Nate: 4 months old

On November 7th, 2009 Nathaniel turned 4 months old. Here is how he's growing:

Weight: 17 lbs (90th percentile)
Height: 26.25 inches (90th percentile)
Head Circumference: 44.25 cm

What's new with Nate:
*His eye color has almost been completely taken over by brown.

(they're hazel now--still some blue-gray and green mixed in with the brown)

* He flips over from back to belly. (Only once from belly to back).


* He loves to "sing" and gurgle.
* He cries like a cat when wants to be picked up.
* He loves to laugh and smile at everyone--especially Lily!
* He LOVES/ADORES his big sister! (And Nate is Lily's little doll).

(every morning they lay down on Nate's mat together and cuddle).

* He has such a sweet demeanor. We call him "such a nice/sensitive guy."
* He's "That silly guy!"
* He loves to be outside.
* He likes to scoot around on his mat and sneak a peak of television.
* He wants to be picked up a lot.
* He loves his baths.


* He has "stinky feet."
* He's said "Agua" "ahhh-gwaaa" :)
* (If we ask Lily to get him to talk, she sweetly says "Say agua, say agua,...")
* He still wakes up 3 times at night to eat!
* He started eating rice cereal at night (hopefully that will help with sleeping!)


* He loves to kick those legs.
* He likes to sit in his crib for 10 minutes a day looking at his mobile.
* He's been said to look a lot like his Daddy and Uncle N.
* He's a super cute and lovable little guy.

Halloween 2009: Playing Cat & Mouse

We started the day by making some old school decorations:
Balloon ghosts and a sheet ghost.


We then watched the Auburn football game (vs. Ole Miss).


Soon it was time for candy fun! JoJo and Masi helped Lily treat-or-treat in the neighborhood.


JoJo then stayed at home with Nate and Lily continued to fill up her pumpkin bag. When we got home Lily selected 4 pieces to keep and the rest to "give to the kids." Lily was SO excited to have had 10 kids come to the door and dish them out a handful of candy (last year she waited for hours and nobody came).


It was a fun and sweet day!

Fall Party at School

All the kids dressed up in their costumes and eagerly went trick-or-treating to the classrooms. Lily got a load of candy and kept 4 to be her own...the rest we said "are for the other kids" that come to our house trick-or-treating (bonus for Mom and Dad not having to buy candy). Lily ate all 4 pieces that same day (even when she said she wanted to save some).

Sarah's 4th: HAPPY B'DAY!

We were thrilled to have made up to Huntsville for Miss. Sarah's 4th Birthday Party. Lily always says her favorite "place" to visit is "Sarah!"

These two had fun jumping in a pile of leaves,

and playing dress up with Sarah's fabulous assortment of Princess stuff.

It was so cute to see Sarah so elegantly walk in her high heels and long dress (a lot of practice for sure), while Lily stumbled to maintain her balance (Lily will have to get some wide princess shoes and she'll be in business).

Nate also enjoyed getting love from Chachi and his buddy B'Ro.


We then headed out for Sarah's super fun gym party that made all the kids and adults happy.


One would have thought the kids would have been exhausted from partying and no napping, but they were still wired. Chacha wrangled them into Sarah's bed for a story and called it lights out.


We then headed back to the river house for more family fun!

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY Sarah!

Field Trip: Fire Station

Today Lily had her first school trip!


For a long time now, whenever you ask what Lily wants to be when she grows up, she says "a fireman and a doctor" (sometimes just a fireman: she got the idea from one of her Dora videos and since hasn't let it go). So Lily was super excited about the trip and being able to spend time with her classmates.


The kids saw what a fireman looks like in all his gear. They learned what they need to do if their clothes are on fire (Stop, Drop, and Roll). They saw a fireman slide down a pole. They saw a puppet show (after climbing up 3 flights of stairs) that told them what to do if their is a fire in the house and the house is full of smoke (stay low and get out). They heard what a smoke detector alarm sounds like and much more.

All the kids also got to spray some water and sit in the fire engine! Lily LOVED spraying the water and was so excited that she "did it!"


After the visit, all the kids went over to the park and played for hours on the playground and then had a picnic lunch. It was a hot day, but that didn't slow Lily down (Mommy, yes!)

Nate tagged along for the trip (as did most siblings), but next time Mommy will try her best to arrange for him to stay at home. (Mommy was so thankful for all the help from the other Mommies!) Next time Mommy will get to totally immerse herself in Lily's excitement. Lily had a great time!

When we were eating the picnic lunch, Mommy asked Lily "What was your favorite part of the fire station?" Lily thought a while and excitedly said "Going down the STAIRS." Really? of all the things she did, Lily liked that the most? But then Lily quickly took back that answer and said "No, no...." Oh good! Mommy thought, Lily will probably say sitting in the fire engine or spraying the water out of the hose! ...Lily said: "My favorite was going UP the stairs."


P.S. Funny thing is "Going up and down the 3 flight of stairs" was Mommy's least favorite part. Mommy forgot to bring the baby Bjorn carrier (although Nate doesn't like it one bit). So since Lily would only hold Mommy's hand up and down the steep stairs, Mommy had a death grip on Nate in one arm while holding Lily's hand with the other arm. We took it nice and slow and apparently had fun!

"Festabull"

Lily had a great time at the October Festival. It was a super hot day, but Lily had a blast playing on the bounce houses, eating a snow cone, making friendship bracelets, and riding on the train (her favorite!) While on the train, Mommy and Lily pretended they were going into the jungle and looking for lions and monkeys & giraffes and elephants (Lily's imagination went into the Safari too).

Another of Lily's favorites was going down the HUGE inflatable slide by herself. Mommy did not approve and could only imagine Lily tumbling off the side. Luckily Lily stuck to the inner slide since she shot down it like a bullet. Lily had a brief look of horror on her face, but did it again and again. It was a fun morning.

Drawing & Writing Skills

While at Nani and Nani's house, Lily spent a lot of time drawing pictures of the family and writing the alphabet. In fact, Mommy made Lily practice letters before she was allowed to watch Dora--(Dora/television is a great motivator for Lily!) Soon Lily was spelling and writing her first and last name on her own. The crazy thing is, Lily writes her last name by starting with the last b on the right and working backwards to the C. Hey, whatever works...


Here are some samples. It is so cute how Lily puts cheeks on the faces.

Most times when Lily is drawing a picture or coloring a page, she says she needs to "sign it;" so she flips the page over and writes her name on the back (using up the entire page!)

Daddy and Nani's Birthday Celbration

Daddy has a long record of always being on travel on his birthday and missing out on a celebration. So, after Daddy was done in Gainesville he headed over to Nana and Nani's for the weekend. We spent Saturday celebrating Nani's 60th birthday (a few weeks late) and Daddy's 30-something birthday (a week late). Lily woke up early to make cupcakes with Masi...

When asked how old Daddy is, Lily held up 2 fingers. In fact Lily was correct--mod 5!

Lily got the honor of blowing out the candles too.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY and NANI! Cake time!

Hanging Around Nani & Nana's House

While Daddy spent the week at the University of Florida, Mommy, Lily, and Nate stayed with Nani and Nana. Masi even dropped by for the weekend. Lily enjoyed making (and eating) spinach rotis, hanging out the laundry,

making banana boats (thanks to Chachi for her version with yummy brown sugar along with the marshmallows and chips), drawing pictures with Masi,

and playing on the elementary school playground down the street.

Nate had fun too--leading the millionaire lifestyle as any Millionaire should.


Nate almost rolled over from his back to belly, but couldn't quite get it together. However, he did spend a lot of time laughing outloud and talking up a storm!