sitting up??

Nate is sitting up. It's a whole new perspective for him and us. But Nate doesn't quite have the balance down; he topples over. So, the best place to practice is on the bed, where he can fall back and to the side and it's no big thing. This morning however, I sat him up in his crib and he wobbled and fell back on that crib mattress and it stunned him a little. He thought about crying but I buried my face into his stomach and he quickly erupted in giggles. He'll get this sitting up thing eventually. And then we'll start tackling the challenge of nabbing backhand grounders in the hole between shortstop and third and firing the long throw to first base...

Tummy Time Sucks

Almost 8 months old now, one thing is clear for Nate. He still hates that tummy time. He'll give you a smile if you work for it, sure, but left on his own, tummy time might as well be water-boarding.

It's hard to hear him moaning and wimpering. We cheer him on, stick a toy in front of his face or make silly faces so that he gets the idea that this could be a good time if he lets it. If only he'd roll over onto his back, he'd be able to skirt this baby tradition. But his left arm gets kind of stuck, creating a wedge against rolling over. This is when Nate gets most frustrated and enraged. It's funny actually if he wasn't so upset. OK, it's still funny. Not for Nate.

Exam Table

Also this week we have been to the doctor twice for minor worries--mosquito bites that lingered and what might be thrush but might be nothing, both of which we're medicating and hoping will go away. But waiting for the doctor has been a workout in and of itself....

Sitting Up!

Car

Shana and I finally bucked up and leased a car ("Hey Frankie, check it out, this guy is 40 years old and hasn't ever gotten' car insurance!" "No way!"). It'sa goody-goody silver awesome Toyota Prius that gets more than 50 MPG, rides quiet and allows you to open the door and start the engine with your key in your pocket. It's going to help with getting nate out of the hood to family and friends. He seems to like it so far. It makes him sleeeeeeepy....

Mexico

So Nate’s first vacation was to…Mexico! We rented a house for a week on Isla Mujeres with Anne, Jamie and Zeke. Nate swam in the pool—and liked it after a few nervous takes. He got his first mosquito bites and felt the hot sun for the first time in his life. He met Zeke in what we hope will be the beginning of a long friendship. And he seemed generally happy to be there.

We also had a fun time but traveling with baby is rough. The plane was a truly difficult four hours of trying to keep Nate entertained and calm. Sleeping was tough—Nate who was in our room kicked the mattress so hard in his sleep that we had to move to a different room (one without a/c). But the adults finally figured out that in order to have some vacation in the vacation we had to hire a reliable babysitter so we found the amazing Elise who walked in, fell in love with the boys and told us to go have a good time. Which of course we did. When we returned day after day, Elise would have a list of what the boys did while we were gone—see above. On day 5, Nate ate, napped, ate, napped then at 3:45 he "gave speech" shortly after which he pooped.

Taking a Bath