Little McShahans: 2009

Monday, December 14, 2009

Santer Baby

Have you ever noticed how people from the Northeast say "er" instead of "ah" at the end of some words? JFK called Lisa "Liser" on the Simpsons once. I don't speak that way, but I like to think of Santa as Santer - it's fun, y'all.

This year I actually took pictures with Santa. Last year something about him just didn't sit right, so I avoided his lap entirely. Mommy, Nate, and I hung out at the mall waiting for Santa with John M., his mommy, and Anna. Then his daddy and grandma came and helped out. We were there from 4:30 until about 8. Crazy, but crazy-fun for me and John. Nate and Anna slept and blew bubbles at each other (one another? I can't remember that rule). Mommy and Ms. M. remained calm.

In a whispery voice, I told Santa I want a zebra and a robot for Christmas. Santa said, "You don't mean a real zebra, do you? You mean a toy zebra, don't you?" I was too embarrassed to admit that, yes, I do want a real zebra, so I went along with Santa and told him I want a toy. Dang. I was hoping if I asked someone other than Mommy for a real zebra I might get one.

Nate's been hanging out in the exersaucer and seems to be getting close to sitting. Lots of his baby buddies are doing cool stuff like rolling over, but Nate's holding out on that move. He's too busy eating pureed veggies and blowing raspberries with his mouth full to think about gross motor skills.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Nate Breaks Another Shahan Record

Friday morning Mommy felt a little tooth on Nate, and by Friday night two were poking through. My four-months-and-a-few-weeks-old brother has two bottom teeth! He's been sticking lots of stuff in his mouth in slow motion, which is really funny to watch. I'm excited for him (really, I am); I didn't get any teeth until I was almost six months old (Mommy thinks; she can't remember and would have to get out a book to find the answer).

Since I held all the Shahan family records until Nate came along, you might think I'm bitter, but I'm not. There are a few I doubt he'll be able to break: the ones that involve moving. Mommy thinks she's going to get an extended potted plant period with this big ol' boy.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Breaking News: Nate is Not Small

It's been a big, fun week, after a crazy-fun Thanksgiving weekend. Nate and I had a great time at Mimi and Dandy's, especially Nate, since he got to flirt with so many different lady relatives.

We went to see Dr. Foster Tuesday for Nate's four-month checkup, and he gave us some shocking news: Nate is big. He's in the 95th percentile for height (Mommy said something about Shahan jeans) and still off the charts for weight (Mommy said something about Edwards jeans). Mommy told Dr. Foster that she's feeding Nate, and he said that's OK. Nate thinks it's pretty OK, too.

If you're wondering what these percentiles mean, here goes: Nate-man weighs 21.2 pounds and is 26 and three-quarters inches long at four months. I, at four months, weighed 16.7 pounds and was 25 and two-thirds inches long. He weighs five pounds more than I did. No wonder Mommy's arms are tired.

Wednesday morning it snowed! I really wanted to catch some snowflakes, so Mommy let me before I went to school. I was asleep when the snow started, but popped awake when Mommy told me it was snowing. And Wednesday afternoon I got to see Mommy try to pretend like she wasn't freaking out while we waited forever at Target to get some not-so-great pictures taken. Mommy doesn't want to bother certain readers of this blog for yet another photo session.

You know what's really fun to do EVERY time you ride in a car? Yell out "fire hydrant" every time you see a fire hydrant. And if you see a squirrel on top of a fire hydrant, yell out "squorore fire hydrant." I still can't get those words that end in "rl" right. Like girl and squirrel. Mommy and I both think this is funny.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

It's Raining Leaves

Today Daddy and I did some raking and then had too much fun playing in the piles of leaves. We have at least 12 trees at our house, so the leaves get out of hand this time of year. Daddy got on the roof to sweep leaves off, and even though I couldn't see him I kept yelling at him to make sure he was OK.

Two weeks ago Mommy and Nate had a big day. It was the first time Pops watched Nate by himself, and the first time Mommy left Nate alone with one person for more than three hours (Mimi and Dandy kept us together; and Daddy's kept us alone for about three hours). Have you ever heard the story of Pops's nap on the couch getting interrupted by a neighbor telling him Aunt Beffer and Uncle Rob were doing naked laps around the culdesac in the rain? Apparently Mommy, who was 6, should have been watching them. But Pops did an awesome job and Nate and I had fun. Mommy had fun shopping with Granny and Aunt Beffer.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

More Halloween and Other Silliness

Thanks to Ms. B and Ms. G, we've got pictures of my orange hair and Mommy and Daddy in their costumes.

Who can resist a chunky monkey baby smiling? Or his 3-year-old brother getting stuck in a Bumbo? Not me. And tell me Nate does not look like Pops.

By the way, Mommy should be finishing up some work that's due today, but she's helping me blog instead. That woman is a top-notch procrastinator. And she's been up since 3:45.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Halloween Hodgepodge

Man, Halloween was even better than I thought it would be! Trick-or-treating was awesome, and I wasn't afraid of anything except some smoke that blew at me at one house. Playing games at the carnival was fun too, and so was dancing with high-school girls and getting my hair painted orange. Lots of people thought I was Bob the Builder or Handy Manny, but I set them straight: I was Luke the Construction Worker. I really wanted an excavator, but apparently you have to be a real construction worker to get one.

Nate had a pretty good Halloween hanging out in the stroller in his monkey suit. Mommy likes this not-quite-bright-enough picture of him almost smiling. It's not easy to capture the smile on film! Daddy and Mommy were dressed as bacon and an egg, but there's not any good photographic evidence.

Daddy and I carved our pumpkin last week, and I painted a face on a tiny pumpkin I kept in my room. Didn't Daddy do a good job? And in case you can't tell, I've decided to start saying "cheese" for pictures again.

Now I want Halloween to happen every day and be combined with my birthday party. I told Mommy I want the sanitation truck from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to be at my party along with the excavators and zebra I've already requested.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Pictures and Stuff

This morning I went to the dentist and got my teeth cleaned without Mommy in the room. I actually had fun! I got to use the little suction thingy to suck up some water the hygenist squirted on the chair. That really helped me get over my nerves.

Nate's back to waking Mommy up during the night after a good stretch of 11-hour sleeps. I think he's pretty hungry. Sometimes he sucks down all of the biggest bottles we have and still wants more, and he's eating pretty often during the day. Oh well, we all still love him lots, and I really like to give him pacis and let him watch me play with my construction things. It's really funny when he smiles and makes silly noises.

Lately Mommy's been amused at some of my pronunciation. For some reason, I can't quite say "girl"; it sounds more like "groirl." And my Fs, Ps, and Bs all sound kind of similar, so don't freak out when you hear me talking about pitching - I'm referring to baseball, not ladies complaining.

We went to a Halloween carnival last weekend. Can you guess what we dressed as? We'll be sharing that info after we take more pictures tomorrow!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Big Things Happening

Wow. I can't tell you how it feels to be three! I've told Mommy lots of things I do now because I'm a big boy. I also tell Mommy, Daddy, and Nate lots of very exciting true stories with lots of details about airplanes, zebras, and excavators. Did you know we can buy a green airplane at Target, it will grow big, we can get in it, I can fly it to Chick-fil-A, and then I can land it on our sidewalk and we can eat our nuggets at our house?

My birthday party was very fun. I did cry a few times because I was in a bit of a funk, but I'm over that now. I got lots of great gifts and had fun playing with my friends. Now that I've got this party thing figured out, I want to have a birthday party every other day.

Big brothering is still fun. My favorite thing to do is get a pacifier for Nate and put it in his mouth. Sometimes I pick out ones he doesn't like - for some reason he's picky about which ones he'll allow in his mouth. Nate is a big guy. He weighs 18.5 pounds and is wearing size 3 diapers! He's almost as big at 12 weeks as that Indonesian baby was at birth. Mommy was very excited two weeks ago when he started sleeping for 10-hour stretches, but he's decided he needs to eat more at night and is back down to six or seven hours at a time.

I'm really looking forward to wearing my Halloween costume and getting candy.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Who's That Baby?

Mommy found some old pictures of herself and Daddy, and she asked me to try to figure out which one is her, which one is Daddy, which one is Nate, and which one is me. This may be easy for you, but I'm only 2 (for a few more days). Do you see any resemblance?

I had a fun weekend! Friday night we went to the Lake Highlands football game and sat with John and Josh and their families. I really liked the tunnel the football players ran through, and I liked watching people tackle. I've been wanting to go to the stadium for a long time. Shout outs to Ms. B for the picture! The band did something called "Original Gangster" at halftime. Mommy and Daddy had a good weekend, too. Nate slept six hours one night and nine hours the next, but decided to get back on his normal, wake-up-every-three-hours schedule Sunday night.

Speaking of gangster, does this kid look like he's throwing up gang signs? Some people might think he and Warren G are 'bout to regulate. Ain't nothin' but a G-thang, baby.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Big Man

Hey, it's Nate. Luke told me I could post something here. I noticed Luke posted stuff about being "off the chart" after going to visit the doctor, so I wanted to do the same. I went for my 2-month checkup today and I weighed 15 pounds, which is higher than the 95th percentile. Luke's never done that! But I'll probably never be as tall as he is. I'm guessing Mommy and I are going to stand on the edges in family photos, with Daddy and Luke in the middle.

I've had lots of firsts lately. I met all my great-grandparents for the first time after my first long car trip. I only cried the last 10 minutes of a drive that was almost 6 hours. Luke had a first, too. He used a toilet in Kirbyville after he told Mommy in the middle of nowhere that he had to potty. Mommy was probably more scared he wouldn't make it than Luke was. Some other firsts for me were seeing hummingbirds and blue-tailed skinks at the farm.

I really love my big brother. When he sings "I've Got a Feeling" I really like it. I watch him dance with Mommy and try to tell him I like it with little silly sounds. He tells some great stories about flying, feeding real zebras in the back yard, and toilets growing tall.

Luke's going to be 3 in less than two weeks. He really wants a real red excavator, a real yellow excavator, a real white excavator, and a real zebra. Mommy told him only construction workers can have excavators, and zebras need a bigger back yard.

Mommy's going to do her first client interview since I was born tonight. Apparently Luke and I both need to be quiet while she talks to the lady, especially if Daddy's not home.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Update

Man, it's been busy around my house. Baby brothers aren't as easy to take care of as toys. Nate eats a lot and cries a little and sleeps pretty well. I've been helping Mommy and Daddy lots by bringing a paci or a burp cloth when Nate needs one, and I talk to him and play with him when he's on his play mat. Last night he slept almost 6 hours, even though Mommy couldn't get him to go to sleep until almost midnight. Not bad, Nate!

I started school the week before Labor Day, but Mommy forgot to take a picture of me on the first day. She also forgot to put bee-bee in the car before we left, but we turned around to get it.

This morning Daddy weighed himself holding Nate, then not holding Nate, and it looks like Nate weighs 15 pounds. We've still got lots of diapers that are for babies up to 15 pounds.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Graduation

It's official: I like the toilet (even though I call it the "toit" - one syllable). The potty is in the attic and I told Daddy it's Nate's potty for when he gets bigger. Nudity, stickers, and prizes have helped me graduate from diapers to potty to toilet. I feel like a big boy.

In other news, being a big brother has its perks. I've slept in Mommy and Daddy's room more times in the past three weeks than in the past year and a half. I think three times total. I get to snuggle in their comforter on a pallet on the floor, and I always read the 101 Dalmations book that came free in a box of pull-ups from Sam's. Nate usually sleeps in the 80-something-year-old bassinet, but sometimes he dozes on the bed.

I still like being a big brother, even though it doesn't look like it in the picture up top. I've been helping by getting burp cloths and putting Nate's pacifier in his mouth. Mommy thinks I looked exactly like Daddy when I was born, but now I have her chin and mouth. She thinks Nate looks a lot like Pops and Aunt Beffer, but with Daddy's eyes and maybe his non-bird lips.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Pictures

Mommy's friend Miss Wendy came over and took pictures of Nate. I was pretty tired, but I posed for three shots, and I said "cheese." Mommy really, really loves the pictures. Thank you, thank you Ms. Wendy.

I've had lots of fun playing with my buddies when they come by with their mommies to give our family food. Thanks Josh, John G. and RoryCate, John M., Kate and William, and everybody else. Friday I even got to go play at John M.'s house, even though Mommy was nervous I'd be too wild, since I've been cooped up. Then Uncle Steven, Aunt Karen, Ian, Elizabeth, Aunt Jenny, and William came by to eat lunch and play. On Saturday, Uncle Rob, Aunt Ebi, and their dog Tina came to stay at my house for the weekend. I had fun playing fetch with Tina and playing in the backyard with Uncle Rob and Mommy had fun letting Aunt Ebi hold Nate. We were sad when they left.

And - crazy stuff - Mommy found out Josh and I are third cousins. So I guess there's an innate reason we like each other so much. Mommy's grandpa was Josh's daddy's grandpa's brother. Mommy checked a scary consanguinity chart to figure out what kind of cousins to call us.

Nate's crying a little louder now, but I still like him. We went to the doctor for Nate's two-week checkup, and I told the nurse she should not measure Nate and make him cry. For the record, at two weeks, I was half an inch longer than Nate and weighed 10 ounces less. Our heads are the same. Tuesday he weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. I guess maybe he could end up being shorter and meatier than I am.

Oh, and I like big-boy undies and my potty, but I don't like toilets.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

I Like Nate

Today I decided to hold Nate and give him kisses. He's a pretty cute little guy. I've talked to Mommy about why he's crying, counted his toes, and helped make him happy. He really doesn't cry very often, only when he's hungry or Mommy is changing him. He doesn't look much like me, and his hair doesn't look curly.

This afternoon Mommy, Daddy, Nate, and I are by ourselves. I was a little sad when Granny, Pops, and Buster left this morning. And last night I was sad when Mimi, Dandy, Uncle Stephen, and Aunt Kate left after coming over to celebrate Mimi's 60th birthday. It was a fun party, and I watched everyone else eat cake.

In other news, I've been using the potty a lot. If you want to stop by the house, call and let me know so I can put some pants on.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Nate's Here

Nate was born Monday. I was excited about him coming, but once I met him I was a little nervous and scared of him. He and Mommy came home yesterday, and since then I've realized I like him. He's sleeping a lot and drinking lots of milk.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Big Day Coming

Tomorrow's the big day, so today Mommy, Daddy, and I did some special stuff together. I got to play mini-golf - mostly with Daddy, since Mommy got stinkin' hot. While I had lots of holes-in-20, I had a few good holes, and one awesome hole-in-one! I'm excited about meeting Nate tomorrow.

Oh, and we got a new car that Mommy, Daddy, Nate, and I can fit in and that some other kid Mommy wants to drive around should fit in too.

Monday, July 20, 2009

One Week and Counting

Just one week left 'til I'm no longer the only kid. Today I met a baby who was two weeks old, and she was really quiet. I told Mommy it would be OK if Nate is like that. I didn't want to touch her though, and I asked Mommy not to touch her either.

Daddy did lots of stuff around the house this weekend, like he's been doing for the past few weekends. I helped him as much as I could, but then I passed out on the job. You can see my golf club - I watched some of the British Open with Daddy and then really wanted to do some golfing of my own. Daddy set up a "putting green" in the kitchen, and I hit the ball into a tupperware container pretty well. So now I have two obsessions: golf and baseball.

Sunday night Mimi, Dandy, William, Kate, Aunt Jenny, and Uncle Dave all came over to celebrate Mimi's birthday early. Mommy and Daddy will be pretty busy on her real birthday next week (it's the day after Nate's). I did a good job sharing everything but my golf club and golf ball, and I didn't want any of the cake balls everyone else had. I don't like cake.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Food and Stuff

I'm getting a little nervous about Nate coming to live with us. He's supposed to get out of Mommy's belly the Monday after next. I've told Mommy I don't want him to cry, but she keeps telling me that's what babies do and that we can try to make him happy by feeding him, changing his diaper, and singing to him. I guess I'll break out my ABCs.

Mommy and Daddy have been taking turns staging sit-ins at the dinner table this week. I've decided I only want milk, pineapple, and a scant amount of goldfish. It's more or less a liquid diet, which I've heard is a good thing if you want to purge toxins or lose weight: two things I seriously need to do. These sit-ins have resulted in my eating some pretty yummy stuff like Mexican pizza (that's what I call quesadillas), shrimp casserole, and lots of tasty veggies. I've tried lots to get out of eating: singing my ABCs, asking Daddy to play baseball with me, and coming up with excuses for not eating. Tonight I brought my A-game since Daddy was still at work and I thought Mommy might give in easily. I was wrong. I asked Mommy to talk to me about the different letters on my placemat and told her my hiney hurt when I sat at the table; that baseball players do not eat to be strong and fast, they drink water; and - I really thought this would work - that I wanted to go to timeout instead of eating green beans. Mommy let me go to timeout, but she still made me eat three green beans and three bites of shrimp casserole that I ended up liking. Then we played baseball outside and filled up my red birdfeeder.

Monday, July 13, 2009

"Like a Dog"

For some reason, Mommy was just letting me hang out in a shirt, nothing else. She went on the front porch to check the mail, I followed her, then I "tee-teed outside like a dog." Wow. It's a good thing the neighbors weren't watching. Mommy's not going to let me out the front door sans bottoms again.

I had a fun weekend that included seeing dogs. Namely Buster, Jules, and Neda. I still love Buster a lot, and he and Granny and Pops all played baseball and golf with me. The three pups pottying in my backyard obviously inspired me a little. Granny, Pops, and Buster are coming back in two weeks (unless Nate comes earlier) to play with me while Mommy's not home.

Up top is a picture of Mommy, Daddy, and me from this weekend. I'm betting the next family pic will be a little more crowded.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

All Kinds of Baseball

I keep telling Mommy I'm going to teach Nate how to play baseball, and that it will make him happy to play baseball, basketball, and football with me. I've been practicing my swing with my "red Astros bat"; I can hit the ball off the tee and occassionally hit a pitched ball. When it's my turn to pitch, I lift my knee about three times before I throw the ball. I've told Mommy, "I'm a pretty good batter." Who says I'm not humble?

When I can't play outside, I like to get a pair of socks and play baseball with Daddy in the den. We throw the "ball" and use our arms as bats. I call it sock baseball. Pretty clever, huh?

Mommy's been doing lots of stuff to get Nate's room ready for him. He'll be here in two weeks and five days! It seems so soon! Anyway, she's pretty excited about the slipcover she made for one of the cushions on the glider. She didn't know what she was doing, but it doesn't look totally bad. Probably nobody will ever notice she had to put a patch on it. Today she's going to take care of the other two cushions.

I started Summer Fun Monday, and I was a little nervous to go to a new room, see new teachers, and see only a few faces I recognized. But I got over it and had a great time. I told Mommy I played in mud, which was obvious from my pants, but that I got my shoes cleaned. She's not sure what that means.

And P.S. Daddy took exception to my last post. Apparently he hasn't told Mommy she's plumpy, only that she's round. He says he's only talking about her belly.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Catching Up

If you talk to Mommy more than once a month, you probably heard her complaining loudly about not having internet access. Right before we left to go to Wimberley, there was a big storm in Dallas that did some crazy, pretty minor stuff to our house. Mommy did not cope well with not having internet access for two weeks.

Anyway, during that disconnected time, we went to Wimberley, where I had a great time with my cousins, Mimi and Dandy, and some aunts and uncles. Kate rode with us since her Mommy, Daddy, and William couldn't come. We had a great time speaking our own language in the backseat. My favorite thing about Wimberley was playing with Ian, but I also liked floating in the two-inch river; checking out fish, snakes, turtles, deer, and an armadillo head; and my close encounter with the rare Texas river hippo (this one was wearing plaid). When I got home, I gave Daddy his birthday gifts. Happy Birthday, Daddy! I made the one in the picture.

The weekend after we got back, Nanna and Pawpaw came to visit and I had a great time playing in the backyard and showing them how skillfully I can throw myself onto my red chair, roll off, and bonk my head really loudly on the floor. Apparently it makes other people uncomfortable, but I love it!

Last weekend I went to a Rangers game with Daddy. I loved eating popcorn and seeing fireworks after homeruns. And it was fun to get some guy time with Daddy.

This week I stayed with Mimi and Dandy for two nights and got to swim in their pool. I told Mommy about a whale and splashing and jumping. If it weren't for all my cool friends and their mommies who've let me and Mommy mooch on their pool memberships, I might not be as excited about swimming as I am. And I need to thank Josh for having an ice cream party and John for loaning the bounce house that was there for helping get over my fear of bouncy things. I love them, and I'm pretending I'm in one when I bounce off my red chair.

Mommy's been getting lots of help getting Nate's room ready for him. Nanna bought him some stuff for his bed so he doesn't have to use my hand-me-downs, and Mimi's been helping Mommy sew curtains for the doorless closet. Next Mommy's going to try to sew some covers for the glider that is currently fugly.

Daddy's been working hard getting the house ready too. And he's been making Mommy feel special by quoting the boy hippo Moto Moto from Madagascar 2: "Girl, you round. You plumpy."

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

What's Going On

It's been a whirlwind few weeks for me and Mommy and Daddy. After our Houston trip, I went to stay with Granny and Pops for a few days. While I was there I played with Buster (of course), rode in the Rhino with Pops, and even got to sit in a real excavator. That's the first thing I told Mommy about. And apparently Pops has a magic trick to get me to do what he wants me to, like eat my food or not whine. He invokes the "farm boy." As in, "Farm boys don't cry" or "farm boys eat green beans." Mommy wants something like "farm boy."

This weekend I helped Mommy and Daddy have a garage sale. My contribution was staying up late the night before, waking up at 4:30, then waking up again at 6:20 for good. Sunday night I kept sneaking out of my room or whining in my room until about midnight. I don't see why sleep is such a big deal.

Lately I've only been wanting to watch the "boat movie," which most people call Madagascar. Not the "airplane movie," or Madagascar 2. I really love Marty the zebra and want to do things to help him out. I asked Daddy if I could go in the front yard and use the hose, but then I tried to bring it inside to clean Marty. I asked Mommy to turn on the TV so I could give Marty my lovey, Mr. Puppy; he needs a lovey. I asked Mommy to get Marty out of the TV so he can eat because he's hungry. The list goes on. Mommy's told me Marty doesn't really live in the TV, and neither do the penguins or foosas, but I don't know if I believe her.

Another thing I'm a big fan of is swim lessons. There's this thing there called Dan the Dolphin that I love to talk about. I like to take a dolphin towel with me because it will make Dan happy. Another reason I love swim lessons is because Josh is there, and because I get to blast off. Mommy's not sure what that means.

Lastly, Mommy and Daddy have decided on a name for my little brother. I tried to get them to name him Mack after McQueen's truck in Cars, but they didn't go for it. I really enjoyed helping Daddy build Nate's (that's his name) crib. I used the little wrench to screw in the bolts. It was fun. Mommy and Daddy moved out furniture, painted the former office, and cleaned lots of carpet in the last two weeks. We're almost ready for Nate if he decides to come a little early.