Baby Dedication

Nathan was dedicated to the Lord at our church on August 14. It was such a special weekend for my little family. I really enjoyed planning for a celebration of our precious little boy. It was the first time I had planned any sort of event in his honor, and I can't wait to do it again for birthdays, holidays, graduations, etc. Nathan was blessed with lots of family to celebrate with on his special day. All four of his grandparents were there along with Granny, Grandaddy, Momoo and Great Aunt Lanie. Everyone just loves him so much. Family started arriving Saturday afternoon. Later that afternoon we left Nathan with Grammy, Papa Joe, and Momoo, and the rest of us had a tour of Matt's new work. Grammy and Papa Joe had already had a tour so they were happy to babysit while we went. That evening we all ate pizza, played games and took turns holding Nathan.

Sunday morning everyone met us at church for the dedication

I don't know what I'd do without these two boys

Handsome little man

Nathan's fan club

Our pastor does an excellent job with baby dedications. He holds each baby and offers a prayer for them based on the meaning on their name. This was his blessing for Nathan.

Nathan means gift of God.
Wilson is the son of a determined guardian.
Nathan Wilson, may you learn at a young age that God is your heavenly guardian and receive His great gift, salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

That is my prayer for Nathan every single day.

Poor Nathan had a rough time on stage. We timed it so that he wouldn't be hungry during the dedication, but unfortunately that meant it was nap time, and poor Nathan was a sleepy boy and cried while Pastor Johnston was holding him.

I love this picture. Nathan is screaming, and Matt and I are in the background laughing. Parenthood can be a humbling experience.

After each baby had been dedicated, the pastor turned and charged us as parents to raise our children in Christian homes so that at the proper time that would come to know Christ as their Savior. He also charged the congregation to be faithful to supporting us as parents in raising them to come to know the Lord. It was a sweet time for our family.

After church my parents offered to host lunch at their house since they have a bigger dining room table. Nathan and I spent the week before preparing for the lunch. It was fun to shop for decorations, plan the menu and prepare the food. I just love celebrating my little baby. Barry offered to smoke barbecue and my mom helped a lot with the menu.

We had barbecue sandwiches, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, corn, vegetable salad, and fruit. It was a nice time of fellowship with our family.

I also made a special cake for the occasion, and had a lot of fun baking and decorating it during Nathan's naps. He was sad he couldn't have a bite, but everyone else enjoyed it.





Sunday after lunch, everyone headed home. Granny and Grandaddy decided to stay another night, so we spent the afternoon and evening playing settlers, and visiting. Nathan enjoyed being held by his great grandparents all evening. He had a rough day on Monday readjusting to not being held constantly.

Please join our family in praying for little Nathan to grow up to be a man of God, and for Matt and I to honor the Lord in the way we raise him.

Iowa Visit

Nathan and I had a busy week last week recovering from our trip to Iowa and preparing for a special weekend with family, so I have never gotten around to posting about our time in Iowa celebrating the arrival of a very special little girl.

We had a great trip, and oh I love that baby girl so much! I didn't realize how quickly I would fall in love with a baby who wasn't "mine." I mean my love for Nathan is out of this world, but he is my son, so I wasn't overly surprised at the love I have for him. But this little girl, well she surprised me with how easily I fell in love with her.

We left Broken Arrow Tuesday night after my mom got off work and drove about half way, before we decided to stop for the night. Nathan was ready to see his cousin, so he woke us up about 5 the next morning ready to go. We got back on the road and made it to Jeremy and Anna's just as they were pulling in their driveway coming home from the hospital. It was perfect timing. We spent the afternoon and evening admiring Amelia and visiting. My mom and I made a quick trip to the grocery store and cooked dinner for everyone. Anna's parents were in town too.

Nathan loved cuddles from Uncle Jeremy

My brother slept in this cradle when he was a baby. I don't think I ever slept in it, but Granny has had it in her house for years, and I remember playing with my baby dolls in this cradle. Now I have a real life baby! He's already almost too big for it.

Sweet, sweet baby

She loves her Auntie Angela!

Nathan tested out Amelia's bouncer while we were there

Thursday morning we headed back over to the Flamings for more cuddle time. That afternoon, we ran a few errands to pick up some things for Jeremy and Anna and a few for us as well. Earlier that day, Nathan had a major spit up incident that got all over him and me. I had a couple of onesies in the diaper bag, but not a nice outfit, and I needed a change too. We had to go and run a few errands, so my solution was to stop by the hotel on our way, so Nathan and I could change. Grammy's solution was to stop by the mall and by a new outfit for Nathan and a new shirt for me. Love it when my mom spoils us :).
That afternoon I got a chance to have a long chat with Anna, and it was one of the best parts of the trip for me. I loved catching up with her. I know I mentioned before how fun it was to be pregnant at the same time, and its even more fun to be new moms together. We can encourage and support each other and share advice. I'm so thankful for such a great sister-in-law. Now if we can only get them a little closer to Oklahoma :). In person chats are better than phone chats, but those are still fun too if we can get nap times coordinated.

Nathan was mesmerized by cousin Amelia. He just stared and stared at her. He loves her already, and he seems so big compared to her.

My sweet baby boy in his new outfit

Friday morning, Amelia had some doctor appointments, so we had the morning to ourselves. I got a little jog in trying to take advantage of the cooler temperatures, then we took off to a big outlet mall a few miles away. I was looking for new outfits for me and Nathan to wear for his baby dedication the next weekend, and we were both successful. We also almost bought out the Carter's store at the mall. They had all their Fall stuff out, and it was all so adorable. Because I had an early summer baby, all the clothes I had bought/looked at were summer, so buying for a new season was a fun experience. He is starting a preschool/mother's day out program next week, so it was our first school clothes shopping experience (looking forward to many more!). We also picked up a couple more things for Amelia. My mom loves spoiling her grandbabies, and I love shopping with my mom! We went back over to Jeremy and Anna's that afternoon and helped them with a list of chores/errands they needed done. I'm proud of them for making a list of things we could help them with. I might take their advice for our next baby. I'm pretty independent and don't really like asking for help, but I loved getting the chance to help them out. I know how tough those first weeks are as new parents.
We also took a few cousin pictures on Friday. My mom bought Nathan and Amelia matching outfits, and we took advantage of their cuteness.

The two cutest babies I've ever seen

Pretty in pink

Mark and Jean cooked a delicious supper for everyone that night and we had a good visit.
Saturday morning we spent a little more time with our favorite Iowa family. Anna and I got another good chat in, and we all got some last snuggles in with Amelia. I miss her already. Hopefully we'll get to see her again soon. We said our goodbyes, grabbed some lunch and got back on the road about 3:30 that afternoon.

Can you see how smitten they are with their new granddaughter?

My brother and our babies. Whenever I see this picture, I think about how proud our dad would be if he could meet our spouses and our babies.

We made it back to Broken Arrow very early Sunday morning. Nathan was so good during the drive. We stopped every three hours so I could nurse him, and he had a few bouts of crying, probably out of frustration because he wanted to be held, but he was a fantastic traveler. My best tip for traveling nursing mothers is to stop and nurse in hotel lobbies. That was my mom's idea and it was genius. They have much more comfortable seating that restaurants, are always clean, and have nice bathrooms. Plus they are usually located right off the interstate. None of the front desk workers ever seemed to mind that we borrowed their lobby for a few minutes.

Daddy missed us a lot, and even greeted me with roses when we made it home. We were all happy to be back together as a family.

I was really glad I got the chance to make the trip with my parents to see Amelia as a tiny newborn. Originally, I was just going to wait and make the trip with Matt and my grandparents a few weeks after Amelia was born. That's still the plan, but I took advantage of my freedom from a job right now, and tagged along for this trip too. I really wanted to be a support and encouragement to Jeremy and Anna. Having recently been in the same stage as they are, I know how difficult the first couple of weeks are especially for breastfeeding mommas. I was glad to be on the other side of it to let them know how quickly things get easier. It brought back lots of memories of Nathan's newborn days: questioning every cry, celebrating every wet/dirty diaper, trying everything to keep baby awake for feedings, feeling totally exhausted and yet so entirely in love with this new person. I love my 3 1/2 month bundle of joy and personality and all the sleep I'm getting, but there is something very special about those first few days with a brand new baby, and I'm thankful to share part of that time with my brother and Anna.

As I Lay Myself to Sleep

Nathan had another big first last night. He slept all night in his own room for the very first time! Since he was born, he has been sleeping in our room. It just made things much easier for middle of the night feedings, diaper changes, etc. He has been napping in his crib for several weeks, but he has always slept in our room at night until last night. He has been sleeping consistently through the night, and I knew it was time to make the transition to sleeping in his own room. Matt left for a short two day trip to Florida yesterday, and I thought it was a good time to try putting Nathan in his own room. I think part of my prolonging the process was that I know that Matt needs a good night's sleep, and I didn't know how difficult it would be to put Nathan in his room, and I didn't want Matt up all night with a crying baby or a wife who was constantly getting out of bed.


So we tried it last night, and Nathan did fantastic. He is such a good little baby. I put him down about 9:30 and by 10:00 he was asleep, and I didn't hear a peep from him until about 5:00. We got a pretty big thunderstorm in the middle of the night that woke me up, so I went and checked on him, and he was fast asleep. He started fussing around 5:00, and I went in to check on him. This is pretty normal for him. He usually wakes up around 5:00 and 90% of the time I can rock him, put his paci back in his mouth, and he'll be out for another hour or two. Well, this morning he had a hard time going back to sleep and I could tell he wanted to eat, so I went ahead and fed him, and put him back in his bed. He slept until 7:30. At this point, I was sleeping pretty hard, and not quite ready to get up for the day, since I hadn't slept well during the night, so I scooped Nathan up and brought him back to my bed for some cuddles. It was raining and dark, and we snuggled for another 45 minutes, before we got up for the day.

We'll try again tonight and see how it goes. I was surprised at how soundly he slept. Usually I hear him stirring a few times at night. I think he's usually still asleep, but it wakes me up and I pat him until he settles down, but last night I never heard him stirring. I'm glad we tried it, but I'm not sure if it was the best idea with Matt gone. I'm always a little skiddish and nervous when he's gone. Add to that my baby being all the way across the house and thunder and lightning, and I was on edge most of the night.

This morning we hung out in our pajamas for awhile, and Nathan told me all about his big night. I'm so proud of what a big boy he is!

Trip to Weatherford

I’m behind in updating because of our wonderful little excursion to Iowa, but we also had a really fun weekend in Weatherford a few days before we left for Iowa that I want to make sure I write about. Nathan got to spend his first weekend with his grandparents in Weatherford. We saw lots of family and Nathan got lots of spoiling. Matt was able to take Friday off, so we got to spend a little more time in Weatherford than usual, which was wonderful with a new baby, because we had to make sure we fit all the family in. We made it to Weatherford in time for lunch on Friday. We had lunch with Matt’s parents, fed Nathan and then got a quick visit in with Momoo. She cuddled Nathan and we visited for a couple of hours. Friday night, Granny, Grandaddy, and Aunt Sydney came over for supper at the Baughers. Of course Grandaddy hogged Nathan, but everyone got a turn holding him. We ate and visited and played for a few hours.
Saturday we got more play time in with Granny and Grandaddy and Aunt Sydney. They took us to lunch and we played cards while Grandaddy played with Nathan. They practiced rolling over on the floor. How sweet is it that my 79 year old Grandpa will get down on the floor and play with my son. Grandaddy told us that Nathan rolled over from his back to his tummy. I didn’t get to see it, and I’m not sure if Grandaddy gave any assistance, so I’m still waiting to see it myself. I know he is getting close. All weekend long we kept talking about when Amelia would arrive. It was always on the front of our minds.



Saturday afternoon, Nathan got to spend some time with his Aunt Becca. She hadn’t seen him since he was two weeks old. He’s obviously changed a lot since then. That night we drove to the big town of Cordell to see Brandon and Mindy. They had just moved there a couple of weeks before so we got a tour of their new house, ate ice cream and played settlers. It was really nice to catch up with them and visit for awhile. We already miss them living in Tulsa so much.




Sunday morning we headed back home. I was hoping to make it back in time to make it to a friend’s bridal shower, but we were out late on Saturday night, and all three of us slept in too late on Sunday morning to make it back in time. Instead we unpacked, Matt took a nap, and Nathan and I relaxed. Just as we were getting back in town, we got a text that Amelia was officially on her way, so I was way too excited and anxious to nap. That evening we decided to go over to my parent’s house to wait it out together. I could tell my mom was really anxious and needed her other grand baby to distract her. We played a few games to try and get the time to pass faster and all jumped every time the phone rang hoping it was Jeremy with good news. We stayed a lot longer than I planned. Amelia decided to take her time. Finally about 10:30 that night we got word of her arrival. It was a late night for all of us. By the time we made it home and I fed Nathan and put him to bed it was after 12:30 and I was still too excited to sleep! It was a memorable weekend. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends in Weatherford, Broken Arrow, and Iowa!

3 Months Old

Nathan you are a quarter of a year old. Your third month has been so much fun. You grow and change so quickly, and it’s a joy to watch you learn and explore the world. This month we have really seen you start to interact more with us. I can tell that you recognize who I am and you recognize your daddy too. You just smile and smile at him when he comes home for lunch. It makes his day. You also have begun to turn and look at us when we talk to you. You and I have fun conversations all day long. You coo and babble all the time. Your voice is very sweet.
This month you have found your mouth and your ears. Everything goes into your mouth. Your motor skills are starting to improve too and you can actually grab things and pull them to your mouth to suck on them. You have a few favorite toys that you love to slobber all over. You have also found your ears. Since you were born you have always slept with your hands up by your head. Since your grasping reflex has improved now you hold onto your ears when you are sleepy or fussy. We have lots of pictures with your hands up by your head :).

You are still rolling over pretty consistently from your tummy to your back and your neck strength is amazing. We lay you on your tummy and you can hold your head up and look all around. It wears you out sometimes though and you much prefer to lie on your back. You are also close to rolling over from your back to your tummy. You always roll to your side when we lay you down, and your lower body is strong enough to get your legs to turn over. If you could figure out how to get your arms to help you roll over, you’d easily be rolling everywhere. I’m sure you’ll have mastered this trick by the time you are four months old.


You just love to stand up. We will try and sit you down and you’ll straighten your legs so you can stand. We just hold you while you stand and look all around. Your daddy comments on your leg strength all the time. I think you will be an early walker. Granny told me that your grandpa walked when he was seven months old. Maybe you’ll follow in his footsteps.

You wear 0-3 month and 3 month clothes. 3 month shorts and pants are still too big for your little waist, but you are able to wear 3 month rompers and overalls. You still wear a size one diaper. We took you to the doctor about 2 weeks ago and you weighed 10 pounds (10th percentile). We made it into the double digits. You were 23 inches long (50th percentile). I can’t remember your head circumference but it was in the 10th percentile. You are long and lean just like your daddy. I don’t see a football career in your future, but maybe soccer.


You nurse 6-7 times per day and it takes you 25-30 minutes to eat. You love to nurse. I can tell it’s very comforting to you. Sometimes I laugh because you end up in some of the most awkward positions when you are eating, and I know they can’t be comfortable, but you could care less as long as you are nursing. You get annoyed whenever I interrupt your eating to burp you. Recently you’ve started to fix that problem by just burping while you are eating. It’s so funny what a great burper you are

You have been consistently sleeping 8-9 hours a night for your entire third month. Your mommy loves you so much for that. You still aren’t a great napper, and I think I’m just coming to the conclusion that you just don’t need as much sleep during the day. The doctor assured us your sleeping habits are fine. It’s hard to get much done at home when you usually only sleep for 30 minutes at a time, but I am loving your nighttime sleep habits, so I can’t complain. You usually sleep close to an hour for your morning nap, and then take anywhere between 20-45 minute naps after your other feedings during the day. I can tell you still need to nap between each feeding, you just don’t need to sleep very long.

You still sleep in your pack and play beside our bed. Honestly I thought we would have moved you to your own room before now, but it’s much more convenient to have you close. I do have a goal to have you in your own room by the time you turn four months old. Mommy and Daddy need our room back at some point.
I’m a little behind with your 3 month post, because we’ve had some exciting things happen in our family. In your third month you got a cousin! This also led to many other firsts including your first long car ride, first hotel stay and longest time away from your daddy. We both missed him a lot, but it was so great to get to meet cousin Amelia and spend time with Auntie Anna and Uncle Jeremy. You were such a great baby during the whole trip. You are very laid back and just go with the flow (as long as your belly never gets empty). You definitely take after your daddy in that regard. You were a super traveler although you did get pretty tired of that car seat by the end of the trip. We’d put you in your car seat and you immediately would arch your back and straighten your legs to try and get out. You are a strong little man. You also continued to sleep good in the hotel room especially with extra cuddle time with mommy every night. You have always slept so much better in someone’s arms than in your bed. I think you just don’t like to be alone.

Nathan Wilson, I seriously can’t believe we are a quarter of the way through your first year. You grow so fast. I guess it’s time to start planning your first birthday party :). You bring so much joy to our lives. I know that I fall more in love with you every single day.

Amelia Jane

This little angel

is the precious baby girl

who gave me the title of AUNT

and to her I am oh so grateful!

Her cousin and I are up in Iowa loving on her and spending some quality time with her Mommy and Daddy. Uncle Matt had to stay home and work, but he will get to see her soon. We won't be able to stay away for long!

I Remember

Last week Nathan and I made a little trip to the hospital where he was born for me to get some lab work done. This is the second time we have been there since he was born (my silly thyroid hasn’t quite gotten things figured out again without all those pregnancy hormones). Every time I walk into those doors, memories come flooding back.

I remember sitting in the waiting room before our ultrasound appointment. We talked about baby names while we were waiting and even finalized a girl name before we went back for the appointment. I was so nervous that we settled on a girl name so quickly. We were still completely clueless on boy names at that point.

I remember the dark room and the ultrasound tech pointing out all of Nathan’s major organs on the screen and how thankful I was for each thing she pointed out (what a miracle his little body is)

I remember the fear and anxiety when she took a long time looking at his heart and even said she would come back later to look at it again.

I remember the relief I felt when she assured us that his heart and all four chambers looked fine that she was just trying to get a good picture.

I remember when she asked if we wanted to know if we were having a boy or a girl and we ecstatically said yes.

I remember when she announced that we were having a boy and pointed out the little boy parts on the screen.

I remember the joy I felt when I heard those words and fighting back the tears. Suddenly this baby felt so real.

I remember saying “he” in the ultrasound room and laughing that we finally could use real pronouns when talking about our baby.

I remember seeing Nathan with his mouth wide open and his arm up by his face when the tech told us he was sucking on his arm.

I remember heading up to the maternity ward after our ultrasound for a tour.

I remember telling the nurse we were having a boy and Matt laughing at me because we were supposed to be keeping the gender a secret until our big reveal to our families.

I remember sitting in the parking lot after our appointment talking to Matt about our little boy and how I didn’t want him to go back to work because I was so excited I just wanted to keep celebrating our son.

Then I remember that exciting drive we made from our doctor’s office across the street from the hospital on the day Nathan was born.

I remember walking into the hospital with the realization that the next time we walked outside we would be a family of three!

I remember settling into our hospital room and watching the Price is Right and Family Feud on tv before the contractions got too painful.

I remember sending Matt out to get the nurse to tell her I wanted my epidural and how fast he acted on my request.

I remember the relief once the epidural was in and trying to get some rest, but I was just too excited to sleep.

I remember the doctor placing Nathan on my chest and how awestruck I was to see that little body outside my body.

I remember holding him up just to make sure he was in fact a boy.

I remember Matt coming back to the room after sharing the news with my parents and him telling me that I was torturing my mom by not letting her in the room yet. I just wasn’t ready to share him.

I remember how loud he screamed during his bath and the doctor’s comment that she was glad she didn’t have to take him home. I was just relieved his lungs were so strong.

I remember cuddling Nathan skin to skin on my chest and savoring those sweet, sweet moments

I remember the flood of visitors we had on that Thursday night to celebrate our precious son. I loved showing him off to everyone.

I remember the fun birthday cake our friends brought and what a thoughtful gift that it was.

I remember the exhaustion that hit late that night and how I never felt I would be rested again.

I remember Matt taking Nathan down to the nursery to rock him for a couple of hours so I could get some sleep.

I remember the next day with new visitors and how much Nathan slept during the day.

I remember Matt never wanting to be separated from Nathan. He always stayed with him in the nursery when he was being examined.

I remember how disappointed Matt was when the doctor wouldn’t let him stay in the nursery during Nathan’s circumcision and how much we missed him during those few minutes he was apart from us.

I remember that second night in the hospital when Nathan was either nursing or screaming ALL night long. The nurse even checked on us a few times, he was screaming so loud.

I remember getting Nathan dressed to take him home and how adorable he looked in his little sleeper and hat.

I remember those last few moments in the hospital just the three of us as we prepared to start our new adventure.

I remember watching Matt put Nathan in the car and how excited we both were to finally have a baby to put in that car seat

That hospital contains some of the best memories of my entire life. It will always be such a special place to me.