Time is really flying by

Time is really flying by. Nathan is doing amazing. He is crawling everywhere, and pulling himself up on everything. He also gets on all fours and tries to stand. Not much longer now before he starts walking unassisted. Believe it or not, I can't wait. He is almost in the 25th percentile for his weight. He has an appointment with GI on the 27th, and if he hits the 25th percentile, they will back off his feeds at night some. He is still doing OT twice a week, and making great progress. This is a slow process, but he is doing quite well. We are so very proud of him.

Last week we took Nathan to Tawas City to GGma's place for the first time. We all had a blast. We left on July 31st after Nathan's therapy. He did this most of the way up there:

He woke up about 30 minutes before we got there. Once we made it, I was a little nervous about how he would be in a strange place. We went inside and I sat him on the floor. He had ZERO issues. He crawled around and checked everything out. We let him stay up while we unpacked the car. I think we ended up putting Nathan to bed about 11:30pm. He slept fine through the night. In fact he didn't have any issues up there at all. The next day it rained so we pretty much stayed home, except to run into town to Walmart to get some supplies. Most of the vacation was spent at the house, relaxing or playing games. On the 4th, we took Nathan to the beach for the first time. He LOVED it.

The only thing he didn't like was the waves pushing him around. It was really choppy so he couldn't really sit and play for any length of time. He did look so cute in his life jacket though.

The following day we went back to the beach and took a bunch of pictures. We took pictures by statues, and on the pier. They turned out so cute. (Please view them in the photo section) After that we headed to Hubbies. We love that putt putt place. It is SO big, and very fun. Nathan even took a crack at it.

We left on the 7th and headed for home. I wish we could of stayed up longer. I didn't want this vacation to end, we had a blast. Thank you, Kevin, Nathan, Pops, Mom, Bryan, Lindsay, and Gma for a wonderful vacation.

On the oxygen front Nathan has not needed oxygen in 2 weeks. We are thrilled. He is still hooked up to the pulse ox machine to monitor it. His next appointment with Pulmonary is the 31st. I am hoping he can be oxygen free until then. Maybe they will give him the clearance and we can send all the machines back. That would be nice to have another cord off of him a night.
We also have a new word to add to Nathan's vocabulary. He said Bubba yesterday. Bubba is Uncle Bryan's nickname. It was so sweet, and mom and I heard it as clear as day. I texted Bryan right away, and he was so excited to hear that. I just can't wait until see gets to hear it first hand. He can now say 7 words: Momma, Dadda, Grandma, Hi, Night Night, Kitty, & Bubba.
That's about it for now. I have uploaded a video, and also new pictures. Take a look. I will update again soon.
Love you all!!!!

Nathan's first time pulling himself up on everything

Nathan can now pull himself up on anything to get into the standing position. He can pull himself to stand from the stairs, baby gate, and couch. I give it another couple of weeks, and he will be walking everywhere.

To see him stand using the stairs, please visit:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=121310455806

Nathan's first time playing on the beach

Nathan went to the beach for the first time. We were in Tawas City for a week, and Nathan experienced the beach for the first time. I think he had a lot of fun. He loved the water, but didn't like that the water was so choppy. They kept pushing him around.

Also his first time in a life jacket.

Just relaxing!!!

He is such a water baby!

Nathan's first steps

They were assisted, but he walked with is toy. It was SO cute. He has been cruising the couch for a little while now, but this is the first time with a moving object. He will be walking in no time.

Nathan fed himself for the first time

So I decided to let Nathan feed himself for the first time. What I was thinking using Chocolate pudding is beyond me, but he did a pretty good job. He seemed to like doing it himself. He is just getting too big.

What a difference a month makes

Well Nathan is just over a year old. And wow, the changes a month makes. Nathan is much more vocal. He can now say 5 words. Well kinda 6. He can say: MaMa, DaDa, kitty, night night, Hi, and we think he said grandma the other day. I guess we will have to wait a little longer to make sure. He is also now pointing at things he wants or places he wants to go to, instead of crying. And he is crawling like crazy. That little boy is everywhere. We love it. Now when he wants a toy, he goes and gets it himself. But poor cats they do not like the fact that he is crawling. Now they can't lay on the floor with him cause he goes over and pulls their hair. I guess bear was getting mad yesterday when my mom was watching him, because she said he started swatting Nathan. He is also trying to pull himself up on everything. He can do it, if he positions himself correctly. When he is laying down, he can get himself to the sit position as well. He is also walking much better, when we hold his hands. He is still unsteady so I think walking is a little ways off.

He still is not eating all that well, and still gags a lot. His OT said it is going to take some time before he starts eating again. He remembers how much it hurt him to eat, so he refuses every chance he gets. But we are working really hard with him to over come this. He is also not on oxygen every night. Some nights he needs it, and some nights he doesn't. I really think he doesn't need it, and the monitor is off, because the light in his toe that reads it flickers a lot. I think it's dying. I need to put a call into the company.

Nathan is a HUGE water bug now. We were told about this Tegaderm stuff we can use to put over his tube so he can go in the water. OMG, when he sees water, he throws a fit. He wants to be in it so bad. We went to a friends birthday party on the 4th, and Nathan was in heaven. It was at a water park. He played and played andplayed. I regret leaving the camera in the car. But my friend did get 1 picture of our water boy.

Nothing else really to report. We are going up north the first week in August, and we are really looking forward to it. This will be Nathan's first trip to Tawas. (and hopefully not last) I can't wait to let him play on the beach and in the lake. He will have a great time up there. That's about it for now.

Bye!!!!

Nathan's first time in his front facing car seat

I felt so bad for my lil guy the past few weeks. He seemed to hate his rear facing seat now. He would always try to sit himself up, and would get red marks on his neck from the straps. The seat is good for up to 30 pounds, and 32 inches long. Nathan is 30.5 inches long and was still cramped length wise in it. I couldn't wait to change him over.

I took Nathan to the doctors on July 3rd to get his one year shots done, and wanted to check with the nurse about changing car seats. I wanted to make sure the requirements were still 1 year and 20 pounds. She said it was. She wanted to get his weight, so we went out in the hall to weigh him. He was 19 lbs 15 ozs. She said he could go in the front facing now since he was almost there.

I wanted to wait until he hit 20 pounds, even though I am sure 1 oz wouldn't make a difference. So on July 6th I came home from work, and weighed Nathan. He was exactly 20 pounds. So I went outside, took the car seat base out and put his new one in. Those are a pain in the butt to put in, but I know it's not going anywhere. I have it super tight.

The next day Nathan had a play date to go to, so I packed his stuff up and headed out the door. As soon as I put him in the seat he was SO excited.

The whole way home I could not stop laughing. Because he had the funniest look on his face. I think he was just taking it all in.

All and all I really like this new car seat, because he is so much more happier. But with front facing it is a lot harder to get him in and out of it. It is in the center because that is the safest place for him, but it is not easy. You have to almost contort yourself to get them in and out of it. I guess I just have to get used to it.