Walk This Way!!

Finally, our baby boy took his first steps tonight!!! In fact, he took six steps, and did it 3 different times!! Greg was on the floor playing with him, while I was on the couch half watching the UT game, and all of a sudden, Nate stood up and took a tentative step to Greg. After he figured out he could take two steps in a row, he sped up and got really excited! I started crying of course, and grabbed him for a big hug, while Greg just laughed (not sure why - weird reaction - but whatever)! We had just taken off his clothes and were letting him have "naked time," and I am glad we did, b/c we got to see our little "Baby Sumo" at work. (He does sumo poses and looks funny with his skinny body, fat belly, and droopy diaper.) Anyways, I am SUPER relieved, b/c most of Nate's "friends" (both older and younger) are already walking and he wasn't yet. (Well, at least not on his own.) Nana & Pops are coming for a visit next Thursday, so hopefully he'll be taking 10 steps at a time by then, instead of just 6!

On a sidenote, two other big things have happened in recent days...

One, I noticed this afternoon that he has two new teeth!! That makes a total of ten! He cut his first molars, up top.

And two, I have finally transitioned him from 2 naps to one long one in the afternoon. It took a few weeks - I was gradually shortening his first nap - and it was a bit of a fussy process. But now it is wonderful and really frees up the morning for us! We don't have to rush home from morning activities to take a nap anymore. Instead, we can do fun stuff, run errands, come home for lunch, and then he naps from 1-4 pm. Yayyyy! He has been doing it for a week now and I am really loving this new schedule!

My dear friend Mary Leigh

So, anyone who knows me well, knows that I HATE condiments. Ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc. There is a really long list, but the biggest offenders are anything white & creamy. So of course, mayo is at the top. Well, last Wednesday, Nate and I met my friend Mary Leigh for lunch at Jimmy John's (shout out to Chapel Hill!). I got Nate set up at the table while ML ordered, and then we switched positions so I could order. When I came back from getting a drink, Nate had a dot of white stuff on his lip and a big grin. ML could not contain her excitement, and told me he had tried mayo off of her sandwich, and loved it! OH MAN was I mad. No, not mad, disgusted. It's not like I was going to withhold all condiments from my son, but I was at least going to wait a few more years before introducing them (and therefore having to actually buy them and keep them in our house). Anyways, ML did the honors for me. Is that was good friends are for??? I'm still deciding.....

(ML - the only reason I've forgiven you is b/c you helped me so much on my scrapbook last night!! :)

A Toddler's Life

In honor of Nate turning 14 months yesterday, I thought I'd start referring to him as a toddler now, instead of a baby. I'm not sure if he's technically a toddler yet (when does that start - 18 or 24 months?), but he's definitely not a baby anymore. He had quite a fun weekend, filled with new things. I thought I'd make a list below instead of writing it out. (Believe me, you'll thank me...it would have been a novel!)

1. He got to ride in the cart with the car at Kroger for the first time. I took Greg with me in case I needed reinforcements (aka if he kept leaping out of the car). He did fine, but that seatbelt thing is not the sturdiest thing! He liked turning the steering wheel, and as you can see below, the socks weren't on for long.



2. He got to skype with BOTH sets of grandparents, quite a treat! He was as well behaved as you can expect a toddler to be, and showed off a few of his "skills."

3. He finally made the "ma ma" sound!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this one. All I've heard for months is "da da" this, "da da" that, and I was over it. Yay for my little man!

4. He figured out how to grab his monitor base & cord off the bookcase, from his crib. Not so funny. We walked in to get him up from a nap on Saturday and he was just smiling that mischievious grin of his....(can you say Dennis the Menace??) Needless to say, we moved it.

5. He got to try Mom's famous pancakes & sausage for the first time! They were a hit! While I was busy making them, Greg gave him a breakfast bar to tie him over (he eats like a total hoss in the mornings). See pic below - he thought it was funny to stuff a huge piece in his mouth & show it to Daddy. What a pig!!



6. We attempted our first art project....drawing on large paper with crayons. As you can imagine, the crayons were a big hit (very tasty). He only scribbled on the paper a tiny bit, but at least he had fun trying!

7. We made a list of words/phrases he can understand, and the count was 27!! The boy may not be able to walk, but at least he is going to be a smart one!! :)

8. We have finally been able to stop giving Nate a bottle before bedtime. He drinks enough milk (from his sippy) all throughout the day now! So our bedtime routine has gotten a lot shorter (and easier)!

So close.....but yet, so far away....

Nate is finally interested in using his fire truck to learn to walk...yay!! He will go over to it on his own, stand up, and start pushing/walking behind it. He gets a little confused when he bumps into furniture and needs to turn around though. So, we are still working on "reverse."




We took him out in the driveway this past weekend and let him try to walk with some shoes on. He did NOT like that. He was lifting his legs super slow, as if we had strapped weights to his ankles instead of shoes. He finally got the hang of it though, and only managed to fall once. His first skinned knee! (I don't know why I got excited about this, but I guess it's because it means he's growing up!)

Anyways, I don't think he'll be walking on his own anytime soon. He just doesn't really show any interest in it, and is super stubborn (wonder where he gets that from). I have my fingers crossed that he walks by Christmas and can show off for our families!

I Heart Fall

I love love love Fall!!! Things that come to mind when I think of Fall......jeans & sweaters, carving pumpkins, football, chili, Greg's famous nuts & bolts (homemade chex mix), and hot chocolate. (Gosh most of those are food items...note to self: go on diet.)

So we started a new Fall tradition today and took Nate to a pumpkin patch! I don't know who had more fun - me or him - because I had been looking forward to this for weeks! (Yes, I am not ashamed of being a dork.) Anyways, it was about a 20 minute drive, so we all loaded in the car and headed off after breakfast. Greg and I had never been to a pumpkin patch either, so we didn't know what to expect. But, we were pleasantly surprised. It had super cute wagons to pull kiddos in, a petting zoo, corn maze, hay rides, kid's activities, craft store, and oh yeah, a pumpkin patch. And did I mention this was all free?? We got away with spending under $20, on just pumpkins and snacks. Love it!

We started off at the petting zoo, which I knew would be Nate's favorite part. He loves animals! He got to see calves, ducks, goats, piglets, horses, chickens, and even a huge scary turkey! He loved touching the goats' horns, as they were the only animals that really stuck their heads through the fences. Nate could not stop smiling! There were plenty of photo ops - see slideshow below - and we even managed to pick out 2 perfect pumpkins for our annual pumpkin carving contest (Greg has won 4 years in a row - I suck at carving).

After grabbing a few refreshments and cookies, we stripped off a few layers (it was HOT!) and piled back in the car to head home. Nate got a special treat for being so good - Greg sat in the backseat with him and gave him bits of chocolate chip cookie. YUM! All in all, it was a wonderful morning and a fun family activity to do together. I can't wait to go back next year!!

A morning surprise

What's the first thing you want to see on a Saturday morning at 8 am when you're still wiping the sleep out of your eyes?? How about a naked boy, standing up in his crib, with a poopy diaper smeared all over his legs, butt, crib, bumper, stuffed animals, and sheets?? Yeah, fun times. Somehow, Nate managed to take off his pj pants and diaper this morning before I got him up. And when I walked in and found all this, his grin could not have been bigger. "Look what I did, Mom?!" So, it was hard to be mad, looking at my cutie pie.....