19 month letter

Dear Nate,

Yesterday you turned 19 months old. You are turning into such a big boy these days! The other day, I was looking at last year’s Christmas photos and I can’t believe how little you were. I can barely remember the days when I could sit you down and you would stay put. Your dad likes to quote a friend who said that having a baby means “Long days and short years” and I think it is one of the truest quotes I’ve ever heard. Time slips through our hands like sand these days.

A photo from last December

You are learning so much, grasshopper. I hesitate to put this in writing, but you have been showing an interest in the potty for awhile now. It caught us completely by surprise, but we’re going with it. We got you a little potty ring that has Elmo on it, and you like to sit on the potty before your bath. So far it hasn’t led to any actual peeing on the potty, but it’s neat that you want to give it a try. You also like to go into the bathroom and watch me flush the poop down the potty when I clean off a dirty cloth diaper. I make it into a big game and we say “bye bye” to the poop before we flush it, and then we applaud. I feel like a total idiot, but hey…whatever. Nobody said that motherhood was glamorous.

Recently, we’ve gotten into a funny pre-bedtime routine of wrestling! I never thought that I’d ever say that, but there it is. I think because it is dark at 5:00 these days and we can’t go out and play before your bath, you need a good 15 minutes of wrestling to get the rest of your energy out. You usually initiate the wrestling by coming up to me and pushing on my chest until I collapse. Then you jump on top of me, all while screaming as loud as you can. I usually grab you and sit up really fast, tickling you while I’ve got you laying across my lap. Then your dad comes in and we trade off wrestling with you until we’re all exhausted. It’s a ton of fun and I think I can say that we all enjoy it immensely. Soon you’re going to have to test out your wrestling skills on your Uncle Greg, because I was his wrestling buddy (unwillingly) for much of my childhood. I’m sure he’d enjoy showing you how to do a figure four leg lock. It’s so funny to me that we do such BOYISH things. I often wonder if moms of little girls sit around having tea parties and playing dress up, while I chase you and attack you with monster puppets and you try to figure out how to put your dad into a headlock. It’s a crazy, loud and hectic existence, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

The past month has been one of the happiest months of my life. I think that part of it is the excitement over sharing the holidays with you. Last year was fun, but this year is just amazing. You love the Christmas tree, and I have to admit that every time I see you take a peek at the tree, my heart fills up with so much love that I think it’s going to explode. Sometimes I wonder how I can continue to love you more and to feel even happier and more excited than I did yesterday, but somehow all that love continues to fit nicely into your mama’s heart.

Photo taken by Nicole FabyLove you forever,
Mama

I am so thankful...

For my sweet son. We are so blessed to have a happy and healthy family.

Oh no!

This evening, Nate and I were wrastling, and every time he attacked me I said "Oh no!" He started repeating me and saying "Oh no!" every time he tackled me. It was so funny. The way he says it makes him sound like he is foreign or something. It's hilarious.

We were able to get a video of him in the bath this evening saying "Oh no" and "boo" and "bye." He's too funny.

18 month stats!

Nate had his 18 month appointment this morning. The pediatrician assured me that Nate is still the handsomest and smartest baby she has ever seen. It's not like I didn't already know that, but it's nice to hear anyway. In addition, he was weighed and measured, poked and prodded and injected with vaccinations.

He is now 26 pounds, 4.5 oz, 33.5 inches tall and his noggin is 49 centimeters. He has stayed in the same growth categories for about a year now (about 50% for weight and 75-90% for height). He is growing great and the doctor was pleased with all of his progress. :)

18 month letter

Dear Nate,

Today you turned 18 months old. You are a year and a half old! Wow. How can it already be half a year since you turned one?! Time goes by way too quickly.

We have been all over the state this month. We went to the zoo in Asheboro, we visited friends in New Bern, and we went to the mountains last weekend. It has been a very hectic month. Luckily, you seem to go with the flow and you enjoy our crazy schedule.

You got a terrible, horrible, angry, mean diaper rash a couple of weeks ago. It plain sucked. It's something we haven't dealt with in the past and I was completely unprepared for how awful it would be. Diaper changes were so painful that you would cry so hard you were shaking. It completely broke my heart to see you that upset and in that much pain and to not be able to help you. Even worse, I felt like I was causing some of the pain because wiping your red bottom and applying diaper cream seemed to be the most painful part of the process. Luckily, the pediatrician told me to try Lotrimin under your diaper cream and it worked! In the meantime, we were sure to give you lots of naked baby time, to allow your bottom to air out. It was super-de-duper cute to see you walking around naked. Hee hee...

We celebrated your 2nd Halloween this weekend. We went to 2 parties and had a blast at each one. You were Yoda. How did you come to be Yoda this year? Well, I wanted you to be a pirate. I had this idea that if you were a pirate, we could draw a moustache on you. Hilarious, right? But your dad wanted you to be Yoda. He told me that this was the last opportunity we would have to pick your costume without your input and that you would want to be a pirate one year anyway. Apparently all boys want to be pirates for Halloween. I conceded and I'm glad I did. I honestly think that seeing you dressed up as Yoda was the proudest moment of fatherhood that your dad has experienced to date, possibly including your birth. It was that important to him.

You are becoming more opinionated by the day. I constantly make the mistake of asking you a question like, "Do you want a diaper change?" only to have you shake your head "no" at me. So far, we've been lucky that you have not started saying "no," but you started practicing with it this evening. I'm afraid we haven't got much longer before the answer to everything is going to be "no" and I'm going to have to be that crafty mom who gives a toddler two choices, neither of which is what you actually want.

November 1 starts off the next phase of the holiday season. We have Thanksgiving this month and then Christmas next month. I will admit that this morning, we went to Target and we were disappointed that they did not have their Christmas trees up yet. We were so excited to show you the trees and to see your reaction to them! You are going to LOVE Christmas this year, and we cannot wait to share it with you. The next couple of months are going to be so much fun, Nate! I'm so, so glad you're here!

Love,

Mama

Best Weekend Ever

I think I can safely say that this weekend was the best weekend ever. Back in August, a friend of mine offered to let us use her cabin in the mountains. It was so hard to find a weekend that the cabin was available and we were also free, but we finally decided that the weekend of October 24 would work. I can't tell you how many times I almost said "Never mind! It's too much of a hassle to try to pick a damn weekend!" but I'm so glad I didn't.

We drove up Friday evening and had a pretty easy trip. We had dinner and then Nate slept most of the way. He did wake up as we got into the mountains, and I felt so bad that his ears were popping and there was nothing we could do to help him. He was confused and crying and there was no one in the back seat to comfort him, other than Fiona. She didn't even offer one tiny little doggy kiss though. I wish she knew how much help a doggy kiss would be in a moment like that.

The cabin was wonderful! It's located in West Jefferson, NC, which is a cute little town full of Christmas tree farms.

Saturday morning, we got up early and went into West Jefferson for breakfast. Afterwards, we took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and headed towards Grandfather Mountain.




Despite being NC born and bred, I had never been to Grandfather Mountain before! I was really excited to finally go. It is definitely worth all the hype and I can see why kids love it so much. There are trails to hike.


The mile high swinging bridge is one mile above sea level. Pretty neat, and not nearly as scary as I expected.



The scenery is beautiful.





There are bears to feed!




And bears you can't feed.


There are otters.

And a bald eagle.



I hear that there are also cougars and maybe other animals, but someone (I won't say who) was melting down at that point, so we needed to go. The drive back to the cabin was gorgeous though!



After we got back to the cabin, we took a walk up the road. The road was covered in leaves. It was a beautiful fall walk.


Then we built a fire in the fire place. It was warm and cozy. Nate sat in his dad's lap and watched the fire in amazement.





We also roasted marshmallows. They were delicious! We were going to introduce Nate to s'mores, but after 2 roasted marshmallows, we decided to save the s'mores until after he went to bed. I didn't want to see what sort of tummy ache he'd have if we gave him even more sugar.

After Nate went to bed, Erik and I picnicked on the rug and drank some wine by the fire. We roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores. We talked and snuggled by the fire. It was heaven. Just heaven. Normally, my idea of the perfect vacation involves lying on the beach. But laying in front of a fire with a great glass of wine and an amazing husband can't be beat.

Sunday morning we made breakfast at home, and then went out to Mount Jefferson State Park. The plan was to hike up there, but the temperatures proved too cold for us. We were not prepared for the wind chill! It was COLD! Instead, we enjoyed the view and then explored the area (by car) some more.



We were sad when we had to pack up and leave. Why didn't we plan to stay for a 3 day weekend? Or a 4 day weekend? Why not a 7 day weekend? That would have been nice. At least Nate helped us clean before left.


Even though it was just 2 days, we had one of the best little vacations we've ever had. It was so quiet and relaxing. Sometimes the best things come in small packages.

The end. :)

Osmosis

Most nights, I get the honor of putting Nate to bed. He goes to sleep easily for Erik too, but this is a task that I usually handle and I very much enjoy it most of the time. We sit in the glider and read, and some nights Nate is too tired to even read, so instead we just sit quietly together and he presses his head on my chest to snuggle until he falls asleep.

Often, he tries to curl back into the fetal position on my chest, just like he did as a newborn. He balls himself up as tight as he can, knees curled underneath him and his arms hanging straight down, with his head on my shoulder. We sit like that, his head under my chin, and I take in all the wonderful baby scents as I notice that we are breathing together. Inhale...exhale...inhale. If I really focus, I can feel his heart beating on my chest, directly above my own heart. And I feel the love pouring out of me and into him, and at the same time, love is pouring out of him and into me. For just a few minutes in the evening, if I'm lucky, I get to experience this osmosis of love.