Hanging Out With Grammy

The Beginning of a Christmas Tradition

Nathan watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas for the first time, while holding his stuffed Grinch.

Halloween

We went to a not so spectacular fall festival at a local (not our) church the Sunday before Halloween. Nathan went as Superman and Sandy went as Clark Kent. We were told it started at 5, so we were there when the doors opened to meet some MOPS friends. Unfortunately trunk or treat didn't start until 7 and there were more than 1,000 people there. We walked around a bit & then went to get ice cream.

I spent all the next day talking up trick or treating. Candy, out after dark, doorbells, the whole she-bang. When Sandy got home I got Nate dressed and we went next door. He was very interested in the ringing the doorbell part and invited himself inside when Pat & Brandi answered the door. However, he seemed to care more about the neighbor's pet bird.

Back to our house for a quick dinner and the discovery that M&Ms are delicious (and messy) before heading out again.

We only hit four houses, but that was plenty. Nate was most impressed with doorbell ringing and didn't want to hold out his bucket to get candy. He spent most of the walk stopped in the middle of the street pointing at the sky and saying, "Moon! Moon!" We realized he hasn't been outside after dark & had only seen the moon in pictures.

Overall, he seemed to enjoy himself & his M&Ms.

He's Giving Me A Complex

We're working on opposites these days. Nathan has mastered up/down and whisper/shout.

Today we started on fast/slow. I illustrate the concept by saying the word & doing the motion, in this case, running fast or walking exaggeratedly (is that a real word? Or did I just make it up?) slow. Nate grasped this one pretty quickly and has had a blast watching me run around in circles like a crazy person.

We only have one tiny problem. He doesn't pronounce the 's' in fast. So he points at me while I'm running, grins, and yells,"Fat! Fat!"

21 months

My baby isn't a baby any more! He looks (& acts) like a little boy instead.

He doesn't walk - he runs. Everywhere, all the time. He knows hundreds of words (I stopped counting at 150) and you can actually understand most of them. He's really starting to parrot whatever he hears these days.

One of his favorite games is up (raise your arms), down (lower your arms), turn around. His Grandmommy taught him that one. We've been working on opposites, and now he'll put his finger to his lips and say, "Shhh. Whisper." Then he'll look at you and yell, "Shout!" He also says, "Shhh. Tiptoe." to sneak up on someone or before he bursts into the bedroom to wake up whichever parent got to sleep in.

He loves to have me sing & do the hand motions for Little Bunny Foo Foo. I suspect I'm misremembering the words, but he doesn't seem care.

He can accurately identify all the uppercase and lowercase letters and some numbers. He'll start randomly saying letters he sees on signs and trucks when we're driving. I love that he's "reading" to himself! Most nights he insists on taking a book to bed and we can hear him through the monitor reading until he falls asleep holding the book.

We're still working on colors. Right now he says everything is yellow (and yes, I start singing, "and it was all yellow" in my head each time). He does, however, know most of his shapes.

Nate's favorite spot in the house is our bed. It's perfect for bouncing, dancing, hiding under pillows, and watching tv.

He's not quite talking in sentences yet, but we are getting things like, More. Apple. Please. Thank you. He's saying all the words, but each word is it's own independent thought or request. My favorite so far has been, Mom. Mote. TV. Couch. Blanket.

Speaking of "mote", we're keeping it out of reach these days, but he happened to get hold of it a few days ago when no one was looking. I didn't realize he had it until he came running into the kitchen with it raised victoriously above his head chanting, "Mote! Mote! Mote!" He ran a lap around the perimeter and then ran off back into the living room.

Three Years

And I still pick up the phone to call and tell him about my day. I wonder what he'd have to say about what's going on in our lives. I know he'd know the easy way to fix whatever is currently broken around the house. I miss you, Daddy.

Third Haircut

Nathan's first haircut was 3 minutes and 40 seconds of screaming and tears. His second hair cut was 15 minutes of cajoling, singing, and pleading followed by 5 minutes of screaming and tears. Three weeks later, he needed another one and I just didn't have it in me to take him to the salon again.

Enter YouTube and Sally's Beauty Supply. After watching eight different videos online, I bought the cheapest pair of shears and worked up my confidence.

See, I have this thing about at home haircuts. It stems from this incident the day before pictures in third grade when Mom decided my bangs needed trimming and I wiggled. If I had the picture, I'd share.

So, yesterday afternoon I spread a blanket in the living room, turned on Mickey Mouse, and crossed my fingers. It took about 20 minutes and the right side is a little longer the left, but there were no tears and I saved $15.

Sandy didn't want a "gap headed child" and he says it looks good enough that I can do it again next time. I'm quite proud of myself.

Before

After