Merry Christmas, Everyone! As it turns out, most of those presents under the tree were for me! I’m one lucky boy! Among my favorites? A book, toothbrush, and bowl & plate set from mommy & daddy! I’m a practical sort of fella. My mommy, daddy, and me (and Toby, too) would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas!
Love,
Nathan
Mommy & Daddy made sure I was nice and warm when we went looking at the Christmas lights around our neighborhood this evening. They made sure my feetsies had socks on and that I had a fleece blanket wrapped around my bottom half. My hat even had ear flaps to keep my ears warm! It was a little big though because every time I tugged on the hat it got dark all of the sudden! Even though the mittens were a bit big for my hands, they kept me nice and toasty throughout the walk- though I don’t think Mommy and Daddy could see me pointing at all the pretty lights!
I Love Clapping My Hands! It’s So Much Fun!
As you can see, that’s what Nathan has been doing now! He’ll clap his hands while eating, walking, and “talking”! He thinks it’s the funniest thing, too- especially if Mommy joins along.
For some reason, he also likes to pat his head. It started around the same time we were watching a Sesame Street episode where Bert and Ernie demonstrated patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. I’m not sure if that had anything to do with it (he doesn’t rub his belly!). But, whenever he feels like it, he’ll pat his head. (Most of the time, it’s after a spell of clapping his hands) And, the funny thing is, you can get him to pat his head if you start patting your own head! He is starting to be quite the copy-cat!
He’s also been repeating certain words/phrases. For example, if you say “yum yum”, he’ll repeat after you- very clearly too! He doesn’t just repeat it– he knows what it means! (We’ve been saying “yum yum” when it’s almost time to eat). So, it’s not surprising that sometimes he’ll suddenly say it when he notices his sippy cup or his meal being prepared. It’s a cue for me to finish warming up his food!
When Nathan is being a little difficult and cries, Daddy has started patting his mouth while it’s open, causing Nathan to make a “wah wah wah”, echo-like noise. He doesn’t quite like that and so it gets him to stop crying. Now, Nathan will hollar and pat his own mouth on his own, creating the same noise! Almost like a backwards “blowing kisses”.
He’s also taught himself how to come down the stairs. We were wondering how we were going to teach him to do that since he’s become the expert stair climber- but then, lo and behold, he figured it out all by himself! When he reaches the top of the stairs, he turns around and starts down them backwards. He’ll usually stop after the first step or two and then turn back to face forward. He’ll either repeat turning around and continue coming down the stairs backwards or he’ll try to grab onto the railing to support himself coming down forward. We didn’t teach him how to use the railing since we don’t often use it ourselves. He just sort of figured it out on his own. He’s such a smart boy! (Of course, one of us is always there to make sure he doesn’t take a tumble!)
Everything Needs To Come Out (including the pants!)…
And lastly, when in his crib or playpen Nathan loves to toss all of his stuff animals and toys out. When we put him down at night, I make sure all of his toys are in his crib- that’s because in the morning, Nathan will play with them and then toss them out of his crib before crying out for me. That will usually buy me at least another 15 to 30 minutes of sleep! And, you know what the kicker is? He’ll toss them back into the crib or playpen when he’s out! He’s sat there with me in the living room, putting all of his toys back into his toy box (= plastic tupperware). He just loves to put (= throw) things into boxes or empty “things” (the cubby in his fire truck, seat of his bouncer, plastic bowls, etc.). But, when he wants his toys out he’s figured out that the easiest way is to flip over his toy box! (Before, he would go in and just pick and choose what he wanted! I miss those days!)
This all happened this past week or so! Can you believe it? We can’t! We can’t believe how quickly he’s learning and changing nowadays! It’s tiring just trying to keep up with him!
Nathan Touching The Light In The Dryer
Now, how do we explain this one? I was folding clothes in the laundry room and Nathan followed me in there like he always does. He loves to look at and try to touch the light in the dryer. I was kneeling down and getting out clothes from the dryer when he used me as a ladder to climb into the dryer! Next thing I knew, he was in there, sitting on all of the warm and clean clothes. We couldn’t resist but to take a photo of that moment. I guess, if we could fit, wouldn’t we do the same thing every time the dryer is done? I mean, it must be pretty comfy in there- who doesn’t love clothes fresh from the dryer?!
Nathan recently discovered his index fingers. He uses them to point at everything! He especially likes to point at the lights on our Christmas tree. He’s walked around with his fingers in the ready position– just in case he finds something interesting to point at!
He’s also discovered the functionality of the index finger. He’s used it to push buttons on his toys, scratch his ear, point at his eye and made a lady at the store believe that he knew where his eye is (he doesn’t yet), and he has stuck it up his nose and did what little fingers do up there.
Speaking of Christmas trees– We have a real tree and Nathan doesn’t like the feel of it. It must feel pretty prickly to him! But, he gave a great big smile when we turned the lights on. He loved that! He also loves to reach for the ornaments. We have our tree on top of a table and he’ll try to get to it in his walker. When he’s too busy looking up at the tree to notice where he’s going, he’ll sometimes hit the metal skirt of the table and ends up conking his poor little head. When he is paying attention, he’ll go right under the table and then be puzzled at how he ended under the table and why the tree disappeared. Then he’ll get lost under the tablecloth and we’ll have to drag him out. It’s pretty funny stuff.
We just took Nathan’s measurements a couple of days ago and at 14 1/2 months old, here’s how big he is:
Weight = 23 lbs.
Height = 29 1/2 inches
At 1 year old, only 2 1/2 months ago, he was just 20 lbs and 6 oz and 28 1/2 inches tall. It seems that he’s been consistently gaining 1 lb a month! It must be all the good eats.
Speaking of eats, here is a snapshot of what his diet is like:
Loves: bananas, pears, sweet potato, winter squash, yam, beef, rice, cheerios, milk, crackers, persimmon, ice cream (had it only once for his birthday- it’s actually a funny story, ask if interested)
Likes (= will tolerate): oatmeal, chicken, applesauce, pea, carrots, celery, onion, spinach, bok choy, fish
Doesn’t care for: peaches, avocado
As you can see, he’s a pretty good and non-picky eater. It makes our job easier! He’ll eat almost anything we give him. Even the food he doesn’t care for. He’ll just give you a face to go with the spoonful. (Which is pretty darn cute!)
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