First Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was the first time in the 8 Christmases that we have been married that we have been at our very own home on Christmas morning. LOVED IT! The Dick family came to our house for the holiday. We had yummy ham and cheesy potatoes on Christmas Eve, along with a tasty trifle that I made. We read the Christmas story out of the bible (abbreviated version for all the little tots present) and then sent the kids to bed while the adults finished up all the necessary preparations for the next morning. It's a tradition in the Dick home that the kids can't come out to see what Santa brought until Mom and Dad put on the "special music" in the morning. The kids were dancing all around - it was all they could do to stay back there. We finally turned on the tunes and out they came. It's a tradition from the Sorensen family to have balloons on the floor on Christmas morning, so not only was the room full of 15 peoples gifts and stockings but also a floor full of balloons. The kids loved it. I think the colors on the balloons was Nathan's favorite part. We did all the gift giving and opening and then had our traditional breakfast casserole. Nathan sat on my lap for most of the morning while I helped kids open this package or that. He loved the wrapping paper and it was constantly in his mouth. We spent the rest of the day lounging around eating treats and spending time as a family. That night we had turkey and potatoes. I had made a pumpkin pie a couple days before, and as I was sitting on the couch on Christmas day thinking about eating my pie I suddenly thought, "did I put sugar in that pie?" I went out to have a little taste and realized that NO, I hadn't put any sugar in the pie. I checked the recipe I used (from a ward cook book) and felt a little relief in that sure enough the recipe did not even call for sugar. It didn't help the taste of the pie at all, but at least I wasn't a complete nut case. I was bummed (especially since I had cooked and blended our Halloween pumpkin just for the occasion). So, two days later I made another one (using another recipe, of course). It was delicious. I LOVE PUMPKIN PIE! And Nathy even had a few tastes...and liked it (mostly).
This season always makes me reflect on the blessings I have: family, a home, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and most especially the blessing of Jesus Christ himself, that He was willing to come to earth and face all the trials that he faced here and complete his mission (which included paying the price for our sins as well as giving up his life) for each of us. I love him and dedicate this next year to working a little harder at becoming more like He is.

Nathan even fit into the little Santa outfit that I got for Caelan's first Christmas.

Giggling and Kicking and Sleeping through the Night

Nathan is a giggling little boy these days. He actually started laughing on Dec 3 but he can really get going these days. If I talk to him and say the same things over and over in a silly tone that will set him off. He also loves his bouncy seat. He has started kicking his feet while sitting in it. And sometimes he gets kicking so much that I turn around and he has slid himself way down into the bottom of the seat. We are starting to get a little colder here in Arizona, (and actually we just had our first snow fall), but up until a few weeks ago Nathan enjoyed going outside and feeling the warm air. He liked when I would sit in the porch swing and rock back and forth. He is now sleeping through the entire night. He goes to bed around 10 or 11 PM and will sleep until usually around the 6:00 hour in the morning. There are still some occasions when he gets up in the earlier (5:00 and sometimes as early as 4:30, but he just eats and goes right back to sleep until at least 7:00 AM). And since he started sleeping so long through the night we also moved him into the crib in his own bedroom. Yay for all of us.

First Time Traveling

We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving holiday in Casa Grande with Grandpa and Grandma Dick. This was Nathan's first real traveling trip, and he did quite well. Slept for most of the ride. While we were in Arizona we went and looked at the lights at the Mesa Temple...which really started to get us into the Christmas spirit.
As you can see from these pictures Nathan has a favorite way of being held these days. He likes to be facing outward, so he can see what is going on. He still has his cuddle moments, but when he is fussy outward is the way to go. And often it will put him to sleep.

Catching Some Zzzzzz

Nathan is starting to sleep longer periods at night. He has actually always been a pretty good night sleeper. There have only been a couple of times where he was up for a significant part of the night - most of the time he would wake up every 4 hours or so and eat and then go back to sleep. Now he is starting to lengthen out those sleeping stints to sometimes 5 hours or a little more. LOVE IT. He loves to be cuddled and held close to the chest. I have noticed that I am more content to just sit and hold him (maybe it's the realization that these times go so fast), especially in the evening hours. I get myself settled on the couch and cozy him in on me and we're good to go for a few hours. Dad likes to lay him on his tummy up on a pillow. Nathan is quite fond of the position. It lets him see some things and yet he also gets the tummy contact (which he likes). He has a strong neck and can hold his head up for extended periods of time. We still give him support, but he is doing well. And this baby is growing and growing so fast. He is almost outgrowing his three month clothes.

Baby Blessing

Yesterday we blessed little Nathan. We didn't realize it was Stake Conference until some family members had already made plans to come this weekend, so we just had a little private blessing at the church right after Conference. It was Dad and both grandpas and the bishopric. We did it in the Relief Society room. It was a very nice blessing. He was blessed to be a good influence on his brothers and sisters and family. He was blessed to serve a mission and serve the Lord. And Nathan has been our only baby to scream through the whole thing....the entire thing. Oh well - I guess it's good then that it was such a small little gathering. HE HE HE. And it was a good thing we didn't wait any longer because I could barely snap his little suit which he got as a gift from Grandma Dick. Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen and the clan as well as Grandpa and Grandma Dick came for the event and stayed for a few days.

First Halloween

Nathan attended his first party. We went to the ward Halloween trunk-or-treat party at the church. Grandpa and Grandma Dick were in town, so they joined us. Dad and Grandpa stayed at the car with Nathan while Mom and Grandma took the other kids around to get candy. There were almost as many comments made about how cute Nathan was as there were about our jack-o-lanterns....and who can blame them.

Growing Little Tot

I took Nathan to the doctor yesterday for his one month well check-up. He is doing great, and growing like crazy. He is currently 11 lbs, 2 oz and 23.5 inches long (he's gained 3.5 lbs and grown 3 inches since he was born). No wonder all his 0-3 month clothes are fitting so differently these days. He is a little eating machine (he eats often, but at least each meal is pretty snappy). I must make some crazy healthy milk. HE HE HE. This is exactly how Ben was - grew off the charts for the first 4 months of his life, then it tapered off a little. Nathan gave me his first smile last week, and I have managed to catch it a few other times since then (just nothing regular enough to catch on the camera yet). What a happy smile he has. As you can see from the picture below, he is also focusing much better with his eyes these days and loves to just look around and check things out.

The other day I left the room for a couple of minutes. When I returned Nathan was no longer in the living room where I left him. He wasn't in his seat or his swing - no where. I figured maybe Caelan had wandered off with him. So I headed back to her room to see what they were up to. Nathan and Caelan were up on the top bunk. WHAT? I was so shocked. I asked her how he got up there and she said that she carried him up. So my little 5 year old carried her new born brother across the house and into her room (which is fine - she is pretty good with that), but then somehow maneuvered herself and Nathan up the ladder onto the top bunk. Pretty impressive....or pretty scary. I told her she needs to ask me to help if she wants him to go somewhere like that. She was pretty pleased with herself though, and Nathan didn't seem to mind at all.

Getting Lots of Love

This is something that you will see ALL the time around our house. Ben is completely enamored with his new little brother. He is constantly laying down on the floor next to him and patting him softly or putting his cheek up to Nathan's cheek or helping him with his binkie. Even when Ben is in full force playing mode, if he happens to run through the room where Nathan is he will stop and have a moment with the baby and then carry on. What a lucky boy Nathan is to have such a good big brother.

He's Here

Our little guy has arrived. He was born on September 25 at 3:20 AM. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.7 inches long. He had a perfectly round head and was just beautiful (you know how some babies can look when they first come out - he wasn't squished or bruised or anything - just perfect). I had a doctor appointment on September 24. My doctor checked me - I was only at a 2 or so. He told me that if I wanted to he would send me right over to the hospital and he could induce me right then. Believe me, I really considered it, but I decided to hold out. He scheduled an induction for a week away (in case I hadn't gone into labor yet). He asked me if I wanted him to strip my membranes. I had this done twice with Caelan and once with Ben and it never did anything (except really hurt while they were doing it), so I wasn't sure I really wanted him to do it if it wasn't going to help anything along. He said to me, "Well, you've never had me strip your membranes. I have a very good success rate." And the nurse nodded her head in approval. So I agreed. Later that night I started having contractions at home (at about 6:30 PM the night) - actually it was during the presidents speech to the nation about the economic bailout - I guess that just put me over the edge...HE HE HE). They weren't too hard, but they were getting pretty consistent, so we went into the hospital at 11:30 PM. We called our Home Teacher's daughter, Ashley Haws, to come and stay the night with the other kids. I was only dialated to a 3 (which was a little ridiculous), but I told the nurses there about my situation earlier that day and that my doctor had stripped my membranes. When I said it was Dr. Taylor, they said, "Oh, well then we'll definitely monitor you and see how you progress," and I progressed to a 5 within an hour. They admitted me and gave me some IV pain medication, which took the edge off for a little while. I had never had any sort of pain medication (other than an epidural) with any of my other deliveries, so this was new to me, but it definitely did help while it was working. It made me pretty drowsy - I never fell asleep, but I felt tired and heavy. After an hour or so, it seemed to wear off, but I was too close to delivering for them to give me anything else (believe me, I asked), so I just did the rest on my own. YIKES! I had Megan naturally (not medication), but this delivery was much different. I felt like I had less control - like the contractions were so hard and so often that I never had time to regain myself. The nurses called my doctor, Dr. Taylor (who is actually in our ward), and he came and scrubbed up. When he got in the room he checked me, but said it didn't seem like I was quite ready to push. So he and Sean chatted about house building and such while I was busy doing my thing. After about 15 minutes he told me that if I felt the urge to push to go ahead and start...so I did. I'm not sure it's because I felt the urge or just because I was so TIRED of the pain that I wanted to get this baby out. Once I started pushing it took a total of 2 pushed and little Nathan was out. He cried and looked perfect. The nurses cleaned him off and weighed him and then he ate for almost a full hour - I was shocked, but he just kept on eating. At one point I took him off because I thought maybe he'll just keep eating (even if he's full). oh no, that kid wanted more (his mouth was searching for something to grab onto) and when I put him back on he latched right on. He was a hungry, hungry boy. It was special to be able to have that kind of bonding time for so long right from the get go. Overall, the whole delivery went just fine, and I was/am so happy to not be pregnant anymore. And I thought it was very thoughtful of him to come a day early. So nice! My only baby so far to come before his due date. The great thing about natural deliveries is that the recovery is so quick and easy. I felt great the next day (except that I was a little tired from being up all night). And my overall recovery has been the best so far. He is a good little baby. He really only cries when he needs something, and then he is pretty content. The kids just LOVE him to pieces. Grandma Dick drove in to town later that day. Sean went home the next morning to relieve the babysitter before his mom got there. He brought the kids in to see their new little brother and it was love at first site (except with Megan who at first was happy to have him on her lap, but after a moment wasn't so sure about it anymore). Since then Caelan and Ben are always wanting to hold him and kiss him. It's very cute.