knees, but didn't make it anywhere before belly-flopping back down.

All that playing helped Nate work up quite an appetite and we strapped him into his highchair for some rice cereal.  We didn't bring any with us for the weekend, so it had been a few days since his last taste.  Well, he must have missed it or something, because Nate could not eat that rice cereal fast enough.  He was chasing the spoon with his mouth wide open and even trying to help.  It was like all of a sudden the whole eating thing just clicked for him.  He ended up polished off two bowls of rice cereal before Sharon cut him off.

We didn't have much time left down in P-Town, before we needed to head for home.  We enjoyed some final glimpses of the beach from our suite while Jacqui enjoyed her leftover cake and ice cream for breakfast.  We stopped for a little breakfast on the way out of town, and again for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's before heading back to Diane and Annette's.

We really had a fantastic time in P-Town and loved getting to spend the weekend with Diane and Annette.  Nate did really well, and seemed to enjoy all that we did.  He made vacationing as a family (and with friends) a lot easier than we ever could have imagined.  We hope to have the chance to do it again sometime soon.

Saturday ended up being a beautiful day down in Provincetown and we took full advantage.  We took off for the beach first thing and gave Nate another chance to feel the sand.  This time we stuck him on a sand dune.  He seemed to like it alright at first, but then a little panic seemed to set in and he needed a rescue from Mom.

After the beach we headed in to town to walk around and do some shopping.  We made our way down Commercial Street popping in and out of shops.  We all got souvenir t-shirts, but Nate's won't fit for a while.  It was too cute to pass up though.  We also found Nate a new book that we just had to have - "Mommy, Mama and Me."  How could we resist?  We stopped at the Purple Feather for some pastries and gelato, and later made a stop for some elephant ears.  Yum. 

We went back to the suite for a quick afternoon break.  Nate took a nap and Diane & Annette were nice enough to babysit him while we took a walk on the beach ourselves.  When we returned Nate was awake and ready to head back in to town.  We did a little bit more window shopping before heading to Bayside Betsy's for dinner.  Nate was a hit at the restaurant and got lots of attention from Betsy herself, our waiter and the other diners.  He did pretty well sitting during dinner, and tried to swipe some food off our plates.  He got a little cranky by the end of the night, but managed to hang in a little bit longer thanks to Annette snuggling him close in her sweatshirt.

After we went back to the suite and got Nate to bed, all us adults enjoyed some dessert and played a few rounds of Rummikub.  Yup, every kid's suspicion is true - the fun does continue when they go to bed. 

This weekend we were invited to go to Provincetown with Diane and Annette.  It's Nate's first vacation somewhere other than a family visit and his first trip to the beach.  We were very excited.

We all stayed together in a 2 bedroom suite at the Crow's Nest Resort, right on the bay.  The suite was really nice, and had everything we needed for a successful Nate vacation.  It had a full kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and water views from every room.  It was right on the beach and we could open our windows and hear the ocean.

After settling in and enjoying Diane's pasta dinner, we all decided to go for a walk on the beach.  The weekend weather forecast was a little questionable, so we thought it was best to get out on the beach while the weather looked good.  We took turns carrying Nate, and he seemed to enjoy being out in the sun hearing the waves.  He got the chance to put his feet in the sand for the first time and left a pair of incredibly cute little footprints.  Unfortunately we had to cut our walk short when a heavy fog seemed to roll in out of nowhere. 

Nate got a chance to try out his half-birthday present and shoot some hoops today.  Sharon even got him dressed in his basketball shorts and t-shirt.  Nate didn't make too many baskets, but he loved the sound effects and the miniature basketballs.  We'll keep practicing and hopefully Nate will improve his stats.

We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Nate's half-birthday than with half a birthday cake.  Jacqui made Nana's signature chocolate cake (with chocolate frosting) and Nana and Papa came over to celebrate with us.  Unfortunately Nate didn't last too long at his own party and headed off to bed a little early.  He barely got to enjoy his present, a baby sized basketball hoop from his mommies.

Since Sharon is going to be home a while longer she decided it was the perfect time to get back to the Y.  She's going to be teaching a soccer class and a t-ball class this summer and is super excited about it.  Running around with a class full of 4-6 year olds is just a blast.

Well, to get everything in order Sharon had to make another visit to the Y today.  Aside from the paperwork and business conversations, Sharon & Nate had a nice visit.  Nate got to meet Christie, the Early Childhood Coordinator, and the teachers in the Child Watch room where Nate will get to spend some time while Sharon is coaching.  It will be great for him to have a little social time and play with some other babies a few times a week. We toured the building and chatted with some old friends.  We even took a sneak peek at the Nature Adventure Zone playground.  Nate seemed awfully interested in it, but will have to wait until he's big enough to go play.  The way time is flying it won't be too long.

We thought last year's Mother's Day was special knowing that we were expecting a Bean.  This year was even better.  We had a pretty low-key kind of day, but it was fantastic celebrating Mother's Day with our little Nate for the first time. 

Jacqui and Nate got up and made Mother's Day breakfast complete with waffles and fresh fruit.  We spent some time all snuggling and playing together in Nate's playroom.  We headed over to Westborough to see Nana and enjoy a BBQ lunch.  Aunt Donna was in town and Aunt Merry & Uncle Evan were around too.  After a nice visit there we swung by the hospital so Jacqui could visit Nana Bixby.

We got home in time to enjoy a little more play time and then some cute mommy and baby bedtime stories before Nate driffed off to sleep all cuddled up in our arms. 

The pressure was on to come up with a good first Mother's Day present this year.  Sharon & Nate spent quite a bit of time shopping around for the perfect present for Jacqui but nothing really seemed to fit. 

In the end, Sharon & Nate decided to do the traditional flower thing, but with a twist.  Instead of a bouquet that would last a few days, Sharon & Nate decided to plant Jacqui a small garden in the flower bed in the front yard.  Now she can enjoy her Mother's Day flowers all spring and summer long.

Nate's been suffering from a bit of a cold for the last week.  He's all stuffed up and if you listen closely you can hear his little nose whistle.  His nightime routine has been a little off, and he's woken up a few extra times.  Well, last night was one rough night.  He was up for 4 hours over night.  He has two exhausted moms, but surprisingly he seems none the worse for wear.  Go figure.

The playroom project continues.  Sharon schlepped all of the office type things out and moved Nate's stuff in over the last two days.  Nate has a bookshelf with all his books on it, and a day bed to use as a good cuddle up reading spot.  His toy box found a home, as well as his ExerSaucer, bouncy chair, and playmat.  We were able to find a space for some of his bigger toys so they can stay out and be easier to play with.  Best of all, there's a good bit of open, carpeted floor space so Nate can practice his sitting, rolling over and evenutally crawling.  The room isn't painted or decorated yet, but at least it's a very Nate-friendly space.

With all the rearranging done, Nate was able to get in there and play in his own space for the first time today.  Sharon sat him down right in the middle of the room and just watched.  Nate sat there turning his head side-to-side taking it all in.  He tried out a new penguin toy, and played with some old favorites.  At one point he even rolled himself over to reach something different.  He seemed very happy in his own space, and that certainly made all the lifting and lugging well worth it.

Nate is a very active boy, and it seems as though it's only a matter of time before he'll be rolling, scooting, crawling or cruising all over the house.  So, today we decided to start a serious babyproofing effort.

Our main focus right now is to convert our office into a safe playroom for Nate.  We hope to get all our stuff out of the room, and get all (or at least most) of Nate's toys and gear in where he can enjoy it a little more comfortably and safely on the carpet.

Sharon loves reconfigurating the house and rearranging the furniture, so she's very excited about getting the project underway.  Jacqui is excited about the prospect of repainting the brown room, getting rid of the ugly light fixture and decorating.

Nate participated in his first Pride Day (or Rainbow Party as Jessie calls it) in Northampton today.  We headed out to the parade with Diane and Annette, and were joined by Aunt Merry and Uncle Evan when we arrived for the festivities.  Although we don't live in Northampton, we like going to their Pride Day because it has always seemed very family friendly and welcoming.  This year we were thrilled to get to attend with Nate in tow. 

The weather ended up being great, and we sat and watched most of the parade from a blanket in the grass.  Nate was most intereted in playing with the grass, but seemed to take notice of the bright colors, people marching past, and the dogs out enjoying the day.  The highlight for Nate and Sharon was definitely the marching band.  Nate got kinda excited when they passed us by and that made Sharon very happy.

We spent some time at the festival afterwards and Diane and Annette bought Nate his first Pride T-shirt, a white and red baseball shirt with "Family" across the front all rainbowy.  It's really cute and should fit him next year.  After the festival we headed for lunch at Sylvester's and had ice cream at Herrel's.  Mmmm....

We finished out the day with a visit to Aunt Merry and Uncle Evan's apartment.  Nate got a brand new toy to gum and slobber on while we played Bohnanza.  He tried to get up close and personal with Mocha T. Cat, but she wanted nothing to do with him (maybe that's for the best).  We had a very nice visit but headed for home so Nate could make it to bed at a reasonable time after his very busy day.

Auntie Amanda came by for a visit tonight, but unfortunately didn't get to enjoy Nate's company for too long.  Shortly after her arrival Nate exploded a diaper and had to be whisked away to get cleaned up.  Then, after joining us at the table for dinner, Nate got overtired and ended up going to bed early.  Bummer.  I guess Auntie Amanda (and Uncle Dan too) will have to come back for another visit so Nate can make up for lost time.

We have been traveling so much lately and Nate has done fantastic.  We are so lucky that he is such and easy-going guy and we can pick-up and go places as much as we do. 
Today we wrapped up our White Plains visit and headed back home just the three of us.  After schleping everything back into the house we all got comfy in the living room for a little much needed down-time.  Nate looked so happy and content to be back home with his own things.  He played with the cats, had some time in his Exer-Saucer, and got to get his hands on a bunch of his toys that hadn't made the trip with us.  He was so happy, smiling, laughing and talking up a storm.  He was so obviously happy to be back home. 

Nate had another full day with Cousin Jessie.  We were fortunate enough to have a second beautiful weather day and got to spend our time outside again.  We enjoyed the hammock some more (one of Jessie's very favorite things), and had a picnic lunch in the backyard.  Most of us enjoyed sandwiches, apple sauce and Swiss Rolls, but Nate was stuck with his bottle.  We played some Bocce, and even though Jessie hasn't been practicing at all she beat Sharon and Nate in a very close game.

Our big project of the day was tie-dying some t-shirts.  Fortunately Jacqui has done a lot of tie-dying before and remembered how to make all the different shirt designs.  She and Jessie did all the dirty work while Sharon and Nate looked on.  They made some adult t-shirts, a bunch of kids t-shirts for Jessie, and even two onesies for Nate. 
After our full day, we went out to Red Robin for dinner and did a little shopping at Target.  Then we had to get Nate back home in time for Jessie to help with stories and bedtime.

Jessie has a long list of things she wants to do with Nate during her visit, and she got off to a great start today.  We all got up early and Jessie changed Nate's diaper (just a wet one - she doesn't do poop), and picked out his outift.  She helped Sharon give Nate a bath in his tub before she got him dressed for the day.

Jessie wanted to do some baking, and picked out Brownies to make as a surprise for Jacqui.  Sharon held on to Nate (to keep his drool out of the batter) and let him play with some mixing bowls and a whisk.  Jessie read all the directions, measure all the ingredients and made the Brownies all by herself.  She did great!

After baking and some lunch, we went outside to spend some time in the yard and in the hammock together.  After a little while Jessie decided she was ready to take Nate for a walk and we got him all set in his stroller.  Jessie pushed him all the way down to the playground about 1/2 mile from the house.  We hung out there for a bit enjoying the sunshine. 

We spent the rest of the day playing with Nate and his toys.  We went back outside for a little while, and when it was time for Nate to go to bed Jessie helped Jacqui read him a story and get snuggled up.

Over the weekend we dragged out the hammock from the garage and set it up.  We are so eager for the warm weather and the opportunity to use our backyard.  Well, today was nice enough and we got the chance to sit out on the hammock for a while this evening.  Sitting there we had an instant flashback to when Jacqui first felt Bean kick in Sharon's belly last summer.  Bean seemed to like the giant swing effect and it was fun curling up all three of us.

We received a baby carrier from Aunt Donna as a shower gift.  We've tried it on inside the house before, but hadn't used it outside since those bulky winter coats kind of get in the way.  Since the weather was nice today, Jacqui strapped Nate into the carrier and we took a walk around the neighborhood.  Nate seemed comfy snuggled in there, and seemed to like looking around from his new vantage point.  Jacqui was a little pooped after carrying him around, but it seems like it's going to work out pretty well.

We've been giving Nate some additional opportunities to try sitting on his own.  He's slowly getting better at it.  We caught one of today's attempts on video.  Check it out in Home Movies.

Nathaniel got to spend some time with Nana, Aunt Merry & Uncle Evan today.  It had been awhile since we had all been together, and Nate had the chance to play with everyone.  We went over to Nana's mid-morning with the the plan to visit for a little while and then all head out to lunch together.

Nate was in a pretty good mood right from the start and seemed to enjoy playing on the floor with everyone.  He was standing up and checking out all that was going on and practicing taking some steps.  He spent some time on the floor both on his back and on his tummy rolling around and grabbing for his toys.  He noticed Nana's cat Nimbus pretty quickly and got a chance to pet him with some help from Mommy and Auntie Merry.  Merry took out some stuffed animals from her vast collection and showed them to Nate.  He was definitely curious about them, and couldn't help inspecting each one with his mouth.

We all headed out to Bertucci's for lunch together.  Nate fell asleep within minutes of getting in the car to go, and miraculously stayed asleep through the entire meal.  Maybe it was the soundtrack of Italian standards playing over the sound system.  He slept the whole way back to Nana's.  Nate woke up for a bit more playtime with everyone when we got back, but the fun ended abruptly when he exploded a diaper on Auntie Merry.  Ewww!

Since Nate managed to flip himself over all snuggled up Wednesday night, we got a little worried that he might do it again and end up stuck on his tummy all night long (a real no-no).  So, we decided to try to get him to sleep in a sleep sack last night, instead of all swaddled up.  We thought that if he did flip to his stomach, he would have a much easier time flipping back if he wanted or needed to. 

It took a little extra snuggling to get him to settle down at first, but he fell asleep pretty soundly by 8:45.  Success!  He was still sleeping comfortably when we got into bed later in the night.  Then, at 1:45 Nate woke up.  At first we tried to ignore him, hoping he would settle himself back down.  No luck.  We took turns snuggling, cuddling and rocking him back to sleep, but as soon as we put him back in the crib he would wake up screaming.  By 2:45, Sharon decided she would just give in and nurse him since he had been awake so long and was probably hungry.  Nate ate well but was still wide awake.  Sharon finally got him back to sleep by 4:00am.  And how late did Nate sleep-in after his long night?  6:15.  Ugh!

While we were in White Plains, Sharon wanted to take Nate for a little hometown walking tour.  It was a sunny Saturday so it seemed like a perfect way to spend the afternoon.  We walked through Sharon's neighborhood and she narrated the whole tour with details about where she played as a kid, where her friends lived, families she babysat for, and good trick-or-treat houses.  We even took a detour to the Jacob Purdy House, George Washington's headquarters for the Battle of White Plains.  It's never to early to squeeze in a little history lesson.

The two months since Nate's last doctor's appointment flew by and we were eager to get him back in for his check-up.  It was obvious to us that he was growing by leaps and bounds, and learning all kinds of new things, but we were curious about what Dr. Garnett would have to say about his development.  We were thrilled when it was all good news yet again. 

We're not kidding when we say Nate's been growing like crazy.  He weighed in at 16 pounds (the 75th percentile), and measured 26 1/4 inches (the 90th percentile).  He's one big boy!  We had been concerned that maybe he wasn't getting enough to eat since he's been spitting up so much, but clearly that's not a problem.  He'll stick with nursing exclusively until his next visit, and then we'll talk about introducing some solid foods.

Nate did demonstrate his superior spit-up skills during his appointment.  In fact, he wowed Dr. Garnett with the quantity and duration of his spitting-up episode.  By the time we left the office, the whole exam table was covered.  Yuck!

We talked for a bit about Nate's exploding diapers, his typical schedule and sleep habits, as well as what he's been up to with his physical development.  Everything seemed right on track.  Dr. Garnett agreed that Nate does appear to be teething, but that's perfectly normal for his age too. 

Before we left Nate did get three more immunizations.  One oral vaccine and two shots.  He held up pretty well, and only cried briefly until Sharon was able to scoop him right up.

Nate's been noticing mirrors for a while now and really enjoys playing with them.  In fact, Sharon has made it a pretty regular activity for him during the day.  They sit in front of the mirror together, make funny faces and sing songs with silly hand motions.  Good times!

Today's playtime was a little different though.  Instead of just sitting there looking at the mirror, Nate decided it was time to reach out and interact with that little boy on the other side of the glass.  He scooched closer to the mirror (with mom's help of course) and laughed and smiled as he put his hands and feet on the glass to play with Etan for the first time.

Nate really doesn't need more clothes (as least not yet), but when Nana happened upon a good coupon for Carter's she decided she would like to take us and Nate on a shopping trip.  We all met at the shopping center and enjoyed a nice lunch at Applebee's before we got going with the shopping.  Nate didn't really feel like staying in his seat at the restaurant, but after we scooped him up he did a pretty good job staying on good behavior and letting us enjoy our lunch. 

When we were done eating (just in time because Nate was getting fussy), we headed over to Carter's.  They had a ton of new spring and summer clothes that were on sale.  Sharon & Jacqui usually shop exclusively on the clearance racks, so it was nice to get the chance to check out some of the newer items that we hadn't seen before.  Nana was incredibly generous, and we all picked out several new shirts and shorts for the warm weather.  Nate even got an adorable pair of sneakers.  Now all we have to do is wait for the warm weather to come around so we can dress Nate in his new duds.

Until recently Nate has been a pretty soft spoken guy.  He's been cooing very quietly and even his laughs have been on the soft side.  Now, all of a sudden, Nate has found his big boy voice and is talking up a storm.  He's got a whole new set of sounds and he's found a loud, strong voice.  It's incredibly cute to watch him test his lungs and contort his face to make all his new sounds.

While playing on the floor today with some of his toys.  Nate inadvertently found his own feet.  He was stretching and reaching to get one of his toys and grabbed hold of his bare foot instead.  He looked so surprised!  He held on with his hands and kept wiggling and clenching his toes.  He hasn't figured out how to get them up to his mouth yet, but it's probably only a matter of time. 

This year for Valentine's Day, Grampy bought us, Lori and Grammy all webcams.  The idea is for Nate to have virtual visits with everyone.  We created a Skype account and have been connecting with family online.  Nate sits on our lap or in his high chair and watches the monitor.  I'm not sure how much he notices what's happening on the screen, but he definitely hears the familiar voices. 

So far Nate's visited with Grammy & Grampy, Mimi & Grandpa, Aunt Monique, and Aunt Lori, Aunt Brenda & Jessie.  Jessie even read him a bedtime story one night until he fell asleep in Jacqui's arms.  He's had a few good sessions, and a few not so good ones.  Sometimes he's attentive and talkative, sometimes not.  But, all in all, we think it's a nice way to stay connected especially with people we don't get to see often enough. 

We try to take things one day at a time, and make the best of each and every day together.  We enjoy Nate for who he is and what he's doing each day.  It seems like he's always changing, and every day brings something new.  100 days have brought a lot of changes... 

For starters, he's growing by leaps and bounds.  He's practically doubled in size since his first days.  His chicken legs are a thing of the past, and he's developing those oh so cute chubby baby legs.  His newborn cry is long gone and instead he occassionally wails from teething pain.  He nurses better than ever, and when he's bottle feeding he easily scarfs down 6 ounces.  He sleeps through the night (with rare exception), and only takes short naps (if at all) during the day.

He's been a mover and a shaker right from the start, that hasn't changed one bit.  He barely sits still and he's astounded us with his abilities.  Rolling over at barely 3 weeks old, and now nearly rolling back the other way to his belly (it's going to happen any day now).  He can lift his head and chest when he's laying on his tummy, and holds his head steady when being held upright.  He's more interested in his toys, and he holds and even grabs for them.

His personality continues to develop and we see more and more of who he is.  He's still a thinker, very observant and serious while taking in his surroundings.  He's grown more and more social, and is comfortable with most people.  He knows and loves his mommies, and greets us with big smiles.  He appreciates silliness and laughs with his head bouncing from side to side.  He's developed quite a repertoire of funny faces and strings them together in hillarious displays of emotion.  He responds to voices and coos in return.  You can just tell that he has something to add to the conversation. 

He's truly come a long way in his first 100 days and has accomplished a lot.  He's off to a great start!

So lately Sharon is convinced that Nate has started teething.  It seems awfully early, but after consulting with "What to Expect the First Year" it does seem possible.  Most babies get their first tooth sometime between 5 and 9 months, but teething symptoms can start a few months before the first tooth emerges. 

We've noticed some tell tale signs.   First off, he's been waking up in the middle of the night lately.  A big change in routine since he's been sleeping through the night for months now.  He's been drooling a lot (as if spit-up wasn't messy enough).  He's putting everything in his mouth and chomping on his hands (granted that could just be the age).  And our mellow little guy has been unusually fussy for no apparent reason. 

Seems like classic teething symptoms.  Looks like it's time to break out the chilled washcloths and teething rings!

Nate is so strong and has such good posture, that we decided it was time to encourage him to sit upright a little more.  It will give him a new vantage point on things and hopefully it will help with his baby pattern baldness too.  We went out and purchased a Bumbo to help him practice sitting on his own.  He was a little unsure of it at first, but now he really seems to like it.  He's pretty steady sitting in it, and is able to turn his neck and head to check out what's going on around the room.  Unfortunately, he's gotten so good at it that he can turn to see the tv no matter where we put him. 

Our little Bean got to celebrate his first Valentine's Day today.  Apparently he has a lot of Valentine sweethearts, because he received lots of 1st Valentine's Day cards in the mail over the last week.  Thank you everyone.

Being the thoughtful, sensitive, new-age male that he is, Nate remembered to buy both his Moms Valentine's Day cards.  He even picked up a special box of chocolate for his Momma Bee.  How sweet!

The weather was absolutely beautiful in Auburn today - bright sunshine and temps in the mid-50s.  The perfect day for Nate to get his first walking tour of his neighborhood.  Sharon got him all situated in his stroller and took to the streets (we don't have sidewalks in our quiet neighborhood).  Along the way they met some other neighborhood moms and babies out for a walk and Sharon proudly introduced Nate.  It was a great way to get some fresh air on such an unexpectedly warm February day.  Sharon got in a brisk 45 minute walk, and Nate took a relaxing 45 minute nap.

Auntie Merry and Uncle Evan came over to visit today. They wanted to spend a little more time with Nate and to learn how to take care of him in case we needed them to babysit in a pinch.  Well actually, they wanted to learn just enough to get by in an emergency until someone else who knows what they're doing could get there.

We had a nice lunch with them at Friendly's, and then headed back to the house to spend time with Nate. Nana stopped by for a little while, too. Merry and Evan did a great job with Nate. They both fed him a bottle and burped him, and got a lesson in diaper changing from Nana. They walked him around when he was getting fussy, and Auntie Merry did a finger puppet show for Nate. Later, Nana held Nate so that we could play a few games.

We were very impressed at how much more comfortable Auntie Merry and Uncle Evan are with Nate now, and we would let them watch him anytime! We hope to get to see them again soon, since we don't see them often enough. 

We decided to buy ourselves a new toy with a little of the Christmas money from our parents, a Flip Video Camcorder.  Our hope is to use it to catch more of Nate's extra cute moments on video and upload them here to the website.  The Flip is supposed to be extremely user friendly and easily uploads to a computer hard drive or website (like this one) through the USB port.  We're going to spend some time playing around with it this weekend, and hopefully there will be new clips in the Home Movies section before too long.

Nate had a jam packed day to celebrate turning 2 months old...  

Nathaniel made his first trip to see Jacqui at work and visited with all of Jacqui's co-workers.  After settling in and having a bottle, he was in a very good mood and was smiling and batting his eyes at everyone.  Before leaving we made a trip to see the monkeys.  Nate seemed to notice them jumping and climbing around, and the monkeys definitely noticed Nate.  They came right up to the glass to take a good look at him.  He'll have to make another trip when he's a little bit older and able to see them better.  Jacqui hopes it isn't too long until they're back because it really made her day.

Back at home Nathaniel was being his usual active self.  He learned a new trick while playing with his ball rattle on the floor and we were quite impressed.  Apparently he's going to be a soccer player, because he's got great footwork.  Check out the video in the Home Movies section. 

Nathaniel just gets more entertaining as time goes on.  He definitely recognizes his Mommies and loves playing with us.  He has become so social, constantly smiling and cooing.  He's learning something new practically everyday, and seems so much more aware.  We can't wait to see what he'll do in his third month.

The Christmas festivities continued for us on Friday with lots of visitors stopping by Grammy's house.  Monique traveled down from Vermont to join in family Christmas, and she brought Savannah and Georgia along with her.  Teresa stopped by with her dog Buster too.  Sharon was happy to expose Nate to so many dogs.  Hopefully he'll have his own dog in a few years, if Sharon gets her way.  Nathaniel got to meet Sharon's friend Melanie for the first time too.  We got a surprise visit from Diana who had missed our baby shower.  It was so nice to see her and we were glad that she got a chance to meet Nate.

Nathaniel woke up in a great mood on Christmas morning, and so did his mommies since he let us sleep until 7:15.  We got him dressed in his 1st Christmas pajamas (since we feared they wouldn't stay clean overnight), and headed downstairs to wait for everyone else to wake up. 

When we finally made it into the living room with the Christmas tree we were absolutely shocked by how many presents Santa had left.  Jacqui helped Nathaniel with his stocking.  Santa left him a few small toys, a hat & mittens, new pacifiers and a "My First Christmas" onesie. 

After digging through the stocking, we started on the gifts under the tree.  Nathaniel had a ridiculous number of presents (mostly thanks to Aunt Lori), and we really enjoyed opening them all for him knowing that next year he'll be tearing up his own packages.  He got some a few baby's first Christmas ornaments, cute new outfits, his first pair of sneakers, books, and lots of toys.  He even got a custom painted stool that matches his nursery decor (an incredibly thoughtful gift from Laura, Douglas, Dee & Peter).  Everyone was so generous.

The rest of the day was very low-key, especially compared to Christmas Eve.  Mimi & Grandpa spent the day with us and we all enjoyed sitting around with Nate, watching him play with some of his new toys, and enjoying some of our new toys and games too.

Nathaniel attended his very first dinner party today over at Diane and Annette's house.  It was the first of what we hope will be many trips there, but this time there was no football involved, just a nice dinner with friends. 

Bean was relatively well mannered with only a few crying fits for food and diaper changes throughout the evening.  He gladly participated in several rounds of "pass the baby," and he got particularly snuggly with Trish who is working on cooking him up a friend.  He cuddled right up near her belly, and hopefully shared some encouraging words.  He even sat well through dinner (fascinated by the light fixture) so we could all enjoy.

It was so nice to have a night out with friends.  We really enjoyed ourselves and hope that we can all get together again sometime soon.

We got hit with a big snow storm today that ended up dumping about 8 inches of the white stuff on us.  It was Nathaniel's first real snow storm, and we thought it would be fun to take him outside for just a little bit and let him experience snow for the first time.

We bundled the Bean up in his coat, hat and mittens and went out on the porch so he could feel the cold air and see the flakes falling.  He didn't seem to mind it so much, so we ventured out into the yard.  He was looking up at the sky and the snowflakes were sticking to his eyelashes (all of a sudden he has enough that snowflakes would stick).  He even opened up his mouth and caught snowflakes on his tongue (ok, so it was just a coincidence).

He didn't last too long out in the cold, and when he had enough we brought him back into the warm house.  It was a lot of fun though, and we can't wait until next winter when he'll be big enouigh to be tottling around out there.

Since Sharon missed the Crossroads School holiday party last Friday (that darn ice storm), she decided to make an trip into school with Nate so she could catch up with all her work friends.  Sharon and Nate arrived just as the students were leaving, and they ran into Dougie (one of Sharon's students) on the way out to the bus.  Dougie seemed to care less about Sharon or Nate, but was pretty interested in Nate's monkey toy.

After the students were gone, Sharon and Nate got some visiting time with the Classroom 4 teaching staff, and some of the other Crossroads staff too.  Ms. Allison even made an announcement that Sharon and Nate were in the building, and before too long their was a whole crowd of people just standing around staring at Nate as he slept in his car seat.  He slept through most of his visit (including the whole time Mr. Greg held him), but he did wake up enough to give Miss Kristin a smile, and to mess a diaper for Ms. Allison.

It was great to see everyone back at school and hear about how things were going.  Although as much as she misses everyone, she's in no hurry to get back to work.  Spending all day with Nate is just too much fun (and not nearly as dangerous). 

It's hard to believe that we've been blessed by Nathaniel's presence for a whole month already.  Time is flying!  He's growing so fast and has changed so much since those first few days at the hospital. 

Nate has really impressed and amazed us with his physical strength, and entertained us with his vast repertoire of funny facial expressions.  We're so thankful that he's such a happy and mellow baby, not to mention such an overachiever (not that we're biased or anything).  He's more and more himself every day, and we fall more in love with him.

We're so excited to see what this next month has in store for us all.  We're sure he'll keep us laughing, smiling and exhausted.

Nathaniel gave Sharon his first genuine smile while they were curled up and snuggling in bed tonight.  Bean has smiled before, but we always suspected that it was a coincidence (or gas related).  This was the real deal, and it was so cute.  Unfortunately it only lasted a few moments and the camera wasn't nearby, so you'll have to wait for a picture.  He's a happy guy though, so you shouldn't have to wait too long.

Bean didn't seem quite himself today.  He must have woken up on the wrong side of the bassinett, because he was in a really fussy mood all day.  He wasn't at all interested in playtime, or tummy time, or even storytime.  Nothing seemed to hold his attention.  He was out of his usual sleep pattern, and he just wasn't his mellow self.  Not even a visit from Nana seemed to snap him out of it.  (although he was awake during her visit this time).   Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

It wouldn't be a visit with Lori, Brenda and Jessie if there wasn't some serious gaming going on.  It's just what we do when we're all together.  Today was no different.  Nate cooperated and napped enough that we could squeeze in several games of Bananagrams (one of our new favorite obscure games).  Diane and Annette came by to hang out for a bit too, and they joined in on the gaming action.  In fact, Annette ran the table for several rounds.

Jacqui had her 10 year high school reunion at night, and she decided to go for a bit to brag about her "new mom" status.  Sharon stayed behind with Nathaniel and they teamed up for a game of Killer Bunnies with Aunt Lori, Aunt Brenda and Jessie.  Nate didn't win, but he did prove a valuable teammate when a card came up benefitting the newest player at the table.  Bonus!

Today Nathaniel celebrated his first Thanksgiving (one of Mama Jacqui's very favorite holidays).  We got up early to watch the Macy's Parade, but Nate was pretty uninterested.  He didn't even open his eyes to see Santa when Jacqui held him up by the TV screen. 

Nate got dressed in his Thanksgiving outfit (complete with turkey bib) and went to Nana and Grandpa Bixby's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  He got to meet Great Nana Bixby for the first time, and saw Aunt Merry and Uncle Evan again.  He slept through all of dinner, but woke up just in time to interrupt Mama Sharon's dessert.

We had a great day at home as our family of three.  Nathaniel was awake for a good part of the afternoon and we enjoyed spending some awake and alert time with him.  As the night wound down Jacqui settled into bed with Nate and read him a quick bedtime story, "And Tango Makes Three."

After a nice visit with Grammy and Grampy this past week, we all piled into the car first thing this morning to drop them off at the train station.  They both squished in the backseat with Nathaniel so they could get in as many glimpses as they could before heading off.  It was hard to say good-bye, but we'll see them again for Christmas, if not sooner. 

We came straight home after our trip to the train station.  Nate slept the whole way in the car, but woke up soon after coming into the house.  He ate and then was wide awake for over an hour.  Quite unusual for our little sleepyhead.  We enjoyed every minute of it, watching him looking out the window, staring at our faces and checking out the ceiling fans (which makes Sharon a little nervous). 

When Nate finally drifted off to sleep for an afternoon nap, us Mommies came to the realization that with Grammy and Grampy gone it was time to get back into the routine of washing our own bottles, doing our own laundry and fixing our own meals.  Bummer.  Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Sharon hadn't been feeling so well Wednesday night, and was waking up with chills and sweats throughout the night.  She felt a bit better Thursday morning, but was ready for a nap come the afternoon.  When Jacqui came up to check on her she was burning up and had a temperature of 100.5.  Too high for a post-partum mom.  Jacqui called the doctor, and before we heard back from the office, Sharon's temperature had spiked to 102.  Sharon's temperature didn't come down quickly enough even after some Tylenol, so we listened to the doctor and headed to the emergency room.

At the hospital Sharon got pumped full of IV fluids, had even more blood drawn, and napped while waiting to see an actual doctor.  When the doctor did see her, he diagnosed her with Mastitis and gave her some IV antibiotics and a prescription for some more.  While she waits for the infection to clear up, she has to keep pumping but throw the milk away.  Nathaniel will be stuck with formula for a while.

Luckily Grammy and Grampy were staying with us, and gladly watched Nathaniel for the eight hours that we were at the hospital.  The three of them had a nice night together and Grampy even took some pictures so we would know what we had missed.  We were disappointed to have to leave Nathaniel so soon, but at least he had some great babysitters to take care of him.