My Little Monkey

I'm pretty sure this is the cutest monkey I've ever laid eyes on.

Peas, Please... and No Thank You

Nathan has been doing great with his rice cereal for the last three weeks, so Matt and I decided it was time to start him on other solids. I had been reading about making baby food as a way to save money, and I decided to give it a try. One day last week when Nathan was at Mother's Day Out, I set to work.

I made sweet potatoes, apples, pears, and peas

I cooked the fruits and vegetables,

pureed them with some water to get the right consistency,

and froze them in ice cube trays (each cube is about an ounce of food)

I had a good time making Nathan's food. One of the ways I feel like I take care of my family is by preparing and serving good meals for them, so I enjoyed being able to prepare some food for Nathan for the first time. I also did save money. When I priced jarred baby food, it was about $.20 per oz. I made this batch of baby food for about $.08 per oz. The peas were even cheaper ($.05 per oz).

Last Sunday night we decided to let Nathan try peas for the first time. Here's what he thought:





We have tried a couple of more times since then, and I think they are growing on him a little. I have a feeling though that he will enjoy the sweet potatoes and the fruit more than peas.

Great Friends, Great Weekend

We traveled West this past weekend to spend time with some great friends and see some family too. Our good friends Brandon and Mindy moved to Cordell this past summer, and then they had a baby at the end of August, and I was dying to see them and meet their precious Carter. Matt and Erica joined us for the weekend and we loved, loved, loved spending time with them and Brandon, Mindy, and Carter. We used to all hang out together a lot, so it was sort of like old times throwing in the chaos of two infants. Cordell is just a few miles from Weatherford, so we got to spend time with family too.


We made it to Cordell Friday evening and Nathan finally got to meet his new friend. I hope they will be good buddies some day. Whenever I held Carter over the weekend, I kept telling him that I was Nathan's mommy, because I'm sure that's all I be known as at some point :).

We visited and ate at a local cafe in Cordell which is a really cute small town. It was great to catch up with Brandon and Mindy and get all the details of their life since the move (a lot has changed for them). Plus it's always fun to visit with new parents. We have a lot in common. We drove back to Weatherford later that evening and spent the night with Matt's parents.

The next morning we all headed out to Red Rock Canyon for some rappelling. Matt hadn't been rappelling in over a year, and he really had a good time. The boys were more adventurous than the girls. Erica and I did jump off the cliff one time, but we seemed to enjoy visiting with Mindy more than hiking and rappelling.

Granny and Grandaddy met us at Red Rock to see us (and by us, I really mean Nathan). Since we wanted to focus our weekend on the Evetts, we knew we wouldn't get a chance to go over and visit them, so we invited them out to Red Rock so they could spend some time spoiling Nathan.

Carter slept through all the excitement of the morning. Turns out Granny and Grandaddy aren't just baby hogs when it comes to their great grandkids. They are just baby hogs period :). Granny held Carter all morning.

After the boys were tired from all the rappelling, we headed back to Matt's parents' house to watch the OSU/Missouri game. Our weekend was even sweeter with an OSU victory followed the next day by a #3 BCS ranking. The game gave us some tense moments, but in the end we won by a healthy margin.

Baby hogs in action :)

After the game, we headed back over to Cordell for dinner and games. Brandon grilled burgers, and we ate, visited, took care of babies and got in a game of Rook. We always have fun playing games with the Millers and the Evetts. 

Sunday morning we joined Brandon, Mindy and Carter for church. They go to a really cute country church. It was different than the big city life Matt and I have been a part of for the last few years. I remember praying for Mindy during prayer nights last year that they would find a good church when they moved, and it was a sweet time visiting their new church and seeing how well they fit in there. We ate lunch with them afterwards and then said our goodbyes. Thankfully, they are planning a trip up to Tulsa in just a few weeks, so we will get to see them again soon.

We headed back home Sunday afternoon. It was a busy, tiring weekend, but it was full of great memories and fellowship with wonderful friends.

Computer Whiz

Love that boy even though I have a feeling he's going to get in big trouble some day messing up Daddy's computer.

The Difference Two Weeks Makes

9-30-2011





10-15-2011

Still messy, but he's got the concept down, and he loves his food! We'll be starting vegetables in a couple of weeks. Here's to hoping he likes peas more than his parents do :).

Old Friends and New Friends

We got the opportunity to spend time with some great friends of ours this last weekend. Corey and Brooke were in town for a family wedding and we were lucky enough to host them at our house for a couple of nights. Corey and Brooke are seriously one of our favorite couples. We just enjoy spending time with them so much. We met right after we got engaged and have been good friends ever since (going on six years now). They are a couple we can relate to in so many ways. Our lives have seemed to follow the same path. We got engaged about the same time, married on the same day, got dogs about the same time, bought houses in the same year, and most recently had sweet baby boys within four months of each other. They live in the Houston area now, and we miss them a lot and were really looking forward to getting a chance to catch up and meet their son, Wyatt. We had such a great time visiting and taking care of our babies. We talked a lot about babies in ways that only new parents can talk. And I'm pretty sure while they were here, a new friendship was born between these two precious little boys.

I got a chance to watch Wyatt for a couple of hours on Friday while Brooke had wedding appointments. Although a little stressful at times, it was fun playing with two baby boys. Nathan was very interested in Wyatt, but he didn't like seeing Mommy holding another baby. If I would stand up with Wyatt to walk around and calm him, my little one would start fussing. He was okay with me holding Wyatt, as long as I was sitting right next to him.

Little boys hanging out together while their parents ate

I'm just sure these boys are going to be great friends and get into lots of mischief when they get older. I'm looking forward to birthday parties, sleep overs, camping trips, and vacations with these two.

Brooke and I are even hoping someday they might  be college roommates (at OSU of course)

Corey took a funny picture of Nathan eating his cereal and we mentioned that it would make Nathan's wedding slideshow someday. I'm pretty sure at that moment all four of us were thinking that these boys better not get married on the same day like their parents did.

We just love Wyatt and his wonderful parents and are hoping to get these boys together again soon. We're planning to make it down to Houston for a visit sometime in the Spring. Next on the agenda is finding Brooke and Corey new jobs in Oklahoma :).

5 Months Old

Nathan,

You are five months old! How did this happen? You are growing so fast. I know everyone says that, but it really is true. And my goodness, you have changed so much in the last month. There really seemed to be a big transformation during your fifth month. I've mentioned it to a few other moms and they have agreed that the period of time between four and five month really is a magical age. You're turning into a little person with so much personality and curiosity. You discover new things every day.

 This month, you began rolling from your back to your tummy. Now that you can roll both directions, you are a mover. You roll all over the place until you get stuck (usually under your bouncy seat, against the coffee table, or the cabinet in the bathroom). Then you'll fuss, and we will move you back to your blanket and you'll take off again.

You are so aware of your surroundings. You stare at everything and want to touch (and eat) everything you see. If we put something in front of you you reach out your arms to grab and then pull it straight to your mouth. Your motor skills are improving and you can usually get whatever you are grasping in your mouth. Your curiosity and desire to explore and learn reminds me so much of your daddy. We might have another engineer on our hands.

I've also noticed this month that you are interacting more with your toys especially the mobile on your swing and your car seat toys. You used to just stare at them, but now you grab and bat at them constantly.

 You've recently started to reach out your arms to be held. It's precious. I've been waiting five months to see you do that :). You also give hugs sometimes. I'm not sure they are intentional, but you'll wrap your arms around my neck.


You found your feet this month and you grab them all the time. You are flexible enough to get them in your mouth too, and your daddy has even caught you with both feet in your mouth at the same time.

We discovered some feeding issues at your four month well check. We've had to supplement after feedings now. The doctor told us that you are just a happy baby and sometimes really content babies  don't demand enough milk.  You remind me of your daddy in that aspect too. He rarely complains about anything. We are using breast milk to supplement as much as possible, but you are taking formula too. I was sad about having to start you on formula. I had intentions of nursing you exclusively for at least six months, but it was very clear that you needed some extra milk, and you've done great with it. We've kept a close eye on your weight since then, and in less than a month you have almost completely caught up and are just about back on your growth line. You and I have worked hard at getting your weight back up and it's paid off.

Since we've been supplementing, you have taken a lot more bottles than normal. You have never had any problems in the past taking a bottle or preferring one over the other. You just really like to suck. You do seem to prefer a bottle now over Mommy. Sometimes you just don't want to work to get Mommy's milk, and you enjoy the instant gratification of a bottle. You are still nursing pretty well though, unless you are just really hungry. Then you get frustrated and start looking around for your bottle. You love your bottle and start panting, kicking your legs and reaching for it as soon as you see it. You've been trying to hold it too and are actually pretty good at it.

You've started blowing raspberries lately too. At your four month well check the nurse asked if you were doing that. I had no idea that was even a developmental milestone, but you've got it down now. You do it a lot in your car seat when we are driving. You talk to yourself pretty often when we are driving too.

You are wearing 3 month and 3-6 month clothes and size 1 diaper. You weight 12 lbs 2.5 oz and at the doctor last week you were just under 24 inches long.

You definitely know who your mommy and daddy are and you seem to prefer me over other people especially if you are tired or upset. We haven't run into any stranger anxiety yet, but sometimes others have a hard time comforting or soothing you.

When you see someone, and I'm holding you, you'll look at them and smile and then turn and bury your head in my shoulder. I'm not sure why you do that. Maybe you are a little shy or want to play peek a boo with them. 

 We started you on rice cereal this month (just last week). We had been seeing some signs that you were ready (you've been very interested in watching us eat and have not been sleeping well at all at night) and although I was a little hesitant starting you before six months, the doctor agreed you were probably ready, and told us it wouldn't hurt to start you a little early. It took you a little while to figure out what you were supposed to do with it once it made it in your mouth, but you're starting to understand. You still spit out about half of the spoonful, but manage to swallow the other half. We are giving it to you at breakfast and at bedtime.

You've been eating about every three hours this month, usually around 7, 10, 1, 4, 6:30, and 8:30. We put you to bed after your 8:30 feeding, and you've been waking up to eat between 2-4 (and sometimes again between 4 and 6). Since we've started you on cereal, I've noticed you're starting to sleep better at night. The last two nights you have slept from about 8:45-3:30, and then went right back to sleep after you ate until 7:00. You are still napping usually during every feeding cycle. I think it's getting close to time to cut your naps down, so you are just taking 2-3 instead of 4. Sometimes you will take long naps- 1.5-2 hours, and you'll only take 3 a day. But other days you like to sleep for 30-45 minutes at a time and need more naps. A lot of it depends on our schedule for the day and what we have going on.



You have been more interested in Rhapsody this month and keep a close eye on her when she is around. You try and reach out to pet her, but usually she's not real interested in that. Missy has stayed with us some this month and you love to watch them play. It gets you laughing a lot of times. I caught a little on video last week.



You are just the best baby, and I'm loving this stage you are in right now. Your daddy and I love you more than you can imagine, and we are looking forward to watching you continue to grow and learn. You are turning into such a fun little boy.