Nathaniel-isms

I've been meaning to write down some of the cute things Nathaniel says, in order to preserve them before pregnancy brain completely takes over. So here are the ones that come to mind now:

oat-milk = oatmeal
Wiwee = Lily

He substitutes "am" for I. If he emphasizes "Aaam", that means "I don't". For example "Am want to watch videos Mommy" = I want to watch videos. "Aaaaam want to eat my vegetables Mommy" "No way am I going to eat those vegetables."

Prior to our 16 week ultrasound, which he came along for, we told him we were going to be having a baby, and explained that is was growing in my belly. When I asked him, "doesn't that sound fun Nathaniel, to have a baby come live with us?" he said, "No, I ride my bike." A few days later, in the car after the ultrasound confirmed we are having a girl, I asked him, "doesn't that sound like fun to have a baby sister?" and he said "WOW look at that tractor" looking at a bulldozer we passed on the highway.

He seems to get the idea of the baby growing in my belly. He often says, " the baby's in Mommy's tummy. Has to get bigger to come out". One day he was inspecting my belly, trying to figure things out for himself. While sort of thinking out loud he said "the baby comes out of there", indicating my belly button. I decided that sounded like a reasonable explanation, and left it at that.

The other night we were reading his Toddler Bible Stories book. We read "B is for Baby" about baby Jesus being born to Mary. Then we read "C if for Creation." I explained that God created everything. He asked me where God was, while looking at the picture of creation, so I explained He is everywhere, and if we ask Him, He will come to live in our hearts. And he said "live in my belly?" Well, it's not exactly like being pregnant, but....

He just started recognizing that his misbehavior is disappointing to Aaron and I. If he does something wrong or makes a mess (ie misses the toilet when going peepee), he sometimes says "Mommy will be so sad". But if he fixes it, then he says "Mommy will be so happy". Pretty cute.

The other day we were in a small town restaurant, Shobel's in Columbus, on our way back from Coahoma. Nathaniel had gone to the bathroom with Aaron, and came back running to the table, shouting "Mommy, I go poopoo in the potty. I go peepee Mommy!" Everyone took notice, though no one seemed as impressed as I was. (It turns out he didn't actually go poopoo).

If he sees anything broken at all, he says, "Daddy have to fix it". When Aaron was gone to Nigeria for 2 weeks, he managed to find/ break things around the house for him to fix, including the towel rack in our bathroom, which he attempted to hang from.

San Antonio Vacation

We had a great time in San Antonio last weekend! The highlight of our trip was definitely our visit to Sea World, and specifically, the Dolphin Discovery Tour. I have to admit, I had my doubts initially, as we were lead on foot into what appeared to be the dessert in 90+ degree weather, "behind the scenes" of the park. A lady with our group of 8 who happened to be a labor & delivery nurse asked me if I was drinking enough water, taking note of my bulging belly. I was torn because our guide had advised us before we departed that there were no restrooms available on our 1.5hr tour. The only time I go that long without answering nature's call is at night these days. Nevertheless, we had a fantastic time. Colton, our guide, actually took us to the pools where about 12 dolphins are kept, to be trained, bred, and cared after. We got to feed them, pet them, and learn quite a bit about these amazing animals. Nathaniel got quite a thrill from throwing the small carpen fish into there mouths as a reward every time they followed a command of the trainers.




The next day we visited the San Antonio zoo. Nathaniel's favorite exhibit there had to be the monkeys. He squealed with delight watching them swing from the trees.





That night after the zoo, we went down to the Riverwalk for some Tex-Mex and a boat tour. We enjoyed a serenade from a Mariachi band during dinner.

Easter Sunday

We celebrated Easter this weekend with an abundance of Easter egg hunting, candy eating, and service at our church this morning. Some friends from church held a hunt at their house on Good Friday, with an appearance from the Easter Bunny. If Nathaniel was wary of him before (as it seemed in his picture with him 2 weeks ago, where he wouldn't let the bunny touch him), he warmed up after discovering he leaves a yard full of eggs containing all sorts of sweet treats. We've had our share of meltdowns over the limits set for candy consumption, however, so all Easter baskets and candy have been placed out of sight and hopefully out of mind.

In addition to the Main Reason for celebrating this Easter season, we have our own tiny miracle which is doing quite well, according to our most recent ultrasound this week. She's measuring the right size, and very active. Nathaniel has caught on to the idea that there is a "baby in my tummy", and likes to give her hugs. He's decided she'll come out my belly button when she's ready, which brings up images of the movie Aliens for me, but is better than the alternative explanation. Here are some pics of our little beauty:

Two Thomas's!

Nathaniel was delighted to see his friend, Jonathan, this afternoon. He had asked about Jonathan twice earlier in the day, so when I told him his buddy was on the way over, he ran to eagerly wait at the window. He had just put on his new Thomas the Train t-shirt, and when Jonathan arrived wearing his own Thomas t-shirt as well, there was even more excitement than usual.

It has been so fun to watch the boys develop a friendship. Their playdates always start off with squeals of delight at the sight of one another. From time to time, they'll disagree about who gets to use the favorite truck or tool of the day, but they're starting to develop some limited conflict-resolution skills, like the other afternoon when they both wanted to drive the dump truck in the backyard. After a little scuffle, they worked it out so Jonathan could pull and Nathaniel could push. The boys haven't yet mastered the coordination or attention for a group photo, though. Here are a few attempts to catch them sporting their Thomas shirts this afternoon:

When I got out my camera, Nathaniel felt he needed to take a few photos as well.

Choo, Choo!!
This one is my favorite :)

A Week With Mimi

This past week we had the pleasure of a very helpful visit from Aaron's Mom, Kaye, aka Mimi. And it truly was such a blessing! She came from West Texas to help us through what was hopefully our second-to-last week of bed rest. She cooked for us, did our laundry, and even cleaned out my car. And of course, she was on full-time Nathaniel duty while Aaron was away at work. I think we wore her out, but it was so fun to see Nathaniel soaking up the one-on-one attention from his Grandmother. A Zillion thanks, Mimi, for your help!!





We go back Wednesday for another ultrasound, and hope to find everything has healed up well. I'm looking forward to getting up off this sofa for more than a few minutes here and there. And I know Aaron is eagerly awaiting the end of semi-single parenting. I can't wait to take Nathaniel to the park, or out for a walk. Hopefully it's just a few short days away!

Thankful

Tonight I am physically nauseous, and not because I am pregnant (though that is also true!). It is because my little guy will not eat dinner, and is going to bed hungry. He refused dinner 3 times this evening, with the final episode the most dramatic. He cried projectile tears -you know, the kind that go airborne when they squint their eyes tight. Until I had a child, I thought those only happened in cartoons. It is the saddest thing. And dinner was really quite yummy, a chicken lasagna, graciously provided by friends of ours from church, with green peas, which he ate very well for lunch today. Had he only been willing to have a taste, he would have enjoyed it. I know, thousands of parents probably battled over dinner time with their toddler this evening, and sent many of the stubborn ones to bed hungry, as we did. Truer still, millions of parents around the world had no choice tonight, with nothing to offer their hungry little ones... Now I am more nauseous, but extraordinarily grateful to be so blessed. Nathaniel will undoubtedly wake up to a growling tummy at 6 AM tomorrow, and down a large breakfast of some sort. Yesterday when Aaron arrived upstairs bleary-eyed to Nathaniel's wake-up call, he was greeted with a ravenous toddler who demanded "cook, Daddy".

On a lighter note, things are going well on the baby front, and the front is starting to pooch a bit to show for it. We are now 10 1/2 weeks, and after 4 weeks of bed rest due to early pregnancy complications, issues are resolving, and our little one is growing at a robust rate. Bed rest has been at times dull, and always a challenge with a 2 yr old in the house, but has allowed for some appreciated down time. Time for leisure reading, catching up on medical journals and continuing medical education credits, learning a new skill (crochet), general introspection, and some tender moments at home with my little guy. I've also learned over the past few weeks to accept help from others. Friends and family have so graciously provided meals, childcare, emotional support, and prayers, and for that we are infinitely thankful. I may be release from bed rest at my next appointment in 2 weeks, so we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Tools!

Nathaniel has always had an interest in tools, especially the powered-variety that make loud noises and such. In keeping with this interest, he really enjoys the "Bob the Builder" video his Mimi and PapPaw gave him for Christmas. Here he is singing the theme song. He's saying "Bob the Builder"..."We fix it!"






Today (the 25th) we celebrated Aaron's 32nd birthday. Though he was not especially excited to be another year older, it was a nice evening. We had some yummy Italian food delivered from a place around the corner called Gugliani's. That was our first time to order from there, but I think we'll be doing it again - delicious!

Fifth Time's a Charm

Ok, yet again I am trying to live up to my aspiration of being a Blogger, so here goes. It is on my list of goals for 2011, so maybe this time I will succeed!

Christmas was so fun this year! Nathaniel naturally enjoyed getting lots of new toys. He is especially excited about his tool toys and new tractors. He loves "helping" Daddy around the house with our many home-improvement projects. When he sees Aaron getting out his tools, he quickly runs off to fetch his toy drill and screws. Hammering is his favorite. If he feels the impulse to hammer, and the appropriate tool is not insight, he'll just use the side of his little fist and proclaim "hammer!" Here he is working with his new tool set that Nanie and Pop Pop gave him, at their house on Christmas Eve.


Nathaniel also got a playhouse from Santa. Here he is with his little dishes, preparing "breakfast" Christmas morning. He loves to cook! He's wearing his goggles from his tool kit in the last pic - too cute!


My siblings stayed over on the 23rd, and it was so fun to all be together. We baked gingerbread cookies, went out for delicious pizza and Christmas lights, and everyone else stayed up late to play Risk, while I was sleeping. Nathaniel adores his aunt and uncles, and asks about them when they are not around.