Chatter box and favorite things

Our 2.5 year old boy is quite the talker (and a comedian).  His vocabulary continues to amaze us and he loves to learn new things.  He will repeat just about anything you ask him to (or DON'T ask him...), and Chuck loves to teach him long words for fun.  We've started the first series of Bob books to build pre-reading skills (letter recognition, letter sounds, etc).  He can identify Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, H, N, Oo, P, Vv, Xx accurately most of the time and often finds them in words.


Here are some highlights/favorite Nathan-isms:

There goes the white trash truck! (while camping, when a trash truck that was white came by)
I do this a little bit while. (usually when trying to stall us)
I'm just licking it. (well, at least he wasn't biting or eating "it"...?)
Them over there! (confusion of them/they)
There's a hole in the bottom of the potty. (like the song, only not the sea)
That's too small for you. (when we try to play with his toys)
It's too strong for me. (when something is too heavy)
I don't love you.  I like you (good thing he is so cute, or we might cry at that one!)
You don't need sleep, mama. I help you out of bed. Let's go downstairs real quick" 
I love this _____. Do you like this ___?
Daddy, you wearing white today? (Or whatever color Daddy has on)

Mommy: "Nathan, what happened over there?" (regarding a mess)
Nathan: "Me. I happened over there."


Song favorites (sometimes as mash-ups):
Baa baa blacksheep
Happy Birthday - which he will sign to anything (a flag, dog, dinosaurs, etc).
Head, shoulder, knees and toes
Old McDonald (who has quite the eclectic mix of animals on his farm
Baby Bumble Bee



Favorite Books:
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?
Maybe you should Fly a Jet? Maybe you should be a Vet?
Little Blue Truck
The Lion and the Mouse

Favorite Toys:
His trains
Tractors
His blanket

Favorite things to watch on TV (which he doesn't do often)
Mighty Machines: All about Recycling - which he calls "trash truck"
Might Machines: Tractors go to School - "watch tractors!"
Bob the Builder

A post?

Yes, it's been awhile, but now that is it SUMMER and I am done with school and my program...maybe I'll be better! Maybe.

Nathan is a crazy ball of energy these days.  He goes through shoes quick since he is so active.  He can jump (on the bed...on the couch...off things) now and he runs everywhere.  There is no pause button and the concept of "gentle" isn't easy for him....! He is still a great sleeper.  He goes down for naps and nighttime easily.  Our struggles are the typical 2 year old stuff of us not giving in to his every desire, demand, or wish.  Overall, he is a happy boy.  :)

His vocabulary is huge and he amazes us with new words every day.  He is also becoming quite the story teller and his comments make us all laugh.  This kiddo is also an entertainer.  During our Mother's Day celebration he took control of the room with a rendition of Old McDonald.   Nate has also started to watch a little television.  He loves Bob the Builder and Dinosaur Train.  We also have a DVD of "Mighty Machines" so he can watch tractors over, and over, and over.  His favorite things are tractors, trains, and big trucks. 

The next month will bring some changes for him, including a new big-boy bed (which I am sure he will think is for jumping on) and some serious potty training.  The bed will come before Daddy and I sneak off to Costa Rica (yeah!!) for a week, and potty training will happen when we get back.

We are spending a week in Guanacasta, Costa Rica, and are super excited! Nate will be staying home with Grammy and Mimi/Popi.  We are so thankful we have family in town! :)

Oh, and in case you are wondering what I have been up to, here is a link to my portfolio.  It is currently being reviewed and I should know in the next week if I passed.  Assuming I passed, I will then be recommended for licensure to the state.  Next year, I will do my Induction Program for my Professional License.  I will be staying at my current school next year.  The middle school has been closed, so I will be teaching math and science to 5th graders.  I am nervous to change grades and to entering into the elementary world, but I am looking forward to it as well!

Thank you for the love and support during my program and this last year of teaching.  My school is a tough environment, but the kids keep me going.  To see almost all of our students 2-5 years behind is heartbreaking and I'm doing all I can to help. :)

2 years old!

Our big boy had a great check up today at the pediatrician for his 2 year visit. The best news is that he doesn't have to get anymore shots until he is 5! (he is old enough for the flu mist now). He took his HepA shot like a champ and has a cool camo band-aid on his thigh.

His speech and cognitive skills are ahead a bit. Dr. Sunit (he said her name and she beamed...very cute) asked him questions that they usually test 2.5 - 3 year olds and he "passed!" She showed him various pictures (cat, dog, horse, bird, and person) which he was able to identify, and then asked which one flies, meows, barks, etc. :) We are so proud of him and are so fortunate to have a healthy son.

Stats:
Height: 36 1/4" - 90th percentile
Weight: 31 lbs, 14 oz - 85th percentile
Head circumference: 49.8 cm (19.6") 80th percentile

He has finally grown into his big ol' Nellis noggin and is tall and lean. Yes, I said lean. He isn't skinny, by any stretch of the imagination, but compared to his prior budda-like stature, he is skinny!

We are taking him to get his 2 year old photos today. :)

Funny story: One the way to the Doctor's office, we asked Nathan if he was going to be a charmer. The exchange went like this:

Daddy: Hey Nathan, do you know what charm is?
Nathan: Yeah. Nathan.

Ha!

Big boy!

I know, I never update this blog due to FB. Sorry. Anyway, Nathan has turned from a baby into a kid! He is talking up a storm and frequently surprises us with 3-4 word sentences and multi- syllable words. He continues to be a great eater, but seems to have (finally) slowed down in growth. He's in 24 month pants and 2T tops (has been for several months now). He has gotten leaner for sure, but still seems big compared to his peers.

The biggest news is that last night (November 18, 2011) [<-- this is the closest he'll get to a baby book, so I need to be precise!], Nathan went #1 on the potty!! We have had a potty in both bathrooms that he had been sitting on regularly clothed for a couple of months. In the past month we have added a pre-bath (hence, naked) sit on the potty to his bath-time routine. After his bath last night, he got crazy eyes (he raises his eyebrows and gets big eyes when excited) said "potty, potty," went to his potty and sat down, made an interesting face, and said "pee-pee." He got up, and there was pee in the potty! We were all very excited. After flushing said pee down the toilet (and Nathan saying and waving good-bye to it), he wanted "more!" Getting him off the potty took some convincing as he was just so excited.

So, yes, it seems it may be time to capitalize on his interest. We think we will do the naked route at home, so we need to find a few days when we are home all day (not so easy with us these days). If I feel ambitious, we'll try this coming weekend after Thanksgiving, but I don't think I'll really try until Christmas break. I wasn't even thinking about potty training until this summer when I am off, but it seems that he might me more ready than we thought. What we know for sure is that we aren't ready for this next step for our "baby"....

Baby's first surgery

Little Nathan had his 1st surgery today. The surgery was quick as promised by his Dr. I went back with him to watch/comfort him when he went under anesthesia. Wow, that was hard. He was a champ as always, but I wish I could say the same for me! I tried to hold it together, but tears were flowing as his sweet eyes closed and he went "under." He was very brave, and very cute even as they put the mask on him. He pointed to his blood pressure cuff and said "owie" (what a faker!). The docs and nurses got a kick out of him for sure. I looked back at him on the bed in the OR as I walked out - yeah, shouldn't have done that! He looked so very little in that big OR with the large lights and long bed. Phew.

They came to get us in just 10 minutes or so. His Dr talked to us before he went in about potentially taking out his adenoids along with the ear tubes. We gave permission for him to check them and "make the call" if they needed to come out. That would have added about 20 minutes to the surgery, and he opted not to take them out as they were not large and seem fine for now. He had just woken up and was crying when we went back. I guess that babies get very confused and are often inconsolable when coming out of anesthesia as they don't understand the groggy feeling. He was also starving (no food/drink all morning). He drank some water and sucked down an applesauce pack. Thanks to the post-op nurse, he even had some chocolate pudding.

Dr. Dickey (ENT) came into recovery to see us. He said the surgery went great and that there was A LOT of fluid in his ears. Some that looked like it had been there for months. The ear tubes will allow us to get antibiotic drops right to the source and hopefully get him cleared up for good. The Dr hopes for lots of drainage of the nasty fluid over the next two weeks. Yuck, but we'll be happy to see that stuff get out of his little head! Although he was pretty much inconsolable throughout the time in the recovery room, he did pause for a sniffly bye-bye to the nurses. So cute.

Our brave boy took a snooze in the car, so Chuck and I drove around for awhile to give him a good nap. He woke up pretty happy and very hungry! He ate a huge banana, some cereal, and a bowl of oatmeal. He was feeling great, so I took him to lunch with Kari and Anderson - where he ate abour 1/4 of a corn dog and a bunch of cantaloupe. He is taking a good nap now, so I think we are already back to normal around here. Amazing.

18 month appointment

It is so hard to believe that our little baby has turned into this little person. He charms everyone at his pediatrician's office, especially Dr. Sunit. :) He had a great checkup and is doing all the right things. He is ahead a bit on many milestones.

His stats:
Height: 33" - 75%ile
Head: 48.7 cm - 75%ile
Weight: 29 lb 9.6 oz - > 90%ile (he's been toggling around 30, sometimes above, for the past month)

We are keeping him rear facing in the car until he is 2, per the revised AAP guidelines. We can legally flip him now, but we're sticking to the guidelines for now. The best news is that he is really done with shots for awhile outside of his flu shot this Fall (and annually) and his last Hep. Yeah!

Nate hearts DIRT

Nathan had a great time camping. He loves rocks. He LOVES dirt...

He had a wonderful time getting very, very dirty. We washed him down in the sink of the camper nightly to get the top layers off. Small sink. Big baby.

Our campsite was in Moraine Park in the Rocky Mountain National Park, with an unobstructed view of Longs Peak. Pretty awesome. Minus a microburst that nearly resulted in the awning coming off the camper (thank you to our neighbors at the campsite!), the weather was perfect. It was warm during the day and cool at night.

Nathan also went for a hike with the Spencers and me. Matt carried him about 2 miles on a hike up to Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park. Talon (their 2.5 year old boy) made the whole hike on his own (since N was in his backpack!).


Taking a rambunctious 18 month old camping without Daddy made for some exhaustion for me, but luckily I had a lot of help from Mimi, Popi, Natanee, and Matt. Chuck was off with Uncle Kirby doing fireworks in Mammoth. We missed him (and Nathan asked for him several times...even a very cute "Out. Please. Up. Dada. Dada" first thing in the morning from the Pack-n-play.

Discipline is continuing to be a challange for us. Speaking stearnly and putting Nate in the Naughty spot (time out) is not effective. In fact, Nathan smiles at the stern tone and laughs on the way to the spot. Hmmm. So, we're trying other methods. Right now I'm working to show no reaction to the negative behaviors (primarily throwing and hitting) and giving positive feedback to the desired behavior. When he hits, I go into another room and tell him I don't want to play when he hits. This has already backfired a bit as he then threw his water bottle (mom: no reaction) and then picked it up and placed it down nicely (mom: Yahoo! [clapping and smiles]). Repeat. Kind of like the hit mommy and then putting himself into the naughty spot. This kid really understands cause and affect. I keep telling myself that all of this is a phase and is totally normal. Slow, calming breaths....

Nate has his 18 month appointment tomorrow. Stats to follow.