Words!

So I have been trying to get video, but Nate says "balloon" - sort-of. He was obsessed with the mylar helium balloons from the birthday festivities and starting it about a week ago. He doesn't always say it, but sometimes it is rather clear. He also said it ask for my round fluffy bath puff/sponge that was hanging over(his)head in the tub.

He also was crawling around last night in the house (Steve had just gone out to mow the lawn) and was saying da, da, da, da. I am 95% sure he was looking for Steve.

Manholes

So Jack is interested in manholes and pipes beneath the street (among other things).

So yesterday we were walking back to our car from his preschool (last day - sad!) and he saw a little metal circle (maybe 6" in diameter) in the sidewalk. He asked what it was, I was in a hurry and said something quick like "it's a type of manhole." He stopped, stooped down for a closer look and said "for little people?"

Here is a picture of him last week when he was playing. He said he was in the manhole.

More Birthday Fun - Round 2

Thanks Grandma Linda, Papa Rick and Teddy for a great visit. My favorite stuff so far has been the big crane truck and the school bus ride-on.

More Birthday Fun - Round 1

We celebrated both boys' birthday this weekend with my side of the family. (We will be on vacation for Nate's actual birthday). Due to Nate's allergies, no cake for him, but he got a an oatmeal cookie on Sat and special cake on Sunday - See next post, but it was a dairy free, wheat free mix and I substituted bananas for eggs. It wasn't too bad - tasted like quite gooey banana bread. He hasn't had eggs yet, I suspect if he is OK with those this mix would taste just like regular cake.

Thanks to Nonnie, Grandpa Bill and GG Polly for all the great stuff. I would say Jack's favorite as his new firefighter helmet with mask and Curious George DVDs. Nate loves his shopping cart and cell phone.

3 Year Update

* Jack is 35lbs and 38.5" - roughly 80-85th percentile for both. He wears a 91/2 - 10 shoe and is fully in his 3T clothes (except cheap tees/sweats etc, when I get a 4T.)

* He doesn't stop talking and has a huge vocabulary. His grammar is getting quite good, too. He still makes I/Me and they/them mistakes and leaves of articles (a, an), but other than that speaks quite well. He has some pronunciation issues - he can't say F or hard G/Cs at the beginning of words. Our pediatrician recommended he has a private evaluation with a speech language pathologist (we both think he won't quite qualify for any state services). I do notice I have to "translate" what he is saying far less to strangers than I did even a couple of months ago though. He also speaks very fast (wonder where he gets that?) which makes things harder.

* He can jump, run, throw, kick, catch (sometimes, with the right ball), swing a bat (on occasion making contact with a ball) and swings a bat like a hockey stick like an expert. He can peddle a tricycle, but it is hard for him on certain ones that are heavy.

* He can count to 10 and can do the alphabet with a little prodding. Overall he is not all interested in this sort of thing. He is much more interested in learning about types of firetrucks (do you know what a tiller man is?) or regular trucks. He is also interested in pipes, crossing gates, hoses/sprinklers etc.

* He sleeps from about 8:30pm - 7:30-8:30am. He doesn't nap anymore. He occasionally will fall asleep in the car if it is late afternoon or watching a show if he has had a really busy day.

* He plays very imaginatively with his toys or other items around the house. For example, he likes to "ride" in one of our little plastic trash cans like it was a cherry picker. (In honesty, it does look a LOT like the buckets on local utility trucks). He wants to "fix" the "wires" around the house.

* He picks up on things on the radio/tv much more than he used to. We have to be careful what we talk about when we think he isn't paying attention, because he always is! He will ask questions when he hears new words or things that sound interesting to him.

* He knows where all his family lives on a map of the US, and he often remembers if I tell him something interesting about other states.

* His favorite book is "Fireman Small." He knows, in many of the books, if you say a word wrong and will giggle and correct you. He likes Dr. Seuss books a lot too.

* Potty training has been slowly slowly underway for awhile. He really has little interest as it all seems to disrupt his play and take longer than he would like.

The Big 3!

Jack got his first "friend" party this year - I had over 5 moms and their kids (one had 2 with her) and we had pizza & cake. It was very low key but I think everyone had a good time.

I attempted to do my own cake this year -while it is nothing like last year's amazing one from Party Favors - it still came out pretty well. Jack knew it was a firetruck, which is really all that matters.

After the party Jack got to open his presents (they don't do it AT parties anymore, at least not around here. I figured out why when one neighbor stayed on for Jack opening his and there was fighting in about 30 seconds).

My (Lauren's) family will be visiting this weekend - so more to come!

Walking Video

Walking!

So Nate, despite being a touch under the weather, walked today! He took independent, somewhat coordinated steps - the most I saw was 5 in our neighbors backyard, but he can do 2-3 in a row pretty consistently before falling (or diving into arms).

I lost one of his shoes today at a playground - coincidence?

More Pics from Memorial Day - Visit with GG Janet

We had a nice visit with Steve's Grandmother Janet, in Keene, on Sunday of memorial day weekend. This got overshadowed on the blog by Nate's illness, but I wanted to share pictures. We also were fortunate enough to see Great-Uncle Matt and Great Aunt Brigitte.

Nate enjoyed crawling all around and keeping mom/dad on their toes. Jack loved climbing the stairs in the apartment building and running down the long straight hallways. He also was very pleased to be able to push the elevator buttons!

11 Months (can't believe it!)

* Nate can walk pushing things easily. We have seem him take a step, then fall, numerous times. He sometimes will stand for a few seconds independently. He can walk quickly and far while holding on to just our fingers.

* He likes to climb things, step stools, big blocks etc. He is much more adventurous than his brother was at this age. He tries to dive out of our arms when head to the staircase as he wants to climb himself.

* Babbling a lot! He says mama and dada, but not to us yet.

* Has started to really enjoy books. He sometimes crawls over to one, and then crawls back with it to us so we can read it to him. Very cute - His favorites are "freight train" and "moo, ba, la la la." He (like his brother, still) likes to knock over towers of blocks.

* Eats 3 meals a day and nurses about 4-6 times over a 24 hours period. He also loves his sippy cups and drinks a bit of water (maybe 4 oz?) during the day. He loves frozen peas, Happy Baby puffs, avacado, sweet potato (cooked/ cut in tiny pieces) and his special gluten/dairy free waffles.

* We have cut new wheat products out of his diet as he had 2, very very minor reactions to it. He is still eating puffs/cheerios which both have wheat. This is in addition to not having dairy! We have been introducing new foods very very slowly do to all this. I am still hoping he will outgrow these issues as the reactions are so minor (the wheat ones didn't even need benadryl, but he clearly had spots on his face for about 15 minutes).

*He never sits still for a second. I literally have changed his diaper while holding him upside down by the ankles!

* He naps, consistently, 2 times a day. He goes to bed between 7:15 and 8. He is up for the morning around 7 and gets up 1-3 times in the middle.

* He is in his 12-18 month clothes. I have taken out a few 18-24 mos and they are wearable, but big. I would guess he is about 23lbs. He was 22lbs 14oz when admitted to the ER last week.

* He was measured and is a size 5 shoe, he is in 12-18 slipper/shoes (Robeez, Bobux, etc). I broke down and bought him some shoes with soles as he is cruising/crawling around playgrounds and driveways a lot, lately. Jack didn't need them until 14 months when he was a true walker. 2nd kids are different;)

Funny Faces

As successful as anyone else's try so far..

Jack overheard a discussion of the Gulf oil spill on the radio and as he presently has a fascination with pipes, drains, manholes etc so this was of interest to him. (I think this interest partially stems from our water fiasco last month when the large water pipe broke leaving us without potable water for days).

He was at the table so I decided to show him on the map where the gulf was. He decided it was time for him to do what BP couldn't - fix the pipe with his "plumber tools."

Not my idea of a fun holiday...

I brought Nate to the local community hospital ED on Monday afternoon as he his breathing was shallow panting. He was not blue or anything, but it wasn't right. He also had cold symptoms and was fussier than normal. They monitored him in their pediatric ED and his oxygen levels were low, but not too scary. They couldn't figure out if he was getting better or worse, so we were transferred to Boston Children's (see pic above getting ready to go in the ambulance). Nate continued to be in good spirits despite all this. They also found an ear infection (not severe) complicating things a bit. Children's monitored him overnigt, but he did very well there so we were sent home late morning Tuesday. His breathing is still a bit stressed at times, but overall better. He is crawling/cruising/playing all around. His color is fine. We saw our own pediatrician this morning.

To make a long story short he has some sort of viral infection - at this age it often hits lungs. It is the most common form of admittance at this age, apparently. He should be markedly better in 2-3 days if all goes to plan.

He is on antibiotics (for the ear) and other than that I am keeping him in our AC, he seems to do better with it blasting, presumably it lowers the ambient humidity?.