Playing Catch-Up!

Hello Friends and Family! SO. I realize I haven't written a post since Tate was about six months old. I apologize! I believe I mentioned in the last post how I feel about blogging. I love reading other peoples blogs (sometimes) and I really love that our friends and family can keep up with OUR family through my own blog (mostly) but what I REALLY love is spending time with my people: My husband Brandon, our family, friends, and kid.

*(and sleeping) I do not prioritize enough time in my day to blog regularly. HOWEVER, I do see the advantages.....so here goes a catch up post (through photos!)

Tate was a giraffe for Halloween! Here he is with Batman Corbin :) This is the baby of our next door neighbors Ryan and Jessica. He was born about five months after Tate (early August). And him and Tate love spending time together. They went on my work's Not-So-Haunted Hayride this Halloween. I hope this becomes a tradition for the future! Ryan and Jess are the best neighbors anyone could ever ask for (seriously). They are SO down to earth and for real the easiest people to get along with. They are the ones whom I mentioned a very long time ago when we adopted our pup Kenzie. If it weren't for them, we would not have that little black and white crazy hyper terrier dog that we call our 1st child :) As you can obviously tell, they are the BEST neighbors ever!

 

This next picture is of Tate playing with his BFF Jack. Jack is the baby of MY bff Hallie. Hallie and I have been friends since the 7th grade. She and her husband Neil live in Bell Buckle and are teachers at Webb. Jack and Tate LOVE playing together. We all recently dined together at the new Chipotle in Mboro. (It was DELICIOUS!) It makes me SO happy to have her close to me, and for our babies to be friends.

  

Brandon is for sure a "baby person" And everyday he stays at home with Tate while I work (which is not very often) I often think how great he really is with kids. Maybe we should role reverse and I work 60 hours a week ?! 

 Tate LOVES being outside. We still go on as many walks as possible!

 We celebrated my mama's birthday at Tony's Mexican restaurant in Tullahoma. It is one of the BEST Mexican places in middle TN (we are quite partial to their guac) and I'm pretty sure Tate had his first taste of refried beans there ;) He also had a little taste of ice-cream cake!

Thanksgiving this year was a whole lot of fun! Tate got a little taste of everything we ate. He still loves beans, bananas, avocados, and cheese the most. Oh, and scrambled eggs!

I recently celebrated one of my dearest friends Charlotte B. Hutson's engagement! (Soon to be Charlotte Brinkley! LOVE how that sounds!) I absolutely cannot WAIT to be apart of her big day! I freaking LOVE weddings! And speaking of weddings, I am SO excited about the ones Brandon and I will be attending in 2014! May, September, and October ;) Beautiful times to exchange vows if I do say so myself!

So, Tate definitely enjoyed his first Christmas. We had such a good time opening his presents from Santa, Grandma & Grandpa, Nana & Papa, Aunt Dev, Aunt Winky, and Uncle Dub. He is truly a very blessed little child, and we are surely a very lucky family. Sometimes times are tough, and sometimes I get frustrated and upset with life. But when I really sit back and allow myself to realize how amazing my circumstances are, I can only feel thankful and happy. I am alive and well and have been given the absolute BEST friends and family a girl could ever hope for :)

Till next post! (Hopefully before Tate is a year old!) ;)

-NIKI

6 (3/4) Months!

Hello!

So surprise surprise, I am again late in writing my monthly posts. On the 16th of THIS month, my child will be SEVEN months old! Oops!

ANYways, at least I am writing something I suppose. I really don't think I am meant for blogging. This is honestly just a way for our out of town friends and family to keep up with us and Tate man ;) As I type, I am currently thinking of other things I should be doing, such as folding the towels that have been in the dryer for a day and a half now. (I was never really good at laundry, even pre-Tate)

HA! So. Back to our current lives. Tate is just a growin' and a growin'!

He is crawling all over the place. Our house is sloowwwllly getting baby-proofed, but it's been a little difficult so far. We have a sunken in fire-place AND living room, so both of those things have been challenges. He is very quick on his hands and knees!

He had his 6-month check up and shots about a week ago. Brandon had to take him by himself because I couldn't get out of work :/ But he said Tate did okay! The doctor also mentioned that it was a little early to be having the crawling conversation; normally that's an 8-9 month appointment subject! SO. I think I have a bit of a determined child on my hands. Just this evening, he pulled up from his knees to his feet on our step stool in the kitchen. He did it about 5 times in a row before he got it, and then just stood there like....what next?! I was like child don't you even think about walking!

Brandon and I adore him and just love spending as much time with him as possible. We hope that at some point in the near future, Brandon won't have to work such long weeks and hours. We are thankful he has his job at Nissan, but some days it's a struggle. Thankfully we have several great babysitters for Tate man :)

He is starting to eat more everyday but still isn't a huge fan of solids. His favorite though so far is avocado and surprisingly, he doesn't really like sweet potato or applesauce. Maybe he won't have such a strong sweet tooth like his mama! Either way, I am going to try to add a few more items to his menu to encourage him to eat more solids! 

He is also still waking up once at night. I know it's probably my fault. I will admit, he sleeps in the bed with me sometimes. A big NO-NO as far as "sleep training" is concerned, I realize this, but honestly I sleep better when he sleeps with me! So now we're going back and forth from him sleeping in his crib all night to coming into the bed with me after he wakes up once. I realize it is going to take me working with him for him to stay in his crib all night, and it will be easier in the long run, but sometimes I just like sleeping with him. I don't always have 9-5 hour days, but when I do I honestly just like sleeping with him. It makes me feel like I am spending time with him. I've thought a lot about this and for right now, this is working for us :) 

 

 

Last weekend I got to be re-united with these girls for the UT/GA in Knoxville! It was SO much fun. We really did have such a great time. It was a nice getaway although I did start crying in the middle of the hotel parking lot Saturday night because I missed my Tate man! (A bit of alcohol may have been involved, however). I think maybe we should have just been away for one night, but oh well, we still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

We got to tailgate and drink beer and sing rocky top :) And although the game was such a heart breaker, I'm still proud of the Vols and will always root for my team!

So sad story but I have no recent photos of Brandon and I. We did celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary in September but instead of doing anything fancy, we got a new fancy blender to make Tate's babyfood. Hahaha. The life of a mama and dad! We are trying hard (kinda) to budget our monies and this just made the most sense to me! 

ANYways, I think that about sums up our life right now! Until next time, which I hope is sometime before December! Thanks for reading!

5 Months!

HOLY COW! Every month I totally intend it do these posts around the 16th, when Tate is actually turning however many months. This month it obviously did not work out that way. In fact, it was my baby app that reminded me on the 16th that he was 5 months old in the first place. I was at work and immediately thought I was a bad mama because I forgot. What made me feel a tad bit better is that Brandon didn't remember either, or my mom....haha. Soooo, either way I made up for it by spending every single minute of my time with Tate on whatever day I had off work that week. I ignored the dirty house (which is hard for me to do) and the only place we went was the grocery store. I even carried him in an Ergo carrier that someone is lending me while we grocery shopped. It was a great day and although I know Tate could care less if I remember it's his "x month" birthday, I still want to be able to wake up and think about him first, rather than work or bills or upcoming commitments. I've always loved staying super busy but I am starting to realize that I can't do everything all at once, and be a good mama at the same time. It's definitely an adjustment and a slow one at that. I am technically working 3 part-time jobs, and Brandon works an average of 60 hours a week. SO, we are slowing learning to adjust our schedules and our mindset to becoming good parents. I can't complain because we both have jobs we love so we'll just keep on truckin' until we find the right balance :) ANYways, Tate man is the best baby EVER and I love him sooooo much! The rest of this post will be photos :) 

He LOVES this swing!

He also love his Grandma. She's the best babysitter ever :)

We are home like every other weekend now :)

We had such a good time celebrating Jack's 1st Birthday!

Until next month friends! Take it easy! 

4 Months Old!

Hello everyone!

On the 16th of this month, Mr. T turned 4 months old.....time is passing by rather swiftly! He is starting to do so many new things all the time. He LOVES turning himself over from his back to his stomach. He hasn't quite mastered from his stomach to his back yet, but he's working on it! 

He also laughs and smiles all the time! If someone smiles at him, there is a good chance he will smile back. He is also making the cutest little laughs, especially if you talk in a funny voice to him. He loves it. I know I sound like a total dork when I talk to him, but I guess babies just love it! He holds his head up so well now, and can put all his weight on his legs. He basically stands up on his own, we just hold him for balance. He can't sit upright quite yet, but I can tell that is going to be happening pretty fast!

He is wearing 6-9 month clothing and size 3 diapers!

We had his 4 month doctor appointment on the 22nd and he had to get his second round of shots :( He cried a lot harder this time than last, but he only cried for about five minutes. It was heartbreaking though! But surprisingly not as hard as I thought it would be. The doctor said everything looked good with him and that is he an "awesome baby". Thanks Dr. Eastham! (We love this doctor a so much!) 

We have gotten into a fairly "normal" routine I think. Our normal right now is a lot different than the typical family I think just because Brandon works night shifts like 6 or 7 nights a week and I work 2 different part time jobs at different hours everyday. Hello craziness! But most of the time it works out well since our babysitter, Ms. Shannon, lives super close to my park in Murfreesboro. Here is a picture she sent me the other day of Tate man holding his own bottle :(

So far he is doing really great with our babysitter and we feel super lucky to have her! She is an amazing mom to her own two children and really does treat Tate like one of her own kids. You can tell she is a natural "mother" and caretaker which makes me feel so much better about taking my baby boy to her :) She also breastfed both her kids so she is familiar with using breast milk in a bottle. I pump at work everyday and then give it to her to use. We have a good supply going in case I ever get sick or drink the occasional beer (or 4) so it's been working out well!

Another cool thing Tate is starting to do is make a lot of different noises. He whimpers, whines, screams, and "talks" It is SO cute. I try to get a video but as soon as I start it he notices the damn shiny apple on the back of my phone and is like mesmerized. He is super observant and really seems to notice everything around him.  It's the cutest thing ever when he turns his head at whoever is talking. I love it!

 

So as much as our lives have changed and things are totally different than they used to be, Brandon and I are so happy to be parents to our little baby Tate. I know it sounds corny but he has made our lives complete! :) 

Thanks for reading and until next post, take it easy friends. 

Milestones

Happy Sunday friends!

A lot has been going on in our lives! We made it through my first day back to work, gotten into a routine (sort of), celebrated our birthdays, and have been traveling back and forth to Franklin Co. A LOT lately!

Tate has been SUPER smiley all of a sudden, especially in the mornings. It seems like he is a morning person. We wake up somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30, it just depends on when I have to be at work. We are normally in bed by 9 or 9:30. He still wakes up either once or twice to eat, but is normally back to sleep within 15 or 20 minutes. I really don't mind it honestly, especially since going back to work. It's a good way to spend time with him :) He is still breastfeeding and I'm so happy to say he hasn't had to have any formula yet since I've been able to pump at work. We had a couple of canisters of formula sent in the mail to us even before Tate was born. I guess it is the good kind too, Gerbers and Enfamil I believe. I'm not sure how great it is though to be sending future moms formula even before their baby is born. I know some women aren't able to breastfeed for medical reasons however, it just seems like it's sending the wrong message, like "oh don't worry about breastfeeding, formula is so much easier and just as good for you baby" Ummm, kay. Whatevs. I won't go into detail about how I feel about all of that but when I looked at the ingredients on the back label, I was really surprised, and not in a good way! It's pretty crazy. I'm just glad Tate is getting the best stuff their is, and sometimes in public places, oh my! ;) ANYways, I can't believe we are introducing solids in 2 months! Whack.

So besides smiling, laughing out loud, clasping his hands at mid line, and tracking objects, his biggest milestone (to date) happened on the 2nd of July. He rolled over! I laid him down on his tummy time mat on his back and went into the office for about 10 minutes. When I came back he was on his stomach, looking up at me.....I confused myself because I thought maybe I HAD left him on his stomach, so I turned him back over on his back, and he preceded to turn right over again to his stomach! It was so exciting to watch. It seems that he likes to be on stomach. It's almost like he is ready to start crawling. He moves his legs around and when Brandon braces his back feet, he inches forward just a bit. It's crazy how fast babies start to develop. You go from a warm bodied little lump of a baby to a squirmy, talkative little child!

He is now 3 and half months old. He will be 4 months old on the 16th of this month! It is crazy! I don't know his weight or length though since he didn't go to the doctor in his 3rd month. Our next appointment is on the 22nd so I am really looking forward to seeing how much he has grown. He is really such a sweet baby and I just love him so much! 

 Brandon is a bit smitten by him as well :)

 You can't really tell from this pictures, but he does have hazel eyes. Same exact color as Brandon's.

Brandon and I had the idea to have a fish fry to celebrate our birthdays this year. He went deep sea fishing again with his friends from work and seemed to just love it. He brought back a shit ton of Red Snapper, so we had some people over and fried and grilled it. IT WAS SOOOO DELICIOUS! I was so proud of Brandon; although he doesn't spend much time in the kitchen, he really does know his way around a grill and a deep fryer :) Everything turned out so yummy. We had such a great time celebrating with our family and friends. A couple of people mentioned that it was the calmest party we've ever had, haahah. Guess life changes a bit when you have kids! (Although Brandon still insisted on getting a keg for the kegerator) So the beer was good, and I was happy because I had a bunch of pumped milk for Tate-man ;)

Uncle Doug came in for the 4th of July and Tate finally got to meet him. He got him some adorable new clothing that Tate thought was SO cute.

It was so great to see my friend, even if it was just for an hour or so. I miss him so much and can't wait till we can take Tate to visit KCMO!

Lastly, I will finish with a few more random shots of our spoiled rotten child. Although I know I am new and still learning how to be a mom, I think it is turning out to be one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I love him so much! 

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a great week! 

Tate says "TA-TA for now!"

TWO MONTHS OLD!

Hello friends!

I can't believe I have a two month old! He is really closer to two and a half months which is just crazy! Life has been such a whirlwind, but a good kind of whirlwind! Brandon and I have really loved the whole parenting thing so far. We are both in love with our child. He is such a sweet baby. 

He is starting to really show his personality more, which is so fun to witness. He is "talking" a lot which cracks us up. Sometimes he does this little scream/yelp sort of thing for no reason at all. Half the time I think it's so cute and the other half it scares me! Here are some 2 month shots my mom took of him lying on a receiving blanket my Aunt Susie made :)

The other day I snapped one of him smiling! And crying ;) I've never actually seen him cry a real tear before. It will probably freak me out when he does! When he got his two month vaccines, Brandon was holding him and we put a pacifier in his mouth. He sort of cried, but it only lasted about a minute and he seemed to forget about it after that, thank goodness!

 I LOVE to see him smile. It's my favorite thing he does.

On to the stats! 

*Weight: 12.28 lbs-51.12 percentile 

*Length: 23.5 inches-71.95 percentile

*Head Circumference: 15.16 inches-30.21 percentile 

His pediatrician, Dr. Eastham (who is amazing btw), said he seems to be growing well, and fast! He said his weight jumped quite a bit more then normal from one to two months which can probably explain why some days all I felt like he wanted to do was eat! (Wow, he's so much like his mama!)

*Eating: He is still eating every 2-4 hours during the day and I'm still exclusively breastfeeding. He has done well with a bottle which is great since I'll be going back to work in less then two weeks :( 

*Sleeping: For about a week now he has only been waking up twice at night, YAY! We go to bed fairly early, and he sleeps a good 5-6 hours, then wakes up again 2-3 hours later. I know this will change as he begins to teeth, etc. but it has been nice finally getting a "full" nights sleep. (For anyone who knows me, you know sleep is something I do well and most of the time I require at least 8 hours a night to function well the next day, thus explaining some of my whacky behavior lately which can only be blamed on sleep deprivation :) 

*Milestones: Smiling is a big one! Love it. Also he has been grasping his hands together at mid-line, tracking people and objects across the room, laughing out loud, raising his head 90 degrees while on his stomach, and grasping objects that are within reach.  

So all in all, he is progressing well and Brandon and I are really enjoying life with our little peanut head. We have been able to get out and enjoy a couple of date nights as well, including our friend Charlotte's birthday party and the Avett Brother's concert, both in Nashville. We left him with my Mom for the birthday party and our friend Junko for the concert. He did great for both of them and although it was tough at first to leave him, we had SO much fun getting out together and enjoying ourselves :) Life is good! 

Thanks for all the support and well wishes! Until the next post! ...................

-Niki