Week 74.14 Nathan is 17 months old!

Dear Nathan,
You have been talking up a storm lately with new word developments like, a joking "no, no, no" and my personal favorite, "mama." After 17 months of waiting, I finally heard it this week.

Things you have been interested this week include drawing, putting together train tracks and playing with trains, playing with your little people school bus. Every time we go upstairs, you show me the sign for drawing. We normally can get about 10-15 minutes of art time before you go down for you nap. When you find random pieces of paper, you show me the sign for draw. I hope this is the result of me teaching you that we only draw on paper. So far [knock on wood] you do a pretty good job of that. Except for when you draw on your hands. But I'm ok with that.

This week you figured out how to connect the pieces of track together and push the train along the track.

 This skill seemed to have co-developed with your shape sorting puzzle skills. You can now pick up a shape and if you are paying attention, you will bring it to the right hole to drop it into the container. It's really neat to see how it just suddenly clicked.

I also picked up some play-doh at the store the other day. At first, you were a bit unsure about the texture, you even tasted a little bit of it (but immediately spat it out). You had a bit of fun pressing the cookie cutters into the dough and using various tools to cut the dough. I think you'll have more fun with this activity in a few more weeks.

Tonight, I figured out your sign for ketchup. you use a pointed index finger and dab it down on the tray like you are dipping something. You signed this after I placed a few tater tots on your plate. After I squeezed a bit of ketchup on your tray, you started to dip everything in it. Meatballs, rice, and tater tots.

Potty training has become a bit more frustrating this week as your schedule has become less normal. Some days we sit on the toilet for what seems like 10-15 minutes with no results. I've decided that I will just have you use the toilet after you show me the sign. You've been pretty good with it the few times you've had to go during non-scheduled potty sessions. I'm sure there will be a lot of poop rinsing in the days ahead of me, but I don't know if I can sit and entertain you by the potty for such a long time anymore. 

You are still not eating your veggies, although you tried asparagus, carrot, and radish this week. 

As far as news with me, I'm feeling better, less tired, but some days I still need an afternoon nap. On Monday I was so exhausted after teaching that I decided to take a nap. I laid down in bed, only to find that my back was a bit sore. So, I did a happy baby yoga pose, (legs froggy style in the air) to stretch out my back and fell asleep in the position...for 2 hours. I woke up, and carefully straightened my legs as they had gotten slightly sore from being in that position for that long. Crazy, huh? 

It seems like this pregnancy, I've gotten more than my fair share of stomach bugs. I hope it won't affect the baby too much. 

I've also had super vivid dreams with details that seem to really fit with what's going on in my life right now. They are so realistic and relevant that they could very well happen. It's pretty crazy. 

Well, everyone in the house is sick. It's getting late, so I better get my sleep. Until next week! 

Love, 

Mama