19 months old

Nathan has flown right on into 19 months old. I can't believe that in a month, he'll no longer be "...teen months" rather 20-something. Craziness. So how is our 19 month old? Nathan is a very active loving toddler with quite a strong will and adventurous spirit. He listens well most of the time and follows 2-3 step direction. He enjoys praise for a job well done and is remarkably responsive to words as a form of discipline. He is definitely showing the toddler egocentric behaviors, but we're trying to channel those into loving and kind behaviors, while still encouraging him to stick up for himself! He's begun to by shy around strangers or people he doesn't see often and will wrap his arms around your neck and hide his face, but only for a few seconds. He is quick to make friends as well. His memory is astounding and his ability to recall events is equally as surprising. He continues to be a spirited kiddo and is fiercely independent. I hear, "nay nay do" or "nay nay self" or "nay nay" a hundred times a day in response to me helping him. It's great to see that developing and we're trying to mold it into areas of appropriate independence. For example, it's not okay for him to buckle himself into his car seat without help. However, we've begun to allow him to clip the chest clip while we do the bottom buckle and check the tension. Overall, he's a thriving toddler who loves his family and his puppy and his friends!

He also loves to be naked... or at least in just a diaper. and shoes. If it were up to Nathan he would always wear just a diaper! He has not yet tried to take off his diaper and I'm praying he doesn't for a very very long time! I love the picture above of him wearing only his crocs. :)

We've been spending a lot of time outside these days as the weather has been in the 80s and 90s. It's very humid here but the sprinklers and water table seem to cool our little man off. He's learned to check the temp of the slide before scooting down it and also seems to prefer wearing shoes these days because of the hot concrete. I love to watch Nathan playing outside. It's so fun to watch what gets his attention and to see him figuring out how things work.

Our little man reached a huge milestone this week. He's said good bye to his beloved pacis and hasn't seemed to look back. We're on day 4 and he's only asked for it in the car, but is content with the answer that they are all gone. In place of the pacis, Nathan has a new bear pillow. He's been asking for a pillow for a few months and loves to lay on them on our bed. This really started to interest him on our trip to FL when he was on king sized beds with 6 pillows. So, we gave in and let him pick out a pillow for his bed since he gave away his pacis.

Here he is at the end of a nap just yesterday. He wasn't really asleep (at this point, I wouldn't dare risk waking up a tot who's just given up his paci), but after his nap, I asked him to show me how he sleeps on his new bear pillow...

"nay nay sleep. new bear pillow"

My little one is getting so big!

I always think I should be concise with these updates, but since I'm about 15 months behind on his baby book, I use this blog to help me keep up with all the memories, so I'm not going to be brief this time. Bear with all the details, or just skim through!

Growth:

Nathan is 28 pounds 2 ounces (75th %) and 32.25 inches tall (50th %). He's wearing a 7 xw shoe these days and his feet look giant compared to his friends! Just this week, he's begun to be too short for his 24 month one piece rompers and I'm so sad because these are so comfie for him and easy for me. His 24 month pjs are also beginning to be too tight between the crotch and the shoulders. It's time to move up into 3t. He's wearing 24 m and 2t shorts and shirts comfortably.

Language:

Nathan's language amazes Chad and I constantly. He repeats anything he hears and then uses it again in the correct context. For example, today he heard my say "bye guys" to some friends and then he said it to another group of people as we left. He's also heard me tell him I have to carry him in parking lots because of all the cars. While driving down the road the other day he said, "mama, all the cars" while pointing out the windows. On the lake, he also says "all the boats" when we're in crowded areas. He's chaining words together to form sentences although they are certainly not grammatically correct! :) His sentences usually go like this, "nay nay outside please. sprinkler nay nay yes. mama outside yes." It's so fun because he can tell us so much and we understand what he's trying to communicate. I've lost count of the words he knows because it seems like he knows all the words he could possibly know and then he learns another one. My favorite words to hear him say right now are:

xylaphone "yilafone"

alleluia "ahleylooooooyah"

tow truck "toe fruck" (minus the r, but I couldn't bear to type it)

Isabella "esabella"

cheeseburger "teesburgder"

tractor "fractor"

ambulance "amboolass" followed by the siren sound

umbrella "umBRELLLLLLA"

He knows all of his colors and almost all of his letters. He can also count to 10. He's learning to spell his name as well. He loves to ask "that?" to learn the names of new objects. His dialogues with us are so funny. Yesterday before his nap, the conversation went something like this.

M: Nathan, would you like to walk or crawl upstairs?

N: nay nay crawl up

M: please walk to your room so we can change your diaper

N: basketball take pleas?

M: you may take it into your room and hold it while I change your diaper.

N: nay nay lay changing table diaper

N: pew weee pooped blaah

M: all done, can you pick out some books and take them to your chair

N: llama book bear book baabaa take

M: good job buddy. (we start reading the llama book which daddy reads every night)

N: nooooooo daddy book

M: you want daddy to read it

N: yes

M: daddy's at work and can read it before bed okay?

N: otay bear book

and it goes on and on like that. It's so wonderful to have a toddler who communicates so well. And apparently I need to learn to read the llama book like daddy.

Eating:

Nathan continues to eat a wide variety of foods, although he likes them certain ways. He's happy to eat carrots as long as they are steamed baby carrots (room temp), raw carrots, or frozen. He doesn't like his carrots seasoned or salted. He loves peanut butter to dip in, but if you put it on his waffle, he won't eat the waffle. So funny. He still will not eat pasta, mashed potatoes, and usually won't eat french fries (except arby's) although he loves tater tots. He can't stand for his food to be warm, and prefers it to be room temp or cold. We learned from his doctor last week that he should be drinking 40 ounces of fluid a day, and since he was only getting about 32 (16 of milk and 16 of water), we're upping the water intake a bit. We've found he drinks more out of cups with straws instead of sippys, so we're switching to those. Nathan has also learned not to dump the food off of his plate onto his tray and he rarely throws food off of his tray anymore. Those two things make dinner so much more enjoyable!!!

Swimming:

As you've seen in previous posts, our little guy is very confident in the water. He's been wearing a yellow tire float/swim suit combo and does really well in the pool and lake. He's reluctant to swim between parents under water without the float, although he'll jump off the side no problem and go under without a hitch. I think it's a control issue! If he could have it his way, he'd be in some form of water all day every day.

Behavior:

While in general Nathan is very go with the flow, we're starting to experience some toddler woes. He's begun to take toys he'd like to play with and we're trying to teach him to ask first. He's very good at sharing and will readily do so almost all of the time, but doesn't seem to apply that concept to taking toys from others. I suppose that will come with time and modeling. He's also begun to push others out of his way when he wants to go somewhere first. This is not at all okay in my mind and we're working very hard on learning to wait patiently and to be kind with our hands. Nathan loves to be free and unrestrained, however, he understands that he must hold our hand in certain circumstances and willingly does so. He's also learning boundaries and seems to be complying with most of them. :) Most of the time, he's very compliant and happy to follow direction. :) He's really a sweet kiddo. We've taught Nathan his first Bible verse (thanks Kristin B for the idea) and we use it often as a listening aide. "Nathan, listen and obey mommy and daddy for this is right says Jesus" Ephesians 6:1. He can repeat about 6 of the words and after we say that, 99% of the time, he does what he's been asked. I love this idea as it forces me to discipline out of a desire to mold, not out of anger or a desire to control.

Lately, he's been getting shy around people he doesn't know and he'll bury his face in one of our necks and hold on for dear life. This started in Disney World and I'm happy to see it, honestly, because before, I think he would have run off with anyone!

He's very independent and wants to do anything he can all by himself. It's fun to watch him try and we're learning to identify frustration and ask for help when needed. :)

Nathan says and does some funny things...

Often when Chad and I are together, Nathan will say, "mama daddy mama daddy my daddy my daddy" So sweet to hear him call Chad "my daddy"

He's learned that daddy is also Chad and sometimes calls daddy "chad". Daddy doesn't like this though and doesn't respond until he calls him "daddy". :)

He loves to pick out his diaper before we put it on. He knows his colors and will dig through the drawer and pull out "lellow diaper" or "blue diaper". Sunday, he went into his drawer and pulled out a diaper and said "blue diaper church take". So it went to church with us in his diaper bag.

"Mama, rock you hold you"

He loves to walk like a bear.

He is an excellent climber and can now climb into his high chair and begin to buckle himself in. He can also climb from the way back of the durango all the way to the front to "drive" in the blink of an eye!

Nathan loves to pray and will request to pray before naps/bed and at meals. He likes to hold hands and everyone at the table (and sometimes at surrounding tables) is asked to say amen. He's also started asking us to pray for specific people by name. Today at lunch, we prayed and thanked Jesus for the food and then he said, "mama izzy". So we prayed for Izzy. Then Zachary and Kristin, then Bethany (who were all at the table with us). Then he asked to pray for daddy. Then, sweet boy of mine, pointed to two men across the room and said "that pray". I asked him if he wanted to pray for the men and he said "pray men". So we prayed that if they didn't know Jesus, they would come to know him soon and that they would feel his love. It choked me up a bit to see my little one reaching out to strangers to pray for them. I know he doesn't understand what he's doing, but I do, and what a behavior to model at such an early age. Nathan, you're teaching mommy quite a bit about spending more time in prayer. Thank you little man!

If he sees a line or anything that looks like a balance beam he has to walk on it and calls it a beam.

Well, that's all I can think of for now, but I reserve the right to add more as I remember more! :) Thanks for hanging in through the details! It's such a blessing to parent this little one and I just don't want to forget anything!