11 at 11

- His favorite place to be is in is the kitchen.  He loves crawling around and investigating everything in there.
- He hasn't figured out the sippy cup.  We have invested in a few different kinds and have yet to find one he really likes.  I'm starting to wonder if he will ever figure it out (he never figured out the bottle either.)  Any suggestions?

- When he crawls, he usually brings a buddy along with him.  It doesn't really matter what.  Toy, blanket, clothing, whatever he has in his hand comes along with him.
- He goes crazy at bath time.  He is squirming, investigating, jumping, dumping, splashing, standing, spinning, wiggling, and just going everywhere.  He loves it!

- He is a messy, messy eater.  He loves to eat avocado and just slime everything.  I think he will give us a good show with his birthday cake next month.
- He can crawl up the stairs, Mommy watching of course.

- He loves to go outside, but doesn't like to sit in the grass.  He'll lift up his legs while he is sitting there and if he decides to crawl, he does it bear crawl style to avoid the pokey grass.
- He enjoys sitting in shopping carts.  He'll swing his legs back and forth and get the cart to move.

- Nathan has never been much of a snuggler until recently.  He loves to curl up against me while I sing his naptime/bedtime lullaby to him.
- Brad plays this game with Nathan that he finds hilarious.  Brad will poke his head in and out of Nathan's room and Nathan laughs hysterically when he sees Brad.

- He is such a fun little boy.  He loves to laugh, play, and explore.  We think he's a lot of fun to hang out with.

No No No

Nathan woke up from his nap the other day and was in the best mood.  He was so happy and silly.  What a ham!

Happy Birthday Brad!

Brad's birthday was pretty low key, just some cake and ice cream with friends.  It was nice just to be together with everyone.  We've all been busy with school and work that it's been awhile since we've all been together.

Doug also came in town for the weekend and took Brad out shopping.  They returned with this, a new grill!  Brad is so excited about it.  Brad's been asking for a grill for a long time, but our first apartment didn't allow them and it would have been stolen from our second.  Yeah for a home in the burbs!

Nathan helped us put it together.

We also celebrated with some friends from dental school.  We went out for Famous Dave's after one of their finals and then the next day had them over for a BBQ on the new grill.

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Brad's birthday!

10 at 10 Months

- Nathan has decided that crawling on his knees is faster than on his belly.
- His new favorite toy is the printer.  I cannot set him in the office at all without him crawling over to turn it off and pull down the paper tray.  He even crawled out of his room today and into the office to see the printer.  We're in trouble with his persistence to get what he wants.

- Nathan loves to reach up and play with his hair.  It's one of the cuter things he is doing these days.

- He has started shaking his head no.  He has no idea what it means, I think he just likes to do it.  Usually this happens in his high chair when he's a little bored.
- Much more interested in feeding himself than eating spooned food.

- We have two tall chairs in the kitchen.  Nathan likes to crawl underneath them and play there.  He'll grab onto the bars, scoot his body around, pull up on the bars, and eat any part he can get his mouth on.  It's his own little jungle gym.

- He has figured out he can turn the pages in his books.
- Loves watching cars drive by our house.  We have a little nook in the kitchen that we will curl up in the blanket together and watch them go by.

- He is constantly pulling up to stand on everything.  He also loves walking around while holding our hands.
- His second nap of the day is frustrating to both of us.  I think we just need to figure out his new schedule and we'll be good.  On a good note, we've stopped the screaming at night.  Thank goodness.

Happy Easter Little Bunny!

Spring Break

Aka, our last spring break of dental school.  Boo.  Brad won't get a spring break the next two years since he will be working in the clinic with real patients.  We convinced Aaron to come join us for our Spring Break and enjoyed having him visit.

All Brad wanted to do on break was relax.  All Aaron wanted to do was eat.  All I wanted was to get out of the house.  All Nathan wanted was to be the center of attention.

We all got our wishes.

We went to Longwood's Orchid Festival.  There is nothing like seeing spring flowers while you're still waiting for winter to end to rejuvenate your spirits.  And despite what Nathan looks like in these photos, he had a great time at Longwood.  He was oh so smily and happy the whole time.

You should also take a stop by Brad's photography blog to check out his photos from Longwood.

We also got to take Aaron out to Distrito while he was here.  Now, we've gone out to eat with Nathan before, but he usually sits in his carseat and we hurry up so he doesn't make a scene.  This was his first time in a high chair in a restaurant (an iron chef restuarant none the less) and he did really, really well.  I'm not sure why it felt so momentous, but it was.  It felt like we'd regained a little freedom to go out again.  I know his being good in a restaurant won't last long, but it was nice to out for a change.

All in all our Spring Break was relaxing and fun.  We're glad Aaron could come out to spend time with us.  Now we just have to keep trekking through dental school until our next break in August.

9 Months

- He has figured out how to sit up on his own.  He is so proud of himself.
- Something has clicked and Nathan is a pro at shoveling finger foods into his mouth.  I love watching him following mischievous little cereal puffs to the back of his hands and then getting them in his mouth.
- Crawling.  More like doing the worm.  He's got a system down and it's so funny to watch him squirm across the living room.

- Stranger anxiety has hit full force.  This has been exacerbated by too many doctors appointments.  Poor kid.  Every time we walk into an appointment he starts bawling.
- His 9 month stats: 18 lbs 3 oz (26.46 percentile), 27 inches long (10.93 percentile), and 17.25 inches head circumference (23.12 percentile.)

- He is mischievous.  Like trying to pull down the drapes and wiggling his way underneath the bookcase.  We might be in trouble with this curious little boy.
- Nathan can sleep through the night, but I think he's discovered how powerful his lungs are recently.  If he so happens to wake up in the night he will wail.  And wail.  And wail.  Not my favorite.  He is fully capable of going back to sleep, but he wants attention.  Wish us good luck with sleep training.  We'll wait until we no longer have house guests for spring break to work on that one.

- He loves reading books before he goes to sleep.  He can be melting down and as soon as we start reading he will calm down and enjoy the book.
- He growls like a dog.  All the time.  He particularly loves to growl when he's eating.  He sounds so angry, but he is usually happy while he is growling away.

- He loves his daddy time.  He will laugh and laugh at Brad.
- Nathan has thought it is so funny to sit in his crib, hold the railing and look over the top.  If you would get down on his level he would start giggling away.  It was so cute, but I knew I needed to lower the crib mattress since he could sit up now.  One day, we were talking to him in his crib when he got so excited he decided to stand up all on his own.  He was beaming that he did it himself.  We were right there so nothing happened, but needless to say, we lowered the mattress a notch right then.  But now Nathan can't see over the railing and he doesn't giggle at us anymore.