Double digits folks!

   

So Nate is at 10 pounds 1 ounce!!  We went to the doc this morning to check out his tush and he got weighed in.  This doctor met him a few months ago and was shocked at how much he's grown.  His butt is doing great.  Even though it's still a bit red it's doing great and we just need to keep it aired out as much as possible and then putting on the butt cream as often as possible.  The doctor said it's hard with Nate since he poops so often and with every little toot he has but we'll have to keep cleaning often.
  Our wonderful friends Cassie and Tom offered up their Bumbo chair so here's a few more shots of Nate in it.

  

Not always attractive faces in the Bumbo, but he's working on gaining that strength and muscles in his back and neck!

Katie and Kelly came all the way up from Madison to spend some time with Nate.  Nate was getting his hand modeling poses down so we put Katie's ring on him for a "senior" picture.

Nate very much so enjoyed hanging out with the ladies.  We later got to go to the Twins game....sorry, Brewers game for them :)  It was awesome to see the new stadium and needless to say we had a good time...maybe too good a time :)

The girls were shocked to see a comparison of one of Joe's early outfits and one of Nates....see if you can guess who's is who's?!

   
I had my doctors appointment as well and get to get off of one of the blood pressure meds.  I have to do another 24 hour urine test...basically collect my urine for 24 hours and keep it in the fridge...it really makes Joe happy...and then they test it for protein in there.  Hopefully it's continuing to go down so we shall see.  I don't think I ever updated about my MRI results for my knee but I have torn my ACL in my knee completely through again so woo hoo!!  The doctor told me I can try to strengthen muscles around it like my hamstrings or have reconstructive surgery again.  Having had the surgery 10 years ago and knowing all of the rehab that goes in to it is making me a bit hesitant.  Haven't really made up my mind yet as to my plan so we'll see.
   
This picture was Nate at the doctor's this morning.  You can kind of see his hernia sticking out down at the bottom where his belly button is...don't tell Joe that you can see it!  The secretaries at the office stopped to grab Nate when we were at the doctor's.  They know him by name and get excited to see how much he's grown so it's pretty cute.  We're heading to Monroe this weekend for Memorial Day so hopefully we run in to some of you loyal blog readers!!

How far we've come...

Comparison shots, about 3 months ago in the hospital...

Current day!  I wanted to get a shot in his red and white hat before his head was too big...we are almost at that point.  I can't blame him for not giving me a happy shot....it was about 80 degrees that day and he was quite confused why I was putting a knit hat on his head! I remember folding that seemingly giant hat a couple of times to make it stay on his tiny head and now his brains are just filling that cap up!
Smiles are coming more and more often with the little guy.  He loves his bouncy seat and especially this monkey toy that can be attached to it.  He's also starting to squack a bit more than usual.  They are happy noises kind of like he's trying to laugh.
His behind is looking much better.  He doesn't seem to be in as much pain but there is a bit of the infection still there.  We are seeing another doctor on Monday morning to check it out and get a second opinion so hopefully it will be totally gone here pretty soon.
Sleeping at night is improving a tiny bit.  Last night he slept for about 4 hours straight which is unheard of!  He's taking in his food much better and being less fussy/gassy so that has been nice.  This last one is Joe being a little overzealous to let Nate ride on his shoulders.  Maybe we'll wait a little bit longer!

More bath time

These are our attempts at getting Nate to pose after bath time....not so successful



Not feeling it

 Getting cranky...

 Exasperation and thoughts of...What's wrong with my parents?

Over it

Sooooo over it


The next day there was a bit more cooperation and attempts at smiles :)

Oh hiney...

Well tushy-gate continues.  The doctor called after taking a swab of Nate's booty and turns out it's a bacterial infection.  We picked up an antibiotic prescription and are continuing with the cream.  In the first 3-4 days it cleared up really great, but it has reared it's ugly head again!  It was wonderful being able to change a diaper for a while without blood curdling screams but we're back at it again.  I'm planning on calling the doctor next week once we're done with the full antibiotic treatment.
 Here's Nate doing some tummy time.  It turned in to a nap :)

 If his tush issue heals up soon we don't have to go back to the doc until his 4 month check up.  Not banking on that though because of the reoccurence but we'll see.  Joe's birthday was on the 12th and I got him what he loves most...a Dairy Queen cake/log!  He's actually 27 and not 5 but I had limited candles!

Later, Joe and I felt like taking pictures of Nate around the house on different things to see how he grows over time.....needless to say we were bored.  My how our lives have changed!
  Here's Nate in his crib, he loves watching his mobile go.  Nate does a much better job of laying down in his crib.  We can put him in there while still awake and he falls asleep on his own without crying!  However, he still only sleeps about 2/3 hours at a pop so there's still that fun issue.
 Nate can still get pretty fussy as well.  We're starting to feed him less amounts more often throughout the day.  Hopefully it will help his digestive system a little bit better and he won't be so fussy.
Here's Nate in his rocking chair...normally we sit there, but here's his chance.        

Mother's Day

Happy late Mother's Day to all the moms out there!  Sunday was a beautiful day and we spent it with our friend's Kristi and Matt.  We went for a lovely walk and had a nice brunch at RJ Riches which has the largest pancakes I've ever seen in my life.  Even Joe couldn't finish his!

Earlier in the weekend my mom was up for a meeting for work and she got to watch Nate on Friday night while I went to see Joel McHale (a comedian) with Trisha and Andrew....he's hilarious by the way and we had a blast.  It was at Mystic Casino where you are still allowed to smoke indoors and I'm pretty sure I inhaled a pack while we were there.  I also lost $4.50 with one push of a button so that was enough for me!  Saturday, Nate and I went to lunch with mom and Trisha.  It was his first meal out in a restaurant and he did great...not a peep out of him.

We are having to bathe Nate's butt every day and try to dry him out as much as possible because his diaper rash/infection is still pretty bad.  We have a new ointment now and they took a culture to see if it was strep. Apparently you can get that in the hindquarters.?  It's still pretty painful for him and stressful every time we change a diaper but hopefully it will clear up eventually.  Here's some shots of Nate after one of his daily tushy washes....he's thrilled with life :)

He's not a huge fan of constant washing...

When my mom was up she stayed down with my sister and Andrew in Shakopee with Andrew's dog Vince.  Vince is a bit of a worry wart/scaredy cat, so here is a shot of Nate trying to be friends and Vince trying to desperately get away from him.

Even with the tushy problems Nate is still eating wonderfully.  On Friday he weighed in at 8 pounds 10 ounces, 21 inches long so he's not having any problems with growing.  We are quite proud of him as is his doctor.  Although he pooped on her twice and peed on her three separate times when she was checking out his behind.  It was pretty funny and thankfully she has a wonderful sense of humor and laughed right along with us.  The doctor's table looked like a war zone once Nate was done with it, but at least he's showing that his insides are working fine!

Wild Weekend!

Joe, Nate and I had a weekend full of fun and it flew past! Friday night we headed down to our friend's Molly and Ryan's so Nate could see his girlfriend Claire. It was theme dinner and this week's was the Caribbean. Lot's of good food and Joe enjoyed his first Pina Colada. Below is Aunt Trisha with Nate and Uncle Andrew with Claire. She's the cute little girl who is 2 days younger than Nate...he's still working on catching up to her but at the latest doctors appointment he was almost the big 8 pounds!

Now Joe with his drink...

The next morning we took a few shots of Nate airing out his tush so his diaper rash/infection thingy can heal. It's looking better but is still a bit painful for him.

Later we dressed him up and put on those little shoes that didn't fit a while back. They are perfect for holding his socks on! They still are a bit big but they are pretty cute.

Saturday afternoon Nate and I headed to our friend Jamie's baby shower. He was the only testosterone in the room and he was loving it. He was passed from family member to family member of hers so he had a wonderful time!
Saturday night our friend Maria and her mom Jane watched Nate for the evening so we could go out for our friend Mary's 30th birthday. Thanks ladies! We went mini-golfing at quite an interesting course. The owner is an artist so the different holes have crazy pieces of art as the obstacles. Here is a fun picture where everyone looks adorable except for me with my mouth open because I was mid-talking....shocking I know.

Joe's the goofball in the back who apparently thinks he's number 1 :)
After golfing we had dinner at an Irish Pub and it was delicious!
Sunday we headed down to our friend Kiley and Juniors for burgers on the grill.

Needless to say, we were busy and we ate well the entire weekend! Sunday night was pizza at Kristi and Matt's after we picked them up from the airport from their vacation. Monday is a bit of a shocker after the fun weekend.
The last 3 shots are my attempts at getting Nate to smile at me. He's getting closer and closer...and I'm convinced they are no longer gas bubbles. I know this because I am making the most crazy baby cooing noises to get him to laugh at me!


That one above is probably him being a little stunned and embarrassed that his mother is so nuts and that she makes some odd noises :)

I haven't figured out how to rotate photos on here so here is a cute sideways one.
Ok, now below is my attempt at uploading a video. You should be able to click on it and it should play. It is proof that Nate is learning to eat well. It goes from fussy-Nate, to about-to-eat-the-bib Nate, to bottle-fed Nate!



The last one is the burping process....sure his eyes go a little cross eyed, but a good burp will do that to ya! It was too funny not to put up.


Have a wonderful week everyone. We have our doctor appointment on Friday for Nate. It's his 3 month check up. I also have another appointment with the heart/blood pressure doctor this week as well as a knee appointment. My bad knee has been feeling bad for some time now...possibly 2 years or so :) So since we hit our deductible this year I decided to get it checked out. I had an MRI a few weeks back and get the full results on Tuesday- woo hoo. We'll let ya know how it all goes!