Bubba Dubba,
My precious baby boy, you are quite the little "toddler" nowadays! You walk so fast that you look like you are running. You are also becoming quite a little "monkey," too, climbing on stools, coffee tables, up and down stairs, onto the couch, up legs, onto chairs...If you can't get there on your own, you grab something to climb on to reach what you want! At the duck pond this past month, you climbed up the stairs to go down the slide and walked off the landing onto the slide and down the slide all by yourself! You smiled so big; you were extremely proud. You definitely keep us on our toes!
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| Nathan learning new "skills", January 2013 |
You seem to be learning more and more everyday, especially with your words. You have been spitting out new words left and right. It is hard to keep up with all the words you say now. Of course you say the usual suspects (mommy, daddy, etc.) but here is a breakdown of all the words I have heard you say, or heard about...
Mama
Mommy
Mom
Dada
Bubba
Uh Oh
Bella
Maw Maw
Jon-Kin (Uncle Jon)
Done
Tickle Tickle
More, "Moe"
PApaw
Bye Bye
Amy
Katie "Kay-Tee"
Baby (while pointing at Emma)
Tara
Mine (you told Daddy while he was playing with your Elmo guitar)
This (at the doctor's office while showing me your crackers you wanted)\
Get You (I don't know the phonetics for this one, he was playing chase with Katie)
Chip, "Cheep" (reaching for a Dorito I was eating)
Emma
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| San Antonio Stock Show, Feb 17th |
You point to things and are doing fairly well indicating what you want from us. Of course, you continue to be a bit dramatic and fling yourself on the floor crying when you don't get what you want. =) You definitely understand most of what we are trying to tell you, just sometimes you don't like the answers you get. You like to push the boundaries, too, and sometimes keep trying to get something when we tell you no. (That is a Ross trait if I knew one...stubborn). At Aunt Tara's house, when she tells you "no," when you go back to do it again, you stop, look at Aunt Tara and shake your head "no" at her! LOL! You are too cute for your own good.
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| Sneaking cake when no one was looking, Feb 4th |
You and Katie love to play together, however, you both like to pick on each other and make each other cry. Ahh, brings back so many memories of Uncle Jon and I growing up. You guys play "well" together a little over half the time. You are a bit laid back compared to Katie. She likes to pull the things you are playing with out of your hands, and usually you stand there with a blank expression or you run off to find other toy. Sometimes you will fight her back for the toy, or she will keep taking your new toys away until you get too frustrated and cry. You love to chase each other around and play "get you!" all the time. You laugh and laugh as Katie chases after you. She loves to dote on you, too, and kisses you every night before bed. She hugs on you and kisses you quite frequently during the day. When you need help, she gives you food, hands you toys and finds your pacifier. You were going to go to time out at Aunt Tara's a couple of weeks ago and Katie told Aunt Tara, "It's okay, I've got him. He's a good boy. Nathan's a baby." LOL! It is fun to watch you both grow and learn together.
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| Sleeping with Uncle Jon, Feb 7th |
Some other skills you are able to do:
-Bend over to pick up objects
-Holding out your legs to put on your socks and straightening out your arm to "help" put on your shirt
-Eating well with your fingers
-Attempting to feed yourself with a spoon/fork
-Empties containers of contents (VERY well)
-Imitates others
-Initiates games (usually peek-a-boo)
-Responds to instructions (you will give mommy kisses!)
-Pushs and Pulls toys when walking
-Attempting to scribble with a crayon (you like to pound it into the table repeatedly, making "dots")
-"Helping" around the house (You love to vaccum, sweep, and wipe off the surfaces with rags)
-Turning pages in the books (You don't reallly like to sit and listen to stories, though)
-Knows how to use common objects (like mommy's phone)
-Takes off one piece of clothing (your socks and shoes)
-"Gets finicky about food" - this makes feeding you HARD
-You give Katie's dolls Eskimo kisses
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| Playing on the playground, Feb 18th |
We went to Idaho in January for Grandad Ross's funeral (January 24-26). It was your first plane ride and a sober occasion, but you did so well on the trip. You slept during most of the flights and didn't really fuss too much on the plane/at the airport. Your schedule was definitely off, though, and you didn't sleep very well while we were gone. You and Katie had a lot more melt downs, too. It was a pretty hectic few days, so it was expected/understandable. You got to meet a lot of your Ross second cousins, see where Papaw grew up, and you played in the snow for the first time! You and Katie loved the snow. =)
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| Playing in the snow for the first time, Jan 26th |
I also took my first "out of town trip" without you. First in February (9th-11th) to Vegas with Daddy for my 30th Birthday, and again at the end of last month (22nd-24th) to Kansas for your godmother's mother's funeral. It's been a hard couple of months for everyone and while we have cried a lot more, we are making it through. The joy you and Katie bring our family pulls us through the tough times and y'alls "not so good times." You love hard and you play hard. The sparkle in your eyes is so uplifting to me.
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| Spending the weekend with mamaw and papaw, Feb 22nd |
Lastly, we continue to struggle with your weight....I have no idea what is going on, why you aren't growing as much as expected. You eat all of the time!!! You are certainly becoming more picky about what you like to eat. You hardly want to eat chicken or sandwhichs, things you used to love. Hot Dogs seem to be hit or miss. For some reason you don't really like pasta, mac and cheese, bread....you know, all those awesome carbs that help you gain weight. You also aren't a fan of veggies but you LOVE your fruit! That is a sure fire win for you. =) You do seem to like junk food and sweets, which I try to limit you on. We continue to supplement with 4-8oz of Pediasure every day. You drink 8-12 oz of whole milk and continue to nurse on demand (probably 3-5 times a day depending on if I work). We saw an endocrinologist last week to check some of your growth hormones, your blood counts and your thyroid...haven't heard back on the results as of yet. I am sure that you are fine, you just have a really high metabolism and are very active. You are exceeding your developmental milestones, as well. No matter what, though, we love you so very much.
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| March 2 @ Danica's 2nd Birthday Party |
You are such a light in our lives, Nathan. You make us laugh constantly, love deeper, test our patience and fulfill our family. We are so proud of all that you have learned and look forward to seeing you continue to grow.
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| At the Duck Pond, Feb 18th |
Love,
Mommy
