Back in Nashville

We're finally back home in Nashville. What a relief! It has been a long, fun, crazy summer, and it's good to be back in our own space, where we know our way around the city, and where we know people's names at church. We've got Nathan on a better routine now, and we're all appreciating the sleep that results . . . usually. (I think we've got more teeth coming in. The count is at 4 right now--the bottom two, the top right front, and a random one on the left top.)
Nathan is creeping along like a rock star. He doesn't love it--I think he's wondering why all of a sudden his mom is putting him on his tummy and walking away so much--but he's motivated to get the toys we put a short distance in front of him, and motivated to get his pacifier at almost any distance. Nathan has also developed a great pincer grasp (thumb & index finger) which he uses to pick up all sorts of tiny objects that he then gets taken away from him.
Which leads me to talk about how Nathan is recognizing lots of words. He sure hears "no" often enough. His favorites are his name, "What does the kitty say? Does the kitty say, 'meee-oooow'?", "be-bo" (belly button, taken from one of his favorite books), and "up." He babbles the following consonants with a short "a" sound: b, c/k, d, g, h, m, p, & w. The other day, we were driving around running errands and in the backseat mirror we saw Nathan with a look of utmost concentration. He then proclaimed "cccaaa!" This scene repeated itself several times--concentrate, cccaaa, concentrate, cccaaa. I really admire how hard my little guy works to accomplish things. I hope this is a quality he has forever. Nathan gives hugs & kisses now, though not always when asked (he's not a trained seal!) and can pull the blanket off his or my head when we play peek-a-boo.
Nathan also enjoys a lot of different foods now, including some finger foods, like peas, rice cakes, corn chex, rice, and small pieces of ground beef. We're waiting to hear at his next doctor's appointment what to do about his suspected wheat allergy. (When we were in Houston one night, I gave him mixed grain cereal. He loved it, but half an hour later when he was in bed, we heard him start bawling. We ran upstairs just in time to watch him vomit the the entire contents of his stomach onto the sheet. Poor kid. In the past, he's broken out in a red rash around his mouth when he ate a cracker, but his crazy mom had to investigate whether it was the salt or the wheat. Looks like the wheat. Hopefully he'll outgrow it.)
Nathan has some favorite games that I'm jotting down here so that I don't forget them someday. He loves when I hold him by his hips and swing him upside-down. Spinning in the computer chair and flirting with the baby in the mirror are favorites, too. Since he was about 5 months old he adores a game we call "IN A TENT" (said in a loud, spooky voice). We cover ourselves with a sheet, look at each other, I say "Oh no, we're in a tent!" and we then thrash our arms around until we pull the sheet off. We can play this game for hours. Nathan also loves sitting in the bathroom sink while I do my hair and make up (thanks for the idea, Cammen!), and anything that makes noise--pots & pans, a box with a lid, his high chair tray. He loves dropping things from the high chair or stroller and looking for them (it's crazy, but I never get tired of picking them up for him, since I know he is developing object permanence this way).
Jake is back in school. He's taking classes in environmental law, employment discrimination, and two economic/statistics & the law type classes. He accepted his offer at Baker Botts in Dallas in their ERISA group, so that means he will be working on employee benefits packages & executive compensation packages for corporations. He enjoyed his time in that group and in the corporate group at Baker Botts, but ultimately went for the ERISA group because they enjoy a better quality of life (aka, fewer hours away from family. Robin Williams' character in Hook was a corporate lawyer, and we all know how he sent his assistant to tape his son's baseball game for him, and then his kids were kidnapped into Neverland, and frankly, we don't want Nathan going anywhere with Captain Hook).
In my world, I just started up Weight Watchers again. Last time I was on it, I lost 8 pounds in three weeks. Then I found out I was pregnant & had to stop. Hopefully this time I'll be able to get to my goal without a pregnancy putting things on hold! I also received a calling last Sunday to serve on the Enrichment Committee. It should be fun to help plan and put together the activities for the sisters. I'm sure I'll be picking everyone's brains for fun ideas.

24th of July in Utah

We just had a blast in Utah visiting our grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Nathan really enjoyed the time he spent with the Barneys and the Howards.
On the 23rd of July, he went to the Handcart Days parade in Bountiful with Grandma Patty, Grandpa Rob, Aunt Linds, Uncles Matt & Bozz, and Cousin Kale. Mom was worried that the sirens would scare him, but he was unphased--what a great kid!
The next day, he went to breakfast at the Star Cafe in Layton with the Barneys and tried to eat the menus. After that, he enjoyed a walk in the stroller (and fell asleep!) while Mom & Dad went to Paces for a treat with Grandma Elaine & Grandpa Ken. He finished off the day with a dip in Grandma Patty's pool and a barbecue at the Wises. He saw his buddy Kelsie and feasted on a couple of delicious pickle chips.
The rest of the trip was spent visiting family & Nathan being babysat by grandmas & grandpas while Mom & Dad enjoyed dinner out, going to the mall, and getting an ice cream just the two of them. Thanks again, you guys are the best!!! Nathan had the special treat of seeing Great-Grandpa LaMar & Great-Grandma Dorothy at Leatherby's in Salt Lake. It's always neat to have so many generations of family together. The only downside to the occasion was that there was a tanker truck rollover on the freeway on the way back and it took Mom & Nathan (Dad was back in Houston for work) an hour and a half to get home. Nathan cried most of the way--he wanted to be held, but only his car seat was there for him. He fell asleep for the last five minutes of the drive, and woke up completely refreshed and playful, like nothing ever happened. Thank heavens babies are so forgetful (or forgiving, I'm not sure which!).

Besides his recent adventures in Utah, Nate continues to grow too fast. He has tried a bunch of new foods--bananas, peaches, and pears. He is starting to develop object permanence. When Mom hides his pacifier under a blanket, he goes looking for it. Nate is trying to get himself into a sitting position on his own, and is getting better at it every day. He got a cell phone for himself when he ruined Mom's with his drool (she got herself an identical new one, so that when she needs to talk on the phone, he can talk on his without feeling like he is getting the short end of the stick). His new favorite song is "Kiss the Girl" from Disney's The Little Mermaid (maybe it would help if Mom & Dad knew all the words--we're working on it). Nathan is an amazingly sweet little boy with smiles for everyone, even if the smiles are a bit bashful, with Nathan tucking his head into Mom's shoulder. We feel so blessed that he is part of our family, and that we had the chance to spend a week with them. We can't wait to see you all again soon!!!