Nathan's Work Bench

Nathan spends a good part of each morning being productive at his work bench. There are nails to hammer, buttons to press, wood to saw and a robot that makes funny noises when Nathan does certain things. One thing that cracks me up is his selection of seat. Weeks ago, he spent time testing out the sit-ability of many toys in the room: both of the blue bowls, his little drum, his medium-sized dump truck. Much to Brian and my relief, he finally realized that none of them were stable enough to act as a seat, until he found the perfectly proportioned steering wheel. And, as a bonus, it makes car noises when he sits down and/or rolls around!

One of Nathan's favorite parts about the work bench is that it provides a perfect location for stashing his plate of snacks and sippy cup. That way he has everything within arm's reach!

The other amusing thing about the work bench is how it tends to migrate around the living room. Although Nathan has a wheeled seat, he prefers to pull the work bench towards him after he sits down, and by the end of the day it can end up on the opposite side of the room from where it started.

Happy Easter!

My good intentions for a clever and well written post went by the wayside as I got swept up in the endless abyss that is blog-surfing. But I do want to get this up tonight, so we're making this short and sweet.

1. Happy Easter to everyone! We had an ok day yesterday. Everyone was nicely dressed for church, especially Nathan in his vest, tie and seersucker pants. Yes, these pants happen to be the same ones he wore last Easter, although I will admit that they were too big for him last year. I think I had to pin both sides with safety pins to keep them from falling down. This year they fit perfectly. Hopefully next year they will just be a fond memory!

2. Nathan was also teething yesterday and ended up running a high fever in the afternoon. He has cut tooth #8 on the bottom right side. Brian also said it looked like one of his bottom molars was blanching the gums, so who know when it may make its appearance. But the downside of all this is that our plans for having Easter dinner with the O'Neals and the Majors had to be revised. Brian went for the first part of the gathering while Nathan and I hung around outside, then we switched and I headed over for some ham and some company.

3. Nathan's first Easter Basket! A big thanks to Aunt Karen for all the great books to add to our library! And also to cousin Tim and cousin-ette Laurie for the chocolate Easter Bunny! (cousin-ette is Brian's terms... Tim is Brian's third cousin on his mother's side who also happen to be a resident at Wake Forest) I added the empty Easter eggs for decorative effect, although Nathan has enjoyed trying to open and close them. I guess I'm going to have to put a little more effort next year, but thanks to those who took up the slack this year!

The Running of the Bulls, er... Cats

Nathan invented this new game that he loves! It requires the cats to be sitting on opposite couches in the living room. Then he just runs back and forth between them, sometimes giving them kisses if he slows down long enough!

An Evening at the Park

A week ago Friday, we had a fabulous family outing to Tanglewood Park. Brian was post-call on Friday, which gave him an even longer weekend then usual, so I mentioned that I would love to do something fun and different as a family. It was BEAUTIFUL on Friday so we decided to pack a picnic dinner and investigate a toddler playground at Tanglewood that I had heard about from other moms in my playgroup.

The toddler playground was fantastic. Everything was relatively low to the ground, lots of little slides and steering wheels, a sandbox and swings. Nathan's favorite attraction turned out to be the biggest slide, but since it was enclosed and we didn't have to worry about Nathan falling off the sides, Brian and I were comfortable letting Nathan slide down by himself.


Of course, Daddy was at the bottom as the catcher...


...and I was up on the top side making sure he didn't accidentally fall.


Nathan looks kind of a dazed look here, but he really loved it and probably went down the slide 15 times before we called it quits.

As it was got to be dinner time, we headed back to the car and drove over to investigate the other playground area which was near the lake. We ended up sitting on a blanket by the lake to eat dinner and Nathan ate his first sandwich! Soybutter and strawberry jelly - yummy, right? (We have decided not to give Nathan peanut butter until he's 2, so this was what I bought to try instead. Its... marginal, in my opinion.) Actually the sandwich was a success, partially due to the fact that Nathan was pretty hungry by the time we actually started eating. We spent quite a while by the lake, watching the ducks and enjoying the beautiful scenery and lovely weather. What a wonderful evening with my two favorite guys!

Wishful Thinking and the "Potty Sign"

Before we begin, I wanted to let everyone know that I have recently instituted a "no computer except when Nathan is asleep" rule for myself.  I was wasting time on the computer during the day and then Nathan would want to get on and listen to music / play his "Babysmash" game and whenever I told him "no" he would get all tantrum-y.  So, the solution?  "Mama's computer went bye-bye" as I explained it to him.  The results have been good all around except for the continued dearth of blog posts.  But I guess if everyone, including me, lowers their standards, we'll be good to go!

Also this week has been pretty rough, with Brian working until 7 most nights and I've been super beat after these long days.  So hopefully I'll do better about posting next week, even taking into account some lower standards!

Is it too wishful to think to have my son potty trained soon?  Like within the next few months?  Hardly anybody has their kid potty trained that early these days, especially little boys (although somehow our parents and grandparents seemed to have it under control a generation or two ago).  But there are signs of hope that I've latched on to.

1. He loves his potty, toilet paper and flushing the toilet.  Nathan always wants to accompany me when I go to the bathroom.  I make the announcement that "Mommy needs to go potty" and he'll drop whatever he's doing to run into the bathroom with me.  He's really good about closing the door after he barges in (when I ask him to), so that's nice.  He also really likes the toilet paper, but I've made a rule that I will give him one square of TP after he sits down on his little potty.  He only gets ONE square and he may not get it himself (because, really, it would be the whole roll of toilet paper unrolled on the floor if I left it up to him).  Then gets up and throws his square in the trash or in the real toilet, I close the lid and let him flush the toilet ONE time.  Then I give him the option to wash his hands while I'm washing mine.  Sometimes he takes me up on that offer, sometimes he tells me "no" and then gets upset when I'm done and haven't washed his hands, and sometimes he really means his "no". 

2. He is all about using the "potty" sign.  I have been using this sign probably for over a year now, every time he makes his poop face.  He started using it himself just a few weeks ago.  Then I noticed an exciting coincidence.  He would use the potty sign and I would check his diaper.  Empty.  Then a few minutes later, he pooped.  The next day it happened again!  He was telling me he needed to go potty BEFORE he actually went!!  I was thrilled!!  I told Brian about this and my plans for having my son potty trained at 18 months: all I needed to do was set him on his toilet after he gave me the potty sign and he would go!  Well I gave it a try, and it didn't quite work out as planned.  In fact, I think I scared Nathan some.  That was probably because I didn't think through the fact that he currently sits on the potty with his diaper and all his clothes on, plus he stays sitting in his potty for approximately 5 seconds before popping up.  And the time I chose we were downstairs, with his pjs still on, so I stripped him naked in the cold basement bathroom and tried to convince him to sit on the potty.  He wasn't thrilled, to say the least, and he certainly didn't go in the potty.  Maybe a more gradual approach would be a better option!

3. He has started insisting on diaper changes. Many times these days he will let me know when he wants his diaper changed.  He'll give me the potty sign, and even when I check his diaper and its empty but wet, he insists on having his diaper changed.  He has started just laying down in the middle of the floor as his way of reinforcing his wish (in an effort to make diaper changes go more smoothly, I started giving him a choice of having his diaper changed on the table or on the floor.  Almost all the time he chooses the floor and because he has some say in the matter, usually cooperates somewhat with the change).  In fact, we were in AC Moore this past week and he gave me the sign and then tried to lay down on the floor there.  I told him we would have to at least wait until we got back to the car (thankfully no poopy diaper this time) before I could change him.  And then today he insisted on me changing him when he was just barely wet.  But then other times during the day, especially first thing in the morning when his diaper is wet from all night, he doesn't seem to care about a wet diaper.  Mixed signal, I tell ya.

So I guess I don't really know where all this might lead, or if I actually have a chance at early potty training with Nathan.  But I am going to talk to his pediatrician at his 18 month appointment at the beginning of May as well as read up on tips and techniques for potty training, just in case!

The Four Amigos

Nathan has become fairly attached to his trio of stuffed animals: RaRa and the two bears.  RaRa is his favorite by far, as well as the only one that has been officially named, but Nathan's bears are constant companions in the crib and playmates during the day.

Nathan's favorite pretend game is "naptime."  To play this game, we must remove all three stuffed animals from the crib, as well as Nathan's blanket, then sometimes add the big blanket and little pillow that I keep on the rocking chair.  Nathan will create a "bed" for his stuffed animals...

...or just lay down himself.  I usually say something like, "Shhhhhhh, Nathan's taking a nap!"  He'll lay there for a minute before popping up and moving on to something else.  I'm really excited to see him starting to pretend because I know that will begin to open up a whole new world of play for him!

PS. Because I think RaRa has become our official "lovey", I would love to have multiple of him, but I don't remember who may have given him to us (or even when he appeared at our house). If you can help me solve this mystery or happen to see his brothers at the store, please let me know!

"The Easiest Way To Reach Me May Be By Phone"

I think this is when I should be worried about too much technology in our lives...

Brian just headed downstairs to clean in the basement.  He had on his new noise-canceling headphones plugged into his MP3 player.  (With these headphones on, I have to do crazy, arm flinging dances to get his attention if I want to have a conversation with him.  Otherwise, I do all the talking and then realize that he hasn't heard one word).  His MP3 player is also his phone.  So he tells me "the easiest way to reach me may be by phone" because the ringing will interrupt the music.  So screaming from the top of the stairs wouldn't work, but I can pick up my cell phone and call him while I'm one floor away.  I just feel like something's wrong with this picture!

Presents: Rockin', Ridin' and Stylin'

When the grandparents come into town, there's no telling what new surprises await Nathan. No need for a "special" occasion, any visit with the one and only grandson is a good excuse for presents (this goes for both sides of the family, and not just grandparents either). But don't be worried that Nathan will become spoiled because Brian and I basically NEVER buy anything new for Nathan (Well, almost never. We talked about getting a year's pass to the Children's Museum for his first birthday, but never did, so we actually didn't get him a 1st birthday present. But we did buy him 1, yes ONE, Christmas present).  Anyways, moving on... David and Carroll came to town a few weekends ago loaded with goodies for our sweet boy.

Nathan's first present was combined effort from lots of loving family members. My mom bought a rocking chair kit to put together for Nathan, but unfortunately it wasn't assembling properly. Thankfully, my grandfather was able to modify the kit and put the chair together, then even carved a "K" into the back rest. Brian's parents then transported it from Knoxville to our house, so it was truly a team effort to get it to Nathan.  The chair is the perfect height so that Nathan can easily climb up and rock by himself, or when he's busy with other activities, he lets his stuffed animals enjoy its comfort. Thanks to everyone for this wonderful gift!

From a classic rocker to power wheels! Nathan was also pretty excited about the power wheels that Granddad and Nana got for him, however we did have to teach him how to hold the button down to make the car go. He would have preferred pushing the button once rather then having to hold it down the whole time he was driving, but he mostly has it under control these days. That is except when he likes to stop halfway up the little hill in our backyard and then spins out when he tries to get going again...

Nana also brought some cute new church outfits for Nathan, so of course we had to have a little photo shoot after Sunday morning service. Here's Nathan at 16.5 months!

Probably the best one.

Our happy little boy!

Mischievous!

This is our concerned face!