36 weeks old

I feel as though each day Nathan does something new. His baby calendar is full and it seems there is no date blank. Because things are happening so fast, the time is flying. This little guy will be one in 3 months, 3 weeks, and one day. That's just nuts! I considered just posting monthly updates, but too much is going on, so we'll continue the weekly updates and just do photos with Leo on the month marks - so look for the next round of photos with Leo around August 23rd.

So, what's been going on? Well, since my last post on Nathan's 8 month birthday a lot has changed!

Movement... Nathan is crawling and he is fast. He is army crawling (a.k.a. commando crawling) and really likes this method. He can crawl on his hands and knees but is no where near as fast. Here's a video.

Now that he's really crawling, I rarely get any alone time during the day (unless he's in a pack and play). He can get from the living room to the kitchen faster than I can put in a load of laundry and knows exactly what not to get and goes right for it... you know, shoes, the dog's water/food, cords, paper... We're beginning to teach him the word "no" and are realizing that discipline starts much earlier than we expected! :) Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." That starts now with learning things like self control, patience, love, and gentleness. It also starts with learning that the remote is for grown ups, the phone is for talking - not chewing, and just because you scream doesn't mean you get what you want. In fact, you don't get anything. Sorry, I digress... back to movement. On the 24th, Nathan pulled up to his knees at Kristin and Quinton's hearth, the 27th he pulled up on the side of the tub, the 28th I found him on his knees in his crib... and the 29th, he'd figured out how to stand in his crib. He can also pull up on the dog food container (it'll be a sad day when he tries it and it's almost empty!) and just today, he pulled up on the drawer to the stove... and he can almost reach the oven handle. Let's hope the one in the new house is taller!

Play: Nathan loves to pull toys out of a box and wave them in the air. He's very content to sit by a box of toys too! I enjoy the stillness. He's really into things that crinkle, like paper, and while I don't want to encourage him to rip it, I don't mind him exploring the crinkling sound! Nathan loves to go after Bailey and tries to pull up on her. Unfortunately for both of them, Nathan grabs her hair and pulls which makes her lick him to death. That's not going to work any time soon. Nathan has shown some interest in knocking over block towers, although he's not into building towers. He has shown a recent interest in the pictures in books, especially pictures that have texture!

Food: In the last week, he tried cottage cheese and hated it... it hated him as well. He's also tried sliced cheese, diced apples, real chicken (didn't like it in chunks, but liked it chopped very fine), ham, hamburger buns, graham crackers, and tofu. Yes, I said tofu. He actually likes it. He'll chew up the cubes (but still won't swallow them), but he enjoys it pureed. It's a great protein source and it takes on the flavor of whatever you mix it with. Don't you wish your peaches had protein? Nathan's do! He's eating mostly homemade baby food these days and is really doing well with it. He still prefers Gerber, but he'll get over that. Still not drinking a lot from a sippy cup, but he knows how. I guess he's just not really thirsty. He loves water and carrot juice. He tried V8 fusion and really liked that as well. Thursday night he had 2 bites of real pizza. So much fun to try new foods!

Talking: Nathan is babbling a lot. We hear "a bah" and "a wah bah" a whole lot! But, if you can get his attention, he'll try to mimic what you are saying. He said "bye bye" to Wendy and I this past Saturday, continues to say "ba" for ball, "moh" for more, and has recently started saying "up" when he wants to get out of the crib, high chair, changing table, pack and play. It's usually prompted, but he'll echo me. So you decide... is the little guy talking yet? I think so, and I'm claiming all of these words. He hasn't uttered mama or dada in over a week, but that's okay, he's saying other things!

Fears: We've noticed two things that Nathan is afraid of... rooms with black ceilings (our church, a furniture store, and Ham's) and motorized trains. I know, how many other mothers can say that their little boy is afraid of trains. We were in Ham's with some friends and they have a train that runs around the top of the restaurant. Nathan spotted it and started bawling. He would quiet down when the train went out of sight but still whimper. When it rounded the corner and he could see it, he would just sob. Poor thing. After a few minutes of this, I sheepishly asked the waitress if she could turn it off. I know, crazy, but as soon as it stopped, we had a happy baby.

Separation Anxiety: I may bite my tongue in a short while, but so far, we've not run into separation anxiety or stranger anxiety as long as Chad or I are close by. We leave him with one of two fabulous babysitters and he could care less that we're gone. He'll also still go to anyone familiar, and most people he doesn't know. Nursery is no problem at church, and he still smiles at most people. I kinda hope he stays this friendly!

Attitude: Yep, he's getting one. He wants his way NOW. It's amazing how quickly this came upon us. This little cutie can pitch a rather cute tantrum if he wants something or doesn't like something. This crept up on us and now we're trying to figure out the best way to teach him to use words/signs and that yelling doesn't get him anything. It's tough when you don't know how much they really understand. Nathan's going to have my lack of patience, that's for sure! The stubbornness in this family has always run high, and Nathan is no different. I think it's a good quality though... he's very persistent and that's helped him learn to do many things!

Swimming: it's going great... we're trying to lengthen his time underwater. Here's a quick swim with his dad this past weekend.

Okay, I've given enough narrative, how about some pictures!

Playing in his toy box


He loves rubber duckies and prefers to chew on their whole head or their tail feathers.


If there's no rubber duckie, anything to teethe on will work...

Trying to figure out how it works.