Can't Believe I'm Blogging During the Day...

But Nate is asleep! WHAT!?!? He's been fighting a daytime nap for weeks now (he's gone up to 3 days straight with no nap) and today he's taken TWO! Not long ones... but this is a start at least. Here he is right now. (Yes, on Mommy & Daddy's bed... oh well. We're working on the transition.)

notice the green paci...

I should emphasize that he is a good sleeper at night - although he usually wakes up at least 3 times, he goes right back to sleep, and he sleeps in his own bed. So I really shouldn't be complaining, should I?

This has been a crazy busy week - the busiest week I've had since Nate was born. I started tutoring again, two days a week, so every Tuesday and Thursday at promptly 8:30 I pack up my books, diaper bag, lunch, and baby and head out for the better part of the day. Tuesday was a little rough for Nate (it was day 2 of a not napping streak). Thursday was better - he slept most of the time (in the sling, but oh well.) This child is going to know more Latin and Geometry than any other kid his age - and hopefully he'll pick up on some of the piano lessons, too.

We are planning a trip to Colorado at the end of September with my family (or Radacolo according to my brother Joe). I'm very excited - we haven't left the state since our honeymoon last summer. (I take that back - we crossed the state line when we went to the Baehr's house at Christmas time. Missouri, whoo-hoo. And we went to the Plaza, which is in Missouri too, I guess, but only by about 2 blocks).

Speaking of my family - my brother Pat (almost 7) has decided that Nathan is his favorite nephew. Which is great! considering he has no others... he'll just randomly say "Oh Mom, I love my nephew Nathan. He is such a little stinker." It's quite cute. :)

Nathan has a second cousin now! My cousin Erin had her baby yesterday - a little girl, named Kiah. They live in Indiana, so it might be a while before we get to see her (see my aforementioned dedication to staying within the boundaries of the state of Kansas.)

Well that nap was short-lived! I never understood power naps - so many people have told me that power naps are what got them through college. I was always a "I'm-taking-a-nap-so-please-don't-disturb-me-for-3-hours" kind of girl. Still am. Obviously my son takes after his father...

the Radacolo boy with Nate the day after he was born

Our 1 Year Anniversary

We celebrated 1 year of wedded bliss last Sunday, July 26. (hooray!) We left Nate for the first time with Brian's parents - I always told myself I was never going to be one of "those" parents who gets all emotional leaving my children for an hour or two. I was wrong. It was a little difficult. He was great, though (or so they say!). We went to The Chaz Restaurant on the Plaza, with a gift certificate Nicole had given us for Christmas and we never got around to using before Nate was born. The food was excellent, and we were the only people in the restaurant for most of the meal.

us before dinner (photo courtesy of Mr. Dan Dunn)

We didn't get each other anything, not even cards (that was not intentional... I really meant to get/make one!) and although we got the top layer of our wedding cake from the Dunn's freezer, we forgot to eat it... oops. It's still sitting in our fridge. We're going to have it tomorrow. Brian did give me flowers a week before our anniversary, though.

And that is just so typical "us"! Can't really describe it - "laid back" might be one phrase used when people refer to us. Both of us can really go out of our way to "wow" the other one, do something really special - but it's usually completely spur-of-the-moment. But on our anniversary? No gifts, no cake - we took a nap that afternoon, too. But we're so okay with that.

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Nate is getting so big! He was almost 14 pounds at his doctor's appointment the other day, and has moved into a lot of size 6 month clothing. *tear* Nate has had the chicken pox for the last 2 weeks, along with all 8 aunties & uncles who got it - but he's finally over it. He had a very, very mild case, maybe 15-20 spots, unlike my brothers and sisters, who were covered from head to toe. The older 3 are proof that the chicken pox vaccine isn't really effective...

the few spots on Nate's back

And I love this picture.

our handsome little boy in one of his "serious" moments

New Pacifiers

we got a green one, too.

that's all for now.

Baby Envy

Today Nate & I went with Becky & her kids to the hospital. We were visiting another friend who just had her first baby yesterday. She had a baby girl, and she was BEAUTIFUL! Tiny, too - Veronica (the baby) was 2 pounds less than Nathan was at birth. She had the most perfectly round head with just the right amount of hair and a tiny little bow in it, and gorgeous smooth, pink skin. I love smooth baby cheeks! They are so kissable.

Coincidentally, Theresa gave birth at the same hospital as me - her room was 4 doors down from where I had delivered. Being there reminded me of my "birth experience" just six weeks before, and as I talked with her & listened to her birth story, I was suddenly overcome with a strange and overwhelming desire for a baby. What!? I HAVE a baby! A brand new baby! What is wrong with the one I have? Why do I want another one? And why so soon? Am I crazy?

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I love my baby boy! He is very cute, very sweet, very calm, very easy. And that's just it - easy. Almost too easy. And that's not a bad thing! I still have a LOT of free time. It's not quite the same as before - I can't run out and go shopping as easily, for example. He has to go everywhere with me. But I like that! I like having him with me all the time. I always thought being a mother would be one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things ever - and I was right.

So my baby envy isn't because there's something wrong with MY baby - on the contrary. It's rather because there is something so wonderful about bringing a new little life into the world, and being solely responsible for nurturing that little soul: a task so daunting, and yet so desirable at the same time.

A common philosophy in today's culture is that it isn't wise to have more than one or two children because they will be "deprived." By deprived, they mean deprived of material goods - lots of vacations, nice cars, big houses. Not wanting our children to be deprived - that's exactly why we want to have a large family! We don't want our children to be deprived of the love that brothers and sisters have for each other; the lessons of patience, humility, and generosity that can be so much more easily learned with siblings; the memories of playing board games, going on camping trips, making up stories, spending long summer days outside, lots of birthday parties, and just being silly with those wonderful people we live with; the love a little child has for their new baby sister just home from the hospital; the knowledge that while the world said material things were the most important, Mommy & Daddy chose you instead. These truly are the things in life that make a child privileged, not deprived, and the things that form a child's character - not material goods.

Now as far as wanting another baby already - I guess it's just that motherly instinct, just like when you reach down to help up a little child that has fallen at the park, even though you don't know him, and how you feel especially sorry for him with his skinned-up knee - more so than you ever would have before you were a mother. The desire to nurture, to teach, to love.

I have always been a multi-tasker, schedule-filler-upper, do-as-much-as-possible kind of person. I like being busy. Nate is causing me to slow down a little, and my life is much slower-paced than ever before. I enjoy the excitement of everyday life - I like a little bit of organized chaos. So I guess that's another reason I would love to add another little baby to the mix.

I know, God willing, we will get our next baby when the time is right, and I should enjoy this time with my one darling baby right now, and take advantage of the free time I do have. I am a very goal-oriented, check-off-tasks-on-a-list type person, so I am working on my "things I would like to accomplish" list. Long-term goals currently includes wedding and honeymoon album (maybe I'll get it done before our one year anniversary! wait... that's 2 weeks from now), Nate's baby book, a quilt and a cross-stitch for Nate's room, learning to cook more from scratch, being more consistent with cleaning. I know there will be more. I'm trying to find a balance between simply enjoying life and actually getting things accomplished. Our young family has many, many years ahead - we are trying to make the most of our hours and days.

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Or maybe, I am just crazy.

Insomnia

I felt like the most privileged new mother in the whole world for the first 3 weeks of my baby's life. Nathan was sleeping 6-7 hour stretches, every night (except for the first night home from the hospital - that was a different story)! He would go to bed around 11 or so, & get up around 6 to eat, & then go back to bed for 3 more hours. I didn't want to brag about it too much to my other friends whose babies woke up every 2 hours on the dot, but I felt very lucky.

That has ended.

Nate will not sleep now.

Well... I shouldn't say "will not sleep." How about "fights sleep with every ounce of energy he can muster after being awake for 12 hours straight"?

It is currently 1:55 am - & my darling little boy has fallen asleep briefly & awoken 3 times in the past 3 hours. He is now laying next to me in my bed as I type. I guess our mattress is just more comfortable than his. Not asleep though.

Thankfully, once he's been asleep for more than 45 minutes, I know he'll stay asleep for a good 2-3 hours. It's just getting him to fall asleep initially! He doesn't like naps, either (hence the being awake for 12 hours straight stuff.) Thankfully, we can usually make it through the first 8-9 hours without being cranky.

Besides his cat-napping & dislike for going to bed at a decent hour (which really isn't a huge deal because he's fairly pleasant in the meantime), there is only other difficulty we have:

his love-hate relationship with the pacifier.**

We started off with these Nuks.
He didn't love them, but he didn't hate them, either. He'd fuss, Mom would give it to him, & it would calm him down. But he couldn't keep the darn things in his mouth! He was constantly dropping them! Like, every 7 seconds dropping them. Mom got tired of putting them back in his mouth. Holding them in didn't work, either - that made Nate angry.

So Mom bought these.



I didn't really like that the nipple is so long and thin - I thought they might slip out too easily. And... I was right. Nate doesn't care for these at all, mostly because he can't hold them in on his own. As soon as he stops sucking, they pop out.

We ended up at Grandma's without a pacifier on the 4th of July - his Nuk disappeared somewhere between the fireworks stand & their house. He was a crabby boy that night! So Grandma went to her "baby cabinet" & found a few pacifiers that none of the other kids had liked. So we rinsed them off &, lo and behold, Nate found one that he really liked! I was thrilled - he was taking it so much better!!!

There was only one problem.

It is the most hideous pacifier that has ever been manufactured.



Glow-in-the-dark orange and forest green? Who came up with this, anyway?
I want to buy a new one that is nicer looking, but I want this exact shape. There's not even a "brand" name on the pacifier - the closest thing I can find at the store is a MAM. But the Target by us only has pink MAMS. A no go. So I guess we'll stick with fluorescent orange and green for now. The cute baby makes up for the ugly paci, anyway.



** Disclaimer on the pacifier:
I guess I feel the need to justify a pacifier since it's somewhat a "controversial" subject - they're not "natural", baby should nurse if they need to suck, they can suck on their fingers, blah, blah.
Nathan is NOT a comfort nurser. He eats & is done, done, done. Get away, Mom. But he still wants to suck, & hasn't mastered the sucking on his fingers thing yet. He'll sometimes suck on the side of his fist, but honestly, he prefers the pacifier so much more! And I can throw the pacifier away when he gets too old for it. I can't exactly throw away his thumb...
That, & I'm his mother. So I get to decide. :)