No's and Naps

I'm starting to think Nathaniel has two definitions for the word NO (or na in his voice). One is the real definition. He displays this more and more. I'll give him a choice between two things to eat and he will shake his head NO to one of them. Or I'll ask if he wants to go upstairs and he will shake his head NO. The second definition is a little less clear, but I think he shakes his head when he doesn't really have any other reaction or when I am telling him NO. If I say NO he runs off saying 'na na na'. It is the only time he really says it, which is interesting. It is almost like he is mocking me. I'll say something like 'Are you drinking water?' and he will shake his head NO even though he is (and I know he knows it is his water). Or 'Is that Mickey Mouse on tv' and he will shake his head NO (and I know he knows Mickey Mouse).... not sure why these get a NO answer. Maybe NO also means YES in these circumstances.

 

Which brings me to this... he does not know YES. His version of yes is *no reaction* usually. If I ask something and he just looks at me it is his version of YES. We have now been trying to exaggerate our YES's. Hopefully this will help him catch on. He hasn't been too frustrated with the communication thing so that is good. Although every once in awhile he will throw out a YES in a right context. I haven't caught on to the pattern yet, but he sort of gets it in certain scenarios and can say the word.

 

Having a toddler is kind of like solving puzzles constantly. But a puzzle that cries or throws a tantrum if you don't solve it in a timely manner ;) Actually, he doesn't cry or throw tantrums too often (unless it is having him come inside or not allowing him to go outside). On occasion though he is a bit of a drama king for no reason. It cracks me up sometimes how absurd the situation is, but so REAL for him. You can suggest something as simple as a different book and WOWZA you regret that suggestion immediately. It is as if you don't understand that 'Billy Goats Gruff' for the 10th time in a row is completely reasonable and The Hungry Caterpillar is the worst book ever (even though tomorrow it will be the best book). Or don't suggest he stay off of the ottoman and crawl on the couch instead... bad idea. And if you are even thinking of putting the grated cheese away without offering him any... watch out. What? you were going to close the refrigerator door before allowing him to peek inside... good luck!!

 

I'll chalk up his drama king ways to his need to explore to learn. He couldn't possibly be turning into a miniature brat could he?!? In his words 'NA NA NA' ;)

 

Now onto his napping. A few weeks ago I declared him a one nap dude. He graduated to the next level. One nap a day. Well, he thinks he is a one nap a day kind of guy, but not so fast. What that really means is that he takes one nap a day in his crib. He is consistently sneaking in a morning nap, just not in his crib. He takes that nap in the car on the way to anywhere. I'll look in the back of the car and almost everyday, there he is .... sleeping soundly. He is so superdee duperdee cute I can't possibly wake him so I let him sleep. I know I'm a sucker mom with nothing pressing to get to, plus it almost guarantees me a pleasant afternoon because he is all rested and happy. There are days I wake him up and he truly does have one nap that day.

 

I can't hardly blame him since he gets this habit from my DNA. I have always had a tendency to sleep in the car from a very young age so it's hereditary. My dad always teased that I'd barely get out of the driveway and I'd be asleep. We traveled from Phoenix to Kingman a lot when I was a kid to visit family and it felt like the distance was 5 miles. I never remember the ride there. This was when the road was a lot worse too and it took longer. Sleeping in the car is awesome when you are a kid. Now I have to stay awake because I don't trust Kevin's driving HA! j/k I can still fall asleep, but I try not to for safety reasons.

 

Just remember if you see a momish looking person sitting around in a random part of a parking lot looking at her iphone she probably has a sleeping child in the back. A child who will use the word NO less because he is rested!

Veggies

Thus far vegetables have not been Nathaniel's favorite. Actually I take that back, he eats plenty of vegetables as long as they are pureed (not including my homemade puree (little booger) or from a restaurant. For some reason any whole vegetables that I make at home get the big *toss to the floor* or the *no no no headshake*. I know it is a little weird to still be giving him pureed anything, but I decided if it gets him a serving or two of veggies/fruit/protein why not? He still gets plenty of the finger foods to go along with it.

 

Like a Sherlock Holmes mystery I tried to figure out what the restaurant vegetables had that mine didn't. There was the obvious BUTTER/oil. Maybe it was just the excitement of eating out. Maybe the spices. My main conclusion was that mine were a little squishier than a restaurants. I tend to steam a whole batch and freeze it. The defrost process doesn't always leave the freshest tasting veggies. So I tried a different cooking method. I just do a small batch in the microwave and add a tiny bit of organic real butter and PRESTO. Green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and peas have all been eaten. I wouldn't say it is his favorite thing ever, but he eats them. Woo hoo. He has also suddenly started to love grape tomatoes and cucumbers. Those are so easy to fix, like fruit, so I am excited

 

In general Nathaniel is going through a little bit of an eating change. He is starting to turn down any of the puree's from a jar and his daily oatmeal. So while I solve one problem (veggies) other problems arise... murphy's law right. The oatmeal is more worrisome than the puree. He still doesn't eat meat. Not that I have tried a ton, but every time he is offered any he spits it back out. I think it is the texture. The puree's I'd choose always have some protein so he is missing out on a bit of that, but I can replace that in other areas. The oatmeal had some good vitamins, fiber and grains, which I don't have a great replacement for yet. Maybe the oatmeal will just be a phase. In the mean time I'm going to put a little undetectable wheat germ here or there.

 

On a side note he is getting better at using a spoon and fork. He ate 2/3 of a yogurt the other day with a spoon. Pretty good for him. Normally he uses the spoon for about 3 bites and gets bored. The fork is a little bit funny. He likes to poke at the food and then take it off the fork and eat it. I know some people push for a toddler to use a fork and spoon, but for now I figure as long as he gets what the point of it is I'm happy. I don't even always remember to give him a fork or spoon so that probably doesn't help haha. He will use them in due time and for the rest of his life, it is the only time you can eat like a cave man and no one cares :)

 

On another side note this poor kid is getting several teeth. Every time I get a glimpse in his mouth I swear I see another molar coming in. Right now I think he has four teeth that are half way erupted. 3 molars and the fourth one on the bottom front. He is drooling a bit and chewing on stuff. I assume because it feels good. I can't blame him.

What a Good Dog

One of the craziest questions I'd get while pregnant was 'Are you keeping your dogs?'... I'll never understand that question. Why wouldn't I keep my dogs? Why does having a kid mean you can't have animals. Animals are actually great for kids (unless they are vicious) When I adopted my dogs, I adopted them thinking about 10-15 years down the road. If we had kids or moved or a lot of other things I was committed to them. I was committed to still making them a big part of the family no matter what. Yes, it takes extra planning to make sure they get walked, etc., but it is worth it. I enjoy their company and really can't imagine not having them around.

 

And here is a little example of why 'I kept my dogs even though we have a kid' Mocha is such a good kid dog!

UUUuuuAAaaa

*UUUuuuAAaaa* that is that sound you make when you are surprised. You know the one that you breathe in and gasp a little? Nathaniel does this sound and it is funny. Sometimes he makes the sound because the ball isn't where it normally goes or Mocha just took the toy that he actually gave him. Or maybe he is copying me. I make that sound when he looks like he is going to fall :)

 

The funniest time he made this noise was at the zoo. We had just gotten off the carousel. We grabbed the stroller and were heading off. Nathaniel crawled onto a bench so i was watching him and not the bag of popcorn in my bag. The popcorn tipped over and spilled onto the ground. Nathaniel pointed and made his surprise face. I explained that it was ok. He then made the sound and pointed again. Cute, cute!... The carousel guy looked over and laughed. He said 'that is alright miss I got it'. Nathaniel again gasped and pointed to the spilled popcorn. By this time I was like 'I get it, I spilled popcorn, geez'. It was pretty cute though how he couldn't get over it.

Picture Time

18 months, 1 groupon, 8 emails to photographer, 6 clothing purchase returns, 2 appointment changes, 3 location drive-bys ....and we finally had a professional family picture done. I'm seriously shocked we ever got it together. I'm not a huge fan of having my picture taken so that aided in the procrastination. Last wed. we had our photography session.

 

We tried to get pictures done in the Fall, but the photographer was booked until Christmas so we waited until spring. Then I had to cancel our first appt. because of rain. Then the 10 day forecast kept switching from rain/no rain for our new scheduled day. I was starting to think no matter when I scheduled the appt. it was going to rain. It ended up not raining, but was unseasonably warm (80+humidity). That temperature isn't horrible, but when you have the family in pants and sweaters it can get a little warm (mostly me). It went down to a cool perfect 65 by the next day :(

 

Waiting until Spring to take the pictures seemed like a good idea at the time. What I hadn't anticipated by waiting until spring was how active an 18 month old is... especially around dirt and rocks. While he is the cutest thing in the picture he is also the most mobile. I'll be surprised if there are 10 pictures where one part of his body isn't blurry from moving! Or 10 pictures that he doesn't have dirty hands from holding rocks and touching gross stuff. I'm told 'boys will be boys' At one point we were throwing a disgusting water bottle lid that he found 10 ft in front of him to fetch just so he'd look towards the camera... yep he was basically a kid-dog at that point. The dogs would have been proud of his retrieving ability.

 

It will still be a few weeks until we get our pictures, but I'll be sure to share (well if there are any good ones haha).

 

Here are a couple of fun pictures from the past week. Enjoy.

 

The first pic is his cute scrunchy face... and I like his cool guy look in the 3rd :o)

Cherry Blossoms (and ASU fan club) pic

Nap Time!!

 

Shy and Skinny

 

Nathaniel has always been a pretty easy going guy. He is usually happy, easily amused and friendly. Well, over the last few weeks he has become quite shy. I am hoping this is just a stage he is going through. I had started to notice in stores that when people would say 'hi' to him, or the cashier would talk to him, he would turn his head all shy. I hadn't realized how bad it was until we started the 'mommy and me' music class again.

 

The last music class we had been to was towards the end of fall. Our instructor had a baby and took some time off. The first class back was about 2 weeks ago and was interesting. I wondered what would happen because I saw this shyness creeping in. The minute we walked into class he grasped on to me like it was armageddon. He had his head buried in my shoulder. He didn't cry or anything, but he wasn't about to let go. He sort of looked once and made eye contact with the teacher and back in to my shoulder he went. Luckily, half way through class he was walking around, but no real interest in class. I was just happy he was confident enough to be walking around not holding on to me. The next class it took a little less time for him to let go of me, but still not his old self.   The people in the class that know him are so surprised by his shyness because he was so happy go lucky when they last saw him.  He does a little better at the library class - not sure why?

 

Another time that I saw the severity of his shyness was at a teacher supply store. He was walking around the store just goofing around. He went about 15 feet from me, but in complete eye sight. One of the workers leaned over and talked to him. He turned into a statue. A super petrified statue. He put his face next to what he was looking at and wouldn't move. The worker said, 'I think he is going...' by that time I was already there and she was right... he was about to cry. He was scared stiff... literally. I scooped him up. He didn't cry, but I got an earful. I'm not sure what he was saying, but he was definitely telling me something.

 

It is so weird to see him transform. He will be enjoying himself walking around somewhere (zoo, store, wherever) but once a person comes near he grabs on to your legs and wants picked up. I figure I'll just keep on keeping on and hope he feels comfortable again. My sister made a lot of sense when she said, 'He is more aware now'. That is true. Now he gets that there are people he doesn't recognize and he is probably trying to sort that out in his brain.

 

We obviously aren't around a lot of people we know since we don't hardly know anyone, which doesn't help. But I was happy to see him warm up pretty quickly at a happy hour we went to the other day with some people that work with Kevin. Nathaniel was super shy for about 10 minutes, but started warming up to the table. By the end he was flirting a little with his big smile and playing like nothing was bothering him. Yay!

 

Ok, now on to skinny.... I mentioned awhile back about how when the seasons change I have zero clothes for the kid. The weather has been warming up so I needed some shorts. I figured it was a sign when we were playing outside and he was super sweaty :) I went out and got him a few pairs to start out the season. I put them on and he walked off all normal and about 2 seconds later the shorts were around his ankles. They just fell right off. They were too big. I wish I had that problem!!! Anyway, I tried the next pair... around his ankles. One pair lasted about 1/2 hour. He was outside with Kevin and I guess the humidity stretched them out because all of a sudden he was in the front yard with his pants down. Funny. Apparently, size 24 months is not going to work unless they tie or have size adjusters built in. His shirts are all size 2 or 24 months and fit fine. Last year's shorts are too tight and too short (he looked like a creepy coach haha) So off I go to find a few more.

It's a First

The weather was in the low 70s this weekend. Perfect spring weather. The cherry blossoms are blooming and are so gorgeous. They look like perfect pink puffs. We couldn't wait to get outside and take it all in. For me there is a small window between perfect weather/no bugs and too hot/bugs. I have already seen a few bees buzz by.... boo! I wish Buzz from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse could change my thinking about bees, but NO. There is even a cute cartoon called The Hive on Disney Jr. channel. Those bees could not be cuter, but still not changing my mind.

 

We decided to go to the city park. This particular park has a ton of playground equipment and a walking path. Sooooo we took the dogs too. It is our first trip with all 5 of us in the car. We thought for sure we had done it before, but nope. We take walks all the time, but in our neighborhood so we don't all hop in the car. Kevin and Mocha sat in the front - Kona, me and Nate in the back. It went pretty well except for Kona wishing she had more room in the backseat. We all unloaded at the park and had a nice stroll. Nate got to go on the swing and be scared of anyone that looked his way (more about this later). It was cute how Kona would look for Nate and Kevin in the play area and get excited when they would head our way. The dogs got a lot of attention as I walked them around the play area boundary. I think it is so funny how all the kids think Mocha is a dalmatian. They get so excited... 'look a dalmatian!!' When we left I figured we should be fair so Kona got the front seat on the way home while Mocha laid across my lap in the back. Fun times.

 

Because of the nice weather we were obviously outside a lot. Nathaniel loves to run up and down a little hill we have in our front yard. It gives me a slight heart attack each time because he is basically in a slightly controlled fall/run as he barrels downhill towards the sidewalk/road. He laughs the whole time and loves it. We wait at the bottom to scoop him up before the sidewalk. After about 20 of these he ran off down the sidewalk. This is where he fell. He was in shorts since the weather was nice. This made for a scraped knee. His first scrape. He looks like a real boy now :)

 

Nathaniel's first Bocce ball game. It looked like a strong man competition the way he would lift those balls. Of course he didn't really play, but he had a great time moving those balls around.

 

 

Boogers

I thought about what to call this post. After some thinking there is no better way to title this post other than 'Boogers'. I have been super fortunate. Nathaniel has not had a cold his entire life (knock on wood) ... until last week. (In full disclosure he had a bit of a stomach thing once when we got home from PHX. It only lasted for a day, but that could have been just travelling, not sure). Anyway, he got a bit of the common cold last week. Thank goodness my first sickness with him was a mild common cold. No fever really, no coughing, no sneezing really, no anything really..... other than BOOGERS. haha.

 

I had a package of grape flavored boogie wipes that I had bought before he was born and it hasn't even been opened. That is how little we have wiped his nose.

 

I honestly had no idea how gooey and green and sticky and resilient and stretchy boogers were. Really I had no idea. Grabbing boogers may be worse than poopy diapers. Of course the little dude did not want me near his nose. I was playing a complex game of cat and mouse with an 18 month old trying to get something that I didn't even want. Just when I think I have it (the booger) it ricochets back up into his nose.... there is some serious stretch in those things. So then it becomes a waiting game for that big disgusting mass to show its face again.

 

I became quite skilled in what I like to call 'the sneak' I don't let him see me coming and I reach around and try to grab it before he has time to maneuver away. Sometimes sans kleenex. You have to do what you have to do before it ends up in some mysterious part of the house or your hair or on your shirt! Nathaniel learned to wipe his nose on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin's shirts were all goobed.

 

Part of me thinks he should just let me blow his nose, right? - why isn't he just letting me and behaving? Then I realize (thank goodness) that he hasn't been sick so why would he have any idea what I was doing or want me to do it. I assume over time I'll be able to teach him.

 

I must admit I've always heard of kids *flinging* their boogers and figured it was just a saying, but now having seen what a little kid booger is made out of they probably can *fling* those suckers. Now that I have had the wonderful opportunity to be up and close with kid boogers they are crazy gross!! I'm pretty sure they are made out of a mix of tomatillo salsa and that stuff they use to stick gift cards to the packaging (you know that glop of glue stuff).

 

Appetizing post huh ;)

18 month appt

9/30 - He was born and was 21 inches tall and 8 lbs 7 oz
10/11 - He was 11 days old and was 21 inches tall and 8 lbs 9 oz
10/24 - He was 3 and 3/7 wks old and was 21 3/4 inches tall and 9 lbs 9 oz
12/1 - He is 2 months old and 24 inches tall and 11 lbs 10 oz

1/20 - He is 3 1/2 months old and 25 3/4 inches tall and 14 lbs 8 oz

3/30 - He is 6 months old and 27 inches tall and 17 lbs 4 oz
6/28 - He is a lil under 9 months old and 28 3/4 inches tall and 20 lbs 12 oz
10/1 - He just turned one and is 30 3/4 inches tall and 22 lbs 11 oz

1/3 - He is 15 months old and 32 1/4 inches tall and almost 24 lbs

4/1 - He is 18 months old and 33 inches tall and 24 lbs 15 oz

 

 

The 18 month wellness check was on Monday. It was on April Fool's day so I kept telling Nathaniel that he wouldn't have to get a shot... then I would say 'April Fool's'. I'm so mean. Luckily (hopefully) he doesn't understand. He got his final vaccine of the newborn vaccines. He only had to get one on this trip. It is SSOOOOO nice to be done with vaccines (at least for awhile). He handled this one like a trooper. He fussed a bit, but no real tears. YAY. I'm sure I'm happier than he is. So glad not to have my little guy poked at the next visit. It is so stressful deciding to get vaccines and which ones and just hoping he doesn't have any adverse reactions. Besides a little sluggish and a slight fever all went well (knock on wood). Just glad to have it behind us.

 

 

We hit a big milestone. Now our next appointment isn't for 6 months instead of the usual 3. I am not sure how I feel about that happening. I kind of like checking in with an unbiased source every 3 months. I think I need someone to check my work. I was always the student running to the teacher to make sure my work was correct. I need that confirmation now too :) Not that the Dr. really says too much, but at least I leave knowing Nathaniel is healthy and on some sort of right track. At least from what the Dr. can tell in a 15 min appt.

 

 

We didn't have nearly as many questions for our Dr. this appt as we have had in the past. I'm not sure why. I guess things don't quite change as much as they did in that first year. We did want to double check his language skills with her. She said he looks and acts like a typical 18 month old and not to worry if he isn't saying as many words as we want. She just reassured us that he'll get there and boys can be slower. Why she isn't worried is because his receptive skills are just fine. Usually, if there are red flags with speech, the receptive skills are lacking at this point. I guess we will wait and see.

 

 

He is picking some funny words to start saying consistently... besides mom and dad.... he says choo choo and star.... out of all the words he hears on a daily basis ...he is saying those 2. Funny huh. Not dog or go or up... choo choo and star. He has 2 other words he says all the time, but I don't quite know what they are referring to. One might be about the dogs, but I can't be sure. He says 'na' for no. I'd rather he be saying 'yes' ;) He has some others, but I will wait until they are consistent and I'll start making a running list of Nate words *Word Fun with Nate*

 

 

Let's see... something I think I usually forget to mention about his Dr. visits is that he always measures big for head size. Apparently he has a big head! Let's hope his skull is bigger and thicker too since he tends to bump it more than I'd like. I'm sure he is normal, but for a first time mom every head bump (no matter how small) seems like a monumental emergency.

 

 

The next Dr. appt update will be at 2 years. 6 MONTHS AWAY - FOREVER!! But, no shots YAY

Moose Munch

Who hasn't had moose munch? It is tasty (and probably overpriced), but tasty.  This is a new nickname I like to call Nathaniel.  Seems silly.  He doesn't look like a moose.. we don't have any moose nearby... we don't actually have any moose munch to eat so it isn't his favorite snack or anything.. so why the nickname? 

Well, it seems that half his wardrobe has a moose on it.  I don't know how it happened.  Winter = moose (is meese the plural of moose because moose's sounds funny) ... anyway.  I can't resist a cute moose shirt or pajamas.  There was a pajama set that had moose's on it.  I started tickling him when he was wearing his green moose pj set and saying ' how is my little moose munch, moosey munch, moooose muuuunch' he was giggling.  Then every time he was wearing a moose I'd say 'aaahhh you are my little moose munch again today'.  Well, I was saying it more than I thought I would.  Seriously half his wardrobe has moose on it.  Can you imagine if I wore moose shirts half the time... haha.  I guess Kevin wears ASU shirts at least half the time (probably 90% of the time).  I'm not sure how it happened, but MOOSE was the theme of the winter.  So worth it though, meese/moose's are cute. 

Everyone thinks that shopping for boys clothes is so boring compared to girls, but it still can be fun.  The girls section is always about 3 times as large making it innately more fun.  It is possible that the lack of variety in the boys section has me buying so many moose shirts.  Every once in awhile I glance over at the girls section.  Lately I have noticed the cutest nautical summer dresses and I think to myself... maybe I'll try one on Nate because they are so darn cute, but luckily for him (and Kevin) there is a lot of cute nautical boys wear too ;) (he has been called a girl on several different occasions so he could probably pull off a dress... it is that blonde hair)  As spring peeked around the corner the other day I started to think about how Nate doesn't have any summer clothes.  With every season comes a new wardrobe for the little guy.  He has zero shorts or tshirts that fit him from last summer.  This is when I try and take advantage of coupons and sales and buy some shorts here and there preparing for summer.  When winter hit I didn't have a jacket or long sleeve shirts for him for weeks.  Poor kid froze in tshirts and no jacket. 

As I started to look around at summer stuff I haven't seen many moose shirts.  Could it be the end of 'Moose Munch'  Say it isn't so, so sad. 

Naptime Example

Case in point.... here is Nathaniel after a short car ride today.  Silly boy.  It was an hour before his afternoon nap was suppose to happen.  I carried him in and laid him on the couch thinking it would wake him up... not so much.  An hour later (after a transfer to his crib) he woke up. 

Naptime

Naptime, naptime, naptime, naptime. Naptime has always been a 'see what works' thing for me. I tend to let Nathaniel lead the way. I just watch for signs and patterns and work them into our daily routine. He was a no napper/sometimes cat napper when he was real small. Then I started to notice when he'd sleep after feedings and set that as his nap schedule. He fell into a 3 nap a day schedule for awhile. These were usually an hour or less. Than after a few months he started transitioning. He'd take less of a midday nap. So I just weeded it out. He then took two naps a day. The morning nap was always shorter. This has been quite consistent for awhile. Long enough for me to take that 'ME' time for granted :)

 

The morning nap has been my showering/eating breakfast time. Well..... now Nathaniel has officially dropped that morning nap. We are down to one afternoon nap. Over the last several weeks as I'd put him down for his morning nap, he would just move around and chit chat to himself upstairs. I'd watch through the monitor and laugh. I'd go up after 5 minutes and give him a little *shooshing* *it's naptime* and leave and see what would happen. 50/50 he would go to sleep, then it become 25/75 and now it is 0/100. Officially ending the morning nap. (If I could only convince him that when he is an adult he will LOVE and WISH he had time to nap freely)

 

It is throwing me for a loop (several confusing loops). 1) I now have to change my shower/breakfast routine. He wanders around my room as I get ready. It is working for now. He just explores, bugs the dogs, watches a little Mickey Mouse club and pretty much empties my cabinets. 2) He plays with my mind sometimes because he looks sleepy off and on. He will sometimes lay on the floor and look tired, but if I take him up to his crib he doesn't sleep. 3) If we go somewhere before noon he falls asleep in the car unless it is super close. I can't just stop going anywhere so I'm hoping this is just part of the transition. 4) His eating/milk schedule is all a little off. Everything is pushed up a bit so he can take his afternoon nap earlier than the old afternoon nap time. He used to wake up around 4 or 4:30 - have some milk - 5:30ish have dinner. Well now he wakes up around 3ish. So if he has dinner an hour or hour and a half after he wakes up he'd be eating at 4... so that doesn't work. I have to figure out some sort of consistent snack/smoothie thing I guess.

 

I figure it will take us a couple of weeks for the kinks to work out. One thing is for sure I feel like our afternoons are so much longer. I'm worried he's bored. I swear we do every activity twice and it will be a total of a 1/2 hour. I don't know why it feels so different, but it does. Losing that hour in the morning and then the moved up afternoon naptime just really switched things up. I'm sure I felt this way with every change, but now that he looks more to me for entertainment I feel the pressure :) I have to step up my game (no wonder so many people pin toddler activity ideas on pinterest). If I don't it is going to feel like a weird toddler version of Ground Hog Day EVERY DAY.  I wonder if I can talk him into a 1/2 hour of snuggle/hug time... doubt it... I think at this point I'm the only one that can't get enough of that activity.

First Easter Egg Hunt

I have had Nathaniel on an intense egg hunt training regimen for weeks.  I'd time his egg finding abilities and try to shave seconds off his time.  He'd look at me impressed with his time and I'd yell, 'NO, faster... Let's Go Again!'   I'd make him find only certain color eggs.  If he got the wrong color I'd throw it down on the ground in a fit of rage and say, 'This is light blue, I said regular blue' Even though he isn't even 3 ft tall there were eggs hidden at 4ft.  After 49 hunts he looked thirsty, but he knew he only got water after 10 hunts that beat the 1 min mark. 3 hrs a day, 7 days a week we've practiced.  It all boiled down to March 16 at 1400 hours.  This was where our hard work would pay off.

The neighborhood HOA's annual Easter Egg Hunt.     

 

We left early to make sure we got there in time for Nate to stretch.  He cruised up in his yellow/blue truck hoping to intimidate the others. (of course dad was pushing, but he steered like he was driving the truck on his own)

 

 

When the Easter bunny first showed up Nate was really thrown off his game.  I think the pressure of the hunt was finally becoming real.  He hid from the bunny behind Kevin's legs for awhile.  I want to say the bunny scared him, but I really think Nate just wanted to stay focused on the upcoming egg hunt.  He managed to avoid the Easter bunny the entire time.  Good strategy I think. 

The Easter bunny called his age group *Up to 3 years old*  Nathaniel and I sized up the competition.  There were a couple of kids older and a few younger.  Some had sandals - SANDALS! - we laughed and knew we had the edge against them.  Nate was armed with super duper aero dynamic tennis shoes.  There were flags outlining the boundary of the egg hunt.  Nate decided to play up his age (or lack there of) and innocently walk along the boundary... every once in awhile crossing the flag line.  Yes, he scouted the eggs before the race.  It did seem like he was more interested in the flags than the eggs, but I think it was all part of the *act*   

 

Uh, nothing going on here - but I'm pretty sure there is an egg there

 

The egg hunt was about to begin.  I reminded him of our training.  I reminded him that 2nd place is the first loser.  I then recited Herb Brooks 'Miracle on Ice' speech... you know the one .." Great moments are born from great opportunity.... yada yada...This is your time.  Now go out there and take it"  Then it happened.  The Easter Bunny yelled 'Ready, Set, Go'

I believe he was still playing up the innocent act so I joined in and pointed to an egg or two to get him started. 

 

 

 

He quickly picked up speed.  One, two, three eggs...

 

 

Then something crazy happened.  Stuff fell out of the egg.  We didn't practice for this scenario.  I could only hope our hours of preparation would help him handle the challenge alone.  He was distracted.  He fell to his knees and played with the jelly beans all spread across the grass.  Then the grass distracted him.  The dry grass was sticking to his hands.  (his hands were probably sweaty with anticipation for the hunt).  'Look alive out there' I yelled.  He got up and the hunt was back on. 

 

 

We came, we conquered! 

More eggs, gimme more eggs

 

That was SO FUN - time for a nap

 

 

Seuss Dilemma

"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere". That is no lie. When you read Dr. Seuss books funny things are everywhere. It is fun to say all those goofy phrases and rhymes. Fun until.... Nathaniel actually points to something and wants to know what it is. This happens a lot now. He points to letters and pictures and expects you to tell him. This is super easy most of the time - Dog, cat, tree, balloon, ball, Z, X, S, G.... etc. But, this is not so easy in Dr. Seuss books. He points to creatures (this is the best word I can think of) and I have no idea what to say. If they resemble something I'll say bear or dog... but most of the time the creatures don't resemble anything.

 

A Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz? A Fiffer Feffer Feff? A Gack? A Wump? A Who? The creatures usually look like crosses between birds and dogs, with big bellies and goofy hair. So what do you say? HHHHmmmm? I love how imaginations can go wild and Dr. Seuss is a master at this. That creative side of the brain is so fun to watch. But, do you think Nathaniel is wondering if a duck-dog will walk by outside? Or if there is a Thing that won't stop singing somewhere? Or if there are fish wearing hats in the ocean?

 

This is something I think about at the zoo too. All the books where animals are talking and cooking and saving the world... hahaha.. makes you wonder how kids deal with what is real and what is fantasy in those developing brains.

 

"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!"

 

Thank you Dr. Seuss for giving me this dilemma as I read to Nathaniel. As I try to tell him what it is he is pointing at, I myself have to relearn some creative answering! It's fun actually! And hard!

 

Here is a picture of Nathaniel enjoying one of his favorite things. Is there anywhere better than dad's lap? - well maybe mom's lap ;)

 

"Today was GREAT. Today was FUN. Tomorrow is another one" One thing is for sure, Dr. Seuss knew how to capture a feeling through simple (beginner reader) words.

 

 

 

The Wave

Such a simple gesture, but one which has eluded Nathaniel. We show him all the time. When Kevin goes to work we always exaggerate it just so he sees us doing it. I really just don't think he cares that someone is leaving. He is never alone without one of us. Ever. Seriously. With very few friends and no family around he hasn't really ever been babysat. 4 times I think in total (Once in phx by my sis when Kevin and I went to Wal-mart, Once by my friend Meredith when Kevin had a conflict with an appt I had scheduled, Once by my mom when Kevin and I met my dad out for some gambling in Laughlin and Once by Kevin's parents when we went to dinner - and the last two were after he went to bed). I really think he doesn't believe it is necessary to say goodbye because one of us is always with him. This goodbye/hello seems like a waste of time to him I guess. I can see him thinking to himself, 'yeah whatever you guys never leave' Through the months he has hinted at knowing what we are doing, but never a full wave.

 

Now, I know he gets it when someone shows up and leaves. He grasps the concept. For instance when he hears the garage open when Kevin is getting home from work he yells 'Dad, dad, dad' very excitedly. Another example is how he pauses when Kevin shuts the door in the morning to leave, but resumes playing once he hears the garage close.

 

Just recently there may have been a breakthrough.... he must be finally tired of us showing him how to wave and figured he better just do it so we'll get over it already :)

 

I took this video for another reason, but discovered the elusive wave has been captured. We went to the zoo on Saturday and this is him on the carousel (a detail I'm sure you would have figured out on your own). Side Note: Nathaniel was most interested in collecting rocks along the zoo pathways rather than actually looking at any animals. He LOVES rocks. We went to an animal show with birds flying around and he was in the back collecting rocks. Goofy kid.
 

Duds Instead of Suds

I give up. It seems a little early to give up, but I think I do. My intentions are good. I just want Nathaniel to have a bath time blast. In an effort to ensure a bath time blast I have bought several seemingly super cool bath toys. A whale that squirts water out of his spout while flashing lights. A fish that swims and pulls along a baby fish. A penguin on a boat that glides along the water. Doesn't that sound like a blast? All of these mechanical toys have turned out to be stupid. Do I just have bad luck with bath toys or do bath toys not live up to expectations? HHHmmmm please weigh in if you have similar examples.

 

The blue whale stopped blowing water out his spout so I figured it was in need of a battery change. When I opened the *sealed* battery compartment a gush of gooby water flowed out on to the counter. The batteries were corroded. I cleaned it out, changed the batteries... no luck. Even when it was working the toy was only mildly amusing. The one time it caught Nate's attention it squirted him in the face.

 

The fish that pulls along a baby fish works by winding up a knob. You set it in the water and watch his fins flap and swim. Only one fin worked so it just would swim in circles... if at all.

 

The last of the duds is the penguin on a boat that skims the water. You pull his string, set him in the water and watch him go. This one actually works but the string sends him about 2 inches. By the time you point out the penguin to Nathaniel it has already stopped going. After doing this 3 stooges routine roughly 10 times - "Wind, Nate look, Hold on, wind, Nate look, hold on, wind, Nate look, hold on' I gave up. Why make a bath toy that skims the water for 2 seconds.

 

All duds! All of them. I guess regular ol' splish splash sploshing will have to do.

 

Mom thinks she buys cool toys... hahahahahaha .. that is funny!

 

 

 

Today's Cartoons

I know I know .... you aren't suppose to let your kids watch more than 10 minutes of tv a week and that is only after they turn 11, but I have been breaking the rules. SSSHHHH. There are cartoons on the tv here a couple of times during the day. THE HORROR I know. The kid has about a 2 minute attention span so most of the cartoons end up being background noise. Well I should say background noise until a song comes on. Any song in any cartoon gets at least a head turn from Nathaniel. Those cartoon songs are catchy.
 

Over the span of 16 months I've been able to form an opinion about some of the cartoons being shown. The cartoons I've seen are a small % of what is actually out there so this is far from a thorough review. I tend to look for appropriate cartoons for his age on Disney Jr., Nickelodeon Jr., NPT and Sprout TV. I had never even heard of Sprout TV until I had Nathaniel and I couldn't have told you where the other channels were in the cable line up.

So here are my thoughts on a few cartoons. What is sad is when I notice that I am watching the cartoon and Nate isn't anywhere to be seen. He is either napping or playing with Kevin. I'll catch myself singing along and then realize it is me and the dogs. Admittedly, I'm usually looking at the computer or something, but still it is slightly embarrassing and in part the reason I have thoughts on cartoons.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - All I have to say is Mickey Mouse will be popular forever. I wondered how Mickey and Minnie stayed so popular. Now I know, they still have a cartoon. It is impossible to not like lovable Mickey. Those big friendly eyes and friendly voice. Nathaniel can point him out anywhere. The Mickey Mouse clubhouse song and The Hot Dog song are favorites around here. I even used the Hot Dog song on my iphone during a Dr's appt to distract him. I myself love Pluto. Shocking huh? Yep, I *heart* all dogs! The cartoon is cute and has educational components like counting, colors and problem solving.

Sid the Science Kid - Yep a cartoon after my own heart. Even if Nathaniel doesn't like this one we are watching it. haha. Nathaniel is a little young for this cartoon and it doesn't really keep his attention, but he loves the songs and unique looking characters (at least they seem to catch his eye when they dance around). I like how this cartoon combines some interesting learning concepts with both cartoon and real kid examples. You could easily follow up this cartoon with a fun project and comprehension questions. No comments from the peanut gallery here - I swear I won't make Nate a nerd!

Dinosaur Train - 'We all ride ride ride ride.... the dinosaur train... ROAR' This cartoon has an actual paleontologist that does some snippets of facts about dinosaurs. The characters are very brightly colored and fun to watch. The Dinosaur train travels to different time periods (Jurassic, Triassic, Cretaceous) and the story focuses on meeting different dinosaurs in different environments. This again is probably for a little bit of an older kid, but I think it is a neat idea for a cartoon.

Caliou - This cartoon really annoyed me at first. There was something kind of wimpy about the main character. He seemed too pathetic... I don't know. It is done in all primary colors and they make the mom look a little frumpy. There is always some sort of feel good lesson. Don't get me wrong, I like feel good lessons, but something about it just rubbed me wrong. That being said, all of a sudden it was like I just got it. Caliou has turned into a cute little boy to me that is just finding his way. I think he is younger in the cartoon than I originally thought so it gave me a new perspective. I must admit primary colors are probably exactly what Nathaniel loves so who am I to judge that??? There is less singing in this cartoon and more storytelling. I did notice at Christmastime all Caliou stuff was sold out.

Berenstein Bears - I have so many fond memories of reading Berenstein bear books growing up. I had no idea there was a cartoon. Like Caliou it focuses on feel good lessons. Remember to say THANK YOU, learn to share, try new things... etc. You know how there is comfort food? Well this is my comfort cartoon because I really loved those stories as a kid. This cartoon doesn't catch Nathaniel's interest at all at this point, but sometimes when we are sitting drinking milk it will happen to be on so we watch it for a few minutes (mostly for me, plus I'll take Nate lap cuddles anytime)

WordWorld - This cartoon gets my vote for most inventive. Most objects in this cartoon are formed using the letters that spell out the objects name. For instance the BARN is done by taking the letters B A R N and shaping them into a cute barn. There are some fun main characters. The animation is simple and catchy. It goes over spelling and letters several times during an episode. I just think it is a really nice way to teach spelling. Nathaniel laughs every time the intro comes on. There is a dog that jumps around and he smiles at it.

Super Why! - I had read a facebook post once from a dad that was complaining that Super Why was just about a bunch of whiney kids. After watching it - it is sort of true. That being said this might tie Mickey Mouse clubhouse as Nate's favorite. He points out the super letters and seems to be listening to the story. I find it entertaining and I like that the stories and characters are based on fairy tales. If Nate is going to listen to and enjoy the alphabet song - who am I to complain.

 

Little Einsteins - The intro song to this show could be his second favorite song behind the Hot Dog song. I even sing the intro (albeit wrong) during difficult diaper changes and it usually makes him smile and sit still. This cartoon always picks a piece of artwork and music and builds a little adventure around it. I love hearing the classical music and being reminded of the composers. Any time Nathaniel can be exposed to music (real music) it is a great thing - especially since his dad's favorite music is the top 40 hits. Someone needs to teach him to have taste in music ;o)

 

That is a snippet of what Nathaniel is allowed (and seems to enjoy at least for a few minutes) to watch at age 17 months (in moderation of course and not all at once). By the time he reads this I bet they will all be off the air except Mickey Mouse. I wish I could commit to 'NO TV', but I'd be lying to myself. Plus, so far I'm impressed with these cartoons. They don't really seem too bad, especially when he needs a little quiet time to relax from running around constantly or I need a few minutes to do something or I just want Nate lap cuddles. I know I know the horror the horror.... don't tell other moms I allow tv.

Look! Nate and Kona enjoy watching tv the same way!

 

Rookie Move Maybe

I figure I need to let Nathaniel explore his artistic side some more. I bought him a set of dry erase markers thinking, 'How Fun'. It started out with him just moving the markers around the house. It was fun to roll them on the floor. It was fun to hand them to Mocha (and fun to watch mom chase Mocha to get the marker back). Then it became fun to take the lids off and set them on the ground. Then it was fun to try and put the lids back on (50/50 chance of getting it in the right side of the cap). AND finally it was fun to actually draw on the dry erase board. When I say draw it is basically some lines and dots - but hey everyone needs to start somewhere.

 

This all sounds good. Sounds like fun. Well, putting the caps on the markers has been quite interesting. His hands, face, shirt, my hands, probably Mocha's face, all have marker on them. I may have given him markers a bit too early. One thing I noticed is that he is using them more than the crayons. I wonder if it is because they show up brighter and are easy to use. Sometimes it is hard to see results if you use light pressure with the crayons.

 

That being said, I might put the markers away for a bit :( I will bring them out sometimes since they do seem pretty washable actually. It came right off his white shirt. Not to let the dry erase board go to waste I did go grab some dry erase crayons and I hope he will like those. I should note that his favorite thing to do with crayons is to take them out and put them back in the box. Future engineer maybe ;) I bought some Melissa and Doug brand crayons that are triangular and supposedly stronger. Those do seem to be outlasting the large Crayola crayons. Actually, when we were at the toy store they have a table of paper and crayons. Instead of sitting there to draw he grabbed 2 handfuls of crayons and ran around the store... Future hoarder maybe!