Countdown to the 2s begins

Hi Natey. Today you're officially closer to being 2 than you are to 1. 19 months of bringing laughs and love to your mommy and daddy. Although, you are definitely acting like you are raring up for the, dare I say it, terrible twos. You are a very willful child, but I suppose I am getting the karma of my baby days with that one. Let's hope we can all sit back and have a giggle at your antics one day.

• Your new favorite words are NO! and Mines! I do not like these words. I do not like them Sam-I-am!



• You have figured out how to walk on your tippy toes and you crack me up every time you do it.



• You have learned the phrase "wake up!". When daddy or I have our eyes closed you like to bam us on the head and yell, "lake up!" When we open our eyes you feel like you have to have a reason for us to be awake so you say, "daddy, look". When he asks "what?", you don't have an immediate answer since you are flying by the seat of your 24 month pants and look around until you see me and then yell, "MOMMY!!!" and are very proud of yourself.
  


• You are getting very curious and want to know what everything is. If you don't know the name of something you point and say "that", which is our cue to tell you the name.



• You think every piece of lint or speck of dirt on the floor is a bug. You blow on it and say "go bug" and watch it move.



• You are your daddy's kid and fish is your favorite. You've got some of me in you too because you love mushrooms and can handle spicy food. That must be because of the mass amounts of Indian food I consumed when I was pregnant with you!
  


• When we tell you someone is sleeping you pretend to snore and say "seepin".



• When you are looking for something you call out, "Bankalee, are you" (Blanky, where are you). You do this while holding your hands up to your mouth...just to make sure the bankalee can hear you!



• You almost have 16 teeth!!!!! Too bad you still don't feel the need to chew anything. We have to tell you chew, chew on almost every bite you take. It's not like we don't feed you buddy. You'll get more, just slow down and enjoy it!
  


• You have mastered the spoon and like to say, "scoop it, bite" with every bite. It is funny to watch you stare at the spoon all the way to your mouth, still a bit unsure if the bite will make it there safely.
  


• When you want out of something you say, "Mout". We are pretty sure this means come out. You sometimes do this when we are carrying you around or when you are done being in your car seat, stroller or highchair.


• Your favorite books are Mickey in the Night Kitchen and Where the Wild Things Are (go figure).

You have the most wonderful and infectious laugh.

I look forward to each passing day with you, my boy.

Santa baby

We finally took Natey to see Santa! I know it's kinda late, but there were extenuating circumstances that kept us away. Like the blue bruise he had in the middle of his forehead from bonking it at his grandparents house (I know, I'm vain...it's terrible), or the fact that he was a snotty miserable mess for over a week. We have been prepping him for Santa for over a month. I've been reading him Santa books, pointing out the Santas we saw around town and teaching him "Ho, Ho, Ho" (which he said to Santa...it was so cute!). I hoped that all of this prepping would come in handy when he met the big guy (it was the same Santa as last year) ...and it did!


Woo hooo! It couldn't have gone any better! Natey was so excited and the picture came out perfect! I know this is a rare occasion so I won't get too overconfident about future Santa pictures (or the EB for that matter), but it was nice to get a great shot one second after he sat down. The poor lady in front of me was having quite a time trying to get her son to cooperate and I felt for her.

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After Santa, Natey had to go for his 18 month visit at the pediatrician. He was 26 pounds 14 oz and 34 1/2 inches long! Yet again Natey is hovering in the 95th percentile for height and ~60th percentile for weight. Hopefully this keeps up and he ends up being taller than Aaron and I! The doctor's office had a tree in the waiting room, and I managed to get one picture where he wasn't sprinting about and blurry.

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This post wouldn't be complete without a glimpse at last year's Christmas pictures. You already saw last year's picture with Santa on my ornament so here are a couple we took of him with our Christmas tree. The second one was the picture I used for our Christmas cards last year.

1.5 Years and counting

Hi Natey,

You are 18 months old. How did that happen??? I blinked, that's how! You are amazing me all of the time with your new tricks. Here's some of what you can do now.

• You are working on your 13th tooth. The top right canine has poked its tip through. You will probably have all of your teeth by the time you are 2!!
• Your curls are getting a bit unruly, but every time I think about cutting your hair it makes me sad, so we'll hold out a while longer.
• You are starting to make sentences. They are only 2 or 3 words, but you say things like "bankalee (blanky) where?" and "I lu you".
• You can count to 5. Sometimes you need a little encouragement, but I think that has more to do with how easily distracted you are!
• You no longer think blue is the only color. You can identify white and pink (weird, I know) and sometimes green.
• You like to tell me when it's raining while we drive in the car.
• You had your first official tantrum the other night. You were flopping around like a fish out of water and I was sure you were going to hurt yourself. Luckily momma's singing still calms you down...30 minutes of singing that is!
• Your favorite word right now is more. You use it when ever you want something. Here's how the conversation usually goes.

Natey: "more"

Me: "more what?" {trying to figure out what you want}

Natey: "more, puleese"

While I appreciate the manners, you need to insert the name of the item you would like when I ask what!!

• You know Santa by sight and I love that you say "Ho, ho, ho!" while patting your tummy. Let's hope the visit to Santa's lap goes smoothly this weekend.
• Somehow, you know all of the names of the Backyardigans. I swear you only watch 2 shows a day!!
• You learned "knock, knock" and like to do it to every door we come to.
• You say "arm in" when you see me get your jacket, and you can almost put it on by yourself.
• You're obsessed with my keys. If I even attempt to unlock a door without your help you get very upset.
• You are getting more cuddly as the days go by. You say "tisses" (kisses) and "hug ums" and then offer a smooch or a squeeze to mommy or daddy.
• You have stopped saying Dadoo for the most part. Daddy is what you are calling him now. :o( I will miss that a lot. I thought it was so sweet.
• You can feed yourself with a spoon. The fork is still iffy, but you can scoop like a champ!

Tomorrow you have your 18 month well visit and I will update with your height and weight. I love you little man!

Look what I can do!

Hello my crazy little boy! You are 17 months old today. I can't even believe the fullness and hilarity you bring in to my life. Just so you know what tricks you had up your sleeve at this time in your life, I am going to jot down a few things you are doing that make me laugh, cry and/or sometimes pull my hair out!

• You officially have 12 teeth! Seriously, how is it that you have so many and why do you like to bite my toes? Do they just call to you from beneath the white socks?


• With so many teeth, you'd think eating would be going swimmingly, but alas, nope! I still have to give you bite size pieces, a few at a time. If I didn't, you would shove an entire banana in your mouth and then decide you couldn't chew it all and take the whole mushy mess out. Gross, child.


• I also wish you'd just set aside the things you don't want to eat, instead of smashing them and throwing them on the floor with a furrowed brow.


• Dining aside, your manners are developing quite nicely. You say "thank you"all of the time. Mind you, it is when you give someone something, but you have the right idea. You are starting to learn that please will get you what you want instead of those terribly forced tantrums you were throwing for about a week. Mama and Dad-oo thank you for stopping that as quickly as you started.


• You are starting to be able to communicate what you want. I love that you pat your belly and say "hungy" (hungry) when you want something to eat. It is much easier to interpret than "AaaaaahhhhhEeeeeYaaaa".


• You are also starting to make connections. You learned that the sound doggies make is barking. You repeated it and knew what it was the next day when we heard it again. You made me laugh when I sneezed and you said "barkin". Then I had to teach you sneeze. I think you have it straight now! You say yawn after you see us do it and you say "bwess em" when we sneeze.


• Every color is still bu-lue, but you can now identify 2 letters in addition to B. (O & T) you can count to 4 if i start you off with 1.


• You are developing an addiction to 2 cartoons. We don't let you watch too much TV, but in the morning while mommy gets ready for work and in the evening while we're trying to make/eat dinner it comes in handy. If we didn't put the shows on, you would certainly destroy something. Sorry, but you are mesmerized by the TV. Unfortunately since you watch these two shows often, you come home, grab the remote and shout "P.B." (T.V.) "gardigins" (Backyardigans) or "boos cloos" (Blue's clues).


• You have developed an interesting obsession with doors. You make sure to point out every door you see and really enjoy opening and closing them. I'm not exactly sure why you do this. Often, in the morning when I go in to get you, before you even say "hi" or "morning" you say door. Yep, it's a door!

So those are some of your latest antics. Thanks for keeping me entertained. I love you budgins!

Time in a Bottle

I found the tooth chart I printed out when Natey got his first 2 teeth (bottom 2 and yes at the same time). They first poked through the day after Christmas last year, which I thought was pretty cute and ironic. I walked around for a week singing the song in my head. I was so gung-ho about capturing all of his firsts and fun moments and I did great...for a while. Then I kind of fizzled. I realize that I have been really caught up in my own bloggy world lately. What can I say, it is a whole new world to me that is fun and fabulous being able to connect with other moms. But, I started this blog to update on Natey, to have a record without having to commit to so much scrapbooking...and of course have nicely captured moments to embarrass him with later. What kind of mom would I be if that wasn't a side goal??? In the spirit of capturing more about my little man and what he's doing at the phases in his life here's the latest and greatest at 16 months...

• He's got 7 teeth and 4 more pushing their way out. He is so funny with teething. He had 7 teeth by 9 months and then didn't get any more until this last month when the final bottom front and 3 molars decided to come in all at once!


• He says a little more than 50 words. Some of my favorites are: "morning", "deyougo" (there you go) when he hands you something, "meeeerrr, kitty" (come here) which he screams at Trina..no wonder she always runs away from him and "hossie" (horse) which he always follows up with a lough "neigh!!!!"


• He knows that the step in between the kitchen and the breezeway is too big for him to step down so he has learned to "sit and scoot" whenever he needs to get from one room to another. The funny thing is, he sits down really far from the edge and has to scoot quite a ways to get down.


• He knows so many people's names! A lot of Aaron's friend's come over and hang out and he knows "Geg" (Greg), "Corn" (Courtenay), his uncles Danny, "BBBBBBB" (Barak) and "eYo" (tio-uncle in Spanish, which is what he calls Ollie). Oh, and he is still calling Aaron "Dadoo" which is pretty much my favorite thing ever. I hope he keeps that for a while longer at least.


• He is big on giving hugs and kisses. When you ask for a hug he leans in and puts his head on you. Apparently he thinks you just hug him, he has nothing to do with it! He will give nice little puckered kisses to his toys but if he gives you a kiss, you get the full open mouth...sorry, just a warning, unless you want slobber all over your mouth, turn the cheek! He has been known to grab your face and turn you the right way though, so good luck!


• I am trying to teach him colors but, as of now, everything is "bu-lue" (blue).


• Oh, and every letter is B.


• He is in to everything. He loves opening drawers and trying on our shoes, sticking his hand in the toilet and eating cat food, turning off the computer (the blue button is like a tractor beam, I must admit) and turning on the washing machine (darn front loading washer!!).


• He's starting to learn how to use a fork and smiles and yells "did it!" when he manages to get a bite onto the fork and into his mouth.


• He's been walking running since ~10 months but he is really good at it now and falls down less and less.


• He knows Kung-Fu and how to break dance, but they pretty much look the same. He gets down on the floor and does what looks like a sweeping kick; rolling over and over until he hits an obstacle like the couch. Then he turns the other way and is off again. He also swings his arms around and says "Ya!" (hiya, I assume). Thanks Dadoo and Jet Li for teaching him these things.


• He's a total blankie boy (just like his mama) and loves to cuddle up with it. He is getting particular though because there are 2 that we have that he doesn't like. Darn, I was trying to rotate them out frequently so he wouldn't get so attached to one, but he is.


• He puts ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in his mouth still. He eats sticks, rocks, paper, old cheerios that he finds under the radiator, basically anything he finds. He does have a tell though. He'll put something in his mouth and then look at you (since he knows he's not supposed to) with this sneaky look. At least he opens his mouth on command and we can remove anything that isn't supposed to be in there!

I am sure I have missed things, but it doesn't matter. These posts are mostly for me, so I can look back and remember all of the amazing firsts and bests that my boy was doing at the time. Even though I am pretty sure I will remember most of it as he grows up, I know I'll get a good laugh out of looking back and reading these. I love you my little boy and please don't grow up too fast.

Natey Update

We went to the pediatrician yesterday and got Nathan's 15 month stats...drum roll please..... He weighs in at 25 pounds 6 ounces and is 33 inches tall. For weight he is in the 50th percentile which is about where he's been every time. The height though is another story. The kid is in the 90th percentile for height, still!!! Geeze! I don't know if you guys have noticed, but Aaron and I aren't all that tall. Maybe my mom's side of the family genes are in effect! Hopefully the kid stays tall, but it is making his clothes fit kinda funny. The sleeves of things are sometimes too short and the pants are big in the waist if they fit him in length.


Anyway, let me just say though I got irate at the nurse practitioner that was doing his check up. She asked me all of the standard developmental questions which I answered with an A-OK on all points. Then she asked me about his language skills. I told her he had ~40 words in his arsenal and she gave me a disbelieving look and said, rather snottily, give me an example of some of his words. I started rattling off a few, but then I got madder as I saw the look on her face. I felt like screaming, "I'm not making this up, stop looking at me like that!!!", but then I realized I don't have to prove anything to this lady. Any of you who are around Nathan for any period of time know what this little guy is capable of. He shocks me with new words every day and I don't care if they say the average for his age is about 5 words. Anyway, I am getting worked up just thinking about it. The bottom line is Nathan is moving along at HIS pace (fast forward) whether the NP believes it or not!


On a lighter note, at the request of the 2 people that actually read my blog, I have changed the background so that it is easier to read. Hopefully your headaches will stop now, Ryan. :o)