The Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth of July back in Dallas, looking at houses & neighborhoods since that is where Jake thinks he would like to end up working. Only one model home we were interested in was open on the holiday, so after we checked it out, we headed to a carnival in a nearby city called Frisco. At "Taste of Frisco" we enjoyed the bands and Nathan met Uncle Sam on stilts. He has no fear--Uncle Sam lifted him into the air, while his nervous mom snapped pictures from below. I think Nathan probably just munched his fingers the whole time, completely oblivious to how high he was in relation to the solid ground.

That night we watched fireworks from the 19th story balcony of the condo we rented in Dallas. At first Nate was just wide-eyed at being out on the porch in the dark, but the fireworks in the distance finally caught his eye, and he loved taking it all in. Nathan is really a studier--people are always commenting to us on what a good, quiet baby he is, when we know what a talker he is at home, and that he's just so amazed at what is going on around him that he is rendered speechless!

Back in Houston this week, we set up Nathan's exer-saucer. He got the sweetest look on his face when we put him in it for the first time, like he was thinking, "Oh boy, is this really just for me?" He is working on crawling--he sticks his little bum up in the air and grabs the carpet in front of him to kind of scoot around. Not super-effective, but once he figures it out, it'll change our lives forever. He is also starting to babble, with his favorite refrain of "ga-ga-ga." He also seems to be starting to mimic sounds we make--when I feed him applesauce and say "mm-mm" he replies with a long "mmmmm" sound.

Nathan is so fun to tickle. The best spots are his ribs, his legs, and his feet. I've found the best way to get him giggling is to nibble on his feet. He loves to play peek-a-boo while I'm doing laundry. I put him on the bed with the clothes, toss a t-shirt over his head, and he grins like a million bucks when he pulls it off and I say "boo!" Nathan also loves when we fill the sink with a little bit of water and let him splash his feet. His favorite song is "Jesus Wants Nate for a Sunbeam." He is developing the cutest little personality.

Funny story: We're starting to work on reading scriptures as a family and including Nate, so our scriptures are usually on the nightstand near the bed. We have a shortage of space in the 1-bedroom apartment we're renting over the summer, so we also change him on the bed. So, one night we're changing him to get ready for bed, and he decides to pee, all over mom, the bed, and the scriptures. His dad jokes that it's the ultimate sacrilege, but I say, when you gotta go, you gotta go!