Sarah's Saga: June 2008

So we get to say HELLO in person!

Nathan got to meet his Aunt Minda (Amanda) in person for the 1st time!! Yea!! It was so special to see her see her nephew for the first time! We met up at a restaurant in Waco, the half way spot between my parents home and ours, and we got to eat with them and see them for a little bit. It was great but way to quick! I really wished we could have spent more time with them! But, we will for sure see her much more before she goes back to Taiwan as a married woman!

So two days ago was Nathan's original due date, June 25th. It was crazy to think that he was due a whole month later than when he arrived. I was holding him all comfy and cozy and it hit me that it was his due date on Wednesday... he would have been a BIGGER ole baby if he had waited to come... hahaha! I sure have enjoyed having him here with us for the past month though... so I think he came at just the right time! I can't imagine life any other way!

Nate's a big boy now, his umbilical cord FINALLY fell off! We thought that thing would never come off, but it just fell right off and now he can get all wet during bath time, no more sponge baths with caution for his belly.

Below are some more photos of what's been going on:

Nate in his sunglasses:

No real reason for this pic other than I love this little outfit on him with the matching shoes :)

Aunt Minda holding Nate for the 1st time!!!!!

My mommy, known to Nate as Nonny, holding her grandson:

Has it really been 2 years???

4:06 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

A lot can happen in two years! A little over two years ago I got married, and it feels like a million things have happened since then, including having a son. But sadly I haven't seen my sister in two years... HOWEVER she is on her way here now! Here being USA - and more specifically TEXAS! She was last here for my wedding. For those of you who don't know - my sister, Amanda, lives in Taiwan and she is currently on a plane here from Taiwan, it will be a long flight but she will get here so very soon! I can hardly wait to give her a big ole BEAR hug, show her her nephew for the first time, chat, chat, and more chattting AND help her get things ready for her wedding here in TX... yes that's right get things together for her wedding! She is getting married, to read her story visit her blog at http://amanda47.blogs.com/ I am SO excited for her!!

Also, in the past few days Nate has turned 3 weeks. He is continuing to grow and do great, he is the sweetest thing ever, and I Praise God every day that he blessed us with such a special sweet baby! He is so PERFECT! I'll add some photos from the past few days and let them speak for themselves over what we've been up to... we did go to the drive in movies and I forgot to take pictures, so we'll have to get some next time.

Here is my sister and her fiance Lawrence:

Another pic of my sister and her man:

Okay, so this isn't a pic of people... but I love Willow Tree figures and my in-laws gave each of these to Chad and I during the special times of our lives and I have them on a ledge in our home... the one on the far left is a couple, this represents us getting married. The one on the far right is a pregnant mommy - to represent when we got pregnant. And the middle one is a new family due to the new addition of the baby, so that represents us now!

Here's Nate playing on the play pad:

Alomst 29 years ago Nate's daddy was laying on this blanket, he had his picture taken at 3 weeks old on it... so we dressed Nate up in a similar outfit, and placed him the same way his daddy was and took a picture of him at 3 weeks old on the exact same blanket, then we placed the original photo on Nate's tummy to show for comparison... how special!

Alrighty, this is what happens when I leave Nate and daddy alone... I go to download the pics off the camera and there is a series of pics with daddy giving Nate a pig nose... poor baby!

Nate's favorite new toy... the swing!!

Nate Nate already on the phone:

Nate's Uncle Sam went to New York a few weeks ago and he brought his nephew back a gift... it's this really cute little onsie of I LUV NY! How sweet, thanks Uncle Sam!!

No, squeaky...

5:22 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

So, as I'm sitting here getting ready to do some blog work I hear my hubby gently calm our baby down by saying, "No, squeaky". Nate has this little noise he makes when he is moving around and it sounds like a little baby goose just learning how to squeak, squawk and honk. It's so cute and sometimes the goose noise will come out as almost a horse ney sound. We asked the Pedi about it today at his weight check and she said it's 100% normal since he is so young. She said newborns aren't experienced enough to know what sounds they can make so they make these... anyway it's hilarious and it's our new thing with him, our little goose who squeaks.

On to the good news! At our appt last week the doctor said Nate needed to gain up to his birth weight of 8lbs 5ozs (actually 8lbs .45ozs - but they round up) since he was still under at 8lbs .05ozs - so he needed to gain 4ozs... well, we sit our little bare behind baby on the scales today while he's shivering his bottom lip due to the cold doctor's office AND he weighed in at 8lbs 9ozs - WHOOOHOOO little man! Not only did we meet the goal, he exceeded it!! Thank you so much for eating good and gaining the weight!! Now we don't have to worry about supplements or force feeding him every 2hrs - well, he does this on his own, no force feeding needed with hungry boy here - obviously, he gained 8ozs in 4 days! But, if he ever wants to sleep longer or go for a while in between feedings we don't have to force him to eat, we can just feed on demand!! Yea!! Also, the Pedi said he looks perfect on everything else, and she was so very pleased with his progress! So, we are super proud of our little man! Way to go!

Here are some pictures from over the past few days:

Daddy put his sunglasses on him, cause he showed him the BBQ grill for a second the other day when he was grilling and Daddy taught Nate how to grill, but the sun was too bright - don't worry it was seriously less than a minute, so no over exposure to the sun :)

Nonny put his "I Love Grandma" bib on him... haha he looks like a little old man:

Daddy encouraging him to learn how to ride his rocking horse early:

Nate hanging out in Daddy's lap:

Mommy and Nate playing around after a diaper change:

Thank You God for Daddy, Thank You God!

11:18 PM Edit This 3 Comments »

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy 1st Father’s Day to my husband, who is already the world’s most wonderful daddy!! Happy Father’s Day & Grandfather’s Day to my dad, & my father-in-law!! Happy Father’s Day, Grandfather’s Day & Great Grandfather’s Day to my Paw-Paw!

When I was little – I’m talking baby, toddler, and little bitty girl sized - my mom and other’s who rocked me to sleep would sing the “Thank you God” song to and with me. It has a cute little tune to it, that is unforgettable to me - but it goes, “Thank you God for _____ (fill in the blank) Thank you God”… when I was old enough I would tell my mom who to thank God for next, making sure to include all my aunts, uncles, cousins and so forth in my family. I now have the joy of singing that precious song to our son, and we always start off with thanking God for Daddy. I can’t wait for Nate to sing along with me, and to get this song stuck in his mind. Anyway, on to the point of this post… Happy 1st Father’s Day to my husband, Nate’s Daddy! Chad has already shown amazing signs of being a super father! He will probably be embarrassed for me to share these things, but he has been so gentle and wonderful with Nate. There is no way I could have made it this far in parenthood without him! He has literally taken a hands on approach to helping our son feed during the wee hours of the morning when we are having nursing problems, and most of the time, daddy’s hands are the only solution to the issue. Chad has taken Nate to change his diaper before the middle of the night feedings so mom can get a few more minutes of sleep, and I can hear him talking to Nate, soothing him and telling him all about things. Chad loves holding and loving on our son, and Nathan loves his daddy’s voice. Chad has already had pep talks with him, and given him lessons on cars and such. He has taken care of our every need, and assisted with things most men would never own up to assisting with, he has had such a good attitude about doing the littlest of things that have helped Nate and me. He has literally fixed every meal for us since we’ve come home from the hospital (besides Holly & Chris bringing us yummy spaghetti - THANKS y'all!) and he is just an awesome provider for us. Chad is doing a wonderful job of showing Nathan God’s love, and we continue to pray that God will shape and mold Chad into the father He has him to be! We also praise God that Chad has such a wonderful dad himself to role model after and we thank Lee for following God and raising Chad the way he did so being a good dad, comes easy and naturally for him. Nate couldn’t have asked for a better daddy, and I couldn’t have been blessed with a better husband, what a wonderful person to continue on in this parenthood adventure with! So, thanks to Chad for being a wonderful DADDY!! We love you with all that we are and are so super grateful for you! Love-Love, Sarah & Nate!

Now here are photos of Nate and his loving Daddy:

Daddy introducing Nate to Prissy:

Daddy & Nate napping:

Daddy taking Nate to his 1st Doctor's visit:

Nate & his Poppy - Happy Grandfather's Day!

Nate & his Pop Lee - Happy Grandfather's Day!

Nate & his Great Paw-Paw, Happy Great-Grandfather's Day (and Uncle Sam is in the pic too, one day he'll be a dad)!

Today I turn 2 weeks old! Friday June 13th

10:24 PM Edit This 2 Comments »

So, we had Nathan's 2 week doctor's visit, the doctor said he is doing great! He is now 20.5 inches so he grew 1 inch! He is up to 8lbs .05oz's so we have to get him back up to his birth weight of 8lbs 5ozs by next Tuesday at another weight check. The doctor said his Jaundice looks like it's all gone and he is right on track for everything. She was very pleased with how he is doing and she was great with him, she even held him and cuddled him for the last 5 mins of the appt and she tried to walk out the door with him, saying she was gonna take him home with her... hahaha. She was great, what a wonderful Pediatrcian (thanks Sara for recommending her)! It was a very informative visit and she spent a good 25 plus minutes in the exam room with us, asking all sorts of questions and answering everything we had to ask.

The time has flown by, I can't believe Nate is already 2 weeks old!! The days are going so quickly!! I just love sitting around snuggled up to him, he is such a good snuggler!

Nonny (my mom) is coming to visit this weekend, I can't wait to have her here with us! And I know she can't wait to see her grandbaby! I really look forward to spending some time with my mom, I just wish she and my family lived closer than 4 hours away! I really DON'T HAVE A CLUE how my sister does it in Taiwan... I miss her tremendously too, and wish she were here all the time! We are counting down the days until she arrives here in the good ole USA! Nate can't wait to see his Aunt Minda in person!! Praise God for all the wonderful blessings He is showering us with! And nothing better sums that up than a verse my sister recently shared with me, "Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!" (Psalm 126:3 NLT).

Here's a sweet photo of Nate snuggled up to daddy, daddy looked down and took this pic:

Daddy wanted a pic of how small Nate is in his crib... he's not sleeping in it though he's still in his bassinet:

Nate with his car slippers on:

Cutie Pie:

Sweet baby:

Right after his bath, and having a pacifier for the 1st time:

Here's a really cute clip of Nate sucking on his 1st pacifier, at his 2 week doctor's visit today the doctor said he'd be fine to start on the pacifier. We hadn't given him one for fear of confusion with nursing, but the doc said he'd do great with it and to use this specific kind... so we'll see, hopefully we won't have any nursing issues, we've worked so hard to get him where he's at!!! But enjoy this funny video of Nate and his 1st pacifier:

Okay, and I couldn't resist... here's another video of Nate... I just think he's too darling!! Here he is right after a feeding and he's so content and sweet!!

Wednesday June 11th

10:27 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

Nathan had his neonatal screening today, we had to take him back to the hospital for the 2nd blood check - it's routine and is done on all babies. He was so good, he was sound asleep and did excellent in the waiting room then when we went to the lab for them to draw the blood from his heel he cried, but was really good about it. We quickly comforted him afterwards and he acted like nothing happened at all, and mommy & daddy got to grab a bite to eat! We went to one of our favorite resturants and we were the only ones in there dining, so it was very relaxing. Nate did perfect, and is such a good baby! We went for a walk yesterday and he really seemed to like that. We have been having such a good time with him, what a BLESSING!

Nate's Pop Lee (my father-in-law) is still recovering from his open heart surgery. If you will continue to keep him in your prayers for his left hand. After the surgery his left hand has been numb and isn't working. It is not known at this time if he will regain feeling and be able to have that hand function again... this is very scary after all he's been through. I can't imagine not being able to use my hand when it is needed for so many things, basically everything, so please keep this in your prayers!

Here's a picture of Nate and his Pop Lee:

Here are some photos over the past few days and a silly video that daddy and I made of Nate-Nate! Nate had just had his diaper changed and was awake sitting with daddy, well daddy started to massage his cheeks and Nathan loved it, he just sat there so into it enjoying the facial massage, it was SO cute and adorable that I had to get a little video clip of it so here it is... hahaha it's so funny!

So at one of our baby shower's guests were asked to write sayings on the diapers for Nate... as we come across them they are funny and it was a great idea for the shower... however this morning at 4 am when I was so dead tired and Nate was ready to eat and needed a new diaper, this is what a I come across... and just for the record, Nonny - the answer is NO a big FAT NO!!!!! I'd much rather have been sleeping with Nate peacefully sleeping at that moment too!

Here's Nate taking a precious nap, look at those sweet little hands!

Nate ready for his walk:

Gonna try a video post...

12:12 AM Edit This 2 Comments »

Ok so I made these video's back when we were still in the hospital for Nate's Aunt Minda who lives in Taiwan, since she can't hold him right now... but then I tried to email them to her and they are too large, my email wants to break them up into little pieces to send a bunch of emails... so I thought maybe I could post them here for her and EVERYONE else too, so enjoy, hope they work well! :)

Here is Nate telling Aunt Minda hi!!

And Nate awake looking around:

1 week old today!!

9:27 PM Edit This 0 Comments »

Nathan is one week old today! Happy one week of life Sweetie Pie!! Not much new to report but that he is growing and we are trying to get into more of a routine! Mom and dad are doing good too, I am trying to get over this virus I have, it is no fun at all getting in a coughing fit with my C-Section insicion - talk about pain! I finally am getting my voice back after 6 days of not having my voice. And other than looking and feeling 6 months pregnant (inlcuding super swollen feet), I am on my way to recovery! I had this great image in my mind that after I gave birth I wouldn't still look pregnant - man all these crazy things to learn! Nate did really good last night by waking every 2hrs for feedings then sleeping till his next feeding time, so I think daddy and I actually got some sleep! Whoo-hoo! :)

However, we did have a rude awakening yesterday... we were all fast asleep and it was about 10 am we wake to this really loud "BA BOOM", I made Chad get dressed and go look outside to see what hit our house, as it sounded just like something hit the side of the house by our bedroom window. He says he sees nothing and all is well. We had really bad wind gusts up to 40 mph when this happened so I just thought the wind crashed something into our house. Anyway, we fall back asleep, we then wake to the phone ringing, Chad answers it and hears on the other end, "Officer H..." he says "yes" then hears, "This is Sgt. So & so with our city's police, are you okay?" Chad says "yes I'm fine". Chad then hears, "are you home now?" he replies that he is and is then asked to step outside. Chad goes out the front door, and of course I have to spy so I run to the office to look out and I see 6 cops in our front yard, they ask if we are okay and that our backyard neighbor called into 911 that she heard a gunshot from our house and that she knew Chad was a police officer. So our city police respond and find nothing, Chad tells them what we thought and they all conclude they don't know what the noise was. But the police tell Chad that when they hear a call go out with a gunshot and that it involves a police officer they don't mess around. We still have no clue what that loud noise was, but it was so weird to wake up to that all, very surreal.

Anyway, I'm putting up some new pics of baby Nate, he is doing so well, and is just perfect. He still has a tidbit of Jaundice and we are following the doctors orders to have the blinds open with sunshine coming in and he is having tons of poopy diapers which is how the Jaundice leaves his body so that is good. But of course as new parents we still worry about his Jaundice and are praying for it to leave his body. We can't wait for his nose to not be yellow any longer!

This is what Nate does when Mommy is on the laptop: