18 Months!

Our Nathan is a big boy now! As of May 2nd he is 18 months old. 

And since his mama is a lazy blogger, you get to read about it.....................now.

I've been writing down things Nathan does or funny quirks he has all day; my goals were to (1) get homework done and go to my (one) class of the semester, (2) plan my lesson for Cub Scouts tonight, and (3) write this blog post. So yes, it's 10 pm, but I'm getting to it! And we're not early to bed people, so it's all good :o)

I'll mix in my little tidbits with recent pictures. Enjoy!

Nathan, afraid of the shaving cream daddy sprayed on his head during bathtime :o)

Nathan can say these words:

Granted, they don't all sound perfect, of course.

mama/dada (turning into mommy/daddy)

ball

more

banana

cheese

juice

Jesus

shoes

haha cheese, juice, Jesus, and shoes all kind of sound the same...it's all about context I guess!

 binky

hi

bye

happy 

hot

food (called "nummies" in our house)

baby

mine

no 

dog

please

thank you

all done (the one sign he's really gotten into)

uh oh

wow

whoa

Yay, that took up way too much space! Oh well, he's becoming a great talker!

Second-guessing his decision to pour spaghetti-o's on his head...

Nathan doesn't care to color, but the crayons seem to taste good.

He does everything with both his left and right hands, and prefers both of them at different times.

No handedness here yet!

Nathan knows the name for almost anything, but wants to hear you name it.

He always says, "ehh?" in a very inquisitive tone, wanting to hear what something is called.

He asks all day where daddy is.

Nathan is getting really good at holding our hands so we'll let him walk in public.

He shakes his hand for "no", copying the sign for "all done."

He climbs onto the chairs you're sitting in to be with you.

He can follow two- and three-part instructions.

Trying to get the fridge open :o)

Nathan is a great helper around the house.

He is always eager to be involved in what mom and dad are doing.

He hates having his diaper changed; always has for one reason or another!

He loves wearing his little monkey slippers.

He LOVES drinking lime juice!

Nathan loves having any shoes put on because it means we're going outside, his favorite place EVER!

He gets SO excited to hear anything going on outside, and wants to hear its name when it happens.

"Eeeeh!?!?!?" "Do you hear that truck outside!?" Until you NAME what he's hearing, the high-pitched squeaking only gets louder!

He loves his little racetrack and wants us to assemble (and reassemble) it all day!

Nathan loves the baby swing we leave out for our little friend Emmaline (that I watch 3x/wk). He also thinks he and the dog are best friends and is pretty rough on him sometimes! 

(Sorry these aren't the sharpest...the swing was moving fast and I was using the fastest shutter speed/lowest ISO I could indoors!

 He loves to slide down his favorite slide at the park and will swing for about 5 minutes.

Nathan loves to ride in his bike trailer, especially when we're going to the park! If not he will point in the direction of the park and ask if we can go. (Ehh!? Eeeeh!? That's pretty much what we hear all day)

He loves creating excuses to say, "uh oh!"

He loves to wear his paracord bracelet that matches daddy's.

At least if he's ever lost in the wilderness he can unravel it and use it as a tool!

A sorting game made him think he wasn't actually eating...he didn't want to!

He really is a little scientist and takes most of life very seriously.

Nathan is surprisingly compliant, but has to have an explanation.

He is great for babysitters, especially in his own home.

He is very patient for a toddler and will wait "just a minute" for something.

Haha love this face :o) Pizza is his favorite food, no surprise! Everyone loves pizza!

Our boy loves suckers, even though he's probably only had 4 in his little life. He knows what they are at the store!

He loves to grocery shop with mom, and is very good in the store.

Nathan still loves Baby Einstein, but also likes Sesame Street as of about a week ago. 

Yay for 100 episodes on Netflix! He's seeing Elmo everywhere in the world all of a sudden.

He loves being read to.

He will comply with having his picture taken if he gets to see every one right after they're taken!

Nathan knows nearly all of his body parts, but is so over pointing to them for people. 

 Now he just wants to name everyone else's body parts!

He is a big helper when I watch babies, which happens several times a week. He's always giving them toys and their binkies!

A couple weeks ago he did quite the opposite...and constantly stole from wee little defenseless kids.

 He will give fist bumps, high fives, and gestures with palms up to ask where something is.

He can reach almost every surface in the house...the counter tops are safe for now, but even the top of the piano is fair game.

He loves to stomp and jump (the same thing) and takes fast, little steps across the ground when he's acting silly.

And THAT is our Nathan! I hope if you're reading from far away you are getting to know this little boy much better.

We're working on his shyness, but he's learning how to deal with social or new situations, and we're learning how to introduce things in a very non-threatening way. He'd be scared of new food if we weren't careful!

We love you, Nathan! You are the sweetest little boy and you make us better people every day :o) 

You have been quite an adventure, and even MORE fun! We wouldn't trade you for anything!