Nathan Turns 7 Months!

That's right folks, Nathan turned 7 months old this past Wednesday!  Do you all find that as unbelievable as Mommy and Daddy do?!?!  Here's his birthday picture that I took...

We had a wonderful, lazy week just hanging at home playing with all of Nathan's fun toys.  Nathan's also been big into chewing on his toes this week (can't seem to get a picture of this), dancing whenever music is playing (it's hysterical - he gets his whole body movin and groovin - he doesn't seem to have a music genre preference yet) and opening and closing his mouth repeatedly without making a sound (I think he's imitating us chewing).  Oh, and Daddy has been letting him drink out of his water glass and he loves it!  I guess it's time to use the sippy cup that Grandma and Grandpa Krestel got him for Christmas.  Here's Nathan just laying around with Baxter.  Don't they look so sweet laying back to back?!?!

Nathan has really mastered crawling backwards this past week.  He's gotten stuck under our picture table quite a few times (and under Aunt Carrie's couch).  Here he is thinking he's big stuff crawling under the table...

Here he is wondering where to go now...

This is a fun toy that Great Aunt Sandy got him for Christmas - he has lots of fun watching all the lights and listening to all the sounds (I think I'm hearing these sounds in my sleep).

Below is a picture of what has been Nathan's nearest and dearest, most favorite possession since birth...The Hungry Caterpillar (thank you Daddy's co-worker, Amber).  We've always kept it on the corner of his changing table and as a ritual, as soon as we would lay him down on the changing pad he would lean to his left side and grab The Hungry Caterpillar and gnaw on him while we changed his diaper, dressed him, dried him off from his shower, whatever.  He absolutely loves this thing!  Well, as you can tell, he's pretty much mutilated poor Mr. Caterpillar and he needs some nose surgery...

Thankfully, Nathan's next favorite toy since birth is still going strong - a John Deere tri-fold book that makes crinkly sounds and has a nice bright green tractor that he can chew on (thank you Mommy's co-worker, Cynthia).

We've been working on the forward motion crawling - here's Nathan striking the "on your marks, get set..." pose.  He just hasn't gotten the "go" part down again since grandma's birthday last week.

Finally!  We got a shot of Nathan sticking out his tongue!  Oh, by the way, he still has his beautiful "baby blues..."

Since Mr. Caterpillar has been in the stuffed animal hospital, we've had to occupy Nathan with other things while on his changing table.  I got the idea of giving him his toothbrush to chew on (and get his two bottom pearly whites clean) from Aunt Carrie!

Just looking so adorable in this cute outfit from Bubbee and Paw Paw...

Hee Hee - look at our cute little bear!  Daddy took Nathan and Baxter for a walk and it was a bit chilly out so we had to bundle up our little guy...

For dinner on Sunday night Nathan had his first taste of yellow squash and he loved it!  It tastes pretty much like the zucchini he had for the first time this past Tuesday night for dinner.  He's really a good little eater (thank you, Lord!)...

This bear picture cracks me up - it's like he's asking the bear "what are you doing in my chair?"

I want to crawl!!!

Nathan has really been enjoying playing with all of his toys from Christmas.  The tool bench below is from Grandma & Grandpa Krestel...

So, this past week, Nathan moved on from peas to green beans.  As with peas, things didn't start off so great...

As a matter of fact, he hated them...

A lot...

A whole lot...

But by the end of the week, he came to like them, just as much as the peas!

I just had to take a picture of him in these cutie pj's (Daddy says they're knock off Blues Clues but I think they're adorable)...

What a doll baby!  I just love it when he raises his eyebrows!

He SO wants to crawl!!!  Can't you just see the determination on his face!?!?!  He likes to sit up on all fours and sway back and forth.  This past week he actually moved a knee forward but then rolled over onto his side and then onto his back.  I think crawling is right around the corner though!

Grandma Pratt got him these adorable socks for Christmas that look like sneakers - shoe laces and all.  He has about 6 pairs in different colors - so cute!

Here's a close up of these cute little sneaker socks...

This is pretty much what our days looks like; laying on the ground playing.  FUN!  FUN!  FUN!  Baxter and Hobbes are ALWAYS in Nathan's room with us, which I think is so sweet!

On Saturday we went over to Grandma & Grandpa Krestel's to celebrate Grandma's birthday.  Since Nathan is such a kind and giving little guy he wanted to get Grandma a gift of his very own so he decided to crawl for her!!! It wasn't an all out crawl, but she was sitting on the floor with him and put some toys just out of his reach.  He was up on all fours swaying back and forth and moved one knee, then another and then he reached out and grabbed his toys.  Mommy screamed, Daddy and Grandpa cheered and Grandma squeeled.  It was quite exciting!  He hasn't made it any further than this little bit, but watch out, he's on the move!!!

For lunch on Saturday we moved on to brocolli and Nathan just LOVES it!  No funny faces, no spitting it out or anything.  As a matter of fact, for dinner on Saturday night Nathan actually said "Mmmm" after every single spoonful that I fed him!  Here's his first bite of pureed brocolli...

Hanging out with Grandpa and playing with a plastic lid Grandma gave him (I think this is his new favorite toy)...

Mmmm...now this is good stuff!

Grandma singing to Nathan.  He just loves her voice - it usually calms him right down or lulls him to sleep when she sings to him (she's who Daddy gets his amazing voice from!)...

The weekly bear picture...

Fun with green veggies!

Nathan's newest thing this past week is to scream at the top of his lungs!  He's happy and smiling while just SCREAMING away!!!  He obvioulsy found his lungs and he likes to use them!  We really need to get this on video and try to post it - it's truly hysterical!

Ok, so this week brought Nathan's 2nd boo-boo, thanks to Mommy.  Again, while trimming his nails, I sliced him.  Just like before, everything was delayed.  I could feel that I nipped his finger instead of his nail but Nathan didn't scream and I didn't see any blood...at first.  Then, the pouty lip popped out, the blood started gushing and Nathan started wailing.  This is just one of the worst feelings in the world - to see your child in pain at your own doing!  I couldn't get the blood to stop for anything so I put a band aid on his wound - check out the picture below of him studying his finger.  Of course, I kept a close eye on him because I knew the inevitable would happen...which it did!  He was sucking away on his fingers and eventually I noticed he pulled his fingers out of his mouth- without the band aid.  I threw my fingers in his mouth so quick and pulled that soggy band aid out lickity split!

This past Wednesday brought an exciting turn in Nathan's culinary life as he graduated from cereal to vegetables!  We started out with peas and here are some pics of Mommy grinding them up with the hand crank food processor (I know, it looks archaic, but it's the best way to get those pea skins off).

Let's say it together...Mmmmm...

Poor little guy is so unsuspecting - he sees the spoon coming and thinks it's his yummy cereal...

Bring it on Mommy, I'll even help so that it gets in my mouth faster...

WHAT was that????  Certainly not my oatmeal!!!

What?  Are you crazy?  I don't think so...not again lady!

Here's Nathan enjoying his new crib mirror that Daddy & Mommy got him for Christmas. Oh, that smile just melts my heart!!!!!!!!!!

Our cute "little man" sporting his cargo pants and big boy t-shirt.  Speaking of little, Nathan had his 6-month pediatrician appointment this past week and he weighed in at 15 lbs 2.75 oz and is 26 1/4 inches long (the 7th and 32nd percentile, respectively).

Nathan has been enjoying playing in his friend Sarah Ross' activity jumper - thanks for lending it to us, Sarah!

We had some crazy chilly days last week and so we put some gloves on Nathan before braving the cold.  He didn't mind having one on his left hand but wouldn't stand for one on his right hand because he just loves sucking on those fingers in particular - can't you just see the frustration on his face?!?!  Wool just doesn't taste the same as baby skin...

Here's Nathan enjoying one of his gifts from Grandma Pratt.  How cute - he actually has his hand on the computer mouse!  Oh, and sitting up on his own is just an every day occurrence now...

Ready to eat!  Doesn't he look so tiny in this high chair (thanks again Kim for lending it to us)!  He's eager to eat his peas now - he's actually developed quite a liking for them...

Chillin' with Daddy and Hobbes...

Ok, we have two bear pictures this week because I couldn't resist highlighting Nathan's jowels with a profile shot...

As well as his double chin...

Nathan's 1st Road Trip, Christmas & New Year's...Plus Sitting & Solids

Happy 2010 everyone!  Hope you all had a Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!  We had a wonderful Christmas visiting with lots of family and friends and thank the Lord for keeping us safe on our colossal 2,315.1 mile, 34-hour road trip!  Nathan was a champ on our trip - he pretty much just hung out in his car seat either sleeping or playing with his toys.  I think he did better than Daddy and me!  There were a few times of fussiness, of course, but overall, he was pretty content just cruising along in our "Silver Bullet" (aka 2002 Silver Jeep Liberty).  One of my favorite memories was during the tail end of our trip - on our way from MD to OH - it was evening and we were cruising along the highway looking at all the Christmas lights on the houses in the distance and Daddy and I were singing songs to Nathan to try to keep him from bursting into tears of bordom and frustration (it worked)!  So, let me take you through an overview of our adventure...

Our first stop was Columbus, OH where we stayed with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny on Friday and Saturday night and also got to visit with Uncle Jon, Aunt Michaelle and cousins Ashleigh, Koty, Ryleigh and Lucas on Saturday.  All of the kids got their picture taken at JC Penney's (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Krestel) on Saturday and they all smiled pretty!  I got a shot of them while they were all still dressed up nice for their picture...

Come on kids, get goofy (ha, even Nathan joined in)...

We then moved on to Ellwood City, PA on Sunday to stay with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Henderson.  While there we visited with Great Uncle John and Great Aunt Betty (and their sweet pups, Holly and Ivy - Nathan's furry cousins)...

We also had a nice visit with Great Grandma Krestel...

That evening we visited our friends Adam, Brenda, Brayden and Carter Brooks (Daddy's friend from kindergarten)...

Nathan was just enthralled with the Brooks' musical snowman...

And then back to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Henderson's where we had to initiate Nathan to the family wall of height...

On Monday we got to visit with Great Grandma McKim...

Nathan just loved pulling on Great Grandma's hair and she was a good sport about it...

We then went for a visit to meet Great Aunt Janie and Great Uncle Don...

We wrapped up the day with a fun dinner party at Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Henderson's.  Before the party started Daddy and Nathan just unwinded from the whirwind day of visiting...

At the party Nathan got to meet lots of family including Great Uncle Todd, Great Aunt Jill and cousins Jackie, Jayme and Jake (cousin Julie was working hard at Pizza Hut)...

And Great Aunt Barb (we got to celebrate her big 50th birthday) and cousins Rachel and Daniel (and Rachel's boyfriend Louis).  Unfortunately, Great Uncle John didn't arrive until after Nathan was in bed...

And of course we got to visit more with Great Grandma & Great Grandpa Henderson...

Great Grandma Henderson was sweet enough to make Nathan his very own 6 month birthday cake (Angel food cake...very fitting indeed)!

On Tuesday we headed out to Philly to stay with Grandma Pratt.  We went to her work and she got to show Nathan off to everyone.  He did a great job being passed around to Grandma's co-workers for a few hours.  We then went over to Great Aunt Sandy's...

Nathan got to meet cousin Lew...

Cousin Kyle, his fiancee Shannah (they got engaged on Christmas Day - CONGRATS!!!) and her little guy Zane (he and Nathan are just one month apart and became fast friends)...

Too cute...

How sweet...

Wish we lived closer...

And cousin Tammy (sadly her hubby, Carter, was on business in New Jersey)...

Nathan opened some gifts from everyone but HE is OUR special gift...

On Wednesday we went back over to Great Aunt Sandy's and Nathan got to meet Great Lee...

After about a 3-hour nap (Nathan apparently needed to re-charge his batteries) we met Pap Pap and Carole for lunch...

Where Nathan enjoyed his first Philly cheesesteak (from afar)...

That night we went back to Grandma Pratt's and got to visit with her friend and neighbor, Tish, who wanted to meet this little guy who she had prayed for with countless others...

Nathan missed his doggie Baxter but enjoyed Grandma's pup - Nathan's Aunt Gidget...

On Thursday, Christmas Eve, we woke up to a visit from Grandma Pratt's furry little friend, Freddie (for those of you who don't know, Grandma Pratt lives in a state park and has lots of furry friends)...

And then her friend and neighbor, Jean, popped over for a quick visit...

Then we loaded up the cars (Grandma Pratt and Gidget in one car and us and Great Lee in another) and headed down to Hollywood, MD to celebrate Christmas with Uncle Jason, Aunt Sherri, cousins Elizabeth and Jonathan and Aunt Sherri's parents, Nanny and Pappy, and her brothers Shawn and Seth.

As you can see, Nathan took to Elizabeth right away...

Awww....

Jonathan was quite interested in baby Nathan...

On Christmas Day, Nathan actually gave Mommy and Daddy a gift...he sat up all by himself!  What a big boy!!!  I think he was as surprised as we were that he could sit up on his own...

Ah yes, Nathan has really been into his feet lately - he especially enjoys chewing on them while laying on the changing table; I've got to try to get a shot of that because it's so cute!

The Pratt's beautiful (and REAL, mind you) Christmas tree...

Daddy, Mommy and Nathan on Christmas morning...

Nathan actually enjoyed tearing open the packages on his own (kind of)...

And you guessed it, he enjoyed the wrapping paper more than the gifts...

What a cute little elf he is, sporting his "My 1st Christmas" bib and reindeer socks from our neighbor Ylva...

Happy just hanging out with Grandma Pratt...

And climbing all over Nanny...

Shawn's beard provided lots of entertainment...

All smiles with Seth...

Nathan's acting debut was on Christmas night - he starred as Baby Jesus in the Christmas Story production directed by Elizabeth.  He did a great job, with just a few tears and Elizabeth's play was top-notch!

Afterwards we sung Happy Birthday to Jesus, Our Lord and Savior ...

Before we left on Saturday we took our traditional family picture of all Grandma Pratt's babies...

We drove all day Saturday back to Columbus, OH to stay with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenny again and we also got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Krestel because they were staying there too as they were beginning their whirlwind visit to family in OH and PA. 

We headed back to St. Louis on Sunday (it was a snowy drive) to get back in time for Aunt Carrie's c-section on Monday morning.  Sadly, Mommy was sick and couldn't go to the hospital to meet the beautiful Madilyn Faith but Daddy and Nathan did.  Here's a picture of Uncle Ferrara holding Nathan while he looked in on "Madi" in the nursery.  Don't you just love Nathan's expression on his face as he's checking out his newest possibility (Aunt Carrie and I joke about arranging a marriage between Nathan and either Sarah or Madi - Nathan just needs to decide if he likes brunettes or blondes).

Isn't she just GORGEOUS!?!?!?!

And Aunt Carrie is beautiful too...

That night we did our little family Christmas - just Daddy, Mommy and Nathan.  It was special and we gave Nathan three gifts just like Jesus got.  A crib/floor mirror that's sure to bring hours of entertainment, a Baby's 1st Christmas ornament (Winnie the Pooh, which we thought was quite fitting given the weekly bear picture we take) and Follow Me Fred (sadly, Fred was sold out everywhere so we just gave him the picture of Fred - which he'll likely end up enjoying more than Fred himself - to be determined).

After celebrating our little family Christmas, Nathan had his first taste of something other than what the breastaurant has to offer.  He had rice cereal for dinner and LOVED it!

Here he is inspecting his spoon for the first time... 

Touching it...

Tasting it...

And oh, wait a minute, now there's something on the spoon.  Here he is all dapper in his nice long embroidered cowboy bib (complete with sleeves and pockets - which yes, have already caught some cereal gone astray) feeding himself...

And here's Daddy taking over...

We spent New Year's Day over at Grandma and Grandpa Krestel's with Uncle Steve and Aunt Hanna (they were engaged on Saturday, December 19th - HOORAY - with a September 4th wedding planned).  Sidenote - they asked Nathan to be the ring bearer which we are so excited about!  They said that if he can't walk too well by then they'll have the two flower girls pull him in a wagon - how adorable.  I'm already picturing this little guy in a tux..

New Year's Day was a festive day not only because it was the kick off to 2010 but because THE Ohio State Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl with a 26-17 victory over Oregon (quack, quack, so sad!).  Of course we were all decked out in our OSU / Brutus fan attire.  Is Nathan just the cutest little buckeye you ever saw or what!?!?

We also celebrated Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa Krestel on New Year's Day.  What a beautiful pose that Nathan is striking...

Tearing into the packages...

Loving his new personalized sippy cup that he'll be using before we know it...

Sporting a winning smile with Mommy and Daddy...

Nathan looks so cute in Aunt Hanna's new hat...

Everyone say cheese...

Nathan all bundled up in his new "Bundle Me" car seat cozy.  Boy does he get toasty in this - Mommy wishes she had one...

To wrap up the celebrations over the past two weeks we went over to our friend's Roland and Melissa's to celebrate their son Jet's 1st birthday!  He and Nathan are good buddies and get to spend lots of time together since Melissa is also a stay-at-home mom and lives just around the corner...

Nathan borrowed Jet's little "jeffy cap" which matched his little overalls perfectly...

So, aside from our travels and celebrations, Nathan mastered blowing raspberries (taught to him by Daddy) which provided us with lots of laughs during our road trip, started the "breastfeeding dance" where he moves his entire body in a back and forth motion kind of like a little inchworm, apparently to a rhythm playing in his head, while eating (it's quite interesting to see really), got his first cold (runny nose, coughing and sneezing this past Tuesday which was so sad to see) and Mommy taught him how to stick out his tonge and wiggle it (ok, this is adorable to see).

Aside from that, he's just growing, growing, growing.  Here are his bear pictures for the past two weeks...

Week 27...

Week 28 (I think he really looks more like a little boy than a baby here)...