Nate update!

Nate is two and a half now and continues to do more and more every day.  His verbal skills have really taken off and he is mastering his two word sentences and is constantly mimicking what we say. 

He also loves singing!  I think the longest string of words he says is "Old McDonald had a farm."  He is ALWAYS asking to sing it.  Other favorites are Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me and Wheels on the Bus.  He has also started requesting "The Baby Song" (Rock a Bye Baby) and will climb in your lap and want you to rock him and sing.  We have no idea where this came from as it isn't something we ever did, but it's too adorable not to give in.  He will also go on to request "The Daddy Song" or "The Mommy Song" and want you to fill in other names.  This has gone on through several family members, even Sammy.

Nate is getting better about eating different foods and we are also working harder on eating meals as a family and not just giving in to his food requests (otherwise he would live off of granola bars and goldfish.)

Being a rambunctious 2 year old we are definitely having some battles of wills and starting to figure out what kinds of discipline are going to work best for us.  For weeks we were having lots of sleep time issues after we took his pacifier away.  He will take off his pajamas and destroy his room at times, but we have come up with ways to combat all of these behaviors.  Let me tell you, it is no fun to find your toddler naked and sitting on top of his (tall) dresser when you got to get him up in the morning. 

Nate enjoys school and seeing his friends at church.  He is always very excited to leave the house!  He is also so sweet with Cole and I know they are going to be good friends!  Nate will say "What's wrong, Cole?" when he's crying and will sometimes help put Cole to bed, saying "Night Night, Cole.  Sweet Dreams" 

His favorite playtime activities include stacking blocks, playing with his animals and his Thomas "cuter" (computer).  That was a great consignment sale find and has letter and number games that he loves.  As for tv shows he is more into Nick Junior shows like Yo Gabba Gabba and Backyardigans but still also loves Caillou.

Cole: 9 months!

Cole is 9 months old!  He has done an awesome job of not going up too fast for Mommy (though I was literally screaming and crying this past weekend when he was trying to pull up!)

He is a healthy boy, weighing in at 19 pounds 10 ounces (50%) and standing 28 inches tall (25-50%).  He continues to be fitting into the same clothes Nate wore during the same seasons, which has been so nice!  I recently unpacked all of the 12 month clothes and he is starting to move into those.

For such a fussy infant, Cole rarely fusses now.  He is awesome at bedtime and really just wants to be put in his crib and he'll go right to sleep.  When he wakes up he doesn't cry and often just plays and talks to himself! Truthfully he cries the most when he is trying to get Sammy to "play" with him and Sammy isn't having it.  He can make quite the sad face at that!  It can be hard to coax a smile out of him at times and he has a habit of sucking on his bottom lip...it's pretty cute.

He loves eating- feeding himself his bottles and picking up his own finger foods.  Poor guy still doesn't have any teeth...though it seems like he's been teething one since forever.  He also doesn't have much hair :(  And he's so pretty he often gets mistaken for a girl.  ha!

First Day of School!

Nate had his first day of preschool for the year today!  He will go on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9-1.

I tried to take a picture before school and this is what he did.  Wasn't in the mood!

 Once at school he dove right in to doing puzzles and meeting new friends.

 His school has a fun aquarium with turtles!

He loves his new backpack!

I know it will be so much fun for him to tell me about his days this year, since last year he couldn't say much.  From today he "told" me that he recognized his friend Eli, who was in his class last year and that they sang Wheels on the Bus.

Check this guy out!

**You probably want to mute this because baby talk apparently gets exponentially worse with each child**

 

I'll do a proper Cole update after his 9 month (yes, sad but true) appointment that is in 2 weeks!

Still on Summer Schedule!

Hi there.  We are still on Summer break here and probably won't be back to regular posts until after Labor Day!  Enjoy our new header with beach pictures...and I will try to keep pictures updated on our Smug Mug!

Cereal!

Feeding Nate his first cereal is one of my favorite memories...it's so funny how different it was for Cole.  I had been putting it off for a while and finally decided it was time.  He was not much of a fan....

Then with us making a big deal about cereal, Nate chimes in and says that he wants a bowl of cereal too!

Oh, these boys!

I'd been trying to shove rice cereal into Cole every night. He would be so tight lipped I'd have to make him laugh to get any in!  It was pretty frustrating. At his dr's appt I said that he wasn't a big fan and she said just to try a different kind of cereal- I didn't even think of that!  So, we have now switched to oatmeal cereal, which he loves!  I guess we will start fruits and veggies soon too.

Nate the Photographer

We were stuck at home one day last week when Nate ran a fever and I happened to find our old digital camera.  Thinking it might entertain him for a while I gave it to him....and he really enjoyed playing with it!  Started off with a good self-portrait....

then moved on to some (lots) of random shots (many with a finger over the lens)

But if you are diligent, you'll come out with a few gems...Like this one of Cole!

He even gave Mommy a little love.  I'm assuming he cut off the top of my head because I was having a bad hair day :-)

Maybe I'll do these posts periodically and see what Nate captures!