(3/2/09) Well Naten is full of wonder.  It doesn't matter how many toys he has right in front of him he usually get his rings (his favorite) and is walking everywhere discovering new things.  Today I realized more then ever that he loves to mimic what mommy and daddy do or anyone for that matter.  He now likes to brush his teeth with his tooth brush when we are brushing ours and the same thing with combing his hair.  Tonight he was sitting next to Matt and Matt was clicking his pen and before I knew it Naten figured out how to do the same thing.  It amazes me how quick he catches onto things. 

One of his new favorite things to eat is a cheese quesadilla!  He loves Del Taco especially!

On Sunday I was working in the nursery at church and it was so fun to watch Naten interact with the other kids.  I tried to stay at a distance from him mainly so I could watch him interact with the other kids.  He was such a big boy!  At snack time he was sitting at the big boy table and eating his snacks one at a time.  After he ate a cheerios he would look around at the other kids and shake his head up and down while scrunching his nose.   You could see that he was really having a good time and loved sitting at the table rather then in a hair chair.   He also had his first experience coloring and enjoyed it for about 3 minutes.  It was pretty cute!

(2/6/09) Well Naten turns 1 and all off the sudden he wants to do things his way and on his own.  Matt and I have had a hard time getting him to transition from baby food to solid foods so meal time the past few weeks haven’t been much fun.   So one night we were at the store and decided to buy several different items to help him figure out what he likes and doesn't like.  Then Matt had a great idea....he suggested that we let Naten try and feed himself.  For some reason I thought he seemed so little to do that but come to find out, that is what he wanted.  That afternoon I made some mac and cheese and gave him a spoon and he went to town.  He needed our help of course but he was a happy camper and content as can be.  Since then we have learned that he likes breakfast bars, spagettios (with meatballs) and just about anything else we give him.  The funny thing is that he usually only wants one particular item in one day.  So we can't give him the same thing for lunch and dinner.  Picky Picky....just like his momma.

We also made the switch to whole milk and Praise the Lord it has gone great.  He actually seems to really like it and hasn't had digestive problems!  Yeah!!!

A couple cute and funny things have also happened.  At church this past Sunday my dad was holding him and the pastor said something and everyone started to clap and she he clapped.  Every time the church clapped he did too, even during worship.  It was so cute!  Tonight on the way home from the mall we were listening to some very upbeat music and he was clapping to that as well. 

He also had his first big fall!  It was terrible, he was trying to run, tripped and his forehead dove right into the leg of a wood chair.  Never have I experienced a cry like that or a bump and bruise.  It has almost been a week and he still has a bruise, poor baby!

WOW...so Naten is 1!  His birthday was so much fun.  We went to Kansas City for the day to the children's museum.  My sister and niece went with us and then that night we went to dinner and then headed home.  At the museum he had a blast and wore himself out.  He played and climbed up and down stairs until he broke a sweat.  He literally feels asleep at the end of the day sitting up in his stroller while we were feeding him dinner.

A couple of new things he is doing…blowing kisses and playing “ I am gonna get you”!  In the past he tried to blow kisses but would put his hand near the top of his head but now he does it from his mouth.  It is cute!  He also had gotten the concept of I am going to get you and then chase him around the house.  It is hilarious, if he could jump up and hide he would!

Yesturday (1/31/09) was Naten’s Birthday party.  It was perfect and just as I imagined the only thing missing was the Carrillo family, Stutzman family and Oldenburg’s.  When people were arriving Naten just stood by the door and greeted everyone with a big smile.  He ate up all the attention!   When it came to cake time I was really hoping he would dive it but he didn’t.  It was more like poking in…  He also received a ton of great gifts including a Radio Flyer Wagon and a upright piano that is just his size.  It was an amazing day and a day that I have waited for, for a long long time. 

He also had his 1-year check up at the doctors and everything is great.  I am proud to announce that his head is way above the average size, his weight is above average size and his height is average.  We also moved from formula to whole milk, YEAH!!!!  We excited because formula is so stinking expensive. We decided to go cold turkey from formula to milk and see if Naten would accept it ok and he loves it, guzzles it down actually.  Now if I can just get the boy to eat finger foods we will be in good shape.    One minute he only wants to eat baby food then next minute he wants my food but then won’t eat at all.  This is really new to me because he has been on a tight schedule when it came to eating since he was about 8 weeks old.  I suppose it will eventually happen and Naten will love it.  We are also still working on the sippy cup; he doesn’t like it very much right now.  We are also making some progress on the Paci, I wanted to have him completely broken at 1 year but we aren’t there yet.  So far he has gone about 6 hours without it, baby steps.  Maybe within the next week we will just be down to bedtime that would be nice!

For about a week now Naten has been walking so well.  He can take several steps on his own before he falls on his booty!  It is fun to watch him!  It is almost as if I can look through his eyes into his little brain and watch as he try’s to figure out how to walk over my legs or any other obstacle that is in his way.  I can't help but think about how smart he is.  He really does think things through before he try’s to do something.

Yesterday morning I was making breakfast and Naten was walking around the kitchen keeping himself entertained.  Every once in a while he would come over to me and hang on my leg, it was almost as if he wanted to know I was still there or vice versa.  I realized at that moment, my little boy isn't so little.  It amazes me how much he has changed just in the past couple weeks.  He can keep himself entertained while he explores that he can now open and close open and close the cabinets in the kitchen and stand underneath the island or push the chairs.  Along with the walking of course comes all the bumps but so far no bruises.  You never think about a corner being dangerous until you have a little one walking around the house.  He has hit his head a few times but that has yet to stop him.

As if this wasn't enough, Matt gave him his first haircut last night.  Before Matt started he looked like a little baby but now he looks like a little boy.  Of course it is adorable but he just doesn't have that same little boy look anymore.  From the time Matt started cutting until he was finished Naten cried.  It was horrible!  I think he was terrified but all in all he did ok.

Then.... tonight I was at Target (gotta love Target) and was looking at the shoes.  I don't usually have the best luck in the shoe department for little boys but always look just in case.  You never know what kind of deal might be waiting for you. While I was looking I saw a pair that I really liked and realized I wasn't at the end-cap baby section anymore I was in the big boy isle.  HOW SAD IS THAT!!!!

I now understand the meaning, life goes by too fast!  Naten will be 1 year old in 9 days.  So much has happened in the past year, it seems like just yesterday I was preparing for him to arrive and now he is almost 1.  I now believe that once you experience being a parent you have a small glimps of how much God loves us as his children and how he feels when we go through changes in life, trials and celebrations.  He sees our bumps and bruises and is always there to care for us in one way or another.

The last couple days I have been trying to teach Naten to raise his hands when I say praise the Lord.  Well last night I kept telling him and showing him and he did it twice and then just looked at us and smiled.  He didn't really get it.  Well, this morning I said praise the Lord and he immediately raised his hands.  Then when we all said Yeah and clapped he did the same thing.  So several more times today I have said Praise the Lord and he immediately raises his hands and gives me a big old smile.  Now I just have to teach him to do it in Spanish..... :-)

This last Sunday afternoon I was at the Mall with Naten and Tori.  Naten was cracking us. He never meets a stranger!  First off he was so tired, he hadn't had a nap all day and it was after 4:00pm this is a long time for him.  He didn't want to be in his stroller and really didn't want to be held, he wanted to walk.  So I was standing outside Sephora and decided to let him stand up and hang on to the railing (we were on the second floor).  Then he started.....he was pointing to the people down below and yelling – DA DA DA DAH DAH - Every person he saw he pointed and said "DA".  It was the funniest thing and everyone walking by was laughing.  It was pretty cute.  Several people thought he was asking for his DADA but he wasn’t he just wanted someone from below to look at him. 

He loves to point!  But when he points, he points with his index finger and thumb.  We have noticed in the last week when he is standing at a shelf that is his height with items on it he won’t pick up the items he will just point.  I am hoping he keeps this characteristic and doesn’t ever get to the point where he wants to pick everything up and throw it. 

About an hour later we were getting ready to leave the mall and Naten was so tired he couldn't find his place.  I was having a hard time holding him, pushing the stroller and talking on the cell phone so I put him in the stroller knowing he would cry.  To my surprise he didn’t really cry when I put him in the stroller, rather he wined for a minute and fell asleep while he was sitting up.   He looked like an adult, particularly my dad, when you are so tired your head starts slipping and then you jump up real quick and wake yourself up.  To the left is a picture!

Naten is full of surprises!  It was as if the day he turned 11 months he became more independent.  4 days after he turned 11 months he took 4 steps on his own.  He has been walking along the furniture and pulling himself up for about a month but it seems like all the sudden he just wants to walk everywhere. Sometimes he gets so excited when we are helping him walk his feet move faster then any other part of him.  It is like he wants to run but can't.  It is so sweet and adorable!

The same day he started clapping!  Whenever he does something and we praise him we always clap and say yeah.  I had been showing him how to clap but he had shown no interest and then all the sudden the same time he took his first steps as soon as he fell down he started to clap when we were fussing over him.  He realized that he did something good and clapped.  So now he is a clapping machine.  He just stands in the middle of the living room and claps.  He makes us laugh!

Another milestone is his sippy cup!  He hasn't mastered it yet but has made major improvement.  I have been trying to get him to take his sippy so I can break him from the bottle but he always wants me or daddy to hold it for him.  Anyways a couple days ago he was sitting in his high chair having some goldfish (a recent favorite) and I look at him and he is guzzling down his apple juice.  I was very excited.

Speaking of goldfish....up until 11 months Naten really had no desire to eat any solid food like goldfish or fruit, pasta...anything.  Well that all changed as well.  Around the same time as his first steps and clapping he started eating goldfish, fruit, rice and more.

Yesterday (1/8/09) while daddy was letting me sleep in, Matt was playing with Naten and taught him how to do high five.   The funny thing is that he will only do it with daddy right now.

Matt and I were talking and realized that Naten, just like most kids, have a mind of their own.  When he is ready to do something new he will do it and I should be in no rush because time is already passing by way to quickly. 

Naten is such a happy boy.  He never meets a stranger or I should say rarely meets a stranger.  It doesn't take a whole lot to make him laugh and he is funny.  He knows how to get reactions from people by making faces or just smiling and squinting his nose.  He is a jewel!

I don't want to forget that I had a special mommy moment.  You know the kind of moment where your little one is crying with big tears falling down his cheeks and looks you right in the eyes and you can almost feel him saying "I Love You!"  There is nothing like it.  He melted my heart and then he settled down and went to sleep.  (6/15/08)

A few other things I never want to forget....
- When he is laying down and either trying to fall asleep or just waking up from a nap he puts his legs in the air and latches his feet together with his toes.
- He is still so happy in the morning when he wakes up.  It never fails, I always get a huge grin and a laugh sometimes just by saying hello.
- He loves to be outside.  He prefers just sitting quietly outside to being inside playing with hands down.
- A couple days ago my dad took him outside and sat in a chair under the porch.  It was raining but he just sat there forever while papa talked to him.  They didn't know I was watching but I was and it was another "moment"
- Naten loves to be tickled right under his chin.  Once you tickle him and then even pretend to tickle him again he starts to laugh without even touching him.

THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE BOYS!!!

I can't believe that Naten is 19 weeks.  He is so much fun and his personality keeps on shining through.  This weekend has been a blast.  Me, Naten and Auntie (Candi) came to Kansas for the weekend.  It is my niece's birthday on father's day the 15th and my niece and nephew's b-day party as well.   Friday night was the party and Tonya rented a pool facility, it was a blast!!  We had the pool all to ourselves.  There were two huge waterslides, high dives and a kiddy area.  I of course was thrilled to take Naten swimming for the first time since most consider me a fish.  I thought he would love it since he loves the bath so much.  Well we tried and turns out he enjoys hot water much more then cold. He did enjoy watching everything around him but wasn't ready for the pluge. On Saturday we went back to the pool.  I was thinking since it was so hot and the sun was out I would try again, but BAD idea.  He started crying so loud I think his Nana and Papa in California could hear him.  So he just chilled out by the pool instead.  That night he came so close to rolling over for the first time.  He was laying on his back and he tried and tried but just couldn't get there.  Tonya gave him a little tug and he made it over but it doesn't count since he didn't do it on his own.  Another milestone that is huge for mommy is that he slept the last two nights from 10:30pm - 6:30am.  WOW!!!  It was so nice getting a good night sleep.  I have started him on a new routine in the evening and that is proving to help a lot.  Before I would give him a bath early in the evening and get him dressed for bed and then take him in the living room and let him play.  Well now I give him a bath closer to 9:00pm - 9:30pm and then put him straight to bed be rocking him and singing to him.  I am also trying to teach him how to fall asleep on his own.  We are both learning a lot right now.  It is so amazing being a mom.

On Thursday, June 12th I tried to feed Naten cereal for the first time on a spoon.  The frist few bites went down prett well, then all the sudden he decided he didn't like it and wanted his bottle.  I think he is just a little to young to be using a spoon so I am going to try in a few weeks when he is 5 months old.  It could be that he was just getting frustrated but either way back to the bottle for now. 

Wow!  It is June 4, 2008 at 12:43AM.  Naten is sleeping however getting ready to wake up for his last feeding for the night.  I am looking at him in Awh because he is just growing way to fast.   So much has happened since I last wrote on my website. We made our first trip from Tulsa to Ontario, Ontario to Denver and then back home and then we just got back from Denver again this past Monday.  It has been nice traveling with Naten especially the last few times.  He is a great traveler!!  This last flight he talked to everyone that would look at him.  I was a little embarrassed but after I thought about it I figured it was better for him to talk then cry.   Just with in the last two weeks he has started talking and squealing so much, I love it.  He is also smiling a lot more, I don't have to work for it as much as I did a month ago.  I can just look at him and he will smile.  It is fun to see how his personality is developing.  He is pretty easy going.  He is a morning man, every morning he wakes up in the best mood.  The only time he gets really upset is when he is hungry and I don't have his food ready fast enough or the initial shock of getting in his car seat.  He does best in his seat when he is tired or just fed, otherwise our drives can get a little loud.  Two weeks ago he discovered that he can make sounds when he yawns and he also likes to put his hands on his bottle like he is holding it when he is eating.  He has also found his index finger and sucks on it every chance he gets, but I always take it out and give him his binky.  I can take his binky away but I can't take away his finger!!!  About 3 weeks ago he started eating rice cereal and so far so good.   When you see him you would never know he was just 5 pounds when he was born.  He went for his 4 month check up and he is now 15 pounds.   He is so ticklish and ticklish everywhere.  He just giggles if he even thinks you are going to tickle him.   He also seems to really enjoy music and dancing.  He is friendly, however every once in a while someone will say something to him and he will freak out.  The other night a lady was talking to him and he was smiling and talking back and as soon as her husband walked up and said something Naten's face totally changed and he got really upset.  Then when the wife started talking to he happy again.  It was pretty funny.  He has actually done this several times.  Another funny story, when I was in Denver Becky was changing him on the couch.  Well his diaper was dry so Becky just let him lay there naked (which he loves).  I sat down and asked Becky did he pee everywhere and she said no. then I said how come the couch is wet all over.  Come to find out Naten peed everywhere. It was so funny or maybe you had to be there.  I also discovered that he loves Tiger from Winnie the Pooh.  Tiger makes him giggle!!

As far as my life as a mom, well it is going great.  He is sleeping better at night which means I am too.  Every day I look at him and want to just stop doing what I am doing and soak up every second of him.  He will never be this little again so I am just cherishing this time.  So far I have been blessed and am still home with Naten.  I am praying it will stay that way, but time will tell.   I also celebrated my first mothers day. That was really special for me, I waited a long time for that day. Very special!!