Friday, July 23, 2010

10 Months

Here we are in the double digits: 10 months old!

This is the best we could get yesterday. I wanted to try again today, but today was crazy busy, so this is it this month. I kind of like it. I think it's funny! :-)
Good morning, boys! Happy 10-month birthday!
This month, both babies:
  • are cruising!!! And, since I didn't know exactly what cruising was until I started reading 'mommy blogs', I'll tell you that means that they hold on to things while walking. Nathan has been doing this for a good 2 weeks. Logan just started moving today!
  • hate drinking milk from sippy cups! I'm feeling the pressure to get them to do this since their doctor wants them completely off bottles by 12 months. It's better for their development to get them off the bottles, so we're still working on it, despite their protesting.
  • love to feed themselves Gerber puffs and Cheerios. We are just working on warming them up to feeding themselves little bites of veggies and fruits. Again, a hard transition from baby food for them, but also for me, since that means more work for me. Can't so much feed them from our plates since our regular meals are usually junk like pizza, Mexican food, burgers, etc. I had better shake it off and get cookin'! :-)
  • pulling up to standing. This has been a fun development to watch. They are so proud of themselves when they pull up - especially in their cribs. Todd, you're lowering their beds tomorrow, okay?!
  • interact with each other. We love it when one baby catches the other baby's attention and they babble, giggle, and smile at each other. Sure beats crawling over each other, grabbing hair, stealing pacifiers, and poking eyeballs.
  • are so big! I know Nathan is over 23 pounds. Logan has to be near 25, if not over it. They are in size 4 diapers and are quickly outgrowing size 12 month clothes. I have to go buy them some new pajamas ASAP! Don't think I can squeeze them in the ones we have another night!
  • love to have attention. They like for us to read them books or play games. They are learning silly things like "high fives" and waving "hi/byebye".

Logan
Again, this is the best picture I could get.
  • Logan has a perfect crawl. He crawls kind of slow, but he does it just right. He's thoughtful with his movement. It's so cute.
  • Oh my goodness, he loves to play in mirrors. He gets just absolutely tickled, says "oooooh, oooooh, oooooh", cackles, waves his arms, kicks his feet, and kisses the mirror. Mamaw has the cutest video of him going nuts in a mirror at Dillard's, but I can't get it to upload. I'll keep working on that in my *spare time* to see if I can get it to work. It's precious!
  • Aunt C figured out that if you blow in Logan's face, he'll stick his tongue out. Again, sheer cuteness and so funny.
  • His little pincer grasp is getting much more refined.
  • He's teething big time! Drool, drool, chew, chew. We give him teething tablets when he seems extra uncomfortable or fussy, which seems to help. I feel such pride for them when they finally cut a tooth, but also for me & Todd, because we survived another bout of teething! Ha!
  • He likes to stand at his activity toy (we call it Baby Land). Of course, he holds on and moves (walks), but he also picks up one foot to kick the hanging objects. He's showing off his increased coordination.
  • He has 4 teeth, and working on 2 more on the top.
Logan waiting for his turn to get his jammas.
We all know how much I like pictures of babies sleeping in weird places and positions.
NathanGood job, Nathan. Mommy likes this picture.
  • Nathan is a little monkey. I have said how much he clings when he is held. He's a total Mama's boy and will always reach for me if I'm near. If he sees me with Logan, he'll dart to me and push his way into my lap. This makes one-on-one time difficult, but it's cute.
  • He bites! (Ha!) If you saw the video of him with Great Granny, then you saw him in action. Those teeth are sharp. He usually bites my shoulder or neck, but has also been known to bite ankles, knees and tummies. We're working on stopping that.
  • He babbles and laughs a lot. He's getting consonant sounds and "mama" "dadada" out pretty well. When he waves, he makes sounds that are like "hi".
  • He's a climber. Well, he tries to climb.
  • He's a risk-taker. He is transitioning well from one object to another when cruising. He has stood alone (not holding on) a couple of times for a few seconds.
  • He has 5 teeth, and is working on 1 more on top, the best I can tell.
  • Nathan is sick. He woke up with yellow gunk in his eye. He quickly went downhill and looked more and more pitiful as the morning wore on. He saw Dr. Hassel this afternoon and is on 2 antibiotics for a double eye infection and sinus infection. Fingers crossed that Logan doesn't get it, too.
Nathan on the move!

Hi Happy Nathan! :-)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Until Tomorrow...

I intended to have the boys' 10 month blog up today, but it will have to wait. So, in the mean time, I hope you enjoy these little videos of Nathan.

Loving on Great Granny!! :-)


Teasing Rollei

Friday, July 16, 2010

Aunt Linda

Sadly, my Aunt Linda died yesterday evening. She has battled cancer and other health problems for the past few years. She had a bone marrow transplant about a year ago. After struggling to heal after the transplant, she found peace last night, and will never have to suffer again.

My family appreciates all the the kind sentiments of sympathy that have been offered. We will certainly miss Linda very much. I am praying for her husband, Uncle Tony, and her daughter, Lyndsi, as they deal with tremendous grief right now.

Lyndsi just graduated from high school as salutatorian of her class, and plans to attend Sam in the fall. We are so very proud of her, and she is such a strong young lady. Please pray for her as she deals with the loss of her mother during a time of transition in her life.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Steven, Don't Be Mad!

I frequently read Kelly's Korner. Every Friday she does a "Show Us Your Life" theme where other readers can link up to share about whatever the topic is that week, be it home decor, wedding photos, your ministry, etc. This week, the theme is "Show Us Your Single Boys". So, with a little fear of the repercussions and a little hope, I've decided to participate.

I nominate my brother, Steven. I'll keep his list of stats short for this, but he is 32, lives in Texas, is a strong Christian, holds a master's degree from Abilene Christian University, loves outdoor activities and sports, and will be a great catch for the girl God has planned for him.

If you are interested in me playing matchmaker, please leave a comment or email me at natjoacu {at} hotmail {dot} com.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Update on Dad

We got a few pieces of good news on Dad recently. His last tests showed that the tumor in his lung is smaller. Also, the doctors are very pleased with the reduction of cancer cells (menengitis) in his spinal fluid. They are, again, reducing the frequency of chemotherapy that is put in the port under his scalp (Ommaya), to once every other week.

Dad had his most recent round of Chemo (IV and Ommaya) this past Thursday. Typically, these treatments slow him down significantly for about a day. This time, he has felt rather puny (my word) for about 3 days. He is feeling better today.

He does not have any treatments scheduled for next week, which I'm sure he's happy about! We are all very thankful for bits of good news from his doctors about his progress. Of course, we are also happy that Dad is not suffering horrible side effects from the treatments. He feels pretty good most of the time.

Thank you to everyone that asks about Dad and to so many that are praying for him and encouraging him. Please keep the prayers going for him and also for Mom.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Vacation-ish

We visited family for vacation this year.

We started off visiting Todd's mom, Alicia, in Fort Worth. The drive was fine, but the rain followed us from Houston. Logan did not sleep much that first night. I was up with him many times, and one time for a 2-hour stretch. Not fun! But, despite the lack of sleep, the next day was fun. Todd and I went to Six Flags Over Texas! (No pics of Six Flags.)

Cousins!!
We had no idea how much getting into Six Flags for a day was going to cost. Found out very quickly that it's way expensive! Luckily, though, I remembered seeing a coupon to enter the park at the children's rate on the coupon app on my Droid! So awesome because they accepted the coupon on my phone and the savings nearly paid for our phone service for the month!
Six Flags was great fun. We rode rides, ate too much, and loved spending the time together, just the 2 of us. (Alicia and Julia kept the twins. Thankyouverymuch!) Unfortunately, the rain came in the late afternoon, so we decided to leave. It was a great day!

Next, we headed to Abilene. My sister and her husband let us use their house as a hotel for several days. (K1 & K2, thanks for letting us use your room!) Nathan had a couple nights of crying. One night, in particular, I was up with him so much that I only got about 1 hour of sleep. Ugh! Todd definitely took his turn rocking Nathan many times during the night that few days, too.Todd and I really enjoy visiting the places we used to frequent when we were dating in college. We walked around ACU, went to the zoo, ate out at many of our favorite places, did a family photo shoot (by Todd's mentor), saw K1 practice her Kajukembo (she's about to test for her black belt!) and visited with friends. (Jayme, there are no words for how great it was to spend time with you.) Except for the sleepless nights, our time in Abilene always feels too short.

K1 at Kajukembo.
Our last stop, on the way home, was in Cleburne to visit Todd's grandma, Pat. We were so happy to see her and she was especially happy to love on Logan and Nathan. We didn't do much while we were in Cleburne, other than go out to eat and hang around Grandma's house, but we had a great time. Everyone slept soundly there. I slept in after 10 one morning!

Great Grandma Pat

On that note (about sleeping in), I have to give major brownie points to Todd. That man is so good to me and such a super-fabulous Daddy! He has been getting up with the boys in the mornings. He feeds them, dresses them, and plays with them before I even stir. Seriously! He says that he likes spending the time with the guys, he doesn't mind, he likes the mornings, and he knows that I love to sleep in. I'm majorly spoiled!!! (But, I feel guilty, so I'm getting up to help with breakfast now...)

Valencia

This giveaway, over at The Frugal Novice, reminded me of the fabulous stay Todd and I had at The Valencia Hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio for our honeymoon... only 7 years ago!