Amy's Window

Little Cheese Head

2009-11-04T21:20:00.003-06:00

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

2009-07-12T21:27:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-07T23:00:00.006-05:00

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.

2009-05-27T19:21:00.004-05:00

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.

2009-05-27T07:09:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-11T21:27:00.005-05:00

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

2009-04-16T20:35:00.006-05:00

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

Little Peter Cottontail

2009-04-16T20:32:00.004-05:00

No, we did not dress up Nathan like a bunny. But we did put him in a bunny undershirt. Happy First Easter, Little Man!

(click on the images to view videos)

From Nathan on the Move

Daycare Domination

2009-03-30T11:55:00.005-05:00

We continue our Battle of the Baby Illnesses. This week, Nathan has started breathing treatments, which include a steroid. I'm devastated. Some day when he's sitting in front of a congressional hearing, he will not be able to say: "I've never used steroids." He'll live under a cloud of suspicion and never make it into the Hall of Fame.

Brad's take is a little different. Here's his reply when I let him know that Nathan's teacher would be happy to give him his nebulizer treatments at daycare:

Nathan will be happy. I believe the nebulizer is the new centerpiece in his plan for daycare domination. This morning I uncovered a red crayon sketch illustrating several of his planned modifications to the machine resulting in a "Vaporizer (aka Griffin-izer)."

(NOTE: Griffin is one of the older kids in Nathan's room. Brad had him pegged as Nathan's nemesis from Day 1.)

Mine!

2009-03-12T11:13:00.004-05:00

I'm on a streak... This is an e-mail I had from Brad today after he dropped Nathan at daycare:

"Sam had four little buggers sitting around her on the floor this morning including Nathan while I was filling out the sheet and when she opened the bucket of little baby toys and started passing them around Nathan's eyes lit up, and then each toy he would reach for would get snatched up by an older baby. It was funny to watch. Sam took back two little rattles (apparently his favorites) from the others and put them in front of him and he immediatly lunged forward to shield them with his body. At least this my interpretation of what were probably random body movements."

Six Months + One

2009-03-10T09:54:00.002-05:00

I'm not a fan of overuse of the word "obviously," but this time it's warranted. I obviously have given up trying to be frequent at this for now. Even this post is a month later than I'd like, and I don't have time right now for all my half-year observations. But - I will take a moment to post a link to his (o-so-adorable) six month pics. Much thanks to Jennifer Phillips for the fabulous work!

Where does the time go?

2009-01-01T21:13:00.006-06:00

You can probably guess when I went back to work... two days after the last entry. I enjoyed every day that I had with Nathan while on leave, but I am not a full-time stay-at-home-mom. It's good to be back at work, but it's tough to manage the time. As for our progress at home, Nathan's sleeping through the night pretty regularly. I'll just sum up a few other thoughts to cover the past two months:

Nathan thinks the red-eye flash on Grandma Marcia's camera is the funniest thing ever.

Tickling Nathan draws out an indescribably cute face.

Hand-me-downs are devine.

Sleep is diviner.

Nathan's smile is biggger than his whole little self.

Nathan's dad is pretty great.

If I have to lose a little hair after having a baby, why can't it be the gray ones?

Daycare = petri dish.

Tummy time is not for the faint of heart.

Every once in a while I get an overwhelming feeling that can only be described as bliss. I wonder if Nathan does, too?

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T22:05:00.005-05:00

Nathan was very serious about carving his first pumpkin.

Gift from God

2008-10-28T12:14:00.003-05:00

The name Nathan means "Gift From God." And what a gift he is. This weekend he was baptized, and we were really touched by the lengths our family came to witness this event. Just about our entire in-town family gave their Sunday afternoon to be with us; Aunt Kristen and Alex came in from Rochester; Grandma and Grandpa from Eau Claire; Aunt Katie and Uncle Graydon from Cleveland; Uncle Ray all the way from Florida; and even Angie and Theresa drove in from school. Nathan was a real trooper. He slept through his first Mass, and was quietly alert through most of the baptism. It was downhill after the oil - but really, who wouldn't fuss at oil on thier head, messing up his fine 'do? Later he fell asleep sitting up - just like his grandpas. He's still recovering from the busy weekend.

Visitors from the North

2008-10-28T11:55:00.002-05:00

We had a great visit this weekend with Mom and Dad Bollinger and Kristen and Alex. Alex and Nathan had a great time getting to know each other with fun trips to the Magic House and the Zoo. Alex was joined by Andrew for a Halloween parade around our neighborhood Sunday afternoon. Nathan can't wait to get in on the action next year.

It was nice while it lasted

2008-10-19T19:07:00.002-05:00

Well, we enjoyed 5 blissful nights of all-night sleep - including a stretch of seven hours and 15 minutes one night. And then back to reality. It's been touch and go since Tuesday. Wednesday he got his shots... and a subsequent fever that kept us up just about all night. I finally got him to sleep more than 15 minutes at a time around 4 a.m. by rocking him to sleep on my chest. Poor little man. The last couple nights it seems he might be working back up to all night sleeping - three hour stretches without eating in between. Here's hoping for more progress...

2 & 2: Two months for Nathan; Two years for us

2008-10-19T18:44:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday we went for a drive and a hike at Pere Marquette - the park in Illinois where we were engaged. Then we stopped at Eckert's for some apple cider and caramel apples. What a great way to celebrate our anniversary (10/7) and Nathan's two-month birthday (10/11). Comfy in his Bjorn (courtesy of Aunt Kristen), Nathan is on his way to becoming quite the little outdoorsman.

Shhh... don't tell Nathan, but he slept through the night!

2008-10-10T17:41:00.005-05:00

I'm absolutely certain that I'm jinxing ourselves as I type, but I have to share: Nathan slept through the night! He went down about 11:30 last night; he squeaked a bit around 12:15 without opening his eyes, so I just popped his Nuk back in his mouth and he drifted back off. Next thing I know I'm waking up to the numbers 5:49 on the clock, and the sound of peaceful slumber. Nathan didn't make a sound until about 15 minutes later. We celebrated by going to the park with Andrew and Bridget - where Nathan did his best Grandpa Jack impersonation, snoozing under his ball cap.

Here's hoping we have many more nights like last night...

Great Pumpkins

2008-10-10T17:33:00.003-05:00

The pumkin patch reaches a new level on the fun-o-meter when you go with a whole group of kids you know.

Smile!

2008-09-29T15:14:00.002-05:00

After a particulary loong night, Nathan is in a fantastic mood today. Definitely smiles!

Bear Masesames

2008-09-29T13:53:00.005-05:00

Brad's budding director skills continue. This time we're joined by guest star Andrew Keenan, sitting around the chiminea on a pleasant fall evening and educating us about bear masesames and baby bumble bees.

Ozark Visit

2008-09-24T16:28:00.004-05:00

Went to the Ozarks this weekend - Nathan's first getaway. He did really well for the first 2.75 hours of the 3 hour drive. At the condo, he had loads of fun playing with his aquarium friends. I think we're starting to see real smiles from him. Check out the handful of photos and see what you think.

Calling Ari Gold

2008-09-24T15:38:00.005-05:00

With much thanks to Mom and Dad Bollinger for our new video camera, Brad is working on his movie credits. Following is his first film. Lookout Mr. Scorsese...

Amy's Window Goes Cyberglobal

2008-09-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

Welcome. With family and friends located all over the country, I'm hoping this blog will be a helpful tool for sharing photos, news, and interesting* tidbits. Those who have received Amy's Window emails in the past will quickly see there is little correlation between this site and the emails by the same name. Here I'll be quite a bit more self-indulgent. But hey - I'm a big chunk of my own target audience.

Love love love for you to share comments - but please keep it clean. My son's grandparents view this blog...

* The term "interesting" is relative. I think this stuff is interesting. You may think it's news from snoozeville.

Best Aunt Ever Quest, Part 32

2008-06-27T16:13:00.000-05:00

In my continued quest for the Best Aunt Ever title (when you're one of 8, you have to stand out), I took my nieces for a St. Louis Playday. Trying to dream up something new, I thought ... hey - I'm always posting nuggets about what's going on Outside Amy's Window at 200 N Broadway, how about I get out there and BE one of those specks on the landing. Sure, the girls had been up in the Arch. But the riverboat cruise was a first. They were naturals. I like to picture Becky Thatcher with flaming red hair...

We started with lunch at Caleco's. Miranda does love her steak. Then we took a spin through the Old Courthouse. What a spin - those stairs to the top level! After a respectful nod to the Old Cathedral (of course they'd already been there at my wedding), we headed on down for our Main Course. Boarded the steamboat, and prepared to set sail.

It was just a short trip up and down the St. Louis Coastline, but what a great view of our fair city. The Eads Bridge is even more impressive from underneath.

So - what's next in The Quest? Stay tuned...