Nash's First Christmas!

Christmas this year was spent in Pottsville...we flew from Nashville on December 21st and returned last evening.  We were able to spend a whole week - and even though it was jam packed with things to do, was still a great break from our routine and from work.

We arrived on Tuesday and went into the city, met Mark, and settled in at Amis, a cozy Italian place - shared a bottle (or a few) of wine, yummy food, desserts....so great.  Nash was a rockstar - he hung out in his high chair, didnt' complain, ate cheerios, chewed on some napkins, banged the table with his spoon...haha - but really, all in all, he was so great.  We made it through the entire dinner (apps, drinks, entrees, and dessert) without a meltdown.  By the time we were leaving though - he was done.  We changed his diaper (you know you're taking your kiddo to a non-kiddo friendly place when the bathrooms are unisex AND there is no place to change.  oops!) and put his pj's on, and he was asleep in the car by the time everyone else was strapped in.  He slept the entire way back to Pottsville (and so did his momma!). 

The next day, our friends Rob and Claire stopped by for the night.  Lots of food, lots of drinks, and lots of laughs....that pretty much sums it up.  Rob and Claire are making a move to Paris for the next  year where they will both be studying.  We're so excited for them, and so glad we got to see them and hang out before they left. 

Thursday was the 23rd, which is the annual Miller Christmas party.  It's a family Christmas party...kiddos included...and Santa always makes an appearance.  The Miller residence is an old barn turned into their home, and the perfect place for kiddos to explore.  I think the tree this year was about 25 feet tall....I can't believe I don't have pictures of it, but it was the biggest decorated tree I've ever seen in person.  Nash, once again, was a trooper...and hung out until about 10:00 when we left.  Pretty sure the party carried on without us - but we had a big day the next day...Christmas eve!

Not quite sure about this Santa guy...

There's a smile!

Christmas eve is also Aunt Ann's birthday, and so Annie and Frank always host dinner after Christmas eve mass.  Annie and Frank are a machine when it comes to prep work in the kitchen, so I attempted to help (grocery shop), obey instructions, or stay out of the way!  :)  Dinner was amazing - she always makes crabcakes which are to die for, and we weren't disappointed.  YUM.  This year was extra fun - Marky was convinced by all the littles that he needed to play some carols on the piano.  So, in movie-like fashion - we all gathered around and sang along!  One of those things that must be captured on camera of course. Santa sent all of the kiddos video messages - so that kept them busy for quite a bit.  You should have seen the concentration! 

Christmas Eve at Frank and Annie's....not complete without the marble game!

Watching Santa's messages on the computer.

Carols around the piano

Everyone was in on it!

Thanks for playing Marky!

Nannie and Nash playing

Admiring Nannie's pretty tree

The paci game with Opa...never got old.

Christmas day we spent at Aunt Ann and Uncle Bud's....where the Brandy Alexander's were abundant.  Ohmy...so yummy, as always. Nash got super fun toys from the Koch girls, passed out after dinner, and we introduced the crew to the card game Shanghai.  We attempted to play with a bazillion people, so it wasn't the quickest of games and interest waned quickly.  We headed home for another good night's sleep - the next day was full of activity too!

Being silly with all the cousins

Learning how to play the new game from the big kids

On Sunday, Frank and Annie hosted an open house for friends and family who we hadn't yet been able to see.  From 1 to 5, there were folks in and out - meeting and loving on Nash, eating yummy food, and enjoying each other's company.  It was a really great way to round out our trip - it's not often that we actually get to see so many people in one trip to PA.  Needless to say, Nash was the life of the party and the center of attention - how could he not be?? 

Monday was a day of rest....whew!  We were exhausted, and thrilled to have a calm day before our return trip on Tuesday.  We didn't do much - naps and football, that was about it - but it was perfect!

Hanging out with Uncle Mark

Naptime with Opa

One loved little dude

And pooped little dude! 

We are so lucky that we are able to spend Christmas celebrating with family - the travel is a lot of work, but always worth it.  And even though we wish we could be in two places at once (Indiana and Pennsylvania), it always seems to work out.  We're so thankful for all the love that surrounds our family, and so thankful for the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  He is the one and only reason for all Christmas celebrations, and I will be one proud momma the day that Nash is able to understand the Christmas story.  Happy birthday Jesus - and Merry Christmas to all!

Santa comes to Hendersonville!

With the travel that we have scheduled over Christmas, we decided to ask Santa if he would mind coming to our house a little early this year.  We are flying to Pennsylvania and didn't want to have to worry about taking our gifts on the plane, and we thought Santa may enjoy lessening his load on Christmas eve!

So....last night...Santa came!  We woke up, made a pot of coffee, and woke up our sweet Nashman.  He's too young to really "get" it obviously, but we had fun anyway!  We of course took the obligatory pictures and video...he was much more interested in ripping the paper off so he could eat it, versus ripping the paper off to get to the toys. 

The loot:  a set of alphabet blocks, stacking/nesting boxes, Melissa and Doug shape sorter, the classic stackable rings, pajamas, a puzzle, and a toy that shoots balls into the air (it may have a real name - I'm just not sure what it is!). The toy that shoots the balls was defnitely his favorite, and he caught on right away.  Of course it's his favorite - it's the loudest!  :)

So, even though it wasn't Christmas eve....it was the perfect little Christmas celebration with just the three of us.  I remember this time last year so vividly - envisioning what our Christmas activities would be like with a little one around.  This.....was a perfect start.  Merry Christmas love bug!

Nash's goodies under the tree.

The barricades are gone!  I can finally get to the tree!

How do I get this paper off so I can get it in my mouth?

Daddy helping unwrap

Sweet baby's first Christmas

Favorite toy, by far

Woudln't stop staring at the ball popper..

11 months - update

Do I really have an 11 month old?  Whew!  Here is what our perfect little man is up to these days...

• Nash is walking all over the place...he thinks he is so good at it, he prefers to walk with his hands behind his back!  I've yet to capture a picture of it - but it's so cute (and a little scary when he falls!).
• He loves pushing things - his toys, his chairs.  He prefers things that he can push to the point they tip over.  The little play table he has - endless hours of fun tipping it over, as long as mom or dad is there to put it upright for him so he can continue the game.
• Nash has 3 teeth on bottom and 3 teeth on top...so he's still a little lopsided, but I'm sure those other ones will be joining us soon!  We've started working on brushing his teeth at night before bedtime.  He'd rahter just play with the toothbrush than let us actually put it in his mouth and brush.  Hopefully that will get better as time goes on and he gets used to the brushing.
• He knows what a nose is - although he won't point to his own, he loves to point at momma's nose and daddy's nose!  He can point to Roscoe and points at mom and dad too.
• Peekaboo is definitely a favorite game - anything he can put over his face to get you to say the word, he will. 
• Our Nashman is a sucker for bathtime.  LOVES IT.  He has a little star toy that make a little water fountain - he can't get enough of it.  The bath is full of toys - squirt toys and cute little turtles.  He has no fear of water and doesn't mind us pouring water over his head.  There aren't many things better than have a squeaky clean, sweet smelling, post-bath baby in your arms.  :)
• We're still working on sleeping through the night...we still get up to soothe him by patting his back and giving him his pacifier.  With all of the ear infections he has had, we're never sure if he's actually healthy - so making him cry it out is just not an option for us at this point.  We'd rather have him feel safe and secure knowing we are there, especially if he is not feeling well.  Once the ear infections are resolved (ENT  consult on Dec. 30), maybe we'll feel more comfortable about really working on a sleep solution.
• Nash is still on 4 bottles a day - although we'll be working down to 3 in about a month.  He gets breakfast and lunch at school, a snack at school, and then dinner at home (with Roscoe by his side, of course).  Nash went from refusing babyfood to refusing tablefood...so he's back to eating babyfood for the moment.  Everyone says just be patient - they all go through these stages - so that's what we're doing!  Or attempting to do - we just keep offering him all kinds of food in hopes that one of these days he'll take us up on it! 

I can't believe the next monthly update will be a ONE year update!  He's growing up so fast...

What a ham!

Get this thing off of me!

So big!

Momma's little hoosier fan!

What did you say?  Don't feed the dog?  Don't worry mom....

I'll only feed him a little...

Look at our faces...do you really think you can be mad at us?

these darn, stupid, awful, pesky ear infections...and RSV

My poor little dude is so sick....went to the Dr. this morning for yet another ear infection.  I'm a pro at spotting them and diagnosing now...if only I had a handy dandy ear scope to validate my suspicions and the ability to write scripts.  So, no surprises when Dr. Jay confirmed the double ear infection....but I was completely surprised when he suggested we test Nash for RSV, and even MORE surprised when the test came back positive.

All kiddos I've ever known with RSV have ended up hospitalized for some reason - either trouble breathing (wheezing and not getting enough oxygen) or severe dehydration.  I immediately started a minor freak out with Dr. Jay - who quickly reassured me that Nash should be just fine....we just have to watch him closely.  We were put on another antibiotic for the ear infection (another z pack), but there's nothing really to prescribe him to help the RSV.  Because it's a virus, it just has to run it's course....we can treat the symptoms, but nothing to actually help it go away. 

Because it's so contagious...he's not allowed back at daycare for 10 days.  Luckily my work/boss is very understanding and I'll be working from home as my little guy recovers from this.  Hopefully he turns a corner by Christmas and feels better sooner than later.

Back to the ears...Dr. Jay suggested we make an appointment to have an ENT consult.  The Dr. he recommended was also recommended to us by the parents of a kiddo in Nash's class...so we feel good about our decision.  His consult is December 30 when we return from PA.  Dr. Jay and Dr. Patterson thinks that we will most likely end up with tubes - and that it's just a matter of when we get can it scheduled.  Nash will be the 6th kiddo in his class (of 6!) to get tubes this year.  What peer pressure, right?  ha.  Hey, whatever will help him feel better, hear better, learn to speak better - and keep us out of the Dr.'s office 3 times a month - we're all for it!

Alright...my sick little guy is waking up from a nap....gonna go scoop him up and get some extra cuddles in today. 

WALKING!!!

And...He's off!

 A little unsteady...but gaining confidence

 So proud of himself!

Look at me!

The Christmas tree, we think, served as motivation for Nash to finally let go of the couch/ottoman/us and start walking!  He is still pretty wobbly and makes us nervous around corners - but he is so totally proud of himself.  The cutest little walking kiddo I've ever seen, I must say.  Right now he's padding around in mostly bare feet so he can grip well - but I guess we'll have to start considering shoes in the near future so he can walk around in public places.  I can't believe my baby is walking...

Nash Thomas - we're so proud of you!  It's such a joy to watch you learn and explore new things, especially walking!  You chase after Roscoe and zoom towards all the things you're not supposed to play with.  You are much more stealthy now that you're walking - your little footsteps are much more quiet than your crawl - we've had to come searching for you a few times! 

Tantrums, Teeth, and Trees

Our little Nashman has discovered the art of throwing a tantrum.  I'm not sure I realized this would happen so soon...haha.  He is quite dramatic when not allowed to do something he shouldn't, or when he's "yelled" at (come on...stern "no no no's" don't REALLY count as yelling).  The drama includes but is not limited to:  back arching, pounding head with fists, screaming, and pulling hair.  We do our best not to react - although it is a tad hard to conceal our giggles at his antics!  The things Nash gets in trouble for the most:

• crawling up onto the hearth
• racing towards the electrical outlets
• attempting to poke Roscoe in the eyes, pull on his ears, etc
• trash cans, toilets, and Roscoe's water bowls - why are these his favorite things to play with?
• attempting to dump his humidifier
• pulling Daddy's glasses
• pulling Mommy's hair

Our little man now has SEVEN teeth.  The top four are in, and the third just popped through on the bottom. I don't see any signs of the 4th one on the bottom yet, so maybe we'll get a few teething free weeks here soon.  Seeing his cute little chompers is fun - but it makes me miss my little baby's gummy smiles!

Our Christmas tree is officially up...and we're not sure what Nash thinks about it.  We put it up for a day without lights or anything so he could get used to it, and he didn't touch it.  Now that it has lights and ornaments he seems more interested.  If he gets too interested, we may have to go with my sisters tactic - barricade with dining room chairs!

They Survived!

This weekend was the first time I've ever left my sweet baby....and although I knew I was leaving him in the wonderful hands of Daddy, it was still hard.  I spent the weekend in the Smoky Mountains near Chattanooga with some amazing friends.  We rented the cutest little cottage - complete with swinging rope bed, wrap around porch, and hot tub - and we never left.  I'm not even sure I got out of my pajamas on Saturday.  Wait...yes, I got out of them to shower and put on clean pj's.  ha.  So - it was amazing, and I love my friends so much.  We mostly talked about our babies, of course....and did our best to "brag" on our husbands while we were away. 

It was such a fun time - but I was so excited to get back to my boys!

MORE ear infections. not kidding.

Seriously - my poor little dude has ANOTHER double ear infection.  This is #4.  Since he started daycare. 

They're started to throw out the "T" word - tubes.  We were in the Dr's office 3 times this week...the oral antibiotic he was on last week wasn't doing the trick - and it was the strongest they could give him orally (Suprex).  So, this week...he was introduced to Rocephin.  Ewwww.  No fun kids.  I have had Rocephin shots as an adult, and I can handle shots pretty well...but that one is a booger.  Poor kiddo - he had one on Monday and another one on Wednesday because they still weren't clear.  And by not clear, I mean "vanilla pudding" not clear.  Yeah, Dr. Jay's words - I swear. 

So....we were there this morning again for a recheck and there was still fluid - but not infected fluid.  So he escaped the Rocephin shot...but we were warned that the next ear infection most likely warrants a visit to the ENT.

Bluh.  STAY AWAY EAR INFECTIONS!!!