My Social Butterfly at 41 Weeks

Dear Nathan,
I'm so glad to see that you are pretty much back to your normal self. You still aren't eating as much as you did before you got sick, and you aren't consistently sleeping for 7-8 hours at night yet, but I really like the happy, talkative and active you.

We've had lots of giggles this week as you are starting to gain a sense of humor. You know what makes mommy laugh and when you see me laugh, you keep on doing what you were doing. There has been a few times where Daddy had to ask mommy, "Are you alright, there?"

Nathan jumping on the couch is one of the things that makes me laugh.

This week, you really broke out of your shell. I can remember at least 3 times this week where other people have commented on how social you are. While this quality is not a strong one in either myself or your dad, this is a good quality to have. The first complement occurred during a play date. You kept on reaching out to the little girl, and you even shared your toys.

The second one took place at HEB. Actually you got 3 comments on your social behavior that day. The first one took place after you tracked a lady who was pushing a cart behind you from one side of your body to another. You even smiled at her and waved as you said something. She was completely surprised and super happy. The second one came after you said something to a random guy in the produce department and the third one occurred after you said "dada" to a random guy in front of me in line. 

Our neighbor's mom actually mentioned how unshy of a baby you are. Mommy left you with the neighbor for 15 mintues while I went to pick up some vegetables. When I returned, you were playing happily. You really liked our neighbor's mom. 

You've been saying "dada" alot. I'm not sure if you are being funny, or if you are trying to imitate me, but when I say "mama" you, more often than not, will say "dada." We go back and forth a few times before you get bored and decide to say something else. You've also been blowing lots of bubbles with your spit. I'm starting to think that the muscle tone in your face is just fine, so I shouldn't worry too much about it anymore. 

You've also become super active. Last week you were able to cruise along furniture, but you couldn't go around corners. Well, this week, nothing is stopping you anymore. I've started to create challenge courses for you to walk and you really enjoy the challenge. Your favorite things to go after are towers, daddy's laptop, a milk jug, and my phone. You can go from coffee table, to couch, to your push toy with ease. I bet you really enjoy being able to move yourself from one place to another. 

Happy Belated Independence Day. We spent the 4th of July with your cousins. We had dinner at their place, where you tried to play the piano, 

and then we drove to the roof of one of the parking garages at daddy's work place to watch fireworks. You were not amused. You actually saw a pretty good show the night before. The fireworks from the golf course woke you up and so I took you to the window to see the show. You were simply in a trance as you watched colorful lights burst in the dark sky. 

We celebrated Daddy's birthday this week. On Saturday, we had a party at our house and since there was so much fun stuff going on, we didn't force you to go down at your normal bedtime. We let you stay up until 10:00. You even learned to play open faced Chinese poker with the guys.

"David, you better not be cheating down there!"

On daddy's actual birthday, mommy I made him a cake and you thought it looked so good that you kept reaching for it during the birthday song and picture.

No cake for baby...yet.

Unfortunately, babies can't have cake yet. But mommy's going to make you a cake for your first birthday that you can smash up and eat all by yourself. It'll be here before you know it.

You have pretty much fallen into a pretty good routine as far as sleep goes. You have been waking up about 10 minutes before 7 am every morning. I kind of wish that you would wait until at least 7 to wake up, but I'll take 6:50 over anything earlier any day. Around 10 and 2 you'll take a nap that lasts anywhere from 45 mins to 1.5 hours. Bed time is anywhere from 7:30 - 8:00. Some days you follow the 2-3-4 hour wake rule, some days you are ready to sleep after being awake for 2 hours. But nonetheless, you are napping. I guess you are sleeping 13-14 hours a day. Right on target.

Sometimes you fall asleep on your own, but then you wake up 10 - 20 minutes later. I'm not sure why you do this, but it seems like you wait for me to barely fall asleep and then you cry. That is no bueno. You've only done this a few times, but I sure hope that this does not become a habit.

You are not eating as well as you did before you got sick. You are slowing starting to eat a bit more, but it seems like you lose interest in even your favorite foods after a few bites. You are interested, however in eating food from our forks. Does a fork make your food taste better? I bet it does. This week you got adventurous and tried some new foods. You like olives, hummus, and ricotta cheese.