Little Cheese Head

Packer green - Nathan wears it well. It made a great first costume! Thanks to the Grandmas for all the costume help.



Click the image below for a view of Nathan's first Trick or Treat.

From Nathan on the Move

Photo Time

Just a few photos from the past few weeks. Happy Memorial Day; Happy 4th; happy birthday to me; hello Aunt Pam and Uncle Ray; hello parrot and goat; and welcome to St. Louis, All Star FanFest.

Also check out a few videos after the slide show.




Nathan is determined to learn to walk. OK so he forgets to bend his knees and it looks a bit like Chaplin, but it's progress.

From Nathan on the Move

And he is quite the dancer. A little arm wave, a little shoulder swag, a little hip wiggle a la Elvis.

From Nathan on the Move

Lessons From Wisconsin

Finally getting around to posting highlights from our Wisconsin visit in June. Things we learned this trip:

1) Grandma has a killer toy stash.
2) Cousin Alex is hilarious.
3) Sand feels funny in the toes. And it tastes great.
4) You can catch more fish with Spider Man and Scooby Doo fishing poles than with the fancy kind.
5) 30-year-old high chairs still do the trick. Bonus - retro is "in."
6) Up north, it's perfectly normal to wear flannel in the summer.
7) The best part of the boat ride is the foamy key chain.
8) Buckets do just fine as bathtubs.
9) Hand-me-down toys are divine. (Thanks, Brandon and Alex!)
10) Naps during long road trips are divinest.

We have awakened a sleeping giant. For real this time.

I've never heard a baby scream like that for a solid 30 minutes. Sure, Nathan had his days when he was brand new, crying for long stretches. But not screaming. Not like that. He came out of anesthesia completely inconsolable. Heartbreaking! But of course that was more than nine hours ago. Thankfully he has completely forgotten all about the morning's trauma as he happily chirps along, playing with his measuring cup. He doesn't remember that Dr. F said there was fluid behind the drum that he cleaned out, and his ears were currently inflamed. All the more reassurance that we did the right thing, not "waiting it out."

Here's a pic of Little Man just a couple of hours (and one long nap) after surgery:

We have awakened a sleeping giant. Or not. Whatever.

The war movie buffs among us will recognize the headline from the scene in Tora! Tora! Tora!, where the Japanese general shows a bit of hesitant regret after the bombing of Pear Harbor. This line ran through my mind last evening as I prepared to wake up Nathan for a final 11:30 feeding. No more food until after his tube surgery today at 9:20. So I wanted to top him off. And I was afraid of how he might retaliate - refusing to go back to his crib and rendering us all to the torture of a sleepless night.

But he never woke up.

Never even opened an eyelid.

Even after I turned on the light and changed his diaper.

So I tried again this morning at 5:30, last call for clear liquids before surgery. Once again, not an eyelid as I offered the Pedialyte. He did take three ounces in his sleep. So at least it's something.

So we're off to Nathan's first surgery...

Another first - this one for ... ME

I have to say - it felt a bit strange. People saying to me "Happy Mother's Day." To ME. And with my mom out of town and Brad's mom three states away, there was no one to be celebrated in person but - yep - me. And what a nice day it was. A nice weekend, actually. Saturday we took a stroll through one of my favorite places: Botanical Gardens. Then Sunday Brunch at one of my favorite restaurants: Wildflower. And then back at the house, one of my favorite ways to spend an hour: Nathan napping on my lap while I caught up on Grey's Anatomy on the DVR. Ahh - bliss.

And as a "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY" shout out to the grandmas, here are some photos from the weekend, and a few from the past few weeks.



And a little "Hello" from the Little Man. (click image below for video)

From Nathan on the Move

On the move

A few snippets of the Little Man in action. He crawled for the first time on Tuesday. It wasn't graceful - but then again niether am I.

(click on the image to view video)

From Nathan on the Move

From Nathan on the Move

From Nathan on the Move

From Nathan on the Move