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.