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?.

Picture time...

I was going to get the boys pictures take together today, but alas Jack got bonked on the cheek yesterday and has a huge bruise (in addition to the scratch on his forehead), so I decided to just have Nate's done. This probably prevented a bruise on Nate's head too;/ (Jack doesn't much like flashes at the moment).


Nate's Pictures

Password is our current town.

Fun Day!

First this morning we had class (with both boys) at the local center where I always took Jack. Nate LOVED playing with the "goop" (corn starch & water).


Then we went to an open house at a local town's DPW with some friends. Jack got to sit in all sorts of trucks, and unlike last spring, he LOVED it.

As you can see, Nate's hair is getting SO very very blonde.

Mini-Soccer

It is hilarious, but our town has a park & rec department class from 2-3 year olds to learn soccer. I wasn't sure what I thought about it, but thought Jack would like to run around outside with other kids. I was pleasantly surprised to find it is actually quite age-appropriate in terms of content (what shape is a soccer field? this is how we pass and kick) but about 15 minutes too long for their attention span. 45 minutes would be MUCH better than an hour. The lure of the playground next to the field is too much. We, and many of the parents, head over to the playground before the class really ends, no need to push them, the point is to get out and move.