Picture and video catch-up for the last couple of weeks

Friday (6/26) was Nathaniel's one month birthday, so I thought I would post some updated pictures. He has grown quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. He is almost 12 pounds now! I love the chub! =)

A couple of weeks ago, we went up to my parents' house to spend a little over a week with them. Due to illness, my dad had been unable to see Nathaniel until we brought him. Here he is holding him for the first time.


My niece, Kelly, was smitten with Nathaniel. I think she would have been willing to hold him 24/7 if I had allowed. =) Nathaniel misses his warm, snuggly cousin.

My niece, Sarah, also loved to hold Nathaniel.

My nephew, Bryce, with Nathaniel...

My sister, Kyra, got some snuggle time in, too.

I love how his pacifier flipped up in this picture.

Every time he stretches like this, Jason says, "Touchdown!"

Cute little "Snuggle Bunny"

My mom made some adorable burp cloths for Nathaniel. This is one that has monkeys and says, "Little Monkey" all over. It's really cute!

My niece, Sarah, gave him a teddy bear. He is fascinated with the bow.

While we were at my parents' house and Nathaniel was 3 weeks old, he decided to roll over from his stomach to his back! I didn't catch it on video, but he did it twice in a row. Here are some pictures of him trying again.


Sydney finally lost her first tooth. Unfortunately, I was not present when it actually came out. Alyx decided to be the "Mommy" and pull it without me knowing. =( Oh well, I took this "After photo," and she was thrilled to finally have lost a tooth. She currently has two other loose teeth....when it rains it pours. =) Oh, and yes, she already has the permanent teeth coming in behind the bottom front teeth. All of my girls did that...weird, huh?


We also celebrated Larissa's 8th birthday while we were up there. She chose a Funfetti cake with chocolate Funfetti icing. It was yummy, of course! =)

Another cute "Bubba" picture...

Snuggling with Granny again...

Cuddling with Daddy...

He wasn't quite sure of his Uncle Richard....

He got a little fussy....

...and so did Uncle Richard. =)

Uncle Richard got him his first Nascar outfit...Go Dale Jr! Hey, all I care about is that it's green! =) LOL! Sorry, Richard, it's all about the fashion. =)

Snuggle time with Sydney includes lots of kisses...

He loves to cuddle with Larissa, too....

Little Mommy, Alyx....I'm sure she's seen me do this a million times. I love to sniff the top of his head. As Frank Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond says, "I'm sucking in the youth!" =)

Point in case... He's going to be such a "Mama's Boy!" =)

Jason says he looks like "Uncle Fester" from the Addams Family in this nightgown. =)

Daddy seems to know just how to get a smile out of him.

A few nights ago while we were trying to get Nathaniel to sleep, he was very fussy. He didn't want to be held, he didn't want to lie down, he had already eaten, he had a clean diaper, etc. Jason decided to lay him down on the bed to see if he would roll over. Here's what happened...

Here's Nathaniel on his one month birthday right before we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

Another sweet close-up...

I tried to catch him smiling in his sleep and just barely caught a glimpse of one. =)

We had our good friends, the Skattebos, over on Saturday and had a great time with them. Eliana has been looking forward to holding Nathaniel for a long time now, and she finally got to hold him. He got a little fussy after I took her picture with him, so she was ready to pass him back to me. She said, "He's a little cry-ey." =)

Snuggling with his "blankie"

Alyx has the touch. She's very good at getting him to go to sleep.

Lazy, sleepy mornings are the best!

Here's what we've been doing...

At this stage in the game, I'm doing good to get one post up a week. I wish I could keep up with it more often, but life is just too crazy right now. The kids have been sick, I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable and need more rest lately, doctor appointments are coming more frequently, etc... When I have the energy, I feel like I have to stick to the important things, and unfortunately, blogging and facebook are not number 1 on that list. It's actually been kind of nice to take a break from the computer for a while. I miss seeing what's going on in everyone's life, but it's kind of relieving to "simplify" my own life.

We haven't done a lot recently, but I had some pictures that I wanted to share. A couple of weeks ago, Larissa and Sydney got together and wrote out a puppet show--music and all. I decided to set up a little curtain for them to perform behind. This is very easy to do. I simply put an adjustable shower curtain rod (you could use a tension rod as well) between the walls of the little hallway just outside of their bedroom. I then hung a sheet over the rod to make the curtain. If you wanted to make it a more permanent-type thing, you could actually measure the proper length and sew a rod pocket at the top of your fabric. I kind of like the temporary setup, so that I can easily take it down and store it away when it's not in use.

Here they are performing with their sock puppets. The show was so cute and totally hilarious. The first time they performed for us, Jason and I were laughing so hard, and I even had tears streaming down my face.


About a week ago, we decided to go to a park that is just a couple of miles from our house. We all loved it! Along with the usual swings and slides, there was also a rock climbing wall. The kids really enjoyed that. I loved the "beach-y" atmosphere with the palm trees and the sand. The girls and I took off our sandals to feel the sand between our toes. =) Just before sunset, we decided to cross over the short boardwalk-type bridge that passes from the park to the beach. The kids and Jason had fun throwing shells into the water and trying to get them to skip like rocks. The weather was just slightly cool, and there was a nice breeze coming off of the water. It was a totally relaxing and enjoyable experience.

Here are a few pictures that I took while we were there.

For fun, Sydney wanted Jason to hold her on the swings. He's such a great "Daddy"!

Here are some pictures from the beach. It was so beautiful that evening.

Here's a video clip of them throwing shells into the water. Sorry it's so noisy. I didn't realize that the camera was picking up all the wind. Jason tossed one in the water that skipped 7 times. He's so talented! =)

My sweet girls...

I'll leave you with a video clip of Jason and Alyx showing some of their abilities. =) They love to play with these beach-type balls and usually play "Monkey in the Middle," but on this particular evening, they were just tossing one ball back and forth. I suggested that they try to toss two balls at the same time to see if they could catch them. In this video, Larissa refers to the balls as "The Tomato" and "The Pea" and even offers to toss in another ball. =) Oh, and yes, Jason has an afghan on his lap. Here recently I've been freezing everyone in the house (except myself). Baby Bubba is keeping me nice and warm. =)