Nap Time

This is what I want to be doing right now....

Just Random Stuff

We finally got it! Ok - it looks abit funny but we finally got a picture of Nathaniel smiling. He has been smiling a lot the past few days, just not when we point the camera in his direction. Last night he was making eye contact with me when I was talking to him and all of the sudden he tipped up the left corner of his mouth in the cutest one-sided smile I have ever seen. It was a special moment. This morning he started smiling when the music started playing in church.
Jeremiah thinks that it is time to teach Nathaniel his ABC's utilizing his blocks. From the intent look on his face Nathaniel seems to be paying attention to his big brother. :-)

On Saturday I went to the neighborhood yard sale in Steve & Brenda's subdivision in the hopes of finding some winter clothes for Jeremiah (it turns out that the big bag of winter clothes that I thought I had in the attic in fact was a figment of my imagination...). I was unsuccessful in that quest but I found a portable dishwasher for $40. That's right! We now have a dishwasher! (It is the almond colored appliance up there.) I know it seems silly but the dishwasher has made my year! It felt like heaven yesterday to keep the dishes in the washer instead of on my counter, to load the dinner dishes straight up, to roll the washer over to the sink, let it run, and wake up in the morning to clean dishes! The other plus is that the top of the washer has a butcher block counter top so I have more space for preparing food. It feels like heaven. So our kitchen will definitely not be featured in Better Homes & Gardens with its strange assortment of mismatched appliances and improvised storage - but I don't care since I don't have to do all my dishes by hand anymore!!!

Looking around

I got a new cover for our "Boppy." I love the cute jungle animals. Seems silly I know, but I spend so much time using the pillow that it makes me happy to have cheerful covers on it. For those of you not as aware of baby products the Boppy pillow makes breastfeeding easier but as you can see it can also be used to help prop baby up a bit. Nathaniel loves to sit propped up and watch what is going on around him.

This morning Jeremiah was up at 5:30am. It's going to be a long day. I am so glad it is Friday. I love having Aaron home on the weekends!

Singing to Nathaniel

Yesterday morning Jeremiah and Nathaniel spent some time hanging out together. Jeremiah likes to sing Nathaniel songs. "Old McDonald Has A Farm" is the current favorite. In this video Jeremiah is doing the cow part. It is not the best video ever - but Jeremiah gets a little crazy now when I pull out the camera.

The other night when Aaron went to check out the stranded car it started right away. Frustrating because it will be hard to figure out what is wrong, and I don't want to drive it in case I get stranded again. So we will have to figure something out.

It is a cool, cloudy morning and we are hoping for some rain. It seems like today will be a good day to hang out here at home and relax (and catch up on laundry).

Cars

Cars are frustrating things.

We have never owned a brand new car for a number or reasons. First, we have never been able to afford it (don't want to go into debt, higher tax and insurance rates for brand new cars etc. etc.). Second, according to our accountant pastors wife it is unwise to buy a brand new car because they depreciate in value up to 30% the minute you drive them off the lot so even if we were in the market for something nicer and newer it would make more sense to get something pre-owned.

God has always been gracious and our cars have always run well despite their age (around 10 years old). It helps that Aaron and his dad are both good mechanics and know how to work on cars. In fact we have owned 2 Saturns that have been absolutely awesome and never needed any work other than the regular stuff that wears out. My first Saturn was my car when I worked for DFCS and I put more miles on it than I care to count and it ran like a top until the day a tree limb fell through the roof during a storm. I miss that car!

Anyway, one of our cars has had a weird thing over the past 9 months or so when every now and then it just won't start up. One day we were eating at Wendy's when it wouldn't start. We walked the few blocks home and when Aaron went back it started right back up. The other time this happened was in Aaron's parents driveway and after a few minutes it started right back up again. Aaron has tried to figure out the problem but has been unsuccessful.

Today I had to run to the post office for the 3rd time in 3 days (a long story involving trying to get Nathaniel's passport). The post office is just a few minutes away and all I had to do was drop off a check so I grabbed the kids, my wallet, and the check and headed out the door. Jeremiah disobeyed me the whole time we were in the post office and I was hot, tired, and frustrated by the time we got back in the car. I was looking forward to naptime! I turned the key in the ignition and of course the car made noise but would not start. Three very nice men stopped to see what was the problem. They all diagnosed it as something to do with gas not getting through (and of course assumed that since I was a girl I had run out of gas). There was nothing really they could do.

I was stranded with 2 boys, it was hot outside, and I didn't have my cell phone. I wanted to curse and cry at the same time.

At that moment my boss from the first job I had out of college walked out of the post office door. Seriously! I had not seen him in about 8 years! He was parked right next to me! He graciously let me load up the car seats and the boys into his car and gave us a ride home.

Aaron is now at the post office trying to figure out what is wrong with the car. Today is one of those days when I want to throw caution to the wind, drive down to the nearest car dealership and get a brand new vehicle.

The moral of this story:

Never, never leave the house without your cell phone when you have 2 kids and an old car.

play time

Our boys play on the floor together. Jeremiah thought it was hilarious!
Jeremiah "lufs No-fan-ul."
Sweet kiss.
Jeremiah "took" this picture.

Precious Moment

I still have not been successful in getting Nathaniel's smile on film but believe me he is a smiley little boy! I think he just has a very pleasant countenance. He always looks happy with life.

Yesterday morning Jeremiah came and gave Nathaniel a kiss on the forehead. Nathaniel broke out into a big smile! It was the sweetest thing and a memory I will hold in my heart forever.

Got the tickets!

This week I ordered our plane tickets for our trip to the Netherlands (NL) in December! And today we finished Nathaniel's passport application.

We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time. Well, since Ben & Ramona got engaged last August here in the States to be exact. Of course, at that time we were not planning on making the trip as a family of four. :-)

I will be flying over with the boys in early December and Aaron will join us 10 days later when his vacation starts. We will all fly back together in early January.

There are so many things to look forward to.

- Will & Mariana are going to be there! So all the Viss siblings will be together again for the first time since our visit in June 2005.

- Ben & Ramona's wedding! It's going to be an awesome party! We love those guys and are ready to celebrate their marriage with them. Plus, the Dutch know how to throw a wedding party, we plan on dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

- Introducing Nathaniel to his oma & opa and Viss aunts & uncles.

- Watching Jeremiah enjoy his oma & opa and Viss aunts & uncles. He is going to love getting lots of extra attention.

- Just spending time with mom & dad at their house.

- Good coffee, fresh food, delicious cheap wine & beer, cheese.

- Visiting and catching up with some of my high school friends.

Oh man. I am getting more excited thinking about it!

Of course, first we have to make it to December, then I have to figure out what to pack for 2 boys, then I have to survive the plane trip over there alone with 2 boys....

It will all be worth it though!

Of clothes and other things

You can see how Nathaniel is growing by how he starting to fill up the swing. He is also finally fitting into his clothes for 0-3 months! This is fun for me as I can now dress him in all the cute things that we bought and that people gave us. I love this little football looking outfit. It is also finally cooling down so I can dress him in more than just a onesie.

Jeremiah still fits in his pants from last winter. That is right. His little waist is so small and he hasn't gotten too tall that he still fits in the the 24 month size pants. Of course, he could have a growth spurt any day, but for now I am glad that we don't have to buy him new pants for the winter.

We are off to Target this morning with Aunt Cherise, Shanna and Baby Eli. Jeremiah is pumped and ready to go! Nathaniel is sound asleep. :-)

Look at that neck control!

In order to counter my previous post of today which was a negative rant I post these pictures of my littlest boy holding his head up for your enjoyment. He really is getting more alert and aware. Yesterday we caught him actually watching the moving birds and butterflies at the top of his swing. He likes to be held up so that he can hold his head back and look around. Yesterday evening (in these pictures) he was looking out the window at the contrast of the leaves on the trees against the bright sky. Today he looked over in Jeremiah's direction when Jeremiah started talking to him.

I am still trying to work out the 2 boys different schedules. Nathaniel is in that stage where it takes me longer to put him to sleep for naps (I guess that is the byproduct of being more alert), so I am working on juggling needing to focus on him at certain times and of course those are the times that Jeremiah decides he needs my attention too. I will say that night sleeping is going much better! Nathaniel is sleeping for about 4 hours at a time so after his 10pm feeding I usually wake at 2am and 6am to feed him. He is doing much better about going quickly back to sleep after nursing and I am even usually able to transfer him from our bed to his bassinet once he is really asleep. I know, I am supposed to work on him falling asleep in his bassinet by himself - but I will take what I can get! Right now sleep for me is a high priority.

This week God has given me the strength I need to wake early and spend time with him. Of course, ironically, Jeremiah has been waking when I do but I turn on his light, give him some books and he usually stays quietly in his room until I come and get him. I feel more refreshed and ready to face the day which is all God's grace because if it were up to me I would sleep an extra 45 minutes. :-)

Insurance

You had better believe that I am going to be evaluating the next presidential candidates health insurance proposals very carefully.

One, I am of the decidedly European belief that good health care is a right for all people, not just a select few. To me this is part of God's mandate to care for the needy and less fortunate.

Two, it seems crazy to me that a health care system is governed by profit. I mean all other public safety services (school, police, social services, fire fighters etc.) are not profit driven.

Anyway, I am warning you that the rest of this post is a total rant and I will not be the least bit offended if you don't read it. This rant today because I am dealing with stupid insurance stuff that is stressing me out (because of course it involves money).

Today I received about 5 different letters/statements from our insurance company - supposedly they contain the information about what is covered and not covered from the hospital stay and birth of Nathaniel. I thought that it should be pretty straightforward as I knew what our deductibles and out-of-pocket totals were supposed to be. I mean, we have already paid our total yearly out of pocket amount so why am I told to pay for the anesthesia?

But it is not straightforward.

Trying to understand these statements is like trying to decipher some kind of obscure code. It really makes no sense to me. And of course when I call the 800 number I get some person who is not really excited about trying to explain it clearly in "laymans terms", she uses a tone of voice that implies that I don't have a single working brain cell in my head, and so after 20 minutes of conversation I am almost more confused than I was before.

I feel like they are trying to make it difficult so that I will just give up and pay them whatever they say I should pay.

Oh, and here is the real kicker. I got a statement with charges from Jeremiah's immunizations in 2005! The statement says that I have to pay the pediatrician because the bill was not sent to the insurance company within the 12 months of service. What? It's been 2 years and I had never seen this bill and now I am suddenly supposed to know where it came from and to just go ahead and pay it. You have got to be kidding me!

This stuff makes me so mad because most of the time our family doesn't even meet it's yearly deductible and out of pocket expenses. We pay an arm and a leg for health insurance and because we are healthy we never use it. We go year after year quietly paying our premiums and not costing our insurance company anything in claims.

This year we have a baby and WHAMO! It's like the insurance company (because it is profit driven) does everything to milk every single penny they can out of us. Last month they sent me a bill that I had already paid. Did they think I wouldn't notice and would pay them again? It's so wrong!

This kind of stuff stresses me out!

Not of the world...

Our pastor Travis has started a new sermon series on the book of Daniel. It has been really amazing so far. The beginning of the book is telling us about how Daniel and his friends are now in Babylon and expected to be part of Babylonian culture. Travis has been teaching about how they were able to be part part of the culture (in the kings court, get a Babylonian education etc.) yet because of their knowledge of God's Word and their desire to serve Him were still able be set apart.

I share my notes from yesterday hoping they will challenge you as they have challenged me.

Daniel 1:17-21

Daniel and his friends were able to remain in but separate from the Babylonian culture. This is very difficult for the current church (especially as Americans).

Our culture tells us that there is no absolute right and wrong.

Our culture tells us that success is more important than godliness.

We are tied to consuming over giving. Our culture creates dissatisfaction in us (advertising, showing us celebrities, telling us to compare ourselves to others) so that we constantly want more than what we have.

So:

How are we to live (action - not just words) trusting the Spirit (like Daniel & friends)?

1. Be people of prayer

When we pray we remind ourselves that we are not adequate and we have to trust someone outside of ourselves. We pray because we need. Lack of prayer in your life is usually a sign of self-reliance.

2. Spend time in the Word

Studying the Word shows us a world that we usually cannot see.

Earthly wisdom will fade away.

Knowledge of God's Word enabled Daniel to discern truth & lies in Babylonian teaching - therefore he was not influenced or swayed by the lies.

3. Practice obedience against earthly wisdom.

This means actually doing the things the Bible commands you to do that the world thinks are crazy (keeping the sabbath, tithing, befriending the weak & powerless, showing kindness, praying for our enemies).

Obedience to the Spirit sometimes goes against common sense (for instance God may be leading you in specific ways not just general ones - to go to the mission field, to give sacrificially, to befriend someone who is weak/powerless, etc.). What is the Spirit leading you to do?

Side note: Usually we do not want to reduce our standard of living enough to have the time and resources to do the work of the kingdom that the Spirit is leading us to do.

Trusting in the Spirits power means trusting the Spirit to give you the power to live the life God wants you to live NOT for living the life you want to live.

Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

Happy Birthday!

Today my honey turns 28 years old!
I know, I know, he is still a baby. :-)
I have known Aaron for a long time now and of course my life has been blessed because he is in it. I remember when I first realized that I was starting to "like" Aaron as more than a friend one of the things I admired about him was that he never just talked to be talking-when he spoke what he had to say was either funny or wise. Aaron is trustworthy, compassionate, patient, gentle, intelligent, never afraid to be unique, and a true servant.
Happy birthday baby! Here's to many many more exciting years ahead.

Bug going around

I woke up this morning feeling much better and thankful that no one else in the family seemed to have caught what I had.

Jeremiah woke early from his nap crying. I was a bit frustrated because it is a nice cool rainy day and since he woke up early this morning I was hoping he would take a longer nap than usual. I made him come and lay in bed with me. He kept whining and fussing. In my tired and sinful state as a mother I kept telling him firmly to stop whining and use his words. I got up to change Nathaniel, lecturing Jeremiah about using his words, when I hear a gurgling and splashing from the other side of the room.

Yep.

Jeremiah was regurgitating everything he had eaten today.

I felt horrible for being so abrupt with him.

So he has been cleaned up and is cozy in his pj's watching Baby Einstein on the couch. I am keeping a close watch for any further episodes.

I really really hope Nathaniel and Aaron don't get this. Aaron is supposed to go motorcycle riding with friends tomorrow for his birthday.

The good news is the bug doesn't last long.

Humbled

Note: I made a post yesterday about Nathaniel being 1 month old. Scroll down past Aaron's post for pics!

Just the other day I was feeling quite proud of my accomplishments as a wife and mother. The house was finally getting clean, I was preparing weekly meal plans and doing the grocery shopping, I was entertaining Jeremiah without resorting to TV. I felt like I really had it all together.

Then yesterday - BAM! I got some kind of really nasty stomach bug that totally wiped me out. I waited miserably until Aaron got home (while Jeremiah watched all his Veggie Tales videos) and then happily turned over all my duties (except nursing) and went to bed. Aaron got a substitute teacher to take over for him today and has stayed home.

This morning as I was lying in bed and feeling frustrated I realized that I put so much emphasis on my worth based on what I do. If things are going well I credit myself for my accomplishments and feel good about myself. When things are not going well I feel bad about myself and the things I should be doing. So this morning I prayed and asked God to help me see my worth and dependence on Him despite my physical situation or surroundings.

So I am headed back to bed to rest again (without feeling guilty) before Aaron has to go to his class.

I am a Patriot

In my 7th grade class we are about to start an essay contest. The contest is sponsored by the VFW & there are 45 winners with the top winner receiving a $10,000 savings bond.
The title of the essay is, "Why I am an American Patriot."
So I found this video & I am trying to figure out to show it to my class because the county school system has youtube blocked from it's computers so I am just using the blog for my own personal gain.. oh that's kinda what a blog is anyway.
It's a great video.. there are several other versions of this song - two others performed by e. Vedder, one of which has some harsh language that is inappropriate for the kids ears.




Sarah is also sick.. so I am staying home tomorrow.. today by the time you read this. Hopefully a day of rest will help get her back on her feet.

1 Month

Look - I can lift up my head!
Trying to get the duckie.
Mama tries to get a smile on the picture - not quite.
I like to sit up and watch what is going on.
Getting those hands in my mouth. I know I can do it!

I can hardly believe that Nathaniel is already 1 month old. It seems like just a few days ago that I was wondering if I was really in labor or not. On the other hand, it seems like he has always been a part of our family.

He is a growing little fellow! Todays measurements are: 9 pounds 1 ounce, and 21 3/4 inches long. That is a gain of 2 pounds and almost 2 inches in just 2 weeks!

We are noticing a real "awakening" in his behavior. When he is awake he is very alert and has started looking toward voices and light. This morning he was watching Jeremiah make faces at him. He has also started smiling. We haven't been able to capture it on a picture yet but he definitely smiles. He especially smiles when I lay him down to nurse. :-)

Daily time with God

Lately I have been feeling the need to get back to a more disciplined Bible reading and prayer time. There are many things that are causing me to realize the need to spend daily time with God. All of these situations are causing me to see (again) that I need God's wisdom, strength, and encouragement and the only way to get that is to spend time with Him.

So I have asked Aaron to wake me up at 6:15 every morning before he leaves for work so that I can get a quick shower, have a cup of coffee, read the Bible and pray before Jeremiah is up and the daily crazyness begins. This is not going to be easy because I am not a morning person for one thing. And of course it is hard to get up in the morning because of being up with Nathaniel at night.

But I really feel like God is leading in this. I am going to trust that He will give me the strength I need to do what He is leading me to do.

I will also ask you to pray for me in this! Hold me accountable too if you feel led...

C-A-T

I know that every mother thinks that her children are the smartest most beautiful children in the world. I am not around many other 2 1/2 year olds, but I am starting to get the distinct feeling that my son may be a bit advanced in the whole letter recognition/phonics/reading area. He just seems to be fascinated with letters. Lately he is really into trying to spell words. Of course there are the 3 letter words like cat, bat, sat etc. and yesterday he brought out the letters to spell "best" (which is on his Leap Frog video). He still has not got the hang of really reading yet - just sounding out letters but I think that we are on the way.

Yesterday Jeremiah counted to 30. I looked at Aaron and asked him if he had taught Jeremiah that because up until now we couldn't seem to get past 10. Aaron said he thought I had taught him. Somehow he figured out how to count to 30 all by himself.

Still having sleeping problems with Nathaniel. I am sure you are getting bored of that topic so I will not elaborate. It's pretty boring really.

So another week begins.

Another long night

I was right. Last night Nathaniel was up from about 10pm until the wee hours of the morning. I don't know exactly how long he was awake but I know that I finally handed him over to Aaron at about 3 a.m. because I just had to get some sleep. At some point Aaron brought him back to our bed where I was finally able to nurse him to sleep. The funny thing about last night is that he was acting tired but just didn't seem to be able to settle into deep sleep. It was frustrating.

Jeremiah never took a pacifier. We were so scared of him not nursing properly that we waited too long before introducing a paci or bottle and so he never really took to either one. Ever since Nathaniel was born I have had the feeling that he will use a pacifier. He was continually make sucking motions with his mouth and constantly trying to get his fingers and hands in his mouth. Many times when he nurses he is not really drinking but just wanting to use me as his pacifier. Yesterday morning I decided that I did not want to be a pacifier anymore and gave one to him. It took him a few tries to get the hang of it but before I knew it he was lying peacefully in his bed sucking away, his eyes getting droopy. We have decided to only use the paci for sleeping. I thought it would help last night but it didn't - he kept waking up every time it popped out of his mouth.

Needless to say I am exhausted this morning. I am about to make some coffee. I'm so glad it's Friday!

What a day

It is finally quiet in the house.

Aaron just called and is on his way home.

Jeremiah had some kind of emotional meltdown this evening. Since he woke up from his nap the afternoon and evening was peppered with whining (lots of it), random crying for no apparent reason, excessive testing of limits and refusal to obey. I finally decided an early bedtime was in order and even after extra book reading and cuddling I could hear him crying for about 20 minutes before he finally fell asleep. What is up?

Nathaniel has been asleep since his last feeding at 3:30 this afternoon. That was 5 hours ago. I tried to wake him up about an hour ago to eat but no luck. This must be his messed up sleep cycle. If only we could get him to do this long sleep period at night when the rest of us are sleeping too! I just know he is going to wake up at 10 tonight bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to play. That's what happened last night. Although I will say that I think he is having a growth spurt since for the past 2 days most of his feedings have been 1 1/2 to 2 hours apart which for him is really frequent.

On a positive note I can proudly say that the kitchen floor finally got mopped today. The process involved one very very wet, dirty toddler who did not understand the concept of squeezing the sponge out in the bucket, instead preferring to soak the floor with excess water, and one mother trying to keep her patience. But it is done! I won't tell you how long it had been since the floor was last mopped or how dirty the water in the bucket was. That would just be depressing and I choose not to dwell on that.

Man I hope tomorrow is better.

Oh - Nathaniel is waking up. Will he go back sleep after he is fed?

A Spanish Song

Jehova, Senor de los cielos
(Jehovah, Lord of heaven)
Glorioso sea Tu nombre;
(May your name be glorified)
El rey de los universos,
(The King of the universe)
Y redentor de los hombres.
(And Redeemer of men.)
La lluvia en los arboles,
(The rain on the trees)
Las alas de los angeles
(And the wings of the angels)
Proclamaran Tus bellezas
(Will proclaim your beauty)
Pregonaran Tus riquezas
(And declare your riches)
--
Soy debil, Senor, y ciego
(I am weak, Lord, and blind)
Agobiado de horrores
(Overloaded with fears)
Pecaminosos deseos
(Sinful desires)
Y apartado de Tus dones
(And far from your gifts)
Liberame de mi maldad
(Free me from my wickedness)
Bendiceme con Tu bondad
(Bless me with Your goodness)
Sostenme, Dios, en Tu gracia
(Uphold me, God, in Your grace)
--
La morada de Tu templo
(The dwelling place of Your temple)
Aumbrada con primores
(Beautifully illuminated)
Estrellas del fimamento
(The stars of Your creation)
Y un manantial de colores
(And a fountain of colors)
Magnanimo en santidad
(Great is Your holiness)
Esplendido en caridad
(Splendid in Your lovingkindness)
Jehova, Senor de los cielos
(Jehovah, Lord of heaven)
Luz del camino eterno
(Light of the eternal way)
--

In our church we sing at least one song in Spanish every Sunday so that our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters can have an opportunity to praise God in their native tongue. I love hearing God worshiped in other languages. Maybe it is a result of my missionary kid upbringing, but to me there is something so amazing about the experience of feeling the emotion of worship despite the fact that I may not understand exactly what is being said. On one of my favorite worship cd's a song is sung in an African language and it always brings me to tears. I love how worshiping in other languages gives me a picture of heaven and the joy we will experience seeing God praised by every people and in every language! What a time that will be!

In his sermon on Sunday Travis stepped into a contraversial topic for this area and encouraged us to learn other languages (primarily Spanish since there are so many Spanish speakers moving into our area) in order to be able to advance the Kingdom. He asked us, "This is not about a political issue (I will not learn Spanish because we live in an English speaking country), it is about being able to serve God. How do you benefit the kingdom if you cannot communicate with your brothers and sisters?" He also asked the same question of the Spanish speakers, encouraging them to learn English. I was encouraged to make more of an effort to communicate with my Spanish speaking brothers and sisters and to try and learn more Spanish in the year to come. I have been meaning to for a long time but it has just never happened.

Anyway.

This song is one of my favorite Spanish songs that we sing (the italics are the English translation, but we do not sing any English). I wish that you could hear the melody. It is beautiful and haunting and reminds me more of an Irish ballad. Whenever we sing it I am reminded that God is God of the whole world and universe and I am humbled at the picture of Him clothed in light and glory in His temple. I love to sing this song to Jeremiah and Nathaniel to help them fall asleep.

I share this song and these thoughts with you today hoping that you will be reminded of God's rule over the whole world. Hoping too that you will ask yourself "How can I advance the Kingdom today?"

More Pictures

Hope you don't feel too overwhelmed with Nathaniel pictures. I couldn't resisit sharing these ones that were taken by a friend on Sunday night at our small group. She has an awesome camera and is a really good photographer. She told me that she likes to do "official photo shoots" for friends. So we may set something up to get some more formal looking shots (and with Jeremiah). I think that we will definitely ask her to do our family Christmas card picture this year!

More Nathaniel Pics

It is a cool Monday morning here. We are up and have already been to the grocery store and the library. So Jeremiah is now happily watching a new Thomas the Tank Engine movie. We have recently discovered these videos and Jeremiah loves them! And Moni, you will be happy to know that I got his Lego Thomas out the other day and he has been having a blast playing with it ever since!

I thought I would post a few pictures of Nathaniel that Aaron and I took the other day. We are trying to get our act together and order birth announcements - so that called for pictures! I think that he is really starting to wake up (like Amy mentioned) and is spending at least 2 long awake periods during the day. When he is awake he looks around with wide eyes and wrinkled forehead, waving his arms around and kicking his feet. Night sleeping is going better - meaning that most of the time he sleeps in his bassinet next to the bed in between feedings so I am able to get about 2 hours of sleep at a time. Last night though was tough because for some reason he had a lot of gas and kept squirming around.

But he still seems to be a laid back little guy who rarely cries and seems content to sit in his swing and watch the household activity. He also calmly puts up with loving abuses from Jeremiah. Jeremiah likes to run up, give him a big squeeze and say, "luf No-fan-ul" (love Nathaniel). Jeremiah also likes for Nathaniel to lay down next to him on the bed when we read books before nap and bed time. "Lay next him!" he exclaims. Most of the time this is nice. Sometimes Jeremiah decides to jump, wiggle, and turn somersaults. When that happens and before I can stop it Nathaniel's eyes get even wider as he gets bounced abit. I wonder what he is thinking! :-)

Scenes from Saturday

We had a fun and busy day on Saturday. Keep scrolling down for all the pictures!
We went over to Steve & Brenda's to visit with Aaron's grandparents and some of his aunts & uncles who came all the way from Atlanta to see Nathaniel! (I lost my brain cells and forgot to get pics of Nathaniel with his great grandparents...)

Family Picture

Getting a good family picture is not as easy as it used to be. I was determined to try and get a good picture of all four of us. But these were the best 2 out of a bunch - and they aren't even that great. Guess we will have to try again.

Jeremiah got on Uncle Chads bike and had a blast wearing the helmet and honking the horn.
Aaron's uncle and aunt gave Jeremiah some neat presents for being a big brother. This is a Scooby-Doo punching bag. Jeremiah loves to kick and punch it and watch it pop back up. The pic is blurry because Jeremiah loved it so much he would absolutely not be still!
Cherise and Nathaniel

Nathaniel's first real bath

Saturday night we gave Nathaniel his first real bath. He wasn't too excited about the whole things and pretty much cried the whole time. But he smelled so yummy when we were done! Don't you just love the smell of baby's all slathered in Johnsons lotion?

Who does he look like?

Jeremiah at about 1 month old.
Nathaniel at about 2 weeks old.

People keep asking me who I think Nathaniel looks like. I am really bad at that kind of thing. But I keep thinking that he looks a lot like Jeremiah did when he was a baby. I don't know if I think that because it is true or because he is a baby at to some degree all baby's look a like to me. So I went through some of Jeremiah's baby pictures. I think there is a definite resemblance don't you?