Nate Update

At almost 6 months, Nate has finally woken up. He is sitting up unassisted for some periods of time, and is increasingly curious about the world around him. He rolls both ways, and has rejected the swaddle. He has even started using the walker, and can move about at an increasing speed day by day. He is fascinated with our dog, Molly, and even more enchanted by Luke. He loves his toys (stuffed toys, activity gym, sound boards) and he loves to be part of the action.

He is still being fickle about real food, indulging in at most only one true meal a day. In the meantime, he is nursing well, as long as I stay away from milk and soy (he's still allergic). We are still struggling to supplement, as he won't take a bottle. We have recently had moderate success with a cup, but he can be fickle about that, too. He goes down about 8 pm, with a waking between 3 and 5 a.m., then back down again until about 7:30. He naps two or three times per day.

He is cute as a button. He smiles often, but he cries and fusses more now than he did before. He is more assertive and demanding, but he is also flirty and cuddly. He has a great sense of humor, and he loves to play "parachute" (I bought one on ebay when Luke was born- we use it to make forts, and now to entertain Nate). I sit him under the parachute, and Luke and I hook some of the handles to the bed, holding onto other handles ourselves. Then we make little and big waves and Nate just squeals in delight, reaching his arms up and out to try to grab hold.

Some of his many nicknames are Natey, Skater, Nader, and the Senator (Scott thinks he looks like John McCain). But whatever we call him, he is most of all a precious little angel.