Nathan Turns 2 and Update on Hannah's Hips

To my dear children,
 This week has been very eventful. The big news is that Nathan turned 2 years old. We've been working on having Nathan answer the question "How old are you?" with this:

 Instead of the traditional peace sign-style "two," Nathan does it stick-em up style. Nathan's actual birth day fell on a church pot-luck night so we celebrated with our friends at church. Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and Nathan did this cute dance with his 2 pointer fingers. When the song ended, he blew out the candles and exclaimed, "yay!"

I can't believe how quickly these 2 years have gone by. This really makes me realize that I need to treasure every moment with little Hannah. I find that being a second time parent I know what to expect so instead of wondering when she will sleep through the night, I have more of a "this is time for us to bond" attitude.

Nathan has been handling being a big brother pretty well. One day this past week he repeatedly would hit Hannah. We tried time outs, re-directions on what we should do instead and it seemed like a lost cause. I brought this to the attention of my Facebook friends and pretty much got the unanimous advice to spend more quality time with him. Well, along with positive reinforcement, it worked. Nathan is back to being loving and gentle when it comes to interacting with his little sister.

We tried painting for the first time. It was a success. Nathan really enjoys painting. When Daddy came home, Nathan was so proud to show him what he had done.

 We've also spent a lot more time reading and singing songs. Nathan really likes this Thomas book that he received from his great-grandparents.

 We've even tried our hand at jewelry making. We made bracelets for everyone in the family. In the picture below, Nathan is making one for Daddy in U of I colors.

On the day after Nathan's birthday, we all drove up to Burnett, where we met up with a friend to ride Thomas. Nathan was so excited when he first spotted Thomas that he didn't even know what to say.

 We even snagged a picture with the conductor.

The train ride was pretty short. Nathan was afraid of the loud track noises. He liked it when Thomas tooted. 

 Afterwards, there was a guy who was leading the little kids in song and dance. Here they are doing the hokey pokey, one of Nathan's favorites.

Oh, and Nathan can now say "Thomas" instead of "doo doo" which is what he used to refer to the little blue engine. 

We have decided to turn Nathan around in his car seat. He now faces forward and really likes the view. Going on a car ride is one of his favorite things to do. (Unlike 1.5 years ago)

Nathan is really into jumping these days. In fact, on our daily walks to the mailbox, he will jump the whole way there. Of course, it takes forever, but he jumps, takes a few steps and jumps again. We;ve been working on landing a jump down. He's gotten pretty good at it, but he needs to have his shoes on. 

 We took Hannah in for a follow-up visit for her hips. After looking at the ultrasound, the doctor has determined that her hips are now in the normal range. She still has to wear her brace for one more month, but for only 12 hours a day. He's also loosened the straps a lot more so that when she has it on, she has more mobility. Yay! This means more cuddles.

 I think I've gotten handling two children. Now, I just need to start figuring out how to get chores in as well.

That's it for now.
Love,
Mommy