Ok, so this is a little late, but we had some cute pictures from Valentine’s Day I wanted to share.

The card we gave Nathan had stickers in it and as soon as he took them off the sheet he started putting them all over his face. I think it’s because sometimes we put stickers on our noses when we’re being silly, and he can be a goof sometimes

His GiGi (Great Grandma) sent him a bear for Valentine’s Day and he loved it. Dragged it all over for days and even wanted to sleep with it. Very sweet.

I’d say his favorite part was probably the chocolate covered strawberries from Oma. Yum!

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine’s Day!

I took Nathan out to a few houses to Trick-or-Treat for Halloween. I don’t think he quite knew what to make of it, especially since our neighborhood is pretty quiet for the holiday so there weren’t lots of other kids out doing the same thing. He also had a Halloween party and parade at daycare that morning, so I think he was kind of over the costume by the time we went out. Either way, it was a fun evening.

Getting ready to go out.

Checking out the loot.

Enjoying a Halloween treat.

We took a trip to a local farm this weekend while my mom and Bob were visiting. I always forget its barely 10 minutes from our house and it’s got a great country store, hayride, maze, animals, pumpkins and other fun kids stuff.

Feeding a Goat.

Riding a tractor.

This slide was pretty big. I liked it, but I don’t think Nathan was so sure he felt the same way.

Squinty Family Photo.

Mini Hay Maze

Handsome & Tired

I guess Gary’s the ultimate judge, but I’d say we had a nice Father’s Day. I attempted to cook us breakfast, which is a rarity, then we ran some errands and spent the evening with Gary’s family, eating crabs and grilling burgers. It was a lot of fun, and Nathan had a blast playing ball and visiting with everyone.

Daddy reading the new book he got from Nathan.

Hanging out with O-Pa!

Playing ball in the yard

Nathan showing off his new walking skills

More pictures from the afternoon are in the June picture folder here.

For Mother’s Day I decided I wanted to go to the aquarium. I wasn’t sure what Nathan would think of it but he seemed to really enjoy looking around at everything and all the people.

They don’t let you use strollers, but they provide free backpacks, which was a fun way to tote Nathan around.

Our attempt at a family picture

Nathan and Gary

Nathan and Dani

Well last week was Nathan’s first Passover. We went and celebrated with Matt and Erika at their house and enjoyed two wonderful Seders. We were a little nervous at first about how Nathan would do since the Seders start around the same time as Nathan’s normal bedtime but he did great and had a wonderful time and even was able to go to sleep at their house without any fussing which meant that Danielle and I both were able to stay for the whole time.

Here’s Nathan with his own Seder plate courtesy of Betsy (Matt’s mom).

Nathan intently listening to the Passover story

And here’s Nathan helping Matt lead the Seder

Nathan had a good time making new friends. Here he is playing peek-a-boo across the table and with his new friend Poker.

Thanks to Matt and Erika for two wonderful Seders and for including the three of us and letting us celebrate with them

Christmas was a little different for us this year. Not only do we now have Nathan to celebrate with, but because Gary is converting to Judaism, we are not celebrating it in our house like we have in past years, but instead did the celebrating at other people’s houses. We were still plenty busy though!

Christmas Eve was spent with Oma’s family at Big Mom-Moms (Gary’s grandmother). We camped out with Nathan by the food table, which has somehow become our usual spot. Everyone enjoyed playing with Nathan, and he enjoyed all the attention.

Christmas morning is my favorite. We go to Gary’s sisters house to open presents with Gary’s immediate family. Its a warm and lazy morning sitting by the fire, eating a huge breakfast, and opening lots of presents. Nathan got through a couple of his gifts and then got tired and needed a nap. After that he spent the rest of the morning playing with some new toys and having fun with Oma, Opa, Aunt Julie and Uncle Jason. We were lucky that he fell asleep as soon as he hit the carseat and took a nice long nap, because that evening we went to the annual holiday party with Opa’s family.

Cousins Jacob, Ben & Nathan on Christmas Morning

Family Picture, Christmas Morning

Considering how wacky Nathan’s schedule was for the holiday he did really well, and even when he got fussy he was easily distracted by all the new faces. It was fun to see so many family that we only see once or twice a year, and I can’t wait until next year when he can run around with the other kids…though I’ll probably feel differently when I’m chasing him all over the place!

There are more pictures from Christmas here .

We celebrated our first Hanukkah with Nathan last week. It was a nice family holiday. We had a menorah for each of us and Fen even got in on the action with a Hanukkah cookie each night.

Nathan got to open a present every night and by the end of the week was getting very good at tearing open the paper. The last night he tore it all off, pulled it out from under the box, threw it aside and went for the box. Guess he was really getting the idea!

I think his favorite present was the Amazing Animals Train. We also gave him a Tickle Me Cookie Monster, thinking he’d get a kick out of it, but so far it just scares him!

A special treat was a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bob during Hanukkah. They came for the weekend and it was great to have them there to spend time with Nathan. He loved playing with them and trying to grab Grandpa Bob’s beard. We had Oma and Opa over for dinner one night while they were here, so Nathan got completely spoiled by all four grandparents at once!

There are more pictures in the photos albums from Hanukkah and from the December visit.

Nathan enjoyed his first Thanksgiving. We spent it in Baltimore with Gary’s family. Nathan’s not quite ready for real food, but he did enjoy some green beans and squash of the Gerber variety that day.

Not only did he get to meet new family, but he got to play Peek-a-Boo with his cousins, which had him cracking up. Nathan also had fun telling secrets with Oma.

Nathan in his first Halloween costume. We went to the zoo on Sunday with some friends and their babies, so Nathan got to dress up.

Nathan had his 6 month pediatrician appointment today. He was a trooper with his vaccinations and we get to start yellow and orange veggies! Now it gets really fun.
The stats:
18 lbs 4 oz (50th percentile)
25 1/2 inches long (25th percentile)
17 inch head circumference (btwn 25th & 50th percentile)

And it’s amazing how much he’s changed!

One Month

Three Months

Six Months