3 Weeks Old

The weeks are flying by! I can't believe that in just one week, Nathan will be a month old already. It doesn't really seem possible. He seems so big to us because he's wearing clothes that Tyler didn't fit until he was 2-months-old. I guess it just goes to show that every child is different.

The boys and I had a pretty busy week this week. On Monday we went to a local park and fed bread to the ducks and geese, which is one of Tyler's favorite things to do. On Tuesday we went to the library for Rhyme Time. Nathan slept through the whole thing. It only lasts about 30 minutes, but since he was asleep, I got to help Tyler do the motions to the songs and poems. Tyler's favorite part about Rhyme Time is the end because the leader blows bubbles and then stamps all the kids' hands. This week Tyler got a stamp in the shape of a rabbit and he has been talking about it ever since.

On Thursday we met our friends Lindsay and Kaitlyn at the mall so that Tyler and Kaitlyn could play together. Even since Nate arrived, we've been able to keep up our weekly playdates with them, but they've been coming to our house. When I told Tyler we were going to the mall, he immediately said, "Kay-Kay!" (for Kaitlyn) and, "bus!" I think he'd missed playing on the bus at the mall with Kaitlyn. Once again, Nathan slept through the entire outing. I promise he doesn't sleep all the time...it's just when other people are around. =)

Here are a few photos of the boys from this week. Between the two of them, they definitely keep us busy, but we're having lots of fun as a family of four.

Chasing bubbles

Tyler kept trying to kick the bubbles to make them pop

Nathan just hangin' out on his playmat

Nathan listens intently to his brother

PJ just can't resist a soft blanket...this is part of the reason why I get to do so much laundry.

Captain Cooper's Pirate Party

We all went to Cooper's third birthday party yesterday, and boy was it fun! It was a pirate theme, so Cooper and his entire crew of friends got to dress up in pirate garb: an eye patch, a sash, a bubble sword and some even opted to wear the earring (Tyler decided to forego the earring). The kids looked so cute running around like little pirates. Of course Nathan didn't get dressed up, but he looked pretty cute himself, sound asleep in his carseat.

The party was at a local park that has a carousel and train, so all the kids and their parents got to ride both. We’ve taken Tyler to this park several times in the past, and even though he’s ridden the carousel before, he didn’t want to ride it this time. He was excited about the train ride, though. He loves “tains”.

At the end of the party, each pirate got to pick some beads from a treasure chest. So, Tyler’s ensemble was complete once he put on his blue beads. He would not part with this eye patch, sash or beads for the rest of the evening. We went to Cooper’s house for pizza after the party, and Tyler didn’t break character once. It wasn’t until we got home and it was bath time that he finally let us take off the eye patch and sash. Of course, that wasn’t the end of Pirate Tyler. This morning he put everything back on (while still in his pajamas), and he even added the earring and some scurvy teeth to the mix. Aaaarrrr!

All decked out in his pirate wear

Ahoy thar, matey!

The littlest pirate of them all

Riding the train

Little Gabe

Me and my little pirates

Wearing his pirate treasure beads

The birthday boy

Showing off his earring and pirate teeth

2 Weeks Old

Wow! It's hard to believe Nathan is 2-weeks-old! Time is already flying by and he is growing so fast. At his 2-week doctor visit yesterday, he weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and measured 20.5 inches (45th percentile for both weight and length). His pediatrician said he looked wonderful. He continues to be a sleepy baby, but his wakeful periods are getting a little longer now. When he is awake, he's very content. Tim joked that Tyler cried more in one day than Nathan has cried in his first 2 weeks. Nathan had been spitting up a lot over the weekend, but we think he might have just been eating too much too fast. I started burping him a lot throughout his feedings and we haven't had any big spit-ups since.

Today I was telling Tyler that he and his brother will share a room when Nathan gets bigger. Apparently Tyler wanted to share something with Nathan right then because he immediately ran to his room and grabbed 2 tractors. He took them both to where Nathan was sleeping in our room and explained to his sleeping brother that one was "my kacker" (that's how he says tractor) and the other was "Nate kacker". Tyler was holding out Nate's tractor in front of Nathan's face to give it to him. I told him to just lay the tractor on the blanket until Nate woke up. Sure enough, when his brother finally woke up, I heard Tyler saying, "wake up" and found him trying to hand Nate the tractor again. I thought it was sweet that Tyler was so willing to share with his little brother. Tyler may still be new at the big brother thing, but his mom thinks he's off to a great start.

Dance Machine

Tyler loves The Backyardigans and one of his favorite episodes (at least this week) is when the crew goes to Mars on a space shuttle. He loves to watch Pablo, Austin and Uniqua dance to the last song, which is called "Boinga". I just had to record him dancing to the music because he's got some serious moves. Nate makes an appearance at the end of the video, but he obviously won't be dancing along with his brother for a while.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Monkey's Socks

Lately Tyler has refused to put on socks at bedtime, but his feet feel cold when he wakes up in the morning. A couple evenings ago we asked him if he would wear socks if we put socks on his monkey. He said he would, so we put a pair of Nathan's socks on his monkey and Tyler happily let us put socks on him, too. Monkey has been wearing socks ever since.

Here's a photo of little Nathan on a super soft blanket that my good friend Lindsay gave him. Isn't he sweet?

No Doubt They're Brothers

When we had Nathan's picture taken at the hospital, he really reminded Tim and I of how Tyler looked when he was first born. It will be interesting to see who Nathan will resemble as he gets older, but for right now, he seems to liken his big brother.

Tyler's hospital picture

Nathan's hospital picture

Tyler at 5 days old / Nathan at 4 days old

Our three boys: PJ, Nathan and Tyler

Baby Nathan

It has taken a few days to get this posted, but Nathan Michael is finally here! He arrived the evening of Wednesday, April 30th weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 20 inches. We are so happy to finally meet him and feel incredibly blessed because he is perfectly healthy. All of us, including PJ, are adjusting to having a brand new baby in the house, and it's going pretty well. At first little Nate wanted to be held around the clock, but now it looks as though he's getting used to being in this big world. He has been sleeping pretty soundly in the bouncy seat for the past couple days, so we're grateful for that. Of course, being a nursing mom, I'm the one who is most sleep-deprived, but I know that will get better in time. Tim has been staying busy playing with Tyler and helping with Nate when he can. Nana and Papa helped a lot the past few days by spending time with Tyler and providing meals. Tyler is doing really well in his new role as big brother. He likes to go up to Nate while he's sleeping in the bouncy seat and very sweetly says "hi" or "hey" to his little brother. Every time Nate starts to cry, he says, "Uh-oh!"

We've accumulated quite a few photos in the past couple days, so I'm posting several here. Enjoy!