Blake's opening day of T-ball

 

Blake started his 2nd season of t-ball on Saturday. He is on the Reds and has had 2 practices so far--we like his team and coach. His banner actually won "best banner" for the t-ball division! So cool! They get a free pizza dinner as a prize. He's excited for another season. We noticed he wasn't throwing the ball very far during practice, so we asked why, and he said, well, I don't want to hit anyone with the ball! We're excited to see how he does this year.

 

A video of his team being announced and running the bases.

Nathan is 5 months old!

 

Here's our big boy Nathan at 5 months old! He weighs 14 lbs 8 oz and this time the doctors said his weight gain is just great! He is 26 inches long. He is getting close to sitting up now, he tries really hard to get up on his hands and knees, he is still very vocal, and he loves grabbing toys and putting them in his mouth. He is so much fun! Only 6 weeks until his cleft palate repair surgery. We love Nathan!

Cliff's BYU graduation trip

 

A few weeks ago I was able to get on a plane to see my brother graduate from BYU. Nathan came along for the trip--his first plane ride and he did great! I had so much fun spending time with my family and seeing all the changes on the BYU campus.

 

 

College of Engineering and Technology graduation ceremony in the Smith Fieldhouse.

 

Nathan in his cute new BYU hat!

NieNie's house (Stephanie Nielsen from NieNie dialogues) and she was actually OUTSIDE when we drove by. I wish I were brave enough to stop and talk to her.

 



My old boss Don Fossum from the BYU bookstore. He now has a huge collection of rubber ducks from all over the world and claims it's one of the most photographed things on campus. It was good to visit with him again--I can't believe it's been over 10 years since I worked there!

 



All in all it was a great trip and I'm so glad I went! So grateful to Joel for helping with the kids while I was gone, and to a friend from the ward for getting the kids to school in the morning and watching them Friday afternoon. And to Joel's mom for watching the kids while Joel picked me up from the airport. I couldn't have done it without everyone's help! I was SO exhausted when I got home but it was worth it!

Trip to El Paso, Texas, Easter 2013

 

We had such a fun trip to El Paso, Texas for our niece Lizzy's baby blessing! It was great to hang out with Briana and Eddy and see little Lizzy who is so adorable! We went swimming in the pool on the army base where they live, went to Texas Roadhouse, Krispy Kreme, church for the baby blessing, and just had lots of fun being together. We miss Briana and Eddy and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Nathan is 4 months old!

 Nathan in El Paso. He survived his first road trip!



His new trick--sucking on his bottom lip. He also makes a little noise when he does this.

His cute little foot sticking out of his blanket while he was sleeping.

Nathan has discovered the joy of holding and sometimes sucking on his toes/feet.

He looked so cute while sleeping--I realized I don't have many pics of him sleeping, probably because he rarely sleeps!

Julianna LOVES Nathan. Now that he can hold his head up, I have taught her how to pick him up this way and lay him back down. She is becoming a good little helper.

 

 

We now have a 4 month old! Nathan went to the pediatrician today and weighed in at 13 lb 10 oz. They are now a little concerned about his weight gain and want me to supplement with formula in the breastmilk again. I just hope he has a better reaction this time around--when we did it before he got red bumps/rashes on his face and was very gassy/colicky. But they want to increase his weight gain so we need to do it. He is very healthy and usually happy and AWAKE. I guess he doesn't want to miss out on anything! So far he's gone 7 1/2 hours during the night on one stretch, and we just got him a glider swing to help him nap better during the day. It seems to be helping a little bit. He is a pro at rolling over now, lifting his head up, reaching for toys, grabbing at our faces or anything within reach, standing up strong while you hold him, cooing and talking, and overall seems very alert and smart! He really is so much fun to hang out with all day while the older kids are in school.

Nathan is 3 months old!

 

The big 3 month old!

 

12 weeks old. Such a strong boy!

 

11 weeks old. He found his hand!

 

10 weeks old!

 

 

Nathan has made so much progress in milestones this month! As of yesterday, he learned to roll over from his back! When I lay him down on a blanket, he immediately tries to roll over, and he's been doing this for about a week now. Finally yesterday he did it! I think he's going to crawl early. He can bring his hand to his mouth now, he tries to sit up when I lay him on the boppy, he can hold his head up perfectly while on his tummy, he laughs a LOT now, he reaches for object held in front of him, he turns his head more when he hears noises. It's amazing how much he's changed in one month. He was just weighed today and came in at 12 lbs 4 oz, and measured 24 inches. Still hanging in there! His next doctor visits will be with a plastic surgeon and then opthamologist! I just LOVE this boy and look forward to spending my day with him while the older kids are at school. He is becoming so animated and expressive, and is always talking.

Nathan's 2nd month and baby blessing

 

2 months old!

 

Holding his head up--such a strong boy! He's even rolling over already!

 

Nathan's blessing day--February 3, 2013. (Blake was sick and went home with me immediately following the passing of the sacrament, so he changed before everyone else got home!)

 

Joel's family came to support us.

 

My mom and dad came, as well as my sister Cindel and her kids who did not stay long because Blake was sick!

 

The big 2-month-old.

 

7 weeks old

 

6 weeks old

 

5 weeks old

 

 

 

Nathan is doing so great! His weight as of today was 10 lb 15 oz, the 17th percentile. We are working on keeping his weight up as much as we can! This is common in babies with cleft palate. I am SO glad he was such a big baby--this is saving him from being in the very low percentiles. Since the small scoop of formula made him colicky, we are going to try a little bit of rice cereal in his bottle. This will also keep him from spitting up so much. We found out the palate will be repaired when he is 6 months old, which is so great! He will also have tubes put in his ears--routine for this condition as well. Overall he is getting stronger every day! His smiles are so cute and he loves "talking" to us. We love Nathan!