I Can Roll! Both Ways!

It's been a little while since I've updated the blog, and as we're about to leave for our big mainland adventure, I thought I should post an update since I won't be posting for a while. Nate is a happy and healthy 18 pound wonder. He learned to roll over on Matt's birthday, 9/28, from back to tummy. He would then get stuck. Today, however, exactly one week later, he figured out that he can roll from his tummy back onto his back. Great job, Nate! Now it's time to think about babyproofing. He isn't traveling far with his rolls, yet, but it's amazing how now that he knows he can roll, he just flips right over and makes it look so easy.

Our little family is super excited about our upcoming Chicago/Denver trip. The plan is to start our visit with Matt's paternal grandparents and aunt & uncle in Rockford, outside of Chicago for a couple of days. We'll then head into the city to spend time with a bunch of Matt's college friends who live in the city or are traveling to the city. The big marathon is this Sunday, October 11. If you are interested in tracking Matt, you can go to the Chicago Marathon website and they will send you emails or text messages for free when he crosses the 10K, half marathon, 30K and finish line.

We will then head over to Denver and spend some time with our old youth pastor, Rob, and his family. From there, we'll head up into the mountains and spend a few days in a cabin outside of Estes Park. Then on to Fort Collins to visit some of Lesley's college friends. The last day of our trip, we will be visiting Lesley's paternal grandfather and some extended family in Denver.

Please pray that Matt will be healthy and uninjured as he races the marathon which he has been training so hard for, and that we would all stay healthy, especially Nate, as we travel. I will be sure to post Matt's race results and some pictures from our trip upon our return.

And now, Nate demonstrates how to roll in both directions:

Back to Tummy:

Tummy to Back:

Look At Me Touch My Toes!

Nate's newest trick is holding his toes with both hands. He will lie in this position for up to 10 minutes at a time. He has that amazing baby flexibility and does this on his own without any prompting or help. He doesn't pull his toes all the way up to his mouth, though. I think the thickness of his thighs physically prevents flexing that far!

Chilling with Daddy while watching the UH game at the Burts.
Hanging out with Aunty Sara at the Stevens' house after church.

And finally, a video of the feat:

In the Running For Cutest Baby Ever...

Ahh, Monday morning. Matt's at work, Nate's taking a nap, and all is quiet around the house after a busy weekend. Funny how I used to dread Monday mornings, and now they are heavenly. Nate and I spent an hour in the big bed this morning, just lying there talking to each other and cuddling. Motherhood bliss. :o)

So I realized I haven't posted pictures of Nate for a while, so here is a Nate-centric blog post with some pictures to update you on his life. He'll be five months old next Monday on my birthday! He still shows no interest in rolling over, being such a contented baby that he enjoys lying wherever you put him, whether it be on his back or his belly, and makes no effort to change positions. Not sure how long this will last, but I'm enjoying it while it does.

We got Nate this space-saving high chair in preparation for starting solid foods at six months. He thought it was very cool to be able to sit with Mommy and Daddy. He couldn't quite sit up straight yet, though. I love this picture of his chuby grin!
Nate sat on a dragon boat on an evening trip to Waikiki.

We also checked out the penguins at the Hilton.

Nate trying out a $7000 racing bike at The Bike Shop.

Reading. Sort of. (Mommy had the A/C blasting - hence the hat and socks)

This shot really highlights his rolls. :o)

Nate loves his bouncer.

Sleeping angel.

Obligatory naked bum picture!

Matt Does It Again

So not only has Matt has won the Tantalus Triple Trek 30 mile trail race again, this time he set a course record by 12 minutes!!! Nate and I are so proud of his tremendous achievement. Matt trained really hard for it and deserves lots of congratulations. The previous course record was 4 hours, 8 minutes, and Matt finished in 3 hours, 56 minutes.

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Next up is the Maui Half-Marathon on September 20. The trip to Maui is our birthday and anniversary gifts to each other. Both our birthdays and our anniversary fall within 9 days of each other at the end of September. So hopefully every year we can do something special to celebrate. This year makes two years of wedded mostly-bliss. :o)

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Nate asked me to include a special thanks to Nana and Pop for the awesome Nike running shorts and to Aunty Karen and Uncle Andy for the Nike shirt.

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Nate was so inspired by Daddy's performance that he wanted to get out on the trails himself: Nate chills with PJ as they wait for Matt to finish the race.
Todd came out to watch. And chill with Chubbs.
The top three guys and future top three guy (Daddy hopes!)
Nate is perfecting this new trick of shoving both his fists into his mouth at once. Hey, earning a nickname like Chubbs isn't easy.

First Laughs

Little Nate is learning how to laugh. The first video has him learning by imitation, and the second video is a little more natural. Enjoy!

Xterra Ad

Imagine my surprise when flipping through the Hawaii Sport Magazine, I came across this full page ad. HSM comes out every other month with listings of all the upcoming run, swim and bike races in Hawaii, including entry forms as well as past results. Matt got 4th place overall in the Xterra off-road half marathon last year, but happened to be the top local finisher, so they used his picture to advertise the same race coming up again this year. WOW! Matt had no idea they were going to use his picture! :o) This is a huge full page ad, the size of a regular sheet of paper. In small print right below his right foot, it says "Matt Stevens // Hawaii Champ // 4th overall in '08." What a stud. I'm so proud of him!

Four Months

The Nate Update:

Nate is sick for the first time. :o( He is congested and has a cough. He's also thrown up twice after big coughing fits. Poor little guy. It breaks my heart to see him cough. Luckily he doesn't understand what's going on and after coughing, looks at me with a big grin. I think it's because of all the attention he gets when he coughs. He got sick Thursday evening, and the doctor said he would probably be better by this Thursday.

We had his four month doctor appointment today and he got a shot even though he is sick. I thought he might have been trying to get out of it, but no such luck for either of us. He was a real trooper, and didn't even flinch while he got poked. Brave little guy. Unfortunately, later that night he got pretty upset. I think his leg must have started hurting.

He is now 16 lbs, 3 oz which puts him in the 74th percentile for weight. He is 25.12 inches long, which puts him in the 56th percentile for length. Yay! He's made it past the 50th percentile. I was worried he might be destined to be short all his life. He just got a slow start.

Nate's new favorite thing is squealing at an incredibly high pitch. Enjoy:

Holding Things

So Nate is starting to hold things! He really has almost no control over what he does with them. All this is adorable right now, but ask me again in a few months when he's grabbing things off shelves at the grocery store...

This picture was just taken today. Nate received this beautiful handmade quilt from Karen Keane and we LOVE it. One of the fabrics was actually the same exact fabric that I picked out about a month ago to re-cover Nate's nursing pillow (which he is laying on in this picture). We took this picture today to send to Karen with the thank-you note. Thanks Keanes!

Here are three video clips of Nate holding things!!!

Karen and Andy's Visit

We had a really good time hanging out with Lesley's sister Karen and her new husband Andy a couple of weeks ago. They are moving to Switzerland soon, and Karen wanted to show Andy where she had grown up before they leave the US. We did lots of fun activities, including kayaking to the Moks, scuba diving Shark's Cove, bodyboarding Makapuu, climbing the Stairway to Heaven, and watching the sunset in Waikiki. Here are a few pictures:

Our little family on the beach at Makapuu.

Karen diving at Shark's Cove.
There were tons of awesome caves to swim through.

Lesley on the left, Karen on the right. Andy and Karen kayaking to the Moks.

Around the backside of the left island.

We saw a monk seal! Very cool and special.

Matt and Andy kayak-surfing.

Sara's friend Alethe on the Stairway to Heaven.

The whole crew on Stairway.

Chubby Smile Videos

Nate's newest trick is blowing air through his sealed lips to make a vibrating noise. Usually there is plentiful drool available and he can blow some nice bubbles at the same time. How efficient.

Here are a couple of cute smile videos for you to enjoy: