Tip of Week 64: Bananas make a great hair gel.

Dear Nathan,
This week, you have consistently survived happily with only one afternoon nap. I'd say after weeks of one naps and sometimes 2 naps of varying length, your schedule has somewhat settled down...for now. For the past few days you have been sleeping 8 to 8 and then you take an hour and a half nap around 1:45.

This week, you have started to play pretend with stuffed animals. I guess in the past, you would pretend "talk" with a pretend phone, but this week, you had your animals role play and give each other hugs and kisses. Your favorite stuffed animal friend is this sheep and another larger stuffed animal dog. You like to wrestle with that big guy.

Some of the new discoveries that you have made this week include:

Dipping. Everything pretty much tastes better after its dipped in something. Here, you are dipping your toast into mommy's cereal milk. You also like ketchup, bbq sauce, and curry.

Bananas make great hair gel. Exhibit A. Below.

This week, we had our end of session party at a cool place called Smudge studios. You got to play with a few of your friends from your Chinese class, eat yummy Chinese food, showed everyone your step stool climbing skills, and paint your very first painting. 

You've done a few cool things this week like spin in circles when you are happy, and tried to sign poop. You still need to fine tune it a bit, but at least we now have a working sign for poop. You are getting pretty consistent at pooping after breakfast and lunch. Sometimes you may even surprise us with a post-dinner poop. One thing for sure, the size of your poops can sometimes be pretty impressive, and to think that I've been worried about whether or not you have been eating enough. Also, you are also pretty good at telling us when you are finished, or if you have more on the way. It's kind of neat to see you finally start to understand these odd urges. Perhaps you will be able to control them soon and we will be rid of diapers sooner than the average baby.

You threw a temper tantrum this week while we were on our walk. It turns out that you wanted me to hold you while you pushed the stroller. I had to put my foot down and say no because we were going nowhere. So I strapped you in your trike and continued our walk. You were fussy and crying. I was feeling like a horrible parent, but thank God, a bus drove by, you pointed at it, and that was the end of the tantrum. We went on a nice walk, went to the playground to play and went home. If only real problems could be solved so easily.

In the past two weeks, you have been testing us, trying to figure out where the boundaries lie. When we say no to something, you'll repeat what we don't want you to do in a slightly different way to see if we are ok with that. I have a feeling that in the past few months, many precedents will be set and I really have to be mindful about what I allow you to do and how I react to your bouts of upset.

This will probably be my last post of the year. The holidays are coming around the corner and I'm sure we will be super busy visiting friends and family. I will continue to take pictures and make a post over all the exciting events.

Until next year,
Mommy

Funny Events from Week 63

Dear Nathan,
As of this week, there is nowhere in the house that is off limits to you now. You have figured out how to maneuver the step stool and reach places that you have never been able to access. Must be cool huh?

 Here, you have figured out how to reach a light switch to turn the kitchen lights on and off. You surprised yourself when the kitchen went dark.

A few days this week, we braved the weather and went out for a short afternoon walk. You look so cute bundled up in your over-sized coat and mittens.

 Here you are relieved to be back home in the warm house.

This week you are babbling a lot. It seems like you have lot to talk about. I mean, with all the new places that are accessible for you to explore, I would want to talk about it all day too. 

Last night, I had a chance to have a mother's night out and went to a cookie swap with members of my MOPS group. I pretty much left after dinner and it was just you and daddy. He said that you did great when it was time to go to sleep. His own words was, "It was easy, a bit too easy." That made me proud. 

This week we have been trying one nap a day. You seem to be doing really well with it. I guess we are not going to do one naps for sure, but as long as you are waking up late, that is what we will do. 

Next week will be a busy and exciting week! More pics to come. 

Love, 

Mommy

Back to the swing of things in Week 62

Dear Nathan,
It's good to be back into the swing of things. The weather has been perfect so we've been to the playground at least once every day. You are getting braver and braver. You like to hang off of the monkey bars, play with the steering wheel, climb through tunnels, climb up and down stairs and you can pretty much climb up the playground equipment and go down almost any slide. There were a few times where you tumbled down, or came down head first and fell into the mulch or gravel, but you quickly shook it off and before you knew it, you were sliding down once again. There was one time you decided to try the spiral slide. I had just watched you go down and very soon I heard a bump, bump, bump. Your shoes had gotten your stuck and you tumbled down half of the slide. That was my bad parent moment 1 of the week. Bad parent moment 2 happened when we were taking your new tricycle out for a spin. I pushed you down a slope and you suddenly turned the handle bar, the trike tipped over and you toppled over too.

You still have a drippy nose, but you are happy and are back to normal with your eating habbits. No new teeth yet. You are starting to say a few things like "all done," "that" "teddy" and you are able to point to more things when we are reading your books. You also now know where your head, hands, feet and belly button are.  It's pretty amazing how quickly you are learning everything.

We took advantage of the abnormally nice weather and put up the Christmas lights outside. You like the lights and was pretty helpful in cleaning a few of the bulbs in your mouth. Bulbs are not very tasty.

We will not be putting up a tree this year because the tree stand that we stored in the attic got warped by the hot Texas heat and I'm not comfortable with someone in the house who's very clumsy around an unstable tree. Sure, I may hang the stockings (which reminds me that I need to work on your felt one some more), put up some greenery around the mantle, but we will for sure put up a tree next year. 

Now that your rate of learning has slowed down significantly, I may be making monthly posts instead, with an occasional special edition when something exciting happens. That's it for now.

Love,

Mommy

Road Tripping and Blowing Spit Bubbles at 14 Months

Dear Nathan,
Since last week's post, you got better from a cold and then immediately caught another one. With the weather getting colder, kids everywhere are sick. I've pretty much stopped trying to figure out where you may have caught your cold. Your nose has been running for pretty much 2 weeks. Poor baby, but then again, things can always be worse.

On Friday, we played with the neighbors across the street. We went over to their house and played hide and go seek. You had lots of fun helping me search for them. You also liked playing with their rocking horses.

On Saturday, we had a busy day with bible study in the morning, with you staying at the pastor's house while we learned about what it means to be blessed. Everyone commented on how a happy baby you are. They thought that it was pretty cool how you like to eat ribs off of the bone. I don't know why, but that made me proud.

On Sunday, you got to come and watch me skate in my first roller derby bout. At first the other team was killing us, but eventually, we pulled together and won the bout. I loved seeing you with Daddy on the sidelines, cheering me on!

Sunday night, we went to the church potluck where you got to try Thanksgiving turkey for the first time. You liked the smoked turkey better and didn't eat much more, except for a few bites of apple cake. This was the start of your second cold. That night, you didn't sleep well.

Monday, we just hung around the house so you could rest up for the rest of the week.

This week, we spent most of our time in the Dallas area. That is why this post is a bit late. The trip up went pretty well, but the trip back home was even better. On the way up to Dallas, you sat with Teddy in the back. Your naps were short, but you kept yourself busy with toys. The traffic, on the other hand, was pretty horrible. We left home around 10 am, got to Waco around noon and had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants back in college, The Clay Pot. I was sad to see that the original owner was not there and the taste of the food was a bit different from before. We may not be going back there again. Anyways, after lunch, we went to the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor campus and you had a blast! You loved playing with all the toys and cool things that they had for kids to do. This will probably be a regular stop on future Dallas-bound trips.

We left the museum a little before 3 and arrived in the Dallas city limits around 4:30. It took us almost 2 hours to travel through Dallas, to get to Plano. Luckily you were asleep for most of the trip.

That night you slept beautifully in a foreign room.

The next day, we went to a kid play house. You spent time climbing up the equipment and sliding down the slide on your tummy. You especially liked a bouncy hammock.

That evening, grandma babysat you and Daddy and I had our second date night since you were born. We went and saw the second Hunger Games movie.

We had dim sum for lunch on Thanksgiving. You liked pretty much everything I put on your plate, particularly the phoenix claws. I didn't think you would like it, but you said "Mmmm" after you tasted them and showed me the sign for more. They were even a bit spicy. It seems like a little spice doesn't really bother you.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at your aunt Monica's. She pretty much single handed, prepared a whole Thanksgiving feast for us. You really like the ham and sweet potatoes. You also discovered a new skill.

You've practiced this skill a few more times since then, including in the dart train, which amused a lot of the people around us. It's cute for now, but I hope the amusement will die out before you are 5. On the plus side, I now know that you can say "mom." 

On Friday, we met up with Aunt Monica and had lunch at a chinese restaurant. We ordered mainly steamed dumplings. You really like the dumpling wrappers. You were slurping those things down like crazy. You also ate some porridge. At that restaurant you were able to go potty in the toilet on command. It was pretty neat. 

After lunch, we rode the dart train to the Dallas world aquarium. You enjoyed riding the train and looked around at first and then you just wanted to walk around. The aquarium is mainly a zoo. We walked through the path and saw lots of different animals, birds, and even scary crocs. You really liked looking at the climbing monkeys and the birds with big beaks. At the end, we reached the aquarium part and you got to see sharks for the first time in your life. 

The trip back to Austin went smoothly. We left around 10:00, you napped until we got to Waco around 11:30. Then, we stopped at Viteck's for lunch and tried a Gut Pack. You loved it and ate everything on the plate. Afterwards, we went to Cameron Park and played at the playground for about an hour. When we crossed a foot bridge, you pointed at the stream and showed us your sign for "water." That was pretty cool. When we got back in the car, we played with some toys for about an hour and you fell asleep for the rest of the trip and continued to stay asleep as we unpacked the car. I'd say that this was the most successful car trip ever! 

Milestones: No new ones, that we know of, but you seem to understand more of what we are saying. One day you were playing with your animal see and say toy and when the toy started to sing old McDonald, you sang along to the "E-I-E-I-O" part. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but you did it 3-4 times. You also will dance to music while you are standing, or if we start dancing. You can now stack 4-5 blocks. You could probably stack more, but your arm reach is the limiting factor. 

You continue to be very friendly and affectionate. You will wave at most people and will give them a hug. You're getting better at "pat pat" and Teddy is actually willing to sit on your lap to let you pet him now. Progress. 

You are sleeping from 8pm to 7:30am with about 2 1-hour of naps during the day. If you wake up past 8:30, it's one nap. Poops are pretty normal, so on most days, I can get you to go #2 in the potty after breakfast and lunch. Making cloth diapering easier than it has ever been. 

Grandma really enjoyed playing with you. She says that you are a really smart boy, and you are super duper active. I'm glad you had some time to bond with grandma, or your "ah ma." 

That's it for now. Love,

Mommy

Communication Sensation

Dear Nathan,
Other than a small cold, things have been relatively stable in life. You are back to eating like a 1 year old should eat. You pretty much try everything we put on your tray. Last night, you even ate brussel sprouts! You also now know how much more flavorful and juicy meat is when it is eaten off the bone. This week, I put some cut up chicken or ribs on your tray and you didn't want any of it. You kept pointing to the ones we had in our hands and wanted those. Once I handed you the chicken leg, or rib, you went to town!

You also continue to love roasted seaweed. It was one of mommy's favorite snacks as a kid, and I'm glad that you love them too. They are delicious and nutritious.

Teddy's waiting patiently for you to share.

Long days of me wondering what to do and play with you are over. With the weather being so nice lately, it seems like times just flies by when we play ball (which you now know how to point to)

 or when you get to take Teddy on a walk to the mailbox:

or just around the house so you can actually practice "pat pat" on him.

Teddy is starting to trust you more now that you are more gentle with him. Occasionally, you still give him the "squishy squishy" where you grab his fur and skin. He does not like that. He likes kisses and gentle pats.

We've also found the perfect slide at the school playground. This one is the perfect size for you and will actually stop you at the end so you don't go flying off of it. You love going down the slide over and over again. You also like to play with a steering wheel that is on the playground equipment. You get so excited when you turn the wheel and try to honk the horn. The other kids at the playground like to play with you too.

In the past few days, you've been learning to use the head shake to indicate "no." It's pretty cool how if I suggest something like "give that to me" or "lets go take a nap" you show me that you understand and don't want to do it by shaking your head, sometimes very vigorously. I finally don't feel like I'm just playing with a little doll. You've finally turned into a real boy!

Before I finish, I want to list the commands that you can follow consistently.

• Sit down
• Stand up
• Lay down
• Point to (tree, baby, banana, ball, mommy, daddy, teddy)
• Wipe your mouth 
• pat pat
• squishy squishy
• No
• Danger
• Go pee pee
• Give to mommy
• Wipe mommy's mouth
• Say "bye-bye" or "hi"

These are the signs that you can do:

• want
• milk
• water
• more
• done
• eat

Oh, I also want to mention that this week, you were able to pick up a writing utensil and draw with it successfully. You even tried to put the cap back on the marker. You ended up with a pretty purple colored hand, but I thought it was cute, and harmless, so I just let you be. 

I love you so much! 

Mommy

59 Standing Up and Walking

Dear Nathan,
This has been a very exciting week. First of all, grandma and grandpa came to visit. We went to an insect rodeo where you tasted honey, saw some cockroaches and walking sticks, and painted with maggots.

The next day, we went to Austin's nature center. I had no idea that this place existed. It has a dinosaur pit, and an area with rescue animals for you to look at. There's even indoor exhibits on fossils and energy conservation! We will be going more often, for sure. 

On Monday, you went to the Austin Zoo with your grandparents. I was a bit sad that I didn't get to go with you. But, we will get to go together sometime. We are probably going to go to the Dallas Zoo or Aquarium when we visit your other grandmother.

Good news, you are back to your old self as far as eating goes. Pretty much the meal after I made this post, you started eating your dinner again. Perhaps you had a little bug in your system that made you not want to eat. Who knows. You're eating again and that is good.

Another exciting thing happened this week. You learned how to stand up without pulling up on something.

 When you successfully stand up, sometimes you get so excited that you fall back over. It's kind of funny, now that you know how to stand up, you now like to tackle people, other babies included and give them a big hug or kiss. It's really cute, actually. Here's a picture of you tackling daddy.

Yesterday, I decided to pull out the shaving cream and have you draw with it. You liked it for a few minutes and then lost interest.

This is a handsome picture of you. I just had to post it.

It's starting to get cold here in Austin. You got to wear the hat that Aunt Momo got you. You knew how cool you look in it and didn't take it off.

 So last week, you started doing this weird thing where you throw your hands up by your ears and say "ahhh." We eventually figured out that it was your sign for water, but I had no idea where you picked it up. Well, I asked the ladies at the gym and one of them told me that they would say "water" or "agua," take a drink and go "ahh." And I guess you picked that up.

You also learned the sign for eat. One morning, I casually said, let's go eat breakfast. You then picked up your hands and brought it to your lips repeatedly. You do that with "hungry," "eat" in both chinese and english, and "food." So cool.

One thing you've started doing is waking up in the middle of the night. I've found that it's just easier to nurse you. Your cry sounds like you are hungry. One evening, before bed, I supplemented nursing with about 2 oz of cow's milk. That night, you slept through the night. I think I'll try it again and see what happens. As for now, later gater!

Mommy

Look Who's Climbing Down the Stairs! Mr. Picky Eater!

Dear Nathan,
You have caused me lots of frustration these past few days. You used to be such a good eater, now you are very particular about what you eat. You used to love meat. You even ate brisket! Now, you won't touch it unless it's pureed. You used to LOVE mac and cheese, but the last 2 times that I made it, you would try it and spit it back out. I don't understand what is going on. Are you less hungry? Do you not like my cooking anymore?

Of course, I've googled this issue and read about how kids your age really start to need less food, since you are growing less, but it seems like the days you eat less, you end up waking up in the middle of the night hungry. Well, at least I think you are hungry. It could also be night terrors or teething too. Who knows. I just want to make sure you are getting all the nutrients that your body needs so that you can grow up to be a smart and strong boy.

This is what I want to see from my little boy.

As far as your walking goes, you are doing better. You seem to be more stable and can even start to turn corners and sometimes you can do a complete about face without falling.

One day we were playing with cars and I decided that I would show you how ramps worked with your cars. I set up a little ramp with a box and slid your cars down. In no time, you wanted to try it yourself and a few minutes later, your cars were completely forgotten, and you became a little climber.

Just recently, I am getting a feeling that you now realize that you have 2 parents who love you and are here for you always. For a long time, it seemed like I was your main provider of nourishment and comfort, but now, you are seeing daddy fill that role too.

In the morning, you are always really excited to go wake up dad when I put you in our bed. When dad comes home, you rush to give him a hug. You love to give him kisses. It's so neat to see this special bond that is developing between you guys. 

Since daddy gives you a bath most nights, he's told me about a few cool things that you do during bath time. 1. As daddy is filling the tub, you start putting the toys that you want to play with into the tub. Then you climb in. 2. Towards the end of the bath, if daddy forgets to brush your teeth, you always make sure to point to your toothbrush to remind him. 

As far as new tricks go, you have recently learned how to climb down the stairs. You are pretty good at it, but sometimes you get confused and start to go up, instead of go down. I can tell that you really want to walk down the stairs like daddy and I do, but right now, its best if you slide down on your tummy. 

Today, you showed me the sign for "eat." I had just changed your diaper and said to you in Chinese, "let's go get something to eat" and you signed "eat" by bringing your fingers to your mouth. Pretty cool! 

For the most part, things are going really great. You are turning out to be such a happy and friendly baby. (You even wave hi to people when we are out) I am just trying to figure out why you have suddenly become such a picky eater. Until next week. 

Love, 

Mommy

Just Toddling Around

Dear Nathan,
The day we feared has slowly crept upon us. You are now walking.

As of today, you can go a good 8-10 feet before you topple over. Most of the time you just get too excited to continue. The times when you have been able to walk the farthest was when you were calm and maybe even didn't realize that you were walking. You're actually pretty good at turning corners and even pivoting around. You can also go a bit further while pushing your popcorn popper toy.

We had a pretty busy week at church. On Friday, we went to the pumpkin patch for a play date. We took some pretty good pictures. 

Then, on Sunday, we helped out at the church's annual Trunk or Treat. Mommy painted faces, daddy made balloon animals and you were mostly stuck in the nursery. But as far as I know, you had fun playing with Ms. T. Next year, when you are older, you'll be able to actually participate in the activities.

 Mommy has made lots of costumes in the past for Halloween, but this year, I had the most fun because I got to make a costume just for you.

You are still generally very happy and social. It's really cute how you will randomly wave at people when we are out and about. I think you like to see that you can affect other peoples' behavior. You wave at them, they wave back and give you a smile. 

Diaper changes have become a bit more difficult, you just don't seem to want to lay still. But, just recently, you've discovered the wonders of shadows. 

It's also very neat to see that you've learned about the functions for different things. For example, you know a hair brush is used on the head and things that are shaped like shoes go on the feet. You've only seen Dad wear his blades once and today, when you discovered them, you tried to put them on. 

Tomorrow is Halloween. I hope you will be able to stay up a little so that you can help us pass out candy to the neighbor kids. My favorite part of Halloween is seeing all the cute costumes. I'm sure I'll take more pictures then. 

On the eating front, it seems like you are becoming less picky. I was surprised that you really liked okra. I put some in a beef stew and you just devoured them like crazy. You even ate some zucchini this week! Yay! I am so happy to find that you are not consistently rejecting veggies any more. Your current all-time favorite food right now is smoked ham. Bananas are so-so and grapes are a pretty good bet. You like pomegranate, and oranges too. As far as genres of food, you seem to like Indian and Italian flavors the best, which is good, because those are my favorites too. 

Most days you take 2 naps. 30 - 45 minutes in the morning and then another 1.25 hrs in the afternoon. But on the days that you wake up later (closer to 8), you tend to take one longer, 2 hour nap in the early afternoon. 

Lately, you've been saying "dada" and "that," or "this" a lot. A few times, I think I hear you say "mmm. mom." 

I think you really like dogs. Every time we see a dog on our walk, you get super excited. Even pictures of dogs or dogs on TV will make you squeal. It's super cute. 

Well, that's about it for now. Maybe we'll go to the zoo soon. It's been rainy and muggy recently so when the weather clears up, I'm sure we will be spending lots of time outside. 

Love, 

Mommy

Week 56. Almost 13 Months

Dear Nathan,

It's been a pretty uneventful week, which is fine, because we get to enjoy this awesome Texas fall weather. It's been dipping down into the 40s and 50s at night. You seem to wiggle out from underneath your covers, forcing me to get up several times a night just to put the covers back onto you, so I got you a sleep sack. It works wonders. You stay warm and toasty, and I get an uninterrupted night of sleep. 

You've been talking more this week, making multi-syllabic sounds. It seems like you are saying "this" and "that" while you are pointing to things. 

You still don't like to eat veggies, although tonight, I made beef stew and you actually ate okra! You love ham sandwiches, especially the ham. Usually, you deconstruct the sandwich, and eat the ham first. You are a funny boy. 

This week, you have not been super interested in playing with toys. You are very focused on exploring and figuring out how things work around the house. You've tried to turn on the stove, open and shut various doors and drawers, and push buttons on various objects. The world is your playground and you just can't wait to explore all of it. 

You are back to sleeping about 11 hours at night, which works out well because a 7 o'clock wake time works well. Even though I enjoyed sleeping in until 8, it really threw off your nap schedule. 

So, with nothing new news to post, I'm just going to post some cute pictures. 

One afternoon, you found a sticky mustache sticker and was holding it around your mouth. You must have remembered all the silly people who wore mustaches at your party. So, I stuck it on your face and showed you your reflection in the mirror. You were very amused. Then, I went on a mini photo-shoot frenzy. This is my favorite pic. 

One afternoon, at the park, I put you at the top of the slide and you pushed yourself down. Afterwards, you wanted to do it again, so I kept setting you at the top of the slide and you would wiggle and push yourself over the edge to slide down.

We went to the park this weekend and you liked to look at the other kids play and push pebbles through the holes on the equipment.

 I took this picture because you are now so big. Compared to 6 months ago months ago.

October 2013

April 2013

You've been playing with the neighbor kids a lot recently. They like to push you around in various wheeled contraptions and you like to let them give you a ride. I'll have to take pictures of them playing with you and post them. You are so lucky to have neighbors who love you so much. 

Next week is Halloween. We'll get to wear our costumes and pass out candy. I bet you will love seeing all the cool costumes. I know I do.