I know....I know...

I know, we haven't posted FOREVER! Hey, we have an 11 month old. Is that a good excuse?

Anyway, the big news ---> Nathan took his first steps on Friday, December 17th!!! He's take several since (no more than 2 in a row, so far), and he is getting more and more confident. That's our boy. :)

Teeth count: 2 bottom, and 2 on the way on top

He continues to bring us so much joy [and an occasional bit of grief (he gets into everything!!)]. Nathan is a sweet, funny boy - he cracks himself up, along with us! He is a very courious little boy, and it is just amazing to watch him learn something right in front of us.

Nathan is a big boy. We don't weigh him outside of his dr visits, but given the raised eyebrows we get when we say "he's 11 months," he is still on the big side. He seems to grow inches overnight, and is now in 18 month clothes. The rumor is that he will thin out once he is walking, but I believe I was told the same thing about crawling!

Nate continues to be a great eater. Meat is still a big hit. Yep, he loved Thanksgiving! He also likes his veggies. He eats what we eat most of the time, which is great for us!

We're looking forward to our first Christmas with Nathan. He loves the tree (despite the gate around the tree we have had one ornament casualty so far)!

Here's a photo recap of the last couple of months:

Thanksgiving...
a holiday made for a little boy that loves meat


Tree Decorating...
Nathan was very helpful...?

A trip to visit the Spencer Family...

and Zoo Lights...

Photos and video

Here are photos from our trip --> HERE

As mentioned, Nathan learned how to crawl up stairs while at Erin's house....

Happy Halloween!

I'll try and get the photos off the camera tomorrow, but I thought I'd post real quick. We had a GREAT trip to the Pacific Northwest. Nate did great on both flights. We didn't buy him a seat (after hitting some turbulence on the way out, I will likely always get a seat for him so he can be in his carseat), but on the way back there were enough empty seats for us to have him in his carseat. :). He had a great time watching all the kids we visited, and may be a bit lonely here! Nathan made lots of new friends: Cecelia, Nora, George, Anderson, Tatom, Annika, and Kai. :)

Lots of new firsts while on this trip:

1st plane flight, DEN to PDX, 10/25
Cut his 1st tooth, 10/25
1st carousel ride, 10/26 (on a horse called Little Joe)
1st hands free stand (about 3-4 seconds), 10/29 (in Amy's kitchen)
1st stair climb, 10/30 (a whole 1/2 flight - video to come)

Whew!

So, we didn't really plan to dress him up for Halloween. I'm not very into Halloween - I love Fall, but I can totally do without the scary stuff. I'm a wimp. Anyway, I figure we'll be more into it when he is. But, we visited Halloween central, otherwise known as the Metcalf house, and I got into the spirit. Partially because Erin "made" us help her carve her 17 pumpkins! Ha! Nate borrowed a dragon costume for a neighborhood party, and he promptly feel asleep! His cherub sleeping face make him look like the boy from Where the Wild Things Are! :) He wore a skelton sweatsuit today on the plane that I picked up last minute. See, I'm not a total scrooge. :\

October!

We've had a great October. :) Nathan is a crawling fool. He is EVERYWHERE. He loves discovering new things. And yes, we finally put the baby gates up. He has a special giggle that means he's trying to get the kitty. Poor Zack.

Nathan had a great 9 month check up. He has begun to eat a bunch of table foods. He's had mashed potatoes, a lasagna roll-up, veggies, salmon (loved it!), taco meat, chicken, grated cheese, and more! The only dislike so far has been broccoli. Not even if disguised with mashed potatoes...

His 9 month stats:

Height 28.75" (70%ile)
Weight: 24 lbs 7.2oz (90-95%ile)
Head: 47.3 cm (95%ile)

I can't believe we make his 12 month appointment!! 12 months??? He's growing too fast. Just like everyone said he would.

The Nellis house has continued to be busy! Check out the photos from October --> HERE

We're off to Oregon tomorrow morning. We'll be with Amy and her family for several days, with a side trip to Bend to see Jim and Sabra. They we'll zip up to Seattle! Fun fun!!! I've got to get back to packing....!!

Mobile baby

Here's a short clip of his current crawling skills:

Poor sick baby and our busy Fall

Nathan decided that projectile puking all over Daddy's car/backseat, Daddy, the carseat, and, well, pretty much anything in front or around him for 6 hours would be a great way to spend a Tuesday night. We ended up taking him in to get something to stop the vomiting at about 10pm. He was was trooper. We also discovered that he had an ear infection (nope, he hadn't shown and signs). I have him home with me today and he's doing great. Such a sweet boy, even when sick. He has slept most of the day (and hence this post!)

He has lots of new tricks! Most exciting for him is crawling and pulling up to stand! He loves to stand!! Nathan also has several consonants sounds that he babbles. Ba, blah, ga, gaag, da. So cute. His crawling is still slow and not too continuous (he goes about 5-6 feet and then either flops on his belly or sits up). Fine with us! Yes, time to get serious about baby proofing. He also is starting to pick up a little sign language. He occasionally signs for more and we think eat. Hmm, not a big shocker that our chubby baby knows the signs related to EATING MORE!! Ha!!

Nathan is also a technology genius. How do we know? Well, he loves to Skype with Aunt Darby!

We've had a busy month! The CU season is in full force. We've taken Nate to all of the home games so far, including the tailgates and even a night game. He has a great time and is known to take a mid-quarter naps. :) We've got a couple of trips coming up in the Fall. We're heading to the NW at the end of the month, starting with visiting the Hiatts - Amy and Jon recently welcomed baby girl Nora to their family! I can't wait to snuggle her, play with Cecelia, and of course, hang out with Amy and Jon! We will also visit with Nate's great-Aunt Sabra and great-Uncle Jim. And, in true Nellis style, we'll cram more visiting in with a weekend trip up to Seattle to see the Metcalf and Foster/Andrews families! We get to experience the Metcalf Halloween extravaganza. ;) And THEN, Nathan and I are off to CA for Laura's baby shower in mid November and to see Robin, Brian, Benjamin, and Violet. Good times are to be had by all. I am so excited to see my wonderful friends and sweet family and to have our son meet them all! Yahoo! I'm a little anxious about the travel, but hopefully Nathan will exceed my expectations.

Videos and photos!

A three day weekend is giving me time to catch up on uploading photos and videos. I had videos on the camera as old as March...!! Below are a few of our recent favorites, including his sweet laugh, feeding himself, and his dinosaur impersonation. :) Enjoy!

Nathan is growing and developing so fast! He's now on Stage 3 foods (that require some "chewing") and feeds himself (well, he gets some in his mouth) puffs!! He also gets up on all 4s, and it appears crawling is in the near future. He manages to army crawl backwards, and he gets frustrated that he isn't going the direction he wants. No teeth yet, and so far we have been spared separation anxiety...both will come in due time, I'm sure. He's now in a "big boy" carseat. He is still rear-facing, but I think he likes the better view. We miss being able to move him about in his infant pod, but I just couldn't carry it plus him anymore. He is about 23 or 24 lbs now. One big kiddo.

Fall is officially here! We took Nathan to his first football game on Saturday. It was CU/CSU, so he was sporting a homemade CU and CSU onesie so that he didn't have to pick between Mommy and Daddy. :) He lasted the whole tailgate (starting at 7am) and the whole game!! He took a good nap during the tailgate in his stroller and another one on Mimi's lap during the game. He did great!! Weather permitting, he'll go to several games with us in Boulder.

As you may know, Darby went off to Korea to teach English for a year! Thank goodness for Skype - we've chatted with her several times now, and Nathan has also been in on the fun! We miss her, but are so excited for her adventure!

Photos from August ---> Click HERE

Sweet baby giggles (8/8/10)

Feeding himself for the first time (8/29/10):
[he's gotten quite a bit better]

His best impersonation of a Pterodactyl (9/6/10)

It's not that we don't have things to share...

It's not that we don't have news to post, it's just that we are busy!! Every. weekend. day. in. August. Busy. But, it has been (and will continue to be) wonderfully busy. We much prefer weekends full of family, friends, laughter, and love to ones filled with laundry, groceries, and cleaning.

This is Nathan's last week at Kindercare. He has gotten wonderful care for the past 3 months, and Kindercare was there when we needed them most - when I was going back to work and our sweet 4 month old was still on the wait-list at Primrose. But, the time has come that he is moving to our first choice for daycare. :) He is going right into the school that is about 2.5 blocks from our house.

Nate's new tricks...Lots of giggles (which I now have on video...I'll try to get it uploaded), a slight understanding of the purpose of a sippy cup, sitting up, grabbing EVERYTHING, putting EVERYTHING in his mouth, and rolling over front to back and back to front, in both directions. I think we still have a bit until he is mobile (there is a lot of him to move around!), but we have purchased the gates. He's tried a bunch of new foods, including wheat and meats. He continues to eat a ton, and seems to grow overnight. Small necked clothes and his head do not go together...but it is kind of funny to try to get them on anyway. Not so funny for Nathan, but he tolerates giving Mom and Dad a laugh or two with a shirt stuck on his noggin. We actually took some photos of the battle between his head and shirt (his head won) the other morning. :)

I'll try and get some photos and videos up soon!

July Photos

Here are the promised photos from the post below --> HERE

First night away from mom and dad!

Nathan had a big first this weekend! He stayed the night with Mimi and Popi by himself! I was a bit of a mess saying goodbye, but I recovered. :) Chuck and I had a night in to celebrate my birthday. It was weird to not have the baby here, but it was good for us. Nate kept it nice and easy for Mimi and Popi, sleeping until 6:30am.

Saturday was good practice for me, as I head to Cheyenne for a girls weekend at Cheyenne Frontier Days! We've taken a couple of years off due to some ill timed pregnancies, and these mommies are ready for some fun! We are going to Sugarland on Friday night. No more "standing room only" for us after the George Straight debacle several years ago. Nate and Daddy will have a great weekend, and I'm sure I'll be anxious to get home on Sunday to see them both.

I'm in process of uploading photos from July. I'll put up a link once they are added. :)

Big boy!

Nathan had his 6 month appointment on Friday. He's had a serious growth spurt over the past month! Chuck and I were "taking bets" on over or under 20 lbs. I thought just under...and, I was wrong...

Height: 27.25" (75%ile)
Weight: 20 lb 0.4oz (85%ile)
Head: 45.6cm (90%ile)

Yep, he's a big boy!! He was just about 50%ile across the board at his 4 month checkup, so he definitely had a big growth spurt.

He also is on his first round of antibiotics. He had a low grade fever at daycare on Friday, and he has had the "daycare" drippy nose for a while that had grown into a little cough. Dr. Sunit thought his ears looked a little red and suspected that his drippy nose had turned into the beginning of an ear infection. He seems to be feeling great now. :) He'll have to go in for his shots some time this week.

We spent Friday night up in Bailey for an early birthday celebration for me and a late celebration for Michael. :) It was over 100 down in Denver, and although it was still hot in Bailey, it was wonderful to be up in the mountains with family.

6 months old!

It is hard to believe that our little boy is 6 months old already! We took him for some studio shots (Portrait Innovations). I've put our favorites on on SmugMug --> HERE


The newest development is that Nate's "cackle" laugh is now sometimes a sweet giggle, which is just the best sound! We can't get it on video yet (he just looks at the camera!). Also, I've weaned him completely this weekend. We were down to just one feeding a day, so it's not too much of an adjustment. I "made it" 6 months (my goal) - exclusively breast milk for 4.5 months, 2-3 times a day through 5 months and went to once a day through this weekend. The ability to just take formula with us is really much easier for us, and I couldn't come close to keeping up with his demand without spending my whole work day pumping!

Nathan had a great 4th of July. We had decided not to take him to watch fireworks, and that turned out to be a great decision since it rained! Henry, his parents, and Natanee were over for some bbq and beers. We had a great time. Henry is SO cute and it was nice to have a tiny one in the house. Nate and Henry will be fast friends, I think! :)

Ok, our little guy would like the rest of his lunch (solids), so off I go!

Ok, I finally added some photos from the past couple of months to our photo album. This dual working parent household makes things like uploading photos and making blogs posts just not happen very often...sorry!

Nathan is doing great! He is working on sitting up and just loves to play. As you can see from the photos, he has lots of baby chubb! He loves to eat! He has had lots of different solids...rice cereal, oatmeal, grean beans, peas, carrots, pears, apples, and squash. We think carrots, green beans, and squash are his favorites, but he seems to like everything.

I'm home today (hence the photos and a blog post!) for a Mommy and baby day. I'm off to grab a shower while my little boy takes a nap. Thanks for checking in!!

Things I forgot!

Hello again! So I forgot to mention some of Nathan's new tricks in my post below. :) He has started "solids" (why are pureed nearly liquid foods called solids?). He has moved from rice cereal to oatmeal, and he has had both peas and green beans. Just to spite me, he seems to love the beans! Although his diapers are now much more disgusting, I am happy to report that his, um, events are now more likely to be contained! We're trying to avoid anything with too much sugar at this point, so it's green veggies and cereal for now. :)

Also, he is nearly sitting up! Just tonight, he was sitting up (using his hands to hold himself up) and reached for Zack as he went by. I am sure Zack is none too excited about this development. He still has some time until we can say he is actually sitting up, but he is working on his skills! This also means that we really REALLY need to think about starting to babyproof around here...

Bad blogger...

Ok, so, I'm back to being a bad blogger. Since this blog is the closest thing we have to a baby book, I better get with it!!

We've continued to be super busy lately. Nathan attended his first graduation as we watched Emily graduate up in Bailey. We then had a nice weekend over Memorial Day - we spent two nights up in Breckenridge. Nate was a great traveler. :) I ended up with a bout of tonsilitis over the first weekend of June, so I missed the Nellis birthday celebration (Alex, Chuck, and Brady are all within a couple of weeks of eachother). Nate and Chuck had a great time though. :) This weekend was super rainy (so uncommon for Colorado), but we still managed to enjoy a bbq (those that did the bbqing probably didn't enjoy it too much!) and brunch this morning.

Nathan sat in a restaurant high-chair for the first time this morning! He is working on his sitting up skills. He still loves to stand up as much as you'll let him. Although he "can" roll over from front to back, he hasn't had much interest in rolling. We play and roll him over a lot, which he loves. He is doing great at daycare. OH, and speaking of daycare, his new Primrose school is under-construction and he should start there by August! We have a wonderful group of ladies that care for him at Kindercare, but we are very excited to have him at Primrose. Especially since it is just blocks away.

I have lots of photos to add - I'll try to get to it today. Right now Nate is requesting his lunch #2, so off I go. And then to chores...blah!

4 month appointment

Nathan had his 4 month appointment yesterday (he is 18 weeks today, so I guess it was technically is 4.5 month appointment). He checked out great, and is right in the middle of the curve for his growth. He is doing all the right things developmentally, although we need to do more tummy time to get more rolling over (he was such a superstar at rolling over a couple of months ago!). Anyway, the downside of his appointment was that he had a bit of a reaction to the immunizations. He has had a fever since yesterday afternoon and I had to go get him from daycare at noon today. It is to be expected as far as a reaction, but we still feel so bad for him. He had a rough night of sleeping last night - a downside of having such a great sleeper is that when he doesn't sleep we are just not used to it at all!

His 18 week stats:

Height - 25" (50th percentile)
Weight - 15 lb 6 oz (50th percentile)
Head - 42.7 cm (52nd percentile)

Updates!

Well, I am keeping up to my promise to be worse about updating the blog once I was back to work. ;). I have added some photos from the last month to the album.

Nate is doing great! He is becoming so alert and interactive. He loves is exersaucer and his highchair. Both allow him to play and still be able to look around to see what we are doing. Nate also continues to be a great sleeper, something that Mommy and Daddy are so happy about!! The general concensus it that he is teething - chewing on things and drooling quite a bit. He is doing great at daycare and although it is still so hard to be so far away from him every day, I am (slowly) getting used to the idea. Our morning routine is good - the evening one is not quite as polished. I'm getting back in the groove at work.

The last couple of weeks have been busy. Last Saturday we went to the Longs Peak Chorus concert (Jim Hopper sings with them). Nate LOVED to watch and listen. Sunday was my first Mother's Day! :) Chuck made it so very special for me. I woke up to Starbucks and flowers, two sweet cards, and a picture frame. We then zipped off to the zoo to meet Mom, Dick, Michael, Carrie, and Sofia for brunch. The sun decided to come out, and it was a beautiful day! We then went back home as we had Tarah, Alex, Jeremiah and the girls over for a BBQ. Chuck did all the cooking and it was yummy! Nate did poop...on me...twice...on Mother's Day. I hope he doesn't show his affection that way next year! Ha!

Will it get easier?

One year ago tomorrow, our morning went kinda like this:

Me (from the bathroom doorway): I think it's positive
Chuck (just waking up): Really?
Me: I think so! There are two lines. It says that if there are two, even faint, it's positive. And there are two.
C (rushing over to look): Oh my goodness!
Me: Should I take another one? [I did, the next day, and the next...and well, I took 4 in all]
Then we toasted with Martinelli's, and I got on the computer to calculate our due date. :)

Being at work feels weird, to say the least. And lonely. Lonely because I miss Nathan SO much all day. I know lots and lots of Moms work, some because they have to and others because they want to. I'm somewhere in the middle. As I look at Nate having a cat nap (oddly enough, next to the cat) on the couch between us, I can't believe I drive away from him every day. They say it will get easier. Part of me hopes it will...and the rest of me hopes that it will never be easy.

On a less tear jerking topic for me, I had finally taken some time to learn how to sew! I've had a machine for awhile now, and it has mostly been collecting dust. Jenna is a jack of many trades, including sewing. :) She and I took a trip to Jo-Ann's to get my sewing kit stocked up (including scissors that I can use for nothing else!!). She walked me through making a couple of hotpads/potholders. :) They turned out really good (if I say so myself). I look forward to our next lesson!

Ok, it's bedtime around here. Goodnight, faithful reader(s).

(PS. I'll get some photos posted one of these days!)

Easing Mommy into daycare

Whew, we made it through Nate's first two days of daycare. Day 1 was *rough* for me - I starting crying the night before when labeling and preparing his things. Today was easier with just some tears in the parking lot and on the drive to Starbucks.

Not that Thursday will be easy by any stretch, but I'm really happy I did these two "trail" days. Chuck and I got to work on our morning routine (which still needs tweaking to get us ready on time), and we have had some time to get comfortable with leaving Nathan with Miss Karen in the infant room.

Nathan has been a superstar at daycare. He has taken some short naps in the swing and ate/drank all of his bottles. Karen is very sweet and seems to take great care of our little boy. All of the teachers say how cute he is - they may say that to all the parents, but we don't think so. ;)

Karen has yet to experience a famous Nathan #2...well, maybe not famous. We have a good supply of extra outfits in his drawers at daycare, and so far they have not been used. I think she tells him to save it up for Mommy and Daddy.

Tomorrow is our last day home together. Our plans? Let's see, snuggle, talk, sing, play, snuggle and repeat (with feeding him and lots of diaper changes thrown in ). Sounds like heaven to me.

Counting my blessings

As I watch Nathan taking a cat nap this morning, I realize how lucky I am. Nathan, beyond being the cutest baby boy there ever was, is such a sweet, wonderful baby. Even when he is a fussy-gus, which isn't very often. He is growing SO fast. I look back over the pictures from the last 3 months and I can't believe he is so big already. He stands (heavily supported) in our laps and gets a huge toothless grin and "talks" when he looks at us. There is nothing like a baby smile to make everything seem right in the world. Of course, his grin may only be toothless a little while longer. He is showing some signs of teething, and I can see the white buds developing.

As much as I am dreading leaving Nathan all day, I am lucky to have such a great job to go back to. I know that my coworkers, many that I have known for over 9 years, will be supportive...and I'm sure the 4 months of work I have to catch up on will distract me a bit from missing him. I spoke to Primrose again today, and his start date still looks to be in July. The new school (just a stone's throw from our house) is well under-construction and may even open in August, which is great. Next Thursday is my first day back at work, and I'm taking Nate in for a couple of "trial" days on Monday and Tuesday. I think I'll keep him home on Wednesday for our last full day together.

Let's see...other updates. Operation Evict the Squirrel(s) is still in progress. We haven't caught anything in the trap in the attic, but have also not heard any noises. Knowing our "tenants" we won't hear them until the trap is taken out. Too smart for their own good. Some hail damage has been confirmed on our roof though, and if we do get a new roof, all of the vents will also be replaced, which "should" keep them out for good. We can only hope.

We've had a busy, but very fun, couple of weeks. We've celebrated Mimi, Papa, and Maddie's birthdays and Ana's baptism. This weekend we have brunch with Tricia and her fiance, and dinner with the McCormicks at their new house.

I think that's about it! I need to capitalize on Nathan actually taking a nap...!

The countdown begins...

Nathan is doing great. He giggles, smiles, and "talks" with us so much! He is really holding up his head really well and seems to be taking in the world around him constantly.

I can't believe it is April 11th already....which means my return to work is getting SO close. :(... I will miss being with Nathan all day so much. I never thought I would love being with a baby full time, and I know that going back to work will be so hard. Too bad I can't bring him with me...think anyone would notice? People have told me that I will cherish my time with Nathan and Chuck even more once I am back to work. I so hope that is true.

Anyway, we have been super busy. I have added a bunch of photos from our comings and goings to our photo album.

Photos from Maddie's birthday Easter, and Corinne's visit --> HERE

Photos from this weekend --> HERE

Squirrel update...We have had strobe lights going in the attic for a week (apparently flashing lights big squirrels so much that they will abandon the attic). The traps have remained empty. The good news is that we haven't heard any noises from the "penthouse apartment" since...but a strange smell has begun to infiltrate our guest room closet. We don't know yet if the scent is that of a squirrel in his or her final resting place. Hopefully Steve can get up there and check things out (or confirm the smell, which I have read will dissipate if we can't find "him") tomorrow.

More photos :)

Here are some more photos --> Click Here

My boys

Last night, Chuck and Nate were hanging out before bed time, and I snapped the above photo on my phone. :) I am so blessed with a wonderful husband and a sweet baby boy. I don't even mind being outnumbered (even the cat is a boy). As you can see from Nathan's arm rolls and big ol' belly, he is growing fast! I had to run by his pediatrician this week for daycare paperwork, so I plopped him on the scale. He is up to 13 lbs 5oz. We love our chunky monkey.

Our busy social calendar is in full swing! We are celebrating Maddie's 4th birthday tomorrow and spending Easter with family at Mimi and Popi's house. Kim and her family and Diane and Anne will be here for a few days, so hope to join them on a couple of outings and as they leave, Corinne (Gigi) comes back to visit for a couple of days. Next weekend we celebrate Papa's birthday up in Bailey. Whew! We also have Ana's baptism coming up and dinner with the McCormicks at their new house. April is busy, and I hope it crawls by as April 29th (my return date to work) is QUICKLY approaching.

We had a bit of daycare drama in the past couple of weeks as Nathan is on a waitlist for a spot at Primrose. He may not have a spot there until mid-July. He will go to a Kindercare while we wait for a spot to open up. There are a few grandparents in line to offer some time away from Kindercare, which we know Nathan will love.

In other news, we have some uninvited guests in our home...we believe that a squirrel (or two - let's hope no more than that...) has taken residence in our roof. A "nuisance wildlife" expert has put some traps up on the roof, and once we catch the tenant(s) he'll repair the vent they are using as their front door. Let's just hope they aren't busy expanding their family just yet...

Happy Easter!

Busy times!

Nathan and I have had a busy couple of weeks! We celebrated St. Patrick's Day three times (so we got good use of his two shamrock outfits!). He also had his first "sleep over" (we were there, too) at Mimi and Popi's following a yummy corned beef and cabbage meal. :) He slept great.

We've had lots of outings and visitors. And Nate met a few young ladies that were also born this winter. :) Heather brought Evelyn down for the day and we all took a long walk, which was great. We met Michelle and Paige (Michelle and her hubby were in our baby class) for lunch, too.

I desperately needed to get some non-maternity clothes that fit, so Kari and I took the boys on a long shopping day. They hung in there, but Nate was very tired of the carseat by the time we made it home!

This Friday we drove down to Colorado Springs to visit the Kearney/Toal cousins. The Toal boys are growing fast and we had a great time catching up with the whole clan.

Finally, we celebrated Mimi's birthday here last night. We had some yummy steaks and even better company. Michael, Carrie, and Sofia spent the night, and Sofia has decided the Nate's big brown bear (from the Johnsons) is hers. :) Ha!

Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks --> Click here

Rollin' and growin'

Our little boy is 9 weeks old today! He celebrated by rolling from front to back TWICE this morning. :) He also had his 2 month appointment (which included shots...owie). His stats are below. He's a big boy and is doing all the expected things developmentally (smiling, tracking with his eyes, batting at toys, putting weight on his legs, holding his head up) - Dr. Sunit gave him an A+. :) I have 6 weeks left at home with him. I know it will fly by.

Height: 23 1/4" - 55%ile
Weight: 12 lbs 4.6oz - 70%ile (with the fat rolls to match!)
Head: 40cm - 50%ile

I can do it....

Success!!

Smile!

I had to share this pic of Nathan I captured today! He got some adorable knitted hats in the mail from Gigi (Corinne) that I had him model. :) I've also uploaded some other recent photos to our album. Click HERE.

Talking with Mommy

Although Nate was a fussy boy most of today, he sat with me and babbled away and I caught some of it on video. When I replayed the video, he cooed and babbled to his own sounds - very cute!!

He seems to be learning constantly these days right before our eyes. He briefly found his thumb to suck on today (he has been sucking on his index finger knuckle for some time). He aslo seems to be focusing futher and further away, noticing objects several feet away. Tonight he was entertained by the crane mobile above his changing table (hand made by Grammy). Nathan continues to be a good sleeper at night (6-7 hours straight), and he occasionally takes 1-1.5 hour naps during the day, but not consistently. Without further adieu, here is the video of his sweet baby babbles:

Here are some recent photos --> Click Here

Nathan decided that rather than play on his activity mat this morning, he'd rather catch a nap.

Another video :)

I've been using the video camera more lately at the advice of many that say I need all the memories of this age that I can get. So, I'll share some of my favorites with you. :) Nathan was in a great mood this afternoon, and the video is below for you. I didn't do any of my (not so) fancy editing, and it is just under 3 minutes long. If you listen closely, you can hear some of Nate's sweet baby noises (and you have to listen to my voice, sorry!).

Perhaps he was in a great mood because Mommy was in a great mood since we spent the afternoon with Kari, Natanee, Anderson, and Talon. :)

A little fun with a fussy baby

Chuck had worked enough hours last week to be home with us all day Friday. :) I had my 6 week checkup with my OB that morning, so he came along to watch the boy while I was in with the Dr. I checked out great, and I can now do more than just walk for exercise to start working on getting rid all of this baby weight. Saturday we celebrated Jeremiah's birthday with a potluck brunch. Stacey came to visit that afternoon (and had to witness the begin of the End of February Fussfest mentioned below), and Hilarie and [a newly engaged!!] Tricia and Curt came to visit on Sunday.

Our little boy had a fussy couple of days, despite having several wonderful snuggles over the weekend! Chuck made a comment last night that Nate was either eating, sleeping, or crying nearly all day yesterday. Of course, I have second guessed everything I have eaten, etc., all while knowing that perhaps he was just being a baby and crying because he can. Anyway, we noticed that blowing (lightly!) in his face when he is fussing gives a second of quiet and also results in a pretty cute surprised face. And yes, we know we are kind of mean, but for the record, I fed him just seconds after the end of this video. Enjoy, and, it's ok if you laugh...we did.

Show off

Nathan spent the day at Auntie Kari's with me today and he showed off a new skill (or fluke, I call it a skill) during tummy time - he rolled from front to back! He is alert most of the day and seems to be taking in the world around him!

Here are some photos from the past week or so --> Click here

Nellis cousins

Nathan had a great time with his Nellis cousins, Maddie and Ana, and Grammy today. Here are a few photos (and Ana certainly LOVES the camera!):

Nathan is 6 weeks old today! Here he is borrowing Ana's toys:

Tonight Chuck and I are going out to dinner (sans baby!) for our anniversary. Mimi and Popi are coming down to babysit. We know he'll be an angel. :)

GGM visit and more!

We've had a busy time since my last post! Nathan made his first trip to the airport to pick up Corinne (the Grand God Mother...GGM!, or GiGi for short) on Wednesday. :) Corinne was a great help to me with her cooking and cleaning work! Nathan did his best to keep us both busy as is *his* job. Ha! He used his sweet charms on GiGi and has NASA, snow, and beach gear to show for it! :)

Today we made up for the time cooped up in the house during his cold...we were gone from the house most of the day! Our first stop was my office to meet his friends at Northern. He wore his cutest outfit (which he promptly pooped on). Our next stop took us by Anne's office, with a final stop to visit Aunt Carrie and Cousin Sofia. :) Whew! Tomorrow the fun will continue with a visit with Grammy and Cousins Maddie and Ana. And wait, there's more! On Wednesday I am getting together with 3 other mommies (all have boys!) at Kari's house to visit. And on Thursday, I sleep. :) Ha! I have my final follow up Dr visit on Friday, and I'll hopefully be cleared to exercise.

Speaking of sleeping, Nathan has reclaimed his title of being a great sleeper since his cold has moved on. He is back in his crib at night and is giving mommy some wonderful stretches of sleep. The good sleeps means the he eats much more often during the day (especially in the evening), but it's worth it. :) Hey guess what...someone is hungry....again.

Nathan is 6 weeks old tomorrow!

New photos

Here are some photos from David and Rita Johnson's visit this weekend and from tonight. He is growing SO fast!! And, just to set expectations, I know I won't be this good at blogging and posting photos when I go back to work in a couple of months. ;)

Click HERE

2nd wedding anniversary

Today marks our second wedding anniversary. :) We have such great memories of our wedding day! And now we are making new memories with our son. I feel so lucky to have Chuck in my life. He is an amazing husband and father. Who would have thought that putting a profile on eHarmony in 2005 would lead me to my perfect match? I know, I sound like a commercial! Here's to many more years together!

And Nathan is 5 weeks old today! He is getting past his cold. He has started to smile at us, which just melts our hearts. I'll get some more photos put up soon.

Feeling better slowly and more photos

Nathan seems to be past the worst on his cold. Fingers crossed. Tilting his bed and the saline both seem to help a bunch.

Here are some more photos from the past few days --> HERE

Baby's first cold :(

So, despite diligent hand washing and use of Purell, Nathan has ended up with a mild case of RSV. Yes, dreaded RSV...three initials no parent wants to hear. The joys of a winter baby. However, he is fever free and his chest is completely clear, which are very, very good things when it comes to RSV. His oxygen level was really good (over 90%) at the doctor this morning, so we don't think he'll need anything more than home treatment at this point. He has to put up with us giving him saline up his cute little nose and the occasional nasal aspiration (bulb sucky thing), but he is otherwise doing ok. His cough started on Sunday, so we are a good 4 days in, so the worst should be nearly behind us...fingers crossed. I think his symptoms are bothering us way more than they are bothering him (his occasional smiles help our spirits, for sure!) . We're sure he'll be on the mend soon.

On another note, Nathan is growing fast. He was weighed yesterday at came in at 9 lb 15 oz...yes, he gained a whole pound in 12 days! He also grew 1.25 inches in that time to 22.25". There is generally a growth spurt around 3 weeks old, so he seems on track. Nice work, little man. :)

4 weeks old!

It is amazing to think that Nathan made us a family of three four weeks ago. Our lives are forever changed - changed in an amazing way. We frequently gaze at him in awe that we have such an adorable son. I frequently refer to him as my handsome fellow. :)

I have uploaded his photos from the last week or so to our album. :) Click HERE

Getting into the groove

Nathan and I are getting into the groove (his groove of eat, poop, sleep, repeat is pretty predicable!). Chuck is back to work full-time. I have gotten out of the house a few times, and Nathan continues to attract camera wielding visitors! :) We watched the Super Bowl (well, mostly visited) at Uncle Michael and Aunt Carrie's house last night.

I am feeling good recovery wise, and I am adjusting to interrupted sleep. We are moving Nate into his room this week. Zack will be the most pleased to have access to us at night. I can't believe that our little boy is 4 weeks old tomorrow!

This week we hope to make a trek into my office for a visit, and we have a few visitors over the week.

Cheers!

Cancer sucks

The Smith side of our family in Texas is going through some tough times. We all know that cancer sucks. Chuck's cousin's wife, Lisa, (39, vibrant mother of 4) is facing a rare and aggressive cancer (soft tissue sarcoma). Lisa can use all of the prayers, positive energy, strong thoughts (choose your form of inspiration) that she can get, so please keep her in your thoughts. She is not only facing a very, very mean cancer, but she lives just miles from the best place to be treated (MD Anderson in Houston), but, due to insurance issues, she has not yet been able to get the diagnosis that is absolutely critical. Should you wish to read more about Lisa's challenge as told by Tracy Smith, please click HERE.

Still tied :)

After conferring with Dr. Dickey (yes, really), the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor, we are taking a "wait and see" approach with Nathan's tongue-tie. The Dr. described his tie as just moderate, and he would like to wait two weeks to see if our feeding issues resolve as Nathan (and I) learn a bit more. Most importantly, he doesn't think the tie would present any speech issues without being snipped. Nate pretty much slept through the appointment, only waking to complain when his ears and tongue were examined.

Nathan continues to be a sweet, sweet baby. He is beginning to have a bit of fussy time between 6-8pm, but we are generally able to soothe him with snuggles, his binkie (pacifier) or a ride in the swing. His alert hours seem to increase every day. Nathan impressed Grammy by being awake for just about her whole visit this morning - he was up from about 9 through 1 (outside of a few short naps when snuggling with Grammy). He is sleeping in 4-5 hour stretches at night (AWESOME), and I am keeping with a 2-3 hour feeding schedule during the day.

We were able to give Nathan a real bath today as his umbilical cord fell off last night. :) He enjoyed being in the warm water, and we are enjoying a clean baby!! His hair is curly when wet, which we think is pretty darn cute. :) His dark hair seems to be lightening just a bit (the new stuff that is coming in is a lighter brown with a slight auburn tint).

Ok, our fussy man is asking for some attention...bye!

More photos

I've added some more photos to our online album of the last few days --> HERE

Nathan visited Mimi and Popi on Saturday. And today we went to lunch with Milena. :) Daddy is at work all day today, and today is our first day home alone without any visitors. It's amazing how fast the day goes. Chuck will be home tomorrow and Grammy is coming to visit in the morning.

Cheers!

Two Week Checkup

Nathan did great at his two week checkup with Dr. Sunit this afternoon. He did have to have his heel pricked, and he expressed his dissatisfaction with the nurse very clearly! The BEST news from the appointment is that we no longer have to wake him up at night to feed him! YAHOO!! He is getting more aware of hunger and may wake up more often to feed, but the alarm every 3 hours at night will not be missed.

We are lucky to have a healthy, strong little boy.

His stats:

Height: 21 inches - 50%ile
Weight: 8 lb, 14 oz - 50%ile
Head: 37.6 cm - 60%ile

We are going to check with an ENT Specialist on Nathan's tongue-tie to explore having it clipped. Dr. Sunit is in favor of it as it is making breastfeeding painful for me and there really are no "cons" to cutting it. We will hopefully get in next week with the ENT doctor.

More photos

I've added photos from this past week to Nathan's gallery --> HERE

We've had a good week. Nathan is back up to his birth weight (he gained nearly 9 oz in 6 days!) and is doing great. He is awake more and more, and he continues to be a sweet baby. Nate has had a ton of visitors over the last week and he has enjoyed the snuggles! We have his 2 week appointment (he will be 17 days old) tomorrow, so I'll post an update after his checkup.

Video from the hospital

Here is the video Kari took when Chuck walked Nathan from the OR to the Nursery and announced that "It's a boy!" It might just be the hormones, but it brings a tear to my eye. :) Everyone's excitement over hearing the sex is a great reason not to "find out." Enjoy.

Nathan is doing great. He seems to grow overnight. We have his 2 week checkup a couple of days late on Friday, so I'll post his "stats" after the appointment. Tomorrow marks a nice day for me, as I should be cleared to drive following my surgery. I have a checkup with my OB in the morning.

Chuck started back at work this week. :( He is working Monday, Wednesday, Friday this week and maybe next week, so I only have one day home alone in a row. Kari came over today to give me some company. We chatted, had lunch, and took a walk around the neighborhood with our boys.

We've had a bunch of visitors come to snuggle Nathan (we are officially second and third fiddle, not sure who is who!). We have yet to "worry" about a meal as our wonderful friends and family have stocked our fridge and freezer with wonderful meals. Thank you! I hope to get some photos uploaded to the photo site in the next couple of days.

Nathan's first week

As everyone said it would, the time is just flying by! I have uploaded some photos of Nathan's first week ---> HERE

A day in 2-3 hour stretches

Nathan, Daddy, and I live in 2-3 stretches...Nate needs to eat every 2-3 hours right now, so there you have it. He is eating like a champ, and he and I are getting a groove for his feedings. Luckily, he generally goes down for a good snooze (milk coma!) after each feeding so we can all catch some zzzs.

He had his first pediatrician visit today (and our first venture out of the house!). He checked out great (he is an over achiever, what can we say). We go back this week to ensure he is gaining weight (his chubby cheeks so cute at delivery are coming back, so he is) and again in 2 weeks for his next check up.

Speaking of every 2-3 hours, time for some special time with my little guy. :)

Home, sweet home!

Hello! We've almost been home 24 hours! Nathan and I were discharged from Rose Medical Center at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon, which left us in early Friday rush hour traffic....which worked out well so we could drive slow with our precious cargo. :) My mom met us here and stayed the night to help us out. Not only is she contributing her housecleaning and cooking skills, she is right there to help soothe the baby should we need some extra hands. She is staying tonight as well and we really appreciate her help. I also don't know what I would do without the amazing support of my friends and family. I have some great super-mom mentors to lean on!

Our first night was tiring, but we made it. My milk has come in, so little Nathan is quite full after eating and likes to snuggle up with me (I may like it, too!) with his full tummy. He is a good eater, but we are still learning about each other to make to help the feedings go smoothly. Chuck was up with me for each feeding, offering swaddling, pillow adjustment, and fussy baby management support.

I'm continuing to heal from my surgery. Getting up from sleeping is the most painful part (I guess those hospital beds are good for certain things), even though I am "propped" up on pillows. Chuck is great at helping me manage my medications to stay as comfortable as I can. I may have an adventurous walk to the mailbox today to get some fresh air and also walk a bit as walking is a great way to help my recovery.

We may attempt a sponge bath of our little man today...we'll see how adventurous we feel. I clipped and filed his finger nails today successfully, so I may not push my luck.

I have a lot of photos to add to our album...I promise I get them loaded soon. But for now a blog post is all you get. :)

Important Statistics as reported by Daddy (someday he will post to this blog himself...):
=============
NAME: Nathan Robert Nellis
SEX: Boy (it was a surprise)
BIRTHDAY: 1/12/10
TIME OF BIRTH: 6:41 pm
WEIGHT: 8 lbs, 9 oz
LENGTH: 20 3/4 "
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE: 14 1/4 "
CUTE: Yes
SWEET: Definitely
HAIR: Brown and lots of it
EYES: Maybe blue, maybe hazel
METHOD OF DELIVERY: C-section
ALIASES: Nate, Nate Bob, Nater, Nater Tater, and Nater Salad
LIKES: Mom, Being held, being swaddled, and his pacifier
DISLIKES: Taking him out of his swaddling makes him lose his mind.
OTHER: If his pacifier isn't in just right he shakes his head side-to-side like Stevie Wonder

IT'S A BOY!!!

Chuck and I welcomed Nathan Robert yesterday evening! Details and more photos to follow. :)

All we need now is the baby :)

Hello! So the plan for tomorrow evening is that we call the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital at 7:30pm to see if there is a room for us. Assuming there is, we'll head to the hospital and get checked in. :) Our next post will likely be virtually introducing you to our new son or daughter. We are anxious and very excited to finally meet our little one. And we can't wait for each of you to meet him or her. Oh, and don't forget to vote on the gender on the right side of the page...so far GIRL is winning.

Here is a video I made today of the baby's room. Everything is ready in the room, except that once we know his/her initials, we'll put them up to the left of the window (on the green wall).

This is my first video attempt, so sorry it is a bit jerky. I tried to get a higher quality version to upload, but it isn't working, so here is a bit of a lower quality, but you get the point. :) Also, it seems the blog site is having some issues and the video may not load and you'll get a "try again later" message, so....try again later. ;).

And now I sit home and wait

So, together with my boss, we decided to have me start maternity leave as of yesterday. We had a baby false alarm on Wednesday morning (1:30am) when I thought my water had broken. After waiting a bit to confirm (or so I thought) we called the doctor and headed to the hospital at 4am. Alas, my water had not broken, and we were sent home after they monitored the baby (which looked great) and checked me out. So, we got some good practice at packing our stuff and making the trek to the hospital. We both stayed home yesterday from work (to sleep!).

It is seriously cold here in Colorado today, and we got enough snow yesterday to make things ugly on the roads today. So, my boss didn't want me to be on the roads, and since I have really already tied things up with my workload, I'm taking the rest of the week (Friday was going to be my last day anyway). The kitty doesn't know why I am home, but he is quite happy to have someone at home to snuggle him!! :)

Sometime between next week and now....

....we'll have a baby!! Together with my OB/GYN, we have decided to have me induced next week (at 39 weeks).  We'll go in Monday night (sometime after 7:30pm, assuming there is a bed) and I'll hopefully get some sleep before the morning. :) We are excited....and nervous!!

Now, what to do with our last week of baby-free life....

Oh, and the gender poll is back on the right side of the page. :)

Pregnancy....

As my time of no longer being pregnant gets closer and closer, I've been thinking a lot about what I'll miss (and not miss!) about being pregnant...so, here you go:

Things I will miss about being pregnant (in no particular order)

• Feeling the baby move in my belly
• Pregnancy nails and hair!
• The sound of Chuck's voice when he talks to the baby in my belly
• The feeling of never being alone
• Being waited on! :)
• Getting frequent pedicures since I can't reach my feet
• Unsolicited back rubs from Chuck
• The constant feeling of being so very lucky to have this experience

Things I will enjoy about not being pregnant any more (also in no particular order)

• Sleeping on my stomach and without hip and back pain
• Wearing pants with zippers, shoes that tie, and heels!
• Not having to always find the restroom where ever I go
• Recognizing my feet, ankles, and hands again
• Wearing my wedding rings!
• Watching stretchmarks fade - instead of ARRIVE!
• Being able to roll-over in bed without having to wake up, dress without grunting, get off the couch unassisted, and bend over to pick stuff off the floor!
• Snuggling with Chuck and the kitty (too many pillows and too much belly for any proper snuggling with either these days)
• Forgetting all of these minor things as soon as I see our baby for the first time. :)

Happy New Year!!

2010!! The year we add to our family. :) So much for a tax deduction in 2009, but we had determined that it wasn't likely anyway. Ha! We had planned to go to a friend's house, but Chuck is battling a cold so we stayed in. We made it to midnight in New York (10 our time), toasted with Martinelli's, and tucked into bed.

2010 will be a great year! Cheers!!