16 Months Old

Nathan,

We've had another great month with you. You constantly keep us smiling and giggling at your sweet personality and fun new tricks.

You have eight teeth now. You have been a bizarre teether. You took a break after you got your front four middle teeth, and then decided to go ahead and get your molars. So now you have four front teeth, and four molars and a big gap in between. You had a rough go with some of you molars. We had about a week of not sleeping well combined with awful diaper rash and diarrhea. As soon as that last molar popped through, all your symptoms cleared right up and you were back to normal.

Your new molars have improved your eating. You eat faster and more efficiently now that you actually have some molars to chew with. I don't have to cut your food up in as small of pieces anymore, so it's great for both of us.

If we ask you where something is, you shrug your shoulders and hold up your hands in an "I don't know" expression. It's one of my favorite things you do right now. You'll point to the people you know and Rhapsody. If I ask you "Where's Nathan?" you will point to yourself. I'm trying to get you to point to my belly when I ask "Where's the baby?" You are starting to figure it out, but for the longest time if I asked you "Where's baby?" you would point to yourself. Sweet boy, you will always be Mommy's baby.

You are figuring out how to communicate with us more and more. You stand by the refrigerator and point when you want a drink, and will grab one of your toy bowls and stand by the pantry when you want a snack. I think we are just around the corner from your vocabulary taking off and being able to use words to communicate your needs. Your new words this month are shoes, up, hat, cat, eye, and car.

You are definitely all toddler now, the good and the bad. Your fit throwing has increased this month. You'll cry and stomp your feet when you don't get your way. It's cute now, but I'm sure the cuteness will wear off quickly.

 You are still sleeping great, usually about 11 hours a night. You take an afternoon nap from 1:00 to 3:00 or 4:00. You are totally exhausted when I put you down for your nap. I'll put you in your crib without any sort of fight and you are asleep almost instantly. I rarely rock you very long anymore. You seem to prefer to be put down so you can get comfortable. You will cuddle on my shoulder for a couple of minutes when I give you your paci and stuffed animal. So sweet! You are also getting sneaky with your paci. When I tell you to put it in your bed, you are strategic in where you put it, so you can reach in later and have it within your reach. You sneaky boy!

Your favorite toys right now are toy food and dishes. You dump out your basket of dishes, and set the table. You even stir with your utensils. I was baking a cake the other day and gave you an empty bowl and a whisk while I was mixing the batter. You played with that bowl and whisk for the longest time. You still like your other toys too, but dishes are definitely your go to toys right now.

You still love to be outside. If we tell you we are going for a walk, you'll run and climb into your stroller by yourself and then wait impatiently for us to join you. You also love to be on the go. If I tell you we are going "bye bye" you grab my hand and rush off to the garage door. We try and always get out of the house at least once a day so you don't get too bored being at home.

You are wearing 18 month clothes and a size 5 diaper. I went to a consignment sale a couple of weeks ago and got you some new winter clothes and I bought size 24 month in all of them. They look so big. You are growing so fast!

You started school this month, and lucky for you, you have the same teachers as last year. Our schedule is a little different this year, and I only have you enrolled in one day this year. I think it's good for both of us to get a little break from each other during the week and for you to get to explore and play in a different context. You seem to be thriving. I'm glad you're getting some socialization with other kids your age, and I can get things done about 3.2 times faster when I get some time by myself, which means when we're together we have more time to play and do fun things.

You're growing so fast little one. We love getting to experience it.

New Shoes and Other Tricks

A glimpse into the personality of our favorite little boy.

Weekend Fun

We've spent the last two weekends doing some fun things that I wanted to remember. For us, a great weekend includes a balance of couple time, family time, and friend time, and we've been able to achieve all of those things lately.

Two weekends ago, we spent Saturday morning at the zoo. The weather was absolutely perfect. It wasn't hot at all. I always enjoy our trips to the zoo, but I'm usually ready to go within a couple of hours because of the heat. This Saturday was so nice. We could have stayed all day if if lunch and naps didn't interfere. Our zoo has two new jaguar cubs, and they were the highlight of the day for all of us. We got there early and had the exhibit to ourselves, so we stayed and watched for awhile. We could go from window to window with no one else to worry about. Matt had to drag me away. 

Nathan's highlight of the day was playing in the boat at the sea lion exhibit. This trip he seemed more excited about that boat and the vending machines than he was about the animals.

That Saturday evening we invited friends over for snacks and games. We played a trivia game and some Mario Kart. Friends, snacks, games, and visiting is about the perfect way to spend a Saturday evening for us You could throw in an OSU football game I guess to make it even better :).

My parents invited us to lunch on Sunday after church and during lunch my mom offered to watch Nathan that evening, so Matt and I had a spontaneous date night. We dropped him off after his nap and headed to play Putt Putt. My husband has been talking about wanting to play putt putt for a long time. We hadn't been since before I was pregnant with Nathan. We also stopped for ice cream after we finished. It was a great way to spend a Sunday evening.

This past weekend was full of all our favorite things as well. Matt is out of town (actually, out of country) this week for work, so we planned a date night before he left for the week. We ate Chicago style pizza and went bowling. We've recently started going to a new bowling alley, and Matt bowls way better now. He averaged 180 that night!

We picked up Nathan Saturday morning after we ran a few errands and spent the rest of the day at home. We napped, played, and cleaned. That evening we invited another couple over for (you guessed it), snacks and games. We had a really great night playing and visiting. We're thankful for great friends that we get to spend time with (and a little boy with an early bedtime).

On Sunday after church and naps, we took Nathan and Rhapsody to the park. Nathan really likes to swing and climb on the playground. We also walked around for a little while too. We've been taking advantage of the not too hot weather. Later that night we were out of milk, so we decided to get some ice cream while we were at Braums. Nathan sure loves his ice cream. The rest of the evening wasn't as fun. Matt had to pack for his trip and we just relaxed.

We always look forward to the weekends and try to always have some fun activities planned. Our weekends are about to get even more fun with the start of football season. We've taught Nathan how to wave the wheat and have been adding to his orange wardrobe.

Call Me Maybe

 It probably won't go viral, but it is certainly my favorite rendition :).

Our Little Firecracker

I blogged before about how we had a really low key 4th of July this year. Matt was in China, and Nathan and I spent a relaxing day with my parents. Later that night though, it turned into a 4th of July, I'm sure I will always remember.

Before Matt left for China we discussed that if I were to get pregnant that month, I would find out while Matt was away. We decided that I could wait and take a pregnancy test after Matt got home, but if it was really bugging me, I'd go ahead and take the test while he was in China.

I could have taken a pregnancy test a couple of days before the 4th of July, but I was determined to go ahead and wait until Matt got home. All day on the 4th though, I just felt weird. I ran that morning and it was a lot harder run than I was used to, and then I was exhausted all day. By that afternoon, my stomach felt a little off. I had convinced myself that I wasn't pregnant, but it kept nagging at me, and I really wanted confirmation that I wasn't pregnant so I could stop thinking about it.

After I put Nathan to bed, I had made the decision that there was no way I could wait another four days to find out, and since I wasn't going to wait until Sunday, there was no reason to wait any longer, so I took the test that night. In my head I had told myself that I wasn't pregnant, probably trying to protect myself from disappointment if the test was negative, but then I saw two pink lines! I was so excited and emotional, and honestly that was a tough moment for me. There was no one to run to and hug and scream and get excited with, and I had a pinch of regret wishing I would have had the will power to wait until Matt was home (even though by that point, I would have been pretty sure I was pregnant without a pregnancy test). If Nathan would have had any clue what was going on, I would have woken him up to celebrate. I immediately called Matt, and of course he didn't answer. I tried again a few minutes later, and I scared him with my phone call. It was mid morning in China, so Matt was at work. I try and avoid calling him while he's at work, unless it's something important, so I could understand while he was worried that something was wrong. I needed to tell someone though and he was the only person I could talk to! I felt better after I talked to him, but he was pretty reserved since he was at work. The next morning though we got to Skype and share our excitement together which I needed and a few days later, I was able to get my celebratory hug. I spent the rest of the evening praising God for blessing us with another precious life and trying to calm down enough to get some sleep. Just like the first time around, it amazed me how one tiny little moment in the form of two pink lines could have such a drastic impact on our lives.

I think it's a fun story that I found out on the 4th of July. I thought about referring to the baby as our little firecracker, but I'm not sure that would be wise or I might end up with a baby with a fiery little personality :).

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Last Tuesday, we took Nathan to a Tulsa Drillers' baseball game. We had so much fun the last time we went, that we wanted to be sure and make it to another game before the season was over. My parents came with us, and we had a great night.

I don't think Nathan knew there was a baseball game going on, but he made sure to clap and cheer when the Drillers' made a big play and danced to all the music.

He also spent plenty of time at the splash pad and play ground.

He enjoyed his first soft pretzel too.

And he walked up and down the hill over and over.

It was a fun night!

Big News!

From a BIG brother!!

 

We are just thrilled to be expecting our second child! Sometimes I can't get over how very blessed we are to be expecting another sweet baby. Our due date is March 10, so Nathan and the new baby will be about 22 months apart.

I know right now Nathan has no idea how much our family will change in a few months, but I am certain he will be a fantastic big brother. I always refer to him as Mommy's little helper, and I know his helpful personality will come out even more when his little brother or sister arrives. This baby will be blessed to have him as an older brother.

We are praising God for this new life and are trusting that He has created this little one to be the perfect addition to our family.