Week 78.18

Dear Nathan, 

I can't seem to find a good title for this week so I am just going to go with the week #. Today we went to the grocery store and I finally remembered to bring in my phone with me to take a picture of you helping out. The pictures are a bit fuzzy, but it will have to do. 

 Sometimes when you lift heavy things, you make a little grunting noise. It's really cute.

This week we've been to story time and chinese class. So, things are back to a regular schedule now that the workers are gone. But this weekend was crazy painting weekend for us. Daddy climbed a scaffold and painted the whole living room ceiling and walls. I helped with the lower part of the walls, but I think Daddy did most of the tough work. Here you are, admiring the lovely work that he did.

 These past few weeks, you have gotten pretty good at puzzles. You are able to find the spot where the piece goes and 50% of the time twist it just right to fit it in...and the label said 3+. At almost a year and a half, this puzzle is perfect for you.

There's been a lot of loud noises going on this past few days and often you would be scared of them, especially if you didn't know what was making those noises. Daddy taught you how to cover your ears. You now do that whenever you hear anything loud.

Not much on the eating front, except for that you are still eating peas (but only in ketchup fried rice). You've gotten pretty good at using 2 spoons to eat: one for pushing the food into the other one.

 You also want to peel and section your clementines - but you end up smushing the sections, and then you don't like to eat the smushed pieces.

You were insistent on feeding baby some orange.

Last night, your nose started to run. This time I'm not quite sure if it is allergies (because I'm being affected by oak pollen) or if you caught another cold. It really seems like you don't go 1-2 weeks without catching something. And without fail, when you get sick, you always wake up once or twice at night, needing some cuddles, but then you go back to sleep.

So, since you may have a cold, I decided to make you some chicken and stars soup. You are able to use the big soup spoon to drink your soup pretty well. You really liked it. Your reaction after tasting it was similar to your reaction to ice cream.

 But the thing is that stars are kind of hard to eat from a big soup spoon. Plus they are small enough to get into your nostrils. We had to squeeze a few out throughout lunch.

My hips have been in pain these past few days. They pretty much get worse after I squat for awhile. I started feeling them after pulling weeds and cleaning out the garden bed earlier last week and it just hasn't gone away completely. Some days it is excruciating to even walk. I'm thinking about going to go see a chiropractor.

So, it's been difficult to carry you up and down the stairs, especially now that you are so heavy. For some odd reason, you almost always just refuse to come down the stairs on your own anymore. Yesterday, I was so desperate, I bribed you with some ice cream. I showed you the bucket and a minute later, you were sliding down the stairs on your belly. The second time I tried, you still refused to come down. I came up and helped you a bit by encouraging you and cheering you on, and eventually, you came down on your own, but I wonder why you are afraid of coming down. Does it hurt?

I'm feeling the little honey bun move around mostly in the evening. The sensation isn't strong enough where you can feel it from the outside, but it's there. Three more weeks before we find out if it's a girl or a boy! By then we'll be finished with the living room, breakfast area, and playroom projects and we will be ready to move on to the new nursery. Can't wait!

That's it for now. I hope you feel better soon. We have an exciting weekend ahead of us. Birthday parties, baby parties, and church dinner.

Love,
Mommy