Blech!

I'm so proud of Ron! He actually got out the camera when I wasn't at home and took pictures of Nathan. I'm sort of glad I missed this one although Nathan seems to be enjoying his first experience with spagetti. He's such a good eater.

Weight Update!

We were at the vet's office today and put Nathan on the doggy scales. According to them he weighs 18.8 pounds! That's fully clothed of course. It means that he has gained two pounds since January!




I think crying baby photos are cute so here are some of Nathan. He was upset because I sat him in the papasan chair and tried to take his picture. He has gotten quite a few teeth in the past couple of months.



Nathan became fascinated with the patch of sunlight made by the oval window. We are used to seeing cats laying in it so I wonder if Nathan was remembering that when he decided to lay down in the spot. Liberty who is never far away became concerned and licked him until he got up.

Let The Sunshine In

Nathan in our sunroom which is almost finished.

Maybe I shouldn't cut Nathan's hair when I first get back from a military weekend. He looks ready for inspection! His hair was getting really long and it has a tendency to clump together then stick up horribly when he wakes up. His hair was kind of sparse when we first brought him home but the good nutrition is making it come in thicker.



Those cheeks are starting to get a little chubby and I love them! We haven't had him weighed at the doctor's office lately but we think he is up to around 18 pounds now. He burns off all of his calories and he eats huge amounts of food! He is getting too tall for his nine month clothes. I can put outfits like this that are 12 month on him because of the elastic waist. He is still skinny but not boney like he was before so the clothes are baggy but they work.


Ron finished the floor in the sunroom this weekend and today Nathan got to explore it for a while. He is walking and running everywhere now.

Liberty and Nathan

Liberty has adored Nathan since the day we brought him home. Sometimes I wonder if she thinks we brought home another puppy for her totake care of.

Below is a picture of the first morning after we arrived from China.



We were exhausted but Liberty was estatic to see this baby around. I was so worried about how Nathan would handle the dogs but he was fine. I am still so thankful that Nathan is not afraid of the dogs or cats.








For a while we had to lock her up because he was crying all the time and she would try to comfort him by licking his face which would make him cry more which would make her lick him more. He then started seeking her out so we let them be together.









Liberty was only seven months old when we brought Nathan home but she has been very patient with him. Whenever we tell him "no" in a firm voice she runs to get in between us. If we toss him in the air and swing him around she barks at us until he is safely back on the ground.



Now she follows him around and when she is sleeping he seeks her out to wake her up. They always seem to be together.



She comes in handy too around mealtime. She is always fishing the food out of Nathan's chair and he doesn't care a bit. He pats her head and pulls her ears while she is doing so.




I look forward to seeing how their relationship develops when Nathan is old enough to run around outside.I think these two are going to have the best time.

Don't Wake the Panda Bear!

I don't usually bother Nathan while he is sleeping. I just enjoy it and hope it lasts. Sometimes I have to sneak in there and look at him because he is so sweet.



He always sleeps in this position: Face down, thumb in mouth, butt in air. My favorite thing is that he sleeps with his little feet crossed one over the other.



Of course the camera woke him so he stood up and looked unhappily at me while I took his picture instead of picking him up. Then we went downstairs for some breakfast and all was right with the world again.

I'm a big messy boy!

Nathan finally held his sippy cup and drank by himself! We had to put milk in it for him to do so and he made a terrible mess. Every time he eats now he makes a terrible mess. When I pull him out of his high chais Liberty puts her front feet on the chair and gets all the food out of it. The amount of laundry I do now is amazing! I love that Nathan is able to feed himself now. I can get so much more accomplished while he is eating.

Nathan and Daddy

These two have been so fun to watch lately. Nathan is toddling everywhere now and if Ron is up moving around, Nathan is running after him.

The other day Nathan was saying "Mama" while Ron was feeding him and Ron said, "I'm not Mama, I'm Daddy." Nathan thought this waas funny and they made a game of it. Now whenever I ask him, "Where is Daddy?" he will grin and say, "Mama!" then waits for Ron's reaction. When Ron says, "Hey! I'm Daddy!" Nathan squeals with laughter and says, "Mama" again.

Ron still tosses him around quite a bit and Nathan loves it. I love watching them together.

We took Nathan to get his hearing checked today and it looks like he will need to have tubes. The doctors will put those in when they repair his palate.

Rubber Ducky Fun

I wish these pictures had turned out clearer. When he gets excited, he bounces up and down and it's hard not to get a blurry photo. Nathan is really enjoying his bathtime now. He has learned how to throw things this past week and takes great delight in throwing them out of his tub. We like to play with the rubber duckies and he has even learned how to balance them on his head. There's a video at the bottom of the post that shows why I can't seem to get my ducks in a row these days.



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Our Little Panda Bear

These are Nathan's first professiona portraits.

Busy Times

We took Nathan to see the cleft specialists for his first visit. We were surprised to hear that they can complete his surgery as soon as they can get it scheduled. They want to check his hearing to see if they want to put in tubes. I think there is nothing wrong with his hearing but often cleft affected children have problems until they are older. We have the hearing test on the 20th.

Nathan has learned how to feed himself! It is wonderful since it allows Mommy and Daddy to eat now while he happily chows down himself. We still help him with the stuff that requires a spoon.

Our dogs and cats wait under his high chair for tidbits to fall. When we get him out of the chair he usually has a cup of food on his clothes so we shake him off and the cleanup crew takes care of everything.

I think we are finally starting to get over the sickness that has been plaguing us. We are starting to feel a little better every day. Apparently a lot of people in the city have the same thing so I don't know what that is about.

Nathan is walking everywhere now! He runs for his goal like he has to get there before he falls down which still happens often. When spring comes he should be ready to run around outside.

He is becoming increasing noisier too so we are waiting to see if some words will be here soon. He will say "Mama" for me once in a while when I ask him to. Most of the time he makes a loud "CAAAAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!!" noise and he sounds like a crow. There is a huge difference in the house when he is waking vs sleeping.

These footy-pajamas were made for walking!

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Nathan is walking! He gets braver every day and he thinks it is so much fun!

Nathan is 18 months old!

After much resistance Nathan is learning to feed himself! So far he will take the spoon and put it in his mouth. It doesn't always make it inside but he is doing a pretty good job. We are still working on getting him to pick up Cheerios and put them into his mouth instead of throwing them onto the floor.



Nathan has started getting into some things that before he had left alone. Here he was caught with the dog's food dish. At least he wasn't eating their food.


Nathan said his first word! It was "Mama" of course and sometimes he will repeat it for me when I ask him to. He is progressing amazingly well in his walking and that's all he wants to do now. So far we've had no bad falls. His balance is very good.

Video of Nathan Crawling

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My baby will be walking soon so I had to get a video of his crawling stage. I love the way he crawls with his arms flying everywhere and his tongue hanging out.

Video of Nathan Taking Steps

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First Steps!

Nathan has taken his first steps! He isn't trying to walk -- he's taking off at a full run so it is hard to get shots of the little wild man. He was walking back and forth between Ron and I last night. Today I finally got him to sit in the little chair and then walk to us from it. He pretty much just dives at us at this point. He is quite pleased with himself!
Nathan is doing pretty well these days. He loves to explore the house and chase the dogs at a fast crawl. He is eating very well and we are giving him soft foods like macaroni to teach him to chew. I think he might have an ear infection right now so we are watching him for that. He certainly is keeping us busy!

Potty Training

Look at my little angel's happy face!

Maybe it's wrong but I can't resist getting some pictures of Nathan on his potty. He's so cute! Look! He has his phone with him so he won't miss any calls!
He gets really happy after he eats and has his bottle. He like to play with his feet.





Right now we are only working on going poopy in the potty but he has gone for me every day for a week now so I think he is the smartest kid ever!