Nathaniel Goes To His 1st Concert!

Sunday evening was the much anticipated MercyMe and Casting Crowns concert. We had such a wonderful time and Nathaniel loved the music! I held him standing up on my lap while he danced and excitedly waved his hands! It was so much fun to watch him.

Enjoy the pictures.

Just Because...

...He's SOOOO Stinking Cute! :-)

Who Does Nathaniel Look Like???

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family website - Yad Vashem research

Nathaniel Eats His First Vegetable!

Umm, so I guess my son eats sweet potatoes and makes the face like he is eating a lemon?! SO SILLY! :-)

Nathaniel Goes To The Fair

One of my favorite past times as a kid was going to the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup. Althought Southern Oregon fairs are not close to the size and excitement, I always look forward to going.

This year, for the first time, we decided to go to the Jackson County Fair. I was so excited to take Nathaniel to see the animals! It was a VERY hot day...but we still had fun!!

Me, Melisma & Nathaniel trying on Sunglasses

Nathaniel just trying to keep cool

Paul introducing Nathaniel to his very first Elephant Ear. Nathaniel isn't quite sure what to think about it...

Nathaniel can't wait to sink his soon-to-come teeth into this!

Nathaniel meet cow, cow meet Nathaniel.

Nathaniel meet pig, pig meet Nathaniel.

Nathaniel's 6 Month Check Up

Today was Nathaniel's 6 Month well baby visit. I was very excited to hear how much he has grown!

Nathaniel weighs 18 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces and is 27.1 inches!!!!! Whoa! I knew he had gained weight, but had no idea it was almost 2 pounds since July 3rd!!! I guess his love of cereal (rice, oatmeal and barley) is really paying off!

The doctor was very pleased with how he was developing. He is right on track with where he should be at 6 months. Considering his delays when we first brought him home, I was so pleased and excited to know how well he is doing, and the best is yet to come!

Bye-bye Pacifier and Hello Big-Boy Crib!

So we fought and won (I think) our first battle with Nathaniel this week. After many sleepless nights of waking up to replace the pacifier that Nathaniel spit out or lost, I decided it was time to no longer offer the pacifier. You see, Nathaniel is sleeping in the bassinett (in the Pack-N-Play) in our bedroom.

Let me break down how the "Great Pacifier Battle" was fought and won:

Night #1, ummm....we won't talk about that.
Night #2, a little better than night #1...but that isn't saying much...
Night #3, about the same as night #2.

I am a light sleeper and Paul is a DEEP sleeper. Because I was doing the up and down (Paul didn't wake up to the cries) I thought it was time to move Nathaniel into HIS room to sleep in the crib.

Even though I was convinced I would get good sleep with this move, it was difficult since it would be the first time without him in our room. :-(

Night #4: My sadness of having Nathaniel in our room was quickly diminished when we ALL slept VERY WELL through the night! Oh what joy!!! And the pacifier is forgotten! YIPPEE!!

Nathaniel in his "Big-Boy Crib"! He is growing up so fast! :-) :-(

My Daddy's Hands Make Me Laugh!

This video was too adorable to not share! Nathaniel's laugh is incredible, and this is the first time we have heard him laugh so hard!

Nathaniel Goes To Church

Today was Nathaniel's first official time attending a normal church service (he has already been to 2 Memorial Services and last week was a special community wide church service in the park).

It was so fun to see how much people love him, even before they met him!

Here is our future Soundman being trained by Cliff our current Soundman! :-)

After service we went to lunch with some friends, and here is Nathaniel's Auntie-Grandma Jaye! :-)

Nathaniel Goes To The Illinois River

Today we spent the day at with some friends in Cave Junction at the Illinois River. We had a wonderful BBQ and fun swimming!

Nathaniel got his feet wet in the river with Daddy. He wasn't too sure what to think about it all.

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Nathaniel!

Today, July 8th, 2008, is Nathaniel's 6 month birthday!

It was 1 month ago, today that we landed in Ethiopia.

I am blessed beyond belief to have this miracle baby in my home and in my arms. Thank you, Lord for this amazing blessing!

Tummy Time funny!

So we have really been working on "tummy time" with Nathaniel. We don't believe that they ever put the babies on their stomach, which resulted in Nathaniel not having a lot of strength in his arms or neck.

Sunday morning before we left for church, Paul put him on his stomach and watched as he struggled to push himself up. It must have been extremely tiring, because as you can see, he took a nap! He snoozed for about 45 minutes on his Tummy Time mat!

Happy 1st Fourth of July, Baby Nathaniel!!!

Follow Up Success!

Today we took Nathaniel for his second set of follow up blood tests and doctor's appointment. It was amazing as we went from the lab to the doctor's office, every person knows Nathaniel by name and was so happy to see him doing so much better. :-)

The good news is, all his levels are within normal range! That means he is maintaining them on his own! Go, baby, go!!!