Nate, Nate's 7 Months Old

Happy 7 months Nathan!  All I have to say is you are one happy little guy.  You are pretty much always laughing throughout the day, and I stress throughout the day.  You really need to start practicing your sleeping skills as night, as we are lucky if you go a solid 3 hour block.  We are starting to try letting you cry it out, but it's so hard for your mommy as I know I can just quickly nurse you back to sleep.  However, I am also guessing this is the reason you are waking so often.

 

You are also a eating machine.  You are only drinking (3) 5oz bottles at daycare, and nursing probably another 4-6 times between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.  So far you have LOVED all the food I have made for you (no pre-made baby food so far).  This includes apple sauce, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocado, strawberries, and bananas!

 

Well I still don't have your official 6 month stats to report, and it looks like they are really going to be your official 7 1/2 month stats as your doctor's appointment got delayed.  Putting you on our scale you weighed in at 22 lbs (75-90%)! Oh my, we really need to get you out of your baby bucket!! 

 

I love your sign pictures for the month.

October Fun

Hopefully monthly posts aren't the new thing!  However, looks like another month has gone by.  Good news is there is lots going on and lots of pictures to share!

 

 

Brooke's sign pictures with some help from Ty!  The exciting news to report on Brooke is it looks like we may have figured out this cough she has had since she started eating solids (~7 months old).  We have had her on an acid reflux medicine for the past 3 weeks, and not only is she not coughing while eating but she she isn't waking up the first hour after bed time coughing, coughing, coughing!! Woo Hoo.  We are still scheduled to see the GI doctor in January, but it looks like this may be very good news versus the alternative possibilities.

 



Here are a few pictures from Brooke's ballet and tap class.  She also met her new best buddy in this class, Kate. (Who just happens to have a 2 yr old brother, Will.)

A quick trip to the Apple Orchards.

So I hear Tyler yelling....Help mom I'm stuck. Yes my initial reaction is to get the camera.  Then "someone" got the idea to let Nate, Nate take a little ride too.

A trip to "Bear Park".

Tyler's sign pictures.  This month's saying is "Why's that?", which he will continue to ask regardless of your answer.  It's both humorous and a little annoying...more funny though as you try to come up with an answer that satisfies him.

So I picked up a 12-18 month frog outfit off ebay.  Well of course Tyler decided he wanted to wear it the instant he saw it.  Brooke tried to turn him into a prince.....Instead she ended up with a garden gnome.

Baby Will's first birthday party, and Halloween party in one!!

Happy birthday Will!

We stole this "pintrest" idea from Will's birthday party for the kids to share with their buddies at daycare.  Too bad I didn't realize the raisin boxes were positioned the other way, as that would have helped keep them from falling over!

 I also found Nate on the ground with pretty wings, and his brother & sister flying around him.

A quick evening of pumpkin carving.  Plus we made sure to get the picture of Nathan with his pumpkin hat just like his brother and sister did!

Brooke's dance recital.  Since the recital was the day before Halloween, Miss Denise said the girls could just wear princess dresses or something that made the feel pretty.  I helped Brooke feel extra pretty by letter her wear a little makeup for the first time! 

And we finished the month, with trick-or-treating in the rain with Brooke and Tyler's new best buddies Kate and Will.

0.5 Years Old

Yeah Nathan is 1/2 a year old, and time is flying by.  This guy is really trying hard to grow up too fast!  We will get his official status from the doctors in a week, but today he weighed in at 20.2 lbs.  I am still able to fit him in some of his 9 month clothing, but really the 12 month fits best.

 

 

One of his bottom teeth popped through at 5 1/2 months, and his second bottom one is popping through now.  Within the last few days has almost mastered sitting, and is a rolling machine.  You can put him in one spot and within minutes he will be 10 feet away.  Nick also thinks he may have started some army crawling, but I haven't seen that yet!  Plus he started eating apple sauce, and mashed bananas!! Whew, as I said this guy is trying to grow up too quickly! 

 

 

Since, I use my blog to also update the kids' baby books, I will add the note about the fact he is drinking 5 oz bottles (three) at daycare and still nursing about 4 times throughout the night.  Yes, approximately every 3 hour in the evening.  However, I am really not complaining too much, as this is the only special time I get to spend with him, and our crazy busy lives.

 

 

Sign pictures aren't complete without a quick kiss from Shelly.

P.S.  I put Tyler in this same outfit at 6 months old!!  I just love this sock monkey outfit.

Living Life

We are trying our hardest to live life to the fullest (while still working full time), which once again is making it hard for me to find time for the blog.  Here is a re-cap from the past month!  I am just glad I remembered my camera every once in a while to remember it!

 

First we start off with three sleeping kids, and ask the question if all kids are sleeping why am I awake?

 

Go Tigers!  Here are few pictures from the daddy / daughter night at the Tiger's game.  Nick's boss wanted to do an outing with a fellow GM guest from out the country.  Instead of trying to find a babysitter, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity for Brooke to spend some special time with daddy.  She had a blast, as you can tell by the smile on her face.

Another Sunday afternoon at the Toledo Zoo.  We love how active and close the animals are!

Some random pictures including 1) Tyler taking a little baby for a walk (with crazy large frog slippers); 2) Tyler showing off his second "poopy" sticker (he hasn't gotten any more since); and finally 3) kids ready for daycare in the morning. (Make sure to check out Brooke's socks.)

Tyler's sign picture for the month.  This month's saying is "You just joking" or many times "I just joking"  Plus pictures of the night I let him sleep in his favorite cowboy boots.  (Yes, I took them off after he was sleeping.)

Naked BIG baby Nate!

Saturday afternoon of wiener dog races!  Shelly did great (3) 2nd place finishes, and then a 3rd place finish in her race in the semifinals.  Regardless, an entertaining way to spend a day.

One Sunday, Nathan and I travelled to Cleveland for my grandmother's stone unveiling.  (She passed away last fall.)  It was also a nice visit with my family on my father's side, and Nathan got to meet his great-grandfather for the first time.

Nick's 15 year high school reunion, and perfect weather for a football game.

Tyler's first night sleeping in his big boy bed.  We are hoping to be able to put Nathan in the crib soon instead of the pack-and-play.

A trip to Toledo for the homecoming parade, and football game.  Plus a picture of the seal (which used to be on the ground), where Nick proposed to me 10 years ago!

And finally I will end this post with some nerdy engineering humor.  Our poor kids are doomed!

Batman....

Found this outfit garage sale shopping this weekend!  Couldn't be more perfect.  (The only thing more perfect is they threw it in for free, with the five other oufits I picked up for $5...I didn't even ask them to!)

And Brooke is 50 Months!

I was really excited to report that Brooke had improved her sleeping skills, but I guess that "jinxed" it last night.  I can however report she isn't really having her night terrors anymore!  We are not sure if it's directly linked to cutting out her evening Flovent inhaler, or just outgrowing them.  Last night she did casually walk into our room about 10 times between the hours of midnight and 2 am very calming asking us to tuck her back in.  We weren't able to get her to stop until we finally told her we were closing our door.  The last time we heard her turn the knob to make sure it wasn't locked, and then go back to bed.  Who knows!  Regardless I am sure Nathan woke at 2:30 a.m. to insure to tag team us (me)!

We also met with her asthma and allergy doctor (Dr. Leo) this week for her 6 month check up, which we are probably 4 months late for!  We discussed our concerns about how she still coughs when she eats, which started when she first started eating solid foods at 9 months old.  For a period it appeared to stop significantly, but now its back in full force.  We are doing a 2+ week eating study trying to monitor what she eats and how often she coughs, and when.  Also, taking a short video of her coughing, and then back to the asthma / allergy doctor in mid-October.  Base on the results, he will most likely be sending us to see a GI doctor for an upper-GI study.  I then receive a personal call from Brooke's pediatrician on Friday, after reading Dr. Leo's report, and thinking about Brooke's history, she recommended we book the GI appointment.  Unfortunately/Fortunately, the GI doctor is really good, which means he has a really long wait.  Therefore, they give you the next available (Jan. 20th), and then wait for a discussion with your doctor to pull the appointment ahead. 

Here are the possible diagnostics...some of which are much more concerning than others.
1) Uncontrolled Asthma
2) Acid Reflux
3) Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE)

We are anxious to get answers, but also trying hard not to stress about the different options.  I will post more information, as we learn.

Here are Brooke's 50 month pictures! I think this girl probably has 20 pairs of shoes.  (Honestly not exaggerating.) And she picked Tyler's to wear for the day.

Also in exciting news, Brooke is starting ballet and tap classes this week.  Look for some more cute pictures to come!

Nate, Nate...5 Months

Before writing this blog post, I decided to refreshing my memory on when Brooke & Tyler were 5 months old!  Its crazy how it feels like it was so long ago, and like it was just yesterday all at the same time.  I am so glad I have this blog to help me to refresh all these memories.  I urgently need to go through each post, and save them as a PDF in case something happens to the websites.

Here are Nathan's 5 month sign pictures.  This month he instantly went to eating the sign.  I guess this boy is just always hungry...including every 2.5 to 3 hours in the middle of the night.  He is down to around 5.5 oz bottles (3) at daycare, of which 2 ozs are mixed with cereal.  Nathan picked up on cereal eating by his second attempt (4 months old), and absolutely loves it!  We just hope he continues to be such a good eater.  I am estimating his weight around 19.5 lbs, and today he wore a 12-18 month outfit, and it wasn't even loose!

Like the other two, he is a very happy baby as well.  Lots of belly laughs, and all.  It's very common for him to laugh too much, and give himself the hick-ups...which he isn't very pleased about.   He loves being picked up by anyone, but especially loves how silly his brother & sister are!

Cottage Vacation Take Two

I really wish I had more time to keep up with the blog!  (Only if that means someone else is cleaning...not if it means we aren't out having fun.)

We travelled to our family cottage for a second time this summer.  Here are just a few of the pictures from the week.  This time was less crowded with only my little sister, her two kids, and my parents. 

Now for the pictures!

We had perfect beach weather all week!

Tyler's 25 month pictures!  Tyler is still the best sleeper in the house...however, his rate is only about 50% for sleeping all the way.  Poor sleepy parents.  His sayings for the month are "I fall down....again" and "I missed it."  You will pretty much hear him say these quotes about 10 times a day.

Family canoe trip, and picture of the daily "blowing on or off" of the light houses on the fireplace mantel.

Super cute Big Sister, Middle Brother, Little Brother t-shirts.  My neighbor makes these, and did an excellent job.  She also made the matching shirts for Nick's races. Team Buchman.  If you need anything custom, I would highly recommend her!  The House of Threads

The 2nd week in September is the bridge re-building weekend.  I am not sure how old this one is, but it's been decided before someone get hurt its time to completely redo the whole thing.  The wood for the new bridge arrive the week we were at the cottage.  Nick got the privilege of helping unload it off the truck.  Boy were we glad he was home, and not out riding his bike!

Trip to the park...and some blueberry picking!

Grandma, aka my mom, saved two of the dresses from our childhood.  Brooke & Emi were excited to wear them for a little while.  The picture in the bottom left corner is "Tara, Hannah, Lea".  So maybe Brooke does look just a little like me when I was that age.  My little mini-me.  Emi definitely looks like Tara as well!

And a few beach pictures to finish off the blog post!

Tyler & Nate's New Ride

Nathan Stats - 4 Months

Update to Nathan's 4 month stats.  We did pretty good with our measurements.  17.7 lbs versus 18 lbs, 17" head versus 17" head, however length we measured 25", and at the office it was 27".  I am not quite sure he grew 2" in the last week.

Nathan (4 months):
18 lbs = 75-90%
27" = 90-95%
17" = 50-75%

Tyler (4 months):
15 lbs = 25-50%
25.5" = 50-75%
16.5" = 25-50%

Brooke (4 months):
13 lb 5 oz = 25-50%
24.5" = 25-50%
15.75" = 10-25%

Random Blog Pictures! (Ok couldn't come up with a title)

OK, so I couldn't decide if I should do lots of little blog posts, or just roll everything into one.  Final decision was to roll it all into one! So here we go....

There is a nearby park, who's goal is to be "The best park in Downriver".  Well they have my vote!  Every time we have come to visit there is a park employee (or volunteer) either sweeping the rubber mulch off path in "safety town" or actually hand wiping down the equipment!  Plus the park also has a small, super fun splash pad, (and clean bathrooms.) Here are just a few pictures of the kids at play.

Next this takes us to a picture of my men!  I do love these guys!  Look Tyler's hair matches daddy's.  Also, a pictures where I found Tyler swaddling his Ken and singing Hush Little Baby.  I am sure he will appreciate hearing that when he is older.

Next we move on to Brooke's 49 month picture! Oh that's right you thought this would finally end by her 4th birthday....nope! The exciting news for Brooke this month is she has slept all the way through the night more times than she hasn't! Maybe the threat that she couldn't come on vacation to the cottage with us helped some?

Then we move to pictures of Kristen, Chris, Cindar & Nate! They stopped by for a quick BBQ and visit Saturday night. I can't believe I haven't seen them since I was pregnant with Brooke! Boo. Too bad Wisconsin is so far away.

"So Nick should we go check out what the kids are up to? They seem very quiet". "Nope, just enjoy the quiet....I am sure they are fine." I wonder how things would have been reversed if Tyler was the older sibling, and leaded Brooke to do things. At least the power tool helps....right?

And finally I will end this post with some cute Nate, Nate pictures.  It must be nice to play, take a short nap, and then wake up to play again.  So silly!

Last Weekend Fun....

Hopefully, I can post the pictures from this weekend soon too! 

Last weekend, we decided to travel to our third zoo for the summer, the Detroit Zoo.  Unfortunately, this zoo has a hard time competing with the Toledo or Cincinnati Zoo as it doesn't have any elephants (they were shipped to California), and very few babies.  Plus the animals appear to be harder for little people to see in the exhibits.  HOWEVER, it was still a fun visit, and the kids were pumped to get new zoo sweatshirts, as mommy did realize how chilly it was outside.

The weekend also ended with a quick visit from my sister, Lea's, family on their way back from the cottage!  Plus we finally hung up Brooke's wind chime she made at the cottage.