My little virtuoso

In the past few weeks, when Nate would get really cranky, I would sit him on my lap and play piano for him. In the beginning, it was hard because he would squirm around and practically slam his head on the keys, but he was always fascinated with the sound. He could be screaming mad, but once we start playing, it's like a switch goes off and he starts kicking his feet and smiling and squealing. He really likes musicals, but his favorite is Ben Folds. About a week ago, he started singing. I think he recognized the song and all of a sudden we hear a long, drawn-out "Aaahhh..." So precious.

Nate's holding his head up really well now, though he doesn't seem to be close to rolling over. And that tooth I mentioned a couple weeks ago? It's definitely there, just waiting to pop through the skin. I started giving him Tylenol before bed and he is sleeping SOOOOO much better -- 7.5 hours Saturday night and 8.5 hours last night. It is rocking my world.


Nate and Herman

Almost three months!

After the two-week whirlwind of traveling, weddings, and a barrage of new faces, Nate is getting back to his old routine ... which, unfortunately, still involves getting up for a feeding in the middle of the night. But just in the past few weeks, he's changed so much -- he's smiling all the time and has even started grasping a rattle and the toys in his gym. He's lifting his head really well during tummy time, and it's only a matter of time before he'll be crawling all over.

Now that he's so interactive, we've been giving him "lessons" like a school day, but much, much shorter. He has Music (playing piano with mommy), P.E. (lifts, practice rolling over), Literature (reading "Goodnight Moon" and "Is Your Mama a Llama?") and Recess (playing in his activity gym). Now that he can see so well, he's also picked up a bad habit -- watching TV. It's weird because it seems like he couldn't see much past a foot or so for a while, and now he can see clear across the room. I also swear I feel the bud of a tooth, but that couldn't possibly be, could it? I must say, he is drooling a lot ...

Party time

Last week, Nate took his first plane trip to Minnesota to meet all his Vogel/Wissman relatives, including his big cousin Brody.
















Brody greeted Nate by grabbing him by the collar and sitting on him in his bouncy seat, but Nate didn't mind at all. In fact, he seemed fascinated by this older boy who looks a lot like him. It won't be long before Brody starts teaching Nate how to find all the dangerous objects in the house.

Nate also attended his first party -- Sarah Hively-Johnson's rehearsal dinner -- and met all his mommy's friends. We weren't sure how long his good mood would last, but he was smiling and alert for a good two hours.

This weekend, Nate got to meet all his Daley/Haltermann relatives at his Auntie Mary's rehearsal dinner and wedding. The consensus seems to be that Nate is looking like his mommy and maybe a little like his daddy. Also, because he's larger than most three-month-olds (and almost as big as this puny eight-month-old we met last night), he's acquired a new nickname -- Tank. It's amazing that this little man has grown so much almost entirely from mommy's milk!

Nate really likes taking showers with his daddy.

SuperNate!


All the Wissman great-grandkids -- Nate, Brody and Laura.

Nate scores a 90%!

Indeed, he broke 13 lbs and weighed in at a whopping 13lb. 8oz. on Friday, measuring 24 inches long, and his head circumference was 41.5cm. This puts him in the 90th percentile across the board - perfectly proportioned and very healthy. He also had his first round of shots, which made me well up a bit, but Nate is amazingly resistant to pain (much like his daddy, who hasn't cried since the third grade) and just slept the day away with nary a tear.

Happy 2-month birthday, Nate!

Somehow, two months have passed since Nate came into our lives and he celebrated by partying all night -- waking up at 1am and not going back to sleep until nearly 3am, then waking up again at 6am. Maybe that's why I feel hungover ... But overall, he's been a good sleeper, going 5-6 hours most nights and cluster feeding (eating every two hours) before and after.

You may have noticed that the thick mane that Nate was born with has receded since then, but it is starting to come back, just in time for wedding season. We're off to Minnesota next week, then will return for Auntie Mary's wedding at the end of the month.

Nate has definitely become a social butterfly, smiling at us when he's in a good mood, for his puppy Wylie, and even for the ladies at the park. And he certainly likes to talk (where does he get that from?) His babbling has evolved from "goo" to now include "boo," "broo," and "gee" -- a true linguistic genius. I also often hear "OK" and I think he even told me "I love you" today.

He has his first round of shots tomorrow, and stay tuned for his two-month stats. I suspect he may break 13 lbs....

Nate's first month

Our big boy

Nate's one-month appointment was this morning. I predicted that he would weigh in at 11 lb 2 oz and I was right! That makes him in the 90th percentile for his weight. He measured 22 inches long, which is the 75th percentile. He enjoyed having Mamma and Grampy Daley in town over the weekend and likes to smile and coo for us. He still hasn't slept more than four hours at a time, but we're looking forward to the morning we wake up and realize he slept the whole night through!

Nate likes to bounce

No matter how grumpy he is, Nate always enjoys bouncing on his daddy's knee ... and he is seriously two weeks old in this video.

Welcome, Nate!

Nathaniel Henry Daley was born at 2:16 a.m. on Saturday, April 12, 2008, weighing 8 lb. 11 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long. This video was taken later that morning.